It sure keeps me busy, that’s for sure. Doing everything for the first time takes longer, whether it’s putting together work for absent students, trying to hang up student work in new places, or (mainly) planning lessons for stories I have to read ahead of time (obviously!) and think about how to use them to teach my students.  I am lucky to have a husband who has retired and likes to cook. He makes some great dinners.

    If you are new student, welcome to DDMS. And if you are one of my ‘old’ students, leave a comment and let me know how the change from 7th to 8th is going for you.

I would like to know what you think of living one’s life there, and then raising a family who loves their homeland so much that they would never think of moving away.  They have electricity, running water, and internet. They also have one large grocery store, a pub (but no restaurants), a swimming pool, a post office, a hospital with SIX beds, and a golf course. No cars, phones, or elevators let alone shopping malls or professional sports teams.  Kids do have video games; fishing is the main industry – no surprise for an island – and there a lot of sheep.

    One last interesting thing that was mentioned in the article: because the island is volcanic, 45 years ago the entire island had to be evacuated due to an eruption and resulting lava fires.  The citizens could not return for two years but they returned because they were homesick.  I imagine they had seen enough of cars (many, especially kids, had never even seen one) and no doubt noise and pollution.

   While I enjoy taking a peaceful, quiet, isolated vacation and would like to appear sophisticated and say “I wish I lived there. It must be so beautifully calming to support yourself and have 270 friends just like you, lots of wild birds to watch….”  I wonder how long I would last?  I hope the location does not become a destination for rich, curious tourists, but somehow I think the Tristanites would not allow that. They seem to be doing just fine all by themselves.

    I was happy to go to Chili’s with friends the other day and choose from the “light lunch” menu – 1/2 and 1/2 bowl chili and salad. I still couldn’t finish it! When I look at what is ordered by typical diners: meat, vegetables (usually doused in butter), potatoes (likewise in butter or cheese), and then bread (yes, with butter)… is it any wonder many Americans are on medicine to lower cholesterol or high blood pressure because of high sodium intake?? Why did this happen? Did my parents, who were brought up during the Depression of the 30s, feel obliged to serve their children what they had missed, i.e. every food group in mass quantities at every meal?

   What about it? Do you ever give any thought to how much you eat when you ‘go out’? Since the price is usually not cheap – entrees frequently run $14-$18 at “nice” places, do you feel like you have to eat it all? I do think customers are not shy about asking for boxes to take food home. That is definitely a step in the right direction.  But I would like to see less food for less money. What do you think?

       I received an email reminder about a class I am taking next week about using a Smart Board, an interactive  white-board tool for classrooms, meetings, etc. that requires an LCD projector and the Smart Board itself.  Anyway, the message included the warning to bring drinks only if they have resealable caps because “we will be using technology.”    <sarcasm> Really? \sarcasm> Of COURSE we are – that’s what I signed up to do!!

   Secondly, “we will be using technology” is a phrase I find amusing and pretty stupid-sounding, to be frank. How about just saying:  ”We’ll be using keyboards that would be damaged by spilled liquids”  Technology is one of the most overused words around, in my opinion.  “Technology”  can be defined as “the practical application of science to commerce or industry” or “the methods and tools that a society has developed in order to facilitate the solution of its practical problems.”
So, telephones (even the dial-up kind), DVD players, ball point pens, a hammer instead of a rock… don’t these all meet the definition?    It’s as if using the word “technology” makes the writer more believable as some sort of expert on gadgetry.   Is the writer or speaker out to impress the audience? Well, it doesn’t work with me and in fact does just the opposite. Call the rose a rose, and  keyboard a keyboard.

    How are you when things change? Do you like change, like trying old things in new ways? Or are you more of a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” kind of person?  This was particularly important this past week, as I was staying with my soon-to-be-89 mother. She had broken her wrist and was out of her apt for 8 weeks so I was there helping and overseeing that she could get back to her routines of the day. She is VERY adamant about keeping things exactly as they are, and resisting anything new. Unfortunately, that isn’t healthy for her in some cases. She has a lot of medications and vitamins and in her head she did not want to use a plastic box with the 7 days of the week each with its own little space for pills. She wanted to “do it like I always did. That worked for me.”  She… well… anyway. I wonder if as we get older <sigh> we get more set in our ways and see change as needless.  (She is an Obama supporter, tho).

Caroline Bishop (again, per Google) says “Michael Vick has openly admitted to the fighting, torture, and murder of many pitbulls on his land in Virginia.  These dogs were not only fought but murdered in some of the most brutal ways-beating, drowning, hanging, and even electrocution. ”   Google search notwithstanding, Vick does say that “I take full responsibility for my actions”  and “dogfighting is a terrible thing.”

     I didn’t start doing this until after I had kids.  My mother mentioned she was a donor, and I thought it was a small thing that I could do that could possibly help somebody else. And it was a “golden rule” kind of thing: I’d like someone else to donate blood if one of MY family members needed it, so I would do the same thing.  I’ve continued for years, so I believe I’m on my 4th gallon at this point.  That’s pretty cool to think of.

   You have to be 17 or older, at least 110 pounds, and then a bunch of other medical details (like no tattoos in 12 months, no hepatitis, no mad cow, and more).  Does it hurt? There’s a bit of a sting at first, and I do notice that the needle is there, but it’s not something that lasts.  Plus you get cookies and juice- – so they know you aren’t going to faint or feel lightheaded before you drive home.  That’s uncommon, but it can happen, so drink lots of fluids the 24 hours or so before you donate, and then keep it up for another 24 hours afterwards.  You can donate every 8 weeks. 

   I don’t have much time to volunteer, or I’d be at the ASPCA or the U.S.O at the airport. Blood donors are volunteers, too, though!

    My big summer project is helping my husband rebuild our deck. We both love to work with our hands, and we save a lot of money that way.  Have you ever made or built something that you could have bought, but that you decided to try making yourself? How’d it come out?

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1081/Chicken-a%20la%20Carte