One of my biggest pet peeves is the scrolly button on the mouse. Ok, so it's not one of my biggest, but it is my newest peeve.
When I'm working in windows, I expect the scrolly button to just work. I expect that, if I spin the scrolly button, something should scroll (if it is indeed scrollable). This does not always happen. It makes me grumpy.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Open Letter to Apple
Ok Apple, Listen up, because I think you need to hear this.
I love the iPhone. My brother loves the iPhone. My wife and sister-in-law both love the iPhone. I would have purchased an iPhone long ago, but for one simple reason: AT&T is crap.
I cannot begin to understand the reasons for the decisions that AT&T has restricted some of the basic functionality of the iPhone. I am sure that there is some big-and-corporate reason for their decisions, but I really do not care. I don't want to have to worry about what I can and cannot do with my phone because of crazy restrictions and goofy protocols.
It is more and more clear to me that AT&T is like an elderly person who needs to be put in a home for her own good. You know, like when Grandma left the oven on for three days and almost burned down the neighborhood? AT&T is like that. They are trying to push the FCC to restrict more and push more regulation onto the Internet. Let us say that the *do* manage to accomplish this absurd goal. The only thing that I think will happen is more Google functionality will be restricted in the US, and the rest of the planet will get the gooey goodness.
In the worst case scenario, Google will say, "Fine, you want to side with AT&T on this and restrict us? We'll move out of the country. Bye!" I'm sure that this will not happen instantly, but why would a company not move out of an expensive, high-restriction country, to a country with fewer restrictions? It's the eternal problem of the Internet -- how do you restrict something you have no jurisdiction over?
Apple, dump your elderly grandmother in the retirement home. Please.
I love the iPhone. My brother loves the iPhone. My wife and sister-in-law both love the iPhone. I would have purchased an iPhone long ago, but for one simple reason: AT&T is crap.
I cannot begin to understand the reasons for the decisions that AT&T has restricted some of the basic functionality of the iPhone. I am sure that there is some big-and-corporate reason for their decisions, but I really do not care. I don't want to have to worry about what I can and cannot do with my phone because of crazy restrictions and goofy protocols.
It is more and more clear to me that AT&T is like an elderly person who needs to be put in a home for her own good. You know, like when Grandma left the oven on for three days and almost burned down the neighborhood? AT&T is like that. They are trying to push the FCC to restrict more and push more regulation onto the Internet. Let us say that the *do* manage to accomplish this absurd goal. The only thing that I think will happen is more Google functionality will be restricted in the US, and the rest of the planet will get the gooey goodness.
In the worst case scenario, Google will say, "Fine, you want to side with AT&T on this and restrict us? We'll move out of the country. Bye!" I'm sure that this will not happen instantly, but why would a company not move out of an expensive, high-restriction country, to a country with fewer restrictions? It's the eternal problem of the Internet -- how do you restrict something you have no jurisdiction over?
Apple, dump your elderly grandmother in the retirement home. Please.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
why I hate World of Warcraft.
There are two reasons I can see that one would play World of Warcraft. First, it's a game that puts you into natural surroundings where trees still have some value. Second, it's an RPG. I value both of these things, but I hate World of Warcraft.
Hate might not be the right word, but it will do.
If you want to participate in nature, the fix is easy. Go outside. Please.
If you want to play an RPG, get some friends, get together and Play an RPG. They're better when you play pen-and-paper. Trust me.
Go outside.
Hate might not be the right word, but it will do.
If you want to participate in nature, the fix is easy. Go outside. Please.
If you want to play an RPG, get some friends, get together and Play an RPG. They're better when you play pen-and-paper. Trust me.
Go outside.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Toddler World
My son has entered the whine everything phase of life. As I understand it, this phase lasts until around 23, then it gets worse.
He is sitting at the table this morning with my wife and I, asking for sugar. I did not realize that the phrase, "Sugar please," could have such a whine to it when it comes from the lips of a two-year-old.
Daddy came to the rescue and did the "Magical Cool-down" of the "tea." I swirled the cup and blew on it and somehow, that process made the boy's drink cooler.
Immediately more palatable, the drink needed to be poured into a treat holder that he got out of the drawer.
"No," his mother says. Whining commences. Request to put dice in the treat cup? "Sure," mommy says. Crisis averted.
Pleasant beverage still sits on the table.
He is sitting at the table this morning with my wife and I, asking for sugar. I did not realize that the phrase, "Sugar please," could have such a whine to it when it comes from the lips of a two-year-old.
Daddy came to the rescue and did the "Magical Cool-down" of the "tea." I swirled the cup and blew on it and somehow, that process made the boy's drink cooler.
Immediately more palatable, the drink needed to be poured into a treat holder that he got out of the drawer.
"No," his mother says. Whining commences. Request to put dice in the treat cup? "Sure," mommy says. Crisis averted.
Pleasant beverage still sits on the table.
Friday, September 18, 2009
RE: It's time...
I'm home sick for the North. I have lived in a lot of places, but only a few have made me homesick for another one.
This is one of those places.
We've been here a year, are well integrated into our faith community, but have few friends. When we lived in Butler, we could not help but run into people we knew when we went for walks. We used to walk every week for many hours, just chatting about the community we saw and what was going on.
We don't walk much any more. When we DO walk, we are looking around corners and waiting for someone to overhear our conversation and take it the wrong way.
The leaves are still green. I want colors. I want a threat of snow in September and a thunderstorm because it's Friday. I want wind so violent and full of ice that school is delayed because of the cold.
I do not want a hurricane. Hurricanes are not like northern storms. Northern storms are predictable and odd. Hurricanes can soak you, then leave you standing only to knock you back down.
I want a thunder boomer that rattles the floor boards.
I want a basement.
I want home.
This is one of those places.
We've been here a year, are well integrated into our faith community, but have few friends. When we lived in Butler, we could not help but run into people we knew when we went for walks. We used to walk every week for many hours, just chatting about the community we saw and what was going on.
We don't walk much any more. When we DO walk, we are looking around corners and waiting for someone to overhear our conversation and take it the wrong way.
The leaves are still green. I want colors. I want a threat of snow in September and a thunderstorm because it's Friday. I want wind so violent and full of ice that school is delayed because of the cold.
I do not want a hurricane. Hurricanes are not like northern storms. Northern storms are predictable and odd. Hurricanes can soak you, then leave you standing only to knock you back down.
I want a thunder boomer that rattles the floor boards.
I want a basement.
I want home.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Shaklee Post number one.
Hi.
Some of you may know that I've been involved with Shaklee for some time now. Shaklee, as you may or may not know, is the largest all-natural nutritional company in the world. There are larger nutritional companies, but they do synthetics & the like. Shaklee is all about the cold-processed all-natural approach.
They also do a lot of health and beauty kinds of things. The combination of the two is what I wish to share with you today.
If you look here:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5883706/Vivix
You will see one of their newest products. It's amazing how well it works, and there have been a lot of testimonial kinds of reports about it, but here you see the results of a double-blind study they just completed. The study is not referenced in this article explicitly, this is just some marketing material they printed (they wanted it to look pretty, not formal and scientific).
Read the article. If you have any questions about it, drop me a line.
jsl
Some of you may know that I've been involved with Shaklee for some time now. Shaklee, as you may or may not know, is the largest all-natural nutritional company in the world. There are larger nutritional companies, but they do synthetics & the like. Shaklee is all about the cold-processed all-natural approach.
They also do a lot of health and beauty kinds of things. The combination of the two is what I wish to share with you today.
If you look here:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5883706/Vivix
You will see one of their newest products. It's amazing how well it works, and there have been a lot of testimonial kinds of reports about it, but here you see the results of a double-blind study they just completed. The study is not referenced in this article explicitly, this is just some marketing material they printed (they wanted it to look pretty, not formal and scientific).
Read the article. If you have any questions about it, drop me a line.
jsl
Monday, July 13, 2009
Flash Cards
Are you fracking Kidding me? Flash Cards? Why the HECK would you encourage flashcards.
Yes, I hate flashcards.
A Lot.
I'm not a fan of Power Point, but that's a different story. But Flash Cards, I hate 'em.
Flash Cards encourage a style of education that does not necessarily increase learning, and I cannot believe that in today's culture, so many people like flash cards.
Well, that's a lie. I understand it. I think it's dumb, but I understand it. Students like them because they are simple, and teachers like them because they require little prep work for the teachers. Flash cards do not require teacher creativity in any way shape or form, but that is not why I hate them.
This is why I hate them. I teach AVID. In AVID, I teach students how to learn, asking them to avoid lower levels of reasoning.
In Costa's hierarchy of questions, the lower level is level 1. This level has questions like, "What is the name of the book?" "What is 'dog' in French?" "Where is France on a Map?" These are basic 'look it up' level questions. They are questions that you get the answer for and move on quickly.
In Bloom's Taxonomy, These questions are typically Knowledge or Comprehension. Do you know where Bob is? Do you understand 4+2? All of these questions have a place in pedagogy, but they are not the end-goal.
More appropriately, we can say, "Use the word for "Dog" in a French Sentence." or "How does the name of the book relate to the plot of the first three chapters?"
Both of these questions are intentionally open-ended and require the student to USE the information (Higher levels on Costa and Bloom).
We are reasonably certain that the more a student uses the information, the more likely that student will be to be able to recall the information later. If we are pushing students to a level where they should be able to utilize information in a variety of settings, why then are we only requiring extremely basic knowledge? Why are we not pushing their knowledge higher?
Flashcards are the evidence that teachers are not moving forward with their pedagogical methods.
Gar.
jsl
Yes, I hate flashcards.
A Lot.
I'm not a fan of Power Point, but that's a different story. But Flash Cards, I hate 'em.
Flash Cards encourage a style of education that does not necessarily increase learning, and I cannot believe that in today's culture, so many people like flash cards.
Well, that's a lie. I understand it. I think it's dumb, but I understand it. Students like them because they are simple, and teachers like them because they require little prep work for the teachers. Flash cards do not require teacher creativity in any way shape or form, but that is not why I hate them.
This is why I hate them. I teach AVID. In AVID, I teach students how to learn, asking them to avoid lower levels of reasoning.
In Costa's hierarchy of questions, the lower level is level 1. This level has questions like, "What is the name of the book?" "What is 'dog' in French?" "Where is France on a Map?" These are basic 'look it up' level questions. They are questions that you get the answer for and move on quickly.
In Bloom's Taxonomy, These questions are typically Knowledge or Comprehension. Do you know where Bob is? Do you understand 4+2? All of these questions have a place in pedagogy, but they are not the end-goal.
More appropriately, we can say, "Use the word for "Dog" in a French Sentence." or "How does the name of the book relate to the plot of the first three chapters?"
Both of these questions are intentionally open-ended and require the student to USE the information (Higher levels on Costa and Bloom).
We are reasonably certain that the more a student uses the information, the more likely that student will be to be able to recall the information later. If we are pushing students to a level where they should be able to utilize information in a variety of settings, why then are we only requiring extremely basic knowledge? Why are we not pushing their knowledge higher?
Flashcards are the evidence that teachers are not moving forward with their pedagogical methods.
Gar.
jsl
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