Tonight on Teacher Center...

Morning thoughts and links

A New York City high school is teaching kids how to interact with police. I've often thought a crucial element of drivers education should be how to react if you are pulled over by a cop.

Not much to report this morning. It's chilly out, which has led to Inkwell settling on my lap, usually when I'm trying to do something on the computer or iPad. I've turned the heat way down to save money, as medical bills are killing us so far this winter. This is a short workweek, in that I'll be working three days, have a day off, then working on Friday. I also have evening meetings today and tomorrow (city council and school board) so I'm going to not get much rest between now and the holiday.

I'm looking forward to seeing my parent-in-laws Wednesday night. I sometimes get a little too wrapped up in my job... it's nice to see people I'm not reporting on once in awhile.

I'm more than a month behind in reading comic books, and I've got three issues of Fortean Times piled up to read (which will be a joy, but is kind of strange to see because I love reading the mag so much). I've been very busy at work, and not in the mood for much when I get home.

Other than that, I'm surviving, and hopefully I'll have enough energy to make it through the holiday season this year.

Some Links

What teachers really want to tell parents.

Why Walmart produce is horrible. Yet another reason to completely avoid Walmart, along with how they ruined Vlasic and Rubbermaid (YouTube link).

A "cure" for shingles?

A pug in memory of Buddy.

Small Linkdump

Bad news if you believe in facts. People tend to continue to believe lies even after they've been disproven and those people accepted they were lies.

Muppet Thor.

Why Pursuing Cheaters Doesn't Pay. One teacher's view on his attempts to stop cheating in his class. (Update: link fixed)
Update to the Update: The original post was removed due to legal issues. Here's the gist: a professor actively pursued cheaters, only to be damaged financially by it when students turned in negative performance evaluations for him because he put so much effort into catching cheaters instead of making class a learning environment. He decided instead to create tests and assignments that students couldn't cheat on, as they involved current events and active in-class participation. He explained it in a comment on an article about his post.

Wanna read a creepy good short story? Try The Powerful Bad Luck of DD Dupree by Frank Tuttle.

I wonder if the in-laws are into Steampug? Thanks to David Oakes.

Linkdump for Wednesday

Dozer the dog finishes Half-Marathon without bothering to let his owners know.

Er, women in comic shops and how to, er, treat them.

A Dialogue between Teach and Cheat. Teach is a philosophy instructor at a public university, while Cheat ghost-writes student papers for pay. I read some of these articles and think that I was an idiot to do all my own work back when I was in school. Then I kick myself for thinking that.

Reusable grocery bags don't make you sick. BONUS: How to wash reusable grocery bags.

A different Salvador Dalek. Cool.

Are they terrorist turtles?

Need to fix something? Here you go!

LOLCat Theology.

A Good Reason To Check Your Prescriptions

Pregnant Woman Gets Cancer Drug Instead of Antibiotic. Unfortunately, the drug was methotrexate, which stops cell division and has been used as an abortion drug (although it apparently causes more birth defects than abortions).

I go to Safeway for my prescriptions, and even with my slightly unusual name they have never once failed to ask for my birthdate, which is apparently one of the mistakes of this woman's pharmacy. And they ALWAYS confirm my prescription by the drug's name with me. Heck, the pharmacists and assistants at my local Safeway pharmacy know my medications by heart (probably due to the unusual name). Even so, I always check the label carefully to make sure that they've got the medicine and dosage right. Not because I've ever had a mess up, but because I know that pharmacists are human and therefore mess ups are inevitable. And also because I really prefer to know what I'm putting in my own body.

So in my view, while the Safeway pharmacist certainly bears the bulk of the blame, the woman who blindly took medicine without even checking the label first is definitely got some of that icky blame on herself, and her "Sorry's not going to cut it" response to Safeway's apology strikes me as more than a little hypocritical. She should be sure to look in a mirror and say that as well.

And for anyone out there who casually pops pills from their pharmacy without checking that the label and dosage are correct, let this be the wake-up call. Yeah, the consequences are unlikely to be quite as horrible as in this case, but do you want nasty drug consequences at all?

Random Thoughts on Current Topics

Airport Security

Let's start with airport security, since it's hitting the news hard right now. Let's make it clear: I haven't been on a plane in over 10 years. My last plane trip was to San Diego Comicon 2000, and was fairly pleasant. But I get sick on planes, violently sick. Although I've managed to never throw up on a plane, there have been a number of close calls and at least one mad dash through a terminal to the nearest bathroom. So even if I could afford plane trips and had somewhere to go, I would avoid planes if possible. But in addition to my airsickness, there's now the choice between getting x-rayed or groped to contend with.

Pat-downs were a necessary evil, so we thought. But the enhanced pat-downs they are now conducting are sexual assault and should be made illegal. An article about a guy threatened with fines for leaving the airport after refusing to be abused is currently making the rounds, and while a few people feel it's no big deal and he should have given in, many others are overly aware of the dangers of allowing security personnel to physically abuse travelers who haven't done anything wrong. And if you think x-ray scans aren't a big deal, you aren't a pilot who travels constantly and is forced to endure way higher than reasonable amounts of radiation.

But what's the alternative? How about common sense? There are ways to protect the public that don't involve sexual assault or physically damaging x-ray scans. In fact, the current TSA security theater probably does less to protect the public than the old ways. I think the TSA should be charged with making intelligent changes to the system, banning stupid theatrics and useless gadgets, and until then I don't think anyone should fly if they can at all help it. But then, what do I know?

Plagiarism

Another big Internet story is the tale of Plagiarism in college. Apparently a guy (or gal) in the business of writing custom papers for college students has written a tell-all article about the profession and what it means for the world. In short, it appears that an awful lot of people who can't write to save their lives are passing because they or their parents have enough money to pay someone else to write for them. The big argument is whether this is a flaw in the education system itself, in the expectations for the education system, or something else. But it does explain how some complete morons have been able to get through school when they should have flunked out of any writing-intensive course they took.

When I was in college, I helped a few classmates with papers. It wasn't me writing the paper. They would write a draft and I would go over it correcting spelling, grammar, and sometimes helping them to clarify a poorly expressed thought. The original work was theirs and the final work was theirs, but I helped the process along. I never got paid in cash and I never considered it anything but being helpful, and a way to practice my own writing skills. When I make an effort (unlike on this blog, which is pretty much all rough draft) I can write like a professional. In college I also worked in the writing center and did pretty much the same job, only I was expected to teach a bit as well. Even now I have a... let's say friend... taking university classes who sends me papers to correct. I like doing it. For me, it's a great deal of fun. I enjoy writing and editing. But the thought of writing someone else's paper for them makes me sick.

Reading the original article makes me feel like some sort of sucker for doing all my own work in college. I never once plagiarized, even though there was one incident in which it might have earned me a passing grade (I still hate Clarissa). I never cheated, because I was paying a whole lot of money for an education, and cheating doesn't result in brains. But perhaps it results in success. To be honest, I feel bitter about it and angry that students get away with cheating. I'm particularly horrified to read comments from teachers who can't flunk students who cheat because they get sued by those same rich families that paid for the bogus papers.

I guess the only way to avoid cheating is to force students to do all their writing in class, which will take away from time to teach. But I gather that the costs to universities of failing students who ought to be failing is too high, so my own degree is becoming increasingly worthless as more and more certifiable morons are graduated from schools only because they are rich enough to afford to cheat.

Another Linkdump

Comic Book Legends Revealed #275: Deadshot Revamp, the Sentinels, and Shuster's Canadian roots.

The Library of Congress has opened up 222 boxes' worth of files and papers on Fredric Wertham, a name comic book fans know well.

Yuck euwww gross yuck ack this is almost enough to put me off eggs forever... I am beginning to think finding a local CSA and getting farm fresh is the only way to go.

Perhaps we need to Eggs-Ter-Min-Ate the bad farms?

It's impressive how we think of ancient Greece as white statues, but they were painted, sometimes quite luridly.

How to replace six vital documents. These are the documents that you ought to have in a fire-proof safe if you've got one.

How to react to a controversial court opinion. Not for intelligent people.

Slashdot reports on a developer who doesn't want Pirate Bay to remove the torrent of his pirated software. In fact, he demands that people laugh at the guy who cracked it, and asks for a better crack to be made available.

Where to get the best free education online. So you don't get credits for it, but you at least learn! Apparently Bill Gates likes Khan Academy for teaching his kids math.

Someone thinks they've found Amelia Earhart's plane.

Farewell to the Star Hustler, and may he sail the stars in joy.

The stupid, it burns! Idiots think a guy is Muslim because of his name. But wait until you read what his name is and why these people, who have obviously never read the Bible, think it is Muslim.

Basement cat is illogical.

Pug for the in-laws.

Sep 15-19 is "Holy Pasta Week"
Plan your menus now.

Gjovaag Face Plant

On February 5th, Hubby-Eric called me from school to tell me that he'd been hurt in a "teaching accident". Well, no, actually it was in a pep rally adventure in which teachers and student did some kind of race.

When he got home, I found that his injuries consisted of two skinned knees, one skinned elbow, a bruised nose, a cut lower lip, and a badly wrenched shoulder that still hasn't fully healed.

A few days later we learned that a student had recorded the fall, and Eric asked if he could have a copy of the video. She asked if it would be ok to post it to YouTube, and he agreed. So, finally, here it is!

The fall happens about a minute in (56 seconds). Eric is the one in tan/grey in the farthest pair from the camera. Unfortunately, the video ends before all the students realize how hurt he is and start chanting his name as he's led out of the gym.

You'll have to ask Eric what he's doing in that first part of the video. Eating something while his partner in the game chugs a cola, I think.

SO Much to Talk About, Where Do I Start?

Well, there's been a few... developments... in the greater world that I feel I should address. So I'll ramble on a bit. Those of you who hate my opinions may as well stop reading now.

First up is Tiger Woods. I don't care. Period. That's all I have to say on the matter.

Next up is the Haiti incident with the doofus missionaries: They are idiots. The children being brought out of Haiti had, for the most part, been in the process of being adopted for YEARS before the Earthquake. Waltzing in and thinking you can just take children off the street was ridiculous, if not actually evil. There's a reason the process takes a long time, and those missionaries deserved the punishment they got and more, and should be glad they are getting off easy. Twits. Morons like them make it more difficult for the legitimate adoption agencies to work.

Education: Big Brother is Watching You. This story makes me see red. The school claims the cameras were only turned on if the laptop was reported stolen, but if that's the case, why was the kid disciplined for "improper behavior" in his own home and NOT for falsely reporting his laptop stolen? I'm afraid that every school administrator involved in this act of spying should go to jail for some time and be forbidden to ever work with children again.

UPDATE 2/20: This article defines the improper behavior, "an official mistook a piece of candy for a pill and thought he was selling drugs." How exactly does that relate to a stolen laptop? Meanwhile, the school defends itself by contradicting the parents. They also contradicted themselves. They first claimed that the software had never been activated, and now say it's been used in 42 cases of stolen laptops.

Politics: I'm not sure why anyone is listening to that quitter Palin, the Democratic party needs a spine immediately, the stimulus DID create jobs and lower the job loss rate, and if health care isn't overhauled within the next year or so the premature deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans will be one the hands of our congresscritters, who right now take so much money from the health insurance lobby that they might as well consider themselves paid assassins for health insurance. An aside: Republicans are great at winning elections, but lousy at actually running the country. Democrats are horrible at winning elections, but can't run the country without a supermajority. Ug.

Olympics: I don't care what anyone says, I love Curling. And the Simpsons got it so very wrong that I kind of wish they hadn't bothered (although the pin-collecting side plot was funny). I've also enjoyed watching the other sports, although the crashes have made me cringe and shudder more or less constantly. The weather conditions in Vancouver no more prove global climate change than the snow on the East Coast disproves it, but it sure is more evidence of something totally out of whack in our weather. I'm much more upset by NBC's decision to delay their coverage of the Games 3 hours for the West Coast, WHERE THE GAMES ARE HAPPENING, so we see all the results online before the events are shown on any local channel. NBC really screwed up this one.

Entertainment: I've got more to say about DC Comics than can fit in a summary, but I think the change in leadership is not a terrible thing, and will wait and see. I'm looking forward to Brightest Day because of the promised Aquaman content, but I expect to be disappointed. In other entertainment, can hardly wait for new Doctor Who to start up. And I'm still in training for Emerald City Comicon, which requires me to get lots of walking in.

I must give an annoyed shout out to Aaron Williams who directed me to this page of free downloads of the old Command and Conquer games. I'm utterly addicted to the original game, and I love just blowing up pixels. It's a lovely waste of time, but unfortunately I had more important things I should have been doing (if I'd had the brainpower to do them). Oh Aaron, you have hurt me so!

Um, that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff, but this is more like a real blog post than anything I've done in months, so I'm signing off.

Four Linkdumps in a Row!

NEW GALAXION SHORT STORY!

Best Con Costume Ever (not safe for kids who enjoy Sesame Street).

Dave wants you to see what holidays fall on your birthday. For me: Buttercrunch Day, Inauguration Day, and the Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade (which is the same age as me, even). For hubby-Eric: Hugging Day. That works.

Internet Memes Timeline has pretty much every meme I remember, including the earliest ones from my college days.

ComicMix reports on the Siegel and Shuster Society's Successes so far, and encourages you to continue supporting them.

The Amazing Gift of Woo Lai Wah.

Scott Adams notes recent inventions that may save the world.

This has got to be the stupidest school policy ever.

Speaking of stupid, LOLScience has faulty pictures.

The Kents Kitteh.

And lastly, a bit of wisdom from Eric's grandmother, who noted that all the TV news was interested in nowadays is "drivia". I don't think she meant to combine drivel and trivia, but it works. For now and forever, TV news is drivia to me.

Wednesday Links

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #146: Ray Bradbury, Avengers Forever, and Knightsend.

I wish I could afford these. Herbie is one of the weirder comics ever made.

Fun Story: Wikihistory.

New Seven Deadly Sins. Does this mean the Rock of Eternity will change?

TSA Endangers Child. The TSA is a joke, and an annoying and dangerous one at that.

Web designers who think that accessing unpublished URLs is "hacking" should be banned from the internet for five years. Maybe then people wouldn't be so fast to scream "hacking!" to hide their own inability to secure their sites.

I love this thought for the day.

More attempts to ban books, even though options were offered.

Norwegian Broadcaster Loves BitTorrent (the definitive documentary about the Møøse!). But then, Norway is a civilized country.

It's... a... gazebo!

For Androgums only: The Seal of Wrasslin', Huzzah!

For the in-laws: Pug Attack. Attack on Pug.

I've been doing these piecemeal, instead of dropping two weeks worth of accumulated links on you all at once. I'm not sure if folks prefer it this way or not, but there's more links coming...

Friday Linkdump

Wow, I like this idea for overhead lights.

Speaking of overhead lights: more on the Texas UFO.

Heh, no sooner do I post about right of way than Snopes has a bizarre right of way question.

More on the Martian Bigfoot.

This is one case where an LOL really made me laugh out loud. You're doing it wrong.

Why you shouldn't dump seaweed bits down the drain.

A nice little political commentary featuring Aquaman.

Preventing Da Vincis.

Stay on Target, stay on target...

More power to them.

Tuesday Thoughts

I want a Kitteh!

Awesome page of original artwork, congrats Heidi!

Batman: Master of Timing!

Voting Scandal in Round One of Comic Book Idol. Oops. Voting for round three starts tomorrow.

Shipping delays on One More Day and Green Lantern. Hrm.

Shirtless men go shopping at Abercrombie and Fitch, a store that celebrates the naked male torso, but apparently doesn't appreciate customers displaying their own. Note that two guys who were in the act of BUYING SHIRTS were kicked out.

I'm a bit late on this, but Mike Sterling reports on the fires in California, with pictures. Newsarama has a roundup of reports from Comic Book folks. Has anyone heard how Eric Shanower fared? He lives in San Diego.

The Beat on a teacher fired for showing kids The Simpsons Movie. Apparently a cartoon doodle is too much nudity.

Vampire Cupcakes that Bleed. Yum!

Folded Paper Batman, but I want directions on how to do the V for Vendetta mask, personally.

Fear through the ages.

Spoiler: It's a candle holder.

Bill Watterson cartoons prior to Calvin and Hobbes.

Reverse Graffiti artist gets the government to clean tunnels.

Red Fountain.

For the in-laws: Pug Unicorn.

Random Thoughts

Lots of links from the land of catch-up...

Yay! More Wallace and Gromit on TV!

The Top 10 Scientists who Committed Suicide.

The Appendix isn't so useless after all.

Colleen Doran on the Schultz biography.

The Library of Congress uses the Wizard of Oz to Promote Literacy. Cool.

Do you sort of want to keep people off your lawn, but more just want to have a fun excuse to set up an automatic spray system? Here's the site for you.

Sewing Machines Turn Drudgery Into Pastime!

The rule of thirds using Photoshop. I'm not sure I entirely understand it, but there's some photographic truth there that I almost grasp...

The Life and Death of Jesse James, an internet love story with guest hero Harlan Ellison.

Parents are critical to the success of their children in school. Without parents, teachers cannot accomplish much.

Simon Pegg as Scotty??!??? I just cannot wrap my head around it. Sorry.

How to Wash Your Hands.

Shipping Containers as Housing. I actually wouldn't mind a shipping container to use as a garage for a second car. I suspect I couldn't afford it.

Apples.

Chronicle of A Japanese Funeral.

Diversity begins at home, says the creator of Unshelved, as his family is featured in a Seattle Times article.

For the in-laws: Funniest Pug Contest Winner.

Links

Quote of the month: "Imagine putting drug war money towards healthcare. Its not hard if you try." - damn dirty ape at MetaFilter.

Numa Numa! This video comes in at about 4 minutes long, minus the credits:

Here's a chilling account of how a blogger witnessed a drive-by shooting, then helped apprehend the shooter.

West Seattle Property: A Good Investment! I'll say.

Ellie McDoodle, a real graphic novel?

A teacher answers the question, What do you make?

See how much work everyone in the house actually does with Chore Wars.

Crud. King County has passed a stupid restaurant menu law like New York's, in which nutrition information has to be ON THE MENU boards, with the prices and such, instead of just easily available. There are far more intelligent ways to make the information available and easy to read than forcing it onto the menus. This is a poorly written law, and ought to be altered substantially before it goes into effect next year.

The Fog Clears

...and I manage to pull together a links post at last. Yay! I hope I didn't make too many typos.

If you plan on going to Comicon International, read this.

Oops. Silver Surfer Quarter illegal.

Len Wein about Jeopardy. I was hoping for an Aquaman clue. *sigh*

Rashy is famous. Again.

Why skinny people can't tell us fat folk to lose weight.

Milk from REAL cows. Do tell, Bully.

What font do you use? I've set up my notepad program, in which I type up all my blogs and other writings, to use Courier New. It's been that way for many years.

I Can Has Cheeseburger. What, are you going to stop him?

More LOL Doctor Who.

Speaking of Macros or LOLs, FilkerTom links to another video of his song about them.

The Case Against Homework. If this book says what I think it does, then I think it ought to be required for teachers. More homework doesn't equal better knowledge. It's the quality, not the quantity, that counts. I'm checking the book out from the library, doing my homework on it, to make sure it's what I think it is.

Speaking of education: Fast Math.

This sounds really gross, and I'm sure I'm going to have to try it sometime.

How the Pentagon got its shape. Not a fairy tale.

Scott Adams on Global Warming, as a man who came to it recently and has had a blog-comment assisted education about it.

The War Prayer by Mark Twain.

Real examples of Feminism.

Hmmm, irony? A man who constantly cleaned his apartment to protect himself from disease was overcome by the fumes of the disinfectant and killed. Too much of ANYTHING is bad.

Homer Simpson Flower.

Links

Free Pancakes, February 20th.

Wiki list of endless songs. AAAAAAaaaaaaaaa....

Paul Cornell on Gallifrey Sunday.

People Who Know Nothing About Schools Telling Us How to Fix Them.

Ok, here's a YouTube video that explains Web 2.0 in under 5 minutes. You don't need the sound to understand the video (music soundtrack).

According to several news reports, the robber who hit my local comic shop has been arrested.

Random Thoughts

I never intended to write three blogs a day. Heck, I didn't even have any particular thoughts of doing one a day. But for some reason, I'm disappointed in myself for not keeping up the pace of the first couple of days! Pathetic, yes? Especially since my husband seems to be the only one regularly reading this...

There's no real subject for me to write about today. I'm doing my best to shut out the outside world. Little bits seep in, like the Angels winning the World Series. There's also a bit about the Seattle School District being millions of dollars in the hole due to mis-accounting. While that may eventually impact me in my current job, I don't think it will any time soon. And I don't want to see this country go to war against Iraq, at least not with the lack of evidence we've seen so far. But all that is outside, and for today it stays outside.

I spent this fine morning (the second day of my weekend) rapidly scanning through a bunch of Silver Age Aquaman stories to write my article for The Aquaman Chronicles. I'm chronically late, but John puts up with me anyway. Have I mentioned that any Aquaman fan not getting this fanzine is seriously missing out?

I won't spoil the article by telling you what it's about, but it was fun to rapidly skim a lot of Aquaman stories. Though I do start to feel surreal after a while of listening to filk music and reading old comic books...

At least I've got chores of laundry and dishes to keep me down-to-earth.

Let's see. Tonight I go to the HeroClix tournament in Redmond. I'm hoping that at some point I can win a Limited Edition Aquaman, or at least trade for one with something else I've won. Unfortunately, that means I have to play to win, which takes a little of the fun out of it for me. I'm far too competitive a person to play for "real".

Shipping lists for Wednesday are up, so I know what I'll be reviewing this week, provided they actually ship. I also got a text version of Previews just a few minutes ago, so I can read through the solicits before seeing the art. I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but I find it difficult to read through previews with all the yucky art, and so the text versions that several sites provide on-line is my first line of defense and my most fruitful reading of Previews.

Ack, starting to strain my brain, time to move on to some other activity...