« April 2003 | Main | June 2003 »
May 27, 2003
I had a great time
I had a great time over the weekend with my Samarkand friend Athena, her friend Erin, and fuzzy Ryan. We ate obscene amounts of Russian food and THEN rode the Cyclone roller coaster. Twice.
Did I finish my papers? No. Did I get groceries? No. Did I finally surrender to passion and buy this tasty techie marvel? Yes, oh yes.
Posted by G at 09:42 PM
At Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI)
At Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) today, an individual,
later discovered to be a public school teacher, was arrested trying to board
a flight while in possession of a compass, a protractor, and a graphical
calculator. Authorities believe he is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra
movement.
He is being charged with carrying weapons of math instruction.
Thanks Joe.
Posted by G at 09:35 PM
May 26, 2003
My poor roommate lost a
My poor roommate lost a chunk of his face. Even worse, he lost his site. He posted this in my comments:
Ugh... While I was in the hospital, my domain supposedly "expired" and now my site is offline so I'm hi-jacking Glenn's comments. Thanks, Glenn!
*ahem*
I'm feeling tons better now. Thanks to everyone who inquired. This infection was super-random and still a bit of a mystery as to how I acquired it. But six days in the hospital connected to an IV drip has taken care of things. Turns out the staff infection I had was super-resistant to most drugs. Add in the fact that I'm allergic to penicillin and all it's variants, and I was left with very few options for treatment. I went through three different types of antibiotics before they found one that would actually work. Kinda scary.
In the hospital I spent some quality time with some old friends, Percocet and Morphine. Great gals, but a little on the 'loopy' side. I'm very glad to be out of there.
Now I just need to straighten things out with my site. The registrar for g73.net (enom.com) is 'holding' my domain for me since it supposedly 'expired' on the 20th of May (isn't that so very kind of them?). All I need to do to get it back is to pay them a $200 fee for their troubles. I don't think so. A new domain is on it's way, and of course that means a new design and new email address-such a freaking pain in the ass. But I feel kinda... naked... without my site.
Posted by G at 11:40 PM
May 23, 2003
Roommate made it home today.
Roommate made it home today. He looks very blonde/brunette, and he plans on shaving soon. He was in the hospital for almost a whole week. He had super-staph. It's almost like Peace Corps again!
Posted by G at 09:18 PM
Some person, somewhere in NY,
Some person, somewhere in NY, has pissed off the powerful Norse god Huberdy-Guberdy. I think we need to start up the human sacrifices again to get the weather to return to normal. He's angry, so he's taken away spring. Find us some virgins. I want some sun.
Posted by G at 08:21 PM
May 22, 2003
About two years ago, manmade
About two years ago, manmade erosion outstripped natural erosion, primarily due to the construction of the Three Gorges dam in China. The competition started millennia ago, and we finally have jumped into the lead. Our changes involve huge effort, while hers is effortless. Nature is very efficient at wearing things down, one rain droplet at a time. Cities have been buried by the sands of the Sahara, and the Appalachians used to be as tall as the Himalayas, apparently. Drip, drip, drip.
My kids are little elements of nature. My emergency phone is locked in a metal box mounted on the wall next to my door. It was meant to be a permanent fixture, yet it has to be remounted monthly. It is too sturdy to be yanked off, yet they always manage to get it loose. I figure that the kids learned the process from wiggling teeth out of their own mouths. One yank is too much, but endless wiggles seem to do the trick. Currently, it is hanging by the wires coming from the ceiling, dangling like some suicidal suicide hotline. Drip, drip, drip.
The same goes for desks. The formica is designed to resist wear and tear, but a child who can't be bothered to write a single line of notes will patiently tunnel through a desk until it collapses like a termite-infested tree. Don't even get me started on posters, books, and other paper products.
On our final commute to Brooklyn College this semester (our next semester starts June 2), Daphne was commenting on how her initial desire to teach has been worn down by how seemingly hopeless our situation has become after only one year. Our school celebrated the fact that we went from the 2nd worst school in NYC to 170th in English out of approximately 350 schools. This is great bad news. This is great for us, as we went from less than 10 percent of our students passing the minimum standards to nearly 25 percent. However, that means that 75 percent of our students still failed to pass the minimum standards. By the way, these aren't high standards, but rather standards that have been created to allow 'no child to be left behind.'
Our kids are not stupid. Far from it. Well, some are actually rather stupid. Honestly. But there are some brilliant kids in my classes. Our kids can use extensive reasoning and logic to destroy objects, set off the fire alarms, or launch desks from windows. Kids that can't do formal geometry can figure out just how much room is needed to fit a desk through a small window four feet above their heads. I have some amazing kids that are learning despite every horrible thing in their lives, and I have some that could care less about their educations. They look around them, they see the historical abandonment of their neighborhood, or they really don't see anything wrong with it. They feel their lives are complete if they have a Gameboy and can watch TV all day.
I probably shouldn't write about education on Thursdays or Fridays.
Posted by G at 09:44 PM
May 21, 2003
Two cents: The Matrix Reloaded
Two cents: The Matrix Reloaded has everything going for it except for a believable storyline, good dialogue, or good actors. As a friend of mine commented, "It's like a porn/action movie, where they hashed out the action sequences and simply placed some really bad dialogue in between." The movie characters pontificate more often than Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson, with about as much reality. I was so disappointed, as the first film amazed me. The dance scene just needs some Ewoks, you can't spell Kryptonite without Keanu, Yoda needs to spin around in one of those ridiculous fight scenes, and the new orphan kid is almost as annoying as JarJar Binks. Did the directors have to take all their cues from the George Lucas Dialogue Debacle dictionary?
Two cents redemption: A sequel that might be even more disappointing, or possibly more magical.
Posted by G at 12:04 AM
May 19, 2003
So Roommate is in the
So Roommate is in the hospital from the nasty scabrous yuck filled wound on the side of his head. They took one look at it and admitted him into the emergency room. Now he's quite cheerful on his morphine drip, and Milton Bradley has the new Operation game "Icky-Sticky Wound." I checked up on him today, and the only thing he really wants from his friends is a brand new 30 gig iPod. I'll get him a card.
The new principal visited my school today. He will be the sixth principal of my school in five years. The only reason he is coming is because he's not being promoted to the new superdistrict, and he has seniority. He apparently will retire in another year and a half. As far as I can tell, he went to the same charm school as Dick Cheney. I had a coverage today with this one class from hell, not one of my normal classes. He walks in, sees that most of the kids are talking, and criticizes me in front of them. Tactless, clueless, and pointless. He managed to piss off about ten other teachers during his walk through our hallways. I'd been wavering about staying in this school next year. Now I'm certain that I'm leaving. This district has a lot more openings for math teachers than it does for principals.
Posted by G at 09:27 PM
May 18, 2003
Just registered for my new
Just registered for my new domain. Details will be up, along with pics soon. Maybe even my big debut on Channel 13 WNET during a feature on math teachers in NYC.
Posted by G at 01:58 PM
When stripping wires with the
When stripping wires with the wrong set of pliers, one should always point them AWAY from one's eyes. After a long week at work, I had no energy for fun on Friday. My roommate Bryan has been needing some new electrical outlets for his dj equipment and computer for some time. We had already bought the materials, including some fun flexible conduit wiring. Very exciting stuff, plus installing new breakers in the main box is always an adventure.
I started fairly well, progressing backwards from the last outlets to the closest. To access the wires inside of the conduit cable, you have to have an expensive cutter or a lot of patience with pliers. I had neither, really. I was making progress, Bryan offered me my first beer. Beer is always an excellent choice to mix with high voltage equipment. Supposedly one shouldn't operate heavy machinery under the influence, but they never mention electical components. After one beer, I was really making excellent progress, looking like a true professional.
Then he gave me the second beer. Maybe it was the fact that my stomach was empty, maybe it was the fact that I'm a lightweight, maybe it was the nasty biblical-curse level boil on the side of Bryan's face wanting to jinx me. I'm separating the outer sheath off of the wiring, then SNAP! Whack! Right below my eye, a nice little divot taken off my face.
I'm a bit like one of those really stupid dogs that is nearly impossible to train. I curse, go to the bathroom, put some pressure on the cut until it stops bleeding. I return to the wall, continuing the work along with drinking beer. Did I change my method? Nope. Did I keep drinking beer? Yep. Strip, rip, snap, WHACK, ow. Above the eye, this time, lots more blood. Hmmm, maybe I should rethink this process. Maybe I shouldn't drink beer when working with sharp objects.
I'm good with stuff like this, I swear. Everything else went well, except for slicing open my index finger the next morning closing the last outlet. Loads of blood, of course, but I have plenty of pints chugging through my body. As my direct ancestral Monty Python knight would say, "It's just a flesh wound."
Posted by G at 01:53 PM
May 13, 2003
Even with all the NY
Even with all the NY government fiascos, nothing can compare with Texas. My favorite article regards the Texas State Troopers going after one Democrat's newborn twins. Scandal, corruption, and stupidity. Welcome to government, Texas Style.
Posted by G at 10:21 PM
May 12, 2003
I've always thought that food
I've always thought that food should just be that. Food. It always bothers me if some marketing department chooses to represent its product as a living character. The examples range from the McNuggets to Mr. Peanut. Food should not be allowed to talk, especially not ecstatically about their imminent demise. In one commercial, the McNuggets giggle and leap happily into their respective dips. In reality, they would thrash pathetically in their frozen state, scream piercingly during the frying process, then finally curse Ronald as either their upper or lower body is dipped into some sweet syrup and masticated. They, like me, should be afraid of clowns. Poor Mr. Peanut has to lean on a cane because someone has cracked him open and removed his nuts. These should not be happy representatives.
Products like Mr. Clean are okay, as he isn't cut open for his cleaning power. However, my issues also extend to coffee mugs shaped like people's heads. Although the idea of imbibing caffeine from certain people's heads sounds fun, it should only be an option of someone you despise. Drinking from the real skull of Celine Dion would be supremely enjoyable, the plastic skull of a weather beaten fisherman or Yoda is just disturbing.
While I'm at it, why hasn't the silly Rabbit ever just killed the kids for Trix? Why exactly is it that Trix isn't for rabbits? He's obviously a very smart rabbit, unlike Barney Rubble. He has been trying to get it for years, can't he just possess it and then eat it in private? For that matter, the stupid leprechaun from Lucky Charms should just use his magic to remove the air from around the children who are always taking his cereal. If someone were to steal my red hearts, blue diamonds, and green clovers, I'd be filled with leprechaun rage. I would probably enjoy using my magic powers to turn the children into marshmallow goodness. Then they'd be forced to eat themselves, which would be delicious irony.
Posted by G at 09:28 PM
May 11, 2003
Just like any huge disaster,
Just like any huge disaster, this one started with one little step. I've been getting bored with my shaved head/goatee look. There's not much I can do for the bald head, but I grew out the goatee for the last three weeks. I've been trying to get someone to help me out with some changes to the goatee, but no luck. I don't have the steadiest hands when it comes to accurate and symmetric trimming. There's just something very difficult making trims when using a mirror.
Melanie, a local photographer, wanted to do a shoot with me in the loft today. I looked in the mirror, decided I had to do something, so I pulled out the trimmer. I'll just be really careful.
Click. Buzz. Oops.
Shit.
Hmmm. Okay, I guess if I balance out that screwup by trimming the other side some.
Oops.
Shit.
Hmmm, looking kinda bad. Perfect for a photo shoot. I guess this is the perfect way to inaugurate the new website, pictures taken before then after. It definitely looks weird, but I guess the great thing is that I'll just look like an idiot for about three weeks until it grows back. I'm sure the kids won't mock me, and maybe Melanie can Photoshop me a real goatee.
Posted by G at 09:32 PM
May 08, 2003
Made it through the day.
Made it through the day. No children are dead.Tonight I broke two wine glasses while doing the dishes, but I gained a new refrigerator. Some loss, some gain.
Posted by G at 08:20 PM
May 07, 2003
If Disney had made a
If Disney had made a film about lemmings in the 21st century, they could have used footage of my students taking their 8th grade math exams. Talk about mindlessly leaping in droves headfirst off a cliff. Because of my ties to them, if only one or two had jumped off the cliff, I wouldn't have a major problem. However, their mass lemming math suicide has the cumulative effect of dragging me with them. I'm a NYC Math Immersion Teaching Fellow, dagnabbit! I know it is my first year, but it was sickening to me to see how little of an entire year's lessons penetrated their feverish little skulls.
It is so frustrating that we wasted a month's worth of real lessons for the last two days' debacle, even though I feel that the whole year was wasted. Tests have become the sole factor by which our schools are judged, so we are required to teach our kids 'strategies' to pass the test. Sure, over half the class couldn't add 3.12 plus 5 correctly today, but I'm sure they'll do great in life. My kids don't understand how to add sales tax, how to apply a sales discount, and don't even get me started on figuring out the area of a rectangle. I'm so gnarled up inside over these almost insurmountable problems, and the kids really don't care. Even though I specifically have been using the test calculators for the last three months, one bubbly girl had to be shown how to turn on her calculator today. I'm starting to gnash my teeth unconsciously. Now that spring fever has struck, my most recent lesson for the 7th graders produced only one homework the next day. I don't know why I'm trying to get them to do homework when I can't even get them to bring papers and pencils to class. They have the newest Gameboy Advance, but they can't afford pencils.
The Teaching Fellows program is a good program. They are a really good bandage on a massive hemorrhaging wound, bleeding out students and teachers alike. They have really tried to target the problems in the system. They are hiring teachers in record numbers, and I think they are maintaining a very high standard. One can argue that the education system has failed these students and their families for generations, but blaming everything except yourself doesn't excuse a person from trying to learn. However one wants to place blame, the realities of my classroom involve fighting a pervasive culture of apathy. Until I saw my students taking the test today, I felt that I was helping in a few ways, but now I really feel crushed. I'm taking it really personally, running through endless failure scenarios. I'm not the respected teacher from Stand and Deliver, I'm not going to have a ceremony from Mr. Holland's Opus. Hell, I'm not even the droning teacher from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Somehow the movie superteachers slice open a damned apple and then in the next scene they're doing calculus. My kids don't care that they can't read a clock, they just look at the time on their cellphones. I'm just a guy who will be judged by the scores of kids who never do ANY notes, class work, or homework. I have no idea how else to motivate them to think. Some of them are intelligent, but they just will not think. Why think? Why try? Why should I?
Supposedly next year will be better. That's not going to help me for the next two months. I see loads of self-medication (alcohol).
Posted by G at 09:52 PM
May 06, 2003
It has been a long
It has been a long couple of weeks while my lovelies took their all-encompassing, all-important math tests. Tomorrow is the last day of the tests, so I wanted to give them (actually, me) a break. I gave them options for movies to watch tomorrow, one being X-Men. As I told them, some of them might want to watch the first film before watching the second film.
Next thing I know, one of my girls pulls a DVD bootleg copy of X2 out of her backpack. She bought it on Saturday. I don't want to shock anyone, but the movie premiered on Friday in the US. This copy has a nice looking jacket, a spiffy label on the actual DVD, and apparently is now available at Knickerbocker and Flushing. Chris thinks I have murky ethics (he'll argue this point, but it's my blog). I would just like to watch it again. We still might watch Shrek, but if the kids vote for some DVD that I didn't purchase, didn't know about, and didn't even notice, how would I know?
Posted by G at 08:52 PM
May 04, 2003
Spring has definitely sprung, and
Spring has definitely sprung, and I have Spring Fever. Change is in the air, and my Allegra apparently is not immune to it. It's like that irresistable itch in your nose before a sneeze. All of my other thought processes slow down in preparation for some violent expression of change.
I think it started with my trip to SF. Some ideas lofted out of various flowering ideas, lodged themselves in my mental sinuses, and it's irritating the hell out of my brain, germinating into this general dissatisfaction. The external symptoms are merely amusing. I want a new iPod. I want to paint the house. I'm desperate to wear shorts on my brilliant white chicken legs.
The internal reaction is more alarming. My focus, never exactly my best feature, has dwindled to the life span of a gnat. I want changes in my job, in my housing, in my location. I want to occupy small yet oil-rich nations. Things need to change.
Posted by G at 09:02 PM