I hope my arm doesn't rot and fall off

Sorry about my continuous complaints about my cast and being one-handed. I know I'm being over dramatic, but I've never had a cast or a broken anything. I kind of hate it.<br /><br />Every time I whine about some inconvenience of this cast I think of the woman that had her face, eyes, and hands eaten by a chimp Which for some reason that day it was on the news last week I couldn't say the word chimp. I kept saying "shrimp". "Did you hear about the woman that had her face eaten off by a shrimp? I mean shrimp! No, c-h-i-m-p!" It was like I had a stroke or something. Really weird (and maybe a tiny bit funny if such an event can be funny).<br /><br />Sorry about all the typos in my last few posts. I need to remember spell check!<br /><br />Now, back to my whining...<br /><br /><b>The cast drama </b><br />I'm trying not to sweat when I go for my walks or go to the gym, but it's impossible! To get my heart rate up to 120-130, which is actually sort of low, I sweat. Normally this is a good thing but my cast is getting super gross. Right now it's wet, sticky and clammy inside. I wake up in the middle of the night and want to rip it off. Then I remember, it's attached to my arm for the next three weeks.<br /><br />I keep imagining some yucky, stinky fungus growing inside of it. It comes off in three weeks for x-rays but the doctor said the best case scenario is my arm will go back in a cast for two more months. Worst case, surgery (which horrifies me). I'm praying for a one-month miracle.<br /><br />In other sad news I had a conversation with a trainer at Bally's today (my regular gym). He told me if I have a cast for three months, my arm will shrink 30-40%. Yikes! To build it back up, it will take two months of hard work (exercise) for each month I have the cast on to get it back to where it was before the cast. Another "yikes!".<br /><br />He did agree that I should keep working out the good arm. I'll be out of balance and freakish looking for a while, but there's not much I can do about it. <br /><break...typing and="" bit="" killed="" little="" my="" neck="" shoulders="" that=""></break...typing><br /><br /><b>Not cured of my food issues but I'm better</b><br />Since I started wearing my BodyMedia almost 24/7 and then my accident about a week later, my eating is "almost" under control. I say "almost" because I've been logging every bite and have stayed right around 1500 calories, which is how much I think I should be eating. <br /><br />BodyMedia thinks I should be eating 1900. That would probably work if I could get in some "vigorous" activity, but that's not happening much these days when I'm trying <u>not </u>to sweat a lot. When they say vigorous that's with a heart rate in the 140s. Not happening.<br /><br />It's not that I've lost interest in food, I definitely still enjoy it. It seems like when I cut out most sugar right after I got the BodyMedia, that it really helped me get control of my cravings. This is nothing new to me. I've known this was my problem for years, sugar, either processed or too much fruit is my kryptonite. So why is it always such a surprise to me that if I stop eating sugar the cravings subside? I do not have the answer to that question. Selective memory I guess.<br /><br />Unfortunately Sunday I bought a big box of Yasso frozen Greek yogurt bars (Costco). They're good, but not so delicious that I'd want to eat the whole box (or so I thought). 11 grams of sugar per bar and 70 calories (Dreyers fruit bars are 20 grams of sugar each--too much!).<br /><br />I ate four Yassos in one sitting last night, AND then three servings of fresh crab (Costco again - 70 calories a serving) AND a perfectly ripe mango (another 160 calories). Total late night snack, 650 calories. I think that's called a binge. Total for the day was 1971 calories. My first binge since July 27. <br /><br />I guess as long as I learned something from last night it's sort of okay (not really, but I'm working on accepting myself as the flawed human that I am). The lesson is don't eat any sugar late at night. Pretty basic rule. Veggies or protein are okay. Sugar and carbs at 11pm, not okay.<br /><br />Great recipe<br />From MizFit's Sunday <a href="http://mizfitonline.com/2011/08/14/lunch-is-on-me/">post </a>- <a href="http://www.readyseteat.com/recipes-AppleBaconChicken-Salad-5526.html">Apple-Bacon-Chicken</a>. It's been my dinner the last two nights. Delicious! I had a few substitutions - Canadian bacon, instead of regular bacon, no oil other than a little Pam, Greek yogurt with a spicy sweet mustard, and a little Stevia. Served over a bed of spinach. Also the apples were organic Fuji's. Sort of a pain to make with one hand, but worth it....so good.<br /><br /><br />

I hope my arm doesn't rot and fall off

Sorry about my continuous complaints about my cast and being one-handed. I know I'm being over dramatic, but I've never had a cast o...

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A Hater's Take on ESPN's New Book

I didn't realize that this had come out until I saw it publicized on an entertainment website. <i>A tell-all book about ESPN? Cool! </i><br /><br />Some of the excerpts the website had seemed very juicy, so I knew I had to read it. Was this going to allow everyone else to realize the many reasons why ESPN is so overrated at the moment?<br /><br />Well, not really. But I did read it, and here are some things I took out of it:<br /><br /><b>The Start of ESPN is Pretty Boring</b><br />A father-son team got the idea to do a 24-hour sports channel on this new thing called cable back in the 1970s. Of course, when the more responsible adults took over, father and son got pushed out of the way.<br /><b> </b><br />Much of the beginning of the book is this overview. The book is done in interview form, so you're hearing many sides of the story from all the people that were involved at the time. The man you hate in this section is Stu Evey, who is looked at as the guy that got the gasoline powerhouse Getty Oil to purchase this idea. He gets all the power and just turns into the man who parties too much and doesn't agree on anything the ESPN bosses suggest. Once you get through the 1980s era of the book, it starts to get more interesting.<br /><br /><b>This Is Sportscenter</b><br />They spend a lot of time explaining the forming of those awesome <i>SportsCenter</i> commercials that started to air in the 1990s. I found that to be especially interesting. But many of the <i>SportsCenter </i>anchors couldn't stand the idea of the ESPN "campus" full of athletes and, most reviled, mascots. Because it wasn't true at all!<br /><b> </b><br /><b> Boozing and Floozing</b><br />The excerpts of the book that I read on the website were taken out of the first chapter of the book. Back in the early days many of the workers at ESPN were doing some not-very-nice things behind the scenes, mostly because Bristol at the time was an incredibly boring town and there was nothing to do. That's not too surprising; if that excerpt had been taken from, say, ten years ago, that would be especially eye-opening.<br /><b> </b><br /><b> Executive Hate</b><br />Many of the top people on the job at ESPN are introduced with flair, "He was smart as a whip," or "He was a genius at doing this," or something like that. But as the book goes along, many of the decisions that the executives made got them a lot of negative opinions on the part of their peers and underlings. Eventually as the executive leaves the company, people look back and go, "He did good stuff, but man he was a jerk." And this wasn't just for one or two of these guys - it was for many of them!<br /><b> </b><br /><b> These Anchors I Love Are Human</b><br />Many of these <i>SportsCenter</i> anchors that I had watched for the past 15 years had done nothing on the air to make me think they were nothing short of awesome. But reading these books and listening to them talk about certain people or events that took place and hearing them swear (yes, this is an uncensored book) and talk about those things made me realize that ESPN does a good job making them look awesome. It was a little sad to read those quotes for me. Especially sad was to read about Mike Tirico, who I'd always liked, but then reading a few stories about him made me realize he's a pretty big jerk.<br /><b> </b><br /><b> They Missed My Favorite Pairings!</b><br />The book spent a lot of time on <i>SportsCenter</i> and rightfully so - it is the flagship of ESPN. And they spent a lot of time on some of the great pairings on <i>SportsCenter</i>: Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick or Robin Roberts, Charley Steiner, and Bob Ley. But I was hoping that they would cover a little bit on my two favorite pairings of the 90s: Stuart Scott and Rich Eisen, and also Dan Patrick and Kenny Mayne. These were the 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock anchors, and they were the first anchors I watched when I started following ESPN. They were familiar people to me, and it made me sad when there was someone else anchoring <i>SportsCenter </i>instead of them. I was heartbroken when Rich Eisen took his talents to the NFL Network.<br /><b> </b><br /><b> Formulating the Classics</b><br />As an ESPN lover for much of my adult life, it was fun to see the origins of some of my favorite ESPN-related items. <i>ESPN The Magazine</i> was, obviously, an attempt to thwart <i>Sports Illustrated</i>'s hold on sports print, but it also tried to take the hip, cool approach to the old, crotchety <i>SI</i>. I guess I'd never thought of that before (I liked both magazines, but my Dad got me <i>ESPN The Magazine </i>in 1999 and I just kept subscribing for the next seven years). I also finally found out who wrote the Answer Guy section of the magazine. That had been bugging me!<br /><b> </b><br /><b> </b>I loved when the origins of <i>PTI </i>and <i>Around the Horn</i> were discussed. The executive producer of <i>PTI  </i>had a close relationship with Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, and only because he was on board with this project did the two of them agree to do it. And since this executive producer, found outside ESPN, had many awesome ideas that helped give the show its energy - like the rundown on the side of the page (which now has been stolen by both <i>SportsCenter</i> and <i>Baseball Tonight</i> and more), and the countdown of subjects. They did also talk about how Tony Reali got the host gig at <i>Around the Horn</i> after filling in for Max Kellermann a few times and then just taking over the role after Kellermann left for more money. <br /><br />I also got reminded about  few other ESPN series. Anyone remember <i>Dream Job</i>? Or <i>Playmakers</i>? Or <i>Mohr Sports</i>? Oh yea! I remember those. And then I remembered why they didn't last long, too.<br /><br /><b>It made me hate the ESPYs more</b><br />The ESPY awards has a separate budget from ESPN, and it's more about glitz and glamour than Bristol. And the book talked about that fact - a lot. It would be talking about one event, and then it felt a need to add a few more ESPY stories into the book, when it really didn't need to. I got tired of those stories fast, since it didn't add anything to the book. I remembered why I didn't like watching the ESPYs, that's for sure!<br /><br /><b>We Get it, ESPN blew<i> Monday Night Football</i></b><br />I hadn't realized that ESPN getting <i>Monday Night Football </i>was a terrible blow to them, but this book made sure to tell me that fact for about 40 pages in the last section of the book. Apparently ABC wasn't interested in doing <i>MNF </i>any more, and ESPN balked at their offer to get both Sunday <i>and</i> Monday night games, and NBC swooped in and got Sunday night. Because they had a better report with the NFL, the marquee Monday night games were now transferred to Sundays.<br /><br />This was covered <i>a lot </i>in the book. It also talked a lot about the men in the booth - Mike Tirico, Joe Theismann (then Ron Jaworski), and Tony Kornheiser. Did it need to talk about them that much? No.<b> </b> <br /><br />By the way, apparently Kornheiser is a thorn in ESPN's side. He's had multiple run-ins with authority because of what he's said or done. I'm surprised he's still on ESPN after all of that!<br /><br /><b>Disney</b><br />I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at all the Disney talk, but I was. Much of the book discussed business dealings after ABC and ESPN got together under the Walt Disney Company, and Michael Eisner and Bob Iger were interviewed. I got a kick out of how they really wanted to synergize Disney into ESPN, like talking about the most recent Disney movie in <i>SportsCenter</i>.<br /><br /><b>I Finally Know Who To Blame For My "Hating" of ESPN</b><br />His name? Mark Shapiro. He had started many things I enjoyed - <i>SportsCentury, PTI, Around the Horn. </i>But later in the 2000s, he began to do a lot of things that I realized I didn't like. Then I read quotes like this:<br /><b> </b><br /><b> </b><i>"When Mark came in, he brought an arrogance. His regime or style, however you want to put it, was basically the turning point for ESPN <b>going from the good guy to the arrogant guy</b>. ...That's what Mark brought to the company."</i><br /><br />Also:<br /><i> </i><br /><i>"Mark Shapiro ran a dictatorship, and ESPN still suffers from it today."</i><br /><br />He decided not to bring Al Michaels and John Madden to ESPN's <i>Monday Night Football. </i>He didn't get the NHL to renew its contract with ESPN. He pushed Dan Patrick out the door. And he did more. Does ESPN seem more arrogant? Absolutely. I wish it didn't, but that's how it is.<br /><i> </i><i></i><br />The book was an interesting read, that's for sure. It didn't leave many stones unturned - it also included many of the mistakes that ESPN personalities had made, and covered sexual harrasment and racial themes of the company as well. But did it help solidify my hate? Not really. I still go to ESPN when I am watching TV at home. I still probably will. But now there are many other sports outlets where I can get my news. And I probably will continue to ignore ESPN until something awesome happens there.<i></i>

A Hater's Take on ESPN's New Book

I didn't realize that this had come out until I saw it publicized on an entertainment website. A tell-all book about ESPN? Cool! Some of...

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Friend Making Monday: The Driving Force

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alltheweigh.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/FMM1111.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alltheweigh.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/FMM1111.jpeg" /></a></div><i>If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: <a href="http://www.alltheweigh.com/"><b>www.alltheweigh.com</b></a> so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links over there too so everyone has the opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!</i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>FMM: The Driving Force</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><strong>What is the driving force behind your weight-loss?</strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">I really liked today's topic from All the Weigh.  I think it's important to remind myself why I am doing this whole weight loss thing in the first place.  </span> </strong><br /><strong><br /></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">The overall driving force behind me trying to lose weight is so that I can truly feel like I am living life to it's fullest with confidence.  There are kind of 2 parts to that answer.  </span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">First I'll address the confidence part.  I believe that if I was thinner, I would have more confidence to take a stand for things in my day to day life.  For example, I don't often put myself out there at work because I just don't feel confident in myself.  However, I'm not talking about waving a magic wand and suddenly I'm thin and instilled with all of this confidence.  No.  I'm saying that I know once I lose this weight, I will <i>know </i>that I can achieve anything I set my mind to because of the sheer challenge that this weight loss has been for me.   </span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">The next thing to address is living life to it's fullest.  There are a lot of things I haven't done in the past because of my weight.  This is because I just didn't feel adequate enough as a person to participate in those things, or because I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of many other people I know if, for example, I couldn't fit in a seat or something like that.  This issue even goes down to the more superficial things - like the desire to wear clothes that are more age appropriate for me, as well as stylish.  By avoiding social opportunities or not having the ability to dress how I really want to - I'm not living life to it's fullest.</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">So, what is your driving force behind your weight loss mission? </span></strong>

Friend Making Mondays Friend Making Monday: The Driving Force

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog t...

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How are South African schools implementing technology integration?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; line-height: 115%;">Every now and then we will feature a post about a school that is taking brave steps in that direction.  Today’s post is a guest post written by Arthur Preston, Headmaster at <a href="http://www.lannerhouse.co.za/site/home">Lanner House</a>, a private co-ed school in Worcester. He is a passionate educator and school leader who is determined to see schools learn to utilise social media and technology in better ways inside and outside the classroom. Arthur writes a blog called <a href="http://headthoughts.co.za/">Headthoughts</a>. His school uses Twitter and Facebook. He is also a co-founder of <a href="http://www.edtechconf.co.za/">EdtechConf</a> which is an organization that assists schools in holding seminars and workshops in the use of educational technology.  </span></em></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Lanner House (Worcester) - from computer lab to classroom</span></span></b></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">Back in 2008 our computer lab was filled with 10-year old machines which, quite frankly, had been neglected and were no longer fit for proper ICT instruction. In 2009 our pupils raised money through a project we entitled “A Time For Change” and by collecting R5 coins managed to raise enough funding to set up an entire computer lab complete with flat screen monitors and new CPUs – no small feat for a school of 120 pupils!</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">We have never had a specialist ICT teacher and we recognised the need for our pupils to learn ICT skills. Classroom teachers did not feel they were properly equipped to teach ICT and so I ended up as the ICT teacher. Our pupils learnt basic HTML, keyboard skills, blogging, wiki building and so on. As the months wore on I became increasingly unsettled about the status quo. On reflection I realised there were two main reasons for this :</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">1)</span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"> </span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">So much of what I was doing with the pupils had obvious application in various learning areas and was cross-curricular in nature. However I was operating in isolation from the class teachers.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">2) </span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">By keeping the teaching of ICT to myself I was robbing our teachers of the opportunity to expand their professional skill set by embracing technology in their teaching practice.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">The question was how to equip our class teachers with the skills needed to begin to use technology in their lessons. They also needed to be exposed to the myriad tools online, many of which are free and quite easy to use. I mainly used three strategies to do this :</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">1)</span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"> I</span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"> developed a Lanner House staff website through which our teachers could access their school email, online class admin and so on. On the front page of this site I placed a widget showing the latest postings from a Diigo group (social bookmarking) I had set up for our teachers. I encouraged our teachers to join and contribute to this group. This kept new tools and websites visible to the teachers. <a href="http://lannerhousestaff.yolasite.com/">http://lannerhousestaff.yolasite.com/</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">2)</span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"> </span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">I offered staff workshops for those who wanted to learn more. These were optional and gave me a good idea who the people were who would be the Early Adopters.</span></div><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">3)</span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"> </span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">I made it my business to speak regularly in casual conversation with the teachers about the use of technology in the classroom. This helped to keep the idea of tech integration active.</span><br /><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"></span></div><br /><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">By the end of 2010 I was certain that the time was right for us to move the computers from the lab to each classroom. Early this year we took the plunge, arranged for the necessary network cabling to be installed and moved PCs to each classroom. All but three of our classrooms now have at least three internet-connected computers which may be accessed during the day. The remaining classrooms will be equipped during the first month of the 2012 school year. Our small classes, largest class is 15, make it possible for every child to have regular time on the computers.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></div><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">We sent a delegation to the inaugural EdTechConf conference in May of this year which exposed our teachers to some wonderful and exciting ideas for ICT integration in the curriculum. I have not made it compulsory to integrate technology into the curriculum this year but have encouraged the teachers to experiment with this and with classroom strategies which ensure the best use of this resource. 2012 will see the compulsory integration of ICT into various curriculum modules.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"></span></div><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"><br />Although it is still early days I have noticed the following consequences of our decision to move the computers into the classrooms :</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">a) Teachers who had previously avoided ICT are now experimenting with integration of IT into their teaching, resulting in an “If she can do it, so can I!” ethos amongst the staff.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">b) There are no longer timetable conflicts which result from having one venue in which computers are situated.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">c) Teachers have begun to experiment with different teaching strategies in their classrooms now that <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>they have immediate and easy access to computers.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">d) Three of our teachers have now set up class websites, two have begun e-pal correspondence programs with schools (both local and overseas), one has her pupils using glogster and there is an overwhelming acceptance that we have turned a corner with our use of technology in the curriculum. This is accompanied by a general sense of excitement and wonder as teachers begin to realise that embracing technology in their teaching practice is neither scary nor difficult.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">Our computer network is simple, our resources limited and yet we are moving into a reality which was unthinkable even four years ago. Our decision to move computers into classrooms has helped move our school towards becoming a true 21^st<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>century learning environment. There is of course much more in becoming a 21^st<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>century school than simply moving computers but it has moved us closer to that goal. If we had more financial resources at our disposal we may consider moving into a one-laptop-per-child scenario or beginning a project which equips each classroom with an iPad-bank. However I believe that we have made a necessary and important adjustment to our curriculum and teaching practice by abolishing the formal computer lab.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaXEu3fTVs7nA1N-fr59S3RVtzKWZJ12XeEoxpl_cY1bAnZY6wLC0lnlQvgv-6hx6g2szxDwEpq1sUCGnFwolHhZC2cgTvnxrj-LZq1NCVbFi1f-uQpRT7KwD4mPMeCx2kPes5CtYYUA/s1600/Grade+3s+at+work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaXEu3fTVs7nA1N-fr59S3RVtzKWZJ12XeEoxpl_cY1bAnZY6wLC0lnlQvgv-6hx6g2szxDwEpq1sUCGnFwolHhZC2cgTvnxrj-LZq1NCVbFi1f-uQpRT7KwD4mPMeCx2kPes5CtYYUA/s400/Grade+3s+at+work.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"><br />We have noticed that children who are not exposed to computers at home learn how to type and use the mouse as they participate in ICT-linked class activities. The teacher facilitates the learning and skill development. The use of spreadsheets, databases, word processors and so on becomes an outcome of the task set by the teacher in a particular learning area and those pupils who are not proficient have an incentive for skill development and their teacher assists them in learning that particular skill. With computers in the classroom, pupils needing extra assistance may work on the computers at times other than the official “Computer Lesson” time ensuring maximum exposure to IT skill development.</span></div></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br /></div><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><div style="border: currentColor;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">Is there place for a computer lab in a primary school? I know there will be those who disagree vehemently with me because of the particular circumstances of their school, but I believe that we need to be equipping classrooms with computers, training teachers in their use and making the integration of technology into the curriculum compulsory. The abolition of the computer lab may be a process which takes several years but I believe the computer lab as we know it today, is (and perhaps should be) an endangered species.</span></div></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br /></div><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div></div>

case study Guest post schools How are South African schools implementing technology integration?

Every now and then we will feature a post about a school that is taking brave steps in that direction.  Today’s post is a guest post written...

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BodyMedia weekly summary - I love this thing!

Just a quick evening update (2 posts in one day typed with on hand!).<br /><br />This is my BodyMedia's "Performance Summary" for the last seven days. I can get a 7, 14, 21, or 28-day summary. Very cool.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0W0BfXEpj1XF4cFcRcVY4IB5CzcVhEI5LzFA5F8C7_J4ndXTPSODjCZYJxRt-UsHgf_zmq31V_cTt3O-jqdO_hfmworvIrOB_eOvv8A1TT3BYx-Dlw5YAHW9-X5kOUzYhQfaaYRyZUFD2/s1600/body+media+summry.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231px" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0W0BfXEpj1XF4cFcRcVY4IB5CzcVhEI5LzFA5F8C7_J4ndXTPSODjCZYJxRt-UsHgf_zmq31V_cTt3O-jqdO_hfmworvIrOB_eOvv8A1TT3BYx-Dlw5YAHW9-X5kOUzYhQfaaYRyZUFD2/s400/body+media+summry.png" width="400px" /></a></div><br />Sleep isn't as bad as it looks because I didn't wear the BodyMedia one night. Too uncomfortable, and fighting with cast and the BodyMedia was too much! I'm getting use to it and sometimes I even forget I have it on (the BodyMedia, NOT the cast!)..<br /><br />I love this part:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSH25IgnQ_tojnP3wgoJTw6Mw4g-E0EJcuj5OshfuRTLFClyuUPE3av0lWrri4_-EOahgwpJLuJ0BvKnoAK2xcs4PU9RKfBZy0QpzVeXwsOIWtvtPOkvbngSKXoKNQ4NUw8jUPAzg8HTUw/s1600/bm2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317px" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSH25IgnQ_tojnP3wgoJTw6Mw4g-E0EJcuj5OshfuRTLFClyuUPE3av0lWrri4_-EOahgwpJLuJ0BvKnoAK2xcs4PU9RKfBZy0QpzVeXwsOIWtvtPOkvbngSKXoKNQ4NUw8jUPAzg8HTUw/s400/bm2.png" width="400px" /></a></div>And this one (missed my average daily calories burned by 19 calories...not bad):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLImBXAlMzD17aKGMiqn8Zpgz_l3rKQRMugABOXUMw4uZs_c20WADkErF-y0BqSc4SZ2aNA6jE4EHufYivHVjW2hP-8KKBAzpUFa27SbHpDp2gTSqveim0zDmfD47okdu0K_fa1E8U85MN/s1600/bm3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157px" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLImBXAlMzD17aKGMiqn8Zpgz_l3rKQRMugABOXUMw4uZs_c20WADkErF-y0BqSc4SZ2aNA6jE4EHufYivHVjW2hP-8KKBAzpUFa27SbHpDp2gTSqveim0zDmfD47okdu0K_fa1E8U85MN/s400/bm3.png" width="400px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I love this one too!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yzv3F3aMEC7xWPbZhz1b7sfaoFkPM-AVbmGqVobdxbfX9inJl2xf1kXoHE7-xtjSBSH6zhbuENYu64LVKjLEVXVYKmNxJIdgUHBSO0qqofJwI983gPsxIgDengZwCf_Z2Y-chJxKMu6M/s1600/bm4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168px" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yzv3F3aMEC7xWPbZhz1b7sfaoFkPM-AVbmGqVobdxbfX9inJl2xf1kXoHE7-xtjSBSH6zhbuENYu64LVKjLEVXVYKmNxJIdgUHBSO0qqofJwI983gPsxIgDengZwCf_Z2Y-chJxKMu6M/s400/bm4.png" width="400px" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>You can see why I'm in love wiyh my BodyMedia. It's a super cool weight loss tool. There are other parts to the report. Every category is broken dow.. <br /><br />Well, my right hand is complaining so bed time!

BodyMedia weekly summary - I love this thing!

Just a quick evening update (2 posts in one day typed with on hand!). This is my BodyMedia's "Performance Summary" for the las...

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I found an advantage of having only one good arm--upper body workouts take half the time!

I Googled "one arm cast workouts" and found several sites suggesting to keep training the arm that isn't in a cast. I had been wondering if I should just let both arms lose their muscle tone (which was killing me). Almost everything I read said that it's best to continue to work out the good arm. They suggested to not increase it's strength but to maintain it. That made me very happy.<br /><br />Today was my first right-arm strength training routine. I did it at home with 10- and 15-pound dumbbells. It seemed really weird and only took 20 minutes for six exercises (3 sets each and 12 to 15 reps each set).<br /><br />I have to keep my left arm with the cast up in the air so it doesn't swell. The cast is very snug around my wrist to keep it totally immobile (at least I guess that's why, or maybe it was just to just torture me!). If it swells just a tiny bit the pressure is almost unbearable.<br /><br />I've been keeping up on the cardio workouts on a regular basis, mostly by walking, but also the gym. I can manage the stationary bike (funny, since I'm this situation because of my bike) and the crossramp. I could probably do the treadmill but I hate that thing. If I'm going to walk, it'll be outside as long as the weather is nice. I can also do the lower body weight machines.<br /><br />Yesterday I walked to the clinic to have the lab take my blood for a follow-up visit with my regular doctor to check my cholesterol, glucose and all that other stuff. The weather was perfect, about 62 and overcast. Three miles one-way, so it was a nice six-mile walk round-trip. The sun came out on my way home, but still cool. A really nice day.<br /><br />Since my favorite blood giving vein (my geyser vein for donating blood) is in my left arm which is in the cast up past my elbow, the phlebotomist  had a terrible time getting one tiny vial of blood. She couldn't find a vein inside my elbow that would give more than a few drops of bood, She tried the back of my hand. Major burning pain. Then she tried my arm again. Then she  give up and got another phlebotomist that found a vein in my forearm. With three bandages on my good arm I walked the three miles home. I'm pretty sure people that saw me on the trail thought I'd been run over by a train or something.<br /><br />The good arm after the <strike>vampires</strike> phlebotomists got done with me at the clinic:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOeY7-doavkevNrHb6GiJBzf5tsTlmt7P1-dpoiN9V2AQBrqpNFlk3i7zu9xB_9kgNPhdzaAeIVuB8-zeXMsFwaUZ_hnnyyeq2ehf12-7RUdWbiGoUynArdroeWz_WIIqB81V9tGSQ1dW/s1600/P1030410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOeY7-doavkevNrHb6GiJBzf5tsTlmt7P1-dpoiN9V2AQBrqpNFlk3i7zu9xB_9kgNPhdzaAeIVuB8-zeXMsFwaUZ_hnnyyeq2ehf12-7RUdWbiGoUynArdroeWz_WIIqB81V9tGSQ1dW/s320/P1030410.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Below is what was on the sign at the clinic when I arrived. I never mentioned this but when I got up to 199.8 a few weeks ago I was actually giving some thought to the lapband surgery (only for a few minutes, then I came to my senses). I'm not sure whether to credit my BodyMedia (which I still totally love!) or my broken wrist for my new lack of obsession with food. Maybe it's a little of both. It's something I'll write about in my next post, but I'm still trying to figure it out. I was 187.4 this morning (with my cast which is approximately 2 pounds I think...per Google 2 - 3 lbs.).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicY6RQRCmBlEo8VRZG_8b2bCz28KZOmsgobkgFFKaGcPfQiLGOyueJv4HJa017hGJ3JFXCI84HtnoUVWTLFSfEiqD6ibfv7_M-_0UDYAWDF1jT-ejphzzDya1aqxYt1DeiMrzwZw_Z4LQ9/s1600/clinic+wl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicY6RQRCmBlEo8VRZG_8b2bCz28KZOmsgobkgFFKaGcPfQiLGOyueJv4HJa017hGJ3JFXCI84HtnoUVWTLFSfEiqD6ibfv7_M-_0UDYAWDF1jT-ejphzzDya1aqxYt1DeiMrzwZw_Z4LQ9/s320/clinic+wl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5fI3_ttp9JnlGXewyt3wlU4hW80ojkTbtvZ2mZYLIC07NfUrvHRy8dZUupU2vYaSIEmWlinYvkgOAxeANQW1kAbUa0Z_8L9wAsFu-sUi3ocdECqFulodI7J9blPTns0NiPiSN5zZ_oJO/s1600/wl2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5fI3_ttp9JnlGXewyt3wlU4hW80ojkTbtvZ2mZYLIC07NfUrvHRy8dZUupU2vYaSIEmWlinYvkgOAxeANQW1kAbUa0Z_8L9wAsFu-sUi3ocdECqFulodI7J9blPTns0NiPiSN5zZ_oJO/s320/wl2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJPHnlGEkz3lTkZjUUc6zuqlaj17JknprA1vD-ri20o2VcFoKRrhJd7DjCNdWJshrhMR176bNP8WvPUd0vf3W5fmd09tRAVGs_FCO85tDieP8He75K79g05QYsmBljxIjLkbh_DFp3YRj/s1600/scaphoid.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>Pretty flowers I saw on my way home. I would have barely noticed these if I had been on my bike. Someone told me they're a butterfly bush. I thought they were so pretty we should plant one in our yard. Turns out Washington has deemed them a "noxious weed". Still pretty.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju4WAwBafgS6-irUkHY9zB18CJdU60h5vC9wH0g35GCgd-i2XgnFX2bdMYWAUbqh2vRotNH2PXGpOhF4xXbhe3VOrpgXwIJ_yPss6wI8bqfu5EYVM4BRoQG8xm3TkIQnS5nusQC_X_OAY4/s1600/flower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju4WAwBafgS6-irUkHY9zB18CJdU60h5vC9wH0g35GCgd-i2XgnFX2bdMYWAUbqh2vRotNH2PXGpOhF4xXbhe3VOrpgXwIJ_yPss6wI8bqfu5EYVM4BRoQG8xm3TkIQnS5nusQC_X_OAY4/s320/flower.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />This is the spot on my trail where I crashed my bike two weeks ago. The crash site is located where the person that is farthest away in the picture is standing. There weren't any people on the trail when I crashed. I walked by it yesterday and looked for a pothole or something that made me lose my balance. Nothing but smooth pavement. It doesn't even seem that steep (although I know going up it is really difficult on my bike).<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__M9FZxn_oODl6n0oEINrmZWdZ9I8hIw0E0wrybIWLxVFNR8Lx3wF-xZoxqnhMekgrvgVXdE3zkxsMGwBzARPa1RJG63PBOb7ErdRdC6r_SBrt46vBeYk927TWqgFgHRRpumeehqcMzHT/s1600/flower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NwCC7MCDaFRUmr0hmHqJQwVg9IESHyuuzZgOU53UmJWbd6LiGGyfUM5pmBaSWwrTwhppbGt0cT_nd5qV1kwDzM_1PDQviKjiTW1aTJJ9uOL6VL1TsNEByatzknXQ5gqHlvIEFg2tkICl/s1600/scene.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NwCC7MCDaFRUmr0hmHqJQwVg9IESHyuuzZgOU53UmJWbd6LiGGyfUM5pmBaSWwrTwhppbGt0cT_nd5qV1kwDzM_1PDQviKjiTW1aTJJ9uOL6VL1TsNEByatzknXQ5gqHlvIEFg2tkICl/s320/scene.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last but not least, a sketch of a hand and the scaphoid bone. It's the kind of peanut shaped bone, bottom left in the picture. Mine has a major fracture near the forearm and that's why I have full cast from my knuckles almost to my shoulder (which, if I haven't mentioned, is miserable!).</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxCGpPt4rNSJmwcESDDIsTEFDokUtH_wIR0NlnPLAxdChN3rb-POGjpWwW8G5b82a9bWv-e1rKyUmsa6FRRb56hfaIKYYKF9iWlCjWQy0sq74fw9XafXzMq6CJlzNMYO09DnX4VxCOYCM/s1600/sa2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxCGpPt4rNSJmwcESDDIsTEFDokUtH_wIR0NlnPLAxdChN3rb-POGjpWwW8G5b82a9bWv-e1rKyUmsa6FRRb56hfaIKYYKF9iWlCjWQy0sq74fw9XafXzMq6CJlzNMYO09DnX4VxCOYCM/s320/sa2.png" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's taken me several attempts to write this post. Typing with one hand is extremely frustrating and s-l-o-w!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Until tomorrow.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJCynMUOOIme6sCM9DyaNtSKacTwwkZq7MUcfs6vh6mJx-3hOja349lUMM8ZtrJ2Nif_q64R1CFfx2SDlDrdZMcSf0QF3KyD-Mmbz4Tc_sqaDQ8uSbB4XyI6nn2RspaSlBUgRlWaYQSB_l/s1600/scene.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6sbvPhH46r9uXsDK88IPuV4BbpO-eiSfndkPSPgeEafVC9kmeZrphYGOzvKkanXF7rvo7bOpiAj_9l_GP0tnvlHHrffpl71paH8BrVRXep5O02Mc6hhI7x5Y1r9oGnExIkQrVwf95rIV/s1600/sc2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><br /><br /><br />

I found an advantage of having only one good arm--upper body workouts take half the time!

I Googled "one arm cast workouts" and found several sites suggesting to keep training the arm that isn't in a cast. I had been...

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Is it time to reassess your job search plan?

<div class="ArticleHeadline"><div class="hdr_org_bld"><h1 id="articleHeadline"><span id="cbArticle_lblHeadline2">Telltale signs that your search tactics need a makeover</span> </h1></div><b><span id="cbArticle_lblByLine">Alina Dizik, Special to CareerBuilder</span></b> <br /><br />It's easy to get frustrated with your job search, especially if you've been searching for a while. But not making headway can mean that you need to reassess your approach. Not sure if your job seeking process needs a makeover? Here are eight telltale signs that it's time to rethink your job search approach. </div><div class="ArticleHeadline"></div><div class="ArticleContent"><b>You're not hearing back from employers</b><br />If you've spent months applying and aren't hearing back from employers, it's time to reassess. Most likely, you're not tailoring your résumé and cover letters enough to warrant a response, explains Heather Huhman, founder of Come Recommended, a career consultancy. Also, check for other errors, such as spelling, in your documents.<br /><br /><b>You're landing interviews but no offers</b><br />Not getting an offer means your interviewing techniques could be out of date. Do your due diligence to find out what interviewing skills you're lacking. "Identify your weaknesses during interviews and improve upon them," Huhman says. "Do this by practicing interview questions with a friend or family member, attending mock interview sessions at a career center or videotaping yourself answering questions."<br /><br /><b>You're reaching too high</b><br />While it's always recommended to go for your dream job, those dreams must be realistic. Applying for jobs "without the necessary qualifications" can be a waste of time, unless you're willing to take time and build that experience, Huhman explains.<br /><br /><b>You're focusing on job roles not companies</b><br />Instead of conducting a broad search based on function, tailor your search to specific firms where you'd really like to work. "Focusing on five to ten specific companies of interest in your desired location allows for a much more focused job search," Huhman says.<br /><br /><b>You're depressed</b><br />A job search is never fun, but if you find yourself getting sadder each day, it's a sign that you need a new approach, says Dawn Rasmussen, founder of Pathfinder Writing and Career Services. "If you start to feel down, try volunteering in industry organizations to help increase your visibility, make yourself a known entity, and help build skills during a job search," she adds. <br /><br /><b>You're unaware of your web presence</b><br />If you've never paid attention to how your name appears online, it's time to start. "Nearly every HR professional now will check Google and Facebook to research potential candidate," Huhman says. Complete your LinkedIn profile, check privacy settings for Facebook and Twitter and make sure any other online forums you've involved in are appropriate for a professional audience. <br /><br /><b>You're not circling back with contacts</b><br />Whether it's a thank-you note after the interview or a simple email to check in with someone in your network, it's important to keep an open channel of communication with those who've been helping you with your search. "No one wants to feel used, so disregarding new contacts after the initial contact is a huge problem that many people don't realize is killing their job search," Rasmussen says. <br /><br /><b>Your network is not helpful</b><br />Just because you're spending your time talking to contacts, doesn't mean these are people that can actually be useful in your search. Instead, reassess your network and find contacts that are a match for the industry and position you're trying to pursue -- even if it means approaching well-regarded experts. "Swallow your fear and pursue meaningful connections with contacts relevant to your area," Rasmussen says. <br /><br /><b>You're ready to take any job available</b><br />Even if you're desperate, announcing that you're looking for any paying job can actually hurt your chances. Take time to figure out the specifics of your job search and ask for assistance based on these requirements. Even those closest to you who would really like to help feel lost without any direction, Rasmussen explains. "Many job seekers fail to understand this basic rule of asking for help: Specifics get you farther in terms of assistance from your network than vague <a href="about:blank" name="_GoBack"></a>generalities," she says. <br /><br /><i>Alina Dizik researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder. Follow @Careerbuilder on Twitter</i></div>

Is it time to reassess your job search plan?

Telltale signs that your search tactics need a makeover Alina Dizik, Special to CareerBuilder It's easy to get frustrated with your jo...

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HITCHCOCK BLONDE!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtEgfYq2pNx0IZiFCdJTM-_xPWq0LAw6RAbF47HqZVvWvRjhx72y2iIMHZ2j9xW7qwb5bg9zoVwdZ20YVz8rGDStrs8-nABizsXqw1opVk1Qgx_XCk__1DU1l4Np_llA3eZscx_Ysa3wv/s1600/grace+kelly+hitchcock+blonde+bordered.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtEgfYq2pNx0IZiFCdJTM-_xPWq0LAw6RAbF47HqZVvWvRjhx72y2iIMHZ2j9xW7qwb5bg9zoVwdZ20YVz8rGDStrs8-nABizsXqw1opVk1Qgx_XCk__1DU1l4Np_llA3eZscx_Ysa3wv/s400/grace+kelly+hitchcock+blonde+bordered.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It began long ago, the succession of beautiful blonde actresses who combined feminine refinement and sex appeal in a way that director Alfred Hitchcock could not resist depicting onscreen many times. Over the course of his career, Hitchcock honed this character type to a fine point and his final blonde stars were scrupulously stylized to evoke a very specific image.<br /><br />Some of the most memorable:<br /><br /><a name='more'></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXEKS7m5UjmwozE87MNHEkjDVll65uY03oOMwyZEDxY8HjEstnVCs1r9TMFrHMv3_PUVImrJTtOaIKCa3LXwhLXiI4MQ7caY-8mOKsQ7rell48KAVDmcNMJFiCSiNuFdChdY_zTHg3_A6/s1600/joan+barry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXEKS7m5UjmwozE87MNHEkjDVll65uY03oOMwyZEDxY8HjEstnVCs1r9TMFrHMv3_PUVImrJTtOaIKCa3LXwhLXiI4MQ7caY-8mOKsQ7rell48KAVDmcNMJFiCSiNuFdChdY_zTHg3_A6/s1600/joan+barry.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Joan Barry</b> (Emily Hill in <i>Rich and Strange</i>, 1931) London-born Barry first worked with Hitchcock when she dubbed Anny Ondra's voice for the sound version of <i>Blackmail</i>. She later starred in another of the director's early sound films, <i>Rich and Strange</i>. In addition to being a blonde, Barry possessed a delicate beauty that Hitchcock would seek again and again. (Note: This British actress shouldn't be confused with the brunette American actress who was legally entangled with Charlie Chaplin)</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH5ktNVFUf-Hy7qJgDe9nxKDRw_5b-KzOuAIqKkdIEMCa8Z6y405xBzU_BsbMWayFk_InXtkmgJ6Nw7BFILz-9I-XbY1j_bhGMbaXcx8NZGxzRvLDtU350I4-RnBAL8QN4SiMBO4JM0Z4Z/s1600/madeleine_carroll3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH5ktNVFUf-Hy7qJgDe9nxKDRw_5b-KzOuAIqKkdIEMCa8Z6y405xBzU_BsbMWayFk_InXtkmgJ6Nw7BFILz-9I-XbY1j_bhGMbaXcx8NZGxzRvLDtU350I4-RnBAL8QN4SiMBO4JM0Z4Z/s1600/madeleine_carroll3.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Madeleine Carroll</b> (Pamela in <i>The 39 Steps</i>, 1935, and Elsa Carrington in <i>Secret Agent</i>, 1936) Often referred to as the first of Hitchcock's "ice cool" blondes, Carroll bore a physical resemblance to Joan Barry, but possessed an aloof quality with which Hitchcock was particularly taken.  Her career skyrocketed with the success of <i>The 39 Steps;</i> following <i>Secret Agent</i> she signed with Paramount and made several films in the U.S. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4qKB_2_34niC47SQXUb9SQZSbS9Z7hl2VjaOCzFD-ucKRA9Mu7mJn-54so-ghnFafntRodfW3Vq3_k1d7h3DUjB1wMuUE9MAL0559XnrXPMx3mCcPpphy0LwKeRNXdZiifS7b-7ZSEesJ/s1600/Carole+Lombard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4qKB_2_34niC47SQXUb9SQZSbS9Z7hl2VjaOCzFD-ucKRA9Mu7mJn-54so-ghnFafntRodfW3Vq3_k1d7h3DUjB1wMuUE9MAL0559XnrXPMx3mCcPpphy0LwKeRNXdZiifS7b-7ZSEesJ/s1600/Carole+Lombard.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Carole Lombard</b> (Ann Smith in <i>Mr. & Mrs. Smith</i>, 1941) Hitchcock's only screwball comedy, <i>Mr. & Mrs. Smith</i> starred one of Hollywood's great comediennes, the lovely Lombard. She sparkled as the beautiful,  well-heeled Mrs. Smith who, though more stubborn than aloof, was certainly intelligent and fashionable. Hitchcock said he directed at Lombard's request; it was the last of her films released during her lifetime.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Grace Kelly</b> (Margot Wendice in <i>Dial M for Murder</i>, 1954, Lisa Fremont in <i>Rear Window</i>, 1954, Frances Stevens in <i>To Catch a Thief</i>, 1955) The quintessential "snow covered volcano" that all others are measured against, Kelly was one of the definitive beauties of the 1950s. An icon of elegance and refinement, she effortlessly portrayed the haughty allure that so appealed to Hitchcock. Miss Kelly, at the height of her icy heat, appears in the photo at the top of the page as well as the video below...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNudROVSnrEZz98TrTVo-YZIhWF5rGX4PBFxUef1kOPAinZ6ZgyjJXWI_OsH6P74_k5yafbe8xlfgNw9X9MbQKTEo_aJwK4p4Eg7T02HWKAykY4tfw7ggXWq_hC82_RAZosLgQBPs6TjWq/s1600/kim+novak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNudROVSnrEZz98TrTVo-YZIhWF5rGX4PBFxUef1kOPAinZ6ZgyjJXWI_OsH6P74_k5yafbe8xlfgNw9X9MbQKTEo_aJwK4p4Eg7T02HWKAykY4tfw7ggXWq_hC82_RAZosLgQBPs6TjWq/s200/kim+novak.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Kim Novak</b> ("Madeleine Elster"/Judy Barton in <i>Vertigo</i>, 1958) Novak was a top movie star in the '50s and a departure from the type Hitchcock had previously cast as his blonde love objects. Among other things, Novak was more voluptuous than those before her. In <i>Vertigo</i>, her sultry appeal was toned down with a chic and often subdued wardrobe as well as quiet but very precise makeup. In a new "twist," Novak wore her hair in an up-do through most of the film - the memorable "French Twist" Hitchcock explored with his camera. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBHT0lncG5D3hOnYwgv4ShZLx4FOa5lsPGiJQiCCEEEpC2ujPGN2kREV8Vtm-7BqCYPjraezg-RX9KUWtdVDMIGghnPMj20guqKkz5qzsrKDgn4R9e6jomZqhCY9kdCIRNf8iQFBKeZuA/s1600/eva.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBHT0lncG5D3hOnYwgv4ShZLx4FOa5lsPGiJQiCCEEEpC2ujPGN2kREV8Vtm-7BqCYPjraezg-RX9KUWtdVDMIGghnPMj20guqKkz5qzsrKDgn4R9e6jomZqhCY9kdCIRNf8iQFBKeZuA/s1600/eva.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Eva Marie Saint</b> (Eve Kendall in <i>North by Northwest</i>, 1959) Though not a sex symbol like Novak, Saint was also different from the women Hitchcock had cast before her. A method actress, she was known for starring in films like <i>On the Waterfront</i> and <i>A Hatful of Rain</i> as well as live TV dramas - what Hitchcock called "kitchen sink" roles. However, she got the full treatment once chosen to play Eve and was coiffed, gowned and made up to seductive, slightly brittle perfection. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVz8gazRCZoNfUgSX5nycfvsVdNeHUMwdMAbeIVCMVLTuwyr5983mbyRmr8kc7fBh4j4_D-Kvl_qGC1Cb5t3ay_c4A8wElxUNQ3ob1tXA5Iprj50bXO7Vj6Ku6d4tTnOUWyaGjdeayTPa/s1600/tippi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVz8gazRCZoNfUgSX5nycfvsVdNeHUMwdMAbeIVCMVLTuwyr5983mbyRmr8kc7fBh4j4_D-Kvl_qGC1Cb5t3ay_c4A8wElxUNQ3ob1tXA5Iprj50bXO7Vj6Ku6d4tTnOUWyaGjdeayTPa/s200/tippi.jpg" width="181" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Tippi Hedren</b> (Melanie Daniels in <i>The Birds</i>, 1963, and Marnie Edgar in <i>Marnie</i>, 1964) Hitchcock's final pale-haired icon, Hedren's was the most controlled expression of the archetype. More model than actress, Hedren's mannequin-like qualities seem emphasized by heavily sprayed bouffant hairstyles, a sophisticated and strictly coordinated wardrobe and fastidious makeup. Hitchcock coached Hedren closely and constantly, intensely involved in her every move. Her career faltered when she bought out her contract with Hitchcock following <i>Marnie</i>. <b><br /></b><br /><b></b><br /><b></b><br /><b><br /> <i>Francois Truffaut and Alfred Hitchcock discuss "the Hitchcock Blonde"</i></b></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><i>Hitchcock</i></b>:You know why I favor sophisticated blondes in my films? We're after the drawing-room type, the real ladies, who become whores once they're in the bedroom.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><i>Truffaut</i></b>: What intrigues you is the paradox between the inner fire and the cool surface.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><i>Hitchcock</i></b>: Definitely...Do you know why? Because sex should not be advertised...because without the element of <i>surprise</i> the scenes become meaningless. There's no possibility to <i>discover </i>sex. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pEnNyXPKAUQ" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For more Hitchcock leading ladies, <a href="http://evesreellife.wordpress.com/2011/08/13/more-hitchcock-heroines-blonde-and-not-so-blonde/" style="color: #990000;">Click here</a>...</div>

Alfred Hitchcock Carole Lombard Eva Marie Saint Grace Kelly Joan Barry Kim Novak Madeleine Carroll Roar Foundation HITCHCOCK BLONDE!

It began long ago, the succession of beautiful blonde actresses who combined feminine refinement and sex appeal in a way that director Alfre...

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Back to the Middle Ages

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Feeling the pulse of the people...</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">is something politicians of democratic countries around the globe seem to neglect these days   </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">One week ago I published an article about austerity and the destruction of democracy and civil unrest in Europe due to the eco – political situation and subsequent government actions dictated by the IMF and the Financial Markets. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The recent violence in the United Kingdom is a showcase example on how indifferent  politicians are when it comes to tackle the root of the problem and “feel the pulse” of the common people rather than use tyrannical language, as sociologist  </span><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Saskia Sassen in an interview in the “Der Standard” newspaper quoted:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">“The language and reaction of center right politicians such as Great Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron in response to the riots in his country, has turned into what the Greeks would call Tyranny. The “leader” talks to his “peasants” as if they are small children and thus treated as if their word does not count and their language not exists instead of tackling social inequality.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Cameron’s unworldly response to the riots reflects the attitude of the majority of center right politicians currently ruling in Europe.  In view of the fact that Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy are able to decide to give 700 billion Euro of tax money to the banks, without asking taxpayers, one has to assume that the entire system has a serious fault. Conservative as well as left governments and politicians in Europe are increasingly distancing themselves from citizens, despite the fact that it is the citizens voting for them to protect their interests.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">What is interesting to observe is that Europe has predominantly center right governments and a stagnating economy. In comparison South America has mostly center left governments and the economy is thriving, with the exception of Chile, which is governed by billionaire president Sebastián Piñera who faces similar unrests in recent days as the United Kingdom. Piñera intends to change the free higher education system to that of the US education model, in other words forcing students to pay high tuition fees in order to enter university, thus putting them into dept for life and at the same time making studying for a broad public impossible.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Such measures only increase the rift between rich and poor.    </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Piñera used extensive force and little thought to suppress the “uprising” of students who demand free education.  Current suppressive actions of Piñera remind many Chilenians of the times of the military dictator ship under Pinochet.   Piñera is under increasing pressure as public opinion is tumbling, for not only is he accused of trying to suppress free education but also took little to the improve infrastructure after the wake of the earthquake that struck Chile in recent past. In his latest attempts to undermine democracy he, just as Cameron, intends to block Twitter and Blackberry Messaging in order to curb in social unrest.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Chile was on the eco - politic fast lane prior to Piñera being elected president. Chile was on the verge of being a 1^st world country as it obediently adhered to the rules and grants it received from the IMF, thus being hostage to the demands of the IMF who’s prime target is to curb in on education and health care, key pillars for a healthy society.   </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I would like to point out that I am aware that nothing in life is just  “black and white” and thus one cannot stereotype political movements and say that everything conservative political movements are bad and liberal left political movements are good. Nevertheless one has to question oneself in what period we are currently are living, where downgrading a county by a rating agency can trigger a so called eco - financial turmoil and where markets respond to pure speculative impulse etc.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Squeezing society to tight can trigger social uprising and undermine democracy, something certain entities might provoke deliberately in order to justify austerity measures and set up a world order which has little room for democracy.  </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a3GWFBEpjbY?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">See also: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.alternet.org/story/151999/meet_the_global_financial_elites_controlling_%2446_trillion_in_wealth/">http://www.alternet.org/story/151999/meet_the_global_financial_elites_controlling_%2446_trillion_in_wealth/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=7159">http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=7159</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

Back to the Middle Ages

Feeling the pulse of the people... is something politicians of democratic countries around the globe seem to neglect these days   One week ...

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Have you read The Super Book of Web Tools?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><em>Submitted by Fiona Beal</em><br />Are you a K-12 teacher who would like to start using technology in your classroom but you are not sure where to start? Richard Byrne of Free technology for teachers fame got together ten ed tech bloggers, teachers and school administrators to create this book called the Super Book of Web Tools for teachers. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">The contributors are <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"><a href="http://georgecouros.ca/blog/"><span style="color: #0000b3; text-decoration: none;">George Couros</span></a>,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"><a href="http://www.burlingtonhigh.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0000b3; text-decoration: none;">Patrick Larkin</span></a>,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"><a href="http://ilearntechnology.com/"><span style="color: #0000b3; text-decoration: none;">Kelly Tenkely</span></a>,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"><a href="http://www.edutecher.net/"><span style="color: #0000b3; text-decoration: none;">Adam Bellow</span></a>,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"><a href="http://langwitches.org/blog/"><span style="color: #0000b3; text-decoration: none;">Silvia Tolisano</span></a>,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"><a href="http://twitter.com/web20classroom"><span style="color: #0000b3; text-decoration: none;">Steven Anderson</span></a>,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"><a href="http://thenextstep.edublogs.org/"><span style="color: #0000b3; text-decoration: none;">Cory Plough</span></a>,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"><a href="http://bethstill.edublogs.org/"><span style="color: #0000b3; text-decoration: none;">Beth Still</span></a>,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"><a href="http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/"><span style="color: #0000b3; text-decoration: none;">Larry Ferlazzo</span></a>,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"><a href="http://macmomma.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0000b3; text-decoration: none;">Lee Kolbert</span></a>, and</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black;"><a href="http://freetech4teachers.com/"><span style="color: #0000b3; text-decoration: none;">Richard Byrne</span></a>, some of which I know about and some which I have yet to discover.  This is certainly worth a read. It can be read online in full screen or downloaded to your own computer.</span></span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/66326425/The-Super-Book-of-Web-Tools-for-Educators">The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators</a><br /><br /><object data="http://viewer.docstoc.com/" height="550" id="_ds_66326425" name="_ds_66326425" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420"><param name="FlashVars" value="doc_id=66326425&mem_id=1176380&showrelated=1&showotherdocs=1&doc_type=pdf&allowdownload=1" /><param name="movie" value="http://viewer.docstoc.com/"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="opaque"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /></object><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var docstoc_docid="66326425";var docstoc_title="The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators";var docstoc_urltitle="The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators"; </script><script src="http://i.docstoccdn.com/js/check-flash.js" type="text/javascript"> </script></div>

Web tools Have you read The Super Book of Web Tools?

Submitted by Fiona Beal Are you a K-12 teacher who would like to start using technology in your classroom but you are not sure where to star...

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How much do you know about Microsoft's free tools for educators?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><i>Submitted by Fiona Beal</i><br />Did you know that Microsoft has a number of free tools that can really make your  lessons come alive? Recently, when we attended the Partners in Learning (PIL) Institute week in Redmond, we didn’t spend very much time in the computer labs because the emphasis was on 21^st century lesson activities, yet the tools enhanced everything we did.  In this post I would like to show you some of the ways the PIL members used the tools. In future posts I will take each tool and explain it fully showing its potential in lesson activities.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Photosynth</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b>Photosynth<span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: #222222;"> (</span><a href="http://photosynth.net/">http://photosynth.net/</a>) <span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">is a web-based </span><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">software application from Microsoft Live that analyzes digital photographs and generates a three-dimensional model of the photos and gives a 360 degree view of a scene. With this application you can shoot wrap-around panoramas and easily share them with others. This has ENORMOUS potential for school outings.  I must confsss that I knew about photosynth before leaving for the USA but I hadn’t explored it. Now I can see that it is a simple yet effective programme that can make any outing memorable.  On most of our learning excursions PIL members took many different photosynths to share with others. This meant that everyone could benefit from all the excursions.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Neung made 10 different photosynths of the Seattle underground.  Here is one of them:</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://photosynth.net/embed.aspx?cid=f032feb0-2fc7-407c-90ee-67e13f3cab03&m=false&i=0:1:0&c=-2.4032:-0.225885:-0.0989103&z=603.469485023876&d=3.05778237455914:-2.22787423666449:-2.02439037975834&p=0:0&t=False&delayLoad=true&slideShowPlaying=false" width="500"></iframe></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: #222222;"><br /></span><span style="color: #222222;">One group took a photosynth of the Spaceneedle, one the highest points in Seattle. It is marvelous to still be able to still experience that  breathtaking panoramic view via the photosynth. </span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://photosynth.net/embed.aspx?cid=869b4d72-195a-437c-a1cc-395a544fb4d4&delayLoad=true&slideShowPlaying=false" width="500"></iframe></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">B<span class="Apple-style-span">art used photosynth to teach us 7 Dutch words in his kitchen when he got back home</span>.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://photosynth.net/embed.aspx?cid=5767adbc-f7b8-4d9d-ab38-7aec9558820e&delayLoad=true&slideShowPlaying=false" width="500"></iframe></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Bing Maps</span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br />You know how it is when an application is introduced and it is good – well you tend to use that application even after others have been developed! So, I have been a Google maps fan and that is what I generally use in my lesson activities. I didn’t realize the potential of Bing Maps! There are so many interesting apps that go with Bing Maps that our learners will love using.</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">In this overview I will show two interesting ways that PIL Institute attendees used Bing Maps.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">Dan from the UK was first. Before we got there he asked everybody to think about joining <a href="http://about.me.com/">http://about.me.com/</a> and write a brief introduction about ourselves. He then joined these to a Bing Map. This is a great way to get to know who is going to be at an event before you meet them personally. Here is the map: <a href="http://binged.it/rry3gM">http://binged.it/rry3gM</a></span><span style="color: #222222;">. If you click on the image below you will be taken to the original in Bing Maps. </span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFk4u8FQ_UI1bDiOAnDdbLr-Y8ANcARxKYUkD_uc3cCLb_wy4hkF-FKqnXr96xg3tSERzvPO3cqEDMZ8waVhLA7qDP6Ansvrorrw1GHl2jNQEWyjMc4Ny62dGnOZlDOk3AnVAJZ80VG8/s400/dan%2527s+map.JPG" width="400" /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Once you click on the person’s number on the map you can click on <em>‘more info</em>‘ and you’ll be taken to their <i>about.me</i> page. Dan is still adding details of everyone, but as he says, it is a great way to visually connect and possibly even collaborate in the future. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Bram from Belgium made a Bing Map of all the places the various teams visited in Seattle. if you click on the map below you will be taken to the original in Bing Maps.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div id="mapviewer"><div id="LME_maplinks" style="line-height: 20px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWgLzi1ARVenNj0nH-WfS6hcznBHPJoORMHY8i7dXGFHd2Fi3VHaR5EcJ6SQeJ-nDvbahgUEguwN3mS8VAlbdD-fk22bf8Tr1Elh3kmKYDuJ6ARAz5EQse6XE2YKX5mojJyNZH48po0Y/s400/Bing-Map-for-the-Partners-in-Learning-Institute-540x334.jpg" width="400" /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Another interesting feature, I think, is that when you have created a photosynth about a place, you can submit it to Bing maps and if they like it they will add it to their map.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One Note</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />One Note is an incredible programme for keeping yourself organised. One of our presenters Sonja Delafosse used One Note instead of PowerPoint for presenting her sessions. One Note also has a great web app where you can share your notes. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Here is Sonja's YouTube video called 'What One Note can do':</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-JLuJ62rr04" width="425"></iframe></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Mo</b><b>vie Maker</b></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">Of course, Windows Movie Maker is the hit of all time. We all made movies about everything and uploaded them to YouTube in a flash. Nothing went unnoticed. </span>I don't think we'll ever forget the PIL Institute week because so many lovely movies were made about it by the attendees. Here is one I haven't used before:</span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CI4XDd7CnvY" width="425"></iframe></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><b><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Songsmith</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; line-height: normal;"><b><br /></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This a great hit in schools. It is so easy to use and it does most of the work for you allowing you to end up with a very professional sounding version at the end.  W</span></span>hen our group was having a practice session on Song Smith, by the end of the session there was already a movie on YouTube!</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-53nUeebcg8" width="420"></iframe></span><br /><div style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In the TeachMeet session there was a video about Songsmith within minutes.</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u4EIVDZAH0U" width="425"></iframe></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Well, that ends my introductory post to some of the Microsoft tools and how they were used to make the week at the PIL Institute live on as an unforgettable memory forever. These tools are well worth exploring as you prepare your integrated lessons. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div></div></div>

Microsoft tools How much do you know about Microsoft's free tools for educators?

Submitted by Fiona Beal Did you know that Microsoft has a number of free tools that can really make your  lessons come alive? Recently, when...

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HG's Big Bowl of Breakfast

I would like to preface this post by saying that I contemplated not posting this because I forgot to take the picture of this dish.  *Sigh*  You'll just have to trust me on it ;)... it was very good!<br /><br />Below is the original recipe, with my modifications in italics.<br /><br /><blockquote><b><a href="http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1283"><u>Hungry Girl's Big Bowl of Breakfast</u></a> - <i>8 Points+</i></b> (if you follow her instructions exactly it will only be 6 Points+)<br /><i>Ingredients:</i></blockquote><blockquote><ul><li>1 tray Green Giant Just for One Broccoli & Cheese Sauce</li><br /> <li>3/4 cup frozen potatoes O'Brien (like the kind by Ore-Ida) -<i> I used just the plain southern style frozen potatoes - I don't like the peppers :)</i></li><br /> <li>3/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)</li><br /> <li>1 slice Canadian bacon, chopped - <i>I used 2 slices of Oscar Mayer turkey bacon</i></li><br /> <li>2 tbsp. shredded fat-free cheddar cheese - <i>I used the WW shredded Mexican Cheese</i></li><br /> </ul></blockquote><blockquote><i>Directions:</i><br />Prepare broccoli & cheese sauce according to package instructions. Set aside.<br /><br />Bring a large pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Add egg substitute and scramble for 2 - 3 minutes, until fully cooked. Place scrambled egg substitute in a microwave-safe bowl and set aside.<br /><br />Remove pan from heat, re-spray with nonstick spray, and return pan to the stove. Raise heat to medium-high and add potatoes. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thawed and lightly browned.<br /><br />Add Canadian bacon and cook until hot and a little crispy, about 1 - 2 minutes.<br /><br />Add potato/bacon mixture to the bowl with the egg scramble. Add broccoli & cheese sauce and mix to combine.<br /><br />Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of the bowl, and microwave for 30 - 45 seconds, until cheese has melted. Grab a sturdy fork and dig in!</blockquote><br />I love breakfast bowls and this was a great interpretation of one.  I like the fact that the broccoli is hidden in there, allowing me to get a serving of veggies without my really knowing it.  However, I will say this: while I love broccoli, I only like the flower part (I'm probably one of the world's picky-est eaters!), and it seems as though the Green Giant tray only contains chunks of the stalk.  When I make this again, I will choose to use my own broccoli and add more shredded cheese if need be.  That's the thing I like most about Hungry Girl's recipes - she gives you a general concept that you can just do all sorts of things with.  For example, you could swap out the broccoli for spinach or change the meat and use turkey sausage links or ground turkey.. or whatever your heart desires!  <br /><br />Overall it tasted great and was even more special with some Texas Pete dabbed on top.  <br /><br />Do you have a favorite thing you make/eat for breakfast?

Weight Watcher Recipes HG's Big Bowl of Breakfast

I would like to preface this post by saying that I contemplated not posting this because I forgot to take the picture of this dish.  *Sigh* ...

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Compatriots

I sit with my 96 year old mother in her assisted living facility. She is not dying – not right away – but is in end stage congestive heart failure, has seriously high blood pressure, and seems to have had some mini-strokes. We are sitting in the common area where she does not like to be. She has been on the border of agoraphobia for decades. Her ability to focus and communicate is limited, so we have little to say.<br /><br /><br /><br />A group begins to gather for worship. I offer to push my mother’s wheel chair back to her room where we can continue our non-conversation. I do not recall her being in a church except for a funeral or wedding since 1959. She has never joined the services at this assisted living home. I don’t know why she avoids corporate worship. I suspect she doesn’t get the worship and doesn’t like the corporate. She has never spoken of it. In our family, religion is a private affair. I offer to facilitate her escape.<br /><br /><br /><br />To my surprise, she says, “Can I stay and hear it?” She does mean hear it – like hearing the mass – she does not sing and is quite blind – also deaf, but they sing loudly. I say “yes” and push her chair into formation with the gathered assembly – wondering what shift has happened in her and why. We are sitting in a worship service together for the first time in 50 years.<br /><br /><br /><br />We sing from the Baptist hymnal. While we sing, the demented old lady sitting next to us reaches over and steals from my mother’s shoulders a ratty-looking towel which she has wrapped around herself for warmth. The geriatric thief turns the towel to her own use. But my mother still has an attractive blanket worn like a shawl around her shoulders, so it is ok. We sing:<br /><br /><br /><br />“Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!<br /><br />May I thy consolation share,<br /><br />Till, from Mt. Pisgah’s lofty height,<br /><br />I see my home and take my flight.<br /><br />This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise,<br /><br />To seize the everlasting prize . . . .”<br /><br /><br /><br />What is my mother thinking as we sing this? Of my father, of my brother, of herself?<br /><br /><br /><br />Then the pastor speaks. He is from Myrtle Springs Baptist, the little country church where I walked down the center aisle any number of times to Just As I Am. He is a pudgy young man in a knit shirt and sneakers. I am grateful to him for being here and so I think charitably on his vague abstract message about how Americans should be grateful to God that even when things are bad here, they worse in developing nations. I am not grateful for that. But I am grateful to him. He has spoken of spiritual things to my mother and he is from the church of my childhood.<br /><br /><br /><br />At the end of the service, he passes through the throng shaking hands. He comes to me and I say, “When I was a boy, I attended Myrtle Springs. It is an important place to me.”<br /><br /><br /><br />It is an important place to me. Those words hold memories of Royal Ambassadors, sword drill, Sunday School, of friends now departed, of Brother Tate shouting his ruddy faced robust gospel, succeeded by Brother Bob whose message was friendlier but less interesting, memories of the choir’s red headed soprano just a year older than me, the one I stared at but never spoke to.<br /><br /><br /><br />“When I was a boy, I attended Myrtle Springs. It is an important place to me,” I said.<br /><br /><br /><br />“That’s very nice,” he said and walked on by.<br /><br /><br /><br />Double whammy. I had just been dismissively patronized the way old people are. He was in his patronizing-the-old-folks pastoral mode and was not able to shift gears fast enough to respond to me – bright, energetic, colorful character from Las Vegas that I am – and so he responded to me as he had to all the others. I learned something about my craft, about listening to people of any age and responding to them as if they matter.<br /><br /><br /><br />But that is only one of the whammies. The other whammy is not about age. It is about shared places which is actually my point. During my long decades spent East of the Mississippi, I would on very rare occasion see someone get out of a car with an Idaho license plate. I eventually learned better, but at first I would speak to them. It was like seeing a long lost family member, so I would speak, saying,<br /><br /><br /><br />“Idaho! I lived in Boise for over a decade, had a law office in Eagle, practiced in Canyon County too. Where were you? Did you eat Austrian Food at Peter Shott’s, drink beer at the Burger & Brew? What was that jazz piano player’s name?”<br /><br /><br /><br />And they would stare at me like a panhandler at best, more likely someone about to pick their pocket.<br /><br /><br /><br />In Las Vegas, I have twice at the gym seen someone with a Texas Longhorn shirt, and I have said something like,<br /><br /><br /><br />“Hook ‘em horns. I’m a Texas Ex. When were you there? Ever eat the schnitzel at Sholz’s Beer Garden?”<br /><br /><br /><br />They have looked at me nervously and moved away. Even Texans, the mega-cult of all mega-cults, the ultimate granfaloon, refuse to exchange the secret handshake based on sharing a common place in our past. These are not ordinary places. They are special places. To have been there is formative. To have been in the same place, when it is such a place, is to have been formed somewhat together.<br /><br /><br /><br />There are still a few places where those bonds can be invoked. New Yorkers still recognize each other.<br /><br /><br /><br />“I’m from New York.”<br /><br />“The City?”<br /><br />“Yes.”<br /><br />“Which borough?”<br /><br />“ Manhattan.”<br /><br />“I lived there in the late 80’s.”<br /><br />“No kidding. Where?”<br /><br />“Chelsea. Corner of 9th and 20th. How about you?”<br /><br />“Upper West Side.”<br /><br />“Cool. I used to work at John the Divine.”<br /><br />“O yeah? . . . . .”<br /><br /><br /><br />Places in common are precious in a transient society. This year I confirmed a woman in Henderson who turned out to be a lawyer with a Master of Divinity, and is now an aspirant for Holy Orders. There she was in Henderson, Nevada, and right away the first time I met her she said,<br /><br /><br /><br />“I’m from Macon, Georgia.”<br /><br />“No! How is that possible?”<br /><br />“Lived there from birth through college.”<br /><br />“What high school?”<br /><br />“Southwest.”<br /><br />“So you knew Marcia Aldridge?”<br /><br />“No.”<br /><br />“Oh that’s right, she was at Southeast. Which college? Macon State?”<br /><br />“No. Mercer. I had Mary Wilder.”<br /><br />“You’re kidding. She was at St. Francis.”<br /><br />“I know.”<br /><br /><br /><br />We are not just inhabitants of places. We don’t just own, rent, or pass through them. We imbibe them. They become part of us and we become part of them. And we can never fully leave them. Not by moving a thousand miles away or staying in exile for decades. They are woven into our identity.<br /><br /><br /><br />To have shared a place in our past is a bond. It may not make us friends. But it makes us compatriots – and that is a relationship. It is a relationship so rarely recognized that I just had to look up the word to make sure it means what I thought it did. It does. That pastor and I are compatriots. I could tell him a thing or two about his home if he would listen. And he could tell me what’s happening now. Those Idahoans and New Yorkers are my compatriots. The woman from Henderson and Macon and I are double compatriots.<br /><br /><br /><br />Before long my mother will be buried in the same Texas earth where my grandparents, father, brother, most of the family I have known, and a goodly number of friends are buried. Even if I lived in Istanbul, Texas has a claim on me; and I, on it. Those who are bound to the same land are bound to me; and I, to them.<br /><br /><br /><br />And what of those who share a place now? What is our tie to each other? There is a moral and metaphysical answer which is true regardless of what we acknowledge. To deny it is to cut ourselves off from reality. But the social and political question is: what tie will we own? Is our presence here an inconvenience or an asset to each other? Regardless of that, is our sharing of this space sacramental? Is the kingdom in fact among us waiting for us to live into it by acknowledging our earthy human bond?<br /><br />

Compatriots

I sit with my 96 year old mother in her assisted living facility. She is not dying – not right away – but is in end stage congestive heart f...

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