Let's Say It All Together Folks..... FRUSTRATION!

<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thank you all for your feedback on the <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-do-you-track.html">How Do You Track post</a> from yesterday.... you gave great options and incite :).</span> </span> <br /><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">One thing I wanted to include in yesterday's post, but forgot, was about a scenario I read in one of Hungry Girl's newsletters.  <a href="http://www.hungry-girl.com/askhg/show/2063">A person wrote to HG</a> about a time when she went to Ruby Tuesday's and had a turkey burger, thinking that was a very smart option.  It turns out, the turkey burger was loaded with calories (700!) and fat (40!).  I understand that this TB could have had mayo on it or a buttered bun or whatever else, but you pick this option thinking you're making a smart choice.  Fortunately, this person was able to acquire the nutrition stats for this after the fact, but what if you can't?  I do realize that you can certainly order it without the mayo or the bun or have it prepared in some other way, but the bottom line is, when you're not preparing something yourself or knowing exactly how the other person is preparing it, just because something "looks healthy" doesn't mean it is, and that is what I struggle with.  You think you've done so well by choosing these better menu options, when, in fact, that turkey burger might have had just as many calories/fat as a chargrilled chicken sandwich from Chick Fil A! </div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB34XTshz6XCFYxIk0-pIYcDkBKV004TnGQ8pLkTZRvvlfJC9TabefmNXmResfKDQKj2ldh5iZnBTwegRl396GtYNGTEIZLf1j0Os5c2XpWi0eejLWmtFp8zo3atF33ZAx0yzIwbk7ttc/s1600/chickfila.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB34XTshz6XCFYxIk0-pIYcDkBKV004TnGQ8pLkTZRvvlfJC9TabefmNXmResfKDQKj2ldh5iZnBTwegRl396GtYNGTEIZLf1j0Os5c2XpWi0eejLWmtFp8zo3atF33ZAx0yzIwbk7ttc/s400/chickfila.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div>And to be perfectly honest with you, if I want a chicken sandwich and I have to nix the bun and any toppings that come with it that I thought were healthy picks but are not, then I'm not going to eat it at all. What is the point of going out for dinner?  To me, going out for dinner is having the opportunity to not only have a meal prepared for you, but to also enjoy a dish that you otherwise would not make at home.  </div><div><br /></div><div>Moving on :)</div><div><br /></div><div>This past week has been one of the best weeks I've had in a long time on Weight Watchers.  Since I started attending meetings again, one thing the leader suggested was to slowly incorporate each of the Good Health Guidelines into your plan rather than just stressing over trying to do everything perfectly all at once (<i>*cough cough* Perfection problem? Nah. :)</i> ).  One of <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-goals.html">my goals for the month of August</a> was to incorporate 2 servings of fruits/veggies in to my day (ideally 1 fruit and 1 veg... but, baby steps, I'll take what I can get!).  This method has been working really well for me!  Not only that, but I have been tracking diligently all week.  And friends, I'm so proud of myself!</div><div><br /></div><div>Do you know what's coming?  I think you do.</div><div><br /></div><div>I got on the scale yesterday at that meeting.</div><div><br /></div><div>And.</div><div><br />I gained 2 lbs.  </div><div><br /></div><div>ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME?!  </div><div><br /></div><div>I just don't get it.  Not only did I do all that I stated up above but how can your body not recognize that "Hey, you're not eating erratically like you normally would be - and so now we can start burning off that fat supply you've accumulated instead of adding to it!"  </div><div></div><div>Honestly friends, you can see (on the left) that I've been hovering around 260 for MONTHS.  Granted, this is in large part, no doubt, to my eating habits and living situation I had going on for 8 months.  However, I have still been faithfully exercising since November 2010, on average, of 4 days per week.  And I have what I would consider a STELLAR week, and I gain?!  </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not a cryer. And I certainly don't EVER cry over weight issues.  It is what it is.  I don't cry about it and have pity parties.  But yesterday I definitely teared up when the receptionist told me I had a gain.  </div><div><br /></div><div>And while I was just tested for diabetes and thyroid issues a year ago (all were in the clear), I am definitely going to schedule an appointment for a checkup just to make sure nothing has happened in that year's time.  I'm not a hypochondriac by any means, I really don't feel like something is wrong with me, but I want to be sure.  </div><div><br /></div><div>Other than that, I'm just going to keep on keeping on.  <b>I'm not giving up.</b>  After all, as Joel reminded me: "It was only after 1 week of perfection Hilary.  I'm sure once you have many consecutive weeks like this, then the weight will start coming off. And if not, that is when you can start to consider that something medically might be off."</div><div><br /></div><div>Have you ever experienced this crap?!</div>

Gain Weight Loss Challenges Weight Watchers Let's Say It All Together Folks..... FRUSTRATION!

Thank you all for your feedback on the How Do You Track post from yesterday.... you gave great options and incite :).   One thing I wanted...

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What about getting involved in SchoolNet's Adobe Youth Voices programme?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div closure_uid_xnwjbj="167"><div closure_uid_e4bohe="576"><span closure_uid_1y7c86="171" closure_uid_e15aav="106" closure_uid_e4bohe="106" closure_uid_xnwjbj="166" style="font-size: 10pt;">Submitted by Warren Sparrow</span><br /><em><span closure_uid_1y7c86="171" closure_uid_e15aav="106" closure_uid_e4bohe="106" closure_uid_xnwjbj="166" style="font-size: 10pt;">SchoolNetSA offers the Adobe Youth Voices programme to interested teachers. This is an exciting way of using video meaningfully with your learners to highlight issues in society. If you are accepted into the programme Adobe (via SchoolNet) sends you Adobe Premier and Adobe Photoshop Essentials with enough licenses for the group of learners you will use. They offer  free online training in a group setting along with educators from around the world, and then require a project in the form of a movie. Warren Sparrow's movie is entitled Super Veggie Man and was selected to represent South Africa at the recent Adobe Youth Media Conference in Taiwan. Warren writes this guest post about his experience in Taiwan. Just to tell you a little more about Warren, he teaches at </span></em><span class="apple-style-span"><i closure_uid_xnwjbj="154"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; orphans: 2; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Rondebosch Prep,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.rondebosch.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">www.rondebosch.com</span></a>,</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span closure_uid_e4bohe="575" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">where he is the</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"> H</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span closure_uid_e15aav="120" closure_uid_xnwjbj="170" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">ead of Information Technology. He</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span closure_uid_e15aav="121" closure_uid_xnwjbj="169" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"> was a winner of the Microsoft Innovative Teacher competition in 2010 in South Africa and in Pan Africa and participated in the World Finals event in Cape Town with his project "Who wants to be a millionaire” <span closure_uid_e4bohe="108" closure_uid_xnwjbj="165">which can be found at</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i closure_uid_xnwjbj="171"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><a closure_uid_xnwjbj="157" href="http://www.wsparrow.co.za/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">www.wsparrow.co.za</span></a></span>. <span style="font-size: x-small;">This year</span></i></span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">he won</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span closure_uid_xnwjbj="174" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">the 21st century classroom project of the year, for the most  innovative use  of technology for enhancing learning in schools in South Africa.  His school has recently been admitted into the Microsoft Innovative Schools programme - the third South African school to receive this distinction.</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span closure_uid_xnwjbj="175" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">He is currently working on a mathematics outreach program called “Maths is Fun” which can be found at</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.wsparrow.co.za/maths" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">www.wsparrow.co.za/maths</span></a>.</span></i></span></i></span></div></div><div closure_uid_xnwjbj="167">  </div><div class="MsoNormal" closure_uid_xnwjbj="176" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN-ZA"><span closure_uid_xnwjbj="177" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">I have written a brief synopsis of the conference below:</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7oLMDptoxywuAvzrDyYmorYq_585mar3vdYTI2NY7QcWW4uQZd9DKoo0s5AkSUjPt-a14Ql4NQEmIre8o-SneIqTD0z1UOrZa3foE50a6hUn6_ANe8iITfj2Xo7J-j4PbxKUtrXY_lc/s1600/The+group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7oLMDptoxywuAvzrDyYmorYq_585mar3vdYTI2NY7QcWW4uQZd9DKoo0s5AkSUjPt-a14Ql4NQEmIre8o-SneIqTD0z1UOrZa3foE50a6hUn6_ANe8iITfj2Xo7J-j4PbxKUtrXY_lc/s400/The+group.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The group</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" closure_uid_xnwjbj="176" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN-ZA"><span closure_uid_xnwjbj="178" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">From the Opening ceremony I was immediately impressed with the vision of how important collaboration is between both other teachers, as well as other learners from different countries.   This was one of the underlying themes through the conference.  Although there were many other themes, like peace, etc, I think this is what sets it apart from many of the other conferences that I have attended.</span></span></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4e1qQa4n-FDQKY8iQXXVvy4BuDeJKJwAJRNxIFmyhMaAMRrCqxRhZwCTiZTNM7YdOJ3M2HVMlofyzN3SmNz2lfupItZiLeAuoiJJBddCuLUMsaUEeQFO1M3swo8h7V6yPPI1EdgH0B4/s1600/everyone+at+conference.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="120" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4e1qQa4n-FDQKY8iQXXVvy4BuDeJKJwAJRNxIFmyhMaAMRrCqxRhZwCTiZTNM7YdOJ3M2HVMlofyzN3SmNz2lfupItZiLeAuoiJJBddCuLUMsaUEeQFO1M3swo8h7V6yPPI1EdgH0B4/s400/everyone+at+conference.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone at Conference</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="MsoNormal" closure_uid_xnwjbj="176" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div closure_uid_e4bohe="110"><span lang="EN-ZA"><span closure_uid_e4bohe="109" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">I found the workshops most worthwhile.  I was v</span></span><span lang="EN-ZA"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">ery happy to attend the learning – circles workshop that gave me an overview of the entire project approach.  They also explained how each project was divided into 6 categories and went through the phases of each learning circle which would stretch over a period of 16 weeks. </span></span></div><div closure_uid_e4bohe="110"><br /></div><div class="separator" closure_uid_e4bohe="165" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWrW27NlTvVFgnIn5eQm3Lf6PgFpw3BgMITa-XVkPS4LSGdsWMfB1udoPJ4Dt2hyGNOZmKmX3-nQjZxJdXBWZQrXIj-UJU_XfUArap2OGoS-A4rXz9TigniWpPVsU1Jm3zc87GBzuyTI/s1600/opening+cermony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWrW27NlTvVFgnIn5eQm3Lf6PgFpw3BgMITa-XVkPS4LSGdsWMfB1udoPJ4Dt2hyGNOZmKmX3-nQjZxJdXBWZQrXIj-UJU_XfUArap2OGoS-A4rXz9TigniWpPVsU1Jm3zc87GBzuyTI/s400/opening+cermony.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div closure_uid_e4bohe="110"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div closure_uid_e4bohe="166"><span lang="EN-ZA"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">The  talk by Lara Nietzer covered some of the same content, but she gave very good examples of some of the projects have been integrated into their school curriculum.</span></span></div><div closure_uid_e4bohe="166"><br /></div><div closure_uid_e4bohe="166"><span lang="EN-ZA"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">The workshop that Rowena ran was one of my favourite.  Her passion and knowledge of her subject was very evident in her talk and she had very good ideas on how to implement different things that I found very worthwhile.  I was amazed at her knowledge across the different topics that she discussed.  I will be implementing the solar cooking project with the learners at my school and her talk on the vegetable garden was obviously a topic very close to my heart.  She also dazzled us with the UV beads and gave us lesson notes on how we could implement this into our class.</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div closure_uid_e4bohe="253"><div closure_uid_e4bohe="476"><span lang="EN-ZA"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">The talk by Sergi and Ramon from Spain where they linked everything that they have been doing with Web 2.0 tools with the growing and producing of wine was very entertaining.  They emphasised how important it was to have a whole school approach and not just an individual that runs the program.</span></span></div></div><div closure_uid_e4bohe="253"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" closure_uid_e4bohe="540" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigX4ffm4MqbFyWnSjBzpGsUzuYoEPreIM1RC0DxthbIAXszet-kHnL6fxoCtvIplKd5FI1UUBpH6sdFN1kAbxblXWof2Zd5maxpghoJAGHgTuXske7NGD_6U1uQZOxrhRo59pLwOgQpGM/s1600/Some+workshops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigX4ffm4MqbFyWnSjBzpGsUzuYoEPreIM1RC0DxthbIAXszet-kHnL6fxoCtvIplKd5FI1UUBpH6sdFN1kAbxblXWof2Zd5maxpghoJAGHgTuXske7NGD_6U1uQZOxrhRo59pLwOgQpGM/s400/Some+workshops.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the workshops</td></tr></tbody></table><div closure_uid_e4bohe="474"></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><span lang="EN-ZA"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">The My Hero Project that was presented by the facilitator and 2 learners from Iraq was very good and they gave a very detailed presentation of the different videos that the learners had created, which allowed us to see the finished product and how the project was developed.  I was so impressed with this project that I immediately e-mailed a member of staff at my school and asked her to download the manual and go through it and she has agreed to run this project later on during the year.</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div closure_uid_e4bohe="197" style="border: currentColor;"><span lang="EN-ZA"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">I was blown away by Toni Casserrrass’ OpenSims talk.  Although I think that I might be a little way off doing something similar and it is also more suited to high school learners, I would really like for my learners to experience this.</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /><div style="border: currentColor;"><span lang="EN-ZA"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The  Film festival was another favourite of mine.  It was very enjoyable seeing what other learners had created and what their messages were.    I was amazed at some of the levels of proficiency of  the videos that were created.  </span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div closure_uid_e4bohe="574" style="border: currentColor;"><div closure_uid_e4bohe="542"><span lang="EN-ZA"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">There was also a very good cultural stand and exhibition which gave us the opportunity to talk to other teachers and talk to them about their project or country.</span></span></div><div closure_uid_e4bohe="542"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWegAOyDQOv4mngjipxyhYkmFM95YunhTZraxcqIlsCrvR4UouUYEeJaCqsQMevBRC3FQjDwoZGb0sYkPxqtiTwC2_9xulR0hKa6_Dc-J8CkRYQcuqmrAMaRXIQglvkJT3keGRqb67PM/s1600/Taiwan+city+life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWegAOyDQOv4mngjipxyhYkmFM95YunhTZraxcqIlsCrvR4UouUYEeJaCqsQMevBRC3FQjDwoZGb0sYkPxqtiTwC2_9xulR0hKa6_Dc-J8CkRYQcuqmrAMaRXIQglvkJT3keGRqb67PM/s400/Taiwan+city+life.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" closure_uid_e4bohe="573" style="text-align: center;">Tapai city life</td></tr></tbody></table><div closure_uid_e4bohe="542"><br /></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div style="border: currentColor;"><span lang="EN-ZA"><span closure_uid_e4bohe="541" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">Our outing to Taipei on the speed train, going to the night markets , seeing the largest Buddist temple in Taiwan, as well as going to a few museums was incredible.  It was a surreal experience and it was amazing seeing the hustle and bustle of the city life.</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /><div style="border: currentColor;"><div closure_uid_e4bohe="495"><div closure_uid_fon4xb="108"><span lang="EN-ZA"><span closure_uid_fon4xb="109" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">I must admit that I had a great time and I thought it was an incredible experience.  I have come back with so many ideas that I am using in the school and showing other staff members.  It will take me a little while to go through all the projects from website and manuals.  I am starting by giving short feedback sessions over 3 days every week to the staff and hopefully this will continue for the rest of the year!</span></span></div></div></div></div><div closure_uid_1y7c86="158" closure_uid_xnwjbj="167" style="border: currentColor;"></div><div closure_uid_xnwjbj="167" style="border: currentColor;"><div closure_uid_1y7c86="159"><div closure_uid_fon4xb="117">Here is Warren's movie entitled Super Veggie Man</div></div></div><div closure_uid_eqn44c="136"><iframe frameborder="0" height="375" src="http://www.schooltube.com/embed/58be1f70e1973c694fad" width="500"></iframe></div><div closure_uid_eqn44c="125"><div closure_uid_fon4xb="106"><a href="http://got.im/4Lm6">http://got.im/4Lm6</a></div></div></div>

Adobe Youth voices Collaboration Guest post profiles Project-based learning What about getting involved in SchoolNet's Adobe Youth Voices programme?

Submitted by Warren Sparrow SchoolNetSA offers the Adobe Youth Voices programme to interested teachers. This is an exciting way of using vid...

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16 job search errors you're probably making

<div class="ArticleHeadline"><div class="hdr_org_bld"><b><span id="cbArticle_lblByLine">Rachel Farrell, special to CareerBuilder.com</span></b> </div></div><div class="ArticleContent">Over the years, hiring managers have born witness to every hiring, interviewing, résumé, cover letter and negotiation mistake there is.</div><div class="ArticleContent">You know what these blunders are. We've told you several times. Yet you (and hundreds of other job seekers) continue to make common job search mistakes.</div><div class="ArticleContent">From those who see your mistakes over and over, here are 16 common job search mistakes to avoid -- and some of them may surprise you.</div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /></div><div class="ArticleContent"><b>1. You don't keep your options open</b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"Candidates tend to think that if they interview for a job they will get an offer, so they do not apply and interview for multiple positions," says Joanie Spain, director of public relations and career services, School of Advertising Art, a graphic design college.<i> </i>"They wait until one plays out completely, putting their job search on hold until knowing for sure they didn't get the offer." </div><div class="ArticleContent">"By having many more irons in the fire, you diversify the risk and disappointment that is inevitable when any single opportunity disappears," adds Roy Cohen, author of "The Wall Street Professional's Survival Guide: Success Secrets of a Career Coach." </div><div class="ArticleContent">"You also present yourself as a more passionate and energetic candidate. You're in the 'zone' -- a point where you're in the flow of information and ideas -- and that makes you more valuable." </div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /></div><div class="ArticleContent"><b>2. You turn up your nose at job descriptions</b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"Entry-level candidates are reluctant to apply for a position unless the job sounds like their 'dream job' or they have all qualifications listed," Spain says. "Rather than going on an interview to get more information, they base decisions about applying on the job description alone. They fail to see that all interview experience is good experience, or that, until there is an offer on the table, there is no decision to make."</div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /></div><div class="ArticleContent"><b>3. You haven't perfected the thank-you note</b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"Don't be too verbose with a thank-you note after an interview. Sending out a version of "War and Peace" can come across as desperate and needy for a job. However, sending a one or two sentence thank-you note comes across as flippant, not well thought-out and potentially shows indifference regarding the job to the employer," says Mike Barefoot, senior account manager at Red Zone Resources, a recruitment firm. "We encourage candidates to keep them to four to eight sentences." </div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /></div><div class="ArticleContent"><b>4. You don't check your references</b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"Always give out references that you've pre-screened. We sometimes see candidates give out references that were never checked with and the references feedback isn't always kind," Barefoot says. "Also, make sure they're predominantly managers. An occasional colleague is okay, but contemporaries and friends really don't carry that much weight in helping you land a position."</div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /></div><div class="ArticleContent"><b>5. You've got poor business acumen</b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"Managers are becoming more savvy and are taking candidates out to lunch for interviews. They want to see how you treat a restaurant staff and see the 'real' you. If you're rude to them or don't seem appreciative for their hard work to make your meal pleasurable, managers wonder how you'll treat contemporaries you work with," Barefoot says. </div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /></div><div class="ArticleContent"><b>6. You have a messy briefcase</b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"A messy briefcase can imply the person is unorganized, messy and unprepared, and that their work will be less than optimal," says Ronald Kaufman, author of "Anatomy of Success." "Someone who is neat, clean, organized and prepared in all areas conveys they're serious about getting a job and working."</div><div class="ArticleContent"><b><br />7. You discount temporary positions </b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"Many employers coming out of a recession want to hire on a temporary or temp- to perm- basis. We have already seen several contractors be offered permanent positions after they have proven themselves," says Jeffrey Weinstock, Esq. president, Rhodes & Weinstock, a recruiting firm. "Not only will the temporary position pay some bills, think of it as an audition for a potential perm position, or at least a way to get a good reference for another position."</div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /><b>8. You have a bad attitude</b> </div><div class="ArticleContent">"Poor attitudes come through in telephone calls and in interviews. If you are not positive, why would a potential employer want to hire you?" asks Weinstock. "It may take some time, but by being positive, by doing all the right things, by seeing each position as an opportunity, it will happen."</div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /></div><div class="ArticleContent"><b>9. You include too much work history</b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"Many job seekers over 40 think that they have to take their work history back to their first job out of college," says Cheryl E. Palmer, career coach and résumé writer. " All that is needed is the last 10-15 years of your work history."</div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /></div><div class="ArticleContent"><b>10. You use your work email address on your résumé </b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"Some people do not regularly check their personal email, so they use their employers' email instead," Palmer says. "This sends a negative message to potential employers that the job seekers will not hesitate to use their equipment for personal use."</div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /></div><div class="ArticleContent"><b>11. You take "no" as a final answer</b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"No" usually only means "no" for that position, says Bruce Hurwitz, president and CEO, Hurwitz Strategic Staffing, LTD.</div><div class="ArticleContent">"If you are rejected for a job you should send a thank-you note, thank the employer for the opportunity, and wish them well. No one does that. When the next opening comes around, he'll remember you," says Hurwitz.</div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /></div><div class="ArticleContent"><b>12. You lack tact </b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"Be determined without being pushy. Calling or emailing to ask about the status of your résumé or interview can be a double-edged sword," says Rod Hughes, director of communications, Oxford Communications. "A tactful follow up can place you top of mind with the hiring manager, while incessant calling or emailing can push your résumé right off the table."</div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /></div><div class="ArticleContent"><b>13. You don't search for yourself on the Internet </b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"Your would-be employer is probably going to look you up online, so you should know what is out there," says Amanda O'Brien, vice president of marketing, Hall Web Services. "Clean up what you can, check your privacy settings on social networks and if it is something you can't get down off the internet, you may want to consider talking to the company about it."  </div><div class="ArticleContent"><b><br />14. You have a 'death by bullets' résumé </b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"Bullets are great but they need context. Keep them to one line, focused on a result and include a figure like a fact, percentage or number," says Adriana Llames, author of "Career Sudoku: 9 Ways to Win the Job Search Game." "Or, put the information in a short summary of the position."</div><div class="ArticleContent"><b><br />15. You've got a scattered strategy </b></div><div class="ArticleContent">"Looking for a job in any industry and with two or three résumés is going to get the same result as the strategy: scattered," Llames says. "Job seekers with a clearly defined, focused and organized strategic approach to their job search end up with clear results -- and a new job."</div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /></div><div class="ArticleContent"><b>16. You think it's about you</b></div><div class="ArticleContent">It is not about you and your need for a job -- it is about the prospective employer and their need to run a successful business and make money, says Lori B. Rassas, employment attorney and author of "Employment Law: A Guide to Hiring, Managing and Firing for Employers and Employees." <br />"Many applicants mistakenly believe they will be an appealing candidate if they explain they will accept any type of job offer at any because they have been laid off, unemployed for an extended period of time, have children in college, or are having difficulty making the mortgage payments," she says. "Even if all of those circumstances are true, candidates need to craft a different message, focusing on how they can benefit the employer by saving them money, streamlining processes, creating additional sources of revenue and bringing overall value to the company."</div><div class="ArticleContent"><br /><i>Rachel Farrell researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder. Follow @Careerbuilder on Twitter.</i> </div>

16 job search errors you're probably making

Rachel Farrell, special to CareerBuilder.com Over the years, hiring managers have born witness to every hiring, interviewing, résumé, cover...

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I really wanted to say something worthwhile, but it takes too many words

Just checking in, me and my one hand.<br /><br />Weight today is 184.6. Woohoo! Much better than the 199.6 I saw at the doctors office 3 weeks ago, Followup visit with her Friday to review my lab work. Got the results in the mail last night. Looks like she had every possible test run on me. I don't even know what a lot of it means. Guess I'll find out Friday.<br /><br />I'm off work for three weeks until the cast comes off. I made the decision last Friday and my doctor agreed. I can't type all day with one hand, with the other one up in the air (above my heart) so it doesn't swell. I tried last week and was miserable. I went home each day with major backaches from how I was sitting. Being home with this cast isn't fun so don't envy me.  I have over 700 hours of sick leave so I'll be getting paid.<br /><br />Although I do have an event to attend today. It's my best friend's 35 years with our company celebration today. An Argosy cruise around Puget Sound. It's catered and I ordered the wild salmon. Pictures tomorrow.<br /><br />That's all for now. Have to get ready and pick up my girlfriend in about an hour and then the company has a chartered bus taking us downtown. Gorgeous weather here so should be fun.<br /><br />

I really wanted to say something worthwhile, but it takes too many words

Just checking in, me and my one hand. Weight today is 184.6. Woohoo! Much better than the 199.6 I saw at the doctors office 3 weeks ago, Fol...

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How Do You Track?

<b>Here's my problem:</b>  I have a hard time tracking indulgences.  An indulgence for me is something that I don't know the Points+ value of definitively - it can be dessert or dinner out or anything for that matter.... something I have not prepared but someone else has prepared and the nutrition stats are not available.<br /><br /><b>Here is why I have this problem:</b> Let's say you go out to dinner and you have a chicken sandwich as part of your entree.  This restaurant doesn't publish their nutrition facts online, so you're left with guesstimating how many Points+ that chicken sandwich was.  <br /><br /><div style="color: #999999;">Let me interrupt this regularly scheduled programming with this announcement: <i>When I'm doing something I <b>truly </b>care about, I am a perfectionist.</i></div><div style="color: #999999;"><br /></div><span style="color: #999999;">And now, back your show.</span><br /><br />So you go on to E-Tools and you try to figure out what this chicken sandwich cost you.  Was it 10 Points+? Was it 14 Points+?  Ok, it was grilled with cheese.  Was it 17 Points+?  I have no idea!  Aaahhh!  I'm getting so overwhelmed and I want this to be <u>exact</u>!  How could I just say: "Yes, I'll go with 17 even though that's the value for a fast food chicken filet sandwich with cheese, so that might not be correct since it was actually grilled.  But E-Tools doesn't show an option where it's grilled with cheese.  And I don't want to estimate on the high end or I will have no Points+ left the rest of today, but I don't want to estimate on the low end because then I'll over eat." Whoa is me.  <br /><br />Once in a while I realize that guesstimating is fine.  "Ok, even if I'm off track at this estimate, it's the only indulgence this week so I should be okay."<br /><br />But what happens when you have several days in a row like this?  You have a work luncheon, then out to dinner with family, then you're going away for the weekend where you'll be eating every meal out.  <br /><br />What ends up happening for me is I have the mentality that if I cannot do this perfectly, then I'm not going to do it.  And so I just say screw it and I'll start over again tomorrow or next week.  <br /><br />What do you do in these situations?  Can any one even relate to this or am I a crazy maniac? <br /><br />Help me!

Weight Loss Challenges Weight Watchers How Do You Track?

Here's my problem:   I have a hard time tracking indulgences.  An indulgence for me is something that I don't know the Points+ value...

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Would you like to get involved in an international peace project?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>Submitted by Fiona Beal</i><br />Last year I participated in a few international projects initiated by Garrett Ferguson, a Grade 4 teacher from Franconia School in the USA, and the class and I made a whole host of new friends around the world. Garrett is now looking for teachers and classes who would like to join in a new project. Here is an excerpt from his email just received. <br /><br /><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Dear Classrooms Around the Globe,<br /><br />This year my fourth grade classroom at Lafayette Regional School in Franconia, NH would like to have a big celebration for International Peace Day on Sept 21, 2011. In honor of this day, I would like my fourth graders to create a multi - cultural vision of peace movie. We would like to collect movies from classrooms around the globe of their MESSAGE OF PEACE. The movies might include poetry, song, dance, or etc. The overall theme of the movie is "A Message of Peace" that answer what peace means to them. The requirement for the video:<br />Length "21 seconds or less"<br />Title: "A Message of Peace"<br />Upload: email your interest to me and I will follow up with instructions for uploading (We will be using Dropbox)<br />Due Date: Sept 16, 2011<br />Language: In your own language<br />Goal: 21 classroom representing all six continents<br /><br />My students will mash all the videos together to create a international message of peace that will premier on Sept 21, 2011. Please forward on this email message to all your classrooms. Thanks for helping our classroom spread a message of peace. <br /><br />-Garret Ferguson<br />P.S. <br />Here are additional resources on International Peace Day:<br />Peace One Day Organization <br /><a href="http://www.peaceoneday.org/en/education/POD-EDUCATION">http://www.peaceoneday.org/en/education/POD-EDUCATION</a><br />Pinwheels for Peace: <a href="http://www.pinwheelsforpeace.com/pinwheelsforpeace/home.html">http://www.pinwheelsforpeace.com/pinwheelsforpeace/home.html</a><br />TED talk on how international peace day was created: <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_gilley_one_day_of_peace.html">http://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_gilley_one_day_of_peace.html</a> <br />- <br />Mr. Ferguson and The Super Fantastic 15<br />Lafayette Regional School - Franconia NH<br />Skype - lafayette41</span></i><br /><br />I see that the Principal of Scottish High International School in India has just replied wishing to get involved. Why not also consider also giving it a try? </div>

Collaboration Project-based learning videos Would you like to get involved in an international peace project?

Submitted by Fiona Beal Last year I participated in a few international projects initiated by Garrett Ferguson, a Grade 4 teacher from Franc...

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SAUDIA ARABIA, USA, TURKEY versus IRAN, RUSSIA and CHINA

<div class="MsoNormal">"PLAYOFF" in Syria<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JwBjRQA0phs?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">SUNNI - SAUDI ARABIA </span>against SHIITE -  IRAN and SYRIA</b></u></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">SYRIA'S regime will never tumble unless Iran allows it to tumble, but that will most probably not occur, for SYRIA and HEZBOLLAH in LEBANON are front proxy of IRAN, and IRAN will not experience a regime change unless CHINA and RUSSIA see a strategic advantage in tumbling the regime in IRAN. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The USA and the SUNNI WAHHABI HOUSE OF SAUD together with TURKEY are pulling on a common string regarding SYRIA and its protege IRAN but are unable to find a sound strategy to proceed with SYRIA without exposing themselves, as well as politically backfire. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Needless to point out that a military intervention would stretch US defense budget to the limit, not to mention that of NATO member states such as ITALY, FRANCE and GERMANY, unless SAUDI ARABIA finances the intervention and uses fellow NATO state TURKEY to lead the operation which would play in the hands of the USA in order to “eliminate” Iran from the chessboard of the region. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><b>SYRIA’S REVOLT BRINGS LEBANESE HISBOLLAH IN TURMOIL</b></u></div><div class="MsoNormal">     </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN">The conflict in SYRIA brings an enormous collateral damage to the LEBANESE HEZBOLLAH itself. The Shiite organization that is backed by TEHRAN and DAMASCUS, is militarily and politically stronger and influential than ever: NAJIB MIKATI LEBANON’S Minister President, is the first head of state which is a HEZBOLLAH protégée, and yet, HEZBOLLAH has hit rock bottom as far as their reputation in LEBANON and SYRIA, but also in the rest of the Arab world, who paid tribute to HEZBOLLAH on their resilience; in particular the 2006 war with ISRAEL in which HEZBOLLAH emerged unbroken.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoY-G6dhRpJJZuWoPjkcxnKTwy5jsM-LqqFX_klboA7Bf5LlonrPuAQ4K59UJaMXJcLTuz_PF41JK0ujLE6eedEetcSZ9AiSBvMNBTBwyOPU5wqnejMtv-kIClRF99oZL4kjOQpUIvlQb1/s1600/Iran_Syria_Locator.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoY-G6dhRpJJZuWoPjkcxnKTwy5jsM-LqqFX_klboA7Bf5LlonrPuAQ4K59UJaMXJcLTuz_PF41JK0ujLE6eedEetcSZ9AiSBvMNBTBwyOPU5wqnejMtv-kIClRF99oZL4kjOQpUIvlQb1/s320/Iran_Syria_Locator.PNG" width="320" /></a><span class="hps"><span lang="EN">HEZBOLLAH’S “</span></span><span lang="EN">double standard", something HEZBOLLAH <span class="hps">usually</span> accuse the <span class="hps">USA</span> of, <span class="hps">in light</span> <span class="hps">of Arab</span> <span class="hps">protest</span> <span class="hps">movements,</span> <span class="hps">is striking. </span> In <span class="hps">EGYPT</span>, TUNISIA, <span class="hps">YEMEN</span> <span class="hps">AND BAHRAIN, HEZBOLLAH, just as IRAN, was</span> <span class="hps">on</span> <span class="hps">the side of the</span> <span class="hps">protesters</span> <span class="hps">against</span> <span class="hps">pro Western</span> Governments. In contrast to <span class="hps">SYRIA’S upraise however, Hezbollah leader</span> <span class="hps">Hassan</span> <span class="hps">Nasrallah,</span> <span class="hps">immediately</span> <span class="hps">favored the “resistance</span> <span class="hps">regime</span>" in Damascus and <span class="hps">Bashar</span> <span class="hps">al</span><span class="atn">-</span>Assad as the<span class="hps"> reformer</span>, whereas <span class="hps">the protesters</span> <span class="hps">acted</span> <span class="hps">in favor</span> <span class="hps">of ISRAEL and the</span> <span class="hps">UNITED STATES.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="hps"><span lang="EN">The</span></span><span lang="EN"> <span class="hps">aspect</span> of which <span class="hps">cannot even</span> <span class="hps">be denied. With the fall of</span> <span class="hps">Assad</span>, Hezbollah’s<span class="hps"> lifeline to IRAN, currently running through</span> <span class="hps">Damascus</span> will be cut and subsequently push Iran out of the region, <span class="hps">one of the attractions</span> <span class="hps">of a </span>“<span class="hps">regime</span> <span class="hps">change"</span> <span class="hps">scenario</span> <span class="hps">- even</span> <span class="hps">for</span> <span class="hps">observers who</span> <span class="hps">strongly believe that with the fall of Assad, civil war</span> <span class="hps">and </span>Fundamentalist <span class="hps">Islamist</span> takeover of <span class="hps">power</span> <span class="hps">in</span> <span class="hps">SYRIA is imminent</span>, <span class="hps">with all the</span> <span class="hps">"non-pleasantries" and</span> <span class="hps">consequences</span> <span class="hps">for</span> <span class="hps">ISRAEL, the</span> immediate neighbor of SYRIA. </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AOWI0Zv7ORU?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">See related info: </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MD28Ak01.html">http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MD28Ak01.html</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MH17Ak01.html">http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MH17Ak01.html</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MH17Ak02.html">http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MH17Ak02.html</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

SAUDIA ARABIA, USA, TURKEY versus IRAN, RUSSIA and CHINA

"PLAYOFF" in Syria SUNNI - SAUDI ARABIA against SHIITE -  IRAN and SYRIA SYRIA'S regime will never tumble unless Iran allows i...

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A little bit of inspiration

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><em>Submitted by Fiona Beal</em><br /><div closure_uid_jgvxf0="112">What do you think of the idea of now and again spending a few spare minutes in a lesson showing an inspirational video to your learners, followed by some pertinent questions? This one is just 2:47 minutes - "Born to succeed". If you have any suggestions of inspirational videos for this purpose, please share them with us. </div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/B7r7YY_EO0A" width="480"></iframe></div>

Inspiration videos A little bit of inspiration

Submitted by Fiona Beal What do you think of the idea of now and again spending a few spare minutes in a lesson showing an inspirational vid...

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Ohio in Seasonal Transition

I can't believe it's almost fall! It seems like I say this every year, but where on earth did this summer go?  I had to get a blanket out last night for the first time.  It is a bittersweet feeling.<br /><br />There were subtle reminders of the looming fall that I chose to ignore.  Things like an uptick in the numbers of hummingbirds coming to my feeders.  I know they are getting ready for their big migrations.  So I need to keep on top of my feeders.  By the way, don't believe that old wives tale that if you don't take the feeders down, hummingbirds won't migrate.  It's not true.  Leaving them up can provide valuable nutrition to those slow to migrate.  But nature's migratory urge is much more powerful than any tempting treat we can put in our feeders.  They'll go when they need to.<br /><br />I've also noticed more spiders in the yard, much to my chagrin.  I am not a lover of spiders, to be sure.  But, I do appreciate their role in the food chain.  And, I've even been able to muster up enough nerve to observe a few of these creatures to see what type of web they weave, physical characteristics, etc, before I get the willies and have to walk away. :-)  If you'd like to learn more about Ohio's spiders, the Division of Wildlife has a very nice new <a href="http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/species_a_to_z/AZSpidersInsectsandInvertebrates/tabid/17916/Default.aspx">field guide</a> that you can order by contacting 1-800-WILDLIFE.<br /><br />Another sign of the coming fall is the explosion of blooms seen in my flower beds.  It seems like they are trying one last ditch effort to attract as many pollinators as possible before that first frost.  And they make excellent table bouquets. <br /><br />Then there is the bane of most birders, fall warblers.  As if these little birds aren't hard enough to identify in spring when they are in their full color glory.  In the fall, the males and females are both drab olive brown and you really have to get a good look at them to pick out any distinguishing field marks.  It is quite a challenge if you're up for it.  Shorebirds are migrating through as well.  With some species having to cross two continents in their journey south, they are some of the earliest migrants.  Local lakes and rivers are at their low water points this time of year and their mud flats are exposed.  Scan any of these flat, damp spots and you'll likely find several different species of these long-legged waders.  Sometimes collectively known as sandpipers, some species you might see include sanderlings, dowitchers, plovers, yellowlegs, and, of course, multiple species of sandpipers.  You'll find them actively searching for aquatic invertebrates deep in the mud.  You can find photos and order field guides for both warblers and shorebirds on our website at <a href="http://www.wildohio.com/">http://www.wildohio.com/</a> <br /><br />These transitional times of year are when I think nature is at its most interesting.  Some careful observations around your schoolyard, backyard or local park can yield some wonderfully curious sites, smells and sounds that may not be around in the middle of a season.  Take a moment to discover Ohio in her seasonal transition.

Ohio in Seasonal Transition

I can't believe it's almost fall! It seems like I say this every year, but where on earth did this summer go?  I had to get a blanke...

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Hungry Girl 1-2-3: AM Apple Scramble

Wow! Thank you all for <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/08/friend-making-monday-driving-force.html">stopping by yesterday</a> and for all of your encouraging comments - what a pleasant surprise each time the Google's notified me of a comment :).   <br /><br />Today I bring you a new breakfast recipe! <br /><br />Something I've frequently heard from friends and fellow bloggers is that they eat the same thing for breakfast every day.  That's cool, if that works for you.  I used to be this way too, back when I lost 50 lbs in college.  I would eat the exact same thing every day, every week.  I knew nothing but Lean Cuisines/Smart Ones/Healthy Choice frozen meals and 100 calorie packs.  I cannot stomach the look to either of those food items now.<br /><br />Now, I make a lot of things by hand.<br /><br />Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and I like to add variety to my life where I can.   Because of this, I try not to eat the same thing twice too close together.  This week's breakfast is <a href="http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/699">Hungry Girl's AM Apple Scramble</a>.  The end result of this dish is something similar to that of oatmeal & Cream of Wheat.  It ends up dry, but not so dry that it tastes bad.  It was kind of hard to tell when it was done, but I just followed along with HG's recommended cooking time of 5 minutes.  When it's done cooking, it starts to firm up and lose some of it's moisture, and the color gets slightly darker.  <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWPduVVxPu1RJysS0tkphPuNr-KgchMfoZNP7ShFau88IZWWUh06GKVvbeV84kGy-LaFqsUA1rlz2VGU9PrwWTkD8QGuLXTWsbi5irmtGF1P2LdbsJSFqtKdrlam5_B1wzEdNLDxFE4o/s1600/apple+scramble.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWPduVVxPu1RJysS0tkphPuNr-KgchMfoZNP7ShFau88IZWWUh06GKVvbeV84kGy-LaFqsUA1rlz2VGU9PrwWTkD8QGuLXTWsbi5irmtGF1P2LdbsJSFqtKdrlam5_B1wzEdNLDxFE4o/s320/apple+scramble.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/699"><u><b>Hungry Girl 1-2-3: AM Apple Scramble</b></u></a> - <i>7 Points+ (her version calculates at 6 Points+)</i><br /><br /><i>Ingredients:</i><br /><ul><li>1 cup peeled and finely chopped apple (approx. 1 medium apple) </li><br /> <li>1 slice Wonder Light White Bread - <i>I used Martin's Whole Wheat Potato Bread</i><br />1/2 cup Egg Beaters, Original</li><br /> <li>3 tbsp. regular oats (not quick or instant)</li><br /> <li>1 oz. light vanilla soymilk</li><br /> <li>1/4 tsp. vanilla extract</li><br /> <li>1/2 tsp. cinnamon</li><br /> <li>2 packets SPLENDA </li><br /> <li>pinch salt</li><br /> </ul><br /><i>Directions</i>: <br />Begin by stirring to combine all ingredients except for the bread and apple. Set aside. Toast bread well (but do not burn) and allow it to cool.  Tear bread into pieces and place in a blender or food processor.  Pulse bread until reduced to small pieces.  Add mixture and chopped apple to blender or processor and pulse until mixed (NOT liquefied).  In a pan sprayed with nonstick spray, cook mixture over medium heat.  Prepare as you would scrambled eggs, constantly moving mixture around with a spatula.  Cook for approximately 5 minutes, until solid crumbles form and brown slightly.  Serves 1!</blockquote> I hope you all have a great "On Plan" day!<br />

` Hungry Girl Weight Watcher Recipes Hungry Girl 1-2-3: AM Apple Scramble

Wow! Thank you all for stopping by yesterday and for all of your encouraging comments - what a pleasant surprise each time the Google's...

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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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