School Work

I took the digital camera to school one day and took pictures of the images we were interpreting. I thought I would share.


Picture #1 The Grand Canyon.


Picture #2 Not really sure where this is.
Best guess- Mongolia? Maybe Iran?


Close up view of picture #2

Back to the Grind...

...well, sort of.

As of right now, I have school in the morning. I was surprised that we had two days off, heck I was surprised that the administration gave us one day off. I expect classes to be small. The roads are really bad and I expect some people to stay home. The school is urging students to ride the bus as they have limited parking.

So, I'm logging off to write a paper that will be due tomorrow after noon.

As a side note, since ABC is the one free channel that doesn't come in on our bunny ears, we actually plan on watching it on the internet on Friday mornings. Thank goodness class isn't until 11 on Fridays. This will also give me a chance to play basketball on Thursdays. I CAN'T WAIT, I AM SO EXCITED!

Snow Day

That's right! After 31+ hours of snow falling the college cancelled classes for the day. Yeah, as if I wasn't already behind. Last week I seriously took the hardest test I've ever taken. The results should be interesting.

Since just about everything is cancelled, there might be more then one post here today. Or maybe not.

Parents: Please Take Time to Be Involved in Your Kid's Education

Hopefully the title of the post got your attention. So here's the deal, this post won't apply to everyone but if you live in Washington state or any other state that has standardized testing for the school kids you may want to read the article.

Here is the article from the Seattle Times.

In a nutshell, you have the option to view your child's WASL. I can't think of a better way to be involved in your child's education. I plan on taking advantage of this in a couple of years when Thing 1 takes his first WASL.

If you live in another state that has standardized testing perhaps they would let you do the same ting. If they don't maybe this article could persuade them to change the way they do things.

Good Luck!

Basketball Season is Upon Us!

OK, for anyone keeping track at home the NBA and college started several months ago. Here in our household it is just beginning. The men's team I play on at church is 0-2 so far. We have lost the 2 games by a combined 3 points. Heartbreakers, both of them. Last year I played on a different team so I haven't played with these guys much. Games are on Tuesdays and we also play on Thursday nights, kind of a pick up game or two. Usually on Thursdays we start playing about 9 PM and wrap it up about 11ish.

I took two of the guys that I work with last Thursday and they enjoyed it. It is not the first time they have ever played at one of our churches. In fact, they are both kind of affiliated with the church. We have one more guy at work that is going to come out and play with us.

In other news, Thing 1 had his first game today. He played the 2nd and 4th quarter. The rules were altered a little for the 5 years old but I think that it really helped the kinds. They had to let the ball be inbounded, couldn't play full court D, and the ref allowed some double dribbling (and maybe a extra step or two, but if it got out of hand he would call traveling). Same as soccer, the coaches were allowed on the court and score wasn't kept. Thing 1's team name is the warriors. If you ask him he will tell you it is the "lawyers". I guess they sound alike to a 5 year old.

A Quick Look Back...

Well, I had a big long elaborate post planned for today because it is a special day today. 11 Years ago today I boarded the plane and left for basic training for the Army. Also, 2 years ago today I started this blog. I know many of you jump on over from my wife's blog. Thank you.

I am tired and have tons of homework to do, so no post to reflect back on the past 11 years. Maybe after things settle down.

But in the meantime, don't let my wife fool you. She loves sports. Especially the stats. Email her or post a comment here or on her blog and ask her to wax poetic about her first major league baseball game. It should turn out to be a good post!

Thoughts to finish the day

Here is my day (from start to finish) and my thoughts to go along with it.

Started out the day with a 4 mile run.

• Still icy in some places.
• Haven't ran since the middle of November when I picked up double shifts at work.
• Have a long way to go.

Watched the Army All-American Bowl.

• Good to see the future college/NFL players.
• Sad to see that when they got interviewed on time alone on the camera they would draw attention to themselves by flashing what I call "gang" signs.
• It's a team game, knuckle heads

Watched the Seattle Seahawks Game.

• Great defensive first half.
• You showed me that you wouldn't fold under pressure in the second half.
• I would rather us go to Dallas than Green Bay.
• I think we can make a deep run in the playoffs.

Watched the UW-WSU mens Basketball game.

• 5-13 from the free throw line. They don't call it the charity stripe for nothing. Make those and its a win.
• It was my first time watching the UW on TV this year. I was thought they played great and there should be some great wins in the future.
• I invited myself over to a friend's house to watch the game since my "bunny ears" don't get FSN.

GO HAWKS!

One thing about me...

...is that I make lists. My Wife has pointed it out to me. I find that if I actually get around to making a list I will most likely finish all of the tasks on it. I also make flow charts. It's how I roll.

Poll Question

If you had 30GB, what movies/music would you put on it as "gotta have it"? You know, favorites that have stood the test of time.

Assume you might be in the middle of the desert for 12+ months and won't have a chance to swap out any of the music.

Thanks

A quote from the paper (or misinformation?)

The Seattle P-I had an article in today's paper that I found to be somewhat inaccurate. I am not going to post the whole article but a small portion of it. Here goes. Following the quote I may rant a bit.

"Since 9/11, more than 6,000 Guard and Reserve members from Washington have gone to Iraq and Afghanistan. And the number will grow. The Washington National Guard has been put on alert to redeploy in August as a security force in Iraq."

Please pay attention to the month. August. REALLY? This is not entirely true.

Fact: The Washington National Guard has been alerted for possible deployment for the global war on terrorism.

Any date associated with this is pure speculation. Please check your facts and get them right.

The fact is that just because a unit is alerted does not mean that they are absolutely deploying. In fact it is conceivable that we might not even go.

At this time I am not going to speculate on if we are going or not. That would be inappropriate, not to mention reckless and irresponsible.

Local Hero Update (and Happy New Year)

I thought that I would start off the New Year by giving out an update on a local hero in the Pacific NW.

I'm not sure exactly that I should idolize D.B. Cooper but in the NW he is an icon. Maybe it is the way he "stuck it" to "the man". Maybe it is the way he braved the Cascade mountains in severe weather. Maybe it is that he never got caught.

Maybe D.B and Sasquatch are hangin' out. (Yes I do believe in Big Foot.)

Note: I am not suggesting that anybody should hijack a plane and take off with large amounts of money. That, of course, would be illegal. Not to mention WRONG!

Oh, Happy New Year. In the next few days I might post some thoughts on 2007 and hopes for 2008. Then again, knowing me, maybe not.