Nothing Says Immaturity Like . . .

your very own potato cannon.








Happy New Year Everyone!

The Festivus Airing of Grievances

A tip of the hat to Ms. Cornelius over at A Shrewdness of Apes for the link to the Festivus Airing of Grievances page.

Here's my personal Festivus grievance:

People who drive in the left hand lane below the speed limit, even though they have clearly never passed anyone in their lives and never will. Do you think those "Slower Traffic Keeps Right" signs are there just to give you something to read?

I'm pushing for a constitutional amendment to allow you to bump them out of your way.

Feel free to add your own.

In Which I Discover I Need A Walker

No, not that kind of walker, at least not yet. The kind of walker I'm referring to is like the one in the picture to the left. Moody Gardens had these "walkers" to help people who were having difficulty ice skating. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any of the kids using them to let me have one. I did manage to skate a few times around the rink without falling down and breaking anything, so I consider myself as having come out ahead.

Merry Christmas to All!

Moody Gardens Here We Come

Last month I won 4 tickets for all the attractions at Moody Gardens in Galveston from a local radio station. The contest was one where you had to identify the title and the artist, and they usually make it very easy by playing a clip that has the title in it. The title, Electric Avenue, was very easy but no one seemed to know it was by Eddie Grant.

I haven't been to Moody Gardens in years, but their website boasts of a Festival of Lights, an Aquarium Pyramid and an ice skating rink (just the thing for a 43 year old with a sedentary lifestyle and bad knees).

Hopefully I won't bang my head on the ice.

Spinning Class . . .Am I Missing Something?

The local healthl club has converted one of its racquetball courts into a facility for "spinning" class. This particular club is the only one in town that has racquetball courts and the courts are often quite busy, so I'm at a loss as to why they would give up 25% of their courts.

I watched a class the other day, with all of two people in it, and determined you need the following items:

1. stationary bikes
2. a really loud sound system
3. some really crappy music
4. a "Bike Nazi" to yell at the class members.

If you've ever seen the movie Fever Pitch and you remember the scene were Drew Barrymore is in exercise class on stationary bikes while she talks about the new guy she met, then you have seen a spinning class in action.

Am I missing something here?

I Think I'm Gonna Hurl . . . Spew, Ralph, Upchuck, Praise The Porcelain God

Well the fall semester is over and what a whirlwind week it was, filled with field trips, parties, fun activities and mostly sweet things to eat. I would estimate in the last week I've consumed my body weight in sugar laden foods, leaving me to feel like it will all be coming up soon.

Please feel free to add your own euphemism for vomiting.

Just a chuckle for those in need of one

The Queen Blogger of All Public Education Bashers is Promoting Reduced Class Sizes

I couldn't believe it, but Joanne Jacobs is actually using the Tennesee STAR Study results as a proof early education and class sizes are good for student achievement.

I couldn't believe it when I read:

Small classes in the early grades provided a lasting benefit to students, especially low-income black students, in the Tennessee STAR study.

Maybe us teachers, who have been saying reduce class sizes for years, really do know what we're talking about.

Things Are Getting Bad Out There

The Burger King Corporation has come up with a new promotion for its unusual "King" commercial character, video games where the King plays the main character and apparently injures himself frequently in his quest to serve Whoppers to other characters. The games are available for $3.99 with the purchase of a meal

In short, Burger King has come up with a new way to market its high fat, high calorie food to children and is getting parents to directly cover the costs. The kicker is hundreds of thousands of parents will oblige them by buying the games. Schools will continue to be blamed for the obesity epidemic among America's children.

I would ask, are parents really that stupid, but I'm afraid I already know the answer.