tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1720645420470384172024-03-18T20:59:39.617-07:00Zyzmog Galactic HeadquartersEssays on current topics and marginally relevant events. Written by a twenty-first century Renaissance man, a father of five with hundreds of children, a papa who isn't a father, and an uncle who isn't an uncle. Written by a computer professional who doesn't like computers, by an outdoorsman who doesn't get enough time outdoors, by a meat-eater who enjoys garden burgers and veggie pizzas, and by a poor man who is rich in things money can't buy.Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.comBlogger418125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-48087602513301094562024-02-15T08:05:00.000-08:002024-02-15T08:09:52.380-08:00Today's wild animal story<p>We love our new home. Our property backs onto open space, and so we always have the potential for visitors of the wildlife variety.</p><p>This morning, I woke up at oh-dark-thirty, like I always do, and looked out our bedroom window. In the pre-dawn darkness, I saw an inch of new snow in our backyard, and large footprints crisscrossing the snow.</p><p>At first I was concerned about human intruders, but upon closer inspection, still in the dark, I could see that the footprints didn't have the heel strike characteristic of a human footprint, with or without shoes. Old Boy Scout here, you know.</p><p>In addition, the footprints were in a straight line. Human footprints are almost always offset from a straight line - you know, left right left right - especially if the human is running around in a strange backyard in the middle of the night.</p><p>Cats walk in a straight line. Big cats leave big footprints in a straight line. I was excited for the sun to come up, so that I could verify that we had indeed had mountain lions in our yard last night.</p><p>As the sun came up, I saw that each footprint was composed of four tiny paw prints. We had bunny rabbits in our yard last night, giggling with leporine glee as they ran around our yard pretending to be mountain lions.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wWsHBCOcdEtcT4g7XmGl9hlQK4vF_HOtMqFx9auQlatPtvZ5nFTmD_XFEy7KwqBn-5EUBnCMsQvtugE0LOZMoHoZP99m-T7wfcNw_HP_NPKh1SAwZssIIn3Iqu-RttmUkz0WU420JQbOgWdOvYuiKQLQbbs8LNnLVFtr8uuMKgGAtw3DcdsNBPtx4fK1/s2000/Bunny%20lion%20tracks.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="2000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wWsHBCOcdEtcT4g7XmGl9hlQK4vF_HOtMqFx9auQlatPtvZ5nFTmD_XFEy7KwqBn-5EUBnCMsQvtugE0LOZMoHoZP99m-T7wfcNw_HP_NPKh1SAwZssIIn3Iqu-RttmUkz0WU420JQbOgWdOvYuiKQLQbbs8LNnLVFtr8uuMKgGAtw3DcdsNBPtx4fK1/s320/Bunny%20lion%20tracks.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bunny lion tracks.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-89142745402938591432023-11-22T13:42:00.000-08:002023-11-22T15:30:04.192-08:00Word peeve: Just really kind of<p> I've noticed this in grown adults who should really know better.</p><p>I've seen it in print, and I've heard it in speech.</p><p>Best to illustrate by example: "When I saw it, I <i>just really kind of </i>shuddered."</p><p>That sentence contains three modifiers:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Just</li><li>Really</li><li>Kind of</li></ol><div>Pick one. Leave the other two alone.</div><p></p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-63093370474052750122023-11-08T16:55:00.005-08:002023-11-17T15:55:05.523-08:00A woman for president in 2024What if we elected a woman to the US Presidency in 2024?<div><br /></div><div>Hillary Rodham Clinton famously ran against Donald Trump in the 2016 "<a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2016/05/election-2016-lets-all-vote-third-party.html" target="_blank">None of the above, please God, please</a>" presidential election. In one of the early rallies in her campaign, she called out to a largely female audience, "Who wants to see a woman president?" </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2017/09/no-hillary-clinton-youve-got-it-all.html" target="_blank">As I have said before</a>, Clinton didn't lose because she was a woman. She lost because she was ... um ... objectionable. Undesirable. An even worse choice than Trump, if such a thing were possible.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had also said that I would entertain a matchup between two female statesmen (stateswomen? statespersons? respected leaders, anyway) like <a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2017/09/short-thoughts-on-woman-as-president-of.html">Condoleeza Rice and Madeleine Albright</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>This year, we have two new possibilities.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the right, we have Nikki Hailey who, in spite of her support of Donald Trump, has shown herself to be an adequate and able politician and diplomat.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the left, we have Kamala Harris who has spent the last four years in President Biden's shadow, the spare, as it were. Before becoming Vice President, she was also an accomplished leader and politician. If, for some reason, Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, Harris would be a good replacement for him.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xou_9_CcXImR41WhDTHSLNq8XFF146CciFRX_xlH8XXLC1XgUl7gUwgoeYJW4MTpwLdAbUr3_RWqIJVAQ7EdX35lB8wynf5YDsep4plnAMLcHAOnwTEOHlo7wTFrHqptvGO8xD3qTEpoSaiIsK12lAabjFyDsivEuvQVFxLgONTGhYKptMRcuXpGqP_5/s640/nikki_kamala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xou_9_CcXImR41WhDTHSLNq8XFF146CciFRX_xlH8XXLC1XgUl7gUwgoeYJW4MTpwLdAbUr3_RWqIJVAQ7EdX35lB8wynf5YDsep4plnAMLcHAOnwTEOHlo7wTFrHqptvGO8xD3qTEpoSaiIsK12lAabjFyDsivEuvQVFxLgONTGhYKptMRcuXpGqP_5/s320/nikki_kamala.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's the two of them, having fun together. (Not a real picture. Credit: <a href="https://openart.ai/">OpenArtAI</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>It's a pretty even matchup, with an interesting twist.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Nikki Haley</h3><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJ5DRkF9WBPa5oWKcVFeSZ_tEOrTO9VRKj7MMSKXx-GfY_Lycurz6-46vrUBFGdFfuO_7nA4Mcqzj9TkfY95t2kkaHlOeN4pE7bwsx1l17xoseZNUN1PQdPwb85AJaT6ZildrkLD-Y5EE7m-lVUdEznwMEHrUArsRVgv9qXSiK4YComiOC7nB0BsFXwsY/s721/576px-Nikki_Haley_(53299447738)_(cropped).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJ5DRkF9WBPa5oWKcVFeSZ_tEOrTO9VRKj7MMSKXx-GfY_Lycurz6-46vrUBFGdFfuO_7nA4Mcqzj9TkfY95t2kkaHlOeN4pE7bwsx1l17xoseZNUN1PQdPwb85AJaT6ZildrkLD-Y5EE7m-lVUdEznwMEHrUArsRVgv9qXSiK4YComiOC7nB0BsFXwsY/s320/576px-Nikki_Haley_(53299447738)_(cropped).jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nikki Haley (from Wikipedia)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>Nikki Haley was born in 1972, in South Carolina. Her parents were Sikh Indian immigrants. Her birth name was Nimarata Nikki Randhawa. She goes by her middle name, and "Haley" is her married name.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Kamala Harris</h3><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqQCV13RFnBh2DRvCBg9PhPOAP8MjYjy2zuo7UlG0mD-Zdv_ms2BMsxd2s1uCIDBlIJmk-DWbwffyDLJ5c_0L1RdPfsXCwD7JSwzkbUjWUh8scx_PAuqUtLqSXV-o7rWCbX-30TeL78MLwpIp14GXhcsXZ5PeDJevXGhW_sRRl-DsiI-xxFi4s7_VCIQ9/s720/576px-Kamala_Harris_Vice_Presidential_Portrait.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqQCV13RFnBh2DRvCBg9PhPOAP8MjYjy2zuo7UlG0mD-Zdv_ms2BMsxd2s1uCIDBlIJmk-DWbwffyDLJ5c_0L1RdPfsXCwD7JSwzkbUjWUh8scx_PAuqUtLqSXV-o7rWCbX-30TeL78MLwpIp14GXhcsXZ5PeDJevXGhW_sRRl-DsiI-xxFi4s7_VCIQ9/s320/576px-Kamala_Harris_Vice_Presidential_Portrait.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kamala Harris (from Wikipedia)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>Kamala Harris was born in 1964 in California. Her mother was a Tamil Indian immigrant, and her father was a Jamaican immigrant. Her birth name was Kamala Devi Harris.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Bottom Line</h3><div>So not only would we have two women running against each other, but we would have two Indian Americans, both of them children of immigrants, running against each other.</div><div><br /></div><div>Both of them have a net positive track record and no serious scandals to worry about (if we ignore Haley's support of Donald Trump). Both are refreshingly young, compared to the current front-runners, meaning that they won't die or go senile in office. And both have a lot of potential.</div><div><br /></div><div>Haley vs. Harris for 2024. It has a nice ring to it.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's a choice I'd like to have to make.</div>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-31742821830317452622023-09-11T13:34:00.001-07:002023-09-11T13:34:52.033-07:00The Castle - The Original Drawing<p><br /> In 2014, I posted a picture of <a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-castle.html" target="_blank">a castle that I had drawn, and the lesson behind the picture</a>.</p><p>That was not my first attempt at drawing a castle to teach the lesson. My first attempt had been in the early 2000s. I recently ran across that drawing. Here it is.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cbfPCvA0XkrwILmEynVhnHGuCLL5ymoHl6NIuWTfcXEIYnR6SdcI7faJrrdYdsMlSDb_6gxZSwQk-FsmWnW8RarTCir8nZmlHinEvl9rMvG-X-hsxQqbdJKNqkQRXG4eaMTKu9Af-FHC2qKlbkPbmzL_YavCVSey86Howm2w3GSM8UBskw0mAu-Te-aA/s2549/original_castle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2549" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cbfPCvA0XkrwILmEynVhnHGuCLL5ymoHl6NIuWTfcXEIYnR6SdcI7faJrrdYdsMlSDb_6gxZSwQk-FsmWnW8RarTCir8nZmlHinEvl9rMvG-X-hsxQqbdJKNqkQRXG4eaMTKu9Af-FHC2qKlbkPbmzL_YavCVSey86Howm2w3GSM8UBskw0mAu-Te-aA/w400-h314/original_castle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-8996786191788629812023-03-08T07:59:00.007-08:002023-03-08T08:02:00.336-08:00Want to learn C++? Here's the best way to do it<p>If you want to be a serious software professional, eventually you will need to learn C++ (pronounced "c plus plus"). You can avoid it and dodge it for as long as you want, but it's inevitable.</p><p>There are several good books about it, some of which I've mentioned here before. But I think the best resource today for learning or relearning C++ is the online tutorial, <a href="https://www.learncpp.com/">Learn C++</a>. </p><p><i>Learn C++ </i>is an exceptional piece of work. It's easy to follow. It avoids a lot of the mess that burdens most other C++ resources.</p><p>The site is modest and uncluttered. It gets down to the business of teaching you C++, and it doesn't do anything else. And it's constantly updated. </p><p>The craziest part about <i>Learn C++ </i>is that it's absolutely free. It's supported by ads and by user contributions. The ads are not obnoxious, and since the site gets a small amount of $$ every time someone clicks on an ad, I make sure to click on a few of them every time I view a new page. As far as user contributions go, it does not nag you for them, and it doesn't even advertise them. I had to dig through the site to find that information. </p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-8261068955657699422023-03-05T11:18:00.004-08:002023-03-08T06:06:43.121-08:00Word Peeve: Case in Point<p> I'm not sure about its origin, but the phrase "<i>case in point</i>" sounds like a legal term, something that originated in a courtroom or a lawyer's brief.</p><p>Here's an example of its usage. Please don't debate me on the content of the example. I'm only using it to illustrate the usage of "<i>case in point</i>".</p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><i>Too many students are getting away with violent behavior, and we've already started down the slippery slope that will end in real tragedy. Case in point: last week a teacher was knocked unconscious and savagely beaten by a 17-year-old student who had been arrested three times previously for assault.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>"<i>Case in point</i>" can be interpreted as "<i>Here's a case which illustrates the point I was trying to make.</i>" Note that the colon is important. A comma won't do. I'm serious here.</p><p>Why do so many people mistakenly say or write "<i>case </i>and <i>point</i>"? "<i>Case and point</i>" makes absolutely no sense. It sounds dumb.</p><p>Today I saw something even dumber. It appeared on Reddit, and it was used, ironically, by someone who is expected to know how English really works. What did they write? "<i>Point and case, ...</i>" </p><p><b>For more information: </b>If you're still reading this, here's an article about <a href="https://writingexplained.org/idiom-dictionary/case-in-point" target="_blank">the origin and usage of </a>"<i><a href="https://writingexplained.org/idiom-dictionary/case-in-point" target="_blank">case in point</a>"<b>. </b></i></p><p> - - -</p><p><b>Bonus peeve: </b>earlier this week, I also read the phrase "for all intensive purposes," from someone else whom we expect to know English better than they do.</p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-72240414492776515942023-03-03T09:07:00.005-08:002023-03-08T06:10:16.543-08:00Why Paying Teachers More Would Help to fix our Educational System<h3 style="text-align: left;">Bottom line at the top:</h3><p>Money won't cure all of the ills in education, but it will bring back a lot of the lost talent, and that will go a long way towards fixing things.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Now, the details:</h3><p>A recent post on Reddit's <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/comments/11fm8sb/honest_perspective_reason_for_decay_of_education/" target="_blank">r/Teachers</a> subgroup postulated that the reason for the decay in education is "slack parenting and scared administrations." (Please note: this is copy-and-pasted. Errors are the original poster's errors, not mine.)</p><p></p><blockquote><p><i>My take: Society doesn't realize that in just a very few years there will be almost no teachers who will put up with the abusive students, the parents who refuse to parent and the slack administrations who cow to obnoxious parents, for fear of a lawsuit.</i></p><p><i>They have no idea the crap that is going to hit, and the dramatic affect its going to have on society. Or maybe they do but don't have the bleep's to state it and act on it.</i></p><p><i>All administration's everywhere will continue to blame Covid and income disparity and socio- emotional in learning lacks, because no one would dare speak what needs spoken. It's so much more PC to blame nebulous, ambiguous, non-actionable entities than it is to hold the only parties that CAN make a difference accountable.</i> </p></blockquote><p></p><p>The poster hit the nail square on the proverbial head. Bulls-eyed it. Aced it. Got it in one. But there's more.</p><p>Here's my response:</p><p>That's a big part of it. I think that we need to keep the focus on teacher pay, as well.</p><p>As long as would-be teachers can make more money for less work (and stress) (and no bullshit from the aforementioned admins and parents) elsewhere, those would-be teachers will continue to take jobs elsewhere. And current teachers will quit and leave the profession and go elsewhere, for the same reasons.</p><p>We have lost a lot of really good teaching talent to corporate America, because we're not willing to fight for them, to compete for them -- to attract them back to teaching. Teaching right now is a singularly unattractive profession. If you listen, you can hear the departing teachers muttering, <i>"They don't pay me enough to put up with this shit,"</i> as they walk out the door.</p><p>Simply giving more money to the school districts is not the way to fix this. Most of the "more money" that we give to the districts gets siphoned off for capital improvements, mandates, pet projects, and back-office salaries. Very little of it ends up in the teachers' pockets. We have to find a way to get the money directly to the teachers.</p><p><b>Money won't cure all of the ills in education, but it will bring back a lot of the lost talent, and that will go a long way towards fixing things.</b></p><p>p.s. I'm convinced that those teachers who are still teaching have angel wings hidden under their jackets. Y'all are awesome. These comments are not intended to diminish you in any way.</p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-84239154683465723482022-12-01T12:43:00.004-08:002022-12-01T12:43:40.871-08:00On Teachers' Pay and Why It Matters<p> I'm reading the book <i>Think Again</i>, by psychologist Adam Grant, and I noticed a footnote talking about the importance of paying your workers enough. Mr. Grant was speaking in general terms, but I think that this footnote on page 114 has special application to the teaching profession:</p><p></p><blockquote><i>Pay isn't a carrot we need to dangle to motivate people -- it's a symbol of how much we value them. Managers </i>[administrators, for schoolteachers]<i> can motivate people by designing meaningful jobs in which people have freedom, mastery, belonging, and impact. They can show appreciation by paying people well.</i></blockquote><p>It really is that simple. </p><p></p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-67045040812885336002022-11-25T21:42:00.006-08:002022-12-01T12:35:50.750-08:00A New Quilt<p> Twelve years ago, I wrote about <a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2010/08/really-truly-empty-nest-part-1.html">how an old quilt made me cry </a>as our full and busy home became an empty nest. That quilt was powerfully symbolic. It spoke of my love for the mountains, and of how I shared that love with my children and passed it on to them.</p><p>Around that time, my sweet wife started making another quilt for me -- another quilt covered with images of mountains and trees and lakes and sky. Life got in the way, and it took her until today to finish it. This quilt also carries powerful symbolism, but it's not just symbolic of my love for the mountains. It's symbolic of a woman's love and devotion in the face of all obstacles.</p><p>I'm a very lucky man, and I know it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvo16TRlzmV_JGnhs0J4d9EPSB_ACX4ENU5RtvlN8GnO5agPXXXpj0CFFBjpgCqsKyPoPIeLh9H5-grgMOtkeAMTWOnLAl661OvpBiQFntRDLwpS1V_UGHs0aeVdwEeTVe0sH8lyzRcVUnGlgZ_c-x03QmB4fXTRI2BgapPGqEZeRY3-m8cOkOGF2mQ/s4000/quilt1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvo16TRlzmV_JGnhs0J4d9EPSB_ACX4ENU5RtvlN8GnO5agPXXXpj0CFFBjpgCqsKyPoPIeLh9H5-grgMOtkeAMTWOnLAl661OvpBiQFntRDLwpS1V_UGHs0aeVdwEeTVe0sH8lyzRcVUnGlgZ_c-x03QmB4fXTRI2BgapPGqEZeRY3-m8cOkOGF2mQ/w225-h400/quilt1.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYOL6TM5C0jOs8GOfHwXZrL6Nup269SC_lxVZ6TLRr9AaWT2DQmbBeFu8yTehXZvJ_DNXTHjVTVFDoKnGvLGdo8WtcjTH5iKCtjrRZvTY7-bNTtKL3ZBKJ9zGshdyQEFBw54Bjzh7931kKUwWiRWH2gY5otwZKYzO2aOv_jpVb6qtgNEUeKbyMD3KTg/s4000/quilt2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYOL6TM5C0jOs8GOfHwXZrL6Nup269SC_lxVZ6TLRr9AaWT2DQmbBeFu8yTehXZvJ_DNXTHjVTVFDoKnGvLGdo8WtcjTH5iKCtjrRZvTY7-bNTtKL3ZBKJ9zGshdyQEFBw54Bjzh7931kKUwWiRWH2gY5otwZKYzO2aOv_jpVb6qtgNEUeKbyMD3KTg/w225-h400/quilt2.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><p><b>AND THEN, AND THEN:</b></p><p>She had leftover fabric, so she made two pillowcases to match the blanket!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQqWXvZ1H8RrOCOef2am2M2VgMIVKW-ftPd1vBKqcnYODs7BuTisfeQX1awXxXlI7DQmMPP9iu4gCfflh-XdEMcnNH9hOghIOTCHPfh1EhNFXztkDpGurbGi6_LUmRhJ76ERPJxZlBBR2nplXCd8Kp8IKXtWZeXZrJZYEfJffkQ9yddt8wxmxXgFKdA/s4000/20221130_070352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQqWXvZ1H8RrOCOef2am2M2VgMIVKW-ftPd1vBKqcnYODs7BuTisfeQX1awXxXlI7DQmMPP9iu4gCfflh-XdEMcnNH9hOghIOTCHPfh1EhNFXztkDpGurbGi6_LUmRhJ76ERPJxZlBBR2nplXCd8Kp8IKXtWZeXZrJZYEfJffkQ9yddt8wxmxXgFKdA/w225-h400/20221130_070352.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyH4uWVNyq0orJwgniOaPdzotaRVB3KXjMXm9fSojCMgAAjZelg5hHmZ8mOb999-YX-_et0TR9_hgHkPrhGGv9q-FzwbsFp7oBQwQMWFwxXMI-xWHnhoSmqmWlJqGLTZJqqkRhCFNUaO60fW-NRnF2XfdO9koJKA9SVWOtzSjW6lI7ouMtAz86T4dzZg/s4000/20221130_070415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyH4uWVNyq0orJwgniOaPdzotaRVB3KXjMXm9fSojCMgAAjZelg5hHmZ8mOb999-YX-_et0TR9_hgHkPrhGGv9q-FzwbsFp7oBQwQMWFwxXMI-xWHnhoSmqmWlJqGLTZJqqkRhCFNUaO60fW-NRnF2XfdO9koJKA9SVWOtzSjW6lI7ouMtAz86T4dzZg/w225-h400/20221130_070415.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-48227761747954781162022-11-25T15:23:00.001-08:002023-11-13T14:16:32.777-08:00Old Cowboys Never Die, They Just Ride off into the Sunset<p>October was a difficult month for me. It marked the death of one of the most influential men of the 20th Century, even though you may never have heard of him.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCGTr3EQ5ugqqwuJPIYTj2VDiQ9AmeCU1-tl26unn1F8v6yQf0KgbRLgRkhZevm-TYgaH3GcADt7RG_0EjsvhY_unXQZxz1n86psybg0YRgPZ9-cltwo9QzfmVfjuRt_kbpNQmviWVlE_WZ6YEVsRheKncHlp7fUD4YH-ELwBUSb0MPots5WEq8sZs8g/s2084/20170117_180450_cropped.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2084" data-original-width="2005" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCGTr3EQ5ugqqwuJPIYTj2VDiQ9AmeCU1-tl26unn1F8v6yQf0KgbRLgRkhZevm-TYgaH3GcADt7RG_0EjsvhY_unXQZxz1n86psybg0YRgPZ9-cltwo9QzfmVfjuRt_kbpNQmviWVlE_WZ6YEVsRheKncHlp7fUD4YH-ELwBUSb0MPots5WEq8sZs8g/s320/20170117_180450_cropped.jpg" width="308" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Donald Albert Depew was born on December 20, 1933, in Raymond, Alberta, Canada, in the Mormon farming and ranching colonies of southern Alberta. His father was William Warren Depew, and his mother was Leah Enid Lybbert Depew. The Depews were from Payson, Utah, and the Lybberts were from Vernal, Utah. They were all ranchers and horsemen, and lived on the plains of southern Alberta, east of the Canadian Rockies.</p><p>One day when Don was two years old, his father was in the barn taking care of the horses, when something spooked them and they ended up trampling him to death. The Depew and Lybbert clans rallied around Enid and her two young children. Don was raised as much by his aunts and uncles as he was by his mother, and never lacked for love, nurturing and good role models. </p><p>When Don was 5 years old, Enid married a good man named Bill Hass. Enid and Bill had four children, which, together with Don and his older sister, made six children in the family. The family moved around Alberta as Bill pursued different jobs, ending up in Edmonton in 1945, at the end of World War II.</p><p>Starting at age 10 ½, Don would live with his family during the school year, and then spend summers on his uncles’ ranches in southern Alberta. He became a cowboy, working alongside the other cowboys on the ranch, learning about horsemanship and care of horses and cattle. He developed a deep love for horses, which stayed with him his whole life.</p><p>He also developed a solid work ethic, which guided his life and which he passed on to his children. In fact, I can remember working on the house with him, at age 17, and hearing him say to me, “I finally taught you how to work, and now you’re leaving.” It sounded like he was complaining, but I think he was pretty satisfied.</p><p>He got his first job at age 12, as a paper boy for the Edmonton Journal. This gave him money in his pocket and taught him independence and self-sufficiency. In the summers, he would line up substitutes for his paper route so he could go down south and work on the ranches. At age 16, he bought his first car, a 1940 Nash, and used it to drive the kids in Edmonton to early-morning seminary.</p><p>At a youth dance, he noticed a pretty little 16-year-old girl from school, named Patricia French. She was not a member of the church, but was attending the dance with some friends. She was quite different from the “pruny Church girls” his mother kept trying to set him up with, but who did not interest him at all. Don began dating Pat, got her connected with the missionaries, baptized her, and added her to the list of kids he would pick up for early-morning seminary.</p><p>Don wanted to go to college, and had applied to BYU to study geology, but then the Korean War broke out, and those plans were put on the shelf. </p><p>Bill Hass decided to start a long-haul trucking business, and eighteen-year-old Don became one of his drivers. Don drove trucks across Canada and the United States, but he knew this wasn’t the kind of job he wanted to do long-term. Besides, he and Pat were courting by now, and he wanted to spend time in Edmonton with her.</p><p>In March 1954, Don and another driver were at the customs office on the border in Manitoba, when they received word that Bill had died of a massive heart attack. They hurried home, and the family ended up selling off the trucking business. Don and his mother used the money from the sale of the trucking business to build a boarding house, which they called the Hasshold. The income from the boarding house supported his mother for many years, and one of the boarders ended up marrying Don’s sister Carolyn.</p><p>With his mother taken care of financially, it was time for Don to start his own family.</p><p>Don and Pat got married in 1955. He was 21 and she was 19. Pat was working as a school teacher, and Don got a job as a lab technician in Edmonton, in the exciting new world of plastics, with an up-and-coming company called Canadian Industries Limited. They had four children: Cheryl, Ray, Craig, and Doug. After Doug was born, they put their station wagon and their children on a train and moved from Edmonton to Toronto, Ontario, again with CIL. </p><p>From there, Don followed new job opportunities and promotions across the border, to West Chester PA, Wilmington DE, Montreal Quebec, Naperville IL, Detroit MI, Marietta GA, and Bainbridge GA. His willingness to work hard and to move around allowed him to work in sales, engineering, research and management, eventually retiring as VP of Engineering for Amoco Fabrics, in Atlanta, without ever having a college degree. He was proud, however, of his certificate for the Executive Management course he took at the University of Michigan late in his career.</p><p>Don and Pat added Susan to the family in Toronto, and Shelly in Wilmington, making a total of six children. Over the years, they have taken in strays, that is emancipated or foster teens, and young adults, single or married, who needed a hand up. So, depending on how you count it, you could say they have dozens of children.</p><p>In 1975, Pat started showing symptoms of what was finally diagnosed as multiple sclerosis. They soon moved to Georgia, so that Pat could get better medical care. Don arranged his work responsibilities and his residence and office locations, so that he could drop everything and be home in less than 15 minutes if Pat needed him. He took training to become her primary caregiver, and he took care of her for 12 years. His devotion to her, and his single-minded care for her, was a powerful example to his family and to others, who have attempted to emulate his devotion in their own marriages.</p><p><a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2012/03/life-well-lived.html" target="_blank">Pat passed away in 1988, at the age of 52</a>. Don was 55. In Pat’s final years, one of the frequent visitors to Don and Pat’s house had been Pat’s best friend, Linda Bess. Before Pat passed away, she told Don and Linda (separately) that she wanted them to get married. So they did.</p><p>Don and Linda lived in Acworth GA and Dothan AL. They went on adventures, including trips to Ireland, Hawaii, the Mediterranean, and their timeshare in Colorado. Linda supported Don’s passion for horses, and they more or less adopted each other’s grandchildren. The marriage ended in 2014, after 25 years, but they kept in touch, and the grandchildren and Don are still close.</p><p>Don and Linda served a mission together in Nauvoo, Illinois. Don worked as a sealer in the Atlanta and Birmingham temples, and this gave him the chance to officiate at the marriages of many of his grandchildren.</p><p>Because Don was raised on the ranches in southern Alberta, he became an avid horseman and had a passion for horses his entire life. He had a special interest in quarter horses. In Montreal, he built a barn for two horses in the backyard, and arranged with the neighbors across the road to keep his horses in their pasture. He eventually acquired some real horse property in western Cobb county. Later, when his son Doug bought some property for a horse farm in Acworth, Don served as barn building contractor, groomer, feeder, ranch foreman, head horse wrangler, chief hay thrower, bushhogger, fence fixer, horse shoeing supervisor, tree cutter, and ditch digger for as long as he was able. Doug has inherited Don’s passion for horses and continues the tradition of horsemanship. There will always be cowboys in the Depew clan.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6Lko_KVB21oPtISkAh5cmQqwMYhd8z5-EWihGezgCrLcs1pphT1cYpr4ARvYPvyZV3LQ3YukoBxfGSZHgDlVOniwL8va3Z60twMtAJmoSAaW_FXIsAU4MMQvOY9Cez4lZSMFc9cyBrzOK_9o9Hy1Um6dK61PpY0MddX9dAXbJPyuYXxDBcPnFBeNLQ/s2048/Riding%20Sassy%20Sep%202014.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1529" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6Lko_KVB21oPtISkAh5cmQqwMYhd8z5-EWihGezgCrLcs1pphT1cYpr4ARvYPvyZV3LQ3YukoBxfGSZHgDlVOniwL8va3Z60twMtAJmoSAaW_FXIsAU4MMQvOY9Cez4lZSMFc9cyBrzOK_9o9Hy1Um6dK61PpY0MddX9dAXbJPyuYXxDBcPnFBeNLQ/s320/Riding%20Sassy%20Sep%202014.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>In Don’s later years, Doug and his family made room for him in their home. They gave him a great deal of independence, dignity and private space that allowed him to grow old gracefully. He enjoyed holding court in his chair in the sunroom, entertaining the third and fourth generation, and driving around the ranch in his golf cart with the big knobby tires. The siblings from Way Out West acknowledge and appreciate the unmeasurable time and resources that Doug and Vicki, and also Sue, put into caring for Don all those years.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwlhaJb4MBTNtml3rt0pFTCCAttb-zVfnUktHyCeUjoS-N2j6Xasq1WBg35Hmxv4yR9ayEvCcSwsYWv7C1ySJAEOxV3z2T05YKDKUXcVqmRdiK7CmLAIy7sUYEKtFp_jetTqe-xRLwD_Ogdf5Otnh-TKme1XQOUgoVF1JZTlYue4uw2UbDwGpDOKZRrg/s2039/The%20first%20and%20second%20generation.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1618" data-original-width="2039" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwlhaJb4MBTNtml3rt0pFTCCAttb-zVfnUktHyCeUjoS-N2j6Xasq1WBg35Hmxv4yR9ayEvCcSwsYWv7C1ySJAEOxV3z2T05YKDKUXcVqmRdiK7CmLAIy7sUYEKtFp_jetTqe-xRLwD_Ogdf5Otnh-TKme1XQOUgoVF1JZTlYue4uw2UbDwGpDOKZRrg/s320/The%20first%20and%20second%20generation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Don enjoyed presiding at family reunions, where four generations would get together to honor him, and to enjoy each other’s company. The first reunion was at Doug’s ranch in Acworth. It was organized by his 12-year-old granddaughter, Ashley, who has since turned event planning into a career. Since then, reunions have been held in Morganton, Georgia, and Estes Park Colorado. </p><p>Don Depew leaves behind two sisters and a sister-in-law, six children, 28 Depew grandchildren, 4 Bess grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and the hundreds of people who have been affected by his generosity, his faith, his service, and his friendship. His legacy extends beyond his immediate descendants to include all of the people whom he and Pat took in and sheltered and nurtured over the years, and the many people that he touched in a lifetime of teaching and leadership.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98i6nYyjr8vNIkiCHIPHENMii8qL5ZNE328l05qI_MVmhv46ujvbzCa-0rF59tFiNu-hsvYEXgG0MujLdhF4YI9HPfwjyHPMZ6jv12F1u4a2Ne8TdvqoAbmcBEGDRRWzoj493P2vXiLYRDgtUwoR-7g0fnSX_An-plziCK-UtxXfowtxqmejI0qk7Cw/s3095/obit1%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3095" data-original-width="2746" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98i6nYyjr8vNIkiCHIPHENMii8qL5ZNE328l05qI_MVmhv46ujvbzCa-0rF59tFiNu-hsvYEXgG0MujLdhF4YI9HPfwjyHPMZ6jv12F1u4a2Ne8TdvqoAbmcBEGDRRWzoj493P2vXiLYRDgtUwoR-7g0fnSX_An-plziCK-UtxXfowtxqmejI0qk7Cw/s320/obit1%20(2).jpg" width="284" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm48lgcTCQbE3xgsmDwIX_dpJYg-DbAcZgL7fFFUgV9D8ZTWB1GnsT3dWRKhVoX39fLCGcxprr7rsNxPNvlasS0yxcqam4e6ZCDhz0qwQ4GHtwRqaDaS67k6OO06mcqxa4-gv-iW7eCE52dS71pQu0uHbxUetwxZXin8_wLjvYSfFPHlVBxs-GEXHpRg/s1177/obit4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1177" data-original-width="885" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm48lgcTCQbE3xgsmDwIX_dpJYg-DbAcZgL7fFFUgV9D8ZTWB1GnsT3dWRKhVoX39fLCGcxprr7rsNxPNvlasS0yxcqam4e6ZCDhz0qwQ4GHtwRqaDaS67k6OO06mcqxa4-gv-iW7eCE52dS71pQu0uHbxUetwxZXin8_wLjvYSfFPHlVBxs-GEXHpRg/s320/obit4.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0pS5hVbqRLDMM0I-Lj36F2-o_jzguFOF_wFowl2vzxxNYKsMAd-1FdVNR24dW1VSoOKout28lv54JMA1_lBDBHHaNphZng0nuB2wWwp8gI6JaxMbx1vEV1MizKGzgzI1bwuvLScYb29kxalrtoujWgALEevvbfVtB5dv5H2UMPRNcLgz2UhEi5GzPww/s900/cowboy-sunset-gene-praag.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="900" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0pS5hVbqRLDMM0I-Lj36F2-o_jzguFOF_wFowl2vzxxNYKsMAd-1FdVNR24dW1VSoOKout28lv54JMA1_lBDBHHaNphZng0nuB2wWwp8gI6JaxMbx1vEV1MizKGzgzI1bwuvLScYb29kxalrtoujWgALEevvbfVtB5dv5H2UMPRNcLgz2UhEi5GzPww/w400-h244/cowboy-sunset-gene-praag.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit: Gene Praag</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-61614806144035240672022-08-21T16:03:00.001-07:002022-08-21T16:03:08.061-07:00That Sunday School teacher from Finland<p> <i>Preface: This is a letter I wrote to my kids on 7 February, 2011, about a Sunday School teacher I had when I was a youth. I don't want to lose this story, so here it is.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p>Hi kids,</p><p>Here's the story I promised you, about my favorite Sunday School teacher ever.</p><p>For my last two years in high school (from mid-sophomore year to mid-senior year), we lived in Hawkesbury, Ontario and went to church in Pointe Claire (Montreal), Quebec. It seemed like our Sunday School class couldn't keep a teacher for more than three weeks. I don't recall doing anything specific to drive them out, but apparently we did something to make them go away.</p><p>Ironically, the Sunday School teacher that lasted the longest was the one that was the least prepared and the least effective. Every Sunday, he would fold the lesson manual back on itself, breaking the spine of the book, bury his nose in the page, and start reading. The. Lesson. Word. By. Word. The only time he looked up was to pick someone to address a question to -- again, a question from the book. Where the manual said "<i>Ask: What did ...?</i>" he would look up, say "Andrew?" and then bury his nose in the book and ask the question: "What. Did. ...?" Andrew would answer something -- anything! -- and the guy would say, "Correct." -- and then read the answer out of the book! Out loud!</p><p>I didn't learn anything Gospel-related from that teacher, except how <i>NEVER </i>to teach.</p><p>The Sunday School teacher I remember the most was this one little lady, an immigrant from Finland, who didn't speak English very well. I think that she was very poor. I also think that she put hours into preparing every lesson. How do I know? Well, it's a simple thing, and it may make my tender-hearted Mountain Woman tear up just a bit.</p><p>Nabisco Shredded Wheat, not the spoon-size stuff but the big stuff, was packaged three biscuits at a time in a wax-paper wrapper. The wrappers were stacked in the cereal box with pasteboard spacers between them, so the biscuits wouldn't crumble. I was very familiar with those spacers because Shredded Wheat was cheap and our family ate a lot of it. </p><p>Every Sunday, this Finnish lady would pull her lesson plan out of her bag, written in pencil on several of those Shredded Wheat spacers. The spacers were about four inches wide and ten inches long. She would hold them like a hand of oversized playing cards, and constantly shuffle through them as she taught her lesson.</p><p>One Sunday, she handed out triple combinations for us to use to look up something. (This was back in the days before President Spencer W. Kimball, and before his counsel that parents should obtain all the scriptures for all their children.) I ended up with one that didn't look quite right. She had us turn to a section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which was easy to find because all the sections are numbered, right? So are the verses! But the words in my book were all gibberish. She had intentionally snuck a Finnish D&C in with the books she was handing out! </p><p>She was illustrating a point that she was trying to make, by giving one of us a book that we could not read or understand. Today we call that an "object lesson." And you can believe that all of us in that class caught the object lesson that Sunday.</p><p>She never said "I love you kids," probably because that didn't come into style for a few years after. Maybe she did love us; I don't know. But she was a model of devotion and of preparation that I have followed ever since -- and of humility! creativity! and so much more of what makes a great teacher out of anybody.</p><p>--</p><p>Love</p><p></p><p>Dad</p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-35100394320360953232022-08-10T12:18:00.004-07:002022-08-12T09:56:20.715-07:00Word Peeve: Cue vs. Queue vs. Que<p>I've noticed a new fingernails-screeching-on-chalkboard trend in the written word, both on paper and in electronic media.</p><p>It doesn't happen with the spoken word, because all three of the words involved are pronounced the same.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Here's the situation.</h3><p>Consider someone telling a story, and then writing a sentence like this:</p><p><i>"Queue the angry customer."</i></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Here's the issue.</h3><p><i>Cue</i> is the word you're looking for. It's a stage direction. It's used in plays, movies, and newscasts. It's a signal for someone to take their place onstage or to speak their line, for example. It's also used to call for a sound effect, a spotlight, a brass band, and so on.</p><p><i>Queue</i> means to stand in line, or to form a line -- a <i>queue </i>of people, waiting for something, like boarding passes at an airport.</p><p><i>Que</i> is an alternative spelling of <i>queue</i>, useful in Scrabble.</p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-19729041624767134102022-06-20T11:31:00.002-07:002022-11-25T14:47:19.254-08:00Word Peeve: "Myself" and other reflexive pronouns<p>I'm here today to talk about the practice of using "myself" instead of "I" or "me".</p><p>I'm tempted to blame this one on the officious, pompous, pseudo-authoritarian, petty tyrants on the front lines of the Transportation Security Agency, because I've heard them commit this assault on the English language more than anybody else. But that may not be fair; they may have picked up the practice from other officious, pompous sources.</p><p>We need to start by reviewing first, second, and third person, because reflexive pronouns don't make sense unless you understand this simple concept.</p><p>Then we need to quickly review subject and object pronouns, followed by reflexive pronouns.</p><p>Don't worry; this is a quick and easy read. It will help you avoid sounding like a clod, a boor, a petty tyrant, or a TSA agent.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">First, second, and third person</h2><p>Remember learning about first, second, and third person? What?? You never learned about them?</p><p>Okay. Here's a quick review.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">First person: "I" and "me"</h3><p>Imagine you're marooned on a desert island -- not even a volleyball to keep you company. There's only one person on the island. And every time you talk about that person, you use the pronoun "I". </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"I'm hungry."</li><li>"I need to go to the bathroom."</li><li>"I am all alone."</li><li>"That snake bit me!"</li></ul><h3 style="text-align: left;">Second person: "You" -- just "you"</h3><div>Imagine somebody else washes up on the island. Now there are two people. You were there first, so you are the <i>first person</i>. The other castaway got there second, so they are the <i>second person</i>. Every time you talk about that person, you use the pronoun "you".</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"Where did you come from?"</li><li>"Phew! You stink!"</li><li>"Here, let me fix that for you."</li></ul><h3 style="text-align: left;">Third person: "he/she" and "him/her"</h3></div><div>Imagine that yet another castaway washes up on the island. Now there are three people. The newcomer is the <i>third person. </i>When you address the newcomer directly, you use the pronoun "you", just as before. But when you are talking about the newcomer to the second person that showed up, you use the pronoun "he", "she", "him", "her", or "it" as appropriate.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"Is it even human?"</li><li>"She looks like she's dying of thirst."</li><li>"He has fish bites all over him!"</li><li>"Quick, let's get her out of the sun."</li></ul><h3 style="text-align: left;">What about when you have to combine them?</h3></div><div>When you are talking about more than one person at a time, the order <i>always</i> goes third, then second, then first. This is not a rule of grammar as much as it is a rule of centuries of common courtesy.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"You and I are gonna have fun together!"</li><li>"He and you both have the same sneakers." (This one has evolved over time, and "You and he both have the same sneakers" sounds less awkward than it used to.)</li><li>"Can he and I go out to play?"</li></ul><div>We'll skip plural pronouns for now, like "they", "them", and "us".</div><div><br /></div><div>Enough about persons. Now let's talk about types of pronouns.</div></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Subject, object and reflexive pronouns</h2><h3 style="text-align: left;">Subject pronouns</h3><div>Pronouns can be <i>subject pronouns, </i>used as the subject of a sentence. The subject pronouns are: I, you, he, she, it, we, they.</div><p></p><div>Examples of subject pronouns.</div><p></p><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"Mom, can <i>I</i> go to the store?" </li><li>"John and <i>I</i> were best friends."</li><li>"<i>You </i>are ugly."</li><li>"<i>He </i>did it!"</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Object pronouns</h3><div><br /></div><div>Pronouns can be <i>object pronouns, </i>used as anything except the subject of a sentence. The object pronouns are: me, you, him, her, it, us, them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Examples of object pronouns:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"Give the bowl of ramen to <i>her</i>."</li><li>"Jeff punched <i>him </i>in the nose."</li><li>"You don't like <i>me</i>? Sob"</li><li>"The wave washed <i>them </i>out to sea."</li></ul></div><p></p><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Reflexive pronouns</h3><div>This takes us to reflexive pronouns. Pronouns can be <i>reflexive pronouns</i>, when they <i>reflect back on </i>the person or thing that is the subject of the sentence. The reflexive pronouns are: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.</div><div><br /></div><div>Examples of reflexive pronounces:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"Ouch! I poked <i>myself </i>in the eye!"</li><li>"It's my birthday, so I'm giving this gift to <i>myself</i>."</li><li>"Stop hitting <i>yourself</i>! Stop hitting <i>yourself</i>! Heeheehee"</li><li>"Why is Matt saluting <i>himself </i>in the mirror?"</li><li>"And so the wave falls in on <i>itself</i>."</li></ul><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Criminal Misuse of Reflexive Pronouns</h2></div><div>The reflexive pronouns seem to be abused the most by people in positions of supposed authority, such as bureaucratic officials, low-level administrators, and TSA agents at the airport security line. Mostly, but not exclusively, petty tyrants. But they're not the only abusers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Any use of a reflexive pronoun where the reflexive pronoun does not agree with the subject of the sentence is <i>wrong.<b> Wrong. <u>WRONG, WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.</u></b></i></div><div><i><b><u><br /></u></b></i></div><div>It makes the user sound pompous and stupid.</div><div><br /></div><div>Examples of abuse of reflexive pronouns, and what to say instead:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Wrong:</b> "Please return all completed forms to <i>myself</i>."</div><div><b>Right:</b> "Please return all completed forms to <i>me</i>."</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Wrong:</b> "<i>Myself</i> and my fiancé have known each other for three years."</div><div><b>Right:</b> "My fiancé <i>and I </i>have known each other for three years."</div><div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Wrong:</b> "By her actions, she was disrespecting <i>myself</i> and all other veterans."</div><div><b>Right:</b> "By her actions, she was disrespecting <i>me </i>and all other veterans."</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Wrong:</b> "I was sick, so she did all the grocery shopping for <i>myself.</i>"</div><div><b>Right:</b> "I was sick, so she did all the grocery shopping for <i>me</i>."</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Wrong:</b> "Except for <i>myself</i>, nobody was injured."</div><div><b>Right:</b> "Except for <i>me</i>, nobody was injured."</div><div><b>Better:</b> "Nobody was injured, except for <i>me</i>."</div><div><b>Even better: </b>"<i>I </i>was the only one injured."</div><div><br /></div><div>Do it right. Don't make a fool of yourself.</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-71920713297908487852022-06-20T10:15:00.002-07:002022-11-25T14:47:53.789-08:00Word Peeve: "stepping foot" versus "setting foot"<p> Here's a recent one.</p><p>Sometime in the last 20 or 30 years, people started misusing the phrase "set foot" by subsituting "step foot" in its place.</p><p>"Step foot" seems to be a combination of "set foot" with the simple verb "step".</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Usage examples of "set foot"</h3><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"I'm never setting foot in that church again."</li><li>"He was attacked before he could even set foot on French soil."</li></ul><p></p><p>The phrase "set foot" implies a word like "my" or "his", or even just plain "a". It's the act of <i>putting</i> something, in this case <i>a foot</i>, in or on someplace.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"I'm never setting (my) foot in that church again."</li><li>"He was attacked before he could even set (a) (his) foot on French soil."</li><li>"He was attacked before he could even set (his) foot on French soil."</li></ul><h3 style="text-align: left;">Usage examples of "step"</h3><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"I'm never stepping into that church again."</li><li>"He was attacked before he could even step onto French soil."</li></ul><div>"In" becomes "into" and "on" becomes "onto", but with those slight variations, "step" and "set foot" both work. "Set foot" sounds more sophisticated.</div></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">So what about "step foot"?</h3><div><br /></div><div>"Step foot" makes no logical sense. While, as I've shown, <i>setting foot</i> is about the same as <i>putting a foot </i>someplace, there is no similar construction for "step foot". Nobody says "Now, <i>step your foot </i>here and then step it there." People say "<i>set your foot </i>here", and they say "<i>take a step </i>here". But that's different. "Step your foot" sounds ignorant and hillbilly -- and so does the simpler "step foot".</div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Historical usage</h3><div>As with other word peeves, I can't completely justify my position by referring to historical usage.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Set foot" dates back to the 1600s.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Step foot" dates back to the late 1800s. It was condemned by scholars back then then as a misuse of the original phrase, but it survived in popular usage. So even though <i>it's still wrong</i>, it has the weight of history behind it.</div><div><br /></div><div>During the entire 20th Century, editors and English teachers were mostly successful in stamping out the incorrect usage, but as I pointed out, it has flourished again in the 21st Century. I think it's because the rising generation (or maybe two generations) did not receive the rigorous schooling in grammar and language that their parents and grandparents received.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Bottom line</h3><div>The correct usage is "set foot" -- or, in the interest of simpler speech, "step". But don't use "step foot". It makes you sound uneducated.</div><p></p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-88189773516897933232022-05-25T08:01:00.013-07:002022-05-25T10:01:17.189-07:00About guns and classrooms<h2 style="text-align: left;">Introduction</h2><p>Columbine, in 1999, wasn't the first school shooting, but its 15 dead and 24 injured, and the drama surrounding it, certainly caught everyone's attention.</p><p>Sandy Hook, in 2012, wasn't the first <i>elementary </i> school shooting, but its 27 dead, an unnecessary and altogether preventable number, also caught everyone's attention.</p><p>Virginia Tech, in 2007, doesn't register in many people's memories, maybe because it was at a university, and all of the victims were legally adults, even if they were students. But its 33 dead <i>should</i> catch everyone's attention.</p><p>And now in 2022, Ross Elementary School, in Uvalde, Texas, adds its 19 dead and 2 injured to the list.</p><p>These are only the landmark school shootings. Many more, while still horrifying, and memorable to some, are largely ignored or forgotten by everybody else.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">My Chuck Norris moment</h2><p>I was a schoolteacher for two years, starting in 2006. It was only seven years after Columbine, and it was seven years before <a href="https://www.houstontx.gov/police/pdfs/brochures/english/Active_Shooter_Brochure_Main_Practice_2013.pdf">"Run-Hide-Fight"</a>. Active-shooter drills were a regular part of school life, and we had several of them throughout the school year. That is to say, while we didn't have "Run-Hide-Fight", we had the "Hide" part down pretty well.</p><p>Columbine showed us, and other incidents confirmed, that adults in the school -- teachers -- were likely to get killed early in an assault. One would think that, with the adults out of the way, it would be easier for the shooter to pick off the kids.</p><p>Every time we had an active-shooter drill, I would hide all 30 kids in a corner of the classroom. I would turn off the lights, and I would lock and barricade the door. Then I would position myself between the silent students and the door, as close to the door as I could get without being seen.</p><p>I am, emphatically, not a macho he-man type. But this, I figured out on my own: if a shooter were to crash his way through my locked and barricaded classroom door, I would go Chuck Norris all over him. If I was going to die anyway, I would go down fighting. Forget trying to talk him down -- it hadn't worked for anybody else. If I could do anything about it, the shooter would die before I did.</p><p>I never told anybody about that. But at the end of my second year, I was chatting with some of the boys in my class. I found out that these 12-year-olds had already guessed that I would do something like that, and they had agreed among themselves that they would back me up with chairs, desks, and anything else that they could use as weapons. They knew that their lives were on the line as well. If they were going to die, they would make the gunman pay for it.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Arming teachers: Guns in the classroom</h2><div>After every one of these incidents, someone again proposes arming the teachers -- having the teachers carry a gun, presumably in a holster on their person, in the classroom. While I was a teacher, I thought long and hard about this. Let me give you my thoughts about a teacher packing heat. I will speak as if I were still a teacher in a public school.</div><div><br /></div><div>First of all, I'm not against it. I am not against guns. I am not against authorizing teachers to be armed. And I am not against allowing teachers to carry a gun in the classroom. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>BUT.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>I am against <i>requiring</i> teachers to be armed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Furthermore, if you want me to teach with a gun on my hip, then you had better pay me <i>both</i> a teacher's salary <i>and</i> a deputy sheriff's salary. If I'm going to do the deputy sheriff's job, in addition to my own, then I want to be paid for it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not only that, but if you require me to carry a gun, then you'd better pay for the gun. And the ammo. And the holster. And the paperwork. That money is <i>not </i>coming out of <i>my</i> pocket.</div><div><br /></div><div>Moreover, you'd better pay for my training, and for the hours I spend at the shooting range, practicing so that I can be as proficient with the weapon as I am with my standards-based curriculum. The training must include basic firearms training, specific training in the firearm I am carrying, <i>and </i>how-to-shoot-an-armed-attacker-in-a-realistic-situation training. </div><div><br /></div><div>You -- meaning my principal, my school district administration and board, my state board of education and legislators, the voters of this state, and the parents of my students -- had better take that gun and my shooting abilities as seriously as you take my teaching abilities.</div><div><br /></div><div>And based on what teacher salaries are in this state, you don't take my teaching abilities very seriously. That had better change as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>I signed up to be a teacher, not an armed guard.</div><h2 style="text-align: left;">An alternative to arming our teachers: fortify the schools</h2><div>If you're not willing to pay for all of that, then spend the money to make our schools more secure. </div><div><br /></div><div>Give us more on-site armed guards, who constantly patrol the buildings and the grounds, and don't just spend all day in their office, eating donuts and watching the monitors.</div><div><br /></div><div>Require each teacher, staffer, and student to have a smart-chip photo ID card with them at all times. Don't let anybody into the building without one.</div><div><br /></div><div>The efficacy of metal detectors has been debated, but still, have metal detectors and X-ray machines for bags and packages at every entrance. If we have them at airports and courthouses, why not have them at schools as well?</div><div><br /></div><div>Make sure outside-access doors are <i>always</i> locked.</div><div><br /></div><div>Put effective crash barriers in strategic locations, so an attacker can't ram a vehicle into the building to gain access.</div><div><br /></div><div>Surround the schools with a security fence, with locked gates or active barriers, just like we have on military bases.</div><div><br /></div><div>Turn our schools into fortresses. Ignore the fact that, from the inside, they will look like prisons.</div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Do you object to fortifying the schools? Really?</h2><div>If you don't want to fortify the schools, then you must turn to a political solution. More than twenty years of ongoing school violence have demonstrated that our governments have neither the <i>courage</i> nor the <i>integrity</i> to do anything about it. We have been asking for a political solution since Columbine, and even before then. It will never happen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fortifying the schools is a bandaid. It doesn't fix the <i>cause</i> of the problem. To fix the cause requires more <i>courage</i> and <i>integrity </i>than our current crop of politicians possesses. To fix the cause, two things must be done.<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Eliminate easy access to guns. I know that most school attacks in China use knives, not guns. But this isn't China.</li><li>Fix whatever it is that causes people to mount these kinds of attacks. Get rid of the bullying, the shunning, the family dysfunction, the radicalization, the loneliness, the hopelessness, the frustration, the rage, and all of the other contributing factors.</li></ol><h2 style="text-align: left;">And it's not about immigrants</h2><div>I'm speaking to the anti-immigrant faction in this section: It's got nothing to do with immigrants. </div><div><br /></div><div>Klebold and Harris were white, upper-middle-class kids, and all of their victims were likewise white, upper-middle-class. Same with Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, and Springfield. In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the perpetrator was white, and the victims were <i>Amish</i>, whose ancestors first immigrated to North America in 1715 -- long before your ancestors got here.</div><div><br /></div><div>Save your immigration-related talking points for some other time. They don't apply here.</div></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Conclusion: final thoughts</h2><div>Simply put, as a teacher, I will defend my students to the death. I will do my part. But I expect society to do their part.</div><div><br /></div><div>And remember, I got hired to teach, not to kill -- to build up, not to break down. That's all I want to do.</div>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-57290743868915493882022-05-05T06:53:00.016-07:002022-05-16T06:49:10.986-07:00How to Fix the Teacher Shortage<p>America has a teacher shortage, and it's rapidly getting worse. Here's what we can do about it.</p><p>In these post-pandemic days, teachers are no longer hailed as the heroes that, in March 2020, overnight and on their own, transformed their classrooms into online classrooms and saved the American educational system.</p><p>(No, that's not an exaggeration. They really did that. It certainly wasn't the politicians or the buttheaded administrators that saved public education during the pandemic.)</p><p>Today, teachers are disrespected by their students and the students' parents, mistreated and abused by their school and district administrators, and exploited as pawns by politicians, ideologues, local activists, and greedy pirates masquerading as "private school corporations" and "charter school corporations."</p><p>After going to college or university for four years to earn a degree and a professional certification, they are paid less than babysitters and waiters, and held accountable for things beyond their control.</p><p>It's no wonder that teachers are quitting.</p><p>They're quitting in growing numbers, and they're not even waiting for the end of the school year. The Reddit group <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/">r/Teachers</a> is full of stories of teachers quitting, and telling why they're quitting. It's heartbreaking.</p><p>And the rate at which teachers are permanently leaving the teaching profession is accelerating. Leaders are finally recognizing it, and they are starting to panic. The teacher shortage will soon become a genuine crisis, and it will affect every one of you, young and old, in profound ways.</p><p>What's to be done about it? I have some suggestions for the leaders who can do something about it.</p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Treat teachers like the professionals they are.</b> </h2><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Let the teachers design and execute the curriculum -- or give them the freedom to choose their curriculum from the many curricula offered by the textbook companies. Stop telling them how to do their jobs. And give them the budget and the tools they need to do their jobs.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">It makes me furiously angry to see other people, non-teachers, trying to tell teachers <i>how</i> and <i>what</i> they should teach. Do you treat lawyers and doctors like this? How about computer engineers? Teachers are trained professionals. Leave them alone and let them do what they are trained to do.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment.</b></h2></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">I could write an entire essay about this. </div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Many teachers are leaving now because of the disrespect, the humiliation, the danger, that manifests itself daily, in many ways. Teachers deserve to be treated with respect -- from students, from parents, and especially from administrators.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">And until they get that respect, they will keep marching out the door. <i>Nobody</i> pays them enough to treat them like this.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Also, <b>protect and defend them.</b><i> </i>Wait a minute, I need to say that louder.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><i>Protect and defend them!</i></h2><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Teachers are constantly threatened with physical violence, and they're not allowed to fight back. </div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Likewise, teachers are harassed, both online and in person, by students and their parents -- and sometimes by members of the community -- and the administrators take no action to stop it.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">In addition, teachers are falsely accused of all kinds of misconduct, usually by vindictive students and parents, and <a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2012/10/teachers-vs-idiots-teachers-finally-win.html" target="_blank">their cowardly administrators do not back them up.</a></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">For God's sake, <b>keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools</b>.</h2>I really mean "for God's sake."</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Here's one example of what happens when you let politicians and ideologues in the door.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Have you heard of Critical Race Theory (CRT)? Do you know a single school in your area where CRT is being taught? No, seriously: can you <i>name</i> a school near you, where CRT is part of the curriculum? Look as hard as you want. You won't find one.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Critical Race Theory (CRT) was developed in the 1970s and 1980s, and is an eye-opening way to view western history. The theory is debated at length at the university level, and some of its underlying ideas have been present in public schools since the 1970s. But the idea that CRT is taught in K-12 classrooms is a<a href="https://fallacyinlogic.com/straw-man-argument/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> straw man</a>, set up by politicians and ideologues just so they could knock it down, and so they could take control of the schoolhouse. Politicians, ideologues, and activists keep trying to force themselves into the educational process. No teaching will happen while we allow this. </div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">After the battle over CRT goes away, there will be something else to take its place.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Learning will happen, oh yes, but it will not be the kind of learning you want or expect. The unintended consequences of letting politicians and ideologues drive the educational process will haunt you, society, for at least an entire generation. </div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Knock it off, already.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Get rid of standardized testing.</h2><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">I could argue with you about this for hours. It's demeaning, it's misguided, it's a colossal waste of time and money, and it will go down in history as one of the biggest mistakes of this generation.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Standardized testing is a bullshit idea, promoted and administered by bullshitters. (Please excuse the <a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2022/03/about-profanity.html" target="_blank">profanity</a>.)</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b><i>PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES</i></b>. </h2><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2012/07/lets-pay-teachers-babysitters-wages.html" target="_blank">I have written about this before</a>.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Good grief, how can we expect a college-educated professional to stay motivated, when we pay them less than we pay our waiters and babysitters?! </div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Teachers shouldn't have to go out and get second jobs, just to support their teaching habit.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Don't just give "more money" to the schools, or to "education". Make sure that money goes directly into the teachers' pockets.</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;">Remember the old adage, "You get what you pay for."</div><div data-reddit-rtjson="{"entityMap":{},"blocks":[{"key":"lb73","text":"Treat them like the professionals they are. Let the teachers plan and execute the curriculum.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"84q2p","text":"Treat them with respect, and enforce that respectful treatment -- from students, from parents, from administrators. ","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6eji3","text":"For God's sake, keep politicians and ideologues out of the schools.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d7r0s","text":"PAY THEM PROFESSIONAL WAGES. My God, how can you expect a college-educated professional to feel motivated, when you pay them less than you pay waiters and babysitters?! Don't just give \"more money\" to the schools, or to \"education\". Make sure that money goes directly to the teachers.","type":"ordered-list-item","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}]}" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Fix the family.</h2><div>Teachers and public schools are not the cause of poor academic performance. Nor are they the cause of the problems with violence, disrespect, and dysfunction among the student body. Studies have testified to this, over and over again, and yet we keep laying the blame on the teachers and trying to fix things in the classroom. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/07/education-isnt-enough/590611/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">It's not the teachers' fault, and the fix isn't in the classroom.</a></div><div><br /></div><div>The root cause of these problems lies with the family that each student comes from. Put the blame where it belongs, and fix the problem at the root cause: the family.</div>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-31312157599537353112022-03-25T12:17:00.019-07:002022-08-12T10:20:37.174-07:00About Profanity <p>Okay, it's time. Let's talk about profanity.</p><p>A wise man named Spencer W. Kimball used to say: </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>"Profanity is the effort of a feeble brain to express itself forcibly." </i></p></blockquote><p>I've seen several misquotings and misrememberings, including my own version:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>"Profanity is the feeble attempt of a feeble mind to express itself forcibly."</i></p></blockquote><p>But the original will suffice for my purpose here. I am calling for a halt to the gratuitous and excessive profanity in modern discourse, and for a return to more precise speech. (If your name is Jodi, don't worry. You're safe. See the very end of this post.)</p><p><b><i>Warning: This post contains profanity. The profanity is strictly for illustrative purposes. Don't get worked up over it.</i></b></p><p><b><i><br /></i></b></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The HP Meeting</h3><div>When I was a new engineer, I was sitting in a department meeting. Several people were using profanity to emphasize the points they were trying to make. It <i>was</i> excessive, and it <i>was</i> unnecessary. Being a new guy, I didn't speak up, but someone else did. He quoted SWK. <i>But he mangled the quote.</i> If it had been delivered accurately, it would have had the desired effect, but the mangled version was a dud.</div><div><br /></div><div>In fact, what followed was a moment of silence, and then a bearded hippie-type guy in the back muttered, "I don't know what the fuck you're talkin' about."</div><div><br /></div><div>That was back in 1981, in a time when people chose their words more carefully. Even if they cussed and swore in private, they were -- except for this one meeting -- circumspect in their public speech. Over the years, and through many different jobs, I have attended meetings where someone would let slip a cussword, then glance my way and say, "oops, sorry". </div><div><br /></div><div>(Parenthetically, I don't know why they apologized to <i>me</i>. Never in my career have I set myself up as a judge or a censor, or anything remotely like that, and yet ... well, maybe it's an aura I have. Who knows? I did notice that they apologized to <i>me</i>, and not to the <i>women </i>in the meeting.)</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">The 2016 Presidential Election</h3><div>Then came the 2016 presidential election campaign. One of the candidates, Donald J. Trump, had no filter, as the saying goes. He cussed and swore all the time, in public as well as in private. The news media -- that is, the press, television reporters, and the Internet -- delighted in quoting him <i>verbatim</i>. This opened the floodgates. Suddenly it seemed that everybody felt empowered to use profanity in public, and so everybody did. Public profanity spread faster than a pandemic. (Okay, that's ironic.)</div><div><br /></div><div>And it has stayed that way, throughout Trump's presidency and afterwards. It may be one of his lasting legacies, and that's a crying shame. It's way too late to put those horses back in the barn.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Like Father, Like Son</h3><div>Let's go back again to 1981. I was fresh out of college. Our family car was a 1969 Plymouth Satellite, with a Mopar V8 engine. It wasn't a racing engine, just a good workhorse engine. But the car was 12 years old, and things were starting to wear out. We couldn't afford to take it into a mechanic, so for most things, I became the mechanic. </div><div><br /></div><div>I couldn't even afford a decent set of tools and a pair of jack stands. Instead, I had some two-foot lengths of old railroad tie in the trunk, plus an adjustable wrench, a pair of pliers, and a huge screwdriver. When I needed to work on the car, I would lift it with the tire jack, shove the railroad ties under the frame, and lower the car onto the railroad ties. Then I would crawl under the car and start swearing at it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yeah. Swearing at it. I learned quickly why mechanics have such foul mouths. Cusswords are better than WD-40 at loosening stuck bolts.</div><div><br /></div><div>The starters on Mopar engines were notorious for wearing out, and rebuilt/replacement starters were even more so. I got so I could jack up the car, replace the starter, and have the car running again in less than 40 minutes. And 300 cusswords.</div><div><br /></div><div>One day, I was out in the parking lot, underneath the car, replacing the starter again, when my two-year-old son drove up beside me on his little white riding car. He dismounted and lifted the seat. He pulled out of the storage compartment a piece of two-by-four lumber, his plastic wrench, and his plastic screwdriver. He shoved the two-by-four under the car. Then he lay down on his back, shoved the screwdriver under the car, and started cussing at it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yeahhhh, that's when I decided that I needed to change my tune -- clean up my act -- literally, and both idioms. I made a conscious effort to remove those words from my vocabulary, and to replace them with plain English words that said what I meant. I started aiming for more precise language.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nine years later, I knew that I had been successful, when my now-eleven-year-old son was out in the garage working on a project. While hammering a nail, and unaware that anybody could hear him, he yelled loudly, "OUCH! I HIT MY THUMB!" Win.</div><div><br /></div><div>Decades later, while lying in the Emergency Room, suffering from what was later diagnosed as pancreatitis, and howling from the pain, the strongest words I used were "WOW, THIS HURTS WORSE THAN ANYTHING I'VE EVER FELT!" and "HOLY MACKEREL, THIS HURTS!". Still winning.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Yeah, But There's Still Everybody Else</h3><div>It's true. I'm not the only person in the world who makes a habit of clean speech. Unfortunately, for me it's still a conscious effort. I admire all of the people, for whom clean speech (or precise speech, if you prefer) is second nature, just a habit.</div><div><br /></div><div>But then there's everybody else. I can recall a conversation recently, where half the words the speaker said, <i>by actual count</i>, were "fuck", "shit", or variations thereof. Not only could I not understand what he was trying to say, but I could not take the man seriously. I have heard many conversations like that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Over the years, I have made many efforts to enjoy and appreciate contemporary music, hip-hop/R&B being one genre. But I cannot get past the profanity. It gets in the way.</div><div><br /></div><div>Modern fiction literature,<i> same thing.</i> Political speeches, <i>same thing</i>. Popular movies,<i> same thing</i>. Way too many television shows, <i>same thing</i>. It's not necessary. It may be in there to pull a laugh out of the audience, or to sound sophisticated, but it doesn't work for me. In radio parlance, for me, it's a "tune-out".</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">So, What to Do About it?</h3><div>Every one of those cusswords is a substitute for a perfectly good English-language word, and not a very good substitute at that. Why not just use the regular English words to get your message across? Instead of yelling, "That fuckin' fucker fucked up my shit again!", say, "That stupid clerk messed up my order again!" It's more accurate, and it's less likely to be misunderstood.</div><div><br /></div><div>It really is that simple.</div><div><br /></div><div> If you want, go find a thesaurus and look up some stronger alternatives for "stupid". Could be useful in the future.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">What about "Oh My Gawd" and Stuff Like That?</h3><div>Ah, yes. Oaths and interjections.</div><div><br /></div><div>Interjections are simple reactions to things. Today, they're mostly overreactions. And most of them merely sound stupid.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Holy shit!"<br />"Fuuuuuuuck!"</div><div>"Dammmmmmmmn!"</div><div>"Oh my Gawwwwwd!"</div><div>"God damn it!"</div><div><br /></div><div>(By the way, what's God got to do with it? Surely whatever just happened isn't His fault, is it? Leave Him out of it.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's get Biblical here for a minute. Wait, wait, don't leave. This isn't a religious discussion. I'm just using the Good Book as a literary source. Again, don't get all excited. Geeze, you guys.</div><div><br /></div><div>(See what I did there?)</div><div><br /></div><div>In the Old Testament, in 2 Kings 6:31, is an intriguing phrase. Imagine the king, inspecting the city, then turning to his advisers, slashing his finger across his throat in the classic gesture, and saying "God do so to me, and more also, if ..."</div><div><br /></div><div>That's an oath. Today, we might say, "God strike me dead if ..."</div><div><br /></div><div>Or, "Cross my heart and hope to die."</div><div><br /></div><div>Or, "If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'."</div><div><br /></div><div>The most common oath today is the simple interjection, "Oh my god." It's used so often as to be practically meaningless. Nobody recognizes it in its original form as a prayer, an appeal to heaven. An oath.</div><div><br /></div><div>Somewhere around 1981, a comedian commented on this subject, saying: "God's a busy guy. He's trying to solve world hunger and cancer and stuff, and every time somebody says 'Oh my God', He's like 'WHAT?!!! Whaddayawant? Can't you see I'm busy here?'"</div><div><br /></div><div>And then there's the oath "What the hell is going on here?" or "What in God's name is going on here?" or, of course, "What the fuck is going on here?" They're all oaths, that last one doing double duty as a profane oath.</div><div><br /></div><div>So in the New Testament, Jesus says (paraphrasing) "Don't swear at all. Don't swear by heaven, and don't swear by the earth, and don't even swear by the hairs on your head. Because you don't have any power over heaven, or earth, <i>or</i> your hair." Well, Supercuts may disagree about the hair thing. But you get the idea.</div><div><br /></div><div>(I guess he didn't like the tale of the Three Little Pigs. Because, by his definition, "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!" is an oath.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Instead, he said "Let all your communication be, yea, yea; nay, nay." That doesn't mean that when you're mad at someone, you should call them a yea-yea-nay-nay. Nor does it mean that you should holler "yea yea nay nay" when you pound your thumb with a hammer. (Actually, if you did that, it might make you laugh, and that would be a good thing. But I digress ...) </div><div><br /></div><div>What he was saying was simply, "You don't need to use an oath to reinforce your words. <i>Just say what you mean.</i>" </div><div><br /></div><div>Whether you like it or not, your speech defines who you are. Again in the New Testament, Jesus said, "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man." Later, James wrote "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be."</div><div><br /></div><div>That last paragraph goes far beyond profanity, and begins to address the subject of how we talk to each other, and how we talk <i>about</i> each other. That's another post for another time.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Okay, But What about Substitute Swear Words?</h3><div>I will admit, this is a grey area. Substitute swear words are a sneaky way to get your point across without actually using profanity. Thus:</div><div><br /></div><div>"Hell" becomes "heck".</div><div>"God" becomes "gosh".</div><div>"Pussy" becomes "sissy". Yes, that's right.</div><div>"Fuck" becomes "fudge" or "flip" or "frack" or one of many f-substitutes.</div><div>"Shit" becomes "shoot". </div><div><br /></div><div>Do I really need to list them all out for you?</div><div><br /></div><div>One afternoon when I was in college (clearly before 1981), I stepped out of the Engineering Building and looked up at the sky. I said to myself, "Yikes. I'd better get across campus in a hurry. It looks like it could rain any second."</div><div><br /></div><div>Another student stepped out behind me. He looked up at the sky, and said loudly, "Oh, my scrud."</div><div><br /></div><div>Tch. Why didn't you just say the real thing?</div><div><br /></div><div>I think it was George Carlin who called substitute words "chicken-shit cusswords." To address substitute cusswords, we could horribly mangle SWK's quote and say: "Substitute swear words are the chicken-shit effort of a feeble mind to express itself forcibly."</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">In Conclusion, Your Honour ...</h3><div>It's got nothing to do with religion. It's got everything to do with precision of language. And, for better or for worse, it has everything to do with intelligence -- well, sounding intelligent. Clean up your language and say what you mean -- no more, and no less.</div><div><br /></div><div>Just stop cussing, dammit.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Postscript: But What about Jodi?</h3><div>Jodi is my best friend. Okay, she's one of my best friends. We have been best friends for a long time. She and I go way back, to long before 1981. I love her more than I can possibly put into words.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jodi is a professional wordsmith. She has made good money as a writer and an editor. So she <i>knows </i>how to turn a phrase.</div><div><br /></div><div>She is also the most eloquent and colorful cusser I have ever known. I have never heard anyone use profanity as adroitly, as skillfully, and to such deadly effect, as Jodi does. In direct contradiction to everything I have said here, Jodi's blue streaks are high art, and music to my ears. And I hope she never changes.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-68218962053804553912022-03-25T08:33:00.006-07:002022-03-25T08:33:49.770-07:00Word Peeve: "It's Not Worth It"<p> This isn't really a peeve, more an observation. Language is evolving right before our eyes.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>"I went through all that pain, but it was worth the trophy."</p><p>"We got first-class seats! Sitting in the airport for hours was worth it."</p></blockquote><p>Hmm. Normally, when you consider buying something, you ask yourself if the item you're buying is worth the money it will cost you.</p><p>That house, for example, is worth a million dollars.</p><p>For a non-monetary example, consider a triathlon. You get a medal just for completing it. The medal is your reward. What it costs you is hours of physical and mental exertion, plus some pain and discomfort. Is the participation medal worth the exertion and the pain? </p><p>Or, in the modern usage, is the exertion and pain worth the medal?</p><p>Or, in an even more confusing modern usage, is the exertion and pain worth it, just to get the medal? Wait a minute, what's the <i>"it" </i>in that sentence?</p><p>If you, like me, are tilting at windmills in your quest for more precise speech, then you may recognize that the <i>reward</i> is always worth <i>the cost,</i> not the other way around.</p><p><b>This:</b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">The trophy was worth the pain. The medal was worth the exertion. The first-class seats were worth the waiting. That house is worth $1 million.</p></blockquote><p><b>Not this:</b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">The pain was worth the trophy. The exertion was worth the medal. The wait was worth the first-class seats. $1 million is worth that house.</p></blockquote><p><b>However, in the end, after the dust has cleared:</b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>The pain was <i>worthy </i>of the trophy. The exertion was <i>worthy </i>of the medal. The wait was <i>worthy </i>of first-class seats. The $1 million price tag was <i>worthy </i>of that house.</p><p>The person who endured the pain was <i>deserving</i> of the trophy. The person who made the exertion was <i>deserving</i> of the medal. And the travelers who waited in the terminal all day were <i>deserving</i> of the first-class seats. I'm not sure that the buyer with $1 million is <i>deserving </i>of that house, but they certainly can afford it.</p></blockquote><p>There's always a "yeah, but", isn't there? </p><p><b>In conclusion, your honor ...</b></p><p>As languages evolve, we now feel comfortable using "it is (or is not) worth it" in both directions: the reward is worth the cost, <i>and </i>the cost is worth the reward.</p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-12121717549528053722022-02-23T09:36:00.003-08:002022-02-24T07:23:01.001-08:00Zyzmog's Sixth Law of Motion<p> I didn't think it would be possible, but I have to add another law to Zyzmog's Laws of Motion.</p><p><b>Zyzmog's Sixth Law of Motion, or the "Drive Friendly" Rule</b></p><p><i>Everybody on the road is just trying to get somewhere.</i></p><p>That's it. Just one sentence. I've reflected on this as I've dealt with traffic on interstate highways, two-lane county roads, and city streets. Everybody's just trying to get somewhere. It's not a competition or a battle. It's just people trying to get from Point A to Point B. </p><p>Some of them are running late, some are about to have a baby and are racing to the hospital, some have a lot of other heavy stuff on their minds. </p><p>Some are new drivers, some are nervous drivers, and yes, some are impatient drivers.</p><p>None of them drive the same way you drive. None of them want to drive the same speed as you, either. </p><p>But they're all just trying to get from one place to another, and none of them deserve to be centered in the crosshairs of your Acme Mobile Flamethrower. Just give 'em a break. And give them an assist, if you can -- open up a spot for them to merge, for example.</p><p>You won't lose anything but your high blood pressure, and you will make the world a better place.</p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-40257395398730152182022-02-23T08:26:00.064-08:002022-04-27T07:51:58.739-07:00Lessons Learned in my Career as an Engineer<h3 style="text-align: left;">Technical stuff</h3><p>It's easier to do something right the first time than it is to do it over.</p><p>When given a choice between creating something, evaluating someone else's creation, or fixing someone else's mistakes, always choose creating. This applies to <i>any</i> engineering discipline.</p><p>Saying "no" may harm your career, but it may save your sanity.</p><p>Saying "yes," if done wisely, will open unexpected doors for you in the future.</p><p>A problem that mysteriously goes away, will mysteriously come back.</p><p>Engineers don't have to know everything. They just have to know where to look things up.</p><p>When someone asks you for a time estimate, come up with your best estimate, then double it and add one unit. "An hour" becomes "three hours." "Two days" becomes "five days". "Three months" becomes "seven months". (Engineers are notorious for underestimating the time budget for a project.)</p><p>Never trust an engineer who says, "Well, it works on my computer."</p><p>On the other hand, if nobody else is having the software or network problem that you're having, the problem is most likely not with the software or the network.</p><p>J.R.R. Tolkien understood engineers. He put these words into Bilbo Baggins' mouth: <i>"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations."</i> That relates to project planning and execution. The things that you overlook are the things that will bite you. Or burn you.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhllU5S1Lw9f31mWKs9hx1Z05SpE8oyCzKUtIKYoT5_6RkcRvcd9aojRWtMxcEgghKo-MkEvuGh0goatqskSdVbTpguMNyYHCc_YQ7s5ha5IlE2rw5uJWFDfGQF2FXerMxu6jk5vW8B9OGrxh9omsF4e4W127YcEr_8p2Q3WjVZYasbH4taqnT2maiU0w=s800" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhllU5S1Lw9f31mWKs9hx1Z05SpE8oyCzKUtIKYoT5_6RkcRvcd9aojRWtMxcEgghKo-MkEvuGh0goatqskSdVbTpguMNyYHCc_YQ7s5ha5IlE2rw5uJWFDfGQF2FXerMxu6jk5vW8B9OGrxh9omsF4e4W127YcEr_8p2Q3WjVZYasbH4taqnT2maiU0w=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bilbo and Smaug (copied without asking from <a href="https://movie-villains.fandom.com/wiki/Smaug">https://movie-villains.fandom.com/wiki/Smaug</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Bilbo's "live dragons" maxim can be rendered as a haiku.</p><p>And J. K. Rowling understood both the lure and the dangers of technology. In 1999, she put these prophetic words into Arthur Weasley's mouth: <i>"Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain."</i> For the last half of my career, I have been a computer professional. I have never trusted computers, "smart" devices, artificial intelligence, or the Internet. You shouldn't trust them, either.</p><p>Manage your time carefully. </p><p>Murphy's Law reigns supreme.</p><p>With extremely few exceptions, in an engineering organization, everybody's just trying to do things right. Don't waste time blaming, politicking, or fault-finding. Instead, invest the time in trying to help each other succeed.</p><p>When taking notes in a meeting, only take paper notes. Never take notes on a phone, tablet, or computer, because you <i>will, </i>without a doubt, be accused of "playing on your phone" during the meeting. </p><p>Paper will never go obsolete.</p><p>Paper doesn't require batteries, spontaneously reboot in mid-sentence, or accidentally and instantly get erased. Some paper documents have lasted hundreds of years. Computers have been around for less than 100 years, and no computer-age storage medium has demonstrated the long-term viability of paper.</p><p>... Except for punch cards and punched tape, both of which are made of paper. :-)</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Job and Career stuff</h3><p>Your family is more important than your job. If you ever have to make a choice between the two, choose your family. There's always another job.</p><p>When looking for a job, <i>who you know</i> really is more important than <i>what you know.</i> </p><p>The guy who says, "I want to be hired (or promoted) based on my merits," will never get hired (or promoted). Learn to play The Game. And learn to <i>enjoy</i> playing The Game.</p><p>Don't believe anything a sales professional says to you.</p><p>Never trust a sales professional.</p><p>Never work for a company run by a sales professional.</p><p>Never work for a narcissist. Learn how to smell out narcissists quickly.</p><p>No matter what the CEO, the HR department, and your manager may tell you, you are only an asset to the company. A resource. Raw material. They will use you until you break or wear out, and then they will discard you without thinking twice.</p><p>If you were to die on the job today, they would replace you tomorrow.</p><p>There's no such thing as "job security."</p><p>Your employer doesn't care.</p><p>Corporate loyalty is a myth, a relic of the 20th Century.</p><p>If you get a nice jacket with the company logo instead of an annual raise, enjoy the jacket, but start warming up your resume.</p><p>Sometimes it's better to quit and take your chances than to stay miserable.</p><p>Nobody pays you enough to make a miserable job worthwhile.</p><p>Nobody, but <i>nobody</i>, pays you enough to yell at you.</p><p>If you're in a job where someone yells at you, don't take it personally. But <i>do </i>quit. If you cannot quit on the spot, then immediately start a job search, and quit a week or two before you start your new job.</p><p>The "two weeks' notice" thing is a courtesy, not a legal requirement. It may or may not be in your contract. Reread your contract to find out. Remember, your employer would not give you two weeks' notice before dumping you.</p><p>The only way an employer has of showing how much they value you is <i>money</i>. It can be salary, commissions, or <i>significant </i>cash bonuses. Stock options are just a promise, and they mean nothing. Stock itself is of questionable value. Gift cards and T-shirts are cheap fluff. Promises are worthless -- even if they're on paper. And salary targets (as opposed to actual salary) are an easy way to make a promise and get away with not keeping it. (HP was notorious for that.)</p><p>An employer never pays you what you're worth. An employer only pays you what you're willing to settle for, and not a penny more.</p><p>But the jackets and gift cards and T-shirts are a nice gesture, and they should be acknowledged graciously.</p><p>If you find a better job, and you give your notice, and your employer makes a counteroffer to induce you to stay, don't take the counteroffer. <i>NEVER </i>take the counteroffer. They're two weeks too late -- maybe even six months or a year too late. If you were that valuable to them, they would have fixed things that long ago. Their counteroffer is not a sincere offer -- it's just damage control.</p><p><b><i>When should you get a new job?</i></b></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>When the great company that hired you gets sold, acquired, bought out, or spun off.</li><li>When the great company that hired you gets a brand-new management team.</li><li>When that great boss that you loved working for, quits or gets fired.</li><li>When you start noticing a high attrition rate (lots of people quitting or getting fired).</li><li>When pay is delayed, or paychecks start bouncing.</li><li>When you start noticing a pattern of dishonesty, broken promises, or shady dealing among the managers or in the C-suite.</li><li>When you can get an equivalent position or a promotion, for significantly better wages, benefits, working conditions, and future growth prospects, somewhere else.</li><li>When you realize that the money you're paid isn't worth the garbage you have to endure.</li><li>The instant you discover that the job you wanted, or the job you thought you were getting, is not the job you ended up with.</li><li>The instant you come to the realization that you are in a dead-end position.</li></ol>Don't think that you owe "three to five years" to your current employer. They would not hesitate to dump you after a month, if they had a business reason.<div><br /></div><div><i><b>Having said all that,</b></i> if you do find an employer who:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>is loyal to you, </li><li>gives you good compensation and benefits and a good working environment,</li><li>supports you and contributes to your personal development, and </li><li>truly watches out for you and your loved ones,</li></ul></div><div>then give that employer your loyalty and your best efforts in return, and hold onto them for as long as you can. Employers like that are rare in today's world, and they need to be nurtured and protected.</div><div><div><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Retirement stuff</h3><div>It's never too early to start planning for your retirement.</div><div><br /></div><div>Always spend less than you earn.</div><div><br /></div><div>Always contribute to your 401(k). Start contributing to it as soon as you can. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you don't have a 401(k), then create and start contributing to an IRA as soon as you get your first job.</div><div><br /></div><div>Even if you can only contribute a tiny bit, do it. Even $100 a month, through the magic of compound interest, will turn into a huge pile of money in 30 years.</div><div><br /></div><div>As soon as you can, start contributing the maximum amount you're allowed into the 401(k). Take advantage of the company matching.</div><div><br /></div><div>Make sure that the 401(k) funds are <i>not</i> invested into your own employer's stock. That's always a losing bet. Instead, move your retirement funds outside of the company. </div><div><br /></div><div>Do not gamble with your retirement funds. Invest in a combination of ETFs (for growth) and long-term bond funds (for stability).</div><div><br /></div><div>Don't make your work your life. Don't tie your personal success exclusively to your professional career. Make sure you have hobbies, interests, and friends outside of work.</div><div><br /></div><div>Do something that doesn't require batteries, an operating system, or a network connection.</div><div><br /></div><div>Again, your family is infinitely more important than your job.</div><div><br /></div><div>Your job won't last forever. Start planning and preparing <i>now</i> (whatever age you are) for what you will do with your life when you retire.</div></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Useful books</h3><div>This is a short list of books that have served me well in my career. Admittedly, it is a rather eclectic list, but all of the books are relevant to an engineering career.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-seven-day-book-cover-challenge-day_20.html" target="_blank">The Organization Guerilla: Playing the Game to Win</a>, by Allen Weiss</div><div><a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-seven-day-book-cover-challenge-day.html" target="_blank">The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People</a>, by Stephen R. Covey</div><div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Business-As-Life-Negotiate-Hardcover-dp-B010CLH1MQ/dp/B010CLH1MQ/" target="_blank">In Business as in Life - You Don't Get What You Deserve, Only What You Negotiate</a>, by Chester Karrass</div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555/" target="_blank">Thinking, Fast and Slow</a>, by Daniel Kahneman</div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Nudge-Final-Richard-H-Thaler/dp/014313700X/" target="_blank">Nudge</a>, by Thaler and Sunstein</div><div><a href="http://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.html" target="_blank">The Art of War</a>, by Sun Tzu</div><div><a href="https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Book-of-Five-Rings-by-Musashi-Miyamoto.pdf" target="_blank">The Book of Five Rings</a>, by Miyamoto Musashi</div><div><a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-seven-day-book-challenge-day-one.html" target="_blank">The Lord of the Rings</a>, by J. R. R. Tolkien</div><div><a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-seven-day-book-cover-challenge-day_19.html">History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</a>, by Edward Gibbon</div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Enders-Game-Ender-Quintet-1/dp/1250773024/" target="_blank">Ender's Game</a>, by Orson Scott Card</div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Last-Lecture-Randy-Pausch/dp/1401323251/" target="_blank">The Last Lecture</a>, by Randy Pausch</div></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Art-Electronics-Paul-Horowitz/dp/0521809266/">The Art of Electronics</a>, by Horowitz and Hill</div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Software-Development-Schedules-Successful/dp/0321193679/" target="_blank">Professional Software Development</a>, by Steve McConnell</div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement-ebook/dp/B002LHRM2O/" target="_blank">The Goal</a>, by Eliyahu Goldratt</div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Project-DevOps-Helping-Business-ebook/dp/B078Y98RG8/" target="_blank">The Phoenix Project</a>, by Kim, Behr, and Spafford</div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Programming-Language-PROGRAMMING-LANG-_p2-ebook/dp/B009ZUZ9FW/">The C Programming Language</a>, by Kernighan and Ritchie</div><div>Who's Afraid of C++ (now part of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Program-CD-ROM-Steve-Heller/dp/0130324108/">Learning to Program in C++</a>), by Steve Heller</div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Common-LISP-Language-HP-Technologies-ebook/dp/B00AK9RZIQ/">Common Lisp: The Language</a>, by Guy Steele</div><div><br /></div></div>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-36690070966132566272022-02-02T10:54:00.016-08:002022-02-25T10:05:01.802-08:00Windows 11: First Impressions<p> I got a new PC two days ago. It runs Windows 11. My old PC ran Windows 10, and my work PC runs Windows 10. So what do I think about Windows 11?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhg9h6iAugyaTC9OhOn15iJx9_RXVkgCN6Tb5OiXJ8C70iO8vEQ8j8txrCwkptZsvz8OD-BwmxIXqCP6SEPFABSccueKh1-y4sFl64S2gV-jR5b9vGXsdLtQO3aJFTxNj_HF8oJvu9DOdNuLZr7Gx_heOT1QvS42ZCUtN16Eh28p9KN_Czt3b2uFpQfEA=s1036" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="1036" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhg9h6iAugyaTC9OhOn15iJx9_RXVkgCN6Tb5OiXJ8C70iO8vEQ8j8txrCwkptZsvz8OD-BwmxIXqCP6SEPFABSccueKh1-y4sFl64S2gV-jR5b9vGXsdLtQO3aJFTxNj_HF8oJvu9DOdNuLZr7Gx_heOT1QvS42ZCUtN16Eh28p9KN_Czt3b2uFpQfEA=w638-h363" width="638" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">First, the summary (tl;dr)</h2><div>I was not disappointed; in fact, I've been pleased with Windows 11. The transition from Windows 10 was so smooth that it was practically seamless. There's been no loss in productivity, and if anything, there's been a small but significant gain in productivity.</div><div><br /></div><div>Giving away the ending: my favorite part of Windows 11 is Linux! See the very end of this article.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Doing my homework</h2><div>I'm not an early adopter. I was comfortable with Windows 10, I didn't see a reason to change, and I didn't have hardware with enough oomph to support Windows 11 anyway.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then the hard disk died on my five-year-old Toshiba. The rest of the PC was in perfectly good shape, but it was five years old. That's a long time in computer years. Time to update everything.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, knowing that the purchase was imminent, I went to the Web to read up on Windows 11. I read the Windows evangelists' breathless praise. I read the industry professionals' dispassionate analyses. And I read the critics' reviews. As a result, I knew what to expect.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Now, the details</h2><div>This is what you really came for, right?</div><div><br /></div><div>This is all subjective and non-quantitative, by the way. If you want a quantitative analysis, go to the web. If you want an objective review of Windows 11, dream on. There ain't no such thing. All evaluations of Windows 11 are subjective.</div><div><br /></div><div>And there are no pictures, sorry. It's just words.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Look and feel (or "What about the 'Mac-like appearance' we were promised?")</h3><div>The Windows 11 desktop and user interface do not look radically different from Windows 10. Even the most conservative, old-fashioned Windows users will feel instantly comfortable with Windows 11. The edges are rounded and the colors and tones are softer, which makes it, if not "Mac-like", then more modern. Updated. Contemporary.</div><div><br /></div><div>The icons are also modern contemporary. Gone are the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">skeuomorphs</a> — in Windows 11, all icons are 2D, stylized, usually two colors and simple symbols, instead of the multidimensional, multicolored, miniature masterpieces of yesteryear. Okay, I admit it, I liked the old-style icons better. But I can live with it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Remember Windows XP? It was great for productivity, because it got out of the way of what you were working on, and <i>it stayed out of the way.</i> Subsequent Windows versions, and associated products like Office and Explorer, felt like they screamed <a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2011/05/whats-to-like-about-internet-explorer-9.html" target="_blank">"MICROSOFT!!!!!"</a> at you all the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>It may still be true of the Office suite. But Windows 11 is back to the XP paradigm of being unobtrusive, of letting you do your work, getting out of the way, and staying out of the way.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Start menu</h3><div>The biggest change is that the Start menu and the icons on the taskbar are centered on the bottom of the desktop. This is part of the "Mac-like" paradigm. Conservative users can put the Start menu and taskbar back on the left, if they want. But if you leave it centered for a day or two, it will grow on you. Besides, it's no big deal. I have a Windows 10 PC and a Windows 11 PC side by side, and my brain doesn't freak out switching from one to the other. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Start menu tiles are gone. As many reviewers observed, "nobody used them anyway." Instead, the Start menu gives you a Search bar, a "Pinned" section, a "Recommended" section, and two small buttons labeled "All apps" and "More". </div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The Search bar will search for literally anything: a filename on your computer, an installed program or app, a program or app that can be installed from the Microsoft Store, or anything on the Internet. In true Microsoft style, it's so thorough that it's almost <i>too</i> helpful.</li><li>The "Pinned" section starts with a collection of applications that Microsoft thinks will interest you. It adds other applications as you install them. You can add and remove applications in this section, and you should do so immediately, keeping only your most used or most important applications. You can also right-click to move applications to the top of the list or pin them to the taskbar.</li><li>Do you miss that alphabetical program listing that was the main part of the Windows 10 Start menu? Click on the "All apps" button to the right of the "Pinned" heading. There you go.</li><li>The "Recommended" section is like the "Recently Used" menus in previous versions of Windows, but now it can include both applications <i>and</i> files. That's a nice touch. As with the "Pinned" section, you can right-click to pin or remove items.</li><li>The "More" button expands the "Recommended" list to include older selections and a bunch of totally useless stuff that Windows adds to the list during installations and updates.</li></ul><div>Right-clicking the Start button gives you the same useful system-management menu as in Windows 10.</div><div><br /></div></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Microsoft's insistence on Microsoft products</h3><div>Like every other company in the world, Microsoft exists to make money. And like every other company, they want to upsell you. </div><div><br /></div><div>Windows 11 is very insistent on pushing Microsoft applications on you. They got into trouble for this with past editions of Windows, and they're not-so-subtly trying to do it again.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Along with shilling Microsoft products, Windows 11 is very insistent on upselling you to the paid versions of their free-to-start products. It's the drug pusher business model: "First one's free."</div><div><br /></div></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">The web browser: Edge</h4><div>Windows 11 comes with the Microsoft Edge web browser. You may want to install your preferred browser, be it Firefox or Google Chrome. Your browsing habits are money in the pocket of the company whose browser you use, and Microsoft doesn't want to let go of that money. Windows 11 makes it more difficult than in previous versions to switch your default browser from Edge to the preferred browser, because, of course, they don't want you to switch. But you can still do it.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, this time, technology may convince you to stay with Edge anyway. Several head-to-head comparisons put Edge on a par with, or slightly better than, the market leader (65% market share), Google Chrome in every way. My experience with Edge has been good so far. It is very fast, and it follows Windows 11's lead in being unobtrusive. It gets the job done, and stays out of your way.</div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Cloud storage: OneDrive</h4><div>Microsoft's cloud storage solution, OneDrive, gives you 5 GB of free storage. Once you hit 5 GB, OneDrive starts demanding money from you. Like an insistent salesman, the only way to get OneDrive to leave you alone is to stop using it. You have to go into the OneDrive settings and select "Unlink your PC". And again, like an insistent salesman, OneDrive will threaten you with dire consequences if you Unlink, and it will immediately offer to sign you up again after you Unlink.</div><div><br /></div><div>Other options, such as Dropbox, work just as well as OneDrive. I'm just saying.</div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">The Office Suite</h4><div>I think that the revenue from MS Office sales and subscriptions pays the salaries of thousands of Microsoft employees. Windows 11 starts you with a free trial, and then pushes you into an array of paid subscriptions, or into paid, cloud-based Office 365 as an alternative.</div><div><br /></div><div>MS Office is the default office suite for the entire world. You may think you cannot live without it. But there are two free alternatives, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LibreOffice">LibreOffice </a>and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenOffice.org">OpenOffice</a>. From a technical and practical standpoint, LO and OO are identical, and both are <i>almost</i> 100 percent compatible with MS Office. In fact, they can read and write MS Office files.</div><div><br /></div><div>I prefer LO for various reasons, but either one will work for you. I suggest you start with LO or OO, and don't buy MS Office until you find that you need it.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Worthless widgets</h3><div>Windows 11 includes <i>widgets</i>, tiny apps that clutter your PC and your screen. I don't have any use for them at all. Your mileage may vary.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Cellphone connection</h3><div>Windows 11 is supposed to connect seamlessly and wirelessly to your iPhone or Android cellphone. I'll just say that the Android connection doesn't work yet, and leave it at that.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, I'll bet I can still connect my PC to my phone via a USB cable.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Multimedia, or "Can it run Netflix?"</h3><div>The short and sweet answer is <i>yes</i>. In fact, all of your favorite streaming services are now available as apps in the Microsoft Store. You don't need to open a browser to run Spotify, Netflix, Prime Video, DisneyPlus, or any of a host of streaming services.</div><div><br /></div><div>Windows 11 also casts to your large-screen TV using either Google Chromecast or Amazon FireTV.</div><div><br /></div><div>When it comes to multimedia, your hardware will be the limiting factor, not your software.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Virus protection: McAfee? Why???</h3><div>The Windows 11 on my new PC came with McAfee bundled as the antivirus and network security application. It's a free one-year subscription. I left it there until it got obnoxious (it took less than a day), and then I got rid of it.</div><div><br /></div><div>I know I've badmouthed Microsoft for pushing their products over competing products, but Windows 11 very quietly ships with an excellent antivirus and network security system. In Windows 10 it was called "Defender"; in Windows 11 it's called "Windows Security". It doesn't cost anything extra. It's free inside every box of corn flakes. And it really is excellent.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't understand why someone felt the need to bundle McAfee with Windows 11. Was it Dell, or was it MS? I don't care. As soon as I uninstalled McAfee, Windows Security automatically stepped in and took over the security duties.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Linux!</h3><div>If Microsoft sends Windows 11 users a questionnaire, and asks what users' favorite Windows 11 feature is, I'm going to say, <i>"Linux!"</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Microsoft has fully embraced Linux. They have been working for years on their Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), a complex project that lets Linux run as if it were the native operating system (OS), or a co-existing OS, on Windows machines. </div><div><br /></div><div>Until now, if you wanted near-native Linux performance on a Windows machine, you had to install a virtual-machine engine, such as VMWare or VirtualBox, and create a Linux virtual machine inside that engine. It works great, nobody's complaining, but it can take a lot of work to get the Linux VM set up properly and interacting happily with Windows.</div><div><br /></div><div>With Windows 11, Microsoft has put a VM engine called Hyper-V into the OS, and WSL runs smoothly and seamlessly on Hyper-V. Microsoft has been testing a graphical version of WSL for a few years now, and that is the version of WSL running inside Windows 11. With WSLg (g for <i>graphical</i>), you can start your favorite Linux distro, and then run any Linux graphical application on the Windows desktop.</div><div><br /></div><div>In fact, Linux applications will appear in, and run directly from, the Start menu's "Recommended" section.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a really good <a href="https://youtu.be/b1YBx1L8op4">YouTube video </a>that shows you how to set up WSL on Windows 11 and how easy it is to use.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Summary (wait, didn't I already do this at the top?)</h2><div><div>I was not disappointed; in fact, I've been pleased with Windows 11. The transition from Windows 10 was so smooth that it was practically seamless. There's been no loss in productivity, and if anything, there's been a small but significant gain in productivity.</div><div><br /></div><div>And it's still true, my favorite part of Windows 11 is Linux.</div></div>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-54477764861678149772021-12-27T08:48:00.005-08:002021-12-27T08:48:57.165-08:00About Jerry Garcia ties<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjasRUMbCIBftNrXLEsMLVjSpmGfJENwo7S8SQHwx8j6o_50-wzqRM0xctV5xm5wfNO6jDTk0dKma1WKUaxAviPtAWYQnPtfUk-zYvF7chKmxyH3D99pfJFesFrg0zgubKtTbPuXdtaIMJcpBhkbQtQTJrreTozVFp0f7GGXB3mMarFUQ0DMicsaUTm9Q=s800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjasRUMbCIBftNrXLEsMLVjSpmGfJENwo7S8SQHwx8j6o_50-wzqRM0xctV5xm5wfNO6jDTk0dKma1WKUaxAviPtAWYQnPtfUk-zYvF7chKmxyH3D99pfJFesFrg0zgubKtTbPuXdtaIMJcpBhkbQtQTJrreTozVFp0f7GGXB3mMarFUQ0DMicsaUTm9Q=s320" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Jerry Garcia Christmas tie</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>Jerry Garcia was a talented musician. He made his mark in the world as the lead guitarist and a vocalist for the rock group The Grateful Dead, until he died of a heart attack in 1995.</p><p>Everyone knows about his musical career, but few people know about his graphic arts career.</p><p>And many people who wear J. Garcia neckties don't realize that it's <i>that</i> "J. Garcia". </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Jerry Garcia was an artist?!</h2><p>My abridged version of the story is this.</p><p>Garcia was both a talented musician and a talented artist. His plan, a laid-back and casual plan, was to make a living with his art, and to sing, write music, and play guitar on the side. In 1961, he survived a horrific car accident that killed one person and seriously injured Garcia and two friends. The accident was a turning point in his life, and he decided he needed to take something seriously. So he set his drawing and painting aside and devoted himself to the guitar. After four years of playing with various groups, he and some friends formed the band that became The Grateful Dead.</p><p>In 1980, after the band became successful, Garcia returned to the graphic arts. He exhibited his work at the Weir Gallery in Berkeley, California. He monetized his craft by creating beautiful silk scarves and neckties and selling them under the "J. Garcia" brand. Garcia's silk-screened tie designs were unlike the traditional geometric designs. They were attractive and eye-catching, without being crazy or obnoxious. While I wouldn't say they took the world by storm, they definitely attracted a following. They were sold worldwide in department stores, men's apparel stores, and online.</p><p>It's ironic that his two worlds didn't overlap very much. Many of his necktie fans don't know that he was a rock'n'roll superstar; likewise, many of his music fans don't know that he made neckties. </p><p>And many people who bought his ties didn't realize that the "J. Garcia" on the necktie label was the same J. Garcia that played for the Dead.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Beautiful designs, lousy workmanship</h2><div>Garcia's tie designs are beautiful and eye-catching. The designs are organized into themes. In addition to everyday business designs, he has special themes for occasions like weddings, and for holidays like Independence Day, Halloween, and Christmas. Although most of his ties are pure silk, he also has some designs in cotton. I don't know whether he ever worked in wool.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's only one problem with J. Garcia ties: The workmanship is really bad. No, the workmanship is crap. The ties wear out too quickly. </div><div><br /></div><div>For the first few wearings, they're okay. But then the thread on the main seam starts coming out. Or else, because the fabric is cut too close to the seam, the fabric starts raveling even if the seam remains intact. Both of these defects can be corrected with fray-check or super glue, if you catch them quickly enough. But then the interfacing starts getting twisted and bunched up inside the tie, so your knot looks ugly, and there's no way to fix that. And eventually, the fabric where the tie is knotted simply falls apart, and that can't be fixed either.</div><h2 style="text-align: left;">So, what to do? Your choice. </h2><div>Some of you may say that that's normal, that all ties wear out, especially silk ties. Not so.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have some Italian ties ranging in age from 3 to 40 years, and they are still in excellent shape after hundreds of wearings. The workmanship on these Italian ties is exquisite. J. Garcia ties are all made in China, not Italy. J. Garcia ties reinforce everything I've ever said on the subject of Chinese workmanship.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, don't buy them, because they're crappily built, and because they're made in China?</div><div><br /></div><div>No. <i>I say, buy them anyway. </i>Plan on them wearing out every couple of years, and on buying replacements for the ones that wear out. Or buy several of them, and cycle through them so that they last longer. They're worth it.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div></div>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-53532401992270638572021-08-24T10:41:00.002-07:002021-12-27T07:16:44.621-08:00Story: The Christmas Ornaments Robin Hood<p> <i><b>SHORT INTRODUCTION:</b> I ran across this story on Reddit. It's a different kind of Christmas story. I hope it touches you as deeply as it touched me. Written by </i>u/selectivelycrazy<i>, and reprinted here with her permission.</i></p><p>It is 2020, unfortunately. It’s the day after my two younger sisters and I flew out to Pennsylvania to see my dad, who lives there after getting divorced by my mom for fifteen years of not being a good husband or dad. He lives with his mom, Cranky Grandma, and her devil cat, as well as my amazing aunt and her angel kitten.</p><p>Dad gets home from work. “Where’s Emi?” he asks my Cranky Grandma.</p><p>“She’s in the basement,” Cranky Grandma says, probably throwing in a snide comment or two about the newly-dyed purple hair adorning my head or the leather fingerless gloves that have joined my black wardrobe. “Lookin’ for some Christmas ornaments.”</p><p>Dad goes down the basement stairs and finds me rummaging through cardboard boxes. “What are you looking for?” he says.</p><p>“Hi, Dad,” I say. “Well, I noticed that you decorated for Christmas, but you’re missing a few things! Where are The Mooses?”</p><p>The Mooses are a pair of stuffed mooses that have been put up every Christmas since I can remember. They’re brown, about two feet tall, and soft as a marshmallow. There’s Mama Moose, who is named Merry, holding Baby Moose, who is named Christmas and is in a red velvet sack reading “Merry Christmas” on it in gold embroidery. The Mooses always go on the couch to watch over the living room and all the decorations and presents in it while we’re asleep.</p><p>The problem with The Mooses is that when my mom divorced Dad, she was so scared of him that she let him have almost everything. This included The Mooses and quite a few more of her treasured ornaments. And since I’ve always been the one to set The Mooses on the couch, that first Christmas with a divorced dad just didn’t feel right without them.</p><p>Dad helps me look for The Mooses for awhile. “Sorry, sweetie, they must have gotten lost in the move,” he says.</p><p>I smile and don’t tell him that I hate being called sweetie. “It’s okay,” I say, and pull out a cardboard box. “Hey, look! It’s your What God Wants For Christmas box! I love that tradition!”</p><p>We go set up What God Wants For Christmas in the living room. I say, “I think I’m going to go take a nap.”</p><p>Dad says, “Okay.”</p><p>I go upstairs and into my room and shut the door. I walk over to the window seat/storage chest under the window. I open it.</p><p>“Hello, Mooses,” I say.</p><p>The Mooses lay on top of my stuffed animal collection, looking dusty. Several other ornaments I recognize as Mom’s are keeping them company. I grin and shut the chest.</p><p>It is the day we fly back to my home state. I have The Mooses packed away in my suitcase, and the other ornaments tucked beside them, wrapped in my fluffiest (but still black) hoodie to protect them.</p><p>I roll my suitcase out to the hallway. Dad is weighing Youngest Sister’s bag to make sure it’s under fifty pounds. “Okay, now I need to check it to make sure you’re not stealing any of my stuff!” he tells her.</p><p>My mind says, Oh no.</p><p>My brain gives me uncomfortable memories of how Dad raged when he thought one of us had stolen his coffee mug.</p><p>My voice says, “Privacy invaded in three...two…” in a joking tone. Dad and Youngest Sister laugh. Dad does not check anyone’s suitcase.</p><p>We are at the airport. Younger Sister’s suitcase is somehow three pounds over the weight limit.</p><p>Dad says, “Emi, grab one of the suitcases that already went through and open it up. We’ll put some of Younger Sister’s stuff in there.” He gestures to my suitcase.</p><p>My mind makes an earsplitting screeching noise that sounds like someone slammed their brakes to avoid hitting a pterodactyl and hit the pterodactyl anyway.</p><p>My brain imagines Dad opening the suitcase and going into a rage at the sight of The Mooses.</p><p>My voice says, “Sure, Dad.” My hands grab Youngest Sister’s suitcase instead of mine and pass it over. Dad opens it. Her suitcase contains no smuggled goods. We transfer the stuff and the very nice airport lady sends all the bags down the conveyor belt. Dad asks me why I wave to mine. I shrug. “Just being weird,” I say. Good luck, Mooses, my mind says.</p><p>We are back home. My family- my Older Sister, who didn’t go with us, Mom, my other grandma, who we call Maga, and my Boppa, or grandpa, are all sitting in the living room catching up.</p><p>I say, “I’m disappointed you took the tree down already.”</p><p>Older Sister laughs. “It’s past New Year’s!”</p><p>“I know,” I say, “but I brought some stuff to put on it.”</p><p>I open my suitcase. I show around the ornaments I smuggled back- three tiny stuffed snowmen, our cat’s catnip-stuffed cat ornament, a white clay angel, a wooden rocking horse, a wooden mouse king, a clay snowman, my older sister’s stuffed dog. When I unveil the rocking horse, Maga gasps. “I bought that for your mother when she was little!” she exclaims. “How did your dad get it?”</p><p>“That’s not everything,” I say. I unzip the flap hiding The Mooses from view.</p><p>I pull out The Mooses.</p><p>Older Sister and Boppa clap. “How did you get those back here right under Dad’s nose?” Older Sister asks. Maga laughs so hard she has tears in her eyes.</p><p>The tears in Mom’s eyes are not from laughter.</p><p>Slowly, she reaches out and takes The Mooses, hugging them to her chest. Over their antlers, she mouths “Thank you.”</p><p>And then, she gets up, and she sets The Mooses down. On the couch.</p><p>Right where they belong.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhTKbYfivTHRiLn75nzoPehJXwQ8j72olO6I_OYVDt1hNesYpvWrCHGzpgJX7EuT2jhxDvIviMrhwUQJHtcL45jg17JJIAupwqUzrcpqazotqoTDh_qVwXMLXawJWd5VPcYHMwQo3MgywA3XXSesXTniu_zBEAsM9Jxc385e2_KQ7zhropGIAN3UifSw=s800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhTKbYfivTHRiLn75nzoPehJXwQ8j72olO6I_OYVDt1hNesYpvWrCHGzpgJX7EuT2jhxDvIviMrhwUQJHtcL45jg17JJIAupwqUzrcpqazotqoTDh_qVwXMLXawJWd5VPcYHMwQo3MgywA3XXSesXTniu_zBEAsM9Jxc385e2_KQ7zhropGIAN3UifSw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A gratuitous picture of a Christmas moose, from <a href="https://www.dhgate.com/product/cute-moose-doll-plush-toy-reindeer-doll-christmas/628204650.html">an online store</a><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-81269870126153807342021-08-06T07:52:00.006-07:002021-08-06T08:15:22.447-07:00How Malicious Compliance Saved a Company<p>I once worked at a place that built electronic gadgets — water leak detection equipment, to be exact. Black boxes with a lot of connectors. Each gadget had a built-in webserver: you type in the gadget's IP address, and the user interface appears. This was in the stone-knives-and-bearskins days, and the entire webserver was hard-coded. You know, HTML strings in the C source.</p><p>So the CEO and the VP of marketing decided that they didn't like the UI (user interface, essentially the look and feel of the webpages) in our biggest moneymaking product. It wasn't our flagship product, but it had the biggest slice of the revenue pie chart and a delicious profit margin.</p><p>Yeah, so anyway, CEO and VP locked themselves in a conference room for a couple of days and came out with a new UI design. They had designed the whole thing in PowerPoint. They told the firmware engineer (not me, but a co-worker that I admire the heck out of) to reprogram the UI and make it exactly like the PowerPoint slides.</p><p>FW Engr had a lot of credibility in the company and wasn't afraid of getting fired, so he proceeded to tell them all the reasons that it was a bad idea and wouldn't work and the customers wouldn't like it. They yelled at him and gave him the<i> "We're the CEO and VPMktg and we know what the customers want"</i> and the <i>"just do your job"</i> speeches.</p><p>So, knowing that it was doomed to fail, but since they had demanded it, and knowing that he would get paid no matter what he did, he set aside his current project and went to work. He totally rewrote the HTML so that the UI looked and performed exactly the way the PowerPoint slides said it should. CEO and VP loved it, and gave him the <i>"see? that wasn't so hard, was it?"</i> speech. FW Engr went back to what he was really supposed to be doing.</p><p>Just as he had predicted, customers <i>hated </i>the new UI. Existing customers who upgraded their firmware couldn't find things anymore. New customers who had just bought the box couldn't navigate it without a GPS and a Ouija board. Tech support got multiple calls a day complaining about the UI and asking for help.</p><p>And on top of everything, it was <i>ugly</i>. It looked like a PowerPoint presentation, not a leak-detection system.</p><p>Our tech support guy went to the FW Engr and told him about the dozens of complaint calls. FW Engr told him to have the customers enter a slightly different URL: instead of "<b>ip.address</b>", type in "<b>ip.address/classic</b>" , and the old UI would magically appear. He hadn't deleted the old UI code; he had just hidden it deep inside the gadget's memory, because he knew that this was exactly what would happen.</p><p>Tech support went away happy. Customers were happy. The firmware engineer had saved the company's cash-cow-golden-goose, and probably saved the company. I don't think anybody ever told CEO or VP Mktg. They were totally oblivious to what the firmware engineer had pulled off, right under their noses. </p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172064542047038417.post-59791283017512197702021-07-28T15:20:00.009-07:002023-03-07T16:24:43.878-08:00Word Peeve: entitled boomer Karens<p>Can we talk a little about language? </p><p>Not <a href="https://zyzmog.blogspot.com/2022/03/about-profanity.html" target="_blank">profanity</a>. Those horses left the barn years ago. I blame it on the 2016 presidential election, the ensuing four years, and the press's newfound eagerness to quote everybody without censoring their language.</p><p>No, I want to talk about the words <i>Karen</i>, <i>entitled</i>, and <i>boomer</i>.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">First, <i>Karen</i>. </h2><p>It's a label for a stereotype. But it doesn't fit any of the women that I know named Karen. (Or Karyn.) All of the Karens that I know are real sweethearts. But the name, as a label, gets bandied about more and more. </p><p>Please stop using <i>Karen</i>. Find another label.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Second, <i>entitled</i>.</h2><p>We used to say that a person was rude, presumptious, high-and-mighty, pushy, bossy, selfish, grabby, dishonest, a cheater, nosy, a know-it-all, snobbish, curmdgeonly, overbearing, lazy, creepy, a jerk, a bully, arrogant, judgmental, just plain mean, and so many other really useful adjectives. Now we just call them all <i>entitled</i>. The word "entitled" has become totally meaningless.</p><p>I can imagine an argument between two people, shouting "You're <i>so </i>entitled!" "No, <i>you're </i>entitled!" They're both using the same word, but they mean entirely different things.</p><p>I do hope this is just a fad, but "awesome" and "cool" started as fads, and they haven't died out yet. So ... next time you feel like saying "entitled", can you stop for a moment and substitute another, more precise word?</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Finally, <i>boomer</i>.</h2><p>We've finally reached the age where the Baby Boomers are marching into the grave. They have become the old people that they used to make fun of. It will take a few decades before they're all gone. Now that they're the old people, they're doing old-people things and, let's be honest, some of them range from pretty funny to damned annoying. When people tell stories about them, they label them <i>boomers.</i></p><p>"<i>Okay, boomer</i>" has become a fun (to the younger crowd) way to blow them off, to marginalize them — especially if they're being Karens and acting entitled. (See what I did there?) </p><p><i>Boomer</i> is a derogatory term. It's always meant as an insult, or to make someone feel bad. I've never heard it used in a friendly or respectful way. How about we all stop saying it? </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Now, before you react ...</h2><div>Somebody's going to read this and say, "How dare you tell me how I should talk!" and "It's a free country, I can say what I want!" and "Wow, you're so entitled, trying to tell me how to speak," and my own personal favorite, "Okay, boomer."</div><div><br /></div><div>Relax. They're just suggestions. You can talk however you want to talk. Bear in mind, however, that every time I hear or read you using one of those words, it's the verbal equivalent of you speaking with a giant hunk of spinach stuck between your front teeth or a booger hanging out of your nose.</div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe other people feel the same way. Is that a chance you want to take?</div><p><br /></p>Zyzmoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262005290131425919noreply@blogger.com0