The Dog House Blog House

It's SUUUUPER!

2007-02-04T20:46:00.000-08:00

OK, so it was the superbowl, and along with that comes all things beer and chippy. Went to T's house where we had some great treats and chili...YUM! Los Perros very much enjoyed the cornbread. They become coyotes when that stuff comes around! Ahh, something all too silly about that "THANK GOD FOR OUR VICTORY...WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT HIM" And then the downplaying of the fact that he was the first African American coach to win the superbowl...but more importantly, he said, was the fact that he and his opponent were Christian. WTF is that all about anyway? I get it, I get it...good role model and all...religion is important to keep the lid on the pressure cooker of our species' inherent cannibalistic nature. Well, it sure was nice to get a national holiday and not think about the hundreds of people killed in the last few days due to a war that this great country started, and has yet to finish. I mean why would we finish...we currently get more than 2 whole percent of our oil from them...and that has more than doubled in the last few years since we've taken over. I mean TWO PERCENT !!! WOW!!!. We wouldn't want to just increase our mileage by 2% and forget about Iraq would we??? Nah, waaaaay to difficult. I mean that would require dropping a lot of money on a car that gets at least a half mile more to the gallon than our current cars....and that's just not feasible. That would be like 20.5 mpg...no way! OOOR, we could all keep our cars and every fiftieth day ride our bikes to work....noooo, waayyy too difficult. We really need that 2%. What was I thinking...

Well, as you can see, the holiday is over. We're back at war, and starting a new, bolder, better war than ever before. I somehow feel like learning to play the fiddle, so that I will at least have something to do as I watch the walls of Rome fall.

Oh yeah, and today, for the first time since the Vietnam war a US Officer goes on trial for attacking his country's war policy:

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200702040324.htm

My favorite quote from the article:
The Pentagon maintains that Lt Watada gave up his right to free speech when he put on the uniform. "As a soldier you are held to a different standard. You can't go and say things that are going to offend the order and discipline of the military," said Joseph Piek, a spokesman at Fort Lewis, Washington, where Lt Watada is to stand trial. "Soldiers understand that you can't divorce yourself from being a soldier."

That's funny...I thought it was the PROTECTION of the Rights outlined in the Constitution of the United States that is the single sworn duty above all others for all service men and women in all branches of our government...I guess I was wrong. Silly me!

God Bless America

2006-04-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

Great presidents 1
Great presidents 2
Great presidents 3

Click on the links to see some great moments in presidential addresses.

Tag it!

2006-04-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

http://graffitiresearchlab.com/

These kids rock. Brilliant geek graffiti artists.

Quantum Me

2006-03-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

Little bits of me are falling off, flying away, traveling at near light speeds, spinning, imploding, how can I keep my shit together when I can't even keep my SHIT together 8^) ? It's best to remember that we have full control of our perceived lives, and no control whatsoever of the universe. In figuring out how to combine the flow of the universe with our own lives we become great. This is what I am trying to understand, and this is where Aikido helps me. For others it's racecar driving, or golf, or ping pong. One thing that I suggest strongly is to find something to do physically, strenuously, that will heighten your energy level so that you can grab on to the flow about you. Biking, hiking, trail running, whatever. If you can combine it with a natural element it will be easier to feel the change. There, that's my suggestion for the day, and thank you for listening...I guess you're mentally listening...to my ramblings.

Here's one for the teachers

2006-01-27T07:54:00.000-08:00

Why did the principal fire the cross-eyed teacher?

Because he couldn't control his pupils.

John of the Mountains

2006-01-26T07:27:00.000-08:00

I am reading again. Seems like when I have a good balance in life I have time to read. I also have time to do Aikido, and some work too. I have been interested in Aikido for many years and am happy to get back 'on the mat'. The physical aspect of Aikido is just a framework for an energy based art. From what I can tell, the goal of Aikido is many fold, but some of the largest bits are learning how to interact with and channel energy. In a martial framework this can be anger or force. In the office this can be tension or responsibilities. In a relationship, this is all things, emotions, desires, responsibilities, tensions, you name it. We are physical beings, animals. But there is energy all around us. People who we usually call crazy can see it, and I mean SEE it, with their eyes. That is their gift and their burden. Most of us don't realize it's there. Few sense it, and even fewer can work with it. The amazing thing about this is that there is physical proof of energy. Back to the physical level, which is what we are most comfortable with, when someone punches you, you react. Your body receives the blow. This is you recieving the energy of another being. When someone hugs you, you can FEEL the energy from the other person. You don't have to imagine, you can actually feel it. If we didn't have energy we wouldn't be able to work with it. There would be no transfer when we contact. Some people are very tuned to another's energy and can feel that person from thousands of miles away. It's not magical, it's talent.

Well, back to the present, on my desk there is a book I have begun reading. It's John Muir's personal notes from when he was out in the world. He always kept a notebook strapped to his belt on his travels and he would scribble down thoughts, like a journal. I never realized it before, and I have read his writings before, but this man had an amazing gift to see, feel, and interact on a deep level, with the energy all around him. This quote comes from a time in which he was a shepherd in the San Joaquin valley, at the foothills of the Sierras.

"January 1, 1869
The New Year was ushered in with rain, a black day without a single sunbeam. The purple and brown colors are fast fading from the plains, the bright youthful plant green is deepening with astonishing rapidity. Every grove and hallow, however shallow, has its stream - living water is sounding everywhere, 'Tumbling brown, the burn comes down, and roars from bank to brae.' I celebrated the Happy New Year crossing countless streams, running 'ower moor and mire through gude and gide' in full chase of the wretched sheep.
Everything is governed by laws. I used to imagine that our Sabbath days were recognized by Nature, and that, apart from the moods and feelings in which we learn to move, there was a more or less clearly defined correspondence between the laws of Nature and our own. But out here in the free unplanted fields there is no rectilineal sectioning of times and seasons. All things flow here in indivisible, measureless currents."

Another language? OK!

2006-01-19T08:10:00.000-08:00

OK, so I am here, in 2006, and I have begun the lengthy process of learning another language. I find myself drawn to languages. I have studied only one in depth, Spanish, and took about one and a half quarters of German in college. Now it's Japanese, and I am currently using a book to learn Kanji, the written symbols. I also like to explore languages wherever I travel. I love traveling immersion style, with no guide, relying solely on feet, dead reconing, and a piercing attitude to get by. When we went to Europe for our honeymoon we learned a lot of Italian, and then adjusted to the Spanish style of speaking...well...Spanish; I guess I really learned Mexican in school? What we didn't learn was French. WHY? No, it's not because I hate the F*ing frogs, it's because we didn't have to. Nearly everyone there, save for one older couple on the train to Versailles, spoke lots of English. Screw that! I want to learn French! Well, not so much right now, but you see where I am going. When I travel I find one of the best parts is the exercise of integrating with the environment. The challenge of stepping into the socks, shoes, pants, shirts, and hats of another is wonderful. Damn, I forgot to put on my underwear again. Oh well. And the goal of true integration, true communication, is the root of understanding. Otherwise I'd be on a tour bus going, "OOOH, look at all the pretty buildings...Where's my McDeadCow on a stick?".
When traveling I genuinely try to become as one from that region. I watch and learn from the people around me. Try it this weekend. Dress just a little differently than usual to get you in the mood, go to a cafe, and pretend you are from another place, perhaps another time. Trust your imagination to guide you. Let the anthropologist in you brush the dirt off of your own relics. Walk in and have a seat. See what others are doing and mimic them. Go to the man behind the counter and order something someone else has ordered, perhaps in the same way that you watched and heard it being ordered. A cup of coffee? Watch someone pour their cup from the pot, and follow them, doing it yourself. The action is not as important as the impression you get from actively participating in learning. Language, art, science, ordering coffee...it's all the same. Open yourself up to the learning around you at every moment, and your thoughts will become deeper, your knowledge more sound, your vision more perceptive; you will start thinking with complexity, acting with intention, and you will find yourself reaching.
As a favorite singer of ours says, "Shake off the dust and arise"-Matisyahu

Here's my "Kanji of the Day" : wazawai

This Kanji, like many, is a combination of characters, a complex word in our parlance. The top character with three kinked vertical lines is a radical for river:

The bottom character is the character for fire:

The interesting thing about Kanji, for me, is that many of the charaters are representations of real world happenings. One can see where fire meets water there is surely some type of calamity going on. Perhaps a lavaflow? A fire burning through the city that is being put out? There is imagination here.

According to another website: Each year, there is a public survey asking Japanese residents what they think is the one kanji (word or concept) that best sums up the year. The kanji for 2004 is wazawai, meaning calamity. There was a large earthquake that killed 200 people in Niigata in October, as well as many more typhoons and supertyphoons than usual this year.

I love the French, but this is too funny...

2005-10-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

When in the jungle...

2005-09-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

A new study about how to survive, quite easily, a fall into quicksand:

Quicksand HOW-TO

Dr. Watt-son, I presume

2005-09-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

The day in articles. OK, so a couple of things happened this weekend. The first, and highly interesting to only the geekiest of the lot is the new GPS satellite that went up:

GPS ARTICLE

The second, and more interesting to a larger base of bikers (you know who you are) is this article about hubs that measure your true power output while bicycling:

WATT ARTICLE

Amazing....

2005-09-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

You know what I think of statistics...Damned lies I say! These liberal, anti-American, socialist, treehugging environmentalists would have you believe that some piece of snow in Alaska is more important than being able to drive my SUV home at 80mph so I can sit infront of the TV with the air conditioner on all night! If I want snow I'll drive my 4X4 up to the hills and do doughnuts (God Save the Queen) until I get tired and have to stop by the Starbucks on the way to the gas station!

Good thing I only had one cup of coffee today JEEEZ, WTF got into me there? I tell you it's that right wing bottled water they have us drinking. Not pure....spoils my essence.

OK, so here's some data from the Apollo Alliance, which you have to check out:
*
The United States has less than 3% of the world’s oil reserves, but accounts for more than 25% of global demand
*
The U.S. consumed 96.95 quadrillion Btus of energy in 2001, almost three times as much as the runner up (China with 36.67 quad), and approximately 25% of the world total.
*
2.7 million private sector jobs have been lost since January 2001, and more than 75% of those jobs have been high wage, high productivity manufacturing jobs.
*
Cities and their mega-regions face nearly $2 trillion of neglected infrastructure needs according to the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Department of Energy.
*
Every $1 Billion invested into public transportation supports 47,500 jobs.
*
Congestion cost American commuters 4.5 billion hours of delay, 6.8 billion gallons of wasted fuel, and $78 billion in 1999, and the problem is getting worse.
*
In the US, water and wastewater annually consume 75 billion kWh — 3 percent of the total consumption of electricity or equal to the total electricity consumed by the pulp and paper and petroleum sectors.
*
Buildings consume more than a third of US energy, and the average home produces more pollution than the average car.
*
Energy efficient buildings and appliances have higher labor content than traditional technologies, replacing wasted energy with high skill jobs.
*
DOE estimates that standards on clothes washers, water heaters, and fluorescent lamp ballasts will create 120,000 jobs through 2020.
*
Development of only 10% of the wind potential in the 10 windiest cities would provide enough capacity to reduce total U.S. carbon emissions by a third.
*
Renewable power production is labor intensive - wind power creates 2.77 jobs for every MW produced, Solar PV creates 7.24 jobs per MW, and geothermal creates 5.67 jobs per MW.
*
In the 1980s the US had an 80 percent share of the photo voltaic market; today we have 25%.

This group is quite impressive. Please click on the link below to learn more:

LINK

Biodiesel Blog

2005-09-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

Biodiesel Blog

Anybody want to start a new school?

2005-09-20T17:12:00.000-07:00

Got $200,000?
School for sale

George Bush HAS TO GO!

2005-09-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

Really. I can't believe I missed this on Friday...must have been the beer and BBQ.

HALLPASS

Yeah, more water

2005-09-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

I believe this picture of our "commander in chief" looking down on the flooding in the south sums up his entire tenure: looking at reality from such a great distance that there is no hope for him to connect, understand, or affect anything either here or abroad. Does anyone out there still believe he's actually in charge?

OK, enough of my ranting, here is a link to some pictures from the hurricane, that show a lot of military bases and personnel. My friend Barry was stationed at Keesler in Biloxi last year and is quite glad he was back in Cali this year. He sent me this:

Storm Photos

Cheers,
Bill

It's a good thing I never grew up

2005-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

because this program is sweeeeeet!
Legos Not Bombs!

Lego's new 3D modeling program

Do you like to ask...

2005-09-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

Questions?

Social Darwinism and America

2005-09-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

I found the following article from the BBC rather interesting. It delves into the history of social darwinism in the US, and its effects on the modern climate, relative to the troubles in New Orleans.

BBC ARTICLE

Get on the wagon

2005-09-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I am becoming more and more aware of the wound that is the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. There are massive failures from all sides. The core aspect of a government, it's basic foundation, is to be able to protect it's people. Ours cannot, and is not. This should be extremely alarming to people. What should be apparent is the cause, and that is the leader. I just can't see how people can be fooled anymore into thinking that our president is capable of leading this country. I suggest viewing some of the videos on this website for humor, pain, and logic...all of which sits squarely on the premise that America has been led astray.

onegoodmove

I had to share this, its too funny

2005-08-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA....

This is hilarious, no wonder some people were offended! This is the message that the Pacific Palisades High School (California) Staff voted unanimously to record on their school telephone answering machine.

This came about because they implemented a policy requiring student sand parents to be responsible for their children's absences and missing homework.

The school and teachers are being sued by parents who want their children's failing grades changed to passing grades even though those children were absent 15-30 times during the semester and did not complete enough school work to pass their classes.

*This is the actual answering machine message for the school:*

"Hello! You have reached the automated answering service of your school. In order to assist you in connecting the right staff member, please listen to all your options before making a selection:

"To lie about why your child is absent" - Press 1

"To make excuses for why your child did not do his work" - Press 2

"To complain about what we do" - Press 3

"To swear at staff members" - Press 4

"To ask why you didn't get information that was already enclosed in your newsletter and several flyers mailed to you" - Press 5

"If you want us to raise your child" - Press 6

"If you want to reach out and touch, slap or hit someone" - Press 7

"To request another teacher for the third time this year" - Press 8

"To complain about bus transportation" - Press 9

"To complain about school lunches" - Press 0

"If you realize this is the real world and your child must be accountable and responsible for his/her own behavior, class work, homework, and that it's not the teachers' fault for your child's lack of effort: Hang up and have a nice day!"

it's a dog and badger world

2005-08-30T07:47:00.000-07:00

What would the religious right say about this:

Puppy love by the hour

Also, my thoughts on the hurricane damage (somewhat of a rant):

The damage is astounding. The deaths are tragic. The cause of the flooding is just sad. The levee system created to put a damper on the annual flooding of the Mississippi (and yes I DID spell that out...by the way) has backfired. Naturally, the Mississippi floods every year and deposits nutrients in the form of silt all along the region. This silt is what fertilizes the soil and it's what keeps the land mass in balance...it actually builds up landmass over time. Well, some silly people...let's call them THE FRENCH! (ho ho!) decided they wanted to live in an nice fertile spot. SO they built a bunch of houses on stilts, had fantastic vegetable gardens, and then over the next 200 or so years some other people came along and built some more houses, and got tired of having to row the kids to school in the boat, so they built a wall around the city...in the form of levees. Many years later, without the yearly addition of silt, this region is now lower than the outlying regions. So now, the region is up to 12 feet BELOW sea level. I don't think it takes a genious to figure out what happens next. In fact, parts of San Jose are 6 feet below sea level...FYI. So those pumps we hear about on the news...they aren't just for emergencies...they operate everyday pumping water out of the city BECAUSE IT'S 12 FEET BELOW SEA LEVEL!! I mean please, come on people. What did you think would happen? In fact, here's an article from the New York Times in 2002 describing this exact scenario:

2002 Flood Warning

So let me sum up: we damn up a river by erecting walls around a naturally underwater region, build a whole bunch of houses there, use high power pumps on a daily basis to continually pump out an equal amount of water that naturally flows in... a storm comes through, drops a whole bunch of water, cuts the power to the pumps...and the walls that were built to hold the water out are now holding it in...like a giant swimming pool...

Can you say SCREWED? I feel terrible for the people who have lost their homes, their loved ones, and this whole region is just F'ed up and it's going to take a long time to get things back to business again. But I can't help but feel the pang of myopia when we continue to neglect the oh-so-obvious laws of nature that we have been watching on Channel 9 since grade school. I have great respect for badgers, and I think we might be alot better off if we decided to send all of our policy makers to the woods for a month each year to watch the natural state of things. Maybe this George Bush vacation thing is a good idea....all in all I will end with this:

I blame the French.

Some times you feel like a nut...

2005-08-29T07:26:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll. So it's been a WHILE since I got my hand at this thang. I wanted to give you a head's up. Let me first dispell any perverted thoughts in your head and say that Maria and I are still happily married...2 months and not really counting! I am very happy to be married to Maria. We have been transitioning back into the school year. For parents it's probably something similar, but more intensive...especially if there are lots of little ones about. For us it means at least 12 hours a day of work, and lots of home cooking...which we do together, so it's quite lovely. Oh, and there's the first alarm clock that goes off at 5:45, then there's the second, unmistakable coffee pot alarm clock that goes off at 6. Our new coffee maker grind the whole beans then makes the coffee, so it sounds kind of like a jet engine warming up in the morning...quite an effective waker-upper.
Maria and I have been carpooling, and that's been working out well. It definately helps with the $2.79 el cheapo gas prices. Yesterday when I drove past the 76 station in the morning it was $2.71, then in the evening we drove past the same station and it was $2.81...for the cheap stuff. In addition to carpooling we are going to sell one of our 4runners (we have 2) and buy a VW TDI, which is a diesel. We will be running it on biodiesel...it's basically fuel made from vegetable oil. There is one station in San Jose on 10th street that sells it at the pump, and I believe it goes for about $3.30/gallon. At about twice the mileage of what we currently get I have very conservatively estimated about $800/year fuel savings at current petrol pricing. If you are interested in this...I admit, I am kind of a nut about the whole thing...so ask away!
At work I am getting along great. I have the best 'cube' in the building with 8 floor to cieling windows right in front of my desk....so I knocked down the cube wall, ala "Office Space" a few months ago, and now everyone is jealous...especially the guy who used to sit here and stared at the wall all day never thinking...literally, outside the box. We are actually moving to a new campus (ours now is about 30 years old, and spread out all over a few blocks, and really isn't a campus) in October, so I am hoping that I have not used up all of my 'good office' Karma. Friday I watched a formation of Canadian geese flying south, and being right along the Moffett/Onizuka flight path I see lots of cool planes flying by everyday...F-18s, F-15s, P-3s, C-130s, C-5s, WWII bombers, and lots of helicopters. I saw a stealth fighter once, which was pretty cool...but it's mostly the transports.
Alright, back to making money for the company. I did some research online and found that each employee at Trimble makes the company around $350,000 per year. Not shabby. And boy there are sure some people that aren't pulling their weight, so I figure I am doing pretty good for this place...and they are treating me pretty good too.
Cheers!
The Real Bill Carter

Deep Thoughts

2005-03-01T07:31:00.000-08:00

"... in China there had been simple fisherman who could catch enormous fish... using cane-poles and a single strand of silk. 'A line breaks,' Titus said, 'at a stress point. But if the fisherman experiences no stress, and if he transmits this experience through his hands to his pole, to his line, to his hook, then there will be no stress point, therefore no point at which the strand can break.'"

- from "The River Why" by David James Duncan

Super Lamo!

2005-02-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

Alright,

This is the lamest one I have found yet...so I had to put it here:

How long can you hold it? HoldTheButton.com

Here we go...

2005-02-24T09:05:00.000-08:00

Now, I highly suggest you bow down to the hombre. I am sure some of you can manage a higher score...I know some of you ssh every day!

Photo printers

2005-02-12T08:53:00.000-08:00

Can anyone recommend a photo printer? My mom is looking for something simple to print her digital photos without dealing with loading them onto the computer first. They live in Florida so humidity/water is a problem. She is looking at an Epson where you can supposedly submerse the photo in water and not lose the ink. Advise anyone?

The Man

2005-02-05T01:00:00.000-08:00

This guy rocks:

http://www.hasidicreggae.com/index.php?section=file&album_id=8

It's a small world after all....

2005-02-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

OK, so I started working at Trimble Navigation in September. I work in a group of 5 mechanical engineers, and we all sit in the same area. After a few days on the job one of these guys walks into my cube and says...

"Do you know Maria?".
I ponder, how in the hell?..."Uhhh, yeah?", I say.
"I thought so, are you two still together?".
"Uh-yeeeeaaaahhh."
"No way!", he says,"I thought that was you and when I heard your name I was like, wait a minute..."

So, this guy, named Shel, was one of Maria's good friends Freshman year at Santa Clara. She hadn't talked to him in 5 years, and here he is, working about 10 feet away, across the hall. That was weird.

This is even better.
So this other guy in my group is older, I'd say mid 40's, and he went to SCU as well. He told me today that he grew up 3 blocks from SCU, and I happen to know that Maria grew up a few blocks from SCU. So I asked him where he grew up, and he tells me the exact address.....SO it turns out the this guy, Martin, who sits right next to me, grew up in a house that was 2 doors down from where Maria's Grandparents lived, and her dad grew up. And the house that was between the two was Martin's Grandparent's house. So, Martin's extended family has known Maria's extended family for, oh, about 40 years?!?! WTF is going on here? Oh yeah, so Martin's last name is Bringuel...if that helps. He remembers going to the barber shop run by the mafia next door to the Little Professor bottle shop that Maria's grandpa and dad owned. Specifically, he remembers the group of older men sitting at the back table talking in Italian and every once in a while somebody coming in and saying the FBI were across the street again staking the place out...Again.

That's my day, and now I am afraid to go out to lunch because I'll most likely meet Maria's long lost twin sister working at Taco Bell.

Tere's house of dog

2005-02-01T17:56:00.000-08:00

Well
since it is the DOGHOUSEBLOGHOUSE I figured it was time for some dog. So.....here he is.......iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's JACK!!!

MLK day

2005-01-17T16:06:00.000-08:00

Just a note to remember to choose peace before anger, and love before hate. Hope everyone has a family size plate of introspection today, with a side of appreciation. Some tapes were released today and you can hear the vocals yourself:

Listen here.

TTFN,

Billout

Uhhhh...

2004-12-10T14:17:00.000-08:00

I thought this was happening in the Ukraine?

"And in a Franklin County, Ohio, a precinct where 638 voters cast ballots, a computer recorded 3,893 extra votes for President Bush. The error was corrected in the certified vote total, and local election workers have been unable to reproduce the error."

Whole story here.

This REALLY gives me confidence in our electronic election system. Really.

-Beeeell

The real William Carter

2004-12-08T23:14:00.000-08:00

Betcha didn't know this about me.

http://www.iie.org/PDFs/AnnualReport1996/file10.pdf

-Bill (Sub-Saharan expert)

Happy Birthday Christy & Trixie!

2004-12-06T14:35:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday girls! Bill and I spent saturday at a great party @ Christy and Trixie's in Oakland celebrating their birthdays. It was a great time! Attendees had to wear a hat or wig. As soon as Trixie sends me the pictures I will post them.

The closest approximation of truth

2004-12-01T22:03:00.000-08:00

Comes from listening to the source, many times over.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/middle_east/2004/iraq_log/default.stm

I like this because it lacks the propaganda machine of politicians and press agents who are interested in themselves primarily, and then the truth. This gives a perspective, without final judgement, and without blame. It is opinion, and although it may represent the small percentage of the populous that has computer access, it is still the best representation I have been able to gather about the reality of living in the war zone.

Birthday greetings

2004-11-28T10:35:00.000-08:00

Today is the day that the world welcomed Maria into its arms. I for one, am extremely grateful that she is here among us. Happy Birthday! May all your dreams come true.
Mom

HMMMMM

2004-11-25T16:27:00.000-08:00

dogknows
Originally uploaded by notyouagain.

The picture speaks for itself...

halloween dogs

2004-11-25T16:25:00.000-08:00

halloween (6)
Originally uploaded by notyouagain.

This old dogs tried some new ways to get treats this halloween.

barofun

2004-11-25T16:24:00.000-08:00

barofun
Originally uploaded by notyouagain.

Don't have too much fun this holiday!

I Support the Troops By Bill Shine

2004-11-25T14:33:00.000-08:00

I Support the Troops

By Bill Shein / Berkshire Eagle

I SUPPORT the troops by remembering -- every day -- that we are at war.
I support the troops by crying at the loss of their young lives, the pain suffered by their families, and the indefensible choices my government has made.
I support the troops not by cheering the war they've been sent to wage, or celebrating the battles they've won, but instead, by joining the effort to bring them home now.
I support the troops by asking why a senior Pentagon official appeared before Congress and didn't know the number of soldiers who had lost their lives.

I support the troops by imagining a day when chants of "USA! USA!" interrupt speeches about ending poverty and hunger, not those that boast of America's ability to rain fire onto human beings.
I support the troops by embracing Gandhi's dictum, "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind."
I support the troops by ridiculing the notion that anyone can build a "culture of life" here at home while spreading death and destruction abroad.
I support the troops by fighting for quality public schools and a living wage, so the military is no longer the career of last resort for America's most vulnerable.
I support the troops by remembering 9/11 -- watching from my bedroom window as smoke rose from the Pentagon, and then, in the days and weeks afterwards, weeping over heartbreaking stories of children left without parents.
I support the troops by asking which "moral value" is on display when we avenge the horrific murder of 3,000 innocents by killing 100,000 more.

I support the troops by rejecting the morality of a "pre-emptive war" that turns foreign soil into a graveyard for innocent foreign civilians -- a policy whose adherents improperly claim is a legal, moral and legitimate alternative to "fighting the enemy here at home."
I support the troops by denouncing wartime "journalism" provided by embedded reporters, retired generals and partisan spinners, especially when it ignores the voices of those with the hope and idealism to suggest a better way.
I support the troops by abhorring violence against nations, people, animals and the environment -- a belief system approaching its 2,000th birthday. Because you don't have to be a Christian to know what Jesus would do.
I support the troops by protesting the new language of war, which labels the death of innocent children as "collateral damage"; the accidental murder of their mothers "regrettable"; the killing of journalists who seek the truth "unfortunate"; the slaughter of the wounded as a "mop-up operation"; and that reduces human beings to "targets" to be "destroyed."

I support the troops with regret -- that we train them to kill, send them to war, and then leave them to struggle throughout life with searing memories of battlefield horrors. Because while the war makers do their best to dehumanize war, they can't dehumanize the human beings they send to fight it.

And as we begin our holiday season, I support the troops by spreading the story of the week-long Christmas Truce of 1914, when soldiers from Germany, France, England and Belgium spontaneously decided not to fight and kill. Instead, they put down their weapons, climbed out of their trenches and met -- on common ground -- to share food and cigars and games of soccer. They exchanged photos of sons and daughters and wives, of a life beyond the battlefield where they could easily be neighbors sharing a meal or watching a quiet sunset.

Incredibly, they befriended those whom their governments had demanded they kill. From that brief and remarkable moment, we know that peace is possible -- and inevitable -- as soon as human beings have the courage to say,

"Enough!"

Save the Turkey day!

2004-11-25T13:50:00.000-08:00

Alright. I am in! Happy Tofurkey day everybody!
I hope you are all enjoying your day and I hope you are
now drinking and eating well. Well I thought that you
might have a little extra time to check your email and
the blog over the holiday weekend, so I decided to put
a few links in. These are some movies that have been
created, some are political, some are just fun. I am still
working on getting pictures attached, so that will have
to wait until next time.

Check out Yogi Bush:
http://www.campchaos.com/show.php?iID=1

This is for all of you James Brown or Gary Oldman fans:
http://usa.bmwfilms.com/clap.asp?template=delivery&country=usa&film=beatthedevil

No Child Left Behind

2004-11-22T19:55:00.000-08:00

I know this isn't an education blog but I just have to share the latest thing I heard at a faculty meeting on No Child Left Behind. One of the big things effecting my school is the poplulation of English Language Learners aka children whose native language is not English. The 2003/2004 goal was that 13.6% of those students would be proficient or advanced in the English Language Arts portion of the state standadized test. That goal is of course increased each year. Now, here is the amazing part; by 2014 the federal goal is that 100% of the English Language Learners will be proficient or advanced. I'm not sure where to begin with this... Are we closing the borders so all the ELL students we currently have will be the total ELL population in 2014? What about special ed? We know that approximately 10% of all students are special ed and will certainly not be proficent, let alone advanced. What am I missing here? Must be that "fuzzy math" they were talking about a few years ago.

Our Family Gives Thanks

2004-11-22T11:31:00.000-08:00

P8041630, originally uploaded by maria-carter-giannini.

Flickr

2004-11-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Giving Thanks

2004-11-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

As it is Thanksgiving week, I would like to start a conversation about the many blessings in our lives. I will start it off..

# 1 is my family

My children and their great loves
My greatest joy has been to witness not only Maria and Dave's development into responsible adults but their willingness and desire to commit their lives and their love to another.

The ever-growing extended family
I have been blessed to have been warmly welcomed into the Ferraro and Bunt/Carter clans. They have added a huge dose of love and laughter - and that's what life is all about!

My grandfather
I am lucky enough to still have him in my life sharing his deep abiding love and his clear sensible wisdom. He is my model for so many aspects of my life.

My parents
Mom and Dad continue to guide and support me (even when we disagree). Their love has been a constant that has kept me standing through my most difficult times.

Mike and Vickie
My "big brother" is one of the most important people in life. He still protects me from the bullies of the world. One of his greatest gifts to me was bringing Vickie into my life.

Paul and Arma Jo
They are so much more than an aunt and uncle to me. I am thankful for their listening ears and loving hearts.

CIA intelligence

2004-11-21T09:29:00.000-08:00

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/umedia/cx_ariail_umedia/latest

SICK OF THOSE HIGH PAID TEACHERS?

2004-11-20T09:56:00.000-08:00

SICK OF THOSE HIGH PAID TEACHERS?

I, for one, am sick and tired of those high paid teachers. Their hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work nine or ten months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do...baby-sit! We can get that for less than minimum wage. That's right...I would give them $3.00 dollars an hour and only the hours they worked, not any of that silly planning, meeting, and correcting time. That would be 15 dollars a day. Each parent should pay 15 dollars a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now, how many do they teach in a day.... maybe 35. Then that's 15 X> 35=$525 a day. But remember they only work 180 days a year! I'm not going to pay them for any vacations. Let's see... that's 525 x... (Hold on, my calculator must need batteries!)

What about those special teachers or the ones with master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage just to be fair. Let's round it off to $6.00 an hour. Of course, they teach fewer students. That would be $6 times 5 hours times 25 children times 180 days =$135,000.00 per year. Wait a minute, there is something wrong here!!! There sure is, duuh????!! Make a teacher smile, send this to him or her!
Christopher Siegfried\> \chrissiegfried@earthlink.net\\> Why Wait? Move to EarthLink.

Problems with joining blogger

2004-11-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

Hello all, it seems that some people are having trouble signing on to blogger. If that is the case, email me at maria.carter.giannini@gmail.com and I will send another invitation and see if that solves the problem.
Maria

Profiles

2004-11-19T13:35:00.000-08:00

Hello all! We're starting to get some new contributors! Yay! Since there are people that have been invited from all over the spectrum, some people may need some introductions. So when you sign up let's try to put profiles together.
Thanks!

The Measure of a Great Teacher (sent by my amazing principal April Scott)

2004-11-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

THE MEASURE OF A GREAT TEACHER
Fixing public education seems to involve a constant quest for the one
true thing, the magic bullet, what experts call systemic reform -- higher
standards, proven curriculums, small schools, large schools, even uniform
dress codes.

Yet the one true thing never appears, writes Anemona Hartocollis.
But many children and their parents think they have found
the one true thing. They remember a great teacher and, if they are lucky,
more than one. It is the teacher who made them understand algebra for the
first time, or love literature, or feel as if they would grow up to be
somebody worthwhile. Ask any parent how school is going this year, and if they're
happy, the first thing they say is that their child has a great teacher.
No one remembers a great school system or a great chancellor, a great
textbook, or a great curriculum that came straight out of the can, with
little room for deviation or idiosyncrasy. Ideally, the measurable
outcomes of teaching, like test scores or graduation rates or college
entrance rates, would correlate somehow with the teachers people
remember.

In general, Dr. Ronald F. Ferguson has found that effective teachers not
only know their subjects but also have high expectations, do whatever it
takes to help children understand the material and don't let them give
up.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/education/edlife/117TEA.html

Meatloaf Causes Student Riot

2004-11-19T11:10:00.000-08:00

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A cafeteria food fight on "meat loaf day" led to the suspension of the entire eighth-grade class at a Memphis school. The students were suspended after refusing to clean up the mess they caused.
"Given an opportunity first to apologize for their behavior and help with the cleanup, most of the class refused to cooperate," school spokesman Vince McGaskill said.
The food fight broke out Wednesday at Geeter Middle School, which has 637 students in grades six through eight. Meat loaf and chicken were on the menu.

Principal Jada Meeks suspended students who were in the cafeteria during the fight, meaning the youngsters' parents must meet with school officials before the children can return to class.
The cause of the disturbance was not immediately known. No serious injuries were reported.
"Suspending students is never desirable," McGaskill said. "In this case, the principal felt that strong, some may say shocking measures, were called for to spur change."

Welcome to the Dog House Blog House!

2004-11-19T08:37:00.000-08:00

Hello! And welcome to the Dog House Blog House! This is our first blog so I'm sure we'll all be learning as we go along. We decided to set up a blog for several reasons. First, its a fast and painless way to keep up to date with family and friends. We can all post updates and pictures, like a Christmas letter but all year round! Second, around the time of the election Bill and I got into some very interesting discussions with some of the Carter Clan and thought a blog would be a nice way to keep that going even when the future of our nation is not at stake. Third, it is a great time waster! We can post useless polls and kookie information that we always seem to stumble across. So let the blogging begin!
Maria and Bill