Daily Inspiration

I never expect to lose. Even when I'm the underdog. I still prepare a victory speech.

- H. Jackson Browne

inspire daily calendar Sat 30 Jun / Sun 1 Jul 2012 

Fun Facts: People

• A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur after about ten days without sleep, while starvation takes a few weeks.
• Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell.
• Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of three hundred times a day. Adults only laugh fifteen to a hundred times a day.

- www.corsinet.com

Teachers daily calendar Fri 7 Aug 2009

Daily Inspiration

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

- Theodore Roosevelt

inspire daily calendar Fri 29 Jun 2012

Many teachers and schools have adopted online systems that display student grades, attendance, and other items so parents can regularly check in on their child's progress. Some people say these kinds of systems are wholly positive, and in an Edutopia online poll, the majority of voters - 64 percent- agreed. They said that online grading helps students, parents, and teachers stay in touch. It lets students self-monitor, helps teachers stay on top of their grading, and gives parents a simple way to maintain communication with their children and their teachers.

Others argue that theses systems could oversimplify student performance and further burden teachers. Ten percent of voters believed parent involvement in school is better managed through face-to-face communication. They think giving parents anytime, anywhere access to grading puts too much pressure on both students and teachers. An additional 25 percent said that online grading is a good idea, but limitations should be in place so that potential problems can be discussed between student and teacher before parents get involved. The remaining 1 percent of voters were undecided.

- www.edutopia.org

Teachers daily calendar Thu 6 Aug 2009

Dasily Inspiration

Although there is no progress without change, not all change is progress. 

- John Wooden

inspire daily calendar Thu 28 Jun 2012 

Dream lofty Dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become.

- John Ruskin

Teachers daily calendar Wed 5 Aug 2009

Oh Word!

It is feeling like a bit of a crunch time for me with everything I have on the go. Between the play at the Edmonton Fringe I have written (and editing), directing, producing, and a bunch of other related aspects of it, I have other work I have to fit in.

So, yesterday and today I decided to devote to a couple things I had partly forgot about, and partly procrastinated about. They are related to my teaching Lego Robotics to students in grades 4-6.

I was teaching an after school club in April through early June. As part of that teaching I am to submit a final report by the end of the month (this coming Friday). Luckily this is the second year I have taught it, and so I was able to revise my previous report - keeping some basic information about the Lego Robotics the same.

As I was doing that I was also thinking about the Lego Robotics summer school I will be teaching in a couple weeks. I wanted to get some of the worksheets done this week anyway, because I could then get them off to be photocopied before the classes start.

So, I have been revising what I had in the after school club, and expanding on some of it. While I was doing that, I started to notice how finicky Microsoft Word 2007 was getting.

I have a table (as below) in the worksheet that I was trying to copy based on different parts of the programming I was going to teach them.

	Challenge (What the robot will do)	Date Outlined	Date Programmed	Checked (by teacher)
1
2
3
4
5

However, whenever I tried to copy the table the formatting disappeared. I searched Google, and the help, and nothing solved my problem.

I even restarted Word, and still the problem wasn't resolving itself.

I eventually started to close all the windows I had open to do a restart of my computer (which I do shut off almost daily). After I closed a few open programs, including Word, I decided to try again before actually restarting.

Lo and behold! the table copied properly! I'm guessing that there might have been a formatting conflict between a program I had open and Word - such that formatting disappeared off anything on the clipboard.

Daily Inspiration

 Whatever you are, be a good one.

- Abraham Lincoln

inspire daily calendar Wed 27 Jun 2012 

On my birthday my class prepared a surprise for me. When I entered the darkened room, they all shouted "Happy Birthday!" I sat  on a specially decorated chair and watched as four students struggled in carrying a large and apparently heavy box. Muscles straining, they heaved it onto my lap, proclaiming excitedly that it was exactly what I wanted. The students gathered around me, and I opened my present. 

"It's empty!" I exclaimed.

"No, it's not!" they objected. "It's filled with peace and quiet."

And with that, they fell silent. 

- Joann Limoges in Reader's Digest

Teachers daily calendar Tue 4 Aug 2009

Daily Inspiration

The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind.

- Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

inspire daily calendar Tue 26 Jun 2012 

Given a choice between better parental support and student behavior or a significantly higher salary, 86 percent of new teachers would choose better behavior and support.

- www.adoptaclassroom.com

Teachers daily calendar Mon 3 Aug 2009

Window Shopping

On Saturday, as a nice break from all the chaos and stress my ex-stage manager was giving me, I went window shopping with my Dad.

We didn't actually buy anything that day, but got a quote for 4 basement windows for my house. My Dad can get a discount on the windows, but the place he has to order them through is closed Sundays and Mondays (and was closed by the time we got the quote). So he will be ordering my new windows tomorrow.

In about 4-6 weeks I should have them installed.

This is step 1 of a 4 step process I am looking at as this year's home renos:
1) Replace Windows
2) Put in window wells
3) Remove (& prune) trees (independent of steps 1 & 2)
4) Regrade around the house

Note: the photo on the left is of one of my existing basement windows. When regraded all that space below the window will be below ground - hence getting the window wells.

Daily Inspiration

Patience is the art of hoping.

- Marquis du Vauenargues

inspire daily calendar Mon 25 Jun 2012 

Most Memorable Teachers

In the Davenport Public School System, no one was more reverend than my football and wrestling coach, Jim Fox. A member of Iowa's coaching Hall of Fame in two sports, Jim imbued the work ethic in thousands of young athletes. Jim also coached the first African-American to win an NCAA wrestling championship. Jim is currently living in a nursing home where his main comforts are memories fast fading with Alzheimer's. But those who were coached by him will never forget his commitment to discipline and fair play. Jim didn't believe in short cuts or fancy strategies. He taught people to work hard, to play together, to live by the rules, and respect opponents. His lessons weren't complicated. But they couldn't be deeper.

- Iowa Rep. James A. Leach regarding Coach Fox, Davenport Central High School, Davenport, Iowa, on www.nea.org

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 1/2 Aug 2009

Daily Inspiration

Education is the vaccine for violence.

- Edward James Olmos

Teachers daily calendar Thu 30 Jul 2009 

Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgement will be surer; since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose your power of judgement. Go some distance away because the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glace, and a lack of harmony or proportion is more readily seen.  

- Leonardo da Vinci

Teachers daily calendar Fri 31 Jul 2009

The challenges in life...

"One must choose in life between boredom and torment."

- Madame de Stael

The past couple days life has decided to torment, or challenge me. I am hoping it is nearing the end of a rocky week.


If you follow this blog you would know that I have a play on the waiting list for the Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival. Well in the past week a whole lot has happened - most of it good.

Last Saturday I held auditions, and managed to get good actors - having only 3 people interested in the 2 male roles worried me.
The Friday before that I heard confirmation I was in the Edmonton Fringe, on the condition that my play had a 45 minute max run time.

Things were looking up, especially when, on Monday I got what looked like a great performance schedule (times of when the show would run). However, that changed fairly quickly.

Tuesday I got word that the venues and times of shows might change, and we'd hear back shortly.

Thursday, we got the new schedule, and although our venue didn't change, most of our times did. One performance contradicted a prior engagement by the stage manager. As producer I was willing to cancel that one show, since the Edmonton Fringe was not going to let me change it.

Thursday was also the start of noticing a series of miscommunications between myself (playwright, producer, director) and the stage manager. I can't pinpoint the exact start of the miscommunications, and where the challenges of the past few days started, but I do know when key observations took place.

First, at a meeting at Tim Hortons. Over all things seemed to be going well, however my stage manager passed to me a list of theatre job descriptions indicating to me the line, as they saw it, between director and stage manager. I believe this was brought up because when I emailed the cast about being involved I mentioned a first rehearsal this Sunday (tomorrow), and asking for their availability to help schedule rehearsals. I went one step further by creating a simple calendar indicating, based on their reply of availability, when they were busy. The stage manager indicated that scheduling rehearsals fell under their job description. (Honestly, I think it is a little more complex than that - obviously the director has to be available for the rehearsals... but that's was not an issue I was concerned with).


Second, I got a text from the stage manager reinforcing that they could not do the one show that conflicted with their schedule, and "the cast has to be at rehearsals set by u and the sm, not u and the sm adjusting to them."
My reply included that I am still learning, and will let them do the scheduling (besides it would be one less thing to worry about). I also asked if they could call me to discuss a couple things. They never have.
Related to this second point, the stage manager also sent out the details of the rehearsal on Sunday, and included in it a comment along the lines of rehearsal scheduling being their responsibility, and if it was up to the cast, they (the stage manager) would not be there.

Third, Friday morning I woke up to 2 emails from the stage manager, one to me one to the entire cast & crew. Both were essentially the same: regarding rehearsal scheduling. In the group one they mentioned how 2 specific days did not work for everyone, which were the perfect days for rehearsals - didn't say why. They also called the production a "so-so production"

I replied to everyone reinforcing the comment the stage manager made about how quickly the Edmonton Fringe is away, and having to put our work in. This however didn't stop one actor from resigning because he didn't want to be part of a "so-so production."
Luckily I was on the ball enough to divert that catastrophe - I simply stated to him that the stage manager's comment was probably intended to motivate to NOT have a "so-so production." That along with telling him, as director, that we'd work within his comfort level in terms of the gay interactions (he's straight), was what diverted that catastrophe.

Through out the day more of the cast replied to the stage manager's and my emails expressing confusion as to why those 2 days were a problem. No one expressed a direct problem with them, but were also curious as to why suddenly those days.

Fourth, before heading out to an opening at the Art Gallery, I tried to call the stage manager. I got their voice mail and left a message. Their outgoing message concerned me a little though, as it say "if you don't leave a message we will not call you back, and never call you."

----
Short interjection here. During the auditions the stage manager and I were talking about a friend of theirs and how his relationship with a woman seemed suspicious - she had 2 jobs that didn't make sense to have (i.e. a doctor also working as a waitress to destress - this is a similar example). A few other things made them question this girl. I told the stage manager about the 2 times I was in relationships where the guy got arrested for fraud (after I was out of the picture, and both relationships were only a couple months each). So I now recognize some of the signs.
The past couple days, with the memories of what to watch for in a relationship, I couldn't help noticing one or two related to the stage manager. I took mental note, but continued working with them - had been working with them since January off and on on this production. Off and on because of me.
The outgoing voice message was another 'flag.'
Back to yesterday.
-----

While I was at the Art Gallery, I received an email that started to explain things. The 2 specific days for rehearsals was because they found a place where refreshments would be served, but only those days (I knew that was being looked into, but the email was the first time I heard confirmation).

There was a reiteration of not being able to stage manage the one performance, and that the cast was giving mixed messages about when they can do rehearsals. There was also a point about not having the cast help procure props, costume, or set - something I mentioned in one of my emails. Fringe theatre is amateur theatre, there usually isn't the man power to have separate people doing all those things, so my email was intended to imply asking for assistance - I can't do it alone (see http://quafaie.blogspot.ca/2012/05/i-cant-do-it-alone.html).

At the end of the email they say basically resign. Which in part is a disappointment, since the resources they claimed to have would have been nice. But on the other hand I'd rather this happen now then the day before the first performance.
That stage manager did help a lot, if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be at a position to feel like I can handle it. They helped get a decent about of people in place (ok it was mostly my doing, but they were a motivating factor).

I didn't reply to their email until early this morning (time stamp about 4:50am I think). I was contemplating how to be diplomatic in my reply.
I pointed out:
1) not knowing about the one location for rehearsals. 
2) the actors replies about being able to actually attend the days that were mentioned, and highlighting the only complaint about rehearsals was not enough
3) a brief reply about the cast's involvement in other activities (set building etc), from the point of view of having been involved in Fringe theatre a number of times. I didn't say the number, but this is technically my 4th, however I have socialized with a number of people involved, and they would all agree with my point, and I've been around the festival for over 20 years
4) I made a courteous farewell, and quoted part of their final comments: "find a stage manager" (their line was "I hope you can find a stage manager," mine was "I will do as you suggest and look for a new stage manager.")

There is my long post / rant about the past week.

In terms of a new stage manager, one of my housemates (who was around yesterday and I confided in), called a friend who has passed on the contact info for a possibly stage manager.

I now leave this post with the quote from the other day's daily inspiration - worth repeating:

"Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher."

- Oprah Winfrey

Daily Inspiration

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.

- Anne Frank

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 23/24 Jun 2012 

A teacher's job is to bring to life mind and spirit, to give you courage to live a whole life. They have precious little time to do this in the modern school but, with astonishing frequency, they succeed in doing it anyway.

- Bill Holm

Teachers daily calendar Wed 29 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others. 

- Robert Louis Stevenson

inspire daily calendar Fri 22 Jun 2012 

A book is not only a friend, it makes friends for you. When you have possessed a book with mind and spirit, you are enriched. But when you pass it on you are enriched threefold.

- Henry Miller, The Books in My Life

Teachers daily calendar Tue 28 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.

- Oprah Winfrey

inspire daily calendar Thu 21 Jun 2012 

A professional is a person who can do his best at a time when he doesn't particularly feel like it.

- Alistair Cooke

Teachers daily calendar Mon 27 Jul 2009

Yeah, more Nudism!

For those that don't know, I live with 3 other guys (2 straight, one gay).
For the past 4 years I have generally worn some sort of clothing (i.e. shorts or housecoat) when I have been out of my room when the others have been awake and in the house.

Recently however, partially with the warmer weather outside, as summer comes, I have been naked more at home, and was being a less worried about others in the house seeing me naked. After Cesar, the housemate who's room is next to mine, came home and saw me naked in the kitchen, and didn't really react much (I'd informed him before I was a nudist), I decided to ask him, and the others, about their comfort level of me being naked around the house.

Cesar told me he was quite fine with me being naked. He isn't into being naked himself, and I'm fine with that. Since hearing this I have been naked around the main floor more often, and have even had a variety of conversations with Cesar while I have been naked and he has been clothed. The most recent he asked be about Einstein's general theory - which I couldn't quite remember off the top of my head.

Sheldon, who has a bedroom in the basement, told me he was fine with it, as long as when I'm talking to him he doesn't have to look at me. I take that as he's fine if I'm naked around the house, but will put something on if I plan on talking to him - idle, quick, conversation is not necessarily worth the effort.

Zack, who has been a friend longer than we have lived together, and who's room is also in the basement, is, as he calls himself, "a prude." He does not want to see me naked. Which has, to my benefit, been a total fail on his part. This is because he has 'caught' me naked in my room (I'm leaving my door open more), out on the deck when he comes home looking for me, and a couple times when he knew I was naked and then ask me a couple questions / come see something and I'd go without putting anything on. If I want to socialize with Zack (i.e. to watch TV shows we enjoy together, like QI and Mythbusters) I have been putting something on, usually it was just shorts, but recently though I have been going to briefs, and plan on eventually working my way down to see if I can get him comfortable.

I am pretty sure that in 3 to 4 months this will likely stop - being naked around the house - because as the winter comes I'd rather put clothes on than pay more to heat the house.

Note: all the photos above are of me and were taken today.

Oh, and can you guess who is my gay roommate?

Daily Inspiration

If you can DREAM it, you can DO it.

- Walt Disney

inspire daily calendar Wed 20 Jun 2012 

A newly hired reference librarian was trying to be extra-sensitive to the needs of patrons. When an ill-at-ease adolescent boy approached and in a barely audible voice asked for books on "beginning to to develop," the female librarian was prepared. She called over a male staff member and whispered that the boy needed some books about the onset of puberty. A while later they returned to her desk, the male librarian with a big grin on his face, and the boy with books on photography. 

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 25/26 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

Few Men during their lifetime come anywhere near exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used.

- Richard E. Byrd

inspire daily calendar Tue 19 Jun 2012 

Children need all school workers. A person is not "just" a janitor, not "just" a custodian. Janitors can see children when [teachers] don't see them, and bus drivers recognize that children who are disruptive on the bus are likely to be disorderly in the classroom. They're partners in education. We need each other to make this work.

- Jesse Jackson

Teachers daily calendar Fri 24 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.

- Robert Frost

inspire daily calendar Mon 18 Jun 2012 

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

- John Wooden

Teachers daily calendar Thu 23 Jul 2009

Joe Trebble and the Bio Tech Conspiracy - Chapter 12

I just posted Chapter 12: Wood Carving of my online serial - http://joetrebble.blogspot.ca/2012/06/btc-12-wood-carving.html
If you haven't read any of the others before you might want to start at Chapter 1: A Hot Pink Car - http://joetrebble.blogspot.ca/2007/03/joe-trebble-and-bio-tech-conspiracy.html

Enjoy the stories and please provide feedback.
In fact, any short words or phrases you might want to see as future chapters would be greatly appreciated (it will help get more chapters written).

Daily Inspiration

I was explaining gender of singular personal pronouns to my seventh-graders. The lesson progressed very nicely through masculine and feminine pronouns. I then asked what they thought neuter meant, meaning of course, the usage of pronouns.. One student eagerly volunteered, "That's when you get your cat fixed!"

- Josette Boqqess on www.teachernet.com

Teachers daily calendar Tue 21 Jul 2009 

In 1857, one hundred educators answered a national call to unite as one voice in the cause of public education. At the time, learning to read and write was a luxury for most children - and a crime for many black children. One hundred and fifty years later, public education and the profession of teaching are transformed. What was once a privilege for a fortunate few is now an essential right for every American child, regardless of family income or place of residence. 

- www.nea.org

Teachers daily calendar Wed 22 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

A person must be interested in finding the best way, not in having their own way.

- John Wooden

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 16/17 Jun 2012 

If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who has so much as to out of danger?

- Thomas Henry Huxley

Teachers daily calendar Mon 20 Jul 2009

Eye opening week...

On Monday I went for my annual eye exam. My optometrist had a new machine where he could take a photo of the back of / inside my eyes (like photo to the left).

I've been lucky to have had the same optometrist since I was about 5, so nearly 30 years. He was the first one, when I was about 5, to diagnose me with myopia (nearsighted) and astigmatism in both eyes, and amblyopia (lazy eye) in one eye.
In the 20ish years since then my lazy eye got better, my astigmatism has fluctuated, but generally receded, and my nearsightedness has got worse... though for the past 10 to 15 years it has stayed fairly stable.

My past 3 prescriptions are:

To those that don't understand glasses prescriptions, basically my nearsightedness is very bad, without contacts or glasses a book has to be within 6 inches of my face before I can make out what the words say (unless it it large type - not sure the distance for that).

On Monday however, my optometrist saw something new, or rather old, but for the first time. He noticed that my retina was weak / thin in a few places, which is apparently common for someone with as severe myopia as myself. There was one spot in the photo of my right eye he was a little concerned about. So he had me book another eye photo in September, to see if there were any changes.

On Wednesday I missed a call from him saying he had taken a closer look at the images and wanted to talk to me about them. I called him back on Thursday, and he mentioned that the one spot looked like a tear in my retina, and wanted me to go see an ophthalmologist to get a second opinion. They managed to book me in for Friday (since I had nothing else to do today).

Appointment was for 10am, so I caught the 9:15 bus (guessing I probably should not be driving afterwards), and got there just before 10. Checked in, filled out forms, saw the technician who photographed my eyes again (the paperwork hadn't made it to them yet), and put dilating drops in my eyes. I waited, trying to read (eventually gave up as my dilated eyes weren't focusing on the magazine print). Then I was taken to the exam room where the cute doctor came in and looked the photos of my eyes and then my eyes - prodding around them a little, and shining a weak laser / light into them to see what they actually looked like.

After having to go to assist another patient, he came back and told me that there was an old tear in my retina, but it looked like it had healed, which isn't that common - usually once one starts, the vitreous fluid will continue to seep through the tear causing a bump to appear inside the eye and obscuring vision. He could see mine was old, and like water marks on a receding lake, could see where it had extended.

He mentioned 2 options. 1) basically close the remaining hole using laser surgery and hope for the best, and 2) close up the hole and then remove the remaining vitreous fluid from behind the remaining 'bump'.
He didn't recommend the second option because where the hole is does not affect my vision (it is in my right eye, almost directly below the outside edge of my eyebrow. Because the eye flips the image, the part of my field of vision in that area is my nose, something I don't necessarily need to see in my peripheral vision).
So we went for option one.

The time now was between 11:00 & 11:20 am. I was taken to a waiting room, and soon taken to a small room for the laser surgery, where I waited, and waited....
Finally around 12:00 the doctor appeared again (apparently the ophthalmologist is a busy place), and after placing eye drops to freeze my eye, he placed a contact lens like thing with something attached to it on my eye (like what the Dr. is holding in the top picture on the right). He then shone the surgical laser in my eye in bursts.... and it hurt.
Between the laser in my eye and being tired, I found it difficult to keep my left eye open. That combined with the short bursts of pain caused me to cry (shed tears is probably more apt). about 5 minutes of that we then went to another room, so he could get part of my eye not able to be reached in the head rest (like the top right photo). This time the pain wasn't as bad. It also only lasted about 5 minutes.

For the next 5 minutes I was half blind (blinded by the light!), and was feeling hungry. As I checked out of the clinic I asked the receptionists for a good restaurant near by... they recommended a Vietnamese place (I enjoy Vietnamese food). I put my sunglasses and hat on, and headed out to eat, only to realize my sunglasses were not dark enough for my still dilated eyes - luckily I found the restaurant and the bus home.  

Daily Inspiration

Your own mind is a sacred enclosure into which nothing harmful can enter except by your promotion.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

inspire daily calendar Fri 15 Jun 2012 

It is written that he who governs well leads the blind; but that he who teaches gives them eyes.

- David O. McKay

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 18/19 Jul 2009

My new phone

Tuesday afternoon I bought my new smartphone. Since then I have been exploring it; learning how to navigate and use a smartphone.

I am also slowly getting on to twitter, so please feel free to follow me here: https://twitter.com/#!/hughkemeny

Daily Inspiration

No one can make you jealous, angry, vengeful, or greedy - unless you let him.

- Napoleon Hill

inspire daily calendar Thu 14 Jun 2012 

Research has shown that musical study develops critical thinking and self-discipline skills and improves a child's early cognitive development, basic math and reading abilities, self-esteem, SAT scores, ability to work in teams, spatial reasoning skills, and school attendance. Also, researchers have found that children involvement with music education are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college, and are less likely to be involved with gangs and substance abuse.

- VH1 Save the Music Foundation

Teachers daily calendar Fri 17 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

- Barack Obama

inspire daily calendar Wed 13 Jun 2012 

When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.

- Walt Disney

Teachers daily calendar Thu 16 Jul 2009

Will the phone make the grade....

My current phone is a stupid phone - as in not-smart.
I have been a reluctant to get one that is more intelligent, because I think, based on what I know of my personality and how I see a couple friends using their smart phones, I would be playing with it too much.
However a couple factors are pressuring me to now seriously consider getting one (actually probably today). These factors are directly related to may Fringe play.....

Last week I went to a session for producers, directors, and stage managers of plays being done at this year's Edmonton Fringe Festival. At that session they were mentioning the power of social media, especially Twitter - I have a twitter account I don't use, because how I see it, it works better for someone constantly able to 'tweet' - my twitter account: https://twitter.com/#!/hughkemeny

Yesterday, after a job interview, I went to one of the major malls to check what smart phones my provider had to offer, and what a couple competitors had to offer in terms of phones and plans. Throughout the rest of the day I made it to a couple more places, and narrowed things down to two phones (the two that I talked to providers about earlier in the day).

They are:
HTC One V - with Koodo (my current provider). Koodo has the phone on sale, and with what remains of my 'tab' (10% of my bill goes to pay the phone back / recover my 'tab'), the phone would only cost me $79 + tax. My plan would change, but after looking at it all, the amount I pay per month would stay about the same (depending on my data usage).

Motorola Motoluxe - with Virgin. I am tempted to switch to Virgin because of the deals the sales person (who was at one of those multi-provider places) said are sent to Virgin customers. There wasn't any super special deals on that phone, or the equivalent plan to what I would get with Koodo (which would work out to exactly the same - causing the plan to drop out of the equation). Virgin also offers a 'tab', and with using that I would only have to pay $30+tax for the phone, plus the $54 still remaining on my Koodo tab. Bringing the phone to a comparable price.

The other places I went (Cost-co & Best Buy) wanted me to sign a 3 year contract, and get the much better phones for next to nothing. I am not ready for that - been without a contract for in the ball park of 6 years. Plus as I'm still relatively unemployed, I don't want to be paying too much for a plan. Both Koodo and Virgin have plans I like for $40/month (+tax), with <25 MB data. They both offer the same sliding scale for data usage (which rests every month): $5 more for up to 100MB, $10 more for up to 300MB, $15 more for up to 1 GB, and $25 more for up to 3GB.
Currently I pay $42/month +tax.

Last night I spent time researching the two phones to see which one had better reviews.
Both apparently aren't great! But I'm looking at a starter phone (I'll probably consider an iPhone in a couple years, when I have the money), so I can understand they don't have the top reviews.

After doing all the research I have decided on the HTC One V, it had slightly better reviews in industry reviews, and I don't have to worry about switching providers.

Daily Inspiration

If you really want something, you can figure out how to make it happen.

- Cher

inspire daily calendar Tue 12 Jun 2012 

When I started teaching, I wanted to become a great teacher. But classes went much better when I stopped focusing on becoming the best teacher I could be and started focusing on helping my students become the best students they could be.

- Former Minnesota Teacher of the Year Michael Smart

Teachers daily calendar Wed 15 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.

- Christian Bovee

inspire daily calendar Mon 11 Jun 2012 

Silly School Staff Directory

Walker Runn, Gym Coach

• Favorite teaching topic: How to climb a rope in thirty seconds
• Extracurricular interests: Lifting weights and small children for exercise
• How to become this teacher's pet: Walk home instead of taking the bus

Dee Zurt, Lunch Lady

• Favorite foods: Brussels sprout burritos
• Extracurricular interests: Making spaghetti art (without the sauce!)
• How to become this lunch lady's pet: Ask for a second helping of the week's "mystery meat"

- www.timeforkids.com

Teachers daily calendar Tue 14 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

My eleven-year-old daughter and I were having lunch at a deli decorated with abstract paintings. We were admiring the picture above our table when she asked me what I thought it was. I examined it and said I didn't know. She looked at it again and remarked, "I guess his teacher didn't know what it was either, because he only got five out of fifty." She was looking at the print number. 

- Mary Ann Noack in Reader's Digest

Teachers daily calendar Mon 13 Jul 2009

Quick Reference: Roman Numerals

One     I

Two     II

Three     III

Four     IV

Five     V

Six     VI

Seven     VII

Eight     VIII

Nine     IX

Ten     X

Eleven     XI

Twelve     XII

Thirteen     XIII

Fourteen     XIV

Fifteen     XV

Sixteen     XVI

Seventeen     XVII

Eighteen     XVIII

Nineteen     XIX

Twenty     XX

Thirty     XXX

Forty     XL

Fifty     L

Sixty     LX

Seventy     LXX

Eighty     LXXX

Ninety     XC

One hundred     C

Five hundred      D

One thousand     M

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 11/12 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.

- Harriet Beecher Stowe

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 9/10 Jun 2012 

Q: Why did the clock get in trouble with the teacher?

A: Because it "tocked" in class.

Teachers daily calendar Fri 10 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

The only limits are, as always, those of vision.

- James Broughton

inspire daily calendar Fri 8 Jun 2012 

The Trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.

- Terry Pratchett, Diggers

Teachers daily calendar Thu 9 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

The future is not a gift - it is an achievement.

- Harry Lauder

inspire daily calendar Thu 7 Jun 2012 

Fun Facts: Famous Firsts

In 1897, John J. McDermott won the first Boston Marathon - the first of its type in the United States.

In 1911, Marie Curie became the first person ever to win two Nobel Prizes. Her first was in physics (1903) and the second in chemistry.

In 1947, Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier. He piloted a Bell X-1 rocket at 670 miles per hour in level flight - faster than the speed of sound.

- www.corsinet.com

Teachers daily calendar Wed 8 Jul 2009

Winding Down...

Exactly 2 months ago I had 4 part time jobs.

• Teaching an after school course, about 1 hour 2 to 3 times a week
• Supervising students writing make-up exams, 2 hours every second week, on average
• Tutoring junior and senior high math to a couple students about 2 hours total a week
• Collecting data for the city Census, which took up the rest of my time

By this time next week I will only have 1 part time job, and by the end of the month I'm not sure if I will be tutoring as school is coming to an end for the summer.

The census job lasted only 3 weeks, that was the entire time we were given to cover our area of the city. Considering I had a few apartments that I could not get in contact with the building managers, I think I did reasonably well, not as hope for though. 

Today was the last day I was supervising the make-up exams. For the second last day where students could write, it wasn't as full as I thought. The room seats 17 comfortably. I had less than 17 students writing at any one time. The exams are a mix of time length and subject matter for high school courses, so some students are done early. The exam room is open from 5pm to 7pm, and students may write anytime during that time, so some come at 5pm, some at 6m. This means that more than 17 students may be writing comfortably, like today there were 20 students who wrote exams, and only 16 seats filled at the most. Last week, at one point, there were 21 students writing all at once, it was fun finding space for them all. I think there was a total of nearly 30 students that wrote that day too.

Tuesday will be the last day I teach the after school Lego Robotics course. I will miss the students (grade 4-6 age range). This is the second year I have taught this course and have learned a lot from last year and this year. Last year I was half designing the course as I went - having only designed the course before starting to teach it. This year I was beginning to refine it. 

Although I say by the end of the month my part time jobs will almost be gone - just the tutoring is possible for students taking summer school - in July I will actually have a full-time job.

The full-time job will be teaching Lego Robotics in a summer school. So as things wind down for the part-time paid work I have to also start winding up for the full-time paid work.

And there is also the volunteer work on top of all that. 

Most of May I was volunteering at a local theatre running the lights (see past posts). 

From a while ago and until almost September I am also "volunteering" (not sure if it classifies as volunteering) or working to get the play I wrote produced at the Edmonton Fringe in August. It is currently 5th on the waiting list, which means high probability of getting in.

Last week I got audition notices out, and have auditions on June 16. Luckily I have enough people interested to hopefully get a good cast - unlike an attempt at producing it in January. 

So as one part of life winds down, others wind up... and I hope to post a couple more on related topics soon.

Daily Inspiration

The time is always right to do what is right.

- Martin Luther King Jr.

inspire daily calendar Wed 6 Jun 2012 

School Satire

At a cafeteria-table press conference, David Pernell, age ten, "categorically denied" girl-liking allegations recently levied against him by fellow Lakeview Elementary School fourth-grader Jonathan Witt. "I do not, have not, and will not ever like girld," Pernell told the crowd of seven noys assembled at the lunchroom's back table.

"Mr. Witt's accusations are not only 100 percent false, but also slanderous, as it has always been my firm conviction that girls are totally and completely gross." Pernell went on to suggest that perhaps it is Witt who likes girls, particularly Jenny Loughlin.

- www.theonion.com

Teachers daily calendar Tue 7 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society.

- Hillary Clinton

inspire daily calendar Tue 5 Jun 2012 

We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road. There is nothing progressive about being pigheaded and refusing to admit a mistake.

- C.S. Lewis

Teachers daily calendar Mon 6 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.

- Beverly Sills

inspire daily calendar Mon 4 Jun 2012 

How to Be a Kid Again

• Change into play clothes.
• Start thinking now about what you want for your next birthday.
• Ask someone if the like "see-food."

Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 4/5 Jul 2009

Joe Trebble and the Bio Tech Conspiracy

Back in 2006 I started a serial in a writing class. It started in part as a challenge to myself in regards to a writing warm-up.

The warm-up is to write for about 20 minutes about anything that comes to mind - no stopping, no double thinking, no editing, just writing.

Because some people were finding it difficult to start, a prompt was chosen. This was done by everyone writing a word or short phrase on a piece of paper and putting it into a hat then selecting one.

I then turned some of these prompts into the chapter titles of my serial. Since that time I have written about 13 chapters (perhaps more, but I only have 13 typed up). In 2007 I started posting them online on a dedicated blog: http://joetrebble.blogspot.ca/

In the past 5 years I haven't been consistent in posting or even writing the chapters. When I started this blog I was planning on posting a new chapter every week (which obviously didn't happen). My current goal is to post a chapter at least every month (more if I can write them).

I just posted Chapter 11: English Toffee - http://joetrebble.blogspot.ca/2012/06/btc-11-english-toffee.html
But if you haven't read any of the others before you might want to start at Chapter 1: A Hot Pink Car - http://joetrebble.blogspot.ca/2007/03/joe-trebble-and-bio-tech-conspiracy.html

Enjoy the stories and please provide feedback.
In fact, any short words or phrases you might want to see as future chapters would be greatly appreciated (it will help get more chapters written).

Daily Inspiration

Behind Every Famous Person Is a Fabulous Teacher

Actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler sill has the lucky quarter that her fourth-grade teacher Michael Zarett gave her before her very first audition. In the classroom, Mr. Zarett strives to have meaningful interactions with every student on a daily basis. "Every day you try to make a memory," he says.

- TeachersCount National Social Marketing Campaign

Teachers daily calendar Thu 2 Jul 2009

Why do I love teaching?

It's the "I get it" moments.

It's the moments when I see a kid do something really spectacular, like stand up for another kid in class.

It's the moments when I hand a kid a book and tell them I think they'd enjoy it, and they come back and tell me they loved it, and ask if I have any more like it.

And it's the kid in my class who doesn't do well in school and makes bad choices quite often, but when I sit down and help him with an assignment, he gives me a genuine thank-you.

- www.theteacherscorner.net

Teachers daily calendar Fri 3 Jul 2009

Elemental Answer & Code

Most science fiction fans know the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything."
The elemental answer is of course Molybdenum; discovered in 1781

For a while I've been thinking about writing things in code, and one code I had played with when I was younger was using the periodic table of elements. I was talking yesterday with a friend about it and wondering how hard it would be to decode. He suggested using the yet unnamed, created in a lab, elements as spaces, so that 117 would be a space instead of Uus as letters. I'm not sure if that's entirely required.

(Periodic table of elements above is from Wikipedia)


See if you can decode the following:
notes:
1) due to the nature of the periodic table, some letters come only in pairs, and some (J & Q) do not exist.
2) no punctuation is included

421622 215363758 95362287 995716 1910274 9063 957167468 228 9063 923221018568 1992992287 89 326 9063 9228236834 9560 63236839904932 5316 42

As I was typing up the above, I thought of an easier code to write, and possibly more difficult to decrypt.
The code above uses, where it can, double letter combinations, such that the phrase "I am gay" would be: 53 95 3139
An alternate would be where only the first letter of the element is used, that could give multiple codes for the same phrase. Taking "I am gay" you can choose from:
I = 49, 53 or 77
a = 13, 18, 33, 47, 79, 85, 89 or 95
m = 12, 25, 43, 101 or 109
g = 31, 32 or 64
a = 13, 18, 33, 47, 79, 85, 89 or 95 (why not choose a different number than before!?)
y = 39
Total of 2880 different possible combinations for that phrase. 24 for just "gay"

Now try this one (first letters only):


349963 741314 57531968 18 5854 7626 611787133229916 397692 763236837 3610874 7424743 3976924499 318112879 326352

Daily Inspiration

You Don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things - to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.

- Edmund Hillary

inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 2/3 Jun 2012 

To know nothing of what happened before you were born is to remain ever a child.

- Cicero

Teachers daily calendar Wed 1 Jul 2009

Daily Inspiration

 There are no great men, only great challenges that ordinary men are forced by circumstances to meet.

- William F. Halsey

inspire daily calendar Fri 1 June 2012 

The essence of our effort to see that every child has a chance must be to assure that each has an equal opportunity not to become equal, but to become different. 

- John Fischer

Teachers daily calendar Tue 30 Jun 2009