A nod to Winston Rand at nobody asked.... Winston passed away on Saturday. He was a very good online friend - someone who encouraged me a lot in my efforts at blogging. And he was an excellent writer with a great outlook on life.
His voice will be missed.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Bird Stuff
Mating dance? Territorial dispute? A bizarre and fascinating bird thing?
Yes...definitely the last one. Perhaps one of the others.
Yesterday, these two birds spent about 15 minutes doing their thing in our yard. They chose a stump from one of our recently removed trees as their stage. And they performed.
Sometimes one - or even both - would run off into the grass, but they never ventured far from the stump. And the ritual never ceased.
They sang. They danced. They bobbed and weaved.
There was lots of posturing and tail flaring.
And it was fascinating to watch.
I'm no avian expert. I have no idea what kind of birds they are. Perhaps a Ruby-Headed Grass Dancer. Or a Flair-Tailed Stump Hopper. Maybe some dear reader can identify our little friends. But if you have to look it up in Black-Throated Stump Dancers of Connecticut, Volume III, don't go pretending like you knew it all along.
Eventually, they both took off and the yard was quiet again.
Yes...definitely the last one. Perhaps one of the others.
Yesterday, these two birds spent about 15 minutes doing their thing in our yard. They chose a stump from one of our recently removed trees as their stage. And they performed.
Sometimes one - or even both - would run off into the grass, but they never ventured far from the stump. And the ritual never ceased.
They sang. They danced. They bobbed and weaved.
There was lots of posturing and tail flaring.
And it was fascinating to watch.
I'm no avian expert. I have no idea what kind of birds they are. Perhaps a Ruby-Headed Grass Dancer. Or a Flair-Tailed Stump Hopper. Maybe some dear reader can identify our little friends. But if you have to look it up in Black-Throated Stump Dancers of Connecticut, Volume III, don't go pretending like you knew it all along.
Eventually, they both took off and the yard was quiet again.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Grab your PFD and let's go!
To all the dads out here...HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! Hope everyone had a great day in whatever way you celebrated. Some had breakfast in bed. Some got a long afternoon nap on the couch. Some had a special dinner. Some got gifts. A lot of ways to celebrate this day...and I hope your way was fabulous!
For me...a relaxing day. A delicious dinner of steak on the grill, potatoes and corn on the cob for dinner.
And gifts! Well, really just one big gift...and a couple of accessories that go along with it. And what was this one big gift?!?!
A little sit-on-top kayak for the campground!
That's right, boys and girls, I'm ready to do some paddling! And just to make it more fun, we actually got two of them so I can go out on the lake with one of the kids or with my wife. I'm so excited, I can't wait for school to be over so we can head to the campground and get out on the lake.
If you're in the neighborhood, stop by. We'll go for a little paddle together!
For me...a relaxing day. A delicious dinner of steak on the grill, potatoes and corn on the cob for dinner.
And gifts! Well, really just one big gift...and a couple of accessories that go along with it. And what was this one big gift?!?!
A little sit-on-top kayak for the campground!
That's right, boys and girls, I'm ready to do some paddling! And just to make it more fun, we actually got two of them so I can go out on the lake with one of the kids or with my wife. I'm so excited, I can't wait for school to be over so we can head to the campground and get out on the lake.
If you're in the neighborhood, stop by. We'll go for a little paddle together!
Friday, June 13, 2008
THREE DAYS LEFT
If you are a parent, you know just how crazy the end of the school year can be. There are band concerts, field trips, special assemblies, forms to fill out, missing library books to find and return, finals to help kids prepare for, schedules to preview for next year, letters from administrators and guidance counselors about special summer events, makeup work for things that got missed, and a long list of other special things that get crammed into the last days of the school year.
But it is almost over. There are only THREE DAYS LEFT in the school year for the kids. A few more finals on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and they are free!
If you are a teacher, you know just how crazy the end of the school year can be. There are band concerts, field trips, special assemblies, forms to fill out, missing curriculum materials to find and return, finals to prepare, summer school schedules to preview, letters to write to parents about special events in the summer and leftover information from this year, and a long list of other special things that get crammed into the last days of the school year.
But it is almost over. There are only THREE DAYS LEFT in the school year! A final day with the kids on Monday and two teacher days on Tuesday and Wednesday and I'll be free!
Well, almost. Because my job description is a bit different. I don't actually teach in a classroom any more. I'm the technology coordinator and a professional development specialist for our school. So while I attend concerts and assemblies and field trips and all that stuff to assist the staff, I'm also scrambling to set up e-mail accounts for summer staff, filling out requisition forms for equipment upgrades and replacements during the summer, finding missing equipment that got loaned out and never returned, writing letters to parents about planned upgrades to the school web site and blogs for next year, and a long list of other special things that get crammed into the last days of the school year.
But it is almost over. There are only THREE DAYS LEFT in the school year for me! Videotaping the graduation ceremony on Monday and setting up laptops and projectors for two meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, installing new software in the building, backing up the servers, finalizing accounts for summer staff and I'll be free!
Well, almost. Summer school doesn't begin until June 30th, but I'll be back on the 23rd to prepare a summer workshop on using the advanced data analysis tools in Excel for a group of teachers and clinicians wanting to enhance their skills in collecting, analyzing and reporting data. But at that point, I really can say just THREE DAYS LEFT because I'll prep on the 23rd and 24th and lead the workshop on the 25th. And then I'm free.
Really. Four whole days off ... until summer school begins.
But it is almost over. There are only THREE DAYS LEFT in the school year for the kids. A few more finals on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and they are free!
If you are a teacher, you know just how crazy the end of the school year can be. There are band concerts, field trips, special assemblies, forms to fill out, missing curriculum materials to find and return, finals to prepare, summer school schedules to preview, letters to write to parents about special events in the summer and leftover information from this year, and a long list of other special things that get crammed into the last days of the school year.
But it is almost over. There are only THREE DAYS LEFT in the school year! A final day with the kids on Monday and two teacher days on Tuesday and Wednesday and I'll be free!
Well, almost. Because my job description is a bit different. I don't actually teach in a classroom any more. I'm the technology coordinator and a professional development specialist for our school. So while I attend concerts and assemblies and field trips and all that stuff to assist the staff, I'm also scrambling to set up e-mail accounts for summer staff, filling out requisition forms for equipment upgrades and replacements during the summer, finding missing equipment that got loaned out and never returned, writing letters to parents about planned upgrades to the school web site and blogs for next year, and a long list of other special things that get crammed into the last days of the school year.
But it is almost over. There are only THREE DAYS LEFT in the school year for me! Videotaping the graduation ceremony on Monday and setting up laptops and projectors for two meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, installing new software in the building, backing up the servers, finalizing accounts for summer staff and I'll be free!
Well, almost. Summer school doesn't begin until June 30th, but I'll be back on the 23rd to prepare a summer workshop on using the advanced data analysis tools in Excel for a group of teachers and clinicians wanting to enhance their skills in collecting, analyzing and reporting data. But at that point, I really can say just THREE DAYS LEFT because I'll prep on the 23rd and 24th and lead the workshop on the 25th. And then I'm free.
Really. Four whole days off ... until summer school begins.
Monday, June 09, 2008
A nice celebration
Yesterday was Daughter14's Affirmation ceremony. An Affirmation ceremony is the "coming of age" ceremony at our church.
All 9th grade students spend a year in the Affirmation class. During the year they explore the principles and beliefs of our religion...but also continue to explore a variety of other religious and spiritual pathways. These explorations are combined with discussions of all the "big" topics - what makes a person unique and special; what does each of them value in others; is there a God or Goddess or multiple gods and goddesses and, if so, what form do they take and what is their role in our daily lives; what happens when we die; etc.
It is not easy for a 14 year old to figure out what they believe about these things. It isn't even easy for a 52 year old to figure it out!
But the culminating portion of the class is that each student, working with the two class leaders and their own personal mentor, writes a credo statement about their beliefs at this point in their life. And then those statements are shared with the congregation during the Affirmation ceremony.
My daughter hates speaking in front of a crowd. And she considers any group with more than two people to be a crowd! But the church was packed and she did an awesome job.
In fact, all the kids did a terrific job.
And then there was a nice reception afterwards. I mean, all good events have food...right!?!
Daughter14....you did great! We are very proud of you!!!
All 9th grade students spend a year in the Affirmation class. During the year they explore the principles and beliefs of our religion...but also continue to explore a variety of other religious and spiritual pathways. These explorations are combined with discussions of all the "big" topics - what makes a person unique and special; what does each of them value in others; is there a God or Goddess or multiple gods and goddesses and, if so, what form do they take and what is their role in our daily lives; what happens when we die; etc.
It is not easy for a 14 year old to figure out what they believe about these things. It isn't even easy for a 52 year old to figure it out!
But the culminating portion of the class is that each student, working with the two class leaders and their own personal mentor, writes a credo statement about their beliefs at this point in their life. And then those statements are shared with the congregation during the Affirmation ceremony.
My daughter hates speaking in front of a crowd. And she considers any group with more than two people to be a crowd! But the church was packed and she did an awesome job.
In fact, all the kids did a terrific job.
And then there was a nice reception afterwards. I mean, all good events have food...right!?!
Daughter14....you did great! We are very proud of you!!!
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