Temperatures soared into the 80s in Orange County this weekend. Thank god I stockpiled enough rum, Coke and ice to ride it out . . .
What Did You Learn? What Did You Teach?
What could the world be like if each day we asked ourselves, “What did you learn?” & “What did you teach?”
(Disclaimer for learning purists: until there is a shorter phrase for “create a context for someone to learn”, I’ll use “teach” as shortcut)
IHF Post-Season Awards
The IHF post-season honors have been announced. My kid was selected to play in the all-star game on April 18, and to receive a Special Achievement Award, sponsored by the Anaheim Ducks and bestowed by the IHF on kids who’ve distinguished themselves off the rink, via academics, community service and extracurricular endeavors.
It would be nice if modesty prevented me from mentioning this stuff, but I’m happy to see the boy coming into his own as a well-rounded young man.
Northwood High School dominated the Special Achievement Awards. The IHF has 30 high schools participating, 53 teams and almost 600 kids, of whom 11 were selected for this award. Four of the 11 were from Northwood, showing once again why Northwood owns all other high schools in Orange County and probably the nation . . .
Rollo Takes a Walk
The Northwood Wind Ensemble went deep into the repertoire at last week’s Irvine Band Festival for some avant-garde pieces, including one called “Rollo Takes a Walk.”
“It’s the quirkiest, gayest piece I’ve ever played,” my son said.
“Rollo” didn’t have any good percussion parts, just oddball instrumentation with rimshots, slide whistles, etc.
“And in measure 126,” he said, “everybody stops playing and says, ‘Rollo…takes…a walk.'”
“Hmmmm.”
“Except it’s not written into my part so I don’t say it . . . and I play one note on the chimes.”
“What note is it?”
“An F.”
“I’m thinking the Rollo composer could follow up with an entire Rollo suite,” I said. “‘Rollo Takes a Shower,’ ‘Rollo Takes a Test,’ ‘Rollo Takes a Vacation,’ you see where I’m going with this?”
“Stop being stupid,” he said.
“Why is it stupid? Because you didn’t think of it?”
Microblog: 2009-04-04
- On weekends, I’m the king of the sofa — the Sofa King. There’s lazy, and then there’s Sofa King lazy. #
- Another thing I like about Saturdays: 5-star Sudoku puzzles – http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20044245/?cat=sudoc #
Microblog: 2009-04-02
- prefuse gallery: http://prefuse.org/gallery/ #
- Processing gallery: http://processing.org/exhibition/index.html #
- Wordscapes: http://www.typotopo.com/wordscapes/ #
- RT @GLHoffman: NYC cabbie turns to passenger, after they both see huge crane fall off a building. “Fricking cranes.” #
- RT @Ben373: “Sh*t happens – when you’re around as*holes. ” Old truism from my dad. #
Moldered City
The story of Glemie Dean Beasley plays like a country song. The son of a sharecropper, Beasley left school at 13 to pick cotton. He came to Detroit in 1958. His woman left him in 1970 for a man he calls Slick Willy.
His baby done left him / The pain won’t abate / Asked where she was going / She said, “To become secretary of state.”
Promises, Promises
WASHINGTON — One of President Barack Obama’s campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday.
The largest increase in tobacco taxes took effect despite Obama’s promise not to raise taxes of any kind on families earning under $250,000 or individuals under $200,000.
This is one tax that disproportionately affects the poor, who are more likely to smoke than the rich.
Signs of the Times
The house two doors down from us is for sale. The house across the street is empty and for sale.
The woman behind us and the woman next door, who was recently laid off, have asked my wife if she knows anything about loan modification . . .
A Case of Honorable Intentions?
My friend G.L. Hoffman sent this to me:
I just want to add that I knocked my wife up on the first try, in case any of my neighbors are reading this . . .
Distributing Useless Information
Intranet teams must stop distributing information and start deleting it. The vast majority of intranets would be far more productive and collaborative if they deleted at least 90 percent of the content they currently have.
Distributing useless information is how you destroy productivity and collaboration.
The Conundrum of Fame
Here’s conundrum of fame, as I see it: It’s always said that if you want to be famous, you must endure criticism. The fabled “trade off”…
…But the whole reason people want to be famous is to be loved. They’re love-addicts. Hating a celeb is like kicking a hemophiliac.
Like I bet Tom Hanks internalizes a shitty remark way more than, say, the HR lady in your office. He’s needy. That’s why he’s Tom Hanks.
All right, enough Psych 101. My Chihuahua looks like Billy Crystal and my Shepherd is Gheorghe Muresan. They need a development deal.
What Kind of Vegetable?
My wife says to the boy, “What kind of vegetable do you want with dinner?”
“Cauliflower,” he says. “What? We don’t have any? That sucks.”
He’s not a big fan of vegetables . . .
Microblog: 2009-04-01
- These are the days of miracle and wonder / And don’t cry baby, don’t cry, don’t cry… #
- Love Southwest ads: “Air…is a 35 dollar…UPgrade.” “I want that!” #
- Seek to move forward toward a particular goal, by biasing your behavior toward action: http://tinyurl.com/5z2rg6 #
Microblog: 2009-03-31
- Do now what must be done eventually and can effectively be done now: http://tinyurl.com/5z2rg6 #
Two Bright Spots in the Recessionary Landscape
I Will Not Try to Reason with Idiots
DOGBERT: From now on, I will not try to reason with the idiots I encounter. I will dismiss them by waving my paw and saying “Bah.”
DILBERT: Just because someone thinks differently from you doesn’t mean he’s an idiot, Dogbert.
DOGBERT (waving his paw): Bah.
Suicide Bombers Have a Union?
Ducks Visit WIHA
The Devil Dogs played in the WIHA tournament in Irvine last weekend, losing in the Bantam AA finals to the Reebok Blades.
Wild Wing, the Ducks mascot, was there.
Two of the Power Players were there too. You can’t see the girl on the right because I’m a bad photographer, but there are better pictures of her here.
My son is the taller boy with the crooked sneer he likes to be photographed with. I hope he outgrows that.
Someone said to me, “I bet you wish that was you in the photo.” I must be getting old because I hadn’t thought of that.
I did get to fist bump the Duck mascot though . . .
Tweets on 2009-03-30
- Offering and accepting only rational, results-oriented behavior and communication: http://tinyurl.com/5z2rg6 #
- Financial collapse shows failure of free markets? http://tinyurl.com/cmoqqw #
- Diners can ‘have a ball’ at testicle festival: http://www.modbee.com/weird/story/645349.html #
- Obama to Back GM Warranties, OnStar Operator Service: http://tinyurl.com/c8k4xz #
- In Fargo, goodwill runs as deep as the river: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29962032 http://tinyurl.com/cw9o89 #