A New Look

After all that I've learned in my latest classes, it seemed a good time to change the look of the blog. It's been the same for a while and needed something. After learning much about visual literacy, I decided that a change would be good. Of course there's that possibility that I could lose all my stuff, but blogger worked great. It's simple and I can now drag and click to change what I want to change. Pretty darn simple really.
I'm still thinking that I'd like a countdown to the end of summer in here, but haven't looked into it much yet. Maybe when these two classes are over I'll worry about that. For now, I'll stick with this and see how long it is before I feel the need for more change.

Something Different

After about 15 years of working and shooting sporting clays, I've finally have a gun that is dedicated to the sport. Thanks to a long time shooter and friend, I now have worked off the value of the gun(got a REALLY good deal) and will shoot it on Wed PM. It's a little loud, and doesn't fit in with the ordinary hunting guns in my cabinet but it fits me well and shoots great. I'm getting used to the paint, but at least it won't be mistaken for the hundreds of similar Berettas that show up at the course throughout the year. Here is the newest addition to the toy department here at home.

NASA - Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-117 Crew Has Fun in Space

Great fun in space...never gets old.

A Good Week

This has been a really good week. Things are getting done, the weather has been GREAT and I think I'm pretty well caught up on all things. All in all, not too bad. On top of all that, the 'Cuda is out and about. It's been on the road just about every day this week. That feels good! I can't complain about much today. All is good. I even found something to treat my fretboards with today! Things are going smoothly to say the least. Hopefully all is well where you are too!
This is just an interesting video that I found while searching for something else and thought that I should include it. I LOVE SCIENCE!!!

Breathing a Little Easier

Today, is the first day that I'm fully caught up in both of my classes. I just have a little editing and finalizing for one assignment and am off to really good start on this week's stuff. It feels good! Despite two storms passing though, requiring me to shut down and third getting closer, I've completed lots of work today. I'm getting plenty of ideas and things that will be useful next year. I'm happy that I waited until I found a masters program that is useful. The UF stuff has been loads of work, but should pay off with my students in the near future.
On another note, some morons broke into my neighbor's place. They are from out of town and use it as a camp. The worst part of the break in was the window. They must have been spooked and took VERY little. I guess that some druggie was in need of something to trade for his fix. That happens way too much around here. Maybe they picked the place because it looked unoccupied? At least no one was home. With the number of people that are armed around here, break ins can sometimes go terribly wrong. Maybe it's just too much for some people to work, keep a job and buy what they can afford...or get the bank to finance. No matter what, it's sad that this happens. I imagine that we'll have to keep our eyes open and things locked up. My next big purchase (other than spending money on classes) will be a gun safe. It's the one thing that I need to keep what I have out of the hands of some idiot. There's always something.
Well, the lightning is close enough that I have to shut down. That's it for now.

Done, but not...

Well, I'm done for the day. I've done little other than work on the computer. While the new computer makes this soooo much nicer, it's just time that I take care of a few other things. I may be on later, but for now, I'm headed outside to take care of the yard, which should take me until after dinner time. I feel better today about what I have to do for my classes, but still feel a little behind the curve. Hopefully tomorrow will take care of that. I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Only time will tell that though. I'll just keep plugging away.
Today I took the portable drive to two other computers for work. Just because school is over doesn't mean that I'm done at the school. I'm still impressed with the ease of use and speed. The possibilities are endless, and they're really pretty cheap! Finding an advantage is great! This has changed the way I do things. I just have to remember to back it up. It was designed for a back up device, not to be the primary storage...so I'm waiting to see how long it lasts.
Now it's off to use the grass killing machine to make the yard presentable. Hope all the springs are fairly well dry by now...but I doubt it.

Tired, but still going :)

I took most of the weekend off to train a new employee and help get another caught up at my weekend job. When one person leaves unexpectedly and hadn't been doing all he should have, it's tough. All went relatively smoothly I guess. Changes can be tough to deal with sometimes, but this one is going better than expected. We'll be working on a fund raising shoot for Hunt of a Lifetime for the next month or so. It's quite an undertaking, but for a good cause. One of our shooters lost a son to brain cancer. Before his passing Hunt of a Lifetime took good care of him, so we all volunteer and put on this event to help others. This should become a yearly event. I don't mind the extra work.
Today, I spent a grand total of 35 minutes outside the house...and it was a spectacular day. I'm working on my classes, trying to get myself caught up. I feel very overwhelmed right now. I don't feel connected with anyone in these groups, but I imagine that it's mainly my fault for not being on line as much as I need for each class and not starting things myself. In previous classes, I had to start the ball rolling and connected with at least a few others. So far, nothing in my latest two.
Hopefully, another full day tomorrow will have me where I at least feel comfortable with my classes. That's my goal at least. From here on, I should be in good shape...here's hoping!!!

Over and Out

The school year has come to an end. The last day was relatively uneventful, with nothing major going happening. Most kids were well behaved as expected. The only issue for me was my gradebook, which would not cooperate. I'm fairly well cleaned out of my room, with the guitars now residing at home and most of my stuff put away until next year.
Several of previous years' students came back to visit. It's nice to see some that are successful and remember that they like school. I also like hearing about their experiences, which will help me to help the students next year. All in all, a good last week even though it was really hot. Being in a building designed for an AC system and then not putting the system in makes for really poor air flow!
Now I can start getting at the work for my grad classes. I'm a bit behind in both that I'm in now, and start a third on Monday. I hope all works out, but it looks like one busy week for me. At least everyone has been reasonable and understanding about the time required during the last weeks of school.
On a another note, I'm still really loving the portable hard drive. I've passed along the freeware programs that I learned about in the digital photography class, which was very easy from the new device. I now have just about all of my stuff on it(backed up elsewhere of course) and can work at just about any computer that I find. Instead of carrying my bag back and forth, I'd like to tote this little device instead...but I won't look as busy without the big bag full of stuff. I guess little advantages make me happy.

Final Week

This is the final week of the local school year, at least for those who are not in need of summer school. The kids have pretty well shut down, even though there are some finals left to take, mine being one of them. Today I talked to several students who are on the edge. One was very upset with ME when I discussed her current status. After 4 days of review, she'd done nothing but talk and argue that she was working but couldn't produce any evidence that she'd done anything. At this point of the year, I'm really up to fighting to convince students to work. If they've worked up to this point, they need little on the final to pass...if you do every one of my assignments, it really doesn't matter how the tests go, you'll pass. In some cases though, they just don't get it and end up on the short end of the point tally.
Most, on the other hand, are in good shape. The most common question has been "I can really draw a smiley face on the test and turn it in? And you won't be mad?" I tell them that it's fine with me, they have the points they need to "pass", but most likely their pride won't allow them to merely pass. Working for good grades throughout the year and then settling for a D doesn't make sense. I tend to try to talk students out of the "getting by" option. To date, no one has done this, but working with the numbers like I do with my students does lead to this possibility. I like my students to know where they stand from day one and never have a question about whether they are on the way to passing or not and do the calculations multiple times in the course of the year.
I have a tight schedule too. My assigned time for my two day test came in the last days, Tuesday and Wednesday, with Friday being the last day. I have to get all things corrected, make up tests taken care of and grades done on Thursday. We'll see how that works!
I have one student on vacation for the last three school days(literally left town with her parents), another that's out for the entire week on vacation with the family, and another that's missed 20% of the school year, including the last 4 days of review for the final. The lack of parental interest is staggering. Yet another student's parents moved, leaving the student to live with various friends for the last two weeks of school, who found the home with the fewest rules and least restrictive environment to choose as the temporary living quarters. What are people thinking?
Since the dates have been set for over a month, the test happens and they'll have to deal with it, passing or failing on their own merit. Nothing I can do other than to encourage and try to motivate. I do what I can, but it's hard to override the apathy learned from years of questionable parenting. Maybe they're right and education is secondary to all else...I'd like to think not.