I used to be on the inside. I used to be the guy they went to to get something done. Then I went and actually learned some things about computers other than what I picked up just by playing around with them which led me to the conclusion that playing around with technology is the best way to learn anything about it. I'm pretty fearless when it comes to playing around with technology because I know that it's pretty hard to mess anything up, provided you don't actually know too much. In fact, I think there's an inverse relationship between how much you know and how much you can mess a computer up by playing around. Actually, it's probably more of an exponential function because it takes a while before the damage really starts adding up, but that's beside my point.
I used to be on the inside, but then I was on the outside with very good connections to the inside, which was still a good position to be in. I got what I wanted most of the time because I could be trusted to know what to do and actually kept a lot of lower level problems from making it to the tech department. I have been cut-off for a couple of years now, and I feel like Dennis the Peasant from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. But I don't think the argument that "supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses" is going to get me back inside.
Three years ago I was trained as a CFF teacher (Classrooms for the Future), which gave me some benefits such as a projector and a laptop that I could put software on and take home and use to prepare lessons. For two years, things were great. I found a program I thought would be interesting and I tried it out. If I didn't like it, I removed it and went on with my life. If my printer needed new drivers or I got a new piece of hardware, I installed the drivers and went about with my business.
This past year, all administrative rights were revoked from my account (along with everyone else, it wasn't just me). While there was a very efficient tech help request protocol for getting things installed, it was still an irritation. The worst part was that all laptops had been re-imaged over the summer, so every little program had to be reinstalled. Still, the tech department was very responsive; I just needed to get organized so they wouldn't have to make multiple trips.
This summer it got worse yet. I am going away and needed a printer to go with my laptop. Even though my home printer drivers survived the re-imaging and the printer somehow remains as an option for my laptop, it is way too big to bring with me. I got a cheap little printer (it might even be cheaper to buy new when the ink runs out rather than buying new ink). I plugged it in to see if Windows 7 had the drivers; it didn't AND I do not have administrative power to install them. I checked with my tech department to see when I could bring it in to get someone to install them for me (Mommy, can you tie my shoes for me?) and did not get a happy reply. The tech said, "we do not support personal software or hardware. We can only install what has been purchased or otherwise tested by the tech department." How exactly am I supposed to work on a machine at home where there is no expectation of going into school in the summer and not be able to print! They're printer drivers, not exactly risky software. I've put up with all of the changes because I can understand where the head tech is coming from, but this is too much.
At this point, I think I'm going to have to buy a (relatively) cheap laptop that I can put drivers on. I'm not happy about it. I think it's ridiculous. I miss being on the inside. It's not so much the power I miss, but the ability.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Post Wisconsin Observations
Madison is changing - mostly vertically
They sell beer by the six pack and there has been no apocalypse - contrary to what the beer distributors here think will happen if Pennsylvania were to make that move
If you put in bike lanes, people will bike - trying the converse is neither practical nor responsible
Budget Bicycle Center's service department is disappointing - it shouldn't matter how fancy or unfancy a bike is, you give it the same attention as every other bike. We took my daughter's bike (which we won in a drawing - it's not fancy) to get the chain tightened and the service guy couldn't even be bothered to get out of his seat to talk to us or even get the ticket. When we picked it up, they hadn't even bothered to put the training wheels on in a way that the rear tire touched the ground. I'm actually opposed to training wheels, but they might be right for her. Either way, we were clearly treated with less than acceptable service because of the pedigree of her bike. I will not return there on any trip. I should have gone to the Yellow Jersey where I know the owner values any bike (or at least any customer) to come through his door.
Beer tastes better on the Terrace
The Dane County Farmer's Market is still amazing - how many different beasts can you get jerky from with one circuit?
You need to go to the source to get truly delicious fried cheese curds
There is an art to making a Brat
There is an art to making a Kringle
The best cart (name) I saw - FIBS: Fine Italian Beef & Sausage (they went with the alternate meaning for that acronym)
There is a much wider variety of beers than just pale ales and IPA's
Woodman's is still the best grocery store around
My new favorite brewery doesn't distribute out of state
They sell beer by the six pack and there has been no apocalypse - contrary to what the beer distributors here think will happen if Pennsylvania were to make that move
If you put in bike lanes, people will bike - trying the converse is neither practical nor responsible
Budget Bicycle Center's service department is disappointing - it shouldn't matter how fancy or unfancy a bike is, you give it the same attention as every other bike. We took my daughter's bike (which we won in a drawing - it's not fancy) to get the chain tightened and the service guy couldn't even be bothered to get out of his seat to talk to us or even get the ticket. When we picked it up, they hadn't even bothered to put the training wheels on in a way that the rear tire touched the ground. I'm actually opposed to training wheels, but they might be right for her. Either way, we were clearly treated with less than acceptable service because of the pedigree of her bike. I will not return there on any trip. I should have gone to the Yellow Jersey where I know the owner values any bike (or at least any customer) to come through his door.
Beer tastes better on the Terrace
The Dane County Farmer's Market is still amazing - how many different beasts can you get jerky from with one circuit?
You need to go to the source to get truly delicious fried cheese curds
There is an art to making a Brat
There is an art to making a Kringle
The best cart (name) I saw - FIBS: Fine Italian Beef & Sausage (they went with the alternate meaning for that acronym)
There is a much wider variety of beers than just pale ales and IPA's
Woodman's is still the best grocery store around
My new favorite brewery doesn't distribute out of state
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Oh Yes It's Honors Night and the Feeling's Right
We had our middle school's annual honors awards banquet tonight. This is the sixth year I've been teaching at this school and the sixth time I've attended. Is it a night of my free time that I spend to attend? Yes. Do I have to go (is there any mandate or official remuneration for going)? No. Do I attend grudgingly because of an unofficial expectation? Surprisingly, no. Is it nerve wracking being up on the stage to give the awards, even if I'm not speaking? Yes.
Why do I go? I go for the kids. I go because this is one time during the year where the only expectation is to honor kids who go the extra distance to do remarkable things. Is it geared towards academics? Yes, but it also goes beyond. There are kids who are invited because their grades have been stellar all year long, but we also invite students who have done something special. These reason range from doing good things for others, being helpful, being a positive leader, basically just being awesome for the sake of being awesome.
That being said, I cannot understand why people would regularly not attend. Sure, things come up once in a while, but aside from that, what message is being sent to the kids. "I'll teach you during the day, but beyond my classroom doors, you don't exist to me." It bothers me that there is not a better representation on a consistent basis.
Am I trying to put anyone on a guilt trip? No. I just don't understand why, if our primary responsibility and focus is on our students, everyone wouldn't make an effort to attend. This isn't a night to make a statement that one doesn't feel valued by the administration or some other gripe. We are honoring our best and that should go above politics and conditions that they have no role in or control over.
Every year I love seeing the reactions of different students to the awards they get and the public attention for something good that many often fail to receive. We have some great students. We need to let them know. Being there is the first step.
Why do I go? I go for the kids. I go because this is one time during the year where the only expectation is to honor kids who go the extra distance to do remarkable things. Is it geared towards academics? Yes, but it also goes beyond. There are kids who are invited because their grades have been stellar all year long, but we also invite students who have done something special. These reason range from doing good things for others, being helpful, being a positive leader, basically just being awesome for the sake of being awesome.
That being said, I cannot understand why people would regularly not attend. Sure, things come up once in a while, but aside from that, what message is being sent to the kids. "I'll teach you during the day, but beyond my classroom doors, you don't exist to me." It bothers me that there is not a better representation on a consistent basis.
Am I trying to put anyone on a guilt trip? No. I just don't understand why, if our primary responsibility and focus is on our students, everyone wouldn't make an effort to attend. This isn't a night to make a statement that one doesn't feel valued by the administration or some other gripe. We are honoring our best and that should go above politics and conditions that they have no role in or control over.
Every year I love seeing the reactions of different students to the awards they get and the public attention for something good that many often fail to receive. We have some great students. We need to let them know. Being there is the first step.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wine by mail, beer still by the case.
No, the title is not misleading. It will make sense at the end.
Here is an excerpt from the recent Gene Yaw newsletter outlining how one can get a free photo ID which will be necessary for this fall's general election.
If you do not possess any of these forms of identification, you may obtain a free photo ID from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. It is a simple process. First, you must sign an affirmation that you do not possess any forms of identification listed above (Voter Affirmation), then you must complete an Application For Initial Photo Identification Card (DL-54A). Finally, take these documents to your nearest Photo Licensing Center along with your Social Security Card, accompanying proof of citizenship such as a birth certificate or passport, and two proofs of residency such as a utility bill, car registration or lease agreement.
I have three questions about this.
1) If you have a passport, I'm pretty sure it satisfies the requirements stated in the first option of acceptable photo ID:
Identification issued by the United States Government that includes your name, a photograph, and an expiration date that is not expired.
Even if a passport doesn't meet those criteria, I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, that passports are far from free and as a possible supporting document kind of negate the whole FREE photo ID thing.
2) As a second option for proof of citizenship, birth certificates aren't exactly free either.
3) Is there any conceivable situation in which someone has no proof of residency, but is a resident (perhaps an elderly parent living with a child who is not responsible for paying any bills and doesn't drive)?
I checked the website, you can bring someone to vouch for you. However, that seems to undermine the whole point of this new legislation
OK, only one of those was actually a question, but you know what I meant.
Then there's Senate Bill 10:
Senate Bill 10 - is a proposal that seeks to amend Pennsylvania's Constitution by allowing individuals the freedom to purchase their own health care. The legislation would prohibit the enactment of any law requiring a person to obtain or maintain health insurance coverage, except as required by a court; prohibit a person from or penalizing a person for making direct payment to a health care provider; or instituting any penalty, tax, assessment, fee or fine for a person's failure to obtain or maintain health insurance coverage.
On March 28th, this bill passed the Senate by a vote of 29-19 and will now go before the House State Government Committee for their approval. Since this bill is seeking to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution, it must be voted in two consecutive legislative sessions and pass a statewide referendum before it can be approved.
Yeah! They are guaranteeing freedom. That means it has to be good. I can only guess this is in reaction to healthcare reform. Is a constitutional amendment a bit strong? I admit; I'm a bit confused by this.
Finally, we have Senate Bill 790:
Senate Bill 790 - is a proposal which amends the Liquor Code to allow for the direct shipment of wine from out-of-state to Pennsylvania residents. The bill would permit a producer, with a direct shipper's license, to ship up to 18 liters per month to any Pennsylvania resident who is at least 21 years of age.
The state is going to allow mail order wine from out of state, but we still have to buy beer by the case?
This state is confusing and disappointing me.
Here is an excerpt from the recent Gene Yaw newsletter outlining how one can get a free photo ID which will be necessary for this fall's general election.
If you do not possess any of these forms of identification, you may obtain a free photo ID from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. It is a simple process. First, you must sign an affirmation that you do not possess any forms of identification listed above (Voter Affirmation), then you must complete an Application For Initial Photo Identification Card (DL-54A). Finally, take these documents to your nearest Photo Licensing Center along with your Social Security Card, accompanying proof of citizenship such as a birth certificate or passport, and two proofs of residency such as a utility bill, car registration or lease agreement.
I have three questions about this.
1) If you have a passport, I'm pretty sure it satisfies the requirements stated in the first option of acceptable photo ID:
Identification issued by the United States Government that includes your name, a photograph, and an expiration date that is not expired.
Even if a passport doesn't meet those criteria, I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, that passports are far from free and as a possible supporting document kind of negate the whole FREE photo ID thing.
2) As a second option for proof of citizenship, birth certificates aren't exactly free either.
3) Is there any conceivable situation in which someone has no proof of residency, but is a resident (perhaps an elderly parent living with a child who is not responsible for paying any bills and doesn't drive)?
I checked the website, you can bring someone to vouch for you. However, that seems to undermine the whole point of this new legislation
OK, only one of those was actually a question, but you know what I meant.
Then there's Senate Bill 10:
Senate Bill 10 - is a proposal that seeks to amend Pennsylvania's Constitution by allowing individuals the freedom to purchase their own health care. The legislation would prohibit the enactment of any law requiring a person to obtain or maintain health insurance coverage, except as required by a court; prohibit a person from or penalizing a person for making direct payment to a health care provider; or instituting any penalty, tax, assessment, fee or fine for a person's failure to obtain or maintain health insurance coverage.
On March 28th, this bill passed the Senate by a vote of 29-19 and will now go before the House State Government Committee for their approval. Since this bill is seeking to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution, it must be voted in two consecutive legislative sessions and pass a statewide referendum before it can be approved.
Yeah! They are guaranteeing freedom. That means it has to be good. I can only guess this is in reaction to healthcare reform. Is a constitutional amendment a bit strong? I admit; I'm a bit confused by this.
Finally, we have Senate Bill 790:
Senate Bill 790 - is a proposal which amends the Liquor Code to allow for the direct shipment of wine from out-of-state to Pennsylvania residents. The bill would permit a producer, with a direct shipper's license, to ship up to 18 liters per month to any Pennsylvania resident who is at least 21 years of age.
The state is going to allow mail order wine from out of state, but we still have to buy beer by the case?
This state is confusing and disappointing me.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Pensions cost us paper!
It's that time of year again. The school year is over 3/4 finished and supplies are starting to run low. Today we get the message that we are going to run out of paper; please conserve. Within an hour later we get the message that the two cases of paper in the copy room have gone and will not be replaced. Now I know that everyone wants paper to make copies with, but raiding the only paper left so you can make copies in a couple of weeks is just lame! Now all copies have to go through administration first to get approval. Many thanks to the vultures and jackals that have made this possible.
But as you can read in our illustrious paper, the real culprit is the exorbitant pensions teachers are getting these days. Why are education funds being slashed? I think it's summed up best here (Click here). Yeah, the rhetoric is getting hot again and it's our greed that has led to this problem.
But as you can read in our illustrious paper, the real culprit is the exorbitant pensions teachers are getting these days. Why are education funds being slashed? I think it's summed up best here (Click here). Yeah, the rhetoric is getting hot again and it's our greed that has led to this problem.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Spring Training
Following the winter high of have a great time doing cyclocross, finishing 3rd in my age group for the overall points series in the River Towns Race Series, and having a blast (as always) during the Humdinger, I felt it prudent to sign up for the River Towns Half Marathon (I did resist the full marathon, for now). While fully under the influence of that continued rush, I was also contemplating doing the 45 Miles of Mon-Tour, which is just 2 weeks after the marathon.
I used the rest of my winnings from last year's series to register for the half and started thinking about how soon it actually is and how long my current long run has been (past tense, I ran about 5 times in March) and realized that I couldn't go much farther than 5 or 6 miles after school and be able to pick up the boy from daycare. "That's ok," I thought. "I can do long runs on the weekend." Then I started thinking how much time it took to train with 20 mile bike rides and how much longer it would take to get me, and my rear, in shape for riding 45 miles. Combined with the hectic nature of spring and school and my time constraints, I decided not to do the 45 Miles of Mon-Tour. However, now that I'm writing about it and seeing that I would have 2 whole weeks after the half...
The training for the half is going great, though. I was thinking that I would like to finish in under 2 hours, which equates to about 9-minute miles. While I've gotten my 5k pace down to 8-minute miles, I'm just about redlining to finish and that's only 3 miles. So, last week I head out to do 5 miles and I average 9:27. I felt like I was pushing, but not too hard. A few days later I do 8 miles and average 9:50. This week I go for a hard 4 and average 8:48 miles and today, I did 10 with a pace of 9:24 min/mile. The best part about today's run was that I wasn't killing myself to keep the pace. I think my goal is within reach and I have 5 weeks to get my mileage and speed up.
Maybe I should do the 45...
I used the rest of my winnings from last year's series to register for the half and started thinking about how soon it actually is and how long my current long run has been (past tense, I ran about 5 times in March) and realized that I couldn't go much farther than 5 or 6 miles after school and be able to pick up the boy from daycare. "That's ok," I thought. "I can do long runs on the weekend." Then I started thinking how much time it took to train with 20 mile bike rides and how much longer it would take to get me, and my rear, in shape for riding 45 miles. Combined with the hectic nature of spring and school and my time constraints, I decided not to do the 45 Miles of Mon-Tour. However, now that I'm writing about it and seeing that I would have 2 whole weeks after the half...
The training for the half is going great, though. I was thinking that I would like to finish in under 2 hours, which equates to about 9-minute miles. While I've gotten my 5k pace down to 8-minute miles, I'm just about redlining to finish and that's only 3 miles. So, last week I head out to do 5 miles and I average 9:27. I felt like I was pushing, but not too hard. A few days later I do 8 miles and average 9:50. This week I go for a hard 4 and average 8:48 miles and today, I did 10 with a pace of 9:24 min/mile. The best part about today's run was that I wasn't killing myself to keep the pace. I think my goal is within reach and I have 5 weeks to get my mileage and speed up.
Maybe I should do the 45...
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Humdinger 2012
Today was the Humdinger. This has really become my favorite race. It's not my favorite while running and I don't do as well compared to the field as I do in other races. This race is just fun. It had to be moved from its old location due to new restrictions or something like that, but the race organizers outdid themselves making a new course and a race that was better than ever. They cut and dug all new trails for most of the entire course and added some interesting obstacles at the end. It contained the usual fallen logs, completely slanted trails that make you feel like you're running uphill even when headed down, and stream crossings (leaps). The very last of these was my favorite. It was after about 5 miles and the stream itself was only about a foot wide, but the sloping ditch on either side opened up at least 6 feet. I saw a young guy (high school) in front of me negotiating it and I just went for it and leapt the whole span without much of a run up. I must have made it look easy because from behind I heard, "Nice f-----n' jump!" That felt good. After that we got to the obstacles. We finished with a choice of a rock wall climb, board climb, cargo net, and hay bales up into the 2nd floor of the Pig Barn and a slip-n-slide down to the finish.
Above is the route and elevation profile of the course as I ran it. Great job to the River Town Race Series! You did a great job. There's a reason I try to do as many of your races as possible.
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