Supernatural - Season Four

I just finished watching season four of Supernatural.  Dylan W. and I started watching Supernatural about halfway through season one.  Santa bought me season 3 on DVD.  I never managed to have the time to catch episodes of season four.  I had some Amazon reward dollars to spend, so I purchased the fourth season through Amazon Video on Demand and have spent the past dozen or so evenings watching all the episodes.

I'm not very knowledgeable about the other internet video services.  I see the commercials but haven't felt the need to try them.  I've been very satisfied with Amazon's services.  And I am also satisfied with the fourth season of Supernatural.



The season starts with Dean returning/escaping from Hell.  Quickly, we are introduced to Angels, which is surprising.  The first three seasons presented a world with no intervention from heaven and gave the impression that demons were unchallenged by anyone other than hunters.  About half of the episodes deal directly with the season's over-all story arc.  The rest of the episodes are diversions from that plot and provide some levity and novelty to the season.

Episode 5 - Monster Movie - is shot in black-and-white and is an offbeat tribute to the classic creatures of the night - Count Dracula, The Werewolf, and The Mummy.  Episode 12 - Criss Angel is a Douche Bag - Title says it all.

My favorite new character is Castiel, an angel played by Misha Collins.  The introduction of Angels to the scheme of things has really increased my interest.  I've enjoyed movies like "The Prophecy", "Constantine", and "The Seventh Seal" that have angels and divine intervention involved.  There is a lot of involvement, for good and ill, in this season.

And, did I mention Sam becomes a demon blood sucker (as opposed to a blood sucking demon?)?



  

Why is Butch not the CEO of a Fortune 500?

Butch has got to be the king of die hard summer campers.  Timothy Noah, according to  his article "You Are How You Camped", would classify Butch (and myself I suppose) as someone who Really, really, really enjoys camp.  He titles such campers as Camp Cultists and writes that they are likely to grow up to be CEOs of major corporations.  What happened to Butch (and I)?

Timothy defines 5 groups of campers in his article and I kinda see where he is coming from.  I thought it would be interesting to take a poll and see if anyone would divulge what kind of camper they were and verify Timothy's predictions.

I can't promise the polls will work.  First principle for my blog - it is an experiment and poll widget is new.

What kind of camper are you?

What are you like today?

Brains . . . must eat BRAAAAAINS!

While in Boston, Tony and I did some game shopping.  Since we seem to be stuck in a Zombie mode, Steve Jackson's "Zombie Dice" seemed like a good pick.  A little more complicated then "LRC" and more complicated than Yatzee, this novel game can be mastered in under a minute.  We have played it on several different informal occasions.  Zombie Dice does not have the depth to be a stand-alone game for a game night, but would be fun as a filler between games or for casual play while shooting the camel turd.  No previous experience with undead required.

Who is the Bully?

You may recall that this past January there was a troublesome suicide in which a 15-year-old ninth grader hanged herself because, as the media portrayed it at the time, she had been the subject of terrible bullying and abuse at the hands of a half-dozen of her peers - The Hadley Six.  The young girl, Phoebe Prince, had recently moved from Ireland to South Hadley Massachusetts.  Immediately after her suicide, several students were the focus of accusations claiming their bullying had directly led to Phoebe taking her life.  A(n over) zealous District Attorney, Elizabeth Scheibel, decided to charge six students with various charges relating to the tragic incident.

http://www.slate.com/id/2260952/entry/2260953/

I clearly remember discussing this with my co-workers at school.  The consensus was that this was a witch hunt. The DA was trying to win points with the community by sacrificing teenagers who may have bullied Phoebe.  The first indication to me that the whole story was not being told was that rarely enforced statutory rape laws were being used to charge the two young men involved.  In Massachusetts any sex under 16 is statutory rape.  A 17 year old and an 18 year old have been charged for allegedly having sex with the 15 year old Phoebe.  The law here was not the focus.  If it were, there would be a lot more students in trouble.  Instead, the DA is citing an infrequently used statute for leverage in her campaign.  The DA's attempt to prosecute the students for criminal homicide in Phoebe's death is also rarely used because it is rarely successful.

In her three part article "What Really Happened to Phoebe Prince?", Emily Bazelon masterfully accomplishes what rarely happens in journalism today.  She has spent the time and put forth the effort to dig into the facts of this under reported travesty.  Emily Bazelon presents a much truer explanation of what led up to Phoebe Prince's untimely death and examines how the over use of the legal system can freeze a community and prevent any effectual recovery from a tragedy like Phoebe's.  It is a longer piece then most people surfing the internet would take the time to read, but it is worth the extra time.  There are also a few links to other media or information that break up the reading.

Of interest beyond the article is the comments section.  Posts a-plenty and with extra hot sauce - flaming!  People have strong opinions about this article and the case it covers.  I must say though, I doubt more than half the people commenting actually read the whole article and did a little extra research on their own.

My favorite quote from the article is from Alan Dershowitz with regards to trying to charge the defendants with a civil rights violation with bodily injury - "That's a real stretch.  People want to think that there's always legal accountability where there should be moral accountability.  But in the criminal context, you should always err against overextending the law."

http://www.slate.com/id/2260952/entry/2260953/

Fooled Again

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

This kind of deceit seems to be the standard in journalism today. Sometimes deliberate, sometimes through ignorance, "facts" are misrepresented. Even in this article/post by Bob Cesca, information is distorted. In the second paragraph "The videos turned out to be misleading at best, and the fake pimp character went on to plead guilty to charges of entering federal property under false pretense." seems to imply the charges are a result of the ACORN videos. They are not. The charges involved a separate stunt played out by James O'Keefe and others and were not related to the Pimp and Prostitute videos investigating ACORN.

See how easy it is to mis-represent the facts. Certainly, I agree that both sides of the media are failing at being journalists. Where's Walter Cronkite when you need him? (please, no flames about Cronkite - tis a joke)

"Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and division of society." - Attributed to John Adams.

Droid wins - IMHO

From "MASHABLE" after being spotted on "I Love Charts".

I, as you may know, own the Droid (not Droid X) and think it is superior to the I-phones.  Sorry Heather and the rest of you apple fans.  My screen is bigger, battery is replaceable, I have more memory (and can change mini-sd chips), and open market apps (most of which are free).  You get video chat and a bigger price tag.  Oh - and only one type of phone will use your OS.  Android OS works on lots of phones.

As far as the Droid X is concerned, if I decide to give up my Droid for a Droid X, I could transfer just about everything to the new phone.  Can you change to a different phone with Apple?  For now, I'll stick with my Droid.  It lacks a bit in the camera department (takes good video, but photos are often blurry.  Does not take good pictures of moving targets) but makes up for that with a super GPS package that is FREE!   

Another Peanut Butter Cup Moment

Sometimes two good thing go great together (this may not be one of them).  I'm not a guitar player.  My brother is.  And we are both Star Wars geeks.  We had all the Star Wars figures (first generation).  For some reason he always got the good guys.  I remember the first Easter after Star Wars came out.  I got Darth Vader.  He got Luke.  I got C3PO.  He got R2D2.

I never got the vehicles.  He did.  Hands down, the best ship was (is) the Falcon.  He had it and it was awesome.  I can see it flying through the living room in our house in Avis.  Rear legs retracted.  Front leg down so it could serve as a handle for the person "flying" it.  You needed the handle because it was huge (for a ten year old).

Now, someone has turned one into an electric guitar.

Details are at http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/21/millennium-falcon-gu.html via Boing Boing.

Sam versus the Skloosh

Addie, Sam, and Socrates

Just a few pictures of my niece, nephew, and my son's dog.

19 Facts You May Not Have Known About The 'Star Wars' Universe

For true Star Wars geeks, nothing new here (except I thought it was Darth Vader, not Radar? jk).

However, asylum.com was a cool site to peruse.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

the Y - after a day to think about the re-branding

After having some time to consider everything that was presented over the past several days to the media/public, I have decided that changing the YMCA logo and "identity" or "brand" is a minor part of a larger plan.  The shame is, the new logo is where the attention is going.  Of more importance is the study conducted by YMCA of the USA.  In the remarks given at the press conference and in the press release, the real change in the Y (more accurately a refocusing of what the Y has always been good at) is the focus of mission.

The Y Community Snapshot Study - which I have not seen in its entirety - is the report being held in clenched fists to prove the urgency and need for change.  Numbers abound.  66 percent of people think the current quality of life in their communities is worse than last year.  Respondents reported that they were concerned the most about chronic issues involving crime, violence, and public safety.  They also identified access to quality healthcare, poverty, negative youth behaviors, and declining values as concerns.  (They apparently don't care about or were not polled about global warming, terrorism, or American troops serving in foreign countries)

YMCA re-brands itself (kinda like Radio Shack is now "The Shack")

Described by Neil Nicoll, president and CEO of YMCA of the USA, as Bold, Vibrant, Welcoming, Inspirational, and capturing the personality of the Y, I present to you one of five color schemes being introduced by the YMCA of the USA.

My first impressions - rolling on floor laughing . . . oops. I mean ROFL.  Initial thought - why don't we start calling The Red Cross "red" and the Girls and Boys Clubs of America "the clubs".  Come on now . . . Radio Shack tried this.  Did it work? (More after the jump!)

Pop Quiz 7-14-10

Do you know who this guy is?  I'll even give you his name - Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta.  What is he famous for?

Answer is after the jump.

BONESHAKER

Great summer read.  Wil Wheaton recommended "boneshaker" (probably on a tweet) and I found the book in a bookstore in Boston the same day.  Karma.  Had to purchase it.  Was a quick read.  Steam Punk and zombies - couldn't be to bad?  Turned out to be good.  Nothing high brow here and nothing earthshaking (pardon poor humor) or extremely novel.  Just a good solid story about a young man trying to find out about the father he never knew and a mom trying to protect same child.  Throw in a fictitious steam-punk version of Seattle, zombies, airships, and a diverse set of characters and you get some fun.

Shelfari Page for BONESHAKER 

(Boston) New England Aquarium - Part the Third

I mentioned before how the center of the aquarium is this huge (I'm guessing a bit, because the walkway spiraled around it) 4 story tank.  It had lots of cool sea life.  The sharks were . . sharks!  There was an eel that was a bit of a camera snob, stingrays that seemed content to just swim around and around and around, blowfish, and lots of others.  But my favorite were the sea turtles.  I think I want to go swim with them someday.

Tony and the SHARK! -

And Tony with the Sea Turtle.  Plus more after the break.

(Boston) New England Aquarium - Part the Second

The aquarium has several rehab facilities.  There is a whole section that is like an ER and hospital/rehab for sea turtles.  No pictures allowed :-(

I did get some pictures from the "fish hospital".  This poor guy has a bubble over his eye.  He is in the "Critical Care Ward".  He doesn't look very happy.

(Boston) New England Aquarium - Part the First

The New England Aquarium was our first stop on our first full day in Boston.  As with most of the attractions we visited, I could have spent a whole day here.  Sea Lions have an external wall on their tank and are the first critters to welcome you to the aquarium.  If you look real close, you can see them in the photo just left of center. (click on pictures - they are stored in hi-res and you can blow them up big!)

The facility has a four(?) story walk around tank in the middle of the building with large (think Sharks!) sea life in it.  The bottom "floor" of the building is a gigantic penguin pool with hundreds of penguins.

Picture taking was a problem.  People using flashes kept getting nice pictures of themselves.  The flash turns the glass walls into mirrors.  I had my best success shooting in video mode.  First video clip has Seahorses, a crab, an urchin, and these strange 5 armed creepers that look like something from a SciFi movie.  There are three more videos after the jump (click the "read more")

Nerd, Geek, or Dork

I took the test and here are my results --



Your result for The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test...

Pure Geek

48 % Nerd, 57% Geek, 26% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in Geek, earning you the title of: Pure Geek.

It's not that you're a school junkie, like the nerd, and you don't really stand out in a crowd, like the dork, you just have some interests that aren't quite mainstream. Perhaps it's anime, perhaps it's computers, perhaps it's bottlecaps, perhaps it's all of those and more. Your interests take you to events and gatherings that are filled with people you find unusual and beyond-the-pale, but you don't quite consider yourself "of that crowd." Instead, you consider yourself to be fairly normal.

Which, you are. Congratulations!

Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

Take The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test at OkCupid

Sam would be proud

I remember when Wal-Mart first came to PA.  I remember the ad campaign.  Wal-Mart promised "Made in the U.S.A.".  That stopped shortly after Sam Walton went to the great Super Center in the sky.

FlowingData has a map that shows the growth of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club over the best 40-some years. Very cool to watch (in a War Games kinda way). Interesting if you pan around the map or zoom out. There are several Wal-Marts in Puerto Rico. Hawaii seems to dig Sam's Clubs.

Check it out at -- http://projects.flowingdata.com/walmart/

Morning Joe

During the school year I wake up to "Morning Joe"  with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist, and a whole slew of regular guest commentators.  The show runs 6 to 9 AM and has a very contemporary feel.  The bumper music is usually 70's and 80' tunes.  Guests wander in and out of the show through-out the morning, almost like they have stopped by to grab their caffeine and then coincidently get drawn into the conversation.  There is not a lot of fluff and the hosts (Joe and Mika mostly - Willie is more of the useless trivia/news/comedy guy) do not always agree with each other, let alone their guests.  Discussions can get very heated.  True, each individual may have a bias on any topic, but due to the wide range of guests and opinions, at the end of the conversation you truly do get a balanced view of the news.  Honestly, it's about the only cable news I watch anymore.  Most of the cable news I cannot stomach.

There is one thing about "Morning Joe" that I cannot stomach -- Their Starbucks blend of coffee.  I was so excited when I found it on the shelves of Wal-mart, I took the bag home and took pictures of it next to my coffee mess.

Then I ran a pot . . .

I spent 6 years in the Navy.  I drank a lot of bad coffee.  I have stomached some of the most dangerous grounds ever percolated in a Boy Scout Camp.  I consider myself a professional on bad coffee.  I admit, I don't have the range of taste buds to appreciate the subtleties of better brews.  I didn't need to with this stuff.  It can't decide if it is a French Roast, a dark roast "wake-me-up", or a base for all the fancy slurryups coffee houses like to dump into otherwise perfectly good coffee.  I like my coffee sans everything.  If the brew can't go down on its own, it is no good.  I understand now why Joe always has creamers, flavored syrups, sugar, and ice in his coffee.  It is the only way to make it palatable.  Morning Joe Coffee - failed.

Buy a bag anyway and put it on your shelf.  It does look cool and I believe part of the proceeds are marked for charity (not sure - can someone find out?)

Errors and Corrections

Friend Jason Kramer, who happens to be a pharmacist and e-friendly small business owner (two links in there), corrected my error of thinking Adderall was not a C-II drug.  It is.  Good news(?), Zyprexa is not and it costs more than Adderall - making it an even bigger waste of money!  Sweeter.

You may want to go back and re-read the revised post (or not).  Argument is still the same.

Thank you Jason.

You don't know JACK!

Had a decent Father's day today.  My son Dan, one of my foster sons, and Mia went up to my fathers for dinner.  Mia made chicken and shrimp kabobs for the grill, along with macaroni salad and deviled eggs (potentially a stinky situation with all the eggs involved).  At my request, dad made a chocolate cake with peanut butter icing - yummy!  Cathy came over for dinner.  All-in-all a very laid back and pleasant day.

But tonight, as I was finishing reading "Deadline" by Chris Crutcher ( a whole separate trauma) I was IMd by my friend Jack.  He is an Air Force Medic serving with the First Battalion, 110 Infantry Brigade at FOB Bullard.  I often catch him on Facebook in the evening, which is the morning for him.  Once, he hurriedly typed "things are starting off fast today" and "just found an IED have to wait for EOD".  He signed off shortly after that.  He has also described some of the gorier casualties he has had to deal with.  He's even mentioned a few fatalities.  Until June 11th, they had always been Afghan Nationals and, not that it should matter, I felt relief to know that these were not American Soldiers dieing in his unit.

June 11th that changed.  Army Staff Sgt. Bryan Hoover and Army Sgt. First Class Fike were killed by an IED.  Not that you can intuit much emotional context out of a text message, it is obvious that this loss has played heavy on my friend - as it should.  And it should effect us at home more as well.  There have been 35 American fatalities in June (as of the 20th) and I have not heard nearly as much about this disaster as I have heard of the oil spill in the gulf, the silly debate of defending the American Border in Arizona (silly in that there is already Federal precedence to check a suspects immigration status if it is suspect, so who cares if a State wants to in-act their own similar legislation.  Read all three answers.), or Armani Underwear airbrushing out Megan Fox's Abs (worth two seperate links btw).

If you want to see who has died in service to our country, check out --

• http://icasualties.org/OEF/Index.aspx
• http://militarytimes.com/valor/index.php
• http://www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf
• http://freedomremembered.com/index.php/category/states/pennsylvania/ (this link is just for Pennsylvanians - there are write-ups for both Hoover and Fike)

And there it is!  Not that I will dwell on these thoughts, but I will be more anxious as I wait to see Jack log on to his Facebook account.  Please, keep him, as well as all of the other great Americans who serve on our behalf, in your thoughts and prayers.  And, do not forget those who have fallen.

The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. - General Douglas MacArthur

R2Egg2

I bought a Motorola Droid the day after Christmas this past year.  It was part gift for myself and part gift from others.  I have fallen in love with it.  I have become one of those people I used to make fun of.  I always have it with me, am always reading texts and emails, and struggle to put it down when dining out with friends.  It is like an addiction.  A social networking addiction?  Maybe.

I started a Twitter Account because of my droid (R2Egg2 - yes, I named it).  Egg2 has opened up other social networking applications to me.  I just started "foursquare" and I "Yelp*".  I get my daily doses of Facebook directly to Egg2.  My Google (Gmail) mail, calendar, task list, and documents sync together, so I am never without access.  My favorite podcasts (Slate political Gabfest, Radio Free Burrito, and NPR All Songs Considered) load directly to the Droid.  Egg2 plays my music, holds my pictures, and shoots video (streaming live to http://qik.com/kurteeck or the bottom of this blog).  I've even used it as metal detector at work (Tricorder App!).  It is the coolest toy ever (for now).

Plus, now that I have posted this, you can click through the links and hit me up from the net or SMS me at 570-486-4443.

Later.

A bitter pill to swallow

The amount of money wasted on medicine for foster kids is amazing.  Sometimes it seems I destroy almost as many pills as I administer.

Here is an example.  Child goes to med clinic.  Dr. prescribes a certain med.  For this example, lets say 10 mg Adderall XR Zyprexa.  He writes out a 30 day prescription with two refills.  The Dr. also puts the child on a schedule II drug, which  can only be scheduled out for thirty days and cannot be refilled without another appointment.  (This also helps feed the coffers of the Doctors who do these med clinics)  I go and fill both prescriptions for the first thirty days.  Someone screws up and doesn't schedule the next med clinic within 30 days.  (This happens more often than it should as well)  I run out of the schedule II drug but do refill the Adderall XR Zyprexa, which has refills.  Three days into the 30 pills of the refill, we get into see the doctor for the schedule II drug.  While talking to the child, the child mentions to the doctor that he doesn't like the way the Adderall Zyprexa makes him "feel".  In turn, the doctor decides to take the child off of the Zyprexa and put him on something else.  I end up with 27 capsules of Zyprexa.

Thirty 10 mg capsules of Zyprexa costs around $475.  (http://tiny.cc/p2ti2) What am I to do with them?  I have to destroy them.  Who pays for the wasted meds?  You do!  All kids in foster care in PA receive their health care through Medical Assistance, which is funded with your tax dollars.  Sweet.

(Friend Jason Kramer, who happens to be a pharmacist and e-friendly small business owner (two links in there), corrected my error of thinking Adderall was not a C-II drug.  It is.  Good news(?), Zyprexa is not and it costs more than Adderall - making it an even bigger waste of money!  Sweeter.)

Take A Pill!

It is no secret that I am not a fan of behavioral meds; especially when it involves kids I have in my home or at school.  It's not that I am totally against their use.  My father, depending on which doctor you ask, is either schizophrenic or manic depressive.  You wouldn't know it.  When he is on his medication he is as "normal" as the next person.  But get him off his meds . . . 


I was classified as a hyperkinetic child when I was in elementary school.  My parents nor my teachers (I just used "nor") gave me pills.  And, as much as I would like to say they did, they didn't apply a 2x4 or a paddle.  I did miss quite a few recesses.  There were some early bedtimes.  I was allowed to pace back and forth as I read books in fifth grade.  And I survived school.  


Most of the students I get that are labeled ADD/ADHD do just fine if they are given a little extra structure and, at times, leeway.  Same with foster children.  I've had kids, Thomas for instance, who have shown up on my doorsteps so doped up that they are doing a damn good impersonation of a zombie, except they can't even work up enough energy to growl "Brains".

WWdN: In Exile

Another summer has come and I look at my poor blog and realize how neglected it has become.  Fear not!  I am revitalized.  I have found my muse.  And it is not a feminine sprightly muse.  It is the youngest officer of Starfleet, "The Gordo" from "Stand By Me", the kid from that movie "Toy Soldiers" -- what was his real name?

I didn't think about him as having grown up.  I didn't know that he had (re)created himself as one of the most popular bloggers of the past decade (Forbes.com awarded him "Best Celebrity Weblog" in 2003 and in 2009 ranked him as the 14th most influential celebrity blogger.  He's been nominated for lifetime achievement awards in blogging and has been compared to blog powerhouses like Fark and Slashdot.); and then turned his blogging into authorship.  I'm not even sure how I stumbled onto his web site - WWdN: In Exile.
I just know that I did stumble upon it around Easter and have been letting his musings and anecdotes fill the few empty places I have left in my brain.  I even bought one of his books --

I finished it the same day it arrived.  The "He" is Wil Wheaton.  And he is much more than the characters he played years ago.  He is the geeks geek.  He writes about all the cool things my friends and I did when we were his age - Star Wars, Star Trek, Car Wars, Dungeons and Dragons, Pac-man and Dig-Dug.  And it is readable.  And enjoyable.  And - very human.

The motivating part - I did write a 50,000 word novel in November as a participant in National Novel Writing Month.  I have learned to shed my inner editor and put my thoughts into type.  I just haven't had the spirit to write (nor the time, thanks to conditions at work).  My "muse" was gone.  Wil Wheaton has shown me that it is also ok to shed the cloak of self-doubt.  They are voices in his head that he (and his wife) have learned to ignore.  I'll write.  I'll post.  If people like what I have to say, great.  If not, I will be none the worse for the effort.

I will ignore the voices of self doubt.  It is time for round three (if your counting) for the Egg Bros primary web presence.  I hope some readers come along for the ride.

Two of my favorite things.

Sorry . . . I couldn't help myself. My inner geek took over and made me post it. (Think about it. Star Wars AND Legos)

Safe Schools

I'm not sure how I've avoided venting on this issue for so long. I probably feared that I might offend someone or violate some protocol or requirement. Now that school is almost over for the year and after reading about another incident in another Alternative Ed. Program, I've decided to vent. I will avoid mentioning specifics myself and instead will let the news articles stand (mostly) on their own. Then I will gripe about the overall inefficiency of "The System" in regards to these events.

Most recently, students in my class mentioned that they heard a "teacher" at "Five Star" had been fired for beating a student. I immediately assessed this at about 5% chance of being accurate (or 95% BS). Googled it. Found --

Cops: Student choked teacher

By Amanda O’Rourke
The Daily Item

SUNBURY — A Winfield teenager faces assault charges after he allegedly choked a teacher at a city school Wednesday morning.

This is local news. Not something happening in the big city or on the west coast. Granted, Five Star is an alternative ed. program similar to the PATH AEP where I work. We get troubled kids with lots of anger issues. Still, it is not expected that they will just attack teachers. Why is this happening? And what is to be done?

Our program has had a similar incident.

Cops: Mom kicks man's face
Middleburg woman attacks son's teacher

By Wayne Laepple
The Daily Item

MILTON -- A Middleburg woman kicked a fallen teacher in the head and face, and pulled his hair, after her student son had gotten into trouble over a cell phone, Milton police said.

Obviously, I was there. The story is not entirely accurate. I didn't get kicked. Mr. Matt did. We did restrain the youth. No one was hurt. From the PATH end, we acted very professionally.

The question, again, is "how have we gotten to the point were students and parents have no qualm with assaulting teachers"? I have heard that Five Star had an incident about two weeks after mine that involved a parent. And if you google "student attacks teacher" you'll get (drum roll please) thirty-four million hits. Why?

Our judicial system, which is suppose to provide an expeditious and timely trial, is bogged down. In my case, the assault happened in mid-February. The preliminary hearing is scheduled for the 10th of July. I suspect that the result of that hearing will push the trial back into October. By the time anything is resolved . . .

I'd like to blame national apathy. Perhaps this trend is due to a swing back towards moral relativism. My students often justify their behavior by claiming that they don't feel like they have to treat us (the teachers) with respect because we don't treat them with respect. Maybe the confusion is in understanding what "Respect" is?

(TBC)

Bull or No Bull!?

Sometimes you wish the bull would beat the bullfighter. This time the bull did win. Be warned -- this is kinda 'gory'! (only the first minute of the video has the bull winning - after that . . .)

YMCA Day Camp Training - annual recharge

I really enjoy this time of the year. Not only is school almost over and the weather getting great, but I get to go to the Sunbury YMCA, meet some old friends, make some new ones, and share some of my ideas and knowledge in the annual Day Camp training.

And again, this year was great. I feel like my motivational battery is recharged. What a great program we have in the Greater Susquehanna Valley YMCA!

This year we focused on emergency procedures, child development and effective discipline, and song leading. It all went well. I had fun teaching everyone "singing in the rain" with additional motions added in. The last verse of the song is sung with everyone dancing with their elbows together, their knees together and bent, body bent, and tongue stuck out. I figure, what better time to get out the camera?


I ended the session with a large group team building exercise that involved jig saw puzzles and blindfolds, as well as a devious trick.


Everyone worked well together. Quality staff members. I get the feeling there will be lots of happy campers this summer.

Cross Curriculum

In an attempt to maintain our high rate of cross curriculum activities, Mr. Matt integrated the social studies current events material with the rocket portion of the physics class.

Steven Rodriguez' accused murderers get day in court

An update - the three assailants in the Steven Rodriguez murder had their first day in court. read about it in the Dialy Item -

"Steven M. Rodriguez was shot dead in his apartment May 11 after he stole marijuana from one of the three men accused of killing him, a friend and witn . . ."

Who knew orgasms could be so funny?

Mary Roach has written several laymen scientific books -- "Stiff" (about what happens to cadavers - post mortem of course), "Spook" (sciences attempt to explain what happens to our souls, if we have one, after we die), and now "Bonk" (boink, bang, the home run - scientifically of course).

TED has a video of Mary Roach speaking to an audience in California. Funny and, well . . . funny. If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, you must - MUST! - check out the segment starting at 11:00 minutes.

Kindle

I pondered the decision to buy an e-book for several months. I am a closet bibliophile and wasn't (and am still not) comfortable with the idea of not experiencing the printed word printed. There is something about the feel and smell of a good book. And I like the practice of sharing or giving away my books.

As I get older, I am recognizing the need to shed some of my material wealth, my stuff. I even did spring cleaning twice this year, just to get rid of clothes and other junk that has accumulated in my closets and other spaces. Compound this desire to not accumulate any more clutter with the rising costs of books, and you can understand why I committed what I thought was a sacrilege. I bought a Kindle. The Kindle 2, to be more precise.



And I love it! It is as thin as a pencil, fits in my book bag, can hold more books than I could haul in a car, let alone a backpack, and (thanks to e-ink technology) holds a battery charge for almost a week. E-books are generally cheaper than the book store price. And the Kindle uses cellular network to download books to my Kindle. Anywhere I can get a cell signal (in the United States), I can order and download a book. Immediate satisfaction.

I did make some concessions. I decided to justify the initial expense by banning myself from Borders and not buying any real books for four months. (I was spending around $150 a month at Borders. By not spending that money, I have made up the expense of the Kindle) I have also had to accept that I won't be able to share my books with others. E-books cannot be shared (legally) with other Kindles.

Another benefit of the Kindle is the subscription services to periodicals. I would never spend the money to subscribe to a National Newspaper like the Washington Post or the New York Times. It would be to expensive and the paper waste would rub against the few "green" nerves in my body. Kindle allows me to get the Washington Post at a very reasonable price without the waste or annoying advertising inserts. Currently, you can try a trial 2 week subscription of any of the periodicals offered on Kindle.

Biggest disappointment - within weeks of me getting my Kindle 2, Amazon came out with the Kindle DX (a 9.7" screen vs a 6" screen). It is more expensive and has some new features. I would have liked the new features. I'm not sure I mind having a smaller screen. My Kindle 2 'feels' like a paperback because of it's size. I think the bigger Kindle DX would remind me of a text book. And, although the cost difference was not prohibitive, I probably would have opted to save a few dollars and stay with a model I can chuck into my book bag.

Check the Amazon site for more details on the Kindle. I looked at several other e-books and settled on Amazons Kindle for many reasons, but I encourage you to do your own research. If your looking for a device for just reading e-books, the Kindle is it.

Bear in the backyard (my backyard is an alley!)

Trash has been an ongoing problem in downtown Milton. I'm not sure if it is an economic issue or if it is just a matter of people being lazy, but trash has piled up in the streets. The pile below sat on the opposite side of the road from the MOOSE for one week.



Other people have stacked the trash in the alleys behind the apartments. And now, look who has stopped for dinner!



The poor bear made the mistake of coming into downtown Milton for a meal. He managed to get himself cornered by a bunch a the downtown bar patrons and resorted to climbing the telephone pole. I snapped a quick shot and got the heck outta the way. I didn't want this guy to become smokey. Milton PD came by and chased away all the ogglers. Not long after, the bear climbed down, grabbed a snack, and hightailed it out of downtown.

Fringe Season Final - An Enterprising finish

Without getting into a lot of what the Fringe is about - if you cared you'd watch it - I did want to share that the series took a wild, almost Star Trek Movie like, twist at the conclusion of the season. Not only did the show introduce the possibility of an alternate reality, it also introduce Leonard Nimoy as the long hidden nemisis! I guess your never to old to get into Sci-Fi.

If you have not been watch Fringe, you can catch back episodes on Fox.com.

Star Trek

Yes - I went to see it.
Yes - It was worth a full price ticket. And,
Yes - I will go see it again; which is something I haven't done in many years (see a movie in the theater twice)



The sci-fi plot was as tight as you can get with a universe as big as the Star Trek Universe. Time travel has always been a mainstay of Star Trek. The newest movie uses time travel and alternate versions of reality to lay open a whole new frontier for the reincarnations of the original crew of the starship Enterprise.

The movie had some surprising twists (compounded by some deceptive advertising and well kept secrets) and plenty of action. The new actors seemed to comfortably take on the mantles of their predecessors, assuming some of the quirks of the original cast, while bringing along their own unique foibles. I particularly got a kick out of Scottie's new sailor worthy vocabulary. And I continue to cringe at Kirk's nut smashing leg cross when sitting in the command chair.

I'm sure their are many die hard trekkies out there who have found faults with the movie. Don't look so hard! This entry into the saga is as worthy as the best of the other movies. My question - what's next? A second movie? A TV spin-off? A couple hundred new Star Trek Novels? The universe is wide open once again.

Local shooting strikes close.

I don't often get specific with names and such when it comes to most of my students, but on this occasion I'll make an exception.

Back during the Nicole era (Nicole Bingaman and Nicole Snyder), we had a particularly difficult student. I remember a particular "run in" he had with Nicole Snyder.

Sadly, I have heard today, that he was killed last night in a shooting.

3 in custody following Snyder County murder


By Marcia Moore
The Daily Item

SHAMOKIN DAM — Three men allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man at an apartment off Routes 11-15 late Monday are in state police custody.

Steven Rodriguez was shot at an apartment at 2-78 Susquehanna Trail around 11:30 p.m. Monday and died about an hour later at Sunbury Community Hospital. An autopsy is scheduled for today at Lehigh Valley Medical Center in Allentown.

Law enforcement were on the alleged suspects' tails shortly after the shooting.

Sometime around 12:30 a.m., Fred Loreman, 43, was listening to his police scanner inside his house at the corner of Old Route 15 and New Columbia Road when he heard a vehicle was being pursued in his neighborhood.

"My ears perked up," Loreman said.

He stuck his head outside the kitchen door and saw a fast-moving vehicle traveling north on Old Route 15 with police cars in close pursuit.

"Thank God the cops were behind him with lights and sirens because that guy was really moving," he said.

Loreman said it appeared the suspect may have been trying to get onto Routes 15 or 80 and made a wrong turn and crashed into a tree behind a Short Stop convenient store next to his home.

"I was scared," he said. "I thought he was going to hit my house. I've got two young kids and they were asleep."

The occupants of the car fled the accident site, running across a creek and into a housing complex where they were nabbed.

"There were dozens of police in the area, swarming like bees," Loreman said, describing the action as like "watching an episode of 'Cops'" on television.

And from TalkRadio 1380 WMLP News --

Three charged in Snyder County homicide

SELINSGROVE – Three men have been charged with felony counts of homicide after the shooting and killing of 19-year-old Steven Rodriguez Monday night at an apartment near Runyon Road along Routes 11/15 in Monroe Township, Snyder County. 25-year-old Abdul Malik Saeed Walker of Williamsport, 25-year-old Ibrahim Musa Wells of Mill Hall and 27-year-old David Cannie of Philadelphia were arraigned Tuesday before District Judge Edward Mihalik. Rodriguez was shot around 11:30p.m., and died about an hour later at Sunbury Community Hospital. Walker, Wells and Cannie all fled the scene of the crime in a vehicle, which was later spotted in Union County. That vehicle then reportedly crashed near the Short Stop gas station in New Columbia and the three were taken into custody.
Snyder County District Attorney Mike Sholley says he believes the three knew Rodriguez. He says he does not believe the shooting was gang-related and would not confirm if it was drug-related. He says there were several witnesses to the crime. Weapons known to be involved include a shotgun and a 9mm pistol. Walker, Wells and Cannie are being held without bail in Snyder County Prison.

This is the second young person who was in our program to have died a tragic death since I started working for PATH. (the other was Ryan Francis - who I had living with me in Foster Care) It calls to question the role we - the teachers, foster parents, caseworkers, and all the others involved - have in the lives of the young people we interact with.

The pessimist might say that incidents like this one show that we have failed. But I wonder, how many youth have we had in our program that we have managed to detour onto a less destructive path?

My Facebook was hijacked by pirates (Arr!)

Seriously - my language was switched to "English-Pirate" and it was cool.

You need to try this if you are on Facebook. Log in and go all the way to the bottom of the page. On the left, just to the right of the Facebook (c) is your current language. It probably says your using English. Click on the language and look for "English - Pirates" in the language selection screen. Click it and check out you Facebook page. It will be in pirate-ese. Aarrr!

Wolverine

Took the kids to see the new x-men movie - wolverine. I enjoyed the movie, despite some glaring inconsistencies within the movie and within the franchise of movies. Most troublesome to me, in the movie, was the horrible sequence in the alley with Gambit (you'll have to see the movie to follow this). Logan knocks out Gambit and goes after Sabretooth. There is a scene cut, and we see Gambit running across the roofs of New Orleans and flying into the alley -- where he was last seen unconscious -- wielding some wicked powers from a staff. Bad editing or poor choice to include run across the roofs?

Despite the incongruity, it was a great summer flick (first of the season for me) and should be judged as such. The action was paced well through the movie. There were scenes with different characters that you wish would have gone longer, but the movie was about Wolverine, not all the mutants. And Liev Schreiber was a kick butt Sabretooth (much better than Tyler Mane in the original X-men movie). I'd say - x-men geek or not - brain candy that is worth the ticket for an entertaining evening.

And some pics of my niece

Nephew Pictures

My brother sent down a batch of photos. Here are a few of Sam.

Milton Spring Clean-up

Tony, Roy, and Lenny helped me clean the Capitol Theater Lot on Saturday. Sadly, more cigarette butts than weeds.

Good news - By the time we were done, the site looked great and is ready for the summer.

eggbrosinc.com logo?

messages

This is one of those serendipitous moments that lets me know that God does try to give us messages. I recently posted a poem by Darrell Scott.

Yesterday, my boss brought back information about our schools re-authorization process. Although we are a private alternative educational placement, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Education still 'approves' our program.

Start with an insane list of data. Insane because we must go back three years into our old records and pull out information that we were never tracking because the decision to track this information was just made - oh, and by the way, we are going to so poorly phrase the directions for data collection that most of the information is going to be useless because the different programs collecting it are going to record it in different ways. For example --

"C. Average Daily Attendance for AEDY student population at every grade level."

What? How do you calculate this? From the FAQ --

Q: For data reporting purposes, how should AEDY programs determine “Average Daily Attendance?”

A: Average Daily Attendance should be calculated by taking the daily attendance of your student population by grade level (# of students you have in school that day by grade level) and dividing by the daily membership (# of students your AEDY program serves by grade level, even if they are absent that day).

That looks like the formula for a percentage. Not an average!!!

How about these two items.

M. Of the number of students in column B, how many at every grade level passed all 4 core content subjects (science, math, English, and social studies) while in your program?

N. Of number of students in column B, how many at every grade level passed at least 3 of 4 core content subjects (science, math, English, and social studies) while in your program?

Do I recount the students who passed 4 core content subjects for item N? They did pass at least 3 of 4 core content subjects. What if someone else doesn't? Then the data collected is useless. I do not have a problem collecting and submitting data if it is a useful exercise. This is going to be a very time consuming and useless exercise.

AND NOW THE KICKER -- Going back to my original thought. Darrell Scott wrote this poem which I read in the intro to Chuck Norris' autobiography. I post it on my blog. Next day I start reviewing this packet of information regarding the application for our school. The first page I randomly flip to when I get the packet - the first item my eyes fall upon is as follows --

(3) A private alternative education institution shall: . . .(III) Be nonsectarian in all operations and shall not provide any religious instruction, nor shall it display religious objects and symbols on the premises of the institution.

No God - in any form - allowed.

(FYI - 2008/09 AEDY Guidelines)

Like Father; Like Son

Darrell Scott Poem

I finished reading "Against All Odds - My Story" by Chuck Norris. Of course, it was about Chuck Norris. The first item in the book is dedication to Rachel Joy Scott. Rachel was one of the victims of the Columbine shooting. (Rachel Scott Dedication Site).

Her father, Darrell Scott, wrote a poem that Chuck Norris included in the opening of his book. With school starting in just a week, I though it would be appropriate to post it.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage.
You've outlawed simple prayer.

Now gunshots fill our classrooms.
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere.
And ask the question "WHY"?

You regulate restrictive laws.
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand.
That God is what we need!

Supernatural

Dylan and I started watching downloads of Season One of Supernatural. I wasn't sure if I would like what seemed to be a re-hatch of an X-Files like show.

I was wrong. Supernatural has a well maintained feel and flavor. Seventy and Eighties Rock (Led Zep, Metallica, Motorhead, etc.), Big Engine Car (1967 Chevy Impala - that I think is enchanted), Two Brothers, a road trip, and lots of angry spirits (from Urban Legends, Mythology, and Religion).

The show is tied together, episode to episode, with a story involving a yellow-eyed demon that killed the mother of the two main characters (Dean and Sam). Each episode stands well alone as well. To get the full effect, it would, of course, be best to watch all the episodes.

The show is also filled with allusions and references to popular culture. Quotes and references to other movies and TV shows are present in every episode. It adds a level of interactiveness as you try to figure out where a remark by one of the characters came from because you know you have hear what they said somewhere before.

We are about half way through the second season. The new fourth season starts on September 18th. Who would have thought that CW could have created a show as good as The X-Files?

Olympics

I just spent 4 and 1/2 hours watching the opening of the Beijing Olympics. WOW!

I know it was pre-recorded, with the east coast of the US being 12 hours off of China, but ... What a thrill! The opening ceremony was epic. Filled with symbolism, it highlighted the history of China, displaying accolades to the three major religions/philosophies of China. The show then matured and payed tribute to the modern China. With more special effects than Star Wars (including a 500 foot LCD TV)and routines that involved the seamless co-ordination of over 2500 dancers or performers, I was drawn into the spectacle.

Ongoing coverage on any of the NBC channels or,

Yahoo Olympic Coverage or,

MSN Olympic Coverage