I just returned home from a visit to the podiatrist. The stress fracture is nearly healed. I need to start working on putting weight on it (SLOWLY).
I have another appointment tomorrow, with an ortho man about my opposite knee. I'm in a LOT of pain; can't sleep comfortably, can't sit, can't stand.
I'm hoping that I can find out just what is wrong with it. It's making getting any work done difficult, if not impossible.
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Correlation is not causation, but it can be awfully suggestive. (Francis Porretto, Bastion of Liberty)
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Sunday, June 24, 2018
A-a-n-n-n-d, Once Again, It's ON!
Antifa is putting ICE personnel in jeopardy.
Do the family members have to DIE to get people to take this seriously?
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Do the family members have to DIE to get people to take this seriously?
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The Down Side of Pushing Women into Positions
There really is no such thing as Gender Neutral. The inherent differences in how men and women work, process information, and handle interpersonal activities is wildly different. Might be nature, might be nurture. Or, some combination of the two.
Who cares. The fact is, on the job, men and women function differently - and, that difference proved fatal to some sailors.
This isn't new - Abu Gharib was, largely, the result of a woman not doing her hob. Then, pleading 'poor little me'. That she wasn't stripped down to private, before being Dishonorably Discharged, was a disgrace. I'm not the only one that feels this way.
She should have taken her punishment like a Woman, not a whiny little girl.
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Who cares. The fact is, on the job, men and women function differently - and, that difference proved fatal to some sailors.
This isn't new - Abu Gharib was, largely, the result of a woman not doing her hob. Then, pleading 'poor little me'. That she wasn't stripped down to private, before being Dishonorably Discharged, was a disgrace. I'm not the only one that feels this way.
She should have taken her punishment like a Woman, not a whiny little girl.
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An Eye for an Eye?
What's that, Michelle Obama?
I've written about this before, on Liberty's Torch. The more deranged Alt-Left (also known as Fervent Democrats) has made the leap to threatening family of Non-Leftists. And, feeling smug about their actions.
Anyone who doesn't recoil at the extreme actions against politicians and their families is strongly advised to Unfriend me - not just on social media, but in person, as well.
I'm saying it again - the line has definitely, absolutely, been crossed. If you do not openly and vocally disapprove of this, GET OUT OF MY LIFE.
Beware the storm you have created and unleashed on the world.
When they go low, we go high.Eh. Not so much. In fact, the recent events demonstrate that, when we are just minding our own business, they go low - VERY low.
I've written about this before, on Liberty's Torch. The more deranged Alt-Left (also known as Fervent Democrats) has made the leap to threatening family of Non-Leftists. And, feeling smug about their actions.
Anyone who doesn't recoil at the extreme actions against politicians and their families is strongly advised to Unfriend me - not just on social media, but in person, as well.
I'm saying it again - the line has definitely, absolutely, been crossed. If you do not openly and vocally disapprove of this, GET OUT OF MY LIFE.
Beware the storm you have created and unleashed on the world.
The unanswered question is whether conservatives–who far outnumber liberals in every survey–should adopt liberals’ methods. How about if we decree that anyone who supported Hillary Clinton must be fired from his job? How about if we harass identifiable Democrats when they go out in public? How about if we publish liberals’ addresses and home phone numbers and organize hate campaigns against them? How about if we demand that no news outlet publish any piece by a liberal, and follow up with boycotts and media campaigns?Share
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Thursday, June 21, 2018
A Short Story Bargain
With my story's Kindle Select pricing finally expiring, I changed the Amazon listing. I also published on Smashwords, and set the price to either $0.99, or whatever the reader wants to pay. Eventually, I hope to aggregate my shorts, and bundle them.
Here's the link.
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Here's the link.
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Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Starting a New Feature - a Comic
I've played around with Pixton before. It makes the process of creating comics/graphic output a breeze, even for us art-challenged types.
I've decided to do a weekly comic, focused on my writing progress. It's not meant to be especially humorous, but just a light look at my life as a writer.
Here's the link.
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I've decided to do a weekly comic, focused on my writing progress. It's not meant to be especially humorous, but just a light look at my life as a writer.
Here's the link.
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Thursday, June 14, 2018
Some Thoughts on Schools Gone Wrong
Schools have problems for different reasons. Seldom is it the teachers who are solely responsible for the problems.
More often, the problems start at the district level. Most - not all, but most - of the really stupid directives are imposed on principals, teachers, and schools from on top.
Here is one example.
The most important thing to remember about this (and most other things in life):
There are inexpensive solutions - but, they usually are less effective than the model on which they were based.
There are solutions developed by the people closest to the ground - they don't often scale well.
There are solutions that take time - often, the most effective. However, when the problem is not solved quick enough, these are usually summarily dumped for something else.
I'm going to suggest something radical. So radical, that it is unlikely to ever be given a fair test.
Start with the teaching staff. Let them form self-selected teams, with NO attempt to 'balance' them, racially, sexually (either birth sex or sexual orientation), or culturally. Stick with teams of 3-6 people.
Give them the budget, and the authority to implement discipline plans for their team. As long as it doesn't involve violation of state law, let 'er rip.
Where will they get the budget?
This part will accomplish TWO aims. Take the money from non-teaching staff/departments/centers. That would include:
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More often, the problems start at the district level. Most - not all, but most - of the really stupid directives are imposed on principals, teachers, and schools from on top.
Here is one example.
The most important thing to remember about this (and most other things in life):
There is no Quick Fix for problemsThere are quick solutions - but they only provide the appearance of working. They will mask the true situation, and bite you in the a$$ later.
There are inexpensive solutions - but, they usually are less effective than the model on which they were based.
There are solutions developed by the people closest to the ground - they don't often scale well.
There are solutions that take time - often, the most effective. However, when the problem is not solved quick enough, these are usually summarily dumped for something else.
I'm going to suggest something radical. So radical, that it is unlikely to ever be given a fair test.
Start with the teaching staff. Let them form self-selected teams, with NO attempt to 'balance' them, racially, sexually (either birth sex or sexual orientation), or culturally. Stick with teams of 3-6 people.
Give them the budget, and the authority to implement discipline plans for their team. As long as it doesn't involve violation of state law, let 'er rip.
Where will they get the budget?
This part will accomplish TWO aims. Take the money from non-teaching staff/departments/centers. That would include:
- Guidance - return that department to the original idea - their major task is to (1) get students into college (2) help them qualify for the military (3) get them a job. Anything else is NOT what they were trained for, or should be doing. Yeah, I know, they need to 'counsel' the students. No, they don't. If you need a social service person, contract for their services. Same with psychologists. Make the public services do their freaking job.
- Test coordinators, academic coaches, reading teachers, clerks, secretaries, etc. MOST of these jobs could be done by outside contractors - who, when not working, will not be around to gum up the works and justify their salary/benefits. MOST of the professional non-teaching staff are those teachers who are burnt out, but don't want to give up the money. Too many clerks make their job bigger than it is.
- Custodial/Janitorial staff. If the school is clean and maintained well, keep them. If - as it more common - the physical environment is both filthy and poorly maintained, hire outside companies. And, let this be done by the TEACHING staff of the school, by anonymized (no identifying information about race, sex, etc.) bid, and on a yearly vote. Nothing makes a contractor work harder than to be aware that their services depend on their performance. Poor performance makes a company ineligible to make a bid.
What's the other outcome of this?
Reduction of office politics. Too many staffers with too little to do make trouble.
Have performance reviews/evaluations conducted by outsiders, who will work with video feeds (randomly selected) from classrooms, unannounced visits to personally observe, and scores on standardized tests. Yes, I know the complaints against the tests, but - it's the only check on the outrageous grade inflation that is rampant in classrooms.
No teacher fired on the spot, unless the review uncovers truly awful behavior or incompetent work. Pair sub-par teachers with mentors, give them some time to improve, and - when necessary - get rid of them, not just from that school, but the system.
BTW, new teacher retention plan:
- One extra free period a day, or 2-3 blocks a week, they can use to observe other teachers. Nothing teaches you as much as comparing yourself with a master of the craft. Mentor teachers have time to observe, or - use video to keep them aware of the new guy's struggles.
- NO extra duties (lunch, bus, committee, etc.) for the first semester.
- ALL teachers in that grade level/subject area must share lessons with the new guy. Assistance with setting up labs, using the equipment, and managing the software by those teachers, too. Help with some grading would be nice.
- 5 extra personal days off their first year. MUST be taken - they often try to bull through, not taking off days when they're stressed/tired. Don't let them do it.
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Monday, June 11, 2018
Monogamy Vs. the Alternatves
"Smash Monogamy" was one of the rallying slogans of the 1960's Feminist Radicals. Many of my generation accepted that a long-term relationship with a single male person was stultifying and outdated, and, as a result, remained single.
Some of them are regretting that today, as they face old age alone.
Does marriage have down sides? Of course. It can be difficult to bond in an exclusive relationship with someone, particularly as the relationship may last for 25-50 years of one's adult life. That higher figure would be the length of a marriage between a couple married in their early twenties, and living to the current average - around 75 years old.
However, the advantages, which include protection, mutual support, sharing child raising responsibilities, joined financial strength, and increased familial connections, can outweigh those restraints on individual freedom.
An anthropologist examines the "It Takes a Village" hypothesis, so popular with Feminists, Academics, and Leftists (but, I repeat myself).
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Some of them are regretting that today, as they face old age alone.
Does marriage have down sides? Of course. It can be difficult to bond in an exclusive relationship with someone, particularly as the relationship may last for 25-50 years of one's adult life. That higher figure would be the length of a marriage between a couple married in their early twenties, and living to the current average - around 75 years old.
However, the advantages, which include protection, mutual support, sharing child raising responsibilities, joined financial strength, and increased familial connections, can outweigh those restraints on individual freedom.
An anthropologist examines the "It Takes a Village" hypothesis, so popular with Feminists, Academics, and Leftists (but, I repeat myself).
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Thursday, June 07, 2018
A Small Crank About Books
I like mysteries. I grew up with:
Or the many, many Crafting or Cooking books.
What they DON'T do is serve up a mystery - a murder or other crime without an obvious solution, but that can be solved if the reader is clever and pays attention to subtle clues.
Don't get me started on the Violence Porn.
/rant
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- Agatha Christie (I loved that slice of early 20th century life shown in her books)
- The McDonalds - Ross and John D.
- Mary Higgins Clark (nothing beats her first book - Where Are the Children?)
- Rex Stout
- Ellery Queen
- and so many more
The mystery world has shrunk. Dismally. There are some that still put out great books. John Lescroat. Michael Connelly.
But, unfortunately, many - SO many - who are formulaic, derivative, and - Lord, I do hate these the most - Cutesie. As in a cat that solves crimes. Or titles that are puns or plays on words.
Or the many, many Crafting or Cooking books.
What they DON'T do is serve up a mystery - a murder or other crime without an obvious solution, but that can be solved if the reader is clever and pays attention to subtle clues.
Don't get me started on the Violence Porn.
/rant
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Friday, June 01, 2018
Pushing Back Against the Culture
I'm a Fuddy-Duddy.
I already was, at a young age. Even in my teens, I was seldom one of the late night partiers. By 10:00, I was already yawning. In contrast to the many Owls (those who, like vampires, like the Night Life), I'm a Lark - up early, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Once I got past the adolescent stage of twisting myself into a pretzel to try to qualify as 'cool', I embraced my inner nerd, and lived a life more in tune with my natural inclinations:
BTW, don't forget to check out Gab (no, I am NOT paid to shill for them). The tone of the place has been cleaned up considerably, thanks to management kicking out the Leftists posing as Alt-Right nuts. I was so impressed by the difference, I made a commitment to a Gab Pro subscription for the next six months. I plan to make, and post, either podcasts or videocasts (I'm leaning towards the former, as I have the PERFECT face for audio).
With so many getting bounced from social media like Twitter, it's not a bad time to get in on the ground floor.
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I already was, at a young age. Even in my teens, I was seldom one of the late night partiers. By 10:00, I was already yawning. In contrast to the many Owls (those who, like vampires, like the Night Life), I'm a Lark - up early, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Once I got past the adolescent stage of twisting myself into a pretzel to try to qualify as 'cool', I embraced my inner nerd, and lived a life more in tune with my natural inclinations:
- Reading - fiction, non-fiction, cereal boxes.
- Not watching television, for the mosts part, unless there was a specific show on. In my house, the TV was off for hours at a time.
- Not all that interested in popular music. Seldom knew the band's names or backstories. When I did feel like listening to music, I was perfectly content to listen to classical or jazz. I STILL don't 'get' the appeal of the Rolling Stones - to me, they're an over-rated bunch of poseurs.
- Dress is casual, and tending to preppy, not sexy.
- I don't watch the UN-Reality shows. Can't stand them. I'm not even that much of a fan of the competition shows - America's Got Talent, Dancing with the Stars. If my husband is watching them, I'll sometimes sit there, keeping him company. But, the excessive emoting and pseudo-drama turn me off.
In short, I like the Quiet Life. Following the crowd has never been all that appealing.
A lot of talk about Netflix has centered on the brand's embrace of the Obamas - him and her. Netflix spent a LOT of money to ensure that they will both have a platform, and never be reduced to living on their lavish government pensions. Debra Heine had some valid points about why we should NOT patronize the service.
This is something I've been thinking about lately, as it's not just enough to not give the Leftists money, we also owe it to ourselves to spend money on the alternatives. Heine links to a list of possibles.
BTW, don't forget to check out Gab (no, I am NOT paid to shill for them). The tone of the place has been cleaned up considerably, thanks to management kicking out the Leftists posing as Alt-Right nuts. I was so impressed by the difference, I made a commitment to a Gab Pro subscription for the next six months. I plan to make, and post, either podcasts or videocasts (I'm leaning towards the former, as I have the PERFECT face for audio).
With so many getting bounced from social media like Twitter, it's not a bad time to get in on the ground floor.
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