A word of preface about this post: relativity.

I was reading one of my favorite sites earlier, and as I was looking at the photos that she’s posted, I realized that things have changed, technologically speaking at least.

For example, for example check this out:

That’s the top of my dad’s CPU. Those slots up at the top are where you can plug in a camera card. You can literally plug in the card from your digital camera directly into the computer, save the pictures on it, and then publish those photos to Flickr without having to get any film developed.

For some perspective, when I was her kid’s age, computers were nothing more than typewriters with an electric screen instead of a sheet of paper.

It’s amazing what 21 years can do.

For further perspective, here are some things that have changed:

In 1988, when you wanted a typed document, your choices included a typewriter or a computer.
In 2009, when you want a typed document, your choices inlcude a computer or an smart phone

In 1988, when you wanted to listen to music in the car, your choices were the radio and a cassette deck
In 2009, when you want to listen to music in the car, your choices are the radio, a cd player, and your iPod.

In 1988, when you wanted to find a book in a library, you went to the card catalog and searched through a bunch of 3×5 cards until you found it
In 2009, when you want to find a book in a library, you go to the computer and put the name of the book or author in the search bar.

In 1988, the President’s weekly radio address was actually broadcast on the radio.
In 2009, the President’s weekly radio address is broadcast on YouTube.

In 1988, the term ‘mixtape’ described a home-made collection of music on a cassette tape.
In 2009, the term ‘mixtape’ describes a home-made collection of music on your iTunes.

In 1988, you listened to your phone messages on cassette tapes.
In 2009, you can listen to your phone messages on the internet.

After thinking about all of that, I, as a 21 year old, am going to finish by letting you know that I’m going to ease into a rocking chair, wrap myself in a quilt, and remenesce about Windows 95 and schlepping my schoolwork to school and back on floppy disks. 3 miles away. Walking uphill both ways. In the snow.

From the Superintendent of New Canaan Public Schools to parents. Personally, the whole “OK, kids, let’s talk about how you can help the President” has a slightly creepy feeling. (NB: Point 5 in Mr. Abbey’s letter is worth noting. Dr. Bob 2, take note!)

Parent Letter Regarding President’s Speech

Friday, September 4, 2009

Dear Parents,

I am writing to clarify our plans regarding President Obama’s speech, scheduled to be broadcast from 15-20 minutes, on Tuesday, September 8 at 12:00 noon. In developing their plans our principals have considered issues such as developmental appropriateness, curricular relevance, the time at which the speech is being broadcast and the importance of teachers, working under the direction of the administration, assuming responsibility for the selection of instructional materials.

1. There will be no all school or large group (assembly) broadcast in any of our schools, nor will the speech be broadcast to every classroom at any of our schools.

2. In all three elementary schools the administration and faculty will view the speech, download it and after discussing it, make decisions regarding how it might be used in the future – including deciding its appropriateness for various grade levels. Parents will be notified, if and when, the decision to show the speech is made.

3. At the middle school, the social studies teachers will decide whether or not to use the speech in real time or on a delayed basis, at a future time. Any viewing will take place in social studies classes.

4. At the high school, teachers will make individual decisions regarding the viewing of the speech.

5. Any parent, throughout the system (elementary, middle and high school) may have their child “opt out” of viewing the speech or participating in activities directly related to its viewing. Parents who choose the “opt out” option should contact the appropriate principal.

6. Our principals, by the end of today will have sent information to parents, via email, regarding their school’s approach to the speech.

7. Parents with specific questions or concerns regarding this matter should contact the principal at their child’s school.

As always, thank you for your support of our schools.

Sincerely,

David Abbey

Superintendent of Schools

Another letter on the President’s forthcoming speech, this time from Saxe Middle School in New Canaan:

Dear Saxe Parent,

Questions have been raised around how the middle school will be approaching the national webcast of the President’s speech to schoolchildren scheduled for Tuesday, September 8 at 12 noon.

As this falls under the category of current events, any attention to this event will be under the work of the Social Studies department at Saxe. As such, each of our Social Studies teachers is entrusted with the responsibility to decide how, when and why, to approach this event as an instructional opportunity. The Saxe administration and faculty are proud of our long standing reputation and record of conducting our professional responsibilities in a non-partisan fashion.

The U.S. Department of Education has posted all the relevant information about the president’s speech on its website www.ed.gov

As with all learning at this age, we encourage parents to be active partners with their child and our school. Please review this information so that you may be able to discuss this event with your child. We are not requiring that this speech be treated as a mandatory part of the instructional program. At the same time, we are not restricting teachers from using this speech as part of a typical approach to current events. This “middle of the road” position allows us to provide the necessary discretion and flexibility as we approach newsworthy information.

I have guided our teachers to maintain flexibility and if they do use part or all of the speech for instructional purposes, they can design learning activities that invite students to involve their parents, and activities that involve some of the related opposition to the president’s approach, and even provide families with the option of exempting their child from studying the speech by providing an alternate assignment on similar themes or another classroom setting if the speech is being viewed.

Finally, in a pluralistic society the public schools have an obligation to model and instruct civic responsibility. We respect the office of the presidency and will not “shy away” from maintaining an academically open and honest approach to learning. To that end, we need your help and support especially, at times, when reasonable people can disagree about the political intentions of any act. We especially want to keep the rhetoric and debate of any current event responsible so that it serves as an example to our youth of the standards for expressing differences in a free society. It would be a shame if the debate surrounding this event resulted in our young people coming to the conclusion that the universal values of working hard, setting goals and taking personal responsibility were the fair subject of partisan politics.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

If you require additional support from the school, please contact your grade level administrator, your child’s Social Studies teacher or myself.

Sincerely,

Greg Macedo

Saxe Principal

They are fired up in New Canaan! This one from the principal of New Canaan High School. Wonder how KLSD is handling the Tuesday Obamarama?

Hope and Change, y’all!

September 4, 2009

Dear Parents,

I have received a fair amount of correspondence over the past few days regarding President Obama’s speech next Tuesday, September 8th.

To set the record straight, the high school never intended to broadcast the speech. We make decisions such as these on an individual basis taking into account such things as appropriateness, relevance to our curriculum and historical significance. The President’s speech, in this case, does not meet that standard. It might very well be discussed in our classrooms as are countless other national and international events. As always I trust that the fine teachers in this building will handle any political discourse in a fair and appropriate manner just as they do every single day.

We regularly bring speakers and programs into this school including American war veterans, public office holders, authors, and other public figures. There very well may be a time when we make a decision to broadcast a presidential speech to the student body. In any event, I would hope that you continue to trust that we will make decisions on issues such as these in the interests of providing our students with a well rounded education and active citizenship.

Sincerely,

Tony Pavia

And, here’s what Meet The Press had to say about it.

A few days ago, my dad showed me a letter that was sent to the editor of one of our local newspapers about Glenn Beck and how hate speech has crept into nationally syndicated programs such as Beck’s. Here’s what this person wrote:

     I have become increasingly concerned about the extreme rhetoric regarding President Obama that is difficult to mis in the national media.

     For whatever reasons, President Obama and the policies of the Democratic party seem to elicit passionate discourse from all sides. I think this national debate is healthy and vital for the democratic process.

     What alarms me is the hate speech that certain TV and radio pundits spout each day.

     For the most part, I try not to listen when offensive speech is used; I always defend free speech and enjoy hearing all sides in a political debate. But sometime in the past few months all standards for debate have turned into real hate speech which can, I fear, elicit violence.

     This is alarming.

     What I wish to address is the ubiquitous references made to Nazism, socialism, brown shirts, fascism, and Hitler when TV and radio pundits criticize the President.

     The history and atrocities of Nazi Germany should never be used in the same sentence when describing any current national or local debates. In particular, a resident of New Canaan, Mr. Glenn Beck, frequently equates Mr. Obama with Hitler. Whatever your political beliefs, I find this just over the top and I am surprised that more residents have not complained.

     Last week, Mr. Beck stated that the White House was in love with eugenics. This is insane. Is everyone just so used to this hate speech that no one finds it repulsive? How do fellow New Canaanites feel about this subject and how do they feel about Mr. Beck dressing up in German lederhosen trying to reference Hitler? Is it me or should more people speak up and say, “we don’t hate in this town?”

     This is a local issue when one of our own broadcasts these views that may incite violence. Please stand up and stay, “No More Hate”, whatever your political views.

so, on thursday night i got a call from a friend of mine who said that he’s heading out of state due to the fact that he got a new job out there, and asked if i wanted to take the job that he was leaving. i said yes, and so i ispent friday (and saturday) morning with him learning how to feed horses and clean up their stalls. it was fun. i’m starting on my own tomorrow morning.

also, i’m planning on doing NaNoWriMo this november. don’t really know what i’m going to write about, but this year i’m actually going to put effort into doing it. i also recently found out about NaNoPubYe, which is where you get a novel written, edited, and published within a year. i’m going to cheat a little bit and write it in november, then start editing it in january and hopefully have it print ready by december of 2010. should be fun.

So, back in February I posted this, and I’ve decided to do it again.

Here’s the rule:

Choose the 4th image on the 4th page of your online photostream (whichever service you use).

And so, here’s the photo:

So, I was doing a random search on yahoo! images, and came across this site. 

Now, how cool would it be to have a PT Crusier hearse? Way cool, in my opinion.

Here is an incomplete list of some of the taxes that the government has created over the past 100 years, in alphebetical order:

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Ser vice FeeTax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge=2 0Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

Now, with that big of a list, why is it that the government can’t insure everyone?

With that big of a list, why is it that the government is using red ink when writing it’s books?

With that big of a list, why is it that the government is having trouble paying Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid?

Clearly, we need to do things differently. Starting with voting out those who can’t be bothered to give a rat’s ass about the people they work for.

I apologize for having not posted in such a long time, but when you’re unemployed, you tend not to have anything meaningful to write about.

Today, though, is different. I had an appointment with a therapist today, one that I’ve been going to the past few weeks, to get the results of the psych evaluation that I’ve been going through over the past month.

And, as I expected, the results weren’t good. Not only did I perform in the low-average percentile on the vast majority of the various tests (one even putting me in the 1st percentile), I demonstrated some signs of PTSD and OCD. However, they weren’t enough to have me diagnosed with either.

In addition, it also put in plain words that I’m socially awkward, and that I also have anxiety. I’m guessing that this is one of those instances where I’m socially awkward because of the anxiety, and I’ve got anxiety because I’m socially awkward. Same goes with the depression.

I still have to go through the entire thing with a comb, but I’ve got the information I need and now at least I know what’s wrong with me.

It seems that I wasn’t that far off.

IF the GOP wants affirmative action overturned, why don’t they simply campaign to vote out title 7 which was passed by congress and made affirmative action the law.

IF the Gop wants abortion illegal, why don’t they work to pass legislation against it.

IF the GOP wants to make this a Christian nation, why don’t they pass laws to make it one.

IF the GOP wants spending down, why did they start the senseless and costly Iraq war.

IF the GOP believes in family values, why do they have leaders such as Sanford, Ensign, and Gingrich

IF the GOP believes in freedom, why do they want to impose rules on us regarding abortion, gay marriage, etc.

IF the GOP believes in small government, why did the government grow under George W. at a greater rate than under any other President.

IF the GOP is so clear about constitutional issues, why was Chaney allowed to tell the CIA not to inform congress of its activities.

IF the GOP supports the troops, why….
Did they not provide the medical support for veterans.
Did they not provide bullet proof vests when the troops invaded Iraq
Did they not provide the armament to protect troops against IED’s
Did they not properly honor the troops killed in action

IF the GOP believes in the right to life, why don’t they support unwanted children after they are born.

IF the GOP believes we need to do something about illegal immigrants, why did they not do so when they had control of the white house and congress.

IF the GOP believes in the future of america, why don’t they support educating our future.

IF the GOP believes in protecting america, why didn’t they protect our food supply.

IF the GOP believes they have a better answer for health care, why didn’t they do something when in power. All they did was pass a prescription plan for medicare which was a boondoggle for big pharma.

IF the GOP believes in free markets, why didn’t they use their influenceto educate and influence the financial markets to stop the stupidity that was taking place. Does this mean the GOP only believes in wild market swings which wipes out the wealth of the common people?.

Why hasn’t the GOP done anything to counteract the jobs being shipped overseas and the decline of our middle class.

Why is it that the only answer the GOP has for anything is another tax cut. Tax cuts only help the well-off and for the average american they know that a 10% cut on zero is zero.

Why is it that the GOP has to resort to wedge politics, pitting americans against each other. Is it because they don’t have any ideas?