Obligatory Eclipse Post

There was an eclipse earlier this week, maybe you heard of it. My school was able to watch it and we hit 94% totality in Algonquin, Illinois. My Son Charlie went to Sycamore, Ohio which was in 100% totality for a cubing event. They provided glasses for all their participants and took a break from the competition to experience the eclipse. 

He just came home yesterday from the event and we haven't had a lot of time to talk about it yet.  I was able to find some footage on  You Tube, maybe you've heard of it (I know I just made that joke in paragraph one), of the Eclipse as it appeared in Sycamore on Monday. 

 

Time Lapse of Eclipse

Eclipse in real time.

Things I'd like to post more about.

 Blog Insider: A look behind the curtain at HSD

Tonight's Episode: Some things I'd like to post more about.

When I first started blogging I kept a notebook with all the blogging ideas I had and would cross them out when I wrote about them and add more as the ideas come to me.  This got to be a bit of a problem as I would often not have my notebook when I got an idea and often could not find my notebook when I was working on my blog.  Also, not all of my ideas were blog worthy.  Some were time sensitive and by the time I got to writing them down they were no longer relevant.  Some just worked better as an idea but did not make sense when they saw the light of screen.  

I have decided to make one of those lists as a blog post to give me a reference point I can't leave in my other coat and also to give the readers (if there are still any out there) an idea of what sort of things are interesting me these days.

• I would like to write more about my work as a substitute teacher.
• I would like to write more about my ADHD.
• I would like to write a little about the combination of my ADHD and my work as a substitute teacher,  
• I have began recompiling my list of my 100 favorite movies.  I would like to write more about the particular movies and my process in compiling the list.
• My wife and I have have lost over 100 pounds this year.  I'd like to write about my weight and my goal to stop yoyoing and get down to my weight in high school.
• I would like to share more poetry here.  Which means I'd like to write more poetry.  
• I would like to take more pictures and post more pictures.
• I would like to write more about my faith.

There are certainly other things I'd like to blog more about, but at this present moment these are the forms of content I'd like to delve into more in the future.  

I am also thinking of making some wholesale changes in my my blogging presence  at the beginning of the year.  I currently have 4 blogs active and am finding keeping those active more and more challenging.  I once commented to someone that as long as I am posting at least once a quarter on each blog I would be satisfied.  I have certainly been doing that but I'm noticing some redundancies and have spending a lot of thoughtspace on how to more efficiently scratch my blogging itch in the months and years to come.  

Obligatory Snow Post: Wordless Wednesday

To Go Wordless click here.

Fragments of rants, thoughts, and feelings.

Fragment 1: Stupid is a swear word in our family.  It is not a word that we want our kids to use nor  do we use it ourselves. It's a crippler.  And it's everpresent.  Consider these lyrics from the beginning of Book Report from You're a Good Man Charlie Brown:

"Peter Rabbit is a stupid book about a stupid rabbit who steals vegetables from other people's gardens."

Be that as it may, stupid things fascinate me.  I don't mean that I am fascinated by things that nobody else finds interesting.  That is true.  I am very random, and the oddest things do strike my fancy.  What I mean is the nonsensical things that people say and do fascinate me.  Nonsensical is a kinder gentler way of saying stupid.

Before, I continue with fragment 1, let me digress. This whole introduction to fragment 1, is a fragment to itself.  So let's call it a prefragmenace (part fragment part preface). 

At the 4th of July parade I described in my last post, I saw one illustration of the nonsensical.  It was a sign that a man was carrying in the above picture.  I have isolated the sign below.

The reason why I think this sign is stupid nonsensical is mainly because it doesn't make sense.  Voting independent will not end fascism for a number of reasons. 

Fascism is defined at dictionary.com as  a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

So A,  if the U.S. was a fascist state, this mans opposition  and criticism of it would be forcibly suppressed. 

B, our governments checks and balances and our current 2 party system and free elections  show that we have no dictator leading us. 

C, voting independent will not necessarily keep us from a fascist state.  Imagine a fascist running as an independent.  His plan to get in power and become a dictator. Voting independent in that case would actually put a fascist in office rather than remove one from office.

Fragment 2:  Not  all isms are Puppyisms.

Bunny Girl just walked into our bedroom and said that she was thinking and when she was done thinking she began thinking credits.   Then she walked out. 

Fragment 3: Obligatory heat wave post.

It's been hotter than heat itself for the past week or so.  It is 10:30 at night and the temp have finally dipped to 85 degrees.  It was 104 at 3:00 when we left the swimming pool  I am not sure how I feel about these real feel forecasts.  It is 85 now, but it feels like 95.  Who cares how it feels? What's next  if were at work at 2:00 in the afternoon but it feels like 5:00 in the afternoon, are we supposed to leave for the day?  It's anarchy I tell you.  And if there's anarchy, can fascism be far behind?

For more fascism free fragments head back to half past kissing time. 

Obligatory Been A While Post

Homeschool dad here it's been almost a week since I posted.
I haven't fallen off the face of the earth but I have been pretty busy. I'm going to take a few minutes and put some pictures up from the past week or so and I hope to have regular post up soon.

Lemurs at the Brookfield Zoo.

Interjections (Rats!)

Friday Fragments

Hi.  It's Thursday night which means it's time for Friday Fragments.  The part of the show where Larry sings a silly song.  I think I might be mixing up my segments, a little. 

Lots O Fragments today.  So let's get to them . . .

Fragment, the first one

First of all, for the past while I have been featuring the 20 winners of the 2011 HSBA (Home School Blog Awards) here at the old blogstead.  Generally I have been doing this at the end of my posts.  For reasons that are too long and too boring (mostly too boring) to go into now, I am going to share two different winners in this here post.

In the category of Best New Home School Blog the HSBA goes to Doorposts of your Home.  Today's post on Honoring one another was so good, I decided share it here as a sample post.

*************************************************************************

Fragment, the next one


My wife and I have been married for almost 14 years.  We have had the same bed for that long and it was time for a new one.  We had a Verlo and we loved it.  So last Saturday we got a new one.  Last Friday in preparing for a new bed I was clearing out some stuff in the bed room and found a really cool picture frame that a friend of my wife's had made for her and for whatever reason we had never put up.  It needed a small amount of repair after years of non use.  Here it is in use on the wall above our computer.

Fragment, The obligatory Puppyism


Sometimes puppy's explanation of her puppyisms are more amusing than the puppyisms themselves.  Take this conversation that took place at the dishwasher after yesterday's lunch. 

Puppy: Dad I'm full to the tip.

Me: Full to the tip?

Puppy:  I'm full to the tip, not even an inch is left.


Fragment, The penultimate one

I bought a new Ipod Touch a few weeks ago and have been using it quite a bit.  One thing that is both good and bad is the amount of pictures you can take in such a short time.  Amy took all these pics of Puppy on the horse at Meijer.  It was like a regular photo shoot.

Can this be the last one please?!!!?

Fragment, The Porky Pig One (That's All Folks)

Well not quite all.  I have one more HSBA winner to bring to the light of Dave. 

That winner is Confessions of A Homeschooler.  This blog has been a staple of my sidebar for sometime now.  It won in the Best Design Category.  This sample post about A Family Mission Statement is very good.

That's it that's all the fragments I have at present. 

Head back to Half Past Kissing Time for more Friday Fragments.

Resolved

Here are some Home School Resolutions I am going to try this year.

Many of these are not new. 

1.  To every day demonstrate  to  my children that teaching them is a privilege and something that I cherish.

I am not the first person I want teaching my kids.  I am the second.  And until God works it out that I can get a job that can provide for our family, I will be the one teaching at home.  Sometimes, I think I give the kids the impression that teaching them is a burden.  Every day I want to convey how happy Amy and I are as a family for the privilege of educating our children.

2) To be prepared to teach.

I am not much of a planner and flying by the seat of my pants doesn't work.  So each day and each week, I need to be planning for the next days and the next weeks.

3) To model the behavior I am teaching.

During the course of the week, I often "teach" by example, the exact opposite that I am trying to teach by words.  Much of the reason why I get frustrated with my children is not because they are not learning, but that they are learning some of my behaviors a little too well.

4) To focus on the basics.

Writing, Reading, Spelling, Times Tables. 

Some of the kids have come pretty far, but there is still a long way to go.  These things need to be drilled and drilled and drilled and often I get tired of fighting them and move onto other things that I can manage more easily.  This year I want to focus on these main things.

5) To shower my kids with love and praise.

This may just be a rewording of resolution 1, but I think it bears repeating.

What about you?

What goals and plans do you have for 2012?

This post is in this week's Carnival of Homeschooling.  To return to the carnival click here.

A Picture is worth 200 Posts

Click here for more Wordless Wednesday

Speaking of Wordless,my HSBA spotlight blog is Mothership Adventures who won for best pictures.  They travel the country in an r.v which is cool enough.  The pictures are fantastic.  Here is a sample post.

As the title indicated, this is my 200th post with pictures in it. 

Obligatory Blizzard Post

Yes it snowed a lot and yes I took pictures and videos; it's what I do. No, I didn't see my shadow. I haven't even seen Green Hornet yet.