ARRGG!! OMG... what have we done??
Well, I am planning to send my baby off to college in a few weeks and while surfing around the web today (do we still say that?) I came across the TIME Magazine list of the state colleges with the highest tuition increases. Lo and behold, there was my son's new university home listed at #4!! ASU had a 44% tuition rate increase in the last two years!!! It is tied with the University of Georgia (ironically another college to which he applied but was not accepted).
What have I done?? He received one scholarship, but the rest of the tuition is going to be covered by student loans, work study and my selling aluminum cans for recycling.
But, the bright side is... I am going to loose weight and be a lot slimmer and trimmer by 2016, when he graduates. That is because, with him at ASU and his brother here at MATC, I don't plan to eat for the next 4 years.
I'll let you know how that goes... stay tuned!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Friday, June 1, 2012
Endings and Beginnings
I love to begin things, but I really hate it when things I like, enjoy or love come to an end.
So it is that I have ended my 90 stint as a Loaned Executive for the United Performing Arts Fund. the full-time, temporary job taught me a lot of things.
Like: I don't enjoy working alone, I need office-mates and co-workers to make me feel productive and connected. I don't like working from home. Many people love it, some would prefer that to going to a job every day, but not me. When I'm at home, I want to leave the J.O.B. in the office. Maybe that comes from more than 35 years in the news business where you do your story, forget it and go home. We tend to do that because often they are not stories we want to remember. Fires, murders, politicians... things we want to leave at the desk at work and not have to think about at the dinner table at home.
This may sound like i"m whining, but I really enjoyed working for UPAF and wish there had been some role I could fill with the organization, full- time.I will miss working in the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts and having that spectacular view of Milwaukee from the windows (even the window in the ladies room had a great view).
So, this ending is bitter- sweet. No more driving from downtown Milwaukee to Pewaukee twice in one day.. no more wrestling with UPAF balloons in the wind... but, no more chatting and enjoying the company of my fellow LE's and UPAF co-workers, either.
But, I'm keeping hope alive... this ending will lead to a new beginning that will take me iinto the directions I love and never end.
I love to begin things, but I really hate it when things I like, enjoy or love come to an end.
So it is that I have ended my 90 stint as a Loaned Executive for the United Performing Arts Fund. the full-time, temporary job taught me a lot of things.
Like: I don't enjoy working alone, I need office-mates and co-workers to make me feel productive and connected. I don't like working from home. Many people love it, some would prefer that to going to a job every day, but not me. When I'm at home, I want to leave the J.O.B. in the office. Maybe that comes from more than 35 years in the news business where you do your story, forget it and go home. We tend to do that because often they are not stories we want to remember. Fires, murders, politicians... things we want to leave at the desk at work and not have to think about at the dinner table at home.
This may sound like i"m whining, but I really enjoyed working for UPAF and wish there had been some role I could fill with the organization, full- time.I will miss working in the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts and having that spectacular view of Milwaukee from the windows (even the window in the ladies room had a great view).
So, this ending is bitter- sweet. No more driving from downtown Milwaukee to Pewaukee twice in one day.. no more wrestling with UPAF balloons in the wind... but, no more chatting and enjoying the company of my fellow LE's and UPAF co-workers, either.
But, I'm keeping hope alive... this ending will lead to a new beginning that will take me iinto the directions I love and never end.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Where did the "t" come from?
In the most recent past, maybe the last year or so, I have noticed that more and more people are pronouncing the "t" in the word "often". I understand that English is a living language and constantly adjusts itself to the introduction of new words, like "internet" and "Web site", but when did it become acceptable to pronounce the "t" in "often"?
It's not that I'm a pronunciation geek or anything... it's just that I have become a stickler for language because I had to say it out loud for so long. Below is the definition and pronunciation of the word from an online dictionary. "Online", another new word! The use of the "t" comes only in the third suggested pronunciation. The first and second are the ones that should be used. I think the third is just there to make all the "t"- sayers, happy.
When you look this up in the dictionary, you will also find a little speaker symbol that lets you hear the word pronounced... off-en.
So please, just to make me stop cringing, take the "t" out of your speech and pronounce the word correctly, often.
adverb
In the most recent past, maybe the last year or so, I have noticed that more and more people are pronouncing the "t" in the word "often". I understand that English is a living language and constantly adjusts itself to the introduction of new words, like "internet" and "Web site", but when did it become acceptable to pronounce the "t" in "often"?
It's not that I'm a pronunciation geek or anything... it's just that I have become a stickler for language because I had to say it out loud for so long. Below is the definition and pronunciation of the word from an online dictionary. "Online", another new word! The use of the "t" comes only in the third suggested pronunciation. The first and second are the ones that should be used. I think the third is just there to make all the "t"- sayers, happy.
When you look this up in the dictionary, you will also find a little speaker symbol that lets you hear the word pronounced... off-en.
So please, just to make me stop cringing, take the "t" out of your speech and pronounce the word correctly, often.
of·ten
[aw-fuhn, of-uhn; awf-tuhn, ]Saturday, February 11, 2012
Too many parents miss one of the great joys of their kids high school days... watching them participate in sports. There is nothing more fun on a Saturday afternoon, than squeezing yourself into a bleacher next to other parents who are just as loud and enthusiastic as you and screaming until your voice gets hoarse, as your son/daughter competes against other kids.
Soccer moms can be overly- excitable... football parents get to watch and winch as their child gets smacked into the ground... basketball moms, dads and various relatives watch junior run up and down the court with dreams of the NBA/WNBA in mind. Tennis parents... well don't get me started on my own sport!
But, swim families are special. Somebody has statistics that show that swimmers get better grades and are more successful in school than other athletes. That is because swimming is all- consuming. If that cute little boy or girl who used to belly- flop into the pool develops the passion to compete... they have no other life besides their books and training. They will also eat their families out of house and home.
An ordinary woman of my height, weight (don't go there!) and age should eat about 2,135 calories a day. A website calculation figures that a teenage boy in rigorous exercise daily, should eat about 3,500 to 4,000 calories daily! And, they do! Check out the refrigerator of any swim household..
But, back to the swim families. I just spent about 4 hours, jammed shoulder- to shoulder and hip- to- hip with parents stuffed into over-crowded bleachers, watching our sons swim. I have found these parents to be polite, sympathetic and very tolerant. After all, it gets really hot and humid at a swimming pool. We all wanted OUR boy to be the best... but, we also wanted him to DO his best. At a swim meet, the kid who comes crawling through the water... long after all the other swimmers have finished their laps and left the pool... gets as much applause as the winners. Swim parents also have to be understanding of swim traditions, like the kids bleaching and cutting their hair before big meets. Other sports have similar activities, I guess... but you can always tell when it is championship time in the high school when all the boys on the team, even the Black swimmers whose hair usually turns out red when bleached... come to school looking like Q-tips.
Parents, if you don't want to come to parent/teacher conferences... let your child get into a sport and go to the contests. That passion for winning can be turned into a passion for learning... and, you may even learn something about the school and other parents, too.
Soccer moms can be overly- excitable... football parents get to watch and winch as their child gets smacked into the ground... basketball moms, dads and various relatives watch junior run up and down the court with dreams of the NBA/WNBA in mind. Tennis parents... well don't get me started on my own sport!
But, swim families are special. Somebody has statistics that show that swimmers get better grades and are more successful in school than other athletes. That is because swimming is all- consuming. If that cute little boy or girl who used to belly- flop into the pool develops the passion to compete... they have no other life besides their books and training. They will also eat their families out of house and home.
An ordinary woman of my height, weight (don't go there!) and age should eat about 2,135 calories a day. A website calculation figures that a teenage boy in rigorous exercise daily, should eat about 3,500 to 4,000 calories daily! And, they do! Check out the refrigerator of any swim household..
But, back to the swim families. I just spent about 4 hours, jammed shoulder- to shoulder and hip- to- hip with parents stuffed into over-crowded bleachers, watching our sons swim. I have found these parents to be polite, sympathetic and very tolerant. After all, it gets really hot and humid at a swimming pool. We all wanted OUR boy to be the best... but, we also wanted him to DO his best. At a swim meet, the kid who comes crawling through the water... long after all the other swimmers have finished their laps and left the pool... gets as much applause as the winners. Swim parents also have to be understanding of swim traditions, like the kids bleaching and cutting their hair before big meets. Other sports have similar activities, I guess... but you can always tell when it is championship time in the high school when all the boys on the team, even the Black swimmers whose hair usually turns out red when bleached... come to school looking like Q-tips.
Parents, if you don't want to come to parent/teacher conferences... let your child get into a sport and go to the contests. That passion for winning can be turned into a passion for learning... and, you may even learn something about the school and other parents, too.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Wow!
That was all I could say when I heard that the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled in favor of the Milwaukee Public Schools and tossed- out the 11- year- old "Jamie S case."
I remember the day the suit was filed against MPS. It was September 13, 2001. I remember it well because of what had happened two days earlier. I covered that lawsuit for 7 years! Doing a story every 6 months or so at first, then only when something big was happening, like when the Department of Public Instruction settled with Disability Rights Wisconsin in 2008.
The suit claimed that "Jamie S." who was only 8 when the fight began, and other special needs students did not get into special services in the district. Later, it added that the DPI did not do a good job of overseeing MPS so that it would give appropriate services.
Over the years, I interviewed the mother of the plaintiff and talked to the law firm that MPS hired to defend its case. We probably can't add high enough to figure how many millions and millions of dollars were spent on this lawsuit. MPS said it was all covered by its insurance, but a lawsuit that lasts for 11 years is more than suing for somebody slipping on the ice in your driveway.
That was all I could say when I heard that the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled in favor of the Milwaukee Public Schools and tossed- out the 11- year- old "Jamie S case."
I remember the day the suit was filed against MPS. It was September 13, 2001. I remember it well because of what had happened two days earlier. I covered that lawsuit for 7 years! Doing a story every 6 months or so at first, then only when something big was happening, like when the Department of Public Instruction settled with Disability Rights Wisconsin in 2008.
The suit claimed that "Jamie S." who was only 8 when the fight began, and other special needs students did not get into special services in the district. Later, it added that the DPI did not do a good job of overseeing MPS so that it would give appropriate services.
Over the years, I interviewed the mother of the plaintiff and talked to the law firm that MPS hired to defend its case. We probably can't add high enough to figure how many millions and millions of dollars were spent on this lawsuit. MPS said it was all covered by its insurance, but a lawsuit that lasts for 11 years is more than suing for somebody slipping on the ice in your driveway.
MPS has claimed victory and Superintendent Gregory Thornton told the media “We will continue to provide quality special education services for
Milwaukee’s children”.
OK, well in the time it has taken for the lawsuit to crawl through the courts, thousands of students have come and gone through the Milwaukee Public Schools. Hundreds needed extra attention because of their special needs. Plans were created and things got a little better. Now, without a lawsuit hanging over its head, will the MPS give the kids with special needs all the help they deserve? Let's hope it doesn't take another 11 years to find out.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Monday, December 26, 2011
Taking Tests is Fun...
OK, so I'm a little odd that way.
When I was in grade school one of my classmates taught me a lesson about test-taking that has stuck with me through the years. His name was Dean Boettcher and one day when we were going to take a test and I was worried that I would do badly, he said "It's just a game". "What?" says I. "Taking a test is like playing a game." Dean said. "It's a game to see how much you know."
In that spirit, I try to teach my sons the same thing and I hope it is making an impression on them, too.
In preparing for the SAT and ACT tests... the all- important gatekeepers to a college education, I get a practice test question everyday in my email. The boys sometimes try them, but I have gotten to the point where I look forward to taking the quiz everyday. It automatically tells you if you are right or wrong and can even keep score for you over the days.
So, here is today's question of the day:
OK, so I'm a little odd that way.
When I was in grade school one of my classmates taught me a lesson about test-taking that has stuck with me through the years. His name was Dean Boettcher and one day when we were going to take a test and I was worried that I would do badly, he said "It's just a game". "What?" says I. "Taking a test is like playing a game." Dean said. "It's a game to see how much you know."
In that spirit, I try to teach my sons the same thing and I hope it is making an impression on them, too.
In preparing for the SAT and ACT tests... the all- important gatekeepers to a college education, I get a practice test question everyday in my email. The boys sometimes try them, but I have gotten to the point where I look forward to taking the quiz everyday. It automatically tells you if you are right or wrong and can even keep score for you over the days.
So, here is today's question of the day:
The following sentence
contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence
contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed
to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select
choice E.
| The Bear Gulch Limestone Formation | in | Montana is |
| A |
| a sequence of bedded limestone layers | up to | 90 |
| B |
| feet thick | and | approximately 8 miles | across | . | No | |
| C | D | E |
| error | |
A. 
(A)
(A)
B. (B)
(B)
C. (C)
(C)
D. (D)
(D)
E. (E)
(E)
I don't think you will get the automatic answer, so I will give it to you....
The correct answer is E
That one was too easy for you writers out there. But, how about the next one.
As we all know, my math skills could not get me a job at McDonald's and were it not for calculators on cell phones, I would still be using my fingers.
But, using the "game" theory on the following question... I got it RIGHT!
You try it and see how you do, then read on and I will tell you why I ace'd it.
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