Good googly, moogly, I need to rename this thing. This is only post 14, while my weekly photo challenge is 45 images.
Last Week
Last week was a tough week. The election did not go the way that I thought (hoped and prayed) it would. The next four years will be tough.
I won’t spend much time on this, but we did reach out to many people who will be even more intimately impacted than us.
Vacuum Cleaner
The brush for our vacuum cleaner broke. No problem in this day and age of the internet and everything being available, right? Wrong. Much searching led to, well, nothing. The part simply isn’t available. I did find a phone number to actually call Kenmore, wait, did I just say a phone number? Yes, yes I did. No online opportunities here. I made the phone call, waited on hold, then got to talk to someone. They don’t have them, but may be ordering soon. So, I have an order placed and will hope for the best.
BlueSky
Apparently, “everyone” is leaving Twitter, er X, for BlueSky. I’ve had an account on BlueSky, but I don’t really post there much. The thoughtful Cory Doctorow recently posted about not investing in other platforms that lock you in. I don’t want to invest in another platform as well. Seriously, go read the write-up by Cory Doctorow, lots and lots of good stuff in the write-up. I don’t want to have to move stuff. I want control over my data and what is happening with it. Thus, I’m trying to follow POSSE.
POSSE is Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere. Thus, I write here and then push those posts to Mastodon. Well, now I’m going to add BlueSky to that push. I’ve installed a plugin to make that happen, so we’ll see how much troubleshooting I have to do with that.
Oh, and I officially completely deleted my Twitter account. I had been holding off to retain my user name.
Podcast
There was no podcast last week. There won’t be one this week either.
Winter Prep
I’ve done a good bit of prep for winter. I’ve put away the table and chairs that were on the deck. The boat has been nestled away.
Stained Glass Frame
My wife has created some beautiful stained glass work. I’ve framed the latest one in an oak frame. I learned a bit about the framing process and hope to apply the knowledge in the future.
This was a wonderful weekend. We went to see The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the Portland Opera House. The original 1920’s version was accompanied by the Kotzschmar Organ. It was a fantastic experience to see the movie as it was originally intended, with an organ (or orchestra) providing the soundscape for the movie.
Tammy Faye
We also headed off to see Tammy Faye. This was Rm’s Birthday Surprise. We had a fantastic dinner and enjoyed the show.
I do note that “dressing up” doesn’t seem to be a thing for Broadway shows. I still like to dress up a bit and enjoy the show, but I was definitely in the minority.
Class
The class that I’m taking is getting close to the end. I’m taking a class on Teaching the Exceptional Student for my recertification. The class is a remote class delivered through Moodle. I’ve completed most of the requirements, with a couple of weeks to go.
52Frames
My streak on 52Frames has continued. I’ve now posted 43 pictures. Most of these are cross-posted here as well.
Quote and Song of the Day
Driving in to work, I had the idea of reaching out to a couple of friends that I don’t see very often. The idea was to share a song of the day, something that I’m listening to that they may not be aware of. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that maybe they wouldn’t want to be bothered or interested. Then I thought, but, ah, if they were willing to get it… So, I’m starting a Quote and Song of the Day project for my blog.
…And, after about a week, it is on hiatus. It seems that I’ve got a bit too much going on right now.
Movie Pre-roll AD
I was tasked with creating an Advertisement that would run in local movie theaters. This allowed me to refresh and expand on my Davinci Resolve skills.
Presidential Race
All I can say about the Presidential race is that I can’t belief that it is a race at all. This should be so simply obvious.
I’ve built a trailer (well it’s almost done, but it is usable at this point). The trailer is a Haulmaster that included a good bit of assembly. (It’s actually pretty amazing how a trailer can come in two small boxes.) Our small peddle boat fits nicely on the trailer. It’ll fit even better once I create a platform for it.
I still need to install the “floor” of the trailer, but that is cut and painted.
Acceleration
Acceleration is a new term we are using in XXXX instead of intervention. It’s means we ‘speed up’ the learning for struggling kids instead of slowing down. Apparently we have been doing intervention wrong the whole time. It’s Person A’s new favorite word.
A friend shared this following a discussion about educational initiatives. Essentially, the idea is that education has been doing “intervention” wrong. Instead of “intervening”, we need to be “accelerating”. This has been an interesting focus following the return to in-person instruction in schools following COVID protocols closing schools.
I’ve been worried about this for a while. It seems to me that we are seeing lots of “kids are falling behind” in news reports. This “falling behind” is the result of some BIG TEST (i.e. a standardized test). I have mixed feelings about the BIG TEST. Certainly, some standards of knowing things can be revealed via multiple-choice tests. However, humanness is not a multiple-choice problem.
Another issue that I’ve seen arise is that kids are struggling in several emotional ways. This is being covered as a result of COVID. I’m not convinced. I think that those problems have always been there, we just haven’t chosen to focus on them or make them important.
Fountain Pen
Cleaned out my favorite fountain pen and re-inked it. I went with blue this time. I usually use a red (Dragon Red), purple (Imperial Purple), or green. So, a traditional blue is unusual for me.
Flow
I’ve been working on implementing workflows at work. I have my first process in the testing phase. Everything works, but there is a desire for a slightly different process. So, I’m working on making that happen.
Rambling Readers
I’ve tried to import my reading list to Rambling Readers without much success.
Windows
The window installation started on Tuesday. Friday was a day off (really wish that I would’ve known that). Monday was the final installation day.
Getting windows installed is very disruptive. Rm and Hazel (I don’t use either as a password), had to manage to stay away from the installers.
The windows are a nice upgrade in general. We’re looking forward to the lack of a draft through the windows this winter.
We did have a couple of issues. After the windows were installed, I went into my office to open the top (back) window. To my surprise, it went down about 3 inches and stopped. Upon looking at the window, I could see a plastic collar in the track. I asked the installer, who said we could take it out, it wasn’t anything that they installed. Hm. I did a web search. Looking through the manufacturer’s website, United Windows, I could find no reference to this “feature”. So I called and chatted with a Representative. The Rep stated that I needed an Order number before she could help. I gave her the model of the window, and just about everything on the sticker, but she couldn’t help. We went back and forth a few times, she stated she was talking to an “engineer”, but without the Order Number, well….
I also called the salesperson. He got back to me and stated that they could be removed. Apparently, they are there to “protect” the back balances. These can be safely removed and the back window opens fully. Huh? How about designing the window to “protect” the back balances or making the back balances in a way that doesn’t need protection? We’ll see how they last.
We also replaced a large plain window in the back of the house. The window didn’t open at all. We replaced it with a window that has two casement windows on either end and muntins along the top section. It is a major improvement.
Labor Day Weekend
I finally scheduled some time to do a tile installation with my daughter. She had picked up some tiles that were returned/abandoned.
The tile is for the breezeway between the house and garage. We were able to get the cement board put down, and then get the tile installed on Saturday.
On Sunday, we grouted. (I say, we, but she did the vast majority of the work.)
Monday, she sealed the floor. She’s very happy with the results.
My mother-in-law arrived to visit. Her plane was delayed quite a while due to not having a pilot certified to land on a shorter runway. The Jet Port in Portland is renovating its landing areas and close the longer runway overnight. Since her plane was scheduled to land after 11 p.m., it would be using the shorter runway. Apparently, the co-pilot was certified to land, but they needed both pilots to be certified. It took several hours for a crew to be identified and assigned. An 11 p.m. pick-up became a 4:30 a.m. pick-up.
Graduation
D2 has officially completed all the “graduation” stuff. She was willing to participate in the official commencement exercises, so we got to see her walk across the stage and get “hooded”. The trip was a nice time. My mother-in-law also was able to witness her graduating.
Workflows
I’ve begun working on truly implementing workflows for work. We have a WordPress set up, the appropriate plug-ins installed (Gravity Forms and Gravity Flow), as well as the mail system. I had to take a break to work on some video work (see below), but it is coming along.
MLTI Conference
We took about 45 kids to the MLTI conference this year. I met them up at the University of Maine since my house is between work and the University. It was a nice experience for the kids. The kids attended two sessions plus a closing experience. I was assigned six eighth-grade boys. They were great.
Video
I spent a full day and a bit time the next day editing a video for work. There was an important School Board Workshop. We use an OWLY to record the meeting. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really capture the slides being presented. So, I inserted the slides into the video. Thank you “Picture in Picture” within iMovie. This does take a good bit of work. Not the most exciting work, but important.
City Chicken
Rm and my mother-in-law made City Chicken(breaded chunks of pork and veal on a skewer) today. We invited a couple of friends over (who have never had City Chicken). This was the first time for Rm to make City Chicken.
As always with Rm’s cooking, the meal was fantastic. There was a crumble for dessert, with real homemade whipped cream brought by the guests. The company was great as well.
Charm
We took my mother-in-law for a trip on the Schooner Charm. Rm and I took her mom out on the Charm for an afternoon sail. The weather was sunny and beautiful. There was a hint of a breeze.
Rm was dazzling as always. Her mom was jacketed and hatted. Her mom said that she enjoyed the trip.
The Captain was entertaining. He relays the history of the schooner. It is easy to see that he enjoys doing this.
Dinner
For dinner, we walked down to Nautilus Seafood and Grill. They have a pretty wide menu, helpful given my mother-in-law’s taste, so we were all able to find a good dinner. It was also surprisingly affordable. I had the Fish and Chips, one of my favorites, while my lovely wife had a Haddock sandwich. My mother-in-law had the pulled pork sandwich. They also had burgers, other sandwiches, and lots of seafood options.
52 Frames
I’ve now completed 21 straight weeks of the 52 Frames Photo Challenge.
Well, given that I submitted my 19th consecutive 52Frames photo, and this is Weekly Review 10, I’m tracking at just about a “weekly” review every two weeks.
I’ve had a couple of interesting weeks though since my last posting.
Vacation
First and foremost, Rm and I took a bit of a vacation. This seems odd to me as it was always tough to take a vacation during the school year. New times.
The audience was requested to come in early as there were experiences before the show. The doors opened and we were led along a lengthy walk. Partway through, we were handed a shot of cherry schnapps. This was to be consumed prior to entering.
The Before Show show featured several dancers and musicians. It was well done and entertaining.
Cabaret was really well done and entertaining. There is so much applicability to our times. The cast was wonderful, filled with lots of good performances.
I did note that not everyone “dresses” for the theater. The prevalence of baseball caps and jeans on gents as old as or older than me was interesting.
This was a wonderful evening.
WordPress process
I think that I’ve found the process for embedding my pictures (for now). Generally, I upload my pictures to Google Photos, free storage, and then use Labnol to create a link to the image. This is because Google Photos doesn’t allow embedding. Anyway, I create the link in Labnol. Then I use the direct link (not the embed) to add an image in WordPress. I also use the direct link to add the “Featured Image”. Next, add the Alt Text, always add appropriate alt text.
OBS Frustration
OBS is powerful. I need to learn more about it. Every once in a while, a frustration point arises though. The current frustration point is that the mouse pointer is misaligned with the location on the screen. This makes it frustratingly hard to resize anything as it is nearly impossible to click a handle. I’ve been doing some research, but no answers as of yet.
Google Filters
I just went to save Filter view of the spreadsheet in Google Sheets, and things have changed. Not for the better.
It used to be that Sheets had a disclosure triangle next to the filter icon. Any saved filters would be listed. Very handy. Now, not only are saved filters hidden in a Menu item, but even getting to where you can save a filter is under the Menu item as well.
Camera Backpack
I’ve picked up a new camera backpack. I went with something a little different. I’m not sure different is good here, but we’ll see. This one has two sections, a top that is like a traditional backpack, and a bottom that opens from the front. The idea is that all of the lenses go in the bottom section, nicely protected, while the camera and accessories go in the top. One problem is that the divider uses velcro to keep the division. This took a while to get to where if felt secure. I’m still a bit suspicious of it.
Interview Project
I got the opportunity to teach a couple of eighth-grade classes how to record and transcribe interviews. They will be interviewing someone who has immigrated to Maine. They won’t appreciate how much easier transcription is now, but I sure do.
Blogging
So, I’ve learned that the value of blogging is mostly very personal and limited. I’ve been extremely happy that I posted about something. In one case, I was looking for something really specific, doing the generic Google search, and found that the best write-up was by me.
So, I’ve learned to search my blog for questions that I have. In the process of doing so, I discovered a write-up on Being Quoted. This brought me a smile. Maybe I should randomly pull up a blog post in the future. Or, maybe I should find an application that randomly pulls up a quote from my blog for me.
Mother’s Day
Both kids were around for Mother’s Day. They made a wonderful breakfast of eggs benedict. There were also some plants planted.
We spent Easter afternoon with D1 and a friend of hers. Dinner was wonderful (mac and cheese and broccoli). A puzzle was completed and the Tiger game was on the projector. The Tigers are now 3-0 (all one-run games).
Teri Kanefield
The wonderful Teri Kanefield post the Ronna McDaniel Story. Teri is a national treasure. Read her stuff. She is logical and respectful. She has great examples and provides a balanced perspective.
“We tell the truth, even when it offends some of the people who pay us for information.”
Snow
Even though we’ve had very little snow this winter, we got a bunch last week and are predicted to have more this week. So much for picking up the heat mats, getting the flowers out, installing the landscape lighting, etc.
VLOOKUP
I had a frustrating experience with a VLOOKUP use case this week. I had a spreadsheet and wanted to match up a couple of columns. So, I created two tabs for that information.
The two tabs from which I’m pulling from are labeled ML, and SN.
One worked,
=VLOOKUP(B2,SN!A2:F,4,FALSE)
one did not:
=VLOOKUP(B2,ML!A2:F,2,FALSE)
Since there really wasn’t that much information on the sheet and copy and pasted the information onto the first sheet. Then, I used:
=VLOOKUP(A2,$N$3:$O$8,2,FALSE)
Which worked fine and dandy. I still don’t know why the original didn’t work. This is why you always do a sanity check though. I didn’t get an error message, just no data was marked.
Keybow2040
Still haven’t solved the Keybow2040 programming yet.
Tools
I did get a bit of time to work on cleaning up the shed and (starting) to organize the garage. I got the workbench cleaned off in the shed. I installed an overhead light (not correctly wired yet, but functional). I put up a board and mounted a couple of battery chargers in the garage. I still have lots of work to do to get things organized, but small steps were completed.
Audio Hijack
Audio Hijack has an update. I should know better than to run an update just before recording a show, but…
The update seems to have broken my workflow. After the update, only one side of the podcast recorded. I reached out to Rogue Amoeba, the developer of Audio Hijack, and got a very quick response. After two emails, the issue was solved. I’ll need to use a different workflow, but all should be good again.
Update, not all good again. I was able to record the podcast, but I had to record off of a different microphone. I’ll continue to doing troubleshooting until I figure out the exact issue. Rogue Amoeba is also asking for logs.
D2 visit
Pancakes
I made pancakes this morning. These came out flatter than usual, but still tasty,.
Apparently, the Yard Goats went looking for old laws. They found one that stated that a pickle was only good if it bounces. Apparently, in 1948, there were arrests made because someone was selling pickles that didn’t bounce.
The park, Dunkin’ Park, is very nice. There is something about minor league baseball. The parks are small, and the teams work hard at including the fans. Like many other teams, the Yard Goats made things fun.
The game was a good game too. The Yard Goats ended up victorious, 7-4. We had a bit of light rain, sunshine, and clouds. Mostly, the weather was pretty comfortable.
*And, yes, I did buy a T-shirt with a Pickle on a pogo stick.
Podcast
Successfully recorded the podcast today. Still having issues with Audio Hijack, but I was able to figure out a way to record the show. Everything is posted and all good.
Travel
Traveling to D2, I listened to the first half of a Tiger’s Double Header. The first game was interesting until the 12th inning. Then things went really south.
52Frames
Completed my 52Frames Challenge for this week as well. The challenge was technology. Since I work in technology, I had figured that this would be an easy one. However, I wanted to do the Extra Challenge of a “cinematic” picture. I had to do some reviewing on what makes a picture cinematic. After some review, many of my original Technology thoughts didn’t line up with cinematic. So, then I thought that I’d take a picture of train tracks with the switching equipment. I did take some pictures of train switching lights, but decided the technology link was too weak. So, I took a picture of my laptop sitting on the deck railing at evening. This worked better for the cinematic features.
Thai Dinner
D2 and I went to small local Thai diner. This was the epitome of local diner. The service was, well, lacking. The food was good though. We even got a kick out of the TV running Roku and playing YouTube videos.
Taxes
I finished up taxes for me and my mother-in-law today. I had a bit of tough go with the pensions and how to code them. There are some things that just don’t make sense. Let’s say that your pension is a defined pension from a private company. Let’s also say that you are over 73 years old. Once you are over 73 years old, you have to take a required minimial distribution (RMD) from your 401K or IRA. However, a defined pension doesn’t have an RMD, you get the same amount from the day you retire. Yet, you have to mark whether or not the amount was RMD or not. Plus, you have to commit that you have taken your RMD. Researching that to make sure that things were right was less than fun.
Today was a great day to hunker down with a blanket and a book. That is, it was windy, rainy, and cold. Instead, I spent it finishing up taxes. I hear in other countries, this process is quick and easy.
Trevor Ragan
Trevor was a really good presenter. He focuses on learning. His presentation revolves largely around three areas:
Growth Mindset (which he gets correct)
Stress Mindset
Psychology Safety
He kept us engaged and learning for three hours. He’s not one of the flash over substance people. He talked a good bit about the nuances and gray areas of research and learning.
He has a free “audiobook” (hint: it’s really a podcast). I put the podcasts into a single file though, so now it is more like an audiobook.
He has a ton of YouTube and Podcast material available. I’ll be checking out some more of his stuff.
Eclipse
I got to a chance to be home for the eclipse. I had a pair of glasses ready to go.
My town was not in the totality. However, it was close. My town was listed as 97.6%. The eclipse was said to start at 14:18 EDT. The mid-eclipse was to be at 15:31.
I’m glad that I got to experience this. This was definitely something that is hard to fully explain. There was something very eerie, more so than words will convey.
School was canceled due to snow, ice, and trees being down. We kept our power but had a good bit of ice. I ran the snowblower on Saturday to get everything cleared out. However, the snow turned to ice/rain/snow/sleet mix. Sunday morning I felt more like I was running a Zamboni than a snowblower. Fortunately, my neighbor plowed the end of the driveway for me.
The roads were good. Our town and the neighboring ones were good at staying on top of plowing the roads. Thus, grocery shopping was completed.
I used the day of working from home to get some work done.
Keybow 2040
I also spent a little bit of time working on programming the Pimaroni Keybow 2024. It’s a neat little device, but I don’t have tons of Python experience, so it’s proving, well, frustrating. I can get the basic programming to work, i.e. the keys enter numbers or letters and light up when depressed. However, I’m struggling with advanced coding to get a key to open a webpage. I don’t seem to be the only one as I’ve seen several posts asking the same question but no one posts the actual answer. Occasionally, they will say, ah, I got it. However, they don’t post the actual “it”.
So, I’ll keep on working on this as I get time. If you know CircuitPY and would like to shoot me some code on assigning a key to a website, gosh, I’d be appreciative.
Taxes
I’ve completed our taxes, which seems like it is harder than it should be. I’m no billionaire, so I pay taxes. Plus, I get to file in multiple states.
Make People Sad
Sometimes in my job, I have to tell people “no”. Sometimes, I have to tell people that they can’t use a “thing” that they like to use. I heard another Tech Director express this as sometimes my job is to “make people sad”. I laughed. That’s a great way of expressing this. It was also nice to hear that others have to do this as well.
This was part of the Cyber Storm event that I took part in. Cyber Storm is a preparation exercise to help schools prepare for cyber intrusions, network issues, cyber incidents, and more. The training was great. It was nice to know that others are dealing with some of the same issues.
Otter AI
I also shared a note about Otter.AI. Otter AI is a Zoom plug-in that records everything that is said and provides a transcript. It is especially popular for some Special Needs parents. Their pitch is that you never need to take notes. Think about this though. They are recording everything that is said during a meeting for a special needs situation. Think about the potentially private, personal information shared during those meetings.
Caulking
Not my favorite job, but once again this weekend I caulked. The thing is that the caulk removal and cleaning is a ton of work. The actual caulking is pretty quick. Nice clean caulk is now in place though.
52Frames
I scrolled through the 52Frames Photo Challenge. I tried to “like” a variety of photos (that I actually liked). My idea was to give some positive feedback. I know that I enjoy getting a notification that someone liked one of my photos, so I thought that I’d share that love a little bit.
I’ve continued to submit pictures to 52Frames. I’m enjoying the process and the satisfaction of meeting the submission guidelines. I’m generally posting those separately, so I won’t repeat them here.
Oh William!
I did read Oh William! by Elizabeth Stroud. I enjoyed it very much. I document my books read under the Hobbies tab. I probably should redo that as it is currently an HTML table.
We enjoyed the wonderful Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit live in concert this week. He is always good. If you get a chance, go see him.
The opener wasn’t our favorite. The concert did start on time, though the wait between the opener finishing and Jason Isbell starting was a little longer than I thought.
CBG
We ended up at CBG for dinner before the concert. It’s a nice little “dive bar”. I had a smash burger that was very satisfying.
Sam Spade Ending
Rm and I watched the rebooted Sam Spade. We enjoyed most of the show except for the ending. The show seemed to be more reflective of old-time shows. Clive Owen is wonderful. The whole show is beautifully filmed.
Ah, but the ending. Lots can be forgiven in a show. But the ending of this one was inexcusable.
Steak and Martini’s
Sometimes the very best dinners are at home. We had some wonderful steaks, with roasted potatoes, and carrots.
Plus, we hadn’t had martini’s in a while, so….
Perfect pairing.
52Frames
I have kept my 52Frames streak alive. This week was on intentional camera movement (ICM). Although this isn’t my usual photography jam, I did enjoy the process and learning with this one. I want to experiment a little bit more in the future.
Faucet Switch
Also had the opportunity to help my daughter switch out a faucet. Having the right tools can be crucial. Sometimes, it is helpful if something is installed badly. In this case, the sink wasn’t actually attached to anything (other than pipes), so we were able to flip it over and get everything accomplished.
Bezzle
I finished reading The Bezzle by Cory Doctorow. The book is very much in line with Cory’s thoughts and focus of late. This is the second book in a series on Martin Hench, Forensic Accountant. It has a different style and feel than the first Martin Hench book (Red Team Blues). I enjoyed both books.
Well, I had a “workcation” this past week. The week was filled with painting two rooms. This took a bit longer than expected. I had expected more efficiencies from doing two rooms at once than I actually saw. It certainly didn’t take twice as long, but longer than I had hoped.
Thus, between painting and keeping Hazel active (hey, a dog’s got to play), my week “off” certainly didn’t feel like it.
Hidden Potential
I did finish Adam Grant’s book “Hidden Potential”. It’s a generally quick and easy read. There wasn’t a ton of new information (learning styles, don’t exist, it’s OK to fail, etc) for me, but lots of good reminders. For example, I know that it’s OK to fail, and actually more productive, but I fail to implement that in my life (see what I did there). It was a great reminder for me to get out of my comfortable level and try things, fail at them and work on improving.
This is a good book to share with students and the younger people in your life. (*Nothing wrong with those older reading it too, it’s just like the adage that the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago.)
With a week off, it’s time for some fun and excitement. That’s right, it’s time to paint! Well, maybe not so much fun and excitement as a lot of work and disruption. However, I know that when it’s done, I’ll be quite happy.
More paint prep. This always takes longer than I think. Plus, doing two rooms seems like a bit more than twice the work. You’d think it would feel a bit less than two as it should be more efficient. This may be just a bit of mental jiu-jitsu. It may really take less time and be more efficient, it just isn’t feeling that way right now.
I bought two gallons of paint (different colors). As is usual, got a paint opening tool, a couple of spouts, and three stir sticks. Wait. Three stir sticks? What is the math that goes on in the head of the person mixing the paint?
Photo Challenge
I was able to submit for the Photo Challenge again this week. I actually had a couple of pictures that I liked.
Website Update
I finally got around to reviewing the theme for this site. I made a change. Originally, I was looking at some themes that are much more picture intensive. However, I realized that I don’t have a ton of highly engaging pictures of me, and no interest in trying to create them, and I prefer to have full blog posts displayed. Most of the visually focused themes default to the blog summary instead of the blog post. I’ve always focused on the whole blog post rather than the summary. In practice, this means that the summaries are less than ideal. I’m working on writing better summaries, but this means that a layout with lots of pictures and summaries didn’t reflect what I wanted.
Rememberances
A couple of “oldies but goodies” came up in some discussions today.
