Category: Weekly Review (Page 2 of 7)

Anniversary

Today (well, a day last month) is the day that I officially wed my wonderful, fun, loving, smart, intelligent, beautiful wife. Turns out that the priest didn’t actually file some paperwork, so we got to do it again with our kids as witnesses. So many great years together.

AI

This year is going to continue to be about AI in schools. There are lots of concerns (e.g. water usage, power consumption, copyright, moral, etc), but the reality is that AI will be part of our (and our students) lives. I’m planning on lots of training and information for our staff.

Technology and Respect

I had an interesting chat with a fellow Tech Director the other day. We were doing the general chat thing, when the other Tech Director noted Technology Directors are the “Rodney Dangerfields” of education. (*To those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Dangerfield, he was well known for the line “I get no respect”). The Tech Director noted how difficult it was to get training time with teachers. Teachers have so very little professional development time. There are so many things that teachers could grow and develop with opportunity.

The other Tech Director went on with another example. “I was at XXX, and noticed that there were reserved parking spaces for the Superinendent, Director of Business, Director of Curriculum, Director of Food Services”. Notice which Director is missing? It’s not about the parking space, but the mind space.

Things I Learned This Week

Take hearing aids out if using an electric beard trimmer

Yea, not my most shining moment. On one hand, I’m so used to wearing hearing aids that I don’t really think about it. On the other, I thought that I wasn’t getting close enough to be an issue (wrong on that one). Those little wire tubes do split nicely though.

Facebook in Maine

In Maine, businesses may not update their website (check Facebook, they may update that). The kids invited us to go skating. They checked the website and the skating rink was opened from 7:30 – 10:00 p.m. The kids picked us up and we headed off to skate. However, when we arrived, they were pretty obviously closed. A little more searching, AND, there is a Facebook post stating that they take July off and are closed. I don’t use Facebook.

Flowers

My wife has done an absolutely fantastic job of planting, cultivating, and growing flowers around the house. The yard looks absolutely fantastic.

A Little Taste of Michigan

It turns out that you can order an Olga’s Snackers Kit directly from Olga’s. I can confirm that they are wonderful. I would lower the air fryer temperature just a bit though.

52Frames

I broke my string of a year and half of posting in 52Frames. The killer is that I had a picture ready to go, but decided to wait until Sunday. See, I was taking a hike with my youngest, and knew that I was taking my camera. So, week 30, Unusual Crop has no entry from me. My submission would’ve been a whale seen from a boat.

Garage Organization

I’m finally making progress on organizing my garage. I still have a ways to go, but the tool organization means that I can actually find tools now. I’ve also made efforts on small parts.

Jesse Terry

We went on Monday night to see Jesse Terry. Jesse Terry is an independent artist who has created some wonderful music. We had to go to Castine in order to see the show. This is a two-hour drive. Gee, if only we had a concert venue* near us.

On the way, we stopped in Bucksport for dinner at Chalee Thai-Sushi. The food was terrific. The place is small, with three dine-in chairs, but obviously owned and operated by a passionate couple. We chose to “take-out” and walked down the stairs to a picnic table.

It was a good show. He played straight through for a little over two hours. It is absolutely wonderful to hear the story behind the songs. This just deepens and enriches the song.

(* We have a terrific concert venue which is wholly under utilized. A local restaurant has more events at Johnson Hall than Johnson Hall does. However, most of those are posted on Facebook, so I can’t see those.)

My “weekly” update is frequently not weekly. This time, it’s not really my fault. I spent nine days in the hospital as it appears that I have outlived myself (at least my gallbladder). The ordeal lasted a couple of weeks as the original diagnosis was not gallbladder removal. I learned that I apparently have a decent pain threshold.

Anyway, I’m on the road to recovery now. I’m still very tired and working on rebuilding my strength and stamina. Appreciate good health if you’ve got it.

Doug Belshaw

A special shout-out to Dr. Doug Belshaw. His blog, Doug Belshaw has been an inspiration for me. The whole concept of a “weekly update” was stolen directly from him. I like to think of him as a friend, even though we’ve only met in real life once (and I’m absolutely positive he wouldn’t remember that). But I’d like to think that we could tip a pint and discuss various topics were we closer in geographic proximity.

Doug has shared his journey through life, including health and employment. I’ve benefitted from his thoughts. My site is pretty much just for me, but I do appreciate Mr. Belshaw.

Back to Work

I’ve been cleared to return to work this week. We’ll see how it goes as I was also informed that I may need to take naps during the day. The week was productive at work. I ended up working three days in the office and two days from home. On Monday I worked from home to see how I would tolerate a regular time schedule. That went well, so Tuesday through Thursday was in the office. I found meetings of two hours a bit tiring, but manageable. On Friday, I had a Doctor follow-up and a couple of online meetings. It didn’t seem productive to go in, so working from home it was.

Podcast

Our Podcast, Middle School Matters was one of our shortest shows ever. My energy level was low. Since I’ve been laid up for a couple of weeks, I didn’t have lots of new stuff to contribute.

However, we are the number two middle school podcast on Podfeed.

The last show (March 29th), was a traditional show for us. I had much more energy and resources to contribute.

Prognosis

I’ll be taking it easy for a few more weeks. Occassional naps, rest built-in to the day, no lifting, and generally accepting that I can’t do everything that I want. Hopefully, this all ends up resulting in a full recovery and I can then start an exercise program to rebuild strength.

New Lens

I did purchase a new lens. I picked up a Sigma 150-600mm telephoto lens. I’ve only made it out once to take a few test shots. I like the lens a ton, but I’m going to need some practice to get the most out of it.

Ah, the misnamed “Weekly Update”. It’s been a while since I posted, but there has been a lot going on. The changes in the United States are tough to digest.

We also took a long-planned vacation. This is the first time that I’ve taken a vacation during the school year. I’ll be posting separately about that.

I’ve been continuing with the work at work, and I’ve realized that some things need to be done differently. So, there is much to do.

I’ve got some pictures to process from vacation, so hopefully I can share some of those soonish.

I’ve also been doing a bit more reading lately. I’ve finished The Faithful Executioner (by Joel Harrington), On The Bright Side – The New Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen (by Hendrick Groen), and The Memory Palace (by Nate Dimeo) recently.

Trailer

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.