Kill my last, best source of anime.;) I'm too poor to buy the DVDs, and won't go into Blockbuster on moral grounds (I used to work for them!), plus the closest one is a 1/2 hour away. The local video store just gives me a blank stare when I ask for any. (Or any movie more than 2 or 3 years old.)
Every home schooled person I've come across (warning! sample size of one!) has had problems interacting with people.
Funny, I've had the opposite experience. When I worked at a science museum a few years ago, I supervised a number of volunteer docents. Two of the three best I had were homeschooled kids who had their afternoons free, so they were there when the "normal" schoolkids started to trickle in. Not only could they deal with younger kids, they could also handle the parents. I had zero problem with those kids - I wish I could have said the same thing for the adult volunteers.
les
Oh, and third, there's no standard way of communicating learning disability situations to universities... there's no little black circle to fill in for dyslexia or attention deficit disorder, for example. And if you decide to send a note to every school you apply to so that they'll know and adjust for it... their adjustment will probably be more like not letting you in because they know you'll cost them more money and time than, let's say, any of the normal alcoholics attending colleges today.
Depends on where you're trying to attend. A big public college, more than likely this will happen. A private college (which actually tend to give out more scholarship money) with a low student:teacher ratio probably would - they hve the time, and usually even the motivation to work with the student.
Instead, I think that college admissions people should heavily consider transcripts. More than just GPA, the amount and grades in advanced classes and college classes (whether AP or taken through local college) can give the most accurate representation of a student's ability.
This wouldn't be much better, in some cases. I went to a rural high school. Forunately, my senior year, they offered 2 AP classes for the first time, but there wasn't a college close enough to take classes at. (Believe me, I would have if I could!)
I work in the Admissions office for a small private college. We have an option for anyone who can't/doesn't want to submit test scores, or who has problems testing - submit a personal portfolio of what you can do, and what you've accomplished in your life. It doesn't reduce your chances of getting in; if anything, it may raise them, because the committee has to actually look at an evaluate those applications on their merits. It may take longer to get an answer, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. (Our application is also shorter than some, and doesn't have to be typed.;>)
The only thing that kids of today put their efforts into is dealing drugs, getting alcohol and committing crimes. Have you ever lived in one of our cities? The kids there do nothing apart from hang around doing these things, because they've never had any discipline or a good schooling system that encourages team sports and other activities.
I think you should get to know some teenagers. For every drug addict/drunk/criminal in public schools today, there are 10 trying to keep their heads down and get through school. The two high schools my sister attended are a good example (one of which I also went to, 6 years before). The large public one had a surprisingly low instance of both violence and drug and alcohol abuse. (It wasn't such a good place to learn in, but...::shrug::) The second one had practically none at all. It was a private school, which she paid most of the tution *herself*, from having saved most of her money from part-time jobs before and during her senior year, when she attended there. My graduating class and hers only had one alcohol-related death each, and in both cases, it wasn't the students' faults - both were hit by other drunk drivers, while being stone sober themselves.
My sister also worked to pay her own way through an AAS in nursing, and is working for her BSN now too. I'm acquainted with a teenage boy who works two jobs, one as an engineering assistant at the SO's company, and he's going to be able to pay the slack his college scholarship won't cover. Think kids are all lazy today?
What's funny about this is that this is exactly what they tell their MCSE trainees *not* to do.;) I ought to know - I'm studying for that AND my Sair Linux, A+, and CCNA. You wonder why I'm going crazy?;)
>The deer guy? I lived somewhere with shitloads
>of deer, too (there were 19 on my lawn once),
>and I never hit any. To some degree, it's luck,
>but it's also a test of reflexes. The insurance
>company sees two claims in six months, and
>figures that either a) you suck at driving, b)
>you like hitting deer, or c) you drive at risky
>times in risky places. Consequently, you end up
>having to pay more for insurance. You still got
>insurance, it just cost more.
Getting hit from the side? How the hell do you avoid that? I grew up where there was a lot of deer too, and my mom got hit from the side once. We almost slammed into another one time which was standing in the middle of the road, just beyond a curve. (Hill country, don't you know.) Sometimes it's reflexes, but not always.
Adjusted market value? Let's see, minimum wage is, what, $5.50 an hour now...?
I'm only being partly facetious. My last job - which was supposed to be tech support but wasn't, which is a story in and of itself - paid $8/hr. I'd take that at this point.
I've been looking for my first IT position since March, but, as a US citizen, I want more money for less hours than many people here on an H-1B visa. So I'm SOL. No, I have no experience. I can't *get* any experience. McDonalds, here I come!
#1: Even though I'm a fan (though I haven't read the comics in yearsa), I didn't want to sit in the movie theater with even short bios of every single character. Interesting, yes, but it would have taken the whole 1 1/2 hours to accomplish that, and would have alienated the non-fans in the theater with me. Their attitude was "Okay, he shoots these beams out of his eyes, and he needs that visor thingie to control it." Good enough.
#2: The "villian" of the story is people's own intolerance of those who are different. Magneto is a tragic antagonist, Charles a flawed protagonist. Charles *would* fight the non-mutants if they endangered his "children", and told Magneto such.
#3: Mystique didn't say much? Wait. She's not dead yet.;)
There are a lot more female Slashdot readers here than I ever thought. And yes, I know it feels like we're always shouting into the wind trying to be heard, but most never seem to.
Me? I played with Legos growing up, have had one computer or another since I was 8, freelance programmer and HTML coder, sys admin in training, and gamer (I played the *original* Wolfenstein, pre-3D). I'm the official geek in the family - my husband is "only" a draftsman (sorry, hon ). He games too, and some of our tastes overlap. Starcraft is his big one, and I like it OK, but I tend to prefer the C&C engine. Old as it is (::taps foot at Blizzard::) I like Diablo, a lot. And one of the character choices is (an albeit scantily clat) female. TR is OK - she's an intelligent female character, even if I wish she'd wear a bit more, and the gameplay's somewhat fun. And yes, I like SimCity - I want 3000 desperately - and related games, like Civ, Alpha Centauri, etc. I often multitask a SC2K game when I'm doing my homework. Helps me focus better. I use Win95 at home, because the stuff I need doesn't work well under WINE (yet), and my Linux box isn't up and running at the moment. I donated the monitor to my mother-in-law to replace her dead one, so she can still EM and keep up with her kids. And play Solitaire.;)
Side note, to whoever couldn't find Myth2 games online? Check out Kali. Yes, to get a regular account, you do have to pay, but it's a one-time fee, and I've yet to find any game that's capable of being networked that you *can't* play over there. I also tend to run into fewer PKs and jerks over there.
I don't own a gun, I do own a computer and use it daily, I like RTS games, I love the Internet, I work in a tech position, I'm studying for my A+ cert... And I'm a firm believer in the Man from Nazareth. I don't see any conflict there.:) I'm not an "establishment" Christian, though. My faith was as much shaped by Godspell and Cotton Patch Gospel as it was by Southern Baptists, Presbyterians, and my Catholic (::gasp::;>) elementary school. I accept not everyone is going to agree with me - not even my husband does. He grew up Nazarene, who seem to be fond of "thou shalt nots": no dancing, no movies, etc. Though I agree with other things the talk about.:) But it's not cause enough to beat someone's head in over it. I'd rather debate it, and maybe both of us come away being more open minded for it.
On-topic: this game seems to me (without having played it yet) rather cheesy, and the Christian basis on the thin side. Nowhere does it say you can become either angel or demon. That makes me a little uncomfortable - either do it right, or don't bother.
Re: The Apocrypha. Sometimes called the Intertestament Books. Not everyone leaves them out - the Catholics don't, neither do the Orthodox. The ones that do (who have thought about it, and not just taken as law whatever their preacher says) do so not because there's anything wrong with them, but because there isn't enough historical evidence to back them up (only in a few of the oldest manuscripts, instead of most of them), or that don't have much spiritual conent (1,2 (3,4) Maccabees. Good history, mind you, but that's about it.)
Re: the person who wanted to know how Christians reconcile the two Testaments. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets(the Old Testament); I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." That's from the New Testament. (MT 13:17)
I've been going to the Master's Institute in San Jose, via their distance learning option. I'm working on an Associates in System Administration. It's a regular AAS - includes GenEd like English, Psych, etc. - and in the process, I'm getting my certification training for A+, MCSE, CNE, and CCNA. So far it seems to be a fair mix of concepts (cf., networking) and specifics (Cisco routers). The local community college has a Networking AAS, but it's nothing compared to the program I'm in.
When I talk about it, it sounds like I watched a massive amount of TV as a kid, but it boils down to 1/2 hour after I got home from school, an hour or two after dinner/homework, a couple hours Saturday morning, and a couple hours Saturday and Sunday afternoon each, most of that with my dad and the old Westerns. In between, I was at school, doing homework, or expected to be outside if the weather was nice. Guess what? I normally took a book outside and climbed the apple tree where no one could bother me! Exercise *and* expanding my mind. And when I watched TV, most things my mom at least also watched with me, or I watched what my parents were watching - only one TV in the house. *gasp* Other than that, I had free reign on PBS. I can't ever find anything good on there now, but I used to watch everything. Evening at Pops, Matinee at the Bijou, Sesame Street, Nova, 3-2-1 Contact, Electric Company... You wonder why I'm an eclectic?;) I got science, English, culture, etc. I learned more Spanish from Sesame Street than I did from two years worth in high school, and that's what I still remember.
I never had, and still don't have, a TV in my bedroom. My sister never had one until she changed colleges and moved back home, she still had the one from her dorm room. But even now, she generally watches the TV in the family room, sharing it with the rest of the family.
My daughter is not quite 2, and she loves Elmo and Bear in the Big Blue House (more from Henson), and has since she was just a few months old. I watch them with her, and she doesn't watch much else, other than Blue's Clues and her Veggie Tales tapes. The rest of the time (and sometimes during) she's running herself ragged, or playing with books. So what if she can't read yet? She's getting used to them being around. If she'll sit still long enough, I'll read them to her, or she'll pretend to read them to me. Her younger brother could care less about TV - he likes music, mostly classical, and would listen to it all day. Why not indulge him?
I will *not* have put in my children's personal records what they watch, anymore than I would want listed what I and my husband watch. That's our business and no one else's. If nothing else, public schools discriminate against religions of all kinds, so why would I put the odds against my daughter before she even starts?
Yes, this annoys me, though I see the point. TV makes a pretty poor babysitter, but as a teaching tool, used correctly, it can be a wonderful thing.
I've been reading all the comments, and thought about this a lot. Yeah, I was always too smart, too clumsy, too shy. Glasses in first grade. My parents got me a computer instead of an game console - a C-64.;) I read too well Tolkien before I was 10, and Heinlein, Asimov, etc., shortly thereafter. My favorite place was the main library in the state capital. I have so many stories of harassment myself. My sexual orientation called into question, and me too naive to know what they were saying. Going home with gum and/or chewing tobacco in my hair from the bus ride. Books ruined. Teachers who hated me, or just didn't care.
I think it'd be better, though, to honor those who *did* care, because there were a few.
For the popular kids who didn't take that as a license to abuse. (There were a few.)
For the teacher I didn't even have who called me by name on the third day of 6th grade, one of the worst years of my life.
For the English teacher I'd wanted in 7th grade, only to find she'd gone to the high school, and was my counselor there. (She's back to teaching again.)
For the 7th grade science teacher, who showed me it could be fun, and even musical.;)
For the PE teacher who was kind to my clumsiness, and encouraged me to read.
For the sociology teacher who never insisted I conform to the "accepted" mode of thought, and even laughed when I confused the others.;)
For the advanced math teacher in high school who always believed I could learn it, even when she was almost frustrated enough with me to scream.
For my high school librarian, who let me hide out more than once, and treated me as a thinking individual.
And, most especially, my 10th and 12th grade English teacher, who taught me the power of words, and specifically of the force my own words could have.
To all these people, my most humble thanks for making me believe my life was worth something, even though school was sometimes so bad I wanted to end it all.
Les the Book PS: I went to Winfield Middle and Winfield High, in Winfield, West Virginia. If any of y'all are reading this, you Know Who You Are.:)
Yet another fear-mongerer. And insulting too, especially to a female geek. As if I'm this clueless.
"Computers are all interconnected on a worldwide network." *All*? This computer is only connected when I choose it to be. My computer at work isn't connectable at all.
"The grocery store may not have the diapers or formula your baby needs." I have two things to say to this. Cloth diapers, and breastfeed.
I know y'all don't like Katz, but he's RIGHT. But here you are, making fun of him, or acting like this is an April Fools' joke. This is SERIOUS.
I'm not generally a violent person, but when I saw UF gone last night, I about turned cracker, had I known who this corporation was. I loved reading that every day, after I discovered it late last year. And Illiad made fun of *everything*. Microsoft, Linux, ?BSD, Intel, Star Wars, ISPs in general. Red Dwarf just this week. And it's all gone. Archives and everything. The web is smaller today.
OK, I'm not sure if I'll read this or not (I'll go through Slashdot if I *do* get it, Rob, I promise:>), though I'm typically an omniverous reader. But the important thing here is hope for mid-list (Spider Robinson, anyone?) and new writers. I'm getting ready to face the publishing world, and to be honest, I was terrified. If I can even find someone to publish me, I was worried my coauthor and I would sell about 4 copies, and those all to friends.;) Granted, what we think is pretty good stuff might actually suck badly, but if it doesn't....
You've been an inspiration, Mr. Katz. Flames are no fun (I've been there), but please persevere.
Let me start out by saying I rarely use Freshmeat - my Linux box needs a new HD desperately, I'm almost out of room. But from my limited experience, it seems to be a good site, and a valuable resource, one I appreciate when I can make use of it (thanks, Scoop!). That said....
IT'S HIS SITE!
He could use red on purple, and not a one of us could stop him. If I used it a lot I'd write, probably privately, and suggest a different color scheme, but I would *not* be in my rights to *demand* a change. I haven't put the hours of work into it that he does.
I've recently been in the middle of a flame war on the site I visit 2nd (after/.), and I hate to admit I lost my temper. There were people who had the *nerve* to tell the host he had no right to skip one movie and save his money for other movies due out in a week or two! Excuse me? Last I checked, the site was hosted by a US citizen and the server was on US soil. We have this tiny thing called the Bill of Rights. I'd suggest y'all go read it.
Slashdot Mirror
Um, Legend of Korra? And Young Justice on CN. And Toonami is just now back too. We have tweens and a teen
And it's been so long since I commented, I realized I wasn't logged in until after. ;)
Kill my last, best source of anime. ;) I'm too poor to buy the DVDs, and won't go into Blockbuster on moral grounds (I used to work for them!), plus the closest one is a 1/2 hour away. The local video store just gives me a blank stare when I ask for any. (Or any movie more than 2 or 3 years old.)
Put me into the Not PayPal category - that's pretty much useless without a CC, and I have zero plastic to my name.
Les
waiting for a PO Box I an send a money order to...
Every home schooled person I've come across (warning! sample size of one!) has had problems interacting with people. Funny, I've had the opposite experience. When I worked at a science museum a few years ago, I supervised a number of volunteer docents. Two of the three best I had were homeschooled kids who had their afternoons free, so they were there when the "normal" schoolkids started to trickle in. Not only could they deal with younger kids, they could also handle the parents. I had zero problem with those kids - I wish I could have said the same thing for the adult volunteers. les
Don't forget Accidental Empires/Triumph of the Nerds, for the more modern bits. ;)
les
Oh, and third, there's no standard way of communicating learning disability situations to universities... there's no little black circle to fill in for dyslexia or attention deficit disorder, for example. And if you decide to send a note to every school you apply to so that they'll know and adjust for it... their adjustment will probably be more like not letting you in because they know you'll cost them more money and time than, let's say, any of the normal alcoholics attending colleges today.
Depends on where you're trying to attend. A big public college, more than likely this will happen. A private college (which actually tend to give out more scholarship money) with a low student:teacher ratio probably would - they hve the time, and usually even the motivation to work with the student.
les
Instead, I think that college admissions people should heavily consider transcripts. More than just GPA, the amount and grades in advanced classes and college classes (whether AP or taken through local college) can give the most accurate representation of a student's ability.
This wouldn't be much better, in some cases. I went to a rural high school. Forunately, my senior year, they offered 2 AP classes for the first time, but there wasn't a college close enough to take classes at. (Believe me, I would have if I could!)
les
I work in the Admissions office for a small private college. We have an option for anyone who can't/doesn't want to submit test scores, or who has problems testing - submit a personal portfolio of what you can do, and what you've accomplished in your life. It doesn't reduce your chances of getting in; if anything, it may raise them, because the committee has to actually look at an evaluate those applications on their merits. It may take longer to get an answer, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. (Our application is also shorter than some, and doesn't have to be typed. ;>)
Les McBride
The only thing that kids of today put their efforts into is dealing drugs, getting alcohol and committing crimes. Have you ever lived in one of our cities? The kids there do nothing apart from hang around doing these things, because they've never had any discipline or a good schooling system that encourages team sports and other activities.
::shrug::) The second one had practically none at all. It was a private school, which she paid most of the tution *herself*, from having saved most of her money from part-time jobs before and during her senior year, when she attended there. My graduating class and hers only had one alcohol-related death each, and in both cases, it wasn't the students' faults - both were hit by other drunk drivers, while being stone sober themselves.
I think you should get to know some teenagers. For every drug addict/drunk/criminal in public schools today, there are 10 trying to keep their heads down and get through school. The two high schools my sister attended are a good example (one of which I also went to, 6 years before). The large public one had a surprisingly low instance of both violence and drug and alcohol abuse. (It wasn't such a good place to learn in, but...
My sister also worked to pay her own way through an AAS in nursing, and is working for her BSN now too. I'm acquainted with a teenage boy who works two jobs, one as an engineering assistant at the SO's company, and he's going to be able to pay the slack his college scholarship won't cover. Think kids are all lazy today?
les
What's funny about this is that this is exactly what they tell their MCSE trainees *not* to do. ;) I ought to know - I'm studying for that AND my Sair Linux, A+, and CCNA. You wonder why I'm going crazy? ;)
les
CNA, MCP
>The deer guy? I lived somewhere with shitloads
>of deer, too (there were 19 on my lawn once),
>and I never hit any. To some degree, it's luck,
>but it's also a test of reflexes. The insurance
>company sees two claims in six months, and
>figures that either a) you suck at driving, b)
>you like hitting deer, or c) you drive at risky
>times in risky places. Consequently, you end up
>having to pay more for insurance. You still got
>insurance, it just cost more.
Getting hit from the side? How the hell do you avoid that? I grew up where there was a lot of deer too, and my mom got hit from the side once. We almost slammed into another one time which was standing in the middle of the road, just beyond a curve. (Hill country, don't you know.) Sometimes it's reflexes, but not always.
Adjusted market value? Let's see, minimum wage is, what, $5.50 an hour now...?
I'm only being partly facetious. My last job - which was supposed to be tech support but wasn't, which is a story in and of itself - paid $8/hr. I'd take that at this point.
I've been looking for my first IT position since March, but, as a US citizen, I want more money for less hours than many people here on an H-1B visa. So I'm SOL. No, I have no experience. I can't *get* any experience. McDonalds, here I come!
#1: Even though I'm a fan (though I haven't read the comics in yearsa), I didn't want to sit in the movie theater with even short bios of every single character. Interesting, yes, but it would have taken the whole 1 1/2 hours to accomplish that, and would have alienated the non-fans in the theater with me. Their attitude was "Okay, he shoots these beams out of his eyes, and he needs that visor thingie to control it." Good enough.
;)
#2: The "villian" of the story is people's own intolerance of those who are different. Magneto is a tragic antagonist, Charles a flawed protagonist. Charles *would* fight the non-mutants if they endangered his "children", and told Magneto such.
#3: Mystique didn't say much? Wait. She's not dead yet.
There are a lot more female Slashdot readers here than I ever thought. And yes, I know it feels like we're always shouting into the wind trying to be heard, but most never seem to.
;)
Me? I played with Legos growing up, have had one computer or another since I was 8, freelance programmer and HTML coder, sys admin in training, and gamer (I played the *original* Wolfenstein, pre-3D). I'm the official geek in the family - my husband is "only" a draftsman (sorry, hon ). He games too, and some of our tastes overlap. Starcraft is his big one, and I like it OK, but I tend to prefer the C&C engine. Old as it is (::taps foot at Blizzard::) I like Diablo, a lot. And one of the character choices is (an albeit scantily clat) female. TR is OK - she's an intelligent female character, even if I wish she'd wear a bit more, and the gameplay's somewhat fun. And yes, I like SimCity - I want 3000 desperately - and related games, like Civ, Alpha Centauri, etc. I often multitask a SC2K game when I'm doing my homework. Helps me focus better. I use Win95 at home, because the stuff I need doesn't work well under WINE (yet), and my Linux box isn't up and running at the moment. I donated the monitor to my mother-in-law to replace her dead one, so she can still EM and keep up with her kids. And play Solitaire.
Side note, to whoever couldn't find Myth2 games online? Check out Kali. Yes, to get a regular account, you do have to pay, but it's a one-time fee, and I've yet to find any game that's capable of being networked that you *can't* play over there. I also tend to run into fewer PKs and jerks over there.
I don't own a gun, I do own a computer and use it daily, I like RTS games, I love the Internet, I work in a tech position, I'm studying for my A+ cert... And I'm a firm believer in the Man from Nazareth. I don't see any conflict there. :) I'm not an "establishment" Christian, though. My faith was as much shaped by Godspell and Cotton Patch Gospel as it was by Southern Baptists, Presbyterians, and my Catholic (::gasp:: ;>) elementary school. I accept not everyone is going to agree with me - not even my husband does. He grew up Nazarene, who seem to be fond of "thou shalt nots": no dancing, no movies, etc. Though I agree with other things the talk about. :) But it's not cause enough to beat someone's head in over it. I'd rather debate it, and maybe both of us come away being more open minded for it.
On-topic: this game seems to me (without having played it yet) rather cheesy, and the Christian basis on the thin side. Nowhere does it say you can become either angel or demon. That makes me a little uncomfortable - either do it right, or don't bother.
Re: The Apocrypha. Sometimes called the Intertestament Books. Not everyone leaves them out - the Catholics don't, neither do the Orthodox. The ones that do (who have thought about it, and not just taken as law whatever their preacher says) do so not because there's anything wrong with them, but because there isn't enough historical evidence to back them up (only in a few of the oldest manuscripts, instead of most of them), or that don't have much spiritual conent (1,2 (3,4) Maccabees. Good history, mind you, but that's about it.)
Re: the person who wanted to know how Christians reconcile the two Testaments. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets(the Old Testament); I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." That's from the New Testament. (MT 13:17)
I've been going to the Master's Institute in San Jose, via their distance learning option. I'm working on an Associates in System Administration. It's a regular AAS - includes GenEd like English, Psych, etc. - and in the process, I'm getting my certification training for A+, MCSE, CNE, and CCNA. So far it seems to be a fair mix of concepts (cf., networking) and specifics (Cisco routers). The local community college has a Networking AAS, but it's nothing compared to the program I'm in.
Les the Book
I agree with limits, BUT...
;) I got science, English, culture, etc. I learned more Spanish from Sesame Street than I did from two years worth in high school, and that's what I still remember.
When I talk about it, it sounds like I watched a massive amount of TV as a kid, but it boils down to 1/2 hour after I got home from school, an hour or two after dinner/homework, a couple hours Saturday morning, and a couple hours Saturday and Sunday afternoon each, most of that with my dad and the old Westerns. In between, I was at school, doing homework, or expected to be outside if the weather was nice. Guess what? I normally took a book outside and climbed the apple tree where no one could bother me! Exercise *and* expanding my mind. And when I watched TV, most things my mom at least also watched with me, or I watched what my parents were watching - only one TV in the house. *gasp* Other than that, I had free reign on PBS. I can't ever find anything good on there now, but I used to watch everything. Evening at Pops, Matinee at the Bijou, Sesame Street, Nova, 3-2-1 Contact, Electric Company... You wonder why I'm an eclectic?
I never had, and still don't have, a TV in my bedroom. My sister never had one until she changed colleges and moved back home, she still had the one from her dorm room. But even now, she generally watches the TV in the family room, sharing it with the rest of the family.
My daughter is not quite 2, and she loves Elmo and Bear in the Big Blue House (more from Henson), and has since she was just a few months old. I watch them with her, and she doesn't watch much else, other than Blue's Clues and her Veggie Tales tapes. The rest of the time (and sometimes during) she's running herself ragged, or playing with books. So what if she can't read yet? She's getting used to them being around. If she'll sit still long enough, I'll read them to her, or she'll pretend to read them to me. Her younger brother could care less about TV - he likes music, mostly classical, and would listen to it all day. Why not indulge him?
I will *not* have put in my children's personal records what they watch, anymore than I would want listed what I and my husband watch. That's our business and no one else's. If nothing else, public schools discriminate against religions of all kinds, so why would I put the odds against my daughter before she even starts?
Yes, this annoys me, though I see the point. TV makes a pretty poor babysitter, but as a teaching tool, used correctly, it can be a wonderful thing.
Les McBride
I've been reading all the comments, and thought about this a lot. Yeah, I was always too smart, too clumsy, too shy. Glasses in first grade. My parents got me a computer instead of an game console - a C-64. ;) I read too well Tolkien before I was 10, and Heinlein, Asimov, etc., shortly thereafter. My favorite place was the main library in the state capital. I have so many stories of harassment myself. My sexual orientation called into question, and me too naive to know what they were saying. Going home with gum and/or chewing tobacco in my hair from the bus ride. Books ruined. Teachers who hated me, or just didn't care.
;)
;)
:)
I think it'd be better, though, to honor those who *did* care, because there were a few.
For the popular kids who didn't take that as a license to abuse. (There were a few.)
For the teacher I didn't even have who called me by name on the third day of 6th grade, one of the worst years of my life.
For the English teacher I'd wanted in 7th grade, only to find she'd gone to the high school, and was my counselor there. (She's back to teaching again.)
For the 7th grade science teacher, who showed me it could be fun, and even musical.
For the PE teacher who was kind to my clumsiness, and encouraged me to read.
For the sociology teacher who never insisted I conform to the "accepted" mode of thought, and even laughed when I confused the others.
For the advanced math teacher in high school who always believed I could learn it, even when she was almost frustrated enough with me to scream.
For my high school librarian, who let me hide out more than once, and treated me as a thinking individual.
And, most especially, my 10th and 12th grade English teacher, who taught me the power of words, and specifically of the force my own words could have.
To all these people, my most humble thanks for making me believe my life was worth something, even though school was sometimes so bad I wanted to end it all.
Les the Book
PS: I went to Winfield Middle and Winfield High, in Winfield, West Virginia. If any of y'all are reading this, you Know Who You Are.
Yet another fear-mongerer. And insulting too, especially to a female geek. As if I'm this clueless.
"Computers are all interconnected on a worldwide network." *All*? This computer is only connected when I choose it to be. My computer at work isn't connectable at all.
"The grocery store may not have the diapers or formula your baby needs." I have two things to say to this. Cloth diapers, and breastfeed.
Putting the soapbox away now...
Les the Book
I know y'all don't like Katz, but he's RIGHT. But here you are, making fun of him, or acting like this is an April Fools' joke. This is SERIOUS.
I'm not generally a violent person, but when I saw UF gone last night, I about turned cracker, had I known who this corporation was. I loved reading that every day, after I discovered it late last year. And Illiad made fun of *everything*. Microsoft, Linux, ?BSD, Intel, Star Wars, ISPs in general. Red Dwarf just this week. And it's all gone. Archives and everything. The web is smaller today.
Les the Book
OK, I'm not sure if I'll read this or not (I'll go through Slashdot if I *do* get it, Rob, I promise :>), though I'm typically an omniverous reader. But the important thing here is hope for mid-list (Spider Robinson, anyone?) and new writers. I'm getting ready to face the publishing world, and to be honest, I was terrified. If I can even find someone to publish me, I was worried my coauthor and I would sell about 4 copies, and those all to friends. ;) Granted, what we think is pretty good stuff might actually suck badly, but if it doesn't....
You've been an inspiration, Mr. Katz. Flames are no fun (I've been there), but please persevere.
Les the Book
Let me start out by saying I rarely use Freshmeat - my Linux box needs a new HD desperately, I'm almost out of room. But from my limited experience, it seems to be a good site, and a valuable resource, one I appreciate when I can make use of it (thanks, Scoop!). That said....
/.), and I hate to admit I lost my temper. There were people who had the *nerve* to tell the host he had no right to skip one movie and save his money for other movies due out in a week or two! Excuse me? Last I checked, the site was hosted by a US citizen and the server was on US soil. We have this tiny thing called the Bill of Rights. I'd suggest y'all go read it.
IT'S HIS SITE!
He could use red on purple, and not a one of us could stop him. If I used it a lot I'd write, probably privately, and suggest a different color scheme, but I would *not* be in my rights to *demand* a change. I haven't put the hours of work into it that he does.
I've recently been in the middle of a flame war on the site I visit 2nd (after
Les the Book