You roll a sticky ball around and pick up objects, and the ball grows as you pick up more objects, enabling you to pick up bigger objects. The idea is to get your ball to be a certain size, which varies by level. You can pick up anything from thumbtacks to buildings to islands to countries.
When I first heard about it, I thought it was silly, too. But once you start playing it, it's really fun and addictive.
I too attended a very above average public school district, but from some of the things I've seen even there, I fear for public education throughout the rest of the country.
I know some school provide free breakfasts on the mornings of the statewide-standardized tests, and apparently it's helped.
At least in New Jersey, can't speak for other states, I know there's a state-subsidized lunch program, where kids can qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. The same could be applied to breakfasts.
Having just graduated from thirteen years of public education, I've learned there's something which many classes lack: forcing students to THINK critically and to use their brains.
So many times all students have to do is memorize this, memorize that, plug these values into a calculator program, that they're being cheated of a real education. Rote learning is rewarded; thinking is usually not, considering most teachers will hold a grudge against you for the rest of the year if you point out their mistakes or suggest a different way to solve a problem.
My younger sister just finished middle school, the usual residence of the most incompetent teachers. Her eighth grade Language Arts teacher thought that privilege was spelled with a d, among other things. My sister's writing skills far surpassed his, and since she is the type to be pushy and insistent about correcting mistakes, he hated her for it.
The only reason I learned ANYTHING about grammar, having had the same teachers my sister did, was because my mother, a former high school English teacher, taught me through helping me edit my papers.
We need more competent, intelligent teachers who are willing to accept their own mistakes. The best teachers I ever had were readily willing to admit their mistakes and to listen to different problem-solving approaches from students.
I suppose you must have missed the part about me being half-blind and being accused of being a potential terrorist. I find that just a bit frightening.
Why would anyone take photos of power plants? Well, I have been doing so for years. They're interesting to me. I was raised by an electrical engineer, and we've been to several hydroelectric plants. That was pre-9/11, though. This time around, it didn't even occur to me that what I was doing could be seen as suspicious.
When did I ever say this was reminiscent of Hitler? I didn't.
It wasn't really voluntary, since I was being threatened.
Not to mention that even if I had had my senses about me that I could have refused anyway, because my parents would have made me hand it over.
I'm saying that there was no warrant and that I was basically threatened into handing over the film. If what I did had happened before 9/11, no one would have thought a thing of it.
I'm a high school senior. This summer, I was in Ithaca visiting Cornell. After our visit to the campus, we decided to do some exploring of the area, because it's really quite lonely up there but also quite quaint. We figured we could find a cute little town down by the lake there. We decided to check out Aurora on Route 90.
Well, we turned down another road by accident. It was unmarked and at a 10% grade downhill. We wound up at the lake, certainly, but not in Aurora. We found ourselves at a power plant. Obviously, we knew we were in the wrong place, so we stopped.
My dad suggested I get out of the car and take some pictures. The sun was setting and the area was terribly scenic. At this time, another car, a dark sedan that had been following us down the road, made a quick turnaround. I proceeded to get out of the car and take some pictures. My dad called me back, so I ran back to the car, and we drove off. That was at 7:38 pm.
Fast forward to 11pm. My family is at the hotel, and my sister and I are trying to go to sleep. For reference, we have two adjoining rooms, one for my parents and one for me and my sister. Somebody bangs on my parents' door saying he's with the state police. My sister and I heard it and we assumed it was a joke.
It wasn't a joke at all. The New York State Police really came into my parents' room and started questioning them. My sister and I had sort of gotten up and were listening through the door. Keep in mind that at this time I'm in my pajamas and without my contacts. The officers notice someone next door, and we come into my parents' room.
The State Police were investigating a possible terrorist threat: me.
My dad had been talking for me, but there were inconsistencies in his story. Obviously. He wasn't the one taking the pictures after all. I didn't remember exactly what happened, as in which picture I took in what order, because it wasn't as if I thought I would need to know that.
THe officers want to see my camera, so my dad goes and gets it from the car. I'm in tears, because here I am, half blind and not dressed, being accused of being a TERRORIST.
I showed them my camera, and they thought it was digital, but it's not; it only appears so because it's got a large LCD status display on the back. (Thank goodness I stick to film, because I don't want to think about what might've happened to me had it been a digital camera.)
The entire scene at the plant had been recorded by a security camera, and the way the other car was there coupled by how I ran back to the car and how quickly my dad turned around made our behavior seem very suspicious.
The police told me that that power plant supplies one-sixteenth of the power to the East Coast and that knocking it out would leave millions without power for months. My case was especially worsened by the fact that there had been a legitimate threat against another area plant that same day. They told us we were lucky they found us: they'd had to stop a bulletin going out to the whole East Coast looking for our car. If they hadn't, the next day we would have been surrounded by 20 state police cars with guns to our heads. If that's not a threat, I don't know what is.
They wanted my film. I used up the last shot on the roll just by taking a picture of the floor, and then I handed the film over. The fact that I had fourth amendment rights never occurred to me. I was quite frankly scared out of my mind. Other people I've told said they would have refused, but my life had just been threatened. I think that's the part they don't get.
So they took my film and left. I couldn't sleep for quite a while and was quite visibly upset through the next day.
I'm still paranoid about police.
It took me quite some time to realize that I had done nothing wrong. There were no signs of warning or anything near the power plant. No "Authoriz
Slashdot Mirror
You roll a sticky ball around and pick up objects, and the ball grows as you pick up more objects, enabling you to pick up bigger objects. The idea is to get your ball to be a certain size, which varies by level. You can pick up anything from thumbtacks to buildings to islands to countries.
When I first heard about it, I thought it was silly, too. But once you start playing it, it's really fun and addictive.
I too attended a very above average public school district, but from some of the things I've seen even there, I fear for public education throughout the rest of the country.
I know some school provide free breakfasts on the mornings of the statewide-standardized tests, and apparently it's helped. At least in New Jersey, can't speak for other states, I know there's a state-subsidized lunch program, where kids can qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. The same could be applied to breakfasts.
110% correct? I can see why you're a history teacher.
And look at that mispelling in the title. Eeesh. -_- Should be "from," obviously...
Having just graduated from thirteen years of public education, I've learned there's something which many classes lack: forcing students to THINK critically and to use their brains.
So many times all students have to do is memorize this, memorize that, plug these values into a calculator program, that they're being cheated of a real education. Rote learning is rewarded; thinking is usually not, considering most teachers will hold a grudge against you for the rest of the year if you point out their mistakes or suggest a different way to solve a problem.
My younger sister just finished middle school, the usual residence of the most incompetent teachers. Her eighth grade Language Arts teacher thought that privilege was spelled with a d, among other things. My sister's writing skills far surpassed his, and since she is the type to be pushy and insistent about correcting mistakes, he hated her for it.
The only reason I learned ANYTHING about grammar, having had the same teachers my sister did, was because my mother, a former high school English teacher, taught me through helping me edit my papers.
We need more competent, intelligent teachers who are willing to accept their own mistakes. The best teachers I ever had were readily willing to admit their mistakes and to listen to different problem-solving approaches from students.
And yet my father, an electrical engineer, had two daughters...hmmm.
Grammar, even?
I hadn't thought of it like that. Well, now the whole internet knows. Oops.
I suppose you must have missed the part about me being half-blind and being accused of being a potential terrorist. I find that just a bit frightening.
Why would anyone take photos of power plants? Well, I have been doing so for years. They're interesting to me. I was raised by an electrical engineer, and we've been to several hydroelectric plants. That was pre-9/11, though. This time around, it didn't even occur to me that what I was doing could be seen as suspicious.
When did I ever say this was reminiscent of Hitler? I didn't.
It wasn't really voluntary, since I was being threatened. Not to mention that even if I had had my senses about me that I could have refused anyway, because my parents would have made me hand it over.
I'm saying that there was no warrant and that I was basically threatened into handing over the film. If what I did had happened before 9/11, no one would have thought a thing of it.
The PATRIOT Act has affected me quite personally.
I'm a high school senior. This summer, I was in Ithaca visiting Cornell. After our visit to the campus, we decided to do some exploring of the area, because it's really quite lonely up there but also quite quaint. We figured we could find a cute little town down by the lake there. We decided to check out Aurora on Route 90.
Well, we turned down another road by accident. It was unmarked and at a 10% grade downhill. We wound up at the lake, certainly, but not in Aurora. We found ourselves at a power plant. Obviously, we knew we were in the wrong place, so we stopped.
My dad suggested I get out of the car and take some pictures. The sun was setting and the area was terribly scenic. At this time, another car, a dark sedan that had been following us down the road, made a quick turnaround. I proceeded to get out of the car and take some pictures. My dad called me back, so I ran back to the car, and we drove off. That was at 7:38 pm.
Fast forward to 11pm. My family is at the hotel, and my sister and I are trying to go to sleep. For reference, we have two adjoining rooms, one for my parents and one for me and my sister. Somebody bangs on my parents' door saying he's with the state police. My sister and I heard it and we assumed it was a joke.
It wasn't a joke at all. The New York State Police really came into my parents' room and started questioning them. My sister and I had sort of gotten up and were listening through the door. Keep in mind that at this time I'm in my pajamas and without my contacts. The officers notice someone next door, and we come into my parents' room.
The State Police were investigating a possible terrorist threat: me.
My dad had been talking for me, but there were inconsistencies in his story. Obviously. He wasn't the one taking the pictures after all. I didn't remember exactly what happened, as in which picture I took in what order, because it wasn't as if I thought I would need to know that.
THe officers want to see my camera, so my dad goes and gets it from the car. I'm in tears, because here I am, half blind and not dressed, being accused of being a TERRORIST.
I showed them my camera, and they thought it was digital, but it's not; it only appears so because it's got a large LCD status display on the back. (Thank goodness I stick to film, because I don't want to think about what might've happened to me had it been a digital camera.)
The entire scene at the plant had been recorded by a security camera, and the way the other car was there coupled by how I ran back to the car and how quickly my dad turned around made our behavior seem very suspicious.
The police told me that that power plant supplies one-sixteenth of the power to the East Coast and that knocking it out would leave millions without power for months. My case was especially worsened by the fact that there had been a legitimate threat against another area plant that same day. They told us we were lucky they found us: they'd had to stop a bulletin going out to the whole East Coast looking for our car. If they hadn't, the next day we would have been surrounded by 20 state police cars with guns to our heads. If that's not a threat, I don't know what is.
They wanted my film. I used up the last shot on the roll just by taking a picture of the floor, and then I handed the film over. The fact that I had fourth amendment rights never occurred to me. I was quite frankly scared out of my mind. Other people I've told said they would have refused, but my life had just been threatened. I think that's the part they don't get.
So they took my film and left. I couldn't sleep for quite a while and was quite visibly upset through the next day.
I'm still paranoid about police.
It took me quite some time to realize that I had done nothing wrong. There were no signs of warning or anything near the power plant. No "Authoriz