Nothing Sweeter than beating a Cougar!

All I can say is . . . IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!

They're scrappy. They're ugly. They turn the ball over wayyyyy too much. They shouldn't be doing this, but YES! Sweet victory. Way to go Utes!!!

By the way . . .

• Cummard is good, but he has got to be on the top of the ugliest-basketball-players-of-all-time list (not that Cool Hand Luke is much better looking.)


• Fred's daughter . . . I mean Fredette . . . is a major whiner. What kind of a name is Jimmer anyway?


• And Miles . . . totally invisible. Plus, don't think we've forgotten that cheap shot kick in the back to Andrew Bogut.

And in other news . . . Willie made the Hunter Junior High Basketball Team. After being cut last year, it's been a stressful week of tryouts, but he found out this morning that he made it. Good job, boy!

Obama - What do I think?

Until now, I have held off expressing my opinions about the events of this week.

I watched the inauguration with my students on Tuesday. I, as well as most all of the teachers in my building, felt that the events in Washington superseded any curriculum (including geometry) that could have been learned in the classroom during that time. So what do I think?

Well, I talked with each class about the significance of the events. I downplayed the obvious facts about race and the presidency (my students knew that) and tried to emphasize that on days like Tuesday, we can better understand and appreciate our great country. We were witnesses to a day when political opinions are set aside and a peaceful transition occurs by a democratic process. As boring as that sounds, I tried to emphasize how all over the world there are power struggles that go on daily with violence and bloodshed. We live in a country where that doesn't have to happen. And whether you like Obama or not, you have to appreciate and be grateful for the process.

What do I really think? What are the opinions I refrain from sharing in the classroom? I think that President Obama's speech was exceptional! He has a presence about him that is, well . . . . presidential. He is polished, classy, and a talented orator. I am motivated by his rhetoric. Some say it is merely rhetoric with no substance. But, I feel it is the best rhetoric we have heard in a long time and if even some of it can come to fruition and make "change," I'm all for it! I see every day, mainly through my students, how people in our nation are apathetic to just about everything. If there is someone out there - Obama - who can get people excited and willing to work towards a common good, I want to be on THAT bandwagon. Plus, the stakes are high for this guy, but really, the only place to go is up!

My favorite lines from the inaugural speech:

" . . . that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

"The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works . . ."

" . . . we can no longer afford indifference . . . "

"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy birthday.  You're 2!

Happy Birthday, Little Nephew Elliott!

Happy Birthday to you!!

Here is a video.  It's a little bit old.  The grass was green and the air was clear.  Your vocabulary has definitely improved since this video.

From Elliott Video

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

"If you can't fly, run; if you can't run, walk; if you can't walk, crawl.  But by all means, keep moving." 

- Martin Luther King, Jr., March 31, 1956 -

Conversations with the Custodian

Wes is my Tuesday and Thursday afternoon friend.  He is the night time sweeper who cleans my classroom at night.  I stay late those two days and have gotten to know Wes a little bit.  I've heard about his gallivanting in Las Vegas, his fishing trips to Fish Lake, his lost cell phone, his New Zealand girlfriend, his divorce, etc.  Today he told me the world is ending.

It started when he told me the school district is cutting 6 days for each of the part-timers, including him.  Then, we started talking about the doom and gloom of the economy and what's going to happen next.  Wes is convinced that the economy will NOT get better and that this is the end.  He's says it is going to be, in his words, "5 years tops before the anti-Christ comes and everything is just done."  At first I thought he was being a little sarcastic and over-dramatic, but then I realized he was serious.  

He told me he's considering not even putting money into his 401K anymore because he won't live to retirement.  He says it's nothing like during the Depression in the 1930's because there are too many people and too many homes for anything to ever recover.  This is just the end.  Guys that are a lot smarter than him like scientists and philosophers on the radio (he listens to 90.5 FM) agree that the Bible is prophesying that this is the end.

Phew!  I finally shut down my computer, packed up my bag, and told Wes that he should just concentrate on himself, make sure he's got some money saved, some food stored, and is living right.  Then, he simply won't have so much to worry about.  What else do you tell the guy?