News Update

Another week has been completed here on Lake Superior. Of course, all of the residents here continue to be above average... well, maybe not.

I am having my first spring in Thunder Bay, and am finding out what environmental factors may disagree with me. As a result, I've been taking Reactine to prevent my reaction. Alas, it failed! So, I upgraded to double dosing the Reactine—still no luck! Then I changed over to chlor-tripolon. Rats! Another failure! Finally, Erica provided me some industrial strength antihistamine (available by prescription), and my eyes and sinuses are thanking her. In the meantime, a week of post-nasal drip has left me with a persistent cough, so I'm not enjoying above average health.

It's been rather rainy this week, so I've only managed one round of golf. I shall wish for better luck next week. I've been able to make good progress on a couple of work projects, so that's good anyway. I need to make a presentation next Thursday about the progress of the MISA project and that's beginning to take shape. Then the plan for years two and three is due on the fifteenth, and I have completed another draft of that.

Kristian continues to grow and progress well. He gets around by rolling, as he hasn't learned how to crawl yet. Erin keeps busy looking after him, and also has been doing some babysitting for two of the other families we know here. She continues to consider and plan some educational upgrading next year. She thinks she would like to take bookkeeping.

Wendy has been busy with going to the gym, and repainting over at the church building. She has also continued lobbying for a number of interior changes in the house, and wants to make some yard improvements as well. Sigh!

Eric, Erica and the boys continue with their work and school. Liam has started into spring soccer league—Eric coaches the team. Eric is trying to get his golf season underway as well.

Anyway, that's the kind of week it's been.

Round Two

Golf has started for another season. I managed 87 on my opening round, but I was quite disturbed about my driving. I know the fairways were soft and all, but I was only getting it 200 yards, and I was hitting my 3-iron 190! Over the weekend I did some more thinking about it, and remembered buying a new driver last year. It was a concern because it has a stiffer shaft than I'm used to. Well, I reasoned that my newly manufactured golf swing might not be letting me swing hard enough to make the shaft work. Apparently, with graphite shafts you have to be more careful to get a shaft that matches your swing speed. So, I had two options—swing harder, or change clubs! Swinging harder has always been one of my problems, so I decided not to try that. I got my old driver back from Travis and put it into play for my second round. It paid immediate dividends. I was hitting a little farther (it seems I'm only good for 240 yards now!), but a lot straighter. Next time I plan to try my three-wood. It may go just as far! I used to hit it 230 off the fairway before.

My short game still needs a lot of work before I have any consistency around the greens, but my scoring improved to 81, so that's very encouraging. Eric has picked up a new putter, so I'm sure he'll want to get out and try it soon. Anyway, so far so good!

News Update

It has been another busy week on the shore of Lake Superior, and only some of us are making it above average.

Of course, the big news of the week is the reopening of the golf courses. As you may remember, I was given a golf membership, by my family, for the three courses owned by the city. My courses opened on Friday, and I played my first round of the season.

It has been a busy week of work as the annual reporting on my program is due at monthend. I managed to finish those up and send them Friday morning, and, so far, they haven't fired any of them back at me! Now my attention turns to revamping the plans for the next two years of this three year project. The plans are due by May 15th. I also have a semi-annual report to the school administrators group due on the 12th, so I'll be preparing my presentation for that event as well.

The others here have regained a healthier behaviour although there's still plenty of coughing going on. Wendy is back on her regular gym schedule, and has also begun painting next door at the church building. Erica was off to Ottawa this week—I hope she got some input into the federal budget that we're expecting next week! I have continued to suffer to a greater degree from seasonal hayfever. I finally gave up on my Reactine and moved onto Chlor-Tripolon, so we'll see how that progresses. I have been doing better in recent years, but there must be some additional issues down here on the shores of Lake Superior.

As I mentioned, I had my first golf game of the season. It did not go nearly as well as I had been imagining, visually, and dreaming! My newly refined, developed and enhanced golf swing did not reduce my game by the promised seven strokes! I shot 87—more work is needed. I'm still living with my dream of breaking 80! And I shall keep trying. There were some bright spots—my iron play was good, my putting and chipping were good. My driving was very bad! Sigh!

And that's the kind of week it has been.

Some Assembly Required!

The lovely spring weather has inevitably awakened thoughts of outdoor cooking, so we dug our venerable barbecue out of storage. Alas! It gave evidence that not all was as it used to be, or even should be. The venturi tube was laying on the ground, and Wendy was asking if we needed it! The handles came off in my hand—I guess that's where handles should be anyway—but, they failed to do their assigned task of lifting the lid! The wheels didn't. Perhaps sometimes we do need to reinvent the wheel! Reluctantly, I faced the fact that the old barbecue was (as they say in Zambia) finished! I loaded it into the back of the truck and Wendy hauled it out to the dump. Then we began the search for a new one! We shopped the flyers that conveniently had placed a number of barbecues on special this week. What do these suppliers know about the vagaries of storage?

I eventually settled on one from Canadian Tire. Wendy settled on a different one from Superstore. (Yes, mine was the cheapest available. Now get over it!!) We went to Canadian Tire, but they had none of my pick in stock, so we headed over to Superstore and picked up the nice one they had on display.

Once we got it home, I began to unpack it, and to consider their ominous notation, "Some Assembly Required." Indeed! I am happy to tell you that the assembly instructions had been translated from the original Korean by an Egyptian who was fluent in neither language. Thus we had items called, Left Foot, Right Foot and Whee Axle! I know where my feet are, and I'm sure I have a Whee Axle somewhere! It was surprising to find there was not only a Cup, but also a Cup Support—and nicely in time for Stanley Cup playoffs, no less. They also illustrated M6 Bolts, M6 Large Bolts, M6 Small Bolts, and M4 Bolts. Pictures of the two different types of M4 Bolts revealed that one had a round head and the other had a flat head. Instructions merely called for use of an M4 Bolt!! Nuts were also supplied—M6 Nuts and M4 Nuts and M10 Nuts!! They all looked the same in the illustration, no details were given as to their size, and we had no M10 Bolts, so... At least I was pleased with their comment that, "It will takes less than 40 minutes to assembly the grill." (It would 'takes' many hours to 'reassembly' their document into English!)

However, assemble I did; and after many renditions of "Align the holes in the top front panel(6) with the holes in one of the left side support(12), screwing a M6 Bolt(A) into each pre-drilled holes" and the like, and after much more than forty minutes, I had a new barbecue.

And, armed with a fresh bottle of propane, I even grilled some hamburgers on it!

News Update

Well, it's been a busy week here on Lake Superior, so busy in fact, that I did not even enter a single blog on this site! Yikes! And it's not like there's nothing going on in the world!

This week I completed my second round of school visits. I travelled up to Pickle Lake and also visited at Savant Lake. We have schools in each location. Things were going pretty much okay at the schools, but that's only one part of touring. The more hazardous areas are food and lodging. We had found a wonderful restaurant in Red Lake last week, but we were looking forward with some trepidation to what awaited us in Pickle Lake. We tried to put off the disaster by lunching at Ignace on the way up, and planning to lunch there again on the way back. Alas, the inevitable could only be avoided so long! There are no other options for meals in Pickle Lake, but we eventually did discover that there are two different cooks working shifts at the Winston. Thus, if we hurried back for lunch, we managed to get two decent meals before Chef Greasy Spoon took over. Suppers were an unmitigated disaster. We tried a variety of options, but finally considered that our best bet would be to have two pieces of pie and call it a night!

Wendy and I have been contemplating some improvements here at home. We're planning an arbor (aka trellis, pergola) for the deck attached to my office. We've even checked some books out of the library to assist. So, once I get my paperwork caught up, we hope to get it built.

Kristian and Wendy had doctor's appointments this week. The doctor was pleased about Kristian's weight gain, although he's still tall and slim, just like his grandparents! Wendy has continued her gym work with great determination. I've continued my golf lessons with equal determination. I even made it to the driving range today. Let's just say that more work remains to be done!

Eric and Erica have both suffered with illness, and both are on the mend, but not quite well. I have also been suffering some illness, but am feeling pretty well now, except for some coughing.

And that's the kind of week it's been here on Lake Superior...

News Update Happy Easter!

We've had another week here on the shore of Lake Superior. I've been travelling most of the week up to Red Lake to visit another of my schools. Red Lake is about six hundred clicks northwest of Thunder Bay. To get there we drove west past Dryden to Vermillion Bay, and then north two hundred clicks. It's a very pretty spot, and I'm looking forward to a return trip in June when I can try out their golf course! The work at the school went very well, but there remains a lot to do as we try to enhance their collection and use of student data.

I got back from Red Lake on Thursday afternoon, and promptly went to bed as I'm feeling the onset of a cold. Both Good Friday and Easter Monday are holidays down here, so I'll have a chance to keep rested over the weekend, and hopefully stop my cold in its tracks (if you can visualize that!). On Saturday we had a lovely Easter weekend luncheon at Trav & Sylvia's new house. Trav is all moved in, but he has been experiencing some breathing difficulties due to an allergic reaction to the house. We suspect it's the cats that lived there before. At any rate, he is finding the need for some antihistamines at least until the place gets cleaned out. The place is looking pretty good so far.

Kristian has had another week of growing! He now has six teeth, and enjoys grinding them together to the chagrin of his mother. She's afraid his face will get stuck in a permanent grimace!
Erica has had a week of battling a cold, so she even had to cancel one of her school visits. Our group works with ten school boards here in northwestern Ontario. Erica provides overall management and accounting for the group. We also have a variety of project officers and consultants who provide educational leadership and support, which is where I come in.

Wendy has continued dedication to her exercise program at the gym. Some days she tries a different exercise or machine and comes home sore! I've pretty much diverted from gym work to outdoor work at the nearby golf course and recreation complex. Now that I've started hitting balls, my golf stroke is not nearly as good as I visualized it!!

Anyway, that's the kind of week it's been.

OLD AGE IS A GIFT!

Thank you, Laura.

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know.

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body... the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror, but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to overeat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 A.M., and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the bikini set.

They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten... and I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when a beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. I can say "no" and mean it. I can say "yes" and mean it.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day.

Author Unknown

News Update

We've continued to enjoy good weather here on Lake Superior. I made a trip up to Armstrong in the middle of the week to visit the school there. I was disappointed with what I found there as far as technological infrastructure is concerned. It will be necessary to install a school computer network in preparation for greater data storage and use. Then, too, they're looking at staff changes at the end of the year with a new principal and some new teachers expected, so that leads to other kinds of uncertainty.

Travis and Sylvia took possession of their house this week. We helped Travis move in on Saturday. Wendy, Rauni (Sylvia's mom) and Sylvia spent a lot of elbow grease and time getting things cleaned up. The house looks pretty good with mainly hardwood floors both upstairs and down. There is room for development and improvement over time. The back yard is nice and fully enclosed.

I managed to continue my preparation for the golf season with more dry swinging and walking. I also hit a few balls, so that was revealing. I found that when I was looking up to see how the ball was doing, it wasn't doing well! Someone should make a golf tip about that! Other than that, my imaginary play went very well, but with a ball in play—not so good. The courses are drying out well, so I hope they open soon.

Erica travelled out to Red Lake this week and came back with a cold. Erin has also been suffering with a cold, and has not been able to find any medication to take due to her nursing. Kristian is doing well, growing tall and slim. He now has two teeth on the bottom and it looks like four on the top. He likes to grind them together.

And that's the kind of week it's been here.

THIS IS GOOD!

The story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.
Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!"
To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.

As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off. And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad of me to do this."
"No" his friend replied, "This is good!"
"What do you mean, "This is good?" How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"
"If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you."

Situations may not always seem pleasant while we are in them, but the promise of God is clear. If we love Him and live our lives according to His precepts, even that which seems to be bleak and hopeless will be turned by God for His glory and our benefit.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

News Update

It has been a busy week here on Lake Superior. The end of the month marks government fiscal year end, so there was a lot of miscellany to cover. Thus there were meetings and considerations and configerations, followed by more of the same. However, it eventually came together fairly well. I also had a trip to Toronto to meet with the other MISA leaders for the province, and to get a dose of encouragement to get our financial affairs in order and prepare our annual reports. So that will occupy my time for the next couple of weeks. I also have some school trips each week to complete, so I shall easily be able to find a way to occupy myself.

The weather has been very nice. Spring is here, and we're enjoying seeing the greening grass. We even had three days of rain this week. The fairways are available, although sopping wet! I have received news from back in Dauphin that the Cougar is coming along nicely and nearly ready for painting. I shall look forward to seeing it with new rear quarter panels and all cleaned up and repainted.

Everyone here continues to do well. Kristian appears to have another tooth, this one on the top. So he's been fussing a bit as that develops. Wendy has continued with her work outs at the gym, while I have mostly transferred my exercise to walking and golfing outdoors. And my golf continues to improve, just as I predicted it would (until an actual golf ball appears). I am visualizing perfectly! Travis has finished his current job at the university, and is looking for something for over the summer. Some of that activity will be refurbishing the house he and Sylvia are buying.

And that's the kind of week it's been.

The Afghan Christian

An Afghan, who converted to Christianity many years ago, has been placed on trial for his life in Afghanistan. Lately, in response (I think) to international pressure, the charges against this man have been dismissed. The reasons for the charges being dismissed have been variously ascribed to 'lack of evidence' or 'mentally unfit to stand trial'. There are more than enough issues to wonder about as we observe this case!
How many others in Muslim countries are being tried and executed for conversion to Christianity? Why does this man make our headlines, while others pass unnoticed?
Independence of the judiciary is a value of our particular brand of governance. Yet we are often finding ourselves confounded by the proactivity of judges. Is judicial independence really so valuable?
How do people and nations decide what is right or rights?
Is there even a right or rights?

If you haven't spent some extensive time outside of North America, I suggest that you cannot begin to understand what goes on in the majority of the world. Very few people live as we do. Very few people have the rights and freedoms that we assume to be basic. Very few people accept that our way of doing things is right. Many people in North America do not accept that our way of doing things is right!

If we move from the 'majority of the world' to Afghanistan and we will make another leap. Now I do not presume to know much about Afghanistan, but I do know a little. And I have had my eyes opened by living in the third world. Many countries in the world have a national government of some kind that wields a great deal of influence on how ordinary people conduct their affairs—Afghanistan is not one. The president of Afghanistan might well be described as the mayor of the capital city, or at most as the leader of one province. In much of the country he has little or no influence on the people. He can neither oppress or protect them. But we are in Afghanistan, trying to prop up this man, trying to support the installation of our kind of governance in the whole country, and wondering about how he is managing the courts, when he doesn't even run the country. And we still don't even know how to determine if this is the right thing to do.

In our country we certainly do not accept that religion is the basis of right. However, I posit, without religion there is no basis of right. Without religion, right is a matter of power, and law is simply a social experiment. When we declare, "Freedom of religion is a right!"or "An independent judiciary is a necessity!", we are making religious statements. If we determine to disregard such belief systems as religion puts forward, we have no basis to declare universal truths at all. In USA, they believe that some truths are self-evident, but most of the world does not see their list as being self-evident at all. In fact, their lists of truths are religious, and with their peculiar debate over the separation of church and state, they don't know quite what to make of the whole problem anymore. Thus, despite their self-evident truths, most of their people are not happy with the way law or governance is going these days.

So now, what is your take on the plight of the poor Afghan Christian?

News Update

I'm back travelling this week. Wes and I drove up to Nakina on Monday and worked in that school. I am mainly working with principals and secretaries at the schools. Then on Tuesday I continued my work with the Secretary-Treasurer of the school board. This all went well. We stayed in a Bed & Breakfast in Geraldton. It was okay. We drove down to Longlac on Tuesday afternoon, and stayed in a dodgy (Wes's term) motel there. The rooms were tiny and dingy. I think their view of "smoke-free" meant removing the ashtray from the room! The room and blankets are smoky, and I spend a congested night. We determine to move elsewhere, but nothing else in town has a vacancy. We decide we will finish our work in Caramat and drive back to Thunder Bay a day ahead of schedule. I have a conference in Thunder Bay on Thursday and Friday. That goes fine.

The weather is becoming very spring-like. The snow is disappearing, and we are all enjoying getting out for walks more often. Kristian and BJ really enjoy the outdoors, but BJ gets pretty muddy some trips!

We're all doing pretty well! Erin has gone through a session of strep throat, and Greg has it now.

Anyway, that's the way it's gone this week!

GOLF 101

The weather is continuing warm, and I am able to get out for my first sessions of preparation for the golf season. Today I am using my three-iron. As I walk I stop to set up properly and take swings at an imaginary ball. Then I walk 200 yards straight forward (the usual distance and direction of my three-iron shots) and prepare to take my next shot. This continues throughout my walk. Every setup follows an efficient routine, and all shots sail beautifully down the fairway. For those who have golfed with me and find that description a little far-fetched, keep following the conversation... my game will continue to improve until the actual start of the season! I notice that the fairways are starting to show through the snow, so I'm thinking I should step up my practice program. I am not actually hitting a ball, the better to concentrate on making a quality swing, and it also reduces the temptation to look up to see where the ball is going. This is often a problem for me, so I'm hoping to improve on my focus. As the saying goes, "Look up and see a bad shot!" Or as King James would have it, "He that... (nah, King James wouldn't say, "He that..."), "He who glanceth upward beholdeth a shot he desireth not!"

I am getting some golf lessons this year. That's bound to be of some value. I don't have an actual pro working with me, but I do have a DVD with lessons on it!! I'll keep in touch!

News Update

We've had another nice week here on Lake Superior where all the children are above average. The weather has been nice, and the snow is melting.

Kristian continues to grow and amuse us with his developments. Haaken and Liam are off school this week for Spring Break, so we're enjoying having them around each day. And they're enjoying staying up a little later in the evening. Saturday is Erica's birthday, and we have a bunch of her friends over for the evening to celebrate with her. Travis and Sylvia have made an offer on a house. The offer has been accepted so now they're working on inspections, financing and other arrangements. I haven't seen the inside yet, but they say it will only need minor face-lifting. Eric took a whirlwind trip out to Saskatchewan to visit his parents before they flew back to BC. He drove out last Friday, and drove back on Tuesday. I have been working only part time this week as the schools are not in session. I will get back on the travelling schedule next week.

We got a batch of letters from Zambia that the Manns brought back with them. It was great to hear from our dear friends over there, but sad to be reminded of their predicaments. We are looking forward to our visit over there starting in July.

And that's the kind of week it has been.

Computer Woes3

The saga continues as I take my Toshiba laptop back to Futureshop where I bought it. I am not amused that they do not recall the same warranty regulations that I do.
"I would like a loaner while you're fixing this, or sending it back to Toshiba, or whatever you're going to do."
"We don't have any loaners."
"But you told me you would give me a loaner if I bought the three-year service plan... "
"I'm quite sure the salesman did not say that you could have a loaner."
"And how long will you have to keep it."
"We won't be keeping it at all, you need to take it to Microage."
"But I didn't buy it from Microage."
"Well, they're the only Toshiba certified repair depot in Thunder Bay."

Microage has heard of the Toshiba problems, and they do accept the laptop. They obviously have the required expertise and parts to effect the repairs as well. They keep it only for the afternoon, and I pick it up at 5pm. And it's been working for two days straight!

Well, perhaps this story will have a satisfactory ending, but, just the same, next week, I'll be taking my iBook on the school visitations.

Computer Woes2

As noted, my computer has been crashing a lot over the last few weeks, but I got it back last week. Previously, the computer was always crashing when the virus scanner was trying to do its work just after midnight each night. We changed the scheduling of the virus scan, but the crashing continued, so now I have deleted the virus scan completely! (Yes, I understand that could be dangerous!) Anyway, it behaved itself for the remainder of last week, but today, it is back into the crashing again. It has crashed six times this morning, and as Travis has taken my iBook to do his class presentations at university, I am in some difficulty. I am relying on 'save as draft' for this short item in fear of losing my typing!!

Now I've found out that there is a class action lawsuit against Toshiba on this particular laptop (http://www.toshibaa70classaction.com/). Anyone want to buy a slightly used Toshiba laptop?!

News Update

As the week began, I was able to get back on the road with school visitations. Wes and I drove out to Atikokan on Monday, and worked at that school. It is about two hours west of Thunder Bay. Travis called on Monday evening to inform us that he and Sylvia were now engaged and expect to marry in July. On Tuesday we completed our work at Atikokan and drove over to Mine Centre to start our work there. We finished at Mine Centre on Wednesday and drove up to Ignace for the night. On Thursday morning we drove down to Upsala and worked there through the day. Finally we drove back home in the late afternoon. Wendy, Erin and Kristian arrived at 9pm on Thursday; and we were waiting with a birthday cake for Wendy! It is wonderful to have them all home again.

The weather has continued to improve, with temperatures above zero and much melting taking place. We even had a thunder storm on Saturday afternoon! Kristian is enjoying getting out in his stroller. BJ loves going for walks also, but comes home very wet and muddy.

And that's the kind of week it's been.

WHAT DO YOU MAKE?

Thanks, Tom.

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He reminded the other dinner guests of the old adage about teachers: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." To stress his point he said to another guest: "You're a teacher, Jane, be honest. What do you make?"

Jane, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make?... I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like the winner of the Congressional Medal of Honour for a student who has tried her or his best.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them show all their work in math and perfect their final drafts in English.

I make them understand that if you have the brains and follow your heart and, if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you must pay no attention because that person just didn't learn."

Jane paused and then continued. "You wanted to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

What do you make?"

News Update

As the week began, Wendy, Erin and Kristian were still in Saskatchewan. The weather has been fairly nice, with temperatures rising to about minus five each day, and some melting taking place. Our snow banks are beginning to sink, and the hope of spring is building.

On Wednesday I flew over to Sudbury for a MISA (Managing Information for Student Achievement) conference on EBDM (Evidence Based Decision Making). It's actually the same as EIDM (Evidence Informed Decision Making), but the MET (Ministry of Education and Training) already has that acronym locked up. It was a good conference, and I got some resources and many ideas for use in my ongoing MISA work. I came back from there on Friday night, but Wendy and crew still had not returned from the prairies... maybe next week. BJ returned from Charlene on Saturday; he's glad to be home.

So that's the kind of week it's been.

COMPUTER WOES!

Dr. Seuss gives a rather clever description of computer failure. For a snazzy version, you may want to check out the web site:

http://www.lovethissite.com/suess/

The Doctor Explains Why Computers Sometimes Crash
( Read this one ALOUD - it's GREAT! )

If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port,
And the bus is interrupted as a very last resort,
And the address of the memory makes your floppy disk abort,
Then the socket packet pocket has an error to report!

If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash,
And the double-clicking icon puts your window in the trash,
And your data is corrupted 'cause the index doesn't hash,
Then your situation's hopeless, and your system's gonna crash!

If the label on the cable on the table at your house,
Says the network is connected to the button on your mouse,
But your packets want to tunnel on another protocol,
That's repeatedly rejected by the printer down the hall,
And your screen is all distorted by the side effects of gouse.
So your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse,
Then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang,
'Cause as sure as I'm a poet, the sucker's gonna hang!

When the copy of your floppy's getting sloppy on the disk,
And the microcode instructions cause unnecessary RISC,
Then you have to flash your memory and you'll want to RAM your ROM.
Quickly turn off the computer and be sure to tell your mom!

WELL! That certainly clears things up for ME.

And, it turns out, it was rather timely, so thank you, Marilyn, for reminding me of this!

My computer has been crashing a lot over the last couple of weeks, and even now it is in the repair shop. The tech still doesn't know what the problem was, but he tells me that he has it running again, and has reloaded the programs and my documents, so I can get it back next Monday!

The tech first thought it might be a virus. The computer was always crashing when the virus scanner was trying to do its work just after midnight each night. You could be working on it at the time, and it would just stop and shut completely down. And it didn't even seem to know something untoward had happened! It would restart without so much as a sideward glance. I am used to computers telling me if something has gone wrong, and offering to start up in 'safe mode' or something like that. Anyway, the tech has now decided it might have been overheating, but I'm skeptical. Dumb machine!