Month: February 2007

How do people find me?

I’ve seen this done at other blogs (like Minor Tweaks), and I’ve always been fascinated with it, so here are the last ten search strings that brought people here.
* test scores at odds with rising high school grades
My opinion on this isn’t too well informed, but I don’t think I said anything ridiculous
* coca cola engiva berry green tea
* coca cola engiva peach green tea
* enviga too much caffeine?
* how much egcg should i take?
Looks like a lot of people are coming to read my lukewarm but honest review of Enviga, a bunch of links to the lies Coke tells about it, and my unconfirmed and possibly libelous claim that artificial sweetener causes cancer. By the way, the answer to “how much egcg should I take?” is none. Get up off your fat ass and exercise like a normal person. Just because it’s from China and not some lab in Idaho doesn’t mean you should take it.  And yes, Enviga has too much caffiene.
* bitching and complain about wife
I just want to state for the record that I do not bitch and complain about my wife. References to my wife may appear in complaints of which she is not the subject.
* achilles rupture blogs
This one’s for you, Gayle.
* baroody
You think that was him, Googling his own name?
* “internet explorer is the devil”
* internet explorer is devil
Sweet.

Things are getting back to normal

A little while back, I moved this blog to a subdomain, breaking RSS feeds, and confusing the spam robots.  I’m happy to report that my spam comments are back up to the numbers they were at before I moved the blog, which I suppose means that people have more or less figured out that you have to come to the blog subdomain.

I haven’t been posting much lately because I still don’t have internet at home, and I can only spend so much time doing this at work.  I have to say that because my team lead reads this.  In reality, I spend at least 6 hours a day working on Complaint Hub related things.  Just kidding, Andy.

Anyway, word from the condo association is that Comcast may be out as soon as tomorrow to install something or other, which means that we should be able to make appointments to have cable/internet hooked up on Thursday.  This is excellent news.

So, I hope that, by next week, I will be online at home, and everything will be right with the world again.

I cant take this no internet thing much longer

This weekend was the longest time I can remember while I was in the U.S. and didn’t have an internet connection. I’m starting to twitch.

Seriously, it’s not that bad, I guess, but there’s stuff I need to get done that I don’t want to do at work. And it would have been nice to be able to look up a few things over the weekend that actually were work-related. On a positive note, however, Comcast seems to think that they might be able to finally help us out this weekend. That would be cool.

Makes it a little hard to update, though. Fortunately, it was a quiet weekend.

We did get to Sticky Fingers for brunch on Sunday. I had coffee and a vegan cold cut sub, which was actually pretty good. And we had lunch with my mom and grandmother Saturday. Other than that, we mostly cleaned. The house is looking like a real place, although there’s still stuff to do. I think I’m going to order blinds today so we can get them up in time for the housewarming party.

Make sure you find the real problem

Test Scores at Odds With Rising High School Grades – washingtonpost.com

The mismatch between stronger transcripts and weak test scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the nation’s report card, resonated in the Washington area and elsewhere. Some seized upon the findings as evidence of grade inflation and the dumbing-down of courses. The findings also prompted renewed calls for tough national standards and the expansion of the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Since I don’t teach in area high schools, and don’t have children or even know any children in area high schools, I can’t comment on this from direct experience.  But it worries me that nowhere in this article does it suggest that the problem might be the tests.  I’m not saying that I don’t think there is grade inflation and course-title inflation.  I’m sure there is.  But the article takes it as accepted fact that the tests are infallible – that a good test score means a student who is well-prepared for the real world.

Anyone closely involved with area high schools can probably tell you that isn’t true.  Certianly it is more likely that a student with high scores will do well in the real world, but I can’t believe that it’s an absolutely accurate predictor of success.

I think the danger here is that we take things as fact when they are anything but.  If you make very logical and informed decisions based on flawed assumptions, your decisions are probably going to be wrong.

Maybe we should be looking at students who took these tests five years ago and looking at what a high test score meant.  Were those students more likely to be successful in college?  More likely to get a good job?  What were we doing differently back when scores were higher?  Were those students better or worse off?  There are a million questions to answer, and seeing low test scores and immediately assuming that the teachers are failing is a disservice to everyone.

The bus

I did take the bus to meet my wife. As I was waiting to cross 16th Street to the bus stop, I watched the S4 bus go by, and my heart sank. I was destined to wait on the street corner on a blustery afternoon instead of sitting at Bottom Line with my wife and her coworkers.

But then, to my surprise, the S2 bus was right behind! It was maybe two blocks behind the S4, and it took me right down 16th Street. It wasn’t crowded. It didn’t stop too often. It was quite pleasant.

I know the bus gets a bad rap, but it really is a great way to get around. We took a cab home (We split it with a coworker who lives nearby), and arrived just before the bus did. The cab probably saved us a whole minute, and cost three times as much. This may change as I use it more, but right now, I’m totally sold on bus transportation.

Everything is the devil

The Fictional Works of Joseph Shimerdla | Grass is the Devil

Look, You say, “I’m finally done”. But Satan says, “You’ve just begun”

Got a link from fellow Nanoer Joseph Shimerdla, so I thought I’d return the favor.  He got me thinking – how many things really can be the devil? We’ve already established that Internet Explorer is the devil.  It appears that grass is also the devil.  Women, of course.  I believe that at least one person has called George Bush the devil, and he was probably right, although otherwise he’s probably insane. So, the devil doesn’t really make sense if there’s no god.  I mean, if there is a force of pure evil, there must be an opposing force of good, or we’d all be in trouble.  It is widely accepted that the Judeo-Christian God is omnipresent.  Therefore, it is logical to assume that the devil is also omnipresent, or else he would have been kicked to the curb by now.  So we must come to the conclusion that, in fact, ALL THINGS are the devil. That’s either scary or it’s liberating.  Maybe both.

Bravo, AP, for a wonderful headline

Sword seized after man mistakes porn for rape – CNN.com

“Now I feel stupid,” said James Van Iveren, who has been charged in the case. “This really is nothing, nothing but a mistake.”

Kicking down the door with a sword, demanding to see the woman being raped is clearly not the best way to handle your neighbor watching porn.  Certainly it’s admirable to want to help a woman in distress, but perhaps a little more calmness would have been a good idea.

And were in

We’re all moved in. The house is still a disaster, but we’ve made a lot of progress. Actually, I’ve made some progress, and my wife has made a lot of progress. But the progress is being made, that’s what’s important.

There are plenty of problems so far. First, the cat is still very agitated. And when she’s agitated, she’s loud. I hope another day or two and she’ll be adjusted. Much more than that and I fear the wife will ship her off to Siberia.

We still don’t have cable or internet. There’s a weak unprotected network that’s available sometimes, but not reliably. Comcast and Verizon both don’t recognize the building as separate units, so they won’t install anything.

On the bright side, I went to the new Super Giant on Park St., and had no problems. I had heard a lot of complaints about the store, but I had short lines, pleasant and efficient cashiers, and I found just about everything I needed. It’s cool to be able to walk to the grocery store.

So, I’ll be updating more as we get internet at home, and as we get a little more settled. I may be meeting the wife and her coworkers for happy hour tonight, so I might try the bus down 16th Street. I’ll report back if I do, I know you’re dying to hear.

Review of a car Ill never buy

The Truth About Cars | Lexus SC430

The seating position is a throwback to bygone era, when rakish drivers knew low meant go; a time before owners of $100k SUV’s looked down on diminutive coupes. Shame the roof is too low for you to look back up at them.

TTAC is often pretty harsh in their reviews, and this one is no different.  The above quote made me laugh.  I’m not sure exactly why, but I thought I’d share it anyway.  They don’t much like the SC430, and I guess that doesn’t surprise me.  It’s always struck me as a car for rich women who want the devil-may-care attitude of a convertible without actually having to be inconvenienced in any way.  I shouldn’t bad-mouth them too much, though, because I think my realtor drives one.  And she’s very nice, and an excellent realtor.