Do Not Feed the Bears

As Yogi and schemed up a plethora of ideas to steal food from people who are just trying to enjoy a break from life, I think the Ranger Smith should have maybe just shot him. Nothing else seemed to work, so why not?

Maybe somebody spent many month's worth of wages on a vacation to Jelloystone Park, worked tirelessly to have a great feast in nature, convinced the ex to bring the kids out and enjoy one last family get-together. But right when things seemed to be going well, a goofus in a neck-tie and hat swings down and lifts that food right from the table. What if that was the only food they had for that day and the children had to go hungry? What if a marriage split because it magnified a weakness in one of the people? I can see a crushed soul on a rock, his head flopped into his hands as he wails, "I can't even plan a picnic for my family that I love with all my heart. I'm a failure and don't want to live."

And yet, Ranger Smith never managed to end this menace to society. Furthermore, nobody seemed to acknowledge the negative repercussions of the show. It taught people that it was acceptable to be conniving, rude, and selfish when it came to satisfying your own personal desires. People wander about taking whatever they like if they feel like they could used and blow off the consequences. You could have ruined somebodies life. Don't you care? Huh?

So cruel...

Hanna-Barbera, you've no idea what you've done!

A Techno-futile World?

Yesterday I went to a meeting that was all about using more technology in the classroom. I heard about this kind of stuff in college. "Always use technology!" But at my college, we had no technology, so I had no clue what this could really mean.

In the meeting, we talked about using blogs, wikis, and podcasts as means for students to respond and work. Though I know little to nothing about podcasts, I am creating a wiki for students doing a research project, and I'm thinking of having students post essays on a blog. It's a little thing, I know, but I'm getting all white and nerdy over it.

Sad...

I started reading Jude today, and it didn't take long before it became depressing.

"Although I was eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints." v.3

It's sad that the best news and most thrilling part of Christianity has to be put aside because people have to fight for the truth.

Friendly Times

This weekend, my wife and I went to Missouri to see a what I can only call a friend of the highest quality. She's awesome. And I think what makes it great is that we don't stay in touch, but when we come together, we have endless amounts of material to discuss and laugh about. Life was good.

Every year, she has a get together call "The Singe" during which a bonfire is made that scorches your soul. I had never seen such a thing. The wood stack was taller than me before we lit it, and flames licked over twenty feet in the air.

In general, fire is awesome. With this fire, I loved it even more as I could see the purple chasing the orange through the wood until the orange jumped into sparks and embers. I was in a trance for a greater part of the evening.

When getting home, I logged on to WoW to see if my brothers were on. Zach was, of course, and he asked if I wanted to run around with his guild after the expansion comes out on Thursday. I said it sounded great. Then he told me that it would be a "time commitment." I have no trouble with commitment, but I had to ask how severe this would be. Four nights a week from 7-11. Yipes. Since I've been trying to cut back on my gaming in general, this seemed like a bad idea. And now, I'm convinced it is. Not looking forward to telling him, "Love to, but I'm trying to live."

It's Been One of These Kind of Days

Rant. Rant. Rant.

That'll do me as much good as anything. Sigh.

Voting: Not So Thrilling

I guess nobody has ever said that doing your duty as a responsible citizen is exciting, but I was kind of hoping it would be. Living in Nebraska, I found that my vote really did count for almost nothing. I looked at the paper today and saw that only one county voted for Obama. One. Out of the entire state, one (and I think it was Lancaster, where I live) that had a majority for the democratic nominee. Even though the guy I voted for won, I feel like I lost because those in my more immediate vicinity were not really with me.

I don't take sides with politics, at least not when it comes to party lines, and over all, I hate even talking about it. I blame my parents. They are both die-hard republicans that get all of their political news from Fox-News. They talk about O'Reilly tells them, and have little time for anything else. Over the years, this has driven me further from even wanting to listen to the republican side of things. I fear doing the same democratically. Though a registered independent, it is kind of hard to look at the lines and not sway more one way than another.

This is most exemplified by an amendment that I voted on yesterday. Democrats seem to usually talk a lot about leveling the playing fields, helping those less fortunate. An amendment yesterday focused on prohibiting discrimination of any kind in any situation. It did not pass. Somewhere, an idea of equal rights got ingrained into Nebraska thinking.

I know that republicans don't all think that people should be denied rights based on sex, religion, and race. But honestly, how can you look at something like that and say, "Nah, I like making sure that people don't have equal opportunities. I like make people work harder and get less."

I don't know how to end this...

ROAR!

Hit the Ground...and It Hurt.

Class is back in session. the week off was amazing, and I didn't want to it end (no surprise there). My lack of planning often comes to bite in unpleasant places, and this week is not much of an exception. I started planning my week yesterday. It seemed like it was far enough in advance, and on a school day, it may have been. I made my plans, then looked at what I would need for copies, and that's when the nibbling started.

I have 120+ students, and I never know if they will all be around or not, so I have to have copies for all. This wouldn't be such a big deal, except that out copier has a tendency of dying...a lot. I already jammed it once, and I fear trying again. So I'm half frantic, half indifferent (hence the blogging).

In other news, everybody should check out rifftrax.com. It will change your life. The people responsible for Mystery Science Theater 3000 have continued their work on more well-known works. This weekend, we downloaded their commentary for Jurassic Park and it was the best four bucks I ever spent. Seriously, if you have movies that you want to spice up, or if you've been curious about one but you're afraid it will suck, look into this. It makes everything better.