Patio Cover, Day 4

You Don't See This Very Often....

From the Army Times:

There are brothers in arms and bands of brothers, and now there are Noah, Sumner and Cole Ogrydziak, three Texas brothers who began their cadet training together at West Point this week.

For one of the few times in its long history, the U.S. Military Academy accepted three siblings into the same class. Twins Sumner and Cole, who just turned 18, and their 19-year-old brother, Noah, of Nederland in southeast Texas, have each signed on for four years of academics and military training. If all three make it through the rigorous program, they will simultaneously toss their caps into the air as newly commissioned second lieutenants in the Army in 2017.

Very cool.  I wish them well.

Patio Cover, Days 1, 2, and 3

Day 1 (actually Night 1) I did nothing but take this picture of the assembly area:

On Day 2 I did nothing.  On Day 3 I started opening the two boxes and setting the hundreds of parts around my garage.  My plan was to work on this at night, but the mere 25 degree temperature savings isn't enough--it's still uncomfortably warm out--and I can't see what I'm doing with just the small patio light on, so I'm going to have to bear down and work during the day.  Step 1 in the instructions is to assemble the outer frame of the roof, and it requires 4 parts per side plus some nuts, bolts, and washers; I found the appropriate parts and staged them in the assembly area:

The instructions have the gazebo being built in 6 major operations with the parts labeled by operation: Parts 1A through 1D are for Step 1, 2A-2Z (or whatever) are for Step 2, etc.  Tomorrow I want to identify each of the parts in my garage, group them by step number, and if I'm not dying of the heat by that time, start Step 1.

Again, I plan to post my progress each day as a motivating tool for myself.

Smart Diplomacy

How hard and long do you have to think before you can come up with something in the foreign policy/smart diplomacy arena wherein the US is better off today than it was in November 2008?

US foreign policy is failing worldwide.

The EU:

The document explicitly called the EU a "target".

A spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence had no comment on the Der Spiegel story.

Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, said that if the report was correct, it would have a "severe impact" on relations between the EU and the United States.

Barack Obama seeks to limit EU fallout over US spying claims

Egypt:
Activists criticize U.S. Amb. Anne Patterson, Obama for supporting Muslim Brotherhood
Morsi's out

Russia:
Snowden Watch: Why Putin is Loving It

The Russian leader loves to humiliate Washington, and he now has the ultimate tool.

Afghanistan:
Grim Milestone: Over Twice as Many U.S. Soldiers Have Died in Afghanistan Under Obama In 3 1/2 Years Than Did Under Bush in 8 Years
Of course, more have died in the 14 months since that was published.

Increased drone strikes, especially against brown-skinned people:
Study: US drone strikes more likely to kill civilians than US jet fire


Bottom line:  is there any component of US foreign policy wherein the US is in better shape now than when Obama took office, through actions of the president or his Secretary of State?

Update, July 5, 2013:   Foreign Policy doesn't pull any punches:

U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration has achieved the hat trick of alienating all factions in Egypt.

Update #2, July 5, 2013: Granted, I couldn't care less what the Bolivian government thinks of us, but I thought the world was supposed to love us once we got rid of that half-cocked cowboy and got us a gen-u-ine Nobel Peace Prize winner for president:

The president, who expelled the U.S. ambassador in 2008, said he wouldn't hesitate to boot the embassy, too.

"Without the United States," he said, "we are better politically and democratically."

150 Years Ago Today

Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg.

History question:  why did so many of our major battles happen in National Parks?  :-)

Patio Cover

A few weeks ago I bought a 12'x12' aluminum patio cover; the two boxes, weighing over 500 pounds, have been in my garage ever since.

I should have started assembling it 2 days ago but instead will start assembling it this evening, when the temperature drops a bit.  I'm going to take a picture of my progress (or lack thereof) at the end of each day and document it.  My goal is to have the entire thing assembled by the end of the month, but I'm already hedging on that!

Work and College Readiness

My stress curve skyrockets when I hear people--usually educators, who should know better--say that college readiness is career readiness; the thesis, implied or stated outright, is that all students should take as much math as possible, up to and including Algebra 2, which is a prerequisite for most 4-year universities.  This is, of course, stupid on its face, as it's abundantly clear that the vast majority of working people don't use Algebra 2 at all in their daily lives.  Heck, most teachers--and all of them have a university degree!--don't use Algebra 2 in their daily lives, so it's clear that at the very least they're being disingenuous.

So what math should a high school graduate know?

NCEE has released What Does It Really Mean to Be College and Work Ready?, a study of the English Literacy and Mathematics required for success in the first year of community college. On May 7th, during a day-long meeting, key education and policy leaders joined NCEE to discuss the results of the study and its implications for community college reform, school reform, teacher education, the common core state standards, and vocational education and the workplace.

Watch the couple minutes of video called What are the key findings for Mathematics? as well as the clip called What are the implications for the Common Core State Standards?  I agree with the finding that people need to master elementary and junior high school math--fractions, decimals, proportions, etc.--much more than they need calculus.  Statistics, though, remains an important class :-)

Happy 30th Anniversary!

Thirty years and a couple days ago, over 1400 of America's finest started a long journey.  The very first leg of that journey, by far the easiest part, caused them all to start converging on southeast New York.  On July 1, 1983, all lines met at West Point.

Thirty years ago today was R-Day, "Reception Day" for our class.  I met my two roommates, and together we were the United Nations--I was Protestant, Ronnie was Catholic, and Alan was Jewish.  We weren't the most squared away trio but we worked well together.  We lost about a third of our class by the time graduation rolled around almost 4 years later, but all three of us graduated.  In fact, of the 11 new cadets in our squad, 10 of us graduated.

It's hard to believe it's been 30 years.  All those paths that met at West Point on that day so long ago later radiated out into a diaspora that even today allows us to live up to our class motto, Our Country We Strengthen.

Trip Pictures

click to enlarge

To learn what this is about, do a search for the Pig War on San Juan Island.

Popeye, the Friday Harbor seal

British Columbia has a beautiful flag

This was home, at the Fort Victoria RV Park just a few miles from downtown

Someone didn't get the message about the name of this store :-)

At the Royal BC Museum I learned that we weren't the only ones.

One of the many peacocks roaming Beacon Hill Park

This is more orcas than we saw out whale "watching".

Special ops?  No, just going whale watching.

That's the Coho leaving Victoria behind us, on its way to Port Angeles, WA.

MV Coho, built in 1959 (as if you couldn't tell from its colors and lines).

The Olympic Peninsula, seen from the Coho on the way to Port Angeles

At Ruby Beach, WA

Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery wintered in this tiny "fort"

Reconstructed Fort Clatsop

No, my trailer would *not* fit through the tree.

I, however, *would* fit.

Update:  How could I forget.  HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!

We Need To Introduce This Gentleman To CTEN

Teacher Jeff Castle explains why he's resigned from his union.

Notice the link is from KQED/NPR, and notice how vicious and hostile the liberals are now that this teacher dare question the union.

Wait, this was played on NPR?  Heads are exploding in Burlingame.

Be It Ever So Freakin' Hot....

...there's no place like home.

Three nights ago was spent in a Wal*mart parking lot, and the last two nights were spent in rest stops on the edge of the road.  But oh, the things I saw!

When I got off the Coho I pulled into the Wally World parking lot and slept for the night.  Then instead of heading southeast, towards I-5, I headed west, going down the Pacific Coast of Washington.  Made a couple stops on the way (pictures to be posted later)--and noticed the truism that the only people whose votes count in Washington can see the Space Needle. Those rural folks don't like Patty Murray at all!  And they think that DC and Olympia don't listen to, respect, or care about them.  It was very eye-opening.

Crossed into Oregon, saw Lewis and Clark's camp at Fort Clatsop, and then headed to Portland to see a friend from my Air Force Academy days, and his family.    After a visit of a few hours I was on the road again, stopping for the night at a rest stop near Albany, Oregon.

The next morning in southern Oregon I headed southwest, emerging from the mountains along the California coast at Crescent City.  That's some beautiful real estate!  Back on 101 again, I continued south, stopping for dinner in a mall parking lot in Eureka (I think), and bedded down for the night at a rest stop outside of Leggett.

I have a picture of my grandparents driving through the Drive Thru Tree some time before I was born, and now I've been there.  My Camry would have fit but I didn't want to disconnect the trailer to do it, so instead I just walked up to it and got some pictures.

A few hours later I broke out of the hills on CA-20 and got my first view of the Central Valley in 12 days, and the Sutter Buttes were right in front of me.  Back on I-5 again, it was a straight shot to suburban Sacramento, and then a turn east on I-80 put me back in "my" terrain.

The thermometer in my car registered 110 degrees today.  Thank God for air conditioning, both in the car and at home!

Pictures to be added soon.

Update, 7/1/13:  See new post for pics.

What A Shock, I Don't Support Affirmative Action

To those who unjustly benefit from AA (and, of course, their allies), I'm a racist.  Of course I'm not, but it makes them feel better to call me one.  Perhaps they're racist against Asians:

There's a certain irony in the fact that white students usually bring these affirmative action lawsuits (and that defenses of affirmative action are often framed in terms of white privilege).  The evidence seems to show that if completely race-neutral admissions policies were adopted at colleges and universities, the admissions rates for blacks and hispanic would fall dramatically . . . but the admissions rates for whites wouldn't change much.  The primary beneficiaries would be Asian students, who would fill nearly four out of five of the extra admissions slots.

One of the oddest facts about college admissions is that everyone seems to be aware that colleges have imposed restrictive admissions quotas to keep Asians underrepresented in their student bodies, akin to the "Jewish quotas" which used to exist at Ivy League schools until the 1950s.  But no one seems particularly bothered about systemic, institutionalized racial discrimination against a large group of Americans.  I'm not even aware of any concerted effort by Asian community groups to shame universities into stopping this.

I would support such a meritocracy no matter who benefited from it.

Public Politeness

I was picked up this morning at the RV park and taken to the whale watching tour but had to take the city bus back this evening.  Like so many other buses in so many other cities, here in Victoria you board (and pay) at the front of the bus and exit at the doors towards the rear. I noticed that whenever people exited they said "thank you" to the driver, even though it's unlikely that he heard most of them at all. 

I like the spirit of politeness.

Whale Watching Wasted :(

OK, it wasn't really wasted, but let's admit up front that 99% of the people go whale watching here to see orcas, and none were sighted today.  We got brief glimpses of a young humpback, though, and some very fast rides though relatively smooth water.  We did see many "west coast whales"--logs with birds on them :)  It's amazing how much driftwood there is in the Juan de Fuca Strait.

Here's the special ops team before heading out--your intrepid blogger has the front seat, of course, the bounciest in the boat.

Less Than Optimal

At 8:30 tomorrow morning I have to mosey on down to the ferry terminal to get in line.  I already have a reservation over to the Victoria area, but I still have to be there an hour early.

I've checked the weather in Victoria--rain for the next several days, clearing up just in time for Canada Day on July 1st, by which time I'll be home.  That's less than optimal, but I'll still enjoy myself I'm sure.  I've already found some hot yoga studios so I'll do that at least once while I'm up here; the 106 degree room will almost make it feel like California!

Sunday in Friday Harbor

I'm having a great time visiting friends again here in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.  The last two days have been beautiful, but today there's a slight rain.

Tonight I need to break camp, because even with a reservation I have to be in line at the ferry terminal at 8:30 for the 9:45 trip to Sidney, British Columbia.  I'm looking forward to being in Canada again :-)

Travel Update

Left Tuesday night, made it to Weed and crashed in a rest stop for the night.  Drove all day today, meeting up with a friend in Tacoma.  Now I'm in a hotel (a shower is good) because I'm meeting two people tomorrow, including a reader/commenter on this blog!  Hopefully will get to sleep at the ferry terminal Thursday night so I can catch a Friday morning ferry to Friday Harbor.

I don't know why, but I used to have a really bad attitude about the I-5 corridor section of Oregon.  Driving through today I found it quite beautiful and not at all hillbilly :-)  Rain started at about the Mile 1 marker and continued intermittently until about the time I crossed the Columbia River.  Time really seemed to fly--except, of course, for rush hour traffic in Portland.

Off to bed now, been a long day.

It Won't Get Fixed Until It's Known

Gotta admire this kid's spunk:

It's the documentary that audiences and film critics are eating up.

In a covert six-month mission to expose the inside world of school lunches, 11-year-old Zachary Maxwell made "Yuck: A 4th Grader's Documentary About School Lunch" when he was a fourth-grader at a New York City public school.

Armed with hidden cameras, the precocious filmmaker went undercover to document dozens of lunches he was served at school.

During Zachary's investigation, he compared descriptions of lunch items on the school-provided menu with secretly recorded video of what he was actually being served.

"It sounded like it was coming from the finest restaurant, but what we were actually getting served, it wasn't too good," Zachary told ABC News.
 
His 19-minute movie has already been featured at film festivals this year, and will be shown in the Manhattan Film Festival June 21, something the now fifth-grader is quite proud of.

Blogging May Be Light For Awhile

I'm heading north tonight!

It's odd, but I like to start my vacations in the evening.  I'm a night owl anyway so I can drive into the night and, when I wake up, feel like I've gotten a head start on my trip.  That's what I'm doing tonight.

I've driven every single mile of Interstate 5 from the Canadian border to the Mexican border, and tonight I head back towards the Canadian border.  I'll stop and lunch with a couple people on the way up before spending a few days visiting friends on San Juan Island (last year's pics and video here and here), and then I'm over to Victoria, BC, where I haven't been in 8 years (I doubt it's changed much).  Visiting a friend from my Air Force Academy days on the way back home.

Curious about my accommodations for this trip?  Don't be!

If You're Surprised By This, You Haven't Been Paying Attention

Really?  Teacher preparation is substandard?  Who'd'a thunk???

“We don’t know how to prepare teachers,” said Arthur Levine, former president of Teachers College at Columbia University and author of a scathing critique of teacher preparation. “We can’t decide whether it’s a craft or a profession. Do you need a lot of education as you would in a profession, or do you need a little bit and then learn on the job, like a craft? I don’t know of any other profession that’s so uncertain about how to educate their professionals.”

Interesing.  I pondered that topic over 8 years ago.