A Matter of Interpretation

Tuesday is current events day in our homeroom activity rotation, and that usually means CNN 10 and some kind of quiz game. For those who are unaware, CNN 10 is a 10 minute news show for secondary students produced every week day from September to May by, you guessed it, CNN. For the most part, it's not objectionable; the coverage ranges from politics, both national and international, to the domestic economy, with a large dose of science, heavy on climate change and astronomy. 

The quiz we usually do is a Kahoot. Again, for you non-schoolies, Kahoot is a web based platform where anyone can create quiz games. They also offer some public content that the company creates. Good News of the Week is one of those quiz games. As you might imagine the question can be a bit hit or miss in terms of their content. They definitely do not align with CNN 10, but the quizzes are usually entertaining.

Today was kind of a bust though. The kids (and I!) only got 34% overall accuracy. The questions were all over the place and more than a little esoteric ranging from the number of bike spots in a new underwater garage in Amsterdam (7000) to Louis Vuitton's partnership with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama to the capture of a record-setting, nearly 7 pound cane toad in Australia.

We were all dismayed to learn in the follow-up info that the toad was later euthanized, as it is an invasive pest introduced to Australia from South America in 1935 in hopes of controlling the Cane Beetle which was harming crops. Since then, the toads have flourished, unchecked by natural predators, and have become a huge threat themselves to many native reptiles, birds, and mammals.

At the end of the game we all agreed that that particular news item was definitely not good, especially for the toad.

The Nerve

Around lunchtime today, we walked over with some sourdough bread and chicken salad to visit our friend Mary who is recovering from knee replacement surgery. Mary looks good; she may be giving Heidi a run for her money in the medical miracle category. Even though the surgery was just last Thursday, Mary met us at the door with only a cane. "Oh, I walked upstairs the same day," she shrugged modestly. "It's what they tell you to do." She went on to report that she had had a nerve block before the procedure which helped with the pain but was also pretty disconcerting. "I couldn't move my leg for a million dollars," she laughed.

Her story reminded me of the time in seventh grade when I broke my arm. Back then, they didn't call an ambulance for such injuries, instead my mom picked me up from school, where I had slipped on the basketball court during PE and fractured my ulna, and drove me to the hospital. It was a compound break, and they gave me a brachial block in the ER even before they x-rayed it. I remember lying on the gurney behind one of the curtains with my mother at my side, waiting for the orthopedist to come and set the bone. 

"Your hand is so warm!" I said to my mom.

She looked momentarily confused. "You're not holding my hand," she told me.

It turned out I was holding my own hand, but since I couldn't feel anything, I couldn't even tell!

Well Isn't That Cool?

 Who knew our iPhone photo apps could do this???

Evidently this "lift a subject from the background" capability has been available since September, when iOS 16 arrived. Heidi found it by accident yesterday, while looking at wedding dress photos of course. We've been playing with it since, but are still not quite sure of its full application. It's cool, though!

*Cute puppy pic courtesy of Bill and Emily.

Please Say Yes

Heidi has spent the last three weekends shopping for wedding dresses with our friend Lauren. Now, Heidi loves her some shopping and she also loves talking about clothes, about which she is super knowledgeable, but at this point, after dozens of dresses and discussions dissecting the lace and the beading and the bodice and the buttons and the train and the ruching and the neckline and the fit-and-flare vs the a-line and straps or sleeves or caps or sleeveless, I think even Heidi has had her fill.

Almost.

They have one more appointment Monday at 5. 

And Heidi? Is in!

Beautiful Mind

My reluctant writer finally made some progress on his essay planning today in class. Nevermind that the essay was actually due at the end of class, I was just happy to see him demonstrate his thinking and understanding of the process, which he has refused to do until now. The breakthrough seemed accidental: he was seated by the chalkboard, and as I probed his analysis of the story I wrote a few possible claims on the board. Excited, he jumped up and asked for the chalk. Ten minutes later? Here's what he produced:

It's a start.

It's on My List

I walked up to the dentist with Heidi after school today, and while she was in her appointment I continued a couple of blocks to do some grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. As I strode toward the sliding glass doors, I made eye contact with a young woman who was canvassing for the Nature Conservancy. "Would you like to help save the world?" she asked.

"Nope," I answered, and then laughed. "Well, of course I would, just not right now."

She nodded without disappointment or surprise. I'm guessing she gets that a lot.

Good Old-fashioned

The bottom drawer on my teacher desk seemed a little sticky today when I opened it to retrieve a bag of Jolly Ranchers. I thought perhaps something had fallen behind it and was preventing a smooth glide when I pushed it closed, but the design of the drawer prevented me from seeing or even reaching into the space without removing the whole thing. So I pushed my desk forward to clear the bookshelf behind it and lifted the draw free of its rollers and out. 

I was disappointed to find nothing there, and I stooped to replace the drawer but I couldn't make it go in. I was banging it all around when my colleagues came in for lunch. One of my handier friends tried to assist me while the others poked fun at our ineptitude. "Maybe it's time for a new desk," quipped one.

"I've had this desk for 30 years," I replied. "I'm not getting a new one now!"

"That could be the problem," she laughed.

"I think you're going to have to call the custodian," suggested another, and the friend who was helping me agreed.

I don't call the custodian to fix anything! I have a drawer full of tools and pride myself on maintaining the vintage furniture and equipment I have spent so many years with. In fact, I'm sure I can count on one hand the number of times I've asked for help. Once when I barfed, once when a kid peed on the chair, once after at least 10 years of fixing a cabinet latch that finally fell apart, and that's pretty much it, so I really did not want to call for someone to help me put a drawer back in.

But that's what I did. Our friendly custodian appeared within five minutes, and after another round of jokes about the age of my desk, he pulled out the roller assembly and fit it on the drawer outside the desk then slid the whole thing back in. I watched him carefully in case I ever need to repeat his repair, but since I only pull the drawer all the way out every thirty years, I think I'm safe.

Plus? How can a desk look old? It has a laminate top, steel body, and three drawers which lock, AND it's inaccessible to any of the creatures I share my room with. What improvements could a new desk possibly have?