Political Pop Corn

Politics. It's all the buzz. It's all the rage. It's like pop corn. It's slick with butter and pieces are flying in different directions yet some are sticking together in a clump. Who's brand will be the fluffiest? All the cool kids are blogging about it. Well, I have something to say. WTF! is what I have to say. I'll be straight up. I have nothing to hide. It used to be that discussing who you vote for was like discussing your salary. It's just not something you did.

Times change.

I voted for Obama in the primary here in AZ. There I said it. And no, I'm also not a trader to my gender. I'd like to share with you a comment I recently put on Mrs. Flinger's blog just because it really sums up how I feel about politics right now.

"..Politics to me are like a Far Side cartoon: “blah blah Ginger. blah blah blah blah Ginger.” I try so hard to pay attention and learn what I can and then get confused some more. The answers all depend on who you ask too. In the end, I just follow all the other lemmings, go fill in the little oval for the person who convinces me they will do the best job based on who has the best speech writers. And hair dresser. Then I grab the handles of the hand basket and hang on. I wish I weren’t so cynical, but cheese-n-rice, it’s only February! A lot could happen from now till then.

I think RuPaul should run for pres and that would fix everything. Terrorists would take one look at that and say “oh HELL no” and leave us the frig alone so we can concentrate on getting better Botox injections for all Americans. God helps those who help themselves, right?..."

My point is that I'm growing very tired of all the nitpicking about skin color and gender and whether or not it matters. What matters to me are the same things that matter to most people and the bottom line is who is the best person for the job. I'm not confident that any politician will do what they say they are going to do once they do get into office and in the end, it's not the President who has the final say anyhow. It's all a game of political football and I didn't even watch the Super Bowl this year. Not even for the commercials. That should tell you how much I care for football. (Except when in reference to the below comment.)

What is really pissing me off right now is the candidates' stances on education. Specifically No Child Left Behind — or how teachers around here, like my husband, refer to it more commonly as No Child Gets Ahead. I just don't have a lot of faith in their uses of the word 'reform.' Why can't they just commit to getting rid of the damn thing?

No Child Left Behind: The Football Version
Author Unknown*

1. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all will win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable.

2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time and in the same conditions. No exceptions will be made for interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL

3. Talented players will be asked to work out on their own without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in football, have limited athletic ability, or whose parents don't like football.

4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in the 4th, 8th, and 11th games.

5. This will create a New Age of sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal goals.
If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.

No one seems to know the source of this written work, but if you know differently, please let me know so I can cite it properly. This has been emailed to me several times now and I've seen it on the web in other blogs, so couldn't hurt to post it in mine as well.*

At the very least I can say Obama has a more consistent and more attractively laid out plan (at least on his website) of how he will tackle NCLB. Sure, he doesn't say he'll get rid of it, but he does spell out how he plans to revise it which, for the time being, at least, looks good in RGB.

Billary on the other hand, when I visit here website, I feel my intelligence is a little insulted when I go to check it out. Why? Do they think I won't notice subtle design changes and implementations? Editing? I'm not stupid.

A couple of weeks ago, I checked out her website along side of Obama's and compared where they said, or — excuse me — their web designers said, they stand on education issues. After comparing the sites, Obama's was easier to comprehend whereas Clinton's looked like it wasn't as well thought out while it dismissed the topic of NCLB as just a mistake the Bush Administration made and she was going to reform it, blah blah blah - White House-speak. I could have sworn the text looks different today than it did just a week ago. Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought there was more to it than what is there now.

When you go to her site now, it simply says she will "...End the unfunded mandate known as No Child Left Behind." That's it? That's your plan? I just don't trust that for some reason. It just feels like to me she's stretching her positions to make it so it's what people want to hear. All politicians do this, but some just seem more sincere than others. I'm not a Republican so I wouldn't vote for McCain or Huckabee, but at least they seem sincere.

There is also some interesting controversy floating around out there that has to do with her actual position on education "reauthorization." I don't like that word "reauthorization," do you? It's one thing to say you'll get rid of something. It's one thing to say you think something is broken and list how you plan to fix it. It's something else — I don't know what — to say you will "reauthorize" something.

It's gobbledygook to me.

Do take a read on the links directed from this blog post so you can see what I saw.

"Improve teacher training." To me, that still translates into "let's keep blaming the teachers for everything and call it lack of training." Nice.

Just as a side note, I wonder if her website designers have read what was said in the New York Times about Obama being a Mac and Clinton a PC. I don't take it that seriously, but I do find it amusing and tend to agree with Obama's site being more Mac-esque and more appealing to me personally. I also think his communication resonates with a younger crowd.

I hate to be so critical of Hillary, but I just don't like being led by fear and finger wagging. I just don't find her all that inspiring. I wish I did, but I just don't. She reminds me of former female bosses I've had who use their authority to belittle you. That's just how I feel. I realize some women feel they need to be a little bitchy to rise to the top. It shouldn't be this way, but it is in some respects.

Gender and race are really not important to me when it comes to the right person for the job, but how someone represents themselves is and that means all of their mainstream media and communications as well. Sincerity has a lot to do with it also.

Many others have been judged for far more on much less, but these are complicated times in which we live and so to the gallows they will go.

Like popcorn, fluffy is as fluffy does.

Call Off the Adoption

Ok, so I'm no longer putting my kid up for adoption. The laptop booted up and has been – knock wood – working fine since this morning. It survived having diluted apple juice spilled across part of the keyboard and speaker and I'm happily typing from my responsive keyboard once again. Leaving it in tent position all night with the battery removed was good joo joo evidently. The return key feels slightly sticky, but I'll live. I have yet to test out the optical drive, but I have faith that it will be alright. I have a feeling that when the internal temp rises as I do higher processor grinding tasks, the keys might get a little stickier. It's just a theory and only time and lots of banging the keys will tell. Maybe it will turn into crunchy granola after a while.

Last night I used Hubby's G4 to look up the servicing manual for a MacBook Pro. I also looked at lots of pictures of the machine taken apart. There is no way in hell I'm ever going to attempt taking this thing apart. Unless I win the lottery that I never play, then maybe. Browsing through all of the photos of the assembly parts made me appreciate this little machine even more as well as the steep price tag. It also makes me a little more paranoid and on even more of a mission to toddler-proof it more. I think I'm going to buy one of those keyboard condoms for it sometime soon.

I wonder if they make them ribbed for my pleasure?

It's a Dark Day for TheMacMommy

Well, the days has come. They day I knew would probably come and even tried so hard to guard against. I am writing this post on my good 'ol noisy G4 that I have since bestowed upon Hubby. Why? The MacBook Pro is drying out upside down, laying on my pillow. Yes, Lucian decided that the laptop was thirsty and so he gave it a drink of some diluted apple juice.

Sigh.

I watch as the clock ticks by till the time when I can boot the laptop back up and hope and pray I hear that musical chime of the startup. It happened at 1:00 pm this afternoon, so it will be around that time tomorrow afternoon before I attempt to put the battery back in it and press the power button.

I will now truly live up to my moniker of The MacMommy because I feel like I am literally "Mommying" my MBP, letting it lay on my pillow while it weeps diluted apple juice tears, letting it rest and hoping it gets better and recovers. I go in every now and then and touch it and look at it and speak softly to it and kiss it. Ok, just kidding about the kissing part.

It is painful to type on my old keyboard on the G4 right now because I am really noticing the speed gap in processing power from this G4 to the MBP. The letters seems to lag behind the cursor as I type. Bleh. I don't know how Hubby puts up with this, but I suppose it's better than the blueberry iMac he did have which is now the brain of Lucian's tangerine iMac in his room. Sorry boys, Mamma's got the need for speed!

What pisses me off is I KNEW this would happen eventually and there isn't much of a way to prevent it save being extremely careful...yeah, yeah, yeah, don't keep liquids near the damn thing...oh just bite me! I have a toddler for crying out loud. I don't know what padded cell those people live in but come to my house and design a machine that is toddler proofed and you'll get my seal of approval. Sony or whoever makes one of those what do they call it, a tough book or something like that. Well, if it ran OS X and was as powerful as a Mac, I would buy one but hey, the Mac Book Pro is everything I need to be happy and make some ROI. If only it weren't so damn perty and more durable.

Well, we will find out just how durable this thing is after tomorrow. We'll see if it survives yet another toddler attack we can add to the list. Prior attacks include: a 30 lb. toddler standing on it, Lucian wiping his boogers on it, being dropped onto carpet, yanking on the screen, banging on the keys, scratches, slamming the screen shut while smiling and running away saying Bye Bye, wiping banana sludge on it, yanking the power cord out of it repeatedly (thank God for Mag-safe) and sliding it under the sofa to hide it only for someone to sit on the sofa and drill a part of the sofa frame into the lid. Yeah, that produced a nice looking ding on the lid.

All I can say is that the thing looks loved, let me tell ya. Maybe I'll take some pictures of it some time.

Oh yeah, about that. Lucian also broke the digital camera yesterday. He is on a roll. Luckily, after much sweating and teeth grinding and complaining to Hubby about it, finally I stuck my fingernail in the edge of the shutter and tried seeing if perhaps a grain of dirt got in it and thankfully something came loose and the shutter finally closed and now the camera works again.

Well, Hubby and Dr. Destructor are now hangin with me in the computer lounge a.k.a the home office and it's just a matter of time before he finds something else to feed or play with or otherwise break in which case he will be put up for adoption.

Anyone want a really cute 30 lb. toddler? He comes with computer hacking skills. Leave a comment if you want me to drop him off.

Wednesday's Walk

Contributions to Kid-kind
Last Wednesday, I took Lucian to the U of A to participate in a Tweety Language Development Lab study. Lucian participated in the 19 and 20 months study. There is also a Baby Pictures link.

He did really well in the study. I love participating in their studies because I think it's so important that they do the work they do to further the education and understanding of issues like autism, learning disabilities, and speech development. It's just one small way I feel like we can contribute to society and it brings me peace knowing we might be helping in some small way.

Primal Defense Mechanism
After our time at the lab, since we were so close, we headed over to a near-by playground. I happen to spot it near 4th Avenue (where we were headed anyhow) and saw some brightly colored and modern-looking playground stuff. Plus there looked to be a mother and daughter playing at the swings, so I thought maybe I might feel safer with another parent around.

So, I unloaded him and got him in the stroller along with the diaper bag and we headed for the area where the other kid and Mom were hanging out. Once I got there, I couldn't really tell if it was the girl's Mom or her babysitter, but it didn't matter, it was company.

I have to say that this quickly turned into an unpleasant experience. Long story short, the lady and her kid were done playing and decided to leave. Then there were too many homeless people hanging around and some icky lookin guy decided he was going to walk his dog near my stroller and diaper bag. I got all panic-stricken and had to rush over to the stroller and get the diaper bag out for fear he would somehow run off with it right there in broad day light. The guy probably got offended, but truthfully, I don't give a shit. In the midst of going over to the diaper bag, which was about 10 feet away, I had to leave Lucian unattended to for 30 seconds in which time he took a spill on the climbing thing he was on and then I felt horrible about it. I have decided that am just way too paranoid to be at a playground by myself.

Have you even watched birds while they peck at crumbs on the ground? You know how they twitch and jerk their heads around because their eyes are on the sides of their heads and they are constantly fending off predators or looking for food? You know how if you try to go up to a bird, they freak out and fly away? Well, that's how I felt at the play ground. I was all twitchy and I kept turning my head this way and that because I thought someone was coming near us. I was making myself dizzy with how much I was looking around constantly on the defense of my child. I swear, it's like this primal defense mechanism kicks in. I truly consider myself to be a very kind and caring and compassionate person. I don't like violence and I really don't stand for it, but I swear, something just comes over me now that I've never experienced before. I get this feeling that if ever I were in some kind of confrontation with someone, like a crazy person at a playground, and they were after my kid, I would seriously do some damage to a person in defense of my child if I felt they were trying to harm him. I just think there is something about motherhood, you get these chemicals in your body you didn't have there before and your child becomes so precious to you that you feel like an angry cougar ready to pounce. I don't like this feeling but yet, somehow, it just seems normal in the grand scheme of things kind of like watching the National Geographic or something like that.

I just HATE this feeling of helplessness when it comes to taking my kid to the park to play. Public parks and playgrounds should be safe places for moms and kids, but they just aren't. They are havens for weirdos. I hate being there alone and no matter how nice and clean the park looks, there are always questionable people hanging around and it makes me so nervous. I just won't go anymore unless Hubby is with me or a group of other mothers and kids. I need to find me one of those play date group things. I am so inexperienced when it comes to hanging with other mothers and little kids. I've done it a few times and I always feel like a goof. I only have a couple of other mommy friends that I've hung with comfortably, but they all work FT. I need to find some SAHM friends to hang out with. I so could have called this one Mom that has offered to meet me, but did I have her phone number with me at the time, nope. (Sorry Stacy) I'd like to think I'm more organized than that but I guess I'm not. I did plug her number in my cell phone finally, so maybe this week I will give her a call. I have no idea why I have such a problem doing this. Normally, I am so outgoing and can make a friend in the grocery store. I don't get me sometimes. There is always some excuse for not getting out and then when the mood strikes me, it rains. (Hint: it doesn't rain a lot in Tucson) When I finally DO get out, then it dawns on me that I could have planned a play date! Duh!

Head Out to the Hippie District
So, after the whole playground mental disaster, we made like a baby and headed out, got back in the car and drove to Fourth Avenue. I like to call Fourth Avenue The Hippie District. If you've even been there, you would know why. I wish I had some pics to share of it because it's a very interesting looking place. Lots of interestingly decorated building and murals on the sides. It is not uncommon to see lots of creative fashion sense, piercings of all kinds, tattoos and college kids roaming around. Probably because you can buy it all in the little shoppes that sell their wares on the strip. There are a couple of bars, tattoo and piercing parlors and retro clothing shoppes. Sometimes there are 'live' musicians playing on the sidewalk. Just about every store you pass smells like they are covering up the smell of pot with the smell of incense. There are several head shops on the strip. Don't ask me how I know that, just take my word for it. I'm not THAT liberal (anymore) but I like to window shop, ok. If you hear a bong percolating in the background, it's certainly not mine, but there is a hookah lounge that looks interesting. There is even a place to buy hydroponic herbs. Yeah, and Dave's not home either, wink wink. Herbs, riiiiiiight.....next to the oregano.....wow, this spaghetti is reeeeely good, what's in this stuff?

Herbs. Just lots of herbs.

I really like Fourth Avenue because it's the kind of place where I can walk and let my hair down – all the way down, since it's now past my waist. I normally keep it up in a pony tail because I can't think when it's down, but strolling around The Hippie District, it feels good to let it down and hang out in the sunshine. It's the kind of place where you could walk around in shorts without having clean shaven legs and no one would bat a fake pink eyelash at you. I keep my hairy legs covered though, thankyouverymuch. Even I don't want to look at that in the reflection of some glass door. Bleh.

I really enjoy taking Lucian for a walk in the stroller up and down Fourth Avenue because the sidewalks are nice and even for the most part and just about every cross section has the scalloped curbs so I can easily navigate the stroller up and down. It is a very bike- and people-friendly place for walking. Lots of stuff to see and smell. (Incense, lots of incense...I think.) The people-watching aspect is always very interesting as well. So, we had a good time. Well, actually Lucian napped most of the time laying down in his stroller, so I had a good time walking and getting some much needed exercise and sunshine. It was a good place and opportunity to clear my mind and feel so much more relaxed than the trauma I had experienced at the park. (Perhaps smelling all that incense had something to do with it.)

I guess I need to find some big hippie park where they have a big hookah in the middle of the merry go round and maybe I wouldn't be so tense and other people would feel safe with this old cougar. Grrrrr!

Tuesdays with Melissa

Last Tuesday evening, I began teaching my weekly adult technology class at the local high school. It's a course called "OS X Tips and Tricks." I am very pleased to report that I have 11, count em' – eleven students enrolled in my course. I am thrilled about it! Four of the students are 'repeat offenders' - ha ha ha - who took my course last Spring as well. The first night I opened with a meet and greet and Q and A session. Worked out well to just address questions and get to know the people since we couldn't log into the computers anyhow. Thankfully, they fixed it for tonight's class. It always makes me nervous dealing with the school's computer lab and no available tech support. I'm glad I finally have a laptop so I can at least have something to show for if I get hosed by the lab's ability to function.

It is extremely difficult to conduct a class for the public in a school environment. There are so many blocks and speed bumps with which to contend. I'm not really complaining, because I used to be a Site Tech and I know what it's like and how hard it is to make everyone happy. I prided myself on making my site a technology fortress, but that was cause for protecting the little students from the harms of technology.

Of course, I also ran a tight ship just as well as to keep the kids from intentionally and "accidentally" screwing things up beyond repair. I hope I remember to tell the story some day about the kid who will go down in Site Tech History as the "what I call my ass" kid. Makes me giggle just thinking about it. I have to find some way to post about it without disclosing anything too personal just in case his mother or someone in-the-know ever reads this blog. Ah, memories. I still have his apology letter, among others. I saved apology letters I've received from kids just in case they become famous one day so I can ebay them for millions. Hey! It could happen!

It's just a totally different ball game when it comes to working with adults and in the public sector. There is no amount of 'splaining I could do to make anyone comprehend the challenges of this task, but I simply just have to work with what I have and do what I feel I do best, which is to be creative.

I sort of warned them of these conflicts when it comes to using a school lab and they seemed to understand so that makes me relax a little more. We discussed some of the burning questions they had about learning to use and understand the Mac better and they all turned in a written set of topics that they would like to explore. I am super excited that 2 of them are PC switchers. This will be fun.

I told myself that I wasn't going to put a lot of effort into creating detailed lesson plans, but I lied. I was up till 5:30 the other morning working on them – again. I just can't help myself. I just enjoy it too much. It makes me feel so alive sharing knowledge with others. I love showing people how to do something and watch the light bulb go off. It just brings me joy. I guess it also helps me understand why my husband does what he does day in and day out. I still can't relate to dealing with teenagers, but give me little kids and older people and I love to work with them.

I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head when it comes to the lesson plans I'm developing for this class. One of my biggest fears is that there will be something I will forget to show them and I'll regret it. But, I have faith in myself that I'll cover the things I want to cover. That's why I'm working so hard on putting together an outline to keep me focused and serve as a check list. I'm having a good time developing it even if it means losing a little sleep (which I'm not getting anyhow) or leaving the laundry go another day.

Tonight's class started out disorganized despite my efforts to be most organized. I even made myself a check list before I left the house. I did get to check off most the the things, so that was cool. The biggest problem tonight was dealing with the lab equipment. It took for-eh-ver to get the damn printer to play nicely. It kept jamming on me and running out of paper. I was trying to print out and hand out to them my outline I worked so hard on so they would have something to reference. I knew they were going to ask a question about something I had already spelled out on the outline and with only an hour and a half, it's just not enough time to cram everything in so that's why I supplement with other information they can review.

Hopefully, now that they each have a copy of the course outline in progress, it will help so they have a better idea of what to expect. Once the document is a little more refined, maybe I'll post it for download on my website for others to review. BTW, the pic in the beginning is a link, or should be, to what looks like a decent Mac basics blog. I haven't had time to check the whole thing out yet, but from what I've seen so far, looks pretty cool.

Is It Sunday Already?

Distraction 101
Well, I just got done spending some time reading some of my favorite blogs and then some others and then some others. I swear, this can not be good for people with ADHD. I'm beginning to wonder if I have it. I can not focus on one single thing at a time it seems. I'm wondering just how far I'll get into writing this post before I get interrupted and go do something else. Right now I'm resisting the urge to put in some cool text link to something else, but that would just make the problem worse for anyone who has the same problem as me who reads blogs. [edit: urge too strong, must do some linky linky]

I wish I could be a cool and hip blogger like some of these other sites I see out there on the Wor-eld Wiiiiide Web. Again, resisting the urge to plug other sites. Stay focused....read MY blog dammit! Comment on MY blog for once. Jeesh! How do people get so many comments? I don't have any prizies to give out, no give-aways, no crack here, sorry. But if you do happen to read me and would like to leave a comment, it would really put a smile on my face.

Sometimes I wonder if I'll keep this blogging thing up. Sometimes it reminds me of when I was a kid in school and how I wasn't popular and didn't wear the right clothes. One of these days maybe I will take a look at the code for my blog layout again, but right now it's a struggle to even go to the bathroom by myself let alone get a shower in until Hubby comes home. There is this little person, Dr. Destructo, following me everywhere who is now fascinated with the toilette and what goes on in the bathroom. It was cute but now it's kind of annoying. I feel a little helpless about the whole potty training thing we're about to embark on since I don't have the right equipment and all.

If I get the time to tweak my blog then maybe I'd rather tweeze my eyebrows instead? I need to cut a swath on my forehead soon. We'll see. In the meantime, I have to remind myself that this is something I do for me. I have to wonder how many bloggers blog for themselves and how many do it sheerly because they want the notoriety. (I can tell you I do it just to type words that I don't really know how to spell so I can use the cool two-finger tap on my trackpad that brings up the spell check list and tells you how that word is supposed to be spelled. Thanks! Now I know how to spell notoriety!) I guess there are many reasons and the beauty of it all is that they are all right no matter how you slice it, code it, source it, link it, feed it, etc.

Sunday Weigh-In Day
Ok, ok, time to get down to the business of this post. Today is Sunday Weigh-In Day. [Well actually, it's now TUESDAY and I'm trying to get caught up from all the blogging I started to do on Sunday. I did! I really did start this post on Sunday!]

I am happy to report that my digital scale is responding nicely to the new 9v battery I put into it and it now reports that I weigh 191.5 lbs. So that means, since my 1st post on this topic I have lost 3.5 lbs! Wahoo! I'll take it.

I could get up off my fat ass right now and go get my measuring tape and measure myself, but I've decided that I should stick to staying focused on finishing this post and not distracting myself right now. Besides, I don't think that 3.5 lbs is going to make much of a difference in measurements. When I get up to 5 lbs. lost then I think maybe we'll take a look and see.

Whew, ok. Well, that feels good to report that this week. I was really worried that I wouldn't have lost any weight since I got struck with a flu bug or cold last week. I was in no mood to exercise and then right after I started to feel better, it was 'that' time of the, well you know. Oops, I'm sorry, TMI? Too bad, my blog, my rules!

But, I must say, despite feeling crampy and lethargic, I did manage to get a good walk in on Wednesday to replace my normal dance-around-my-living-room-like-a-crazy-person-every-other-day-regimen. In fact, since (last) Tuesday, we've had a really really great week so far. (The weekend and Monday I was laying low and feelin lowly while covered in kleenex – the lotion kind that keep your nose from getting raw. Thanks to Super Hubby for getting them for me and taking such good care of me!

Well, I have more to post about, really I do! But, I'm going to end here for this one and break it up a bit and hopefully get the rest out in the next day or two.