The geometrical debate

 

Seattle Busses got new Seats

 

Those seats lookin good. I mean, you could SIT in them. You almost want to. They're more alluring than other public transportation.

In fact, the Seattle Public Transit Authority should probably feature those seats in a video that ends with, "You can sit here."

Ya know, unlike those other cities where... you don't want to sit. Their seats look contagious.

Do a whole video series ripping other cities for bad seats. "Come to Seattle... you can sit here."

I don't know, but your question should be asked as part of the video. That was enthusiastic, and Seattle Metro needs an enthusiastic spokesman.

"Man, lookat these SEATS!"

*slaps seat*
"You can put so much ass in this seat."

Testimonials:

"I missed my stop because I fell asleep in this seat, and I didn't even care. Brother, you got to ride the bus!"

I too, demand cosmic bowling carpet for busses. We need to petition the city for this.

Hey, if people are going to bring so many drugs on the bus anyway, it might as well be ENJOYABLE!!

"Seattle, we made the investment, and now we got the best drug busses in the nation."

Detect Maximum Ram

CMD

Run

wmic memphysical get MaxCapacity, MemoryDevices

 

 = 64 GB / 4 slots = 8GB per slot.

Language Awareness

There's a lot of linguistic rules that people follow without being very aware of them or their mechanics.




For example:
We say 'really amazing', but not 'very amazing'
We say 'Have you got any apples', but not 'have you got some apples'

An ESL teacher needs to be aware of these rules and be able to talk about them if asked during a job interview, or while teaching.

For countable nouns, we use 'any'. Do you have any pens.
Uncountable nouns are paired with 'some'. Do you have some water. Some ink. Some tape.

To learn more, consider: Understanding and Using English Grammar by Bettie Azar

I like to tell people that a lot of our language rules are based on sounding sophisticated and intelligent. When in doubt about which way to say something, the way which sounds most sophisticated is usually correct. We want language to sound beautiful. There are still rules, however, and one should know, understand, and be ready to teach them.



Gerunds

Colocations

Maintenance

HOUSE

-Washing Machine filter- clean every 2 months -use self cleaning option in front loading washers seasonally as they are prone to mildew and mold

-Dryer lint filter - clean every 1-2 uses (dryer vent going outside needs clearing as needed to prevent buildup)

-Dish Washer- Filter cleaned as needed

-Refrigerator Water Filter - 6 months

-Refrigerator coils- clean every 6 months (this saves on power consumption as it makes the coils more efficient)

-HVAC air filter- 2-3 months depending on animals and occupants

-HVAC inspection- once a year- AC should be serviced in spring and heat inspected in fall

-Inspect fire extinguisher- monthly (if you don't have one get one, make sure it's rated for A,B, and C fires)

-Water Heater- check pressure release valve every 6 months Flush once a year -replace anode rod every 3-5 years (keeps your water heater from rusting

-Gutters- clean as needed depending upon how much tree coverage you have

-Asphalt roof- 20 years

CAR

-Oil/Coolant/Tire Pressure- checked every month (check when vehicle is cool)

-Belts/hoses- check every 3 months

-Oil - change between 3-10k miles ( check user manual)

-Tires- Rotate every 1-2 oil changes or 5-10k miles (use penny test to check wear, note any uneven wear, uneven wear may be a sign of an alignment or balance issue)

-Windshield wipers- when streaks appear

-Engine air filter- 15- 30k miles (check user manual)

-Cabin air filter- 15k-25k or once a year

-Fuel filter- every 20-40k mile, newer cars may not need replaced as often (check user manual)

-Spark Plugs- replace every 30k miles (check user manual)

-Serpentine Belt- replace ~40k miles (check user manual)

-Brake Fluid- replace every 20-40k miles (check user manual)

-Brake pads- replace up to 50k miles or when you hear the "squealing" sound

-Brake rotors- replaced or resurface every 60k miles ( can only be resurfaced once) it's best to go ahead and do this when replacing pads.

-Coolant- replace every 60k (add when needed)

-Timing Belt- replace ~75k miles (check user manual) ( a belt failure can cause damage to other parts costing a lot more money that a simple belt replacement)

-Transmission fluid- replace 30-100k miles (check user manual)

-Power steering fluid- replace at 75k

MISCELLANEOUS

Vacuum Cleaner - filters cleaned once a month

Kitchen knives- hone (maintain) and sharpen (revitalize) kitchen knives as needed. Look up a guide so that you do this correctly.

Cast iron cookware- season annually

Leather furniture - 6-12 months

Leather boots - 1-12 months dependent on usage

Lawn Mower/yard equipment- air filter cleaned once a month (replace once a year) Replace oil every 20-50 hours or atleast annually Drain gas at the end of the season

Gas- any gas stored longer than a month should have a stabilizer added to it to prevent deterioration that can gunk up carbuerators. (I recommend startron)

Rain gear- wash atleast once a year.

Tents, sleeping bags, etc - air out at least once a year. If they get wet while using allow to air out once you're home to avoid moisture causing mildew and mold growth.

Electronics with batteries - if stored for an extended period of time keep batteries outside of the compartment to avoid corrosion and save battery life.

Desktop/laptop- clean air intake every 6 months

The Sleepy Tiger - ESL Flashcard Game

The Sleepy Tiger

Scatter props or flashcards nearby. Pretend to sleep. Coteacher whispers the name of an item and chooses 3-4 students to quietly retrieve the correct item and give it to them. If students are too loud, then the sleepy tiger wakes up and will chase them to their seats.

*Explain to the rest of the class that they must softly sing the tiger to sleep.

To make this more playful and fun, you can pretend to sleep restlessly as students get closer. E.g. grunt, raise your head, and scratch your ear, then stretch, yawn, and go back to sleep. During little sleep disturbances, they will want to be extra quiet and stay still. You could even open your eyes, rub them, and look around the room a little bit, but not directly at the students.

Students who are not actively participating should quietly chant a sentence pattern with the word. E.g. "Get the rainbow, get the rainbow." (Now they're reciting a sentence pattern instead of just one word.) The sentence pattern can be changed. "Bring Lulu the rainbow" "I will get the rainbow" "Quietly get the rainbow." - This game can be used to teach a variety of sentence patterns, however do take care to teach the meaning of new sentences and words instead of having the students blindly reciting them.

Once a student grabs the correct card, chase everybody back to their seats. Take the card, and ask, "What is this?" - Everybody should answer. If someone is not participating, single them out until they answer, "It's a rainbow." Singling students out for participation after each phase of a game will teach them that the fun stops if you don't participate, and everybody sees it's your fault. Do this only as needed, and apply to other games until the desired amount of participation and compliance is reached.

Predator puppets are good for this game. The puppet can be what is sleeping. This allows the teacher to talk to the students and to do the game without a coteacher.

Game modifications:

Sly Fox Style: If the tiger opens its eyes, you must stand still. If you move, the teacher calls your name and you must go back to your seat or the start line. This allows the tiger to suddenly wake up, look about, etc. This is more playful and active. Students will try to run. This modification works well 'only jumping is allowed'.

The Tiger is Listening: If the tiger hears you giggle, you must go back to the start line. Make this playful, fun, and challenging by making funny faces, noises, and behaviors.

Freeze Tag: If you catch a student, then they are frozen and cannot move. They can be rescued by having another student touch them. The sleepy tiger will guard their treasure, and frozen students are part of that treasure. Perhaps a frozen student needs to be touched with the chosen flash card.

Switch roles: If a student is caught, they become the next tiger. The teacher can help them to choose a word for the next round of the game. Catch with touches, not by grabbing. Grabby teachers leads to grabby students and you don't want them grabbing each other because they will get rough and will not let go to break contact. This leads to escalation and emotional rivalries.

Get your backpack: If you see that there's only a few minutes of class time remaining, you can put all of the student backpacks around you, and challenge them to get your backpack and return to their seats. This works well with a tiger that is awake, but is also very slow when chasing. While you are chasing one student, the other students will be in a hurry to get their backpacks and return to their seats for safety. They should chant something like, "Get my backpack!" "I can get my backpack." "Quietly get your backpacks." Alternatively to sitting, you can have them line up at the coteacher.

Random ESL Teaching Tips 001

Songs used to start class should involve choreography instead of being sang without movement. This improves focus and you'll easily tell if a student isn't participating. It's ok to stop a song to address a particular student who isn't participating. The class will learn that they'll get bored and have to repeat if someone isn't participating. This puts pressure on that individual.

Want a song to be fun? Do it super fast, and then try slow too.

If a song doesn't have choreography, consider adding it.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star has the same melody as the ABC song. This may make it easier to learn and perform. This may be good for a school play or performance.

The game 'Duck, Duck, Goose, Goose' can be played with the words quiet and loud. You can do other word pairs as well, e.g. big/small, slow/fast. Have everybody chant the first word together, and then shout the last one together, but their voices don't have to be in unison.

Chinese Students Failing to be Creative

A reddit post:





My reply:



Yet, everybody says that the American system of education is brain washing. Considering that students are terrified of being in an individual... who's brainwashing now?

It's not just about there only being one correct answer, it's about being part of a group and giving the groupthink answer instead of being an individual.

They literally do not want to be an individual or be seen as one, they're terrified of it. They become dependent upon their parents and peers for thinking.

This is why people in their 40s still call mom to make life decisions such as leaving an employer, finding a boyfriend, buying a home or a car. Some even have their parents manage all of their finances for them.

So they don't just need training in creativity, but evaluation of situations for decision making, actual decision making, acting as an individual instead of acting as a group, etc.

Creativity is a big part of it, but there's a reason that the Borg in StarTrek don't have art or poetry and would struggle to create that if separated from their collective. They would also struggle to appreciate it.

And now it gets personal, if you show art, poetry, expressionism, creative works to a Chinese person... they can't appreciate it and might think something is wrong with you like you're retarded and overly emotional. China has Chinese art, which... you guessed it, all looks the same. Why do Chinese cultural and traditional art all look the same? It's more than just because "This is our art style." - Why do ALL of the artists, especially the historic ones, ALL have the same style, the same rules, the same product? Why didn't any of the Chinese artists do something unique?

Now compare that to Western art. Our art is all OVER the place. We did all kinds of crazy stuff, and no two artists are alike. But in China, all artists were alike, and many of them strive to BE alike. In fact, they'll spend years of their life trying to master the ability to replicate the works of other masters... and if they do something unique, then that's fucking reject trash to them. They certainly won't be able to sell it, will they?

This is changing, this is changing really fast. But still... look how many people decide to be an artist, and then never strive to do anything unique?

The entire culture is mindfucked in exactly this way. So you as a teacher ask your students for individual answers, thoughts, feelings. You tell them to say or do something DIFFERENT instead of asking everybody to do the same thing. They've never dealt with that before.

It didn't happen at home. It didn't happen at school. It didn't even happen during their free time. That's where you get the situations of a white guy saying, "Do something different, anything is good." and the student looses it, refusing to do anything at all. Because anything would be wrong, and anything is bad. In Chinese culture, you follow and you copy. In Chinese history, bad things happen to people who don't.

Friends are the best treasure

Friends are the most important thing whether you're a jail house bird, or a Billionaire. When you remember your best friends, you don't remember caring about how tall they were,
how beautiful, or what hobbies were in common. You remember the moments that made you think, smile, and feel happy.

What doesn't matter:

• Education
• Height
• Beauty
• Income level
• Ethnicity

Me:Art

When I see an art piece, I don't just look at it, feeling nothing. I don't glance at it and pass it by. I walk up to it and stop... I experience it. I put myself inside of the art and in that moment, I feel it inside of me. So I basically want to steal fancy art and have sex with it. Join me some time, let's accost some art!

I had babies!

8 baby birds came in to my life. My father commented that he'd heard about a lady that made really good money by releasing white homing pigeons at weddings. He was ok with the idea of me cordoning off a quarter of his prize winning back yard, to put up an ugly bird coop. So I did! He never let us have pets. Years of being a father (and putting up with our shit) had softened him.

They loved to fly circles around the house, and I began training within six months.

I wanted my brother to see them.

Unfortunately, he died and came home as ashes in a box. The first time I ever did a release for an event was for his funeral. I like to think that he saw them then.

A friend made fun of me, "It looks like a GUY lives here!" So the next time she visited, I told her that I heard a strange noise coming from my window. tap tap tap. When I opened a window, there was this bird staring me down and looking angry. He said, "I got my nest right outside your window and yesterday this place was a mess. My wife left me... I think that's YOUR fault!"

SO I cleaned my room right away, and his wife came back. He was so happy that he left me a present, go open the window... So after hearing my crazy story, she opens the window. It's a chocolate bar, but it's been frozen. I say, "Oh my god, it's frozen, there's only ONE thing to do, GIVE me the candy!" - And I take out a hammer and gleefully pulverize it right in front of her.

Finally, I take the chocolate devastation and say, "Now follow me!" - we walked to a nearby restaurant that serves ice cream. Yup, we dusted the ice cream with frozen chocolate from the birdman. The moral of the story? - Have fun, be creative. I made someone smile and laugh so hard they were snorting their snot.. all for a few bucks. In life, you're going to meet many people that might give you a chocolate bar. Some might even give you the expensive chocolate. But only a few friends will give you awesome memories. That's going the extra smile!

My week

I spent a lot of time up in the mountains at Lucky Peak. Jet skis, beer, 13 people, 7 dogs. I connected more with the dogs than the people. The people were all kind and accepting, however they had a typical sense of humor and good conversation. I found myself yearning for a cup of coffee and a late night conversation about ethics, philosophy, psychology... you know, something deep.

Today, I connected with my second niece. We went to the city's 150's Birthday celebration, then went shopping. I enjoyed talking to her about fashion: shoes, whatever. She'd point out all the outfits she liked, and I was really impressed. She never asked me to buy anything, and everything she liked was tasteful. No slutty gear for this 14 year old girl. I feel proud of her, and think she's developing into a fine person. She talked a lot. I forgot how much a kid can talk... about everything, jumping between subjects in a random fashion.

Technical Issues - irritations - WIP

List WIP

Begin copying files, windows knows how much space is needed... 20 minutes later, it tells you that you don't have enough space at the destination drive. It could tell you in the beginning.

At airport, departure board shows time of departures, until time remaining for each departure. Which one introduces more human error and steps to find out a traveler's ideal timing? We've been in the digital age for years, but have never updated the way we manage departure boards. Ideally, a hybrid system would show both departure time, and time remaining.

eBay, 20 people bid on something, one wins. That means 19 losers wasted time looking to find something, and waiting after their bid. That's not sustainable, people will eventually get frustrated and leave. The ideal solution to reach market peak price without loss or guesswork is for a seller to list a starting price and and end price. As the duration for their auction goes down, the 'buy now' price goes down. Simultaneously, allow  max price offers, which are publicly visible and binding.

Go to your shower, fill a bucket with water. You accidentally push a lever down at the end of a spiggot. Now you're taking a shower instead of filling the bucket. Happened to you too many times? That's because the action of the lever should be reversed. That way, if it's ever accidentally activated, then it's in 'bucket mode' and not ' shower mode'. Shouldn't the least risky mode be the one which is most easily (or even accidentally) activated?

Go to website, begin to fill out form, time out, have to relog, all information lost. First, generous timeouts save time and frustration, second... mouse movement can be seen by JAVA, that makes it easy to know that someone is still active and that their session time should be refreshed (Do NOT rely on POST/GET events to refresh session time, rely on user activity such as mouse movement.)

Just in case I ever become too important, some guy will find this post and quote it into my biography.

A person says, "Would you move to Singapore" and I say...

"Yes, I never lead an opportunity by saying no." - You could lead with "How about Siberian winters and something involving my unmentionables in a vise." And I will at least tell you... I'm going to hear you out. Not that I got anything against Singapore.

And let me tell you... you'll never know how completely crazy people really are... unless you have the patience to tell everybody 'yes', grab a lemonade, and wear that nodding smile which says, "and there's also a bonus for hiding dead bodies... Yes sir, wonderful sir, do go on!"

So, all you people who say no too fast. You've been missing out.
Never lead the opportunity of fully living your life (or realizing your success), by ever telling someone "no" too quickly.

Things that are good - WIP

This is a working list:

Horchata
meditation
dessert
music
being in the now
not taking life too seriously
patience

Bad Joke

So a Wallstreet banker says, "I really wish I could have a job right now."
A vagrant overhears him and says, "Serves you right, economy wrecker!"
And the banker says, "No, a hand job, you idiot. Tsk! Why would _I_ be out of a job?"

Whoa

Now, I’m sure many of you have encountered little shits in supermarkets. Little kids running about and knocking things over, being rude, walking all over their parents, you know the kind. But the worst are the biters. Yes, those little cunts that feel it is okay to bite you whenever they feel like it.

Okay, here’s the best part. A biter got me today when I was grocery stopping. He broke the fucking skin, too. This was when the gears started turning, the moment I saw a tiny sprinkle of blood on the little shit’s teeth as he was grinning at me like the little cunt he is. I made my eyes get wide, and started screaming “SHIT! SHIT!.” Now, my good friend, Tom we’ll call him, was there too, and he instantly picked up on it. He started shouting “FUCK! MAYBE HE DIDN'T GET IT! FUCK!.” By now, the kid is scared shitless and starts crying, and instantly, Mom appears out of nowhere and starts getting pissy at us for yelling at her kid.

Here’s the kicker, I look her straight in the eye and say, “Maam, get your son tested as soon as possible, he just bit me and I’m… I’m FUCKING HIV POSITIVE.”

And now there is silence. Not a peep in the entire store. The brat knows he just fucked up big time because his mom isn't defending his ass. She just stares at me wide eyed. I walk away from them, buy my shit from the wide eyed cashier, all the while blood is dripping from my calf, making a nice little trail on the floor. And, just s we leave, we start to hear the mother sobbing. Sobbing like the cunt she is.

I have never felt any more satisfaction than the moment I heard that sob.


-----------------------------
This is just a repost story.

Tim Burton

I love Tim Burton. He's so unique, and he makes dark things so beautiful. The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride... 100% wow. He captures the dark parts of us and weaves a story of beauty for them which makes them feel validated. For example, Corpse Bride has a lot of loneliness, rejection, jealosy, and it's about resolving these dark emotions. The story starts so sad, and I like that because it's somehow more honest and true to life.

Nobody else is doing that much.

Fashion

This is from a world famous fashion school in the UK (St Martins graduates show off their stuff by doing a catwalk fashion show. This is the 'future' of fashion.

Yup, that's a fish. Animal rights groups are in an uproar. Wearable pets is a little inhumane and just isn't a good idea, but this gets me thinking....

Quick! Help me do some hip crowdfunding for wearyourpets.com - It's time to embrace our fashion future! At my website, you can buy a fashionable accessory 'bird walk' that just sits on your shoulders, giving your bird the luxury experience of walking completely around you head. Yes, that's a full 360 degree bird walk. It will also have a designer poop chute that's actually a teflon cloak so bird shit just slides right onto your floor...

You know, I thought that purse-doggies were a bad idea, but now I'm thinking we should probably just sell purses with the doggies ALREADY INSIDE of them. A masterful pairing of pootch and handbag, come to 'Doggiebag'. My best customers will be trophy wives who are paired with sports cars and big hair. Come on people, let's EVOLVE your fashion. You're so drab! Oh, you need a purse doggie!



I hate high fashion... A picture is worth a thousand angry words right now.

Yo dude, we're gonna go clubbing. You coming? Yeah, lemme put this... thing in my mouth and get that funny hat. Yeah, I'm going to pick up chicks now.

True fashion... makes you look good, elegant. It wraps you in a layer of beauty and sophistication. Not vulgar.

After your poor victims complete their cat walks and return home, they put on some real clothing suitable for public... and they look well enough dressed that they could attract a member of the opposite sex or at least not embarrass their friends by being seen together. At that point, they become fashionable, and they are ready to be seen... but who sees them then, the show's already over.

High Fashion. Rather than my eyes being opened in any way or being attracted due to some kind of beauty and creativity, I want to look away in revulsion. If I ever was directing a movie and I needed something terrible for a nightmare sequence, I do believe that I would hire a graduate of St Martins fashion university.