learnteach

Friday Five? Tuesday Total!

NUTSHELL: Getting better but not on the ball; barking like a seal.

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For Chaz, Tug, Jane, and possibly ???

PEPPER SEEDS, LOCAL

http://userwebs.batnet.com/rwc-seed/ (as recommended by Yamagani's staff)

http://www.regannursery.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/home.home/index.htm backup for later

http://www.anniesheirloomseeds.com/categories/Peppers/Hot-Peppers/?gclid=CLKNjcK8taYCFQN7gwodtAFhJQ

Best mail order.

Note that I have an obvious preference for open pollinated heirloom seeds, rather than hybrids, for what I consider obvious reasons.

Overall list: http://www.pepperfool.com/links/seeds_home.html

I'll make my buy mid-Feb to do my starts in March fro plant out early June.

1. Hearst Castle: Memorial day weekend sometime, possibly camping. Yay! Crystal has lead on this one.

2. Estrella. Taking a week, and focusing more on the extended camping with household and less on the battles. Yay! Chuck is the man in the plan for this for me.

3. Winchester Mystery House. Would like to get Blod in on this one, and she leaves Feb. 17th. Perhaps Jan 16th? Anyone else interested?

4. Lactose Intolerant Night: Fondue and Cheesecake, with an optional "No, really, Jewish?" possibility of having bacon in one of the fondues. Probably a soon weeknight.

5. (Check off the list). Dicken's ReUnion Ball. Brilliant! Full drag edwardian, waltzing past my hearts content, a few polkas, and the dragging of the teenagers around Santa Clara Valley (however, the one who insisted 5 more minutes 6 times then told me I was being too much like one of her teachers getting a lift home again...not so likely.) Pictures over on facebook for others. Next Ball: Crosston Ball on 1/29, then possibly Gotham Swing ball (black and white swing for superhero secret identities...should I shave my head and go as Lex, or get a girdle and hair extensions and go as Thor?) http://www.peers.org/gotham.html Or there's always Othar, time traveling....

6. Beyond that: San Jose Bike Party, http://www.sjbikeparty.org/
Museum Day in San Francisco: weekday, starting oneish, towards the end of this month: thinking http://cartoonart.org/ and perhaps SFMOMA. There's also various events at the YBCA, and even perhaps the

7> The Crucible, Revival. 1/14 or 1/15. Mark Growden singing (rave reviews from someone I respect) and http://thecrucible.org/events/crucible-revival ...bit pricey, but probably worth it.

And more going into the future. Drop me a line if you want in on anything!

Two much thinking/mulling/musing/whimping, not enough discussion. Let the 5s begin!

FIVE THINGS I WILL DO NEXT YEAR
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Start in fog and drag like grey Lead
babysitting bad ass shits with poetry in my head
teenaged rebellion in the waste land Ain't sublime
but "I'm just jokin'" 5 straight is just wasting my time.
State mandated testing and Hollywood oil
BBC and BBS as the fool and foolish foil
arresting assange and holding him for no bail
both harrassed and feeling stuck in Jail.

http://www.timeagan.com/MT/Subconscious%20Comics/

In order to enact a change in my life, I'm giving up reading for November--November will be NoNoReMo, Not Novel Reading Month for John. That means not reading LJ or Facebook for a bit, not reading novels, not rereading things--my default activity is to sit down and read.

I hope to replace reading with walking, working, and cleaning, but it remains to be seen. Email I'll still do.

By the end of the month I hope to have had 20 days of exercise (hour or more of exercise per day), 20 days of house projects (hour or more) and be enrolled in a graduate program for the teaching certificate.

As for the comic...I just happen to love it!

Oh, and for the Rally:
http://www.timeagan.com/MT/archives/Deep%20Cover/000813.html

Five things:

1. If you want to change the world, get out into it. Don't "wear purple" or turn your picture pink; go out and raise money, visit schools, talk to people, get into the world. The medieval split between those who pray and those who do (in various ways) leads to a corrupt church. Pray, believe and go do!

2. 5 gratitudes for water, inspired by Rachel: 1. The water that tempers my Scotch 2. The water that washes the analgesics down after the tequila. 3. The water that carried me in my mother's womb. 4. The water of life, in all its guises (aquavit, uisghebaugh, ginsiverie, vodka) 5. The water produced by motorboating.

3. Thank you Republican adds for a new low. It's not enough to trickle down (like urine) or declare your opponents tax and spend when you're sign and not fund, now you're back to small lies.

4. I know how to fix the schools. Get down into them and help the students. Wait, that's back to #1.

5. Grr. Argh. Why do I have to spend 20K for a certificate when I've been teaching for 5 years? Pissing me off.

Rantrantrant!

Had a lovely time at Coronet yesterday, although of course didn't finish all I started.

First of all, thanks to Charles and Petra and Katherine and that Thespian chick, for a fun camp and potluck;
to the ornaments of beauty, Violet and Sarah;
to the House of Waytoomany Children, for providing setup help;
Fergus for the Fergusvision (Hey, How Dost thou?) and Sylvie for coolness and joining us for dinner;
Morgan for tasty sushi and Jocelyn for tasty meat.

Things to finish:

Stick story for H2Mchildren;
Runesticks for Charles; http://www.omniglot.com/writing/runic.htm
http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/literature/text/literature.htm

Dread Majestie Shoot for Moose/Squirrel for HRH Catherine;
Thomas Aquinas reading party (scholar's robes) for the Master of Revels (possible) Mark;
Need a new songbook, should put a light in it;
Some songs for Miles and especially Alfar. The desire is there to sing, so bring on the songs!

Poems perhaps to be plumped up and performed peripherally:
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unexpected; what recommendations for things to do? Planning to hit the gym every day, work on friends house every day, go to memorial next Saturday, then drive like a fiend to San Jose on Sunday, work on Monday. Arboretum? Rose Garden? Historical Tours? Any killer music?

Perhaps just see people I didn't expect to see?

Still Stuck. Have discerned that the problem is the current cultures of greed and fear; I can serve greed, and make assholes richer, or I can suffer fear, which is against my desires. Engineering work in the silicon valley is all about the greed, the dream being to take the company public and make a lot of money...but the reality being that "lot of money" is directors and better, and anyone of less rank, who hopes to have some life balance, gets pushed to work more and much, much less cash. Especially if you actually do anything, rather than "manage". (Bitter, much?) (Of course, I have a skill in picking companies in trouble...survived 12 layoffs at GE, one transition (then layoff) at Tymnet, went down the tubes with at least 4 startups, etc.)

On the other side, it will take 2 years to get a teaching credential, and go back to a job and way of life that while I have passion for it, is full of fear, and as hardworking...no, more hardworking, than the first one. Dave Orphal notes that we have to get beyond the Shame and Blame culture, I agree but add that it needs to be a release from Fear too. There are so many special interests, and special snowflakes, and so much confusion, and every parent will fight for better things for their children, and teachers are the visible edge of the school system. They don't choose textbooks, they don't set policy, they DO bear the brunt of any changes. And yes, dear Parents, why can't the teacher spend an extra hour each week with your child? At the small school, 100 students a day in two classes. And that's a reduced size science class charter school.

As a note to the above, I love the fact that the original booster of charter schools in California has been kicked out of the first two charters he started, usually due to ethics problems. This may explain some of my lost grants...

OTHER NEWS: On the road to help Jeannie, missing Crown. Thanks still to Crystal! Back in a bit.

Have made 2 gallons of marinara sauce and 1 gallon of barbeque sauce, and still have a huge amount of tomatoes on the vines. I forsee more cooking/freezing. And more eating; I left out the eaten 2 gallons of salsas and 1 quart of marinara.

If you want some cool art, go to the Kid's section in your public library and ask if you can have the Ursula Vernon "Make Waves--Read" poster. http://www.njsummerreading.org/young-adult.php has an image. (I love especially that this is a "Satanic" image on some of the Christian blogs. More fear, sigh.) (They'll all leave when we have the Rapture in 2012, right? No, they'll just be driven to fearful excesses...sigh.)

I've started throwing into some of the internet chats the notes of a concerned christian, just to balance out the loonies on both sides. Still a roar of sound and fury, signifying nothing. But I'm tired of one side seeing the Beast in everything, and the other telling me religion is the root of all evil, especially that killer one based on Christ's teachings.

Yesterday was THANK YOU LIBRARY day. Ursula Vernon's second book is showing up, but readers are waiting by the shelving slot looking for it (Dragonbreath 2: Attack of the Ninja Frogs) (Yes, I waited for it, but being 3 feet taller than the other supplicant, I slunk away after a little bit. I don't hop up and down as well, either.)

Today...today is Terry Pratchett's new book! And on October 19 at Books Inc. in Mt. View, Elizabeth McMasters Bujold will sign "Cryoburn", the latest Vorkosigan! I want to dress up from the Vorkosoverse. Hey Andrew, want to come be Miles? All you need is a grey suit. I could go for VorSmythe or the engineering professor...