Reflections From Cricket Hill

Blog Moving

2011-01-05T02:44:00.001-08:00

I am consolidating all my blogs and web sites to http://www.jheffernan.com/ See you there!

Intention and Wood Splitting

2010-12-19T13:58:00.000-08:00

I had an enjoyable few hours cutting and splitting wood today, especially the splitting. We took down a triple trunk black birch tree that was dead and threatening the house.

The wood split nicely in the cold. I got all this done in about 30 minutes. In my experience, intention is a big part of wood splitting. You need to pay attention to the wood, where cracks are, where the branches are, split big ones near the edge first, and also to your technique (letting the axe to work and getting the most leverage) but the intention behind your swing and looking at where you want it to split seems to be a big part to me. Of course, this is true in life too.

I am very thankful to the standing ones for providing this beautiful wood to keep us warm this winter.

Ancient Dance

2010-09-26T18:31:00.000-07:00

Ancient song danced round fire and tree
Dance steps become bear's stomp walk
Stepping hard and heavy to scent the path
Building, building, building, building
Back arched back to bite bark
Marking the tree
Proud and strong
Then
The power released with outstretched paws and explosive grunts
Piercing the dome to the full, white moon

Wake Up!

2010-06-13T03:22:00.001-07:00

Many drivers seem to be asleep when it comes to wildlife. I recently saw two incidents that got me thinking about this. First, I saw two robin having a territorial, aerial battle. I could see that they were very involved in their battle and heading right towards the road. I immediately slowed down. The driver in front of me did not slow down at all (his brake lights did not go on.) Feathers went flying as one bird was destroyed. A few days later, I was driving up Route 5 in Deerfield when I noticed a young bear heading across the road. Again, I immediately slowed down. Again, the driver in front of me did not slow down or brake. Luckily, the bear escaped by inches. With all the wildlife in our area, we all need to stay alert!

Horrendous Town Logging Project

2010-05-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

Conway, Massachusetts used to have a Town Forest. Jack Lockhead, former Conway Selectboard Member, who spearheaded logging on town lands, recently called it the Town Woodlot. If there aren't any trees, I guess you can't call it the Town Forest anymore. I recently toured the area and found large tracts with few, if any, trees. This used to be a beautiful forested area. Not it is a ugly, virtual clear cut full of ticks, prickers, and slash.

When I first inquired about the project, I was told they were going to thin out some non-native species such as Norway Spruce and Red Pine. These species were planted by the CCC in the 1930s. A bad idea but these areas support large populations of red squirrels. In turn, you see lots of predator and predator tracks in these areas: weasels, coyotes, fishers, and bobcats. These tree species don't spread but the wood is valuable and the logging industry, in their quest to make logging sound good, latched onto this as a way to make logging more palatable. Of course, they don't tell you that they also take out large amounts of adjacent hardwoods. Unless you know enough check the logging plan, you would have no way of knowing this. There was a very large area of hardwood forest, again a formerly beautiful forest, that was heavily logged. It is a shadow of its former self. The Conway State Forest has a similar project planned, again with the Red Pine and Norway Spruce being used as a cover to take out lots of other species. They use to tell us that is was important to leave slash for animals and for the soil. Now that the slash is a possible source of biomass fuel, it is no longer important for the soil or animals, I guess. I wish the logging industry would at least be honest with us.

The biggest problem with the project was the oil spills. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), decided to put the landing, where the logs are loaded onto trucks, within 50 feet of a large wetland area, which is a violation of the recommended Logging Best Practices document endorsed by the state. This landing area is on my daily 3 mile log run, which I do with my 2 dogs, and used to enjoy tremendously until the logging project started. I started to notice frequent oil spill from both the skidders, forwarders, and the large logging trucks that take the wood out. Even though the supervisor tried to provide absorbent pads to the loggers, the loggers subcontracted by Lashway Lumber refused to use them.

The DCR and the Town were horrendous and refused to acknowledge the issue despite photographic evidence and lab reports, done at my expense, documenting the oil and hydraulic fluid leaks. I documented 18 spills covering over 100 square feet of land and water, most of which were adjacent to the wetland system. The wetland system feeds the Town of Deerfield's water supply. We were confronted with strong petrochemical daily on our beautiful trails. Despite frequent attempts to address the issue with the town, the DCR, the DEP, and the Conservation Commission, the loggers continued to spill oil. The forester would come up and put down pads herself after I complained and after oil was spilled. Worst of all, these officials all denied the issue and responsibility, despite massive evidence to the contrary. At one point, six of us that live in the area were disturbed by the strong petrochemical smells. DCR Service Forester Alison Wright said she could not smell or see any problems. Only after the area was heavily bulldozed to cover up the oil spills and pretty things up, was I able to get the CC, DCR, DEP, and Town to tour the area. Even though I showed my lab reports, and oil spills the bulldozers had missed, the DCR sent a curt report saying they broke no laws. I was told by a source in the logging industry that the DEP deliberately delayed the meeting until the area was bulldozed and the evidence covered up. DCR forester Alison Wright called the project an exemplary foresting project. If this project was exemplary, I would hate to see the bad projects.

I am still trying to get the DCR to move the landing for an upcoming state forest logging project but the DCR logger in charge is still denying the issue and using the term "so-called oil spills." Why the officials can't acknowledge the issue and make reasonable efforts to address citizen concerns really perplexes me. Hopefully, the state project, which is on hold, will be canceled because the land will be added to a reserve under the new visioning project. I found that the oil spills were disturbed and came back to the surface when a salvage project was completed on the Town Forest. That's why the landing should be moved for future projects. The DCR refused to let the forester move the landing away from the wetland for the salvage project. It's hard to understand why the would not allow the project to reduce the chance of polluting the water supply if it was easy to do so.

The thinning of the Red Pine and Norway Spruce, was supposed to protect the forest from wind and ice damage. Oops, that didn't work. A salvage project, which removed the great majority of remaining trees in the Red Pine and Norway Spruce area, was completed after the ice storm of 2008. See photo above.

See http://www.jheffernan.com/Logging.htm for more details on this project.

Photo of an absorbent pad. Before I complained about these leaks, the fluids were spilling directly on the forest floor.

This spill was adjacent to a vernal pool.

First Experience With Death and Dying

2010-04-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

Aiden greatgrandmother died last week. She was the last of Dawn and my grandparents. We took Aidan to the service. There was no open casket, which was a relief. I did not want to take him if there was. So, of course, he started to ask a lot of questions.

"What is dying?"

"People get really old and they stop breathing."

"Why?"

This is when I repeat the previous answer!

So he was OK with this. He was concerned that his grandfather was sad so we explained that his mother had died.

But the next morning, he made the connection to me and to himself. He asked, "Daddy, are you going to die?"

"Yes, everyone dies but not for a really long time."

"I don't want you to die."

So this not an easy moment but I had to keep a "normal" tone of voice. I snuggled him and we talked more, mostly along the same lines.

A hard conversation but a good one that will hopefully be a good base for other deaths in the future. Hard as it is, death is a part of life.

The Agony of Defeat

2010-04-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

Aidan has gotten to the point where he can play a whole game of Chutes and Ladders and understands winning. He beat me first and apparently beats his babysitter. However, I did win the other day and he was quite upset. I explained about winning and losing and that we can't always win but the point is to have fun together. He seemed OK but woke up the next morning and said, "Daddy, I am still a little bit sad because you beat me at Chutes and Ladders."

Funny One

2010-03-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

Aidan and I were discussing some of the plants and trees in the yard and he asked about the crab apple tree, which he initially thought was poisonous. I told him, no it was just sour. We were talking about which animals eat what and he told me woodpeckers eat frogs, and I told him, "No, they eats insects." Then he asked what frogs eat, and I told him, "Insects." He then asked very sincerely, "Do crabs eat the crab apples, Daddy?"

Teaching Kids Math Strategies

2010-03-11T04:10:00.000-08:00

I was co-teaching recently with a lower elementary colleague. We were doing a FunBrain activity called Guess My Number.

http://www.funbrain.com/guess/index.html

You guess a number between 1 and 100 (or 1 and 10) and the computer tells you if the answer is higher or lower than the guess. This process repeats until you guess correctly or you run out of turns. You have 7 guesses for 1 to 100. My recollection from my Computer Science graduate work was that a binary search is the optimal strategy for this type of problem. So, your first guess would be 50. If the computer said lower, you would then guess 25. If the computer said higher, your next guess would be 75. This allows you to rapidly hone in on the answer.

When I asked my colleague if she taught the kids this strategy, her response was that she never teaches kids strategies but always lets the kids find their own strategies.

I really questions this approach, which seems to be an extreme interpretation of the constructivist philosophy of education. From wikipedia, Constructivism is a theory of knowledge, which argues that humans generate knowledge and meaning from their experiences. If taken to its limits, teachers never actually teach anything but provide the materials and experiences so that children can discover everything for themselves.

In my experience, it is an excellent practice to give students a chance to explore problems on their own without giving them the answer or the strategy to get the answer. However, not all algorithms are the same. We know from the field of computer science, that algorithms can be mathematically evaluated as to their efficiency. Of course, they need to be correct too! Some teachers (and I am not sure if my colleague is one or not), seem to feel that all ways of getting the answer are equivalent and equally valid. This is clearly not true. So we should encourage different ways of getting the answer but we should also be evaluating them as to which methods are better than others. I think it is misguided in the attempt to preserve self esteem to say that all methods are equally good. Some even think that getting a correct answer is not important, but only the method. I would say that both are important.

I also think that we most definitely need to teach kids strategies and methods after giving them time to explore on their own. To not do so robs students of all the mathematical work that has gone before them. You would not get very far in math without understanding what has gone before us. So I teach specific problem solving strategies and computational algorithms. Frankly, some students would never arrive at good algorithms if never shown to them. Children also construct knowledge from what we teach them. In my view, they need to make sense of not just their own ideas but the ideas of those that have been gone before them. That can be done in a hands on way with math manipulatives with young children.

Self Sufficiency

2010-02-27T13:11:00.000-08:00

I feel really good fixing things myself recently. I installed a dishwasher, installed 2 hard drives including 1 on a laptop (tricky), replaced a car battery, and have been working on our plow truck. Even though I was not able to completely fix the truck, I did identify one problem. It is very satisfying to feel self sufficient this way though it is helpful to have a community of people to whom you can ask questions or get help. The Internet is a new source of community and information that can also be helpful. It does take longer to do it yourself, especially the first time, and it can be frustrated, but it is satisfying for me to learn new things. It reminds me of some of the guys in the neighborhood where I grew up who would always be fixing their own cars and doing their own remodeling. My father is also good at cabinetry and woodworking. It does take time and energy though and that can be tricky with a young child. Hopefully, when he is older, it will be easier to find ways he can help.

Further or Backwards?

2010-02-23T04:57:00.000-08:00

I went to the Further show at UMass Amherst last Friday night. Further is Bob Weir and Phil Lesh from the Grateful Dead, 2 new drummers, a piano player, and a guitarist and singer from the Dark Star Orchestra, a Dead clone band. There were many fine moments musically and I enjoyed the show but I could not help but feeling that maybe the time was past for this scene, at least for me. The vending scene was very small and a shadow of what is used to be. While musically very good, Jerry's presence is sorely missed. Listening to some of Dick's picks after the show, I felt that the magic and energy of a Dead show can never be recreated with different people today.

Irregular Past Tense

2010-02-16T15:22:00.000-08:00

Aidan still loves his regular past tense of adding "ed." I have been worked gently with him on irregular past tense. He said to Dawn today, "Mom, did you gave me some gobbles?" Gobbles means goggles.

Denialism

2010-02-15T08:41:00.000-08:00

I recently experienced a phenomenon known as denialism. Denialism is defined as the practice of creating the illusion of debate when there is none. See http://www.denialism.com/ for a full description. I have been very active in Facebook. I have discovered that you can add friends that are on the extreme fringes. Through my interest in dog training and whippets in particular, I have added some friends that I subsequently regretted. One person was adding groups that were clearly racist and/or extremely prejudiced against Islam. Typically, these are fundamentalist Christians. I have inherent problem with these folks as long as there is an acceptance that there are multiple paths up the mountain of experiencing God. Unfortunately, fundamentalists of many religions (even fundamentalist atheists) think their way is the only way. One example of denialism is the denial of the validity of evolution. By the way, I don't feel that some kind of intelligent design is a contradiction with evolution. The "creator" or "force behind everything" can be behind evolution.

Another fellow, posted a denial of climate change and I was surprised to find a number of denialist climate change sites. I think there can be a healthy debate on the details of climate change but, overall, there can be no denial that there is drastic change going on caused by our activity. The denialists hand pick a few fringe scientists and politicians to try and "prove" their case even though the vast majority of scienctists are in agreement. When I pointed out the numerous environmental problems we have caused, he had a irrational answer for everything. For example, when I pointed out the numerous species extinctions we have caused and the large number of species in trouble, his answer was that new species are being created and that species have always come and gone. No understanding of the tragedy of man made extinctions. It is very scary to me that this type of thinking seems to be becoming wide spread. That journalism appears to be in decline. That entertainment and news are becoming more and more merged. That we seems to be becoming more and more polarized. That intelligent debate is becoming more and more rare.

Research

2010-02-09T02:28:00.001-08:00

I was at UMass Amherst researching the use of robots in education. Research is so much easier now than it used to be with most scholarly articles online. No more looking things up in a card catalogue (that was online last time I did research) and taking the elevator up to the stacks. Makes you wonder how long libraries will need all the storage space for journals. Once you find the article, you can print it right there and/or email it to yourself.

Time to Be Bored

2010-01-25T03:46:00.000-08:00

You know how some people (and I include myself at times), always have a big project going? In my experience, it is important to have times without big projects. You have to be bored for a while and see what emerges. Also, the busyness can be a way to avoid feelings.

Maturation

2010-01-19T08:18:00.001-08:00

As I was sitting getting my haircut last weekend, I noticed that I no longer had brown hair. It is now "salt and pepper." I have noticed other changes such as really needing reading glasses rather than it being better to have them. I am trying to take a balanced and positive view of these changes. It does seem like an oppurtunity to slow down a little bit, enjoy life more, and refocus on what is important: family, dogs, and creative pursuits like music and animal tracking.

When I Was A Baby

2010-01-13T03:40:00.001-08:00

Aidan's favorite saying now is, "When I was a baby, ...."

Seems to have come out of watching some DVDs of when he was younger and, I assume, some kind of development milestone of understanding that he is growing and changing.

New Level of Excitement

2009-12-30T10:48:00.001-08:00

We saw a new level of excitement at Christmas with Aidan. I have some video I am still working on that shows it best. But his tone and volume were very fun to watch when he got a very exciting present!

Copenhagen

2009-12-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

I wonder what it is going to take before we 2 leggeds see the problems we are causing on this planet. It's clear that there is a lot of greed and self interest to overcome watching the news from the Climate Change Meeting in Copenhagen. Also, the existing national structures clearly don't help, not that I can suggest an alternative.

Barred Owl

2009-12-03T13:52:00.000-08:00

I was out for a run with our whippet Patriot and just flushed a barred owl from its perch just as we were coming to the end of the run near our back gate. I stopped and watched for a while as the owl just flew a very short distance to a nearby beech tree. It alternated looking directly at me and turning its head 180 degrees around. I got a nice look for about 5 minutes. Barred owls have a lot of signficance for me. I see and hear them a lot and especially around significant events such as deaths. I was thinking a lot of the protection of wildlife in the area today since I was looking into the alteration of some beaver dams nearby by humans, about the recent lifting of the bobcat quota (saw a bobcat the same day), and the protection of a nearby 4 wheel drive road. [ I saw someone who looked like they might be buying the land at the start of the run.] It's certainly easy to project significance on these events. On the other hand, some seem very clearly to be tied into, for lack of a better world, the spirit world.

Marketing to Kids

2009-11-05T09:58:00.000-08:00

Three is such as wonderful age. The tantrums die down and they can do more on their own such as going to bathroom, getting dressed, washing hands, and brushing teeth. Since Aidan knows he will get a timeout for certain behaviors, the behaviors are fairly rare. It's a wonderful age. They are so open and generally happy and fun and still want to be close to you. I have noticed how effective marketing is for 3 year old. Aidan wants every single toy he sees on TV. I have started to skip over them on the DVR. Also, going through the grocery store, all the junk cereals are right at cart level and the colors and pictures are very attractive to a young mind.

Sense of Time

2009-10-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

Aidan's sense of time is really interesting. When I told him his friends were coming over after naps, he asked to take a nap at 9:00 am yesterday morning. He also has been saying to me, "When you are a little boy, you can ..."

Poem

2009-10-14T07:18:00.000-07:00

The two dogs investigate new smells along the northern woods path
The air full of water and sound
Autumn leaves fall

Passing Gas

2009-10-13T09:04:00.000-07:00

Aidan comments after passing gas, "My bum burped, Daddy!

Funny Phrase

2009-09-30T03:46:00.000-07:00

We have a (very good) pizza shop called Country Pie. Aidan calls it Crunchy Pie. Cracks me up every time.

Going Into Books and TV

2009-09-26T03:45:00.001-07:00

Aidan has started to talk about physically going into books and TV shows that he likes. Kind of cool.

Growing Up

2009-09-07T03:55:00.000-07:00

Aidan is really growing up and very much wanting to do things himself. He is going to be an athlete. He is climbing rock walls, hitting, catching and throwing, riding a bicycle (with training wheels), and getting good at basketball. You really have mixed feeling when you see your son riding a bicycle by himself or going on a carnival ride by himself. Proud and happy but also realizing a certain time of life is ending.

Lyrics Dream

2009-08-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

I had a dream about jamming with a famous bluegrass musician (can't remember who.) What was interesting was that the singer made a up brand new verse to a well known song. I clearly recall the song and the new lyric fit the song perfectly. I am amazing that my brain could make up such a lyric, presumably, on the fly that fit an real and existing song so perfectly.

Latest Project

2009-08-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

I have been leading the effort to get a new playground for our town. We just finished on Monday. It was very gratifying to see how much the kids loved it. They could not wait to get on it. It was also great to get to know some our fellow townspeople who volunteered much better.

Traffic

2009-08-04T16:05:00.000-07:00

We drove over I-91 and commented on the heavy traffic. After we crossed over the bridge and saw one car, Aidan commented that there was only one traffic.

Aidan is starting to get into killing insects and spiders and playing violent games with his little dinosaurs. Always a challenge to know what to do. I have been saying we only kill bugs that try to bite us and to gentle discourage dinosaur killing games. Not sure how effective that has been so far.

Slide Show

2009-08-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

Language

2009-07-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

Aidan says "Butterfly neck" instead of "Butterfly net." He also says "Gobbles" for "Goggles." I usually say the word back correctly to him without indicated that he mispronounced. Sometimes, it is tempting to say it back his way due the cuteness factor. He has generalized the rules for plurals and past tense but I notice that he does not have all the (many) exceptions yet.

Death and Violence

2009-07-16T20:00:00.001-07:00

Is this a boy thing? Aidan has been into killing bugs and has somehow learned the word dead. I guess this stuff is going to come up whether we like it or not and what is important is how we react to it. I have been telling him it is OK to kill bugs that are trying to bite you. I don't really want him killing insects that aren't doing him any harm.

Aidan Saying

2009-07-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Catch it to me, Daddy.

Web SIte

2009-06-30T05:07:00.001-07:00

Aidan just informed me that he was "getting the web site ready" this morning when he was messing around with the computer and mouse. He also had his first "lesson" in using Kid Pix. He just turned 3.

Doe and Fawn

2009-06-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Saw a doe and fawn in the middle, grassy divider of our local highway. The fawn was very small. I hate to see deer and other animals in the middle of a highway, especially a fawn. Did not see any road kill on the way home so I hope they made it off I-91 safely. I understand that Europe does much more than we do with animal tunnels and bridges to help movement around highways. Especially with Jersey barriers, we have caused a lot of problems with genetic diversity because animals cannot travel to breed causing a lack of genetic variation in some areas.

Analogy and Perspective

2009-06-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

Aidan turned 3 yesterday and I have noticed two forms of astract thinking developing. One is for analogy. One example was heard today while he was eating blueberries. He said that the blueberries with visble. long stems were like lollipops. Note that he DID NOT LIKE the stems. The second was with perspective drawings. While formerly he would ask me why the train tracks just stopped, I noticed recently that he is saying the are very far away.

Sharing

2009-06-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

I was very impressed with Aidan's social skills at a bluegrass festival this weekend. First, he liked to say, "What's your name?" or just "Hi" to everyone walking by he found interesting. Second, he made tons of friends and seems to have developed strategies for starting play. The one we saw the most is when he comes up to a new kid and holds out one of his toys. We saw some other kids having a real hard time sharing and it was a big contrast. Not that he doesn't have his moments too. There were some midgets there too (not sure it that is the correct word anymore.) Aidan just commented that there were some little people and asked why and that was the end of it.

I have a dog training blog too if you are interested...

Good Whippet

The Blue Tractor is Missing

2009-05-06T03:18:00.000-07:00

Driving to daycare yesterday, Aidan commented that one of the blue tractors (at a farm we drive by every day) was missing. I thought this was a new and interesting concept for him. That was the first time I heard him say that something was missing and it was part of a set in his mind.

Pulls Up (Not for the Faint of Heart)

2009-05-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

My daycare provider has provided me with some life changing information. We have started to use pull up diapers to aid in toilet training. These can be pulled down and up easily for trips to the potty. I was thinking that maybe Aidan was not ready for them yet because when there is a poop, the poop would get everywhere pulling them down. She informed me that there is tape on the side so that they can be taken off just like diapers. Who knew?

Why?

2009-05-04T07:10:00.001-07:00

Aidan is entering the 3 year old "Why?" phase. I was wondering when this would happen.

The interesting part is that after I give an explanation (as age appropriate as possible, of course) he immediately asks why again and perhaps even a few more times. I wonder what the repetition is about - perhaps a need to hear it again to gain understanding?

I wonder if this is related to a cognitive milestone around cause and effect. That is, he is ready now to understand that things have a cause and effect.

Answering these questions can certainly be a challenge sometimes. Why is someone sick? Why do Wyatt and Patriot practice sits and stays?

Broken Wrist

2009-04-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

I am feeling a little old having a broken wrist. I can't toss my 3 year old kid around. That's what I miss the most. But most things are harder to do. I look forward to being able to toss Aidan around again in a month.

New Phrases

2009-04-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

Sunscream (for sunscreen)

Aidan says in a very hurt voice now when he does not get his way, "Mommy said no to me!"

Structure vs 2 Year Old

2009-03-27T06:43:00.000-07:00

I tend to be very structured, organized, and love lists and checking off things on my list. This is very different from how 2 year old operate. They want to have fun, to do whatever interests them at the time, and repeat their favorite things over and over again. They seem to care little for the things on my lists like cleaning, shopping, and getting stuff done! Sometimes, you can have both. Yesterday, I had Aidan out in the yard and I started moving some wood around from the ice storm and I had him throw some wood down the hill too. That can happen sometimes but I need to try and let go of my to dos during play time.

Detachment

2009-03-19T03:56:00.000-07:00

We have possible layoffs next year at my elementary school. I am facing a possibility of a layoff or reduction in hours. While I had hoped the nice little job I have could be a good way to finish out my teaching career, I have to face the fact that that may not happen. There is a lot of drama right now about the budget. I have done all I can go at this point to make it clear what eliminating technology at our school would do so I trying to let go of the drama and accept what happens at this point. I am tuning up my various resumes (I have one for tech teacher, one for classroom teacher, and one for software engineer) and setting up and checking different job sites. It is hard but it does feel much better to detach from the drama and stress and to accept some uncertainty and the possibility of change. I am not always sure I beleive the old adage that what was meant to happen will happen but it does feel like perhaps it may be time for a change, if that's the way it works out. I do tend to get bored after 5-7 years in one job.

Strategy

2009-03-06T07:11:00.001-08:00

Something I am realizing in my bones after 50 years on this earth walk.

I typically react based on what is right and wrong, what is logical. I tend to be lawyer like and want to argue a case if something is bothering me. Nothing wrong with that. I have learned to do it well and to generally do it in a respectful way and do try to propose win-win solutions.

But I do not always consider the timing and other person's emotional state. Sometimes you have to find the right time even if you are very much in your moment. Also, you have to think about what the other person is about and their emotional state and what motivates them. I am also finding that I need to think about the best way to "win" and not just about what I think is right. Sometimes that will mean coming on strong, sometimes being deferential, etc. So you have to read the situation accuratly before reacting.

Layoffs

2009-03-03T03:11:00.000-08:00

I have been a bit worried about my job next year. The ways things look, there will be lots of teacher layoffs next year in our area and perhaps everywhere. Seems like not the best thing as we really need to be more competitive as a country. While Obama provided money for schools, we are not sure how much will reach us. Right now, the state is level funding education next year. However, they are reducing aid to towns. So towns, with excise taxes down, property taxes down, and state aid town are reducing their funds for education. So while the Governer Patrick and President Obama talk about no layoffs for teachers, the reality seems to be different. Time to write some letters!

Dealing with Difficult People

2009-02-22T17:46:00.000-08:00

Something I have been struggling with. When dealing with difficult people, when do you be nice and deferential, which sometimes works? When do you come on strong? How strong can you be without crossing the line into personal attack?

Another Aidan Saying

2009-02-07T23:10:00.000-08:00

My eyes are cold. I need my glasses.

25 Things About Me

2009-02-03T07:44:00.001-08:00

1) I used to be President of the Greater Boston Track Club.
2) I hold 2 software patents.
3) I have spent many years tracking bears and other mammals.
4) I once lived in Costa Rica for a month.
5) I am obsessive about things being put away in their places.
6) I have been programming computers since 1976.
7) I know the names of all 4 Teletubbies.
8) I am half Irish and half Italian.
9) I am a very good test taker.
10) I want to see Ireland some day.
11) I want to canoe the Boundary Waters someday.
12) I want to live for a long time.
13) I got my first dog when I was 44.
14) I used to think I was a cat person.
15) I went fishing for bass a lot when I was a kid.
16) I plow my own driveway and road.
17) I used to listen to a lot of punk and new wave in college.
18) I love classical music especially Bach, Mozart, and Italian opera.
19) I play the Packrat (aka Crackrat) game obessively on Facebook.
20) When I was a kid, I used to run around the house and try and beat the electric meter reading.
21) I practiced Zen for many years but I had a vision during a meditation retreat to start practicing Native American religions.
22) I love owls and see and hear them all the time.
23) I voice told me to quick drinking when I was 25 or I would die and I did.
24) I tend to know a lot of people from doing things.
25) I tend to really get into things and then turn to something else but come back again. Some of these things are computers, juggling, guitar, singing, tracking, skiing, snowshoeing. I want to teach my sons these things as he grows up.

Another Toddler Expresion

2009-02-01T06:55:00.001-08:00

Daddy, I want some oranges juice.

Continuum of Behavior

2009-01-27T06:48:00.000-08:00

Teaching my tech class to kindergarten kids last week, a girl in the class was resistant to following the plan I had and wanted to basically do whatever she wanted to do. This is very much in tune with what I see with my 2 1/2 year old son Aidan. Before we had Aidan, I would have thought about the girl's behavior as oppositional or just something that needed to be fixed as she progressed through kindergarten. Even though my response was basically the same, I did feel that I was more compassionate and understanding with her in that I saw that her behavior was just the tail end of a toddler behavior.

Another One

2009-01-23T05:36:00.001-08:00

From my son Aidan - 2 1/2 - "My carrot was nice and crunchy."

Funny Kid Sayings

2009-01-21T06:03:00.000-08:00

Aidan is starting to put together different ideas and words creativity to express himself. Some are hilarious.

"Daddy, can you take the paper off the banana?"

"Daddy, the smoke is coming out of the car's chimney."

Dream

2009-01-08T06:51:00.000-08:00

My grandmother died around Thanksgiving. She was 96 years old. She was always a person of faith. We talked about this a few times. Even though I am not Catholic like she was and follow Native American religion and Zen, I am also a person of faith. My faith is based on experience though and is not blind faith but based on experiences I have had both in mediatition and in other experiences. Anyway, in the dream, I was looking through some of grandma's old jewelry and she appeared. I reached out to touch her hand and it was solid and not ephemeral like one might expect a ghost to be. She said she was in heaven and also said with a smile that I told you there was a heaven.

Santa Claus

2008-12-22T02:35:00.000-08:00

I was thinking I would not tell Aidan about Santa Claus or least not emphasize it. How naive I was! The reason is that I remember feeling bad when I learned there was no Santa. I felt that I was lied to.

But Aidan seemed to pick it up out of the air and is totally into Santa. I have no idea how he learned so much. Daycare says they did not teach him either. Now I find myself repeating all the Santa Claus stuff I learned as a kid. Yesterday, I taught him to say "Ho, ho, ho," which he loves.

I guess I will leave the discovery of the truth about Santa phase to a later date.

Ice Storm and TV

2008-12-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

We did like, in some ways, the lack of TV, Internet, and telephone (we had cell phones only) during the ice storm. So we are thinking of trying to cut back on TV. Aidan asked for TV every day but did quickly adapt to not having TV. It can be challenging when one is home alone with him and dinner needs to be made or other chores need to be done to accomplish this without TV. He is just not quite old enough to help with everything though that strategy does work well when it can be used. The difficulty is setting the limit. Is is by daily amount? Do we have no TV days? What about the adults? What are the limits for the adults? And how do we stick with a limit when special circumstances arise?

Ice Storm

2008-12-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

Lots to write about with the loss of power for what looks like it will be a week. Really changes your life and outlook. However, I can't write much. I just ran into Northampton to check email. Here are some quick photos I put up of the storm.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76359&l=5bc8f&id=641351677

Generations

2008-12-10T17:12:00.001-08:00

My mother's mother crossed over last week as did my father's last aunt. I still have one great aunt left but it does feel like a generation is gone. It is an interesting feeling and one people probably don't think about much until they reach around 50. There is still one generation between me and old age and death. I still feel like a kid in many ways when I know my parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents are around, no matter my age.

New Blog - Why?

2008-12-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

I have decided to start my second blog. My first blog - Good Whippet - contains reflections on dog training. This blog will be of a more general nature, likely on politics, nature, religion, parents, and life in general. I hope you enjoy it.