Recently someone expressed an opinion to me that went along these lines: education today isn’t about learning, but rather about scheming and finding a way to make it past the tests. As a former student and teacher, I can agree with that to a point, but disagree on another level. The education system in America today seems to reward the people that can make it past the test. The question I have is whether that is a good thing. Does passing a test really indicate that you have learned? I...

It bothers me just a little how litigious American society has become. An effect of this is the warning labels that we see on so many products. Some of these serve a genuine purpose, but many of them are simply companies covering their backsides. I can’t blame them for protecting themselves; I just wish they didn’t have to. For each of the outrageous safety warnings you see on a product you have to wonder what moron prompted the need for said warning. “Do not drink” on a bottle of liqu...

“You can’t put a bag over personality.” - unknown

"The average person thinks he isn’t." - Father Larry Lorenzoni

Debra Lafave... I sure didn't have any teachers like this when I was in high school! Link Today I have several friends that are teachers, and many of them are hot 20-somethings. Where were these teachers when my hormones were raging? I feel cheated.

On the way to work today I saw a Toyota Sequoia, basically a house on wheels, with the license plate "ERTH1ST". I don't know if that is funny or sad.

I work in a building that has a nice cafeteria staffed by a caterer. The food there is quite good, and quite cheap. One of the cooks there is a Mexican fellow of pleasant disposition. This fellow and I were talking the other day while he was cooking my chiliquilas, and he revealed to me something I found interesting. First, let me state that I do not think this fellow is an illegal considering the security checks you have to go through just to get in our building. This was a pain in th...

"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian." - Dennis Wholey (1937-) "

Richard Riordan is California's State Education Secretary and former Los Angeles mayor. On July 1 Riordan was taped having a conversation with a 6-year-old girl named Isis D'Luciano. During the conversation Isis asked Riordan if he knew her name meant "Egyptian goddess." This man, who supposedly has been a strong supporter of education in California, replied, "It means stupid dirty girl." What an asshat. He claims he was just teasing the girl. Good to see that the State Educatio...

"A great many people think they are thinking when they are actually rearranging their prejudices." - William James (1842-1910) "

"Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions - it only guarantees equality of opportunity." - Irving Kristol (1920-) "

Many years ago, when I was in college, I had an experience that changed the way I look at the world. Several friends and I were gathered in one of our dorm rooms. We had a night of movie watching and drinking ahead of us, and one of my friends was cooking some Cajun food for us. This friend, Dom, was from New Orleans, where his parents owned a restaurant. His cooking was always sublime, even though he had but a single electric burner and a microwave. We were watching Blazing Saddles ...

"A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of explanation." - H. H. Munro (Saki) (1870-1916)

"Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake." - Savielly Grigorievitch Tartakower (1887-1956), Chessmaster

“The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.” -Niels Bohr (1885-1962)