Picture of the day

So this morning before going to bed i looked at the bathroom door and was struck to take this picture. It was dark so I needed a tripod to get the effect. It turned out alright. Here are the stats;

Exposure: 2 Seconds
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

Fruits of Labor 2

So accomplishment didn't come for everyone I hoped for but it came for some. For those that it didn't I find myself working on ways to help the next people that sit in their seats find what they missed.

Next up: blame and the bigger picture; how people miss it

Two Photos: Wide and Tight

Fruits of Labor

Somebody give Chelsey Sullenburger a medal. Anyone who can land a plane on the Hudson River without anyone dying deserves something more than a thank you.

At my day job I'm a teacher, I teach adults and most of them are old enough to be my parents. To teach them I have to find away to make them respect me, and not see me as someone that reminds them of their children in a way that causes them not to listen to me. That in and of itself poses its own unique set of challenges. Consider personalities, learning speeds, ranges of ages, backgrounds and the fact that for whatever reason adults can forget their maturity in a classroom environment (think high school with more ego) and you have a pot of something that either comes out good or bad or sometimes very indifferent. This week one of my students mentioned that they thought I would do well teaching in a classic classroom environment and I told him that at one point that was a thought of mine. So I wonder how different it would be to deal with the personalities and learning speeds of someone younger than myself and in the middle of their rebellious period. Im not sure that I could or would want to handle that.

I do enjoy the fruits of teaching; at the end of the day I like to see the lightbulb come on for someone. Seeing that they've wrestled with the material and found themselves at a point where they realize that they don't understand something and then work to get to a place where they do understand; they feel accomplishment. When my students accomplish something so do I and I have the pleasure of working in a job where I get to feel accomplishment regularly and get to hear thank you from the students that appreciate what they've learned and experienced. I get to see the results of my labor. Everyone doesn't get to work in position where they get feel, see or experience that so I'm grateful that I do.

I also have great appreciation for the teachers that taught me something and the teachers that are continuing to teach others. It's easy to take that for granted until you have to stand up and try to teach somebody something.

-tw

Sleep etc...

The amazing thing is that I went to bed at a decent hour, and still woke up really tired. Maybe there is something to this whole rim sleep. I think I'm going to have to subsist on red bull and sugar to get me through the day. Please let it give me wings. 

I have already slacked one day on my new years resolution. I wrote nothing yesterday. So I will attempt to make up for it this evening if I can stay awake. We will see. Maybe some prose on my love of sleep. Honestly if I had known when I was a child that sleep would be this difficult to come by as an adult I would have taken more naps, and never complained about them.

As a baseball fan I'm excited and disappointed when it comes to the HOF class of 09. I was really hoping Andre Dawson would finally get in. I remember collecting his baseball cards as a kid, he was a good player. I am happy about Rickey Henderson, he was definitely a first ballot lock, great hitter and base stealer, an archetypal lead off hitter . I am really excited to hear his speech and I hope he gives the whole thing in the 3rd person, although maybe he will pull a Michael Irvin and be humble.

Tony Dungy retired. Great coach who showed that you didn't have to be Bill Parcells to win. He was always respectful of his players and never yelled or cursed at anyone. He believed in something and held to it and he was greatly respected in his profession because of it. I was happy when he won a Superbowl in 2007 b/c he should have won one in Tampa Jon Gruden walked into a perfect situation and won. Indy brought him one a few years later. I'm not sure he is a Hall of Fame coach based on wins and losses but he has bought the NFL alot more than that. The "Tampa Two" defense is used all over the NFL as a way to stop the long pass, it was developed by Dungy. Also he has a great coaching tree, Lovie Smith, Herman Edwards, Mike Tomlin, Jim Caldwell, Rod Marinelli are current or former head coaches who worked as coaches for Dungy. Also Leslie Frazier is the Defensive Coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings who will eventually be a Head Coach in the NFL. Parents are usually judged on how their children turn out, I think Dungy will be judged on the success of the coaches he leaves in the league.

Im tired of anonymous commenters. Go to any website and the all have spaces for someone to leave an opinion. I'm all for free speech but I think people should be required to leave a real name and an email address. You hear some of the dumbest, most racist things on these message boards and I think people should be held accountable. If you say something too dumb I think people should be able to hold you accountable for it. People should grow up and sign their names to their thoughts and opinions.

-tw

What I Learned Today

1. That my Eagles rock

2. That the winner of the Superbowl will not be the best team in the league but will be the champion.

3. That a great defense beats good offense

4. I love twitter (thanks Chuck)

5. To make my life easier by linking files in Word

6. To set expectations to make myself productive.

1. Write one paragraph of substance (4 lines) every day.
   
2. To blog once a day (not including the above).
3. By the end of 2009 finish the short story I started in 2004... lol I know.