Month: August 2013

There is no question that Egypt is in turmoil. On the surface it looks like a military coup by an American-backed army that is intent on murdering anyone remotely associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. I don’t know if that is true. I can only draw conclusions from what I see on the news and the inferences that arise from what I don’t see or am not specifically told. One thing for certain is that both sides are pointing at America as the bad guy. This is leading to a swell of anger from our populous and a desire to defund the region entirely. I don’t know everything about politics, but I do know a little bit about the hustle game, and I know that when people have a reason to stay calm, they do. I argue that the money we provide helps maintain stability in the region and goes a long way to ensuring that the violence doesn’t spread across the country and beyond its borders.

The President has come under fire for not declaring the situation in Egypt a coup, a thus ending all funding to the region. I applaud him for maneuvering around these obstacles like Adrien Peterson. Hard and fast rules are not always the answer for every possible scenario. We call this a coup and we legally must defund Egypt. We defund Egypt and their relationship with Isreal changes. The temperature in the region shifts from internal strife to one of a unified enemy that just happens to be our ally. It is easy to imagine that a country, like Syria, where the only thing everyone can agree on is the fact that Isreal needs to catch a missile. Our presence in the region prevents that missile from being launched. Our separation from Egypt prevents us from flying over the region freely to engage enemy targets, which is to say that missile gets launched.

I’m simplifying. There is a lot more complexity here and a lot more at stake than another Middle Eastern war. Oil moves through the region safely in part because of military power. There are more factors even beyond that. Clearly this issue is not as simple as saying ‘ooh, you couped!’ and pulling out all of our cash. There are going to be repercussions at every level and people are going to get hurt. Tough choices for tough times. The President is making the right one by continuing to walk the line and allow Egypt time to sort this mess out, even if we’re labeled as the bad guys for doing it.

Some Thoughts:

1. Helicopter parents and closed-minded individuals damage the value of education by creating situations in which the freedom to teach isn’t that free. I get why High School is useless short of rote memorization. You cannot teach someone how to be thinker when you’re busy protecting your right to be a teacher.

Every semester I struggle to get students to actually read their syllabus. Short of giving a test in class or reading it to them, getting them to read the syllabus is like getting them to shell out pocket money for textbooks they won’t use. Practical knowledge tells you to cover the syllabus on day one and make establishing these rules and regulations a priority. I don’t argue that point. I do argue that this needs to be done through a syllabus.

The Syllabus document is a reference tool designed to provide students a point of information and a point of contact for the course rules and the instructor information. However, the conversation that reveals, establishes, and even confirms the classroom environment is equally important. you cannot drop a syllabus on students, expect them to read it, and go about your business. In fact, a quiz is only good for ensuring that they can regurgitate facts–not interpret and apply the information to their behaviors.

I’m going to deliver a syllabus–I have to–however the 1st class is all about establishing that learning environment.

I went to a birthday party with my middle son today and it was fantastic. He roller-skated for hours and afterwards asked when he could go back. I don’t know how much the party cost, but I know that to do a party for my soon-to-be 9 yr old will cost more than a 50″ LCD   TV. Whatever happened to the days when parties were inviting a few friends over, putting on costumes and kicking back? Unfortunately we don’t have the backyard to do a legit kids party. In truth our house is set up for small-group engagement as opposed to 25 kids running around and parents watching. Instead we go elsewhere and elsewhere costs money.

I’ve been pouring through blogs, Yelp reviews, and storefront websites to find an experience my son will appreciate. Being 9, his priority is some form of acrobatic insanity, preferably trampoline aided. These things aren’t cheap and given his number of friends and the immediate relative of those friends, the number of required guests rises like high tide. So, I’m in the market for alternative solutions. We may stay local and put our money into a tribal solution. We may go unconventional and arrange a martial arts thing or a gymnastics thing. We may skip the party and do something small and private. Whatever we do, I gotta plan it fast, because he turns 9 in less than a month.

 

Some Thoughts:

1. Been thinking about response theory. Specifically I’ve been considering my dog and how he acts when I get home. Is he at the door because he cares or is he at the door because he knows I will pet him and he wants that? Hard to tell.
2. The Giants looked decent on D. The line has swagger again, but the secondary is still struggling for an identity. The LB corp was a big surprise. They played like these 19 practices really made an impact. Could be a good season. Given the depth the team has at multiple skill positions, Coughlin may have conquered the fact that he doesn’t have 16-week players. Then again, the offense failed to punch it in at all. We’ll see what sort of difference in play there is against the Jets next week.

I have the privilege of writing in the amazing world of Shadowrun, an urban fantasy/sci-fi genre where I get to explore the social ramifications of technology. One of the things I find the most engaging about the possible future is the cybernetic eye–specifically a device that records what you see and can provide internet-based data in a Heads up Display style. Imagine what we could do with that tech. Imagine a doctor working on a patient and sending a live feed to international experts who may assist her in the surgery or even pull down graphic overlays to guide the surgery. The possibilities are endless.

The possibilities are close to reality.

Google recently introduced Google Glass, an eyepiece device that serves as a HUD and a camera, a tool that takes pictures and videos and responds to voice commands. However, this isn’t a fanboy post on why the Glass is awesome. Actually it is more of a warning about what it could mean.

If we have all of the internet’s information only milliseconds away, what is the need for us to know anything? At some point in our near-future it is going to become more important to understand how to retrieve, discern, and apply information than it is to know, or to remember, information in any significant way. We may transition from a place where the signifiers of knowledge are PhD and MA to a place where knowledge is based on bandwidth and understanding of the specific situation. Expertise will be localized as information goes global. So, what does that mean to how we value intelligence?

I want to use this space to explore some ideas. I have a Sociology through Film class coming up and I feel like the class is a wonderful opportunity to explore the youth culture and their interpretations of the world around them. Like any good bonfire, these students need fuel. I try to strike a balance in my classes between directed and culled material. I want them to choose a certain amount of the media we explore, which narrows the amount of media I bring to the table and for what purpose.

I want to bring in The Wire for certain. The show is a poor opener for the class, as the complexity of the Wire is better unraveled with a basic understanding of sociological theory. But where do I start? I Love Lucy? Birth of a Nation? Actually, that last one isn’t a half-bad idea. While it could be too ‘in your face’ for an initial screening, it does make a statement about how film has and continue to be used over time. Perhaps I show a clip and get them going.

Its all about the energy in the room. If you can get the energy flowing at get them feeling safe and uncomfortable and excited to learn. Just gotta find the right clips to get them there.

Some Thoughts:

1. The assertion that macs do not become infected by viruses is totally false.
2. I still cannot believe MJ married that Debbie Rowe chick. If anyone needed an intervention it was him.
3. Lady Gaga is a lot like a deranged version of Madonna. Just saying…
4. Thinking about taking 1 or more boys to a Cardinals game. The price for tickets is restrictive, especially if they cannot make it a whole game. Still, I might go ahead and make this happen, because the experience of a pro game is awesome. Maybe I’ll do a dry run with them at a preseason game…

When I am overwhelmed I freeze up. I’m not talking about people telling me things I don’t want to hear or deadlines crashing down overwhelmed. I’m talking about ‘you have 24 hours to complete 47 tasks that take 3 hrs apiece’ overwhelmed. It happens more than I’d like to admit. It mostly happens because I set myself up that way. It isn’t so much that I have 24 hrs, but more that I give myself 24 hrs from awareness of any given task to completion of that task. That’s a ‘weird old trick‘ I picked up somewhere along the way to avoid procrastination. However, it only triggered additional procrastination, because the moment you realize that you’re going to fail to do everything you need to do, it becomes that much easier to avoid doing anything you need to do.

Nowadays I give myself till I go to sleep.

I don’t try to do every task. Instead I do a triage and determine what things are the most important. I usually can complete around 3 major tasks a day depending on the time requirements for each. I can do this because I say: I’m going to do Task A today and if I get the time I’m doing B. This way I feel less responsible to force out C or even B. I focus on what’s important and once that is complete I look at how much time I have left and jam whatever I can into those remaining hours.

I’m no organization or time management expert. In truth I suffer from a genetic illness known as Chronic Disorganizatia. However, by recognizing this illness and being patient with myself, I can function and complete tasks like a normal human being can.

On the good days I even look organized.

I am a huge fan of discovering how you learn best. To me it just makes sense to know what learning condition is going to be the one that benefits you. Learning how you learn is simple, but it must be more than a guess. You can say, “Hey, I’m an active learner, ” and call it a day but that doesn’t mean you understand what that entails or if it truly captures the entire way you learn. In truth, most people possess the ability to acclimate to all types of learning and even have competency in multiple learning styles. I suggest taking a simple test like this one or this one or even this one to gauge where you live along the learning spectrum.

This type of knowledge extends well past the classroom. Knowing how you learn ought to shape your experiences in life. I recently purchased the Up bracelet by Jawbone, a life tracking device that shows me what is happening with my body in terms of steps I take and hours I sleep. I am, in part, a visual learner so when I see a graphic reflecting my sleep and exercise trends it inclines me to be more active and to change the style and intensity of my activity. I am also an active learner–one who likes to move and do in order to learn, so I experiment extensively with different things in order to figure out the right way to do something.

Because I am visual and I am active I am a person who dabbles in the reading of how-to books and follows e-how online. My home is littered with attempts to learn professional carpentry and the like. Knowing how I learn helps my to understand how I can best acquire new skills without waisting money on learning experiences that will be ineffective.

 

Some Thoughts:

1. No Waiver Wednesday today. There is little to say between the 1st and second weeks of pre-season football that hasn’t already been exhausted on the plethora of 24-hr sports news stations littering your channel guide.
2. Still no Minecraft either, because a 4 yr old should not have any reason to pick up a 10 lb barbell and brandish it as a weapon.

I talk to my best male friend once a month if I’m lucky. There are times when the lapse between conversations extend to two or even three. It isn’t much better with my best female friend (outside of my wife, of course). We haven’t seen each other in two months easy, and unlike the male friend she and I live 40 minutes apart. The fact is I don’t fit the general perceptions of what adult friendships look like. We are a Wolfpack or a group of guys who get together to hunt and talk about our wives. We don’t have a Fantasy Football league (I mean, I do but not with my best bud).

All of those things are part of the perception or myth of adult friendship created by film and media. I’ve been fed these images of proper adult friendship protocol and activity since my youth and now as an adult I sometimes feel sad that I don’t have that sort of relationship with my top guy.

 

Some Thoughts:

1. Rizolli and Isles is worrying me a bit. The format change reflects a need to tell the story of other members of the squad, which takes time away from the Isles/Rizolli interactions. It is the best buddy show I’ve seen in a while let’s not ruin it.

For all of the things I say about the difficulty of raising my three boys, I will say that there are moments in time where nothing in the world could replace the moments I have with them. Tonight presented such an opportunity. Each school day I sit the boys down one by one and ask them to tell me all about their school day. It makes school a special time for them, because they get this reward of being able to tell me all about it and do so in a way that makes them and their experience the center of my attention. They are the center of my attention for that period of time. I hold each one in turn and let him recount his day from waking up to being in my arms. I hold them and ask them questions. I listen and reflect on what wonders they’ve been up to and for those moments they are the most precious creatures in the multiverse.

Then the moment passes and the fighting and screaming begins anew.

 

Some Thoughts:

1. I’ve been given the opportunity to teach Sociology through Film again. This time I want to look at films specifically in terms of Genre and the role genre plays as a socializing agent and social tool. This could be fun.

A few years back I read a story by Joseph Findler in which he wrote, “Never let an asshole rent space in your head.” I’ve taken that statement as a bit of a mantra and realized that it does, in a way, explain all of the world’s businesses. Here’s my theory: People are ultimately insecure and a large number mask that insecurity with power. Steve Jobs had that problem. Though we tend to point to the wonderful company he built and his heroic cancer battle, the man was widely considered to be an ass. He isn’t alone. The medical industry is one peppered with individuals looking to make a quick buck, often at the expense of employees who are so cowed by these bosses that they are willing to accept less than acceptable behaviors in order to remain in the good graces of said bosses.

Politics lives by this mantra. Politicians are trying to do two things: get the people to vote for them and climb so deep into an opponents head that they either loose their cool or loose their ability to perform adequately. Corps and politics are very similar, which is what led to the quote. If you can understand the principle that these people in power over you are trying to rent space in your head, you are already ahead of the game.

I started thinking about this while reading non-fiction about the corporate world and listening to news reports about Putin. There is a guy who is clearly compensating with power.

Some Thoughts:

1. As the FB season nears, the Giants are looking great. The Jets are not. All is normal with the world.
2. Watching Clear History, the new Larry David film. No verdict yet.