Driving home was sort of a pain today. Cars were going really slow. Took me about 10 minutes to go 2 blocks. The average freeway speed was about 40MPH.
Then there was the hill. I live somewhat on the side of a big hill and the drive back was somewhat scary where my tires sometimes lost traction and turn left/right didn’t really respond. That probably means I’ll need to get some chains for my wheel. The closer I got to home, the more snow there was (due to the fact less people drove there, so less snow got rubbed away). Anyway, I get to about 10 yards from my house and my wheels get stuck. No matter what I try, it wouldn’t go up anymore. I had tried scooping the snow away from the front of my wheels, but that didn’t seem to help. A couple friendly neighbors came and help. We tried putting cardboard underneath the wheels and that helped somewhat, but still didn’t really get much further.
They ended up helping me push my car in front of another neighbor’s driveway for now and hopefully the snow will melt away soon.
Turns out my trip home wasn’t as bad as my fellow colleagues. It took them 6 hours and a couple near death encounters compared to my mere 45mins. Looking at the weather, it looks like it’ll be warmer tomorrow. People are already sending in WFH (work from home) emails.
Global warming? Haha.
Random Crap:
Today’s Japanese phrases are 大切 (taisetsu) and 命 (inochi) which means important and life respectively. Together 命は大切 (taisetsu ha inochi) means well, life is important.
Free Services to Inspire Your Cellphone (from Digg) – Here, for your gratitude-generating pleasure, is a rundown of some of the most exciting and powerful services awaiting your cellphone at this very moment. Better yet, at the moment, they’re all free. So interesting story. I was on my way to get my eye examined, but I forget which plaza the doctor’s in. I know the general area it was in, but this being my visit, I was too 2 blocks from my house already and it was too far to go back. I called 1-800-FREE-411 and listened to a 10-15sec advertisement and got the the phone number, despite me saying “overlake eye center” vs “overlake eye design”. Do note, someone mentioned if you mix up the FREE and 411 (e.g. 1-800-411-FREE), you get connected to an adult server. The free international calls is interesting. I wonder if you really have to use a cell phone for that.
Science a la Joe Camel (from Digg) –
The producers of former vice president Al Gore’s film about global warming, myself included, certainly agreed. So the company that made the documentary decided to offer 50,000 free DVDs to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) for educators to use in their classrooms. It seemed like a no-brainer.The teachers had a different idea: Thanks but no thanks, they said.
In their e-mail rejection, they expressed concern that other “special interests” might ask to distribute materials, too; they said they didn’t want to offer “political” endorsement of the film; and they saw “little, if any, benefit to NSTA or its members” in accepting the free DVDs.
Gore, however, is not running for office, and the film’s theatrical run is long since over. As for classroom benefits, the movie has been enthusiastically endorsed by leading climate scientists worldwide, and is required viewing for all students in Norway and Sweden.
Still, maybe the NSTA just being extra cautious. But there was one more curious argument in the e-mail: Accepting the DVDs, they wrote, would place “unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters.” One of those supporters, it turns out, is the Exxon Mobil Corp.
Sigh… when the educational system fears to distribute knowledge because of repercussions by their supporters turning off the money tap, that’s when you know how bad our educational system has gotten.
Speaking of which, someone submitted this letter on Digg:
April 20th, 1994
Dear Mrs. _____,
You may already know this, but in case Alex has neglected to tell you, I am assigning him to detention for one hour this Friday, April 22nd. The reason is as follows:
Alex consistently defied me. During class he contradicted me numerous times when I insisted that the length of one kilometer was greater than that of one mile. Every other student in class accepted my lesson without argument, but your son refused to believe what I told him, offering such rebuttals as, “You’re lying to the class,” and commanding other students to challenge my curriculum.
Although he was correct, Alex’s actions show a blatant disregard for authority, and a complete lack of respect for his school. In the future, Alex would be better off simply accepting my teachings without resistance.
Please see to it that your son understands this.
Regards,
Adam Hilliker
I have a feeling it’s a fake, though Friday, April 22nd, 1994 does exist. Though that last sentence seems awfully forceful and the fact that a student was commanding other students to challenge her curriculum is something you hear in college, not elementary or high school (which it sounds like). Then there’s the fact a 1994 email just popped up on the internet in the year 2006. Though if it’s true… MY GOD!
Was reading Foxtrot and the iguana is so cute!!!
