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My nephew sprained his ankle in his P.E. class, and it got me to thinking.
P.E. is NOT Physical Education, as the name implies. Yeah, the kids get exercise, but wouldn't it be wonderful if P.E. actually was a class about educating kids on the aspects of their physical bodies? Understanding food and diet, which could include learning to read food labels. Understanding calories and other terms that relate to the balance between food and exercise and what they mean. Learning how to track daily workouts using paper and pencil as well as modern technology, such as a walking counter/meter on a smart phone or smart watch.
All I've ever known of P.E. was that it was the alternative to athletics (read: sports and gymnastics), and that the kids participate in physical activities, but not really learn about their own physical bodies. I'm all for there being an alternative. I participated in athletics throughout all of junior high and high school, but I always hated the team sports (namely, volleyball and basketball for me as a girl). I was fine in track and cross country, and I loved when I finally joined the tennis team, and I'd been bowling since I was a little one, but those were individual, or at most doubles, sports where I wasn't having to coordinate with a team of other players. And some of those athletics teachers can be rough, which was one of the reasons I stopped being in band - for every 10 athletic teachers, there's one band instructor that feels more like a drill sergeant than those 10 athletic instructors combined ever wished they could be.
I just think it would be neat if those kids in P.E. who otherwise probably could care less about sports, and maybe even learning, were somehow primed to be open to the areas of fitness, nutrition, and maybe even physiology. There's a fallacy that the non-smart, non-atheletic kids won't succeed in those areas of study, but I think priming them to at least know about them while they are still in grade school would help open the door to new possibilities for them. It could still be an "easy A" class, but throw some actual EDUCATION into the Physical Education course.
P.E. is NOT Physical Education, as the name implies. Yeah, the kids get exercise, but wouldn't it be wonderful if P.E. actually was a class about educating kids on the aspects of their physical bodies? Understanding food and diet, which could include learning to read food labels. Understanding calories and other terms that relate to the balance between food and exercise and what they mean. Learning how to track daily workouts using paper and pencil as well as modern technology, such as a walking counter/meter on a smart phone or smart watch.
All I've ever known of P.E. was that it was the alternative to athletics (read: sports and gymnastics), and that the kids participate in physical activities, but not really learn about their own physical bodies. I'm all for there being an alternative. I participated in athletics throughout all of junior high and high school, but I always hated the team sports (namely, volleyball and basketball for me as a girl). I was fine in track and cross country, and I loved when I finally joined the tennis team, and I'd been bowling since I was a little one, but those were individual, or at most doubles, sports where I wasn't having to coordinate with a team of other players. And some of those athletics teachers can be rough, which was one of the reasons I stopped being in band - for every 10 athletic teachers, there's one band instructor that feels more like a drill sergeant than those 10 athletic instructors combined ever wished they could be.
I just think it would be neat if those kids in P.E. who otherwise probably could care less about sports, and maybe even learning, were somehow primed to be open to the areas of fitness, nutrition, and maybe even physiology. There's a fallacy that the non-smart, non-atheletic kids won't succeed in those areas of study, but I think priming them to at least know about them while they are still in grade school would help open the door to new possibilities for them. It could still be an "easy A" class, but throw some actual EDUCATION into the Physical Education course.
Will Editting REALLY Kill You?
May. 26th, 2015 07:18 amI'm trying to read an article about the current flooding going on, when a simple missing word now has me wondering about the urban building properties of rainfall.
"Heavy rains caused street around the Oklahoma City area Saturday."
"Heavy rains caused street around the Oklahoma City area Saturday."
Doctor Who - The Adventure Games
Mar. 23rd, 2015 08:30 pmFFS, they couldn't have picked a more annoying movement process if they tried.
Also, it pains me to hear that we just went back in time prior to the arrival of [a gadget], and the Doctor's comment regarding a console in the room is, "That was the console that used to control...." Shouldn't he say, "That is the console that will be used to control...." instead?
Also, it pains me to hear that we just went back in time prior to the arrival of [a gadget], and the Doctor's comment regarding a console in the room is, "That was the console that used to control...." Shouldn't he say, "That is the console that will be used to control...." instead?
Luckily, I can go to work today
Feb. 24th, 2015 08:11 amThe problem with snow days for me is that I don't get paid if I don't work. Snow days have sucked for the past 6 years for me. At least when I worked at the YMCA they still paid us our regular work schedule if they sent us home. Yesterday was a half day, and although I didn't have to drive into Dallas, I was pissed that we closed down mid-day, and I stayed generally pissed for the rest of the day.
I shouldn't complain. My father is a mail carrier and is still working many years after he could have retired to pay for the second family he's raising (and still raising, considering how much they still help out my sister). Through rain, sleet, and snow....
I shouldn't complain. My father is a mail carrier and is still working many years after he could have retired to pay for the second family he's raising (and still raising, considering how much they still help out my sister). Through rain, sleet, and snow....
Editing, Do You Speak It
Jan. 11th, 2015 06:58 amWe all make mistkes. We all mahe tpoes. Well all leave out words a sentence accidentally.
For some reason though, article writers are missing a crucial step in the publishing process: LEARN TO PROOFREAD and EDIT, for crying out loud!
At least l33tspeak hasn't caught on in actual publications, or the awful telegraph* shortening of words now used in text messages (like 'u' and 'ur' in place of 'you' and 'your'/'you're'), but for some reason the voracity of online articles and speed at which these articles are being pushed out has created a phenomenon in which errors pop up in online articles like crazy. These are errors that a simple proofing or re-read should catch and correct.
This is a blog. This isn't a published article. I still proofread my entries, sometimes the next day when re-reading them and wondering to myself, "Did I really type that?" I have no reason to apologize when I make mistakes here, but that doesn't mean I care so little about my writing that I don't at least TRY to make some attempt to have it written out correctly. It just makes me wonder how much article writers actually care about their own writing.
*Back when telegraphs were the primary means of communicating long distance, people learned to be very brief, precise, and sometimes quite hilarious in their telegraph messages due to being charged by the word.
For some reason though, article writers are missing a crucial step in the publishing process: LEARN TO PROOFREAD and EDIT, for crying out loud!
At least l33tspeak hasn't caught on in actual publications, or the awful telegraph* shortening of words now used in text messages (like 'u' and 'ur' in place of 'you' and 'your'/'you're'), but for some reason the voracity of online articles and speed at which these articles are being pushed out has created a phenomenon in which errors pop up in online articles like crazy. These are errors that a simple proofing or re-read should catch and correct.
This is a blog. This isn't a published article. I still proofread my entries, sometimes the next day when re-reading them and wondering to myself, "Did I really type that?" I have no reason to apologize when I make mistakes here, but that doesn't mean I care so little about my writing that I don't at least TRY to make some attempt to have it written out correctly. It just makes me wonder how much article writers actually care about their own writing.
*Back when telegraphs were the primary means of communicating long distance, people learned to be very brief, precise, and sometimes quite hilarious in their telegraph messages due to being charged by the word.
Back when I was young I watched pageants here and there, but nowadays I don't care for much of anything shown on regular TV. Either way, this is an interesting little thing that seems to be going on in the media right now.
( It got long )
( It got long )
Gonna Scream Soon
Jan. 8th, 2014 12:04 amIt's become almost impossible to process invoices at work during normal business hours for me, so I'm having to put in a lot of overtime getting these things knocked out each week.
That by itself is a major hamper on my love for work right now.
However, I'm about at my wits end. This evening has been relatively pleasant for the past 4+ hours. But now, when I'm at the half way point for processing for the evening, one of the furnaces next to my office is starting to squeal at me at high pitches that are setting my teeth on edge.
Bearings, belt, motor - all irrelevant, because there's nothing I can do to get in there and fix the damn thing, and these invoices have to be finalized before early AM tomorrow.
~4+ more hours to go, and I'm going to start screaming every time that heater comes on, but I care more for being warm while at work than for my sanity, apparently.
If there's an explosion, you'll know why.
That by itself is a major hamper on my love for work right now.
However, I'm about at my wits end. This evening has been relatively pleasant for the past 4+ hours. But now, when I'm at the half way point for processing for the evening, one of the furnaces next to my office is starting to squeal at me at high pitches that are setting my teeth on edge.
Bearings, belt, motor - all irrelevant, because there's nothing I can do to get in there and fix the damn thing, and these invoices have to be finalized before early AM tomorrow.
~4+ more hours to go, and I'm going to start screaming every time that heater comes on, but I care more for being warm while at work than for my sanity, apparently.
If there's an explosion, you'll know why.
State of the Emo
Jan. 4th, 2014 10:03 amWho needs words, when all writing can become fucking emoticons?
And here I thought, "Wat RU up 2?" was bad.
( Ow, my eyes! )
And here I thought, "Wat RU up 2?" was bad.
( Ow, my eyes! )
Fucking Idiots.
Dec. 10th, 2013 08:10 amI went to pick up my prescription yesterday at Target. I walked around the grocery aisles briefly. Holy crap. You'd think that we'd just got hit with one entire month of 12ft snow blizzard or something. What is wrong with people that so many shelves are emptied? Two days of non-drivable roads. That's it. That's all it was. Two Fucking Days. And even then I and my co-workers still had to go to work on day one. By day three, roommate and I went out to get Vietnamese, and the roads were perfectly drivable, albeit a bit slick in places still, but drivable.
I guess I should thank the powers that be that medications like antibiotics require prescriptions, or else those would have been cleared off the shelves as well. People would have been freaking out thinking they're going to get sick from two days of white stuff falling from the sky, and folks like me who actually did get sick would have to wait until the next shipment came in from wherever to restock the shelves.
My grocery shopping after three days being sick and stuck at home - two bottles of Starbucks Frappuccino. Those were still fully stocked on the shelves. Surprisingly enough, Fast Food still works well enough after two days of Snowmageddon as well. *headdesk*
I guess I should thank the powers that be that medications like antibiotics require prescriptions, or else those would have been cleared off the shelves as well. People would have been freaking out thinking they're going to get sick from two days of white stuff falling from the sky, and folks like me who actually did get sick would have to wait until the next shipment came in from wherever to restock the shelves.
My grocery shopping after three days being sick and stuck at home - two bottles of Starbucks Frappuccino. Those were still fully stocked on the shelves. Surprisingly enough, Fast Food still works well enough after two days of Snowmageddon as well. *headdesk*
My Hawt Car
Aug. 8th, 2013 04:21 pmWelp, the A/C is going to be $2k to fix.
Did I mention I just about emptied my savings to pay off said car?
I have an open credit card, but it's set to pay off the balance each month through my checking account. I never actually use it as a balance-carrying card, only as a credit rating tool to show I can handle lines of revolving credit. The whole point of paying off the car was to avoid additional interest fees, so putting a balance on the card is going to negate that.
The good thing is that the credit card pays out from the checking account close to a month and half later than the transaction date. So I'll be getting a few more paychecks in the meantime, and that should cover the balance by then.
Yeah, this is going to be annoyingly close.
Did I mention I just about emptied my savings to pay off said car?
I have an open credit card, but it's set to pay off the balance each month through my checking account. I never actually use it as a balance-carrying card, only as a credit rating tool to show I can handle lines of revolving credit. The whole point of paying off the car was to avoid additional interest fees, so putting a balance on the card is going to negate that.
The good thing is that the credit card pays out from the checking account close to a month and half later than the transaction date. So I'll be getting a few more paychecks in the meantime, and that should cover the balance by then.
Yeah, this is going to be annoyingly close.
How I See It
Jun. 5th, 2013 06:58 amThese paragraphs about how the brain supposedly works come from an article about infant fatalities in cars.
The human brain, he says, is a magnificent but jury-rigged device in which newer and more sophisticated structures sit atop a junk heap of prototype brains still used by lower species. At the top of the device are the smartest and most nimble parts: the prefrontal cortex, which thinks and analyzes, and the hippocampus, which makes and holds on to our immediate memories. At the bottom is the basal ganglia, nearly identical to the brains of lizards, controlling voluntary but barely conscious actions.
Diamond says that in situations involving familiar, routine motor skills, the human animal presses the basal ganglia into service as a sort of auxiliary autopilot. When our prefrontal cortex and hippocampus are planning our day on the way to work, the ignorant but efficient basal ganglia is operating the car; that's why you'll sometimes find yourself having driven from point A to point B without a clear recollection of the route you took, the turns you made or the scenery you saw.
Ordinarily, says Diamond, this delegation of duty "works beautifully, like a symphony. But sometimes, it turns into the '1812 Overture.' The cannons take over and overwhelm."
By experimentally exposing rats to the presence of cats, and then recording electrochemical changes in the rodents' brains, Diamond has found that stress -- either sudden or chronic -- can weaken the brain's higher-functioning centers, making them more susceptible to bullying from the basal ganglia. He's seen the same sort of thing play out in cases he's followed involving infant deaths in cars.
( Here's my interpretation regarding what I view are common misconceptions about the brain held by pretty much everyone, including most neuroscientists. )
The human brain, he says, is a magnificent but jury-rigged device in which newer and more sophisticated structures sit atop a junk heap of prototype brains still used by lower species. At the top of the device are the smartest and most nimble parts: the prefrontal cortex, which thinks and analyzes, and the hippocampus, which makes and holds on to our immediate memories. At the bottom is the basal ganglia, nearly identical to the brains of lizards, controlling voluntary but barely conscious actions.
Diamond says that in situations involving familiar, routine motor skills, the human animal presses the basal ganglia into service as a sort of auxiliary autopilot. When our prefrontal cortex and hippocampus are planning our day on the way to work, the ignorant but efficient basal ganglia is operating the car; that's why you'll sometimes find yourself having driven from point A to point B without a clear recollection of the route you took, the turns you made or the scenery you saw.
Ordinarily, says Diamond, this delegation of duty "works beautifully, like a symphony. But sometimes, it turns into the '1812 Overture.' The cannons take over and overwhelm."
By experimentally exposing rats to the presence of cats, and then recording electrochemical changes in the rodents' brains, Diamond has found that stress -- either sudden or chronic -- can weaken the brain's higher-functioning centers, making them more susceptible to bullying from the basal ganglia. He's seen the same sort of thing play out in cases he's followed involving infant deaths in cars.
( Here's my interpretation regarding what I view are common misconceptions about the brain held by pretty much everyone, including most neuroscientists. )
Re: previous post
Apr. 29th, 2013 11:49 pmI was going to wait before going into the details, but I really need to type this out to hopefully help get it out of my head. I can't sleep, and I have been called in early to work tomorrow, so, I might as well try to clear some of this junk out.
( The Details )
Also, there's a fucking mockingbird right outside my open window that is going off doing it's loud-ass singing in the middle of the night. He's been going on for the past 45 minutes, at least, while I've been typing this up. Don't those bastards ever sleep?
Fucking hell, I'm not in a good mood.
( The Details )
Also, there's a fucking mockingbird right outside my open window that is going off doing it's loud-ass singing in the middle of the night. He's been going on for the past 45 minutes, at least, while I've been typing this up. Don't those bastards ever sleep?
Fucking hell, I'm not in a good mood.