Sunday, February 24, 2008

This will make you think!

I'm working with my boys to make stop motion animation films, we have made three so far! I'm having a blast working with them and showing them what I teach.
In the process of looking up new idea's I came across blunty3000, this guy not only knows how to do stop motion but has some great insight on censorship. I couldn't keep it to myself and had to share.


Friday, February 22, 2008

Who would you hire?



A company founder needed to choose his successor. He studied resumes and talked to references, but he asked only one question during the final interview: "How much is 2 + 2?"

Ann, the first candidate, worried that there was a trick but answered straightforwardly. "There’s only one correct answer: four."

Terry, who had an engineering background, was more creative. "Depending on whether you’re dealing with positive or negative numbers," he said, "the answer could be plus four, zero, or minus four."

Chuck, the last candidate, looked the questioner in the eye and whispered, "How much do you want it to be?"

While Ann and Terry took different approaches, they both provided an honest answer. Chuck, on the other hand, wanted the questioner to know he was willing to say or do whatever it took to succeed. Some employers may find this combination of creativity and moral flexibility highly attractive. I’d show him the door.

You see, Chuck is a manipulator and rationalizer, and they don’t make good employees. They search for excuses rather than solutions and are more concerned with looking good than doing things right.

People like Chuck who are adept at inventing justifications that sound good but aren’t true are simply clever liars. Eventually they will be found out. Remember, an employee who will lie for you will lie to you.

Without conscience, there is no credibility. Without credibility, there is no trust. And without trust, there is no future.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Showing our LOVE!

For Valentines Day this year, the boys and I decided to show our love by making Mom a gift with love and our hands. To add a bit of testosterone we used the wood burner...

Youngest son age 8 burning some love!

Daddy age OLD, carving some love!

Oldest son age 11, sanding some love!

All done! Will she like it?


Valentines Day and she loved it! Still waiting for Wife to blow some love......

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Love is in the AIR !

You Can Call me LOVABLE AL !!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Shrider column: Word ban in schools? It could happen here.


Every now and then it's a good idea for us Americans to poke our heads up and have a look at how folks in other parts of the world do things.

Especially when we're about to do some of those same things.

One of them is the implementation of SB 777, the public school indoctrination act that mandates only positive portrayals and comments of homosexual, bisexual and transsexual lifestyle choices in public schools.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill in October. Liberal politicos and pundits have been rolling their eyes ever since, dismissing the "hysterical hand-wringing" of conservative parents and faith groups who rightly wonder exactly what words will no longer be tolerated in schools.

Critics of the law suggest some of those words could include "mom" and "dad" or "husband" and "wife" or even have boys and girls sharing the same bathrooms.

Such concerns are utter nonsense, according to state Sen. Sheila Kuehl of Santa Monica, chief sponsor of the law. But one only has to peep across the pond to England to grasp that some of these concerns may not be so farfetched after all.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families, England's version of our Department of Education, just introduced an online cyberbullying campaign and a "new guidance" for teachers, ostensibly to "tackle homophobic bullying" in public schools, according to its Web site.

I found no mention of sharing bathrooms, but among the many helpful tips included in the guidance is the recommendation that teachers not assume their pupils have "mums and dads" and that "parents" is a more inclusive, sensitive and appropriate alternative.

The guidance also suggests teachers should not tell boys to "be a man" or accuse them of acting like a "bunch of women" or little girls, because such comments "leads to bullying of those who do not conform to fixed ideas about gender."

It's a good thing they don't have football over there -- the coaches would be tongue-tied.

When teachers talk about marriage, the guidance goes on to say, they should also talk about "civil partnerships and adoption rights for gay people." And when it comes to gay and lesbian staff members, "school culture and ethos determines how open staff are about their private lives, and you should therefore seek advice and guidance from your head (principal)."

The guidance was developed by the DCSF in partnership with the homosexual activist groups Stonewall and Educational Action Challenging Homophobia, though any accusations of a not-so-subtle gay agenda would no doubt be vigorously denied.

Ed Balls, the department's secretary of state, said in a statement launching the program, he "rejects any notion that addressing homophobic bullying is political correctness for its own sake -- even casual use of homophobic language in schools can create an atmosphere that isolates young people."

So there you have it. A vote against indoctrination, is a vote in support of fear, bullying and homophobia.

California already had laws in place to protect all our children from fear and bullying in schools, but Schwarzenegger signed the new law anyway.

No ban on the words "mom and dad?" It's already happening.

And there's no reason to believe it can't happen here.

So what do you think Blog world? Good idea ?

Saturday, February 2, 2008

"Excuse me, but that’s my cart."



I was at our local Albertsons crowded as usual! with a shortage of shopping carts. A prosperous-looking fellow and his wife were pushing a cart when another man stopped them. "Excuse me," the second man said, "but that’s my cart."

The first guy looked annoyed and, instead of apologizing, protested, "But someone took my cart." His wife glared at him, and he reluctantly relinquished his ill-gotten gain.

He had ignored the age-old wisdom: "Two wrongs don’t make a right" in favor of a distorted version of the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as others have done unto you."

Then there are the folks who change their mind about buying an item and put it on the nearest shelf, rationalizing that the store hires people to put misplaced things back. Schools employ custodians to clean the halls, but does that mean it’s okay for kids to throw their candy wrappers on the floor?

Finally, there are the express-line cheaters who enter the "10 items or less" line with 14 items because they’re in a hurry or they love having a competitive edge. They count on the fact that no one will call them on such a moral misdemeanor. And if someone does, they’re ready to play lawyer: "It depends on what you call an item. These melons are part of the fruit group so I count them as one."

Being considerate, playing by the rules, and setting a good example are important, even in the grocery store.