I hate to use a phrase that was coined by a senior advisor to President George W. Bush. But use it I must…and even in a similar context. Michael Gerson described the all-too-common educational practice of expecting less from members… Read More ›
Life
A white lion?
As you know, Douglas has a lot of fur. (That’s why his name is Douglas.) So where did it all go? Well, the problem was that his hair is so long and so thick that it kept getting badly matted…. Read More ›
It's better than sleeping on the keyboard.
Usually Douglas annoys me by sleeping on the keyboard and “helping” me type. I guess this is better.
Surrounded by police
“The house next door is surrounded by police, including a swat team.” This wasn’t really what I wanted to hear (four hours ago) in a phone call from Barbara. By now, of course, you’ve probably heard the main story: two… Read More ›
Wall to Nowhere
Sarah Palin may have her Bridge to Nowhere, but Lesley University in Cambridge apparently has its Wall to Nowhere. I spotted this hard-to-miss wall in the parking lot of the Shops at Porter, part of Lesley University. As you can… Read More ›
T-R-E-A-T-S
Now we have to spell out “T-R-E-A-T-S” instead of saying the whole word…otherwise this is what happens:
Finally resuming the blog…
…after a four-month hiatus. Stay tuned…
Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra Concert
Yesterday afternoon, Barbara and I attended a beautiful concert given by the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra at Symphony Hall. Picture yourself there. Close your eyes and just listen. You forget that this was a youth orchestra; you think that the… Read More ›
We’re adults…but sometimes we’re still in high school.
Just to put this in context, you will want to know that my friend Mark Bernstein is the Chief Scientist of Eastgate Systems, with an undergraduate degree from Swarthmore and a doctorate in chemistry from Harvard. He knew Aaron Swartz; I… Read More ›
Douglas is so helpful.
Here’s Douglas, helping me grade geometry quizzes:
Ladectsbeal
A few days ago, in my review of Maphead, I wrote the following: I invented my own country, Ladectsbeal, when I was 11 or 12, and pursued creating its details for several years thereafter. Maps were my primary focus there, but I… Read More ›
Some ways Jews are different from Christians
David Weinberger wrote a fascinating post yesterday in Joho The Blog: “Some ways Jews are different from Christians.” It’s worth reading carefully. He gives permission to repost, so I’m going to quote extensively from it: Jews are a people You are a… Read More ›
Can't tell what street you're on?
New England is famous for its lack of street signs — even though things have gotten much better in the past 25 years. Sometimes you can tell what the cross-street is, but you drive for blocks to discover what street you’re on…. Read More ›
Camry electronics
After our eight-year-old Ford Taurus bit the dust, Barbara and I bought a 2012 Toyota Camry. I love the car, and I’m still learning its ins and outs. In particular, I have been pleasantly surprised by its electronic capabilities, especially in… Read More ›
Privilege
I suppose I’m biased. But bias or no, Privilege is must reading for anyone interested in the intersection of education, schools, and the American class structure. The full title of Shamus Rahman Khan’s sociological study is Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent… Read More ›
Popsicles, law, and language
Companies have to protect their trademarks, of course. There are even a few well-known examples where trademarks were lost because they weren’t protected — Wikipedia cites aspirin, dry ice, escalator, kerosene, laundromat, linoleum, phonograph, thermos, videotape, and zipper — so… Read More ›
MIT does not equal Mitt
They don’t even sound alike. An MIT alumna was nearly prevented from voting in Florida because she was wearing an MIT shirt. A poll worker thought she was illegally campaigning for Romney inside the polling place.
Math wins!
This morning’s XKCD:
Privacy is highly overrated.
Actually, privacy is a fine idea. But anyone who thinks we have it anymore is deluded. Basically, everything about you is available to anyone who looks hard enough. But that doesn’t mean that we should give it up voluntarily. The… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 