Archive for the ‘Education’ Category
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 |
Yesterday, while out and about, Laura and I decided to do a drive-by at the University of Connecticut, or better know as UConn in Storrs, CT. I took a gander at this area on Google Earth a few times and we actually wanted to visit for some time, but never got around to it. Now that we’re about 20 minutes from the town, it’s much easier to get it done.
Now, if you aren’t familiar with UConn, it’s basically the whole town of Storrs. I am not sure if the residents would agree with me, but that’s the way it seemed. I think it’s kind of like State College, PA and Penn State. Either way, it was pretty cool and much larger than I imagined. It was actually the biggest college I have ever visted.
Too bad it was raining and so gloomy out. I took the above photos while we were driving. We did a little zoom zoom through part of the campus.
When I was going to Binghamton University, I had a roommate who just came from Penn State. He said it took a half-hour to get anywhere on campus. That’s what it seemed like here.
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Thursday, May 1st, 2008 |
The other day, while driving home from Home Depot in Willimantic, CT, I noticed a sign that said, “Eastern Connecticut State University.” I thought that was pretty strange, because I had no clue that Eastern Connecticut was so close by. I knew that UConn was pretty close, but that was it.
Since I was intrigued, I decided that it would be nice to drive through the campus on a nice sunny day like today. We are always looking for a good college campus to go to shows, etc…
We drove over to Willimantic this afternoon and pulled into campus. I was very pleasantly surprised. The school is very well taken care of and quite attractive. Laura really doesn’t care if a school looks good or not, but I do. She is all about function and I am (a good part) about looks. I try to explain to her that I want to be happy when walking through a campus and not look only at bare concrete and parking lots. I am not sure I am ever going to get my point across. Either way, this campus looked great.
We drove around and left campus after a little while. I was going to take some pictures, but it was just too busy. We drove around town a little bit and then drove to the new hometown to stop at the local food store to get some cold food for dinner. Again, the gas people are coming on Monday. We need that to cook.
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Tuesday, November 20th, 2007 |
Laura and I went up to New Paltz this past sunday for another show. This time, the show was called, “Antigone.” Now, you may think it’s strange that I wrote it that way, but I have actually never heard of this.
Here is a short description…
“One of the great tragedies of the ancient Greek theatre, “Antigone” is the story of a young girl with the will to rise up alone against the forces of government, culture, and family to live and die for her beliefs.”
It was a good show. I think the students, as usual, did a great job. I did have a little problem this time. We didn’t sit in the front row, like we did last time, so there was no place for me to stretch my legs. I kept having to move around the whole time, because I have trouble sitting still. I think this stems from my childhood, when I was a bad boy.
Oh well. I think we are going to wait until the Spring semester to go up for the next show.
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Monday, October 29th, 2007 |
I was reading again about the whole Google PageRank thing (which is getting rather nausiating) and came across a fun blog post called, “Six Common Punctuation Errors that Bedevil Bloggers.”
I try to proof read my posts, but I am sure that I make mistakes. The best ones are the ones that I don’t even know I make. I know that I use the “…” a lot. I am always sure to put the punctuation inside the end quote. I think I do a pretty good job with commas. People might disagree with that one because they don’t get how I write. Basically, I put a comma where I pause when I speak. I guess I write in spoken English. From what I have heard, people seems to like that.
Anyway, if you think you need to clean up your act…or your posts, you might want to take a look at the link above. If nothing else, it will make you feel smarter.
PS - Here is one I absolutely love. It’s when people use “I” incorrectly, such as, “Jeff and I at the mall.” or “Look at Jeff and I.” I think the whole “I” thing has been pummeled into people’s heads way too much.
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Thursday, October 25th, 2007 |
I just wanted to let you know that I am now on CD 7, out of 8. These, of course, are the CDs that Laura got me for my birthday…the “Learn Spanish Behind the Wheel” ones.
I would probably guess that I am at the second year level. Now, I (me) am not at that level, but the CDs are. I am planning on finishing these up and then listening to them again. They are proving to be really good. I think I want to listen to as much as I can, and then start reading a Spanish textbook that Laura has on a shelf.
After that, I plan on becoming an interpreter.
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Sunday, October 21st, 2007 |
Last night, Laura and I went to a wonderful show at SUNY New Paltz. We saw “The Pirates of Penzance.” Good thing we did, because last night was the last show.
As you may know, I have a little problem when I get frustrated. I tend to complain about it. People don’t like to hear me complain, so sometimes, they fix my problem for me. Laura is one of those people. The other night, I was complaining that we don’t do enough with the resources we live near. One of those resources in the college up in New Paltz. The college was actually one of the things we were excited to have nearby when we first came to this area. I am always thinking, “How the heck do we get away from the losers who ride out tails on the roads…the ones who just seem to be mean spirited? How do we hang out with people like us?” I guess all we had to do was to go to a show up at the college.
There were all types of people up there, from students to retired to us. I guess we were middle of the road folk. There were a lot of parents coming to see their kids put on a performance too. It felt so good to be on a campus again, feeling the buzz of excitement of all that college has to offer. I really do miss it.
Anyway, about the show…it was really good. I was so impressed by what these kids could do. I mean, it was like they were professionals. I like the casual atmosphere of the audience and the way the performers catered to them. They really seemed to connect.
I think there are two performances each semester, so from now on, we are going to go to them. How’s that for an idea to get out of the house to chill with people like us?
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Wednesday, September 26th, 2007 |
I actually read quite a bit last night. I don’t know…I guess I was inspired. My frontal lobe is getting a workout and, believe it or not, I feel better.
I am almost done with “Wobegon Boy” by Garrison Keillor. Let me tell you, this book had good reviews. Even what they said on the back cover was good. HAHA, what they say on the back cover is always good. When I first started reading this book, I was having fun. The story made sense and all was nice in the world. I think, about half way through, when “John’s” father died, things got a little weird. To me, the story lost track. It seems like Garrison is almost just trying to get all the punch lines he had in his head for all these years on paper. It almost doesn’t make sense. I have to admit that I have been only reading a few pages each night, but it is hard to get back into the story when I do decide to pick up the book again.
Have you ever read, “It” by Stephen King? That book is kind of fat. That is, “thick,” not “phat” with a PH. I think I got about half way through it when I looked deep into my soul and told myself I had absolutely no idea what this man was talking about. I was slightly sad about that because Stephen Kind is so famous and I really tried to enjoy his writing. I had to put the book down forever. Now, I am not saying that what I write makes any sense either, but then again, I am no author. All I can claim is that I am an amateur blogging hack.
So, back to the frontal lobe. Yeah, it feels better. It has been a while since I did anything educational-wise-ish and I miss it. I get so excited when there is something to learn. I have been very focused on business lately that I almost gave up on intellectual stimulation. The most I have done in the past year was to complain about my problem during dinner.
I can tell I am a new man. Can you believe that the whole transformation has happened in less than a week?
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Monday, September 24th, 2007 |
What was the American Civil War all about? I think if you ask a lot of people, they would tell you it was about slavery. I guess it was, but it was about a lot of other things too.
The whole reason I am thinking about this is because I saw a bit of the movie, “Cold Mountain” yesterday. It is always so depressing watching things like this. In many cases, you can’t help but to take the Southern side of things. I feel like this especially when I think of “Gone with the Wind.”
Anyway, I think that you, yes you, should read about the Civil War and tell me more about it.
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Thursday, September 20th, 2007 |
I opened my birthday present early.
My mother emailed me a few days (or weeks) ago and told me that I should be receiving a box from Amazon. She told me not to open it, and I didn’t…until last night. I was so proud of myself too. I even called her up just to tell her that I didn’t open it.
The box was just looking at me. It was kind of like that box of donuts looking at Mickey from all the way up there on the counter. What am I…a robot? I have feelings. Of course I am going to open the box!!! I felt like this venue would be the best way to break the news to my mother. I am a horrible person.
Anyway, for some time now, I have been aware that I have not been using my frontal lobe. It is kind of like mush. This has been hindering my thought process and decision making. The lack of activity, I suspect, is due to my lack of reading and continued education. I am nowhere near the level I used to be. I even have trouble writing these days.
Good thing I opened my birthday present early. It was just in the nick of time. In the box, I found two very interesting books. The first one is a thick paperback entitled, “1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die.” I started reading this last night. It felt very good up there in my frontal lobe. I am not sure if it was from reading the book or the thirty push ups I did. Yeah, that’s right.
What’s interesting about this book is that the author, Patricia Schultz, grew up in Beacon, NY. She even mentions Walnut Street. I thought that was pretty cool, since I eat lunch in Beacon quite a bit.
I read the first few sections…right now, we are in Connecticut, somewhere near the Connecticut River. It seems like a very interesting book and it feels very good to sit on the couch and read.
The second book is entitled, “The World Without Us,” written by Alan Weisman. I haven’t read anything in this book yet, but I am sure it will be good. If my mother ordered it from Amazon, she surely read the reviews. That’s just the way she rolls.
Anyway, since I opened my present early, it might be a good idea to get me something else that I can open on my actual birthday. Ok, just think about it.
And finally, THANK YOU!!! The gift was very thoughtful. Also, don’t feel too bad, I opened Stephanie’s gift early too.
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Monday, September 10th, 2007 |
I was talking to my mother last night, when I asked her if she liked my idea on how to learn Spanish. I’m not sure anyone has really liked my idea. They will see the light one day.
Anyway, I was telling her about Rosetta Stone’s method of learning…the way they use words and pictures. Then she said, “Oh, isn’t the Rosetta Stone interesting?” She started talking about this stone with ancient languages written on it. I had no idea what the heck she was talking about. She explained that yes, there was a real Rosetta Stone. I thought this was pretty clever, the way the company used this as their name. Clever indeed.
Here is a sentence or two from Wikipedia…
The Rosetta Stone is a Ptolemaic era stele written with the same text in two Egyptian language scripts (hieroglyphic and demotic) and in classical Greek.
You can read all about it here.
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