April 19, 2005
C'est l'Oorgo, oui!
Ok, fine, I'll stop with the French.
Do you ever wonder what people are thinking when they steal someone's cellphone and then stick it up their vagina? Yeah, I do, I also wonder what happens next... do they then whistle to try and cover up the *bring* from their no-no region?
What were they going to do once they got home with the thing, were they going to use it to call their friends? Sell it? Give it as a gift? Let their friends borrow it and then say "You're talking into my twat!" then laugh hysterically?
I could probably go on for hours in this vein, but I'll let someone post, and just sign off saying "Happy Snoozebob Day!".
Oh, I almost forgot the inevitable whoring
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I'm keeping my phone in my pocket from now on.
Posted by: Jim at April 20, 2005 11:29 AM (tyQ8y)
2
dude, if you're putting hte celly in your vag it wouldn't *bring*, it would obvisouly be on vibrate. Bow-Chicka-Bow-Wow.
Posted by: shank at April 20, 2005 12:06 PM (+H1yK)
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Annoying German Pop
Technically, this isn't francophile - more germophile (hmm... I like that word).
I just want to make sure that everyone gets to share in the phenomenon that is Schnappi - the small Egyptian crocodile that's taking Germany (and Rob) by storm!
Check out his single, and then the remixes...

NB: Dafyd* does not claim any reponsability for any loss of sanity incurred by listening to Schnappi. Listen at your own risk.
*Here there be whoring
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GAH!!! Fricken crocodile is following me around
Posted by: Rob at April 19, 2005 04:39 PM (kTm63)
2
Hell is not warm enough to sufficiently punish you for putting that on my blog.
Posted by: Jim at April 20, 2005 11:31 AM (tyQ8y)
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While the Cat's Away...
I had one of those days yesterday where, if it was a movie, you would have laughed your ass off. Instead, it was real and you came this close to turning off the safety on that AK you keep in your bottom desk drawer.
I came into the office at 7am. Got situated and walked out my door to get a drink from down the hall. As soon as I step outside my office, the woman who ALWAYS bugs me about my ID badge is standing there: "You GOTTA wear that badge." I push out something resembling a laugh, but really, I wanted to cry - the blasted water fountain is fifteen feet from my door. It was the equivalent of the observation that somebody's got a case of the Mondays.
I get back to the office and realize I don't have the keys to unlock the file cabinet under my desk. Crap. I walk to the car, no keys. Check my shoulder bag, no keys. I sit there for a few minutes and decide to break the lock on the filing cabinet. The cabinet is one of those modular deals that slides out from the desk, but it sits on a little wooden frame. So I pull it out from under the desk, and it slides off the wooden frame. Crap. The thing weighs like 80lbs, so I have to squat and lift it fromt he floor back onto the frame. In all the heaving and hoing, I eventually get it back on the base and under the desk. Which is when I realize that in all that grunting, I had COMPLETELY forgotten to pop the lock off. Crap. Again. And it's not even 8:30am.
So, I pull it back out and it of course slides off it's base. Incidentally, it sliced my finger at the cuticle too; insuring that I was indeed completely awake at this point. So I wrap my wound in a napkin and secure it with a little scotch tape (office first aid, I earned that merit badge at the management retreat last fall). I pull the panel off the top of the cabinet, remove the cotter pin that holds the lock in place, punch the lcok core out, and release the lever locking all the drawers in place. With all this racket, I was beginning to draw the attention of a few passers-by.
I lift the heavy bastard back on it's base and slide everything under my desk. I'm sweating. That's when I get a call from one of the nursing units. Apparently a pipe above them in the hematology room had busted, and salt water was leaking through the ceiling onto people, computers, and filling light fixtures. It was like that all day yesterday.
shank
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The perfect closer would have been if you found your keys right after popping the lock out.
Posted by: Jim at April 20, 2005 11:34 AM (tyQ8y)
2
By the time I got home that evening, the g/f had found them. Found them where? On the kitchen counter of course, where I had put them the night before and told myself, "Don't forget these in the morning."
Posted by: shank at April 20, 2005 12:08 PM (+H1yK)
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Because I always do as Jim Orders
And so I have tried very hard to ensure this post is neither french or spammy ...

(Rob from XSet)
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Damn spammers......to jail with you!
Posted by: LW at April 19, 2005 11:11 AM (MDLz3)
Posted by: Jim at April 20, 2005 11:38 AM (tyQ8y)
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Yeah but at least the bageldonut is made from tasty things slammed into unholy proximity... there is no way spam can be considered tasty by anything more intellegent than say ... a carp
Posted by: Rob at April 21, 2005 06:03 AM (kXZI6)
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Movie Quotes Time
Results: Pylorns has posted the answers. The only one that nobody got was #3,
Gold Finger. Here are the folks who won points (1 per each correct answer):
Helen: #5 and #9
Tiffani: #4
tommy: #2, #6 and #8
Rob: #10
Clancy: #1 and #7
Ok I'll let Jim award the points when I get back. 10 movie quotes for your guessing enjoyment. And don't google them or I'll come to your house and take a dump on the hood of your car. Name the movie, and preferably the actor that said it.
1. "You're crazy man, I like you, but your crazy."
2. "We get caught laundering money, we're not going to a white collar resort prison, we're going to a federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison."
3. "Run along now dear, Man talk."
4. "...high school hasn't changed. There's still that one teacher who marches to her own drummer. Those girls are still there, the ones that, even as you grow up, will remain the most beautiful girls you have ever seen close up. The smart kids, who everyone else knew as 'the brains,' but I just knew them as my soul mates, my teachers, my friends. And there's still that one guy with his mysterious confidence who seems so perfect in every way. The guy you get up and go to school for in the morning. ... High school would not have been the same without him. I would not be the same without him. I lived a lifetime of regret after my first high school experience." (girls you'll get this one quick)
5. "Um, ok. That's the little boys' room and that's the little girls' room. Where are you going? Going to the mens' room." (my fav movie)
6. "Oh, now be honest, Captain. Warrior to warrior. You do prefer it this way, don't you, as it was meant to be. No peace in our time. Once more unto the breach, dear friends."
7. "A-B-C A-Always. B-Be. C-Closing. Always be closing. Always be closing!!"
8. "I've got a lot of fond memories of that dog."
9. "I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm just crewman number six. I'm expendable. I'm the guy in the episode who dies to prove the situation is serious. I gotta get out."
10. "Hey Terrorists, Terrorize this!"
-pylorns
http://www.wetwired.org
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Posted by: Helen at April 19, 2005 09:31 AM (Oxw5k)
2
Number 9 is Galaxy Quest ?
Posted by: Helen at April 19, 2005 09:31 AM (Oxw5k)
3
#4 - Never Been Kissed. Drew Barrymore.
Posted by: Tiffani at April 19, 2005 09:33 AM (KE4Gu)
4
Oh! And the actors-number 5 is Sean Astin (pre-hobbit days) and Josh Brolin.
Number 9-can't remember the actor, if indeed I got the right movie.
Posted by: Helen at April 19, 2005 09:42 AM (Oxw5k)
5
#8 Indianna Jones and the Last Crusade
#6 Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country
#2 OfficeSpace (Greatest Movie Ever)
Posted by: tommy at April 19, 2005 10:03 AM (VCRgB)
6
10 - Team America (fuck yeah)
Posted by: Rob at April 19, 2005 11:07 AM (kXZI6)
Posted by: Clancy at April 19, 2005 11:12 AM (JxYJc)
8
Fuck. Everyone already got the ones I know (2,6,9,10). Can I have some points anyway?
Posted by: Victor at April 19, 2005 01:45 PM (L3qPK)
Posted by: pylorns at April 19, 2005 01:51 PM (FTYER)
10
What do ya mean nope? Surely I got mine right.
Posted by: Tiffani at April 19, 2005 02:17 PM (KE4Gu)
11
No as in no points. You were right. Now #3 and #7 who has em?
Posted by: pylorns at April 19, 2005 02:35 PM (FTYER)
12
#7, total wag - "Glenn Gary, Glen Ross?" (or something like that)
Posted by: Clancy at April 19, 2005 04:25 PM (JxYJc)
13
I'm waitin' for Jim to answer.
Posted by: Victor at April 20, 2005 09:25 AM (L3qPK)
14
No idea for either of them but I'll guess "Death of a Salesman" for #7.
Posted by: Jim at April 20, 2005 09:28 AM (MDLz3)
15
1. "You're crazy man, I like you, but your crazy." - Old School
2. "We get caught laundering money, we're not going to a white collar resort prison, we're going to a federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison." Office Space
3. "Run along now dear, Man talk." James Bond: Gold Finger.
4. "...high school hasn't changed. There's still that one teacher who marches to her own drummer. Those girls are still there, the ones that, even as you grow up, will remain the most beautiful girls you have ever seen close up. The smart kids, who everyone else knew as 'the brains,' but I just knew them as my soul mates, my teachers, my friends. And there's still that one guy with his mysterious confidence who seems so perfect in every way. The guy you get up and go to school for in the morning. ... High school would not have been the same without him. I would not be the same without him. I lived a lifetime of regret after my first high school experience." (girls you'll get this one quick) - Never Been Kissed
5. "Um, ok. That's the little boys' room and that's the little girls' room. Where are you going? Going to the mens' room." (my fav movie) - Goonies
6. "Oh, now be honest, Captain. Warrior to warrior. You do prefer it this way, don't you, as it was meant to be. No peace in our time. Once more unto the breach, dear friends." - Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country
7. "A-B-C A-Always. B-Be. C-Closing. Always be closing. Always be closing!!" - Glenn Gary Glenn Ross
8. "I've got a lot of fond memories of that dog." Indiana Jones Last Crusade
9. "I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm just crewman number six. I'm expendable. I'm the guy in the episode who dies to prove the situation is serious. I gotta get out." - Galaxy Quest
10. "Hey Terrorists, Terrorize this!" -Team America
Posted by: pylorns at April 20, 2005 10:45 AM (FTYER)
16
whooo hooo - I can't believe I guessed #7. I haven't even see then movie - it's on my list of "to see" but somehow a movie on real estate just never seems to be appealing. And that was how I guessed it - To me, closing is Real Estate and that was the only movie I could think of that involved it (and might be worthy of someones "list").
Posted by: Clancy at April 20, 2005 02:13 PM (JxYJc)
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Empty brain
I finally got a chance to ruin Jim's blog a bit and then nothing comes up.Total brain fart.
Yaaaawn......I think I'll go back to bed.
Happy Snoozebob day everyone!
LW
flaptrap.mu.nu
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It's MY turn
I can't believe it...Now I've had a chance to live the impossible dream! A post in Jim's blog! My life is now complete....Wait....that was the morning constitutional on the toilet that did it... Mitzi
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Mitzi, dear? You've really got to work on goal-setting.
Really really.
Posted by: Jim at April 20, 2005 11:40 AM (tyQ8y)
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April 13, 2005
Shit!
I knew there was something I forgot. What's the absolute worst thing that a guy can forget? Yeah, that's right. An anniversary.
Not mine, of course. That's tattooed on my forehead in backward numbers like an ecnalubma so I'm reminded of it every time I look in the mirror. Safety first, yo.
No, I meant to post a happy anniversary post for Harvey and Smiling Dynamite. I even had a made up fairy tale story in the works about how Harvey the Troll kidnapped the beautiful Princess Dynamite and forced her to choose between marrying him or a Frenchman and then she kicked the shit out of him but then felt sorry for him and married him after all and they all lived happily ever after. With pictures in there too - that's what was planned.
So anyway, happy anniversary!
(6 years she's been married to Harvey, y'all. Every woman who reads this should go thank her for that 6 years of peace.)
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Pardon by ignorance - but what the hell is an ecnalubma?
Posted by: diamond dave at April 13, 2005 04:36 PM (Jf5b4)
2
Dave - Print it out and look at it in the rear view mirror. ;-)
Posted by: Jim at April 13, 2005 06:20 PM (MDLz3)
3
Damn I'm stupid today. I followed your instructions and STILL didn't get it. Got desperate and had to google it... Cute.
Posted by: diamond dave at April 13, 2005 06:32 PM (AV77T)
4
"ecnalubma" - that's hilarious!
Posted by: TNT at April 15, 2005 09:16 PM (ubhj8)
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March 29, 2005
The Interview Game - Questions for Rob
There will be one interview post per day as I interview the lucky five folks who responded the fastest in
this post. Today's interviewee is Rob from
XSet, the only man in the world who's spent considerable time in my templates and has tweaked my CSS:
1) What was your last brush with greatness?
2) If you could have any superpower what would it be? How would you use it? How would you mis-use it?
3) What sport shouldn't be in the Olympics?
4) What was the last thing you were really looking forward to that ended up not being at all what you'd expected or hoped for?
5) What are the best and worst things about living on an island?
Rob, to continue the game you need to snag the rules from my original post and answer these at your place. I'll link to your post when you get it up.
UPDATE: Rob posted his answers!
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That was fun. It's a great way to get a quick sense of a blogger and his writing style.
Posted by: michele at March 30, 2005 08:37 PM (ht2RK)
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Other People's Stuff
My semi-whenever foray into some of the best stuff saved in the dark recesses of my newsreader.
Graphical Truth discloses the humorous side of a recent Intelligent Design / Creationism tussle.
You know what they say about free advice? Well ignore that while you check out generic's Helpful hints from somebody who's led a long life.
Paul has the wackiest adventures. Even furniture shopping takes on interesting twists when he's involved.
Kate (who's feeling much better though not completely better) recently had her second blogversary. In this post she explains how she learned to stop worrying and love her blog.
I always thought that PETA hated kids. Now I know they do. Joanne Jacobs hits an article showing that kids need meat to develop normally.
What kind of school ignores a specifically targetted murder threat by its students on another one of its students? Kimberly Swygert has the scoop.
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March 24, 2005
Must be all that crack
(Snagged from Autumnal Fire)
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1
I got 76. I think I'll start using that as a end goal. You know, you budget your whole life to save money for retirement and live out the rest of your days as a rich bastard - but people never make a plan to spend it all before they die.
Now that i have a supremely reliable benchmark, I can rework the math I use to budget for retirement and budget to die broke. It's always good to have a plan.
Posted by: shank at March 24, 2005 11:42 AM (+H1yK)
2
73
And I can't believe I actually remembered how to solve a quadratic equation.
Posted by: Harvey at March 24, 2005 02:02 PM (tJfh1)
3
Harvey, Harvey, Harvey. Did you really work out that equation? Don't you know that the fastest way through a multiple choice math question is to just plug in the possible answers? ;-)
Posted by: Jim at March 24, 2005 02:36 PM (tyQ8y)
4
79.
Probably because I gave up drinking and smoking six years ago.
Also, I didn't work out the equation. Too much stress to think back to 10th-grade algebra.
Posted by: diamond dave at March 24, 2005 04:42 PM (PoGd7)
5
82, nah nah nah
Posted by: Wendy at March 24, 2005 11:50 PM (lVGGv)
6
80.
I probably got hammered by the fact I don't drink at all. Isn't a glass of red wine supposed to be good for your heart?
Posted by: Boudicca at March 25, 2005 12:50 AM (z7nbM)
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75. And that quadratic equation can get bent, my life is clearly a better place without higher math.
Posted by: Helen at March 25, 2005 04:35 AM (EOwKj)
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I'll live to be 76! woo hoo!
Posted by: Holly at March 25, 2005 08:59 AM (bkRgB)
9
Jim - I know, but mostly I just wanted to see if I could still do it. It's been a couple decades.
Posted by: Harvey at March 25, 2005 02:49 PM (ubhj8)
10
78... must be the wine I'm drinking to make up for Bou not drinking.
Posted by: vw bug at March 25, 2005 07:34 PM (oNw9u)
Posted by: Susie at March 27, 2005 10:15 AM (g8g3w)
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March 21, 2005
March 18, 2005
The Interview Game - Questions for Margi
This is the last interview for the lucky five folks who responded the fastest in
this post. Today's interviewee is Sims addict and certified MILF
Margi (that's a hard "G", like in "Legs") Lowry:
1) What would you host a cable tv program about?
2) What movies do you know by heart?
3) When did you realize that life really isn't fair and when did you realize that that's okay?
4) The Sims - enlightened escapism or crack for non-druggies?
5) When did you first realize that you were in love?
Margi, to continue the game you need to snag the rules from my original post and answer these at your place. I'll link to your post when you get it up.
UPDATE: Margi's answers are up!
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March 16, 2005
The Interview Game - Questions for Rachel Ann
There will be one interview post per day as I interview the lucky five folks who responded the fastest in
this post. Today's interviewee is my favorite ex-pat in Israel, Rachel Ann from
Willowgreen:
1) What tasks would you most like to have an army of trained monkeys (not "The Monkey") do for you?
2) What's the most bizarre thing to happen to you lately?
3) If you had one moment to do over, to either change the outcome or savor the moment again, which moment would it be?
4) What does Israel need to do to ensure its prosperity and security?
5) What's your idea of a romantic evening?
Rachel Ann, to continue the game you need to snag the rules from my original post and answer these at your place. I'll link to your post when you get it up.
Update: Rachel Ann has posted her answers.
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March 15, 2005
The Interview Game - Questions for Tiffani
There will be one interview post per day as I interview the lucky five folks who responded the fastest in
this post. Today's interviewee is my very own blogdaughter Tiffani from
Breakfast With Tiffani:
1) Who's your daddy?
2) What cartoon would you go live in for a week?
3) If you could create a new tradition, what would it be and why?
4) What do you do with your spare change?
5) What sense has the greatest sensual effect on you? We want details here.
Tiffani, to continue the game you need to snag the rules from my original post and answer these at your place. I'll link to your post when you get it up.
UDPATE: Tiffani has posted her answers. Warning - 18 and over only. Wakka wakka.
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My answers are up on my site. But seriously that one question about tradition had me stumped for a long time. Jeesh.
Posted by: Tiffani at March 15, 2005 02:36 PM (KE4Gu)
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The New Blog Showcase
I'm hosting the New Blog Showcase the week of March 21. If you've got a blog that's three months old or younger, send me a link to your best post. It will appear in the Showcase where it will be seen by millions of people who will then fall in love with your writing and launch you to fame and glory.
Here's the info you should send:
- The name of your blog
- The title of the post
- The url of the post
- Your name
A brief description of the post or a narrative blurb is also a good idea. It makes my job easier and anything that makes my job easier is a good idea.
Another good idea is to use a subject like "New Blog Showcase submission" on the email so it's easier to separate from the mountains of spam.
Send your submission to showcase.carnival@gmail.com by Sunday, 7PM EST to be included in next week's edition of the showcase.
You can also use the handy dandy Carnival Submit Form in lieu of email. We're listed as the "Showcase Carnival" there.
You can find links to previous carnivals here.
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March 14, 2005
The Interview Game - Questions for Holly
There will be one interview post per day as I interview the lucky five folks who responded the fastest to
this post. Today's interviewee is the lovely and talented Holly from
RavenRose Yawns:
1) What was it about blogging that first attracted you to the milieu? What kept you?
2) What words do people commonly misuse that drive you crazy?
3) What is the best and most uplifting story you've read recently?
4) If you had two weeks of free time with no responsibilities and no cash-flow issues, what would you do?
5) What event would you have most liked to have witnessed first hand?
Holly, you can answer these here or at your place. If you do it over there make sure to send me a trackback or comment so I'll know where to find it.
Update: Holly has posted her answers. You go now!
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I made it out alive!
Yet another reason why I do so seriously kick ass. When the zombie invasion comes I'll be a survivor.
Flock to me children, I will lead you to salvation. Or at least a relatively brain-free diet.
Official Survivor!
You scored 65%!
Whether through ferocity or quickness, you made it out. You made the right choice most of the time, but you probably screwed up somewhere. Nobody's perfect, at least you're alive.
My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:
You scored higher than 90% on survivalpoints.
The Zombie Scenario Survivor Test
(Hat tip to A Small Victory)
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I scored a measely 56%---I'm not sure if it is because I kept trying to save people, or because I'm lucky to know which end of the gun you point...okay, I'm really not that bad, but I have never handled one before.
Posted by: Rachel Ann at March 14, 2005 10:40 AM (TgJbS)
2
63% - I survived too... I probably lost points trying to save the idiots on the rooftop.
Posted by: Clancy at March 14, 2005 11:32 AM (JxYJc)
3
89 percent. And 98 within my demo. Apparently I *am* smarter than the average, zombie-chased bear.
Posted by: Kenny at March 14, 2005 12:14 PM (sVrPB)
4
Okay, I'm calling Kenny for my team.
Posted by: Jim at March 14, 2005 12:16 PM (tyQ8y)
5
Holy shit. I whupped Kenny's ass. That's after I left him for dead with the zombies, that is. I kid you not-I scored 99%. I can't believe it. I'm a pacifist, for God's sake.
99%.
Hmm. Means all those anger issues are still deep in there, anyway.
Posted by: Helen at March 14, 2005 01:18 PM (Vd6WF)
6
Sorry, Kenny. You're out. Helen's in.
Posted by: Jim at March 14, 2005 01:21 PM (tyQ8y)
7
I scored an 93% survival rate and 99% better than anyone in my age/sex. Nice.
Posted by: The Webwench at March 14, 2005 03:53 PM (FmPLy)
8
Armed and Dangerous Congratulations! You scored 84%!
You made it out, alive and well supplied. You probably even kept most
of your party alive too. You know what to look for, what to take, and
when to just run. You even feel a strange inkling to go back. If you
did, you'd probably do just fine.
My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people
your age and gender:You scored higher than
99% on
survivalpoints
Posted by: Holly at March 14, 2005 04:15 PM (3SP8e)
9
I got 99% for survival points but only scored 56% .
I recommend not searching anymore bodies...what could they possibly have that I'd want? Money? chewing gum?
It was a virus wasn't it?
Posted by: Mutinousdoug at March 14, 2005 06:02 PM (8NrCY)
10
58%. Probably because I care too much for others and would try and rescue them rather than see them become zombie food. Plus, the only firearm I'm competent with is a shotgun. Good for splattering zombie heads, though...
Posted by: diamond dave at March 14, 2005 10:41 PM (P0Fqu)
11
77% - arm me & take me along :-)
Posted by: Harvey at March 16, 2005 11:22 PM (ubhj8)
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March 07, 2005
Happy Monday!
Had a busy day yesterday burning stuff and the shots knocked me for a loop. Slept bad, got up late, walked around like a zombie, farted a lot, pooped 3 times.
In other words, I didn't do any blogging this morning.
But fear not, there is something for everyone over at The Bestofme Symphony.
There's still a point contest open too. Last chance to submit your gravestone humor. Winner gets selected later today.
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March 03, 2005
The long and short of it
Anita's son is having
a problem in math class. He does complex division problems correctly in his head but his teacher isn't looking for the answer, she's looking for long division. She wants to see the work between the question and the answer.
This is a touchy subject for me. I was exactly the same as her son with long division. I did it in my head lickety split and got the correct answer in a fraction of the time. My teacher enlisted my mother and forced me to go through long division, the very same situation that Anita and her son are in right now.
Why use long division?
The rote answer is "you need to know the process". Why? We use a process that works. We get the correct answer faster. We also get the correct answer more reliably. Long division is only a regressive loop of simple division problems. An error at any step yields a wrong answer. What is wrong with our process?
Absolutely nothing. It is superior to long division in efficiency and accuracy. The problem is that only a fraction of students can do division this way so it is not permitted in school. This is lowest-common-denominator instruction at its worst. Hold back the advanced students to the limits of the generic lesson plan. It is incredibly frustrating to somebody who is being thrashed with it.
I despised my math teacher after the long division debacle and my opinion of my mother went down several notches as well. My "math sense" went way down and I started hating math class, formerly my favorite subject. I got fed up to the point where I forcibly rejected long division. I spent months unlearning the method that had been hammered into my brain and relearning my method. Once I'd removed the taint and returned to my method the problems went away and I enjoyed math class again.
A few years later I was placed in an advanced self-paced math program. The guide/teacher not only acknowledged fragmented division (the name he gave to my particular method) but promoted it. Do a Google search for "long division in my head" and you'll see just how common this is.
My advice to Anita? Don't force your son to lose his process. Educate the educator. If she can't be brought around to the fact that there is more than one way to do division then you face a very tough choice. Maybe he can use his method to get the answer and then use long division to provide the proof. That will frustrate him too, but not as much as having to abandon his method.
When it all comes down to it though it's about education and not grades. He has the education part covered and it's superior to what the teacher is trying to impose. I'd rather have that and an "F" than to go through what I went through.
Posted by: Jim at
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1
Both myself and, to a greater extent, my brother had the same problem. In British maths exams, you get say 3 or 4 marks for the working, but only 1 for the correct answer (lowest common denominator, again - they know the theory but can't actually plug the numbers into it - still only lose 1 mark). So we learnt very quickly that even if we could go through the paper and jot down the answers quickly, we would still have to go back through it and write down the working, even if we never actually used it.
What always confused our teachers was when we misread a number when we were copying out the working - so the answer from the working should have been different to the one we actually gave...
Posted by: Dafyd at March 03, 2005 10:54 AM (ZZQbd)
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Whoa. I really didn't expect to see a response like this. It honestly never occurred to me that this could really be a way to do division in the long run with hard problems. I just assumed that it was easy for my son now, but that later it would become impossible.
You really have given me food for thought. I'm off to google "long division in my head" to see what I find.
I appreciate hearing from someone who has been through this.
Posted by: Anita at March 03, 2005 10:54 AM (Iadgk)
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This is why I hate math to this day. The process, no matter how difficult and incomprehensible, is more important than getting the right answers. Oddly enough, while I barely passed any math class after this, I always got excellent grades in Chemistry or Physics. Go figure!
Posted by: Candy at March 03, 2005 11:13 AM (1IGNk)
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That's an understandable concern. It's unneeded though - "short division" is just as scalable as long division.
Posted by: Jim at March 03, 2005 11:15 AM (tyQ8y)
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Ok - so I googled "long division in my head" and I came across one of those hits you wouldn't normally read, then I had too...
http://www.wordriot.org/template.php?ID=449
Completely unrelated, yet somehow appropriate given Jim's normal subject matter. :-)
I had no idea people could seriously have such a problem. There is one guy here at work who is infamous for his stall usage (and subsequent on the seat pissage) and we always figured that he suffered from "infantile penile syndrome." Perhaps he just needs to do long division...
Posted by: Clancy at March 03, 2005 11:31 AM (JxYJc)
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I had the same "problem" to an extent when I transferred schools one year (long story). Like Dafyd, I ran into problems when I "did" the work--right answer, wrong process.
I always did the "work" so the teacher wouldn't suspect me of cheating, and that might have something to do with the teacher's insistence on Anita's son doing the work. Jim, I'm sure you'll agree: sometimes you have to fight your battles and sometimes you just have to accede. This may be one of the times to choose the latter.
Posted by: Victor and his seventeen pet rats at March 03, 2005 12:04 PM (L3qPK)
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You do have to pick your battles but this is one I'd be willing to fight. It's incredibly rough on a kid to know that he's right and that he's being forced to do something poorly for no reason whatsoever. His skill and ability need to be celebrated and nurtured, not stomped on because of an inflexible lesson plan.
Posted by: Jim at March 03, 2005 12:23 PM (tyQ8y)
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I went through the same crap in Germany.Right answer,wrong process,therefore an F on the test.You are correct but....
My Dad didn't make it any easier on me because,eventho I was right,he was pissed for the F and I was stamped as a "rebellious" kid by the school because I refused to acknoledge wrong when I was RIGHT.
Failed math class therefore,year after year.
Posted by: LW at March 03, 2005 01:15 PM (MDLz3)
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If you watch the Day After Tomorrow... the kid has the same problem at the beginning of the film...
Posted by: Dafyd at March 03, 2005 02:51 PM (ZZQbd)
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I was the same way - I hit algebra in the fourth grade, and could compute things way faster than anyone else in the class, but when my teacher asked me to help mentor some of the other kids, show them my work, I didn't have work to show. I had little tricks that helped me remember things, special digit flips and such, but no one understood them like I did.
Chances are, Anita's kid is one of those special kids (and when I say special, I mean special) that should be given more challenging things to chomp on, instead of being held back by the rest of the class.
Posted by: The Webwench at March 03, 2005 05:27 PM (xflu9)
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I'll join this chorus.
I started long division in 3rd grade and quickly learned how to do it -- not in my head -- but the class dwelled on the topic for MONTHS. After only a few weeks, I began just making up numbers because I lacked the patience to continually divide numbers out to 43 places. It was, in my young mind, a waste of time, energy, and paper when the concept was established and calculators readily available.
After years of that sort of math instruction, I got to 9th grade and still had not mastered the concept behind fractions. (Ironic, I know.)
Fortunately, one teacher took the time to explain math to me and was able to set me on the path to righteousness. Sadly, the damage was done and to this day I'm not very good at math even though I'm good at logic.
I would definitely urge Anita not give in to this misguided educator. There is simply no possible way her son could ever get the right answer if he had not already mastered this all-powerful process. To suggest that someone doing math in their head is not doing math is beyond idiotic.
Posted by: Trey Givens at March 03, 2005 06:53 PM (yaMs/)
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Wow. This is good to know about, Jim. I don't think I've known anyone who could do long division in his/her head. Certainly not worth battling about if it has the potential to squelch someone's interest in math.
Posted by: Marie at March 03, 2005 08:17 PM (cRiTs)
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Trey hinted at the true nature of the problem: the teachers. If you are lucky enough to have a teacher who loves their subject and understands it, as I did in maths, they can show not just the how, but the why as well. Even more important is to recognise that not everybody has the same ability; some kids will be like Jim and work out different ways of doing things. That's to be encouraged, but it takes a huge amount of effort for a teacher of a class of 25 kids to recognise 25 sets of abilities.
The biggest problem is the teachers themselves. I fear many of them only know the process they've been taught and don't have the understanding or tools to cope with lateral solutions. In maths teaching it forces many kids to be put off the subject because they are squeezed into a rote learning of method model. Teach the teachers better and the consequences take care of themselves.
Posted by: Simon at March 04, 2005 12:06 AM (OyeEA)
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