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Good riddance.

December 31, 2011

The year could have gone better. My shot at being the district’s Teacher of the Year ended when some district folks scheduled a classroom observation during district-mandated testing time. The Bears blew not one, but two chances to end the Packers’ season in January. DFJ3′s dad and my friend Allison died on the same day, [...]

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Merry Christmas 2011!

December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas! May the day bring you joyous tidings, regardless of your overarching metaphysical philosophy or socioeconomic status!

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Questionnaire 8.

December 23, 2011

I can’t sleep, so I write. Here’s another questionnaire. This one comes from some French guy named Éric Poindron. Here’s what I think is his original post on the questionnaire, and here’s the post by Edward Gauvin that pointed me towards Poindron. 1. WRITE THE FIRST SENTENCE OF A NOVEL, SHORT STORY, OR BOOK OF [...]

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Protected: A way with people, part three.

December 17, 2011

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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How to Make Everything Perfect Forever, Part Five.

December 11, 2011

Many moons ago, I was assigned to read Steven Landsburg’s The Armchair Economist, in which he makes some “modest proposals” about law and government. One such proposal (which he credited to Alan Stockman) was that politicians be allowed to make legally binding promises. For instance, if you’d care to re-create Papa Bush’s “Read My Lips” [...]

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A brief moment of panic.

December 4, 2011

A recent dream: I am working on a laptop. Several windows are open, the topmost of which is a letter of resignation. Clicking on another window reveals a website for an apartment rental agency in some faraway place. Clicking on another another window reveals a listing of full- and part-time night jobs in the same [...]

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Option #5 is my favorite.

November 27, 2011

Let’s assume that the Bears can get into the playoffs with just three more wins. They’d be the fifth or sixth seed since they can’t realistically catch Green Bay for the division title. Three more wins, then they’re in the playoffs, then Cutler comes back, then they rattle off four quick and easy wins, including [...]

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On turning 35.

November 23, 2011

Today’s itinerary includes cake, then pizza, then more cake, then milk and cookies. Plus, I can finally publish a little something I’ve been working on for some time. Let me know what you think. Here goes: My fellow Americans: We live in troubled times. There are some who say America’s best days are behind her. [...]

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A study in peroxide.

November 20, 2011

I elect not to keep certain information in my brain because there is (presumably) only so much room in there. For instance, there are several procedures at work that we repeat annually, such as testing, orientation, stuffing end-of-year envelopes, voting on certain measures, etc. I won’t remember how we did certain procedures last year because [...]

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χ².

November 15, 2011

A tongue-in-cheek article by A. Barton Hinkle claims that “Now We Know Why Children Are Getting Dumber.” In essence, it’s because the volume of knowledge keeps expanding. There’s always more literature out there to be pored over, there’s always more scientific innovation and discovery to help explain the natural world, and there’s always more history [...]

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Dodge.

November 14, 2011

An anonymous reader writes, “Would you give us your opinion on major political issues these days such as immigration, drug legalization, abortion, and gay marriage?” That’s a great question, and I appreciate the question. I suppose I would give my opinion on major political issues, given the right circumstances. Rest assured that I hold the [...]

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