Training Log Archive: barb

Gearing up for reviewing some papers today by reading this article about the failure of peer review (hat tip to DarkSyde at DailyKos).

Last night's movie night went really well except for dealing with some of the older kids which was mostly OK but I find it stressful. We had maybe 200 people in the audience for the movie! And most of them stayed for the whole thing.

If I ever start talking about becoming a junior high teacher, I hope someone will bop me on the head. Hard. I am so not cut out for it. Last night a couple dozen of the junior high kids left the auditorium and roamed the halls and were discovered by the janitor, boys and girls together in an upstairs locker room with the lights out. Thank goodness there were some competent parents there who stepped in and dealt with the situation, along with the poor (and wonderful, beautiful, young, gentle) French teacher.

C • lights out 3

C • Orienteering is NP-hard 10

to pick David up from tennis lesson

school work home work home.
Snowing - slippery in places - a couple near falls.
Noticing the right knee.

C • What kind of tires do you have? 5

Desperately preparing for the event tonight... We'll show this compilation from French class. Bloopers.

To school for the monthly meeting with the junior high teachers, and to sell a few more tickets for tomorrow's movie night. So far we've sold 26 tickets, and 20 kids have volunteered to be ushers. It could turn out to be an event with highly personalized service.

The junior high kids are starting to work on their monologues, each in the character of a different Nazi resister, which will be memorized and acted for an audience on March 19. And Linda Fobes' 1st & 2nd grade class is also doing a project on resisters, and her kids will be presenting on the same night! The question will be whether I bring one kleenex box or two. I cried this morning just hearing the plans for the monologue night. I have a crying problem... Linda is one of the teachers I've worked with on orienteering projects.

Today at 2 pm EST is the House Science Committee hearing on US visas for foreign scientists.

To school to train tomorrow night's ushers. First I worked with 15 6th, 7th and 8th grade volunteers. I spent much of the time asking them, loudly, to be quiet. But I did cover all the points including practicing some French phrases and electing a Head Usher. Then I walked into the classroom where the 25 5th grade volunteers had gathered. They were sitting quietly in the meeting area discussing ushering. If I ever teach, I think it's got to be 5th grade. I do not think I could deal with the classroom management of older kids.

So now we have 40 ushers. I figure, if that many kids want to help out and they all want to practice speaking French - great! And hopefully the Head Usher can manage them all...

Newspaper article about a 1950s house museum in Park Forest, where I grew up...

C • park forest 1

Got completely sopping wet, and after sitting around getting colder but no dryer at the office, I eventually went home, changed, and came back in the car...

C • probably too obvious, but..... 3

Random photo of the day. Banff, July 2002.

Random picture of the day: Tucson! Time to start getting psyched!

C • wow, your photo is stunning 4

I'm vicariously sore from watching the game last night. Lots of sackings and smackings!

Last week was crazy busy. But what week isn't? The Family Movie Night project is moving along; Friday is the big day. My committee made its recommendation to the board on FASEB membership. I still need to send a note out to ISCB members about the US visa issue, summarizing the amazing response we got. I'm also still working on the software sharing policy statement that has to get finalized this week. The Lego club is going to make hexaflexagons on Wednesday. They learned how to bake bread last week. We have a Chinese student guest staying with us for 3 weeks while she learns some technique from a lab at Harvard.
My parenting skills seem to be slipping, and I spent some time thinking about how to regroup.
Watched the rest of a documentary about the kindertransport with David. His class is talking about how countries would not help out the Jews in Germany who wanted to leave after the pogroms started. He's reading "Friedrich" by Hans Peter Richter. Also started watching an old film about the Louvre - mostly history of the kings & queens who built it and tore it down and built it and ran away from the rabble through its corridors and acquired the art.
Convinced Isabel to go to her synchronized swimming class; she didn't like the first meeting of it because the big girls ignore her and have some rough language with each other.
We've been playing dominos. Mexican train, or our variation of it.

C • Kindertransport 5

This was lame. I was supposed to run while Izzy & Amisi did their swim practice, but I didn't run much.
I wanted to take them to the Obama rally, but it was going to go too late.
Caz (David's 22-year-old half brother) tutored him this afternoon, and I think it was a success. Caz is back in town.

Here's a photo of Caz.



And,

Took David to Aiury's. My latest idea is to have him walk places to get some exercise.

Jogged back home.

I spent the day cooking lots of things I've not made before. Cherry pecan whole wheat bread. Slow-cooked chicken in a dutch oven. Carmelized pear salad. Oatmeal dark chocolate cherry cookies. Shrimp in garlic & oil with New Mexico chilis. Roasted green beans and rice with herbs and parmesan cheese. All from Cooks' Illustrated. Turned out pretty well. Not so great for the sub-G goal. The right knee hurt several time when I squatted down to get in lower kitchen cupboards. Or rather, when I tried to get up again.

It was Geoff's birthday, which we celebrated with cake at half-time at the neighbors where we gathered with Katia & Giovanni, Gretchen & Harvey, Aiury, and friends of the Harkavies.

C • Cooks Illustrated 7