Oul este mai uşor de curăţat dacă în apa în care fierbe se adaugă câteva picături de oţet.

I have a lot of writing to do this weekend so that I can try for the first time in my sorry life to write a damned essay before the final due date day.  The essay is due on Thursday but I will have a busy week this week and I do not want a repeat of last time since I made myself miserable.  So, we have a free weekend (except for lunch with friends tomorrow) and I intend to use it wisely.  I have a lot of reading to get done this weekend.  I have to finish the set books for my course: Little Women (American version including Good Wives – I am less than half-way through Good Wives) and Treasure Island – I have read most of the introduction and that is all!.  I really enjoyed Little Women but I am finding Good Wives harder to stomach – whilst I appreciate that it was written in a different time, the way women and their lives are depicted sticks in my teeth and the March’s so-called charity is plain condescension.  Having said that, I would probably be enjoying it more if I were reading it purely for pleasure.  I had read all the Little Women series before but I don’t really remember much.  However, I have never read Treasure Island so I am interested to see what I make of it.  The essay will be looking at how Alcott and Stevenson depict their characters growing up (unless I decide to choose the other question which I cannot remember right now!).

If you were born in Oklahoma, have lived in Oklahoma or anywhere in Big 12 country, you know that Bedlam Weekend is quite a big deal!  That is the weekend of Thanksgiving, which those of you who are paying attention realize is now (if you didn’t know that you should come out of the panic room you have been hiding in).  Today is the day that determines the bragging rights for the rest of the year (or if we are really being honest until the next big Bedlam game during basketball season).

This year’s game will feature a completely beat up Oklahoma Sooners team vs. an Oklahoma State Cowboys team fighting to hang on to their bid for a big BCS game.  The Sooners are 64 – 2 or something like that at home since 1999 and one of those two teams is the Cowboys.  The Sooners have looked like crap on the road this year, but have still killed teams at home.  The Cowboys are having their best season in a really long time and are looking to give the Sooners their third home loss in 10 years.  But, either way, it is always a good game and will be fun to watch (and yell at the TV).

Because of the preggo we have decided not to go to the game.  I’m sure standing for 4 hours wouldn’t be super fun with a belly and on top of that if there is any sitting it’s not like she can stand up quick enough to see what happened on the play anyway.  So we are going to be in Norman and watching the game with my brother before we meet up with my sister and brother-in-law and Lee & Wes Jackson for some dinner.  So, if you are looking for some good football tomorrow, turn on the Bedlam game at 9:30 AM PT and root for the Sooners!

1. BEM-VINDO ou BENVINDO?

A saudação é BEM-VINDO (=bem recebido):
“Seja bem-vindo.”
“Ele será bem-vindo a esta cidade.”
BENVINDO é nome próprio de pessoa:
“Ele se chama Benvindo.”

2. EM VEZ DE ou AO INVÉS DE?

AO INVÉS DE = ao contrário de:
“Ele entrou à direita ao invés da esquerda.’
“Subiu ao invés de descer.”
EM VEZ DE = em lugar de:
“Foi ao clube em vez de ir à praia.”
“Apertou o botão vermelho em vez do azul.”

OBSERVAÇÃO:
Como AO INVÉS DE só pode ser usado quando há a ideia de “oposição”, sugiro que se use sempre EM VEZ DE.
EM VEZ DE pode ser usado sempre que existe a ideia de “substituição, troca”, mesmo se for de “oposição”.

3. MAIS ou MAS ou MÁS?

MAIS = opõe-se a MENOS:
“Hoje estou mais satisfeito.” (=poderia estar menos satisfeito)
“Compareceram mais pessoas que o esperado.” (=poderiam ser menos pessoas)
MAS = porém, contudo, todavia, entretanto:
“Estudou mas foi reprovado.” (=porém)
“Não foram convidados, mas vieram à festa.” (=entretanto)
MÁS = plural do adjetivo MÁ; opõe-se a BOAS:
“Não eram más idéias.” (=eram boas idéias)
“Estavam com más intenções.” (=não tinham boas intenções)

4. PORISSO ou POR ISSO?

“PORISSO” não existe.
Use sempre POR ISSO:
“Ele trabalha muito, por isso merece uns dias de folga.”

5. SENÃO ou SE NÃO?

SE NÃO = se (conjunção condicional = caso) + não (advérbio de negação):
“Se não chover, haverá jogo.” (=Caso não chova)
“O presidente nada assinará, se não houver consenso.” (=caso não haja consenso)
Usaremos SENÃO em quatro situações:
SENÃO = de outro modo, do contrário:
“Resolva agora, senão estamos perdidos.” (=do contrário estamos perdidos);
SENÃO = mas sim, porém:
“Não era caso de expulsão, senão de repreensão.” (=mas sim de repreensão);
SENÃO = apenas, somente:
“Não se viam senão os pássaros.” (=somente os pássaros eram vistos);
SENÃO = defeito, falha:
“Não houve um senão em sua apresentação.” (=não houve nenhuma falha, nenhum defeito).

6. SOB ou SOBRE?

SOB = embaixo:
“Estamos sob uma velha marquise.”
“Ficou tudo sob controle.”
SOBRE = em cima de:
“A lágrima corria sobre a face.”
“Deixou os livros sobre a mesa.” (=em cima da mesa)

7. TAMPOUCO ou TÃO POUCO?

TAMPOUCO = nem:
“Não trabalha tampouco estuda. (=nem estuda)
OBSERVAÇÃO:
“Não trabalha nem tampouco estuda.” (=nem tampouco é redundante)
Basta: “Não trabalha nem (ou tampouco) estuda.”
TÃO POUCO = muito pouco:
“Estudou tão pouco que foi reprovado.”

8. TODO ou TODO O?

TODO = qualquer:
“Ele realiza todo trabalho que se solicita.” (=qualquer trabalho)
“Toda mulher merece carinho.” (=todas as mulheres)
“Todo país tem seus problemas.” (=qualquer país, todos os países)
TODO O = inteiro:
“Ele realizou todo o trabalho.” (=o trabalho inteiro)
“Acariciava toda a mulher.” (=a mulher inteira)
“Haverá vacinação em todo o país.” (=no país inteiro)

Hello A/all

As requested my first OU update (thanks Elaine for the idea) –

For those of you who don’t already know, I’m currently doing a BA (Hons) Leadership and Management with the Open University.

This semester I’m doing two courses worth 90 OU academic points.

B204 – Making it happen! Leadership, influence and change (60 points)

My first TMA was due on the 30/11, however I’ve been granted an extension to the 5/12.

I’m having problems trying to select a leader within my work place in which to compare and contrast management theory on. But I find the right train of thought and will get there.

B628 – Managing 1: organisations and people.

Red is whizzing through the course due it’s portfolio based element, and has his first TMA due on the 23/12 (extension applied).

Overall I’ll be glad to get to the end of both programmes of study

Red

Every Wednesday, from today until the end of time, my close friend and bitter foe Mad Adam is going to stop by and attempt to clarify his delusions of grandeur, dominance, and defeatism. He’s very complex. And, as you’ll soon find out, most of what he has to say comes out of his ass, but man, is he angry! And I’m not talking the kind of angry that can be aptly expressed with all caps and exclamation marks, or even simple declarations of anger… you’ll have to use your imagination a little. Picture the bright red face. Picture the popping veins. Picture the holes in the wall, the shattered remotes, the hospitalized “friends”. Now, multiply it by 386. That gets you halfway there. But here, we’ll let him explain it…

Hello everyone.  Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Mad Adam.  That’s right, not Mad Hatter (Les Miles), Mad Max (Mel Gibson) or Mad Men (those booze swilling cats at Sterling Cooper).  No, just Mad Adam.

Why Mad Adam?  First, I have an anger control problem. This is particularly true when it comes to my sports teams.  I get mad when they let me down.  I get mad when they get screwed over.  I sometimes get mad even when things are going well. What can I say….I’m Mad Adam.  As a bonus, my name is a palindrome.  Don’t know that is? Look it up loser.  And while you are at it, send some hate mail to your language teachers who obviously let you down.

Now that I have revealed that much of my anger is centered on my favorite teams, I better let you in on who those teams are.  Warning, I grew up as a military brat, so I never stayed in a place long enough to pick a team based on geography.  So, I have a pretty disparate set of favorite teams (with the exception of my college team which is clearly a result of the totally awesome education I received at the undergraduate and law schools of the institution listed below).  So, in no particular order, here are the teams that matter most to me: New York Jets (last Super Bowl….1969, the roots of my anger begin to surface); Los Angeles Dodgers; Los Angeles Lakers; Manchester City Citizens (EPL soccer you morons); and of course, my beloved OU Sooners.  Looking for a hockey team?  Go (ice) fish.  Not a fun game to watch on TV.

My proclivity for temper tantrums does not end with my favorite teams.  I also get mad about betting on sports (i.e. placing bad bets, not the act of betting on sports which I am very much in favor of), bad calls, terrible commentators, incomprehensible TV twists, bad uniforms, those who don’t appreciate good music, politics, stupid fans, silly traditions, inane rules….you get the idea.  I am Mad Adam.

The gracious, yet logic deficient Ed Honcho, has asked that I occasionally drop by this site and let all of you know what I am currently mad about.  I appreciate the forum and the opportunity to vent.  I would be remiss if I did not kick things off with a mailbag devoted to my legions of fans and their questions.  So, without further ado, away we go…..

Q: Did you see the Patriots throw a deep pass with only 30 seconds to go this past weekend when they were up 31 – 14 on the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets? How did that make you feel? Cuz, I will tell you how it made me feel.  It made me feel like punching Tom Brady in his pretty face and defecating on Bill Belichik’s car.

- Francis Anastasio, Elizabeth, New Jersey

A: Francis, or can I call you Frank? No? OK. Francis, you could not be more right (except the part about shitting on his car, which is a tad bit weird). Not since Michael Bay decided to have “ghetto” robots in the newest Transformers movie have I seen such a brash and uncalled for decision.

What is he hoping to accomplish?  By kicking the Jets when they are down, does he hope to draw attention away from the most colossal coaching mistake in his career from the week prior against the Colts? By allowing a long pass to Randy Moss did he hope to show that Moss does in fact own Darrelle Revis? (if so, too bad, because Moss turned in a pedestrian 5 catches for 34 yards against my boy Revis).

Or is this just one more bully move by a guy that thinks he is God, but is in fact still the same a-hole that could not turn around the Browns and WHO WALKED OUT ON THE JETS IN 1999 A DAY AFTER TAKING THE HEAD COACHING JOB? What a loser. I HATE that guy. And, I really hate those spy-gate cheating, pretty boy Pats(ies).

Q: How are you feeling about the Lakers so far?

- Bonita Benson, Culver City, California

A: In a word….AWESOME.  So far, Khlomar has not been a distraction.  The return of Gasol has transformed the team.  Ron Artest is playing within the system and has not punched Nicholson in the face on his way down the court yet. And Kobe? Well, he is busy doing work.

Since the Lakers’ Western Conference coronation is all but assured, let’s turn to the more important issue.  Will those turd burgers from Boston make an appearance and get the whupping they deserved two years ago? As of this writing they are 10-4, and look pretty good (for a team in puke green adorned with a picture of a leprechaun sporting a vest, hat and bow-tie covered in freaking shamrocks).  I don’t want another beat-down on Orlando.  I want Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and “look at me I am yelling a lot, I must be really intense” Kevin Garnett to face the music like they did in 1985 and 1987 when Magic and crew beat Bird and his brigade of losers (like Kevin “the Armpits” McHale and Robert “Reefer” Parrish). SCREW THE CELTICS!

Q: When are you going to talk about the Sooners? Texas Tech destroyed Stoops and company and the crowd turned the House of Pain “Jump Around” into an anti-Sooner anthem.  And, don’t forget Capel’s b-ball team that got rocked by the VCU Rams, his former team.  Seriously, did you jump off a cliff this weekend?

- Rusty Jackson, Texhoma, Texas

A: I am typing out this response from the rather large ravine that I did indeed toss myself into after the collective DUMP THAT OU TOOK ON ME THIS WEEKEND.  This is the kind of showing that makes you want to give up sports.

That raises the issue.  Is it possible to really give up on your favorite team?  I say no.  The first time I ever tried to do it was when I was 8 years old and the Dodgers were on a serious losing streak. I declared that I was no longer a fan of Dodger blue and tried to become a Cincinnati Reds fan.  However, each morning when I would look through the box scores in the local paper I found my gaze straying from the Reds to find out what the Dodgers had done the night before. The reason?  If you are a true fan, you can NEVER give up on your team.  Even when they TEAR OUT YOUR HEART, LIKE OU DID TO ME THIS WEEKEND.

Did I kinda avoid answering your questions Rusty? You bet. Stay tuned, though, because if those goat loving, tobacco chewing troglodytes from Stillwater win Bedlam this weekend, then I may have to dedicate an entire column to how FREAKING BAD THIS OU FOOTBALL SEASON HAS REALLY BEEN.

Q: So, how about Les Miles and his clock management skills?

- Earl Papadeaux, Natchez, Louisiana

A: Oh, how I detest Les Miles.  What an overrated, egotistical, arrogant insipid little man crowned with an ill-fitting hat. How many times must he do something like this before Tiger Nation rises up and says enough is enough.  The LSU school newspaper, “The Daily Reveille” is calling for the firing of offensive coordinator Gary Crowton over this debacle.

First, “The Daily Reveille,” really? I had to look up “reveille” to even know what the students there are referencing.  It is a bugle call associated with the military.  So, the newspaper is a daily bugle call.   Whatever.

Second, firing the offensive coordinator is completely missing the point.  Did anyone see Les Miles’ patented “deer in headlights” look as the precious seconds ticked away in the game against Ole Miss? He was befuddled, bamboozled and flummoxed all at the same time. This man could not coach his way out of a paper bag when decisions that are tougher than what to eat after the game are on the line.  Speaking of food…

Q: Don’t you think that Mark Mangino is just mean, mean, mean!

- Dolores Bitterbottom, Mulberry, Kansas

A: Look, I have had my share of crude talking insensitive coaches.  Heck, it is really part of the job description as far as I can tell.  Reminds me of a funny story.  Ed Honcho and I used to have a baseball coach that referred to him as “Colonel Sanders” because he was too “chicken” to get down on the ball when fielding grounders in practice.  That was funny. What Mangino (allegedly) has been doing?  Not cool.

When a college student confides in a coach about his alcoholic father, that should remain between him and the coach. Same thing with a player that tells coach about his brother getting shot in the neighborhood he grew up in .  To use that information against the players is the sign of a man that has lost touch with reality.  He is not breaking players down and then building them up.  He is just breaking them.

While we are on the subject, I am wondering if any Jayhawk ever gave it back to the coach? In case they have not, and current Jayhawks are looking for some ideas, here is my humble proposal for a dialogue with Mangino:

Mangino – “Hey, stop loafing WR!  You keep that up and you will wind up on welfare and turning tricks in an alley for crack cocaine like that story about your mom you shared with me in a closed door meeting the other day.”

WR – “Hey Coach.  Here’s a thought.  Maybe you should drop your daily caloric intake by, I don’t know, maybe 40,000 calories.  Seriously, do you really need that entire rack of ribs to go with your 22 ounce steak, double cheese-burger and fried okra covered in brown gravy?  I’m just looking out for you.  Well, I am also looking out for the players that keep getting hit by one of your 17 chins when you move suddenly on the sideline.”

Q: How about Jimmy Clausen getting cold-cocked by an angry Irish fan at local bar?

- Gaye Barr, Elkhart, Indiana

A: This had to be the first time anything associated with the Irish was on target this whole season.  My only question is why not track down and punch Charlie Weis?  The guy is pushing 3 bills and his knees are shot.  There is no way he could get away quickly enough to avoid a total pummeling. (please note that Mad Adam, while prone to fits of anger, does not condone nor promote violence against athletes and/or coaches….you know, unless they really deserve it).

Q: As an unabashed fan of front-running, big money teams like the Lakers and Sooners, is it any surprise that you’ve recently declared yourself a Manchester City fan? And even though you’ll do your best to spin the answer, it’s mostly rhetorical, as the indisputable answer is “no.”

- Ed Honcho, Sunbathing on the French Riviera

A: Nice try Ed.  You are clearly trying to bait me into a fit of rage.  However, unlike Tila Tequila, I am not that easy.  You see, what you are failing to tell our readers is that it is “undisputable” that I became a fan of the Blues prior to September 2008 when Man City was purchased by the Abu Dhabi United Group, making it the wealthiest club in the world.

Which means that I became a fan of Man City, a team that has not won silverware since 1976, before this fortuitous twist transformed them into the Champions League chasing team they are today.  So, SUCK IT ED.  Seriously.

Q: Is it true that you’ve been in the same fantasy football league for almost 20 years and never won?

- Bjorn Bjornssen, Hammerfest, Norway

A: Bjorn, now I am starting to get pissed.  Your “source” is mistaken.  Allow me to provide you a history lesson. Yes, I have been in the same fantasy football league since 1988.  In fact, Ed Honcho, myself and friends may have indeed invented fantasy football.

No, it is NOT true that I have failed to ever be crowned champion.  My team has a long and storied history.  I consistently make the playoffs, and I have been in not one, not two, but THREE championship games.  Several years ago Ed Honcho and I squared off in the championship game.  The game ended in a tie according to an on-line fantasy sports site that will not be named.  Incredibly, after nearly two decades of fantasy sports our collective group had never devised a tie-breaker scenario.  So, we declared a tie and the championship was split between Mad Adam and Ed Honcho.

Now things get interesting.  Approximately 6 months later, one of our friends and fellow fantasy owner, we will call him “ass-wipe,” decided to peruse the web-site because he had nothing better to do.  He was surprised to see that the CRAPPY, STUPID AND PROFESSIONALLY NEGLIGENT web-site that shall not be named had changed the score for Jeff Garcia (my starting QB at the time) by one measly STUPID point.  Ass-wipe decides to share this information with the league.  The result? Years of bickering and a COMPLETELY FALSE AND WHOLLY UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIM of an undisputed and sole championship by Ed.

Many of you may ask, and rightly so, how in the world can you change the score of a fantasy sports championship MONTHS after the fact?  Isn’t that like tuning in for the Super Bowl and watching the Pats lose to the Giants, only to find out the following summer that the NFL had changed its mind and declared that the David Tyree “helmet catch” was an incompletion and the Pats actually won?  Good point.  And Bjorn, you no fantasy knowledge having dude from Hammerfest, did you stop to ask what would have happened if we applied the tie-breaking rules we have today?  No? Well, let me tell you what would have happened. I WOULD HAVE WON.  And, what would have happened if we played the next week (since we tabulated the points just to see)?….wait for it….that’s right….. I WOULD HAVE WON.

Dammit.  Now my blood pressure is though the roof.  Bjorn, I am sure you can see from the foregoing synopsis that in fact I DID WIN A FREAKING CHAMPIONSHIP.  And, if you don’t agree with me then you CAN JUST ENJOY YOUR CITY WHICH REEKS OF REINDEER MANURE.  That’s right, I said it.

Q: Why so angry? Childhood trauma? Life stacked against you? What?

- Adolfo Ocampo, Ushuaia, Argentina

A: As I am sure you can see from the questions posed by some ingrates above, as well as the other stupid topics that got me riled up, there are plenty of reasons I am angry.  SO, STICK YOUR POP PSYCHOLOGY UP YOUR ASS ADOLFO.  I will be sure to call if I ever need your attention.  Don’t hold your breath in the meantime.

Thank you loyal readers.  Until next time, keep watching sports and DON’T PISS ME OFF!!!

It has been around five months since we have graced the great state of Oklahoma with our presence.  Today we will allow Oklahoma to be cool again as we will once again step foot into America’s Heartland.  We are pretty excited to be there for Turkey Day because we will finally get to see all our friends and family again.  They are pretty cool.

So we are flying out today and visiting the in-laws first.  We will be in rural Oklahoma (no not all of Oklahoma is the middle of nowhere) for Thanksgiving which means some good ol’ home cookin’.  That will be good stuff.  Then we will be heading to Edmond and staying with my family, watching another great OU OSU game, having our first baby shower for our baby girl, and hitting up some LifeChurch.tv and saying hi to all our friends there!  Unfortunately, this year I do not believe that either of our families are continuing on the tradition of Thanksgiving BBQ instead of turkey and such.  That is a bummer, but I do expect to gain plenty of weight this week.  If you haven’t seen the list of all the different places my preggo wants food from, read it and then you will understand why I am going to come back as something the oompa loompas have to roll out of Oklahoma.

It’s gonna be a great vacation!  No work for several days in a row.  The great state of Oklahoma.  Almost all our friends and family.  And then coming home to Orange County, CA.  We are ready to eat and see everyone.  Sorry mom and dad.  We will miss you!

What are your Thanksgiving plans?

Well, here we are in the home stretch of College Football, also known as “Rivalry Week”. What a year it has been. Pre-season stuff had OU in the Top 5 and headed to the Fiesta Bowl. Now, OU is fighting for a 7th win, and OSU is fighting for a potential Fiesta Bowl berth. USC is no longer one of the “elite”, but Cincinnati and TCU are? I will be taking my wife (who is an OSU fan) and my boys (who are OU fans) to their first college football game this Saturday, when we go watch Bedlam. The boys are excited, and I am too for them. Gonna be a good time…be a great time if the Sooners can squeak this out though. Anyway, on with the show:

#11 Oklahoma State Oklahoma (+7) – There’s a team who is 9-2, ranked #11 in the country, and fighting for a BCS bowl bid. The other team has had problems all year, unranked and staring down the barrel of a 6-6 season. A win by this team would make them the spoiler for the ranked team. Sounds familiar when Bedlam happens, doesn’t it? Problem is, the teams have switched. It’s OSU who is ranked and looking to cash in on the BCS action, and OU trying to salvage a season with an upset. The crazy thing is…OU IS FAVORED! There’s a lot at stake Saturday: recruiting, BCS, bragging rights, OU’s 29 home game win streak. And we all know that in Bedlam, sometimes, the best team doesn’t always win. OU’s defense got embarrassed last week, and they won’t let that happen at home, on senior day, and against their bitter rival. Gundy has never beat OU, as a player or as a coach.  MY PICK: OU 31, OSU 28

Memphis at Tulsa (+15) – How bad is Memphis when Tulsa is a 15 point favorite? Bad enough that the coach didn’t make it half the season, that’s how bad. Tulsa has been disappointing this season. Picked to contend for the C-USA championship, were diminished and a new goal was born…just make it to a bowl game. Now, that goal is gone, and TU is playing just to be playing. Horrible season can end with a win this week, and they should get it. Still, remember this TU fans…at least Keith Burns isn’t coaching.  MY PICK: TULSA 28, MEMPHIS 20

Missouri (+4) at Kansas – “Get in my belly”. Sorry, I think that every time I see Jayhawk head coach (for now) Mark Mangino. Coach “I can eat you under the table” Mangino is more than likely done at Kansas…and as a head coach anywhere for a while. This story amazes me. Everything was ok as long as Kansas was winning. But, after losing 6 in a row, accusations of “improper touches” and being too hard on players, have surfaced, and the coach is in hot water. Maybe it’s just me, but Mangino is so big, if he just walks past you in a hall way, wouldn’t he “improperly touch” you then? I’m just saying. Kansas needs a win to make it to a bowl. That won’t happen…  MY PICK: MISSOURI 35, KANSAS 31

Arkansas at #17 LSU (+3) – My sources in Louisiana are telling me (hey, I used to be a sportswriter, I can have sources) that LSU head coach Les Miles is planning to write a book this offseason, entitled “When and When Not To Call Timeouts…For Dummies”. Seriously, what was this guy thinking last week? It was a bizarre sequence of events. Seriously, watch the video here. Facing 3rd down, they do a dump off and get nothing. LSU has a timeout left and 26 seconds left, nobody calls a TO until 9 seconds left. LSU then throws a Hail Mary, and it’s caught inside the 10 yard line, with 1 second left, down by 2. But now, they have no TO’s left, and LSU loses. By the way, that’s how you NOT call timeouts.  MY PICK: ARKANSAS 24, LSU 21

Florida State at #1 Florida (+23) – Ahh, the battle of Florida. This game used to be played early on in the season. Maybe they should move it back to early on, that way Florida State still has a chance to be ranked. Besides Notre Dame, Florida State has to be one of the most overrated schools in the nation. I’m surprised at 6-5, both FSU and the Irish aren’t ranked. The only reason I picked this game, is because it is a rivalry game, and I needed an automatic “W” for me. Florida better use this contest as a tune-up game….next week is Alabama for the SEC title and a National Title game berth. MY PICK: FLORIDA 42, FLORIDA STATE 17…(I meant 14, because FSU never has a FG kicker)

So as I’m procrastinating with my essay progress, I thought I’d get round to the building update. Here’s how it looked at end of workday 25 (last Friday).

Day 25 - Exterior.

Day 25 - Interior.

I think that considering the time of year and the crappy weather we’ve been having lately, the buiders are doing fabulously well getting this extension done. This week they are fixing up the stud walls and the plumber and electrician are trying to sort out their first fixes. Woohoo!

Yeah. Moans. So far, crappy birthday. Princi woke up with the intention of being incredibly difficult and argumentative, shouting at Grandand and then refusing to eat her breakfast. It didn’t really help when I told her that her behaviour was the cause of her not being allowed to come to my birthday meal this evening. There were tears in the coco pops. Sigh. I had to change tack and say that if she could be good all day at school then I would change my mind. This had some success as she started to eat her breakfast. At least she was good when it came time to getting her into her uniform.

As for the essay… Well, I’m blogging, so it’s not being written. I have managed to write a fifth of it though. Only another 1600 words to go! I’m hoping to crack another 200 words before lunch. At least I’ll feel as if I’ve done something then. If I can get a first draft done by the end of the week, I’ll feel so much better. As it is at the moment, I am at panic stations (the essay, btw, is due in next Thursday) and this is causing a horrible block. I need to destress! The idea of not getting the essay done is causing me to have anxiety dreams where I am the first female Doctor Who! I don’t see how that’s going to help me write this essay!

Anyway. Must get back to it.

Principles:

Infuse the excitement and rigor of scientific research

Summary:

In 2002, the Howard Hughes Medical Institution’s Undergraduate Science Education Program launched the HHMI Professors Program. HHMI awarded 20 four-year grants, of $1 million each, to faculty members renowned for their research successes and long-time interest in undergraduate education.

Each professor uses his or her HHMI grant to develop distinct, effective methods of sharing the beauty of science with all students. Some focus on providing research experiences for first-year students; others work to attract more women and minorities into science. Whether communicating the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of cutting-edge science or using technology to develop new teaching tools, these professors infuse undergraduate science education with the excitement and rigor of scientific research by sharing their advancements in teaching.
HHMI professors use[d] the KEEP Toolkit to document their work.

Source: http://cms.carnegiefoundation.org/gallery_of_tl/disseminating_effective_practices_and_products.html

Principles:

• To be open to share educational tools, resources across classrooms, institutions and geographical boundaries.
• He uses standards and templates to share more easily thoughts, ideas and insights with colleagues.
• Document and share institutions’, faculty members’, and students’ knowledge and experience by implementing and using educational technologies and models to promote innovative and effective use.

Summary

Open and share movement in education has potential for revolutionizing the way that educational tools and resources are shared across classrooms, institutions, and regional boundaries to collectively advance teaching and learning.

Due to the “lack of a support structure for sharing ideas, experiences and challenges” towards the promotion of open education, a group of institutions (IUPUI, Portland State University, University of California Berkeley, University of Minnesota, and Virginia Tech) participated in the Open source portfolio (OSP) initiative.

The aim of this project was to “share the essence of their ongoing local efforts in implementing the open source portfolio”

A template was created in order to guide each institution in documenting and reflecting on its OSP implementation work.

Every institution created a snapshot of its case study so that it can be added to an online collection.

The authors of such case studies highlighted the usefulness of the templates as an effective tool for sharing and documenting each story.

What that means is that readers can come to this and make decisions based on what they are seeing because they can see the common conceptual framework but different stories and different enactments and different contexts.

Source: http://cms.carnegiefoundation.org/gallery_of_tl/promoting_effective_use_of_open_educational_technology.html

A débattre

Restauration : le Sénat veut revenir sur la baisse de la TVA

Par François Krug | Eco89 | 23/11/2009 | 18H52

Surprise ce lundi au Sénat : la commission des Finances a proposé de ramener la TVA sur la restauration à 19,6%. Selon elle, les professionnels n’ont pas respecté leurs engagements. Le restaurateur Xavier Denamur, résolument opposé à la baisse de la TVA, applaudit : « Il n’y a eu que des mécontents dans cette histoire. » Y compris les clients ? La suite sur Eco89

Dear study diary – today I wish to report a bit of a breakthrough. Yes I’ve finally made it out of the afore mentioned – dead zone. I’ve ticked-off the Learning Skills activity and I’m now on the home straight – whoopee! Actually it wasn’t as bad as I’ve probably lead you to believe here – or perhaps it was but now it’s far behind me it doesn’t seem to matter. So, as Gordon would say ‘Job done!’ …well almost.

Now there’s the little matter of my Tutor Marked Assignment to complete. And I have oodles of time in which to do this – a whopping 17 hours to be precise – if I leave submitting my assignment until 12 noon on the cut-off date (which I won’t of course ;O)).

I skim read through the questions last week and started to formulate my answers at the weekend. Clearly my skim reading techniques are not all they’re cracked up to be as I totally misinterpreted part a, of question 2! Must be a lesson learned there then. Skim then read it thoroughly perhaps? Or plain and simple old – look before you leap! Not all is lost though, as I believe I can still salvage enough from my answer to spread across to parts b and c. My excuse for this oversight? Blinded by the light …at the end of the tunnel.

Hey ladies!
Alright, so this is another interview I did for my women leaders at OU article, with Amanda Eckman, a senior media arts and studies management major, and president of Brick City Records, a recording company here in little old Athens, Ohio. Enjoy!

Q: How did you get involved with Brick City Records?

A: I heard about Brick City when I was visiting and since I was thinking about doing A & R for a record label I wanted to join and get involved.

Q: How did you get to become president?

A: It was actually kind of interesting, my freshman year I knew an artist called Curtis Peoples and he wanted to do a show here so I was talking with the president about putting together a show with Curtis so spring quarter of my freshman year I put on a show and got involved that way and ran for vice president of A & R the end of my freshman year and won, and just eventually through getting involved with the exec board got moved up to president last year and this year.

Q: Do you have any female role models?

A: My role models are mostly male because the music industry, although it’s getting better, is still male-dominated. So the person got me really involved was a male manager and the person here was also a male and he kind of influenced me to become president.

Q: Are you the first female president of Brick City?

A: Yes, we’ve been around since 2004 so it hasn’t been two long and we’ve only had two main presidents before me.

Q: What do you want to do after school?

A: That’s a good question. Ideally, I would like to work for an independent record label preferably with talent development, trying to help them figure out their image and everything.

Q: What made you decide to come to OU?

A: Because it was really the only place that could put me in a major that directly dealt with what I wanted to do. Plus they have so many connections out in LA and Chicago and everything and the music industry really is about connections.

Q: They have alot of alumni connections out there?

A: Yeah I did an internship with Beverly Hills two summers ago and I kept going to all these parties and people would whip out their OU IDs and be like “Yeah, I graduated two years ago,” so I thought I’m going to the right place then, that’s how you get a job.

Q: How many internships have you had?

A: I did one in Beverly Hills where I actually had to go out there and this summer I’m currently working on one where it’s based in LA, but it’s all online. It’s just scouting bands and uploading them to a site.

Q: So do you think you’ll probably move out west?

A: I’ve thought about it, and I might try to stick with Chicago because I want to work at a smaller label and in LA all my connections are with bigger labels.

Q: Has Brick City made having a social life and schoolwork hard?

A: It hasn’t been too hard, I’ve met so many people through Brick City because it’s also involved with other student organizations within Scripps so you meet people within different student organizations not just Brick City and we’re trying to grow our internship too.

Thanks!
Jess

Pour cause de changement de site cliquez ici pour voir cet article !

Pour cause de changement de site cliquez ici pour voir cet article !

Hey girlies!

Mackenzie Smith, a senior at Ohio University, is the President of the Women’s Panhellenic Association, and a member of Alpha Delta Pi. She’s a journalism major focusing on public relations, and I interviewed her for an article I’m writing about women leaders at OU. I have two more interviews coming so I hope you guys like it!

Q: How did you get into journalism and public relations?

A: I toured Scripps when I was a senior in high school and thought I wanted to go into advertising so my mom encouraged me to apply and once I got in I didn’t even know public relations was an area of study. I was really intrigued by it and switched my focus from advertising to PR.

Q: What is the Women’s Panhellenic Association?

A: The Women’s Panhellenic Association is basically the governing body for all nine sororities on campus, the social sororities, and we serve as kind of the administrative body like I said. We have fourteen executive officers right now, we just amended our constitution so at the end of this quarter we’ll go down to twelve officers ranging from recruitment, community service, all sorts of things. We serve as a resource for the chapters, make sure everyone’s abiding by the rules. We put on some big events, obviously sorority recruitment is our biggest even in the fall but we also try to do at least one big community service event a quarter. And we also kind of serve as the liaison to collaborate with other university groups.

Q: How did you get involved with the organization?

A: Well, it’s an application and interview process, which we’re actually about to start right now. But I applied to be the vice president of public relations, I thought it’s be a good thing for my major to get involved outside of my own individual chapter and I ended up being slated as President so that was very exciting and I took it and ran with it and it’s been a learning experience but I’ve loved every second of it.

Q: What are your responsibilities as President?

A: I basically serve as the main contact person for all of the sorority side of Greek Life, maintaining relationships with the campus involvement center, Dean of Students, Vice President of Student Affairs, I represent the organization at a lot of meetings like Council of Student Leaders and everything. When outside groups contact us they usually contact me, I kind of in a way have to know every aspect of all of the thirteen positions. Making sure that everyone’s doing their job, helping generate new ideas and ll of that good stuff.

Q: Would you say that being President takes up most of your time?

A: It’s definitely something, I’m always getting emails and everything. It depends on the time of year like spring quarter when we are preparing for recruitment we had recruitment meetings every Tuesday, but now since that’s over I don’t have that constraint anymore. It is time-consuming, but it’s definitely not the only thing, I don’t define my life by being President of this organization. I do find that although it is time-consuming, it’s manageable to the point that I still have a life, and it’s not consuming.

Q: What are your plans for the future after OU?

A: Well I’m about to start my job hunt right now, like I said I’m a PR major specializing in marketing so I try to keep my options open with that. I’m just doing what every senior is kind of doing right now, looking for jobs. I had an internship this summer and they said that there’s a chance of budget providing, they’ll offer me a job, so I’m kind of waiting that out. But we’ll see what happens.

Q: Did you have any female role models growing up?

A: You probably would get this answer a lot but my mom, she’s always been very supportive in me trying new things and if I’m not successful at it she was definitely the person there to comfort me and tell me just because that didn’t work out for you doesn’t mean everything’s over. For example, I ran for a position in my chapter and I didn’t get it and I was just very upset. My mom kept saying everything’s going to be okay, everything happens for a reason obviously, now as President of WPA I can definitely say that everything does happen for a reason. She’s just a very strong woman and she has good morals and good values and it’s just something I look up to and hope to achieve when I’m older, so I would definitely say my mom.

Q: Do you consider yourself a leader?

A: Yes and no, sometimes it’s still kind of surreal to me. As President of WPA I’m technically the voice for 1100 women and that seems overwhelming at first but sometimes it doesn’t really hit me but I do like to think that I’m a leader on campus through some of the other organizations I’m involved in that maybe people appreciate my opinion. As a senior now especially that in itself I feel like I’ve acquired a lot of knowledge over my last three years here and everything, so I’d like to think that hopefully I’m a leader in a larger sense too.

Q: What other organizations are you with?

A: Pretty much everything is through Greek life, Greek life community, Greek community council, Greek council of student leaders. Spring quarter I was on the Steering committee to re-evaluate OU’s sexual assault sanctioning policy so that was really cool to see how the university kind of runs on a larger sense, amending the judicial sanction is a big step I think, so all that type of stuff takes up most of my time.

Q: How do you think being in a sorority has helped you?

A: I know people think that when you join a sorority you’re just trying to pay for your friends and meet your friends but when I came to OU I was really homesick. The only reason I went to recruitment was because my mom said you need to get out of your dorm room and go do something. And the women that I met, I talked to a member of my chapter during recruitment who said she had the same story as me, she was so homesick and she just found her little niche, her kind of home away from home if you will, and that was just really comforting. Knowing that to be with a group of women who are, I mean we’re not carbon copies on one another, but have similar interests and everything has really helped me grow and I was involved in high school a lot but I wanted to get involved in college too, I mean with a campus so big I wanted to kind of be able to make my own path and I think that it’s taught me a lot about myself and helped me mature to the point now where I could take on a big leadership role like this.

Q: Being president of WPA and in a sorority, you’re around girls a lot. Do you think that’s helped you a woman learn more about yourself?

A: I definitely think it is, I know it’s stereotypical that girls are catty and I’ve just really learned and met so many people through this, in particular other women, and I’ve learned how to interact with them. I’ve also learned that you deal with different people differently, some people might be responsive to you talking to them a certain way, other women may not take that approach, so I definitely think that it’s taught me a lot and created a lot of bonds with women. I’ve met so many people from other chapters and everything and I think that it’s definitely increased that.

Thanks!

I was surprised to find myself listening to Madonna’s Material girl and Like a Prayer on the tram into work this morning.  More surprising was that I was doing so as part of my Open University course. The first term has been looking at Reputations across a range of art disciplines and asking questions like -

• Why are some people widely remembered and others not?
• Exactly what makes a person famous, or infamous?
• How does someone acquire a reputation?
• What is the relationship between a person’s reputation and what we can discover about their life from historical record?

I am really enjoying the course. Its a whistlestop tour through various art disciplines and topics. We have covered Antony and Cleopatra; a Christopher Marlowe play, Dr Faustus; the science and faith of Michael Faraday; the art of Cezanne and the reputation of Stalin. Goodness, in only 6 weeks!

At the risk of turning into a advertisment for the OU I am overwhelmed by the support and educational materials that I have been able to access. Face to face tutorials with other students who have willingly given up their saturday mornings to come along and value studying together; telephone tutorials, guided visits to art galleries with respected art historians; books, CDs, DVDs, DVD ROMs, online resources….

Coming up is an introduction to poetry and and examination of the Dalai Lama…

As I pull into Sheffield city centre, reading the chapter on Divas, Maria Callas is singing and I am being asked how I would describe the vocal melody in the aria “Una voce poco fa” from the opera The Barber of Seville. There’s a smile on my face. Studying shouldn’t be this fun, should it?

Vicky Woollaston is reporting that the Open University has reached 10 million downloads on iTunes.

Last night I went to the annual CAC Dance Marathon Fashion Show here at The University of Oklahoma. The lovely Marion was kind enough to go with me, but sadly I made us about 20 minutes late as the show started at 7:00 and I didn’t get out of class until about 7:10, then I had to run back to my car and grab my camera… I know, I know… unprepared. Anyways, the show was pretty fun. I mean it was a fashion show in Norman, Oklahoma lol, but all in all they did a good job. A few of my pictures (like most of the ones of the catwalk) are a little blurry and for that I’m sorry, but I’m still trying to figure out my camera for such occasions lol… PLUS I did have one critique, the models did not stop and pose at the end of the run way for more than .0005 seconds, it was like the California Stop of runway walks. Anywho, on to the pictures!
-Andrew J.

This girl’s boots reminded me slightly of the Miu Miu boots Jane Aldridge had on Sea of Shoes a while ago.
This top looked a lot better on than in the pictures…
Okay these two are EXTREMELY blurry, but I kinda liked the look of them
This girl should look familiar, she was in one of the photoshoots for Fashionably Late Magazine I posted not long ago.
Then the Dance Marathon people did their thing. My friend Ben did a really great job! He’s a much better dancer than I gave him credit for lol.
LOVED her coat! She had a great bag too, but didn’t get it in the shot.

After the show, Marion and I got coffee and ran into our friend Whitney Lynn. Fun night! Happy Thursday!!!

Second study@work sess today. I don’t think my time spent was quite as productive as last week – but at least I did manage to get some work done.

Pleased to report I sent my first TMA off on Tuesday. Pleased, because it’s now out-of-the-way and I can concentrate, over the next couple of weeks, on completing Block 1 and working on TMA02. I’ve started to look at the questions and make some notes. Looking at what’s required – you do kind of wonder if some folk simply concentrate their efforts on the TMAs themselves and don’t bother to work through the actual course material. Perhaps I’m just a sceptic – or simply too stupid to take the easy route. As my ‘Approaches to Learning’ assessment has shown I’m a bit of a stickler for monitoring my work – in other words a bit of a perfectionist – and I also scored high in the effort management section – ‘tries hard’ – which sounds a bit like one of my old school reports! I found these activities interesting – even if they only confirmed what I already knew.

Today I’ve been working on the Learning Skills section. For the first time since I started the course my eyes have glazed over. I’ve reached the dead zone. It’s probably something to do with the fact it’s going over old ground. Strategies for reading and notes taking, effective writing, citing and referencing ….zzzzz. I’m sure Mike thought I was nodding off at my desk today. I’m cheered along by my ‘Approaches to Learning’ assessment though, apparently when I find something boring I can usually force myself to keep focused’ – KEEP FOCUSED! Only another 13 pages of tedium to go now.

superbe version de cette chanson, tirée du toujours sublime denier album de Thomas Fersen “Trois Petits Tours”, ici chez Fédéric Taddeï pendant son émission “Ce Soir Ou Jamais”.

il faudra bien un jour que ce génie soit reconnu à sa juste valeur: paroles géniales, rimes exceptionnelles, musique impeccable.

j’adoooooooooore!

bien @ vous,

nicogé