I recently read a quote from an interview with the great poet William Stafford.  It said, “It’s a confirming, satisfying activity to do.  And it’s almost devotional.  Maybe that’s too strong, but it’s as if a day of my life deserves a little attention from life. It’s my kind of attention to stop long enough, to let the evaluative, the speculative, the exploratory impulses that are native to that portion of my time be manifest in a sustained way so that I can recognize them and get sustenance from them.” 

While the honest truth is that I struggled to understand a lot of poetry when I was in junior high and high school, this comment from ol’ Bill Stafford got me thinking, as does his poetry.  Whether we are writers, poets, electricians, leaders, students, musicians, baristas, businesspeople, pastors, parents, or engineers, this makes sense.  Is it possible that the real stuff of your life, the challenges you face at home and at work or even the most mundane things, could be important enough for you to spend a little bit of that life being intentionally reflective about that life? And, is it possible that giving a little bit of time to actually reflect would help you get it done, be more present, deal with adversity, and find hope in the midst of the real and present challenges of life.

So, here’s a way to measure the extent to which your “life is getting attention from life.”

1. Have you documented a list of goals that you want to achieve in the next year including work goals, personal goals, family goals, and spiritual goals?  What other categories would you include?
2. Do you make space every day that is away from the noise of life?
3. Do you have a vision for who you are becoming….that you could tell someone right now, if asked?
4.   Do you know what you want?  What kind of job, family, friends, community, and life?

You don’t have to have all of these answers, but the fact is that if you make the space to think about it, it will make you more interesting and purposeful, and probably a better parent, leader, and person.

Observation #3

Date: 10/22/09

School: Lincoln High School

Grade: 9-11

Subject: ELL

Teacher’s Name: Shannon Ergun

At the beginning of the lesson, what did the teacher do to increase the students’ chances for success in this lesson?

                She gave the students time to finish yesterday’s assignment. Then she gave out a written copy of the next story they would be working on to each student.  She allowed the use of notes on the assignment.

At the beginning of the lesson, or sometime during, the lesson, what did the teacher do to get the students interested in the lesson that they were about to experience or were experiencing?

                She chose a story with an interesting and multi-cultural subject matter (different cultural versions of Cinderella).

What was the teacher’s learning targets for this lesson?  How can you tell?

                The students read a Greek version of Cinderella.  Then they were to draw a character and plot chart.  I knew these were the learning targets because she told the students.

Did the teacher in any way differentiate (modify) instruction for specific students?

                She gave out waiver forms for student release of the use of their image in the teacher’s video for her National Boards certification in their native languages.

In what specific ways did the teacher communicate high expectations for student learning?

                She would not let them work on the new assignment together because she said that they could do it on their own this time.

During the lesson, did the students have the opportunity to interact with each other in dyads, triads, or in larger groups?  If so, what did they do, and what do you suppose was the purpose of the student-to-student interaction?

                She let them finish the previous day’s assignment in pairs.  This enabled the students to concrete the fact that they knew how to complete the next assignment on their own.  It encouraged communication between them, improving their conversation skills in English.

Did questions asked by the teacher appear to plan an important role in this lesson?  If so, what were some of the pivotal questions?

                She did not ask any specific questions of them.

To what extent did the teacher check for understanding during the lesson?  How did the teacher accomplish this?

                She let the students each ask her only 4 questions about the assignment, the reading and the directions.  This enabled them to form questions in English and to listen to others.

What were some of the materials or visual aids that the teacher used during the lesson?  How did the use of these materials or visual aids contribute to the lesson?

                The teacher gave out a handout that had the Greek version of Cinderella on it.  The students read this as individuals and began answering questions about it.

How exactly did the teacher close the lesson?

                She released them to get to work.  Later she told them to pack up because class was going to end.

What did you like about the way this lesson was taught?

                I liked the interactions she had with her students.  It was a small class, so it had a more personal feel.  And I liked how she had the students continue to develop their abilities, this time on their own.  I also like how she is incorporating the multi-cultural aspect of using different versions of the same story from different cultures.

What were the students’ reactions to the lesson?

                They voiced upset over having to work alone.  But they got to work.

What teacher-based evidence did you see that suggested that the learning targets for this lesson had been achieved?

                She felt confident in leaving the students to work on their own assignments.

What student-based evidence did you see that suggested that the learning targets for this lesson had been achieved?

                I saw the previous assignment that they had finished during the first 15 minutes of the lesson.

Observation #3

Date: 10/20/09

School: Lincoln High School

Grade: 9-12

Subject: Graphic Design

Teacher’s Name: Ryan Loiselle

At the beginning of the lesson, what did the teacher do to increase the students’ chances for success in this lesson?

                He explained the future procedure vs. the past.  – “I’m going to point you in a better direction..”

                He mentioned that he posted things online to help the students.

At the beginning of the lesson, or sometime during, the lesson, what did the teacher do to get the students interested in the lesson that they were about to experience or were experiencing?

                He offered extra credit points if they completed the project that he talked about today.

What was the teacher’s learning targets for this lesson?  How can you tell?

                He explained contrast (the use of light and dark tones).

                The students worked on self-portraits in the pop art style.

Did the teacher in any way differentiate (modify) instruction for specific students?

                No.

In what specific ways did the teacher communicate high expectations for student learning?

                He encouraged the students to work ahead in completing their daily entry about what they had learned during the previous class session.

During the lesson, did the students have the opportunity to interact with each other in dyads, triads, or in larger groups?  If so, what did they do, and what do you suppose was the purpose of the student-to-student interaction?

                Most students worked individually.

                The teacher went around after his demo talk, helping students who needed it.

Did questions asked by the teacher appear to plan an important role in this lesson?  If so, what were some of the pivotal questions?

                No.  He walked students through the steps, not really checking for understanding.  He demonstrated the process.

To what extent did the teacher check for understanding during the lesson?  How did the teacher accomplish this?

                He did not check for understanding during his lesson.  But later he walked around helping students individually when needed.

What were some of the materials or visual aids that the teacher used during the lesson?  How did the use of these materials or visual aids contribute to the lesson?

                He used a computer, a SMART Board, a graphic design computer program, a Marilyn Monroe pop art picture, and a photo of himself. All of these were used to show the students what they were to do with the photos of themselves.

How exactly did the teacher close the lesson?

                He released the students to work on their own.

What did you like about the way this lesson was taught?

                I liked the visual demonstration.  And the use of a microphone made him easier to hear and understand.

What were the students’ reactions to the lesson?

                One student was sleeping.  Two were listening to music on their earphones.  Most were following along or working on their own thing on the computers.

What teacher-based evidence did you see that suggested that the learning targets for this lesson had been achieved?

                He finished his demo talk.

What student-based evidence did you see that suggested that the learning targets for this lesson had been achieved?

                While some needed help and/or clarification, most students were able to work on their own.

What questions do you have for the teacher about the way the lesson was presented?

                Why didn’t he ask if there were questions?  Why didn’t correct the students that were breaking school rules?

Was this lesson one that introduced new material to the students, or was it a review lesson?

                Both.  He built on what they had learned previously, adding a couple of new ideas.

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Après avoir beaucoup pratiqué la drague de rue, après avoir vu beaucoup de types pratiquer la drague de rue, après avoir discuté avec d’autres types qui ont pratiqué la drague de rue. Voici mes conclusions. Beaucoup de conneries sont racontées sur la drague de rue !

Un autre article de notre cher Malcor

Pour comprendre où je veux en venir il faut savoir que j’accorde une grande importance à ce qu’on pourrait appeler le ratio « filles branchées » / « filles allongées ».

Si cela ne vous gêne pas d’en aborder 50 pour coucher avec une, ne lisez pas la suite, elle ne va pas vous intéresser. Par contre si vous ne voulez pas passer vos journées à vous prendre des râteaux ou que tout simplement vous avez une vie avec des activités et autre chose à faire que de passer des heures dans la rue à brancher je pense pouvoir vous faire gagner du temps.

1) C’est le field le plus difficile. 99,99% des mecs n’osent pas brancher dans la rue. La plus part du temps, ceux qui le font sont ceux qui n’ont pas accès aux endroits traditionnel pour brancher (les bars et les boites). Ce sont donc les jeunes ides banlieux qui ne rentrent pas en boites et les lycéens qui n’ont pas assez d’argent pour aller dans les pubs. Si se sont seulement les mecs qui n’ont pas le choix qui branchent dans la rue c’est qu’il y a un problème (en règle générale si tout le monde adopte le même comportement, et inversement, c’est qu’il y a une bonne raison).

Pourquoi aller à la difficulté, surtout si on est débutant ? Pour combattre l’anxiété de l’approche. Mouais… Ok pour le faire un petit peu mais cela ne marche pas vraiment et à moins de pratiquer très réguliairement elle revient très vite. Franchement lorsqu’on débute il y a mieux à faire (genre savoir parler naturellement à une inconnu).

2) La démocratisation de la drague de rue vient surtout des regroupements de dragueurs. En effet lorsqu’on rencontre un nouveau membre il est largement plus aisé de la voir le samedi après-midi dans l’anonymat de la rue que dans un bar. On ne le connait pas et on n’a pas forcément envie de passer la soirée avec un type qui est peut-être weird (surtout qu’on sort souvent dans son bar où on a ses habitudes).

Aussi on se retrouve avec des newbies qui commencent par la drague de rue, le terrain le plus difficile et de loin…

3) Il faut être physiquement attirant pour brancher dans la rue. Je ne dis pas que si vous ne l’êtes pas vous n’allez jamais choper mais votre ratio de râteau va être énorme. Il faut être réaliste, la fille va rester à discuter avec vous surtout si vous lui plaisez physiquement.

4) Le ratio pour tout le monde est assez faible avec les Françaises. Aussi il faut surtout brancher les étrangères. Vraiment j’insiste sur ce point. Avec les Erasmus et autres j’arrive à rencarder plus de la moité de celles que je branche dans la rue. C’est infiniment plus facile à la fois pour les brancher (elles ne sont pas dans leur pays et le temps qu’elles comprennent ce qu’on attend d’elle on est déjà en plein milieux de la conversation), pour prendre leur numéro (elles rencontrent souvent assez peu de français, veulent pratiquer la langue, n’ont pas le soucis de préserver leur réputation comme chez elles) et pour coucher (elles sont jeunes et veulent s’amuser pour un an).

Voici le compte-rendu de trois ans de drague de rue plus ou moins poussé selon les moments. Je parle de mythes car tout le monde est très enthousiaste avec mais très peu de personnes baisent sans y passer des heures par semaine.

Si vous voulez vraiment vous y mettre, au moins sachez commencer, entretenir, relancer une conversation. C’est le minimum. Vraiment. Et gardez la drague de rue pour les étrangères.

A lire surtout pour les petits nouveaux qui passent des heures à draguer dans la rue sans résultats…

While all you people are on vacation today, I’m stuck in the office doing some final prep work for a one week intensive course that I’m teaching for our incoming class of graduate students in the School of Theology.  The course is titled “Christian Formation in Mission: Acts of Mercy and Justice” and it starts at 8:00am tomorrow morning, so there’s a lot on my mind at the moment.  I don’t have these kinds of dreams very often, but this morning I was dreaming about taking a class, and for some reason I had completely forgotten about the exam (but at least I wasn’t naked).  They say dreams about test-taking are a sure sign of anxiety, so that can’t be good.

Dreams aside, I think I’m about as ready as I can be, and I’m looking forward to some good interaction with the grad students this week.  My main concern is coherence and comprehensibility through some long lecture sessions because let’s face it, no one wants to hear me talk for 4 hours a day, for several days in a row.  I have yet to put myself to sleep during a lecture, but this may be my best shot.

Short of crashing the 15 passenger van, getting swine flu, breaking my laptop, or losing mental clarity for extended amounts of time, I can’t imagine too much going wrong with the class.  It should be a drinking-from-the-firehose experience for a lot of folks, so hopefully I can keep the mental flow strong enough and long enough for everyone’s eyes to remain consistently glazed (that way no one asks you any hard questions).

If all else fails, I do have some backup group exercises in deep thoughts, like this one (get ready for it): “If everyone is radical, no one is radical. Discuss.”  See?  I’ve got this teaching thing down.

La plus grande question lorsque l’on débute dans le monde de la séduction est surement :

« OK, j’aborde cette fille, mais je lui dis quoi ?? »

La réponse que vous entendrez le plus souvent sera « N’importe quoi ! On s’en fout !»
Ce que vous dites importe peu il est vrai. Mais il est d’autant plus vrai qu’il est nécessaire de comprendre l’état d’esprit avec lequel on doit séduire une fille, que ce soit dans la rue, en boite de nuit, dans un bar, ou en soirée. Et il est bien plus facile de comprendre l’état d’esprit de ces openers en ayant des exemples.

De la même manière que l’apprenti peintre, copie le maitre avant de pouvoir s’exprimer d’une forme originale et acquérir le statut d’artiste,  il vous faudra aussi vous inspirer de PUA reconnus pour passer à votre tour du statuts d’apprenti séducteur, à celui d’artiste de la séduction. Car la séduction est un art.
Il existe plusieurs types de phrases d’accroches.

Les openers directs sont la manière la plus simple d’aborder une fille. Vous êtes clair dès le début et elle sait pourquoi vous êtes là. Elle vous plait et vous le lui dites.

Exemples :

• « Est-ce que vous croyez au coup de foudre où il faut que je vous baratine pendant une demi-heure ? » (©Djyrosco)
• « J’aime bien ton style et je me suis dis qu’on pourrait faire connaissance. » (©Arise)
• « Bonjour, attend juste une minute. Je voulais te dire que tu es mignonne. Mais recherche d’autres qualités chez une femme, est-ce que tu cuisines bien ?
  (Elle hésite où répond non, et là on peut bodyrocker pour donner l’impression qu’on part)
  Mais au moins est-ce que tu sais faire la vaisselle ?
  (Normalement elle commence à vous regarder d’une manière bizarre)
  Cool, donc finalement je cuisine, toi tu fais la vaisselle, et on fait l’amour, c’est une bonne idée pour notre rendez-vous ! » (©Deepvertigo)
• « Bonjour, quand je t’ai vue j’ai su que je devais venir te parler; et au fond de moi je me suis dis que c’était dommage que nos chemins se séparent sans qu’on ait le temps de faire plus ample connaissance. » (©Djibe)
• « Tu sais ce que cet endroit à de spécial ? C’est là où on s’est rencontré. » (©Hustler)

Inspirez vous de ceux-ci. Quelques uns sont originaux, mais le mieux est de le dire à votre façon, sans y avoir réfléchi pendant des heures avant. Dites lui simplement ce qui vous plait chez elle.

Les openers indirects sont la manière la plus facile d’aborder une fille. Pas besoin de prendre de risques. Vous pouvez même commencer en demandant l’heure. Le plus dur sera d’enchainer pour ne pas en rester là…

Exemples :

• « Tu me fais penser à quelqu’un… Mais je ne devrais pas te dire ca, on se connaît à peine. Tu ressembles à ma mère… » (©SpanishKiss)
• « Bonjour, j’aurais besoin d’un avis féminin… »

Les openers situationnels où vous vous aidez du décor. Impossible de donner d’exemples réutilisables, il vous faut observer votre environnement.

Exemples :

• « Tu es espagnole ?» (en voyant son collier avec marqué Espana)
• « Pourquoi les gens achetent des pains au chocolat avec de la margarine alors que ceux avec du beurre coutent seulement 20 centimes de plus ? » (©SpanishKiss)

J’espère que cet articles aura donné quelques idées aux débutants, mais rapellez vous que le plus dur reste d’enchainer après l’opener. Entrainez-vous, soyez le plus naturel possible, et vous deviendrez un grand séducteur.

Et vous, quelle phrase d’accroche utilisez-vous ?

I’ve been thinking about this loan thing for SPU.

It’s really stressing me out, because what if I don’t get the loan/money? Sure God can provide, but will he? If I don’t get the money, there’s no way I’ll be going to SPU, and it’s just a few short weeks away. (Move in day is a month from Monday.)

But while I’ve been praying that God would provide the money for me to attend SPU, I’ve also been throwing around other ideas in my head…

1] Attend Calvary Fellowship Bible College. My new beloved church has a 2 year Bible college which is about 5 minutes walking distance from my house. This option is much more affordable, and there is a girls dorm/house just a few blocks away in the other direction from the church. Close to home, but not at home.

2] Go to SPU but don’t live on campus. I might have a little more to pay if I didn’t live on campus and have a meal plan, but not too much. Most of it would be taken care of. This option is least likely because part of the reason I would be going to SPU, and not community college, is for the moving out aspect.

3] Move to France. Yes, I’m serious. There is a Calvary Chapel chuch in Paris, France. Before I teach, I would love to intern for a year with the church and take language courses. I’ve already talked with the missionary who is the pastor of the church. With the language classes, I can become fluent in French and get to know people there before I move there long-term. Also, I can decide if it’s really what I want to do and if I feel called to be a missionary/English teacher in France. This is the option that I am most seriously considering right now.

4] Go back to community college. Probably less likely than the not-living-at-SPU option, but still, it’s an option.

Explain FPGA and how is it useful for query performance.

FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is located on each SPU. Netezza is different from other architectures. Netezza can do a “hardware upgrade” through software by using FPGA. Hardware is reconfigured during install.

While reading data from disk, FPGA on each SPU also helps in ‘filtering’ unnecessary data before getting loaded into memory on each SPU. This way, FPGA does not overwhelm with all the data from disk.

What is a zone map.

Zone map in Netezza is similar (concept wise) to partitions in Oracle. Netezza maintains map for data so that it does relies on zone map to pull only the range it is interested in. For example, if we need to pull out data from Jan 2009 till June 2009 from a table that is distributed on date column, zone map helps us to achieve this. Zone map is maintained by Netezza automagically, no user intervention needed. Zone mapping is done at a block (extent) level. Netezza has zone maps for all columns (not just distributed column) and includes information such as minimum, maximum, total number of records.

How do you deal with historical data, with respect to zone maps.

Sort data first, based on historical data (for example, date) and load this in using nzload.

What are different ways to load

1. nzload
2. External tables
3. Create table AS (aka, CTAS).
4. Inserts (Eeeewee!!)

Does everything gets cached in Netezza (or any other data appliance).

Typically only schema and other database objects are cached in appliances. Data is not cached, in general. In most cases, data is not saved any where (in any cache or on host computer) and is streamed directly from SPU to client software.

What is the best data appliance.

Obviously, it all depends. This is my (limited) view:

1. From features respect, Green Plum.
2. Popularity with a bit of hype, Netezza.
3. Matured and well respected, Teradata.
4. With existing database integration, Dataupia.

Largest implementations:

* Teradata: 72 nodes (two quad-core CPUs, 32GB RAM,104 / 300GB disks per node) and manages 2.4PB.
* Greenplum: Fox Interactive Media using a 40-node, Sun X4500 with two dual-core CPUs, 48 / 500GB disks, and 16 GB RAM (1PB total disk space)
Source: Vertica’s Michael Stonebraker!

How is load achieved in Netezza and why is that quick / fast.

Loads by pass a few steps that typically a query would go through (a query goes through plan generation, optimization and transaction management). Loads are done in terms of “sets” and this set is based on underlying table structure (thus loads for two different tables are different as their sets are based on table structures). Data is processed to check format and distribution of records calculated very quickly (in one step), fills into ’set’ structure and writes to storage structure. Storage also performs space availability and other admin tasks, all these operations go pretty quick (think of them as UNIX named pipes that streams data and SPU stores these records).

When are we likely to receive incorrect (aggregate) results.

Very rarely a driver may return aggregated results that are still getting processed back to client. In this case, client may assume that calculation is complete, instead of updating with latest or final results. Obviously, driver has to wait for Netezza to complete operation on host computer, before delivering results.

Explain how data gets stored in Netezza and how does SPU failover take place.

Data is stored based on a selected field(s) which are used for distibution.

==Data (A)==> Hash Function (B) ==> Logical SPU identifier list (C) ==> Physical SPU list (D) ==> Storage (E)

When data arrives, it is hased based on field(s) and a hash function (B) is used for this purpose. For example, for a hypothetical 32 node system system, logical SPU identifier list has 32 unique entries. If there are 1000 hashed data items from (B), there are 1000 entries in (C), all having only 32 SPU entries (a number of data items go to the same SPU, thus multiple (B) entries map to same (C)). For instance, (C) has values [3,19,30,7,20,25,11,3,22,19....]. This way, 1000 data entries are mapped. (D) has physical IP address of both primary and failover SPU. If there is a failover, this is the only place where Netezza need to update its entries. Same goes for a system that has a new SPU added. It is a little complicated, in principle, this is the concept.

We all know that networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter are popular among young students and adults alike. However, did you know that there are social networking sites established specifically for the purposes of education and learning? Remix, Ning, and Classroom20, are all examples of social networking sites with an educational perspective, yet designed to resemble the online community and public conversation model that Facebook and MySpace have in common.

In the Edutopia article titled “Kids Create and Critique on Social Networks”, a student commented that he posts his work online because others can see his work, and it’s not just in his computer. Some students have even established their own networking sites, such as the Realm of New Thought.

With regard to Instructional Technology Standard 1: Creativity and Innovation, educators can take standards of technology, like Identifying Trends and Forecasting Possibilities and use them with even the most basic pre-school standards, such as keeping a daily weather graph and posting it online. Young students can create graphs, and easily share their work by learning to scan and upload their work to a forum

Researcher, William Richardson says that educational networking sites provide an important avenue for students to share their work, while “[practicing] important soft skills”, such as accepting feedback and usefully reviewing others’ work. I disagree with his statement because although students may be sharpening their technological skills, an online setting provides an atmosphere where critics can allow themselves to be harsh, and presenters less accepting.  In a real time classroom setting, critics should be less harsh, because they are face-to-face with the presenter. Additionally, because the presenter is face-to-face with his critic, would too be more likely to accept the feedback as useful information.

Another important aspect of net critiques especially with young students) involves ongoing modeling by the facilitator. A student mentioned, in our SPU online discussion, that in her real time classroom, elementary students require a lot of modeling in order to give constructive feedback. The same should be true for students posting feedback online.

In keeping up with the times, another topic of our discussions focused on the use of multiple applications of technology. Suddenly following your friends on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter is a chore, more than a useful tool. With all the innovations in technology, a teacher is now expected to communicate with parents via real time meetings, phone conferences, e-mail, classroom newsletters, classroom websites…Blogs, Twitter, the list goes on. Are we able to keep up with it all?

Lastly, a few tips for networking: whichever application you chose to use, whether it be a networking site deigned for learning, or your own personal website. Be smart about the information you post. Teachers especially need to be careful not to use the names and or pictures or samples of their students’ work without parental permission. Similarly, be watchful about what you say concerning the school and or district, in which you work. Don’t mention the names of parents, coworkers, or other people in your community unless you are willing to reap what may result in its discovery. If you are dealing with a private site, still be cautious as to who you accept as your “friends” or “followers”. Plagiarism may be easier to track with technology, but it is also more readily accessible.