i get a lot of questions as to the significance of the ring i wear on the middle finger of my right hand. well, firstly, i got it from kyle anne metals at etsy.com. it was custom made for me, and only cost $18, but it’s one of my favorite possessions. here’s a picture:

one of the reasons this Blooming Birch Ring in Pink caught my eye was the seller’s description:  ”This ring reminds me of a birch branch in springtime, getting ready to blossom.”

i think of myself as a late bloomer. at the ripe young age of 29, i feel that i have finally begun to come into my own. i’ve spent a great deal of my life (in fact, my entire 20s!) being introspective and trying to figure out exactly who i am and what it is i want to do with my life. i’ve met many wonderful people, whom i admire greatly. hard laborers; talented musicians; amazing teachers; lovely & patient mothers; determined career-minded people; awe-inspiring people from what my dad calls the “school of hard knocks”… all of these friends, acquaintances, family members, even a few that i’ve met only once, have provided me with a wealth of knowledge about the world around me, which has allowed me to look within myself and learn.

i’ve spent so much time wanting to be certain things: the perfect wife/daughter/sister/niece/grandchild/cousin/aunt/dog owner/what have you, a straight-A student, a musician and artist, a well-educated know-it-all, physically fit, beautiful on the inside and out, talented writer, great cook, well-spoken, well-read, very ethical and work-minded… you name it.

it’s taken me more time than some, and a lot less time than others to realize that i can be anything i put my mind to, but that the things that matter most are within me. it’s always been a struggle for me to keep my self-esteem from the gutter, but the older i get, the easier it is to say the following:

i am…

kind, loyal, honest, studious, sort of pretty, very loved, funny, talented musically and artistically, observant, reasonable, a loving wife/daughter/sister/niece/aunt/etc, a good cook/baker, well-read, an observer, a thinker, lucky enough to have a large and amazing family…

there are many other things that i am, and many more that i still strive to be. i’m constantly seeking ways to better myself, and chastising myself for being judgmental or bitter on those occasions on which we all are apt to behave this way.

but for now, i am happy with me.

this ring that i wear is a daily reminder of that. the little about-t0-blossom bud on a tiny branch. i know that the older i get, the more experience i have, the more i will blossom and grow.

and that is one of the most beautiful things about life.  :)

download this:  “i & love & you” by the avett brothers

I recently discovered the LOTRO Lorebook.  Yeah, it’s not exactly a new thing in the game, but it’s a new-to-me thing!  The Lorebook, which is a wiki (database), with some player-created content and some Official Turbine Stuff, contains all kinds of useful LOTRO information.  It can be accessed two ways:  in-game by selecting the icon on your mini-map, or online at http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Lorebook_home .  I find that it is extremely slow when accessed in-game, and since I always run LOTRO in window mode, I just open the Lorebook website in another window.

When the Lorebook page opens, scroll down to see the Table of Contents.  One of the first things I found in the Lorebook was the list of 133 available emotes (in the Character Attributes section).  I had no idea there were so many!  Emotes like ’scratch’, ‘juggle’, ‘giggle’, and ‘tantrum’ can add a bit of fun to otherwise boring moments when your fellowship is waiting around for something or someone.  Yeah, there’s even an emote for ‘bored’, but one of my favourites is ‘pick’.  Give it a try! 

One of the sections I have found extremely useful is the Deeds section.  Until recently, I never really appreciated the value of completing deeds, but I am now trying to complete as many as I can.  The exploration deeds are especially interesting, because I get to see new places in the game, places that probably would have been missed if I’d only been going through quests.  One of the big attractions of LOTRO for me is its beauty, so I enjoy seeking out new scenery.  What I usually do now, when I go to a new region, is open the Deeds section of the Lorebook, click on the region I’m in, and see which deeds are available.  What do I have to kill?  What places should I explore?  Is there anything interesting I need to find (such as Bilbo’s Buttons in the Misty Mountains)?  If I’m doing some soloing, knowing which deeds to pay attention to can give my usually rambling progress some sense of direction!

I also found this great page about Traits through the Lorebook:  http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Lord_of_the_Rings_Online_Traits_Compendium .   It is exactly what I have been looking for in terms of a comprehensive collection of Trait information.  I was frustrated before, because if I wanted to work on a particular Trait, such as Charity or Justice, I had no way of knowing where to go or what to do to gain more points for that Trait.  This webpage is just perfect and tells me everything I really, REALLY wanted to know (well, about Traits, at least!).

There is a lot to read about in the Lorebook, whether it is finding out information about your favourite (or most hated) mobs, learning where to find that elusive item for a quest, understanding more about Reputation points, gleaning tips for crafting, or finding out the history of your favourite places.  The Lorebook has lots to offer, so have a look through it.

Happy gaming!

Hello world! Here I am again!

Mabuhay! I like to share with you nuggets about traits of a successful  entrepreneurs. Ideas for you to ponder. Be inspired! Read…

HONESTY especially intellectual

ENTERPRISE willingness to tackle tough job

PERSUASION ability to sell

OUTSPOKENNESS friendly

ADAPTABILITY capable of change

COMMUNICATION articulate

VERSATILITY broad interests and skills

IMAGINATION seeking new ideas

KNOWLEDGE and a thirst of it

HUMOR ability to laugh

I found this from the book entitled “LISTS TO LIVE BY” compiled by Alice Gray et. al. There are twenty five traits listed  in the book but I choose only ten in which for me are very USEFUL.

]]> http://dprogram.net/2009/11/27/msm-oh-oh-politicians-share-personality-traits-with-serial-killers-study/ Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:26:52 +0000 sakerfa http://dprogram.net/2009/11/27/msm-oh-oh-politicians-share-personality-traits-with-serial-killers-study/ http://gideonsway.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/in-too-deep-deepening-your-plot/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:10:37 +0000 JG Sarantinos http://gideonsway.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/in-too-deep-deepening-your-plot/

George Bernard Shaw once wrote that plot was the creation, manoeuvering and destruction of relationships between characters. Plot is derived from character and it’s sole purpose is to drive the story so the character can attempt to achieve their goal. Every scene in your script must either reveal something about the character and advance the story. Flat scenes become boring and lose your audeince. Here are some plot devices that can pique your plot:

• DANGER – I cannot stress this one enough. It can be moral danger such as deciding to cheat on your spouse, or physical danger such as being trapped in a burning house. Raise the stakes and make your character earn their goal and pay for their mistakes. Give them insecurities, flaws, problems and issues we can all relate to. Make them fall into a ditch that they must crawl out of. A common plot device in action films is to either have multiple things go wrong at once or sequentially. The victim tries to escape, but they can’t find the keys to the car so they break in. Then there’s a flat battery so the can’t hot wire it to start. Then there’s no cell phone coverage… What’s needed may not arrive in time or not arrive at all. Oftentimes, dramatists use a Deus Ex Machina (literally God from the machine) whereby some life saving event occurs just in the nick of time before all is lost. Make sure this isn’t a lucky co-incidence or your audience will never forgive you.

• TIME BOMB - Give your characters a ticking time clock where something seriously bad will happen if they don’t achieve a goal. Maybe there isn’t enough time to defuse the bomb? Perhaps the main character doesn’t know how to defuse the bomb. Maybe the main character isn’t even aware of the bomb. Does the audience know? Giving either the audience or the main character such a superior position adds intrigue and interest. Alternatively, the main character can simply run out of options to achieve their goal rather than out of time.

• CONFESSION – After deep humiliation make your character confess to a secret, shortcoming, wound or a deep seeded fear or shame. Maybe they realise the error of their ways and take responsibility for their actions. Consider your audience. Being born out of wedlock is generally not considered a shameful act in the Western world. Forcing a pregnant unwed couple to marry may be acceptable is some cultures, but not in others. Play with morality in your plot. The beauty of it is that it’s never clearly right or wrong like a maths problem. Is it wrong to kill someone? What if they killed your family? What if it is in self defense?

• BETRAYAL – The hero’s buddy changes sides or is revealed as a traitor. What if the main character doesn’t realise this, or does so when it’s too late? What if the traitor leads them into a trap?

• DILEMMA – The hero is forced to make a choice between two equally bad alternatives. Consider the family with premature Siamese twins who must decide which one survives and which one doesn’t. What if the main character consciously decides not to act because they are faced with issues of duty for the higher good? Or even love?

• OBSTACLES – External influences such as bad weather or natural disasters forcing them to stop. Car or other vital piece of machinery breaks down and a replacement part is not immediately forthcoming. What if their progress is stalled due to injury, illness or other physical condition such as pregnancy or diabetes? What if someone in their team is killed or kidnapped? Running out of bullets, money, food, air all add to the excitement of danger.

• DISCOVERY – The element of surprise and shock always jolts your audience. Examples of this include a cover been blown of an undercover cop, the presence of an intruder being noticed, an escalating lie has been revealed. A discovery must pivot your story into a new direction, not simply act as a minor irritant. Remember the scene in “Mad Men” where Betty discovers Don’s true identity by opening a locked drawer? She didn’t sigh and carry on, she left him. Discoveries can also be wild goose chases. Following the wrong lead, the wrong map or the wrong advice.

• LOVE – Due to it’s universality, love will always add to a plot. What if a past lover returns? Consider Jodie Foster in “Sommersby”, when she tells her returned “husband” that he’s not the man she married because she didn’t love him like she loves the impostor. Add a love triangle; one bride versus two grooms. Add gender swaps, such as “Tootsie” who had enamored a man who thinks she’s a woman. Also consider the third wheel. The buddy who suddenly becomes the bride’s love interest when he reveals his true self. Love is also used to tame a savage, misanthropic heart.

• TRAITS – Give your character some endearing traits so the audience can partially overlook their negative ones. Give them courage, give them love. give them scruples so they are fighting for a good cause where the collateral damages justifies the cause, make them perform a good deed, make them desirable such as handsome, physical and funny. Make them spiritual, generous and wise. Ensure it all emerges from a place of truth and authenticity. Audiences retract from phonies. Give them fears, traumas which block their growth, masks which prevent other characters from seeing their real self.

• LIKES – Make your characters like children, animals and art. Give them great taste in cars, partners, houses, music, fashion, food and overall lifestyle. Audiences tend to admire what they aspire to be or what they perceive to be desirable.

So go forth and beef up those plotlines.

Internal culture is the most powerful determinant of brand values, which, in turn affect external brand perceptions. It directly impacts the brand development as it lies at its core.

If we think of corporate culture as an organism, evolving over time, it could develop as a goldfish or a piranha.  Cultures contain positive and negative traits – each can thrive or die depending upon its environment. Continuing the evolutionary model, it is the survival of those best suited to that environment that will prosper.

It is on the management of this environment that brand leadership can have its greatest influence in ensuring positive traits are encouraged and negative eliminated. The internal culture can be nurturing or cynical, fearful or cooperative, innovative and creative or conservative and static. We have all seen the ‘power of the group’ in action in organisations – for good and ill. People who fit the current culture survive and those who challenge cultural norms and have the potential to change it leave or are marginalised – if the culture is a sound one, this may be a positive activity, but often it leads to the perpetuation of undesirable attitudes or practices.

The evolutionary view, on a wider stage, will dictate that brands best suited for the market environment will thrive and prosper – but internal cultures are often evolving independently – to paraphrase Richard Dawkins, we have the ‘Selfish Culture’. Its only purpose is to perpetuate itself. So if, for example, we have a grasping internal culture that considers customers as dumb punters, no amount of tweaking the brand image or fine words about being ‘customer focussed’ will make any difference. To build a strong brand requires strong brand values and that needs the right cultural envirenment. Corporate culture is the DNA of the brand values.

So now that the NDA has been lifted, I can share a little more openly on my thoughts for this expansion.  I mainly focused on the warden and skirmishes but didn’t do any group instances or the raid.  I did work through a couple of the questing areas in Mirkwood and overall really enjoy the zone.  It is quite big and there’s a very good set of quests through there.  So I’ll try to cover the areas that I saw and what I focused on.

Skirmishes

By far, this is THE feature that makes the expansion for me.  These are all sorts of fun and provide a good option for alternative experiences.  One option that I haven’t seen talked about as much is that in addition to the normal skirmishes there’s a “survival” mode which really are lots of fun.  Basically you’re in a losing battle and try to last as long as you can – basically a skirmish made especially for us wardens   I really enjoy the mark system and I think it is a good balance of the rewards.  Without skirmishes there’s no way this counts as an expansion, but with this system in place and them using it going forward in the Epic line it is really exciting for the overall game-play mechanic.

Combat Revamp

This was a bit of a roller-coaster but overall I like the new feel.  Wardens are basically a tad faster on the gambit builders but I didn’t feel as much of a difference on that toon as I did on my captain.  Power was a bit of a concern with the new system but I think you just need to adjust a bit with the new flow.  The weapon normalization is rather disappointing as I would’ve liked some options for my toons.  Essentially now classes will use the weapons that they (or their race) get bonuses for.  I really don’t like the fact that a dagger hits as hard as an axe – I really was hoping they would’ve kept the DPS the same but changed the variance such that a dagger does more constant damage but the axe can have bigger crits.  The other good news for wardens is that the spear bug is fixed, and I honestly don’t see a reason to use any other weapon due to the DoT proc potential.

Character stat Changes

One issue that hasn’t been discussed as much (that I’ve seen) is that incoming melee damage is now capped at 15% (equivalent, it now is a rating).  In addition some items/traits have been reduced to be not as effective.  So essentially it is possible to hit that cap and we might need to re-consider our traits (again).  Tanis on the LOTRO boards posted another good analysis of the builds during beta and I’m sure he’ll update that again (if he hasn’t already).  The main difference is that innocence, zeal, and discipline are no longer as dominant as they used to be.  I’ll have to play around a bit more and see what Tanis has to say after some more data.

Also, stats have some different impacts on toons as Will now effects outgoing healing potential – which unfortunately doesn’t apply to us wardens.  And you’ll see a pretty good morale boost as our vit now add +5 to morale per point as opposed to +3 currently.  Other classes get other similar bonuses, but I forget what they all are.

Character progression

Across the board, this was the MOST disappointing part of the expansion – if I remember there was only 1 skill mildly useful (minstrel dread removal now applies to the whole group) but otherwise most people won’t even buy it.  I know I won’t buy my captain skill (withdraw isn’t even on my toolbar).  Now wardens (and hunters) did make out better as we get a port but this is a very cheap skill as well since the Moria port was just a purchased rep reward.  No trait progression, no class traits, no new legendaries, nothing for progressing to 65.  This part of the expansion is really hard for me to swallow – I just don’t like getting 5 levels for no reason at all.

New Armor Sets

So Az beat me in posting pictures, but mine are a little different in that you’ll notice you can now zoom in on the dressing room.  So I won’t post the individual pieces (go to Wizard of Azz for those shots) but the final looks.  Also in doing a little stat comparison – here are the numbers between the Mirkwood set compared to my current armor (4 spear-hurler, 6 piece shoulders, and the helm from the mirrors instance)

Total Difference (Mirkwood – current)

• Armor – +352
• Radiance – +100
• Might – +1
• Agility – -121 (holy cow this will hurt)
• Fate – +30
• Will – -57 (not liking this either)
• Vitality – +16
• Morale – +201
• Power – -49

So there are some nice boosts, but overall nothing terribly exciting for me.  I have mixed feelings about the look, but the set bonus is horrible.  And I think this sentiment is pretty much across the board – the set stats are underwhelming and the set bonuses are worthless.

On the plus side, I absolutely LOVE the look of the head and shoulders of the 3 piece set!  And the ranger hood is full of win

Summary

For the most part, when it comes to Mirkwood I’m looking forward to it for the skirmishes, epic story line, and the new zone BUT the lack of real character progression in both skills and equipment is a HUGE letdown.  Also the new stats and such are another hit for us and will take some time to get used to.  This feels very similar to the re-vamp with Moria so I’m sure we’ll get used to it, but it will be a bit hard to get used to at first.  It is almost like we’re being moved to 65 to force us to get new weapons and armor to replace mistakes they feel they made with those initial sets.  I think I’ll hold off on being totally let down until we see the next step of this progression – notice the armor set is only purple compared to the teals we now have, so we might get something better quite quickly.

Enjoy the snaps, and I’ll see ya in game!

Let’s do something different. I am in the gaming mood right now, but trust me, I wasn’t playing video games over the entire weekend. Remember the simulation game made by Electronic Arts called Simcity? Well I noticed that there are some ideas related with nature in this game. Create new profile: Miles. Start city. Before you begin building your city, you are in the stage called “God Mode”. In this stage, you can manipulate nature into almost anything you want. Perhaps a mountain here would be nice. Maybe a lake would enhance my city-under-construction. Let’s add some trees to create a jungle. How about some llamas? I don’t know about you, but I find this game naturally addicting. For some reason, I find pleasure in making nature into anything I wish. I find pleasure in summoning UFOs or tornadoes to attack the city. Why? I do not know. It’s not like I’m a bad person who enjoys the sight of pain. I think it’s just this inherent human characteristic. We all want power over nature. It’s built into our minds and hardwired in. That is how EA can make so much money from its games. They appeal to natural human desires. Now this is what I consider an effective corporate marketing strategy.

You can’t talk about Simcity without talking about its counterpart, the Sims. I have recently spent some time playing Sims 3, in which you get to create and control your Sim’s life and fate. Again, you play the god figure. First you construct the physical features of your Sim. Next you can select from a plethora of personalities and traits to create your ideal (or non-ideal) Sim. You control his or her lifespan, every action, and basically everything. This successful game is quite popular and widely acclaimed. Why do we find so much pleasure in controlling the lives of other “humans”? Does this game serve as a means of venting or living vicariously? Maybe we want the feeling of power, not just over nature, but also over other humans, which makes us consider whether the major battle is always between nature and humanity.

There’s a note that has been going around Facebook for quite a while now, called “The Perfect Boyfriend” or something of the sort.  Girls – post this if you feel the same, the subtitle reads.  Every boy should read this! I’ve always been a bit of an awkward person when it comes to relationships, even though I’m in one, so I decided to see what the famous note was all about.

It’s basically a list of things that “good” boyfriends do for their girlfriends – in essentials, one of the biggest lists of relationship clichés I’ve ever seen in my life.  If she steals your clothing…let her keep it because it reminds her of you!  If she hits you…pretend it doesn’t hurt, even if it does.  If she runs up to you crying…hold her and say, “Whose ass am I kicking, baby?”

I’m not going to be a downer by saying that this list is silly and not at all insightful, but I must admit that it doesn’t accurately describe what I’m looking for in a boyfriend.  Not that I expect it to, of course – it is just a Facebook chain letter, after all – but the sheer popularity of it made me want to respond.  I mean, at least half of my friends reposted it, claiming they’d do anything for such a boyfriend.

Well, here’s my response to the note – my reposting of it, if you will.  It’s my own, unique note, and it’s never been passed around before.  It’s simply a list of some characteristics that I look for in a boyfriend.  Mind you, I’m not this picky – this is an imaginary situation, and I figured I might as well write down my preferences.  I’m not even going to mention certain traits – I don’t like it when you cheat on me! – because those should be obvious.  Unless it’s common to enjoy your boyfriend’s unfaithfulness.  You never know with some people.

First of all, I’m not for clinginess.  I love it when you call me or catch me on Skype for a quick chat, and it’s always fantastic when you surprise me with a lunch date or a walk in the woods.  But I start to feel a little claustrophobic when you call me and talk for hours every day, or when you have to know what I’m doing at every moment.  I have other friends and obligations, and though you mean a lot to me, I need to spend time with these people.  And I need days off, too, so please don’t panic if one day I simply say that I don’t feel like hanging out – sometimes I just want some time to myself, especially if we’ve been seeing each other every single day.

Have a personality.  Be your own person, and I’ll respond positively.  If you act like everyone else – or worse, try to act like a different person in order to impress me – I won’t find that attractive.  Be yourself!  I love it when people aren’t afraid to show who they really are.  And don’t be afraid to differ from me.  Say you hate skiing and think Coldplay is the absolute worst band in existence.  Sure, I’ll strongly disagree with you, and chances are you won’t be seeing a lot of me in the winter because I’m always on the slopes when it snows, but I’ll respect that you don’t feel the need to change yourself for my benefit.  That self-confidence is a trait I admire above all.

I love intelligent conversations, arguments, and debates on any topic imaginable.  Challenge me with a belief of yours or simply bring up a controversial topic – I love nothing more than to express my opinions and hear yours.  Besides, I like insightful people who enjoy observing the world around them and drawing conclusions.  Share those conclusions with me!  God knows I do that enough, and I’d love to find a person out there who does the same.  Maybe we’ll find that we view the world similarly, which might bring us closer together.  You never know.

Speaking of intelligence, I particularly love it when a significant other has the ability to sit and have a deep conversation with me without it getting intimate in a matter of minutes.  Obviously, I’m not talking about a discussion over dinner in a public setting – I’m referring to those times where you and I are sitting on the couch at home, simply chatting and enjoying each other’s presence.  Sure, making out is fun, but it gets on my nerves if every heart-to-heart conversation we have ends with you trying to make a move.  Just enjoy being close emotionally without feeling the need to get all physical on me.  It is indeed possible to be intimate while just being together, not just while in some unmentionable act.  I like being with you – don’t feel like you have to kiss me in order to make me enjoy your presence.

On a bit of a tangent from that last thought, I also like when you express that intelligence in your comments and compliments.  I know you’re trying to be sweet when you tell me, you’re so hot or, when I say something witty to make you laugh, awww, you’re such a little cutie! Sometimes, though, that sweet talk just seems a little insincere, even if it’s really how you feel.  Don’t tell me I’m “hot” or “cute” or “sexy”.  Tell me I’m clever, tell me that I’m talented, tell me that you enjoy being with me and that I mean a lot to you.  Even if you do think I’m sexy, the word sounds like such a cliché sometimes – something you’re saying just because you know I’ll respond positively to it.  But I’m just letting you know that I’d be even more enamored with you if you highlighted my strengths in your comments as opposed to just spitting back flirty phrases to make me feel good.

Definitely don’t be paranoid.  If we go see a movie together, don’t inquire the entire ride home about whether or not I liked it.  Trust me – most of the time, I simply enjoy being with you, even if the movie was one of the worst I’ve ever seen.  If I really hated it that much, I’d share it with you in a kind way, and even then…why worry?  It’s not your fault that the movie was bad!  As I’ve said, I look for confidence, and besides, I must admit your constant queries about my feelings can get on my nerves after a while.  If we go out for dinner and you’re pointing at my plate every few minutes – hey, you’re not eating the mashed potatoes.  Do you not like mashed potatoes?  Do you want me to order something else for you?  Okay.  Just making sure. Just tell me if you don’t like them – I’ll politely assure you that I’m fine, even though on the inside I’m getting slightly tired of convincing you.  For future reference – I tend to eat food in order, and if I’m not touching something, it’s because I haven’t gotten to it yet.  Don’t panic.

Last but not least…please, have a sense of humor!  I’m a very dry-humored person, sometimes bordering on sarcastic (though not with you, I promise!), and I just can’t help but make witty comments about everything.  Sometimes people take me way too seriously, and I end up making them nervous.  I can tell by the way their faces fall when I playfully tease them, and I immediately have to follow up with an endless flow of apologies and reassurances.  I love it when people can take this mild joking, and even better, give it back.  I delight in witty conversations with people, especially those that produce inside jokes that we can always remember in the future.

So this is my ideal list.  Obviously, no one is perfect, and I don’t expect to stumble across anyone who possesses these qualities.  But this is my version of The Perfect Boyfriend, and I’m posting it so that guys out there know that there are indeed girls who care about more than being called pet names and making out.  It’s true.  Sometimes we’re just a little harder to find, but take a look around – we’re definitely out there.

Peace!

My professor shared this with me and I thought it was very inspiring and motivational. Enjoy!

TRAITS Of THE EFFECTIVE TEACHER

Leo R. Sandy

There are several dimensions taken together in varying levels of degree that embody the effective teacher. Since teachers range from preschool through post secondary levels, and are unique people, no two teachers will have the same combination nor will all of them be present in every excellent teacher. There are also qualities that effective teachers have that may not be included here. I invite others to add to the list.

Perhaps the most important quality of an effective teacher is that she be a learner. Paulo Freire refers to this role as “teacher-student” because the teacher presents the material to the students for their consideration, and reconsiders her earlier considerations as the students express their own. The effective teacher, then, is one who extends a cordial invitation to her “student-teachers” to enter into a dialogic relationship with her and the subject matter.

The effective teacher must be a leader who can inspire and influence students through expert and referent power but never coercive power. This teacher knows his subject well and is kind and respectful toward his students. He also has high standards and expectations coexisting with encouragement, support, and flexibility. This teacher empowers students and gets them to do things of which they did not think they were capable. This teacher has students who surpass him.

The effective teacher is a provocateur who probes, prods, asks incessant why questions, poses problems, throws curves, plays “devil’s advocate”, and stimulates frustration and conflict all in an attempt to “bust bubbles and plant seeds” so that tidy and stereotypical explanations are unmasked and discarded.

The effective teacher exemplifies what Maxine Green calls teacher as stranger . By keeping students at a healthy emotional distance, this teacher can, through continuous reflection, employ greater objectivity in her ability to balance the needs of individuals with the needs of the class as a whole. This allows the teacher to not only determine what those needs are but also how they can be accommodated to by innovative approaches.
The effective teacher models enthusiasm not only for his subject but also for teaching and learning in general. By showing exuberance, a positive attitude, excitement, and passion, the effective teacher makes it clear to his students that he would prefer to be nowhere else. Effective teachers value their craft and project this value to all in their presence.

The effective teacher is an innovator who changes strategies, techniques, texts, and materials when better ones are found and/or when existing ones no longer provide a substantive learning experience for her students. This teacher also employs a combination of lecture-discussion, simulation, service learning, cooperative learning, visual media, role-playing, guest speakers, and debates, and whatever is age and grade appropriate in order to accommodate diverse learning styles and to present the subject from different angles to facilitate insights and connections. This teacher values and uses students’ ideas about how to enhance their own learning.

The effective teacher is a comedian/entertainer who uses humor in the service of learning rather than as a distraction from it.

The effective teacher is a coach or guide who helps students to improve on their skills and insights. By neither letting them flounder nor prematurely offering assistance, the effective teacher enables students to own their own successes and to learn from their mistakes. By returning the students’ work promptly with constructive comments, and by being available for assistance, the effective teacher helps students to develop responsibility for their own learning, or to become what is known as self-reliant.

The effective teacher is a genuine human being or humanist who is able to laugh at herself and the absurdity in the world without being cynical and hopeless. She is a person who can self-disclose so that her students will see both her virtues and imperfections. By being a down-to-earth person, the effective teacher helps her students develop the will, courage and hope to fulfill their own potential as human beings.

The effective teacher is a sentinel who provides an environment of intellectual safety in which opposing ideas can be aired without fear of censure or retribution. This teacher can express his opinions and beliefs while taking care to distinguish fact from opinion. His students feel free to express their views with equal ease even if those views are at odds with those of the teacher.

The effective teacher is an optimist or idealist who firmly believes that without an ideal or mission, there will be no approximation of it. This teacher sees herself in each of her students and feels that her legacy is what she contributes to their development. This teacher achieves a sense of immortality by the positive influence she has on the lives of her students.

The effective teacher is one with others . He is a collaborator who places a high value on collegiality. He shares ideas and materials with others, solicits input and involvement by parents, and seeks help from his fellow teachers when he encounters a problem. The classroom walls in this teacher’s room are thin.

This teacher is effective because she aspires to all these qualities and more. She values truth more than certainty and the rightness of a cause more than personal popularity. As this teacher attempts to change the world, she transforms herself and others in the process. Thus, the effective teacher is a revolutionary because she knows that, with the exception of parenthood, her role is the most vital one on earth in the preservation of the sanctity of life and its natural outcome – the elevation of humanity.

I have a list of names I have create in a notebook (somewhere in my house) and a few brief notes as to who this person is.  These notes are not set in stone, they are however a tiny guideline as to what this person could be.  For instance,  a man named Gualt is a brick layer, uneducated, and has a small family.  That is all the notes I have on him (btw this guys was made up from the top of my head.)

Now, here is where I can do one of several things.  I can put Gualt in a story that I am currently working on, build a story around him, or change the details.  Since I have left many details out of my brief description, it is much easier to fit him in a story than it is to change the character.  For this example I will choose to build a story around him.

Once I decide how I am going to approach this character, then more details come rushing in.  Gualt  is a broad shouldered, darkly tanned man with large calloused hands.  He is deeply religious and attends religious services regularly.  He has a wife and two children and they live in a small house in town along with his aged mother.  His wife works as a maid to one of the high-born who lives in the town, while his mother takes care of the children.

Gualt has his faults:  he is quick to anger and has gotten into trouble in the past.  He likes his drink strong and is not afraid of a fight.  He is often lucky at games of chance which has raised suspicions of him at times.  Gualt can barely spell his name but he has an aptitude for numbers.  He views strangers with deep suspicion.

Right now, I have about a dozen more details to put in, and twenty different plots I could try out on my poor hapless character.  I find as I narrow down the character details I narrow down the story line.   Tomorrow I will look more into his setting, so stay tuned!

–noun

(dictionary.com)

CHANGE STILL NEEDED

it has been longed defined, and hard to live.

sides of me that i want to look different and to the world give.

ever the challenge to reform that which makes up the sum of me,

the totality of what i know i am to see.

in the mirror of myself sometimes i can smile,

yet sometimes a frown looks deep beyond black flies in a green mile.

an eater i wish that could simply take on the darkness of soul,

and leave me empty with a clean slate and pure bowl.

to eat from the fruit of a fresher form of self,

to resolve, to think, to feel, put an older side of me on a shelf.

to burn it up like a sacrifice to family and wife,

never to be seen again, like smoke blown away by a winds breath of life.

the process of character is difficult the older i’ve become,

and the areas revealed i’ve not noticed many a sum.

that one prayer always i keep,

in my minds eye currently to from which i desire to reap.

God grant me serenity to accept the things i cannot change.

Courage to change the things i can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

KameronLombard

http://creative-time-management-book.com

Somewhere along the line I read a snippet of advice for web authors. It was something along the lines of, “copy a typical paragraph from your most popular recent article, paste it, quoted, into the Google search box, and see what comes up.

Well, I didn’t uncover any signs of plagiarism, but in a search without quotes the only “similar” documents were PubMed and Elsevier posts. I am failing to make things simpler.

Another little game is to feed the same paragraph into a style checker. Truly sad. I may well be the web’s number one suspect in the crime of “weasel words”.

I am, however, going to present a defense on both counts.

The basis of my defense is the concept of “precision in language”.

For those who have not stumbled upon references to my strong OCPD (obsessive compulsive personality disorder) traits, I refer to them now. In the process from my recovery from alcoholism/depression/bipolar/depression I became aware of events in my past that led me to cultivate a not-wholly satisfactory survival strategy. Having determined that conventional means of dealing with OCPD have a rather poor track record, I devised a plan of my own.

The plan was simple, and I should mention here, alpha/theta sessions are the BEST for self-administered cognitive therapy!

Identify every trait that caused grief for myself or anyone I cared about. Review the experiences and the sources of information from which they evolved. Modify memories as required and the day-to-day behaviour follows.

Identify every trait that is recognisable as outside the bell curve of normality. Decide whether it pleases or displeases me. Practice Buddhist-derived mindfulness techniques.

Among the things in which I have a choice is an extreme sense of truth and justice.

Over the years I have developed the idiosyncratic style of speaking and writing that you’re becoming familiar with. Yes, I do speak very much as I write. As every year has passed my statements have become seemingly more vague. Along the way I’ve loosened up a lot too – when I know I’m being a prat, I will often use perverse twists of grammar that would have an English teacher in tears, that’s how wicked I am.

I’ve been a voracious experiencer. I haven’t done many things to the point of being good at them, but I have done a spectacular number of things to the point of knowing whether I wanted to commit more time to them. The vast majority of my more interesting experiences have been created on the basis of “that doesn’t look so hard”, and then going out and begging, borrowing or buying the resources. With my enthusiasm for self-guided study, the internet has been my friend, but it hasn’t proven to be very trustworthy. I encounter very few sites that are as accurate as they lead one to believe. I’m not saying they are wholly wrong, but they present absolute statements that are true only under specific, but unspecified conditions.

I read a whole lot of stuff, from fluff to way out of my depth. As I read I register key statements and weight their importance with their context. Who says a thing matters a lot. What else was said matters a lot. Who it was being said to matters a lot. This mulches around to become “a feeling” for a subject, and when I speak or write about that subject, the number of qualifiers or weasel words that I use is inversely proportional to my confidence in the absolute veracity and practical significance of the information I’m conveying.

Another OCPD characteristic I have by the bucket-load is an oft inconvenient sense of ethics and morality. There’s a whole lot of stuff rattling around between my ears that isn’t for general distribution. I will only “share” as much as I feel is my property to share – other people’s stories and insights are theirs, and I will retell them only in a generalised form and only in the context of illustrating my own thoughts or acknowledging that there has been precedent thought.

Taking all these points together, I have learned that almost everything that can be simply said is a lie in some context. By counting my evasions you will get a strong sense of how closely I believe the information I am conveying approximates a fact.

I have learned that experts in a field use specialised terminology because they are working at levels of detail where distinctions invisible to the casual observer become extremely important. Any word other than the correct term is going to contain less meaning, and hence be less correct, potentially ambiguous. Why did I use the phrase “specialised terminology” when I could have used “jargon”? Because “jargon”, although a fully correct synonym for the phrase, has become loaded with anti-intellectualism, a meaning I do not wish to convey.

A casualty of my obsessive precision in language has been my conception of trust. Never trust me unless you have defined the confidence you are placing in me and I have agreed to the terms. My senses of truth, justice, ethics and morality will probably see you treated more fairly than is the societal norm, but if you perceive something I do as being a breach of your trust, you’d better check back on our most recent agreement on the relevant values. Love, as appallingly poorly defined concept, is treated with similar caution. This amounts, in most cases, to a matter of not making assumptions.

So, my jury of peers, I beg that you forgive me my tendency to verbosity, and predilection for polysyllabic words. It is not an affectation, nor any attempt to convey authority beyond that to which I am entitled. It is a true reflection of my internal processes, processes that I have considered carefully and find desirable in myself.

Cheers,
Craig

I’m a green sim. My name is Tina. I am in high school, my schedule is from 8 am to 2 pm. And I already met all the friends at my school.

Favorites

Music: rock
Food: pizza
Colour: green

Skills
Handiness – 4
Fishing – 0
Writing – 5
Charisma – 8
Gardening -0
Logic – 6
Cooking -1
Guitar – 1
Athletic – 4
Painting – 2
Collecting – 2
Photography – 5
Martial Arts – 0
Nectar making – 0

Traits
Commitment Issues
Great Kisser
Loner
Neurotic
Clumsy

Lifetime wish

Golden Tongue, Golden Fingers

Good morning friends.  Sometimes there’s a change in our life which we can’t accept. No matter what bad or good will changes, we should absorb it. 

There will always be conflict between generations. The older generation is expected to change with the times. They are made to believe that their archaic thinking is not in sync with modern trends. The younger lot, on the other hand, is expected to follow in the elders’ footsteps.

Our thinking is largely shaped by our family, school and workplace. While change is inevitable and our thoughts keep evolving with the changing times, there are some traits that do not lose their relevance even with the passage of time — honesty, empathy, integrity, compassion, tolerance, humility and respect. In that case, should such universal norms also change? And if so, what could be the implications?

To be a parent is a challenging task, especially in these times of rapid change. Having traveled and lived in different parts of the world, I believe that we are in a new age, in which the new generation has a new outlook. Its approach to life, people and the environment is dominated by a more detached and practical approach, with less idealism and more cynicism. Fundamental values have a place only if these fit in with their lives, rather than their lives being designed around these values.

Parents must accept this change in a child’s attitude. Wise parenting lies in instilling basic values in children, keeping in mind their changing mindset and adapting one’s approach accordingly. A sensible approach would be to accept that society will and should change, hopefully for the better. Accepting change while inculcating core values is the key to sound parenting. The early years are crucial to instill fundamental universal values in a child. It is these values that will last a lifetime.

Weakness on the part of parents in inculcating these basic values will mean the next generation will behave worse, possibly showing disrespect to parents and grossly abusing parental support solely to fulfill personal desires.

So I’ve tried to write my blog so far as a collection of thoughts and ideas for fellow wardens – this post will be for those grouped with us wardens.  This is both a what to do in a group (with a warden, and some are just good general practices) and what drives me batty.  I’ll start with a few general thoughts and then some class specific ones.

• yes, we are tanks – and can be very good ones at that
  • but a quick check of traits isn’t a bad idea – traiting full spear line is not a good sign for tanking
    • You should see the fist line (main threat line) or shield line (defensive and healing buffs)
• There are some wardens out there who haven’t grouped much before even at 60, so you might be well served to check to see how much they’ve tanked
  • if they haven’t tanked much – if might be good to have either a champ or guard as backup
• we don’t have a quick snap agro skill – so it will take a little longer to pull agro back to us
  • also, it takes us a little longer to get the initial agro – but once we have it, rarely do we lose it
• It might not be bad to check out this post of mine to see our various skill icons and animations
  • Warden skills and icons
  • for example, If you see us crouching down – we’re getting ready to ambush, so let us pull
• as with all tanks, it is usually better to let us do the pulling
  • granted, there are some cases where root pulls are best
• decide on roles up front – we can interrupt, remove corruptions, and tank
  • but it is usually optimal to spread those duties out or at least have back-ups assigned
• Picking (and actually assisting) a main assist for DPS really helps out
  • you should be doing this anyway
  • This will make a HUGE difference if you’re in a PUG.
    • make sure the display is enabled by the group leader
    • and that folks have it turned on in their UI options
• In my opinion we make better main tanks then off-tanks
  • ward+guard or ward+champ is a LOT of fun
• many of us (myself included) enjoy tanking lots of mobs, don’t worry we can handle it
• we scream – seriously we’re very loud so you might want to turn down your combat sounds
  • best all time for me was 2 wardens, 2 captains, and a minnie in war-speech

Class specific

• Captains
  • For the tactics buff, I’d ask the warden.  I usually prefer parry (hardest avoidance to cap) or power for longer fights.
  • silence really sucks for us (can’t taunt, nor use gambits with taunts in them) – so Muster courage is greatly appreciated
  • please don’t use your snap agro skills on a mob we’re tanking – save them for the mobs beating on the squishies
    • it just makes it hard to tell if we lost agro or if it will be coming back to us
    • the only exception to this is when you plan to ping-pong agro (turtle fight for example)
• Guards
  • put your protection on us and you’ll get our block/parry responses – and there will be quite a few
  • No sense in fighting for agro – decide up front and either tank or go into overpower mode
    • see the 3rd comment on captains
• Champs
  • Use your Ire skills to transfer threat as needed
  • Communicate concerning interrupts as we can both do them well, but only one usually needs to
  • watch your initial DPS, but once we have good agro feel free to open up
  • champs and wardens are pure AoE fun!
  • see the 3rd comment on captains
• Burgs
  • Enrage (I think that’s the skill) can be helpful to dump more agro to us
  • You can get a conjunction in even when we ambush – just get it off before our daze wears off
  • call out conjunction attempts as we do have some gambits with a chance to stun, which grant conj. immunity
  • Any debuffs are always welcome
  • share the fun (sharing stealth) allows us to insta-ambush
• Loremasters
  • wounds (disarms especially) and stuns suck – so help us out when you can
  • we’re very power hungry, so be ready
  • debuffs are your friend
• Hunters
  • watch your initial DPS – once we lock agro you should be good to go, but don’t go all out at the start
  • keep an eye out for poisons
• Minstrels
  • Be mindful of over-healing, as we do have a bunch of HoTs and our morale will constantly fluctuate
  • Call to Greatness gives us a nice defensive buff and threat bonus – good to use on start of boss fights
  • If we get low on power we might suggest you not heal such that we can get to 50% morale and regen power
• RKs
  • Your HoTs are a nice pairing with ours
  • Using your “do not fall” skills are great for bosses with big nasty dots (thinking Forges here)
  • Watch overhealing
  • see 3rd note for Minnies

I’m sure there are things I’m forgetting, or that I don’t know as I haven’t played all the classes at high levels – feel free to comment or email anything I’ve left off.

I also re-found this link to the lorebook on a similar topic – warden entry.

So I’ve been delaying this post a bit but wanted to get it out before too long – essentially I’ll talk about the gambits to use while tanking and some common “rotations” folks use.  I’m not going to claim this is the only way to do it but it has been effective for me.  I will try to keep it level independent, but I will at times talk about higher level gambits.  I have a number of threads here talking about specific fights, traits, legendary items, threat definitions, etc. which I won’t cover here but if you haven’t seen them I’d suggest checking them out – you can find them either via the search tool or the category picker.

A couple of general tanking thoughts first – make sure you have a plan communicated (who’s main assist, who’s off-tank, etc.) and that you’re all on the same page.  Use all the appropriate foods and buffs as they can make a HUGE difference.  And of course, make sure everyone is ready before some big pull or boss fight   For boss fights, it also is good to discuss what is known about the boss (big DoTs, inductions, etc.) and assign folks to the appropriate roles.

For most cases, it makes tanking easier if you can do the pulling – but it certain cases it is better for a hunter or loremaster to do a root-pull.  But either way, the rest of the plan doesn’t really change much – you just might suggest folks go a tad easy up front if you’re doing a root-pull but usually I don’t have too many issues with them.

I’m going to break this up into single and multi-mob pulls and assume you’re pulling the mobs to you.

Single mob pulls:

• as the mob is headed your way try to get as many attacks as possible in – javelins, etc. and if you have gambit masteries I suggest building war-cry (fist-shield) as it is fast and can be used at range.
• once the mob is in melee range use precise blow (fist-spear) which is by far our BEST single target agro generator.  When in doubt, use this gambit
  • Depending on how my agro is at this point, I may fire off another PB – remember our Threats over time (ToTs) stack with each other.
• If the mob is a big hitter, I’ll pop up a defensive buff (best available at your level) but if not I’ll use a threat transfer to keep myself ahead of the group.
  • For threat transfers they work best when your group has had a chance to build some threat, so don’t use right off the bat.
  • whichever I don’t use first, use second
• I’ll then use another PB, followed by a threat transfer
• By now, you should be pretty set on the agro table – depending on your health you may need to get some of our Heals over time (HoTs) up and keep an eye on your defensive buff to keep it up.
• From here, it is mainly an issue of just maintaining that agro so I sprinkle in:
  • PB/Threat transfers
  • Boot/Onslaught/Wall of Steel for interrupts if needed
  • Fist Damage over time (DoT) line for more threat and DPS
  • Spear DoT line (Power Attack and Mighty Blow) for pure DPS
  • Keep defensive buffs and HoTs going as needed.

The one variance here is single mob pulls where you use Ambush.  I highly recommend this method assuming there’s no issue with pulling un-wanted adds as it gives us a nice jump start on the DPS and threat areas (ambush, crit, and wages of fear) and gives everyone a chance to get set.  With this plan, ignore the first bullet and start right off with PB and then continue on.

Multiple mob pulls:

• A little trickier, but the same general idea
• as the mobs rush to you I usually build war-cry using the mastery
  • some prefer Exaltation of battle, and it is probably a toss-up
• After war-cry I hit Exaltation of battle which has a threat component but just as important is the AoE life-tap as this will not only help heal you but those heals generate more threat for you.
• Then I’ll either pop up my defense buff if I’m worried about getting pounded on or another AoE life-tap.  These don’t stack, so it will either be Fierce Resolve or Resolution.
• At this point my group usually has some agro so threat transfers are good here.
• I’ll use PB on the main assist target just to make sure it sticks to me
• I will then primarily rotate between the AoE life-taps, threat transfer, war-cry, and PBs on the main assist target to not only keep my agro up but continue to heal myself.
  • Desolation can be handy at times for its AoE DoT and fear proc, but can also be rather annoying with melee DPS classes.  I’ve also read it can be real handy for certain fights in DN.

One thing with multiple mob pulls, our health will fluctuate quite a bit – so as you get comfortable with it you can better communicate with your healer as to when they should heal you.  With Resolution, you can leach upwards of 1,000-1,500 morale depending on how many mobs are around you and if that’s timed with your ticks from the other life-taps you can easily leach 2,000 morale.  I know when I’m on my mini, 1,000 is about the point when I start healing, but when with a good warden I tend to lay off or at least look to see what buffs they have up.  This not only allows the mini to conserve power but helps them stay lower on the agro pole which is always a good thing.

So you’ll notice I don’t have a set rotation I tend to mainly build as the fight develops and adapt as need be.  There are quite a few threads on the LOTRO warden boards with this exact discussion, so feel free to check them out.  With the combination of our ToTs (most of our threat gambits have a ToT component) and threat leaches, once we get agro usually it is hard for us to lose it.  This free flowing style does take a bit to get used to, but in the end I think it is a better path to follow.  But you will notice that I mainly only use a few gambits:

• Precise blow (fist-spear) best single target agro gambit
• War-cry (fist-shield) my personal favorite quite AoE agro gambit
  • I don’t use Goad as it takes longer to build and only works on 3 targets un-traited
• Threat Leaches (Conviction and Dance of War mainly)
• AoE Life taps (Exaltation of Battle, Resolution, and Fierce Resolve)
• Defensive buffs (Shield Mastery)
• HoTs (Preserve, Celebration of Skill, Restoration)

At the lower levels, tanking in general is really hard as DPS is much higher relatively then threat generation tools.  However as you get into your late 30s and early 40s you really start to turn the corner and catch up.

These things we call relationships, they are funny things when it comes to our professional lives.  Regardless of what field you are in, you started in that field somewhere.  Depending on where you are now in said field, there are those who you started with in certain positions that either still hold those positions, or have moved on to other responsibilities.  It’s just the nature of what we do, whether that be public sector or private sector.

How you handle that relationship matters a whole lot to your success.

Or does it?

I just wrote this in response to a teacher who reacted to an article I sent out to her department entitled “7 Bad Writing Habits You Learned in School:”

That’s precisely the question I want everyone thinking about. We truly focus so much of our energies on getting the format down and getting the “i’s” dotted and “t’s” crossed, and for many of the students we teach, that is completely necessary; however, as we begin to look at the next phase of what we’d like to do in the district which includes more than just being “proficient” on some state test, can we blend some of the thinking in this post into what we are doing.

And as for making people angry, my advice is that you don’t get the results you really want without making a few people angry along the way. Not that you try to, but when you know that what you are doing will make your students better, you just go with it.

She was asking whether or not it was all right to go forward with some of the ideas in the article, even if it angered some of her colleagues.  My response can be boiled down to very few words: “hell yes.”

We don’t propagate change in systems unless we are ready to have battles that we know will end up with feelings being hurt.  This is a fact that I am still warming to, as it is very contrary to my personality, and since I am creating change at the curriculum level in a district in which I originally taught.  When I think of the alternative, though, I can use that to gather the strength necessary to move forward with the type of thinking that will lead to the schools we need.

Yes, we can create change without alienating everyone on the bus, but there are times when we need to be strong enough in our convictions to say “yes, your voice has been heard and your input factored into the decision, but we need to move forward with this decision.”  Or, more simply, this is how we have decided it has to be done.  In no circumstances would I advocate a lack of explanation behind the decision, nor sound research supporting that decision.  When moving schools forward, we must always ask ourselves, regardless of the position we hold within that school, “does this help/hurt kids.”  Once we have that determined, the rest falls into place.

Image Credit: “Invasion/Relation” from colinwhite’s photostream

The Husband has food issues.  He hates using his hands to eat if there is any possible way to spill.  Hamburgers must always been on plates.  Pizza is always cut.  Chili is eaten at luke warm temperature.  Just to watch someone eat something messy (like those old Carl’s Jr. commercials), gives him the creeps.  We were at a restaurant once where they served him still boiling soup, and he threw his chair about a yard back.  It’s probably the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.  And I, I love to eat with my hands; I love to get messy.  While doing a sociology experiment, I had to eat a utensil dinner without utensils.  I adored eating my rice bowl that way so much that I did it for years.  The Husband and I both agree that this weird trait of his shouldn’t be passed to the boys as long as I also taught them to eat with utensils as needed.

Today we carved the pumpkin.  And yes, I love digging my hands into the pumpkin and pulling out the innards.  (Can you guess that I mix my meatball mixture by hand?)  The Husband wanted to carve, but he was more than willing to let me clean the pumpkin.  In my mind, I pictured the boys and I ewwing and squealing as we pulled out piles of slimy pumpkin vines.

Instead.  As I pulled out the innards, the boys shied away.  I couldn’t convince them to touch them at all.

Evan: Mommy!  They’re the icky!

Me: (to The Husband) I wonder where they get this from.

The Husband: Your side.

Me: (short laugh) Right.  No one in my family is grossed out by food.

The Husband: So all the looks come from your side and all the weird food aversions come from mine?

Me: Apparently.

DNA, our genes what we are made up from. Why do we behave the way we do? I’ve been thinking about that this week because I’ve let myself down, and wonder why I do that to myself, (had a bit too much wine if your wondering). For a while now I have curbed my drinking and our weekly consumption is within healthy guidelines most weeks. I can say that there have only been three nights this year where I have really over indulged but when I drink too much I have a huge feeling of guilt, no matter what I do. This week I have been told I was funny and there is no harm done but I want to know why I drink more than I should on occasion.

Is it an inherited trait? My mum never drank alcohol so not from her. My dad liked a drink as they say, but I only remember him being ‘drunk’ occasionally, Christmas, New Year, odd Saturdays and very occasional parties.

All this got me thinking about my family tree. My mum was from the far south of Italy, her dad was from Calabria and I have dark skin and dark eyes with a funny flap thing that I once identified from a book as a sand catcher.

When I was on holiday in Greece a few local people spoke to me in Greek, one old man even gave me a row for being with a tourist until I spoke in English then he nearly died from embarrassment.

I believe my family come from poor stock have moved about for generations trying to improve their lot.

And that is today’s smile, from a hangover I ended up thinking about my ancestors and how adventurous they must have been to travel away from home to make a better life. I don’t know where I come from originally, I think it’s further south than Italy and I love that as an idea. I want to know where I am from and the thought of desert ancestors or North African blood just seems amazing for a west coast Scottish girl to come from.

An excuse for drinking too much, probably not unless I go with the idea of stocking up when there’s plenty because peasants never had enough, I don’t really think that washes though.