Posts by GrreatTeacher

7

Is the NSA spying on Tucker Carlson?

by LoveUniHateExams in

interesting video by lotus eaters.. it seems that the nsa are spying on tucker carlson's emails.. the nsa are allowed to spy on foreign countries and citizens, but it is illegal for the nsa to spy on us citizens.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq5d3e6fzui.

GrreatTeacher

Take it from a local: NSA monitors EVERYONE'S digital footprint.

You'd better believe that this thread has come to their attention simply because it references the word "NSA" in it.

39

The First Time I Went Over 120mph (193kph) I Was In A ____________ ,

by Sea Breeze in

honda vfr 750.

GrreatTeacher

Waton: "Trees hit cars only in self defense."

Hysterical!

And, as usual, you've made me think, and what I've thought of is a story from a few years ago when, in actuality, was the last time I've gone 120 mph.

My husband was driving, yet I approved, and we had two teenagers in the back of the car, my son and his girlfriend.

We had planned to go on a nice kayaking expedition. The sky was brilliant blue and the sun was bright.

My husband got a frantic call from this young girl's father. The grandfather, who lived with the family, had suddenly felt ill and had chest pains out in the acreage that they rented as hunting property. He called the son, presciently, who told him to hang up and call 911 immediately. The grandfather was taken to a hospital local to the farm but about 25 miles from our location.

The father called us and begged us to get the girl to the hospital to hopefully see him one last time if he didn't make it. He also asked us not to tell her the reason why so she didn't fall apart without her family there to support her.

So, we said we would. It was a matter of life and death. So, we sped off down the highway and on back farm lanes as fast as we could without flying off the road. The speedometer was surely over 110 mph and more. It was a new car with All Wheel Drive and excellent brakes. The adrenaline kept us alert and reflexes as sharp as could be. We got there in record time.

We risked additional lives in the process. It's hard to admit, but seeing someone for the last time, or rather, not seeing them was a terrible risk, too. We felt we had to try.

Her family met us at the door, and, yes, he had had a massive heart attack, got medical care in the ambulance, but, ultimately they were unable to resuscitate him. It was a widowmaker they said. Not survivable. So, we had delivered the poor girl to the hospital and it was too late. She did hear the news from her family, she did get to see him and say goodbye physically, though he was already gone. At only 69. He had just retired the previous year and bought a large family home for the 3 generations to live in. A tragedy.

My dilemma was not with the speeding this time, though. It was that I had to lie to the poor girl. Lying doesn't sit well with me. It's a really shitty thing to do to kids, in particular. I debated with myself at the request to not tell her about her grandfather's illness. I am good, in general, in emergencies, and at making executive decisions. I considered her possible reaction to the news and, ultimately, agreed with her father that the girl would need her family to process the outcome, no matter what it might be. I weighed that against her possibly resenting me for lying to her, and accepted that as a risk I must take.

So, I lied. I told fantastical stories about the kayaks being unseaworthy, that a friend had called and needed help right away and it was an emergency, etc, etc. I don't even remember all the lying I did. Still lying as we pulled up to the hospital. I lied her right into her family's arms. And then I wept with them. For the terribleness of it all.

Later on, I told my son that I felt so awful for the lying and asked him to tell his girlfriend so. A day or so later he reported to me that the girl was not angry and thought I had done the right thing. I felt better, but would not have been angry if she had been angry with me. I did lie, and lie, and lie some more to her, and right to her face. It felt so terrible and slimy, yet I did it because it was the lesser of two evils.

My son and she are still together and I think she is a wonderful person.

I'm sorry for the sad bedtime story, and all from a fun post, of which we need more.

GT

7

I'm launching a new website

by JeffT in

jw
friends

i just launched a new website to talk about my books.

the website has links to all three books in the alternate history trilogy i published over the last year.

of more interest to this group there is a description of the suspense/thriller i plan to release this summer.

GrreatTeacher

Nice!

The formatting is off on my Samsung tablet. The image of the book at the top covers the words and the writing adjacent to your photo is cut off at the end of each line.

It could be me? Not sure what's causing the errors.

Also "Armagedon" is spelled wrong in the subtitle. It's spelled with two d's in the image of your book.

I want to read these!

39

The First Time I Went Over 120mph (193kph) I Was In A ____________ ,

by Sea Breeze in

honda vfr 750.

GrreatTeacher

I remember in the '80s when speedometers didn't go higher than 80 mph!

I don't take my car faster than 100 mph now. It has more left, but my mortality calls.

But 80 to 90 is commonplace on the highways and byways around Washington DC. I try to stay under 80 because the speeding penalties are more than I want to pay once you hit that mark.

Which is all to say that I'm becoming an old fogie.

24

Attitudes of People 👎

by minimus in

jw
friends

i have to share.

i went to the supermarket last night and got one item.

i placed the 10 dollar bill on the item.

GrreatTeacher

Good job, Karen. That'll learn her real good.

30

My Update

by James Jack in

i just turned 62 and celebrated my first birthday at a local restaurant.

nothing exotic, just draft beer and a burger.

i've been using my spare time to make my community a better place to visit.

GrreatTeacher

Diogenesister, I am excited you might tell your kids about my financial advice!

If I recall correctly, you are in the UK?

Change the amounts! Tell your kids to start saving £175 per month starting at age 20 or whenever they start their working life. After 45 years they should have a nice nest egg of around £350,000.

This is assuming an annual return of 5% interest. All of this can vary, that's why they need to Google "compound interest calculator" and play with the inputs. I don't even have a favorite one saved. I just Google it each time and quickly pick through the multiple options for one that looks user friendly to me.

Give them the task of figuring out how much they would have to save/invest monthly to be a half millionaire. Could they save more? Work longer? Invest more riskily for a greater rate of return?

Ask them how much money they would need to EARN to be able to put that amount away in an investment and forget about it until retirement. £175 per month is £2100 a year. Could they find a job making an annual salary of £25,000 a year? That's less than 10%! What if they found a better job? They could either put more away or have a greater amount to live on.

What kind of schooling will they need in order to get the job they want? This is what every young teen should think about! Are you taking the right classes? Are you studying hard enough the pass the exams you need to get the job you want? How is your schooling going? Have you tried, failed and learned something about yourself and your learning abilities? What else can you do that plays to your strengths?

This is what teachers call "backward mapping." There is an end result that you want your students to master. So, you back up through all of the previous skills you need to master in order to get there, and you start teaching at the beginning.

Ask your kids to backward map retiring a half millionaire. Start out by telling them it's not impossible or even particularly difficult at all given they are able to hold onto a modest paying job. Let them dig into the subject on their own. Ask the questions above to keep them going. Good teachers ask, not tell.

If they love the subject, give them a bonus/extra credit question: what if you want to retire a millionaire? How much harder would that be?

The key to keeping kids interested is making it applicable to their lives. Ultimately, it should come down to their schooling right now. Are they studying the right things to help them get the job they ultimately want? How is their studying going? It's okay if becoming a doctor is not in the plans. I knew way before high school my son would not be able to handle that academically or emotionally. The end of each term gave us more information, though. His passions and hobbies gave us more information. He loves mechanical things, did well enough at community college to know he could handle university level work and had the work ethic. He's now going to the University of Maryland in the autumn to study engineering. If he had struggled in community college, we would have stopped with an Associate's degree and found a career path for that amount of training.

Oh dear. I'm going to shut up now. I guess I miss teaching and find myself creating curriculum in my head. I have loved raising my son and still enjoy steering him academically. I can tell you love your kiddos, too, and want the best for them. You're doing great. You aren't raising them JW and neither am I! These kids will have great lives, I know it!

30

My Update

by James Jack in

i just turned 62 and celebrated my first birthday at a local restaurant.

nothing exotic, just draft beer and a burger.

i've been using my spare time to make my community a better place to visit.

GrreatTeacher

LHG, they were sexist as well as hypocrites.

It was always the unmarried women they targeted the most because it burnt their ass, among other reasons, that an unmarried woman could support herself and live alone without a man, also known as a "head."

They thought they were entitled to that control.

In your case, they thought wrong.

And they punished you by isolating you, by not inviting you anywhere, so that your heretical lifestyle didn't spread.

Nasty people. Nasty behavior. Glad you're doing well!

30

My Update

by James Jack in

i just turned 62 and celebrated my first birthday at a local restaurant.

nothing exotic, just draft beer and a burger.

i've been using my spare time to make my community a better place to visit.

GrreatTeacher

Never underestimate the effect a school bus driver can have on kids.

My son's favorite school bus driver was assigned to his cousins' route as well. When he passed away with cancer suddenly, they were devastated! As were all the other kids he had shepherded safely for years. The school counselor had to get involved to help the kids deal with the loss.

He just made their first contact with the school system in the morning happy and exciting and cared about any sadness they might take home after the school day as well. He made the kids feel safe and special.

RIP, Mr. Bonds! You were well loved. You made a difference.

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