So, last post was about how sick I was and how much it sucked. This time the whole family got it. The whole damn family. This time it was fever, diarrhea, and throwing-up. It has been an even more evil sickness. You get sick, can’t eat, and then you feel better after a few days of excruciating stomach pain. All is well and then BAM! It comes back. I have a theory.

I think that, living out in such a rural area, the family is exposed to much more bacteria than our bodies have ever been used to. I think in the long run this sickness stuff might be a good thing. Our bodies get stronger with every one.

I rarely ever got sick before I moved here. This school year I have missed more days that I ever have.

First, I went to a sleep clinic and found out that I stopped breathing over 500 times a night. They estimated that I got about 1 hour of good sleep a night… maybe.  I had been told by many people, who were lucky to sleep near me,  throughout the last 20 years, that I sounded like I would die at any minute when I slept. I always shrugged it off to bad snoring.

Well, after I got to a point when I was literally exhausted very single day, I decided to get some help. My life has changed completely now that I use a CPAP machine. So now what is my problem? I keep getting every damn virus that floats my way.

I have been thinking about technology in the classroom a lot lately. What amazes me is how many teachers don’t use it. Even the new teachers I see are, in my opinion, completely clueless as to what to do with it.

Something many teachers don’t understand is that technology is not a fad. It, and the internet, have fundamentally changed the way the world works. Not only that, but just as a bushman who hasn’t been exposed to technology can’t even see a picture if you show it to him , or a child who watches TV from a very early age responds much better to visual stimuli,  children today have brains that are wired differently. Your experiences, when young, play a large part in the way your brain works later on.

Teaching must change. The way students learn today is significantly different from any time in the last 2000 years. I say that without hyperbole. Think about it. My teachers, and my teachers’ teachers, grew up with books, pencils and paper. This has been the norm for a long long time. The current generation  have a wealth of information at their fingertips. They can take a picture with their phone and have it accessible  to the world within seconds. Today’s students don’t need to memorize something that they can google. Companies are constantly looking for ways to get their attention. There is so much information and so many distractions coming at them at all times. Teaching todays learners through traditional lectures,worksheets, and books is like speaking some foreign language they don’t understand. They require instant, easy access, more control, visual and creative  lessons.

It’s been over a year (maybe 2?) since I posted last. Working and kids and health have taking priority over anything online. Now that things are getting, well, a little easier, I figured I would make an effort to post again. I shudder to think how bad my writing will be.

So my Norwegian has improved! I find many moments where I am listening to Norwegian and forget that it isn’t my native language. I credit a great deal to the fact that I have fixed some sleep problems I have had for the last 15-20 years. Sleep Apnea. A sleep test proved it was severe. I have been a walking zombie for many many years.

It’s winter vacation, -20c and I am sitting on the couch watching the olympics. Nice cozy Sunday night.

See you soon.

New Years in Norway is spectacular. I remember the first time I watched fireworks go off in the thousands, in every direction, through a valley, as far as the eyes can see. 

Here’s what I got for this year. 

Yeah, I am still here. I swear, Christmas is the largest load of hooeee I have ever known. That’s for another day though. 

I have been thinking about some of the things I have learned, from the internets, that has made my life better or cheaper… or both. I have compiled a list. 

1. You know that stuff you put in the dishwasher to stop streaking and spots? Well, we have hard-ass water here and, instead of that chemical crap, we put in white vinegar. Works great. 

2. You know the lint trap in the dryer? Take it out and run water on top of the screen. You will notice that the water does not go through. That’s fabric softener crap. Its the number one reason people’s dryers burn out. I was freaked out the first time I tried it. Just wash it with soap. Use, again, vinegar as your fabric softener. 

3. A simple bowl, near where I walk in the door, has saved me hours of looking time. I put all my pocket crap there when I walk in. Bonus: Put your chargers there (ipod, phone). 

4. If your there is any appendage you have that hurts when you move it… don’t move it. 

5. Shaving. I hate it. Old hair conditioner is awesome for shaving your face, legs, ass or anywhere else society has told you to remove hair from. 

6. You know those 5 blade razors that cost a shitload? Want to make them last? Dry them off, back and front, with a towel after you use them. I have used the same razor for the last 3 months. Still works great. 

7. Boil a bag of potatoes every week. Let them cool and leave ‘em in the fridge. They go with everything when you are hungry. 

8. Metric apology… 

          - 5 deciliters rice

          - 10 deciliters water

          - little salt and oil

          - Put it all in a microwave bowl and mix it up…

          - HIGH 10 minutes

          -don’t stir!

          -15 minutes medium low. 

          -fucking rice man!

I use this one 3 times a week. 

9. Use soap and vinegar for cleaning pretty much everything. Google is your friend. 

10.  Don’t ever put salt in your eyes.

I love this. This is my new favorite Christmas Song. 

I finally got my ass to make an office. We have so much room in this house. Deb has her own room for all her artwork. The kids have a separate room for playing and destroying, equipped with their own tv, computers and couches. Well, I finally decided to move from the couch and use one of the rooms for my office. With all the school work I have to do this year an office is what I need most. For the last 2 years my shit has been all over the house in little piles. 

My goal for this year is to create enough online lessons for the students that I won’t have as much work next year. Grammar, video, online stories, flash… the works. Match them to the standards, many times using the auto-grade feature, and let them learn. Up til now I chose to work on this stuff amidst the chaos that is the living room on the first floor. I never really got anything done there. 

—————-

My work had a pile of old G3, 500mhz iMacs sitting in a corner. I asked if I could get a few. The answer was, “Take what you want.” There were 30 at least. Not to be greedy I took 4. That brings the total up to 8, not including the two decommisioned ones sitting in the storage closet. One bit the dust after a surge from a lightning bolt that fried its insides. The other, a clamshell iBook, bit the dust after Natalie, while learning to walk, seemed to knock it on the floor at least once a day. I just wish I still had the 3 I gave away before moving here. Those included the original Mac from 84, a 200mhz 6800 (I think that was its number) and another white G3 . 

So what do I do with all these? Let me count the ways. 

   1. Mac Mini- For the tv downstairs. 1 terabyte of hd space for a million films for the kids. Front Row makes it easy to put anything on quickly. 

   2. Macbook- My baby. My primary computer. 4gigs RAM, 200 gig hd, Leopard, VMware

   3. eMac- The work horse of the house. Another terabyte of storage, raid, for music and pictures. It is, as are all the Macs in the house, connected to the stereo via airport express. You can play tunes, on the stereo, throughout the house,  from any Mac in the house. 

   4. Powerbook- Natalie and Amanda’s laptop. I have stuff like tuxpaint and other stuff for the kids to play with. 

  5. iMac #1- Office. Connected to the printer. All computers have access to the printer via bonjour. Running Tiger which still works with this HP all-in-one. Sadly Leopard offers only printing for this model. 

 6. iMac #2- Running Ubuntu. The kids can use this in their living room to play open source educational games, surf the net and beat on as much as they want. I may use this as a web server in the future, but have no need right now. 

7. iMac #3- Running OS9. For the kids again. This computer is so fast with all the apps compatible with OS9. It’s amazing how much crap they put on the new computers these days. 

8. iMac #4- Running Tiger. In the kitchen with full voice control on. Used for listening to podcast while cooking, finding recipes and just to show off. 

The nice thing with the macs are, when they are on I can share and move files around easily. Pics go to one computer, while films to another. I like the new Back-To-My Mac feature. I can access any files and control the screen from work. It works flawlessly so far.  I freaked the family out the other day by blasting music at home while I was at work. 

I also have 2 PCs. 

The one given to me from work is used primarily by Deb for whatever it is she does. 

I also just bought a new ASUS Eee Pc, with a ssd hd and other good stuff. I use this when I need a pc (xp)  to do something. It comes with bluetooth, ssd slot and everything else I need. Just no cd/dvd, but who needs one of those? It’s a neat little small thing. 

Have I geeked anyone out yet?

I am sitting at work waiting for my next class… in 4 hours. At home I have a 14 pound turkey that is waiting for me, calling me. Of all the holidays I miss, Thanksgiving is the big one. No presents must be produced, everyone gets stoned off the turkey and mumbles incoherent political statements. 

I won’t have time to finish cooking everything today. I get home too damn late from work. Guess Friday will have to do. The Norwegians don’t know what they are missing. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

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