instinct vs. technology

My instincts and internal compass have been good enough to get me from point A to point B for most of my driving life. With a little help from Google maps or Mapquest, I can get most anywhere in North America with no trouble. If I've driven there once, chances are, I'll remember how to get there again.

Now entering the game is a little gizmo called a GPS. Naviagation systems are all the rage these days. They take the forethought and naviagational skills out of driving. With a GPS, I can turn off my brain, not pay attention to my instincts and get from point A to point B easier. Right?

Wrong.

On our way to Blue Knob this weekend from Granny's this weekend, I fought my instincts as the GPS gave me directions as we went. My instincts kept reading the road signs and road numbers; the GPS struggled to keep up with the car at times. As a result, "Recalculating route," came across her digital lips thrice. In unfamiliar terrain, I made the mental map of the directions. The satellites would need to recalculate each time.

I'm still not sure if I'm for or against the GPS. Perhaps the next generation GPS should have an option to see the directions beforehand, a la Google Maps, to put them in your brain before getting behind the wheel. That way, there'd be a better chance to remember them along the way when you fly past an intersection at 45 mph, and the internal maps of GPS think you're off-roading in an Acura.

Which reminds me, I think it's still in my glove box...

what a week!

Whew. I can't believe it's finally Friday. Thank goodness!

Big changes this week compel me to give a mid-year update on the state of my classroom. No one ever asks, but it does take a pretty sizeable chunk of my waking hours. My class makes me proud every day. They're generally a well-behaved bunch, nary a troublemaker in sight. The worst behavior I deal with on a daily basis is a bit of motormouth and some out of the seat shenanigans. I can handle that. They actually enjoy learning at a time when I sometimes feel like I'm putting the onus of teaching on them. They're using research skills to teach themselves about ancient civilizations. What's more, they're making the critical connections between them that are going to help them remember the information in the long run. I'm not sure how I taught them to do this, but I sure hope I can replicate that year after year.

We got a SMARTboard this week. For you non-educators out there, it's an interactive whiteboard. Think iPhone meets projector and laptop. (Some videos of SMARTboard-equipped classrooms) I've been working on lessons all year long, and my classroom is now blessed with one. The students really enjoy using it. In math especially, it's a heckuva lot easier to use than tens and ones blocks that I'd been using to teach carrying and borrowing (now under the regrouping umbrella). I'd applied for one in the past, but I hadn't used it a whole lot. This year, I made it my mission to use it weekly. It wasn't hard; the school's shared one is right next door to my classroom.

As with anything new, the more I used it, the easier it got. The time I put in now to develop new lessons will pay off in an easier time using it next year, as I'll be able to tweak the lesson instead of reinvent the wheel. By the time the next new, improved, overpriced technology gizmo comes along, maybe I'll be out of the classroom and into policy or government or administration.

Who knows, that may be next week!

pay grade

i called it. among other insults directed at me, i knew shezad would say one in particular when he met this love, "you're dating out of your pay grade." not meant as an insult to me exactly, more of a compliment to her as who's got the good looks in this relationship. this was at the end of the night, however, after he'd gotten to know her over drinks at the cove.

last week, i read her the smart ass reply to my cousin's query about this mystery girl occupying my thoughts and dreams for most of my time in the district. she laughed, and asked why i've never really given much information about her on this here blog. well, the reason that came out was lame and a poor excuse for not sharing with the readers. i'm comfortable with sharing details about my life and adventures with those of you i know, and even a few i don't know. the same can't be said for those close to me, which is why i tend towards nicknames and abbreviations that those close to me would know, but few others.

here's the better reason, and the one that seems to be more accurate. it builds on the lame, incomplete answer i gave her. technology makes it easy to be lazy about keeping up with our friends. click here, click there, i can find out who's going to medical school in the u.k., whose daughter just turned two, and what couples broke up this week. i don't mind that with me. sure, i'd like to talk to my friends, but we all lead busy lives. that's a lame excuse for not calling, and i apologize for using it more often than i should. technology should not be used to find out critical information about our friends. conversations convey way more meaning than myspace or facebook could ever hope to. my closest friends know that. i get phone calls, or at the very least an email when i find out about engagements or pregnancies. you want to know about our first date? super, let me tell it with the laughs and smiling eyes that would accompany it when i orate. you want to know what we have in common? it's a different answer each day.

long story short, i'm happier than i've been in a long while, maybe ever. i'm more mature in this relationship and realistic about the struggles we may face. life isn't all gumdrops and jellybeans, and i'm no longer naive enough to think that. contrarily, i'm also no longer closed off and jaded. i'm open to whatever may come. i'm madly in love with this amazing woman, and i thank god each second i get to spend with her.

and that's all you're going to get on this. then again, those of you that have met her or talk to me know all that.

spamalot!

seven years or so, i've had my email address. seven years of listening to my friends complaints about hotmails lax spam controls and having an inbox full of spam from viagra schillers and snake oil salesmen. seven years of bliss from not having their problems with the bane of email. it ended on wednesday.

some spambot sold my email address. likely culprit, a suvey website of which i previously participated. all of the spams are coming from survey sites. well, and then there was the one from beliefnet.com yesterday that claimed i joined their site in 1982. unlikely since al gore hadn't invented the internet yet.

if and when i figure out where it came from, i'll spam bomb them back. everything from brigham young to larry flynt will crash their system and their doors with the same viagra pitches, penis enlarging creams, and home encyclopedia sets. anyone know how to do that?

christmas greetings

since technology has devolved our communication ability into shrt txt msgs and inserted LOL and BRB into the national lexicon, it seems only natural that holiday greetings would head the same way.

who here is guilty of sending a text message when a phone call would do better? one-to-one txt msgs, at least you're making it personal. mass text messages where it's clear that you're sending the same message to lots of people, i.e. feeling the need to sign your name...c'mon folks. i know the thought's there. i know we're all busy people, but it's just the 21st century equivalent of the form letter hastily inserted into your christmas card. with worse spelling and less detail. i appreciate the phone calls, or the even late requests for a mailing address. the thought's there.

yeah yeah, i'm a grinch, a scrooge. bah humbug and such. i was guilty of sending a few texts yesterday, but most of them were replies, and only one of them was to more than one person. it was to two people, roommates that would appreciate the picture i attached to it.

our techno-addiction should not devolve us from actually remembering that it's nice to hear someone's voice, and if it's possible, to actually see someone. so, if you're having a small gathering, wishing someone a happy birthday (yes, i know facebook and myspace remind us), or there's an obscure holiday, call someone. don't rely on something with a microprocessor to do it. (yes, i know phones have microprocessors, but i think you get my point!)