Keyboarding

I'm back again with a new post in the Random Blogging Challenge, each entry prompted by a random topic generator my friend Jean suggested. (Jean's blogging all month too, so check her out!)


I'd like to start by saying that some topics the generator apparently generates are so far out of my realm of experience they seem impossible. Like today's toping Making Your Own Keyboard.


Um. I'd rather cough up the cash and buy one, thanks anyway.


But that doesn't get the blog post written, so instead of blabbering like an utter idiot, I've gathered a few links on the subject.


To start with, here's how to make your own steampunk keyboard.
You can also make your own roll up keyboard.
Or make an existing keyboard backlit. 


I even saw one keyboard turned into a waffle maker (but couldn't find instructions). Apparently the sky's the limit on keyboard modifications. If you could change your keyboard, what would you do?

Augmented Unison

I'm back again with a new post in the Random Blogging Challenge, each entry prompted by a random topic generator my friend Jean suggested. (Jean's blogging all month too, so check her out!)


Today the Random Topic Generator said I should write about Augmented Unison. I have to admit when I saw that suggestion I thought WTF?? Is that even a real thing?? It seemed like the generator randomly smooshed two words together.


Nope. It's a real thing. A musical thing.


I haven't taken music as an academic pursuit since I was a freshman in High School so please forgive me if I screw this up. From what I've read this morning, an Augmented Unison is a harmony interval where it widens (goes up) one half step from perfect unison. It's also called a Halftone. I think.


I found a pretty cool video that explains intervals. The information about Augments starts right at 3:00



I hope this makes sense and helps folks think a bit more about music. I know I learned something today. :)

Dark, Creepy Closets

I'm back again with a new post in the Random Blogging Challenge, each entry prompted by a random topic generator my friend Jean suggested. (Jean's blogging all month too, so check her out!)


Today's topic is Checking The Closets Before Bed.


A lot of kids fear the creepy darkness in their closets, and some adults too, I'm sure. Is it the darkness itself? The inability to see? The potential for eeeeevil? Or merely an imagination in overdrive from some earlier stimulus like a scary movie or fighting parents?

I honestly don't know, but I can admit I'm a frequent flyer of Nightmare Airlines and I always have a light on, somewhere, so that I can see at night.

Does anyone else still do that, or worry about what's lurking in their dark, creepy closet?

Sore!

Sorry I'm late. It's 4th of July week which is a BIG DEAL for Bill's family and, well, it's been busier than usual around here.

Anyway, I'm back again with a new post in the Random Blogging Challenge, each entry prompted by a random topic generator my friend Jean suggested. (Jean's blogging all month too, so check her out!)


Today's topic (well, actually yesterday July 3rd) is Muscle Soreness. 


For some of us, muscle soreness is a constant distraction due to injuries or atrophy or disease. In my case, it's literally a pain in my neck. I got whiplash from being rear-ended about 24 years ago and I still have trouble with the left side of my neck, especially if I spend too much time on the laptop. Owie, owie. For other people it's their lower back, or legs, or their hands. Do too many sit-ups or crunches, your belly muscles might get sore. Run too far or without stretching properly, you can screw up your legs. Muscles can get pulled, or sore, from moving improperly or not moving enough. Diabetics have all kinds of pain from from dying nerves, and on and on and on. For me, at least, Ibuprofen is my friend, I have to take some every night before I go to bed or my neck will wake me up.


Do any of you have problems with muscle soreness?

Publicly Private

We're Number ONE!!

I'm back again with a new post in the Random Blogging Challenge, each entry prompted by a random topic generator my friend Jean suggested. (Jean's blogging all month too, so check her out!)

Today it's Sending a kid to private school vs public. I'm certainly not an expert on education in America, but I am a parent and I have to admit I have a little bit of experience with both public and private schools. 

When our daughter was teeny, she begged to go to preschool - as many kids often do. In our local area, though, the public head-start and preschool choices were, frankly, shitty. No funding, too many kids to too few teachers, dilapidated location, etc. So we saved up pop-can returns and did odd jobs until we could afford to send her to a private preschool. It was located in a church halfway across town, but was rated very highly and I have to admit it was pretty darn cool. We could visit any time we wanted, we got involved in some of the educational activities, and we got to know the kids and the parents. 

All in all, despite probably costing more than we could reasonably afford - we were a hair's breadth above the poverty line, after all - it was worth it, at least to us. Clean, bright, cheerful, and only a handful of kids for each of the three teachers. I think - but am not sure - the class was limited to 20 students. Twenty. With three teachers. When someone says you get what you pay for, they weren't kidding in this instance at least. Our daughter loved it, we loved it, and she came out of there happy, loving school, and excited to learn more cool stuff about bugs or art or numbers or whatever. She went there as a three year old, and a four year old, and both years pretty much rocked.

After that, she went to public school. We open-enrolled her out of the massive metro school district we were living in and into a rural school district for a couple of years. That was, all in all, a very good experience, too. Then we moved to the middle of nowhere and lived in a reasonably decent district where she'd be safe, at least. But was she educated there? Um... Kind of. Better than if we'd stayed in the metro, definitely, but not as well as we'd have liked. And she was on the bright side of the curriculum, she took advanced classes in science all through her schooling, was in band for a while, participated in things like basketball and choir, and, as a B student, her grades were decent, and she got into a good college. But she wasn't very motivated, and she didn't enjoy it much which made her less motivated so she enjoyed it even less, and round and round it went.

I do believe, tho, that if we'd have managed to keep her in private school, or home schooled, she would have been more motivated and learned more. Bill and I were both VERY involved with school and homework and making sure she did what she was supposed to do. We took her to band lessons and paid for project materials and extracurricular activities. We never missed a conference, open house, play, sporting event,  or bake sale. We were involved, but, still... She could have done better, her educational experience could have offered her more, demanded more, and, frankly, we could have made better choices too.

I'm not saying that public school can't, or doesn't, give a good education anymore. For some students it does, but I have come to believe that those students would have excelled almost anywhere anyway. Classroom size is a huge factor. Teacher burnout. Funding (for anything beyond sports. Oh, golly, don't get me started on that!) Administrative leadership. Facilities. Educational milestones and goals. All of those things matter and, in my truly limited experience, private schools kick public schools butts. They do. As in most things, you get what you pay for. 

Chasing rainbows

The lovers, the dreamers, and me. :)

I've been out of sorts the past few weeks - oh, the chaos! - and I'm struggling to get myself back on to a reasonable schedule in a lot of areas.  One is blogging. I really enjoyed the blog challenges from earlier this year, and I'm jumping in again for July.

This month, though, I'm doing a Random Blogging Challenge, each entry prompted by a random topic generator my friend Jean suggested. (Jean's blogging all month too, so check her out!)

Anyway, todays topic, randomly generated today right after lunch, is Your Ever Changing Goal In Life.

Whoa. Talk about being publicly slammed with my own worries. Surreal.

So. Um. Goals. Life goals. Big goals. Plans, baby! What are your plans?

Frankly, I don't know and that's part of my 'flailing around in chaos and getting nowhere' problem. When I was young, my big life goal was getting the heck outta there, off to college and onto my own life. Did that, box checked, let's move on.

Got the funky-friendly house. Got the great marriage. Got the great kid. Got the health. Enough money. Enough time. Hell, I'm even published. Check, check, check, and a whole 'nother line of checks. I make quilts. check. Understand how to cook most everything (I still can't cook decent fish, but since I don't even like fish I can't see learning to as a 'life goal') so, check. Learned to like my hair. Check. Got the rosacea under control, check.

Frankly, most of those are 'little goals'. I mean, let's get serious for a moment, learning to love my curly mop wasn't exactly a metaphysical struggle.

What's next in the queue? Honestly, I don't know. Bill and I talk about it sometimes, how we've reached the point of 'this is enough'. We've climbed the summit of departing-poverty and are sitting here enjoying the view. Sure there are other big mountains out there - wealth, power, fame, what have you - but they don't interest either one of us. We don't care about stuff, it's just stuff. We don't care about money, once there's enough for bills and food then we're good there. And we are good there, truly.

There are things I'd like to do. I'd like to get back to writing productively for readers again, it is sort of my job after all. I'd like to get some sewing done this summer. I'd like to lose 20 lbs by Christmas. I'd like to be better at taking my vitamins. I'd like to finish sorting and organizing a mountain of miscellaneous papers I've been putting off sorting and organizing. I'd like to do lots of things, but none of them are life goals.

Again, I just don't know.

I suppose the closest thing, the most accurate goal I could articulate is I want to be happy. I want to like myself. I want to be less cynical, less grumpy, less prone to self loathing. I want to be thankful for all of the wonders I have and have accomplished.

You know, that actually sounds like a pretty good goal to have. :)

Quick, quick, zoom!

Just a quickie post to let everyone know that things here are just fine. Crazy busy as usual, but just fine.

Newsy items to share. Um, we're down to four cats. A friend of Bill's has a farm and needed cats, so Cooper, Echo, and three of the kittens have a new home with lots of barns and sheds and plenty of critters to hunt. We decided to keep one of the kittens (as yet unnamed) so we still have her plus Puufy, Abbie and Peanut.

I've been making a point to sew weekly at a friend's quilt shop and it's working out very well. My stress level has dropped immeasurably.

I'm writing steadily on SPORE and a proposal's been sent out to the world. It's a different kind of book, but I think it's really fun!

We're all looking forward to Dark Knight Rises and Brave.

Honestly, that's about it around here. Mostly it's just more of the same, just kinda crazy busy. :)

If anyone has blog post topic ideas, please let me know. I'm mostly coming up blank here.

Have a great week!  {{huggs}}