July 14, 2014

Nadine Gordimer has passed.

@BBCBreaking:
Nadine Gordimer, the South African author and Nobel laureate has died, her family says
http://bbc.in/U9s2tZ

RIP....

July 14, 2014

Scientific Proof That Cats Are Better Than Dogs

Ha!

July 14, 2014

John Seigenthaler has passed. He is a person you should know about.

<snip>
As a reporter for The Tennessean, Mr. Seigenthaler once saved a suicidal man's life on a bridge over the Cumberland River — a bridge eventually named after him. As the newspaper's longtime editor, he led coverage of the civil rights movement when most Southern newspapers, including the rival Nashville Banner, ignored the growing resistance to racial segregation in the South.

Mr. Seigenthaler also exposed corruption in the Teamsters union, grave deficiencies in the state's mental health system and illicit activities of the Ku Klux Klan in Tennessee. And he inspired several generations of journalists to greatness.
<snip>
Mr. Seigenthaler championed racial equality, both as a journalist and in his job in the Kennedy administration.

The Tennessean and its staff became crusaders for civil rights early on. A Texas liberal named Silliman Evans bought the newspaper out of receivership in the 1930s. His views formed the political core that would remain there until John Seigenthaler's retirement.

With a newsroom full of cocky young egos spoiling for a good story, secure finances and family owners willing to take chances, it became one of the only Southern newspapers to aggressively cover the fight to end segregation. That was not always popular with hometown readers, particularly the old Southern guard.

The Tennessean covered the downtown lunch counter sit-ins and other stories, when other newspapers wouldn't, as the civil rights movement swept through the South.
<snip>
Much more:
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2014/07/11/john-seigenthaler-dies/12529753/

This is the kind of newspaper editor we so badly need.

RIP John Seigenthaler.
You fought the good fight!

July 13, 2014

Tater is taunting me now:

The sticky tape on the top doesn't work.
She has gotten used to the taste of 'Fooey.'
The cardboard extension was just another challenge to be defeated.
Water flicks bring a look of complete disdain and she grooms herself until the water is dealt with.

Working on plan Z.
Suggestions?

Moonpie is just a spectator.

Edit to add: I am ignoring her.

July 10, 2014

Rick Perry resembles a very famous figure in his photo with PBO for immigration meeting:

Grumpy Cat is really unhappy about being compared to Governor Goodhair.

July 10, 2014

Severe thunderstorm watch here until 9pm.

NE South Carolina.
Buckling up.
Gonna get blowed away one of these days.....

July 9, 2014

"The Hard Part Of Teaching"

They never tell you in teacher school, and it's rarely discussed elsewhere. It is never, ever portrayed in movies and tv shows about teaching. Teachers rarely bring it up around non-teachers for fear it will make us look weak or inadequate.

Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post once put together a series of quotes to answer the question "How hard is teaching?" and asked for more in the comments section. My rant didn't entirely fit there, so I'm putting it here, because it is on the list of Top Ten Things They Never Tell You in Teacher School.

The hard part of teaching is coming to grips with this:

There is never enough.

There is never enough time. There are never enough resources. There is never enough you.
<snip>
But every day is still educational triage. You will pick and choose your battles, and you will always be at best bothered, at worst haunted, by the things you know you should have done but didn't. Show me a teacher who thinks she's got everything all under control and doesn't need to fix a thing for next year, and I will show you a lousy teacher. The best teachers I've ever known can give you a list of exactly what they don't do well enough yet.
<snip>
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-greene/the-hardest-part-teaching_b_5554448.html

Yep!
It's the educational triage that will get you because you want to save every student in your classes. It's not possible.
I'm sure those who triage the physically injured are haunted by memories of some they had to consciously choose to not treat.
It is gut-wrenching and it can break you.

July 7, 2014

Scary near-miss over runway at Barcelona airport (Video)

A UTAir pilot appeared to come uncomfortably close to a disaster Saturday, aborting landing as another plane crossed the runway in its path.

The near-accident Saturday morning spurred Spain's aviation oversight organization AENA to launch an investigation, Spanish newspaper El País reported Monday.

The would-be crash was filmed and posted to YouTube by Miguel Angel Ramirez, a Barcelona-based aviation enthusiast.
Video at link:
<snip>
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/07/07/scary-near-miss-over-runway-at-barcelona-airport-video

Whoa!

July 7, 2014

Another reason that Dolly Parton is the best ever :

@DollyParton:
Heard about the abandoned dog at @GlastoFest? If nobody claims her, I'll take her home to America! Ain't she cute

Loves me some Dolly!

July 7, 2014

UPDATE: I found a way to stop Tater from jumping on the teevee. Tater & I are having a real spat.

Tater has decided that jumping on top of my HD teevee & tightroping back and forth is the most fun ever.
I tried just getting her down. Ha!

Then I put tape that is sticky on both sides across the top. Cats aren't supposed to like this. Tater loves it. She glories in walking on it and smelling it.

So I went to plan C. I got a sheet of poster paper and taped it across the top. There's no access to the small flat part on top. Well, she is now insistent on attacking the tape and the poster.

Any plan Ds?

Edit:
I got a gel called "Fooey." It contains extracts from plants with nasty tastes that aren't harmful to animals.
I wish I could have gotten a picture of Tater's face when she tasted it. She still tests the areas every now and then to see if it's still nasty. That is one stubborn kitteh.
(It comes in a spray too.)