I remember a professor in school once telling me that he could not teach me what
was going on today, he needed to teach me the future. That way, by the time I graduate, I
am prepared for what I will be seeing not what others have already seen.
So what are the 5 technologies that when they are successful will change the world's
energy picture? Based on a Wall Street Journal Article, these technologies are:
Space Based Solar Power - Scientific America
stated that Pacific Gas and Electric started investing in this technology that harnesses solar power on a 24 hour basis because of receptacles in space.
Advanced Car Batteries - Anyone notice that Hybrids have taken off. The next generation of
batteries presents limitless possibilities using Stimulus Money to do it.
Utility Storage - Redding Electric Utility
chose Ice Energy to store sufficient energy for peak season.
Carbon Capture and Storage - Scientific America
points out that it will be too late if we do not start investing today. It is worth trying.
So as you are studying, please follow these topics.
Humor Corner
We must Go For Energy and the Environment
TOP TEN SIGNS YOU DON’T HAVE A GREEN JOB - 10. You fall asleep on the job and people in hazmat suits wake you up.
9. Interviewer asks if you can type, get coffee, and resist toxic waste.
8. You’re paid in baby seal pelts.
7. You take a lot of “before” photographs that involved undeveloped land and happy, frolicking wildlife.
6. There’s a sign at the office that reads “EPA Superfund Site.”
5. You discover your boss can cough up tar, and he’s not a smoker.
4. You become convinced that the office plants are glaring at you.
3. Your job description includes the letters “FEMA.”
2. You’re required to screen all visitors for hidden cameras and 20/20’s John Quinones.
1. At the end of the day, you glow.
How many people does it take to screw in a light bulb at Greenpeace?
Four to hang a banner at the General Electric plant, one to screw in the
bulb made from recycled ketchup bottles.
“Yesterday, a group of scientists warned that because of global
warming, sea levels will rise so much that parts of New Jersey will be
under water. The bad news? Parts of New Jersey won’t be under water.”
–Conan O’Brien
“A lot of people think global warming is causing these terrible
hurricanes. See I think to stop global warming we should move in the
other direction. We should move towards a second ice age. Follow me, if
the glaciers are coming towards us at like an inch a year, then the
government would have time to respond.” –Jay Leno
Site of the Week
Scientific American - Of course. After we
talked about them in the editorial, they were the only logical source for news about the
science of tomorrow. If you enjoy reading this, then consider a degree in engineering (it
pays well).
Parents Get Active
The number 1 way that children succeed in school is to have a parent that gets involved.
My wife teaches kindergarten. She sees it every day. The students that are at the top of
the class are those where the parents are involved.
Here are six ways that parents can get more involved in their students life and develop a better
relationship with your kids teachers according to Jan Harp Domene, former PTA national president:
Introduce Yourself - If they do not know you, you will not be able to bridge the gaps
when problem arise. Open the communications early so your kids teacher will call when
problems are still small.
Be Positive - Explain to the teacher and your child that you are there to help. The worst
thing that you can do is start critizing your child's teacher as to there teaching method.
Remember, today with No Kid Left Behind, every teacher is down to less that 5% of the time
which is discretionary.
Understand the Teachers' objectives - Start early with understanding what is expected of
your child for the semester and the year so that nothing is a surprise. My wife sees it
in her parents because they can not believe how much the children have to learn by
the end of the year.
Attend parent-teacher conferences - This is time set aside for you to have a one on one
conversation with your child's teacher just to talk about your child. The dates and times
are flexible so work out a time that you can be there. It is important.
Show Up - If you are visible at school, then your child will benefit.
Join Parent Groups - Join the PTA and get online with Great Schools.net
and Teachers.net. These are great teacher resources that
you can learn about school from a teachers perspective.
Looking back, the time that your kids need your help passes quickly. Take it from my
wife and I, we are empty nesters now with 2 kids in college and now enjoy the freedom
that comes with not having those responsibilities any more.
Juggle now, play later. You will never regret it.
Humor Corner
(Sponsored by: Back to School
Teacher: Can anyone tell me how many seconds there are in a year? Student: 12! January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd ...
Teacher: Johnny, which month has 28 days? Student: Every month!
Mom: How did you find school today? Kid: I simply hopped off the bus - and there it was!
Kid: I think we need a new teacher! Mom: Why is that? Kid: Our teacher doesn't know anything, she keeps asking us for the answers!
I Didn't Do My Homework Because
I have a solar-powered calculator and it was cloudy
I made a paper plane out of it and it got hijacked
Our furnace broke and we had to burn my homework to keep ourselves from freezing
My mom used it as a dryer sheet
I felt it wasn't challenging enough
My parents were sick and unable to do my homework last night. Don't worry, they have been suitably punished
I spent the night at a rally supporting higher pay for our hard-working teachers
Site of the Week
(Sponsored by: Nanovor.com - Children can now collect downloadable monsters called Nanovor that they will be able
to pit against each other by linking together pocket-size devices. Is this the next Pokemon? Only time will tell, but I suggest
parents come up to speed real quick, especially if you have boys 7 to 12, because this is what they
will be asking for this Christmas.
Interactive Tutors For Your Kids?
There are 6 web sites now promoting tutoring to your children for a fee.
Each of these sites offer a free trial, but make sure that you cancel before the end of the trial otherwise your credit card will get charged.
The sites that are featured today are:
DreamBox.com -
DreamBox Learning provides more than 350 math lessons and
completely individualized learning in an engaging and effective
game experience that kids really like!
$59.95 for 6 month subscription with a 2 week free trial available
Indian Math Online.com -
Indian Math Online is a web-based learning system developed with the principles of
mathematics as practiced throughout the education system in India.
7 Day free trial, then $15/month per child.
Go Go Lingo.com -
The kid's game that teaches over 200 words and phrases in Spanish!
$9.95/month, Special Value $14.95 3 month Trial.
Smarty Card.com -
Content editors and award-winning content partners, including Learning.com, Ignite Learning, and LearnStar, have devoted much research and development to prepare ideal
learning activities for each age, grade, and skill level of children ages 7-12.
Free trial with prices starting at $10 for cards that can be used for education.
And 2 sites for test preparation:
Grockit.com -
Interactive test prepartion for the SAT, ACT, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, and GRE.
$49.95 for 1 year subscription.
BrightStorm.com -
Study for the ACT or the SAT.
$99 for a full course.
My Recommendation is for parents or educators to try it out first together with your child.
Remember, if they do not use it, the fee is a waste of time. If they want to use it, then
the money is secondard to the educational advances that you child is making.
Humor Corner
(Sponsored by: Test Taking Humor
Father: Why did you fail your mathematics test?
Son: On Monday, teacher said 3+5=8
Father: So?
Son: On Tuesday, she said 4+4=8 And on Wednesday, she said 6+2=8.
If she can't make up her mind, how do I know the right answer?
This past fall semester, at the University, there were two sophomores who were taking Organic Chemistry and who did pretty well on all of the quizzes, midterms, labs, etc. Going into the final exam, they had solid "A's."
These two friends were so confident going into the final that the weekend before finals week (even though the Chem. final was on Monday), they decided to go up to University of Virginia to a party with some friends.
So they did this and had a great time. However, they ended up staying longer than they planned, and they didn't make it back to Duke until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then, they found Professor Aldric after the final and explained to him why they missed it.
They told him that they went up to Virginia for the weekend, and had planned to come back in time to study, but that they had a flat tire on the way back and didn't have a spare and couldn't get help for a long time. So they were late getting back to campus.
Aldric thought this over and agreed that they could make up the final on the following day. The two guys were elated and relieved. So, they studied that night and went in the next day at the time that Aldric had told them.
He placed them in separate rooms, handed each of them a test booklet and told them to begin. They looked at the first problem, which was something simple about free radical formation and was worth 5 points. "Cool" they thought, "this is going to be easy."
They did that problem and then turned the page.
They were unprepared, however, for what they saw on the next page.
It said: (95 points) "Which tire?"
The student for their University final examination which consists of "yes/no" type questions.
They take their seat in the examination hall, stares at the question paper for five minutes,
and then in a fit of inspiration take out a coin start tossing the coin and marking the answer sheet -
Yes for Heads and No for Tails. Within a half an hour, they are all done whereas the rest of the class is sweating it out.
During the last few minutes, they are seen desperately throwing the coin, swearing and sweating.
The moderator, alarmed, approaches them and asks what is going on.
"I finished the exam in half an hour. But," they say, "I am rechecking my answers."
The math teacher posed this problem, "A wealthy man dies and leaves ten million dollars. One fifth is to go to his wife, one fifth is to go to his son, one sixth to his butler, and the rest to charity.
Now, what does each get?"
The savvy student answered, "A lawyer!"
Site of the Week
(Sponsored by: How Stuff Works.com -
For the third year in a row, the federal minimum wage has increased. On Friday, a minimum hourly rate of $7.25 went into effect -- up from $6.55. Who's responsible for deciding how much minimum wage should be?
For the answer to this question and more, go to How Stuff Works.com.
Have a great summer vacation and get ready for a fantastic school year.
What are we Doing This Summer?
It is very difficult when our families have to scale back.
The economy has forced everyone to think about how to survive.
We have college students telling their friends, I have to take a year off.
When pressed, they usually don't reveal that they need to help the family survive back
home by working. They usually say, well I am burned out and need the time off.
The kids ask parents, so where are we going this summer? The parents just look at
each other and say, well we are going to explore the area right around our community. There
are so many things we have never done.
With both of my kids raised, I think back to the many trips we took. Yes, it was fun going
all of those places. But what I wish we would have done more is just spending more time together.
So if your kids are under 12, do more activities as a family while they still want to be with you.
That time will pass all so quickly and pretty soon you find yourself asking, can I come visit you
at college and they respond, this is not a good weekend.
Humor Corner
Stories About Summer Vacation
I went on vacation last week. What a week it was. Only rained twice - once for three days, once for four.
Summer vacation was over and Little Johnny returned back to school.
Only two days later his teacher phoned his mother to tell her that he was misbehaving.
"Wait a minute," she said. "I had Johnny with me for three months and I never called you once when he misbehaved!"
Summer vacation was over and the teacher asked Little Billy about his family trip. "We visited my grandmother in Minneapolis, Minnesota."
The teacher asked, "Good, can you tell the class how you spell that?"
After careful thought, Little Johnny said, "Actually, we went to Ohio."
A man was getting a haircut prior to a trip to Rome. He mentioned the trip to the barber who responded, "Rome? Why would anyone want to go there?
It's crowded & dirty and full of Italians. You're crazy to go to Rome.
So, how are you getting there?"
"We're taking TWA," was the reply. "We got a great rate!"
"TWA?" exclaimed the barber. "That's a terrible airline. Their planes are old, their flight attendants are ugly, and they're always late.
So, where are you staying in Rome?"
"We'll be at the downtown International Marriott."
"That dump! That's the worst hotel in the city. The rooms are small, the service is surly and they're overpriced. So, whatcha doing when you get there?"
"We're going to go to see the Vatican and we hope to see the Pope."
"That's rich," laughed the barber. "You and a million other people trying to see him. He'll look the size of an ant. Boy, good luck on this lousy trip of yours. You're going to need it."
A month later, the man again came in for his regular haircut. The barber asked him about his trip to Rome.
"It was wonderful," explained the man, "not only were we on time in one of TWA's brand new planes, but it was overbooked and they bumped us up to first class. The food and wine were wonderful, and I had a beautiful 28 year old stewardess who waited on me hand and foot.
And the hotel-it was great! They'd just finished a $25 million remodeling job and now it's the finest hotel in the city. They, too, were overbooked, so they apologized and gave us the presidential suite at no extra charge!"
"Well," muttered the barber, "I know you didn't get to see the pope."
"Actually, we were quite lucky, for as we toured the Vatican, a Swiss Guard tapped me on the shoulder and explained that the pope likes to personally meet some of the visitors, and if I'd be so kind as to step into his private room and wait the pope would personally greet me. Sure enough, five minutes later the pope walked through the door and shook my hand! I knelt down as he spoke a few words to me."
"Really?" asked the Barber. "What'd he say?"
He said, "Where'd you get the lousy haircut?
Last summer, the Former President and Mrs. Clinton were vacationing in their home state of Arkansas. On a venture one day, they stopped at a service station to fill up the car with gas. It seemed that the owner of the station was once Hillary’s high school love.
They exchanged hellos, and went on their way.
As they were driving on to their destination, Bill put his arm around Hillary and said, “Well, honey, if you had stayed with him, you would be the wife of a service station owner today.”
She smirked and replied, “No, if I had stayed with him, he would be President of the United States.”
For his vacation on the Florida coast, a tourist capsized his boat. He could swim, but his fear of alligators kept him clinging to the overturned craft. Spotting and old beachcomber standing on the shore, the tourist shouted, "Are there any gators around here?!"
"Noo," the man hollered back, "they ain't been around for years!"
Feeling safe, the tourist started swimming leisurely toward the shore. About halfway there he asked the guy, "How'd you get rid of the gators?"
"We didn't do nothin'," the beachcomber said. "The sharks got 'em."
Phoenix summers are sot HOT . . .
... We go to McDonalds to get coffee and pour it on our laps -- just to cool off!
... The farmers must feed their cows ice cubes, so they don't give powdered milk.
... The farmers feed their chickens ice chips, so they don't lay hard boiled eggs.
... They don't bother making themometers that go below 70 degrees.
Graduate High School at 18. Is that a requirement. In almost all schools,
kids continue to progress in school based on their age and passing minimum tests.
Now, 1 school in Chugach
District in Alaska has tried something new. The school district featured one of the
lowest scores in the nation. Now dropout rates are cut nearly in half, students now
consistently test above state averages in reading, writing and math, and more than two-thirds of
graduates now go to college. How?
Students are no longer advanced based on age. They are advanced based on grasp of skills.
This is especially important for students who start out kindergarten without the benefit
of a nuturing environment at home and the benefits of pre-school. If they start out behind,
in most cases they never catch up and then by the time they are in High School, they are so
far behind, they drop out and become a drain on society.
Now, according to Parade Magazine,
Westminster, Colorado is trying the same thing. Is this a fad? I certainly hope not. I hope that we
can gear the education process so that every child can be given a track that enables them
to succeed equally.
Humor Corner
Favorite School Jokes
PUPIL: Teacher, would you punish me for something I didn't do? TEACHER: Of course not.
PUPIL: Good, because I didn't do my homework.
TEACHER: This homework looks like your mothers writing. PUPIL: Of course, I used her pen!
I'm so far behind in my homework that my 2nd grade teacher asked me to bring my parents to school.
And I'm in the 5th grade.
The brain is a wonderful thing. Why do you say that? Because it starts working the second you get up in the morning and never stops until you get asked a question in class !
If you had one dollar and you asked your father for another, how many dollars would you have?
One dollar. You don't know your arithmetic. You don't know my father!
What kind of pliers do you use in arithmetic? Multipliers !
Where was the Declaration of Independance signed? At the bottom !
How did you do in your tests? I did what George Washington did! What was that? Went down in history !
Site of the Week
Public School Insights.Org - I found this site
while I was researching the featured story this week. I started going through it and found
that they are doing what we all want, trying to find ideas that will help schools get better.
Check it out and find out who Jasmine Britton is.
Super Bowl Coach Not Talked About
When Mike Tomlin ran out on the field for the Super Bowl and later ran off the field as the Super Bowl champion coach,
I did not read one story about Mike Tomlin as a black head coach. Why? Because in 2006, my Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith and
his counter part at Indianapolis, Tony Dungy already had paved the way.
When Mike Tomlin ran off the field in Tampa Bay, he was just a Super Bowl champion coach.
That is what made it such a significant issue. The issue was that it was not significant.
President Obama has been in office for less than 1 month. I have not read one story about him as a black man.
Now the stories are normal about how he is on his 4th choice for Commerce Secretary.
Dr. King's dream was that all men/women are treated equally. Even though the framers of the constitution
were slave owners, what they wrote was greater than even them.
Please make today a non significant day. In these times, let us work even harder to work
together. That is the only way we will get through this dark time in our history and turn on the light of a brighter future.
Humor Corner (Sponsored by: Cartoon Bank)
Medical Humor
Patient to optometrist: I’m very worried about the outcome of this operation, doctor. What are the chances?
Optometrist to patient: Don’t worry, you won’t be able to see the difference.
As part of the admission procedure in the hospital where I work, I ask the patients if they are allergic to anything.
If they are, I print it on an allergy band placed on the patients' wrists.
Once when I asked an elderly woman if she had any allergies, she said she couldn't eat bananas.
Imagine my surprise when several hours later a very irate son came out to the nurses' station demanding,
"Who's responsible for labelling my mother 'bananas'?"
A young woman was in the hospital, recovering from major surgery. She hated being stuck in the tiny little room all day and to make matters worse, the daily routine was starting to get to her. Every morning, for example, the nurse would bring her breakfast (which always consisted of an egg, piece of toast, and glass of apple juice). She would then return a little bit later to empty the urine bottle. And so it continued...
Finally, one morning, she decided to have a little fun. She ate the eggs and the toast, but went to the bathroom where she cleaned the urine bottle out, then poured the apple juice into it. When the nurse returned later that morning, he took a look at the bottle and a frown came over his face.
"Obviously, you enjoyed your breakfast, but something must be wrong because this looks a little cloudy," he said, pointing to the urine bottle.
"Oh, really?" she replied, picking up the bottle in question and putting it to her lips. "In that case, we’d better run it through again..."
Bob to X-ray technician after swallowing some money:
"Do you see any change in me?"
Children's Hospital of Boston - When Lucy Mercier wrote me to tell
me about the Children's Hospital of Boston web site, I put it in my stack of sites to look at.
I get a lot of requests from various sites around the world to feature them on OneKey.com.
However, recently I have ministered to several individuals that have gone through Cancer and
I was ready for a site that could focus on keeping a positive attitude during times when
it is easy to focus on the negatives. This is one hospital's way of creating a network for
families and children to work together to get through these tough times. Check out Zebrafish and if you sign up, you will find out what
happens to Vita's friend on Episode 3 (which is only available if you register).
Competition Gone Wrong
When the young women from Dallas Academy took to the court on January 13, 2009, they were just out to play a competitive basketball game.
They knew the team that they faced was very good. They knew in the back of their minds that there was no way that they could beat them.
But they also knew that the score did not matter. They represented their school and they were going to make their school proud of them.
The final score was 100-0. We do not know what went through the minds of the young women from Covenant School.
We can say they were a reflection of their coach, Micah Grimes.
Coach Grimes had the girls in full court press until 4 minutes left in the game after they scored their 100th point.
Coach Grimes is no longer the coach at Covenant Christian. Why, because when the school apologized for their play, Coach Grimes disagreed.
The school, built on Christian values, did not think that Coach Grimes represented them.
My hope is that Coach Grimes never coaches Youth again. Youth need to learn that competition is one thing, fair play and "Christian Values" is another.
What should the girls from Covenant Christian learn from this experience? Take a lead from the girls from Dallas Academy.
When they left the court that day, they held their heads up high. They knew that they gave it their best and walked off the court proudly.
They absolutely represented their school.
At one point during a game, the coach said to one of his young players, "Do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?" The little girl nodded yes.
"Do you understand that what matters is whether we win together as a team?" The little girl nodded yes.
"So," the coach continued, "when a foul is called, or you are called for traveling, you don't argue or curse or attack the ref. Do you understand all that?" Again, the girl nodded yes.
"Good," said the coach. "Now go over there and explain it to your mother."
A guy stood over his tee shot for what seemed an eternity, looking up, looking down, measuring the distance, figuring the wind direction and speed. Driving his partner nuts.
Finally his exasperated partner says, "What the heck is taking so long? Hit the darn ball!"
The guy answers, "My wife is up there watching me from the clubhouse. I want to make this a perfect shot."
Man, you don't stand a snowball's chance of hitting her from here!"
A father and son went fishing one day. While they were out in the boat, the boy suddenly became curious about the world around him. He asked his father, "How does this boat float?
The father replied, "Don't rightly know son." A little later, the boy looked at his father and asked, "How do fish breath underwater?"
Once again the father replied, "Don't rightly know son." A little later the boy asked his father, "Why is the sky blue?"
Again, the father replied. "Don't rightly know son." Finally, the boy asked his father, "Dad, do you mind my asking you all of these questions?"
The father replied, "Of course not, you don't ask questions, you never learn nothin'."
Youth Radio - NPR.org sponsors Youth Radio.
It is great fun listening to the youth and their insights. I was especially touched by a teen that decided that she
would not get her drivers license because cars polute so badly. I hope she can remember these ideals many years from now.
