Warm. Damp. Maybe wet. We had overcast with the threat of rain all day, until late afternoon when the sun actually came out. ‘Course it was hot and humid. I expect more of the same today.
Spent the day doing sorting and cleaning. I’m making a little progress on some of the piles around the house. Not much mind you, but some. I had some things to say over at Aesop’s place https://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2023/05/facial-recognition-psa.html and at Peter’s https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-power-grid-is-looking-increasingly.html
Today I have a couple of things to get- two pickups, and some stuff in storage that I want to take to my swapmeet/sale. I’d also like to do some shipping. I’ve got stuff that has been sitting here waiting to ship to my mom since Christmas, and some stuff for a friend that has been here even longer. Finally shipping it would get it to people that can use it, and get it out of here.
I took 3 bankers boxes full of dvds that I’d ripped to store at my secondary location along with some other stuff when I had the wife’s minivan. I’ve still got several boxes of dvds and CDs to rip. It really goes surprisingly fast when you just keep loading a new one every time one finishes. If I’m sitting at my desk I can get a dozen done in a day. If I’m doing CDs, they go a lot faster. I can get a couple dozen ripped in between ripping DVDs. They are much more accessible when ripped to a server.
The school year is drawing to a close. The kids are doing their mandatory testing. In theory I like the idea of consistent testing. You can’t measure what you don’t test. Yes, you do get ‘teaching to the test’ but if the test is well designed, and encompasses the whole requirement for each grade, isn’t that what you want? No time for flights of fancy or indoctrination, if they are busy teaching what will be tested. Of course, the tests are NOT well designed to test a comprehensive and appropriate grade level worth of learning. The format pretty much boils it all down to a reading comprehension test at its base. If they can’t understand the question, they can’t answer it. And there is a lot of specific stuff that is ‘surplus to requirements.’ The learning is specific, wide, and shallow. Not a lot of foundation, and it’s very glib for lack of a better word. It’s better than a lot of places, most even, if half of what I read online is true.
Education is a prep for the future. Learning how to learn is the best prep of all. Make sure your kids/grandkids are actually learning something.
And keep learning yourself. It will keep you sharp, and might save you time, money, or even your life.
Stack it up.
nick