Educator. Blogger. Learner. Photographer. Geek. The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. — Dorothy Parker Regularly ranting at https://www.assortedstuff.com Photo galleries at https://timstahmer.smugmug.com
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Having a hard time finding something to boycott. Can’t remember the last ABC show I watched (does Kimmel on YouTube count?). Got tired of Only Murders after third season & dropped Disney. Never liked food at Chick-fil-A or McDonalds. Don’t drink coffee so no Starbucks. Am I missing something? 🤔
I bet you can find a protest or two out there. :)
Found two nearby No Kings protests for October 18 and not sure which one to join. Maybe the one in West Springfield (www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...) since I might run into @jenorr.bsky.social. :-)
If you want to “cancel” something at Disney, skip the trip to Disney World and take the kids to Mexico, Costa Rica, Iceland, or somewhere else that’s at least a little more authentic.
Ok, Virginia, it’s time to start paying attention to the election! Early voting starts today. Plenty of time to register, vote in person, or get a mail ballot. Indifferent cynics can claim there’s “no difference” between candidates but the past nine months shows just how wrong that is. #voteblue
Repeat creepy meat problems at Boar’s Head plants draw congressional scrutiny The "markets-can-regulate-themselves" types want to cut more regulations and eliminate even the few meat packing inspectors that are left on the job. I guess America was great when Upton Sinclair was writing.
I hope Mamdani is able to close the deal. Simply based on how many traditional politicians are nervous about him, I imagine his “dangerous” ideas will be really good for anyone in NYC who is not wealthy.
Meta finally gets around to building an iPad-specific app for Instagram and... it really, really sucks. This is why I hope the new Foto app/service (fotoapp.co) is able to succeed. I signed up for photo sharing. I don't want to see lots of random video clips, with ads after every three posts.
I guess I don’t spend enough time on social media because I really have no idea who Charlie Kirk was. Should I?
AI Doesn’t Make Learning Personal Drill-and-practice dispensed by an AI bot is NOT the same as learning. No matter how much you pay for it.
“Bunch said that during a lunch meeting with President Donald Trump last week, he had sensed Trump’s ‘admiration and regard for the Smithsonian.’” Some call that “diplomacy”. Others, just plain BS. Has TACO ever actually visited a Smithsonian museum?
Defending Yourself Against AI Why not copyright yourself?
Alaska flies from DCA but not to where I need to go. A friend who regularly flies to Denver and Seattle swears by them.
I’ve flown American Airlines six times this year. Their record: on time, late, late, (cancel, cancel, late), late, late. Plus their “loyalty” program has been turned into crap. Are any of the other carriers better?
My niece in Paris and friends in Mexico listen to the WWDTM podcast so that's global-ish.
The Good and Bad of Saying No In the milquetoast verbal style of the Washington Post, this is going to be a “challenging” year for public schools in this area.
With RSV coming for you soon. :) I got the whole battery (including COVID) at my annual check up last week. I'm Kennedy's worst nightmare: someone who follows their doctor's advice.
We ranked 5,700 holidays, from Labor Day to World Dracula Day. Which do you celebrate? A deep rabbit hole, good for wasting time on the last workday before a long weekend. Enjoy.
Isn’t that the secret sauce that makes you a Jedi? 🤨
I started my blog on Typepad before moving to WordPress. Don’t have many fond memories of it in those days (early 2000’s) since the system was rather clunky. But maybe WP was only slightly less clunky? :)
I'm also enjoying their discussions in the podcast and it prompted me to re-read the original book.
Episode 4 of Re:Building Schools is out! @mrchase.bsky.social and I take on our ideas from the chapter "Build Modern Schools" to see what they hold for us today. www.buzzsprout.com/2523856/epis...
Just backed Cory Doctorow's latest book on Kickstarter. His projects are just about the only sure thing on that platform anymore, both in terms of quality and delivery on time. Part of my goal to avoid Amazon and only buy books on paper from independent booksellers or ebooks without DRM.
You hosted the first EduCon in January 2008 (9?) That’s when I first visited SLA. Good memories.
Congratulations, to you and everyone who has been a part of the SLA family. But has it really been 20 years? I feel old. 😂
Earlier this year, one of the items on a niece’s baby registry was a pack of movie tickets. I understand the “need” but, technically speaking, that’s not really for the new baby. :)
The one and only answer to TACO demands like this is: “NO!”. You can add “HELL” in front if you like, or some variation on “FRACK”, but the all-caps is required. Media, universities, museums, corporations, local governments, etc, please learn this basic truth.
Somewhere in the ancient past (back when I was still working for Fairfax), people starting viewing email as an instant messaging service and expecting almost immediate replies. I began responding that my other work only allowed me to check email twice a day. They got the message, so to speak. :)
In the words of the late, great Topol, Tradition!
We drove Trump’s D.C. Turns out, he may not be seeing much. This hard-hitting “journalism”, credited to four writers, appears in the Style section of the @washingtonpost.com But it’s still more pushback than they give TACO on the news pages.
And if you did that every day for a week, it would only cost you $34 since NYC caps the amount spent for public transit. When I was in the city in July, I rode everywhere on the subway and only paid half that since I'm an old fart. :-)
Medical journal rejects Kennedy's call for retraction of vaccine study Actual medical professionals vs. conspiracy whack-a-doodle. I know which side I trust for accurate information.
AOL ends dial-up: Why the goodbye to that scratchy sounds matters Don’t worry, kids. You’re not missing anything.
Teacher Twitter was pretty full of unabashed schoolmen when I left a couple of years ago. As to decorating the classroom, I left that to the kids. The walls were never bare and we were all better for it. 😀
Welcome to the Era of Big Stupid in America Even universities, foundations, and R&D-dependent companies are fostering this race to the intellectual bottom. We are so screwed.
Is that what Rome looks like? Very different from the travel brochures. 😂
Lesson planning was a part of my job that I actually liked. It was all about considering the students in each class and adapting the resources to fit their needs. I don't get how an AI bot could understand the kids well enough to do that.
Let's start with candidates and organizations still sending me email "from" James Carville. Any Democrat still taking advice from that guy (and consultants like him) deserves to lose. We need leaders who are willing to fight back - hard - and clearly present voters with ideas for real change.
Also, already subscribed to the podcast.
Loved the original book! Recommended it and “borrowed” :) from it for many discussions and inservice activities back when I was still employed. I’ll have to take a look at the 2.0 version.
We bought a new car last December, about a year earlier than planned. The selling price on that model has already jumped by about $500, mostly based on the threat of tariffs. It will likely spike higher when all this stupidity really kicks in.
K12 math education in this country is totally screwed up. Kids/adults need a solid understanding of statistics far more than Calculus. Oh, and Petri’s essay is very funny. Curse the @washingtonpost.com for letting her go.
If you ever have the chance to see WWDTM in person, don’t hesitate to grab tickets! Last time for me was a year ago at Wolf Trap (with Anthony Fauci!). Remember when things were so much more optimistic? 🫤
See also: Audrey Watters’ “Teaching Machines: The History of Personalized Learning”. We have sooooo been here before.
DOGE builds AI tool to cut 50 percent of federal regulations AI in general has been - at best - a mixed bag. There's no reason to believe a system built by Musk's minions will be anything but a complete mess.
Charles Lindbergh was a Nazi puppet—and his famous flight was overrated. Here’s why. "Can a legendary human endeavor ever be celebrated if the 'hero' turns out to have been so deeply flawed?" Good question. Another example of how real history is often more interesting than the myths and legends.
I discovered Tom Leher, Stan Freberg, and Mad Magazine about the same time in the early 60's and all warped my sense of humor for life. I am eternally grateful. I still have The Remains of Tom Leher (a collection of his works on CD) on my bookshelf and it is the soundtrack for this afternoon.
When we were shopping for a car last December, I got into a couple of odd chat sessions with the “customer experience specialist” at a local Honda dealer. We found another dealer for the test drive and emailed them to tell them why. Got no response so I guess they didn’t need the business.
According to the New York Times: "Japan promised to import more American goods and will pay a tariff on exports of 15 percent." I understand basic economics better than the @nytimes.com! Japan won't pay for this stupidity. American companies, and ultimately consumers, pay the tariffs!
Idea for HBO: Hire Colbert to replace Bill Maher (who hasn’t been funny since 1999). Hire Jon Stewart (before Paramount fires him) for a weekly show. Give Jordan Klepper his own show. With John Oliver, you now have the best of the Daily Show every week. I’d subscribe just for that combo.
That’s why we were in town: to make great pics. 😊
Afternoon “appointment”? Definitely over. Is this line on Draft Kings?
Big surprise and great pleasure. Keep rolling!
If he actually likes BBQ potato chips, that would be disqualifying. :)
I know it’s far from an historical record of the Scopes trial, but Inherent the Wind (1960) is one of my favorite movies of all time. Outstanding writing and performances.
Virginia’s top prosecutor targets drugs, crime — and Northern Va. schools Please, Virginia, pay close attention to our off-off-year elections this fall. Vote out this guy - and the rest of the MAGA wannabe GOP ticket.
Watched the Love Boat in first run, saw Wrath of Kahn the week it first opened, and remember the Chrysler Cordoba ads. Old enough for you. (oh, and being picky, it was "rich Corinthian leather" not fine. :-)
It only takes a relatively small number of ignorant, unserious, selfish people to screw up society for everyone else. Unfortunately, that's who we have running national health policy at the moment.
Coding For All? Nevermind. It's time for educators to stop jumping on every new tech bandwagon and take a serious look at the kind of learning kids in K12 really need.
Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security are just overrun with waste, fraud, and abuse. Except for me and my family. Or anyone I know. Or anyone in red states.
Google Chrome (iPhone, iPad, and Mac) regularly asks for permission to connect with Bluetooth devices and I cannot figure out why. I guess these companies haven't made enough profit from the personal data they've already collected. :)
Do not get that reference at all. This is a good time to be blissfully ignorant. :)
I was unaware that Musk had assembled anything in the first place. I just assumed “America’s Party” was vaporware like so many of his other products.
MEDIC!! ;)
I'm booking a trip to another country over July 4, 2026 just so I don't have to be around for whatever grotesque circus they devise.
Tradition Too many people in this country forget that there is more to "patriotism" than getting drunk, shooting off fireworks, and shouting U-S-A at the top of your lungs.
The End of Mass Testing Looking for silver linings in the increasingly bleak landscape.
GOP tax bill includes a $6,000 ‘senior deduction.’ "... the provision would not benefit tens of millions of low-income seniors, and it would hasten the date by which the Social Security trust fund runs out of money..." Big, ugly scams as far as the eye can see.
Most people only consider the user-facing part of almost every recent innovation. Another example: the package arrives in one day but few think about the infrastructure (and environmental waste) required to make it happen.
A Travel Tale In which a seasoned planner makes a rookie mistake and pays for it. No travelers were harmed in the process. :)
I’m partial to frack. Can’t go wrong with the classics. :)
I don't know much about the presumed Democratic nominee for New York Mayor, Zohran Mamdani. However, based solely on the panicky reaction from some of his critics (Dems and GOP), I would be inclined to vote for him if I lived in the city. And most of those folks don't deserve anyone's vote.
The Chan-Zuckerbergs stopped funding social causes. 400 kids lost their school. We need strong public schools for every child, paid for by billionaires (and the rest of us) through taxes. This kind of education is just a vanity project that exists at the whim of the donor.
And that’s the polite way to put it. :)
How Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans As long as the banks are making money (and paying their bribes on time), this government could care less if ordinary people are being scammed.
Congress, Now More Than Ever, We Need Your Cowardice The Onion paid to send this editorial to every member of Congress, as well as putting it in the NYTimes. The least we can do is flood their email boxes with links to the video.
Who needs experts, data, history, and allies when you got “vibes”? “There is no intelligence” describes all policy in this administration.
it’s even more demoralizing when the history you’re repeating is history you were around for the first time
Shyam Sankar, CTO of Palantir, says the “US is in an ‘undeclared state of emergency’ that requires a tech-led military rehaul.” What could possibly go wrong?* *(we are so royally screwed)
Relatable but I'd wager that your last second decisions won't get anyone killed. Or maybe your job is more lethal than I thought. :-)
I missed that both Hashmi and Rouse were endorsed by the VEA.
Agree. We need a strong candidate to primary Warner next year.
Based on an endorsement from VEA and recommendations from friends in the Virginia Beach area, I voted for Aaron Rouse for LG. I don't know much about any of the candidates but Stoney has the endorsement of Terry McAuliffe so that's an automatic no.
First you need to define what is meant by “success”. The narcissist-in-chief wasn’t able to offer even that in advance of this expensive mess.
Was in DC this morning - on business completely unrelated to TACO's ego trip - and grabbed a few images. The rest are sadder.
AI does involve having faith in a largely unseen, unknowable, and often contradictory entity. Sounds like religion to me. :)
A little context for those not in the DC area: that parade route is *one* mile. At $45 million (probably more), that works out to be about $8500 per foot. I'm also wondering where they put all that equipment when it reaches the end of the route. There's not a lot of parking in that area. :-)
I don’t know much about the NYC election, other than Cuomo should be in jail, not running for office. But it speaks volumes about our current electoral process when a candidate must declare they are not a sleaze bag in a debate. Good luck to Mr. Mamdami.
My last day was a complete blur. I had to pack up quickly since they were starting a renovation project on that part of the building literally the next day. Congratulations and looking forward to seeing what you do next.
He’s 78 physically but mentally he’s spent most of his life in the terrible-twos. And that “it’s-all-about-me” attitude is why we’re in deep do-do (to keep the metaphor going :-).
Military parade, big protests will fuel clashing visions of America "Clashing visions"?? This kind of both-siding anything involving the TACO reinforces the fact that editors at the @washingtonpost.com have no spine.
On top of everything else, there is a growing chance of rain and thunderstorms in the DC area on Saturday night. We can only hope it arrives around 6:30. :)
Hollywood studios target AI image generator in copyright lawsuit My first thought is that what users are doing should be covered under fair use. But the AI company ingesting all these images to make it possible probably is not. As always, the usual "I'm-not-a-lawyer" caveat applies.
Army parade will cause numerous D.C. street closures, some lasting four days "...four days of closed streets for a 90-minute parade..." Security plans include "drones, metal detectors and thousands of police officers". I keep thinking this can't get worse, but I'm sure it will.
For the orange narcissist's parade on Saturday, the Army is recommending that people register in order to "get through security quicker". Just give them your email address and cell phone number. What could possibly go wrong?
Kennedy Center's free show sponsored by pest control company flopped big: report Wonder how many people ordered the max number of tickets and then didn’t use them. Nobody on the KC mailing list would do such a thing. Right? ;-)
Immigration hater and hypocrite anntelnaes.substack.com/p/stephen-mi...
Major DC Performing Arts Org Will Skip Kennedy Center for New Season That will leave at least thirty holes in the KC schedule. Love that they’re using 6th & I for some performances.
‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ Remembers When TV Had a Conscience, and a Spine I’m old enough to remember when print journalists also had a spine. Not today at the Times (and Post).
Hope it's better on the real TV. The stream (video and audio) on Max is mediocre at best.