Mattie 3.0, the defictionalized character of my own creation that had been brought to life in 2084 shortly before I myself had been brought to that year via the time travel portal in my cellphone, had told me to sit on his plain gray couch in his apartment in Old Orleans and to wait while he got "Brother Bain" up and running so that he could report in to the Intransigents about the surprise invite I had gotten to the mysterious original New Orleans, now at the bottom of the Bay of Mississippi, and so that's exactly what I did.
(By the way -- if you are confused by any of those words in that ridiculously long run-on sentence, then you should probably read some [or all] of the prior 36 missives.)
But I stayed seated for only just a quick minute -- because I jumped to my feet in surprise when Mattie 3.0 slid the refrigerator out of its nook in the kitchen, and spun it around to reveal a secret compartment in the back. It became clear that that was where "Brother Bain" was housed.
"A fax machine?!", I said aloud, half questioning and half naming what I was seeing as if I was a naturalist in the wild who had come across an animal for the first time that everyone had thought was long extinct.
Mattie 3.0 smirked.
"Indeed -- a fax machine. We found that the easiest way to communicate in secret code is to resurrect an ancient technology. We can still plug into the Vitalnet, but the transmission is so lowkey, it's virtually undetectable. It registers as little more than noise."
As he explained, he was quickly filling a blank piece of paper with rows and rows of images. When he saw me looking intently at what he had created, he provided an explanation for that as well.
"But just in case -- we conscripted the best of the old glyph type languages for our cause."
He paused and stared right at me, lowering his voice to almost a whisper.
"You can never be too careful."
Once again, I felt awkwardly like the student had become the teacher.
"Never!", he added, one more time for emphasis.
And with the loophole closing that I use at the end of each month when the aforementioned Vitalnet is updating to send a message back to you in your time, I'll leave you with that same thought, as I know now that the First of the Four Uprisings is nigh. YOU can also NEVER be too careful. Until the last day of the month next when I use Troy-in-2019's social media to continue telling this tale, please, I implore you ... BE CAREFUL!
Thursday, February 28, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #1
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a final visit to the SOCIAL STUDIES folder for round three. One of those disciplines that we studied was Sociology, and not to brag, but I aced (or aced plus) *everything* in that class, including this classic assignment where you married a classmate and raised a child together (a child that was, of course, an egg -- because we were a poor city school that couldn't afford those fancy creepy dolls). We had to journal about it (see subsequent photos), and as overachievers, we also designed a house ... and then also processed a full blown divorce (because, as children in the late 80's, that was all the rage and I was actually an expert in the subject matter due to both of my parents' life choices). Regardless, I just thought it would be fun to remember my very first faux marriage (I had a second fake one in college as part of a murder mystery and then a third secret one in 2015).
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/27/19
Used in a sentence: 'In celebration of the reality that 2019 marks the fact that I've been micro-blogging for (at least) 10 years and counting ... let's take a look at the top 10 most viewed posts ... (of any of my blogs combined)."
My 3rd most popular post of all time (to date) originally appeared in my end-of-the-world series I was doing in anticipation of the Mayan Apocalypse that was "happening" on 12.21.12 (as have most of the entries in *this* particular countdown). The actual item is one of just a few from that collection that weren't all "sunshine and light", and was me getting off my chest how I really felt about a certain person from my past that ruled over a darker time in my life. Maybe she was the one who clicked through and read it time and time again? Or maybe it was one of her lawyers to see if anything I said was actionable? Regardless -- it's taking the #3 spot and so it continues to live on ...
100 Things I've Always Wanted To Say But Never Did And Now Maybe Should Since The World Might Be Ending -->
Thing 25:
File this under "I was going to try to wait and outlive you and urinate on your grave" (hey -- it's not all sunshine and light when the world is ending in just 25 days (allegedly)) ... but to she whom I've referred to sometimes as my bio-dad's fourth wife or sometimes as the step-creature, I just want it to be known that I am happy with who I am and content with who I have become IN SPITE OF the way you chose to "raise" your boyfriend/husband's kids not BECAUSE of it. To any attempts to imply that I might not have gotten to college had I not runaway from home in high school, or that the stubborn streak that has served me (mostly) well in my life wouldn't have developed otherwise had I not taken you on as an opponent in my formative years (PS -- my genetic DNA is apparently partly Prussian, so that character trait was there all along) or that the strict we-shall-not-show-love-or-affection-in-this-household beyond making sure that only the most basic of your Maslow needs were met was somehow an intentional well-meaning choice to prepare me for a cold cruel world -- I reject them all. All that is and was positive in my life is because so many others have gone out of their way to fill in the child-raising blanks of my youth and because good always triumphs over evil (and sure, maybe the "evil" comes from the metal plate that they put in your head after your car accident when I was young -- who knows from whence it came ...)! As a matter of fact, the only thing for which I will thank you is the statement you said that set me free nine months prior to my 18th birthday (which is when the government would have allowed me to go) -- "I should have seen to it long ago that you were dead." That touch of crazy was the key to my freedom. So for that -- I give you thanks -- but for absolutely nothing else.
#3 MOST VIEWED POST IN THE LAST 10 YEARS OF MICRO-BLOGGING:
30for30: Favorite Assignments #2
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a final visit to the SEE (Secondary Enrichment Experiences) folder for round three. In it I found the paperwork from one of the special events from early in my sophomore year (an offsite workshop opened up to a certain group of students as coordinated by the guidance office) that was focused on "charting a career path". By the end of the day, I had the skeleton of a plan listing goals to take the PSAT and SAT (check), to go to LVC (check) and to get married and have a career (check and check). On the bottom, I had to list specific steps to take, and on the far left, I wrote "find wife". Luckily for Chris and I (wink-wink), the same sheet says at the very bottom: "Be flexible, your goals are not set in concrete -- re-arrange and change them as you go"!
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #3
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a final visit to the SCIENCE folder for round three -- specifically the PHYSICS notes. A few clarifications ... these are the official notes that I took in the Physics class and not the notes that I passed around in Physics class, as a group of us went a little nuts secretly sharing a sheet of paper on which we all commented throughout class (think "group chat", but 1989 style -- and be warned it got a little "blue"). Also, pictured is a very crisp clean specific format in which we had to submit our labs (the backside of one lab and the front side of another) -- and we figure that we had to do it that way because our physics teacher was a former FBI agent who wanted it to appear like government paperwork. Finally, this lab dated March 11 of 1989 is the last entry in this folder ... and that's because I kind of gave up on the class once senioritis set in (but still got an A 'cause I frontloaded the year with good scores). #truetalk
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Monday, February 25, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #4
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a final visit to the MATH folder for round three, although since I focused on the final section in it from Honors Calculus, it may as well be a foreign language at this point in my life. It's been decades since I thought about (sin)s and (cos)s and integration and differentials -- although I do now recall being appropriately tickled that the work also included (tan)s -- as I shared the abbreviation for "tangents" with that of my own initials (and as I've been known to go off on a few of them on occasion). I'll also take it as good news that theorem 1.5 about how "parallel lines can only be truly parallel if those lines have identical slopes" still actually makes sense to me. (I checked to see if there was a theorem about "blurred lines" to assist all of us in the modern era with understanding that concept, but sadly found none.)
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Sunday, February 24, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #5
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a final visit to the HUMANITIES folder for round three, where the cover sheets for each of the different binders (which represented different marking periods, as I recall) were the prompts that we used for our weekly journals -- because everyone knows that a key part of being human is honing one's skills for reflection, and then regurgitating that insight back to your 11th grade teacher in a secret diary format.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
30for30: Favorite Assignments #6
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a final visit to the HEALTH folder for round three, and since I've been joking about growing up in conservative central PA, I decided to finally look and see exactly what it was that they taught us about sex. I was able to find a segment on the "reproductive systems", where I can now prove that they did teach us about the clitoris (although not what to do with it) before spending a big segment on the menstrual cycle ('cause I'm sure men wrote the chapter and were scared of all that blood down there). Separately, I found the STD notes and that tiny chart about a little thing called AIDS -- or at least how it was presented to high school students in the late 80's.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Saturday, February 23, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #7
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a final visit to the GERMAN folder for round three, and I can't possibly share a remembrance of learning a foreign language without covering the task that would make high school kids giggle once they ate from the tree of schoolyard knowledge and decided that conjugation sounded like a sexual act. Although, as I recall, the giggling stopped once we had to keep straight the advanced tenses of the imperfect, the plueperfect and the future perfect.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Friday, February 22, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #8
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a final visit to the ENGLISH folder for round three, where I pulled essays/papers/writing assignments from each of the grades, mostly to prove that this "me liking words" thing has been happening for a good long time. Truth be told -- I almost always turned in double (or triple) the amount of pages that was required ... and sometimes I went controversial (see my tirade against my gym teacher Mr. Heilman where I may have gone too far by invoking Godwin's Law [you know if you know]) ... but mostly I just poured my heart into those pages. Note that the research paper on the right got me in trouble with my classmates, who weren't happy that I was getting SO much feedback from my teacher (and they weren't). And, of course, this being the late 80's, almost everything was hand written in cursive -- a lost art, I'm sure.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Thursday, February 21, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #9
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a final visit to the DRIVERS' EDUCATION folder for round three, where I found this handy dandy official manual for driving. Truth be told, I walked everywhere for most of high school ... and then rode a 10 speed bike well into my college years before finally learning how to drive (shout out to the votech parking lot where Judy W taught me what I needed to know in the early 90's), so this booklet, courtesy of erstwhile governor Robert B Casey (Sr ... not his son Jr who is now a Senator for the Keystone State), sat in this folder for a good bit until it was finally used.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/20/19
Used in a sentence: 'In celebration of the reality that 2019 marks the fact that I've been micro-blogging for (at least) 10 years and counting ... let's take a look at the top 10 most viewed posts ... (of any of my blogs combined)."
My 4th most popular post of all time (to date) finally breaks the pattern of those in this series almost all being from my Mayan Apocalypse countdown (i.e. the "100 things I've always wanted to say but never did and now maybe should since the world might be ending" posts), and it is also the highest ranked restaurant review I ever did on my companion "50 Tastes of Florida" site (currently on hiatus but expected to return in Q2). Here's the thing -- when you review the local authentic Canadian outpost where you can score POUTINE served many different ways, the people apparently respond. My blog stats won't tell me if everyone who clicked through to this one is Canadian ... but I'm guessing that's highly likely, eh? Here's that post in its entirety:
And so it continues ... a brand new set of tastes for 2017 ...
here's the SIXTEENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA
(coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!
Establishment: Dairy Belle
Location: Dania Beach
Meal: Dinner
Drink: can of CocaCola
Appetizer: n/a
Main: Hamburger Steak
(with gravy, grilled onions and fries)
Side(s): Poutine (and coleslaw)
(REAL WHITE Curd Cheese and REAL brown poutine gravy from Quebec)
Dessert: Banana Split
(vanilla ice cream, topped with hot fudge, strawberry and pineapple [with] whipped cream, peanuts and three cherries)
Server: Counter Service (so order taker's name not gotten)
Website: http://dairybelleicecream.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dairy-Belle-Ice-Cream-143611982333390/
The first time I had Gazebo Room dressing (a Greek style condiment homemade in central PA), I was so enamored, that I drank it from the bottom of my salad and had to be stopped from taking a swig right out the bottle ... to see why that's relevant for this particular eatery "as seen locally on 'Check Please'" (so you just know it HAS to be good) and to see how that might have been a factor in the overall calculation of the Troy-score, read below:
AMBIANCE: 9/10 (somehow I didn't capture any pictures of the area, but luckily you can see some on their own website ... to be clear, it is exactly as it appears -- an eating establishment that catches your eye as you drive past that might remind you of an old fashioned drive in/drive up place where you'd take the family for ice cream at the end of a hot summer day ... and then the Canadian flags come into view, and you start to wonder what Canadian ice cream might taste like ... it's all picnic tables around the counter, but with a special covered patio area in the back for those tricky afternoon thunderstorms ... what was going to be a point deduction because we had to clean off our own table gets wiped out because there WAS a lady out cleaning up who was working in the back and we were eating around the side so she just didn't get to us in time ... BUT then there's another point being deducted because they had Delilah playing on the radio ... and although it's a story for another time and another place, "she" and I don't get along any more)
FOOD: 9/10 (was I happy that my little can of coke cost $1.75? -- no ... was the main dish's hamburger a little salisbury-steak-esque? -- yes ... could there have been fewer onions mixed in? -- sure ... did I care though once I got a taste of that rich brown gravy that covered everything [including the fries and the perfectly textured cheese curds] which served an additional purpose of keeping everything piping hot until the last bite? -- absolutely NOT ... let me put it this way -- I was finished with my meal and I wanted to take the container home because I didn't want to miss a single drop of that gravy ... and since I couldn't do that, I checked to make sure that no one was looking and I picked up the bowl and drank every single bit of that deliciousness ... heck, I might have even taken a scoop of that gravy instead of the strawberry topping on the old fashioned full size banana split ... so why the point deduction? -- because my tablemate got what was purported to be a Chicago dog, and as former Chicagoans, the lack of bright green relish was a slap in our faces)
SERVICE: 9/10 (it's a counter service type of place, where you order and they call your ticket number to go claim your food so there's not too much interaction with employees ... but the order taker was efficient and the aforementioned lady-of-the-tables stepped in when I approached a condiment station with a worried look on my face because I didn't know how to use the plastic utensil dispenser ... just a point lost because no one directed me around the corner to that area [although it could be that they have so many regulars that they just assumed everyone is already "in the know" about the layout])
BACON: 7/10 (for a dollar, the menu lets you add bacon to anything ... but with only one dish for which it was the main thing [a BLT, naturally], it's just not right to give too high a score in this particular category ... although if they find a way to "bacon up" those poutine choices [bacon gravy anyone?], then I am more than willing to retroactively raise the score in this category)
BONUS: 10/10 (+3 for hearing the accents on the customers that serve as an endorsement of the authenticity of the dishes, +3 for having Galvaude and Guidelle on the menu [not that I knew what they were, but all signs point to them being very authentic Quebecian dishes], +3 for us having the perfect timing to arrive when there weren't any long lines and to get in to order the banana split after the meal before a family of a dozen got out of their cars and +1 for being a place to which we will most definitely return, with visitors in tow, because EVERYONE should have a taste of that gravy)
TroyScore: 44 out of 50 -- aka 88, a B
#4 MOST VIEWED POST IN THE LAST 10 YEARS OF MICRO-BLOGGING:
30for30: Favorite Assignments #10
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a final visit to the COMPUTER folder for round three, where I found this collection of PASCAL programs that represent the beginning and the end of my career in programming (or what today's kids call coding). To the best of my knowledge, PASCAL is now a lost language no longer in use (which makes sense for something that was new thirty years ago), but that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy reminiscing over the special header section at the top which was a place for freestyle comments that, me being me, I turned into an opportunity for snark (that one in the bottom right corner appears to be me taking digs at the new principal's "assertive discipline program" which launched in our senior year).
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #11
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a return to the (recently relocated [yay!]) GERMAN folder for round two, where I found these notes from the second year of (high school) German. On one side, there is a basic somewhat-phonetic primer on how to pronounce the alphabet auf Deutsch. On the other, it's a key (mimeographed!) handout of vocabulary related to articles of clothing. And anyone who recognizes that handwriting as belonging to Mr. Heck will NOT be surprised to see that he added toga, leather pants and lingerie to that high school vocab list.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Monday, February 18, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #12
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a return to the SOCIAL STUDIES folder for round two, where I found this (potentially) incriminating page in my American Studies III notes where I apparently started tracking direct quotes of a certain Mr. Detwiler. I don't think I was necessarily planning on blackmailing him or anything ... and that it was more about just documenting his slow descent into madness. Upon reflection, his quotes kind of sound a little like a certain controversial current occupant of the White House, no?
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Sunday, February 17, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #13
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a return to the SEE programs folder for round two, and if you didn't remember from the last time, these were special offsite Secondary Enrichment Experiences that the "peculiar" kids got to attend. ("Peculiar" is more of a British word ... in our school, "gifted" was used instead.) Basically, the same guidance counselors who once signed me out of an ill-gotten suspension (see story in previous countdown) could also sign us out of *regular* school, so that we could travel over to the next county to do an in-depth dive into whether China's communism was any better than our capitalism -- a type of lesson our little high schools simply couldn't provide.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
30for30: Favorite Assignments #14
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a return to the SCIENCE folder for round two, where I found this handy guide to the most expensive equipment we were allowed to touch back then. Of course, since this is a public school, I'm guessing that these dark black compound microscopes might *still* be in rotation. Or maybe it's all fancy 3d printers and digital or electron versions. Maybe -- who knows?! Regardless, us and ours will always have *these* to fill our memories of the first time we all saw our first honest to goodness cells.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Saturday, February 16, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #15
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a return to the MATH folder for round two, where we eventually expanded our knowledge by getting to the section on "imaginary numbers". Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure that I learned about "imaginary friends" from Sesame Street prior to that ... so Mr. Yenser's lessons on "imaginary numbers" was just a natural progression. (Kids -- *this* is the kind of fun stuff in which we engaged before Common Core Math came along to get everyone going.)
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Friday, February 15, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #16
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a return to the HUMANITIES folder for round two, where we apparently sometimes tackled some of the big stuff ... like the concept of "freedom" in the "philosophies" of Freud, Darwin, Marx and Christ. I'm not sure why I'm suddenly using "quotation marks" around those words ... unless maybe it's because I learned a little bit more than I should have back then and have doubts about both ideas that have lasted for three decades.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Thursday, February 14, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #17
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a return to the HEALTH folder for round two, where I found my notes about when we learned what may be the *most& important thing we could possibly be taught in this class (remember that we grew up in conservative central PA in the late 80's, so the tendency was to focus on safe things over anything more controversial). Now I'm not saying that we could all immediately go out and skip any additional training or schooling and be nurses and doctors, but it was definitely true that we all walked out when the bell rang this day knowing everything about the amazing healing powers of RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation).
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/13/19
Used in a sentence: 'In celebration of the reality that 2019 marks the fact that I've been micro-blogging for (at least) 10 years and counting ... let's take a look at the top 10 most viewed posts ... (of any of my blogs combined)."
My 5th most popular post of all time (to date) also comes from the end-of-the-world series I was doing in anticipation of the Mayan Apocalypse that was "happening" on 12.21.12. (Spoiler alert: no surprise there, if you've been following along.) The actual item is me coming out of the closet about how Ronald Reagan was my first. My first President, that is. The one about whom I was first aware once I started being aware about such things. I'm not sure *why* it's so viewed ... maybe folks later in life didn't realize I grew up in conservative central PA? Regardless -- those darn Genesis puppets will always be in my head.
100 Things I've Always Wanted To Say But Never Did And Now Maybe Should Since The World Might Be Ending -->
Thing 88:
File this under a desire to just go on the record about something ... but I like Ronald Reagan and always have. After all, you never forget your first, and although I was technically born a few months before Watergate and spent my earliest years unaware of Nixon and Ford and Carter (well I can vaguely recall Carter 'cause my dad's wife of that time had a distant distant relative who was one of the Iranian hostages or something like that) ... it's Ronnie who was the first president about whom I was really aware. And I know with retrospection, there were some questionable calls now ascribed to him (or to Nancy as he aged -- Contras and ignoring AIDS and all that), but I think it all comes down to being fond of his Great Communicator persona. Or maybe it was just that puppet of him that Phil Collins had in that video. Either way, I'm glad I got to relive it all with the recent 100th birthday hoopla before this world ends in 88 days (allegedly).
#5 MOST VIEWED POST IN THE LAST 10 YEARS OF MICRO-BLOGGING:
30for30: Favorite Assignments #18
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a return to the ENGLISH folder for round two, where I found the easiest book report that any of us ever had to give. In hindsight, I'm not sure if the teacher (was this a Mr. Heverling trick?) didn't want to have grade a bunch of papers ... or if maybe the whole point of the lesson was to teach us about the honor system ... but the truth is that I *did* actually read that book, and then the sequel, and then I watched both mini-series, and then I bought both books for my personal library, and then I picked up any Herman Wouk items I could throughout the years as I had decided way back then that he was to be one of my favorite authors.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #19
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that
Next up -- a return to the DRIVERS' EDUCATION folder for round two, where we were given these handy "everything you need to know about the mechanics of cars just in case your father is being told by his fourth wife that his youngest boy might not really be his and so they never really bonded over things like this" brochures. (Although I will say that, despite having access to this guide, said "youngest boy" later shared a motorcycle with someone a few summers later and each thought the other was taking care of it such that the engine eventually seized up and neither one had a working motorcycle any longer.) Anyways -- this sure was a handy brochure for some folks ... I'm sure.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Monday, February 11, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #20
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- a return to the COMPUTER folder for round two, where I found these notes about how to make sure you considered "spacing concerns" when making "computer reports" and a call to action to be sure that you tailored them to your particular system. The only options back in the late 80's? TRS-80 (from the local Radio Shack no doubt), a little company called APPLE (you may have heard of them), a littler company called COMMODORE (my first pc was a vic-20, and the first ever video game I played was on a cassette tape that connected to it) and a generic PRINTER. Looking through this folder is beginning to make me feel like I'm so old that I was around when they discovered fire.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
Sunday, February 10, 2019
30for30: Favorite Assignments #21
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- the GERMAN folder, although it's more accurately called the *missing* GERMAN folder. Last summer, I actually tracked this page down from my notes to answer a question for a fellow high school classmate who was inquiring about one of the stories Mr. Heck had us read ... and now I'm not quite sure where I placed the folder after I was done (it can only be one of about a dozen places, and I've already checked a half dozen with no success). In the meantime, these notes about Friedrich Durenmatt's 'Der Verdacht' will have to do for this spot in this series.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
30for30: Favorite Assignments #22
In just 48 days, the LHS Class of 1989 will celebrate its 30th high school reunion (on Saturday, March 30, 2019 at 7pm in the back room of the infamous Downtown Lounge) ... which is why I've been posting these special TOP 30 lists (see previous lists of Jukebox Memories and Most Memorable Teachers/Staff).
This month ... it's all about the top 30 favorite assignments (see rules below) -- and that means I'm going into the archives and going way way way back to duotang folders in a bin in storage, most of which that have not even been OPENED for the last three decades.
Next up -- the SOCIAL STUDIES folder, where I learned four things when I reviewed what I think was paperwork from a world studies class: 1) I might have had a serious crack at a career in cartography had I only pursued it. 2) I worked my set of colored pencils *hard*. 3) I got an A+ on that 25 page opus about the Panama Canal. 4) I might have been an over-achiever.
RULES FOR THIS TOP 30 LIST: These are MY favorite assignments. They may also be YOUR favorite assignments -- but they may not be, especially since it's quite conceivable that you have NO favorite assignments. My grades, though, were pretty good ... so, you know ... hence this particular countdown. No negativity or other comments about hoarding will be permitted (after all -- hoarders wouldn't know where [most] of their things are and they wouldn't be so [mostly] organized ... so SHUT YOUR MOUTH about that). The poster is not responsible for any reappearance of any repressed memories you might have about anything that is included in this series. Note: due to the fewer number of days in February, two posts of this kind will show up on Sundays.
NEWS FROM OUR CLASS ON THE FACEBOOK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189980661939188/
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