NCLB

The “No Child Left Behind” legislation enacted by President Bush (2001) is a sinking ship. Bush can offer all the complimentary free drinks and perks that he wants, but the ship has hit the hidden federal governments iceberg, ripped open a huge hole, water is rushing in, and the educational boat is going down.
Schools all over the country are “in need of improvement” most are failing according to federal mandates. AYP (adequate yearly progress) is a sham, and the only documentation available shows there is a “dumbing down” in the educational system, most states have lowered previously set standards in order to show AYP is on the rise. Statistically most high school students are performing way below their grade level. High School dropouts are at an all time high, and parents everywhere are pulling their children out of public school in droves, in favor of home schooling.
Although the NCLB idea might be a good one, much like everything else “W” has instigated, there is no money or a strategy for its survival, and it is doomed to go down in education history as a fall back to the dark ages.
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Cactus Cas

Cas Domalewski

Tucson, Arizona

Anyone that knows what it is like to visit Tucson for Thanksgiving, knows how much fun a person can have, and I did, thanks to my friend Cas!

Seeking advice?

I was just checking some other blogs to see what is out there. I came across “ask pud”? Pud is supposedly an expert on many things but in one particular instance, I found Pud wasn’t all that he is cracked up to be. Some one ask Pud about depression, and what to do about it. Pud’s suggestion, and I quote, “to drink heavily, and consider suicide”.
Anyone that knows anything about depression knows that someone with depression has already considered those options, and possibly looking for an excuse or suggestion to act on them. Even in some of the comments to Pud’s response, others agreed that this was a proper approach. For Pud’s sake, I hope it wasn’t someone close to him. However, given his insensitivity to the subject he might not even care.
From what I know about depression, it is when someone starts talking about it is when they really need help. My suggestion to anyone seeking advice about anything other than incidental information like picking up chicks, (which from what I read Pud has had his share of put downs) don’t even bother to “ask Pud”!
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Factorial Design

I guess you just never know what you are going to wake up to some days. It is a nice enough morning, the sun is streaming in through my big glass doors in the kitchen, and it is actually not to bad a place to hang out since it isn’t freezing in there.
I spent the evening reading about factorial design, and the effect violent cartoons have on children, whether they are frustrated before they watch them or not? Pretty bizarre stuff right before I was to climb in bed, but I have a test on it today and I wanted to be ready this morning. Stuff like that always make me have strange dreams, there has to be something about statistical calculations that twist the brain into knots like a bored sailor would tie. I feel bad for the BoBo doll scientists use for those types of experiments, none of the kids really plays with him, they just beat him up because he is there. Reminds of a bully I once went to school with.
In my dream I was forced to sit in front of a TV with a 12 inch screen, (that alone would frustrate anyone), and made to watch The Simpson’s or maybe it something like South Park. As one, that has never found cartoons very interesting I remember thinking how similar my life is to some of those characters. I write my own script and act it out on a daily basis where I live, and there are times it is a cartoon. We have our own Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fud, and the whole Looney Tunes gang living right here. When I woke up, I was back in the real world, sort of. All the cartoon characters had all left and went back to where ever it is that they go, as for me I am going to go out and see what my day has in store!
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Firewood

Thousand Lake Mountain

A howling wind blew from the west all night; I think my house is setting crooked this morning. Any leaves left on the trees have surely found their way to Hanksville, possibly Denver by now. I cannot see Boulder Mountain, as it is covered in clouds; I know it has to be snowing hard up there. Days like this put me into deep contemplation about all the things I should be doing, but can’t.
I have yet to start a fire in the stove, because the kindling I need is buried under a pile of leaves, and most likely wet. It really isn’t that cold, it just looks like it, which is enough to make me shiver. Many of the clocks in my house show different from one another; I haven’t taken the time to reset them after the time change two weeks ago. It doesn’t really matter all that much, the only thing that really matters is when the sun comes up or goes down, and the sun is on its own schedule.
I do see horse trailers passing by on the highway; it is probably the cowboys going down to push cows’ farther out into the desert for the winter where they will mingle with the buffalo, and big bucks from the Henry Mountains. We had enough moisture this year that forage should be plentiful down there, so the cows will be happy just to hang out, and not try and meander back to the corrals where the hay is stacked.
I am beginning to feel the breeze that is finding its way through the cracks in this old house, it is time to go find some wood.
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The Desert

The leaves have all dropped off the trees, and cover my lawn like a thick brown blanket that rustles when Tasha walks through them. Through the empty tree branches, I can see Boulder Mountain. There has been snow on the north face for about a month now, a sure sign winter is working its way to Torrey. Weary of its arrival I broke down and began stock piling firewood on my porch a few weeks ago. Lucky I did as I needed some this morning. The morning sun has yet to find a clear spot in the eastern sky to shine through my big glass doors and warm up the kitchen where the coffee pot is. Until it does I will only make quick excursions down the stairs into the meat locker temperature to fill my cup.
A herd of about 20 deer was out in my orchard last night, I could hear them rooting around in the leaves searching for fallen fruit, they kept me awake for wile as my yard light kept turning on and off. I do go check on them from time to time, and they have learned not to be afraid of me, as I am not a threat. I enjoy knowing they feel they can come around, kinda like having pets you don’t have to care for all that much.
I keep thinking about a trip to the desert. It is a place I like to go when it gets cold. The desolation is almost inviting, something solitaire about it that fits my mood on cold windy days. As for now I think I will just slip down into the meat locker for another cup of coffee.
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Caineville, Factory Butte

Ian Filmore, 4 years old

Sandy Ranch, Utah

Sandy Ranch continues to be a place of amazement for me to work at. Day to day I never know what I am going to do, or experience. The cows have come home from their summer vacation on Boulder mountain, and the event has made way for a flurry of activity. Calves are sorted into groups, cows are preg checked, and vaccinated. Recently, Ian Filmore, 4 years old, my newest little friend, provide ample entertainment by being part of the my daily routine at the corrals, and provided smiles for all working the chutes.
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Pictured; Lindsay Banner

Last night at the Wayne High auditorium the “Best of Broadway”, a Musical Revue was performed by Wayne High School Students. The evening was a musical romp through time, and places. The audience was treated to tunes like, Bye,-Bye Birdie, Greased Lightening, and Footloose.
In the finale, Lindsay Banner belted out the “Season of Love” from the movie “Rent” which brought the crowd to its feet.
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Torgerson Timber

Logging

I had the fortunate opportunity to go up on the west end of Boulder yesterday with some logger friends of mine. Any day on the mountain is fine day, but seeing some loggin going on was extra special. There was time it was common to see crews crawling the in the trees, but for a decade now they are about as rare and obsolete as the dinosaur. Federal regulations, and environmentalist have all but shut down the small operator. The sale I was on yesterday above Dark Valley took two years to get, but the hard work and persistence put a smile on some loggers faces that was as big as the mountain itself.
Like a fine garden, the forest needs attention and care. Recent wild fires all over the west are signs that isn’t happening. Under growth and dead wood causes massive damage and reduces access to useable lands. Like pruning urban trees is a must, so goes the need in the forest. Wood is a viable resource, management practices are essential, yet it isn’t being done, and the small operator and rural communities are the one’s paying the price.
So to see what I saw yesterday did me good, and if you could have seen the smiles on those logger’s faces, well it is one of those deals where you just had to be there
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