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Showing posts from November, 2005

Goddamn it

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It didn't work It said my blog is worth $0.00 Let's try it again. My blog is worth $0.00 . How much is your blog worth?

How much is your blog worth?

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My blog is worth exactly: My blog is worth $0.00 . How much is your blog worth? How's that for an ego boost? Dan

I'm trying to find the best way to add images to Blogger

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I wish I could simply just write instead of trying to find the best way to do this stuff. For example, I hate the fact that I can never find images when I'm adding photos to blogger. That's why I need virtual PC. I think I've had it, but I couldn't get it work. Well, there's one image, but I can't see it :( I just don't like adding photos by HTML. Alright, let's see if I can add some Ali G: Alright enough of this. I'm going to find a better blogging client unless I can get Picasa2 on my Mac. If only iPhoto had a blogging interface! Dan

I'm dumping Ecto unless I can add a photo from iphoto NOW

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Testing Oh, here's a guy from Gyeong Ju. But I can't add a picture of Ali G from my iphoto library. I think I'm going to have to get virtual PC and use Picasa2. I don't understand why it simply won't work. I guess I'm going to spend money on buying Ecto. Forget it. I'm going to work on some papers. Dan

I'm using Ecto to Blog

Because Picasa2 doesn't work with iPhoto, I'm trying to find software that I can use to upload my blog my photos. The service I use is blogger and I don't really want to change because I think that I've already placed a year of my life on it. Honestly, I wish I could simply transfer all the information over, but heh, I'm lazy. Maybe I should find a blog service that integrates with Mac more. I'm watching Ali G season one and it just annoys the crap out of me and I'm going to delete it. He's not funny and honestly, he simply annoys the hell out of me. Time to delete. Wait a second... Let's see if I can add a photo. I added it using ecto's iphoto button, but I don't see it.

Your wish will come true...soon.

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Samsung Makes Usable, Flexible LCD READ MORE: Flexible , LCD , Laptops Flexible LCDs are pretty important for a few reasons. They can bend without breaking and can withstand some rough treatment now and again without cracking like a frat boy on meth. This prototype by Samsung is only 7 inches across but it supports up to 640x480 resolution in color and should end up in laptops and cellphones down the line. They'll have to up the resolution first, but expect a bendy Powerbook any day now. Samsung claims biggest flexible LCD panel ever [TheInquirer] -- Daniel Lee Gray Yeoksam, Seoul, South Korea MSN dnlgray e-mail: dnlgray@gmail.com homepage: www.homepage.mac.com/happylunatic Read my blogs at www.happylunatic.blogspot.com Sometimes you've just gotta put it all on the line and go for broke in this poker game we call life.

I'm a Korean Princess

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IMGP0957.JPG Originally uploaded by HappyLunatic . Yo, my new podcast is up. In this episode, DEconstructacon comes out and then conks out and I give up on love.

I'm finished with love

I'm watching Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and I've resolved to give up on love. I don't want to try to find it anymore. I want it to hit me like a Mack Truck without any breaks. The internet is so blah!!! Therefore, I am deleting any embarrassing profile I put on any personal site. Here is one from 2 years ago. I erased it, but I thought you would like to see some desperate seething. Now you can see why I'm single :) Hamlet looking for his Ophelia. To start, I'm not on Prozac. But, I think if Hamlet was on Prozac then he and Ophelia would have had a wonderful loving relationship. I'm a huge Shakespeare fan and I think Hamlet is a masterpiece, but I don't want to be coined as an intellectual know it all, because I'm just as happy watching anime, cooking a great meal, or listening to XPN. I love to learn new things. My last project was to learn how to bake wonderful desserts (I have a margarita cheesecake that'll knock your socks

Adding Cover Art to iTunes

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Adding Album Cover Art to iTunes I had fooled around with doing this once or twice before, but didn't find it intuitive. So to save you the trouble of figuring it for yourself, here's a short tutorial. 1) Open iTunes and select an entire album (using the shift or control key to select multiple songs) and then right click to open the "Get Info" dialog box. 2) Open a browser window with the album cover art you want, and click and drag the image over to iTunes. Hover over the iTunes button in your task bar and the "Multiple Song Information" box will pop open. 3) Now simply release your mouse over the empty Artwork panel and click OK. Then respond “Yes” to “Are you sure you want to change the artwork for multiple items?” question.  

I miss hockey

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Besides my family and my friends, I miss hockey. It's been almost 2 years since I've seen a game. My whole family would sit down and watch the hockey games with an order of pizza and hot wings on the way. The NHL seems so exciting these days and I'm stuck in a country where archery and badminton and golf are the national past times. I need a puck to the face, an icebath. Give me a hockey stick and the feel of chipped ice turning to dew on my breath. 

Full Metal Alchemist

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First of all, Picasa is amazing. I don't believe how many cool features it has. I think it is more user friendly than iphoto. I really need to get a copy of virtual PC, because Apple doesn't make the best software and neither does Microsoft. I think it is Google. Have you checked out Google Earth? It is utterly mindbending to think that this software exists. I mean I'm in South Korea and I can zero in on my home and see the present changes. I know it's not present present, but I haven't been home in a year and a half, so it is pretty new to me. Oh, and Picasa2? It is SOOOO user friendly. It instantly catalogs everything and it makes it easy to find. I can blog it right away AND it is easy to find. The Google Desktop search is as good as Apple too. Don't get me wrong. I love my Mac OS, but there are little things that utterly drive me nuts. Like the other day, I was trying to get my Logitech 250 USB headset to work. I had it plugged in and I could r

The Love Stick

Yeah, but I like the little hook on the end.  (Plus it makes the teacher look like the grim reaper ^. .^)                             On 11/22/05, Dawn wrote:   My first graders at one of my country schools like to test my patience and my will.  Every single time I see them, they speak Korean to me and expect me to reply.  They just do not comprehend that I don't speak Korean.  So they're always asking me if I speak Korean or muttering things like, your hair looks stupid today.  Little brats.    Might I suggest an aluminium baseball bat?  :)   On 11/22/05, Daniel Gray < dnlgray@gmail.com > wrote: A hagwon, whose owner is a friend of mine, invited me.  I am pretty sure it's going to be really nice since he has impeccable tastes.  I almost killed my third graders last class.  I think they broke into a stash of pepero and got themselves all hopped up on sugar before I got in there.   I had to regulate a bit.  Why is that Korean students will only behave when you

Re: a picture for you

A hagwon, whose owner is a friend of mine, invited me.  I am pretty sure it's going to be really nice since he has impeccable tastes.  I almost killed my third graders last class.  I think they broke into a stash of pepero and got themselves all hopped up on sugar before I got in there.   I had to regulate a bit.  Why is that Korean students will only behave when you start yelling at them?  I got all of them to raise their hands up in the air until they all settled down and talked to them about the value of keeping quiet while I am talking. It's cool though, because they don't seem to hold a grudge. I'm thinking if I should invest in a nice lovestick.  A hockey stick might be effective ;)  (just kidding.  I would never hit them, they're too cute :) Well, it's back to class. Dan

Skaboom!

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Ska gives me the energy to make to work on Monday. The Toasters are kewl, but my favorite Ska band is The Smooths. Thank you Nick Shushas for introducing the world of ska to me. Dan 

Fwd: Philosophy of Go!: Re: Came accross your podcast//The story of how Koreans came be be called "gooks"

> > thanks for the info. > > but in America calling a Korean a gook is like being called a n,,,,,g > I figure that racism is just ignorance, so the naming would have been > unintentional and rather ignorant also. > > thanks again, > > Dan > >

Fwd: Philosophy of Go!: Re: Came accross your podcast//The story of how Koreans came be be called "gooks"

Subject: Philosophy of Go!: Re: Came accross your podcast//The story of how Koreans came be be called "gooks" ... has sent you a link to a weblog:   "gook" means not a person but a country(nation).We use Chinese characters.For example, ??(Korea)= ??, ??(America)= ??,etc. I hope this will help you understand the meaning of gook. Blog: Philosophy of Go! Post: Re: Came accross your podcast//The story of how Koreans came be be called "gooks"

Appleseed Armored Mechas

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The Appleseed Armored Mechas are some of the best I've ever seen in an anime. The designs are sleep and rather innovative. Dan 

Re: Came accross your podcast//The story of how Koreans came be be called "gooks"

Thanks for listening to my podcast. It's in the experimental stages so I'm glad I didn't get any death threats yet. I've been called a twinkie too and a gook, but I think it's American stupidity that the racial slang for Koreans is "gook." Americans are called Miguks in Korea. And guk means soup and a person. For example a hanguk saram is a Korean person. A taeguk saram is a Thai person and a yong guk saram is an British person. So what I think what happened is that an American person was trying to have a conversation with a Korean and they heard "miguk saram" so they thought that the Korean person was calling himself a guk while he was really calling the American a guk. This could also work vice versa if the American tried to say he was a person, a "Me Guk" or translated "Me a person," so the Koreans thought that Americans were gooks. Don't worry, I've confused myself too. And my blog might state I dislike Korean

Appleseed

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Another Pic 

Appleseed

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The comic 

I was wrong

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This isn't what I expected Chuck Palaniuk to look like at all. He looks like a regular guy, but then again you might have thought that Issac Newton was a normal guy (but normal people don't ten to stick long, thin metal poles in the spot that your eye and nose meet.) Dan 

Appleseed

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I just saw Appleseed the movie and it was visually amazing! The story would have been groundbreaking if I hadn't seen a billion other animes like Princess Mononoke, Ghost in the Shell, and played Final Fantasy X. The characters are so, wow! I merely hinted on their personalities though because I think they assume that most viewers have seen the series or read the manga (which I am going to do). Highly recommended. Check it out! 

Letters to Dawn...Chuck Palanhniuk

Palanhniuk has an unique ability to dreg up the darkest of the dark and the most disturbing of the disturbing. I wonder what he's like in real person. In my mind, I picture him with a scruffy beard, a hat with ear flaps, blackheads the size of ticks on his nose and glasses so smugged that windex would downright refuse. He would be sitting in a smokey bar, next to an ashtray overflowing with butts in an army jacket and orange hunting overalls which are brown with mud and possibly blood. His boots however would be impeccably maintained. The taint of his leather shoe polish would waif like a warm summer levanter. The shiny sheen of his his cochroach laquered boots would tap left and right, looking for a rabid carcass- a hexed wanderer brimming over with tales, to first befriend and then deconstruct. Dan Dawn wrote: Palahniuk is one of my favorite writers. I have an autographed copy of Lullaby on my bookshelf right now, and I have - or have read - some of his other stuff (besid

I can't hear what people are saying on GARAGEBAND

ARRRGGHHH! I can't hear what people are saying when i try to record my podcast through Skype and Garageband!!!!

Letters to Gina

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You work with someone from Weirton West Virginia? That's so strange, huh, did we fix his/her house? I am currently sitting in my office and freezing to death because my school tends to leave the heat off until the frost tends to build up on the lenses of our glasses and our every breath blinds the computer screen with a sheen of foggy exhale. I only have a half hour to go, so I'm going to drink cup after cup of hot coffee to keep my core temperature up. So you're moving to DC? That's great. I always loved going to see the cherry blossums in the spring. I would go there with my parents, but being young I don't think I ever appreciated it enough for them. It sounds like you are doing well. Working for the Navy sounds like fun, so do you get special perks like 50% off on anchor tattoos or marina rides? Oh, do you have a little sailor outfit! Sorry, I think working around elementary students is reducing my mentality to their level. My last class and I had an insult con

I'm attempting to podcast

I'm going to bring Henry and I to the world stage, so I'm trying to figure out how to get this thing to work. I can record Skype now, but I have to get rid of the latency. This is off of www.360east.com Yeah this is a problem of so-called latency. To reduce the echo problem (you will not get rid of it completely) go to GarageBand preference and under Audio/Midi, select ‘Minimum delay when playing instruments live (small buffer size)’. I used Audio Hijack Pro to record a Skype call and there is a degree of latency too (depending on how many filters are used to process the audio). In my case, I am using an external audio interface (M-Audio MobilePre). This has a headphone jack that reproduces the input into my professional mic without latency). The problem of course is that when recording skype, I also need to her the other person. If I set the computer’s audio output to the external interface and have the recording monitoring on, then I will hear myself twice too (the

Recording Skype calls on GarageBand with LineIn and SoundFlower (Mac)

I’ve been going audio-crazy over the past few day. Will write more about that later.. Ok.. In the spirit of sharing solutions with other Mac users out there, here is how I managed to record a Skype call on GarageBand using the apps LineIn and Soundflower: I just kept messing around with the settings and then it worked perfectly using the settings below. GarageBand: Audio output: Built in Audio Audio Input: Soundflower (2ch) Skype: Audio output: Soundflower (2ch) Audio input: Soundflower (2ch) System Preferences/Sound: Output: Built-in Audio Input: Audio line in (I am using a Mic) LineIn Application: Input from: Built-in Audio: Line In (ie the Mic) Output to SoundFlower (2ch) Dont forget to click the ‘Pass Thru’ Button in LineIn. I was amazed that it worked! Thank you www.360east.com/?p=133

Fwd: [TEPFall2005] fifth grade- this is my bedroom

From Michelle, this is a really fun game.  Check it out! I've really gotten into these "escape the room " types of games and they're great for making the kids practice giving directions like, "lift the pillow," "look inside the drawer," "put the key in the box," etc. Teach them the key phrases and objects in the room before they play the game, and leave the sentences on the board. Before you know it, they will ALL be giving you directions and using a lot of english. http://www.fasco-csc.com/works/ crimson /crimson_e.php Um, play the game yourself first or you will find yourself stumped and unable to give hints in front of panting children. And if you're a real dope, here's the walkthrough: " http://www-jcsu.jesus.cam.ac.uk/~rah56/walkthrough.html " jkjk Michelle

Fwd: [TEPFall2005] strange stuff on the streets...Koreazy Korea

More strange things in the Land of the Not Quite Right julian wrote: Today i saw the strangest thing. There is a woman who sells milk/soymilk/coffe/ et al in the mornings on the street. She has a little cart thing, and a stool, and sits there.    I'm walking up to her to buy a little carton of milk as I often do, when 6 guys in black jumpsuits jump out of a van, hold up and take pictures of a whiteboard with the date and some information I didn't understand on it (and her in the background), grab the pieces of her cart and all the stuff she was selling, and put it in the back of the van. I was so shocked, and a lot of the people around were just kind of watching with moderate surprise, but not like me. She was begging them not to take any more of her stuff, and I saw she did make off with one of her trays and some cash. They didn't pursue her anymore or try to take anything from her. I don't need to emphasize that the woman did not look rich.   I tried normalizi

I'm coming out of the closet

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And all my dirty laundry is coming out with me. My next lesson will be directions. I need to make it easier for the 3/4 graders. I might make a story, or I'll see if I can find a story about directions. 5/6 I'll make it a bit harder. I have a map from Explorer English I could use, or turn the classroom into a small town and play a blindfold game. Dan 

iPod vending machine

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iPod vending machine. Cool huh? Dan 

Peter Rabbot

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I would like to try stories in my third grade classes. The animated stories from Canadakids.com were too difficult. I'm going to try Peter Rabbit today. www.wiredforbooks.org/kids.htm  

Why are there stockings on the park bench???

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So I was walking to school and there on the park bench was a pair of womens stockings sitting on the bench. I don't know what the deal is. I could imagine all sorts of nasty thoughts about a randy ajumna getting it on with a high schooler after a night of soju, but I forget. This is Korea. She probably just needed to air out her panties :) Check out my planet! http://planet.angelfire.com/indie/ipoddan  

Third grade lesson idea

I've been using stories in my third grade and 4th grade classes.  I've been using flash animation stories.  I used the ones that Christian showed us a while back and I found a lot of great ones on this site.  http://www.childrencanada.com/directory/index.php?cat=50 just click on the right. Oh, and just for fun everyone should check out my planet :) http://planet.angelfire.com/indie/ipoddan    Lycos planet is so much cooler than Friendster and all the other sites.  It's like Cyworld for Americans :) Dan -- Daniel Lee Gray Yeoksam, Seoul, South Korea MSN dnlgray e-mail: dnlgray@gmail.com homepage: www.homepage.mac.com/happylunatic Read my blogs at www.happylunatic.blogspot.com Sometimes you've just gotta put it all on the line and go for broke in this poker game we call life.

I've got the power

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After a hard night of drinking, you too can hold your inner light in the palm of your hands. Dan 

baby...I'd get a brain tumor for you.

If you are willing to talk to someone for 2 hours or more on a cellphone to anyone, then you are acknowledging mortality and you are accepting an amalge0us flesh mash in the fleshy mass of your brain. ] ]

Third Grade Dilemna

I'm going to start doing stories in my third grade classes. It takes up time and they stay interested. I'm going to start classes with a sort of a short game. This week, I'm doing 1st letter, last letter. Next week I'm going to do spelling. Here are some sites for stories. www.magickeys.com There is also http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/108b.html I'll find some more later. I decided that I'm going to do Rube Goldberg and verbs. I'll start with spelling game and then show videos. Review verbs and then get them to make their own Rube Goldberg. Dan

Clay Kitten Shooting / CKS 1

It's time to shoot the kitties...hehe href="http://www.richsalter.btinternet.co.uk/cks1/index.html">

rubegoldberg.avi (video/x-msvideo Object)

http://stout.hampshire.edu/~bjk02/animation/rubegoldberg.avi kinda cool rube goldberg animation http://ranfo.com/gb1.html Even cooler Rube Goldberg Animation http://metacafe.com/watch/7521/cool_honda_commercial/

Wonmyeong School

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IMGP0971.JPG Originally uploaded by HappyLunatic . I need to think of my next lesson plan. I'm thinking I can do something with Cause and Effects, but I need to come up with a worksheet or something. I think I can show Wallace and Gromit First. Contraptions and then then a worksheet with...Honestly, I'm at a loss. I don't know what to do. I can do cause and effect relationships like If you heat water, it boils. If you smoke crack, you become a junkie. If you... I got it. I'll give them several inventions they can make, after I show them Wallace and Gromit. Homework Machine, Alarm Clock, Brother slapper, egg flipper, Ramen maker, etc.

Superstitions lesson and just pondering

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I was thinking about Smashing Pumpkins the other day and how I've grown to generally disassociate myself with them. I saw Jae Rang yesterday and she looked so young and collegelike that I felt a sense of displacement. I'm realizing that I'm a bit tired and rundown today and I don't have enough gas in the tank for this job. No more drinking before Tuesday class. I need to clean my apartment. Why am I writing this way? Hey, I'll think of something after lunch. Maybe the acupuncturist is right. No more fish or seafood, no drinking, and other stuff. 4 minutes until class starts. 3rd grade...I need a line of coke before I can tackle the third grade class. Mainlining coffee will do. 3 minutes...damn this coffee is hot. I ate bacon and cheese for breakfast. I skipped the egg cooked in bacon grease. I figured the bacon and the cheese were enough. I did add lettuce to the sandwich. Did I mention that I need to clean my apartment? 1 minute to go. I'm getting ready. I&

Full Metal Panic TSR

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I just watched FMP TSR 13 and I don't understand. Is the the series over? It was a cool episode, but it ended and it seemed like a prelude to movie. I watched FMP Fumaffu or whatever and it blew. I hated it. Dan 

Look at the bunny. Superstitions 3rd and 6th grade

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http://www.magickeys.com/books / Thank you Christian for this site. It's been a lifesaver before. I'm going to use it in my third grade class. This site has interactive flash stories. I've used the 3 little pig's story and the Witch's brew Story and the kids really get into it have have fun. Today is my superstitions class. I have sixth and third grade. I'm not really prepared, but I'll get through it. http://www.rumdesign.com/wrong/ This site is also very fun for classes. Just stare at the picture for about a minute. Dan 

Gwak grrr!!!!

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IMGP0956.JPG Originally uploaded by HappyLunatic . Yesterday was a beautiful day. I haven't met so many cool people since I've come to Korea. Sorry. I should write more interesting things like... In a posh Seoul apartment I played Uno, ate chocolate, and felt of rememberance of times past when I was artsy fartsy and filled with a sense of inspirational competition. Inspiration isn't competitive? Huh? really? I disagree. If you get a bunch of artsy people in a room, there is a wry struggle to show who is the biggest yolk in the room. It's a passive agressive thing or at least I think I was more passive agressive in my days because I was a vegetarian, green leaf smokestack and I was ennuied by Jaime's constant ambivalance. I'm not making any sense. The question I am struggling with is if I can cook again. I mean I used to cook in the past, but it's been about a year and a half and I don't know how many skills I still have? I believe I

Can you FEEL IT! 2Legit

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2Legit to Quit Hey Hey... He said you can't touch this and I wouldn't want to anyway. It looks like Hammer is about to hammer a brown nail into the porcelain toolshed. 

EARBUDS HAIKU

Lingering Lyrics Tangled up and Blue Are you gonna go my way? Let me come Undone. -- Daniel Lee Gray Yeoksam, Seoul, South Korea MSN dnlgray e-mail: dnlgray@gmail.com homepage: www.homepage.mac.com/happylunatic Read my blogs at www.happylunatic.blogspot.com Sometimes you've just gotta put it all on the line and go for broke in this poker game we call life.

Re: [TEPFall2005] friendster, hi5, or facebook

John, I really want to see the new Wallace and Gromit movie on the big screen.  I would be up for something like that on Saturday night.  Oh, and I really want to go to Outback at some point, anybody game?   And just to make you all further jealous, I think all my classes are canceled today because they have a physical fitness test.   Sorry, I'm super hyped on coffee so lets go on another tangent. Lesson plan ideas for Steve and Jasmine:  This week my topic has been roommates and then I talk about opposites...Optimist/pessimist...Good/Evil...etc  I get them to copy a dialogue involving roommates off the board and we discuss what kind of person they would like for a roommate.  They say stuff like quiet, rich, smart, generous.  This worked well for my 4th, 5th, and 6th grade levels.  I have done a baseball lesson and added ordinal numbers and Superstitions- that was a big hit.  Feelings works well, because you can teach them a ton of vocab and I'm currently thinking of

Brainstorming Lesson Plans for next week

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Contraptions- Gadgets and the Rube Goldberg. I was thinking of a class going over gadgets and nouns and such. I was thinking of cause and effect relationships. I think it would be cool to get some Wallace and Gromit clips into this class. Cultural Differences- I think this would be a really good lesson. I would like to show people from all over the world and then show how they live. Maybe Africans, Thai, Americans, Eskimos would be cool I think (literally) It's a class to be researched and developed further. Telephone Conversations: What do you want to be when you grow up? Money and Shopping: I'm thinking I can get them to money manage to buy certain objects. Maybe give them a budget. I think a spreadsheet like paper would be good for this. Just some thoughts. Oh, and I'm hating myself now because I sold my Google stock. It's at 385 right now. 385! I don't believe I sold it at 305 thinking it would drop. Well, I can't buy now...can I? I don'