January 31 2010

Granny Square of the Day: Watched the tutorials over at Meet Me at Mikes while making this. I used up all the purple, white and black within inches of the ends, and had to supplement the end with a bit of variegated from yesterday.
I have decided to join all the Winter squares (Jan Feb and Dec) into one craft, all the Spring squares (Mar Apr May), all the Summer squares (Jun July Aug) and all the Fall Squares (Sept Oct Nov). In this way, all the first and all the last will be together in one, all the worst and all the best. As I am making each square independent of the other squares, it will be interesting to puzzle them together as they all have different gauges, styles, and sizes.


Reading of the Day: The newsletter said this:

Make 2010 the Year of The Book

Always wanted to read Anna Karenina? Moby Dick? Pride and Prejudice? Make this the year that you finally tackle The Book—you know, one major classic you ought to have read at some point in your life. Take it one day and one installment at a time—you can do it! Check out our Classics for inspiration.

So I did this:

DailyLit
part

01
—of—
54

book info

The Prince

by Niccolò Machiavelli


THE PRINCE

Nicolo Machiavelli

Translated by W. K. Marriott


CHAPTER I: HOW MANY KINDS OF PRINCIPALITIES THERE ARE, AND BY WHAT MEANS THEY ARE ACQUIRED

All states, all powers, that have held and hold rule over men have been and are either republics or principalities.

Principalities are either hereditary, in which the family has been long established; or they are new.

The new are either entirely new, as was Milan to Francesco Sforza, or they are, as it were, members annexed to the hereditary state of the prince who has acquired them, as was the kingdom of Naples to that of the King of Spain.

Such dominions thus acquired are either accustomed to live under a prince, or to live in freedom; and are acquired either by the arms of the prince himself, or of others, or else by fortune or by ability.



Yes, you read that right. This is only 1/54 of the entire book. Awesome, huh? Get yourself one. DailyLIt.
Also, for Reading of the Day: Coming Soon: Shelfari! in my footer bar.


Shows of the Day:
Winter X Games; Avalanche/Rangers; ProBowl; Grammy Awards

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January 30 2010

Adventure of the Day:
I moved my bedroom bookshelf (courtesy of my friend who moved to Hawaii) to my son's room, I moved my yarn dresser (Yes, I have a whole dresser full of yarn, why do you ask?) and craft stuff from my son's room to my daughter's closet, and the closet shelf to my bedroom. The books from my bedroom are still in my bedroom, and the textbooks/homeschooling/teaching resources from my daughter's closet are in my son's room.

That doesn't make sense, does it. I rotated the vessels in room A, B, and C. I retained the contents in room A and switched the contents of rooms B and C. Vessel A is in room B with contents C. Vessel B is in room C with contents B, and Vessel C is in room A with contents A.

That still doesn't make sense. Try this:Justify Full The Point Is! I moved just about 3/4 of all the books I own today, each at least twice. I moved Large Heavy Furniture across my house. I did it by myself. My shoulders are questioning my sanity.

Reading of the Day:
It's got the graphic novel thing, and the letter-literature thing, and dramatic dialogue thing. I didn't get but a couple chapters in before I scolded myself for not moving more books.
Food of the Day: I kinda wanted cookie dough but it always involves measuring and mess. I compared the ingredients on the chocolate chip bag for cookies against the ingredients on the Krustez pancakes. It's the same, nearly, except the mix has no salt, vanilla or brown sugar and has leavening. So I measured 2 cups mix, one cup brown sugar, one cup chocolate chips, 1 tbsp vanilla, and water until it was cookie-dough consistency. I buttered muffin cups (re: leavening) and filled half way, baking (high altitude) at 370 for 12-15 minutes (I nearly forgot about them, so I'm guessing). They are lovely, better with almond milk or coffee than plain.

Granny Square of the Day:
Practicing with smoother color changes. I also found many more of my crochet needles in the "adventure" move, so I could choose something other than small or huge.

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January 29 2010

Treat of the Day:

YES, already. Easter Candy before Mardi Gras, perfect.

(If you refrigerate it, the sarcasm--I mean gooey inside-- drips less.)





Teaching Link of the Day: Following Instructions

If you print out the instructions (a copy-and-paste technique) and the illustrated instructions separately, and introduce only the words, the instructions will quickly become difficult to follow. Switch over to only the illustrations and not but one step later are they unintelligible (for someone who does not do origami often). Putting them together, you can match the number of the language instructions with the number on the illustrated instructions, and actually create a cute box. Once the box is finished, discuss what about the instructions made making the box difficult, and what was done with the instructions to make it easier. Make predictions on how instructions should be followed in the future to increase the chances of success.

Part B of exercise: Tricky Instructions (note how number 26 is incorrect: Should read TWO through twenty-five. Number 1 reads: Read all instructions first. That part is already done, and is furthermore the purpose of the exercise.

This Day in History: Edgar Allen Poe publishes "The Raven", 1845


Reading of the Day:
Edgar Allen Poe

The Raven
horizontal space Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
`'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more,'

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
`Sir,' said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!'
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!'
Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
`Surely,' said I, `surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more!'

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, `art sure no craven.
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door -
Bird or beast above the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as `Nevermore.'

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'
Then the bird said, `Nevermore.'

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
`Doubtless,' said I, `what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore
Of "Never-nevermore."'

But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking `Nevermore.'

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
`Wretch,' I cried, `thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -
`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!

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Show of the Day:

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January 28 2010

Thought of the Day: I'm ready for July.

Random Fact of the Day: Unless you're going to eat at a large chain restaurant or bar / brewpub, you will not find anywhere to eat after 8 pm in this town. What's up with shutting down on a Thursday night?

Reading of the Day:

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January 27 2010

This Day in History:
The Outer Space Treaty was Signed.
You may not store nuclear weapons in space. You may not claim any celestial body for a government. Most of the countries have signed this treaty, and most of those have ratified it. Many of the same rules apply for space as they do for International Waters. You can study Space Law. It sounds like fun.


Poem of the Day: Prayer

--Jean Toomer, from Cane

My body is opaque to the soul.
Driven of the spirit, long have I sought to temper it unto the spirit's longing.
But my mind, too, is opaque to the soul.
A closed lid is my soul's flesh-eye.
O Spirits of whom my soul is but a little finger,
Direct it to the lid of its flesh-eye.
I am weak with much giving.
I am weak with the desire to give more.
(How strong a thing is the little finger!)
So weak that I have confused the body with the soul,
And the body with its little finger.
(How frail is the little finger.)
My voice could not carry to you did you dwell in stars,
Oh Spirits of whom my soul is but a little finger...


Word of the Day: Rend/Rent
He said Rend. I said Rent. He went here and I went to the Webster's on the shelf. He looked up Rend and I looked up Rent. We learned the same thing.

rend v. rent or rend·ed, rend·ing, rends
v.tr.
1. To tear or split apart or into pieces violently.
2. To tear (one's garments or hair) in anguish or rage.
3. To tear away forcibly; wrest.
4. To pull, split, or divide as if by tearing: "Chip was rent between the impulse to laugh wildly and a bitterness that threatened hot tears" (Louis Auchincloss).
5. To pierce or disturb with sound: a scream rent the silence.
6. To cause pain or distress to: tales that rend the heart.
v.intr.
To become torn or split; come apart.

[Middle English renden, from Old English rendan.]

Granny Square of the Day:
I didn't make one. I made a granny circle for my VHS tape bag. Maybe I should have scanned that in. No matter. The full thing will be done...eventually. You know, I have to build the other circle for the other end of the bag, build a handle, build a liner with a clasp, sew it in, line the change purse I've already done--with a clasp--and then...and then I'm done. I'll be lucky if it's done by Christmas.

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January 26 2010

Granny Square of the Day: So I've been interested in how my scanner "sees" my yarns. I wanted to see what it would do with VHS tape. I am kind of disappointed, I guess I expected a more stark black and white due to the shininess of the tape. WOO experiments.



Reading of the Day: I finished the book I will send for my Book Club (mentioned in the Thought of the Day January 4th). It's taken me nearly a month to do my part in sending my chain letters and the book. I had to pick a book to read as I had already given away all the books I've already read (that I am going to give away. I will likely not gift my copy of Moby Dick or The Woman in White, or Pamela, or...) Anyway, I hope the reciepient enjoys it. It is a good story.



Thought of the Day: I get paid to be a writer and editor. That's awesome. It's a great job. Sometimes I forget. I just go through my day all routine-like, never really noticing that everything I have I have always wanted. Not many people get to say that.

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January 25 2010

Teaching Link of the Day: The Space Station

Tell me about the space missions; tell me about machines
Tell me about dogs, the moon and adventures made of dreams
Tell me about rockets and satellites and photo shots
Tell me about the lives of the ISS astronauts

Game of the Day: Hide and Seek (cheat sheet for the one who can't quite get from Twelve to Thirteen)

Reading of the Day:


Granny Square of the Day: This is a bag made of 4 squares of City Market bags. I am NOT very good at crochetting plarn. Must practice if I care to get any better.

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January 24 2010

Teaching Link of the Day: Quilling, with a History
The video has rotten audio quality, but it was the only history of quilling video I could find, and it was everywhere. Someone, please make a better one, please?




Shows of the Day: InfoMania and RadioLab




Word of the Day: Stochasticity
From RadioLab:
A wonderfully slippery and smarty-pants word for randomness.
From Wikipedia:
from the Greek στόχος for aim or guess; means random. A stochastic process is one whose behavior is non-deterministic, in that a system's subsequent state is determined both by the process's predictable actions and by a random element.

Granny Square of the Day: That yellowish is actually orange, that old seventies orange. I am amazed at how un-true my scanner reproduces the color of my yarn. Maybe I will actually take photos sometime so they can be more accurately shared.

I did this color combination because of a conversation at the knitting group about the faces made by our elders at the idea that we do granny squares. I had to say--one girl said-- that they're cute squares, not those awful combinations they did in the seventies.

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January 23 2010

Thought of the Day: The best advertising campaign ever: Call the Nestle Hotline at 1-800-295-0051. When asked if you want to continue in English or Spanish, wait quietly for about 10 seconds. Listen to all the options. Choose one, but if you don't choose #4 you should come back later and listen to all the options in menu #4 before making a selection.

Word of the Day: Slashdot (Effect): This is what you experience if you call the above number and get a busy signal. It means that the popularity of the fun traveling around the internet is creating a call volume too heavy to connect you. Whee!

Adventure Continued of the Day: It was my daughter's basketball game: She was a cheerleader! It was really fun to watch. Their routine was to Ice Ice Baby, which was funny because last night she could only remember it was a song something about "baby."


Granny Square of the Day: I always feel I need to make a finished edge for my granny squares. I have no idea why. I like how the variegation came out on this one, organized on one side and sporadic on the other.
Radio Show of the Day: Wait Wait Don't Tell Me! I love to get my news from comedy shows. It's exponentially more informative than actually listening to the news. Or I just pay attention, one of the two.

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January 22 2010

Teaching Link of the Day: Multiplication Pictures

I encouraged the drawing of pictures of things with parts and both the 5- and 7-year-old enjoyed the project. We used number stickers--of which I have many--in place of drawing the numeral, and the older wrote the equation where the younger just labeled the number of units, the number of parts, and the total parts.

Game of the Day:


Adventure of the Day: I took my little girl to a Cheerleading MIni-camp tonight. She said, as we were leaving, that she would like to do it again next year. The basketball game is tomorrow. The kids get the half-time. It's so excited.

Granny Square of the Day: Hodge-Podge-Scraps-of-Yarn

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January 21 2010

Teaching Links of the Day: Puns & Puns & Puns
Print up homophonic puns (defined below) and some sticker labels with the "real" word. Have the student cover the pun with the matching sticker. This should strengthen the connections between the different ways to spell a sound. When a reader pays attention to the sound structure of a word they are more likely to recognize those structures when they read.
"Homophonic puns use like sounds but with different spellings and meanings. This is also referred to as polyptoton. Examples of homophones are scent and sent, jeans and genes, waive and wave, and buy and bye."--from link below

New Sidebar "Pun of the Day" =>

Granny Square of the Day:
Today was a Red day. My morning shirt was red. My gussied-up-for-teaching sweater was red. My scarf was red. And the color I coincidentally chose from my dresser of yarn is also red. Quite not on purpose. It's a thinner yarn and I used a disproportionately large hook, as I tend to do. I think it's a wool, or a wool blend. It was very nice to work with. My scanner made it look orange. It is very red, instead.

Show of the Day: We just got to the episode with the homemade automatic shotgun today, and look, it's on the cover. I wonder if he keeps it through the rest of the season, or if it was just the coolest thing they could find to put on the boxed set. It is definitely cool.


Thought of the Day: People act like you're not around when they talk to others. It's frustrating. Is nothing private? No wonder small towns have that "small town" feel. People will talk anywhere around anyone.

Development of the Day: I'm down by a student, maybe two. It's a bummer. I love to work with my students; losing them for any reason other than success is frustrating. How am I to ever become good at reaching goals when I'm not giving the opportunity to reach them?

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January 20 2010


Granny Square of the Day: No-show student, I'm glad I brought a hook and yarn. Larger hook than the first time I used this yarn. I was in the lobby with two women discussing the very disturbing life of one of the students--one's student and the other's stepson. Very disturbing. You can tell by how uneven the stitches are.

New "___Of the Day"
Kid Quote of the Day:
Aunt: "I see you germinated some little beans."
Kid:"Well I didn't mean to do the germ part."


Food of the Day: I really like the Mocha of the brand, so I tried this (see, it says NEW) and it was wonderful. I still like the mocha one better, though.

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January 19 2010


Teaching Link of the Day: Make a Word Search
It changes the handwriting because it's not about the flow of one letter to another, it's just letters next to each other being letters. It also requires concentration and patience to write other letters in the "blank" spaces. Use a grid, though, because without, lining things up is rather frustrating for a little one.


Food of the Day: Las 2 Margaritas. No pictures. It was gut-stuffingly delicious.

Game of the Day: 3 way Cricket. The one with the fewest closures won because he consistently hit multiples of 20 before someone could close it or catch up in points. Much fun.


Granny Square of the Day: Leftover yarn from a hat I made for my boy. Still had a bit left over after square one so I made another square and made it around to the last bit of string.

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January 18 2010

This day in History:




Wouldn't it be nice to be the Graphic Designer for the Google logo on holidays? I think that would be an awesome job.





Teaching Link of the Day: The Vase has Two Faces
Draw a Vase with Two Faces. It's fun and weird, and deceptively simple. It's also cool to see what the imagination of a kid will produce with this exercise.


Thought of the Day: Twitter is worth it even if you only follow Weird Al. I promise. It's a moment of hilarious sunshine every once in a while.

Food of the Day: Orange Juice. 9 oranges = 24oz juice.


Granny Square of the Day: You know those jokes about grandmas who knit on and on forever? I just couldn't stop with this square. The yarn was so nice to work with and it looked so good. I finally did a chain around the edge to end the endless rounds of granny square stitches.

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January 17 2010

Thought of the Day:
She said, "Ever wonder if your guardian angel has gone out for a smoke?"
I said, "I'm always hoping there are more than one, and that each have different interests in mind. On really rough days, I see the "two angels arguing on my shoulder" with al
l of them, and of course no one is really paying attention to me on those days."

Granny Square of the Day: I made this from four tiny balls of leftover string, and ran out of the fourth color. I guess I've learned to check length for suitable usage rounds.














TV of the Day:

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January 16 2010

Teaching Link of the Day: Public Library Events Doing an activity led by someone else--especially for a homeschooler, can make a difference in what is learned from it.

Random Fact of the Day: January 16 marks the end of my Holiday/Birthday Season. Next up: Life as normal as I know it.

Granny Square of the Day: Whaddya Know, the radio program I listen to on Saturday Mornings, gave, as a prize to the first quiz winner, an alliterate gift from the Pink People or Pink Program or something and it stuck with me. At least, the Pink part did.

Thought of the Day: The only thing I want in life is to spend it with him, and any other achievement is just gravy.

Show of the Day;

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January 15 2010

Teaching Link of the Day: Sight Word Bingo meets Othello

This game was so FUN! And not exactly easy, even for Teacher against Strategician 7-year-old. The 5-year-old enjoyed it thoroughly, and he can't even name the sounds of all his letters yet.

Granny Square of the Day:
Today's Granny Square represents a day. After several complements in the short span of an afternoon on my totebag made of knitted plastic grocery sacks, I decided plastic was my material today. I started this morning and stripped some newspaper sacks for the center. The next round--of grocery sacks-- I completed this afternoon, interrupted by a quick shopping trip for birthday gifts of the cake variety. The last round--trash bag-- I finished late tonight. The border green was the packing pillows from a birthday gift. I had exactly enough to go around in a chain, though I was tired and the chain is uneven.

So this was my day. I got up, read part of the paper, got some groceries, went to a birthday party, and came home to polish off the evening chores.

Game of the Day:
Password



Food of the Day:
kaluskis, koluskies, koluskys, I have no idea and I can't spell it to google it but it was delicious!

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©20092010 | by TNB