Today ...

[Szdfan]

Any day that you play the opening lines of "Beowulf" in Old English for your students is a good day.

It looks like being a student of such is much harder than being a teacher…. The teacher can spew nonsense and then the students have to try and make sense of it…

It was just a demonstration about how English has changed over the past thousand years. I'm in the process of integrating a framework called "Depth & Complexity," which uses visual icons to prompt deeper questioning of material. Today I introduced the icon for "over time" which is to help prompt questions about how things change over time.

• English is different today from a thousand years ago, why is that? (We talked about slang and how language is still changing).
• Why is English hard to learn? (Because it doesn't follow its own rules).
• Why doesn't English follow its own rules? (Because it's a mishmash of different languages, especially due to the Norman invasion of 1066 which brought French (and therefore Greek and Latin roots) into English.

My district puts a lot of emphasis on Morphology, which splits words up into their smallest components (roots, prefixes, suffixes, etc). The curriculum we use focuses on Latin and Greek morphemes, which can confuse students because form doesn't always match meaning in English.

So I don't expect my students to understand Old English. I read them a modern translation of the passage afterward. I do want them to know that language changes and that words have history.

And if I can do that while nerding out about Old English? Absolutely.

[temporal1]

Yesterday ..
on a flight from Texas to Michigan, i sat next to a businessman who was very tall, thus uncomfortable in a seat without nearly enough arm/leg room for him. and he was hungry. i offered an untouched, sealed, fresh sandwich, he declined.

without being annoying, he was probably the most talkative person i’ve ever sat next to. most flights are quiet, if not silent.
he kinda began by saying he was a “40 year Republican, who hates Trump.” i responded, “o. yeah, there’s quite a few.”
interesting flight. i supposed he was trying to keep his mind off being cramped.

i described myself as never having joined a political party, on the conservative side, not often voting, altho i voted for Shirley Chisholm, at a young age. o, and, i didn’t hate Trump, and not bothered if he is elected.

he was particularly bothered by T’s twitter habits. i said i don’t twitter or other, but i listened to the SOTU speeches and believed they were good. i recommended ignoring twitter. as i routinely do. i told him i unplugged TV in 2016, no regrets.

i told him my personal life was better in the T years, and i preferred less military action in those years.

we agreed on lots of things, he brought up lots, not just T. i don’t believe i softened his view, he didn’t impact mine much, altho i’m pretty sure he would have liked to. we got to talk a bit about G. Ford, who is usually overlooked.

because he was so cramped, by default, so was i. we made it through.

[temporal1]

Just saw a large adult bald eagle fly by my window, white tail+head feathers gleaming in the morning sunlight.
An uncommon sight here.

He appeared distressed, but i saw no other activity in the sky or on the ground.
i wonder what he was up to this morning.

[Robert]

Yesterday, and the night before, I drove from Texas to Indiana. Today driving to Michigan to remodel in the daughter's house for a week. Got a 6 hour drive with one daughter to go to the other daughter's house to work. I listened to about 12+ hours of Bigfoot stories as I drove to IN. I am primed and ready to talk to her about it. We will come up with crazy ideas and stories ourselves of what it might be. Will be a fun ride, especially since she is driving. the next 6 hours.

[temporal1]

Today ..
waking from a deep sleep, i sat up, kinda horrified, wondering when did i last call my mother??!!
my mind was fuzzy, thoughts racing, i couldn’t remember, then i thought of my father, ditto. how could i forget to call?!

as my brain woke, i realized, my mother passed in 2006, my father 1996. madness.

i’ve heard about these sorts of thoughts, but never experienced it.
i watch my blood sugars, but occasionally, i’ll notice distinctve dreams associated with high numbers. not often.

“it was a weird,” then sad, knowing i can’t just call.

i do frequently call/text family and friends, tho. thankfully so.

[Robert]

Last day of the remodel. Drive to Indiana tonight, then 2 day drive to Texas. Might push it in one day since it is 16 hour drive.

[Robert]

Back home to some storm damage. After driving all night, I had to take a quick nap then clear out the back yard. Took out some of the fence so I will have to rebuild next week sometime.

[temporal1]

Today .. i hope to be feeling better, after a week or so of .. a cold? the punies? .. sick, not deathly ill.
Mostly throat, sinuses, sneezing, coughing, tired. More sleeping.

Discouraging news:
i’m unclear how many OTC drugs are affected. My impression is, quite a few.

“FDA rules TODAY that ingredient in Benadryl and Sudafed from pharmacy shelves doesn't work”
Phenylephrine is everywhere and every nasal decongestant contains it
The vote deeming it ineffective paves the way for it to be pulled from market
READ MORE: FDA to reevaluate ineffective over-the-counter medicine
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/arti ... -work.html

These types of drugs don’t affect me much, or often.
Some family members with allergies rely on them.

[temporal1]

^^i “got out” yesterday early evening. Was surprised at how chipper i did NOT feel.
i guess a lot from being so idle for a week or so? and, sinus headache? not a fever.

i think i’m doing better today. i plan to get out for a bit later. i’m thinking it will go better than yesterday.

[Robert]

Spent the day under the house wrapping AC ducts. Dirty and itchy.