Greetings from Armenia!

We're on a long holiday weekend and I'm visiting Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia.

This is a tiny country, just north of Iran and east of Turkey.  It was a part of the Soviet Union until 1991 and the influence is evident.

The day began at o-dark thirty, to catch an early flight from Dubai, so I crashed after arriving at the hotel.  The flight was only three hours, on the same time zone, which made it an ideal place to visit for a days.

It is a group tour, with a total of nine of us.

We explored the immediate area around the hotel, then broke away to do our own thing, which for me, was getting some sleep.

I'll have more to share soon.

Boys Having Fun

Will they ever grow up?

Probably not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOzQ3CN5La4&feature=em-subs_digest-vrecs

The "Real One"

Below is a clip of Judy Smith, the real Washington "fixer" that the character Olivia Pope on Scandal is based on.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/29/olivia-pope-george-hw-bush_n_5902472.html

Simply Amazing!

The lunches this Mom makes for her kids are too cute to eat.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/28/li-ming-bento-lunch-boxes_n_5889292.html

Let's Dance!

This is a really cool way to spend the time waiting for traffic lights to change.  The wait at lights here are especially long because only one side moves at a time while the other three wait.

Enjoy!

http://laughingsquid.com/the-dancing-traffic-light-a-dont-walk-light-that-entertains-pedestrians-by-putting-on-a-show/

"I'm Back"

Thank God, all is well with my technology.

I can not express just how important this tool is to me, living halfway around the world.

It's my newspaper, my magazines, my television, my cinema, my phone, and yes, it's my computer, too.

FYI - The thing that saved me TWICE was having everything on my computer's hard drive backed up to an external drive.  Each time I've had issues, my computer was wiped clean, and in the case of my new one, it came clean, but a couple of hours later, all of my stuff was back in place.  An absolute lifesaver!

If you don't have a back up, seriously consider it.

Anyway . . .

Yesterday was a long day, and I'm tired.

The good news is, today is my Friday.

More soon.

Technical Difficulties

This morning I woke up early, ready to start my day, but my computer did not.

It worked perfectly last night, but this morning it didn't recognize me.  It's like it completely forgot who I was.

There were hints of a problem brewing with it while I was away this summer.  In fact, that's why I made a trip to the Genius Bar while in Sacramento to have it checked out.  The Apple guys did a lot of work on it and replaced most of the moving parts.  Thank God, it was still under warranty.

We had a rough start, me and my MacBook Pro.  It took more than a notion for me to grasp how to use it.  That time was not pretty.

Now  . . . I love my guy.

As you know, this gadget is my life line. 

So, when it was needing some attention this morning, I didn't panic.

I used my iPad to Google solutions, including wiping the hard drive clean, and restoring it to the factory settings.

But . . .

Nothing worked.

Thank God, I had just backed up the hard drive last night.

In addition to my iPad, I also have another Windows tablet that I purchased when I couldn't access my work website from home on my Mac.

So I'm not completely stranded.

It could be much worse.

But now I have a big decision to make.

Do I buy the small MacBook Air that I get in the UAE to tide me over while I'm here, or do I splurge and buy the top of the line Macbook Pro with a massive hard drive?

Keep in mind, this one that just died lasted less than three years.

I love Apple, but I expected to replace it because I wanted the new and improved model, not because I had to.

Anyway, this is where I am.

I'll post as much as I can, but if there is a slow down, you'll know why.

As always, thanks for taking this journey with me.



 

Cool Bowties

Below you will find some of the coolest bow ties on the planet.  I bought one as a gift and it was even better than advertised.

http://wonderlee123.storenvy.com/products

Who Knew?

That there were more uses for beer than just drinking it?

Below are some pretty cool household uses.  If I could, I'd head out to buy a six pack, but then I remembered this is a dry country.  Liquor is only sold in hotels and the very rare "liquor shack."

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/10-things-you-didnt-know-you-could-do-with-beer-esqsyn?click=smart&kw=ist&src=smart&mag=ESQ&link=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/10-things-you-didnt-know-you-could-do-with-beer-esqsyn

Using Their Platform for Good

Esquire Men's Magazine is featuring a series on mentoring highlighting the people who influenced notables.  Kudos to this organization for using their platform to reach the masses with a serious message on the importance of having a positive influence in our lives.

Click on "Why Do Mentors Matter?" in the middle of the page on the link below, and it will lead to the meat of the matter.

https://mentoring.esquire.com/?src=nl&mag=esq&list=nl_enl_news&date=091714

A Marriage Made in Heaven

QuestBridge is an organization that helps low-income students gain access to some of the best colleges and universities in the country.

Check out their story and see some of the many kids they have helped.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/16/upshot/a-national-admissions-office-for-low-income-strivers.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&src=me&WT.nav=MostEmailed&abt=0002&abg=1#

Lovin' the Skin You're In

We can all learn this lesson from Lupita and Elmo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIC2hHECZ6Y

Code of Conduct for NFL Wives

This is a first hand account of one woman's experience as an NFL wife.

http://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/09/ray-janay-rice-football-nfl-wives

Thoughts?

Recycling Your Smart Phone

With the launch of the new iPhones, people are going to be looking for ways to trade in, or in some way, reuse their old ones.

USA Today shows some pretty ingenious ways to do just that.

Watch.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2014/09/14/creative-ways-to-use-your-old-phone/15446179/

Corporal Punishment

This sounds like such a harsh thing.

Corporal punishment.

Brutal.

Violent.

Savage.

That's what comes to mind when some folks hear the term.

But if we're talking about spankings, swatting a child on his or her bottom when they have misbehaved, I'm all for it.

I know.

I know.

There are folks out there who are categorically opposed to ever spanking/hitting a child for any reason.

I get it.

There are some who have gone too far and abused kids, and that should never happen.

But here's what I know for sure.

Kids better have the fear of God put in them when it comes to how they are to behave.

They had better be more afraid of the consequences of misbehaving when their parents find out, than from anything or anyone else.

As a principal, I used to tell kids I was going to call their parents, and if they responded with, "I don't care.  Call 'em."  I knew it would be a waste of time.

But if I said I was going to call home and they started shaking in their boots, I knew these kids were being disciplined at home.

There are parents who can achieve this without ever spanking their kids.

Kudos to them because that is no easy task.

But for me, spankings were always an option, and Ben and Frankie knew it.

My mother used to say, if you don't discipline kids when they're young, when they're older they'll be whupping you.

She used to also say that the jails and prisons were full of folks who someone thought was too cute to discipline.

Some will say this is "old school."

Maybe so.

But if raising a well-behaved kid is the result, then I will proudly wear that label.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now take a minute to check out this article.  The author makes some excellent points, especially the contrast between white and black parenting, but I beg to differ on the conclusion she makes.

http://www.salon.com/2014/09/16/the_racial_parenting_divide_what_adrian_peterson_reveals_about_black_and_white_child_rearing/?source=newsletter

What do you think?

Map of Independence

Check out the map in the article below that shows the many countries that have declared their independence from the United Kingdom.

Click the bottom right corner of the map to enlarge it.

http://www.salon.com/2014/09/16/this_map_shows_all_the_countries_that_have_declared_their_independence_from_the_united_kingdom/?source=newsletter

Amazing!

Right?

Vote YES Scotland and join this distinguished group of nations.

Made My Day

Have you had friend contact you out of the blue, and that simple gesture kept a smile on your face all day long?

That happened to me today when I was surprised by a video call from my dear friend Becky.

We met when I started teaching years ago.  She was my coach.  She was a young, master teacher who was awesome in the classroom, but even better at helping new teachers figure out what they were doing.

One of the many things I love about Becky was how she handled me and my non-compliance.  There were things we were expected to have posted in our classes, and that changed every few weeks.  I've got this thing about presentations being neat and symmetrical, so it would take me a minute to get the bulletin boards changed. When Becky would make her regular visits, she never fussed or made a big deal about what was missing, she'd just take me over to another classroom where whatever I was supposed to have done, was on full display.

And . . .

She never said a word.

I'd go back to my class and get it done.

And . . .

It worked every time.

I used to say that she shamed me into doing the right thing.

She quickly figured out what it would take to motivate me, and it was one of the many lessons I learned from her.

Thanks Becky, for all of your help way back when, and thanks for absolutely making my day today!

Workplace Bathroom Humor

Some of these are laugh out loud funny.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gselevator/workplace-bathroom-etiquette_b_5812646.html

Closely Watching

I can't get enough of the news about the possibility of Scottish Independence.

The election is this Thursday, Sept. 18th.

If I could, I'd vote YES.

It's hard to believe the dominant influence Great Britain has had in places all over the world.  I've experienced it many times when I've visited countries where there is a preference for tea over coffee and driving on the left.  Far and wide the Brits have left their mark.  It's time more folks said, "Enough."

John Oliver does a terrific job of explaining the issues of Scottish Independence, enumerating the pros and cons.

The clip is about 15 minutes, but watching him is like reading the Cliff Notes, only much funnier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU3XTzVzaHQEd30rQbuvCtTQ&v=-YkLPxQp_y0

Making History at Harvard

Alexis Wilkinson has made history as the first African-American woman president of the campus comedy magazine, the Harvard Lampoon.

Check out the article below from Salon where she discusses her experiences.

http://www.salon.com/2014/09/14/harvard_lampoon_president_alexis_wilkinson_opens_up_about_internet_parodies_race_and_gender/?source=newsletter