The answer is yes. I’ve seen multiple ways of handling school systems. I’ve lived in many different places. And I can tell you that school can not only be fun, but in my opinion, should be fun. At least a little.

My daughter got perfect attendance. We went to the award ceremony today. This school system is relatively new to us (as we’ve only lived here for 2 years), and they surprised me yet again. Last year they had the “Kiss the Pig” contest in which the class that raised the most money for a certain cause got to see their teacher kiss a pig. (It was one of those cute baby pigs, but still…) This year, it was a much different cause. One of the students is having a major operation to have his sight saved. Here’s a link to the news story about it: Ryan’s Sight Fight. It was also a much different contest. This time, whoever raised the most got a pie in the face. That’s right. Someone got to throw a pie in their teacher’s face. Not only that, but the administration got involved. Imagine throwing a pie in your principal’s face. Now, if you’re a teacher, imagine throwing one in the face of the superintendent. That happened too.

It was quite fun to watch. The surprise part is that it even happened. Back in Louisiana, we didn’t do stuff like that. Everything was very strict. Here, they have fun all the time. Yet, the students are more advanced educationally than they are in the stricter environment. Does that tell you something? It tells me something. Sure, discipline is important. But the students are also kids. Let them be kids at least a little bit and they’ll love you for it.

Even the high school has some great activities. They had the “Powder Puff” dance. Basically where boys (mostly football players) dressed as girls for fun. They have a couple of those old fashioned popcorn machines in the gym and I’ve seen them get full and then used for pranks instead of eating. By the teachers, mind you.

I’m quite happy with the school system out here. I’m glad we moved. And seeing as I want to be a teacher (and finally only have a year left before I’m certified), I’m glad I’m in a place that allows the teachers to make school fun for their kids.

So are you of the mind that I’m a total nut for wanting and liking this kind of educational atmosphere? Do you think discipline is the only route to educational success? Or do you you think it should be all fun all of the time? Or maybe, you like a mixture of both, like I do? Feel free to comment. I know some of you will have great stories about the fun things you did in school when you were younger. And some of you might attend schools you enjoy now. Let me know. I’d love to read the stories and opinions.

Posted by Saphrym | 4 Comments »

My preorder of the Wii Fit device and game was a little late, so I ended up having to wait for the second shipment. It came to our local GameStop today. We went and picked it up while doing groceries for the week. I brought it home, set it up, and tried it out.

First of all, I must say I agree with most of the critics out there right now. I’d love for it to have a feature where you can set up routines to do instead of having to pick each activity one at a time. Also, it’d be nice if it not only showed you how to do the exercises, but would give you a questionnaire and then create a routine based on your answers. That’d make it perfect for me. But now that the bad stuff is out of the way, here’s the good:

Short version: The games are fun and the board works.

I was worried that the board would not be able to hold me even at my current weight. I was happy to see that the weight limit (which is not printed on the box) is 330 pounds. I’m under that by 45 pounds. So I think I’m good. The balance aspect of the balance board is perfect. It’s very good at telling if you’re doing the exercises right. This is, of course, as long as you’re actually doing the exercises and not trying to cheat your way out of it.

As for the games themselves, no, they wouldn’t win Game of the Year awards, but they are enjoyable. Some of my favorite games are the tightrope walking and the skiing. However, I haven’t opened every game, so that may change. The exercises are done with a virtual trainer, and they can be boring (as I’m easily bored), but they are scored just like the games are. Since my daughter, wife, and I are all very competitive, this should keep us interested even during the boring exercises as we try to beat each other’s scores. Oh, and there’s always the added beauty of being able to job through the woods in your living room. Nobody there, except family of course, to laugh at you.

I’ll write more about it next weekend during the Saturday Update, but I got it after the Update was already posted today so wanted to let you know what I thought. I won’t be fit enough to look good in men’s swimwear any time soon, but I think the Wii Fit is just the solution I needed to becoming easily bored with exercise.

Posted by Saphrym | 9 Comments »

DIET DIARY

STARTING NUMBERS (Before I started the diet)
Blood Sugar: 287
Weight: 355.0
NUMBERS FROM TODAY
Blood Sugar: 104
Weight: 285.4

I was about to type 205 for my weight. That would have made me REALLY happy. Oh, and you may notice I took off the fat, water, and muscle percentages. I don’t trust my scale that measures them, so I don’t think they are accurate. So I’m not going to include them anymore.

Also, I got my wedding ring resized, as I mentioned last time. I have it back. It went down a full size and is still a little loose. This makes me happy. Ok. I’m done now. I’ve really gotta write more posts between these. I can’t stand that the last Saturday Update is only two posts below this one. Note to self: Write more blog posts!

(For more information about my dieting and weight loss, click here. For more information about the specific foods I eat, click here. For the diet I follow, click here. For designer jewelry, click there. For Disney, click here. For something cool, click here. If you actually pay attention to this part of the update post and have noticed the extra links I just threw in there for the heck of it, mention it in the comments and you might win a quick five bucks.)

Posted by Saphrym | 2 Comments »

I live in the United States of America. I’m quite proud to live here. I love the place. Truly, I do. But we’ve lost our focus, and I don’t know how long it has been lost.

Recently our government gave us a stimulus package. Basically, anyone who did their taxes and made less than a certain amount got $300 per person in the household. That’s not a perfect description, but a quick one. What did we do with the money? Well, most of the people I’ve seen spend it have spent it on big screen televisions, gaming systems, etc. They haven’t used it for bills or clothing or other such necessities. This tells me we are the consumer country people believe us to be. We don’t focus on the right things. We have taken the handout and done exactly what the government wanted us to do with it. We’ve spent it on consumer products. This makes the country look like it’s doing better economically than it actually has.

There is a major election coming up in November. But we vote everyday.

“What? How do we vote everyday?”

The things you buy tell commercial companies what else you want to buy. The shows you watch tell the television executives what television shows you want to watch. So if America is buying silly “toys” and watching reality television, guess what will be provided for us? That’s right. More “toys” and more reality television.

Instead of researching the best anti wrinkle cream, the best television, or even the best mp3 player, what we should be doing is researching the best candidate for President. We should be voting on the best Senators and the best Representatives. We should be doing what’s best for our country.

Of course, if buying a plasma television or anti wrinkle cream, or watching Hell’s Kitchen or American Idol seems more important than education, the environment, or even the current war we’re going through, then again I say we’ve lost focus and I’m afraid for our future and the future of our children.

Feel free to disagree or yell at me for mentioning your favorite television show. I want your opinions on this topic. Just give yourself five minutes to think before responding.

Posted by Saphrym | 19 Comments »

DIET DIARY

STARTING NUMBERS (Before I started the diet)
Blood Sugar: 287
Weight: 355.0
NUMBERS FROM TODAY
Blood Sugar: 109
Weight: 285.4
Fat Percentage: 48.6
Water Percentage: 29.9
Muscle Percentage: 34.6

With High Def being the new standard pretty soon, I bought myself a HDMI switch to use with my different equipment (Blu-Ray Player, Wii with the HDMI cables, etc.). What does this have to do with dieting? Well, this one came with a remote. My other regular video switch doesn’t have a remote. Could be good or bad. If I had that exercise bike I’ve been looking for, it’d be good. I could keep exercising without stopping to flip the switch. Or if I had my Wii Fit, same thing. But since I don’t have either right now, just means I’m going to be that much more lazy. Oh well. I’ll have to do some extra walking then.

Can’t wait for my Wii Fit to get here though. Will be at the end of the month. Expect more weight loss when that happens. And I’ll keep you guys updated as to whether it actually helps or not during the Saturday Updates.

Oh, I almost forgot, I’m not wearing my wedding ring.

“What?! Did something happen Mike?!”

Calm down. Nothing major. I had to have it resized. It kept falling off my finger.

(For more information about my dieting and weight loss, click here. For more information about the specific foods I eat, click here. For the diet I follow, click here.)

Posted by Saphrym | 1 Comment »

Seriously. A full cycle of life took place about five yards from me for the last two weeks. There were some robins living in a nest on the side of the next door neighbors house. We watched the mom stay in the nest often. Then the mouths started peaking over the nest (They really do look like little Venus Fly Traps). And then the babies got bigger. Today, they left. This morning. I’m sad.

No. I’m not on drugs (Although going to Malibu for drug rehab might make it worth it). I’m just sad. Not in a bad way. But watching those birds was like watching my own daughter grow up. She’s 8 now. 8. She’s having sleepovers. She has her own cellphone and computer. My own baby is slowly leaving the nest. Only another 10 years and she’ll be off to college. I know. I know. “Only 10 years? That’s a long time, Mike.” Not to me. 8 years hasn’t been long enough. But let’s get back to the birds. I noticed a few things while watching them:

• The parents hunted for worms in our yard and nearby yards all throughout the day. And every time, they got one.
• Nests are temporary. Their nest slowly fell apart as they got older. They ended up going out on the little ledge the nest was on and spending most of their “teenage” time there. Then they flew away. We haven’t seen them since.
• Speaking of ledges, we got to see the first baby bird leave the nest this morning. He jumped off the ledge after a parent left. He fell about halfway to the ground before his little wings took over and he flew away.

That’s only three of the many things I noticed while watching the birds when I was outside. Notice I haven’t tagged any moral advice onto those observations. I thought of many ways to relate them to my life and life in general. Then I thought of ways to relate them to many other facets of daily living. But I want you to come up with your own insights. What could those observations mean to you? Feel free to share. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. But I ask that you think (”think” being the operative word here) about each of those observations and apply them to a situation in your own life. What could we learn from the birds?

Following is a picture I took with my phone. You can barely see them. I didn’t want to get closer because the parents kept watching me if I tried. And I also know that if the parent birds smell human smell on the babies or near the babies, they won’t take care of them anymore.

EDIT: Notice the portion that has been struck through? Well, Margaret has corrected me on that in the comments. Make sure to read them. She’s very knowledgeable about birds. But this leads me to one moral I will go ahead and include in this post:

Don’t always believe your parents when they tell you not to touch an animal because the animal’s parents may not take care of them anymore if you do. They might just be trying to keep you from touching the animals.

Posted by Saphrym | 4 Comments »

DIET DIARY

STARTING NUMBERS (Before I started the diet)
Blood Sugar: 287
Weight: 355.0
NUMBERS FROM TODAY
Blood Sugar: 77
Weight: 285.4
Fat Percentage: 48.6
Water Percentage: 29.9
Muscle Percentage: 34.6

I now know how floor mops feel. Especially that kind. Although I’m jealous. At least when that one has been used up it’s “head” can be replaced. I want to replace my head. But I can’t. However, for now, it’s all over.

“Tiii-iii-iii-iime is on my side… yes it is.”

My finals are done. My final homework is done. So the semester is over. I just need a new head. But that also means I will have more time for everything else I want to do. Yay!

But tonight, I’m about to pass out. So I’m keeping this short. Look for some cool stuff in the next week though. Oh, and I’d like some comments on this post, so I’m going to leave you with a question:

Should a kindergarten child be suspended for talking? (After a few comments I’ll explain why I’m asking your opinion.)

(For more information about my dieting and weight loss, click here. For more information about the specific foods I eat, click here. For the diet I follow, click here.)

Posted by Saphrym | 11 Comments »

Trust. It is hard to come by in this day and age. Everyone mistrusts just about everything. And with the Internet and the tons of information available to people these days, who can blame them? But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I live in a small town. Really small town. Don’t get me wrong. I chose this town on purpose. I’ve lived near New Orleans for most of my life, so living in a small town was a dream of mine. But being in a small town means you have to deal with small town rules. One rule is I have to park on the opposite side of the street every Tuesday. Why? Because the street cleaner comes by. Street cleaner. That’s how small the town is. They have a street cleaner that visits every street. Another rule that I recently found out about is that have to have some form of sign on my fence gate to let people know a dog might be back there. Here’s my dog:

I just didn’t think a “Beware of Dog” sign fit for this particular canine. Do you? So I went looking for a different kind of sign. I found one. AVM Publishing puts out dog in yard signs. And I mean that literally. They say “Dog in Yard” or “Dogs in Yard” and come in brown, blue, or green. (Color is not a personal preference for me, but my wife loved the blue.) Comes with brass screws or plastic cable ties depending on what you need. Both are weather proof. (Listen to me. I’m starting to sound like an advertisement.)

There was only one problem. They don’t accept credit cards. They only accept checks. However (and this is a big “however”), they don’t ask for payment up front. They sent me the sign before I even paid for it.

“Wait. I think I’m going blind here Mike. I swore you just said they sent the sign without even having payment for it.”

Well, that’s not exactly how I said it, but you’re right. They call it the “Good Karma Policy.” They ship your sign and expect you to send your check just as fast. And speaking of fast, I had my sign in two days. It actually got here before they even received my check. Trust is so refreshing. I swear, if I ever need another sign like that, I’ll definitely do business with them again. I mean, shipping before payment. For the common consumer, that is unheard of. I wish more people would trust each other like that. Of course, I also wish more people would give reasons for that trust too.

But check it out. Here’s the sign on my gate:

Now the city is happy. I’ve followed their rules without making my cute, fluffy, little white dog seem like a monster. “Dog in Yard” sounds so much better than “Beware of Dog,” don’t you think?

Posted by Saphrym | 12 Comments »

Body:

I know. I know. I’ve been quite absent the last few days. My blog is suffering from it. Not nearly as much traffic. But that’s ok. I’ll be providing more content starting this weekend. Between ordering some cardboard boxes to help a friend move, substituting at the local middle school, and dealing with final exams and papers, I’ve been rather busy. All my free time has been spent with my family since I haven’t had very much of it the last week or so.

Spirit:

Speaking of my family, my daughter had her first sleepover far from us the other day. She went with the STLP team because they won first place in the district competition. She went to Lexington, Kentucky to compete at the state level. Her mother and I were quite nervous and missed her terribly. But she did well. They didn’t win, but that was kind of expected. Not because she didn’t do a good job, but at the state level they pit all grades against each other. So her elementary school was up against high schools in the state. It makes the competition really tough for the younger kids to win. I’m still quite proud of her. I heard she did her part perfectly.

Mind:

With the work I’ve been doing, my brain fell out this morning. Anyone know a good brain mechanic? I think I crossed a couple of nerve endings putting it back in.

Posted by Saphrym | No Comments »

DIET DIARY

STARTING NUMBERS (Before I started the diet)
Blood Sugar: 287
Weight: 355.0
NUMBERS FROM TODAY
Blood Sugar: 86
Weight: 281.8
Fat Percentage: 49.3
Water Percentage: 29.6
Muscle Percentage: 34.5

I figured it was too good to be true. The weight is still the same. But that’s ok. Today I was in spending mode after getting a little extra cash. I bought some extra ram for my PC and I paid fully on my pre-order of a Wii Fit. So in a few days my computer will be healthier. In a few weeks, my body will start getting healthier. I’ve been reading and researching the Wii Fit a lot. Looks really good and seems like it might really be the exercise option I’ve been looking for (i.e. something not boring).

As for the website, well, not much to say. I’ve been slacking in that department. But I have my last college final on Monday. Also, regular school ends at the end of this month. So I’ll have 2 months off with tons of time to spend on the website and a few other projects I really want to do.

Now I’ll leave you with this video, that although it attacks the very product I’m intending on buying, I still laughed my… well, you know:

(For more information about my dieting and weight loss, click here. For more information about the specific foods I eat, click here. For the diet I follow, click here.)

Posted by Saphrym | 3 Comments »