These pictures came to me via email this morning from, ironically enough, my mother.

I think that was her way of reminding me that Mothers day is fast approaching.

My mom–queen of subtlety.

I found this recently. The context is pre-vacation for a couple of my students. I’m not sure where they were going together but I remember it being far enough that they needed a plane ride.

I think this list was written by a girl that was staying behind to the girl or girls that were going–if you catch my drift. It’s a list of things to do on the plane and upon arrival, so the title’s a little off.

So here goes. Enjoy it. And then if you like, I couldn’t help but yammer on at the end because, for some reason, the last item triggered the reflective, pseudo-philosophical idiot in me.

The subhead for this blog reads “School teacher, dad, homeowner turns superhero but has to learn his powers along the way.”

Lately I’ve had a weird sort of feeling about that.  Like I’m supposed to explain what it means or something.  And since, in my own mind, that would be a lot of work and I’m lazy, I’ve been thinking about just changing it.

I mean, it doesn’t really make sense, does it?  Do I really think I’m all that superheroish?  Better than?

Remember when I said we were a little quirky? Well, I really wasn’t kidding. These signs are on a little road within the city of St. Croix Falls. It’s a road that services homes and traffic tucked between the school district and the industrial park.

On this road is a little pond.

On the pond, obviously are some ducks, and geese, and other wet loving creatures. But we particularly like ducks . . . and snowmobiles.

This sign needs a fresh coat of paint, but it should read, “Tame (not lame) ducks on road. Please don’t hit them.”

This is a structure our most loyal duck lovers have built on the pond. Obviously geese don’t read.

Chat bots: Artificial Intelligence Links Us to The Big Guy (and other interesting personalities)

First it was Peteranswers.com, then it was Ask Jud, now my students are hooked on igod. I’m all for 21st century skills, shrinking the world with electronic dialog, better opportunities for learning and all that—but this is getting ridiculous.

What’s it called when a blogger starts to write about things that happen on his own blog? Most of the time it’s under a headline like, “How I got 100,000 visitors in 30 days,” or “My Google Adsense Figures,” or something like that. Heck, I’ve even done it once.

It’s like the blog takes on a life of its own so that every once in awhile it’s interesting in and of itself. Is there a name for that?

While this probably isn’t something I’d want to do all that often, I thought this comment was interesting: