Cold Cereal Critic Bubs

I think I've been a little heavy handed with my posts lately, so I'm finally going to get down to doing a much needed list.

Best Cold Cereals

17- Honey Comb - Pretty ordinary if you ask me.
16- Cocoa Puffs - Not as good as it's cocoa cousin.
15- Reese's Puffs - A little peanut butter never hurt anyone, except for those with peanut allergies.
14- Apple Jacks - A poor man's Froot Loops.
13- Trix - I remember dad tourturing me in the store when I wanted to buy Trix saying "Trix are for Rabbits." Then I'd respond with the famous "No, Trix are for kids!" (I think that last sentence does merit an exclamation point.)
12- Raisin Bran - I like the one with sugar all over the raisins.
11- Cheerieos - The old standby.
10- Cocoa Pebbles - For the chocolate milk factor.
9- Cookie Crisp - Obscure
8- Rice Krispies - 2 reasons why this is so high on the list.
1- You can make rice krispy treats from them.
2- Dad told me that when the rice krispies are crackling, they are saying "Spencer W. Kimball is the prophet."
7- Kix - Rated high for the keeping Lincoln quiet in church factor.
6- Mini Wheats - I'm surprised myself.
5- Fruity Pebbles - Knocked down a few notches for always coming in a little box.
4- Lucky Charms - This cereal has made a surge of late. 10 years ago, it wouldn't have been in the top ten. I'd have to say Malt-o-meal's Marshmellow Mateys have something to do with that.
3- Frosted Flakes- I'm not sure if I like the milk afterward or the cereal more.
2- Cinnamon Toast Crunch - Much better than it's younger, uglier brother, French Toast Crunch.
1- Froot Loops - aka tear the roof of your mouth apart cereal, but seriously, quit whining.

I would like to mention that I purposefully snubbed Wheaties. They aren't that good, seriously. Any other snubs may be an oversight. I would also question General Mills's website. They buried Cinnamon Toast Crunch, it was almost impossible to find. Why?

Plus, I purposefully overlooked a top tener, the first one to notice and name will win a few drops of Tylenol for Infants.

Office quote of the day:

'I accidently cross dressed, then I had to ride up here with stupid Toby!"

Leave 'em all behind

One of the best commercials of all time, I first saw it at Hunter when the Physics teacher showed it to me. It's 2:00 long.




There were no camera tricks or computer graphics added, except the room wasn't big enough to fit the whole thing, so they split it into two takes, right where the muffler is rolling on the ground... If you are seriously interested, you can start by visiting the link below:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/advertisements/hondacog.asp

Of course I'm trusting someone I don't know, but Snopes hasn't let me down before.

So Easter is in the books. That means it's stretch run time for teachers. Time to drill kids into submission, so they can pass a multiple choice test that will show how good of a teacher I am. And if they don't do good, then of course, it's my fault.

I actually think the No Child Left Behind law is alright, except for a few fatal flaws. The biggest problem I see with the law is that all responsibility is put on teachers for a child's learning. In my opinion, at least two other parties are responsible. The parents or guardians of the child, and the child him/herself.

I also have a problem with the culture of treating teachers as if they aren't professionals. Teachers train for thier job longer than just about any other job, and it's irritating when "know-it-alls" come riding in on thier white horse and try to fix what's wrong with teachers. By in large, the system is broken, and teachers try to do the best they can with a broken system.

So, if we have to have a law that holds people accountable, it should hold accountable all responsible parties, not just teachers. Here's what I'd do, of course I'm only a teacher, so I probably don't know what I'm talking about.

1. Parents don't get to claim a tax deduction for a failing student.
2. Failing students repeat the grade they failed.
3. Teachers continue to be held accountable.


The biggest problem with this scenario is the same problem we have today, and that is how are we going to decide who is 'failing'?

Also, there are several students (namely children of illegal aliens) whose parents don't pay taxes, and would therefore be unaffected by these new regulations. Logically, they shouldn't be allowed to attend school, but education people are generally compassionate, and don't want to keep people from learning. And yes, I meant to say aliens.

Rant over.

We bought Lincoln a little basketball hoop, and he plays with it nonstop. Amazing how he knows what he's supposed to do with the thing.

That will be all, it's time for me to clean the house, Lincoln can sure mess things up quickly.

Happy Easter

Easter means a few things, and one of them is Cadbury Eggs. Has anyone noticed them getting smaller? Watch this:




Cadbury probably spins it like: Our eggs now have 10% less fat, sugar, carbs...

The man

Real Estate Bubs

I ran across a video that matches a roller coaster to the last 120 years or so of home values adjusted for inflation. Notice the last 20 years or so just goes straight up.

The link below is where you go if the embedded video doesn't work:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2757699799528285056




I have started reading a book called "The two income trap". So far it has been quite interesting. The authors debunk the myth that people today go bankrupt because of overconsumption. That is what the creditors want us to believe. In almost every aspect of life, average people today spend less on just about everything. The one thing they spend more on... way more... is a home.

The reason for this is the unintended consequence of women entering the workforce in huge numbers. That has given families more money to bid up housing. Housing is the one thing that has gone up, because families want thier children to be safe and go to good schools. In most areas, when adjusted for inflation, housing is three times more than it was a generation ago. In 1975, the government forced mortgage companies to count a womens income. Sounds like a good thing, but that gave families more money to bid up desireable housing. Now, even though families earn more, adjusted for inflation, they actually have less after the house is taken care of.

This is the reason most women have to work, and when disaster strikes, since both incomes were being used to buy and maintain a house, there is no safety net. That is the reason we see more bankrupt families.

We are trying to get ourselves down to one income, and it has been awful. We don't have unnecesarry things, and we just can't seem to make ends meet. More than half of my paycheck goes to pay the mortgage, and this is with a house that we only had to pay half price for. You would think that someone who has a master's degree (almost) would easily make money for his household, but it isn't true, especially if that person goes into teaching. This is the main reason that I see myself going into administration, because it is my job to earn enough for my family, so my wife can stay home and raise some good kids, and so we can save enough to not rely on government programs (social security) when I'm too old to work.

My wife is a very skilled person, and can earn our family alot of money if she needs to, but we have decided that it is better for her to stay home, because she wants to be with the kids, and we know it is the right thing to do.

I don't want to come off as bitter, because I wouldn't trade my life, my wife, or my kid(s) for anything. I feel like I put off kids too long because of money, and I'm glad that we decided to just take the plunge, even though we knew it was going to be rough. I'm also glad I went into teaching, because that is what I like to do, and it is much easier to deal with 14 and 15 year olds when it is something that you like to do, and you are good at it. If only they'd get my jokes, they'd realize how funny I am.

It's just nice to know what the problem is, so we at least know what we're dealing with. We've made a goal to start a Roth IRA by December, and I think all young couples out there should make the same goal, because short of Lincoln playing a professional sport, I don't see anyone taking care of me when I'm older.

Thank you Democrats for shooting down social security reform, even though you claim to look out for the working class. It is quite obvious that you only care about foiling George W. Bush, and getting God out of our society. Keep up the "good" work. Not that I think the government should take care of me, but right now, I give social security 7.5% of my paycheck, and my employer matches that amount instead of giving it to me. Since I am paying all this money into the broken system, it would be nice to see a payoff. I'd rather just get the 15% and fend for myself.

By the way, the number one predictor of going bankrupt now is if you have children. I think that is a sad commentary on where our society has placed it's priorities.

Lincoln update

Readers of this blog have probably noticed that I don't talk about Lincoln nearly as much as Christen talks about Skye. This is not because I don't have anything to say about him, or that he doesn't so funny things all the time, but that we're afraid that some sicko is going to get too much info about the boy. So...

if you are a sicko, I have a few things to tell you. You are niether funny nor cool. Seriously. Stop tormenting our children, and stop reading this blog because you are surely violating your paroll. Wait until I tell your PO, you're going to be going back to jail. Now go away.

Now that is taken care of, I thought I'd update everyone on Lincoln's vocabulary/activities.

Words he says:

Mama
Dada

Words he has said before, but not for a while:

Airplane
Kitty

Words he signs:

hat
drink
eat
more
milk
diaper
fan
moon
airplane
pray
cheese
water

Body parts he can point to

hair
ears
nose
eyes
mouth
belly button
foot/toes
knees
elbows

Animals he imitates:

cow (vooo)
cat (a high pitched whiney sound)
horse (hee hee)
dog (ooof)

Other words he knows:

Shoes
toys
TV
computer
car
carseat
Elmo
mouse (computer)
chocolate milk (oops)
jacket

Favorite activites:

1 - Playing with any kind of ball
2- climbing on things
3- tearing apart well ordered stuff
4- running
5- playing with toys
6- being dragged around in a box

That is all

The boy will play basketball

So we had our faculty basketball game against the 9th grade team again this year. Needless to say, the Bubs did not disappoint. The Bubs rained down 3's on those poor 9th graders. We were up by 13 at half, and got up by 21 before coasting to a 13 point win. Of course, much trash talking was done by the boys basketball team that was not backed up. The Bubs, as usual, remained humble throughout. The Bubs also refrained from betting on the outcome of the game, or the Bubs's point total.

In other news, Lincoln learned how to dribble a ball yesterday. That checks off another item on my checklist to developing a good basketball player. Below is the list, along with the date the item was completed if applicable.

1. Have a tall baby. Oct 2005
2. Get baby used to balls. May 2006
3. Take baby to basketball games. Jan 2006
4. Teach baby how to throw. Aug 2006
5. Teach baby how to dribble. April 2007
6. Buy a basketball hoop for baby.
7. Teach boy how to aim.
8. Teach boy how to jump better than daddy.
9. Buy an adjustable basketball hoop
10. Teach boy how to pass
11. Teach boy how to shoot.
12. Teach boy how to post up.
13. Teach boy how to execute a pick and roll.
14. Teach boy how to rebound.
15. Teach boy how to swing elbows in traffic without getting a foul.
16. Practice game situations with the boy.
17. Teach boy how to move feet on defense.
18. Teach boy how to talk on defense.
19. Teach boy how to set a proper screen.
20. Teach boy how to dive on the floor all the time, thus giving observers the appearance of hustle.

Throughout the process, it is important to remember, that the boy was put on the earth to make tons of money for his parents, so they can live the rest of thier lives in utter slothery.

Sorry about the inconsistant periods throughout. Props to you guys for not pointing it out.

I'd also like to mention that Lincoln is starting to go to the bathroom on the toilet. He's only 17 months old, and while I'm not holding out much hope that diapers will soon be a thing of the past, it has to be a good sign.

Wally