Season's greetings from the Blue Skunk

BFTP: Gifts that keep on giving

A weekend Blue Skunk "feature" will be a revision of an old post. I'm calling this BFTP: Blast from the Past. Original post December 25, 2010. The LWW and I will be going south for a few days to thaw out, then return home for a long weekend with family. Going to try to stay off line as much as possible and regain a little equilibrium in my life. Enjoy the holidays. Hug your children. Appreciate your parents. And eat two pieces of pie just for the hell of it.

Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.

Christmas morning. The house is quiet. Something that smells of cinnamon is in the oven. The tree is lit. The snow outside is very white and very deep. The LWW and I will head off to her parents' house in a couple hours. Our children and grandchildren will be invading next week for a few happy days.

I will admit that I can't wrap a package to save my soul, so the LWW spent hours yesterday gettting the robots and bicycles and LEGOs and underwear and books and computer games and noisy baby toys ready to be un - wrapped in seconds. You really have to be a grandparent before the old saw, "it's better to give than to receive," genuinely rings true. I don't believe our grandsons are any more or less greedy than other small children, but they do love presents - and their excitement is a gift to this grandpa returned many times over.

Material gifts for these boys are easy. A list from their mom, one's cash card and the local Target store is all that's needed. I have no illusions that 90% of what the boys receive will be lost, broken or forgotten within weeks. A few things might stick - a book that becomes cherished, a computer game that will engage, a special toy that will become "alive" and so escape the garage sales. But as I sweep the lost StarWars figure up from under the couch next week, I'll have to remember that material gifts are just this grandpa's shallow means of making his affection visible.

Were I able, I'd wrap these gifts up for each of my grandsons with these cards attached...

• Health. While about 95% of your health is due to genetics, for good or bad, the other 5% that you can control is pretty important. Strike a balance between risk paranoia and complete disregard for your bod. Eat a candy bar now and then, but have the good sense to walk it off.  I hope you like the color and the size. To a large degree, the shape will be up to you.
• Passion. The luckiest people are those who find something that really interests them. What that something is makes little difference  - computers or hockey or inorganic chemistry or etymology or entomology or library science or whatever.  Wear this every day.
• Compassion. OK, this one is a little odd, but it's important, boys. The capacity to feel for others will give your life meaning and purpose. People who are best at handling the occasional blues do so by finding others to help. This one is polar fleece for the soul.
• Adventure. Here is the courage to take a risk now and then. Eat a new food. Travel to a different country. Accept a challenge to your physical strength and stamina and comfort. Read something by someone you don't agree with. Do at least one thing every year that none of your friends has ever done. Take pictures. The people with the best stories, not the most money, are life's winners. Wear this hat even when it seems a little scary.
• Appreciation. Never forget how truly lucky you are to be born to loving parents who can afford to feed you, clothe you, and take you to the doctor. Remember that you live in a country that is free of political violence and gives you both freedom and protection. Be thankful that you can get an education that will let you become just about anything you want to be. Even when things may not seem to be going your way, wear these glasses and you will recognize that you are still more fortunate than 99% of the rest of the world.
• Problems. Yes, I am giving you lots of problems as a gift. You may be an old man like me before you come to appreciate this package, but it may be the most valuable one you receive. Problems engage our minds. Problems make us creative. Problems (and finding solutions to them) give you self-worth. Problems keep life from getting boring. Problem make life fun - really! When you put these in your pocket, it may feel like a burden, but they are boosters.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or Winter Solstice or whatever flavor holiday you celebrate.

Turning a blind eye to personal computer use

http://www.dilbert.com/2013-12-05/

http://www5.untangle.com/e/2902/campaign-Prospect20Infographic/2ng8j8/389639085

Hmmmm, using the school computer to buy Christmas gifts - during the school day? Say it isn't so!

As tech director, I have always turned a blind eye to the personal use of technology by teachers. You want to use the computer to by a shirt from Lands End, research vacation spots on the Mayan Riviera, or have an e-mail fling with your son's Boy Scout troop leader, knock yourself out.

Here are some things to consider:

If a teacher uses the school telephone in the teachers' lounge to place a catalog order, book a vacation, or flirt with the his son's Boy Scout troop leader, nobody would bat an eye. You want to sell your used patio furniture by tacking a "for sale" poster on the bulletin board in the lounge - go right ahead. So why is it suddenly a cardinal sin to do these things using A COMPUTER. Get over it. The computer is not longer that strange thing everyone is in awe of anymore. 

Also remember that teachers (actually most professionals) have to get the work done on some sort of deadline. If the lesson is not prepared, the papers aren't graded, the report cards not completed, that is the problem. Not working on school work during a prep period is not the problem. A teacher wants to watch funny cat videos at work and grade papers at home in the evening, who am I to say no? How conductive to productivity is a climate where no one is trusted and therefore micromanaged?

Oh, and all that "lost productivity" described in the infographic above? Maybe we need another infographic that compares the measley 10 days Americans use to take vacations vs. the 25 to 30 days most Europeans take. Life seems to balance itself out, despite the best efforts of managers and HR directors.

Give your teachers a holiday gift of trust, of professional courtesy, and of adult respect this holiday season.

Lighten up not just the Christmas tree.