Roger and Me

Watching "Roger and Me" - Wow! Still the same problems but magnified 10 times and spreading throughout the U.S. It is scary... I am thinking why wasn't something done way back then or has everything that was done failed that miserably?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3622789144304528932&q=roger+and+me

Contrast Quote

"Contrast is what makes photography interesting."

 -

Conrad Hall

 

I feel that! I often try to capture contrast in my nature photography and the results are usually stunning.

Classic!

Ok, yes I am very juvenile at times but whenever I need a good laugh I put on the "Farting Preacher" This never gets old!

 

Ok this one is even worse, hahaha - there are a lot of these videos

 

Here you go...

Maybe someone can tell me ......

What is going through a mother's head when she buys her teenage son a cell phone with unlimited texting after the kid flunked a class last trimester (and the trimester before that) and has had less that stellar (way less than) grades - basically rewarding bad grades? On top of the that, the kid professes to have ADD although he has never been diagnosed (well not that is known of - that info may have been kept from us; some people just are not good at communicating unless they have their hand out), what in the heck is having unlimited texting going to do to the kids attention span? This kid (who is a good kid just does not have his priorities straight and has some issues he needs to work on) does have trouble following directions, paying attention, completing tasks and completing them well, is forgetful, and has problems with organization. Yeah, what parent in their right mind would think giving a kid a new phone with unlimited texting is a good idea? What does that reinforce? Won't it make the kid's attention problems worse?
 
I wonder what excuses there will be when the poor kid has to repeat a bunch of classes and cannot take the classes (such as band) he wants. How about the ultimate bad situation - he gets so behind in school and ends up quitting or cannot graduate with his class? I wonder who will be to blame? 
 
Please, anyone with kids (especially teens) share your feelings on this situation or even teens or young adults.

Report Card Time: Too Many Acitivities=Bad Grades?

I don't know - you tell me. What are you thinking?

Also, why do some parents think that teenagers are grown and can be left to their own devices? Sometimes I think that some parents want to think their teen is grown up so they don't have to deal with issues or can spend more time on what they, the parent, want to do (or just be involved in the fun stuff their child is doing - COP OUT). That is lax parenting.

My thoughts are that teens are not grown up yet and still need guidance (this may be the time they need the most parenting), and yes sometimes they have to be told they cannot do stuff. Especially when they are getting bad grades (bad grades in my book is anything below a C-). There is no excuse! Especially when their grades have been less than stellar for years and nothing (or very little has been done about it). Academics need to be made (need to be seen as important by the teen, by both words and example) a priority. This means schoolwork, in class work, comes before all other extracurricular activities (whether they are school sanctioned or other activities). Talking to a teen about grades is all very well and good, letting them know your displeasure, and you can talk to you're blue in the face and they will say they understand and will do better yet the bottom line is you need to follow up all the talk with some action - either the kid has to do better in school, like he has been saying he had been or wants to do or some of his activities have to go until he does better in school. A teen needs to know parents mean business and the only way to get through to them sometimes is to take something away that they dearly want to do or make them work to get in the first place.

Of course it is better to make them work to get something they want before they actually get the privilege rather than take something away but sometimes, as in the case of lax parenting, parents have already given their teen what they wanted - independence, the ability to participate in any or all activities they want to. Then when the teen gets bad grades they (both parent and teen) want to make excuses and not do what needs to be done to correct the issue. What do you think is going to happen in the future? The teen is just going to miraculously improve his grades without guidance from anybody? Well wouldn't that be wonderful but unlikely to happen. No, most likely, if nothing is done about the bad grades, the teen will continue to flunk classes and get further and further behind, especially if he is allowed to participate in numerous extracurriculars. That is why the teen should be getting decent grades before he is allowed to participate in extracurricular activities - make him earn it so he knows what it takes to keep it.

Does this make sense? Or is it better just to let your teen do what he wants and hope and pray for the best? Hope that he has the wisdom to make hard choices, to show some restraint, put academics first, and have the time management skills of an adult. Well you know my thoughts on the matter.

I learned this the hard way. Truth to tell, I still struggle with managing my time and activities. I was given all the independence I wanted as a teen. I was able to participate in any extracurriculars I wanted to, which really wasn't that much. I did drama and choir outside of school hours. I was also in band but I was not in Marching or Jazz bands, so there was very little outside of school work. I had a job. I got bad grades, got behind and eventually quit high school. Truthfully, it wasn't just participating in the extracurriculars that led to me getting bad grades but that was part of it. I only participated in 3 extra activities - not 4 to 5 or more. It would have helped if someone would have stepped in and did something to make me see I had to make academics (no matter how boring or tedious, no matter how stupid and irrelevant I thought some subjects were) a priority. That I had to put some importance on things that had to be done to get by (this I hate - who doesn't hate jumping through hoops just to get a diploma? Or doing things they could care less about? But it is a part of life) rather that just placing importance on the things I really wanted to do. So if my parents had made me earn the right to participate in the activities or taken them away when I started failing high school, I might have learned to prioritize, and that there were things I had to do first before I got to do the things I really wanted. I have seen this work with other kids. A firm and guiding hand from the parents usually results in better academic performance and a kid who knows how to manage his time and activities. If that has been lacking then the kid will not learn and will be like me - he will end up learning the hard way or may never learn it. Is that what parents want?

So it might be time for me to find a new doctor....

Yeah, I have been wanting to find a new doctor but I have been putting it off. That is one of those things that is kind of annoying, and little time consuming if you don't have another doctor in mind. Well something happened yesterday that may spur my search.

 

Yesterday I had an appointment with my doctor - nothing major, just a sinus infection and I wanted to consult with him about my ever present fatigue. So I made an early appointment and actually got there on time.  A patient comes out of the inner office and informs me "They're moving pretty fast today." I was happy to hear that because I had been there many times when I had to wait for hours, part of the reason I want to find a new doctor. I thought. "Cool, maybe I will get in and out of here today." Well I did kind of get in and out...

 

I was sitting in the waiting room, looking over some books the office staff or some patients left, when in walks some guy carrying a box followed quickly by about 4 or 5 other guys. I didn't really pay them any attention right away - didn't really look at them other than in my field of vision I had noticed the box. I though it was strange but whatever - thought it might be a drug rep. They are always in and out of doctors offices. Well this guy greets the receptionist, I look up and see that these guys are cops and then the first guy says, "We're here to execute a search warrant." What? Huh? WTF!! So what doyou do when your doctor's office is being raided?

 

The cops put all the office staff in seperate rooms. One cop took down my information, and asked why I was seeing the doctor today (also asked if I was there to get prescription refills - Two thoughts, hasn't he heard of HIPPA, patient privacy  and AHA! maybe a clue??) and then I was free to go - after he checked with his superior officer. I didn't hear why the office was being searched, and I didn't ask. I figured that they probably wouldn't tell me and I didn't want to get in the way. So I was in and out of there, but I didn't get to see the doctor. I left puzzled, shocked, pissed and sick.  What a wasted trip.

 

 

Local Medical Clinics Raided By Police

http://www.wnem.com/news/18959579/detail.html

Today a professor reminded me...

of these wise words from a John Lennon song:

 

"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." ~John Lennon

 

So true.