Good Job Construction Men

Friday, April 28, 2006

Good Job Construction Men Current mood: bouncy So they're doing a bunch of construction in our office...basically they're creating a stairway that will link our current first floor office to the second floor office we're adding in June. Well, yesterday, the fire alarm starts going off, followed by the sound of running water in the ceiling. About five minutes later, water starts raining from the ceiling and seeping out of the walls. Apparently, some genius broke through a water main and flooded a good portion of the second floor and our office as a result. On a follow up to a previous blog, now they're saying that the prostitute that is accusing the Duke lacrosse players apparently accused someone else of rape 10 years ago (for a rape that she said happened three years before she made the accusation)...looks more and more like a DA clusterfuck down in Durham. Watched Donnie Darko last night for the 10,000th time. God damn, that movie is frightening, funny, fantastic, melancholy and moving. How's that suit you suckers for some super strong alliteration? Sorry, it's Friday, I'm delirious, let this weekend begin......

Who Put the Best in CBEST?

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Who Put the BEST in CBEST? Current mood: amused So I go to take this test this morning in order to be qualified to substitute teach. CBEST. There's about 500 people at the testing facility and the test consists of three parts: reading, writing and mathematics. 50 multiple choice questions each in the reading and math, two essay responses in the writing. This test was a joke. Our educational system is a sad state of affairs when someone who can pass this test is allowed into the classroom. The reading is paragraph after paragraph with only 4 to 5 questions per passage. Very pathetic. The math is more a test of your patience in finishing it than anything else. The test is probably structured around the idea that half of the takers will doze off before they finish this crap. If these are the test scores of the students (list of scores here), what is the average class score? Here is a pie chart with only one percentage not filled in...what is that percentage? I don't deserve to substitute teach anyone, let alone be a high school graduate if you can't answer this thing. They give people 4 hours to finish this test. Oughta be called CWORST.

Duke Lacrosse Players

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Duke Lacrosse Players Current mood: disappointed Not that I'm maintaining that nothing happened, and not that I'm maintaining that the people they've charged are innocent, but this whole case strikes me as a little off. Last I checked, citizens in this country are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. It's bad enough that the court of public opinion has already condemned Barry Bonds, but here are two college students that have been accused of rape. Let's review the facts of the case...first, a DNA test of ALL the team players came back negative. Yet, even with no DNA, they're prosecuting these two guys. Secondly, and more importantly in my mind, apparently, one was at a restaurant when the party was happening, and the other is on camera at an ATM across town. Yet, despite a negative DNA test, and despite alibis that put them elsewhere during the party, these two guys are not only being charged, but suspended from Duke. Shouldn't Duke be waiting to hear if they're guilty before stopping them from attending school? This is starting to look more and more like a witchunt put on by a DA running for reelection and looking to make a statement. Apparently, things like "innocent until proven guilty," and "separation between church and state," don't mean quite as much as they used to.