Hurlshort

Huh, I would have thought Detroit would do anything to keep Yzerman in house.

Agreed. It was obvious that Ben was the new Alpert. I meant more from a light/dark perspective than any physical powers. Hurly is the good guy, while Ben is very willing to do whatever it takes. Alpert never seemed to do much of anything, so I don't see Ben as that guy. I definitely don't see Ben being an intermediary for Hurly.

I agree that the Ipad is a sorry replacement for an actual PC. I just was pointing out that seemed to be their justification.

The article says that this is replacing the older laptops with older software.

That's one way of seeing it. Another way is, the team that gets Hossa makes it to the finals. Maybe that's how valuable that guy is? Oh, I don't underestimate his value. Although I'm not sure if he is worth his contract. He's a very good player, but he is not the main piece on any of these teams he's played for.

I'd say guns aren't cool in many places in the US. But I agree with your other points.

I imagine this is in place of laptops? If so, it is probably a cheaper alternative.

I also like how you have Hurley replacing Jacob, and Ben basically fills the role of Smokey. So you still have the light and dark representation on the island. What was with the shoe attached to the bamboo stalk at the end there?

I think he was spot on for the most part.

I hope it's Rome 2. no no no... shogun 2 It'll be more cinematic, easier for new players, shinier graphics, MORE FEATURES But to compensate unit sizes won't increase and the AI will still be retarded, destroying replayability. I'm rooting for Shogun 2, but I can see them going crazy and moving into 19th Century warfare. Like in between the Franco-Prusso war and WWI.

I want Chicago to win, but I also wouldn't mind seeing Hossa lose in the finals again. I mean, if he loses in the finals 3 years in a row with 3 different teams, that is just wild.

I can see where anyone who is anti-religion is going to hate the ending, but it is a fantasy show, so get over it. I thought it was great, the whole shebang. I really liked the way they didn't end it totally. You've got Ben and Hurly running the island, you've got a bunch of folks making it back home. The ones who didn't make it found each other in the alternate reality. I teared up three times. Jin and Sun of course got me, that was the best romance. Charlie and Claire also got me, which I was surprised by given my meh-ness towards Charlie. Sawyer and Juliet was pretty great too.

That's alright, it was a weird one. I thought the Sharks played a heck of a lot better than a sweep, but it just didn't work out. I'm not as bummed as in years past, I think they put everything out there this year, whereas it seemed like the effort was lacking before. Chicago is a dang good team, so I hope they win it all.

I finally caught up on my episodes of LOST, looking forward to the finale. I was a little bummed that the pilot guy had a super weak death, but what are you gonna do. I loved the Ana Lucia bad cop cameo. Everyone's life is way better in the alternate reality, crazy.

I'm at -75 bucks as a gambler I almost got a bit frustrated with the horse racing mission, but then I remembered to use the horse pills.

What Deraldin is trying to say is his predictions are the kiss of death.

Actually, most schools are moving towards Standards based grading, at least in the K-5 grades. Middle Schools are starting to adopt it as well. It is fairly difficult to move away from the accepted letter grade systems, but it has been slowly happening over the last decade. Standards based grading means you are graded on a number scale, depending on what your mastery of the subject is. It is also a lot harder to assess than traditional percentage based grades. So it eliminates the importance of busy work. Obviously it is a much better indicator of skill, but there are some large flaws here. Say you have a PE class, and a student in that class never dresses out and never participates, except on the few assessment days. The student runs a fast mile or does a bunch of pull ups, but is only participating on about 5% of the year. With a standards based system, they would receive high marks in the class. But is this really a good preparation for the real world? I consider myself a successful person, and I will tell you that my success has a lot more to do with my work ethic than my skills. Will this student try to tell his boss that he only needs to come in one day a week because he can fulfill his job requirements in that time? I'm sure there are a couple jobs out there where that will fly, but not many. As for your other complaints, it sounds like you have a problem with parents more than the schools. And I'm right there with you, schools are a product of the parent community. There are good and bad teachers on every campus in the US. The deciding factor in the quality of the education will always be the parent.

This will likely never happen. I really don't have much faith in our public school system. Unless it's completely reworked, it will continue to be awful. This is always an odd statement from the perspective of a public school teacher. Probably because I have public school success stories every year, and I have parents going to great lengths to get their children into the US so they can attend our schools. The system is far from perfect, but it is a gigantic and unique one and it has served many people quite well.

It is a pretty simple case of Machiavellian politics. Does the end justify the means?

My theory on education is that you never take sides as a teacher. Ever. You are to remain the ultimate neutral party at all times. You present your information, and you then tell the students never to trust the information that they are given. They need to do their own research, they need to see multiple sources, they need to think critically. I never disclose my religious or political views to the students, some bother me about that, and I tell them to come back after they graduate. I know most of my students are too lazy to ever do that, they treat the textbooks like gospel, but they also forget most of it quickly. The real indoctrination happens at home anyways. There is a left wing bias in education. There are a few teachers on my campus that I find bothersome with the fact they wear political pins and the like. But I will say they are in the minority. The majority care little about indoctrinating students, they just want them to do their homework, learn to read and write well, calculate formula's, and become a generally confident and successful young adult.

I think the Sharks will resign him. He wants to stay in SJ, at least that is the impression he has given. He has been great this year, so I know the Sharks will offer him something. No one can question his playoffs this year, he's the only guy scoring goals right now. It probably will be lower than some other teams though, so it really will be his call. I think Nabby is gone. Again I think the Sharks will try to sign him, but he seems more inclined to follow the money. I can see them going after Turco as a replacement. They have a decent prospect in net in the minors, so they are looking for a vet to fill the next two years or so.

Dang. The Sharks actually outplayed Chicago for most of Game 3, and they still couldn't get the win.

I've been fairly addicted to the card games the last couple nights. I'm fairly terrible, and I've yet to successfully cheat (although I did win a duel from getting caught.) I'm also horrid at horseshoes. I guess the game is realistic in that regard. There does seem like a lot to do, although I wouldn't call any of them super deep. It's maybe a bit better than previous GTA mini-games, but not a ton. I can see the Western setting not applying to non-US folks. I have ghost towns in my vicinity, I've travelled through Nevada, so the Western spirit is something I've seen firsthand.

I'm embarrassed to admit I have taken to wearing my leather cowboy hat when playing.

I found an abandoned Indian village. It was creepy.