hey all,
Tomorrow is Monday, but this is the first of those holidays known as Golden Week. Michi is taking a 2 day yoga class, so yes, I'm toughing it out. (Cue All By Myself by Celine Dion)
I've been messing around with the computer some. I finally got the printer setup on the new computer, for example. I've also been doing some typing for work. Two vocabulary quizzes set, questions for 5 essays typed up, plus a set of pictures going from the animal kingdom down to Home sapiens to show my AM class.
Cheers,
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Stupid and Stupider
hey all,
I've been trying to get a decent semantic desktop going, but have been unable to do it so far.
We all know by now the wonderful things that Gmail's labels let you do with emails. Of course it is impossible to surf the internet without encountering lables or tags everywhere. I was using Tagged Frog to do this on my computer, except that it is retarded. Now I am trying out Nemo Docs, but it too is retarded.
Say you have a bunch of pics in a folder named Japan. But inside that folder, you have lots of other folders (Yokohama, Hakone_Random_Date, etc). Tagged Frog supposedly allows you to create a rule that says: give all the files in folder X the tag X. You can set this to be recursive, so that Japan pics all get the tag Japan, Hakone pics all get the tag Hakone, etc. But these tags only show up in your tag manager if you run a manual scan and tag. That is, the automatic tagging is useless.
Nemo Docs has similar problems, but more extreme. If I do a search for files that have SEMANTICS in the file name, it only returns a certain number of those files. Plus you can't set up any autotagging rules, so you might as well go through each and every file and tag it one at a time. In my Linguistics folder, I have 1,700+ files, and well more than 6,000 photos in my Pictures folder, and another 1,700+ music files. It would be more cost effective to hire some poor 3rd world tech savvy drone to do it for me.
Tag2find doesn't seem to work on this computer, and neither does TaggTool. iTag looked nice, but it has a limit of 3 tags per file for the free version and is designed primarily for photos.
Yes, Picasa will also put tags on your photos, and also let you manage the people, locations, etc associated with them, but what about the .doc, .docx, .ods, PDFs, and other files? Sure, Windows Media Player and others will help you manage the tags on your OGGs, MP3, and WAV files, but what about your AVIs, MPEGs, MP4s, and WMVs?
My point is that I want a program that will let me tag or label any file, and that will store and make searchable all that metadata in the same place. I don't want to have to use Picasa to find that one particular picture just because the tags on it are unavailable to Explorer, etc. This shouldn't be a difficult proposition, and yet I have yet to see it implemented on Windows effectively. After all, I can easily add a label to this blog post.
Cheers,
I've been trying to get a decent semantic desktop going, but have been unable to do it so far.
We all know by now the wonderful things that Gmail's labels let you do with emails. Of course it is impossible to surf the internet without encountering lables or tags everywhere. I was using Tagged Frog to do this on my computer, except that it is retarded. Now I am trying out Nemo Docs, but it too is retarded.
Say you have a bunch of pics in a folder named Japan. But inside that folder, you have lots of other folders (Yokohama, Hakone_Random_Date, etc). Tagged Frog supposedly allows you to create a rule that says: give all the files in folder X the tag X. You can set this to be recursive, so that Japan pics all get the tag Japan, Hakone pics all get the tag Hakone, etc. But these tags only show up in your tag manager if you run a manual scan and tag. That is, the automatic tagging is useless.
Nemo Docs has similar problems, but more extreme. If I do a search for files that have SEMANTICS in the file name, it only returns a certain number of those files. Plus you can't set up any autotagging rules, so you might as well go through each and every file and tag it one at a time. In my Linguistics folder, I have 1,700+ files, and well more than 6,000 photos in my Pictures folder, and another 1,700+ music files. It would be more cost effective to hire some poor 3rd world tech savvy drone to do it for me.
Tag2find doesn't seem to work on this computer, and neither does TaggTool. iTag looked nice, but it has a limit of 3 tags per file for the free version and is designed primarily for photos.
Yes, Picasa will also put tags on your photos, and also let you manage the people, locations, etc associated with them, but what about the .doc, .docx, .ods, PDFs, and other files? Sure, Windows Media Player and others will help you manage the tags on your OGGs, MP3, and WAV files, but what about your AVIs, MPEGs, MP4s, and WMVs?
My point is that I want a program that will let me tag or label any file, and that will store and make searchable all that metadata in the same place. I don't want to have to use Picasa to find that one particular picture just because the tags on it are unavailable to Explorer, etc. This shouldn't be a difficult proposition, and yet I have yet to see it implemented on Windows effectively. After all, I can easily add a label to this blog post.
Cheers,
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Classes and Computer Again
hey all,
It seems that plan C is also a bust. I tried reformatting the HDD from the new computer, but the results are the same. It could be that the CPU or the graphics card have finally bit the dust, but I kinda doubt that, since I was able to see the Fedora and Kubuntu loading screens come up and get to work...But after a minute, I'd get a screen that was half white and half black. In any case, I might take the HDD and give myself another storage possibility and try to sell the rest of the components in Akihabara this weekend. Whatever is wrong with it, it doesn't seem worth the effort of getting it working again.
Classes are moving along. My AM class is more or less stable. I'm still experimenting with different techniques, but Positive Framing, No Opt Out, Do It Again, and Strong Voice are becoming my combo of choice. These amount to setting a positive tone through focusing on the students who are doing what they should and "narrating a success story" ("I've got two students writing, now I've got 4 students writing, and now I've got everyone writing...Good focus everyone"), not allowing a student to not answer, practicing something again if it is not done correctly the first time, and maintaining a formal, controlled register and bearing at all times.
PM classes are becoming more stable, but I'm still trying to figure out how to cope with teaching a different level basically every day, and I'm still adjusting to the level difference between my current classes and my previous class. One technique I'm going to try out for the PM class is teacher generated summaries for reading comprehension. These amount to restating and shortening the original passages, but with key words left blank, so the students have to do some work to fill them in. I'm thinking a word box and the occasional MC question would also be good additions.
There is a three day holiday, then two days of work, then a four day holiday, so there'll be lots of homework to do.
Cheers,
It seems that plan C is also a bust. I tried reformatting the HDD from the new computer, but the results are the same. It could be that the CPU or the graphics card have finally bit the dust, but I kinda doubt that, since I was able to see the Fedora and Kubuntu loading screens come up and get to work...But after a minute, I'd get a screen that was half white and half black. In any case, I might take the HDD and give myself another storage possibility and try to sell the rest of the components in Akihabara this weekend. Whatever is wrong with it, it doesn't seem worth the effort of getting it working again.
Classes are moving along. My AM class is more or less stable. I'm still experimenting with different techniques, but Positive Framing, No Opt Out, Do It Again, and Strong Voice are becoming my combo of choice. These amount to setting a positive tone through focusing on the students who are doing what they should and "narrating a success story" ("I've got two students writing, now I've got 4 students writing, and now I've got everyone writing...Good focus everyone"), not allowing a student to not answer, practicing something again if it is not done correctly the first time, and maintaining a formal, controlled register and bearing at all times.
PM classes are becoming more stable, but I'm still trying to figure out how to cope with teaching a different level basically every day, and I'm still adjusting to the level difference between my current classes and my previous class. One technique I'm going to try out for the PM class is teacher generated summaries for reading comprehension. These amount to restating and shortening the original passages, but with key words left blank, so the students have to do some work to fill them in. I'm thinking a word box and the occasional MC question would also be good additions.
There is a three day holiday, then two days of work, then a four day holiday, so there'll be lots of homework to do.
Cheers,
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
New Computer
hey all,
This is being typed from my new computer. It's pretty nice, although the Japanese OS is turning out to be a pain in more ways than one. For example, even after going out of my way to download the English versions of programs, like Chrome, Gimp, etc, they look at the language of the OS and decide to switch to Japanese.
I did manage to get all my files off of the old laptop (including my bookmarks, which were buried in C:\Users\Hunter\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox...places.sqlite, you get the idea), but my project of turning it into a Linux box hasn't really progressed too far. I downloaded Kubuntu, but despite getting a loading screen, nothing seems to happen. I'm currently downloading Kororaa and Fedora, so we'll see if I have any more luck with those. If not, I'll try reformatting the HDD from this computer, then using the Linux install discs again. If that doesn't work, I'm selling it for scrap parts.
Today is also Michi's birthday. I'll have to leave out how old she's turning, but she had a really busy day which included traveling to Sendai.
(Later) Fedora didn't work either, so on to plan C.
Classes need to be updated too, but that is a separate post.
Cheers,
This is being typed from my new computer. It's pretty nice, although the Japanese OS is turning out to be a pain in more ways than one. For example, even after going out of my way to download the English versions of programs, like Chrome, Gimp, etc, they look at the language of the OS and decide to switch to Japanese.
I did manage to get all my files off of the old laptop (including my bookmarks, which were buried in C:\Users\Hunter\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox...places.sqlite, you get the idea), but my project of turning it into a Linux box hasn't really progressed too far. I downloaded Kubuntu, but despite getting a loading screen, nothing seems to happen. I'm currently downloading Kororaa and Fedora, so we'll see if I have any more luck with those. If not, I'll try reformatting the HDD from this computer, then using the Linux install discs again. If that doesn't work, I'm selling it for scrap parts.
Today is also Michi's birthday. I'll have to leave out how old she's turning, but she had a really busy day which included traveling to Sendai.
(Later) Fedora didn't work either, so on to plan C.
Classes need to be updated too, but that is a separate post.
Cheers,
Saturday, April 14, 2012
I am Teacher! Hear me teach!
hey all,
The last two days have gone pretty well. But first, the week in recap. This whole week I've been given out evaluation tests to my new PM students. They showed that we need a lot more work on vocabulary, and that reading comprehension is mostly not there. But at least I've got a picture of where my students are now.
My AM class has gone better and better. There was one young boy (three years old), who was very disruptive and I finally had enough and asked him to leave the room. It is one thing to act bored, disrespectful, and make noises and distract other students. It is another to do it after being asked not, then told not to, and to still persist after being punished (made to stand or go to the corner) for it. I sense that there are sibling issues involved. His older brother is the compliant one, so to distinguish himself, he turns himself into the rebel.
So he is gone. We've moved him to a lower level class, where hopefully he can be a star and help the other students instead of disrupting because the level is over his head. But my students are by no means angels with him gone. However, I've been reading through The Teach Like a Champion Field Guide, which covers a bunch of techniques for establishing classroom routines, setting high expectations and communicating them, and for maintaining students' attention and behavior. So every day I scroll through it on my Android during my morning commute, and I pick a few techniques to focus on for the day.
Friday went really smoothly, mostly because of those techniques.
On a separate note, I also went to the dentist. He just jumped right in and started drilling three or four teeth after I explained that I was having some pain on the back teeth. He explained that my crowns were probably bashing into each other while chewing, or while grinding my teeth in my sleep (something my previous dentist also mentioned). He he started rounding and smoothing the edges of them. I think, however, that one of the crowns will have to be replaced. This is the crown that came out while I was in Amsterdam. It has been gradually losing its porcelain coating, and now on the top it is mostly metal showing.
That's all for now.
Cheers,
The last two days have gone pretty well. But first, the week in recap. This whole week I've been given out evaluation tests to my new PM students. They showed that we need a lot more work on vocabulary, and that reading comprehension is mostly not there. But at least I've got a picture of where my students are now.
My AM class has gone better and better. There was one young boy (three years old), who was very disruptive and I finally had enough and asked him to leave the room. It is one thing to act bored, disrespectful, and make noises and distract other students. It is another to do it after being asked not, then told not to, and to still persist after being punished (made to stand or go to the corner) for it. I sense that there are sibling issues involved. His older brother is the compliant one, so to distinguish himself, he turns himself into the rebel.
So he is gone. We've moved him to a lower level class, where hopefully he can be a star and help the other students instead of disrupting because the level is over his head. But my students are by no means angels with him gone. However, I've been reading through The Teach Like a Champion Field Guide, which covers a bunch of techniques for establishing classroom routines, setting high expectations and communicating them, and for maintaining students' attention and behavior. So every day I scroll through it on my Android during my morning commute, and I pick a few techniques to focus on for the day.
Friday went really smoothly, mostly because of those techniques.
On a separate note, I also went to the dentist. He just jumped right in and started drilling three or four teeth after I explained that I was having some pain on the back teeth. He explained that my crowns were probably bashing into each other while chewing, or while grinding my teeth in my sleep (something my previous dentist also mentioned). He he started rounding and smoothing the edges of them. I think, however, that one of the crowns will have to be replaced. This is the crown that came out while I was in Amsterdam. It has been gradually losing its porcelain coating, and now on the top it is mostly metal showing.
That's all for now.
Cheers,
Thursday, April 12, 2012
400 Posts, and 3 Years
hey all,
I've been in Japan for over 3 years now. That seems so strange to type. Three years ago I was 27 years old. At times I wish I had a more visual or concrete profession. I mean, I can't really go around pulling a great student out of my pocket and showing them to people. Architects can point to their buildings, musicians have people listen to their music, painters can show their paintings, game developers can have people play their games, and movie professionals can show their films. The results of my efforts reside in the neurons of the brains of my students, who are off wandering around the earth. Not exactly the most accessible place to reach. And nobody appreciates all the blood, bone, broken hack saw blades, and screams that it takes to show them off.
Three years is around 1000 days. I have to say that three years doesn't feel like a long time. Of course, there are times when I have to plan a lesson that 50 minutes seems like a long time to fill, but the last three years of my life have gone by pretty quickly. I feel pretty ambivalent about that, actually. I guess time does seem to move quickly when you are enjoying yourself, but sometimes I wonder about the hustle and bustle of daily life and where mine is going.
My new AM and PM classes are...going, as well. They really deserve more comment, but for now that will have to do.
Cheers,
I've been in Japan for over 3 years now. That seems so strange to type. Three years ago I was 27 years old. At times I wish I had a more visual or concrete profession. I mean, I can't really go around pulling a great student out of my pocket and showing them to people. Architects can point to their buildings, musicians have people listen to their music, painters can show their paintings, game developers can have people play their games, and movie professionals can show their films. The results of my efforts reside in the neurons of the brains of my students, who are off wandering around the earth. Not exactly the most accessible place to reach. And nobody appreciates all the blood, bone, broken hack saw blades, and screams that it takes to show them off.
Three years is around 1000 days. I have to say that three years doesn't feel like a long time. Of course, there are times when I have to plan a lesson that 50 minutes seems like a long time to fill, but the last three years of my life have gone by pretty quickly. I feel pretty ambivalent about that, actually. I guess time does seem to move quickly when you are enjoying yourself, but sometimes I wonder about the hustle and bustle of daily life and where mine is going.
My new AM and PM classes are...going, as well. They really deserve more comment, but for now that will have to do.
Cheers,
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
In America
hey all,
It seems a little strange to be writting this in America. I suppose there might be a few people in Japan who know of this blog and who read it when I publish a new post, but I think the majority of my readers (all two of you), are in the US.
In any case, my flight in was pretty ordinary. No crashes, no problems locking the cargo doors, no passengers sitting next to me who suddenly need medical attention. The wind was rather strong, so our take off was delayed about an hour. But that was it. Luckily for me, I just read that some massive tornadoes swung through the Fort Worth area today, so it looks like I missed them.
I made it to Texas, and then caught another flight to Georgia and met up with Bri. It was great to see him, and it went much smoother than his trip to Japan. On the second day, we worked out at his gym, and my whole body still aches. We did biceps, triceps, abs, quads, and deltoids/pecks. I logged about 900 points on Fitocracy. Later that day, we went to the Oyster and Crawfish Festival, and although they had run out of oysters and crawfish, we still got to see Cowboy Mouth. I had no clue who this band was, but apparently they wrote the song "Jenny Says" way back in the 90's. In any case, the band rocked. I would definitely go and see them again.
Sunday was mostly relaxing, since we were still sore from the workout. And the next day we got up early and he dropped me off at the airport. I met up with the fam here in Michgan, and was shocked to see that Sarah is almost as tall as I am, and Rachel is only slightly shorter than that.
Since I arrived around noon, I spent the rest of the day sorting through my books. I am now the proud owner of 13 fewer boxes of books. Gone are most of my science fiction, science, psychology, fantasy, magic and occult, and philosophy books. I only got about $200 for the 13 boxes, but with Project Gutenberg, the Nook and the Kindle, and the economy the way it is, I was lucky to get that much. Besides, the point was to get rid of a bunch of books, not make lots of money.
Today, we went and sold those books, renewed my driver's lisence, and went shopping.
That's all for now.
Cheers,
It seems a little strange to be writting this in America. I suppose there might be a few people in Japan who know of this blog and who read it when I publish a new post, but I think the majority of my readers (all two of you), are in the US.
In any case, my flight in was pretty ordinary. No crashes, no problems locking the cargo doors, no passengers sitting next to me who suddenly need medical attention. The wind was rather strong, so our take off was delayed about an hour. But that was it. Luckily for me, I just read that some massive tornadoes swung through the Fort Worth area today, so it looks like I missed them.
I made it to Texas, and then caught another flight to Georgia and met up with Bri. It was great to see him, and it went much smoother than his trip to Japan. On the second day, we worked out at his gym, and my whole body still aches. We did biceps, triceps, abs, quads, and deltoids/pecks. I logged about 900 points on Fitocracy. Later that day, we went to the Oyster and Crawfish Festival, and although they had run out of oysters and crawfish, we still got to see Cowboy Mouth. I had no clue who this band was, but apparently they wrote the song "Jenny Says" way back in the 90's. In any case, the band rocked. I would definitely go and see them again.
Sunday was mostly relaxing, since we were still sore from the workout. And the next day we got up early and he dropped me off at the airport. I met up with the fam here in Michgan, and was shocked to see that Sarah is almost as tall as I am, and Rachel is only slightly shorter than that.
Since I arrived around noon, I spent the rest of the day sorting through my books. I am now the proud owner of 13 fewer boxes of books. Gone are most of my science fiction, science, psychology, fantasy, magic and occult, and philosophy books. I only got about $200 for the 13 boxes, but with Project Gutenberg, the Nook and the Kindle, and the economy the way it is, I was lucky to get that much. Besides, the point was to get rid of a bunch of books, not make lots of money.
Today, we went and sold those books, renewed my driver's lisence, and went shopping.
That's all for now.
Cheers,
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)