What Must It Be Like?

Today I feel a little sick. It's probably just a touch of the flu, but  I feel tired, weak and dizzy. I had to pass on an early morning couponing excursion and a trip to the gym. I've been trying to do a few chores around the house but find myself having to sit down to rest every few minutes. Everything is a bit of a struggle. In short, I can't do what I want and need to do today. Poor, poor pitiful me? No, not at all. I will be fine, or as my mother says, "right as rain" in a day or two. So what's the point of all this? It made me think about people who live with chronic illnesses and who are not  able to simply bounce back after a little rest.

It made me think about what it must be like to be young and living with cystic fibrosis. To have the desire but not the energy to move through life with the zest and the passion you feel in your heart. To miss and worry about your young son and your husband when you have to be  hospitalized and away from them. To  need a double lung transplant at the time in life when most of us are healthy and strong with hopes and prospects for a bright future.

There is no way I could even begin to know how Aimee Driscoll feels, but I do know that we can help her and her family through the Second Chances Foundation. Please visit and like the page at http://www.facebook.com/2ndchancesfoundation  Please consider sending a donation and/or attending one of the foundation's fund-raising  events like the upcoming Halloween Masquerade Ball on Oct. 26th at the Ramada Inn in Lewiston.

Of course, I would love to see you all at our Couponing Workshop Tuesday, October 23rd at 6:00 PM at Kaplan University in Lewiston. Maureen Hopkins of 2012 - A Year in Coupons ( http://2012incoupons.blogspot.com/) will be talking about using coupons and taking advantage of store rewards to get the best deal possible on things you use every day. We will also be raffling off a fully-stocked coupon binder and a CVS gift card to jump start you on your couponing adventures!

If you can't attend, you can send checks made payable to Second Chances to Oxford Federal Credit Union, 225 River Rd., PO Box 252, Mexico, ME 042576.

Who Needs Sleep?

You really need a helmet when you agree to get up at 5:30 a.m. to go couponing with Maureen. This is especially true for Spring Ahead Weekend since 5:30 is really 4:30 in the morning. (No, you can't fool me and I'll still be subtracting an hour every time I look at a clock for the next week.) At any rate Maureen can be persuasive and I do enjoy the occasional Cadbury Egg for the stores involved, so I agreed.

We stumbled into the CVS store when it opened at 7 (really 6 remember) and I had my marching orders. "Go to the chip aisle and get four bags of Chex Mix." I started to hurry until I realized there was no one trying to elbow me out of the way, retrieved the loot, and awaited further instruction. Meanwhile Mo buzzed about filling a shopping cart while I yawned and checked in on Foursquare.

When checkout time came around, the Coupon Queen of Windham handed me two coupons and told me to use the $3.79 ECB (that's extra care buck for those of you not in the know) that I got the last time we  did this. Imagine my surprise when after all was added and subtracted the clerk said "That'll be 21 cents." I was so surprised that I giggled. How embarrassing!  Coupon assistants are not supposed to giggle, but my mentor should have better prepared me.

Still chuckling we headed to a second CVS store where I repeated the Chex Mix Magic and also got 36 rolls of toilet paper added in for about two dollars total. Hey, I just follow along, do as I'm told, and laugh a lot. If you want the details and the secrets, read Maureen's blog - 2012 - A Year in Coupons at http://2012incoupons.blogspot.com/

YouNeedaHelmet When You’re Working on Your Family Tree

Seeing all those television ads for ancestry.com got me thinking about my own family genealogy. Of course, I’m referring to that monumental project I worked on in the late 1970’s and hadn’t looked at for decades.  After navigating my way around the web site, I decided to rummage through the basement to find my musty boxes of photographs, ephemera and notes.

Here are a few long forgotten things I found:

I also found hand-written notes and amazing photographs from as far back as the 1880's.

Who entrusted me with all these treasures and when? Thank goodness I kept those tired, well-worn boxes with me through all my many moves. I've spent the last three days just totally absorbed. I hope I can finally honor that trust now. I'm going to finish what I started in 1977. Wish me luck, and, of course, I'll keep you posted.

YouNeedaHelmet When Your Article Gets Old

Over three months ago my boss sent me an urgent email. He needed an article for a newsletter “right away, as in today”. I hate pressure as much as the next guy, so I was really annoyed (toned down language in case my mother reads this). However, I struggled to put something of quality together. As of yet, there has been no newsletter published and this article is growing older by the minute. Rather than let it die, I’m going to post it here.

Facebook and the Law

We all love facebook, right? We use it to keep in touch with family and friends. We post our statuses share our pictures, jokes and links. We chat and check in at our favorite locations. It’s great fun. However, our facebook profiles say a lot about us. How many of us think about how our information can be used by third parties? How much of our privacy are we risking by using facebook and other social networking sites?

Facebook is clearly a public forum, therefore all information published on the site is available to the general public and can be legally used in criminal or other investigations. This is obvious in a situation where a person claiming a permanent disability under worker’s compensation statute posts status updates and photos on his arduous Trek Across Maine ride. After the June 15, 2011 “Vancouver Riot” which broke out after our Bruins beat the Canucks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, police were overwhelmed with thousands of  email tips with links to facebook and other social media postings. Many of these have been used in the investigation and presumably will be introduced as evidence in subsequent prosecutions.

So, it’s a given that the police can and will use facebook, but what about the implications in civil cases particularly in the discovery process? Modern discovery rules are very broad allowing for discovery of just about anything that may lead to admissible evidence. In Offenback v. L.M. Bowman, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66432 (M.D. Pa. June 22, 2011) the plaintiff sued the defendants for personal injuries resulting from an automobile accident. The damages complained of included inability to work and limited “ability to sit, walk, stand, ride in a vehicle, bend, stoop, push, pull, and lift. He claimed that he could not drive for any period of time and [was] physically limited as to riding his bicycle or motorcycle.” The defendant’s attorneys requested discovery of his facebook account. His attorneys claimed the information was not relevant.

During an in camera review here’s what the judge found the plaintiff’s facebook account revealed:

• Plaintiff has posted a number of photographs or updates that reflect he continues to ride motorcycles and may have on more than one occasion traveled via motorcycle between his home in Kentucky and Pennsylvania. In particular, our review found a photograph posted on March 14, 2011, which appears to show Plaintiff with a Harley Davidson motorcycle that other posts suggest that he purchased in or around July 2010.

• On or about October 1, 2010, Plaintiff posted information to his account that suggests he may have traveled to West Virginia via motorcycle.

• On July 22, 2010, a post on Plaintiff's "Profile" page suggests that he had taken, or was planning to take, a trip to Pennsylvania  on his motorcycle.

• On October 29, 2010, a photograph was posted to his account that may show Plaintiff hunting and in possession of a 10-point buck that he or another hunter had shot and killed.

• On August 29, 2010, Plaintiff's "Profile" contains an update in which he posts photographs and comments suggesting that he may have recently ridden a mule.

• On July 7, 2010, Plaintiff posted pictures of a Harley Davidson motorcycle that it appears he may have purchased shortly before the pictures were posted.

• On July 1, 2010, Plaintiff included "motorcycles" among his interests that he posted to his Facebook  profile.

• Between March 16, 2010, and March 18, 2010, friends or relatives of Plaintiff posted comments to his profile that suggest Plaintiff had traveled from Kentucky to Pennsylvania, either by motorcycle or automobile.

It should be no surprise that the plaintiff was ordered to provide that facebook data to the defendants although the judge did add that other information, specifically “routine communications with family and friends, an interest in bluegrass and country music, a photography hobby, sporadic observations about current events, and a passion for the Philadelphia Phillies”, was not relevant.

YouNeedaHelmet When You’re not Particularly Punctilious

The dictionary.com Word of the Day is punctilious (puhnk-TIL-ee-uhs), an adjective meaning “strictly attentive to the details of form in action or conduct; precise; exact in the smallest particulars”.  After a tedious morning in-service on rubrics and assessment, I found myself with a couple of free hours. Since I’m starting a black and white film photography class on Wednesday, I tried to make good use of the time by preparing.

Several months ago at an auction I bought a Nikon FG 35 mm camera and two extra lenses. The FG is the camera I wanted in the 80’s but couldn’t afford. I had already gotten batteries for it and tested it to make sure it powered on. One thing I noticed was that it had a roll of Kodachrome film in it. Yeah, as in “I got a Nikon camera, I like to take a photograph, so Mama don’t take …. “  More importantly they don’t make it any longer. Even though that old roll left in that old camera for who knows how long might not be any good, I was optimistic and proceeded to use it up.

I referred to my manual. I carefully adjusted and readjusted the settings. I practiced using the complicated focusing screen.  I framed each shot with the greatest of care. I worked at this for over an hour. I shot 32 frames and was feeling great. Again I referenced the manual for precise instructions on how to rewind and remove that precious roll of Kodachrome. Alas, when I opened the camera back, I discovered that the spool was empty.

The Anthony Case and Ignorance of the Law

I wasn’t going to touch this one, but #YouNeedaHelmet when you read some of the appalling and misguided comments about the Casey Anthony verdict. As everyone on the planet who hasn’t been living under a rock knows Casey Anthony was found not guilty of murder, aggravated child abuse and manslaughter for the death of her daughter. Here’s a fairly good news report on Tuesday’s court proceeding - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/05/casey-anthony-trial-verdict_n_890173.html#s303265&title=Casey_Anthony_Verdict

Many things bother me about the public nature of this trial and the outrage following the acquittal. A subtitle to a news article read  “jury finds Casey Anthony did not murder her toddler.” We all should know that is not what a jury “finds” in a criminal trial. The jury finds the facts and the judge applies the law. Understanding the system and how it works is key to reflecting on the outcome.

There’s no question that facts of this case are egregious.  A two-year old child’s remains were found in a plastic bag five months after her grandmother reported her missing. Casey never reported a missing child to the police. She didn’t even admit her daughter was missing for a month.  She lied repeatedly and both her stories and her actions were, quite frankly, bizarre. Then there’s the shovel thing and the odor in the trunk business. But are those facts sufficient to convict Caylee Marie Anthony’s mother of her murder? Was she guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? The jury said no.

So, what does that acquittal mean? It means this case is over. Period. End of story. I am amazed how many seemingly educated, thoughtful people have been clamoring for a retrial and/or an appeal by the state of Florida. Are these the same people who were shooting illegal fireworks off at all hours of the night this past weekend celebrating our independence and our American way of life? Have they ever read the Constitution? Do they understand what it says, and, more importantly, what it means? I’m saddened to discover that they do not.

There are many troubling aspects to this media circus of a criminal proceeding.  The graceless Nancy Grace is and has been a distraction if not a disgrace. Pun intended. The legal taking heads on the cable news networks have soundly and severely criticized Casey’s defense team and Jose Baez, in particular. These may be topics for another post, but let me end with this. We may never know what “really” happened but the jury has spoken. Let’s respect that.

YouNeedaHelmet When You Work Here Part 1

I’m a teacher and will state without any trace of false modesty that I’m damned good at what I do. I love to teach. I live to teach. More to the point, I used to love my job. Unfortunately, that job has changed so much over the past few years that I no longer recognize it. As a colleague said to me recently, “All this paperwork really interferes with my teaching.” I concur and hope to explore here and in future posts what has happened.

So there are a few things I need to know. Let’s start with what’s bothering me the most lately. When did I miss the memo stating that the purpose of post-secondary education is job training? Yes, I was bored  and missed most of the ‘80’s but I’ve tried hard to keep up and pay attention since then. Call me old-fashioned, but I still believe the purpose of education is to open minds and that it is not, and never should be, to train and place workers.

Wasn’t it was Socrates who said, "I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think"?  I value exposing students to new ideas, helping them to think critically and, building their self-esteem.  I get up out of bed each morning to do those very things. The rewards are great and can’t be expressed in formula, rubrics or spreadsheets.

A person who has the ability to read, write and think logically will be a better citizen, a better parent, and, of course, a better employee. But here’s the rub, we cannot measure the value of an individual’s education by a resume or a W-2. How I wish the paper pushers would stop trying!

Focus on this mission statement from Bates College:

Since 1855, Bates College has been dedicated to the emancipating potential of the liberal arts. Bates educates the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community. With ardor and devotion -- Amore ac Studio -- we engage the transformative power of our differences, cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action. Preparing leaders sustained by a love of learning and a commitment to responsible stewardship of the wider world, Bates is a college for coming times.

Read through the mission statement for USM:

The University of Southern Maine, northern New England's outstanding public, regional, comprehensive university, is dedicated to providing students with a high quality, accessible, affordable education. Through its undergraduate, graduate and professional programs, USM faculty members educate future leaders in the liberal arts and sciences, engineering and technology, health and social services, education, business, law and public service. Distinguished for their teaching, research, scholarly publication and creative activity, the faculty are committed to fostering a spirit of critical inquiry and civic participation. USM embraces academic freedom for students, faculty, and staff, and advocates diversity in all aspects of its campus life and academic work. It supports sustainable development, environmental stewardship, and community involvement. As a center for discovery, scholarship and creativity, USM provides resources for the state, the nation, and the world.

Here’s a like to the mission statement for Harvard College which is really too long to post here: http://www.harvard.edu/siteguide/faqs/faq110.php

Do we really want to stray too much further from these ideals? I’m advocating “Amore ac Studio”.  How about you?