Nothing for gifts

The two of us asked each other what we wanted for Christmas.  We both found that the answer was "nothing".  We have what we want and we don't want or need other things.  That can be the situation with older people.  We have things for charity and for Goodwill.   We are pleased with our gifts to each other, which are listed below.

Hopes

Happy Christmas!

Merry New Year!

If you are strongly traditional, you may want to have a merry Christmas and a happy new year.  Either way, I hope things go well for you over the rest of 2025 and all of 2026.

NWS

Our weather in winter can be very nasty or it can be rather mild.  Right now it is sunny and bright, about 35 degrees Farenheit.  It is rather calm which is nice, since wind can be an important factor.  I visit the National Weather radar page often.  I find it helpful to see the whole US even though I just live in one tiny place.

https://radar.weather.gov/#/

Too much

My wife says that the gifts given in "The 12 Days of Christmas" song come to a total of 78 items.  They aren't little items, either.  People to add to the household staff, animals that need housing and feeding.  We are politely declining the lords aleaping and the other gifts.  We appreciate the thought, tho. Thanks and merry Christmas to you.

Winter Solstice in Central Standard Time Zone

The 2025 winter solstice was at 9:03 a.m. CST today, Dec. 21.  So, we have winter here now.  Right here now, it is sunny and bright, even more so since the ground is covered in a foot or so of white snow.  The temperature is reported by one app to be 22 degrees Fahrenheit.

So it looks Christmasy and we are happy. We are scheduled for spring to begin on March 20, 2026 at 9:46 AM Central Daylight time.

Theory of tests

In my graduate work, we studied from Gulliksen's "Theory of Mental Tests".  I was not impressed and I have not used the theory since.  As I remember what I read, the school board of Paris realized that some children have troubles and handicaps that prevent them from benefitting from the usual syllabus and activities.  They commissioned the creation of a test that tried to separate children who could benefit from typical school from those who can't.  The best book I can remember about the recognition of the range of school readiness is "A Mind at a Time"by Mel Levine.

I took a course in which I was required to administer the Stanford-Binet test of intelligence to something like ten children.  I had to find ten children willing to be tested and whose parents were willing.  I did but I included my own two school-aged daughters as part of the group.

To a surprising extent, many school activities rely on reading ability, speaking ability and memory for what is read and said.  

Mary Roach books

Tucam told my wife that she likes it when I recommend a book.  Just today, I recommended my book club read Mary Roach's books, "Gulp" or "Bonk". Roach writes about basic body functions and these two books are about digestion and sex.  Roach has a humorous approach to her writing.