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.

Bill Kirby poems

Bill Kirby poems

https://sites.google.com/view/kirbyvariety1/bill-kirby-poems

I found out

I learned that I can't produce a child.  How do you like that?  My mother, my sister, my wife - they all made multiple children with their bodies but I can't.  I'm thinking of applying for a government grant to look into this.  I mean, I have rights, you know.  I did see the movie "Junior" with Arnold Schwarzenegger.  If he can get pregnant, why can't I?   That's what I want to know.

We watched all the episodes of "Call the Midwife".  I learned that all humans have been made inside bodies and all of those bodies were female!  Talk about bias, discrimination!

"The end of the world"

A history prof, a natural resources prof and I created a course called "Futures" after learning a book was published by scientists and analysts at M.I.T. about the future of our planet.  The book was published in 1972.  While teaching the course, I learned about the book of the Christian bible "Revelations".  I also learned that thinkers have wondered about the future.  It may be quite likely that humans will think about their future, especially when they think about their own death.

I am somewhat attuned to the phrase "the end of the world".  Sometimes that phrase is used to focus on the end of one's life or the end of the people and surrounding one is used to.  Just recently, I heard a woman say "Well, it's not the end of the world".  I looked up the phrase and read that people sometimes mean the end of the planet Earth or an end to the entire universe.  Often, I hear it being used at the beginning of a statement designed to raise hope, to face a problem that has arisen and figure out how to best respond.

Blogging

At various times in my life, I have been in the eye of others, often including people I never met and didn't know.  When I think of blogging, it seems natural to compare it to keeping a journal or diary. It seems to me that keeping a journal is more challenging if the contents are constructed with the knowledge that what is written will be read by anyone anywhere.  My blog, "Fear, Fun and Filoz" is hosted by the Google service now called Blogger.

I have a feeling that when many people try blogging, they start with the idea of writing when they have something they want to say.  How else could you start?  Well, early on if not from the start, a blogger could commit to making a statement about something each day, that is, finding something to comment on or announce or review, etc. etc.  It may be easier to begin a blog when you have waited until you are older, maybe 65 or more.

Sinister

In 8th grade, I was offered some foreign languages to study: French, Spanish, German and Latin.  I knew that Latin was older and somewhat different from the other choices.  On a whim, I chose Latin.  Turned out to be a choice with several important consequences.  At the time, Baltimore offered 14 public high schools but only one where I could get credit for having already completed a year of Latin.  That high school was an hour's public transport away, was all-male even though it was public. 

For a long time, I was the only right-handed person in my home family of four. My mother and step-father were natural lefties and a fall changed my sister into a lefty.  I was aware when I learned that "sinister" was Latin for "left" and "dexter" was Latin for "right" that I was learning about anti-left-handedness.  I attributed some of that bias to teachers trying to teach what I call "printing" and handwriting to kids.  I have heard of punishment for those students who try to learn using their left hands.  Later, I learned that toilet customes sometimes promote left hand for wiping and right hand for eating.

Confused again

I like her to carry her phone. She was out but not very far away so I decided to take her phone to her.  But when I went back to the car, it wouldn't start.  Durn it!  It is cold and dark at that hour, not a good time to need service.  The screen said to hold the remote close to the start button.  Remote?  To me, a remote changes the channel on the living room tv.  I couldn't find the manual in the glove compartment.  Stop and think.  I stopped and thought.  Nothing much came to mind.  The manual might be in there somewhere.  I looked again, more critically and carefully.  I found it.  I looked up "starting".  There were pictures of what I call a "fob".  So that's what they mean: the fob.  I held it right on the dumb start button.  Nothing.  Tried twice more.  Nothing.  Double durn it!!

Guess what?  I was in the wrong car.  Got in mine. No trouble.

Teepa Snow, specialist

Today, I learned of Teepa Snow, a specialist in dementia.  Lynn is the guardian of the person of her slightly younger brother.  You may realize that humans are living longer all over but longer life may mean more dementia and that is just what is happening. Many people seem especially unhappy about the prospect of having trouble with memory and reasoning and much of the other things we can take for granted.  

Until this morning, I had not heard of Teepa Snow but one of the people trying to watch over old people told Lynn about her.  YouTube is one of the best sources of information and Teepa Snow is featured in many videos and interviews.  I am getting a good course in dementia and its consequences hearing about my wife's experiences.

Fried brain?

I still find "fobs" for car ignition strange and different.  I have been inviting Lynn to drive off in the car when we are out to lunch and she did.  I asked a friend to give me a ride home and he did.  

But, I gave myself the impression that because I didn't have my car, I was locked out.  I accepted that impression uncritically.  It was about 20 degrees out and I wanted to get into my house.  I kept thinking that I didn't have my car even though at the time, I had the key to the front door in my pocket.  I finally got the key from the lock box and got in.  All the while, I had my normal keys right in my pocket.  Not a great performance. 

Artificial advice

Helen Cox Richardson is one of those commentators that inspires smiles and trust.  This morning's statement was a hit with me:

When G. Elliott Morris of Strength in Numbers asked ChatGPT to fact-check an article for him yesterday, the chatbot couldn't get its head around modern America. It told him there were "multiple factual impossibilities" in his article, including his statements that "[t]he current Secretary of Defense is a former talk show host for Fox News," "[t]he Deputy Director of the FBI used to guest-host Sean Hannity's show," and "Jeanine Pirro is the U.S. District Attorney for DC.""Since none of these statements are true," it told Morris, "they undermine credibility unless signposted as hyperbole, fiction, or satire."But of course, Morris's statements were not "factual impossibilities." In the United States of America under President Donald J. Trump, they are true.

Less than full

I am in the habit of filling my car's gas tank when it is 50% empty.  I don't want to be surprised by running out.  It can be cold and miserable outside, even dangerous.

I recently read in at least two different articles that my internet devices such as cellphone and tablets will last longer if I charge them only to 80% of their capacity.  How much "longer"?  Such a practice was said to MAYBE double the usable length of the device's battery.

Boy Scouts

The Boy Scouts were important in my life.  I got a copy of the Boy Scout handbook and read it.  It said I could join when I was 10.  It said there were ranks that could be achieved: Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, 1st Class, Star, Life and Eagle.  I achieved the rank of Life but never Eagle.  There were several aquatic-related merit badges that were required for Eagle and I was not very proficient nor enthusiastic about water.

My troop was sponsored by a local Lutheran church.  The Scoutmaster was an even-tempered man, an employee of the US Postal Service.

Later, I was married and we had two daughters.  As a 5th grade teacher, I wanted summer employment to give us some income and I got jobs at a Boy Scout summer camp. 

I have read that the "Boy Scouts of America" are now the "Scouts of America" and include some 77,000 girls as members.

CNN Pictures of the Year

If you want to see them, look them up.  The link is extra long.  So is the file and set of photos.

Twisting and turning "42"

I get plenty of information about books I might be interested in.   Yesterday, I saw something about The Dictionary of Liff by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd.  I was impressed by "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe" and its final revelation of the meaning of life, which turns out to be "42".  There!  Doesn't that feel better?  Knowing the meaning of life?  I mean what further questions can bug you, now that you know that?

It turns out that the dictionary of liff supplies words for which we currently lack words in English, such as the name of the period one waits to get service in a camera shop.

My anti-ebook friends have several objections to ebooks.  They have no heft.  They fail to omit a book scent.  They are not books, which are to be printed on paper pages bound together and that's that. But if your book lust for The Dictionary of Liff has shot up, you can assuage your need/desire at Amazon. 

"Calendar Girls"

We watched "Calendar Girls" for the 2nd time.   I asked Lynn if "Calendar Boys" would be a success.  Neither of us thinks it would.  I realize the interest and appetite men have for women's bodies is important for the continuation of my species but there doesn't seem to be much disinterest from men.  It can be seen on Amazon Prime.  It is more than 20 years old.

Clock-watching

I find that I spend many moments glancing at the time, on my watch, my tablet, the clocks in the room.  I look at time.gov to check how much my watch has gained since the last reset.  I like my Casio's setting that enables me to get its second hand pretty close to what I read on time.gov and then get the other figures corrected, more or less.

I think it does me and others good if I am more or less consistent about time: getting up, meals, tv.  I grew up before streaming, back in the time when The Lone Ranger began at a certain time.  If you wanted to hear the whole radio program, you had to be on time.

What's best?

I wrote my dissertation on choosing.  It could be called "deciding on a choice".  It is easy to find choosing discussion that refers to "optimal choice".   That "optimal" is usually meant to mean "best".  But since I have taught that bugbear subject, grading, too, I realize that there are nearly always many different "bests" depending on the chooser and the situation.  In addition to different approaches and definitions of what is best, there is often a price involved.  One class of smarties gave me a t-shirt with "How much?" on it because I asked them so often if their 'best" was much better or just a tiny bit better than the nearest competitor.

"It's all my fault"

When boys fight, say, between age 5 and 14, fight, they may see that Mom or Dad is displeased with them.  One may attempt a verbal defense of his behavior with an attempt to blame his opponent: "But, Mom, he hit me first."  When girls and young women have a difficulty, instead of trying to blame a different person, they may come out with a statement that a poor or bad situation is "all my fault."  I taught the 5th grade for four years but I never grasped a female reaction of assuming guilt, full guilt.  I first grasped this tendency recently while watching episodes of "Call the Midwife".  When I see a young girl or woman wearing a very negative look and asserting that "it is all my fault", I am sometimes in possession of the whole story, being a complete witness.  My first impulse is to explain, in a lawyer-like way that no, others did this and then that, others bear some or all of the onus of negativity, misbehavior and such.  Now, I just offer a tissue and remain silent. I figure that female processes are in progress.  I think the best thing to do is wait silently and supportively.

"I'll be seeing you" by Elizabeth Berg

I read aloud to Lynn while she does a jigsaw puzzle.  It started when we were first married.  I wanted to see her reaction to a moment in a Peter DeVries novel and we have kept going.  Now we are into Elizabeth Berg's novel "I'll be seeing you", a story of marriage and family stresses as parents age. At one point, I was ready to drop the book but now I'm quite glad I didn't.  It helps me think about my own family and stresses.