My fingernails

Growing up, I didn’t pay much attention to my fingernails.  My stepfather did make me show him my nails before I ate sometimes.  I learned to use a nail brush, the little plastic kind with a curve at each end of the handle.  Before a wrestling match in high school and college, the referee would sometimes examine my nails.

I am surprised at how often I use my nails: pick up paper and other fine, delicate, hard-to-grasp things.  I have been tempted to have an attendant in a nail salon that takes care of my toenails paint my fingernails.  There are so many gorgeous colors!  But, I think painted fingernails and toenails for that matter would send the wrong signal about who and what I am.

He says he can't think anymore

There seems to be too much thinking so when my friend says he is old and can’t think any more, it may be a good thing.  You may know that women tend to live longer than men.  Maybe that is because they dredge up wild-assed questions less.  You know, what is the purpose of life, why did my parents produce me instead of somebody else - stuff like that. 

My sister

I don’t have any brothers but I have a sister.  She was a steady companion throughout childhood.  Here are some blog posts about this marvelous person:

• Still Have the Treasure 8/26/2009

• The Little Sweetie 1/1/2010

• What Does It Mean? 8/28/2022

• My Sister and Stairs 10/27/2023

• Bring Her Home 7/102024

All of the above are posts in Fear, Fun and Filoz.

Israel Loring, 1712

Israel was a Protestant minister in New England.  He was one of the ministers who refused baptism for a baby born on a Sunday since he was one who thought a baby was born on the same day of the week as he had been conceived.  Sunday was God’s day and must not be profaned by sex on that day. Then, his own wife delivered their child on a Sunday!  The couple knew they had not engaged in sex on Sunday so this idea of a duplication of the conception and the birth on the same weekday must not be valid. You gotta live and learn!

Advanced students lifetime reading

People who have master’s or doctor’s degrees have read much.  So, when teaching teachers who already have master’s but want further credits to qualify for a raise, the subject of all that reading they have done comes up.  I taught a course that focused on a review of all that a student had read, from the Little Golden book, The Pokey Little Puppy, to that horror novel that is keeping her up nights. I think it is fun to reflect on reading that has mattered.  

Attempting to recall reading done, following up on current ideas and habits and trying to nail down memories and authors that influence one’s present state and be useful.  The only assignment for the course was to make a list of all that one has read.  I was not able to check the list but longtime students of mature years were enthusiastically looking through grandparents’ attic at old jr. high and college books for titles they thought they had read, at least a little.

All A's ???

I taught a course about giving tests and grades in school.  For many teachers, giving grades is a distasteful job.  You like the students but you have to hurt some of them with a low grade.  I came to promote and use an approach to grades that resulted in 100% of the students getting the highest grade, an “A”.  Was I lying about them?  No, I advocated a slight change in the meaning of the grade.

I had earned merit badges as a Boy Scout.  Badges that could be earned were listed in the handbook.  Each badge had ten or so requirements that had to be completed before that badge was given.  It seemed a straightforward approach and I used it in my courses.  

Many people think of a teacher’s grade as something like I suppose St. Peter or one of God’s officers gives at the entrance of Heaven.  I say take a less all-seeing approach.  Lay out what a student is supposed to show an understanding of.  If all the understandings are shown, hand over the badge, I mean, award the high grade for complete achievement.

"More like this"

Books, movies and tv shows that I read often let me see on the internet other titles and possibilities that are said to be like the book or movie or series that I just finished.  I can usually find further interesting possibilities for myself but they are usually NOT very similar to what I just finished.  I reliably want a DIFFERENT type, however much I enjoyed or benefited from what I just finished.  So far, I haven’t noticed any business or service that offers a change. 

"Distance education"

The University of Wisconsin did not do the very first education by mail, but it played a massive and pioneering role in the movement—even coining the term “distance education” in 1892. [1, 2, 3]

The earliest recorded education by mail dates back to 1728 when Caleb Phillips advertised weekly mailed shorthand lessons in the Boston Gazette, and Sir Isaac Pitman famously taught shorthand via postal mail in England in the 1840s. In the U.S., Boston's Society to Encourage Studies at Home began correspondence education in 1873, and the University of Chicago established a major correspondence teaching department in the 1890s. [1, 2, 3]

However, the University of Wisconsin–Madison achieved several key milestones in distance learning:

1892: Professor Richard Ely directed the university's first formal correspondence study program.
1892: The university used the term "distance education" for the first time in a published U.S. pamphlet.
1906: The formal creation of the University of Wisconsin-Extension cemented the school as a premier national leader in bringing adult and non-traditional education directly to people's homes via the mail and later via public radio. [1, 2, 3, 4]

• 

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  A History of Correspondence Course Programs | Resources for Independent Learning Instructors

  Jul 25, 2019 — The history of correspondence courses includes: * **1728** Caleb Phillips placed an advertisement in the *Boston Gazette* for stud...
• 

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  Historical Timeline - University of Wisconsin–Madison

  1884 – John Stearns is appointed the first full-time education faculty member. 1885 – Marching Band is founded to accompany the Un...
• 

  Division of Continuing Studies| UW-Madison

  Innovation + access: The evolution of technology in continuing ...

  Apr 7, 2025 — It started in 1885 with a modest 6-week summer language program for just 14 students. By 1892, the idea of correspondence courses,

  
  

Googlegangers

Years ago, I read that “Kirby” is the 511th most common name in the US.  I mean last names, family names, not counting cartoon characters named Kirby.  I learned in the movie “*6888” that the US Army was swamped with letters to and from servicemen in the beginning of World War II.  Something like SEVEN warehouses of letters were filled with letters not delivered to the intended recipients.  The movie “6888” tells the story of the terrific backlog which was entrusted to the 6888 battalion of Black female soldiers who finally straightened out the mess, which included mail to 7500 men who were all named “John Smith”.

In German folklore, there is a type of character called a doppelganger who is your exact double and whose activities are not always kind and supportive. Somebody invented the term “Googleganger” to mean people with the same name.  That situation can be quite a bother for both people in this day of digital communication, with frequent invitations to “create an account”.

We can't allow ourselves to eat out

It isn’t money, it is refrigerator space.  The restaurants continue to serve more food with an order that we can eat at a meal.  So, we have leftovers.  We might try refusing the boxes and bags but so far, we haven’t.  We have leftovers from several meals and they take up room in our fridge.  I personally don’t mind leftovers.  They are often good but we need to go slow in accumulating them and right now we are out of space.