I don't want to get political, I tend to be conservative, but it's like the wild west out there!

The Lancet wrote a definitive position piece in 2024 to basically shut everyone up, saying that covid 19 came from animals in the Wuhan marketplace.

October in Idaho

Also October in Idaho

I have a complicated lifelong relationship with golf. I am NOT a good golfer. I play. I love to play golf. But playing golf isn't like playing something fun. Except when it goes well, then it is. Not very often.

I'm not a super-spontaneous non-planner.

It's been years since I've posted here. I apologize for weird and funky font changes in this -- I tried to fix it and read in online forums that it's a Blogger-glitchy thing. Doing my best here. I have some updates on the teaching career. I live in Eastern Idaho now, near views of the Tetons.

My heart got left….

My heart's not right because it got left.    

There is an old song, “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.”  I can relate.

I was born in San Mateo (pre-Silicon Valley).  My husband was born in Berkeley.

Ten years ago I saw Mamma Mia! (2008 film version) and watched the entire thing.  I thought it was raucously embarrassing – like the way drunk people think that they are SO FUNNY, and I’m the only sober one at the party.  Ugh.

Then I began trying to improve the cast in my own mind.

Surreality and Magic

This stuff is surreal.

I’ve been in theater events when the cast spoke out-of-character to the audience, as themselves, just after the final curtain.  I was very disappointed because it stopped the magic instantly.

Thoughts on the 

Electoral College 

from a person in the food business.

When Bill Clinton gave his acceptance speech in 1992, he was standing in front of the state house in Little Rock, addressing the hometown crowd.

2

Earthquake, Baseball and Math

My husband and I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, home of two baseball teams:  The San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s.  I feel loyalty to both.

1

Roaring Silence

I used to be hearing impaired.  It came on slowly in adulthood.  Over the course of a few years I was stone deaf in my left ear and impaired in my right ear.

2

How Should I NOT Eat?

I’m asked this question a lot.  Some folks are so determined to eat properly that they take all the fun out of food.  Others are in serious overweight (high BMI) or dental trouble before they even knew what got it started.

How Is Science Done?

Science is done by studies of specific questions, called experiments or research.  They aren’t always the same thing.  

All good scientific research tries to control for "bias" which is the viewpoint or desired outcome of any particular group.

Giving Thanks

It’s Thanksgiving week.  Abraham Lincoln formalized Thanksgiving as a holiday for us in 1863.  He was uniquely able to appreciate our national history and use that history as a pivot point to inspire the future.

1

Science proves……

No, it doesn’t. 

Science doesn’t prove things, science disproves things. 

Actually, more correctly, scientists attempt to disprove a carefully considered idea (hypothesis).  If they can, that will shut the door on that hypothesis, and only that one.

2

Where's The Satin Ribbon?

(NYCB Principals Megan Fairchild and Andrew Veyette)

OK, I admit it.  I am a bit of a junkie for videos produced by New York City Ballet.  My DIL Jess and I have been able to attend the NYCB in NYC, and it was inspiring, no lie.

The Varied Diet Question

I say “Eat a varied diet.”   What do I actually mean?   Does it involve eating all the different colors of Skittles?  Trying every variety of Cheetos?  C’mon, you know better than that.

I Am Asked About Gluten

OK, let’s talk about gluten.  It’s often misunderstood.

Gluten is a broad name for the proteins found in wheat, rye and barley.  It’s the elastic property that helps hold bread together. For most people, this protein helps make bread products “feel” good to eat.

5

Part 21 -- Oh Poop

Another installment.

I received an email from TSPC, well over a year after my Valentine inquiry in 2013 (Part 11).

4

Where?  At What?

I am thinking about my late Father-in-law's carpentry prowess today.

He could set and sink a nail in only two or three strokes. 

Tap to set, swing to sink it.  Set, sink.  Wow.

I get out my hammer to hang a picture and it's tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.

1

I think I bruised myself ...

I think I bruised myself putting on my swimsuit.  It fit last year, but this year it is a challenge.   It might require the Jaws of Life to remove.  Please don’t attempt to visualize.

A Map -- Not a GPS

Here is another life principle from my cousin’s late son, gone in his prime.

"Articulate a vision – in precise detail – of who I want to become."  M. M. Lyon 

Wow.  Precise detail.  Articulate.

2

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up

My frostbitten toe still hurts.  My post today concerns a story from two years ago, just in time for tax season.  Those of you outside of Oregon might not be familiar with this.

Camping with Winter Storm Orion

It seemed like a really good idea at the time.  We’d had gorgeous weather, and more was predicted.

My husband had a doctor’s appointment down in Salem, so we needed to make a trip.

1

Pterodactyl Time

We are living in a new place.  It’s a beautiful high desert valley in Redmond, Oregon.  I am often asked if I am retired.  Hardly.  I am working more than full time on Gettysburg Cards, textbooks and articles.  Meanwhile, we are getting settled in our place, which is very nice.

4

OK – Back To Work – and Happy Thanksgiving

I'm in the middle of a textbook revision and many other projects are on-going for both of us. Mr. Lincoln's great speech continues to find its way to schools, historic sites and the homes of interested people.

A Peaceful Afternoon

It has been a long journey to a very peaceful place.  I hope it lasts.

As my readers know, I tried my best for years to get a teaching license and position.  It didn’t work.  

Perhaps you also know that my husband recently had a major career upheaval.

The Gettysburg Address 150th Anniversary!

www.fourscoremedia.com 

This is the month! It was 150 years ago on Nov. 19, 1863 that Abraham Lincoln dedicated the Soldiers National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. His brief speech at the event is now known as The Gettysburg Address.

S'more Geography Please

OK, so Geography is Science, right?  

It's important when studying science to understand the Earth.  And when studying Earth Science, you should understand Geology.  And Geology requires at least a topographical understanding of Geography.

1

At The Corner of Truth and Reality

Today I heard a woman say, “At some point, truth and reality intersect.”

Brilliant!

The only problem, that point of intersecting clarity may be way out in the far distant future, but we have to live in the present.

Computers and I

Like you, I depend upon my computers.  I write textbooks, articles, invoices, format flash cards, do spreadsheets, communicate, manage money, etc.  I need them daily, and I love what they do most of the time.

I suppose that some people must emit a sort of current.

The Westover Family Reunion 2013 at Westover Ranch

(Updated)

This year we won't be having a family reunion for my husband’s kinfolk this year – the descendants of my parents-in-law - due to COVID-19. It was planned, but now postponed.

2

Cascade High School

I would like to pay tribute to Cascade High School – the school where I sub.  A few years ago I was a student teacher there with their excellent science faculty.  I have always liked the faculty, administration, staff and students there.

Comfort

“Never let comfort dictate behaviors and actions –

especially emotional or mental comfort.” 

Matthew Lyon

Here is another principle taught by my cousin’s late son.  This one is a very high ideal. 

I really like my comforts.

I think he means that we:

Should not get complacent.

Part 20 -- I am humbled and amazed.

The response has been excellent, and it is just beginning.  A shop in Gettysburg ordered a couple of boxes, sold them fast, then re-ordered a whole lot more. 

Another shop is interested, but the price is a bit too high for her.

Part 19 -- A New Birth of Freedom. . . .

Enough is enough.  I think I have found a way into the classroom. 

Long before WOU, when our children were young (1997), we asked them to memorize The Gettysburg Address.  It’s short, brilliant, powerful and important.  Abraham Lincoln was a poet.

3

Part 18 -- Downward Spiral

There are two Chemistry teaching positions locally for next fall.  One is for Chemistry AND Physics endorsed.  The other is for Chemistry AND Advanced Math endorsed, plus able to speak Spanish and/or Russian, on a temporary one-year contract.

Learn the Gettysburg Address -- really fast!
Learn the Gettysburg Address -- really fast!
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