Finally Friday
Listening to: Pippin – Cast Recording
Reading: Once Upon A Star Nora Roberts et al
Weather: 20, clear, windy, wind-chill –20to -30
Trivia: What's the origin of the "at sign" (@)?
Everyone who uses email knows the "at sign," the little "a" with a circle around it. It separates the user's online name from his or her mail server address. Before it was used in email addresses, the "at sign" was used on invoices to show how much each item costs, and in a few other places. Like its relative the ampersand, the "at sign" was invented in the days before printing presses, to shorten the task of transcribing documents. As short as the word "at" might be, it was still common enough in texts that medieval monks thought it would be worthwhile to shorten it even more. So they looped the "t" around and made it into a circle, saving one stroke of the pen. The "at sign" has no official one-word name, even though many names have been proposed. Among the proposed names are arobase, vortex, and snail.
Cool word: brand [n., v. BRAND]
A brand is a trademark or name that identifies a particular company. It can also be a distinctive mark of ownership permanently made on the hide of an animal, or it can be a piece of burning wood. To brand someone or something is to mark it permanently, often with an implication of disgrace or infamy. Originally a brand was a burning wooden stick, from an ancient root that also led to the modern words burn, brandy, and broil. Later, a brand was a red-hot iron tool used to permanently mark animals. This kind of brand led to the adjective phrase "brand new" that first described a cast-metal object just created, hot out of the forge. Today, the world is awash in corporate brand names. The use of the word for corporate names sprang from the dozens of unique livestock
brands used by the cattle ranches of the western USA in the late 1800s.
Today I felt a little nervous about driving to work. I was able to leave about a half hour later than normal because it was a "professional development day" which meant that the kids didn’t have to come to school and the teachers had to listen to boring people talk about new things they want us to do. Which really means just more work.
The advantage to leaving a bit later was that at least the sun was up, the disadvantage being that the glare of the sun on the wet roads made it difficult to see. It was better than having to worry about black ice, though.
Collective yawns were probably heard throughout the land as the staff from the entire system sat and listened to the superintendent wax poetical about the plans for the day. What we were spending the day doing was "Curriculum mapping", dubbed by many as "Curriculum napping".
Some parts of the day weren’t too bad, as some of the teachers gave rather interesting and humorous geometry presentations. But that was it as far as entertainment is concerned.
The organizers of the day (one of whom is a friend of mine) were thrilled that we were being given a "lovely breakfast and lunch". I must have missed it. At least I missed the "lovely part". Breakfast was coffee and store bought Hostess muffins or Danish, and lunch was regular school CAFETERIA food. (Raise your hand if you remember "mystery meat".) I don’t ever eat cafeteria food! It’s scary!
I guess my idea of a lovely lunch is not the same as other’s. Most of my friends were in agreement. We usually order out on Friday’s and get deli sandwiches, so we felt gypped.
Regular classroom teachers had to go back to their own classrooms after lunch to make their own math maps, outlining what they teach and when. My department got stuck meeting with the Ice Queen so we could discuss reading. It was boring. It could have been worse I suppose, and at least we didn’t get any more work assigned to us (yet).
I was glad to go home.
When I got home I had an e-mail from Michael reacting to the note I had sent him this morning regarding my accident. This is why he’s a writer:
"I spun out once in the snow, years ago. It's like watching God and the Devil throw dice for your soul. You're simply a spectator till the toss comes out."
He’s been sick with the flu again this week, a relapse sounding similar to what I went through. I feel for him, I know how stinky it was.
Dee and I went to The Olive garden for dinner tonight, sat and chatted for a while, then determined that it was too cold to go any farther and that we should just go home and get some sleep.
It’s a plan I can fully support!
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Horoscope
ARIES
It is an excellent idea to let people have the benefit of your views and findings over work projects. Your powers of oratory and presentation are decidedly good so that you can just talk and talk on your favorite subjects. It is in your interests to make sure the people in charge are well aware of your capabilities and this in turn requires you to open up and say what it is you really believe.