Fulton County is testing a program that will pay students $8 an hour for attending after-school tutoring programs. Plus, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, students will be eligible for bonuses "if" their grades improve. I guess that means they can just show up and get the money - who cares about the bonuses? What a crock! So what's the incentive to do well in normal school hours? Even worse, the school staff used whether or not the students are on "free or reduced lunch status" as one of the determining factors...
I can hear it now... "Bubba, your grades are too high! You better quit studying, we need your extra income from tutoring..."
In other education news, a father in Oklahoma is upset about the number of movies (some rated R) his son is watching in class. The good news is that these were intellectually stimulating movies like "Dodgeball" and "Napoleon Dynamite."
Perhaps these two school administrations can get together and pay students to watch movies after school... Perhaps they can cut a deal with Blockbuster so the kids can pick out their own movies... Let's see, would downloading the movie trailer online work the same as Cliff Notes?
The results are in for the favorite cartoons of 2007 from readers of the FreeRepublic.com daily cartoon thread. See all of the top 40 at the link above. Here's #10:
"A would-be burglar met his match when he tried to elude Margo Foster, a marathon runner with a black belt in karate who also knows kickboxing and kung fu, police said."
How is he a "would-be" burglar if she caught him in the act. Great job, Margo.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
"BISMARCK, ND - A small North Dakota town is getting a bit of foreign aid to help build its community center: a $75,000 donation from Iceland.
"Officials in Mountain (A town named "Mountain" in eastern North Dakota - that's an oxymoron if ever there was one.), a northeastern North Dakota community with a rich Icelandic heritage told Iceland Prime Minister Geir Haarde about the $1.3 million community center project when he came to the town last year for the 108th annual August the Deuce Icelandic Celebration. It commemorates the beginning of Iceland's journey to independence from Denmark."
How "cool" is that (lol).
Perhaps Iceland, in a bid to up tourism, is ingratiating itself with Nodaks to enter the sweepstakes for a new University of North Dakota mascot. Since it appears that the "Fighting Sioux" is out as a name, the Icelanders may be lobbying for consideration. We can assume that UND will not be going back to the "Flickertails," the nickname they used before they chose to honor the Sioux. How about the UND "Fighting Icelanders"? I can hear echos of "Ice, Ice Baby" ringing through Ralph Engelstad Arena already. Of course, they would be taking the chance that opponents would load up on slogans such as "Let's Kick Some UND Ice!"
Iceland Donates $75,000 to North Dakota Town
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, 'My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.'
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: 'Which wolf wins?'
The old Cherokee simply replied, 'The one you feed.'
Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? ...'nuff said.
A good overview on Barrack Hussein Obama's "fresh" ideas on RedPlanet Cartoons... and how naive they really are.
It sounds like hydrogen might finally make it to your driveway. This article has a good, basic overview of how a hydrogen fuel cell works. And, if you live in New York; Southern California; or Washington, DC you can help test them out. With gas prices where they are, there might be a long line to get one.
Test-Driving the Car of the Future
The British government wants to think so. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is advocating that doctors presume consent to organ donation unless individuals have opted out or family members object. Ever since I saw "the movie, "Coma"" years ago I've been a little leary of those who might value my organs more than me. At least before, not being an organ donor provided some modicum of defense. Not now - the mad doctors are closing in... how long before they start harvesting pre-death???
Organs to be taken without consent
Have you seen this Sprint/Palm Centro commercial? The narrator explains how people using the Palm Centro are able to get more done by multitasking.
But the narrator's "multitaskers" are all standing around doing nothing. Shouldn't they be doing something else while this guy is narrating the commercial? Isn't that what multitasking is all about?
Don't you hate days like that - when all your multitaskers are standing around watching...
