US bond yield curve

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According to CNBC, the US bond yield curve has inverted, a significant indicator of a slowed economy.

Now I’m no professional economic analysis expert by any means – but is it not just as simple as knowing that the industries and, indeed, industrial models you’ve relied upon for “growth” all this time have started to fail because they should?  Did the steam engine not get replaced by the Diesel?  Then the Diesel-electric?  Did stone houses not make way for brick, then wood, then steel & glass?

Is Alberta not suffering now because people have a poor idea of the reputation of oil sands?  Lethbridge, for example, has an enormous amount both of sunlight and wind.  Isn’t the writing on the wall stating that, within 20 years or so, oil will seriously on its way out?  Now I’m not getting on the Liberal bandwagon and saying we should all convert farmland into solar panel land.  …  Then again, you’re building huge advanced greenhouses to grow pot.  Good for you.  (There’s a facetious tone to my remark, by the way, in case you couldn’t hear me.)

Instead of looking at this as a doom-and-gloom thing, this seems to me to be a sure indicator of the need for innovation, changes to the status-quo, advancement of “alternatives” (as though oil is the benchmark and everything else is an alternative).  In short, the stuff you’ve invested in is losing ground.  Stop trying to prop it up with make-shift measures.  Let it die.  Move into something else.

And Trumpy wants to open up more coal mines and “put Americans to work again”, as though going back in time will save us all.  Fool!  And you’re dragging everyone else down with you.

The Princess and the Pill

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Mom told me a story.

“I put my foot in my shoe, and I could feel something in there.  I dumped out my shoe, and nothing came out.”  She checked her slipper.  Nothing.  Then she dumped out her sock.  Of all things, a pill came out.  Apparently, Floyd lost a vitamin-D pill a few days ago.  How it landed in her sock, no one will ever know.

However, she apparently hadn’t heard the story, The Princess and the Pea, so my comment, “You’re the Princess,” didn’t make any sense to her.  Floyd thought it was funny though.

putting up walls (or, ups and downs)

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I’ve completed the walls for the latest project, the teardrop trailer.  Unfortunately, I broke a jigsaw blade and had to go buy some more.  Fortunately, the shop is close.  Unfortunately, those little suckers are expensive.  Fortunately, I get AirMiles.  Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out how to use my AirMiles – just keep collecting them.  Fortunately, however, all my AirMiles points are toward cash value from now on instead of travel / merchandise.  Life is full of ups and downs.

auto stop & start students

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The same day I posted my last entry on M & F (students, not Mom & Fl0yd), F quit.  He’s gone with another tutor.  His schedule has changed, and I can only tutor after 5:30pm, so F is no more.

At the same time, another student started.  Students come, students go.  This time, however, the student isn’t in Coaldale like F was; he’s in Lethbridge.  Good for me.  I don’t spend $5 in fuel driving to and returning from a student’s house to make $17 / hour.

a good measure

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My students have been improving considerably.  Two in particular, M & F (no, not Mom & Floyd, but another M & another F!), have caught the I-want-to-learn bug.

M has improved his mathematics skills considerably (among other skills).  It’s not easy to do ‘mental math’ without guidance and practise.  We’re using the practices of 1) using fingers to count, 2) memorization (as in the multiplication table), 3) writing out problems long-hand, and 4) using a calculator for complex calculations or to check one’s work.  Because M is in a Montessori program (and, no, it isn’t just for playschool, preschool, and kindergarten – it’s valid all throughout elementary school and beyond), it involves practical life (understanding everyday activities), sensorial (tactility, sound, vision, etc.), academic (mathematics, language arts, histories, the sciences), and societal (creativity, games, group work, social activity).  It’s not just reading, writing, and ‘rithmatic anymore, folks.  So, part of yesterday’s homework is fractions and their uses.  What’s the good in knowing fractions unless you can use them?  He’s a creative fellow, so he could go on to use this skill in everyday life.

No, he’s not helping me build the trailer.  He’s reading the tape measure in the pictures.

F has improved his reading skills. It started with not knowing the phonics of letters and combinations of letters of the alphabet, having difficulty writing letters in patterns, and knowing sight words.  Now he’s sounding out words he doesn’t know and breezing through those he does.  It’s about not being intimidated by the written word, I think, and he’s come a long way in this.  He says he enjoys writing, so hopefully this will pull him along in the reading thing, too.  Plus, I promised him a prize (a notebook from Korea) if he reads really well – something to shoot for.

the flow

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I am reading a book called You Are a Badass.  It’s about having good intentions, good thoughts, good vibes, for lack of better explanation.  “The Universe will match whatever vibration you put out.  And you can’t fool the Universe.”

“Can I get a name?” Starbucks staff asks when I order an Americano.  “Allan.”  (Yes, you already knew that – but she didn’t.)  Why a name?  Because many people might order an Americano.  So the woman after me, after being asked her name, said, “No.”  …  Uh … “Okay, I’ll just leave it here for you.”  Is the world this concerned with privacy that she can’t leave a name?  Maybe she should say, “Esmeralda” or “Lapodopolis” or even “Steve” or “Jesus”.  Sorry, but I have no tolerance for people like that.

By the way – her coffee sat there and waited for her, exactly where the barista said it would be.  The woman was miffed.  <puff, pant, huff, snort, throat clearing, cough>  Good fracking hell.

I met a Canadian in Korea who refused to walk with the crowd.  “I’m going this way, not that way.  I don’t care if people are on this side of the sidewalk.”

I know – I used to be this person, a million years ago.

HTML vs. Moodle, WordPress, etc.

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Okay, so this isn’t 1990 anymore.  Websites are dynamic, not static.  No one uses .html (hypertext markup language) anymore.  Instead, modern websites use https, .asp, databases, interactivity, splashy advertisements and pictures that fly across the screen, areas of the page that stand still whereas others move around … all that is terribly impressive.

But, after fidgeting around with with WordPress, Moodle, Joomla!, add-ons to those, databases from MySQL and Microsoft SQL, and various other CMS packages made for teachers & students & school admin, I’ve decided they all suck.

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a little lonesome bluegrass (times three)

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Three different versions from different artists of Lonesome and Dry As a Bone.

Dave Leatherman (excellent artist; unfortunately, the song is cut at the end)
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder (a well-done version, very polished, with an excellent band)
Joe Diffie (getting back to his roots with a down-home rendition)

Any favourites?  Notice they’re all in the same key?  What do you mean you don’t like bluegrass?

ASET’s 2019 Capstone Project of the Year Award

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Congratulations, Tyson Baldrey and Randy Holmberg, on our selection as recipients for ASET’s 2019 Capstone Project of the Year Award! Thank you for your dedication, hard work, and professionalism! I am part of the best team in Alberta!

We were chosen to represent Lethbridge College at Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta (ASET) for their Capstone Project of the Year Award.  Our nomination put us in competition with other institutions across Alberta for this year’s Award.

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seeking new employment

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I’ve been seeking new employment the past few weeks.  ISP did not work out.  They need someone with more experience who can work without an Engineer, and I need a place with more than just one guy (me), with engineering guidance and mentorship.  I think professional development cannot happen on my own, without an Engineer present.  The Engineer stamping ISP‘s work left for another company; ISP emailed him my drawings, and he emailed them back; but there was no two-way communication, nobody for me to ask questions.  I didn’t meet their learning curve expectations.  Yes, a new Engineer was hired, but a) he didn’t have experience in this type of work, and b) he had no authorization to stamp at ISP.

I’ve been seeking other Engineering Technologist / drafting / designing work.  There are a few places hiring.  I’ve had two offers.  Unsure what I will do.  Aizlynn believes I should branch out on my own and follow my dreams of simple living architecture (i.e. “tiny homes”, to use a blanket description).  This is intriguing, but I still feel I need the mentoring and expertise of professionals.

Once a teacher, always a teacher.  I continue to do sideline work in that.  Not a lot of money in it though.  More just a time-user while I seek other employment.  However, all my students show greatness, so I will not give them up.

More as it comes.