Archive for July, 2008
You are currently browsing the MrOsman.com blog archives for July, 2008.
14
Jul
2008
Site Update 7-14-08
It’s been a few days since MrOsman.com launched and I’d like to catalog most of the changes and updates that have been made.
- Most importantly, I now have a favicon in the url bar! (Top left of the url, it’s an O)
- A Contact form/page (with captcha capabilities)
- The ability to individually print each post (this will be very useful with hw assignments)
- The ability to individually e-mail each post (this may not work)
- Social networking links set up to encourage discussion outside of the classroom
- A ‘News’ page set up with several RSS feeds. This page could use some work, but it’s a start.
- Users have the capability to sign-in (so they can post) through a specifically designed Registration Portal
- MrOsman.com is accessible via PDA and iPhone!
- Spam protection software is installed
- The ability to comment on posts will expire after 150 days. This will prevent some spam, but also prevent any unmoderated commenting.
- Establishing a way to contact all users via e-mail at once.
- User polls are available in widget format and embedded in posts/pages.
- Consolidated all Links pages into one ‘Links’ page, while the three subject pages are hidden
- I think I have decided to finalize this theme. I’ll keep beta testing it though to figure out if there’s anything wrong with it!
A few things that I would still like to add in the next couple of days are:
- Figuring out what to do about the ‘Notes’ section ((I think I’ll use DocuWiki and the dw2wp plugin to install it all on the WordPress platform)
- Upload PowerPoints in .ppt and .pdf format
- Tweaking the ‘News’ page?
- Events calendar?
- Avatars?
- Quotes widget?
- A better favicon?
13
Jul
2008
Are We ‘Whiners’ or Just ‘Bitter’?
Phil Gramm, former Senator from the great state of Texas, told the Washington Times that country was filled with “whiners” and the United States is merely in a “mental recession.” Senator Gramm is one of John McCain’s economic advisers.
If Senator Gramm’s comment on the economy is correct or not isn’t the point. Remember, politics is about perception.
This is quite difficult news for the millions of people across the country who are struggling with high gas prices and an increasingly difficult mortgage crisis.
However, on the other side, in April Senator Obama said many people in small-town America are “bitter” and “cling to guns or religion … as a way to explain their frustrations.”
Which also is a quite difficult comment for people to hear. Since April, this comment has created a perception by some on the right that Obama is a elitist snob, as seen in this mock-poster on the right. (More on this subject to come later)
Both comments make the average American feel looked down upon, naive, and a little stupid.
However, forget about what you think about each of these comments. What really matters in the long run is:
Which comment hurts the respective campaign’s chances at election more?
12
Jul
2008
Obama and NASCAR
A lot has been said about Barack Obama failing to connect with white, male voters.
In an apparent attempt to connect to these voters, the Obama camp thought about sposoring a NASCAR Cup car! Negations, however, failed and Obama did not become the primary sponsor of BAM Racing’s No. 49 Toyota, Sprint Cup car. Apparently the driver is a huge Republican. Oops.
If Obama had landed the No. 49 Toyota, would more people have voted for him? Is this an effective way to reach white male voters? Would it be more appropriate, or effective, for John McCain to sponsor a NASCAR Cup car?
btw – Whats more of a sport, NASCAR or cheerleading?
12
Jul
2008
Vetting the Veep
Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about who Barack Obama and John McCain will select for their respective running mates. A woman? black person? latino? Southerner? military experience? Who will it be?
The office of the Vice President is, however, one with little responsibility or power. Whereas in a high school, the Assistant Principal has several assigned duties (discipline, grade levels, etc…), the Vice President only has two assigned duties. Funny enough though, both of these Constitutional duties are quite ceremonial. (We discuss these two duties in detail in our Executive Branch Unit.)
So first of all, the job of VP isn’t that powerful or glorious.
However the trick is, to become Vice President you have to be elected. What makes this very interesting is that everyone who runs for VP is closely scrutinized. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people will begin to separately dig through the past of the potential Vice Presidents. They’ll be looking for dirt. Anything that will sell a newspaper or make TV ratings go up. A nanny who’s an illegal immigrant, a video of a rude comment, or (best of all) an extra-marital affair – anything.
What both campaigns are doing now is called ‘vetting.’
The campaigns will look through the past, through all the dirt, of the people who may potentially be their Vice President. This means giving all sorts of personal information out to the Obama or McCain campaigns. I imagine that some people are giving some really juicy information out!
Why, however, you would want to go through a process like this, just to become a figure-head with little to no real responsibility, amazes me. In fact, some potential running mates have already bailed.
The New York Times has a good, up to date, analysis of the race to be Vice President. I think this particular page will be worth checking on a regular basis.
We’ll talk soon about how much the selection of a running mate actually makes a difference in the election.
Update: As of July 12th, Clinton is still on Obama’s ‘short list’ for VP running mates.
Update: Some vetting rumors may actually be a ruse!
11
Jul
2008
An Introduction to blogging
The internet provides a world of information and possibilities in the education realm. It can be, however, over whelming. Many bloggers spend hours ranting about their cats, their options on random subjects, and all sorts of other things that very few people care about.
What then, is the purpose of an educators blog? Why add one more blog out there to the ‘pipes and tubes’ of the internet?
This blog will (hopefully) be useful, engaging, and slightly entertaining. Specifically, it will:
Provide students and parents with access to static classroom data like PowerPoints, home work assignments, extra credit assignments, YouTube links, Podcasts, a forum for current affairs, parent communication, Senior announcements, and the ability to contact students via RSS and SMS txt messaging.
We’ll see how this experiment works!