Every Shade of Blue

On Monday I showed off my Christmas knitting. Remember HapkidoKid's hat?

There's a bit of a story behind it. And that includes how it's made.

At Thanksgiving, not sure what I was going to knit for Christmas, I asked the elder two nephews if they'd want hats for Christmas. HapkidoKid wasn't all that interested until his mom reminded him that he liked the slouchy beanie look. I can do slouchy beanie.

I asked HapkidoKid what color he wanted, and he talked about blue stripes. He rattled off a bunch of different colors when his mom again stepped in. She informed him that they make variegated yarns that have many shades of blue in them. He liked this idea.

Armed with a vague idea of what I wanted to knit (I saw this type of hat on someone else and knew immediately I had to knit one), I went to the yarn store in search of variegated blue yarns. And found two likely skeins. One had a more muted palate while the other was much brighter.

Which to choose?

I chose both.

See, there is this thing called pooling. And one way to avoid pooling, especially when one is knitting to deadline and doesn't have time to knit and rip out a few times to get a desired effect, is to alternate yarns. I was going to get two of the same colorway and alternate them, but in the yarn store it occurred to me that two different colorways both in the blue family might look nice together.

Or it might have turned into a disaster. Could go either way.

So, this thing was knit alternating between Caron Simply Soft Paints in Oceana and Spring Brook. For the ribbing, I started with Oceana, worked two rounds, and then switched to Spring Brook. Once I started the stripey portion, I switched yarns every round. Sort of.

It occurred to me that if I switched yarns at the same point every round, there would be a visible spot where this all happened. So, instead I staggered the switch. Each round, I overlapped the yarn by three to five stitches before switching to the other yarn. It gave the hat a diagonal float that swirled around the hat on the inside, but you can't tell where the switches are made on the outside.

I did the same with the stockinette and reverse stockinette stripes. Each stripe is eight rounds, which gave me a little over an inch each. But I didn't go from purl to knit at the beginning of the round. I staggered it.

I alternated purl stripes with knit stripes, starting the decrease at the top of the hat in a purl stripe so that it would end in a knit stripe.

And that's how I got those effects. In case anyone wants to replicate this.

(I'm thinking I might make one for my shop. What do you think? Think anyone would be interested in purchasing one?)

Planning the Year

At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, all I ask is a thank you in the acknowledgements.

What if there was a book, notebook, computer program, calendar, etc. where what you wrote in it would come true? What would you put in that book for 2015?

Christmas Brag Post

It looks like I've been doing these for a couple years now. Unfortunately, this year I don't have much to brag about. But it's not like there's anything else to talk about this week...

I ran out of time, so the twin nephews got store bought sleepers (with feet). And Archer Girl, who's now 13, got a gift card (because she didn't want anything knitted). But I knit her something anyway...

She was more excited by the gift card it contained. (Apologies for the pic. I can't quite get purple to show as purple. Sigh.)

Then for middle nephew, online alias Rambo per his mother, I knit a frog hat...

That came out rather cute, but Rambo was less than thrilled. His younger brother enjoyed it more. Ah well.

At least HapkidoKid liked his hat...

One out of three ain't bad.

(Don't feel sorry for me, please. I was very last minute this year, and really could have done better on the knitting front. I'm pleased with how things turned out, and Rambo has been feeling poorly, so he might enjoy the hat when he's not sick.)

Oh, I did get one present knit way early. Remember "X Marks the Scarf"?

Also a Christmas present.

Oblivious

Another subbing story from before the break. Because I might have more interesting stories from the break to tell next week... Well, maybe I'll just take a week off or something.

English class at the continuation high school. We were to read a story from their textbook. To encourage students to volunteer to read, I was to keep a list of those who read so they could get participation points.

Amazingly, I had volunteers. I even had the whole class' attention...

...Except for Sam. He was obviously on his cell phone--talking back to the video he was watching. And totally oblivious to the fact that I had completely stopped and was focused solely on him.

I told him to go to the office and turn in his cell phone.

"But you said you were taking volunteers to read..."

Me: "Which doesn't mean you don't pay attention. You still need to follow along."

Sam: "OK. I'll put my phone away. Give me one more chance..."

Never, ever give "one more chance". I learned this lesson the hard way. If one student talks you out of a consequence, the others see this and know that they can, too. I mean, you already let Sam keep his phone. I should keep my phone.

(Which is why I usually start with a warning. "If I see it again..." I don't usually have to pull the trigger on that one. But Sam wasn't surreptitiously sneaking a look. He didn't accidentally have his phone out. He was blatantly ignoring what he was supposed to be doing, not even pretending to pay attention. This was not a warning situation.)

I went back to teaching class. Sam remained in his seat. When we got to a natural pausing point, I went to the phone and called the office. Only then did Sam get up. And slam the door on his way out.

And he never returned to class.

I forgot to follow up, so I don't know what happened to him. (It was one of those days where I was busy in class after this.) But I did put the incident in my note. Because I do that.

Cruise of Lights

Yesterday I showed off pics of the Huntington Harbor Boat Parade. The parade opens the Cruise of Lights season, where one can buy a ticket to cruise around the harbor and look at how those who live on the harbor decorated their houses.

Like with the boat parade, I took lots of pics. And like with the boat parade, many of them did not come out very well (moving boat at night--not a surprise). But a few of them are share-worthy...

Interesting eclectic mix

"Happy Holidays" spelled out over a huge distance

Pretty display

I loved the look of this, but this was the best pic I got

Took the prize for "Most Traditional"

Loved all the red on this house

Love the hanging lights on this one

It's probably a good thing that more of the pics didn't come out. I would have been able to post a lot more pics then. And bored you silly.

Holiday Boat Parade

Not last Sunday, but the Sunday before that, they held the annual Huntington Harbor Boat Parade. (Well, it was held Saturday and Sunday, but I went Sunday night.)

I'd never been before, but I'd heard of it. Boat owners decorate their boats with lights and sail (motor?) around the harbor.

We set up in what we figured was plenty of time. We had our picnic and waited. And waited. In the frigid cold (57 degrees!). We were just about to give up (figuring we had the wrong night or they canceled the thing without notice) when the boats finally made it to where we waited.

(According to the map, they were supposed to get to our spot at about 5:30 PM. We saw them at closer to 7 PM.)

I took pictures. Most of them came out blurry. Sad face. (Well, it was nighttime--slower shutter speeds--and the boats were moving. Not a surprise, really.) But I can share a couple of them...

Our view without boats

Sadly, most of the pics came out much more blurry than this

This boat had lots and lots of wings

Party boat

Palm trees seemed to be a bit of a theme

I'm not going to tell you how many pics I took. Let's just say a lot. And these were the best of them.  

Still, it was a fun night, and it was great to see all the decorated boats.  

Saving the World

At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, all I ask is a thank you in the acknowledgements.

While you are reading this, in all likelihood I am frantically trying to finish my Christmas knitting. Or shopping. Probably both. So, this week it's a simple one...

What if the "big bad" is coming (something dire that will cause mass casualties)? You have the means to stop it--by sacrificing your life. Only, you're the only one who knows this. If you do nothing, no one will know that you could have prevented it. Would you sacrifice yourself to save "the world" (or whatever it is that needs saving)? Or would you step out of the way (and look for a different method to save the world--I know you don't want the catastrophe to happen)?  

Freedom of Speech

No, the schools where I work are not in session. I write about my previous week, so while we're all on winter break, I still have some subbing stories to share...

8th grade English. It was the beginning of the period, and I was trying to get them settled. The group at the front of the room let me know that one of their tablemates was sitting in the wrong seat.

Which I already knew. There was a boy in Ana's seat. Now I knew where he was supposed to be.

Deon first tried to convince me that the teacher had switched his seat. When I insisted he move, he took it out on his tablemates...

"Snitches."

Deon was one of those students. You know what I mean? Perhaps not. Politely, I'll call him a student that I need to "keep an eye on". While I tried to settle the class, he did everything in his power to undermine my work. He'd get up to "sharpen his pencil" or "get a tissue". He needed  to "use the restroom" while I was in the middle of giving the class instruction. Which meant I'd have to stop, leaving the whole class hanging while I dealt with him.

Then when the class was supposed to work independently, he found reasons to get up and talk to other students. Or talked to other students while he was in his seat.

When the subject of names in my note came up, Deon naturally asked. Of course he was listed. He wanted to know why.

Oh, so many reasons. Where to begin? Well, might as well begin at the beginning--the first offense. The "snitches" comment (and the not-being-in-assigned-seat-and-lying-about-it).

"But I can say that! My history teacher told us about the First Amendment. I have freedom of speech. I can say what I want."

Um, sure, sort of. But this wasn't opinion. This was a threat. I could be wrong about this (I probably am), but I don't think that name-calling is protected speech. Especially not in a classroom. And the term "snitches" usually implies something is going to happen ("snitches get stitches").

Of course, he took issue with my assessment. Arguing that it wasn't a threat. Arguing I couldn't name him in my note just for that. (If only that was his only offense. And the First Amendment goes both ways.)

And now I had him for arguing with me and disrupting class again (this wasn't a conversation just between us two. No. Deon managed to make this a discussion that everyone heard).

Meltdown

I was surprised to see John arrive for the computer animation class. I met him previously in various special ed classes, and this class seemed to me to be a little more advanced than that. Apparently I was wrong.

But, when John reacted to the rest of the class talking, I knew where it was coming from. They were distracting him, and he wanted it to be quiet.

I was kind of stuck. On the one hand, I understood John's frustration. But on the other, the rest of the class wasn't doing anything that they shouldn't. Sure, they probably didn't need to talk, but it was the sort of assignment where I usually permit the level of talking they were doing. In fact, they were quieter than what I would normally get in that situation. And more on task.

But it was too much for John. He finally lept out of his seat, pretended to flip a book shut, growled, and ran out of class.

If I hadn't met John before, I would have reacted completely differently. Because I knew him, I let him go.

A few minutes later I went to check on him. He was outside, fuming. (At least he took it outside rather than taking it out on a student. For that I applaud him.)

I let him vent at me. He told me of his frustrations with the class. I understood. Eventually he calmed enough to return to class.

It's an interesting situation. The class has excluded John, and he feels it. Which is too bad.

I, of course, left this incident in the note. Not for John to be punished. The teacher is probably already aware of the dynamic, but he should know about it anyway.

(The next day, the first thing John did on entering class was to apologize to everyone for his behavior the previous day.)

Succumbed

I warned the class about cell phones. They are supposed to be put away and silenced so that the students are not tempted to use them during class. But I think some students are so used to having them in their hands that they can't seem to relinquish them.

English class at the continuation high school. They were given a sheet with their assignment on it--the usual sort of read-a-story-out-of-the-book-and-answer-questions deal. I went through these instructions point by point.

Part of the assignment was to copy the vocabulary words for the story. This is common enough that the students copied the word and definition even though that's not what the instructions said. They were to copy the word, the part of speech, and write one synonym for each term.

"What's that?"

(Synonym was helpfully defined in parentheses on the instructions page.)

I indicated thesauruses. Some used those. Some figured out synonyms from the definition. Some didn't bother to do the assignment.

One girl was struggling. I mentioned thesaurus. But her phone was on her desk...

I shouldn't have...

"Or you could type 'define appreciate' into Google..."

Because synonyms pop up, too.

She did. Completed that portion of the assignment.

And I hang my head in shame.

Brain Wave

At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, all I ask is a thank you in the acknowledgements.

"Some day we'll all be able to beam information directly into our brains."

I don't know what conversation prompted the student to say this, as all I heard was this statement, but now he had me hooked. I've seen such ideas in science fiction before, but it requires hardware to be installed into a person's brain. I mentioned this, but the boy didn't see that. He thought that such a thing could work kind of like Google Glass.

Still, I don't think our brains would just absorb information in the way he said.

What if we could beam information directly into our brains? How would that sort of thing work?

Grammar Check

English class at the continuation high school. Before they read the assigned story, they were to practice the highlighted vocabulary by using each term in an original sentence.

I'm not sure what attracted my attention to the two girls. But once they saw that I was paying attention, they enlisted my opinion. Was the sentence that one wrote grammatically correct? The girl who wrote it said it sounded different in her head...

Did him rolling his eyes at me imply he didn't want to listen to me talk anymore?

Um... I'm not sure. The girl arguing said that the "him" should be "he", but that I know is wrong. So, the girl who wrote the sentence was vindicated there.

I think it's okay, but I'm not sure (which is how I answered the girls). When I look at it now, I think perhaps "him" should be "his" instead.

So, what say you? What do you think? Is this sentence correct? Or how can it be fixed?

Reading Them the Riot Act

It was day 2 of the terrible, awful, no good 7th grade math class. Periods 1/2 (I had the same group for two periods) was actually kind of cooperative. At least, they were easier to deal with than on day 1.

4th period went nominally better. That could have been because I kicked one girl out fairly early. Unfortunately she returned...

Between the periods, the kiddos get to get up and walk around. They go outside. It's a nice break, and I'm more than happy to let them have it.

But something wasn't right. I can't tell you exactly what it was. A mood. A feeling. The kiddos were outside on the lawn, and they were all focused on the same thing.

A fight was coming.

I didn't hear the argument. But I've been in this situation a couple times before, and I recognize the signs.

It was almost time for the passing period to end, so I waved them all inside.

And it got worse.

There was an argument happening, and one girl was pretty upset. The others weren't helping matters. So, I did the only thing I could do--I called the office.

The classroom was fairly close to the office, so within seconds, the kiddos saw the principal coming our way. Suddenly, silence.

When she arrived, I let her know that a fight was imminent. She let the class know she was not pleased with their behavior. And she got to the bottom of the incident. Turns out that the troublemaker girl I threw out the previous period was angry at another girl over a boy.

Naturally.

Issues removed from class, and things settled. For a bit.

The Horror

You know it's going to be a bad day when you get to class and there are no lesson plans. Then the counselor walks in, explains the emergency the teacher had, and lets you know that not only did the kiddos have a sub the previous day, but also things had not gone all that well. And the kiddos in the 4th/5th period block (yep, had the same kiddos for two hours) are so over-the-top out of control that they're revamping the group. Next semester.

Oh, did I mention that these were 7th graders? In math?

Now, math's my subject, and I can totally knock out a lesson on this so long as the classes cooperate with me. These kids? Not so much.

(The counselor also came in with lesson plans, so I wasn't totally winging it.)

The lesson should have taken the whole period. It took me the whole hour to get through part of the first third.

And you see those streamers hanging down from the ceiling in the picture? The students have been warned not to bother them. They are too high for them to reach, really. But what do they do as soon as they get a sub?

All Wet

The assignment was for two days in a special ed middle school math class. During the rainstorm.

Did you hear? We had rain in SoCal. For two days. It was a nightmare.

(No, actually, it was kind of nice. We really need the rain, and so long as you weren't on the roads, near a burn area, near a potential mudslide area, or near an area prone to flooding, it was kind of nice to watch the water fall.)

Fifth period. The boys were all soaked.

Um, why?

Now, I get wet. Our schools are open to the elements, so when students go from class to class, they do so outside. No buildings. No hallways. Walkways. Open. With few overhangs.

But this wet was more than that.

"We were jumping in the puddles."

Of course.

A Magical World

At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements.

Apologies, but today's question is a rerun. I'm stuck. I came up with a couple really good questions, but stupidly I didn't write them down at the time, and now I can't recall what they were. Sigh. I'm sure it'll come back to me. Sometime after I hit "publish". Probably at about 3 AM.

So, this is from May 30, 2013:

What if magic was possible in our world--has been possible all along? What if the only thing keeping us from doing all those things depicted in books or pictured in movies is our belief that magic is not possible?

Hacking the System

9th grade honors geography. They had a project due the next day. But the lesson plan had them working on something else.

My general feeling is if the class is reasonably well-behaved, I don't much mind what they're working on. (Of course, if their assignment is due at the end of the period, I push for that. This wasn't the case this day.) And if they have something like a project due, sure, the project takes priority.

Rose asked if she could test her USB drive in the teacher's laptop. Her presentation was done, but apparently she's had technical difficulties the last three times she's had to present. And she wanted to make sure her PowerPoint would work this time.

Again, something I don't see an issue with. But she had to power up the teacher's laptop and log in.

Every student has an individual passcode to log in to the school computer system. Every teacher does, too.

The student passcodes limit them as to what they can access at school. Also, I was positioned in a spot where I could watch Rose and the computer. So, after warning her that she would have to log in, she booted up the computer.

And tried her password. Which she couldn't remember. But, she logged in with what she thought it was, and it didn't work.

A friend tried to help. Logging in with the password she knew worked. But it didn't.

So, the laptop was either not connected to the school network, or only the teacher could use his password to log in to it.

Rose wondered if she could guess the teacher's password.

It became a game. Several students joined in with their guesses. The teacher liked to wear Hawaiian shirts. Could that be it?

Rose tried several things she thought might be it. At one point, the computer took a while to deny her, so she thought she had it. But ultimately, Rose couldn't guess the password and gave up.

Where was I during all this? Watching. I didn't think Rose would actually guess the password, but if by some dumb luck she did, I wanted to let the teacher know he was going to need to change it.

I hope Rose's presentation worked the next day.

Actually Watching?

A week ago we had Thanksgiving. A week before that was the continuation high school's annual Turkey Day. They changed things up a bit this year, calling out students alphabetically rather than by classes. And so, there was no need to keep them in the same class, so they got to attend all their classes.

This was good as it gave the students something to do besides sit and complain. But some students decided they didn't want to go and eat. (I spent some time convincing one girl she should go and just see what was there. Her name was called, and I urged her to go. She did. Upon her return, she said it was good and she was happy she went.)

The teacher I was covering left Planet Earth for them to watch. (It was a science class.)

I popped in the DVD and sat back. Much of the class seemed to be engaged in things other than watching the show. But then I started to hear things...

Things that related to the show. Things that made it seem like...they were actually watching the DVD.

Astounding.

Of course, this was one for one class, but still. Kind of a minor miracle.

A Few Little Items...

I know I mentioned these before, but now that we're in full Christmas shopping mode (now that Halloween and Thanksgiving are over), I thought I'd put these out there again in hopes that I might entice you to do a little of your Christmas shopping with me...

Monogrammed Gift Card Holder
Can be made in several different colors and with any initial you choose.

EOS Lip Balm Holder
Available in 14 different colors.

Cell Phone Pyramid Pillow Prop
A little something for a cell phone. It sure beats holding it!

Lacy Fingerless Texting Gloves
Because they're fun. And not too heavy.

Water Bottle Carrier
This one's in blue, but I have multiple colors in the shop.

Small Tablet Cover/Cozy
These fit most mini tablets and larger ereaders.

And for you, my blogging buddies, I'm offering $2 off any purchase over $10 (which only excludes the EOS Lip Balm Holder, and only if you buy one). Use the coupon code GIFTCARDLOG. 

So, how's your Christmas shopping going? Have you started? (I haven't...)  

Roll Up the Sidewalks

At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements.

Did you brave the Black Friday madhouse? Did you join the throngs looking for deals on Thanksgiving itself?

If you like the Facebook page of my shop, Zizi Rho Designs, you already saw this link to the Slate article about why you shouldn't shop on Thanksgiving. (What you should do is shop online. Like in my shop. Where I have all sorts of wonderful presents for you to buy. Okay, blatant self promotion over.)

This all got me to thinking. And as this is my what if day, I thought I'd put the question to you...

What if the government could pass a law to make it illegal to open stores for a holiday? (For argument purposes, let's say that they can pass the law, but only if it's for one holiday.) Which holiday should it be? Which holiday should they "roll up the sidewalks" for?  

Bargaining

It was a 7th grade world history class. The lesson plan stated that the students were to read the chapter individually and then fill in a worksheet I passed out to them. Simple enough.

To me, reading a chapter individually means no talking. Because, you can't talk and read at the same time. Sure, you can read out loud, but that's not what students do. They claim to be reading while discussing the cute boy over there. That's not reading. That's hoping to absorb the words through osmosis while having them in front of you (which doesn't work. I know, I've tried it).

But 7th graders don't do silence. Not without a big ol' fight.

By 6th period I had had enough. I tried everything with earlier periods. (I knew that it was doable because 1st period read silently. The rest of the day, however, only gave me moments of silence. Which I had to fight for.) So, I just started taking down names of talkers.

Once I let them know what I was doing, they all wanted to know if their name was on the list. And then they wanted to know if I'd take it off.

The next student to ask me if their name is in the note will get their name in the note. (Thing that got 6th per to stop asking.) #subfiles
— Elizabeth Arundel (@ZiziRho) November 19, 2014

Hmmm....

Normally, the answer would be no. But it was the beginning of the period. And these were 7th graders. So, I made them a deal. I'd take off the names but only if they worked quietly the rest of the period.

And you know what? It almost, kind of worked. Well, they were much better than before (and much better than the previous classes excepting period 1).

Must remember this technique for next time...