The Redistricting Fight

On election day, California voters had one thing on the ballot, redistricting. Because of what they did in Texas. And then Texas' redistricting got overturned in court. For now. We'll see what happens when the case gets to SCOTUS. 

In case you haven't been following, today I'm posting a video with one of the lawyers explaining what's happening. It is over 30 minutes long, but it has some interesting bits. (It also has the requisite "like and follow" bits as well as a couple ads.)

Some good things are happening. More bad things, but sometimes it'd good to hear about what's going right. 

Sidetracked

Last week I did make some progress on eldest nephew's sweater, but when it was time to find a take-along project for my Saturday out, I realized I couldn't take it. 

I have about two and a half inches before it's time to start the neckline, and that's something I'd rather puzzle out at home. (Yes, I have a pattern. But I've been knitting straight for a while. Reading and binding off and counting happens now, and I need to be able to focus.) 

So, time to pull out the beanie...

Not too far from finishing this one. If I focused on it this week, I'd probably finish it. But, I want to focus on the sweater neckline. (What the beanie will look like finished, different colorway.) 

I rather like the double yellow band. I'm glad I left the error. 

The beanie posts:

• The Next Projects
• Observable, Perhaps
• Well Travelled

Check Writing

(A very rainy) Friday. Sixth period. Special ed business math. 

They're seniors, and a couple of them had been in that weird long term special ed I covered in February/March. They did their warm up, and then I explained that they had a check writing test. 

"Check writing? This is a math class."

Once I passed the paper out, it made sense. They were balancing a check register, and then they had one bank check to fill out. They're doing a unit on banking.

After that, they watched some videos on savings accounts. These were each about five minutes long, and they talked about IRAs, mutual funds, bonds, and retirement. (It's an interesting series on PBS: Two Cents.)

It's cool when I'm in a class where they're doing something that I know they'll need in the future. They might not actually write checks, but the will need to know how to keep track of the money in their bank accounts. 

Easy class. Easy day.

(Last week was only a three-day week due to the holiday. That means it was kind of slim pickings for blog fodder.) 

Phantom Cramp

Thursday. Eighth grade English. 

I had covered this about a month ago (and I have covered Ms. R's class many, many times), so I knew what I was in for. I also knew that her co-teacher was going to be out. The night before I made a silly wish. "Wouldn't it be great if Ms. S was subbing for the co-teacher?" 

Guess who ended up subbing for the co-teacher? 

It made for a way easier day. 

Third period. The class had just finished their warm up, and I explained their assignment. They had chosen a story or article the previous week (there were a limited number of choices, but they did get to pick amongst them), and Ms. S and I had passed out the stories to the students. They were to annotate the story they picked, and then they'd have questions to answer about them. 

While they were getting started on the assignment, Russell "fell" out of his chair. He was lying on the ground, not moving, just lying there. 

Ms. S and I conferred. She remarked that Russell should probably be kicked out of class. I concurred. Having known Russell from the art class, I knew that his behavior wasn't going to improve. This was the perfect excuse to send him out. 

Ms. S called another classroom to find him a spot. Russell complained. "But I have a cramp!"

Uh huh. Sure you do. 

Ms. S escorted Russell away. And when she returned, neither of us had to deal with his shenanigans for the rest of the period. Bliss.

Did this scare the rest of the class? Of course not. But at least they mostly read quietly. 

I do not kick students out often enough. There's a part of me that wants to give them one more chance. Maybe they'll actually "be good", which is what they always promise when I go to assign a consequence. The thing is, they never do. They just get worse. 

Rage Bait

Wednesday. Middle school graphic arts. Fourth period. 

"Five times five isn't ten. Are you stupid?" 

Class was getting started. I had explained the lesson (something to do with a honeycomb-shaped outline that they were to fill in with things about themselves), and they were getting out the materials they'd need. I approached the boys. (If you look at the above photo, the boys were sitting at that front corner, Nigel on the end and Nolan along the longer edge.) 

I agreed with Nolan, that five times five didn't equal ten, but I told Nolan that his tone wasn't appropriate. 

At this point the other kiddos (along the other side of the table) informed me that Nolan and Nigel weren't allowed to sit next to each other as they liked to rage bait each other. (Yes, that was the term they used: "rage bait".) So, I told Nolan to move, and he moved to the opposite end of that table.

Did that end the issue? Of course not.

Nolan kept finding reasons that he had to get up. He needed colored pencils. He needed to sharpen a pencil. He needed to throw out trash. He needed to blow his nose.

And every time he got up, he walked by Nigel. And then did something to Nigel. Like, he went to turn off his computer, or he shoved him, or he just said something to him. 

They rage baited each other? It seemed more like Nolan was bullying Nigel. 

I forbade Nolan from getting up. Nolan created a paper airplane and threw it at Nigel. Then he commanded Nigel to open it.

I retrieved the paper airplane and left if for their teacher. (Nigel saw what Nolan wrote. It was a homophobic slur.) 

I was so happy for the end of the period. As they lined up at the door, Nolan took another swipe. 

"Pink isn't a color for boys..."

Ah, this I could refute. I explained how pink used to be considered a more masculine color, and that really, there is no gender with regards to color. 

Nolan took my point, and then he tried for another avenue of attack. 

But that's when the bell rang, and it was no longer my problem. 

Kids at that age can be awful. That the other students knew of this tells me it's an ongoing problem. Why Nolan's so angry... I have no idea.

Time to Buy a Whistle

ICE has invaded North Carolina. Charlotte. Because of course. 

One thing I've seen is people are getting whistles. The idea is if someone sees the kidnappers approach someone, you blow your whistle and get loud. Draw a crowd. Make it hard for the kidnappers to kidnap. The longer each kidnapping takes, the fewer people they can get. 

@tiredderit.bsky.social @jesscraven101.bsky.social

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— Long Beach Indivisible (@indivisiblelb.bsky.social) November 16, 2025 at 4:55 PM

You may notice a theme to the articles I'm linking to: 

A New Kind of Neighborhood Watch: Sonoma County’s ‘Adopt a Corner’ program aims to protect undocumented day laborers from ICE.

What We Can Do About ICE: ICE is in the Bay Area. And yes, we can all do something about it.

It's a game of strategies. Border Patrol takes a new approach, and rapid responders adapt. This time, the responders are backing each other up. The target was in Santa Ana, where Border Patrol focused their attention on the elderly at bus stops, grocery stores, and one with a cane.

Then They Came for the Dreamers: Immigrants brought here as children were told they wouldn’t be deported. Now, they’re being targeted anyway.

I Study Fascism. I’ve Already Fled America.

Then I saw this, and I had to share:

It is dark times. We need to be each other's light.

Almost to the Interesting Part

The instructions for the front of the sweater say knit even for 24.5 inches:

I'm almost there. For the back, I had to knit a bit more...

Why the difference? Neck shaping. In about 3.5 inches I get to start shaping the neck. No armhole shaping as this is a drop shoulder sleeve. 

Things are coming along. The solo image of where I'm at:

I'm getting there. 

Sweater Tracking:

• Starting the Sweater
• Getting to the Back
• Missed Deadline
• Distractions from Knitting
• A Month Late
• Inching Along
• Tracking the Growth
• Weekly Sweater Update
• Moving Right Along
• Good Progress