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16359. PelleNilsson - 8/28/2005 5:53:24 PM I'm not an American, arky. What is ESL? 16360. thoughtful - 8/28/2005 6:36:16 PM ESL=English as a Second Language 16361. PelleNilsson - 8/28/2005 6:41:42 PM People like me, that is, who don't grok acronyms like MAT, GRE, and ESL. 16362. thoughtful - 8/28/2005 6:45:30 PM I never pursued it as i ran out of time, but i did train to be a teacher for literacy volunteers...but for those who can't read as opposed to those who speak a different language.
Problem is people are shy to come forward admitting they can't read, whereas people are less embarrassed to admit they can't speak english when they're from another land.
I was considering teaching literacy in prison as the recidivism rates are significantly lower once an inmate has learned to read, and they are willing to admit it, seeing as they'll do anything to occupy their empty time. However, I just wasn't sure it was an environment I could handle.
Perhaps once I retire, it's something I can explore... 16363. PelleNilsson - 8/28/2005 6:56:22 PM That would be an admirable thing to do in my opinion. 16364. arkymalarky - 8/28/2005 7:37:30 PM Oh, duh. Sorry Pelle. I thought back in Irv and DanD days that ESL was used a lot (and I thought it's where I first encountered it). Not to make excuses, but this stupid isp is so slow, particularly today, besides tying up my one phone line, that I post in a rush any more.
Thoughtful, Bob is about to start teaching GED math classes (it stands for General Education Degree, I think--for high school graduate equivalency) one night a week, and it's a great chance to help adults who want and need extra help to get an education and didn't qualify for special services in public schools. They'd love to have someone like you, and I'm certain there's a GED program or something like it in your community. 16365. arkymalarky - 8/28/2005 7:45:27 PM Actually, as fond as Americans are of PC acronyms, they're now using ELL (English Language Learners) instead of ESL. 16366. PelleNilsson - 8/28/2005 7:51:26 PM No problem, arky. I was just provoking you a bit, thinking that if you are going into ESL (ELL) you must not take much for granted. 16367. arkymalarky - 8/28/2005 8:55:39 PM Hahaha! You're too subtle for me--or I'm too dense for you.
That's so true. And I should know that already, having had numerous exchange students and plenty of EFL's who have trouble understanding me. 16368. Macnas - 8/29/2005 9:59:35 AM We call it TEFL, teaching english as a foreign language.
Many people I know have done it, gives them a chance to head off to Italy on the pretence of working. 16369. Magoseph - 8/29/2005 1:59:39 PM Hello, Mac, wonkers, and every other precious Motie out there! 16370. Macnas - 8/29/2005 2:05:57 PM Hello Mago. 16371. Jenerator - 8/29/2005 6:45:28 PM My mom is in recovery as we speak.
Her interbody spinal fusion surgery went well according to the neurosurgeon and so we are waiting to see her in about an hour. She has a long recovery period (3 hours), and will be out of it when we see her, but I am relieved that so far so good.
Her back brace is ENORMOUS and so my heart is sad that her life will be greatly altered once she is awake and begins the healing process. She has to wear thebrace for six months!
That said, I am glad she finally got the treatment she needed and that we are blessed to live within proximity of one of the best neurosurgeons in the US!
Anyway, I appreciate all of your kind thoughts and prayers. 16372. wonkers2 - 8/29/2005 7:40:41 PM I hope it turns out well! 16373. thoughtful - 8/29/2005 7:56:30 PM Glad to hear the surgery went well. Back brace is no fun. Will she be in a home or will there be arrangements for home care while she's in the brace? 16374. Jenerator - 8/29/2005 9:11:53 PM She will be staying at home and her best friend is staying with her. If she needs more intensive PT in the future, the doctor said he may book her for treatment at a rehab facility. For now, though, it looks as though she'll be in the hospital until Saturday and then be released home.
I am glad to be working only part-time. 16375. thoughtful - 8/29/2005 9:33:49 PM Oh yes....I'm sure she'll need your help through this...she's fortunate to have you. 16376. Jenerator - 8/29/2005 9:36:08 PM Thank you, thoughtful.
I wish I could do more - the timing for all of this is the pits. I am due on the 20th and as big as a house, so I can't really help that much other than by being present for support.
Her best friend is the real life saver. 16377. arkymalarky - 8/29/2005 10:38:29 PM Wow, Jen, it's great Marshame came through well and has a good prognosis, but it sounds like you both will really have a lot ahead of you over the next few months. 16378. concerned - 8/29/2005 10:51:57 PM Do you believe in Santa Claus?
I. There are approximately two billion children (persons under 18) in the world. However, since Santa does not visit children of Muslim, Hindu, Jewish or Buddhist religions, this reduces the workload for Christmas night to 15% of the total, or 378 million (according to the Population Reference Bureau). At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per house hold, that comes to 108 million homes, presuming that there is at least one good child in each.
II. Santa has about 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 967.7 visits per second.
This is to say that for each Christian household with a good child, Santa has around 1/1000th of a second to park the sleigh, hop out, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left for him, get back up the chimney, jump into the sleigh and get on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 108 million stops is evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false, but will accept for the purposes of our calculations), we are now talking about 0.78 miles per household; a total trip of 75.5 million miles, not counting bathroom stops or breaks. This means Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second --- 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second, and a conventional reindeer can run (at best) 15 miles per hour.
III. The payload of the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium sized Lego set (two pounds), the sleigh is carrying over 500 thousand tons, not counting Santa himself. On land, a conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that the "flying" reindeer could pull ten times the normal amount, the job can't be done with eight or even nine of them --- Santa would need 360,000 of them. This increases the payload, not counting the weight of the sleigh, another 54,000 tons, or roughly seven times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth (the ship, not the monarch).
IV. 600,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second crates enormous air resistance --- this would heat up the reindeer in the same fashion as a spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer would absorb 14.3 quintillion joules of energy per second each. In short, they would burst into flames almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them and creating deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team would be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second, or right about the time Santa reached the fifth house on his trip. Not that it matters, however, since Santa, as a result of accelerating from a dead stop 650 m.p.s. in .001 seconds, would be subjected to centrifugal forces of 17,500 g's. A 250 pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of the sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force, instantly crushing his bones and organs and reducing him to a quivering blob of pink goo.
V. Therefore, if Santa did exist, he's dead now.
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