The Son of Ron (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} schtune) wrote,@ 2008-10-03 13:05:00 |
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Hawks & Doves
I'm finally getting around to posting about the ride, and I find I have little to nothing to say about it. I ended up doing the century on Saturday, something I wasn't sure about right up until I made the turn that committed me to it. The ride pretty much kicked my ass from mile 60 to about mile 85 where I cheated and drank some caffeine. Oh, I was a different rider then! Anyway, I sent out the email thank-yous on Tuesday, but if for some reason you didn't get one, let me take this time to thank you now for donating. To paraphrase my own email, without your support, I'm just some schmo staying on a bike far longer than is advisable.
Unrelatedly, here's a story from work today: After class, one of my students asked if I had watched the debates last night. I did, and so had she; I asked her if she had any opinion about who she liked better. She said Biden because, get this, he answered the questions that were asked of him while Palin just talked in circles without saying anything. Now, I know that this is conventional wisdom - pretty much what was expected and perceived from the debate, but this is an ESL student in her late teens or early twenties. Don't get the wrong idea; she is not a person who just speaks English with an accent and occasionally hilariously mangles an idiom. This is a person who struggles with the English language every day of her life, and she was not confused by Palin's accent, rate of speech, or vocabulary. She was very aware that Biden had structure, form, and most importantly, content to his answers. He laid out a main idea and supported it with details, just as we teach students to do. It astounds me that any large group in this country could not demand that at a bare minimum of a VP nominee.
Also, here's some pictures of some kestrels on Drexel's campus about a month ago.
I'm finally getting around to posting about the ride, and I find I have little to nothing to say about it. I ended up doing the century on Saturday, something I wasn't sure about right up until I made the turn that committed me to it. The ride pretty much kicked my ass from mile 60 to about mile 85 where I cheated and drank some caffeine. Oh, I was a different rider then! Anyway, I sent out the email thank-yous on Tuesday, but if for some reason you didn't get one, let me take this time to thank you now for donating. To paraphrase my own email, without your support, I'm just some schmo staying on a bike far longer than is advisable.
Unrelatedly, here's a story from work today: After class, one of my students asked if I had watched the debates last night. I did, and so had she; I asked her if she had any opinion about who she liked better. She said Biden because, get this, he answered the questions that were asked of him while Palin just talked in circles without saying anything. Now, I know that this is conventional wisdom - pretty much what was expected and perceived from the debate, but this is an ESL student in her late teens or early twenties. Don't get the wrong idea; she is not a person who just speaks English with an accent and occasionally hilariously mangles an idiom. This is a person who struggles with the English language every day of her life, and she was not confused by Palin's accent, rate of speech, or vocabulary. She was very aware that Biden had structure, form, and most importantly, content to his answers. He laid out a main idea and supported it with details, just as we teach students to do. It astounds me that any large group in this country could not demand that at a bare minimum of a VP nominee.
Also, here's some pictures of some kestrels on Drexel's campus about a month ago.
