Monday, November 25, 2019

Did anyone "furl" a flag today?

I heard about this piece on NPR recently, and knew it was just the sort of thing I would enjoy. Maybe you would, too. It's called "How I Met My Wife", by Jack Winter. It was published in The New Yorker in July, 1994.

It's full of words that are correctly used with a negative prefix, minus the prefix, like "ruly" instead of "unruly" Some of them require a bit more thought than others to figure out. Some refer to a figure of speech.
I love this because these are just the sort of jokes and observations I find myself making all the time!
Just ask anyone that knows me well. I've been known to make remarks like these (these words taken from the article below):
"Why is it always 'nonchalant'? Does anyone walk about 'chalantly'?" or
"If you fold up a flag, would that be considered 'furling' it?" or
"If you can, in fact, understand something that seems tricky, would you say that you CAN make hide or hair of it?", or finally
"What does 'indefatigable' really mean?
If I can fatigue you, then I can tire you out. You are fatigable.
Then, if I can somehow energize you, then you would be defatigable.
But if this cannot be done (you can NOT be energized after being tired out) then you're indefatigable...which seems to mean the opposite of the actual meaning of the word.

Well, you're probably tired of this, so I'll just let you read the original:



SHOUTS AND MURMURS about man who describes meeting his wife at a party. In his description, he drops many prefixes. It had been a rough day, so when I walked into the party I was very chalant, despite my efforts to appear gruntled and consolate. I was furling my wieldy umbrella for the coat check when I saw her standing alone in a corner. She was a descript person, a woman in a state of total array. Her hair was kempt, her clothing shevelled, and she moved in a gainly way. I wanted desperately to meet her, but I knew I'd have to make bones about it, since I was travelling cognito. Beknownst to me, the hostess, whom I could see both hide and hair of, was very proper, so it would be skin off my nose if anything bad happened. And even though I had only swerving loyalty to her, my manners couldn't be peccable. Only toward and heard-of behavior would do. Fortunately, the embarrassment that my maculate appearance might cause was evitable. There were two ways about it, but the chances that someone as flappable as I would be ept enough to become persona grata or sung hero were slim. I was, after all, something to sneeze at, someone you could easily hold a candle to, someone who usually aroused bridled passion. So I decided not to rush it. But then, all at once, for some apparent reason, she looked in my direction and smiled in a way that I could make heads or tails of. So, after a terminable delay, I acted with mitigated gall and made my way through the ruly crowd with strong givings. Nevertheless, since this was all new hat to me and I had no time to prepare a promptu speech, I was petuous. She responded well, and I was mayed that she considered me a savory char- acter who was up to some good. She told me who she was. "What a perfect nomer," I said, advertently. The conversation became more and more choate, and we spoke at length to much avail. But I was defatigable, so I had to leave at a godly hour. I asked if she wanted to come with me. To my delight, she was committal. We left the party together and have been together ever since. I have given her my love, and she has requited it.

Monday, November 11, 2019

My namesakes

Just in case there is any confusion...

I am NOT this Edward Warkentin, the Canadian Lawyer. I was certainly not born on November 1, 1949 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He might or might not be the same as this Edward Warkentin.
I'm much younger than that. It sure feels good to talk about how young I am, since I've been having to talk about how old I am, with regard to vision, hearing, running endurance, and such. However, being younger than a 70-year-old isn't saying a lot, I suppose.

I'm also much younger than this Edward Warkentin, who is, in fact, dead!

I am also NOT this Edward  L  Warkentin, who lives in Winnepeg, Manitoba. My phone number is not 204-669-4041.

This Edward Warkentin and this Edward Warkentin can't be found, and I'm not him, either.

Sadly, I make far less than this Edward Warkentin, who may or may not be the same as this Edward Warkentin.

I AM one of these Edward Warkentins on Linked In, though. This one, in fact.

I AM one of these Edward Warkentins on peoplefinders, as well. But no one calls me "Eba"!

If this post seems a little weird...or a lot weird...contact me directly, and I'd be glad to tell you why. It's kind of interesting.

FYI: The URL for this blog (edwardwarkentin.com) used to be https://ededtech.blogspot.com/

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/senorw and
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warkentin.ed

Adult School is cool!

Well, this blog has been dormant for quite a while. God has been doing some very important work in my life. It's time to re-enter the blogosphere, and reflect on life, share my insights and wisdom a bit more publicly.

Here's the nugget of the day:

Student type #1: Students that are forced to be there and don't want to be.
Many K-12 students.

Student type #2: Students that are forced to be there, but enjoy it, want to be there, and take it seriously.
In K-12, these are rare, but not "extinct".

Student type #3: Students that want to be there (learn).
These are the ones that all teachers love to have.
Teaching Adult School is almost exclusively #3.

I spent 24 years teaching K-12. Now, I teach in Alternative Education in Dinuba Unified School District. This means I work at Sierra Vista Continuation High School, Ronald Reagan Independent Study, and Dinuba Adult School. (I like to say that I get to do my favorite things at each of the three schools. More on that in another post.)

The Adult School part of my job is distinct and fulfilling because they always want to be there. The students have personal goals and are ready to maturely pursue them. This makes teaching them a joy.

I'm content where God has placed me. I'm taking opportunities like this to do what my Grandma's favorite verses, Philippians 4:8, and 1 Thessalonians 5:18, advises us - think about good things...things to be thankful for.

FYI: The URL for this blog (edwardwarkentin.com) used to be https://ededtech.blogspot.com/

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/senorw and
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warkentin.ed

Sunday, November 10, 2019

iPad & iPhone Guided Access

Many parents and teachers know the frustration and challenge of getting a student to
1. Stay on the app they've been given permission to use, or
2. Stop using the iPad after the agreed-upon time.

I know this scenario well. At my house, it is difficult to get my boys to stop playing Minecraft, or some other game, and give the iPad back when our kitchen timer goes off.

There is a solution! And it's part of the iPad's operating system already ... no new app to buy!

It's called "Guided Access".

There are many customization options, but here's the way I use it:

1. Go to the app I want to allow my son to use.
2. Triple-click the home button.
3. Hand it over, knowing that it is impossible to use any other app without my passcode.
4. When the amount of time I have chosen expires, my passcode is necessary to do anything.

To use this the first time, I had to go to

  1. Settings, then 
  2. General, then 
  3. Accessibility, then 
  4. Guided Access
Sometimes, it doesn't matter to us whether there's a time limit. Just knowing that they aren't getting into anything they haven't been given permission to use is very helpful.
Most of the time, though, a time limit is the main issue.

I hope this is helpful to you 


FYI: The URL for this blog (edwardwarkentin.com) used to be https://ededtech.blogspot.com/

Rubik's Cube Instructions in JavaScript

Can Rubik's Cubes fit in Computer Science or Math?  I say YES! Read on to find out why. This past summer, I learned how to solve several...