Nut So Fun

My friend over at Grey and Red tells us the etiquette of dealing with those one million or so acorns that have crashed onto your roof and then your sidewalk, porch, steps and everywhere else.
Personally, having captured and released several squirrels from my attic, I'm inclined to make a midnight run to her house and drop off a wheelbarrow full of them. In a friendly way, of course. We've got so many everywhere, including on the lawn, that we can't walk around the yard, sidewalk, porch or driveway without stumbling on them. And the dog, who will eat anything, including the fuel sensor under the car, won't touch them. (or the squirrels.)

Hmm. Maybe I can drop them off on the property of the neighborhood crank...

Security Over the Top

And I thought the New York City school cellphone ban was stupid. An upstate school system goes berserk in the name of security.

'The Question' causes furor at local high school
Did security gaurd violate girls' privacy?

By Heather Yakin
Times Herald-Record
September 28, 2007
Grahamsville — Several television news crews from New York City are camped outside the Tri-Valley Central School following the story in today's Times Herald-Record about what question a school security guard asked a 14-year-old female student.

The girl was called out of class by a security guard during a school sweep last week to make sure no kids had backpacks or other banned bags.

Samantha Martin had a small purse with her that day.

That's why the security guard, ex-Monticello cop Mike Bunce, asked her The Question.

She says he told her she couldn't have a purse unless she had her period. Then he asked, "Do you have your period?"

Samantha was mortified.

She says she thought, "Oh, my God. Get away from me." But instead of answering, she just walked back into class.

At home, she cried, and told her mother what happened.

It appears that at least a few other girls were also asked the same question.

Pickled on Park

I almost forgot about this: Greenlawn's having its annual pickle festival Sunday, and it's right nearby: 900 Park Avenue, corner of Little Plains Road and Park Avenue.

Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Association's annual pickle festival features homemade pickles, jams, jellies, farm-grown vegetables, baked goods and family activities.

I'm threatening Teenager--she cleans up her room or she goes to the pickle festival, which no doubt would be humiliating. For some reason.

I don't know if they actually have this but you never know:

At the Book Revue

The Book Revue
has scheduled a talk with Beth Holloway, mother of missing teen Natalee Holloway. She will be speaking about and signing her new book, Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Faith, Hope and Love. The event is scheduled for Tuesday at 8p.m.

When Beth's 18 year old daughter Natalee disappeared in Aruba during her high school senior class trip, Beth's life was sent into a tailspin. This book is an account of her search, the obstacles she faced, and how her faith carried her through it all.

Conservative Young Bloggers

A number of conservatives and libertarians have combined to offer prize money to college student bloggers.

Why People Hate LIPA, Part II

They didn't shut my power off yesterday; they rolled back into the neighborhood today, two hours earlier than yesterday. They pulled up and blocked my driveway and went around knocking on doors, announcing they were about to shut off the power. I jumped into the shower, got ready for work, went out and asked them to move the truck so I could pull out of the driveway, finished getting ready, went outside again and the driveway was still blocked. I yelled over to the first to ask him again to move the truck. A second guy came along and apparently misunderstood and told me to leave the van on the street (It was in the garage) and added, "we have to do our jobs!" Yes, and I have to GET to mine and you don't have to block my driveway. God. Where is LIPA's customer service?

Reading Choice

The One Island, One Book committee has selected Chang-rae Lee's "Aloft" for 2008.

Why People Hate LIPA

So I go out this morning to get something from my car and run into a LIPA guy walking across the lawn. On the street are four gigantic LIPA trucks. He says casually that LIPA is going to be rewiring my street and the power is going to go out. Roughly, here's how the conversation goes:
Me: Out? When?
Him: Now. For a couple of hours.
Me: What? Why doesn't LIPA give us some warning?
Him: I just did.

He then says the power might go out soon or maybe in a couple of hours because they're behind schedule. He doesn't know, he can't tell me. I note that I'm working at home, won't have a phone because it's a Cablevision phone dependent on power. I don't mention that I'd put a piece of beef in the crockpot a couple of hours earlier and that will now be lost.

I retreat to the house, cursing. I do a few things around the house, take a shower, notify my tenant that the power will be out, tell her that I'll give her a ride somewhere, get ready to leave and notice that the truck is still running in front of my house but the workers are several houses down the street. Another LIPA guy walks over, I ask him if he can turn the truck off and he says, "Why? Aren't you leaving?" And I say, yes, but it's stinking up the neighborhood.
Then I get in my car and leave because absolutely nothing good will come from this conversation continuing.

Getting to Brentwood

Another Sunday, another band show. This was a tough one. First, it was in Brentwood, coinciding AGAIN with Central American Day, meaning it was wall to wall people and cars waving mostly Salvadoran flags, jamming up traffic. Got there just in time Teenager’s show. Had to leave immediately to go do other things. Show was okay but it wasn’t the kids best—they’d just added a major element to the show the day before and it was obvious. But they worked hard.

Getting out of Brentwood was tougher than getting in but on my way out, I got a call from Teenager, frantic, asking if I was still there. I was jammed in traffic. The bus driver, who was supposed to remain at the field, had decided to enjoy Central American Day festivities, and left with the kids’ stuff, including their money (She didn’t steal it, just left the field with all their stuff, returning much later.) Kids with inhalers or other medicines were particularly upset. Everyone survived but it was a cranky, cranky day.

SAT Not Required

I'ts never too early to start freaking about college admissions and costs, is it?

Over at fairtest.org, you'll find a list of colleges that don't require the SAT or ACT for admission. Some use the scores for research purposes, others don't use them at all. Along with a lot of no-name colleges are some pretty good ones--Holy Cross, Bates, Bowdoin, etc.

Get Working With eBay

If you're interested in starting or building your eBay business, here's a way to do so.

From eBay:

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eBay University Program includes:
3 tracks to choose from - Selling Basics, Beyond the Basics, and eBay for Business
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An opportunity to network and share best practices with other eBay sellers and PowerSellers
Meet Jim 'Griff' Griffith, Dean of eBay Education and author of the Official eBay Bible

Register Now for just $59 for one day and bring a friend for free!*

Multi-day passes are available as well. Attend 2 days for $89 or 3 days for $119.



Jacob K. Javits Convention Center:
655 West 34th Street
(11th Avenue between 34th and 39th Streets)
5801 Southfield Freeway
New York, NY

Band on a Roll

Photos by Cornel Ghiban

The toilet-paper crew
from Walt Whitman High School's marching band
struck about 3 a.m. today. Freshmen got the welcome
from seniors. :)










The bear gets it.

Band on the Run Run Run

Zowie, our big day is coming tomorrow. The first band show, at Sachem.

The schedule has changed a few times but doesn't really matter--the kids are locked up for most of the day, practicing, reviewing, for the show and then performing. I had foolishly believed that she could get some soccer in earlier in the day because it was several hours before performance time. Ha!

But it's all working out. The seniors are coming over to toilet paper the house tonight, their way of welcoming freshmen to the band. I'm sure Teenager will help clean it up later. Yeah.

I'm Such a Failure

Teenager is nearly mute. I lost the photo form and yesterday was picture day. Called the school office, was told she could pick up the form in the morning and there'd be no problem. She was all dolled up. Got there, got her picture taken and then was told she'd have to take it again today since she didn't have her form.

So today, dressed in her soccer uniform for a game later, she has to go get her picture taken again during lunch. The form says that the company won't print a picture until the form (and more important, money) are in; she says she has to have her picture taken again and she, of course, is no longer wearing her favorite outfit. Oh, the shame.

UPDATE: Oh, my, clobbered by West Islip, 5-0. Yikes.

Remembering Sept.11

Ah, Sept.11 is a sad day, sad day, even as people turn to other things.

It's impossible to wipe away memories, even if we wanted to. Every time I pass the nearby house of one of the firefighters who died, I offer a little salute. His house, on a street near mine, always has an American and a Fire Department flag out on holidays.

And I remember, too, the day that Terry Farrell's funeral procession came past my street. Park Avenue had suddenly gotten very quiet, no traffic in either direction for a while. So I went out to see what was going on, and could see his cortege coming up the road. As it drew near, I could only cover my heart with my hand until it passed by. There seems little to do in response. I wish so much we'd figured out a way to pull together and actually accomplish something, instead of being told to go shopping.

The kids are having red-white-and-blue day at school, something of a tradition, apparently. We're new to this school, so I don't know. Seems like a good idea.

But there are other issues about 9/11 which have to be addressed, in particular the constant evocation of the date in political speeches, and the Rude Pundit reminds us of the many ways 9/11 has been abused.

And then, there are these morons.

Go See Bart!

Newsday reporter BART JONES will be speaking about and signing Hugo!: The Hugo Chavez Story, From Mud Hut to Perpetual Revolution Wednesday 8pm, at the Book Revue in Huntington. Based in part on interviews with key people in Chavez's presidency, this political biography details episodes from the history of Venezuela's infamous leader that have never before been told in full, from his impoverished childhood to his decade-long conspiracy in the military to the 2002 coup in which he was kidnapped and nearly killed.
Bart's a good guy, smart and well informed. If Venezuelan politics, or issues revolving around the oil supply, interest you, go listen.

Lunches

Is it possible that a school cafeteria is so bad that teenagers would rather take their lunch? That they don't get plates, just trays (I'm guessing they're sectioned) like you see in prison movies?

Man, I've been out of school for so long. In the good old days, kids couldn't wait to be able to buy lunch instead of take it in a paper bag.

Whitman Marching Band Show

Walt Whitman is having its marching band show Oct.13. I've never been to one but it's a huge, competitive production, featuring the following bands:

Garden City
Division Avenue
Malverne
Brentwood
Walt Whitman
Deer Park
Lindenhurst
Roslyn
Mineola
Huntington

Huntington High School is having its show the next day. Stay tuned; we'll have more details on both shows here.

I've been invited to help with the parking lot. This should be fun since I have less than zero sense of direction and may wind up directing buses to Syosset. But really, what an adventure! I can't wait to get my own walkie-talkie.

New-School Gossip

One of my favorite pasttimes the last couple of weeks has been discovering new parents, new issues and getting to learn new things from them.


Eavesdropping makes the time go by and oh so much fun. I got an earful this weekend about children who are supposedly afraid to ride the bus because of one little 6-year-old monster who is alleged to be threatening to kill people; the bus driver refused to take him home and instead drove him back to the school and the kid had to be accompanied by the school psychologist. Don't know the facts; but what a story. In the process of listening, it became clear that some parents thought they wouldn't be heard if they complained about this situation.

I hope it's not true, either the part about the other kids being scared or that there's a child with that many problems already.

First Soccer of High School

Well, Teenager had a great time with her jayvee soccer match, against Half Hollow Hills West. Whitman won, 1-0. Then she dashed off to band practice and I did laundry all afternoon. Whoo-hoo, we're having a blast! I get tired just watching those girls, though.

From the principal's announcement:
Girls JV Soccer: The team won its first game of the season by a score of 1-0 over Hills West. Sarah Tully recorded her first shut-out of the seaon in goal. The defense of Alexandra Roldos, Caitlin Clemente, Jacky Wurtz, Paige De Rosa, Anna Robinson and Erin Scanlon helped secure the win. The team looks to improve its record this week against West Islip.

Very nice to recognize the girls by name.

Huntington's School Districts

In Huntington, we have 195,289 people and eight schools districts.

The Melissa Database locates them:

Cold Spring Harbor Central School District

Commack School District

Elwood Union Free School District

Half Hollow Hills Central School District

Harborfields Central School District

Huntington Union Free School District (map not available)

Northport-East Northport Union Free School District

South Huntington Union Free School District

The Sound of Choppers

Of course, I would never do this but for the rest of you... :)
From the Wall Street Journal's blog, The Juggle raises a good question for competitive Long Islanders, among others:

Many parents I know don’t want to become a “helicopter parent,” who hovers over and advocates for his or her child on the playground, at school events, or even when the child starts business school, as we posted about here.

But if a parent wants to adapt a more hands-off approach to parenting, is he or she putting the child at a disadvantage in an increasingly competitive environment? Readers have pointed out how some homework assignments are so tough they practically require parental involvement, as does the challenging college application process....

The First Day of School

Apparently things went well the first day for Teenager. Had a little trouble getting to each classroom in time but she'll learn. Likes most of her teachers so far, though one class seems intimidating. Didn't care for the cafeteria--like that's a surprise--but enjoys the freedom of being able to go outside at lunchtime and to walk to a nearby store when school is over, a big change from her last school.

She is overbooked for the fall; we'll have to be very organized for the first couple of months.

Oh, boy, just spent 49 minutes standing in line--just in line, not counting shopping time-- at Staples trying to buy supplies for the second day of school. It would be really terrific if schools with active web sites would list supply requirements in advance. We were shopping in Staples over the weekend and could have bought things then.

TeacherTube

There's a new YouTube-like site called TeacherTube where educators and their students can post educational material. Here's one from a Canadian French class, singing an original song. Cute!

Here's another on censorship, just in time for Banned Books Month.

Long Island Mozart Festival

Went to the Long Island Mozart Festival at Old Westbury Gardens to see Teenager perform with the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra under the direction of John McNeur. This is the group that went to New Zealand and Australia earlier this summer.

What a marvelous concert in a beautiful setting. She was surprised to discover she'd be playing the piccolo part solo on Stars and Stripes Forever. She did just fine. And it was another chance to hear Josh Feldman, a terrific young pianist who just went off to Yale. You're going to be hearing more about this fellow.

The festival, sponsored by Chamber Players International, continues Monday with the Gemini Orchestra of Suffolk County performing during the youth concert. Other activities include a carriage ride, glass harmonica performance and more.

Da BAND!

This is Walt Whitman High School's marching band, performing Saturday for parents at the school.