a bunch of biased, corporate, word-cabbage.

When we moved to Columbus 11 years ago we were signing papers at the Poser Clinic building that is now occupied by Just the Numbers.  One of the things our realtor said  as we were leaving was something on the order of  "Don't be a stranger and we hope to see you around"  DJ said, off the  cuff  "Oh, I'm sure you will"  and we all laughed.

11 years later with 4 years of being on City Council, a blog with 700,000 pages read and seeing how slow government works (for good reason) an award winning blog with 700,000 pages read, being in a parade and now understanding that you can't just snap your fingers to get things done . . .   here I am STILL making the Columbus Journal paper in an article called as I try to fade into anonymity.

 Columbus School District examines future

Rod Melotte, a Columbus resident and former city council member, wasn’t impressed with the survey. Melotte said he was excited to take the survey, but after digging in found it to be “a bunch of biased, corporate, word-cabbage.” He felt the questions were too wordy and often meaningless.

Melotte thought it was important to release a survey, but believes it didn’t address some pressing issues. He also thought it was geared too much in favor of the district and didn’t allow objectivity.

 “There is not one question about if we even want a new school building,” Melotte said. “I think there should be another survey.”

SO I then have a secret meeting at the Middle School with the School Superintendent and the President of the School Board which I won't go into because of doctor/client confidentiality but it was a very nice meeting and we went over some plans on how to get information out and the fact that they were surprised that parents were so angry with the school system and non-parents seemed to not be so angry and how to fix this mess.

The ONE thing I do want to say is the rumor that Annette Deuman the SUP is using Columbus as a stepping stone for greater goals is false.

Being someone without a real filter that says what is on his mind (whether he believes it our not at the moment)  I asked her point blank if this was the case. 

NO!  She has three children that live in Wausau? Waupun? and that is the only school district that she has ever put in her resume'.  I have zero issue with this.

I also expressed that the community need to not only know WHAT is happening but WHY it is happening. 

A lot of things were covered in the hour meeting which was too boring to write about - Nuff said

But really - things take time.  I have a Facilities Study that dates back to 1968 and there has been SIX referendums since 2007. ALL failed except the one that passed approving MAINTENANCE for the Columbus Middle School. 

So unless there is a concerted, grass roots effort and NOT like the one in 2014 which to me - just looked like a desperate plea, I believe they are a tiny bit gun shy - YET - they also want new schools.  I mean really - do you believe anybody that works in the children industry would NOT want new schools?

The demographics of Columbus are changing with 30+ new homes in the last 3 years and most of those are families moving here.  Personally I believe the time is right for another stab at it.

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I need a 

In other news (beside my freaking tooth ache) is that IT SEEMS our house has an issue.  When finishing our basement the plumber installed the toilet but there seems to be an issue.  The line that runs to the wastewater connection - IS SLANTED TOWARDS the house   WHAT THE F*CK?

It's really only a real issue when flushing the toilet.  So it looks like a power toilet is on my future. I hope it's gas powered.

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What a day in politics yesterday - so exciting  . . let's see.

The US has a new Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, but lost the VA secretary do to heavy drinking and handing out opiates to anybody like there is no tomorrow. . . . The EPA Admin had a tough time answering questions to Congress and . . . . Paul Ryan is requesting the House chaplain resign because he prayed for "justice and fairness?" (“Catholic members on both sides of the aisle were furious)  and of course there is the man that holds the nuclear codes getting booted off Fox and Friends for going bonkers and ballistic and sounding like a crazed banana republic dictator  . . . . OH - he did say that Michael Cohen DID represent him in paying off Stormy.   All is well in Washington.

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Speaking of teachers - tens of thousands are rallying in Arizona demanding a 20% pay raise and school funding be restored to pre-Recession levels.

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Watching the Brewer game the other night and saw this -

And here is the more funny thing.  He was eating french fries though his mouth  LOL   HOW????

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Did you know there are 6 secret locations that contain 133,995 pallets of medical countermeasures  in case of a nuclear or biological attacks. I believe one of those is near Columbus.

Ever wonder what is going on just over the bridge on 151 and 73?  That big cement area?  Missile storage?  hmmmmmmmm  It's in GREAT condition for being "ignored".

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GOLF - our golf league begins next Wednesday  70 with scattered thunderstorms.  sigh  Otherwise lots of sun and warm weather coming. a little rain today - cooler this weekend but sunny.

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Kim Jong Un, the comedian who has taken over Kim Jong Un's body made a joke. He told the South Korean President he would no longer wake him up out of his sleep with early morning missile tests.
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OH OH - I never watched Smallville when it was on TV but the lead actress is being charged with sex trafficking.  SERIOUSLY??   This is what you do with fame?

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OK - I gotta call a dentist!

Have a great weekend.

Who exactly is reading your email?

Since we are not allowed to put of a  physical fence on Vista Circle because of a "covenant" ruled by

absolutely nobody as there is not really anybody in charge. . . OH - there is a name but only a name with no actual humans behind it . . . . . we needed something so Gus could be FREE to wonder around outside.

Against my inner demons and hating electric fences we bit the bullet and activated the one we had installed for Blake 6 years ago.

Blake never liked it and refused to ever go into the backyard.  We tested it of Gus and and he learned in only one day. 

It's amazing how an electric shock to the neck is a good teacher!  Perhaps we should put collars on school kids?  KIDDING KIDDING!  

What I was looking for was discomfort in wearing the collar (on Gus, not me).  Was Gus shaking his head? trying to get it off?   Does not seem so. We ONLY put it on when he goes into the backyard.  Of course the week we activate it and put up flags is the same week those same flags are covered with snow. 

The test was this past weekend and yesterday.  Yesterday there were a lot of golfers and Gus was fine. He sat in the middle of the backyard and just watched. LAST year he was the greeter at the 16th tee and often we would have to go get him as he would greet the golfers trailing his 14 foot long tether that he would pull behind him. 

Sophie and Iggy

It WORKS!  He is completely happy rolling around in the grass like when he was a puppy. 

Now if we could only get Sophie and Iggy to wear the collars.  We tried one on Milo 5 years ago but he would only get a running start, jump over the electrified field. His body would JOLT as he crossed but he did not seem to mind.

Cats are cats. 

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Speaking of golf.  We have our first meeting at The Oaks for golf league tonight and I got my clubs and went to the range . . . . pulling every muscle in my arms in the process and finding out that my workouts at Anytime Fitness seemed to miss my golf muscles.   

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Another special election and another really bad sign for the GOP as a very very red contest where the GOP wins by an average of 24 points only won by 5 points.  The blue wave keeps looking more and more obvious.  There have been nine federal special elections now with 8 of the 9 because of Republicans deciding not to run.  

Of those 8 Republican seats that average a 23.5 point margin of victory in the previous elections there has been a 17.12 swing to the left. That is A LOT. The one Democratic election saw a swing of 18 points MORE left. 

This could have an historic outcome in November on par with 1994 and 2010 when republicans took control.  

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Three Days in Britain.  Not one speck of coal was used to generate power in Britain for 3 days. A record.  And add that a few days earlier the United Kingdom went 55 hours with zero electricity generated by coal.     

The plan across the big lake is to completely phase out coal-generated power by 2025. 

MEANWHILE in the U.S. coal miners are NOT being retrained for other jobs because Trump has promised them that the coal industry is coming back and the Trump administration is phasing out many retraining programs.  

SO - all of these coal miners are just sitting and waiting for those jobs to come rolling back. They are confidante Trump will carry through on his promise. 

There are suckers born every day. 

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 GUS THE WEATHER DOG!

Unlike Madison, Columbus did not hit 70 yesterday - only 69.3 and boy can you see when the cold front went through last night! 

If you are looking for my weather page that uploads to the net every 2 minutes go here   a lot of information if you snoop around and it's the same data that is now being used on the City of Columbus webpage 

But the good news is if you look at Canada there is not a lot of cold air north of us so don't expect any surprise surprises. 

70s next week and my first golf league Wednesday will be 70 and very windy. NOT complaining at all. 

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Here is something shocking.  Check out our cleveland pear tree from 2 years ago to this year 

2 years ago today

This year - today

And while I was downloading the images Yahoo wants to make sure that I accept that ALL of my emails can be shared with pretty much anybody if I say YES - I ACCEPT.  

Now that Verizon owns Yahoo it's all Verizon  data. If you think Facebook is bad - you really need to check out Yahoo/Verizon

“It’s pretty much the fox taking over the henhouse,” said Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.   The merger, he said, is "an opportunity for greater profiling and tracking of Internet users." 
  

Of course I was surprised when I blogged about a few great deals at Bob's Liqueur going out of business sale and 2 hours later those exact wines were in an advertisement on Facebook.  Who is watching the watchmen?

Under the new Yahoo terms of service, all emails can be analyzed and used to deliver personalized advertising and services.  sigh! 

By using the services, you agree that you have obtained the consent of your friends and contacts to provide their personal information (for example, their email address or telephone number) to Oath or a third party, as applicable, and that Oath or a third party may use your name to send messages on your behalf to make the services available to your friends and contacts.

Nuff said! 

School Board Survey critique and painting by numbers for adults

Before I get into my Columbus School System rant I'm going to paint a pretty picture.  No really - I am (will).

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All of those paintings you see at Target and Wal-Mart and so forth that look like real paintings for $20  . . Well, they are real paintings . . .from Chinese painting factories.  What they do is have 70 "artists" in a row and each one has one paint and when the painting comes down the assembly line they paint there little spot and the artwork moves on to the next guy (or girl).  It's a literal painting assembly line.

SO . . . . . I decided to try this with adult paint by numbers.  I ordered an image and am waiting.  For instance - this is one of the paint by numbers paintings - not the one I'm doing but it gives you an idea.

YUP - paint by numbers . . .many many many numbers.  16x20 images on canvas.  I think I'm turning Chinese!

Skills required:

• Ability to color inside the lines
• Ability to color outside of the lines

OH MAN - I did not read the fine print! 

But honestly there are some pretty incredible looking images to paint  

My Paint By Numbers

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So I get home from the School Board meeting and want to put my face under freezing water just to wake me up. OMG, how can they suffer through that meeting.

BUT - I'm at my computer and decide to listen to a baseball game while I type.  I turn on the San Diego Padre**  broadcast and they seem to be just starting an inning that goes on FOREVER.  48 minutes and 68 pitches in one half of an inning. 

It's never good (for the other team) when a pinch hitter comes to the plate twice in one inning and gets hits both times.

** I have 3 players on my fantasy team so . . . . .

Yea yea yea OK OK - school system.  Here is my rant. 

They (somebody) sends out a questionnaire to the community. I don't know if the school board green lighted it or not but this never should have gone out as a serious questionnaire.  I believe I called it a "bias corporate word cabbage survey" that had nothing to do with the science or the collection of real data.

The good thing is the very first thing the survey says is that the school boards (or somebody) NUMBER 1 priority  is "building needed facilities and amenities".  PRIORITY #1 it is called.

Then they ask what kind of adult education should be housed in the new campus.  WHAT?  why not concentrate on the children first.

And when I said "word cabbage" (actually romaine lettuce more like) with a question asking "what is your favorite facility".  Seriously?  What is my favorite?  This is a real question?   

There is a question asking the community "which facility (of the 13) needs to be studied."  Ummmmm  ALL OF THEM!  These guys are on the school board, they know better then us guys!  Should they ignore "infrastructure of the High school" because everybody says ignore it?

They have to explain what the following questions in Priority #2  mean and what STEAM (the newest trendy business approach) is but that is fine.  I personally believe these business approaches are invented by people looking to justify their position.  They come, they go.  My latest one I had to learn was Six Sigma.  But . . I digress.

By this time most people are bored and no longer interested in the survey which is a real problem
with poor surveys.  You need to keep people interested with less words and more meaningful questions . . . . . or at least questions where people don't have to read over the questions multiple times trying to understand their true meaning.

All is good until it comes to the point where you are suppose to tell the School board (or whoever put this out) how you feel about the School District.  In Priority #4 many of the questions have four positive answers and only one negative.

This is a ploy by corporations that are looking to get a certain outcome.  Of the five answers teh* 2nd worst is "slightly well" which is a victory for the School system.  So if you feel the School District is not COMPLETELY failing, just a little failing with Art and Design you mark "slightly well" which tells the District . . everything is OK. A positive answer.   

* My dyslexia was showing through a lot in this post - bear with me if I missed something. 

But the WORSE thing is that anybody can fill out the survey as many times as they want making any of the data collected completely useless.  I filled it out 3 times, not to try to sway the numbers but I was amazed that I was able to fill it out on my iPad, then on my computer (thinking I would be flagged) and for giggles I could fill it out AGAIN on my computer, didn't even have to be a different device.  I could have hired a Russian bot for $100 to fill it out 40 times (average price of a Russian bot is $10 an hour . . .  a comrade has told me) and this issues was not caught by the nine board members? (or whoever)  Unless the board never saw the survey and in that case . . . why even have a school board.

I believe our school system has a HUGE issue that is heading in the wrong direction when it comes to community support.  Parents have no confidence, the communication for disseminating actual information is nill (null?) or if it is getting out there and people are getting it wrong. 

The School District needs to have a listening session like City Council has done in the past with great success as parents are losing confidence.  Parents believe nobody is listening to them and it's a problem.

Also - if you REALLY want a REAL survey why not do what most School Districts do and use School Perceptions for their surveys. They have questions like " Would you support a referendum to build a new Elementary School".    Not once was anything even NEAR that question on our survey and THAT is the biggest issue there is!

They also have Staff Engagement Survey's that will find out why our teachers are leaving the school district.

And there is a Parent Survey with questions like "Does your child feel safe" and "A climate of openness and trust exists between school and administration and parents" from strongly agree to strongly disagree.   

OH  - they are not free like the one we got but you get what you pay for right?

and that is the rant.

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One last thing that I am finding amazing on a TOTALLY different subject - this past month has been the biggest month moving towards legalization of legal cannabis since 2012.  With John Boehmer and now Mitch McConnell coming out pro medical cannabis it looks like both parties are all of a sudden seeing that this is a voting issue and neither one wants to lose votes.

Oddly conservatives are more pro cannabis then us liberals.  Polls in the southern states that are red have  stronger pro- cannabis numbers then in blue states.

West Virginia became the 29th state to have access to medical cannabis and Vermont became the 9th State to permit adult use this year.

The American Society for Addiction Medicine who are anti cannabis acknowledges that opioid overdoes deaths rates are 25% lower in States with legal cannabis.

The train is gaining steam (a different STEAM).

My ex-wife had osteogenesis imperfecta and in the lat 80s cannabis was the ONLY thing that took away chronic pain and we tried EVERYTHING. That is why I am on this bandwagon - it works!! 

Nuff said

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GUS THE WEATHER DOG says it will be a good day for fetching.  Turning  a little cooler after today but the weekend looks like middle to  upper 50s and sunny  70s Monday and next Tuesday but very windy and daddy's first golf league will be 60s NEXT Wednesday

Gus the straight haired Golden Doodle