Obstreperous....uh...what?

Okay, I graduated from Western Washington University after several wonderful years of study with a BA in Education and endorsements in General Science and a K-12 teaching certificate to add to the AAS I earned at BCC, so at least I know a few things....like lefty loosey righty tighty and how to implode a 50 gallon oil drum with three cups of water and a blow torch. I digress. Getting to the point of this post I will call your attention to my 7th grader's vocab list for last week and this week: brusque, quagmire, melee, billet, crenellated, paragon, sublime, nonchalant, cacophony, apothecary, macabre, alchemy, flotsam, jetsam, florid........Some of my favorite great words for last week....on to this week's list: sultan, caliph, caliphate, Fatima, cornice, roc, scimitar, dervish, Persia, talisman, Saracen, obstreperous, bohomine, and legerdemain. REALLY....REALLY!! There is a theme that goes along with the time period the class is studying but SERIOUSLY!!  These are great words, and I DON'T know a bunch of them. Here is the conversation: Jon- "Dad , can you help me with my vocab words?" College graduate Dad-"Sure, read em off to me and give me definitions." Jon- "I don't know all the definitions, can you help?" Dad- "Sure........(looking at the list).......what do you think the definitions are?" Jon- "I DON'T KNOW!" Teaching certified Dad-"Well let's look them up." a stalling technique that really means, I have no idea. For crying out loud. When I was a 7th grader...oh now I feel old... these words were so far of my radar...well there is no comparison...at all...ever...ever. So Jon and I went through the words and had a great time but he quickly saw through my charade and called me out, "You don't know these words, do you?" Dad- "I'm the dad I don't have to. I have a college degree which means I know where to go to find out the meaning of the words." Seven years of college and I'm still not called Doctor!

Tony

Rain-x and speeding tickets

I wonder if there is a relationship between the application of Rain X and the receiving of speeding tickets.  I just cleaned my headlight lenses with this amazing 3-M product and then applied a good hearty coating of Rain X on my windshield. So I drive to Lowe's for a few things and find that due to the angle of my windscreen I need to drive at just slightly under 45 mph to get the beading process to take full hydrophobic effect in a misty drizzle. In a full rain it's a no brainier, so we wont be considering that here. Here's the rub, the road near my place is a 35 mph zone. So driving APPROX 10 mph over the posted limit got me thinking. Do more tickets get issued to people, guys in particular, who have just applied Rain X and drive over the posted limit just for the satisfaction of seeing the beads scream to the roof in lieu of wearing down the blades of their wipers? Hhmmmm. Just for clarification, I did not receive a citation today, and yes Kelli that was me, did you enjoy your Starbucks? Just a thought to continue the water theme from last posting......


Tony