On or about 01-04-06 09:15, Ardith Hinton did engage James Bradley

 JB>  I'd spin the temperature issue. Maybe English *is* fun
 JB>  after all. 


 AH>           Y'know... sometimes you remind me of a couple of students I
 AH> had in a byegone era.  I couldn't get angry with them because they
 AH> made me laugh, but I made them think when I mimicked the
 AH> robots who ate "chicken embryos"....  :-))

Robot mimicry... "Chicken embryos"?  YIKES!

Fear not. Many of my teachers were concerned they weren't getting through to
me, when in fact I was likely bored, or too preoccupied by the girls in class.
I only failed two classes, and one was because I wasn't allowed to write the
test. /-:

I'll never forget my music theory teacher. Kinda a smug guy, with WAY too much
Oldspice. I was in a fog developing a distaste for any aftershave, (His beard
wasn't even trimmed BTW.) and I couldn't comprehend a thing but to count the
seconds before I could breath again. He even verbalized his suspicions that I
wouldn't pass the next test, but I did all my learning at home and aced it just
like all the rest.

Chemistry, and English were the two subjects I had a hard time learning. I
really did try, but the synapses weren't firing on those cylinders.



 AH>           I knew that.  I guess I'm so accustomed to being a divergent
 AH> thinker ... and a klutz... I never expected to fit in with a sports-
 AH> minded crowd.  I'm currently gaining further insight into
 AH> their reasoning style, however....  ;-)

And is that a good thing, or a bad thing? 

I was never one for 'team' sport, but when I found the aquatic, I jumped in
with both feet. Yes, even the cold stuff. <-; I liked the atmosphere better
than any smelly locker-room. I found the people more amicable than any sport
coach, or 'team player' that I had meet to that date. ...


 JB>  both rose to the occasion, perhaps swayed by Nora's
 JB>  glee. Good on all o' ya all!

 AH>           Thankyou....  :-)

The praise is deserved. You're welcome!


 JB>  That's what separates you from eternal pessimists.
 JB>  "...Mutual willingness to learn by doing... and
 JB>  nothing else matters." Sounds like a Metallica song
 JB>  to me! 

 AH>           You're the song-writer in residence.  Go for it... [chuckle].

Hell no! They already wrote that song. (I'm really unfamiliar with any of their
songs, so don't rip on me if it contains goat sacrifice, or baby abuse....)


 AH>  A changing table can double as a grab bar... or it
 AH>  can occupy space the wheelchair user desperately needs.

 JB>  Right you are, plus more attune to restriction and
 JB>  barriers.


 AH>           Uh-huh.  Mothers of little tykes in strollers
 AH> have a lot of the same problems as mothers of adult-sized
 AH> offspring in wheelchairs.  I can see by the way they
 AH> interact with Nora & me that they recognize this
 AH> intuitively....  :-)

Just today, a mother was noticing her toddler acting peculiarly. Off to the
washroom, with an infant in a stroller they go. Finding a washroom inside the
office, I thought I'd offer to entertain the little one, while the business
gets done. But then I thought twice. 

If I get called in right then, I'd have to pass her on to another stranger.
Orphaned twice in five minutes wouldn't do her any good. Besides, She didn't
know me from Adam, and with this day and age... (Yes, I think today is one of
the most dangerous because of media influence.)

My friend used to attach his toddler to the back of his head. His
justifications were many, and often brilliant IMO. The kid learnt early to hang
on, and to my knowledge, never fell. Come to think of it, that was my preferred
mode of transportation for my nephew when he was in tow. Peanut butter, and jam
hairdo's aside, it worked rather well for me too.

Now, I doubt Nora would be a good candidate for a piggy back ride? 

 JB>  I believe we have a curve developing, starting at the
 JB>  apathetic, going to the whiner, moving to the manipulator,
 JB>  then to a coper, educator, and then an engineer. Am I
 JB>  missing something?


 AH>           Sounds like quite a thorough analysis to me!  I think you've
 AH> covered the taxonomy very well, just as I'd expect of a
 AH> schoolteacher's son... [grin]. I'm not sure about the order

ZING! 

 AH> of the last two items, however.  We have a friend who's an
 AH> "engineer".  We tell him, for example, that we'd like Nora
 AH> to be able to control the brakes on both wheels of a manual
 AH> chair with one hand... and he invents something which will
 AH> do the job.  He enjoys such projects, but doesn't know what
 AH> needs to be done until an "educator" has explained it to
 AH> him.  I may be interpreting the term "engineer" differently
 AH> from the way you would.  I see two different skill sets in
 AH> which one complements the other.  What I'd tend to do
 AH> engineeringwise is limited to modifying ideas originated by
 AH> others....  :-)

Of course a great educator can be a good, or even brilliant engineer. And,
what's to stop an engineer from being a fantastic educator. Hell, even a
tinkerer that bitches about everything can have moments. I've also known
engineers that seemed so apathetic about issues, that I would NEVER want to
depend on any of his designs. I was told he was actually very good at his work.




... James
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