XBL Withdrawal

It's been 2 weeks since I left for vacation... and since that time I've been absent from those ever so entertaining matchmaking moments on XBL. Now I sit here at the airport waiting for my delayed flight (going on 3 hours and counting) to EWR. I guess I can wait a few more hours. I didn't go completely cold turkey. I did bring my 360 with me (along with H3 and Mass Effect) and found most of my down time capturing H3 video to my Mac and then doing some cool movie editing with iMovie. Bringing the 360 along on flights was a bit troublesome when going through airport security. The 360 and other small electronics are treated as separate items so it must be screened individually. The one other time I travelled with it I carried two backpacks... not very comfortable. So this time I purchased a small 17" carry-on rolling bag that would accommodate the 360 (with extras) and also have room for my laptop that would fit nicely underneath the front seat since I'm not a fan of the overhead bins. I added some padding to the bag to absorb excessive shock while being rolled along through the airport terminals. It has worked very nicley so far, and it looks like this is the way I will be travelling to the Chicago LAN. See everyone at the LAN!

Posted by HeelSiders @ 4:54 pm EDT | Permalink | 2 Comments

Ms. South Carolina - Again

We all chuckled at her expense when we first viewed the original clip.  OK... So Ms. South Carolina returns to national TV and appears on the NBC Today show to defend her answer to the question, "Recent polls have shown 1/5 of all Americans can't locate the US on a world map. Why do you think this is?"

Was she convincing enough? 

"Well personally my friends and I... we know exactly where the United States is on our map.  I don't know anyone else who doesn't.  And if the statistics are correct I believe that there should be more emphasis on geography and our education, so people will learn how to read maps better."

Her "new" answer was nothing spectacular, but nicely conceived.  Kudos to her for gaining the courage to go on live TV again to make amends, and giving us a few moments to smile about.  OK... OK... I mean really, really laugh about!

Posted by HeelSiders @ 5:52 pm EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments

Ms. South Carolina

Parents, please don't let your kids grow up to be Ms. South Carolina! The following question was posed to her, "Recent polls have shown 1/5 of all Americans can't locate the US on a world map. Why do you think this is?"

I started to cringe in anticipation of her answer. What could she possibly say that I didn't already know about our school system? Is it the over crowded schools, lack of qualified educational professionals, or perhaps the de-emphasis of world events. A friend of mine who is from the UK made a very similar comment many years ago saying that many Americans are not as proficient in geography as people in other countries. It was his opinion and his observation. I didn't have any hard evidence to refute his claim, so I dismissed it as such and we all joked and laughed... had a few beers and more beers. Anyway, I digress...

Warning... if you do have small children in the room as you are viewing this video I suggest you sit down with them and explain the value of geography. Display a map containing the continents and ask for them to point to the location of the US. If they need help, just move their little fingers to an area just underneath Canada. Of course, this is assuming you know where Canada is. Bingo! You've passed the test! Rest assured you can raise your head up high and know you are not that 1 out of 5, so give your kids a hug.

Take a bite out of geography illiteracy! Return that copy of Mario Super Brothers, and give them the gift that keeps on giving... Give them an atlas!

Take your own US geography quiz and see how you do. Post your scores here, and be honest! Take one shot at it. No mulligans, no gimmes, no close enoughs! I scored a 123 out of a possible 150.

www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/usaquiz.html

HeelSiders - "Ride Goofy..."

Posted by HeelSiders @ 6:38 pm EDT | Permalink | 4 Comments

What to Blog?

Can anyone give me some tips on how to customize my Blog page on 2Old2Play?  I know if I were to exert just a weeeeeeee bit more time, I'm sure I'd find it somewhere.  Just point me in the right direction and I'll take it from there.

There was a point in time before the days of blogging... I just simply wrote about 10 minutes of stuff in a MS Word document that I kept on my Mac.  How I wish I had that Mac now and could read some of the things I wrote.  Fast forward about 18 years and that Mac (a Macintosh SE/30 that cost just about $2K... thanks, Mom!  I couldn't afford that kind of cash in college) is long gone as well as its contents. 

Posted by HeelSiders @ 3:53 pm EDT | Permalink | 8 Comments