Sustainably Digital » connecticut

Economy: FAIL

Ben Wildeboer — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:24:16 +0000

Understanding the ins and outs of the United States economic woes of late isn’t exactly my strong suit. I get the basic concepts, but I’m not claiming to be much of an economic expert. This picture is definitely the best I’ve seen to date in describing the recent turmoil:

Yes, that is Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in the foreground.

As a subscriber to ICanHasCheezeburger and the FAIL Blog, I appreciate this “protester’s” simple yet effective analysis of the situation.

In other economic related news, Gov. Jodi Rell of Connecticut (that’d be my governor now) said:

When the markets and Wall St. seem to be in flux and the state budget is extremely tight, we’re going to have to make the most of every learning opportunity that’s out there.

Hmmm…that sounds an awful lot like, “Education isn’t going to get much funding in the future, so start figuring out how to run a school on a shoestring budget.”

Considering many economic-related stories have been using descriptors like “unprecedented” and “first time since the 1930’s,” perhaps that’s the least of our worries.

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Image by Getty (Chip Somodevilla) via denverpost.com :: via Gawker :: via my wife who recently started using Google Reader to share items with me

Jodi Rell quote via WSHU public radio

Discovering regional differences (a.k.a. my first tropical storm)

Ben Wildeboer — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:58:32 +0000

One thing I was excited about upon moving out of Michigan, the state where I’ve lived for 99.2% of my life¹, is discovering the little regional differences that gives each place its true character. It’s the things you wouldn’t necessarily pick up as a tourist passing through for a few days that are more fun. So far there’s been the unsurprising (the large number of seafood shacks), and the more surprising (finding that wearing polos with the collar popped isn’t done by a large segment of the population, not just preppy frat boys; finding wearing dock shoes without socks is cool, etc.).

One of the more obvious differences is the possibility of tropical storms/hurricanes. However, Connecticut is pretty far up the coast, and upon doing a little research, I found only 9 storms have ever reached Connecticut as hurricanes since 1856; only one within the last 25 years. And while tropical storms are a little more likely than hurricanes, the last time one affect CT was when Floyd came through in 1999, nine years ago. The image below shows all hurricanes (red), tropical storms (yellow) and tropical depressions (green) to affect New London county in the last 50 years.

Tonight Tropical Storm Hanna will blow through CT, with the center of circulation coming quite close to my location (see map from Google Earth below). I’m finding myself strangely excited to get a chance to experience a tropical storm- something I feel somewhat guilty for, since people are suffering through some property damage, power outages, and probable injuries as a result of Hanna already. A tropical storm is just so different from any type of weather we’d get in the Mid-West, that I find myself looking forward to the new experience.

I’m tempted to throw on a rain slicker and some goggles and head down to the beach Jim Cantore-style as Hanna blows through (I won’t really).

Images
Historic Hurricane Tracks from NOAA Coastal Services Center
Hanna’s Projected Path from Google Earth

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¹ That is: 353 of my 356 months of existence.

No longer a Michigan resident

Ben Wildeboer — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 11:16:06 +0000

At approximately 8:00 am EDT today I will have officially turned in my Michigan resident permit. At approximately 8:00am EDT, I will cross into Ohio with no foreseeable return to Michigan, the state where I’ve spent my last 29.2888… years of my life.

A new adventure awaits!

Receipt from Custom Receipt.com

When the hugeness hits me

Ben Wildeboer — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:00:18 +0000

I’m a pretty laid back dude. I don’t get too worked up about major life changes. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the hugeness of the changes, it’s just that I’m okay with change, and look forward to the new opportunities that result. I’m currently in the middle of some pretty huge life changes (i.e. moving from Michigan to Connecticut). However, I haven’t had much time to reflect on their hugeness due to my crazy grad classes and end of the year school craziness among other things.

Today I received my first batch of exam projects from my 1st hour, and set right to grading them during my 2nd hour prep period. The first exam I opened looked like this:

Needless to say, this looked like a pretty good exam. I was excited to go through it. Then I got to the first page (as seen below):

The hugeness of the changes going on in my life became a little more real to me after reading that.

I’m going to miss this place.

Career numbers

Ben Wildeboer — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:45:36 +0000

My attempt at a sentimental “goodbye” to my students at Whitmore Lake:

My career stats

(I had students guess what each stat was for)

The number of different courses I’ve taught here.

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The number of teachers I’ve worked alongside for the past 6 years.

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The number of students I’ve had in my classes.

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The number of school days I’ve taught.

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Miles away my new school is from Whitmore Lake High School.

Which is equal to running around Whitmore Lake 163 times.

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The percentage of my career to date I have left at Whitmore Lake

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At this point I launched into a sentimental moment of which I’ll save you the details. I really will miss this job. I’ll miss this school. I’ll miss the staff. I’ll miss the community. I’ll miss the students. I wouldn’t be the teacher I am without the opportunities and challenges this position has given me. I will always look back at this position fondly. It served as a personal proving ground, a testing ground for new ideas, and a sounding board for concerns. I’ve made some excellent friends that I’ll miss horribly and it’s helped me successfully transition from newbie to knowledgeable.

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Image credits (all via Flickr):

8 by naama
Ortiz 34 by nsub1
822 by mag3737
1062 by pov steve
749 by Leo Reynolds
18 by Leo Reynolds
Satellite images via Google Earth