Principalship II

by Gayle Rhoads, February 1998
Keep your mind open to innovative ideas.
Don't take yourself too seriously. No one else does.
Lives are seldom ruined by one mistake. Humanity is resilient.
The loudest voice seldom represents the community.
Wisdom generally resides in understatement.
Don't be advised by only one person--unless, perhaps, that person is your superior.
Employ the best people you can find. Then let them do their work.
Eat and sleep regularly. An irregular life leads to irregular behaviour.
Finish what you start, but don't start too much.
Take mini vacations. An hour away changes the perspective.
Know the value of 24 hours. Many problems dissipate with time. Few worsen.
Listen to your Registrar. He/she knows things you don't know.
Don't impose your personal culture/values on others.
People don't always say what they mean. Look for the hidden agenda.
Don't leave the work to maintenance/subordinates. Lead the way in doing the dirty work.
Don't talk or act down to students. Respect their time and opinion. Don't assume a role of superiority.
Respect and guard classroom time. After all, that is what school is about.
Listen to the teachers. They know things you don't know or have forgotten.
The immature tend to take things too far. Don't lose your good sense or your good name by entering into the "spirit of the moment".
Don't think that what worked at the last place of employment will necessarily work here. You are not there. You are here.
Don't talk about your last school. This is your school now. Show ownership.
You don't always have to be right. Don't fight for your way. You won't always be right.
Detailed observation does not mean you see the big picture.
Adapt your posture and position to the situation.
Don't defend every hill.
Whenever possible have a witness.
Whenever possible work with the door open. Be sure your door has a window.
Evolution is preferable to revolution.
Society is complex. Simple answers to people problems usually don't work.
What we did "last year", and what we did "when I was in school", are not valid criteria today.
Be calm of spirit. If you do not exude calmness, do something else.
Enthusiasm and energy are important, but calmness is essential.
Listen and learn your first year. Make changes slowly and incrementally. Take your people with you.
Accept your new staff. They will become as good or better than you. Remember your past staff having been.
Kindness and goodness are more effective than brilliance.
Surround yourself with winners. Don't run with losers.
Don't accept too much responsibility. Some problems belong to others.
School behaviour reflects home behaviour. Parents understand more than you do. Don't let them deny it.
You wouldn't worry so much about what people think of you if you only knew how little they do.
"Planned ignoring" is a great tool. Some students need to be allowed to stop their own unacceptable behaviour.
If you do not (or a colleague does not) witness an event, handle all parties alike--or ignore it.
Trust your students. Accept their excuses or reasons. Then check it out. They cannot claim they were not trusted. If the excuse/ reason was not valid, then act.

Jump!

This guy goes up to a bar located at the top of the Empire State Building in New York. It looks like a nice place, and he takes a seat at the bar.

"This is a nice place. I've never been here before," he says to the guy next to him.
"Oh, really?" the other replies. "It is a nice place. It's also a very special bar."
"Why is that?" the first guy asks. "Well, do you see that painting on the far wall? That's an original Van Gogh, and this stool I'm sitting on was on the Titanic."
"Gee, that's amazing!" says the first guy.
"Not only that, but you see that window over there, fourth from the right? Well, the wind does strange things outside that window. If you jump out you'll fall about 50 feet before the wind catches you and you're pushed back up."
"No way! That's impossible," the guy scoffs.
"Not at all. Take a look," the other man replies, and with that he walks over to the window and opens it. He climbs over the sill and falls out. He drops 10... 20... 30... 40...50 feet, comes to a stop, and whoosh -- he comes right back up and sails back through the window. "See? It's fun. You should try it," he says.
"Try it? I don't even believe I saw it!" the first man shouts.
"It's easy. Watch, I'll do it again." And with that, he falls out the window again. He drops 10... 20... 30... 40... 50 feet, comes to a stop, and whoosh -- he comes right back up and sails back through the window. "Give it a try. It's a blast," he says.
"Well, what the heck, I'll give it a try," the first man says, and proceeds to fall out the window. He falls 10... 20... 30... 40... 50...60...70...80...90... 100 feet and splat -- he ends up as road pizza on the sidewalk.
After watching this, the second guy casually closes the window, heads back to the bar and orders a drink. The bartender arrives with the drink and says, "You know, Superman, you're a real jerk when you're drunk."

Globe facts

Ford only ever offered the Bathurst Globes from the factory or through dealers as 7 x 15 inch wheels, throughout its life as a Ford offered product.

Bathurst Globes were offered for fitment to several cars. The first giveaway batch that went on to XY’s. The second batch were offered as an option - Option 54 - for fitting to XB’s. They were fitted as standard fitment to all of the 400 XC Cobra’s. And they were fitted as standard on XD ESP’s.

Bathurst Globes fitted to XY’s can be identified by the small centre hub hole of 2.5 inch diameter. This small hole is covered with a smaller, in comparison with all the later Globes, chromed centre cap with a spun alloy centre held fixed to the wheel with five screws very similar, if not the same as, the Sports Road Wheel described above.

Words and thoughts

"Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are -- chaff and grain together -- certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.…” Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Change your course!

Through the pitch-black night, the captain sees a light dead ahead on a collision course with his ship. He sends a signal: “Change your course 10 degree east.”
The light signals back: “Change yours, 10 degrees west.”
Angry, the captain sends: “I’m a navy captain! Change your course, sir!”
“I’m a seaman, second class,” comes the reply. “Change your course, sir.”
Now the captain is furious. “I’m a battleship! I’m not changing course!”
There is one last reply. “I’m a lighthouse. Your call.”

Globes

As time passed, and inspired by their introduction to the Australian motoring public by their appearance at and association with the 1972 Bathurst race, and Allan Moffat’s XY GTHO Phase3 Falcon, they have become, almost universally, ‘Bathurst Globes’ and the Daytona association has been largely forgotten.

The future

"The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is." - C. S. Lewis, Irish author

Music troubles

A musical director was having a lot of trouble with one drummer. He talked and talked and talked with the drummer, but his performance simply didn't improve.
Finally, before the whole orchestra, he said, "When a musician just can't handle his instrument and doesn't improve when given help, they take away the instrument, and give him two sticks, and make him a drummer."
A stage whisper was heard from the percussion section: "And if he can't handle even that, they take away one of his sticks and make him a conductor."

More Globes

The actual wheel, as manufactured by Globe products, was originally known by its model name, Daytona. Why ? Well, a look at the wheels fitted to Ferrari’s Daytona car shows from where the design was ‘inspired’.

Ferrari Daytona front wheel.



Ferrari Daytona rear wheel.

Collective consciousness

The world we are experiencing today is the result of our collective consciousness, and if we want a new world, each of us must start taking responsibility for helping create it." -- Rosemary Fillmore Rhea
Below are 7 levels of consciousness that clearly outline a path for our evolving consciousness:
- tribal and mass consciousness - one obeys the group and lives by trial and error
- individual consciousness - one develops a stronger sense of self and ego
- seeker’s consciousness - one asks questions and seeks independence
- intuitive consciousness - one develops the heart and is becoming spiritually aware
- group consciousness - one serves a higher good filling the needs of others
- soul consciousness - one experiences spiritual service.

Shhhhhh

A Sunday school teacher asked her little children, as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."

Globes continued

Among Australian Ford fans, this wheel is probably the most admired, sought after and possibly misunderstood wheel of all. Hopefully, we can unravel some of the mystery.

The Bathurst Globe wheel was originally designed and produced by Globe Products of South Australia who were contracted to produce 200 sets to fit to the XA GTHO Phase4 Falcon, which was to be the basis for Ford’s continuing onslaught in the touring car wars in Australia in 1972. However, when the ‘supercar’ hysteria broke out, and the Phase4 was cancelled, Ford were left with the 200 sets. They were also left with no where else to go in their racing program but back to using the XY based Phase3 as their race car. This, of course, resulted in the appearance that Ford, while selling XA’s from their showrooms, were racing ‘last year’s car’. In an attempt to keep the Phase3 competitive, Ford gave away the 200 sets of wheels to Phase3 owners, so that they could be homologated for use in late 1972 in XY GTHO Phase3 race cars. There were good reasons for this desire to use the Bathurst Globes. They were 7 x 15 inch wheels, one inch wider and one inch taller than the steel wheels used in the Phase3’s previous racing season. They were stronger than the steel wheels, they contributed to far better cooling of the car’s brakes, and they allowed access to a much wider range of racing tyre in 15 inch diameter, while also allowing road users to access lower profile - 60 series - street rubber.

There’s a Hole In Their Thinking

(Sung to the tune of There’s a Hole in the Bucket)
You know the student who has excuse after excuse for the homework that’s missing. “I did it. I really did. I just left it at home.” And the student who’s brought in homework that’s clearly been chewed: “You’ll never believe this, but my dog actually did eat it.” It does happen, of course, but more often than not, you’re simply listening to a student’s creative powers of excuse-making.

There’s a hole in your thinking, dear student, dear student,
A hole in your thinking, dear student, a hole.
Well, I don’t get your meaning, dear teacher, dear teacher.
I don’t get your meaning, dear teacher, I don’t.
Well, I gave you some homework, dear student, dear student.
It’s well overdue now, dear student, it is.
But my grandmother’s ailing, dear teacher, dear teacher.
My grandmother’s ailing, dear teacher, she is.
Did you bring me a note from your mother, dear student?
A note from your mother, dear student, would do.
Well, my mother’s away with my ailing grandmother.
My mother‘s too busy to write you right now.
Well, your father could write me that letter, dear student.
Your father could write me, dear student, he could.
But my father is travelling in China, dear teacher.
My father is travelling in China, he is.
Well, you have ‘til tomorrow to bring the assignment.
You have ‘til tomorrow to do it, you do.
Well, tomorrow is here and I did it, dear teacher.
I did the assignment, but left it at home.
Well, you have ‘til the end of the day still to bring it.
You have ‘til the end of the day, then no more.
Well, this time I brought it, dear teacher, dear teacher.
I brought it and put it inside your mailbox.
Well, I looked in my mailbox and I could not find it.
I looked in my mailbox and it was not there.
I’ll check in my backpack, dear teacher, dear teacher.
I’ll just be a minute; oh, look here it is.
But it’s all crumpled up and I barely can read it.
It’s all crumpled up with no sign of your name.
Well, I’ll sign my name on it, dear teacher, dear teacher.
I’ll sign my name; now can we say that it’s done?
Well, I checked your work over, dear student, dear student.
There’s only one problem and here’s what it is.
But I answered the questions, dear teacher, dear teacher.
I answered the questions; I answered them all.
Yes, you answered completely, dear student, dear student,
But all of your answers are just like your friend’s!
Well, I don’t know how that could have possibly happened.
We must think alike ‘cause we’re very good friends.
There’s a hole in your thinking, dear student, dear student;
A hole in your thinking, dear student, a hole.

Stats

For a couple years I 've been blaming it on lack of sleep and too much pressure from my job, but now I found out the real reason: I'm tired because I'm overworked. The population of this country is 237 million. 104 million are retired. That leaves 133 million to do the work. There are 85 million in school, which leaves 48 million to do the work. Of this there are 29 million employed by the federal government, leaving 19 million to do the work. 2.8 million are in the Armed Forces, which leaves 16.2 million to do the work. Take from the total the 14,800,000 people who work for State and City Governments and that leaves 1.4 million to do the work. At any given time there are 188,000 people in hospitals, leaving 1,212,000 to do the work. Now, there are 1,211,998 people in prisons. That leaves just two people to do the work. You and me. And you're sitting at your computer reading jokes.

The Bathurst Globe

Undiscovered Country

by Forrest Stone

Neil Armstrong went up to the moon one fine day
And Byrd flew right over the Pole
James Cook was the guy who turned scurvy away
For De Anza, L.A. was the goal
Eric the Red went to Greenland, it's said
Flinders found Tasmania an isle
Gagarin was first to fly space overhead
And Hillary topped Everest with a smile
The alphabet could be explored, right through it
To Zhang Quian, who went to the Steppes
But none with more courage than the poor substitute
Who into a new classroom schleps
The substitute teacher – explorer for sure!
As courageous as Clark or Da Gama
For the natives encountered on that cote d' azure
Will soon have you crying for Mama

The poet and the scientist

A poet and a scientist were traveling together on a plane. The scientist was bored and said to the poet, "Hey, you, do you want to play a game? I'll ask you a question, and if you get it wrong, you give me $5. Then, you ask me a question, and if I can't answer it, I'll give you $5."
The poet thought about this for a moment, but he decided against it, seeing that the scientist was obviously a very bright man. He politely turned down the scientist's offer.
The scientist, who was really bored, tried again. "Look, I'll ask you a question, and if you can't answer it, you give me $5. Then you ask me a question, and if I can't answer it, I'll give you $50."
The poet agreed. "Okay," the scientist said, "what is the exact distance between the Earth and the Moon?"
The poet, obviously not knowing the answer, didn't stop to think about the scientist's question. He took a $5 bill out of his pocket and handed it to the scientist.
The scientist happily accepted the bill and promptly said, "Okay, now it's your turn."
The poet thought about this for a few minutes, then asked, "All right, what goes up a mountain on three legs, but comes down on four?"
The bright glow quickly vanished from the scientist's face. He thought about this for a long time, taking out his notepad and making numerous calculations. He finally gave up on his notepad and took out his laptop, using his Multimedia Encyclopedia. As the plane was landing the scientist gave up. He reluctantly handed the poet a $50 bill.
The poet accepted it graciously, getting ready to stand up. "Wait!" the scientist shouted, "you can't do this to me! What's the answer?"
The poet looked at the scientist and calmly put a $5 bill into his hand.

Sports road wheels continued

The Sports Road wheel were Option 52 on the option sheet, and were either a factory ordered option, or could be installed by the dealer. They had alloy centres and steel rims and were heavier than the steel wheels they were an option to replace.

The Sports Road wheel had the same chromed centre cap with a spun alloy centre and five screw fixing method as the Bathurst Globe alloy wheels. Originally, the fixing screws were Phillips headed.

The wheel nuts are not the same as those used for the Bathurst Globe wheel. The Sports wheel nut has a flat top - as opposed to the slightly pointed top to the Globe wheel nut - and, more importantly, they do not have a washer, but instead have a taper which fits into the rim without a washer. This is the same wheel nut that was used later on the XC GXL Falcon’s mag wheels.

The Sports Road wheel was made in Australia by R.O.H. and is not the same as the wheel fitted to the U.S. 1969/70 Shelby Mustang which was all alloy with more prominent, wider spokes. It continued to be offered as an option through the XB Falcon even though Ford swapped from a small centre hub hole of 2.5 inches, to a larger hub centre hole of 2.75inches. The later version had a ‘step down’ to cater for the larger hub.

The Sports Road wheel has its date of manufacture and part number stamped on the inside edge of the rim. The tyre has to be removed to see this. It was not just an option fitted to GT’s, but could fitted right across the model range, including utes and panel vans.

Thoughts Become Things... They Really Do!

By Josh Hinds

As I'm writing this I'm looking at my vision board (if you're not familiar with what that is, don't fret, I'll touch on it more below).

On it are several things (goals) I want to see manifest in my life. At the top it reads very simply... 'Vision Board -- with the saying, "Thoughts Become things". By the way, I'm fully aware that some folks would read that and make the assumption that just because a person thinks they want something, and give thought to it, that it is simply not enough to necessarily achieve it. To which I would concede, that's partially true.

Now here's the rub... Assuming that's true, that the thoughts and ideas we focus on most become real and tend to show up in our lives it's worth pointing out that the old saying doesn't discriminate. Listen up, because it's that important. Here's what I am saying... if you're focused in on negative things, you're going to see negative results and events creep into your life. Just the same as if you were focused in on positive things or events.

Unfortunately, the reality is that it works both ways.

So assuming you'll concede that our dominant thoughts (either positive or negative) tend to become our reality -- doesn't it make sense to think (and take action on) the things you want to see in your life, rather than those you don't? Remember, either way you're going to get something... so it might as well be of your choosing don't you agree? :-)

Now before you think I've broken my promise from above to cover vision boards, here's a quick overview, it's by no means exhaustive, but I think it's worth mentioning in case you're not familiar with them. First, there are any number of ways to make your vision
board as elaborate as you'd like. I won't attempt to say you have to include all the bells and whistles on yours for it to be effective. It's a personal preference.

Personally, I'd have to admit that the one I'm currently looking at of mine is pretty blah -- but it isn't the design or layout that's powerful, it's the thoughts/things that are on it. It's a piece of cut out cardboard where I have included some written goals and pictures which represent the things I'd like to see transpire in my life.

Again, it's not particularly attractive, but that's not really the point. What is important is that when I focus on those things on my vision board, my mind can more easily go to work doing the things which will drive me towards taking the necessary actions which are needed if I want to see those things become a reality.
Vision boards work, because they help to keep us plugged into those things which we want to achieve. But like anything, you can't just keep your vision board hidden away where you never see it. Think of it like a billboard, but instead of advertising (which are things others want you to notice) you're putting thoughts about your goals and dreams -- those things which are important to you into your mind on an ongoing basis.

Computers vs cars

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 mi/gal."
Recently General Motors addressed this comment by releasing the statement: "Yes, but would you want your car to crash twice a day?"
Not only that, but....
Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to buy a new car.
Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would just accept this, restart and drive on.
Occasionally, executing a maneuver would cause your car to stop and fail and you would have to re-install the engine. For some strange reason, you would accept this too.
You could only have one person in the car at a time, unless you bought "Car95" or "CarNT". But, then you would have to buy more seats.
Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast, twice as easy to drive, but would only run on five percent of the roads.
The Macintosh car owners would get expensive Microsoft upgrades to their cars, which would make their cars run much slower.
The oil, gas and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single "general car default" warning light.
New seats would force everyone to have the same size butt.
The airbag system would say "are you sure?" before going off.
If you were involved in a crash, you would have no idea what happened.

ROH wheels continued

Here is the wheel in all its colourful glory.



Note the original ER70H14 Dunlop Aquajet redline tyre.

This should be the School Leader’s Creed

Q. Do you have a habit of reflection before responding?
Q. Do you have a habit of keeping your eye on the goal?
Q. Do you focus on solutions or problems?
Q. Do you give yourself positive outside influence?
Q. Do you have a habit of telling yourself the good?
Q. Do you remind yourself that nothing is forever?

Memory

Three old ladies are sitting in a diner, chatting about various things. One lady says, "You know, I'm getting really forgetful. This morning, I was standing at the top of the stairs, and I couldn't remember whether I had just come up or was about to go down."
The second lady says, "You think that's bad? The other day, I was sitting on the edge of my bed, and I couldn't remember whether I was going to bed or had just woken up!"
The third lady smiles smugly. "Well, my memory's just as good as it's always been, knock on wood." She raps the table. With a startled look on her face, she asks, "Who's there?!"

ROH wheels

This is the wheel as advertised by R.O.H. themselves.

Inspiration

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise. Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be around.."

His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle." His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show such interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class." By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mum used to."

After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her
teacher's pets.."

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life. Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honours. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favourite teacher he had ever had in his whole life

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and
favourite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer.... The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas
together.

They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference" Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said,
"Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."

(For you that don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr. at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing)

Secret to a happy life

A woman walked up to a little old man rocking in a chair on his porch. "I couldn't help noticing how happy you look," she said. "What's your secret for a long happy life?"
"I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day," he said. "I also drink a case of whiskey a week, eat fatty foods, and never exercise."
"That's amazing," said the woman, "how old are you?"
"Twenty-six," he said.

XB sports wheels

This is how the wheel was described in the XB Accessories catalogue.



And depicted in the first and second XB sales brochures.

Resilience in the face of imposed changes

Principal Leadership, Feb 2001 by Patterson, Jerry L, Patterson, Janice H

Caught in the middle, principals must often choose between fulfilling imposed school change initiatives and remaining true to their schools' missions and values. The good news is that there's a way to do both.
Most of the writing about secondary school change focuses on setting school goals, implementing block scheduling or democratic participation, getting encouraging results, and sustaining school improvement. Most of the energy spent by secondary schools on school change focuses on how to accommodate the barrage of imposed school changes that have little direct connection to the reality of life in secondary school classrooms.
As both public school educators and university faculty members, we have worked with many secondary school groups on the topic of school change. When we pose the question, "What are the changes that have affected you professionally in the past three to five years?" participants fill pages with their lists. And, invariably, more than 90 percent of the changes listed are changes being done to them, not by them. When offered the opportunity to talk about school change, teachers and principals talk not about block scheduling or student achievement, but about how these imposed changes drain their energy and detract from the focus on their own local plans for school change.
Although well-intentioned outsiders who initiate school change may care about student achievement, huge gaps remain between intentions, actions, and consequences. With good intentions, those outside the school take action to improve the school by mandating specific school changes. The consequence is that those inside the school resent these outside intrusions by those who don't know or care to know the context of the school. But school personnel are forced to scramble to meet the multiple, sometimes competing, demands of creating smaller classes, authentic assessments, state-mandated testing, cooperative learning classrooms, standards-based classrooms, and brain-based classrooms.
Understanding School Resilience
In the multitude of high schools where these conditions exist, the challenge for school leaders is to prevent teacher burnout and to create resilient school cultures in the face of imposed changes. But first, they need a better understanding of this construct called resilience.
Borrowing a metaphor from the financial industry, consider that your school has a joint bank account that represents the collective energy of the teaching staff. The currency in this account is resilience. Over the course of a year, the staff makes resilience deposits as well as resilience withdrawals from the joint account. Individual teachers make resilience deposits when they are successful in helping a student who speaks English as a second language (ESL) learn enough English to function successfully in the school cafeteria. They make a resilience withdrawal when the principal announces in a faculty meeting that the budget was cut at last night's school board meeting and there is now no money for an ESL support teacher to assist students. Ideally, at the end of the year, the account reflects more deposits than withdrawals, indicating that school resilience has increased.
In a practical sense, however, the school account begins to shrink as people spend scarce resilience points trying to comply with school change mandates from above or outside. To fight the myriad problems today's schools face, secondary school leaders must reverse this trend. We must consciously, consistently, and persistently resolve this dilemma: How can we add to our school's resilience bank account when well-intentioned people outside the school impose school changes that have a tendency to subtract from our school account?
The Pivotal Role of School Leadership
School leaders are vital to school resilience. They shoulder the heavy burden of helping staff members stay focused on achieving school goals despite the changes being imposed from the outside. Although educational literature is devoid of solid research about resilient leaders, there are lessons to be learned from the private sector. In particular, Daryl Conner (1992) has identified five characteristics of resilient leaders that have direct implications for schools and typify the resilient secondary school leader who refuses to let imposed school change derail the efforts at the school level:
* Positive in their recognition that adversity presents opportunities, not just threats, to the school
* Focused in their efforts to guide the school toward its own compelling vision, despite disruptions from the outside
Flexible in their ability to consider alternative ways of viewing the issue and in their ability to apply alternative strategies for achieving what needs to be accomplished in the school

Cheers

A head-on collision occurred between a man and a woman. Both emerged from the scene intact while their cars were totally demolished. The woman said, "This is quite a predicament. We should drink a toast to celebrate this miracle."
The man replied, "What a great idea; I just happen to have a bottle with me." With this he handed it to the man. The man downed half the bottle and handed it back. The woman would not take it back and said, "I think I will wait until after the police arrive to celebrate."

Sports wheels continued

In all of the Ford sales literature the wheel was described as ‘6-inch Mag. type sports road wheels’ and referred to as ‘Mag-type sports road wheel’ in the second XA sales brochure.

Teachers

The Mediocre Teacher
TELLS.
The Good Teacher
EXPLAINS.
The Superior Teacher
DEMONSTRATES.
The Great Teacher
INSPIRES

HOW TO KEEP A HEALTHY LEVEL OF INSANITY AND DRIVE OTHER PEOPLE INSANE

1. Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.
2. Find out where your boss shops and buy exactly the same outfits. Always wear them one day after your boss does. This is especially effective if your boss is the opposite gender.
3. Put mosquito netting around your cubicle.
4. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.
5. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it "IN."
6. When driving colleagues around, insist on keeping your car's windshield wipers running during all weather conditions to keep 'em tuned up.
7. Reply to everything someone says with, "That's what you think."
8. Highlight irrelevant information in scientific papers, then cc them to your boss.
9. Finish all your sentences with "in accordance with the prophecy."
10. At lunchtime, sit in your parked car and point a hair dryer at passing cars to see if they slow down.
11. Specify that your drive-thru order is "to go."
12. Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don't rhyme.

Sports wheels

This is how the wheel was depicted in the first XA Falcon sales brochure.

Bright ideas for this week

One Principal aimed at capitalizing on the excitement, energy, and new ideas with which many teachers start the school year. She gave each staff member a sheet of paper, a pen, and a legal-size envelope. She asked them to write down three goals they had for themselves for the year. She asked them to write one goal they really wanted to accomplish in the area of home/parent communication; one personal-wellness goal; and one colleague-support goal.

Teachers and other staff members wrote their goals and sealed them in their envelopes. They then wrote their names on the outside of the envelopes. The Principal kept the envelopes -- unopened -- in her office until the start of the second half of the year. Then she brought them out again and asked the staff to review their three goals and consider what they've done to accomplish them. She had them note actions they hoped to take toward their goals in the second half of the year. The envelopes get sealed up again and pulled out at the end of the school year for individuals to review. This approach gave staff a chance to set goals, get re-focused mid year, and then review their commitment at the end of the year. The Principal never read the goals or the notes about progress, but used this tool as one way to help folks keep themselves focused and accountable for three positive things.

Discovery

In a Classroom the teacher asks; Maria, go to the map and find North America
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America?
CLASS: Maria.

The Sports Road wheel

This is the Sports Road Wheel as advertised in the XA Accessories catalogue.

Fore!

"It took me 17 years to get 3,000 hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course." - Hank Aaron, legendary major league baseball player

Follow orders

Sergeant: Private, I think the enemy soldiers are hiding in the wood. I want you to go in there and flush them out for us.
Private: Okay, sir, but if you see a bunch of guys running out the woods, don’t shoot the one in front.

XA GT wheels continued

Late XA and all XB 12 slots with GT centre cap

Handhelds help turn kids into marine biologists

By Stephanie Olsen, Staff Writer, CNET News.com Published: March 10, 2007

On a clear day in March, a group of 10-year-olds were playing marine scientists from a lookout point in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, at a spot known for its views of humpback whales.

The fourth-graders, out on a special school project with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, started at 9 a.m. observing the behaviors of 79,000-pound humpbacks from the shore. They would record, sometimes frantically when four of five whales popped up, what they saw with a handheld wireless device called an Indigo, which looks like a Palm Pilot.

For example, one kid would call out whale behavior like "breach," which is an out-of-water leap, followed by a back flop that's typically meant to jettison barnacles off the whale's body. And another child would punch "B" into the device. "We switched every 30 minutes, but I liked doing the whale watching, yelling 'breach, breach, breach,' and my other friend just liked doing the typing," said Josiah, a 10-year-old at Kealakehe Elementary School. NOAA scientists taught the students how to identify up to 10 different whale behaviors, along with the individual markings on a whale's fluke. All of the data collected until 2 p.m. that day went to help NOAA's program to track the health and population of humpbacks, and will be included in its 2007 Whale Survey. Their field trip will also be the subject of an upcoming documentary on Animal Planet hosted by Philippe and Alexandra Cousteau, the grandchildren of ecologist Jacques Cousteau.

The work was partially thanks to a handheld device that's beginning to gain some traction in schools across the country. Florida-based LearningSoft, which developed the Indigo devices, has run pilot tests of the technology in the last year, placing them in schools in Hawaii and Georgia. (The kids in Hawaii were the first to test the devices.) The product also began selling commercially in January, and schools in California, Indiana, Ohio and Arkansas have adopted the technology. A major school district in California is expected to buy the technology soon.

LearningSoft's parent company, the Jacoby Group, also set up a nonprofit foundation this week called Every Hand, with the goal of widening adoption of Indigo to every K-12 student in the U.S. Indigos are essentially wireless handheld computers that are networked to a laptop, which is typically set up in the classroom and controlled by a teacher. (In the case of the whale field trip, the laptop traveled with the group.) From a central computer, an instructor can send discussion topics, quiz questions or assignments to each student's handheld. When kids respond on the Indigo, the data is sent wirelessly to the PC so that the teacher can assess immediately how students comprehend the curricula, either by an individual student or in aggregate. The device can act as an assessment tool, electronic book reader, Web browser, podcast player and word processor. "It's more like a Swiss Army knife than a computer," said David Cole, founder of LearningSoft.

Indigo in the classroom

The devices are just one option in a range of new technologies aimed at schools. For example, the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child project recently said it might sell versions of its kid-friendly laptops in the U.S., reversing its previous position of distributing them to only the poorest nations. But despite growing awareness of one-to-one computing programs in U.S. schools, most K-12 classrooms have limited access to computer resources. American schoolkids spend about 25 minutes a week on average on the computer, according to LearningSoft. "It's surprising how few computer resources are available in schools," LearningSoft CEO David Cole said.

LearningSoft started producing education assessment tools on the Web in 1999, but the technology didn't take off because of limited computing resources in the classroom. So the company re-examined the market and began looking at technologies to get around inherent limitations of computer availability. Low-cost handheld computers were an obvious workaround, he said. In 2006, LearningSoft built and launched a tiny computer that costs about $100 per student.

LearningSoft complements the system with standard educational and textbook publisher materials, so teachers have prepared lesson plans or discussion topics. Teachers might assign students to listen to podcasts of a foreign language or news event, for example. But most teachers like to use the device in a "sponge activity." They will ask students an essay question, and when the kids respond, they will use the technology to disseminate all of the answers to each child. That way, the students can see how their peers answered and open up the discussion further.

Amy Mulvehill, a 7th-grade teacher of honors language arts at Carrollton Junior High in Carrollton, Ga., said she primarily uses the Indigo system for reading discussion about an hour each week. Her class, for example, just finished reading The Giver, and Mulvehill asked the students what they think happens after the last chapter. Using the word processor in Indigo, the students wrote their responses. Mulvehill then sent all of the responses to each student (names were attached), and then each student could see how their classmates responded via the digital device.


"This allows each student a voice. Before a lot of kids wouldn't speak up," she said. The students particularly like using the Indigo because it's much like technology they might use at home, such as a GameBoy. "Having those little computers, it makes them more interested," she said. Daniel, a 13-year-old in Mulvehill's class, said that the device offers a more fluid approach to talking to classmates. "When your teacher's up there, everyone's yelling at her and the discussion is shallow. With this, you get to talk to people and connect," he said of the ability to see responses from his classmates about the book The Giver.

Caitlin, a 12-year-old in the same class, said she likes the device because it's quicker to type answers than writing on paper. Plus, she doesn't have to listen to the teacher read answers out loud. "It just helps you learn more, helps you with your typing skills, and it's easier to get your ideas out."


Some of the Hawaiian students see the devices as more of an environmental cause. Josiah said he liked the devices because they don't waste paper. "You're just typing things in, you don't have to have this giant stack of paper and send it all. You don't have to pass it," he said. "There's a great chance of saving paper when we use these little Indigos." That ultimately means less trash in the ocean, he said. "People shouldn't throw trash into the ocean so it doesn't risk killing any whale or dolphin."

Irony

We spend the first twelve months of our children's lives teaching them to walk and talk, and the next Twenty-four years telling them to sit down and shut up!

XA GT Wheels

Early XA 12 slots with dished centre cap.

TIPS FOR MONITORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHER LEADERSHIP

Develop a plan to collect perception data about the impact of teacher leadership on instructional change or student learning.
Possible questions: What kind of data will you collect? How often will you collect it? What information do you want to know? Who is your target group? How will you manage data? Who will manage the data (collecting, analyzing, storing, reporting)?
Continuously monitor teacher leadership using both formative assessments (data that show how you can improve) and summative evaluations (data that show how you did improve). Monitoring progress from the beginning will help you stay on track with your goals. The idea here is to check-in periodically with constituents and to make improvements throughout the year.
Possible questions: What are current administrator, teacher, or staff perceptions of the effectiveness of teacher leadership? How have the perceptions changed?
Collect data on various aspects of teacher leadership -- such as teams, individuals, or professional development -- to get a picture of what structures make the biggest impact to student learning.
Possible question: Are instructional practices improving as a result of coaching?
Intersect perception data with other data to get a clearer picture of the effectiveness of teacher leadership. Look at the data using the perception lens first, and then look at it in relation to student achievement data. Remember, teacher leadership is an endeavour that supports student learning, school improvement, and instructional change. Perception data, combined with other types of data, can provide a complete picture of the status of the school.
Possible question: Are the students of teachers who perceive their instructional practices improved as a result of coaching performing better than students of teachers who are not being coached?
Data is an important aspect of today's accountability climate. In fact, information derived from a variety of data sources makes continuous school improvement possible. Teacher leadership is an effective school improvement strategy when continuously informed by data-based decisions.

Testing times

This past fall semester, at Duke University, there were two sophomores who were taking Organic Chemistry and who did pretty well on all of the quizzes, midterms, labs, etc. Going into the final exam, they had solid "A's."
These two friends were so confident going into the final that the weekend before finals week (even though the Chem. final was on Monday), they decided to go up to University of Virginia to a party with some friends.
So they did this and had a great time. However, they ended up staying longer than they planned, and they didn't make it back to Duke until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then, they found Professor Aldric after the final and explained to him why they missed it. They told him that they went up to Virginia for the weekend, and had planned to come back in time to study, but that they had a flat tire on the way back and didn't have a spare and couldn't get help for a long time. So they were late getting back to campus.
Aldric thought this over and agreed that they could make up the final on the following day. The two guys were elated and relieved. So, they studied that night and went in the next day at the time that Aldric had told them.
He placed them in separate rooms, handed each of them a test booklet and told them to begin. They looked at the first problem, which was something simple about free radical formation and was worth 5 points. "Cool" they thought, "this is going to be easy." They did that problem and then turned the page.
They were unprepared, however, for what they saw on the next page.
It said: (95 points) "Which tire?"

XA GT Wheels

XA GT’s had 6 inch wide, welded, 12 slot wheels made by R.O.H. (Australia) which were 14 inches in diameter. Early XA cars had the same plain, flat dished hubcaps as the XW and XY, but later XA’s had a smaller centre cap with a raised, red lettered GT symbol and chromed wheel nuts that protruded through the cap. Optional on the XA were the Sports road wheel made by R.O.H. (Australia) and 6 inches wide and 14 inches in diameter. Also optional were the Daytona, most commonly known as the Bathurst, wheel made by Globe Products of South Australia available as 7 inch wide and 15 inches in diameter.

Coaching Teachers To Be Leaders

by Evelyn Cortez-Ford
How Do I Know If Teacher Leadership Is Working?
For principals and teachers who have worked hard to embed structures and processes of teacher leadership, that question is an important one. It is grounded in an understanding that "gut feelings" are not enough to fully understand effectiveness. Creating a community of leaders seems like the right thing to do, but how can schools ensure that teacher leadership is supporting the achievement of school goals?
Of course, the answer lies in the data process. A school's ability to improve is dependent upon its ability to make data-based decisions about professional development, goal setting, instruction, curriculum, programs, and teacher leadership. To ensure that schools are improving, a variety of data must be collected. Perception data is particularly useful in understanding how teacher leadership is working.

COLLECT PERCEPTION DATA Perception data is valuable to determine if teacher leadership is working because it can provide valuable information about the beliefs, opinions, and attitudes of students, staff, and parents. Perception data can provide insight into how the members of the school community view the effectiveness of teacher leadership. It answers the question How are we doing?
Perception data can be collected in a variety of ways including the following methods:
Surveys and questionnaires. This method of collecting perception data is relatively straightforward. Creating a survey is an easy process that permits control over the kinds of questions asked based on the information desired.
Individual or group interviews. Surveys are a good place to start, but to delve deeper and gain more information about teacher leadership you might consider conducting interviews. Sometimes, the information gained from a survey or questionnaire is puzzling. Individual or groups interviews allow for asking follow-up questions that dig a little deeper.
Observation of teacher leader activities. A third way to collect perception data is direct observation, which is useful for understanding leadership behaviours, processes, and events. Observations of teacher leaders facilitating a meeting, delivering professional development, and coaching another teacher on an instructional technique are examples of observable situations.
Surveys, interviews, and direct observations are useful tools in understanding the attitudes, values, and beliefs about the effectiveness of teacher leadership when used regularly and efficiently. Perception data can add important information about the school's improvement efforts.

How many?

Q: How many Microsoft Engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They just change the standard to DARK.

XY GT Wheels

A rear view showing the rivets.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1940's, 50's, 60's and 70's!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a tin, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitch-hiking .
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a van - loose - was always great fun.
We drank water from the garden hosepipe and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drink with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because...... WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem .
We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no text messaging, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We played with worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
Made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out any eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
Local teams had try-outs and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
And YOU are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.
And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

Symphony

Years ago, the Seattle Symphony was doing Beethoven's Ninth under the baton of Milton Katims. At this point, you must understand two things:
1. There's a long segment in this symphony where the bass violins don't have a thing to do. Nothing. Not a single note for page after page;
2. There used to be a tavern called Dez's 400 right across the street from the Seattle Opera House, favored by local musicians.
It was decided that during this performance, after the bass players had played their parts they'd quietly lay down their instruments and leave the stage rather than sit on their stools looking (and feeling) dumb for twenty minutes.
Well, once they got backstage, someone suggested that they trot across the street and have a few brews. After they had downed the first couple rounds, one said, "Shouldn't we be getting back? It'd be awfully embarrassing if we were late."
Another, presumably the one who suggested this excursion in the first place, replied, "Oh, I anticipated we could use a little more time, so I tied a string around the last pages of the conductor's score. When he gets down to there, Milton's going to have to slow the
tempo way down while he waves the baton with one hand and fumbles with the string with the other."
So they had another round and finally returned to the Opera House, a little tipsy by now.
However, as they came back on stage, one look at their conductor's face told them they were in serious trouble. Katims was furious!
And why not? After all (get ready, here it comes...)
It was the bottom of the Ninth, the score was tied, and the basses were loaded.

XY GT Wheels

XY GT’s only had riveted, 6 inch wide, 5 slot wheels of 14 inches diameter, but optional were the Sports Road wheel made by R.O.H. (Australia) which were 6 inches wide and 14 inches in diameter. Hubcaps were plain, flat dishes.

Fear

"Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live." --Dorothy Thompson,
journalist

Warning Signs of Insanity for Programmers.

1. You stay up all night coding only to realize that you haven't had any caffeine in about 6 hours.
2. You wonder why on earth anyone would make a programming language conform to such absolutely bizarre rules of grammar but in a strange way it actually begins to make sense.
3. You start dreaming in recursion (if you have any time to dream).
4. You realize not only is it daytime but your project is due in 2 hours, which isn't enough time to even begin running it.
5. You start customizing your environment because you want it "just right" (and because further work on the program is futile).
6. You wonder when the invasion will begin.
7. You understand #8.
8. You start signing your name in octal (or binary) just because.
9. You know more programming commands than actual words.
10. You realize that you have reached the end, and there is no closing command.

XW GT Wheels continued

This is the Kelsey manufacturing stamp on the inside of Kelsey Hayes rims, but note that the size stamped is 14 x 7JJ. These are five slot rims, but 7inch width was never offered on Australian GTs. These are U.S. rims for Torino or Mustangs. The 14 x 6 was used on the Mercury Cyclone GT.

Here are the 14 x 6 Kelsey Hayes markings.

Big week

This week I was just dog tired...

Work changes

SICK DAYS:
We will no longer accept a doctor statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

SURGERY:
Operations are now banned. As long as you are an employee here, you need all your organs. You should not consider removing anything. We hired you intact. To have something removed constitutes a breach of employment.

PERSONAL DAYS:
Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturday and Sunday.

VACATION DAYS:
All employees will take their vacation at the same time every year. The vacation days are as follows: Jan. 1, July 4 & Dec. 25

BEREAVEMENT LEAVE:
This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead friends, relatives or coworkers. Every effort should be made to have non-employees attend to the arrangements. In rare cases where employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch hour and subsequently leave one hour early, provided your share of the work is done enough.

OUT FROM YOUR OWN DEATH:
This will be accepted as an excuse. However, we require at least two weeks notice, as it is your duty to train your own replacement.

RESTROOM USE:
Entirely too much time is being spent in the restroom. In the future, we will follow the practice of going in alphabetical order. For instance, all employees whose names begin with 'A' will go from 8:00 to 8:20, employees whose names begin with 'B' will go from 8:20 to 8:40 and so on. If you're unable to go at your allotted time, it will be necessary to wait until the next day when your turn comes again. In extreme emergencies employees may swap their time with a coworker. Both employees' supervisors in writing must approve this exchange. In addition, there is now a strict 3-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, and the stall door will open.

LUNCH BREAK:
Skinny people get an hour for lunch as they need to eat more so that they can look healthy, normal size people get 30 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain the average figure. Fat people get 5 minutes for lunch because that's all the time needed to drink a Slim Fast and take a diet pill. Sondra gets none.

DRESS CODE:
It is advised that you come to work dressed according to your salary, if we see you wearing $350 Prada sneakers and carrying a $600 Gucci bag we assume you are doing well financially and therefore you do not need a raise.

Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternations or input should be directed elsewhere. Have a nice week.

XW 5 slots

Sowing And Reaping

by Vic Johnson

"Good thought and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results. This is but saying that nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles." - As A Man Thinketh

Most everyone understands the biblical concept of sowing and reaping because we can grasp the simplicity of the logic. If we were to plant corn in our backyard garden we wouldn't expect spinach to come up.

But even though we can grasp the logic, we don't always act as if we understand the power of this principle. And we certainly don't act as if this principle will affect us.

An example: For many years my morning ritual began with a thorough reading of the newspaper, most days spending an hour or more before dashing off to the office. I did not know then that our minds are most impressionable immediately upon rising in the morning and just before sleep in the evening.

Fresh from the reading (and thoughts) of the day's murders, indictments, invasions by foreign dictators, and all other manner of "news", it shouldn't have come as a surprise to me that my sowing of these thoughts would reap an "attitude" toward the rush hour drivers who were "conspiring" to slow down my arrival at work. Thus, by the time I did arrive, I had set the tone for my day, and it was not a positive one.

I gave up my morning ritual ten years ago and replaced it with a ritual of reading and meditating on some works that will sow "good thoughts" and thus reap "good results."

I wasn't aware at the time that this was some sound advice offered up by the Apostle Paul, who wrote, "Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about."

We always reap what we sow and that is especially true with our thoughts. As Emmet Fox writes, "The secret of life then is to control your mental states, for if you will do this the rest will follow.

To accept sickness, trouble, and failure as unavoidable, and perhaps inevitable, is folly, because it is this very acceptance by you that keeps these evils in existence.

Man is not limited by his environment. He creates his environments by his beliefs and feelings. To suppose otherwise is like thinking that the tail can wag the dog."

And that's worth thinking about.

What?

The two inventors of the bungee rope went to Spain to test their invention. They built a 50-foot tower and, once completed, one of the guys stood on the edge of the platform and dove into the air with the rope tied to his feet. The other guy, standing up on the platform, waited until his friend returned up so that he could grab him. The first time his friend sprung up, he tried to grab him but missed and noticed that his head was swollen. The next time, he missed again and again there was a bruise on his head and face. This time, with much concern, he dove forward to get his partner, pulled him in and asked, "What happened? Is the cord too long?" His partner replied with his face all bloody, "What is piñata?"

XW GT Wheels

Another set of stampings from another wheel

Deadlines

"How does a project get to be a year behind schedule? One day at a time."
--Fred Brooks, software engineer and author

Harry Potter and the magic of reading……

By Shayna Garlick ITHACA, N.Y. May 2 2007
With the final book due in July, teachers assess the impact the popular series has had on children's learning.

Sitting at a table in the library of Lehman Alternative Community School in Ithaca, N.Y., sixth-grader Marcus Weathersby makes a confession. As soon as I get the next Harry Potter book, I'm going to read the last page," he says. "I can't wait. I just cannot wait." The seventh and last Harry Potter book will be released in July. Millions of Potter fans won't have another book to look forward to after that. But Harry's effect on many young people – and their love of reading – may be magical enough to last a lifetime.

A 2006 study by Scholastic and Yankelovich found that the Harry Potter books have had a positive impact not only on kids' attitudes toward reading, but also on the quality of their schoolwork. The Kids and Family Reading Report surveyed 500 children ages 5 to 17 and their parents or guardians. More than half of Harry Potter readers said they hadn't read books for fun before the series, and 65 percent said they have done better in school since reading the books. The study also found that the reading habits of boys – who consistently have lower literacy test scores than girls – changed the most as a result of reading the books.

Back in the Ithaca library, Marcus's friend, seventh-grader Daniel Carroll, says that he's going to read the end first, too. The boys belong to a group of students who compile book reviews for a blog on the school's website. Their teacher, library media specialist Claire Michelle Viola, doesn't quite seem to understand their strategy. "That doesn't ruin it for you?" she asks. "No," says Daniel, smiling. "I always forget [the end] by the time I get there."

The boys are eager to know the answers to many looming questions, including Will Harry survive? But they will have to wait until July 21 – a day that will mark the end of an era. At midnight, a record-breaking 12 million copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be released in bookstores across the country. Fans of all ages will stand in line to pick up the 784-page final instalment of J.K. Rowling's popular series.

As in past years, kids will sport black-rimmed glasses and colourful capes. Release parties will offer prizes, food, and fortune-telling through the early morning hours. But this July will be different. Amid the celebration and excitement will be the realization that the young wizard's journey is nearing the end. Nancy Kellner, library media specialist of the Peaslee Elementary School in Northboro, Mass., has been a fan of the series since it began in 1997. The books will become classics, she says, but some of the excitement will be lost after the seventh one is released.

"I can't imagine the original magic of Harry Potter will remain," she says. "The magic is waiting for the next book." Marcus credits the series for getting him interested in reading. He says his grandfather read him the first five books, but he wanted to read the sixth one himself. Since then, he loves to read medieval, fantasy, and science-fiction books, he says. He also now likes the many books he reads for school – even though the majority aren't his favourite genres, he says. "I whip through 50 books a year," says Marcus matter-of-factly.

Finding a book that can engage a reluctant reader is not easy, says Jennifer Groff, the library media specialist at Belle Sherman Elementary School in Ithaca, N.Y. Children can feel defeated if by age 9 or 10 they haven't found a book they can connect with. Ms. Groff, who reads Harry Potter aloud to fourth- and fifth-graders at lunch three days a week, says there is something about the way the story is told that captivates kids. Ms. Kellner points out that Harry Potter is not written in advanced language, as are books by fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien. But neither are they "dumbed down," she adds. Kids like it when authors take them seriously, she says, and Ms. Rowling does that while still making the books graspable.

Daniel, the Ithaca seventh-grader, says he definitely feels an emotional connection with the characters. "I started reading them when I was younger, so I sort of thought, 'Oh, this is how every book is,' " he says. "So when I read other books, I would put them down after like 50 pages because they weren't as exciting." Daniel picked up Harry Potter at an early age. "When I was in kindergarten," he says, "I saw a bunch of people reading them, so I pretended to read them even though I couldn't read." While most teachers have not rushed to make the popular series a part of their curricula, many have found ways to incorporate the books in their classrooms. Eileen Bach, an English teacher at Ithaca High School and a Harry Potter fan herself, says she doesn't teach the books to her students, many of whom are familiar with the series.

Invisible

A psychiatrist's secretary walks into his study and says, "There's a gentleman in the waiting room asking to see you. Claims he's invisible."

The psychiatrist responds, "Tell him I can't see him."

Hitchhiker

What do you say to a hitchhiker with one leg?
Hop in

XW GT wheels continued

The stamped markings



Where the stampings are

Globe summary

So, to sum up, there are three types of Ford offered Globes.

The 72 Globe, small centre hole, small screw on cap, and flat rim.

The 73-76 Option 54 and XC Cobra Globe, large centre hole, large screw on cap, flat rim.

The 82 XD ESP Globe, large centre hole, push through cap, lipped rim.

Art

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures." -- Henry Ward Beecher

Bad news

Mr. Johnson walked anxiously to the house and knocked. When a nice old lady answered, he said very sad, “I’m sorry, madam, but I have some bad news. “I’m afraid I have run over your cat. I… I would like to replace it.”
The little lady looked him up and down and said, “I’m game, but how are you at catching mice?”

XW GT Wheels continued

The rivets

New Charter for Australian Primary Schools

By The Hon Julie Bishop

The Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, today announced Australian Government support to create a new charter to redefine the role of primary schools in the community. The Australian Primary Principals Association will receive $60,000 for a national forum to develop a draft charter.

Minister Bishop said the new charter is important as it will provide a framework to ensure primary school students receive a high quality education.

“Schools have been asked to provide a huge range of services that go far beyond what was traditionally the role of schools, and this has the potential to have a negative impact on their ability to teach students and allow them to develop the fundamental skills in areas such as reading, writing and mathematics,” she said.

“The charter will help to define the role of primary school education and to allow schools to focus on the vital task of educating young people.
“I welcome this initiative from the Australian Primary Principals Association and look forward to working with them in the completion of their works.”

“The Australian Government wants a greater focus on higher standards for every Australian student and greater national consistency and quality across the education sector,” Minister Bishop said.

Take a guess

A young and foolish pilot wanted to sound cool on the aviation frequencies. So, this was his first time approaching a field during the nighttime. Instead of making any official requests to the tower, he said: "Guess who?"
The controller switched the field lights off and replied: "Guess where?"

XW GT Wheels

XW GT’s from 1969 to approximately 2/70 had Kelsey Hayes (Canada) riveted, 6 inch wide, 12 slot wheels of 14 inches diameter. From 2/70 onwards, XW GT’s had riveted, 6 inch wide, 5 slot Kelsey Hayes (Canada) wheels of 14 inches diameter. Hubcaps for both wheels were plain, flat dishes. The Canadian riveted wheels have a reputation for having pressing splits where the hub sticks through the rim.

Some different aspects of self-awareness

- Know yourself - Explore who you are: your defences, your blocks, your talents, your aspirations, etc.
- Accept yourself - We are at war with ourselves when we resist or deny certain aspects of who we are. Acknowledge the truth of who you are right now - the positives and the negatives. Only when we own our present reality can we change.
- Control yourself - Set clear, conscious intentions and discipline yourself to meet them.
- Express yourself - Go to your heart to identify what has meaning and purpose for you. Live your truth. Identify ways you can give back to life and be in service.
We work on each of these aspects all the time. But as our lives go through cycles, we predominantly work on one of them more than the others. Which aspect are you more conscious of lately?

"Our lives improve only when we take chances ... and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves." -- Walter Anderson

Wild animals

Did you hear about the two explorers, Bob and John who were going through the jungle when a ferocious lion jumped out in front of them?
Bob whispered to John to keep calm. Bob asked John if he remembered what they had read in the book on wild animals. “If you stand absolutely still and look the lion straight in the eye, he will turn tails and run away,” said Bob. John said, “Fine. You’ve read the book, I’ve read the book, but has the lion read the book?”

XT GT Rears

Steven Wright

Steven Wright, a famously erudite scientist and comic, once said: "I woke up one morning and all of my stuff had been stolen and replaced by exact duplicates."
Here are some of his other gems:

1 – I would kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
2 - Borrow money from pessimists -- they seldom expect it back.
3 - Half the people you know are below average.
4 - 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
5 - 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
6 - A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.
7 - A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
8 - If you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain.
9 - All those who believe in psycho-kinesis, raise my hand.
10 - The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
11 - I almost had a psychic girlfriend, but she left me before we met.
12 - OK, so what is the speed of dark?
13 - How do you tell when you are out of invisible ink?
14 - If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
15 - Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
16 - When everything is coming your way, you are in the wrong lane.
17 - Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.
18 - Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
19 - I intend to live forever. So far, so good.
20 - If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
21 - Eagles may soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet engines.
22 - What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
23 - My mechanic told me: "I could not repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."
24 - Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
25 - If at first you do not succeed, destroy all evidence of having tried
26 - A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
27 - The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.
28 - To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
29 - The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
30 - The sooner you fall behind, the more time you will have to catch up.
31 - The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it.
32 - Everyone has a photographic memory; some just do not have the film.
33 - If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?

Advive

A wise man once said ...... go ask a woman.

XT GT Wheels

In detail off the wheel...

Emotions

Don't let emotions push you into action or reaction. Just STOP and PAY ATTENTION. Allow them to be and to speak to you. Once they are acknowledged, their energy is released.
"Instead of resisting any emotion, the best way to dispel it is to enter it fully, embrace it and see through your resistance." -- Deepak Chopra

"We have to become more conscious of our feeling-world. By learning to identify the ‘emotional baggage’ and manage our feeling-world reactions, we can view life based on current information instead of being held captive by our past." -- Doc Childre

"Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge." -- Audre Lorde

Black magic

This old man was feared by all his neighbors because they believe he practiced black magic and was responsible for missing cats and dogs and strange sounds at all hours. Every time he had a confrontation with his wife, screams and yelling could be heard deep into the night along with the same statement. “When I die I will dig my way up and out of the grave to come back and haunt you for the rest of your life!” Well he died abruptly under strange circumstances and the funeral had a closed casket. After the burial, the wife went straight to the local bar and began to party as if there was no tomorrow. The cheerfulness of her actions was becoming extreme while her neighbors approached in a group to ask these questions: are you not afraid? Worried? Concerned? That this man who practiced black magic and stated when he died he would dig his way up and out of the grave to come back and haunt you for the rest of your life? The wife put down her drink and said, “Let the jerk dig. I had him buried upside down.”

XT GT Wheels

XT GT’s had a 6 inch rim made by R.O.K. (Australia), and ROK is stamped on one of the three hubcap lugs. There is an additional smaller hole between two of the wheel nut holes. XT GT’s also had the same hubcap as the XR GT but had different length wheel nuts to compensate for the 1/2 inch wider rim. These hubcaps and wheel nuts were also used on the later XW and XY GS range. Wheel diameter was 14 inches.

XT Front

Bright ideas for this week

Preferred Activity Time (PAT)
"The underlying premise to PAT is this: If the children give me time to teach, then I have time to give them to play an educational game -- and I am still teaching. I use PAT as a reward for the time the class earns for positive behaviour, minus the negative behaviour. They earn minutes/seconds for positive, appropriate behaviour, and they lose minutes/seconds for negative, inappropriate behaviour. These are minutes earned for the entire class. Some examples your teachers might like to try include:

Adjective Charades
Hand out to each student a slip of paper that contains an adjective-noun phrase, such as raging river, hungry boy, or glowing fire. The student must act out the phrase for the class to guess. The child who is the first to guess correctly gets to act out the next phrase or, if that child has had a turn, choose a person to act it out.

Buzz
Students sit in a circle and take turns counting in sequence from 1 to 100. Every time a number has a seven in it or a multiple of seven, the student says "Buzz." For example: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Buzz, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, Buzz, 15, 16, Buzz, 18, 19, 20, Buzz, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, Buzz, Buzz ..." If a student misses, the class starts over. This time, a different student starts the game. The class wins when the students finally reach 100. This game can be played with different numbers.

Charades
Hand out to each student five slips of paper on which to write the name of a famous person, a book title, a cartoon character, a song, or a sports figure -- one per slip. Divide the class into two teams. One person acts out what is on a paper for his or her team mates to guess. If they guess the correct answer in the time allotted, the group gets a point.

Endless Chain
Divide the class into teams; each team starts with 10 points. Choose a category, such as "cities," and have the first team give a word within that category. The next team notes the last letter of the word given and gives a word that fits the category and begins with that letter. Teams take turns until a team cannot continue the chain. (Within a chain, no word can be repeated.) A team that cannot continue the chain loses a point. Choose a new category, and the teams begin a new chain.

PAT = FUN + LEARNING