Confusius

Confusius say: "Man who run behind car get exhausted, but man who run in front of car get tired."

A clever person

"A clever person turns great troubles into little ones and little ones into none at all." -Chinese proverb

Spoilers

The XB John Goss Special had a wild spoiler. I'm told that it was not factory fitted, but it could be fitted by a dealer.

Doctor

An eighty-year-old man went to his doctor to complain about pain in one knee. The doctor examined it gently and said, "Well, you know that knee is eighty years old. You can't expect too much."
"That's true," the man agreed; "but Doc, so is the other one and it's not bothering me like this one!"

Rust issues

Some CLASSROOM GAMES YOU DON'T WANT TO PLAY

Sneeze Tag

Students share colds and viruses until the teacher is “it” and they all get to enjoy a substitute teacher day.

Duck-Duck-Goof

Teachers set up three-student cooperative learning groups and disperse class problems by making sure each group has one student who will not contribute to the work.

Simon Sez

Through oral drill and practice, teachers try to break the incorrect phonetic spelling habits of their students.

Mother Mayn’t I

Students lobby their mothers for permission to neglect their homework and stay home from school.

Waiter?

A man and his girlfriend were out to dinner one night. The waiter tells them the night's special is chicken almondine and fresh fish.
"The chicken sounds good; I'll have that," the woman says.
The waiter nods. "And the vegetable?" he asks.
"Oh, he'll have the fish," she replies.

Rust

The death of another GT.

Happiness

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony"
- Mahatma Gandhi.

Sit on the couch

Jay went to a psychiatrist. “Doc, he said, “I’ve got trouble.
Every time I get into bed I think there is somebody under it.
I get under the bed; I think there’s somebody on top of it.
Top, under, under top. I’m going crazy!”
“Just put yourself in my hands for two years,” said the shrink.
“Come to me three times a week and I’ll cure you.”
“How much do you charge?”
“A hundred dollars per visit.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Jay never went back. Some time later he met the doctor on the street.
“Why didn’t you ever come to see me again? Asked the psychiatrist.
“For a hundred buck a visit? A bartender cured me for 10 dollars.”
“Is that so! How?”
“He told me to cut the legs off the bed.”

More rust

Courage

Courage, it's old-fashioned and it still matters. Courage is not about exposing yourself to physical danger -- that's the easy stuff. Courage is about facing your fears. About speaking your truth. About doing what you know is right.

Here's the big idea: courage is like a muscle. The more you use it the stronger it gets. And like training your muscles it's best to start small.

You don't have to speak your truth to the CEO tomorrow. That's foolhardy. But you can be more authentic with your team mates. You can say "I'm sorry," to your partner and mean it. You can commit to speaking up in your volunteer organization instead of sitting back.

When you act from courage and do what scares you, your life immediately improves. When you take bigger risks, you get bigger rewards. Yes, sometimes you will fail spectacularly. When that happens I guarantee that you will find that you are stronger than you think.

So today, find a way to scare yourself into a bigger life.

Late home

Harry had a bit of a drinking problem.
Every night, after dinner, he took off for the local watering hole, spent the entire evening there and arrived home, well inebriated, around midnight each night. He always had trouble getting his key into the keyhole and getting the door opened. His wife, waiting up for him, would go to the door and let him in. Then she would proceed to yell and scream at him for his constant nights out and his returned drunken state. But Harry continued his nightly routine. One day, the wife, distraught by it all, talked to a friend about her husband's behavior.The friend listened to her and then asked, "Why don't you treat him a little differently when he comes home? Instead of berating him, why don't you give him some loving words and welcome him home with a kiss? He then might change his ways." The wife thought it was worth trying. That night, Harry took off again after dinner. Around midnight, he arrived home in his usual condition. His wife heard Harry at the door and let him in. This time, instead of berating him as she had always done, she took his arm and led him into the living room. She sat him down in an easy chair, put his feet up on the ottoman and took his shoes off. Then she went behind him and started to cuddle him a little. After a while, she said to him, "It's pretty late. I think we had better go upstairs to bed now, don't you?" At that, Harry replied in his inebriated state, "I guess we might as well. I'll get in trouble if I go home anyway!"

More rust

Mr Heeblejeeble opens proceedings

Nathan was a dreamy boy. Everyone said so, not only his teachers but even his friends. He would sit in the classroom and stare out the window, or walk along with his eyes on the ground, or lean thoughtfully against the school fence with a frown on his face, or wander home along the river, gazing at the ripples on the water and hardly noticing the long grass brushing at his legs. You could call out to him and he wouldn't hear, at least not the first time, or the second, or sometimes even the third. Such a dreamy boy, everyone said, whatever does he think about?
He was as dreamy as ever on Performance Day. He wandered down the main corridor of the school with his hands in his pockets, while other children bumped and jostled around him. They bumped and jostled in the smaller corridors that led to the main corridor, as well, and on the stairs that lead to the smaller corridors. The whole school was on the move. A bobbing, bubbling river of children headed for the door of the Great Hall, carrying Nathan with it.
They poured in. The hall was divided into four sections, one for each of the four houses of the school, and each section was decorated with the colour of its house. Teachers hurried the students to their seats. They called out to some children to be quiet, and called out to other children to face the front, and called out even when they didn't need to call out because they knew if they didn't call out now they'd only have to call out later. In short, they tried to establish calm and order amongst a thousand children. This was their task, as it had been every year, for generations, when the entire school assembled on the morning of Performance Day.
At last the great oak doors of the hall were closed. The noise died away. Finally there was only the occasional giggle, or growl, or squeak when one of the children pinched another.
On the stage stood Mr Heeblejeeble, the school principal, and Mr Gopher, his deputy.
'Marvellous!' said Mr Heeblejeeble, beaming down at the children.
'Splendid!' said Mr Gopher, who had never been heard to disagree with anything Mr Heeblejeeble said.
Their voices came out loudly through a microphone at the front of the stage.
'What a wonderful day, Mr Gopher!' said Mr Heeblejeeble, clasping his hands enthusiastically.
'One couldn't ask for a better, Mr Heeblejeeble!' replied Mr Gopher.
'We're about to see some marvellous things, Mr Gopher.'
'Indeed we are, Mr Heeblejeeble.'
'Did you hear that, children?' asked Mr Heeblejeeble, beaming at them once again.
The children muttered, or growled, or groaned, or made faces and pretended to be sick.
'Marvellous!' said Mr Heeblejeeble. 'Children, in the next three hours, as we do on this day every year, we'll be going on a wonderful journey. Without leaving this hall, we'll be transported to a world of wonderful sights and sounds, fabulous stories and amazing characters.'

Miracle

A new miracle doctor was in town. He could cure anything and anybody, and everyone was amazed. Everyone except for Mr. Smith, the town’s grouch So Mr. Smith went to this 'miracle doctor' to prove that he wasn't anybody special. So he goes and tells the doctor, "Hey, doc, I have lost my sense of taste. I can't taste nothing', so what are you going to do?"
The doctor scratches his head and mumbles to himself a little, then tells Mr. Smith, "What you need is jar number 43."
Jar number 43? Mr. Smith wonders. So the doctor brings the jar and tells Mr. Smith to taste it. He tastes it and immediately spits it out, "This is gross!" he yells.
"I just restored your sense of taste Mr. Smith," says the doctor.
So Mr. Smith goes home very mad. One month later, Mr. Smith goes back to the doctor along with a new problem, "Doc," he starts, "I can't remember!"
Thinking he got the doctor, the doctor scratches his head and mumbles to himself a little and tells Mr. Smith, "What you need is jar number 43..."
Before the doctor finished his sentence, Mr. Smith fled the office.

More rust

This is an XA GT.

:(

No such thing as stupid

Where do you think you are?

During an army basic training, the lieutenant took the batch on a match and asked each of them where home was. After everyone had answered, he sneered and said "you are all wrong, the army is now your home".
Back at the barracks, he read the evening duties, then asked the first sergeant if he had anything to say "you bet I do" the sergeant replied, "men, while you were gone today, I found beds improperly made, clothes not hanging correctly, shoes not shined and footlockers a mess. Where do you think you are? Home?

Rusty XBs in Scotland

Relieve the pressure cooker

"Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life." Mary Manin Morrissey

Relieve the pressure cooker

"Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life." Mary Manin Morrissey

Why did they call it that?

Travis and McGee met over a beer in the local pub. After a while the subject of sports came up. Travis asked McGee, "Do you play golf?"
"Sure," said McGee, "I play well enough to know why they call it 'golf'."
Puzzled, Travis asks, "Why do they call it 'golf'?"
"Because," replied McGee, "that's the only 4-letter word left!!"

Rusty XBs in Scotland

XB Falcon

The XB featured a slight restyle of the previous model, featuring a cleaner but more aggressive front end with a forward sloping bonnet and a wide set, ‘egg-crate’ split grille. The design was very reminiscent of the 1971-73 U.S. Mustang. The tail lamps were also neatened. Many mechanical enhancements were made including the introduction of optional four wheel disk brakes, and the fitting of locally manufactured 302ci (4.9litre) and 351ci (5.8litre) Cleveland V8s. The hardtop continued to be offered, but sales were disappointing while the XB as a whole was the most popular Falcon yet.

The XB was manufactured between September, 1973 and July, 1976. 211,971 were produced.

What Do I Do When Teachers Depend Too Much on Me for Leadership?

By Evelyn Cortez-Ford
A group of teachers and the principal assemble for their weekly School Leadership Team meeting to plan for an upcoming professional development day focused on reading strategies. The principal begins by handing out the agenda, which includes outcomes, times, and tasks. As is customary, the team starts with "reasons to celebrate" -- a ritual the principal embedded into the meetings in hopes of inspiring participation and pride. Surprisingly, nobody seems ready to share, so the principal takes a turn by saying...
"Our staff has become more data savvy. Our decision to focus our professional development time on reading strategies came straight from the data."
After everyone has a chance to share their reasons to celebrate, the principal proceeds with the agenda by taking input and guidance from teachers.
After the meeting, the principal feels that teachers weren't fully participating as leaders. Instead, teachers were depending too much on her for leadership. She wonders why and what can be done about it.
SIGNS TEACHERS ARE DISENGAGED FROM LEADERSHIP
When teachers and principals share leadership they are charting a new course. As a community of leaders it can be difficult to know how to proceed. By default everyone falls into old ways of working. Signs that teachers depend too much on the principal for leadership include:
• Teachers defer to the principal to make decisions.
• Teachers wait to hear the principal's opinion before voicing their own.
• Teachers seem stuck in inaction.
• Teachers aren't exercising their authority.
Principals should be aware of shifts in participation and attitudes. Once aware they must understand the possible causes.
REASONS TEACHERS DISENGAGE FROM LEADERSHIP
It is not unusual from time to time for teachers to disengage from leadership activities. In fact, until teacher leadership becomes common practice in schools, disengagement is likely. Below are common reasons teachers disengage from leadership.
Traditional ideas of leadership. Teachers' active resistance to leadership may be due to traditional notions of leadership that don't fit well with the culture of teaching. They may view a leader as the lone person "in charge," someone who is the "boss" or "supervisor." Ideas that leaders need an authoritarian, command-and-control personality may cause teachers to reject leadership.
Lack of trust. Teacher leadership requires that both teachers and principals develop new ways of working based on trust. Trusting relationships are marked by open and honest communication, commitment to follow through, and fairness. If teachers don't trust that their leadership efforts will be valued, they will not participate.
Role confusion. When teachers become leaders they must straddle the line between teaching and leading activities. Striking a balance between responsibilities can be difficult, and teachers may fall back on their teacher-only role.
Teachers may depend too much on the principal for leadership for a variety of reasons. Fortunately principals can inspire full teacher-leader participation by establishing shared agreements.
STRATEGIES TO ESTABLISH SHARED AGREEMENTS
Shared agreements promote a common understanding of collective action and individual responsibility. They outline policies and procedures for "getting the job done" and help to ease any anxiety teachers may have about leading. To create shared agreements simply address the 5Ws and 1H.
Who. Establish who is responsible for getting something done. That includes the team and individuals. (From the scenario presented at the start of this article where the staff decided to "focus our professional development time on reading strategies," the team is responsible for planning school improvement efforts, the team creates the agenda, and each member comes prepared to share ideas for the professional development day.)
What. Be specific about what needs to be done. It is helpful to specify tasks to be accomplished as well as actions to be taken. (From the scenario: Plan a method to illustrate to teachers what the data show about how students are performing in reading.)
When. Everyone must be aware of deadlines. Outline when and how often a task needs to be done. (From the scenario: Teachers will implement the reading strategies every day beginning tomorrow.)
Where. Consider different environments. For example, what will happen in the classroom? At the district office? (From the scenario: In the classroom, teachers will practice using the reading strategies.)
Why. Establish a sense of purpose for activities. (From the scenario: Understanding the importance of the "reasons to celebrate" ritual may help teachers actively participate.)
How. Ensure that everyone knows in what ways the job will get done. (From the scenario: At times the principal seemed to be the only active participant. The team could agree that everyone participates as equals.)
Even when a school has a vision of shared leadership, teachers may continue to depend too much on the principal. For a variety of reasons teachers may, at times, disengage from leadership activities. Creating shared agreements that specify collective action and individual responsibility is a powerful way to engage teacher leaders.

Parrot

So there's this man with a parrot. And his parrot swears like a sailor, I mean he's a pistol. He can swear for five minutes straight without repeating himself.
The trouble is that the guy who owns the parrot is a quiet, conservative type, and this bird's foul mouth is driving him crazy.
One day, it gets to be too much, so the guy grabs the bird by the throat, shakes him really hard, and yells, "QUIT IT!" But this just makes the bird mad and he swears more than ever.
Then the guy gets mad and says, "That's it. I'll get you." and locks the bird in a kitchen cabinet.
This really aggravates the bird and he claws and scratches, and when the guy finally lets him out, the bird cuts loose with a stream of invective that would make a veteran sailor blush.
At that point, the guy is so mad that he throws the bird into the freezer.
For the first few seconds, there is a terrible din. The bird kicks and claws and thrashes. Then it suddenly goes very quiet.
At first the guy just waits, but then he starts to think that the bird may be hurt. After a couple of minutes of silence, he's so worried that he opens up the freezer door.
The bird calmly climbs onto the man's outstretched arm and says, "Awfully sorry about the trouble I gave you. I'll do my best to improve my vocabulary from now on."
The man is astounded. He can't understand the transformation that has come over the parrot.
Then the parrot says, "By the way, what did the chicken do?"

Rusty XBs in Scotland

Federalism in the Land of Oz

By Chester E. Finn Jr
Chester E. Finn Jr. is a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, in Washington. He was the assistant U.S. secretary of education for educational research and improvement in the Reagan administration
The United States isn’t the only land where primary-secondary schooling was traditionally the responsibility of the states or provinces, while the national government played a minor, even peripheral role. Nor are we the only people now struggling to adapt that old decentralized arrangement to the realities of the 21st century, with its globalizing economy, rising mobility, instant communications, and ebbing affection for local idiosyncrasy—and agonizing over what mechanisms might best yield a measure of high-standard uniformity and accountability without shackling schools and educators to a deadening, politically vulnerable, bureaucratic sameness.
That something needs to change is clearer every day, as we observe the peculiar risks and odd incentives of a policy regimen in which states set their own standards and tests—and pay for the lion’s share of education costs—even as they are held to account by Washington for their performance and told what to do with poorly performing schools. Yet we have neither the structures nor the trust to turn standards-setting over to Uncle Sam and little appetite for centralizing actual school operations.
—Susan Sanford
Seeking a bit of perspective on such dilemmas, I recently spent a week talking with government officials, policy wonks, and educators in Australia. Its eight states and territories run the public schools, hire their teachers, and generally manage the delivery of primary-secondary education—averaging some 400,000 pupils each. With no “local” school systems, state bureaucracies and the elected state-level officials that oversee them have historically occupied the driver’s seat, while the “commonwealth” government has no constitutional mandate in the K-12 realm and generally relies for influence on the strings it can tie to the less than 10 percent of the education budget that it contributes.
By chance, my visit coincided with “budget week,” when Prime Minister John Howard’s conservative “Coalition” government unveiled its latest policy plans, and challenger Kevin Rudd’s Labor Party responded with its own proposals. It’s election season in Oz and, after 11 years in opposition, the Rudd team is hungry to convince voters that it offers a better future. Early polling indicates that it stands a fair chance of prevailing, due in no small part to simple weariness with the incumbents.
Yet the country is thriving on Howard’s watch. Its booming economy and aggressive tax structure have yielded a whopping budget surplus (and zero national debt), so the budget game includes handing out new billions in ways calculated to woo key interest groups and segments of the electorate. In K-12 education, for example, the government offered money for teacher merit pay and mini-vouchers for students needing remediation (akin to the No Child Left Behind Act’s “supplemental educational services”), while Labor proposed nifty new technical-vocational programs (and facilities) in high schools. Both sides say an education revolution is needed, and each has lately behaved in semi-revolutionary fashion, with the Coalition ignoring conservative dogma and reaching over the states directly to schools, teachers, and families, while Labor embraces some policies that make the teachers’ unions queasy—notably its willingness to continue Australia’s practice of aiding private and religious schools.
On one key issue, however, the parties are converging: Both now favour some sort of national academic standards, tests, and curriculum. ("Australia Grapples With National Content Standards," March 14, 2007.) Exactly how and by whom this will be operationalized is not yet clear. As in America, nobody wants the federal education department to take direct charge of such sensitive matters.
What’s the point, one wonders, of a national curriculum if nobody knows which schools are teaching it effectively?
State education officials are proud of their track record and jealous of their autonomy. Still, they’ve been edging toward a more unified approach for nearly two decades, dating to 1989, as the “Charlottesville summit” was launching the United States in this direction. In that year’s “Hobart Declaration,” which included “Common and Agreed National Goals for Schooling,” Australia’s state and national education ministers cautiously agreed to work together. Ten years later, the “Adelaide Declaration” committed them to devise a “national framework” for schooling. Two months ago, in “Federalist Paper 2,” the states and territories pledged jointly to develop national standards, beginning with English, math, and science, that could undergird a “national testing and measurement program,” then move on to a “national curriculum.” They invited the federal government to work with them on this ambitious undertaking.
In February, meanwhile, the Labor Party came out for a “national curriculum,” beginning with math, science, English, and history, that would be “a clear and explicit agreement about the essentials all young Australians should know and what they should be able to do.” Its manifesto suggested that a new “national curriculum board” take charge of this.
While I was there in May, the Howard government proposed an “initiative” to “develop nationally consistent standards in key subject areas” at the secondary level (10 courses were named)—and to make future federal school aid contingent on the states’ meeting those standards, starting in 2009, as well as requiring them “to include a component of rigorous external assessment” of student performance in the final year of high school.
Both parties recognize that today’s education standards are uneven, that too many young Australians are being left behind, and that the demands of modern society argue for kids in Sydney, Perth, and Darwin to acquire similar skills and knowledge.
Adding complexity and savour to the political stew, every state government is currently in Labor hands, while Howard’s Coalition rules in Canberra, whence flows most of Australia’s private school aid. The private (and religious) sector now educates more than one-third of all youngsters—in some locales, at the high school level, it enrols half of them—and accounts for all the growth in Australian K-12 pupil rolls over the past three decades. The Commonwealth subsidizes those schools, sometimes supplemented by the states. Amounts vary—a crude version of “weighted student funding” seeks to provide more for schools in low-income communities—and schools are free to charge tuition to “top up” what the government gives them. Melbourne’s Catholic schools, for example, receive from Canberra an average of 56 percent of the per-pupil funding of local public schools, and get another 16 percent from the state of Victoria. They supplement this with (relatively low) tuitions, some private philanthropy, and help from the church.
In return for government aid, Australian private schools employ state-licensed teachers and teach the core state curriculum—whether sensible or loopy—though they can augment it with religious education and other subjects. If and when a national curriculum comes about, the private schools will doubtless teach and test their pupils accordingly. Nobody I met seemed to find this too heavy a price to pay for public dollars. Besides being fiscally viable and popular with parents, the private sector is generally invited inside the tents where policy issues that affect it, such as curriculum, testing, and teacher qualifications, get hashed out.

Though impressed by how much progress has been made Down Under on the school choice front, I was jarred by how little information is available on school performance. The education establishment has drawn a line at making comparisons among schools—or states—and Australia generally keeps its school-level results hidden from parents, journalists, and politicians to a degree that seems antediluvian and faintly undemocratic to an American. What’s the point, one wonders, of a national curriculum if nobody knows which schools are teaching it effectively?
Today, despite two decades of discussing, convening, and proposing, Australia remains a considerable distance from such a curriculum and, like us, is riven by disagreement as to what exactly should be taught—and who ought to decide. The Pacific Ocean is no barrier to “culture wars” or progressivism-run-amuck. Indeed, I had time-warp (in addition to jet-lag) moments when I heard people arguing over “outcomes-based” education.
The Pacific Ocean is no barrier to ‘culture wars’ or progressivism-run-amuck.
The Labor Party hasn’t said much about actual curricular content, though its position paper thoughtfully discusses the need to blend skills and knowledge. On the other hand, the new board to which it would entrust this responsibility is to consist of “educational experts” and state (and private school) representatives, and could easily be dominated by the post-modern tendencies of fashionable academics and several extant state curricula.
Prime Minister Howard, by contrast, terms himself an “avowed education traditionalist” who believes that “English lessons should teach grammar. … History is History, not Society and the Environment or Time, Continuity, and Change. … Geography is Geography, not Place and Space.” He has also made clear that he favours high-stakes external exams of the very kind that Australia’s main teachers’ union decries—and would push hard on a Labor government to forswear.
Working through this won’t be any easier for Australia than for the United States. Though the over-40 generation is generally well-educated in a traditional sort of way, I met my share of charming featherheads among those under 30. Like America, Oz could do with a curricular makeover, higher standards, and universal accountability. But as on our own shores, some of its more perceptive education critics worry that any centralized standards will end up being drafted by the very experts whose handiwork caused the problems that national standards and curricula are meant to help solve.

Double it

A guy was in a cave, looking for treasure. He found an old lamp, rubbed it, and a genie came out. The genie said "I will grant you three wishes, but your ex-wife will get double." The man agreed, and said "I wish I had a mansion." The genie granted it, and his ex-wife got two mansions. The man said "I would like a million dollars." The genie again granted it and his ex-wife got two million dollars. Then the man said, "Scare me half to death."

Rusty XBs in Scotland

SHOPPING MATH

A man will pay $20 for a $10 item he needs.
A woman will pay $10 for a $20 item that she doesn't need.

Division

Two boy scouts went on a nature hike in the hills picking hickory nuts.
Along the way, they filled their small pails and then started to fill their pockets and shirts.
When they could hold no more nuts, they started down the country road until they came across a cemetery. The boys decided that would be a good place to stop and rest and divide out the nuts.
The two boys sat in the shade of a large oak tree and unloaded their pockets and buckets by dumping all of the nuts in a large pile.
In the process, two of them rolled away and rested near the road. The boys then proceeded to divide out the nuts. "One for you. One for me. One for you. One for me."
As they were doing this, another boy was passing by and happened to hear them. He looked into the cemetery, but could not see the boys, because they were obscured by the tree. He hesitated a moment and then ran back to town.
"Father! Father!" he yelled as he entered his house. "The cemetery. Come quick!"
"What's the matter?" his father asked.
"No time to explain," the boy frantically panted. "Follow me!"
The boy and his father ran up the country road and stopped when they reached the cemetery. They stopped at the side of the road and all fell silent for a few moments. Then the father asked his son what was wrong.
"Do you hear that?" he whispered. Both people listened intently and heard the Scouts. "One for me. One for you. One for me. One for you..."
The boy then blurted out, "The devil and the Lord are dividing the souls!"
The father was skeptical but silent -- until a few moments later as the Scouts completed dividing out the nuts and one Scout said to the other, "Now, as soon as we get those two nuts down by the road, we'll have them all."

Rusty XBs in Scotland

OFFICE ARITHMETIC

Smart boss + smart employee = profit
Smart boss + dumb employee = production
Dumb boss + smart employee = promotion
Dumb boss + dumb employee = overtime

Things to do II

Things to do @ Wal-Mart while the significant other is taking his/her sweet time:

11. Look right into the security camera, and use it as a mirror while you pick your nose.
12. Take up an entire aisle in Toys by setting up a full scale battlefield with G. I. Joe's vs. the X-Men.
13. Ask other customers if they have any Grey Poupon.
15. Switch the men's and women's signs on the doors of the restroom.
16. Dart around suspiciously while humming the theme from "Mission Impossible."
17. Set up a "Valet Parking" sign in front of the store.
19. Hide in the clothing racks and when people browse through, say things like "pick me! pick me!!"
21. If the store has a food court, buy a soft drink; explain that you don't get out much, and ask if they can put a little umbrella in it.

Last Landau interior

The rear of the console, showing the cigarette lighter and ashtray, and the two eyeball air vents.

Laughter

" The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter."
--Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain

Crooks

Little Billy wanted $100 badly and prayed for two weeks but nothing happened.
Then he decided to write God a letter requesting the $100. When the postal authorities received the letter addressed to God, USA, they decided to send it to President Bush.
The President was so impressed, touched, and amused that he instructed his secretary to send Billy a $5.00 bill.
President Bush thought this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy.
Billy was delighted with the $5.00 and sat down to write a thank you note to God, which read:
Dear God,
Thank you very much for sending the money, however, I noticed that for some reason you had to send it through Washington D.C. and, as usual, those crooks deducted $95.00.
Thanks,
Billy

Landau heater markings

Close up of the heater markings.

Concentrate on Today's Date

by Steve Goodier

It's been said well, "If you have to look at the calendar, concentrate on today's date." It doesn't hurt to look back occasionally and learn lessons from the past. And we should also look ahead and prepare for the future. But mostly... it is a good idea to give today the best we've got.

Actor Sylvester Stallone once said of his acting success, "It's been a lovely ride - I just wish I'd been there to enjoy it." Have you ever felt that way? That life has been good - even great - but you weren't really there to enjoy it?

He went on to say, "It's been like a blur - like trying to sightsee through a quaint New England town at three hundred miles an hour. I'd like to retrace my steps in the snow and see what I missed. I mean, I've been to Europe ten times in the past ten years, but I can't remember anything. If I didn't have some of the door keys that I took by accident, I wouldn't remember where I stayed. My whole life is door keys." Have you ever felt like your life is... car keys? Office keys? Keyboard keys? A blur?

Older people used to tell us when we were young parents to "enjoy these years." "They go by faster than you realize," these friends would say. And most of the time I'd think, 'They can't go by soon enough!'

I've always loved my children, and I am forever grateful I am a parent. But some days I couldn't wait for them to grow up. I remember long nights - long nights when babies were up because they couldn't sleep, or didn't feel well or just decided to use that extra time to exercise their lungs.

I remember long nights - long nights lying awake waiting for teenagers to come home... listening for the car engine so I knew they were all right. And if someone would tell me to enjoy those years, I'd shake my head and think, 'I'll enjoy it when they grow up. I'll enjoy getting my life back!'

But then the boys did grow up and they left home. And do you know what? Our friends were right. Those years went by faster than I expected. They seem like a blur now... and I wonder if I enjoyed them fully. Thomas Mann said, "Hold every moment sacred... Give each its true and due fulfilment." For these moments, I'm learning, are all we really have.

Next time I look at the calendar, I'll concentrate on today's date.

Perspective

Girl: You remind me of the sea.
Boy: Why? Because I'm so wild and romantic?
Girl: No. You make me sick.

Landau interior 3

The heating and air conditioning controls moved to little slider levers on the centre console, just in front of the lockbox.

Discovery

Siew-Quen Thong CFO, Asia Pacific Texon International Group
As for living a life of discovery and continuous learning, Siew-Quen has a simple mechanism for checking on whether she indeed is. "I just frequently ask myself, 'When was the last time I did something for the first time?'"

Hallucination

A guy thought he was dead, but in reality he was very much alive.
His hallucination became a real problem for his family and they finally took him to see a psychiatrist. After spending many laborious sessions trying to convince the guy he was still alive, the psychiatrist tried one last approach. He opened his medical book and proceeded to show the man that dead men don’t bleed. After a mind-numbing study, the man seemed convince that dead men don’t bleed, and the psychiatrist asked: “Do you now agree that dead men don’t bleed?” “Yes I do” the man replied. “Very well, then,” the psychiatrist said. He took out a pin and pricked the man’s finger. Out came a drop of blood. The doctor asked. “What does that tell you?” “Oh my goodness!” The patient exclaimed as he stared doubtfully at his finger…. “Dead men do bleed!!”

Landau interior 2

Appreciation

"You can never get to peace and inner security without first acknowledging all of the good things in your life. If you're forever wanting and longing for more without first appreciating things the way they are, you'll stay in discord." - Doc Childre and Howard Martin
Develop an attitude of gratitude. We discover a sense of wholeness as we appreciate both the small and big things in our lives. And it really helps to remember to appreciate ourselves. Appreciation is more than just acceptance -- it's respect and admiration. Let go of criticism and self-abuse.

"Generally, appreciation means some blend of thankfulness, admiration, approval, and gratitude. In the financial world, something that ‘appreciates’ grows in value. With the power tool of appreciation, you get the benefit of both perspectives: as you learn to be consistently thankful and approving, your life will grow in value." - Doc Childre and Howard Martin

Computer analogy

Computers are like air conditioners. They work fine until you start opening windows.

Landau/LTD Dash Part 1

It is worth mentioning that, as shown, the LTD and LTD Landau got a very upmarket version of the Falcon with wooden applique.



From the brochure.

Passion

"If you're not nervous about your passion, you're not passionate about it" - Bobby Flay, chef/restaurateur and TV personality.

Archeology

Q: How does an archeologist tell a male skeleton from a female skeleton?
A: He knows it’s a female skeleton if the jawbone is worn down.

XC standard dash

The standard XC also featured a much simplified gauge set up.

Visionary Leadership

WHAT'S IN A VISION?
David T. Conley, author of Are You Ready to Restructure? A Guidebook for Educators, Parents, and Community Members (Corwin Press, 1996), says that vision exists when people in an organization share an explicit agreement on the values, beliefs, purposes, and goals that should guide their behaviour. More simply, he calls it "an internal compass."
In Building Community in Schools (Jossey-Bass, 1994), Thomas Sergiovanni characterizes vision as an "educational platform" that incorporates the school's beliefs about the preferred aims, methods, and climate, thereby creating a "community of mind" that establishes behavioural norms.
Kathryn Whitaker and Monte Moses call it "an inspiring declaration of a compelling dream, accompanied by a clear scenario of how it will be accomplished." A good vision not only has worthy goals, but also challenges and stretches everyone in the school, they say in The Restructuring Handbook: A Guide to School Revitalization (Allyn and Bacon, 1994).
WHY DOES VISION MATTER?
Robert Fritz says that organizations advance when a clear, widely understood vision creates tension between the real and the ideal, pushing people to work together to reduce the gap.
This unifying effect is especially important in school settings known for their "isolationist culture." Because teachers typically regard methodology as a matter of individual preference, empowerment strategies do not quickly lead to school wide changes in classroom practices (Carol Weiss 1995).
By contrast, schools with a clear vision have a standard by which teachers can gauge their own efforts, says a report from the Oregon School Study Council (1992). According to one teacher in a school that had recently developed a vision, "People are speaking the same language, they have the same kinds of informal expectations for one another, more common ground."
David Mathews (1996) sees vision as a way of reconnecting schools to an increasingly alienated public. He says communities no longer see the schools as their schools. A vision that reflects the needs and purposes of the surrounding community not only improves education, it rebuilds the relationship between the school and its public.
HOW DO VISIONS DEVELOP?
Many leaders believe vision development is a straightforward task of articulating a statement of beliefs and then implementing it. However, some studies suggest that vision is more of an evolutionary process than a one-time event, a process that requires continuous reflection, action, and re-evaluation. Laraine Hong (1996) describes it as "purposeful tinkering." Through dozens of little experiments, "each day is an opportunity to come closer to your perceived ideal."
Both talk and action are necessary. Marie Wincek describes a school where the vision faltered because of too little discussion. The experienced and competent staff eagerly jumped into the "nuts and bolts" of implementation without examining whether they interpreted the vision the same way. Thus, they were unprepared for the inevitable disagreements and ambiguities that arose.
On the other hand, Conley says that some schools become mired in "analysis paralysis," recycling the same old discussions and hesitating to commit themselves to action. Not every detail and every anxiety can be resolved beforehand, and the vision can be modified as the school learns from experience.
IS VISION TOP-DOWN OR BOTTOM-UP?
Many people assume vision springs from the mind of a strong leader with the imagination, energy, and charisma to jump-start the organization into a major transformation. Others advocate a shared process in which everyone is a co-author. However, "either/or" thinking may be counterproductive.
Clearly, the principal plays a pivotal role in shaping the vision -- sometimes single-handedly. In the hands of an articulate, persuasive leader, a distinctive personal vision may be far more attractive than a something-for-everyone group product. As long as the vision is one that people in the organization can embrace, authorship is irrelevant (Fritz). However, principals with "heroic" inclinations must be willing to release personal ownership when the time comes for implementation, or teachers will not commit to it (Conley).
There are also good reasons to involve teachers at the outset, since they are the ones who must ultimately translate abstract ideas into practical classroom applications, and they can do this better when they are actively involved in developing the vision (Conley and colleagues).
No matter who creates the vision, the principal is its chief instigator, promoter, and guardian. In her study of shared decision-making, Weiss found that little changed unless the principal took the lead and actively pushed. Apparently, empowered teachers may act on individual visions, but they do not spontaneously create shared visions.
In the end, many principals may follow the example of Hong's principal: "Anne had to know when to suggest, when to nudge, when to wait. She had to be assertive enough to push us a few steps forward, but indirect and patient enough to let us find our own way."
HOW DO LEADERS FACILITATE VISION?
Even in schools that are deeply committed to shared vision, principals remain the key players, both before and after the school adopts a new direction.
Creating readiness is crucial. Conley notes that principals who have already adjusted to new ways of thinking often underestimate the time needed for others to do the same. He says that all participants must have the opportunity to examine their current thinking, develop a rationale for change, and entertain new models. This can be done by forming study groups, visiting schools or businesses that have already restructured, or collecting data that challenge comfortable assumptions (such as test scores or surveys of community satisfaction).
Robert Starratt (1995) emphasizes the importance of institutionalizing the vision. No matter how inspiring it sounds on paper, the dream will wither unless it takes concrete form in policies, programs, and procedures. At some point, curriculum, staffing, evaluation, and budget must feel the imprint of the vision, or it will gradually lose credibility.
At the same time, principals must remain focused on what the vision means in classroom terms. Richard Elmore and colleagues, after an in-depth study of restructuring schools, concluded that enthusiasm for new visions does not automatically lead people to see the implications for teaching. They found that it was "extraordinarily difficult" for teachers to attain the deep, systematic knowledge of practice needed to make the vision a reality. Without unrelenting assessment, analysis, and professional development, the vision may remain a glossy facade rather than becoming a vital, living presence in the life of the school.
Above all, principals must create a climate and a culture for change. They do this by speaking about the vision often and enthusiastically; by encouraging experiments; by celebrating successes and forgiving failures; and by remaining steadfast in the face of the inevitable problems and missteps.

Crooks

A man lying on his deathbed called to him, his lawyer, his doctor, and his pastor. "I am going to die tonight," and I want to prove that when you go to heaven you can take it all with you. So to my three most trusted friends, you three of course, I am leaving 50,000 dollars in these envelopes. When I die you must come to my funeral and put the envelopes in my coffin with me." The man handed the three men identical envelopes.
A day later they each received news that, that night the old man had died . So each knew they must go to his funeral and fulfill his death wish.
Standing over the coffin one week later the pastor confessed, " I can't hide what I've done. I took 10,000 dollars from the envelope because the church needed to be painted."
Then as he did so the doctor also started to fidget then finally confessed “I took 30,000 dollars from my envelope because the hospital needed a new wing."
Ten the lawyer said plainly “You bunch of crooks! I wrote him a check for the full amount!"

XA/B model standard dash

A closer view of the shift display.



And here is the standard dash in an XA, with the floor shift automatic.

Values Education

The urge toward values education for all is world wide: The following comes from The Jerusalem Post, Jun. 4, 2007

Forum to examine philosophy education among children

The 13th biannual conference of the International Council of Philosophical Inquiry with Children, which opens on Monday in Jerusalem, will shine a spotlight on some of the unique traits of philosophy education for children in Israel. Children's philosophy education, in which young children sit in a circle and discuss philosophical questions taken from everyday stories, is about facilitating a dialogue of "active listening and the ability to talk across differences," according to Dr. Jen Glaser, co-director of the Israeli Centre for Philosophy in Education and a co-chair of the ICPIC conference.
For young children, it "offers a way to listen to what people say rather than imposing their thoughts on another, to puzzle things out together in the public domain, to bring their own particular experience and talk about the substantive issues that matter to them," Glaser said.
Glaser is one of the heads of a pilot program, now completing its first year, that brings philosophy education to over 300 third- and fourth-graders in four schools in Jerusalem, including an Arab school, a state-religious school and two state schools. Israel offers particularly fertile ground for examining how such a program can contribute to dialogue. "When we put in a bid to host this year's conference," related Glaser, "we said other countries can learn from how we're building tolerance and active listening and the ability to talk across differences in a conflicted society. It's not as crucial in countries that are more coherent in themselves, but [in Israel,] what you say can't be divorced from who you are."
The program was intentionally spread across religious, ethnic and socioeconomic divides - "to show it can be done," said Glaser - and Arab kids from a school in the east Jerusalem village of Isawiya and religious children from a religious-Zionist school in Efrat will meet for the first time at the conference. The unique laboratory offered by the Israeli education system has attracted a larger-than-normal group of delegates from over 20 countries, who will come to learn from Israel's experiences.
What actually constitutes "philosophy education for children?" According to Dr. Howard Deitcher, director of Hebrew University's Melton Center for Jewish Education and co-chair of the ICPIC conference, philosophical topics are brought home to the children through stories of everyday life. "We're convinced children of all ages are very curious and open and thoughtful," said Deitcher, "and we believe - in contrast with certain schools of thought - that they can understand abstract ideas, and they thrive on it; it feeds their growth and development."
To that end, the curriculum is entirely topical, not historical. "We're not dealing with particular philosophers - Plato said this or Aristotle said that - but with questions philosophers throughout the ages have addressed. It's more important that the kids wrestle with the ideas."
How is this different from simply teaching morality or "values education"? According to Deitcher, moral education discusses "what you would do," while philosophy education deals with "how you understand it and would think about it differently." The exercise is also important as a tool for teaching social interaction. In the circle, "the kids listen to how other kids respond. They're learning how to listen … so they can challenge the ideas of others. They become more tolerant of other views because they have to examine whether they make sense. They can't criticize without looking at the logic [of the other's statement]."

Do I have enough?

A New Yorker was forced to take a day off from work to appear for a minor traffic summons. He grew increasingly restless as he waited hour after endless hour for his case to be heard.
When his name was called late in the afternoon, he stood before the judge, only to hear that court would be adjourned for the rest of the afternoon and he would have to return the next day.
"What for?!?!?" he snapped at the judge.
His honor, equally irked by a tedious day and sharp query, roared out loud: "Twenty dollars contempt of court! That's why!"
Then, noticing the man checking his wallet, the judge relented:
"That's all right. You don't have to pay now."
The young man replied, "I know. But I'm just seeing if I have enough for two more words."

More standard dashes

It may be worthwhile comparing the standard dash with three speed column manual shift with the standard dash with the three speed column automatic shifter.



XB manual



XB automatic