Listening

"Listening is such a simple act. It requires us to be present, and that takes practice, but we don't have to do anything else. We don't have to advise, or coach or sound wise. We just have to be willing to sit there and listen." --Margaret J. Wheatley

Penguin trip

A police officer sees a man driving around with a pickup truck full of penguins. He pulls the guy over and says, "You can't drive around with penguins in this town! Take them to the zoo immediately."
The guy says okay, and drives away. The next day, the officer sees the guy still driving around with the truck full of penguins -- and they're all wearing sunglasses. He pulls the guy over and demands, "I thought I told you to take these penguins to the zoo yesterday?"
The guy replies, "I did. Today I'm taking them to the beach!"

Brock EA Falcon

Peter Brock modifying Falcons ? Well, yes, he did. When HSV took over from HDT and Peter Brock was no longer able to build his Brock Commodores, along with some other ex-employees he formed a company called Austech Automotive Developments and he approached Ford about modifying and selling the EA Brock Falcon. The relationship lasted less than a year and ended when Ford took on Tickford as their performance supplier. Fewer than 200 Brock Fords were built, the most reliable figures being 126 Falcons and Fairmonts, 18 Fairlanes, 11 Mavericks and 5 top of the range SE’s.

Open to possibilities

"Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities -- always see them, for they're always there." -- Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

"One of the saddest lines in the world is, 'Oh come now - be realistic.' The best parts of this world were not fashioned by those who were realistic. They were fashioned by those who dared to look hard at their wishes and gave them horses to ride." -- Richard Nelson Bolles

"The world would have you agree with its dismal dream of limitation. But the light would have you soar like the eagle of your sacred visions." -- Alan Cohen

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." -- Walt Disney

Grapes

Q: What did the green grape say to the purple grape?

A: "BREATHE YOU IDIOT, BREATHE!"

Dick Johnson XE Grand Prix turbo Falcon

One of the variables between the CDT and MVT built cars appears to be the position of the bonnet vent. Compare the vent on this car

Put Excitement in Your Lessons!

By Larry Bell
I hear a lot of teachers say, “That child is unmotivated. She doesn’t care.” To that teacher I have this response: There is no such thing as an unmotivated child. What that child is, is uninspired. Then I add, “And I believe that an empowered teacher -- a teacher who believes he or she can reach all their students -- inspires young people.”
The main thing I have found for inspiring the un-inspirable is this: Teachers must put excitement in their lesson plans. I propose that it is hard to inspire anyone by boring them to death. The best way to excite students is to be excited yourself about what you are teaching. We educators must be excited every day we walk through that door. My gosh, if we are teaching it and can’t get excited about it, how do we expect students -- especially our most challenged students -- to get excited about what we are doing? All teachers need to create lesson plans that are going to inspire their students. But there are some other things teachers can do to make their classes inspiring.
Guest speakers. When I was in the classroom, I often generated excitement in a topic by inviting guest speakers to speak to my science students. I invited professionals in their fields to speak on their topics of expertise. Some people think guest speakers are a waste of time, but I see them as a way to achieve my state standards. I see them as a way to inspire students while keeping the academic integrity of my classes intact. One year, when my students were studying weather, I invited a local TV meteorologist into my classroom to bring life to our unit. I watched the excitement happen as kids listened to her, asked questions, and related her talk to relevant curriculum material we had covered. This speaker proved inspiring. It was time very well spent. I also invited former students to be guest speakers in my classroom. Students who went on to college and are taking classes relevant to my curriculum can get my current students excited by telling them about how the information I’m teaching is helping them in what they’re doing in college. In addition, my students need role models and former students who are having success in college are great role models.
Academic Games. Games like “Jeopardy” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” are popular with students who -- let’s face it -- spend a lot of time in front of the tube. I contend that it is possible to use games such as those and keep the academic integrity of my curriculum intact. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not advocating that games be used in the classroom every day. If you did that, the games would quickly bore students too. But, from time to time, why not spice up your class with an academic game? Knowing there will be a game tomorrow might inspire students to do some class-related reading tonight.
Interviews. If you’re planning to teach about a topic that relates to everyone’s life in some way, why not have kids go home and interview their parents or neighbours about the topic in question? What was the worst weather incident a family member or neighbour can recall? Where were they when they learned that Martin Luther King, Jr., had been assassinated? What book read as a child brings back the happiest memories? Have students share the responses they collected as others take notes. Even your most resistant students might tell about things they learned by interviewing family and friends. The interview technique can also be used to collect data to be graphed in math class. It can be used to help students collect information as they write their autobiographies in language arts. Interviews can be used to generate many different and inspiring lessons.
Competition. Another way to get kids excited is to use friendly competition in the classroom. Arrange students into teams and have them compete against each other as they gather information, answer questions, or complete assignments. When I was in the classroom, I created at TV show called “It’s Scientific” that I modeled on a local TV game show called “It’s Academic.” I chose four representatives from each of my classes and had them compete during our school’s club time. I videotaped the game and showed that video to all my classes. It was so exciting as kids watched and joined in on the fun.
Guest speakers, academic games, interviews, and friendly competitions can get kids excited about learning. But the most important thing of all is for teachers to model excitement and enthusiasm.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Nothing great is ever achieved without enthusiasm.” We educators must show every day what we want our students to feel.

Relationship help

Subject: Computer Hard and Software:
Dear Tech Support:
Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0. I soon noticed that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a lot of space and valuable resources. In addition, Wife 1.0 installed itself into all other programs and now monitors all other system>activity. Applications such as Poker Night 10.3, Football 5.0, Hunting and Fishing 7.5, and Racing 3.6 no longer run, crashing the system whenever selected.

I can't seem to keep Wife 1.0 in the background while attempting to run my favorite applications. I'm thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0, but the uninstall doesn't work on Wife 1.0. Please help!
Thanks,
A Troubled User. (KEEP READING)
______________________________________

REPLY:
Dear Troubled User:

This is a very common problem that men complain about.
Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it is just a Utilities and Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an OPERATING SYSTEM and is designed by its Creator to run EVERYTHING!!! It is also impossible to delete Wife 1.0 and to return to Girlfriend 7.0. It is impossible to uninstall, or purge the program files from the system once installed.
You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0 is designed to not allow this. Look in your Wife 1.0 manual under Warnings-Alimony-Child Support. I recommend that you keep Wife1.0 and work on improving the situation. I suggest installing the background application "Yes Dear" to alleviate software augmentation.
The best course of action is to enter the command C:\APOLOGIZE because ultimately you will have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the system will return to normal anyway.
Wife 1.0 is a great program, but it tends to be very high maintenance. Wife 1.0 comes with several support programs, such as Clean and Sweep 3.0, Cook It 1.5 and Do Bills 4.2. However, be very careful how you use these programs. Improper use will cause the system to launch the program Nag, Nag 9.5. Once this happens, the only way to improve the performance of Wife 1.0 is to purchase additional software. I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0! WARNING!!! DO NOT, under any circumstances, install Secretary With Short Skirt 3.3. This application is not supported by Wife 1.0 and will cause irreversible damage to the operating system.

Best of luck,
Tech Support

Dick Johnson XE Grand Prix turbo Falcon

This is a Psychopath Test

Read this question, come up with an answer and then scroll down to the bottom for the result. This is not a trick question. It is as it reads. No one I know has got it right.

A woman, while at the funeral of her own mother, met a guy whom she did not know. She thought this guy was amazing. She believed him to be her dream guy so much, that she fell in love with him right there, but never asked for his number and could not find him.

A few days later she killed her sister.

Question: What is her motive for killing her sister?

[Give this some thought before you answer. See below]

Answer:
She was hoping the guy would appear at the funeral again.
If you answered this correctly, you think like a psychopath. This was a test by a famous American Psychologist used to test if one has the same mentality as a killer. Many arrested serial killers took part in the test and answered the question correctly.
If you didn't answer the question correctly, good for you!
If you got the answer correct, please let me know so I can take you off my email list..

Drunk philosophy

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."

Dick Johnson XE Grand Prix turbo Falcon

Really be there for another

Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. You can see that when you think how the friends that really listen to us are the ones we move toward, and we want to sit in their radius as though it did us good, like ultraviolet rays." -- Brenda Ueland

How well do we communicate with others? Often, when we are interacting with others, our attention in both speaking and listening is focused on meeting our own needs.
Our communication skills improve when we can open to be aware of the needs of the other person. When we listen, we can release the filters that serve our own needs for security and receive the message with our compassionate heart. And when we speak, we can choose words that the listener is able to receive. True communication happens when we harmonize with the other individual.

"So when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words, but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it." -- Jiddu Krishnamurt

The first duty of love is to listen." -- Paul Tillich

Perspective

With his ball and bat in hand Little Pete walked to home plate in an empty baseball field.
As he threw the ball up in the air, he announced, “I am the best ball player ever!” He swung with all his power, but missed. He did the same thing and missed again. He picked up the ball, tossed it up one more time, said “I am the best ball player in the world!” Then he swung and missed again. “Wow! He said. “What a pitcher!”

Dick Johnson XE Grand Prix turbo Falcon

Answers

Below, are examples of sixth grade research projects.
1. Ancient Egypt was inhabited by mummies and they all wrote in hydraulics. They lived in the Sarah Dessert. the climate of the Sarah is such that the inhabitants have to live elsewhere.
2. Moses led the Hebrew slaves to the Red Sea where they made unleavened bread which is bread made without any ingredients. Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten commandments. He died before he ever reached Canada. 3. Solomon had three hundred wives and seven porcupines.
4. The Greeks were a highly sculptured people and without them we wouldn't have history. The Greeks also had myths. A myth is a female moth.
5. Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. Socrates died from an overdose of wedlock. After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline.
6. In the Olympic games, Greeks ran races, jumped, hurled biscuits, and threw the java.
7. Julius Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields of Gaul. The Ides of March murdered him because they thought he was going to be made king. Dying, he gasped out Tee hee, Brutus.
8. Joan of Arc was burnt to a steak and was canonized by Bernard Shaw.

Kid maths

A boy was teaching a girl arithmetic, he said it was his mission. He kissed her once; he kissed her twice and said, "Now that's addition." In silent satisfaction, she sweetly gave the kisses back and said, "Now that's subtraction." Then he kissed her, she kissed him, without an explanation. And both together smiled and said, "That's multiplication." Then her Dad appeared upon the scene and made a quick decision. He kicked that boy three blocks away and said, "That's long division!"

Dick Johnson XE Grand Prix turbo Falcon

With the demise of the Ford V8 as fitted to Falcons, it appears that Dick Johnson took the trouble to investigate turbocharging the six cylinder engine to make up for the loss in performance. The actual production of these cars is somewhat clouded in obscurity, but some of the information that has emerged is that there may have been 36 produced, of which all but six were blue, the other being red. Some may not have been turbocharged. While Dick had input, the initial batch of cars were built by CDT Performance Vehicles. Some years later, after the XE had left production, another company refurbished XE Falcons and sold them as turbocharged cars. It would appear that these cars built by MVT used twin Strombergs and had interiors trimmed similar to ESP’s.

Over the next few sessions I'' display some photos of what we believe to be an MVT produced car.


Dick Johnson XE Grand Prix turbo Falcon

The Mouse in School

"Vermin! Vermin!" Our
Teacher's voice was shrill!
And that much exuberance
Gave us kids a thrill.
Since our school isn't noted
For having much excitement,
We take what we get
And turn it in-to an event.
Teacher scrambled on top her desk.
My, but she could scoot!
And Johnny started throwing spitballs
As fast as he could shoot.
Betty grabbed the dustpan,
And Larry poked the broom
Behind the dusty bookcase
Which caused that mouse to zoom!
Kids were tipping over desks
And books were in the air.
You'd of thought a grizzly bear
Could cause so great a scare.
Finally, though, the game wore down.
The mouse tore out the door.
And teacher crawled down off her desk
And stood upon the floor.
"Now, Children, like I was saying
Before I climbed to get a view,
Find your notes, dust off your books;
It's time for our review.
Who can tell me, children,
If your brains have got calmed down,
Is 'vermin'… liked I used it…
An adjective or noun?"

Diplomat

Q. What is the true definition of a diplomat?
A. It is a person who can tell someone else to go to hell in a way that the other person will thank him for it!

XD Phase5 Falcon

The XD Phase5 was developed by a company called Phase Autos in Melbourne, and featured extended wheel arches, deep front spoiler, boot and roof spoilers, and a bonnet bulge. Phase Autos also offered a package of engine modifications, and the upgrading of the interior with Recaro seats and Momo steering wheel. Centreline wheels were also offered. It is not known how many were actually sold, but the figure five has been mentioned. While, with figures like this, no-one could consider the Phase5 a success, they sold many of the fibreglass components in kit form, and the wheel arch extensions in particular were used by most Ford teams for their XD and XE models competing in the Australian Touring Car races.

Honour for first wind-powered school

By Richard Garner, Education Editor The Independent, London:

A village primary school was celebrating last night after bringing a new sense of pride to a former mining community devastated by a pit closure. The 107-pupil Cassop Primary School in Durham has become the first in the UK to be wind-powered through a wind turbine located in the school grounds. It also became the first to win an award for the country's greenest school as part of the prestigious National Teaching Awards – screened live on BBC2.

The school's dedication to teaching about the environment, which has led to a host of educationalists visiting from abroad to see what they can learn from it, stems from a biologist, Jim McManners, becoming its headteacher thirty years ago. At that time the local colliery was the main employer. It closed abruptly in 1983 – a year before the miners' strike – on safety grounds because of flood fears. "I thought there were great possibilities about using the environment because I thought it was something that people in the village could be proud of," said Mr McManners.

One of the school's first initiatives was to campaign for part of the pit heap to be turned into a nature reserve after pupils discovered its natural habitat was being destroyed by tipping. One pupil, Leanne Gott, wrote to the body left in charge of colliery land, saying: "I'm writing to say please would you help save the wildlife because a very cruel man is destroying important land and we need all the help we can get. The animals that are there are in great danger." The quarry is a now a nature area often visited by the children. The school introduced measures to save energy years before climate change and sustainability became major issues. It has solar panels on the roof for heating, while the school boiler uses recycled wood chips. It also has its own "green team" – pupils who make sure lights are turned off and energy is saved. A gadget also shows how much carbon dioxide is being produced by the school every hour – enabling the "green team" to watch the figure falling as they work.

A report last week produced by the Cambridge academic Professor Robin Alexander, noted that today's seven to 11-year-olds were anxious about climate change, but that in schools that involved them in tackling the energy crisis that fear evaporated. Mr McManners believes this is the right approach. "You don't want to frighten them to death so they think there's no point in doing anything," he said. The school also encourages the green team to come up with their own ideas – and one adopted recently has been to extend the school's recycling scheme to include papers.

Pupils are also being encouraged to grow their own vegetables at the school. Cassop Primary received its award at the London Palladium from Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls, who said: "We are lucky as a society to have such a talented group of people working to improve the lives of our children. The value they bring to our society is priceless." The school is even trying to persuade parents in the village to conserve energy. "One dad has made a wind turbine out of old car parts," said Mr McManners. It has also achieved another of the head's aims as the local community has something new to shout about. After the pit closure, pupil numbers plummeted. Now the school is oversubscribed and people are moving back into an area that is considered to be one of natural beauty.

One kiss

At a fabric store, a pretty girl spots a nice material for a dress and asks the male clerk: How much does it costs? “Only one kiss per yard,” replied the male clerk with a smirk.
“That’s fine,” said the girl. I’ll take ten yards.”
With expectation and anticipation written all over his face, the clerk quickly measured out the cloth, wrapped it up, and then teasingly held it out. The girl took the bag and pointed to the old man standing beside her, and smiled, “Grandpa will pay the bill.”

XD John Goss Special

Also of some interest is that there were XD John Goss Specials. These were not factory cars but dealer specials, offered by a Sydney firm, Trad Trim and Sunroofs. They featured revised suspension, and fibreglass wheel arch extensions, bonnet bulge and rear wing, plus JGS striping and badging. For anyone interested in these cars there is a letter about them in Issue Five of AMC magazine, including a photograph and a reproduction of the advert.

An XD JGS recently came up for sale in Australia. Here are some photos. It is nice to see it still used Aunger wheels.

Learn from experience

"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him." -- Aldous Huxley

What was your peak experience of this past week?
What was your most challenging experience?

Stepping back to review your week can offer many insights. Normally we can’t see the forest for the trees. Now back away and see the whole forest. Review your week. Now write a short summary -- whatever comes to mind for you. If action is required, plan how you will accomplish it in the next week.

"Ask the experienced rather than the learned." -- Arabic proverb

"Experience is that marvellous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again." -- Franklin P. Jones

Trade vs professional

A very well dressed and dignified lawyer called a plumber to fix his flooded bathroom. When the plumber arrived, he was carrying an extra set of overalls and took off his cap with the words “Blue Collar Man” on the brim. The dapper, impeccably groomed and expensively dressed lawyer smirked in a condescending way and said: "Interesting cap! And do you usually need a change of OVERALLS?"

The plumber just smiled. When he was done the plumber gave him the bill, and told him he had to get some more equipment from his truck. He explained that he needed a new assistant because of all the work and was short-handed. He asked the lawyer if he knew of any friends who might want the job.

The lawyer raised his eyebrows and pointed at his suit, his shoes and his office: "Now, do I LOOK like someone who would have a plumber for a friend?"

"You're right. A high class white-collar guy like you would never know plumbers." said the plumber apologetically.

"Exactly! After all, I have high standards!" sneered the upper-crust lawyer, as he checked his shoes to make sure the shine was still perfect and carefully tightened the knot of his tie.

When the plumber returned, he entered the lawyer's office and there in the garbage can were the lawyer's brand new mirror-polished $700 Brooks Brothers capote business shoes, with the black silk socks rolled up and tucked neatly inside.

On the floor was the hand-tailored $2,000 Armani pinstriped business suit the lawyer had been wearing, with attached paisley suspenders, as well as the natty Hermes silk tie and the matching pocket square, monogrammed gold cufflinks, starched white shirt, silver tiepin and Rolex. His law degree and briefcase were also piled up next to them.

The plumber went in and the first there was the lawyer in overalls, lying under the sink with his bare feet sticking out. The plumber tapped on the soles of the lawyer's feet. The lawyer looked out, with the “Blue Collar Man” cap on top of his hundred-dollar haircut and sweat streaming down his face. He pointed at the bill and said, "You found your assistant".

Bowdens photos

Shortcuts

"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going." --Beverly Sills, opera singer

Giving thanks

At a Sunday school class the teacher asked a child; do you pray to God before lunch or dinner?
The child said, “No ma'am, my mum's a good cook!”

Bowdens photos

Pea Sea

Pea Sea

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me straight a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.