“enrich and enhance your life and learning” A Division of DiscoverTeenergy.com February 2011 Volume 12 Edition 2 Problem with an “Elitist” School (by O.S.) It is hard to believe that in our day and age that there is still such a lack of respect for intelligence, high performance and ability from some school boards. A recent York Region (Ontario, Canada) school trustees meeting showed that to be still evident in this part of the country. This isn’t the only spot in the world, of course. The article in the Toronto Star, Jan/8/2011 should be maddening for anyone engaging with gifted and other high performing people in any area of ability or talent. Imagine thinking that being fair is all about eliminating programs because students must try out for them. Everybody should be able to do anything they choose to do, right? So goes the thinking that might close the highly popular Baythorn Public Elementary School’s arts program that meets the needs of many highly talented students in the region. In many other school boards across the country, great efforts are being made to respect and nurture high-level individual exceptionalities, skills and abilities. In some cases, they actually replicate this particular program that is in the spotlight. The thinking seems to be: it is more important to be fair to all than to worry about being unfair to a few. What these trustees fail to see is that the naturally or environmentally “added value” which these children have is vital in our society and should demand nurturing. Political correctness has “blandified” the world in many ways. Gone are the days when people told jokes. They might offend. Going are the labels and names that used to produce emotional reactions, replaced by misleading, deceptive descriptive words. e.g. insurgents used to be called freedom fighters, Xmas trees are now Holiday trees. What’s next? Do so many feelings get hurt when people are judged to be superior in some way that there is a need to bring the "elite" down a few notches? Get used to it people. There is always somebody better than you. Celebrate the fact that somebody can do it if you can’t. In the trustee way of thinking, wouldn’t it be wonderful if they could get everybody to be "equal"? Everybody could play sports at one and the same level of mediocrity. Goodbye Cirque du Soleil, goodbye NHL hockey teams, goodbye So You Think You Can Dance and the Idol shows, goodbye Olympics. In the new “nonelitist” format, everybody at any ability will be happy they can all participate because there will be no tryouts or qualifying rounds. Unfortunately, enthusiasm will be very effectively killed. How did these foolish trustees get to their position of power in education? Unfortunately for the people they represent, they seem to have bypassed the tryouts. Toronto Star article: http://alturl.com/wy33e Inside this issue: - The World is Coming to an End 2 Trivia Computer Tip - Facts about Pets Good Reads - Accountability 3 To Your Health Reflections of a Teenage Mind 4 Living with Technology The Other View 6 Jokes of the Month Amazing Invention Wise Words of Wisdom 7 Awesome Websites The Future of Glass (WOW!! DOUBLE WOW!!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gplbpAIjMq8 Playa Cofi Jukebox (WOW! listen to top 100 songs from 1950’s on)) http://www.tropicalglen.com/ Fark News (Real news. Real funny.) http://www.fark.com/ OddCast (type in words that are then spoken with accents from different countries. Very interesting.) http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php?sitepal Internet World Statistics (who uses it and where. Great for learning Math http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm Activities of the Month (by topic, month, alphabetical order, interest) Visit: http://www.DiscoverTeenergy.com “Activities Database” Page 2 - Volume 12, Edition 2 News and Views The World is Coming to an End! Or is it? (by O.S.) So what is it with people? How do they know so much that the rest of us don’t? I mean all the prophets that predict the end of the world as we know it. People throughout history have made predictions about how and when. The latest predictions of Armageddon are based on the Mayan calendar. It is creating a stir but will it happen? Who knows? Apocalypse means “a lifting of the veil” or “revelation.” Many people see this as a new start rather than an end so they are quite excited about it. They don’t view it in fear so are more likely to go along with it. Meaning is given to history and there is a sense of a master plan and a glorious end. Ancient Assyrian tablets predicted an end. Romans also believed that the city would fall in the 120th year. Hilary of Poitiers predicted the end in 365 AD. Christian prophets predicted it also. The changing of the millennium was a good time for predictions. Pierre Turrel, a French astrologer, provided 4 different years beginning in 1537. Harold Camping, an American radio evangelist predicted the world would end on Sept. 6, 1994. He then said that recalculating would mean that May 21, 2011 was the end. Oct.21, 2011 was also the date. He’s apologized to all the people who sold all they had and waited in anticipation of the rapture. Wow! William Miller was another soothsayer. His prediction was Oct. 22, 1844. His followers also quit jobs and gave their belongings away. Imagine the disappointment as they sat on their hill with arms outstretched waiting for the rapture. Then nothing happened. What do you do? What do you think? What do you say? Hon-Ming Chen also envisioned the apocalypse. He led a cult called God’s Salvation Church. His followers built “space ships” and waited for God to take them away on March 25, 1998. Surprise!! The terror that is often generated by predictions can be diminished by leaders who “guide” the followers on the right path. Oppressed and insecure people see a way out and a new start. What is most interesting is the fact that despite all the false predictions, people just pick up and believe someone else. There is always the next sucker who seeks an opportunity to be a “chosen” one despite the history of failure in predicting. Oh, when will it all end?? A Brief History of the Apocalypse http://www.abhota.info/end1.htm Watch “2012” about the Mayan apocalypse. Movie released 2009. Thinking Dynamics “My Goal is Your Child’s Success” Dr. Ronald L. Rubenzer EdD, MA, MPh, MSE LPA Greensboro, North Carolina, USA Ph: 336-282-4539 drronrub@aol.com Specializing in: • individualized IQ testing • Diagnostic/prescriptive assessments of achievement level • Testing for giftedness and gifted program placement Credentials: • • doctorate in gifted education, Columbia Univ. (NYC) 20 yrs. experience in testing as school psychologist Ph: 336-282-4539 drronrub@aol.com www.drrubenzer.com Original Photo Art Page 3 - Volume 12, Edition 2 Trivia Computer Tip Accountability (O.S.) - American fishermen use about 5.5 billion worms for bait each year. Quick Tip to Copy Document Titles in Files To copy and paste just the document titles listed in your files, especially in Windows Explorer, highlight the title, left click once on the title and wait briefly. It opens for renaming and a cursor will flash inside the box. The box stays highlighted. Hover over the blue highlighted area with the regular mouse cursor, and right click to open a side window. Left click on the word “Copy”. Go to any new location, anywhere in your computer, right click on the mouse and hit “Paste”. In the past few months I have been dealing with people in different organizations in different countries. One of the most obvious differences is between those who talk about things and those who do things. The accountability issue is at play in both. The two distinct groups that I want to discuss are: those that give advice and those who change life. I find that I’ve stopped going to networking meetings. Many people who are looking for work meet others who are looking for work. What’s the point? The odd person gets referred to somebody else. The organizers make money on admission fees. No accountability beyond setting up meetings hyped as the answer to the problems that small business owners have. The other day, the president of a chapter of a major North American manufacturers association told me that all they do is educate members. They are upset that their companies are suffering from offshore manufacturing. Their new project is to increase communication and do more planning so that companies are aware of the need. Notice that nothing will change! It’s just talk and meetings. There is no accountability! Couldn’t this major player DO something to find new, original products and services to work on instead of just telling members to do more work? Many new innovation centers are being created to “stimulate the economy” and encourage creativity and inventiveness. Most don’t have creativity or inventing training courses or inventor databases. - Spain’s Xmas Lottery is the biggest in the world. It gives out $3.4 billion euros. - all the electrons in the internet would weigh as much as a strawberry. E.g. Artificial Intelligence Article.pdf - the internet has about 5 million terabytes of information. - an average email has about 50 kilobytes of information carried b y about 5 billion electrons. - the internet needs electricity to power, heat and cool the devices on it. - about 39% of Canadian households bake cookies from scratch. Artificial Intelligence Article.pdf Facts about Pets (various sources) - Dental disease is the most common health problem. About 60% of dogs and 70% of cats show signs by age 3. Bad breath is usually the first sign. - Dogs that lick their rear ends might be cleaning plugged or infected anal glands, relieving itch of worms, or females may be having a period and licking the blood. Think of this before you let the dog lick your ice cream, face or baby. Neil Armstrong used a Hasselblad camera to take photos of the moon at the first landing on July 21, 1969. - Overheated Teflon-coated pots and pans can produce toxic fumes that can kill birds. The fumes can also harm humans. - try to get at least 3 minutes of absolute quiet time each day. - Stress can cause a snake to regurgitate. - Pet guinea pigs can’t produce their own Vitamin C and can get scurvy. They can die from high heat and humidity conditions. - Cat bites can be highly dangerous. A friend of ours was bitten and almost died. The strongest antibiotic saved her. True story. Good Reads Oliver’s Twists: The Life and Times of an Unapologetic Newshound by Craig Oliver. Tales and yarns about politicians. George Laraque: The Story of the NHL’s Unlikeliest Tough Guy by George Larque. Dark Market: Cyberthieves, Cybercops, and You by Misha Glenny. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safram Foer. A look at how animals are raised and killed. Motivation and education are not enough. Action speaks louder than words and will result in accountability. In “Shogun” the novel, an English pilot is told to learn Japanese. If he fails, his teacher will be executed. That’s accountability! Discussion: How can people be held more accountable for their words/actions? Gift Rap is now on Facebook! Become a fan. Invite your friends.! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gift-Rap/115877201770108 Page 4 - Volume 12, Edition 2 To Your Health Treating Yourself as a “Whole”… Getting to the Root of your Health! by Lucy Lagana Homeopath/Holistic Allergist & Nutritionist When one thinks about their health complaints, regardless of what it could be, ranging from migraines, digestive complaints, skin conditions or sleep disturbances etc., one is initially inclined to try and “fix” that area that is causing the problem and do something that will alleviate the complaint. This could include things like taking pain killers, enzymes for stomach disturbances, cortisone creams for skin complaints or sleeping pills when one can’t sleep. We have been made to believe by western medicine and pharmaceuticals that this is completely acceptable, But is it? Let us look at this from another angle. When you have a fruit that has started to decompose and go bad, we will see that there is one main area that is initially affected, but we cannot ignore the fact that that “whole” fruit has now been affected and is in the “complete” process of decomposition. This is no different from a human body. When one has a physical ailment, the person must realize that in order to target this complaint, they must look at themselves as a “whole”. In a human, this means to look at one’s mental, emotional and physical state of being. But one might ask, “What does my emotional state have to do with my knee pain or my bladder infection?” Well, just like that fruit, whatever happens to one part of you, happens to the “entire person”. All parts are connected and are relevant to the other! Homeopathy is a system of medicine that allows a Homeopathic Doctor to look at disease or physical complaints in such a holistic way. A homeopath will take an in-depth, detailed case analysis incorporating one’s mental, emotional and physical state of being, seeing a person as a “whole being” and making the connections that tie them all together, putting all those valuable pieces of the puzzle together and selecting a Natural Homeopathic Medicine that will target all aspects of that person. This truly gives a patient a form of treatment that will benefit them and their whole body and treatment at the deepest level possible. Holistic Health Clinic, 2174, Major Mackenzie Drive in Maple, ON, (905)553-9255, (416)648-4497 www.TorontoHolisticPsychotherapy.com Reflections of a Teenage Mind by Megann Ford-Licskai Okay Parents, Listen Up! Perhaps the most intelligent and misanthropic, the most certainly misunderstood of all species today is the teenager. Perhaps, being a teenager myself, my views will be slightly biased. However, as the philosopher Maxwell Smart once said, “It takes one to know one”. After having conducted an extensive study with teens on this topic, I have managed to identify 5 general rules relating to dealing with our volatile breed: Rule 1: We are smarter than you. We always will be. Don’t question it. Take into consideration the example of N.D., a female teenager of average intelligence. In her 15 years, she has yet to be incorrect. Everything that comes out of her mouth is automatically a fact. Global warming is NOT real. The U.S. is in ALL ways superior to Canada - Medicare included. Whoever came up with that idea was clearly deranged. The Republicans are the ONLY option when it comes time to vote. It’s a good thing that Bush won- Al Gore would have ruined the country. And there you have it. She knows!! Rule 2: Do not try to understand us. You never will. Parents - no offense - but you don’t have a clue. Clearly, you have always been middle aged, and so cannot possibly relate to anything we might be feeling. When we respond with mumbles and one word answers, get the message and back off. Rule 3: Sleep/School/Family/Socialization/ Vegetables/ Physical Activities, etc. are overrated. Seriously. Lock us in a room with a computer, a television, and a fridge full of pizza pops and pogo dogs. We will get along just fine, and be happier for it. Rule 4: Family time is just a euphemism for “Cruel and Unusual Punishment.” Is there anything more painful than sitting in a car for 2 hours, listening to your little sister belt out an offtune cover of Rihanna’s Unfaithful? Maybe worse is arriving at the Family Christmas dinner and having distant relatives exclaim how much you’ve grown. Yes I have, Uncle Bob. Last time you saw me was when I was three. What did you expect? Rule 5: Leave us alone. Period. Yes, we will tidy our desks. Eventually. And why would we make our bed when we’re just going crawl back into it in a few hours? What? Unloading the dishwasher is our job? Well, we didn’t ask to be born into this family. Actually, I think that that was your idea. Guess that it is, in fact, your job. You, the parents, are our personal maids, chauffeurs, cooks, and social planners, at least until we’re 18 (maybe longer!). Disagree? Guess you should have thought about that 16 years ago. Megann is a student at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Page 5 - Volume 12, Edition 2 Educators for the Gifted Organization - assisting those who educate gifted and other high achieving children in public, separate, private schools, home schooling, also advocacy & support groups • • Attend our conferences Find what you need in our extensive online resources on giftedness & gifted education • mail@edgo.ca http://www.edgo.ca 416-824-4883 Toronto, Canada A special newspaper celebrating everyday heroes Tired of reading nothing but bad news? How about something refreshing and uplifting? Good News Toronto is a not-for-profit newspaper that has contributions from volunteers in all walks of life. Read and send us articles about acts of kindness, heroes and good things happening in your world. Subscribe or read all about it online: http://goodnewstoronto.ca Twitter: http://twitter.com/goodnewstoronto Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8282439522&ref=ts Page 6 - Volume 12, Edition 2 Living with Technology by Steve Krar NUMERICAL CONTROL (The Control of Manufacturing Equipment by Numbers) Numerical control (NC) is the operation of a machine tool by codes consisting of numbers, letters of the alphabet, and symbols that a machine control unit (MCU) can understand. The instructions are changed into electrical pulses and motors and controls follow them to carry out a manufacturing operation. The numbers, letters, and symbols refer to distances, positions, functions, or motions, followed by the tool as it machines the work piece. NC was used as early as 1725. English knitting machines used punched cards to form various patterns in cloth. Even earlier, rotating drums with prepositioned pins controlled European cathedral and American church chimes. In 1863, the first player piano was patented. Air flowed through punched paper rolls as keys were played. Mass production, developed by Eli Whitney, transferred many hand-done operations to the machine tool. Better, more precise machine tools allowed this system of interchangeable manufacture to produce large quantities of identical parts. In the late 1800’s, machine tools were developed for many metal-cutting operations—turning, drilling, milling, and grinding. Better hydraulic, pneumatic, and electronic controls meant better controlled movement of machine slides. In 1947, the U.S. Air Force found that complex aircraft parts caused manufacturing problems. John Parsons of Traverse City, Michigan - experimented in making a machine tool generate a “thru-axis curve" to control motions. In 1949, he was awarded a contract to develop NC to speed up production methods. Parsons hired Servomechanism Labs of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and in 1952, demonstrated a vertical spindle which made parts through simultaneous three-axis cutting tool movements. Soon all machine tool manufacturers produced machines with NC. The 1960 Chicago Machine Tool Show displayed over 100 NC machines. Most had simple point-to-point positioning, but NC was firmly established. NC improved as the electronics industry developed new products. Solid-state circuitry and modular or integrated circuits replaced tubes. Control units became smaller, more reliable, and less expensive. Better machine tools and control units helped spread the use of NC to all facets of manufacturing. NC data processing is now done in programmed computers or machine control units (MCU) by adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, and comparing sequential order and may take only nanoseconds. Software-based controls in the early 1970s used computer logic with more capacity and programming for more functions. Menu-selected displays, advanced graphics, and ease of programming made work easier. Primitive people counted on fingers and toes. From this came the decimal or Arabic system where "base ten" is used to signify a numerical value. Computers and MCUs, in contrast, use binary or base 2 systems. Both the computer and the MCU can recognize standard decimal system and convert it to binary data. Almost everything can be produced on a computer numerical control machine tool. The machine tool movements used in producing a product are of two basic types: point-to-point (straight-line) and continuous path (contouring). The mathematician and philosopher Rene Descartes invented the Cartesian or rectangular coordinate system. With this system, any point can be located in mathematical terms from any other point along three perpendicular axes. CNC systems use rectangular coordinates because the programmer can locate every point on a job precisely and independently from each other. Steve Krar is a prolific author and co-author of over 70 technology books, creator of the Advanced Technology Think Tank and a member of the Canadian Manufacturer’s Hall of Fame. He is in his eighties and still very involved in all things technological. His wealth of knowledge in the field is most welcome. He resides in Welland, Ontario, Canada. http://www.AdvancedTechThinkTank.org The Other View by Ahmed Sheta The Shafia Trial http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/01/29/jury-reaches-verdict-in-shafia-trial/ A father, mother and son were just sentenced to life imprisonment for killing three daughters and the man’s second wife for dishonoring the family. The four were in a car that was pushed into a canal in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. This case will have a world-wide impact and many reverberations. Canada is making a statement that will change many things, in the ethical, legal and cultural fields in many countries. Sometime ago, I had a discussion with my Canadian-born friend about the case. He said it is disgusting. I said, yes it is. But I do understand where the perpetrators are coming from. I would also go so far as to say that all parties in this criminal case are victims. The perpetrators - the parents and the brother - are victims of a tribal culture, of a society that lives in the shadows of a distant past, of outdated inhuman cultural beliefs. They are victims of their own beliefs. Every society has different value systems and beliefs. value systems that were developed in a particular environment throughout the history of the country. They believe it is the correct system. We do have our values and they do have theirs. But the difference is stark. When the two value systems come together they have to collide. The irony is that the parents are the aggressors and the victims at the same time. I am not defending them in any way. But I say we need to understand the reasons behind the criminal act. We need better education for new immigrants coming from a different background to a country with different values. We need to help them bridge the gap of this cultural divide in order to avoid the cultural friction and potential tragedies. We need to do more to protect women, children and the weak. We need to cultivate new values and understanding among new immigrants of different backgrounds. We need to welcome and absorb immigrants into the mainstream. Leaving new citizens from other countries on the outskirts of society will only lead to them living in closed communities where their traditions propagate and again transmit from one generation to the next. We need to do a lot. Ahmed Sheta is an immigrant Egyptian-Canadian journalist and Arabic translator who has written for Arab newspapers. He lives in Toronto, Canada. G R VOL. 12 ED. 2 Published by: Otto Schmidt M.Ed. Special Ed. Specialist Toronto, Canada 416-226-2332, 416-824-4883 Page 7 Jokes of the Month Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly? Answer: Incorrectly What if there were no hypothetical situations? Cannibal Husband - I don’t like your Mother. Cannibal Wife - Try the potatoes. Gifted Programming Consultant Academic assessments Curriculum design • Mentoring and tutoring, advocacy • Presentations, conferences, keynotes • • A dog thinks: ‘Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me and take good care of me … THEY MUST BE GODS!’ A cat thinks: ‘Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me and take good care of me … I MUST BE A GOD!’ Accent on Skills Consulting http://www.Accentonskills.com Amazing Invention Websites: http://www.DiscoverTeenergy.com http://www.edgo.ca http://www.inventorscollege.org http://www.inventingcourse.com Japan’s First Spherical Flying Machine We have helicopters and planes but now for something really different! This unique flying machine can do almost anything that you want a flying object to do. It can hover, glide, and even recover if hit by another object. Three gyroscopes control this unique invention. Have a look and marvel at the imagination that went into creating it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8IW0mvj55Y Wise Words of Wisdom “There is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequal people” - Thomas Jefferson “I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life.” - Ronald Reagan “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” – Thomas Jefferson “Your vision is not limited by what your eyes can see, but by what your mind can imagine.” - Ellison Onizuka “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” - Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 48 Personal, Thinking and Creativity Skills See contents and order your copy at:: http://www.AccentonSkills.com/aelsbook.htm “Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride"-unknown “If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.” - Moshe Dayan To advertise in this newsletter and on our other sites, contact us at: GiftRapCA@Gmail.com