Brandywine Cash Expenditures

By popular request the district budget office has published the invoices that will be submited for approval at the November 1st budget meeting. The invoices can be found here. Now if you have a copy of MS Excel you can right click on the page and save it to your computer as an html file. Then open the file in Excel so you can sort and sum it anyway your heart desires.

I swear it only looks 29

'Lo' and behold! The internet turns 35: "LOS ANGELES - Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles are celebrating the anniversary of the first message sent over what would eventually become the internet.

...

After the hardware was put in place, researchers at UCLA attempted on Oct. 29, 1969, to log in to a computer at the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, Calif.

In an interview on CBC Newsworld, Prof. Leonard Kleinrock admitted researchers weren't exactly prepared for the history-making moment.

"[The message] wasn't anything like 'What hath God wrought?' or 'Come here, Watson. I want you,' or 'a giant leap for mankind.' We weren't that smart," he said, referring to the first messages over telegraph, over telephone and from the surface of the moon.

In order to log in to the two-computer network, which was then called ARPANET, programmers at UCLA were to type in "log," and Stanford would reply "in."

The UCLA programmers only got as far as "lo" before the Stanford machine crashed.

But Kleinrock put a tongue-in-cheek positive spin on the less-than-momentous message.

"The first message on the internet was 'Lo!' What better prophetic message could you ask for?" he said.

A Nation Bitterly Divided Still Loves Sweet Treats!

Principal Bans Cupcakes " MILFORD, Conn. - Some parents of students at a Milford elementary school are reacting angrily to a ban on all sweet treats. Principal Robert Davis has ruled out all goodies such as cakes, cupcakes or other food brought in for celebrations at Meadowside Schools.

Health officials said Davis enacted the prohibition against the treats and adopted a new policy of using games and crafts to celebrate birthdays, holidays and special occasions.

While city health officials praised the policy as a way to combat childhood obesity, some parents said city and school officials shouldn't regulate what their children can eat, especially during school celebrations.

Parent Jack Fowler said no one should dictate what students can bring to school for special events. He said health and school officials have turned into the "fat police," in an attempt to rid schools of foods children enjoy.

Mayor James L. Richetelli Jr. said as a parent he can understand health and school officials concern regarding food allergies and childhood obesity, but cupcakes should remain. "

Crafts?? so I guess for Halloween people should hand out yarn so all the little goblins can go home and do macramé.

Vote For Our Kids and our Homestead Exemption

"(2004-10-28) -- In the wake of a new poll showing that President George Bush leads his opponent by two points in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell today ordered slot machines placed in every voting booth in time for Tuesday's election.

Mr. Rendell, the former general chairman of the Democrat National Committee, said the move is designed to increase voter turnout and reduce disenfranchisement among 'enlightened, progressive, intelligent and profoundly moral Pennsylvanians.'

Charter bus companies today scrambled to meet the demand from senior citizen groups for transportation to the new 'Punch and Pull Polling Places'

Earlier this year, the governor won approval to place thousands of slots throughout the Commonwealth in order to increase funding for essential government services, like remedial math education and gambling addiction treatment programs. " Article

For the humor impaired among us this is a JOKE. At least I think it is but with the way things are going who knows anymore.

Congressional Economic Efficiency

Now that title may seem like an oxymoron. An E-Score for each congressman was developed as a Ph.D. dissertation by University of Delaware student Martin Kennedy, now a professor of economics at Aquinas College in Nashville, TN. The score is a measure of votes on economic legislation that would yield nationwide benefits greater than costs and those that would have nationwide costs greater than benefits. The former were designated as efficiency enhancing and the latter efficiency diminishing. An example would be steel tariffs, great if you are a steelworker in PA but not so good for workers who use the products across the country. Same for sugar quotas good for the sugar growers in Louisiana but it deprives millions of consumers lower sugar prices.

A score of 100 means they always voted to improve economic efficiency and 0 if they never did. No one scored 100% but two members Joe Moakley D-Mass and Shelia Jackson Lee D-Texas both scored 0. It would be unrealistic to expect them to be 100%. They would never get reelected because it would mean voting for a bill while good for the entire country would be bad for their state or district. The highest one in PA is Pat Toomey with a 78.3 and look where it got him. There would also be disagreements on if a bill was truly economically efficient. But surely one could do better then Tim Holden's 17.4% even John Kerry with a 36.4 score beat him. Anyway for what it is worth is the Pennsylvania delegations record.

Pennsylvania Senators

Rick Santorum R 68.25
Arlen Specter R 50.05

Pennsylvania Representives

Pat Toomey R 78.3
Jim Greenwood R 56.55
Joe Pitts R 56.55
John Peterson R 47.85
George Gekas R 47.85
Don Sherwood R 39.15
Phil English R 39.15
Curt Weldon R 30.45
Paul Kanjorski D 26.1
Bob Borski D 21.75
John Murtha D 21.75
William Coyne D 21.75
Mike Doyle D 21.75
Chaka Fattah D 17.4
Tim Holden D 17.4
Joe Hoeffel D 17.4
Frank Mascara D 13.05
Bob Brady D 4.35

Complete List And Documentation

Tax Payer Association

Members of the Taxpayers Association of Brandywine Heights Area School District urged about 100 residents Wednesday night to contact the members of the state House Finance Committee to support a bill that would eliminate property taxes in favor of a business-receipts tax.
Ken Heffner, a member of the pro-active committee for the group, said the taxpayers have to start viewing the group’s concern as a political issue.
“It doesn’t matter how hard we kick and scream at school board meetings. This has to become a political issue,” Heffner said.
“The people in Harrisburg have the power to change the lives of everyone living in Pennsylvania. Anyone who possesses that power and does not do anything to help taxpayers is acting immorally.”
...

Ronald Romig, a resident of Rockland Township, said there is some genuine concern that the business-receipts tax would further hurt people living in poverty by increasing the prices of food and clothing.
“If we have people out there with honest questions about this, we have to find ways to answer them rather than just bully them,” Romig said.
Heffner responded saying, “This plan would allow everyone to control what they spend money on, but what you cannot control is the assessment board coming out to tell you have to pay more in real estate taxes.”
The group has planned its next meeting for Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the American Legion Hall, Topton. MORE Today Only

Calling people who have serious questions about this proposal immoral is not the way to win friends and influence people. This is a serious issue with serious consequeces to our public school system.

Hobbits Are Real

Washington Post:
Scientists have discovered a tiny species of ancient human that lived 18,000 years ago on an isolated island east of the Java Sea -- a prehistoric hunter in a "lost world" of giant lizards and miniature elephants.
These "little people" stood about three feet tall and had heads the size of grapefruit. They coexisted with modern humans for thousands of years yet appear to be more closely akin to a long-extinct human ancestor.
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The research team discovered the new species in a limestone cave on Flores Island, in the Indonesian archipelago east of Java. They described the remains -- a fairly complete skull, the jawbone and much of the skeleton -- as those of a 30-year-old woman. The team named her Homo floresiensis. MORE


Yahoo News
Peter Brown of the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, and his colleagues made the discovery of the skull and other bones, and miniature tools in September 2003 while looking for records of modern human migration to Asia. They reported the finding in the science journal Nature.

"Finding these hominins on an isolated island in Asia, and with elements of modern human behavior in tool making and hunting, is truly remarkable and could not have been predicted by previous discoveries," Brown said in a statement.

Local legends tell of hobbit-like creatures existing on islands long ago but there has been no evidence of them. More

Should have called them Homo Hobbitsis, maybe they are waiting to they find out if they have furry feet. If they were found in limestone caves they could be Dwarfs and not Hobbits. The island of Java where they were found is close to New Zealand where Lord of The Rings was filmed.

Boyertown's Golf Course

There was an article in today's Reading Eagle concerning the Boyertown School District losing 9 million dollars due to the default of a bond investment. For some reason their investment manager thought loaning money to a golf course would be a smart move. The article mentioned that two other districts were involved. Brandywine was NOT one of them. Brandywine's money, well actually the taxpayers money, is in federally insured bank money markets and CD's.

Bush or Kerry?

Bush or Kerry? What the polls say now, and an interactive map to test your own scenarios.

Just in Time For Hallowen

"According to folklore, October's full moon is called the 'Hunter's Moon' or sometimes the 'Blood Moon.' It gets its name from hunters who tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the winter ahead. You can picture them: silent figures padding through the forest, the moon overhead, pale as a corpse, its cold light betraying the creatures of the wood.

The Blood Moon rises this year on Wednesday, Oct. 27th. At first it will seem pale and cold, as usual. And then ... blood red.
It's a lunar eclipse. Beginning at 9:14 p.m. EDT (6:14 p.m. PDT), the moon will glide through Earth's shadow for more than three hours. Observers on every continent except Australia can see the event: The pale-white moon will turn pumpkin orange as it plunges into shadow, becoming eerie red during totality." MORE

Good Discussion on types of Multiple Guess Test

"Rank-order Multiple Choice"

... " he may also include in the list (E) None of the above. In one historically sadistic University of Tennessee calculus exam I heard of, there were 30 questions and the correct answer to 26 of the 30 was (E) None of the above. That would test the nerves and confidence of Milton Friedman." ...

At least she didn't rub their nose in it

"A group of parents has accused a teacher at Fairdale Elementary School of forcing their sons to go into the classroom bathroom and take deep breaths because there was urine on and around the toilet. 'She wanted them to see how bad it smelled,' said parent Shelley Howerton." MORE

Superintent Afraid He Will Be Turned Into A Newt

A Washington state school district is canceling its annual Halloween celebration, and the explanation has some parents baffled.
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First, Halloween parties and parades waste valuable classroom time. Second, some families can't afford costumes and the celebrations thus can create embarrassment for children.
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But the district's third reason left some Puyallup parents shaking their heads.

The district said Halloween celebrations and children dressed in Halloween costumes might be offensive to real witches. "Witches with pointy noses and things like that are not respective symbols of the Wiccan religion and so we want to be respectful of that," Hansen said.
Article

First they came for Hallowen is Groundhog Day Next

Social Experiment

At least they don't have light pollution.

Technology in Education

The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation

Brandywine Parents

Here is a picture of the staff at Brandywine Parents bringing you the latest information concerning the district and whatever happens to catch our eye.

This is our newest machine we have added to our arsenal for truth and the American Way. It is surprising what you can find on E-Bay. Just think MIT was going to throw out this 1927 machine just because it was getting a little old.

Geek Humor

Special Board Meeting

There will be a special board meeting next Tuesday to approve switching the majority of the variable rate bond to a fixed rate. The district has had considerable success with the variable rate saving the district over $1,500,000, since it was issued. The varable rate has been between 1 and 2%. The majority at last night meeting felt it was time to go to a fixed rate which can now be had at under 4% and do it as soon as possible.

William H. Meckling and The Draft

It is a common belief that protest during the sixities ended the draft. What really ended consription and why it probably won't return is due to the work of economist like Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan and a person most people have never heard of William Meckling.

"If you are an American male under age 44, take a moment of silence to thank William H. Meckling, who died last year at age 76. Even though you probably haven't heard of him, he has had a profound effect on your life. What he did was help to end military conscription in the United States. Between 1948 and 1973, here's what you knew if you were a healthy male born in the U.S.A.: the government could pluck you out of almost any activity you were pursuing, cut your hair, and send you anywhere in the world. If the United States was at war, you might have to kill people, and you might return home in a body bag."

"Bill Meckling didn't think that was right, and not just because the Vietnam War was so reckless. He had been drafted into the army in World War II and witnessed the government's incredibly wasteful use of manpower when it could pay below-market wages. He tucked that lesson away and would use it 25 years later. " MORE

About Time

"WILMINGTON, N.C. - A teenager may go to jail for using foul language with a high school teacher. Glenn Gattis and his parents don't deny that he cursed or has had other disciplinary problems at Ashley High School. But they say the misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct is an overreaction.

The 17-year-old Gattis says he became frustrated and used bad language when he got in trouble for being late to class again. He said he was ultimately stopped by deputies working as school resource officers, who gave him a citation for using language meant to provoke violence. He was also suspended for three days.
Gattis' mother, Judy Lewis, said she could understand if her son had to serve detention at school. But he could get up to 30 days in jail. The family has hired a lawyer to fight the charge.
School officials declined to comment. " Article

Of course the Mom called a lawyer, they should trump up some charge and find an extra cell for her.

Clarification of Tax Meeting

One gentleman from Exeter pointed out the stains in the auditorium saying they were signs that the A/C was not running correctly or running too much in the summer. Well small problem with that observation. THE ROOM IS NOT AIR CONDITIONED. The dude loses some credibility as an expert witness. This was a very wet summer and moisture penetrated the block and brick wall. The mold was removed with a cleaning solution and the outside wall was waterproofed. The interior wall is scheduled for repainting this month.

It was also stated that Mr. Fisher forgave an unknown person over $100,000 in back taxes. Mr. Fisher doesn't have that authority. Unpaid taxes are handled by the county for collection. Any forgiveness under unusual circumstances requires board approval. There needs to be more information to what property he was referring.

FINANCE & PROPERTY COMMITTEE AGENDA

FINANCE & PROPERTY COMMITTEE AGENDA
TUESDAY OCTOBER 12, 2004 7:00 PM
MIDDLE SCHOOL BOARD ROOM


Finance Committee

Series of 2002 Variable Rate to Fixed Rate Debt Swap Discussion
Ken Phillips, RBC Dain Rauscher




Property Committee

1. MS Gym Movable Partition
Visit gym to view condition of the partition
Repair $17,500 estimate
Replace with mesh curtain $14,500 estimate

2. Insurance Carrier Safety Inspection
HS Broken Floor Tile - Repaired
HS Acid Cabinet - Received
DT Playground Mulch - Received & Installed
DT / LS Playground Monkey Bars - Lowered as Recommended
DT/LS Playground Slide, Climber – Discussion
State Contract Cost $13,550.00
Installation Estimate 4,772.00

3. Review of Vehicle Bids

4. HS Dugouts

5. Status of Incomplete Projects
A. DW Capital Project/Maintenance Report - In Development
B. HS General - Punch List, Retainage $30,000
C. HS Sinkhole #1 Repair - Concrete Work Ordered
D. HS Sinkhole #3 Repair – Work Ordered
E. HS Batting Cage Installation - Ordered
F. HS Chiller Maintenance Quote - In Development
G. HS Shelving - In Development
H. HS Maintenance/Athletic Building - Tabled
I. HS Soccer Field Shed & Sound System - Tabled
J. MS Boiler Room Repairs - Complete Insurance Outstanding
K. RK Final DEP Water Clearance – Expected in January
L. MS Wrestling Mats – Ordered & Additional Request

Or You Could Just Look At A Clock

For thousands of years, humans have used shadows cast by sundials to reckon the passage of time. Sundials measure the position of the Sun as it appears to move across the sky. For observers on different parts of the Earth, the Sun’s apparent motion is different. So depending on their location on the globe, sundials around the world must have their shadows and hour lines set up slightly differently. By observing the motion of sundial shadows around the world at the same time, an observer can get fantastic insight into the nature of planetary motion and our place in the Solar System. The Planetary Society is establishing a worldwide network of nearly identical sundials called “EarthDials.” Images from each EarthDial will be continuously updated and posted on the world wide web at:
http://planetary.org/mars/earthdial.html
As your eye sweeps across the images on this page, the Sun’s shadow will sweep across the faces of the dials. Kids and grownups, classrooms and clubs, around the world will gain a palpable sense of how the Sun illuminates the round globe that is our Earth—and how the Sun’s passage across the sky controls time around the world.
At any moment, EarthDials from half of the world will be in darkness. The path that the Sun traces—and consequently the lines and curves on the faces of the EarthDials—will be very different from Scandinavia to Seattle to South Africa. And while the EarthDials will be made to a common pattern, each one will be decorated in the language and cultural motifs of its host.

Next Year They Get Chads

"'In the whole history of Afghanistan this is the first time we come and choose our leader in democratic process and free condition. I feel very proud and I feel very happy,' said Muhammad Amin Aslami. He was a Tajik, he said, and had voted for Mr. Karzai, who is Pashtun."
,,,
"At 7:25 a.m., Rita, 18, and her mother, Farida, 40, who like many Afghans use one name, waited outside the Amir Dost Muhammad Khan High School. Inside, a poll worker punched Rita's card, and said "Mubarak!" - congratulations - to the first female voter of the day at the school. "
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"Many voters resolutely refused to say for whom they had cast their ballot, reveling in their right to secrecy."
MORE

Maybe next time the Kabul Middle School can hold mock elections to help educate and help with some of the problems encounted today.

Campus Crime and Security at Postsecondary Education Institutions

Campus Crime and Security at Postsecondary Education Institutions Home Page: "The OPE Campus Security Statistics Website is your direct link to reported criminal offenses for over 6000 colleges and universities in the United States. If you are thinking of attending college in a large urban city, a small liberal arts college, a specialized college, or a community college you can find their security statistics here. "

Brandywine Graduate Newest Political Pundit

WJW, FOX 8 Cleveland "Three Case Western Reserve students join us this morning to preview the upcoming vice-presidential debate being held on their college campus. These students will return tomorrow morning to share their thoughts on how the V.P. candidates did!
Jeff Lowry (BHASD 2004)/Republican, Freshman at CWRU, Political Science Major
Amanda Nicol/Democrat, active with the local 'Women for Kerry' group and a MBA student at CWRU
Dan Cunningham/Independent, student at CWRU "

Just what the world needs another tallking head.

Teacher In Trouble Over Presidential Photo?

OK folks this is why school administrators get the big bucks. Only they could recognize a bulletin board of U.S. Presidents with overt partisan politics.

"Rita Bianco, Parent: 'Children should know their president and their first lady!'
Parents expressing outrage after a teacher is kicked out of her public school for hanging a picture of President Bush next to pictures of other presidents in her classroom. "

Shiba Pillai-Diaz, Teacher: "It happened on a small bulletin board near the American flag and also with a poster of the Declaration of Independence."

This is Crossroads South Middle School in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey. On Thursday, there was a back-to-school night for parents of students. Veteran English teacher Shiba Pillai-Diaz says she was shocked when three parents confronted her. The three, insisting the teacher either add John Kerry's photo to the montage of presidents or remove the Bush photo. When Pillai-Diaz refused, she says the school's vice-principal threatened her job which is an act that has parents here fuming.

Pillai-Diaz ultimately removed the entire bulletin board and says School Principal Jim Warfel told her she disrupted the school with her "inflammatory politics". MORE

Well it is New Jersey that does explain a lot. Never seen so many over-educated semitards crowded into such a small place.

Vocational Classes Fall Out Of Favor

The push to is now on academics: The federal "No Child Left Behind" law even holds schools accountable for academic performance. The problem, say critics, is that 38 percent of kids don’t go to college — and a high percentage of them may end up being mechanics, carpenters and machinists. “I think the schools have an obligation to prepare them for those opportunities as well as, where appropriate, to move on to more classic liberal arts education,” said Jim Stone, director of the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education. MORE

SpaceShipOne Wins $10M After 2nd Flight

This is OK but where is my flying car they promised?

"The privately owned manned rocket left the Mojave Airport (search) at dawn aboard a mother plane named White Knight that carried it to an altitude of 46,000 feet. From there it was launched on a half-hour flight that took it to an altitude of more than 62 miles for the second time in a week.
About an hour after it landed, X Prize (search) founder Peter Diamandis announced that the altitude was official and that SpaceShipOne's team had claimed the prize by making two such flights within the required 14 days." MORE:
SpaceShipOne was last seen be towed by a pickup truck. Does NASA even own a pickup?

Squirrel Day - Makes As Much Sense As Some Other Days We Have Off

Ville Platte, LA - Squirrel season opened at dawn Saturday, and within minutes the report of shotguns boomed through this part of Evangeline Parish. Elsewhere, squirrels might be viewed as rats with good public relations.
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Ville Platte High School shut down at noon on Friday. Sacred Heart High School did not open at all. Friday night schoolboy football - a consuming passion in this Cajun prairie town of 9,000 - was pushed back to Thursday night this week.
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Until the late 1970's or early 1980's, Evangeline Parish kept its schools open a full day on the Friday before squirrel season opened. But many students were absent, and costs for substitute teachers soared.

"Finally, we said, 'Why beat our heads against the wall?' and it became one of our holidays," Andrew Ducote, the principal at Sacred Heart High, said.
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Today, although squirrel meat is prized for its sweet taste in a brown sauce or in a gumbo, and brains are considered a delicacy by some, this opening weekend is "about the outing, not the killing," said Stephen Mayeux, senior vice president of Citizens Bank in Ville Platte.

Despite the bonhomie of hunting, he said, it stings when outsiders sometimes snicker at the closing of school for the opening of the season.

"These boys learn more about life and the outdoors than they get in two months of school," Mr. Bonnette, manager of Cary's Sporting Goods in Ville Platte, said.

Alycia McDaniel, the homecoming queen at Pine Prairie High. "Excitement rushes through your body when you see a squirrel and you say, 'I've got to shoot it,' " she said.

"Five or six, enough to make a sauce," Tim Fontenot, a physical therapist, said. "Everybody loves to cook a sauce here. Turtle, rabbit, squirrel. If E.T. came to Louisiana, he'd be in a sauce, too."

As Alycia McDaniel said, "It's what you get for being country."

The New York Times > Sports > Other Sports > More

Home Photo-Stamp Experiment Canceled

"The U.S. Postal Service has canceled a brief experiment that allowed ordinary people to make postage stamps using images of their dogs, babies and even, it turned out, outlaws such as the Unabomber.
Stamps.com Inc. (STMP), based in Santa Monica, said this week that its PhotoStamps program has ended for now while the U.S. Postal Service re-evaluates the program." Article

What a shame it could have been really cool if the board had honored our former Supt. with his own stamp when they mail out tax bills.