diet Coke, fizzy drink of champions. And according to my diabetes coach, the anti-aspartame studies were financed by the Sugar Council.

I have to admit, I drink way more Coke and Dr Pepper than I should. Because they taste good, and I don't like coffee (or really, any hot drink for actual thirst-quenching--I'll drink hot chocolate or mulled cider for taste), so I have to get my caffeine somewhere.

They can have my Diet Coke when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.

DH is pissed because I let Liv takes sips out of my diet coke at restaurants when she fusses. It quiets her down and she doesn't get more than an ounce or so. Sometimes she just dips her binky in my cup and pops it back in her mouth.

It makes me feel like Britney Spears.

Unfortunately a lot of fruit juices have HFCS in them as well and you have to watch out for that.

I try to only get 100% juice fruit juices. Nom nom nom.

And according to my diabetes coach, the anti-aspartame studies were financed by the Sugar Council.

This probably wouldn't surprise me. Though I still think that if you don't *need* to consume an artificial chemical sweetener, you shouldn't. But I know that's not necessarily a popular theory.

So, I think I've mentioned here, or maybe it was when the Seattlistas last got together, that I've picked up the habit of reading some of the Christian Dominionist blogs. Sort of a weird fascination with the lifestyle, since I knew people in college who were part of the movement in its embryonic form and who tried to convince me of its validity. I guess it's a "there but for the grace of God go I" thing, only I'm sure they'd phrase it just the opposite.

Anyway, on one of the blogs I read there's a "should women vote" discussion going. For real. General consensus seems to be you should, but only under your husband's or father's headship, because while in an ideal world only male heads of household would vote, they shouldn't give such an advantage to the other side, so you should vote as your husband/father directs, especially this time, to "keep Mrs. Clinton out of the White House."

t pounds head against wall

I'm so glad I got out of that belief system...

I wish I could say I was surprised by that, or that I could even work up a rant about this crazy wimmens are a different species thing that seems to be gathering steam in the last several years, but I'm tired and I want to go home.

Oh grand. My landlord thinks it was probably a roof rat. Which means there are probably RATS IN MY ATTIC. I have this terrifying image of him pulling down the attic entrance and a whole pack just falling down on top of him and proceeding to eat everything in sight.

I really need to start taking notes when I catch up. Bad me.

Interesting education discussion. I have stuff to add, but no time, so imagine me saying something brilliant.

Susan, that e-mail from your boss was wonderful! I'm so pleased for you and hope that it means many more good things to come.

Job~ma for JZ!!!!

THE CAR IS IN MY NAME!!!!!!!!!!! It only took four trips to the RMV and three to the insurance agency. When I left the RMV today, my new best friend, Pam, told one of her co-workers that she better have gotten it right this time, because if I have to come back again they're gonna have to offer me a job. It was kind of funny.

And while differentiation within a heterogenous group is the current watchword (right alongside standardization @@), in practice I have yet to see anyone successfully do it in secondary math.

WORD. I was able to get one accelerated math class this year, after making the very true argument that complete lack of "tracking" was destroying the chances of those at a high level to even have a chance of reaching true pre-college math, since more than 2/3 of my students will not pass the Algebra state test with only a year of HS level prep.

I love the idea of hardcore differentiation within the classroom, but math at a high school level is really difficult to teach in anything other than lecture style. Some of the computerized programs out there that provide lessons at the pace the student can handle are pretty amazing, but we don't really have the resources for them. I mean, we have laptops, but those programs are pretty much all-or-nothing kind of deals, and I can't have them every day.

Sometimes, though, I wonder if I'm just not being creative enough with it.

Then there was the algebra teacher who marked me down ten points whenever I did a test in pen rather than pencil

I do this, though not with tests: homework only gets half credit if it's in pen. There are some students, like you, that obviously don't need such elementary school tactics, but a pretty significant portion of my students thrive on the structure, and it leads to much less messy and more useful (for me AND them, come study time) work.

This conversation was kinda dead, huh? But it was a whole teacherly thing that I couldn't comment on at the time because I was... teaching! It seems to me I should get a pass.

Tracking is definitely valuable in high school, and I can see it's value for math as young as 7th grade. Earlier than that, though, I think it's generally a bad idea.

This is the Cliff Note of my very detailed philosophy on the matter. At the moment I'm going to yet another cryptic meeting regarding the CHoS etc. Drama.