Month: July 2018 (Page 2 of 4)

Day 17 – UBC – Follow That Blog!

23/07/2018 / Maureen / 4 Comments

I don’t care that today is the twenty-third day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge (July) and I’m officially six days behind – I’m persevering, right to the end. The challenge for Day 17 is to make a list of blogs that I follow. So, rather than giving you a list of my favourites, I’m going to explain why you should follow that blog you’ve been reading.

We all have favourite authors – I know I have – but are we as loyal to bloggers? My favourite author is Bryce Courtenay, and before he sadly passed from his earthly existence a few years ago, he was publishing a book every year. I read almost every one of them. He was my favourite author because I had come to expect a certain style in his writing and I trusted that every book would hold my attention.

An E-Book Gathers No Dust

Before technology took such a formidable hold on our lives, bookshelves bulged at the seams with our favourite books. Most of us collected the works of a few authors, but we probably had a smattering of non-descript interest books as well. I know my shelves had their fair share of DIY projects; recipe books; self-help books; and anything else that held my interest long enough to read about it.

Gradually, my bookshelves gave way to a Kindle e-Reader. Technology had opened up a world of reading. I could search the Internet for e-books (electronic books) and download them to my Kindle with just one click. But the best thing was, e-books cost a whole lot less than hard-copy books and I didn’t need a lot of shelves to hold them. E-books gather no dust!

There’s An App For That!

The Kindle eventually gave way to a Kindle App on my iPad and iPhone. My i-devices are just as portable as the Kindle, but much more versatile. I can choose any book from my e-book library, wherever I am; I always have at least one of my i-devices with me. Another advantage is, whichever device I am using, the reader automatically opens the book at the page I was up to on the other device. Alas, I now have a box full of redundant bookmarks that I have collected over the years. But, that’s a small price to pay for convenience.

Technology is marching on, and we now have Bloggers – and God Bless every one of them. We no longer have to search for and buy books on every subject from Arthropod to Zephyr. All we need to do is find a blogger whose expertise matches our interest, and Voila!, we have an endless supply of reading material.

Not only can we read about our favourite subject, we can interact with it. Bloggers usually provide a section somewhere on the page that allows you to ask questions and/or make comments.

And the best news is…

Bloggers usually have a wealth of information up their sleeve. Their blogs might provide an overview, or a sample of a much longer discourse on the subject. And they often write e-books. By reading their blogs, you can get a feel for their knowledge and expertise, and make an informed decision about buying their e-book. It’s kind of a try-before-you-buy offer.

So, rather than just read a blog that you like, FOLLOW the blog. That way, you’ll keep up with current information; get to know the writer’s style and level of expertise; and, buy their e-book with confidence, if they have written one. Perhaps the Comment Section on their blog site would be a good place to suggest an e-book, if they don’t already have one. An e-book would be everything you wanted to know about the subject, in one handy format, rather than wait for the daily/weekly/monthly instalment in blog form.

Follow That Blog!

All you have to do is search for blogs on your favourite subject, read a few, decide which one meets your needs, then Follow That Blog!

Simple!!!

Day 16 – UBC – Is There a Cure for Earworms?

20/07/2018 / Maureen / 2 Comments

Earworms! Yuk!! What is it about a song that can make it go in one ear, and not come out the other? Where does it get stuck, and why? And who thought up the name – Earworms!?

Those songs that get trapped inside your head and keep on playing, long after you’ve turned off the radio, are called Earworms.

Wikipedia describes earworms as:

An earworm, sometimes known as a brainworm, sticky music, stuck song syndrome, or Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI) is a catchy piece of music that continually repeats through a person’s mind after it is no longer playing. … The word earworm is possibly a calque from the German Ohrwurm.

The problem is, most of the time I don’t even like the song. And it doesn’t have to start with actually hearing the song; it could be that someone mentions the name of a song, or says a word that triggers the mechanism in my brain that turns the mental-music on. Regardless of how it starts, trying to stop it is futile.

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Buzzfeed.com has named twenty-one songs that are guaranteed to get stuck in your head. Well, I hadn’t even heard of some of those songs, so I doubt they are going to get stuck between my ears. There is one, however, that is sure to be an earworm. Say the words “Who Let the Dogs Out?”?

Now try getting THAT song to stop playing in your head. Pretty tough, hey?

Researchers have put time and money into investigating how earworms get inside your head, and why they can be hard to eradicate, once they’re tucked up, nice and snug, between your ears. Apparently, over 90% of the population suffer from earworms. That means there is a lucky 1-9% of the population enjoying an earworm free existence (how do they do that?).

Stickability of a song is dependent on things like: popularity; melodic variation; and of course, the obvious – how much time you spend listening to music.

What’s in a Name?

According to Merriam-Webster, the name, Earworm, comes from the German word, Ohrwurm. That sounds feasible. And it seems that earworms are contagious. Apparently, if you wake up in the morning with an earworm in your head, and then go about your day giving voice to the song that is haunting you, you will pass the dreaded worm on to others. I wonder if, sometime in the future, there will be a vaccine to prevent earworms? It seems there is a vaccine for everything else – why not earworms?

So, what is the cure for earworms?

Dr Kelly Jakubowski (Durham University) has spent a lot of research hours trying to figure out the how and why of earworms.

According to Durham University, and based on Dr Jakubowski’s research, there are a few things you can do to eradicate earworms. The University suggests:

distraction – by thinking of another song: I can see the danger in this one. In my case, the replacement song will simply kick the original earworm out and elect itself as King Earworm. Durham University actually cites ‘God Save the Queen’ as a safe replacement. I have to admit, I haven’t tried this, but I think it has merit.
engaging with the song – sing along with it; listen to it; whatever it takes to get up-close-and-personal with the earworm that has taken up residence in your head. I’m not sure how this works, but who am I to question the research?
leaving it alone – not engaging with it – thinking of something else. My guess is the earworm will feel very lonely and go off in search of someone else’s head to live in – someone who might at least pay them some attention.

It seems that for most of us, earworms are inevitable, so I hope the information I have shared with you today makes them a little easier to live with.

Have an earworm-free day!, or, if you have to have them, may they be songs you love – or at least like!

What’s Your Earworm?

What songs get stuck in your head?

Are your earworms – songs that you like – or not?

How do you get rid of those annoying earworms that just won’t shut up!?

Share your thoughts in the Comments box below

Day 15 – UBC – Distraction, and the Janitor’s Hammer

19/07/2018 / Maureen / 5 Comments

Could the ‘Gentle Art of Distraction’ save the janitor’s hammer from crashing down on the frail fence, or worse still, on me? There was only one way to find out.

Justin’s teacher called me during class-time to report that Justin (not his real name), had left the classroom. After checking the usual hiding spots, I found Justin, with a hammer poised menacingly in his right hand, within striking distance of the back fence. And he was angry!

A million thoughts flashed through my mind, as they usually did, when I was faced with a crisis like this. Working out the best solution was always tricky, but luckily, an example given by Tom Willis from the Institute for Applied Behavior Analysis, took precedence. I was lucky enough to attend the lecture Tom had given a few years earlier, and had never forgotten the example he gave about using distraction to diffuse situations.

“Oh my goodness! Who put that boat there?”.

Luckily, someone had parked a boat on the easement behind the fence, thus providing the perfect prop for testing my ‘art of distraction’ theory. Justin stood there, hammer poised in the striking position, and said, ‘What?”.

“How did that boat get there? Was there a flood and then the water went down, leaving the boat sitting there”, I asked? With the hammer still poised, Justin replied “No, it’s always been there”. I kept the momentum going with questions and comments, and noticed Justin’s grip on the hammer relaxing, just a little. The more questions I asked, the more relaxed he became. The arm holding the hammer slowly started moving down, towards the ground. I kept the banter going a little longer, just to be sure the anger was gone. When I felt the moment was right, I suggested that we go into my office and have a chat. We had played out the ‘chat-in-the-office’ routine often enough for Justin to know that it was a positive, not a negative, process.

Step Into My Office…

As we walked, I casually asked Justin what his plans were for the hammer in his hand, and he just as casually explained he was going to put it in the janitor’s shed. I agreed, and we handed the hammer over to a very grateful janitor.

There are a number of reasons this situation ended well:

Trust – Justin knew I would treat him fairly, even if disciplinary measures had to be taken
No Grudges – what happened yesterday, belonged in yesterday. Each day was a new day
It wasn’t personal – no matter what happened – I didn’t take it personally
All behaviour is communicative – my job was to find the reason for the behaviour – and try to fix it
Explanation mode – is best served in a calm state. I never asked the ‘why’ or ‘what went wrong’ questions until Justin was completely calm. The eye-of-the-storm is never a good time for discussion
There is always a better way – once I understood the ‘why’ I could teach a better way of handling situations, or make other adjustments that might reduce the risk of a repeat performance

Distraction Works …

I’m not saying that distraction worked every time, but it certainly worked most of the time. Years of experience, and lots of training, gave me the skills I needed to know when to use distraction, and when to stand back and let it all happen. It was something I couldn’t explain to new teachers; you just learn it as you go.

Over the thirty-plus years of my teaching career, I attended as many lectures as I could by Tom Willis or Gary LaVigna – founders of the Institute for Applied Behavior Analysis, based in Los Angeles. They came to Australia every two years, and I waited anxiously for their lectures and workshops. In 2004, I spent the equivalent of two-weeks, spaced over the year, taking the intensive training that LaVigna and Willis normally provide in a two-week intensive training situation in Los Angeles. I loved every minute of it! Behaviour management was a lot easier, and a lot more successful, from then on.

As a result of the training, I could usually find a quirky way to deal with complex issues. In fact, thinking outside the box became the key to fixing a lot of problems.

The story of Justin, and the janitor’s hammer, ended well…

… thanks to the gentle art of distraction.

I’m not saying I’m an expert in behaviour management, but I managed a lot of tricky situations over the long span of my career, that could have ended badly, but didn’t.

If you have any questions about using distraction, or about managing quirky behaviour in general, type them into the Comments section below. If I don’t have the answer, I’m sure I could steer you in the right direction to find it.

Day 14 – Putting the Social – in Social Media

18/07/2018 / Maureen / 2 Comments

Social Media – you either love it or you hate it. I’m not sure if there is a middle road, but if there is, I am travelling right along the centre line.

My first encounter with Facebook was in 2006, in San Francisco. Back then, Facebook was relatively new, having only been launched by Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard friends in 2004. In fact, 2oo6 was when the group opened up their project to the world.

Are You Friend or Follower?

Since signing up for Facebook, all those years ago, my list of Friends has steadily grown. That is probably why it is called Social Media, right? I’ve even attracted some Followers, although I’m not sure what the difference is.

The Facebook that I connected with back in the early days has evolved into something very different. In the beginning, it was a ‘digital diary’, where people posted everything, from what they had for breakfast, to how complicated their relationship was. While we still see some diary entires on Facebook pages, there is now a more sophisticated approach. Social Media, including Facebook, is now widely used to highlight goods and services, and link to websites promoting someone’s blog (like mine…)

And this is where the Ultimate Blog Challenge (UBC) enters the picture. Through the UBC, I am able to have my humble blog posts read by a wider audience than my smattering of Facebook Friends and Followers.

Here is the Deal…

This is a test to see how many new friends I can gain from this humble blog post.

Oh, before we start, maybe I should clarify the ‘Friends’ label. I said the word ‘friend’ once in the hearing of my Bestie (Best Friend), who turned and said “Who died and left you a friend?”. Oh, and just for the record, she is still my Bestie.

It isn’t for the purpose of proving my Bestie wrong!

But it would help.

So, I thank my new-FB-Friends in advance, for joining my growing list of Facebook Friends. Or, you could become a Follower, and you would be joining a really elite group (all twelve of them!).

Just do whatever it is you do to be-Friend someone on Facebook. I’m guessing you need to start with the link below, but if that doesn’t work, I’ve added the name and photo you will see if you land on the right Facebook page.

https://m.facebook.com/Maureendurney/

I’m not sure if the link will work, so just in case it doesn’t, this is the photo you will be looking for when you search my name on Facebook:

I look forward to a long and lasting friendship, and I am excited about how many places across the world my new friends will come from. Perhaps we will share travel stories? I could post more stories about my homeland, and would love reading about yours.

See you on Facebook!

Day 13 – Number Thirteen – Lucky or Not?

17/07/2018 / Maureen / 2 Comments

Of all the numbers that make up our world, number thirteen probably has the worst reputation of them all. Whether you are superstitious or not, you more than likely avoid walking under ladders, or crossing paths with a black cat on any Friday that has the number thirteen (13) attached to it. I know I do.

But on the 13th August, 2013, I didn’t have time to think about superstition. My day started, as it usually did, at 7.30am. That’s the time I would put my cafe-bought coffee down on my desk, unpack my laptop, and start sifting through the hundreds of emails that greeted me each day. From then on, it was full-on. Classes to visit, students to attend to, paperwork to handle, and if I was lucky, it wasn’t a day that I had to drive an hour to another school. I was lucky that day.

And then it went pear-shaped, in a BIG way!

The bell had rung to signal the end of learning. I frantically put the finishing touches to a report that had to be written, and started gathering up the information I needed to take to the Staff Meeting. The one that usually started at about 3.10pm and finished anywhere between 4.45 and 5.00pm (if we were lucky).

Without warning, one of my favourite students came rushing in. He was obviously upset about something, and proceeded to unleash his pent-up frustrations on my office. It looked like a bomb had exploded, well, it sort of had, by the time he was finished. I managed to calm him down enough to get him onto his bus, headed for home, when the second attack arrived.

Strike Two!

Another student, also having had a bad day, unleashed a verbal barrage in my direction, then stormed off. I could only hope that he had settled down by the time he walked home.

The first thing I had to do was phone the mother of the first student, and warn her that she may be collecting a tornado from the bus that afternoon. Given that the bus ride was an hour long, she may be lucky enough to have him arrive in a calm state – but I doubted it.

I made the call, gathered up my staff-meeting documents, and arrived late. What could I do? Some things take priority over meetings, and warning a parent of impending trouble was one of them.

The Paper Trail

At the end of the meeting, I trudged wearily back to my office. It was now time to face the paperwork that goes with any kind of student melt-down. Oh, and before I could sit down to do that, I had to put my office back together.

By the time the paperwork was done, reports written, parents called and plans put in place for the next day, it was after 7pm. And it was dark! I put my jacket and briefcase over my left shoulder, turned off the lights, and locked the office door.

Wow, it was dark!

It wasn’t the first time I had left school that late, but it just seemed darker than usual. As I turned the corner near the Administration office, I noticed that the sprinklers were still on. As I was wondering why Barb (our Groundsperson) had left them on, my foot stumbled across a hole in the cement. It all happened so fast, I can’t tell you much about the next bit, except that the weight of my briefcase and jacket, slung over my left shoulder, pushed me faster and more heavily towards the cement path. I put my right hand out to stop my fall and felt the weight of everything on my left side come crashing down on me.

There I was, sprawled out across the path, grateful that anyone with any sense was already home. My not-so-elegant departure had not been witnessed by anyone, therefore my dignity (what was left of it) was reasonably intact.

But First, a Milkshake…

Somehow, I managed to get myself back into a vertical position, gather up all my belongings, and wonder if my laptop had survived the fall. Everything seemed fine – except for my right wrist. I hadn’t ever had a broken bone before so I had no way of knowing if my wrist was broken, or just severely sprained. It looked odd, felt odd, and it hurt.

I managed to drive with my left hand only – very grateful for the automatic transmission – and made it to the local cafe that was still open. As you do in any crisis, you stop for a milkshake. But my right wrist was not ‘right’. Luckily, home was not far away, and I made it there with everything intact – with the exception of a bone in my wrist that was making its fractured state well-and-truly felt.

The Emergency Department

Figuring that I would have to sit in the emergency department at the local hospital for a few hours, I managed to put on some warmer clothes, and drive myself the short distance to our very small hospital. The first question that was asked, of course, was how did it happen? As I recounted the story of falling over in the dark as I was leaving school, the bewildered look on the faces of the medical team prompted another question. “Why were you leaving school in the dark?”. That question didn’t warrant a legitimate answer. It was too complicated. A simple ‘Paperwork’ sufficed.

And to this day, I remember the date that I broke my right wrist. It was 13th August, 2013. Am I superstitious? Nah. It just happened.

Day 12 – UBC – What Question?

17/07/2018 / Maureen / 0 Comments

In today’s blog post I’m supposed to answer a question that comes up often in my comments. I don’t have the answer. In fact, I don’t even have the question. But what I do have is a question of my own. It’s a question that I ask myself constantly.

How the heck do you work out the Comments section on a blog site?

This is the one thing that has kept me up at night since the Blog Challenge started. I have ‘plugged-in’, tweaked, and deleted everything that isn’t nailed down in the back-end of my site, and still I haven’t worked it out. I was lucky enough to be able to sit down with my tech-guru on the weekend (thanks Ricky), who went straight to the source of the problem. He unchecked a box here, checked a box there, and Voila!, I was able to find the comments, under the heading of Comments. I walked away from the table, confident that I would now be able to see the comments people have been leaving, and know where to find them in future.

Problem solved – Except?

I still can’t get the comments to land on my actual blog page. I’m not complaining, just stating a fact. When I didn’t know much about my website, and my site was much more simple, comments used to just land at the bottom of the blog post. I would approve, or not approve them, and that would be it. But when I got a bit more technical and started adding more Plug-ins, the wheels started falling off the wagon. It seems that plug-ins, much like humans, have fall-outs with each other. And when they don’t get along, or stop talking to each other, it gets ugly.

And there, in a nutshell, is my problem.

How do I get the Comments to land at the bottom of a blog post on a WordPress Website?

All answers to this problem will be gratefully accepted, and I thank you in advance!