The House on the Hill

There's a house on a hill, a hill of emerald blades of grass blown down from the wind. A house of stone and wood that has withstood the burden of time. The hill, a gentle swell in the earth, rolls down upon a lush meadow, full of flowers in full bloom. Reds, yellows, and blues cover the area like polka-dots on a dress. The field of color flows seamlessly into a forest of towering pine trees, imposing and foreboding. Yet, the gloom and darkness of the copse are broken by the calls of a blue jay. The flutter of wings and the chirps chicks bring life to the shadows. A crystal clear, blue-green stream, full to the brim with all manner of fish, drifts lazily around the meadow and hill and wonders towards the horizon.

Someday.
~The Piebald Penguin

Public Education (the beginning)

So, I'm really bad at updating my blog now. It's December 7th, which means I have 24 days to write 40+ posts (ok, I think it's 42...but I don't actually remember. And yeah, I could check before posting this, but where's the fun in that?)

I do realize that I probably won't get to that magic 150 prior to the end of the year. Still, I must press on. I was shown a video recently by a friend. The video was of interest due to its focus on the current problems in the education systems of countries like the US. More specifically, the lecture was critical of public education and how it has negatively affected our society. Before I continue, it might be helpful if you watch the video by clicking here. The video is nearly 12 minutes long, but it is full of content, so it tends to fly by.

Ok, if you watched the video, then you've probably begun forming an opinion about the topic. I want to give myself time to process my response more fully, and I plan on devoting an entire blog post to it tomorrow. But I want to give you, as readers, the opportunity to form opinions without my own personal views interfering. However, I will say that I find myself in agreement with Sir Robinson.

Winter is Coming!
~The Piebald Penguin

Happy THanksgiving

Turkey day and black Friday are very over, but that just means that we have a whole year to starve ourselves and pay off all the credit card debts before next year. It's a very American holiday. We work hard day after day, and then we celebrate all our hard work with 2 days of excess.

"Turkey Day"?

In other news, I was the victim of a negative stereotype today! So, cross that one off the list. I thought that being a white male would protect me from such travesties, but apparently not. I upset the delicate constitution of one of the servers at the restaurant. He started shooting off incoherent phrases and words in an attempt to make himself feel superior. And then he criticized bussers for only having grade school educations and not being able to get better jobs. Surprisingly enough, I did manage to restrain my tongue from lashing out. I understand that it's unusual for a busser at a chain restaurant to have a bachelor's degree. Of the 8 bussers employed by the restaurant, I am the only such busser. Few enough of the servers have degrees, so why would the bussers? But that's ok, his ignorance amused me, so I merely smiled at him in response. He was upset because he wasn't doing his job, and he got in trouble for it. Actions have consequences.

~The Piebald Penguin

Punctuation Is For Noobs 44

Today we are going to have an entire post without punctuation marks it is probably going to get pretty hairy but I am convinced that it is entirely doable so here is some news that might make some of you laugh I frequently check the stats for my blog to see who is reading what and all those fun sorts of things and I discovered that someone had stumbled across my blog by searching for the keywords picture of a lame person obviously there is a reason that my blog came up when someone searched for those words although it makes me wonder does google think that I am lame are they out to get me did they believe that I needed some detractors am I getting popular enough to justify this kind of a hate crime can I sue google for said slight all these questions and more popped into my head alas we shall never know the answers to many of them however I would like to say that even if you think I am the modern paradigm of a lame person then you are still welcome to read my blog because judgment goes both ways so there watch out

Judged

The Piebald Penguin

45

My roommate challenged me to get my published blog posts to 150 by the end of the year. There are 40 days left in the year (34 to Christmas! plus 6), and I only have 104 published posts, not including this one. It shouldn't take a mathematician to note that should I attempt this great feat, I will need to post more than once per day. (40 days, 46 posts)

Basically, expect a lot of posts about absolutely nothing. Fortunately, I'm very good at spouting oddities and random tidbits of information. For example, did you know that 150 years ago the United States of America was on the verge of collapse? In our posh and pleasant lives today, we have trouble understanding what it must have been like to live in a world torn asunder by war on the home front. Keep that in mind as you prepare for Thanksgiving.

~The Piebald Penguin

Doing Sum Mathammattiks

Readers!

You get a very special treat today!

The Piebald Penguin (TPP) is going to teach you a math formula that is crooshal to understanding his lyphe.

So heere we go!! (Vroom Vroom!)

Weather + Number of hours worked during the day + (amount of sugar * amount of caffeine) / (number of hours slept the previous night) = Level of sanity

Weather { 0 = Sunny, hot, warm, tepid, muggy, humid, partly cloudy, scorching hot, really hot,etc...
             { 1 = Rain, sleet, fog, mist, sprinkling, wet (but not humid), cloudy, overcast, solar eclipse
             { 2 = Snow, blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, nucular winters, etc...

If level of sanity > 4, TPP = ADD + Random

Today, the equation looks something like this:

2 + 7 + (A decent amount * probably too much) / (3.5) = Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Can you tell????

My mommy always sayed I wuz speshal.

Note: This math formulae has been clinically tested on rats of size < 1 pretzal. Human testing hasn't not shown conclusive results.

~The PiebALD PenGuin

P.S. The double negative was unintentional....but it was too amusing to change.

P.P.S.There weren't any blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, or nuclear winters...but there was snow. :)

Poemz

I dreamed I was a man,
clad in iron chain;

A sword danced above
with rays of sun and moon.

Hands gripped metal,
and metal trod earth.

Yet I was nothing,
but a boy in bed.


~The Piebald Penguin