I had a commenter, named Mike about the short blog I made last night when half asleep and just putting my thoughts to paper. It was about the eminent demise of the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard the now prime minister. I did make a silly mistake with spelling and no excuses for this, I touch type and was partly watching TV while typing. I didn’t proof read just posted. But again no excuses.
Mike commented:
If you lived in Aust. you might be up to date on politics and qualified to comment ..Labor (note spelling teacher !) has completely gone off the rails lately, with Rudd behaving like a tinpot dictator ..he had a meltdown on live TV because the ABC 7.30 report had the temerity to ask some probing questions for a change.
(I cover this “meltdown” a bit later and scroll down if you want to read about this “meltdown” Mike is referring to.)
Putting the Iron Maiden (Julia Gillard) in the top job was the ALP's last attempt at retaining power, as the backroom boys knew Rudd would lead them to defeat in the coming election.
Unfortunately it might work, if enough people think they should give her a fair go...never mind that she is responsible for millions of $$ wasted in her schools program...new classrooms that are unsafe, school canteens that do not meet health regulations etc etc. (She did something that was very good in abolishing work choices)
AND she is a member of the "Gang of 4" responsible for this crazy new resource super tax, as well as all the recent failures and policy flips and flops....so nothing is going to change.
Mark Arbib and his shadowy union/faction mates have put the ALP back a decade, the unions are running the country again.
I agree Mike, if Gillard is re-elected in the upcoming election she will be a union muppet. She is deeply indebted to the unions and I should be happy about this. But I don’t like the lying and conniving woman.
Mike, I do have a right to comment, as any person does in a free and democratic society. I am a member of the Labor Party, I have a membership card but you probably don’t have one for the Liberal party, I’ve been a union member for 17 years and continue to pay my fees each year even though I have not worked in Australia for 6 years.
I agree that Labor had wavered and Rudd had lost a lot of popularity, you only had to see the polls in the papers to know this. Rudd had made some stupid errors indeed and had egg on his face on a few things. The ‘insulation scheme’ that was a total screw up. The shelving of the emissions trading scheme and just recently the “super mining tax” and the stand off with the big mining companies.
The mining tax is about time, of course the operators; the owners are going to cry foul about having profits slashed, and their statements of how much they contribute to the communities and Australia through employment, purchasing goods and so forth is a justified one but for too long too much of the profit is going off shore and not benefitting Australia, the country they are tearing these resources out of.
He had a meltdown, Mike you are kidding. I saw this interview, and the day after the budget had been delivered O’Brien had not asked anything about the delivered budget but was more interested in Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) and of course the Resource Super Profit Tax (RSPT).
Kerry O’Brien went straight into this:
“Kevin Rudd, firstly while we're talking about mining, we've just received the transcript of comments from the CEO of Rio Tinto, Tom Albanese, at a Merrill Lynch conference in Miami earlier today where he says he was shocked by your tax announcement but in particular he points out that Rio has reinvested everything it's earned in after tax profit back into Australia in the past ten years, about $38 billion in all, and he poses the question: 'Would Rio have put that amount of money in if there had been a super tax in place?' He calls it a super tax, not a tax on super profits, a super tax, and he says the answer was no. Can you afford to ignore that warning?
Then O’Brien said, “You've made that point but, it sounds not so much a complaint as a threat, well as a warning, if not a threat. He says the Pilbara business would not have been as big as it is, it would have been a lot smaller with this tax in place.
Now are you, are you saying that's a hollow threat, it's just a process they're going through to try and soften you up?
Then O’Brien asked, “So do you rule out categorically any significant change in the nature of your tax, whether it's the amount, the 40 per cent and you've said you're not going to, but also about the definition of what a super profits tax is?”
Then O’Brien asked, “What about on the definition of what a super profits tax is or what a super profit is?”
Then O’Brien said, Sorry, that, that does suggest to me that, that, this is still open about what that, what the final definition will be of a super profit?
And then Rudd replied not long after this with this:
KEVIN RUDD: ...remember what's at stake here is better super for working families, tax cuts for the general economy and furthermore on top of that funding the infrastructure which Australia needs.
That is why the Government is doing this because we believe in investing in our country's future competitiveness.
O’Brien replies with this; “I'll get to the Budget details shortly but can you clear up a puzzle for me first. You've...”
And Rudd interrupts, “I'll try mate.”
Then O’Brien asked this, you've spent the best part of two years building up your political capital. How have you managed to damage brand Rudd so comprehensively in such a short time this year?
Then O’Brien asked this, “You, I, I said brand Rudd, you said the Government. I'm talking about Kevin Rudd, I'm talking about your image, your credibility, your brand.
Then O’Brien said, “because you can't possibly suggest that this does not exercise your mind at all, that you are so focused, you're so focused on Government that you're not concerned about whether you're losing support going into the next election?”
Rudd answered, “Kerry, look I'm human like anyone else and of course you'd, um. be, um, um, be inhuman if you weren't affected by developments from time to time, that's just the truth of it.” (answer continued….)
Then O’Brien tried to interrupt, “but um...”
Rudd continued, “No, hang on, let me finish, you've asked me a pretty fundamental question here which is about how the actions which I'm responsible for and the Government's responsible for are being seen.” So you can see her that Rudd is getting short.
Then O’Brien said, “but there's one thing you can't escape and that is this: it is still in your hands to go to the next election on the issue as you defined as ‘a great moral challenge of our time’, an issue on which you accused the Opposition of political, of absolute political cowardice, it's in your hands to go to the next election, seek a double dissolution, whether you seek a double dissolution or not and make this ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme) a fresh mandate for the people to decide and tell both sides of politics what they want.
Now you have squibbed that decision. You have put this on the backburner until 2013, at least, in the Budget makes that clear?
Rudd eplied, “You know, something, Kerry, I will be delighted to fight Mr Abbott on the next election, at the next election, whenever it is held, on climate change absolutely...
O’Brien asks, “On the ETS?” (Emission Trading Scheme shelved now)
Rudd replied, “On climate change and actions to bring it about. The bottom line is this: we believe in climate change, he says it's absolute crap.”
Then O’Brien really starts to push the envelope, “Mr Rudd, when the Opposition tried to argue with you on holding back a vote on the ETS until after Copenhagen, that is, until after the world had made a stand, you said that was absolute political cowardice.
So why is it now not absolute political cowardice for you to show leadership on this to the rest of the world by seeking to take the Australian people with you at the next election on an ETS?”
And then Mike, we finally come to your “meltdown you stated about”
Rudd replied, “You know something Kerry where I think you've got this fundamentally wrong is um, frankly being absent from the negotiations in Copenhagen themselves.
There was no government in the world like the Australian Government which threw its every energy at bringing about a deal, a global deal, on climate change. Penny Wong and I sat up for three days and three nights with 20 leaders from around the world to try and frame a global agreement.
Now it might be easy for you to sit in 7:30 Report land and say that was easy to do. Let me tell you mate, it wasn't.” (This is the apparent meltdown)
This interview had been going a long time already; and O’Brien had said that he was going to get to the budget soon, a long time ago. Of course Rudd was going to get short, you could already tell this if you watched the interview.
You can see the interview at The 7.30 Report or read the transcript at this link as I am sure you mustn’t have watched the interview and just jumped on the headlines Mike as Rudd was very patient.
Mike if you want to debate about politics and so forth, then lets do. But I am sure you will not be so confident. I could be considered sad Mike but I watch Parliament question time and videos of what is going on in Canberra, each time they sit and if you have never seen what goes on Mike you can go to this link and watch and learn more on what our politicians do.
So Mike I do believe I have a right to comment, probably more so than you, being that I am a current member of a political party (though not so proud at the moment) and I am sure I know more about what is going on with politics. I am sure you have no real idea on the Resource Super Profit Tax (RSPT). I can send you half a dozen excellent links on this tax and the outline of it, as you probably only know what has been printed in the media.
Mike, I do thank you for contributing and commenting and I hope you don’t take my right of reply in the wrong way.
Does anyone else have any views on Julia Gillard taking the PM job or anything else then please leave a comment.
If you think I am an ass, then please let me know this as well, plenty of others do.
And Mike have you watched, or did you see Julia Gillard on the 7.30 Report tonight, about 6hrs after she had become the new PM? I suppose you will wait to read about the interview and then just make an opinion on the article.
Kerry O’Brien’s first question to her was, “Did you forge a genuine friendship in that time (relating to her and Rudd during their partnership)? How close did you become?
Gillard replied, “I think we did forge a genuine friendship in that time” (She thinks) “We worked side by side, we worked together. I believe we have been friends. I hope for the future, we can continue some sort of bond."
Is this lady fuc#ing kidding herself, she backstabbed, bent over and fuc#ed Rudd in his as# and she believes that he would want to continue some sort of bond. She is full of shit and lying her ass off already.
And she is the most boring and monotonous speaker. I was trying to not fall asleep with her monotone voice during the 20 minute interview.
Where have the politicians with some charisma gone, the Paul Keating’s and Bob Hawke’s gone. Abbot and Gillard is like watching paint dry, no that is probably more entertaining.
Brunty
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Julia Gillard to be Prime Minister of Australia, I Hope Bloody Not.
I have been sitting and watching and reading with interest over the last few hours of the political happenings in Australia. The Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard has challenged current Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for the top job.
I have been aLabour Labor supporter all my life, I am a union man and even though not living in the country still continue my membership. I and others went through the horrible years where Liberal’s coalition government had a strangle hold of the leadership under Johnny Eyebrows Howard from 1996 to 2007.
During this time I saw thelabour Labor party fall to terrible lows and unpopularity while Johnny and his cronies continued on their way to wrecking the everyday worker with work choices and everything else but thankfully the unions stood strong and we got through all that and finally Kevin Rudd got back in for Labor.
Now it seems that he really could be out of a job by 9am tomorrow morning, by this lying redheaded monster, who has continually lied about her support, but again all politicians’ words need to be taken with a grain of salt.
All I can say is that if this woman becomes our new prime minister, Labor will again be staring down defeat at the soon to be election. Even though Tony Abbot the opposition leader is a total bumbling idiot, the choice of this man who changes his statements as regularly as his underpants has a very good chance of beating Julia Gillard if she is the prime minister.
I can only hope that she doesn’t get the support tomorrow and then Rudd banishes these traitors, lying dogs to the far reaching backbenches and die a fast political death. I personally believe, even though I agree that Rudd hasn’t been doing a fantastic job of late, he is a much better choice than Gillard.
So tonight I will sleep and when I wake will turn on the computer and hope for a miracle but believe this is just a dream from all I have read.
Brunty
P.s - Gillard is the new PM, this is the death of Labor I am sure.I think too many voters will not see her as they did Rudd.
I have been a
During this time I saw the
Now it seems that he really could be out of a job by 9am tomorrow morning, by this lying redheaded monster, who has continually lied about her support, but again all politicians’ words need to be taken with a grain of salt.
All I can say is that if this woman becomes our new prime minister, Labor will again be staring down defeat at the soon to be election. Even though Tony Abbot the opposition leader is a total bumbling idiot, the choice of this man who changes his statements as regularly as his underpants has a very good chance of beating Julia Gillard if she is the prime minister.
I can only hope that she doesn’t get the support tomorrow and then Rudd banishes these traitors, lying dogs to the far reaching backbenches and die a fast political death. I personally believe, even though I agree that Rudd hasn’t been doing a fantastic job of late, he is a much better choice than Gillard.
So tonight I will sleep and when I wake will turn on the computer and hope for a miracle but believe this is just a dream from all I have read.
Brunty
P.s - Gillard is the new PM, this is the death of Labor I am sure.I think too many voters will not see her as they did Rudd.
Monday, 21 June 2010
Nong Ja's 2nd Birthday, Isaan Thailand.
The other night, on the 13th of June we were off to celebrate Nong Ja’s birthday. The two years have seemed to fly by. So Ja was dressed up in her pink number as this is what she grabbed.
Ja had decided that one of her bears had to come along so it was also dressed for the occasion.
It was a simple family affair at their shops. A table out the front and a few little dome plates to BBQ the meats and cook the vegetables in the base, and some sticky rice and grilled meats as well.
Ja was then interested in a present from one of her aunties, a Doraemon toy.
And why she was trying to unwrap the toy she was also getting fed.
Ja chewed on her food and seemed to be off in another world.
Before we knew it, the ice-cream cake had appeared. Nong Ja was very happy.
Happy birthday was sung and Ja couldn’t wait to blow out the candles.
Ja couldn’t wait for a piece of cake and grabbed a handful, so Noot was trying to scoop most off her hand.
My two girls sat down and tucked into their cake, it was delicious. I had two servings and also had to help finish off a few others as well, couldn’t waste good ice cream cake.
It was a good night, very simple and just family. We were going to have a bigger bash but decided to just go out the village on the weekend with some chips and a couple of cakes and the kids could have some and Ja run around like crazy with them.
Ja is growing up so fast. Before we know it she will be off to school.
Brunty
Saturday, 19 June 2010
I Will Throw You Out The Window, Not a Good Thing to Say, Isaan Thailand.
Well today something out of the ordinary happened; this morning was going as per usual at school. I arrived early and started organising my day and then I had a couple of parents wanting to speak to me.
In my primary class 1 class or 6 and 7 year olds, I have a handful of what Thais call Luk Krung or half foreigner, half Thai. One of their students had reported something that had made their father concerned.
In my class I had used these words to a student, “I will throw you out the window.” Now this does sound severe and something that would petrify a young learner but it was in no such way.
Anyway, the father raised his concern, and then we had a discussion about a certain student, I will call “A”. I directed these comments to A, as he is a handful and a half. The parents know this and that he is very disruptive.
“A” is a special student, he can read and do a lot of the activities in the classroom, but his writing is terrible and nearly impossible to read, his attention span is seconds and he never listens to instructions. He continually stands up and plays with anything in range of him.
I virtually have to remove everything from him before the class starts, as he plays with anything near him, he talks to himself out loud and also yells noises at times in the middle of activities.
I know his mother, have for 4 years and she was so concerned when he was in kindergarten they took him to a specialist to see if they could diagnose a problem such as ADD pr such I suppose.
She came in to see me not long after school started after she saw some of his scores for in class work, and also notes written in his workbook. She asked what she could do to help “A.”
I honestly told her I had no idea or could offer any advice on how “A” could be helped. I am not a specialist or have any experience in such cases. I cannot teach such students as there are special ways to teach them and I have no idea how to approach this.
Anyway, so “A” has a problem, not sure what, it could be immaturity or something else. But at times he does really get to you in the classroom. After telling him numerous times to sit down or taking him back to his seat as he is annoying other students, stop talking to himself or yelling out, playing with anything and everything, you do get short.
I have said to “A” a few times after so many warning in a class, “A sit down or I will throw you out the window.” Never with malice, but yes, I said it. To a 7 year old maybe this is not so good as they are young in mind and naive.
Anyway back to the father, so after raising his concerns and then giving me a small lecture or advice on what and how a teacher should conduct himself and speak, he asked that I apologise to the students as he thought I was way out of line. This I did in the class to make sure the students understood I was not serious about what I said to “A”
The parent was an educator for 10 years he told me in his country and he never lost it or said anything like this untoward his students. He did offer one bit of advice to me that I thought was completely oddball or way off kilter, he could read this blog and so be it, but to me this was weird.
He said to me, that no matter how angry or whatever you are you cannot show this in the classroom, so if you feel getting like this, take 10 seconds out and then this, “think what Jesus would do”
Now I have no fucking idea what Jesus would have done as I don’t read the bible and think religion is a load of shit. That is me personally and to any religious people reading this, it is my view. You continue worshipping your fable gods if this is what you are happy doing. I have no gripes with anyone following a religion, do so but don’t preach it onto me.
When he said this to me, I lost concentration as it was bouncing around in my head then. I was thinking what the hell he meant. I was then thinking if he was a bible kook or such but he seemed really nice, passionate and a concerned parent.
So can anyone offer me the answer to what Jesus would do in such a situation? Would he turn water into wine, part waters or such? He was a teacher, wasn’t he? Wasn’t he a carpenter as well?
The father also said some thing that didn’t add up to me. He made good points about teaching and how to conduct yourself but the suggestions on how to control “A” were not what I consider right.
He asked if we had a time out room or discipline room like we have back in our countries, I informed him we didn’t. Then make him sit on the floor, by him self outside and so forth.
I have had “A” totally isolated from other students and near as possible to me so in the hope of being able to control him or keep his focus, but no such luck. Sending him outside the room unsupervised for a few minutes is too dangerous as he could wander off and end up on the busy main road, now this would be terrible. But as the saying goes when kids annoy you, “go play on the road”.
Trying to see what makes “A” happy, what gets his attention and keeps him happy I haven’t found, yet. I have used colouring sheets, draw pictures, games and such to no avail.
The parent said to give him comic book and let him do whatever for the 50 minutes and then pass him onto the next teacher and let him be their problem. This I would love to do, but I want him to learn, I know he does learn and understand as he can do the work orally, read words and also identify flashcards.
So, what to do? No more threatening to throw him out the window, seriously or jokingly. This also means no other advice like, “take a long walk off a short pier”, “jump out of a plane without a parachute”, “play Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun” as “A” or the kids could take it to heart and literally.
I am open to criticism as I am not perfect and do make mistakes. I say things off the cuff and so forth but that is me. I am not Jesus and never want to be anything like what he is supposed to have been.
I am me, and stone me to death for this. I am sure there are readers out there who would like to. But I am not going to change myself. I will try and make sure off the cuff remarks are kept to myself and are just thoughts in my head and not actually said aloud. “Man I could give this kid a huge kick in their ass” or “if they speak once more when I am talking I am going to stick a dirty sock down their throat”
I will still get satisfaction from the thought, but will not have said anything and just have a dumb and amusing grin on my face in front of the kids.
Brunty
In my primary class 1 class or 6 and 7 year olds, I have a handful of what Thais call Luk Krung or half foreigner, half Thai. One of their students had reported something that had made their father concerned.
In my class I had used these words to a student, “I will throw you out the window.” Now this does sound severe and something that would petrify a young learner but it was in no such way.
Anyway, the father raised his concern, and then we had a discussion about a certain student, I will call “A”. I directed these comments to A, as he is a handful and a half. The parents know this and that he is very disruptive.
“A” is a special student, he can read and do a lot of the activities in the classroom, but his writing is terrible and nearly impossible to read, his attention span is seconds and he never listens to instructions. He continually stands up and plays with anything in range of him.
I virtually have to remove everything from him before the class starts, as he plays with anything near him, he talks to himself out loud and also yells noises at times in the middle of activities.
I know his mother, have for 4 years and she was so concerned when he was in kindergarten they took him to a specialist to see if they could diagnose a problem such as ADD pr such I suppose.
She came in to see me not long after school started after she saw some of his scores for in class work, and also notes written in his workbook. She asked what she could do to help “A.”
I honestly told her I had no idea or could offer any advice on how “A” could be helped. I am not a specialist or have any experience in such cases. I cannot teach such students as there are special ways to teach them and I have no idea how to approach this.
Anyway, so “A” has a problem, not sure what, it could be immaturity or something else. But at times he does really get to you in the classroom. After telling him numerous times to sit down or taking him back to his seat as he is annoying other students, stop talking to himself or yelling out, playing with anything and everything, you do get short.
I have said to “A” a few times after so many warning in a class, “A sit down or I will throw you out the window.” Never with malice, but yes, I said it. To a 7 year old maybe this is not so good as they are young in mind and naive.
Anyway back to the father, so after raising his concerns and then giving me a small lecture or advice on what and how a teacher should conduct himself and speak, he asked that I apologise to the students as he thought I was way out of line. This I did in the class to make sure the students understood I was not serious about what I said to “A”
The parent was an educator for 10 years he told me in his country and he never lost it or said anything like this untoward his students. He did offer one bit of advice to me that I thought was completely oddball or way off kilter, he could read this blog and so be it, but to me this was weird.
He said to me, that no matter how angry or whatever you are you cannot show this in the classroom, so if you feel getting like this, take 10 seconds out and then this, “think what Jesus would do”
Now I have no fucking idea what Jesus would have done as I don’t read the bible and think religion is a load of shit. That is me personally and to any religious people reading this, it is my view. You continue worshipping your fable gods if this is what you are happy doing. I have no gripes with anyone following a religion, do so but don’t preach it onto me.
When he said this to me, I lost concentration as it was bouncing around in my head then. I was thinking what the hell he meant. I was then thinking if he was a bible kook or such but he seemed really nice, passionate and a concerned parent.
So can anyone offer me the answer to what Jesus would do in such a situation? Would he turn water into wine, part waters or such? He was a teacher, wasn’t he? Wasn’t he a carpenter as well?
The father also said some thing that didn’t add up to me. He made good points about teaching and how to conduct yourself but the suggestions on how to control “A” were not what I consider right.
He asked if we had a time out room or discipline room like we have back in our countries, I informed him we didn’t. Then make him sit on the floor, by him self outside and so forth.
I have had “A” totally isolated from other students and near as possible to me so in the hope of being able to control him or keep his focus, but no such luck. Sending him outside the room unsupervised for a few minutes is too dangerous as he could wander off and end up on the busy main road, now this would be terrible. But as the saying goes when kids annoy you, “go play on the road”.
Trying to see what makes “A” happy, what gets his attention and keeps him happy I haven’t found, yet. I have used colouring sheets, draw pictures, games and such to no avail.
The parent said to give him comic book and let him do whatever for the 50 minutes and then pass him onto the next teacher and let him be their problem. This I would love to do, but I want him to learn, I know he does learn and understand as he can do the work orally, read words and also identify flashcards.
So, what to do? No more threatening to throw him out the window, seriously or jokingly. This also means no other advice like, “take a long walk off a short pier”, “jump out of a plane without a parachute”, “play Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun” as “A” or the kids could take it to heart and literally.
I am open to criticism as I am not perfect and do make mistakes. I say things off the cuff and so forth but that is me. I am not Jesus and never want to be anything like what he is supposed to have been.
I am me, and stone me to death for this. I am sure there are readers out there who would like to. But I am not going to change myself. I will try and make sure off the cuff remarks are kept to myself and are just thoughts in my head and not actually said aloud. “Man I could give this kid a huge kick in their ass” or “if they speak once more when I am talking I am going to stick a dirty sock down their throat”
I will still get satisfaction from the thought, but will not have said anything and just have a dumb and amusing grin on my face in front of the kids.
Brunty
Sunday, 13 June 2010
A New Family Member and A Birthday, Isaan Thailand.
There hasn’t been too much happening here in Isaan of late. We did have a new addition to the family, I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about this, but it was hard to refuse.
The new addition was another rabbit, this rabbit was in Noot’s mum’s village and was one of three, the other two had died and this one was now alone. The people who had it kept it in a tiny cage in front of the house and only feed it morning glory. It was very skinny and they didn’t look after it by brushing it, clipping nails, or having a litter tray for it to use.
So her name is Panda, it was already named this, I suppose because it is black and white. I wouldn’t have taken her if she wasn’t these colours. I was going to rename it Collingwood after my football team but the girls said no to this. Little Panda eats anything and lots of it. For a small rabbit her first week she has eaten up a storm. She has started to get used to being picked up and brushed, having her nails clipped the first time was a bit of surprise for her. But in all she has adjusted pretty well the first week.
I was in taking a few pictures and Nong Ja wandered in to see what was going on and wanted to then have her picture taken as well. So she posed in a few with our new rabbit Panda and the old man of the house Cola, who is now happy he has a girlfriend. Panda still need to get used to having a litter tray and the first week there have been plenty of droppings about their room and a few pissing spots as well. I cannot get angry at her as she had never seen a litter tray before and is starting to get the idea now.
Also today being the 13th of June is the amazing little girl’s birthday. Today Ja is two years old and we love her to death. We are going to have a small family get together later tonight near our house at Ja’s Auntie’s internet shop and her Uncle’s tattoo shop. I might get some more work done on my latest tattoo while I am there. They can eat for hours and I will have some more ink added to my skin.
Ja wanted to pose for more pictures and was driving me crazy insisting I take pictures of her. She was making silly poses that made her happy and the girls laugh.
The girls have made the couch more like a double bed now and spend their time laid out looking like they are in bed watching TV. It was a freezing 26-28 degrees the other night so the need for a light blanket was needed.
A few more poses and Ja checked them out, then I was free to go about my work. I cannot believe how fast two years have gone and how much our little girl has grown up. I have been so lucky to be a part of her life every day and help with her upbringing. She is tiring but what child isn’t. And to have her to come home to after some days that have been less than fantastic lightens your mood and day.
She adores Noot, but we make sure she knows we are only auntie and uncle and the Jack is dad and mum is Joom, we would never try and replace them. We are foster parents, or carers for her and when the day comes that they can look after her fulltime, I will be sad but also happy she will be with them fulltime.
Now I am off for an afternoon nap as Ja is right beside me being a little pain in the bottom. We have a few hours sleep and then are ready to charge through the afternoon. Of course I will take pictures of tonight’s get together and will put them up another day in the near future.
Brunty
The new addition was another rabbit, this rabbit was in Noot’s mum’s village and was one of three, the other two had died and this one was now alone. The people who had it kept it in a tiny cage in front of the house and only feed it morning glory. It was very skinny and they didn’t look after it by brushing it, clipping nails, or having a litter tray for it to use.
So her name is Panda, it was already named this, I suppose because it is black and white. I wouldn’t have taken her if she wasn’t these colours. I was going to rename it Collingwood after my football team but the girls said no to this. Little Panda eats anything and lots of it. For a small rabbit her first week she has eaten up a storm. She has started to get used to being picked up and brushed, having her nails clipped the first time was a bit of surprise for her. But in all she has adjusted pretty well the first week.
I was in taking a few pictures and Nong Ja wandered in to see what was going on and wanted to then have her picture taken as well. So she posed in a few with our new rabbit Panda and the old man of the house Cola, who is now happy he has a girlfriend. Panda still need to get used to having a litter tray and the first week there have been plenty of droppings about their room and a few pissing spots as well. I cannot get angry at her as she had never seen a litter tray before and is starting to get the idea now.
Also today being the 13th of June is the amazing little girl’s birthday. Today Ja is two years old and we love her to death. We are going to have a small family get together later tonight near our house at Ja’s Auntie’s internet shop and her Uncle’s tattoo shop. I might get some more work done on my latest tattoo while I am there. They can eat for hours and I will have some more ink added to my skin.
Ja wanted to pose for more pictures and was driving me crazy insisting I take pictures of her. She was making silly poses that made her happy and the girls laugh.
The girls have made the couch more like a double bed now and spend their time laid out looking like they are in bed watching TV. It was a freezing 26-28 degrees the other night so the need for a light blanket was needed.
A few more poses and Ja checked them out, then I was free to go about my work. I cannot believe how fast two years have gone and how much our little girl has grown up. I have been so lucky to be a part of her life every day and help with her upbringing. She is tiring but what child isn’t. And to have her to come home to after some days that have been less than fantastic lightens your mood and day.
She adores Noot, but we make sure she knows we are only auntie and uncle and the Jack is dad and mum is Joom, we would never try and replace them. We are foster parents, or carers for her and when the day comes that they can look after her fulltime, I will be sad but also happy she will be with them fulltime.
Now I am off for an afternoon nap as Ja is right beside me being a little pain in the bottom. We have a few hours sleep and then are ready to charge through the afternoon. Of course I will take pictures of tonight’s get together and will put them up another day in the near future.
Brunty
Saturday, 12 June 2010
A New Power Source, and Losing It, Isaan Thailand.
The other night I was tapping away on the computer late at night when all of a sudden the computer went dead. So I unplugged it and plugged it back in and tried again, nothing.
I checked the surge protector and this was fine and turned it off and on and tried powering up, but nothing. Off come the side of the system unit and a quick check to see if anything stood out. After checking for blown capacitors and not seeing any, I straight away then thought the power supply unit was gone.
So I took it out and the next day took it to my mate at his computer shop to test it and it was dead. Off to JIB a local computer store and bought a new power supply, then later that afternoon home and installed it.
It is really easy to do, so I plugged in the mother board, the cd/dvd burner, the 3 fans and hard drives and powered it on. Did a check on reboot and noticed that only 1GB of RAM was showing up. So off came the side of the computer again and both RAM were pulled out and checked.
Inserted one stick and fired up the computer and checked the BIOS and it showed up, so shutdown and installed the other and it didn’t show up on booting. So I drop into my mates shop again and he checked and told me it was dead.
So, off I went to the shop I bought it from as it carries a lifetime warranty. After listening to the lady explain to me that she will send the RAM to Bangkok and I will get a new stick back in 2 weeks.
I then enquired to why she had to send it to Bangkok and this is when it got a little interesting. She informed me she buys her RAM from Pantip Plaza, the shithole of a place in the capital. So she has to send it back to her supplier to get a new stick in return.
I then pointed out to her that she buys it from Bangkok, not I. That she can send it wherever she likes but she needs to replace the ram there and then.
Anyway, she starts to explain again to me the whole story. I stopped her and again told her I understood what she had said. I asked her “why won’t you replace the RAM now as it is under warranty.”
She then starts the whole story over again. I was trying to not scream, “I fucking understand you for fuck sake.’ I stopped her again with a never mind and asked her to provide me with a receipt saying the RAM had been sent away. Then something happened that made me lose my temper and yell.
This old lady sitting at the counter with massive glasses on said to the owner of the shop, “He doesn’t understand, he is a stupid farang.”
I had to do a double take; I looked straight at the old faced hag and asked her what she had just said. She sat looking at me with a stupid expression. I then explained to her I understood what she said, and asked her why she thought I was stupid.
Again she sat with a stupid look, I then lost it, I raised my voice and told her I would slap her across her face if she opened mouth again and that she was a hillbilly buffalo.
The lady from the counter made thing worse when she used the old Thai, have a cool heart, or meaning cool down to which I told her to virtually fuck off as well.
I was given my receipt and left as I was so close to going ballistic at the old hag. After she ran her mouth off she hadn’t said another thing, just sat there with a retarded expression.
Two other young people in the shop with another assistant were also shocked I suppose to hear someone speaking like this to an older person and instead of being “Kreng Jai” or be good hearted or polite, forgiving, no matter how wrong a person could be.
Most Thais would just walk off and say nothing as this is the right thing to do apparently. So I lost it like I hadn’t done for a long, long time. This happened because the old woman with a smart ass mouth.
I walked briskly out of the shop, headed home still in a fowl mood, then thankfully Nong Ja calmed me down as we had to have some play time.
I did think a little later on that I went a little over the top, the way I spoke to the old bitch but again she deserved it. She was rude and blatantly in my face made the remark. She had to have known I understood Thai as I had listened to the story about sending the RAM to Bangkok and spoke to the owner in Thai.
So I will have to front back at the shop in hopefully less than two weeks to pick up the new RAM, I just hope there isn’t any problem as I really don’t feel like another angry moment.
Brunty
I checked the surge protector and this was fine and turned it off and on and tried powering up, but nothing. Off come the side of the system unit and a quick check to see if anything stood out. After checking for blown capacitors and not seeing any, I straight away then thought the power supply unit was gone.
So I took it out and the next day took it to my mate at his computer shop to test it and it was dead. Off to JIB a local computer store and bought a new power supply, then later that afternoon home and installed it.
It is really easy to do, so I plugged in the mother board, the cd/dvd burner, the 3 fans and hard drives and powered it on. Did a check on reboot and noticed that only 1GB of RAM was showing up. So off came the side of the computer again and both RAM were pulled out and checked.
Inserted one stick and fired up the computer and checked the BIOS and it showed up, so shutdown and installed the other and it didn’t show up on booting. So I drop into my mates shop again and he checked and told me it was dead.
So, off I went to the shop I bought it from as it carries a lifetime warranty. After listening to the lady explain to me that she will send the RAM to Bangkok and I will get a new stick back in 2 weeks.
I then enquired to why she had to send it to Bangkok and this is when it got a little interesting. She informed me she buys her RAM from Pantip Plaza, the shithole of a place in the capital. So she has to send it back to her supplier to get a new stick in return.
I then pointed out to her that she buys it from Bangkok, not I. That she can send it wherever she likes but she needs to replace the ram there and then.
Anyway, she starts to explain again to me the whole story. I stopped her and again told her I understood what she had said. I asked her “why won’t you replace the RAM now as it is under warranty.”
She then starts the whole story over again. I was trying to not scream, “I fucking understand you for fuck sake.’ I stopped her again with a never mind and asked her to provide me with a receipt saying the RAM had been sent away. Then something happened that made me lose my temper and yell.
This old lady sitting at the counter with massive glasses on said to the owner of the shop, “He doesn’t understand, he is a stupid farang.”
I had to do a double take; I looked straight at the old faced hag and asked her what she had just said. She sat looking at me with a stupid expression. I then explained to her I understood what she said, and asked her why she thought I was stupid.
Again she sat with a stupid look, I then lost it, I raised my voice and told her I would slap her across her face if she opened mouth again and that she was a hillbilly buffalo.
The lady from the counter made thing worse when she used the old Thai, have a cool heart, or meaning cool down to which I told her to virtually fuck off as well.
I was given my receipt and left as I was so close to going ballistic at the old hag. After she ran her mouth off she hadn’t said another thing, just sat there with a retarded expression.
Two other young people in the shop with another assistant were also shocked I suppose to hear someone speaking like this to an older person and instead of being “Kreng Jai” or be good hearted or polite, forgiving, no matter how wrong a person could be.
Most Thais would just walk off and say nothing as this is the right thing to do apparently. So I lost it like I hadn’t done for a long, long time. This happened because the old woman with a smart ass mouth.
I walked briskly out of the shop, headed home still in a fowl mood, then thankfully Nong Ja calmed me down as we had to have some play time.
I did think a little later on that I went a little over the top, the way I spoke to the old bitch but again she deserved it. She was rude and blatantly in my face made the remark. She had to have known I understood Thai as I had listened to the story about sending the RAM to Bangkok and spoke to the owner in Thai.
So I will have to front back at the shop in hopefully less than two weeks to pick up the new RAM, I just hope there isn’t any problem as I really don’t feel like another angry moment.
Brunty
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
Thai Education System Needs Reform, Thailand.
I want to thank my good mate Vern, over at Thaipulse.com for sending me this link. I hadn’t read this story because my computer gave up the go yesterday and I had to put in a new power source this afternoon and now I am back to normal again.
If you are a long time reader then you know what I do here in Thailand, a teacher at a private school. I have had a few ups and downs along the way and complained about the Thai school system that I still have so much trouble getting my head around things at times.
Well, this article, Teachers Fail Exams on Own Subjects was a very good laugh for me. It sounds terrible but I also hope it really puts a massive fire rocket up the arse of the incompetent people running the Ministry of Education (MOE) for so long.
Now the minister of education has said this, ''Even teachers fail, so how can we raise the quality of students?''
Why did he say this? Because of this. Thai teachers had to sit tests for the first time and the results are below.
The Office of Basic Education (Obec) said up to 88% of 3,973 teachers who specialise in computer sciences failed the test. A high number of failing teachers was also found in biology (86% of 2,846), maths (84% of 5,498), physics (71% of 3,487), chemistry (64% of 3,088) and astronomy and earth sciences (63% of 529).
These numbers are so sad, but I am in no way surprised. For years I have said the current Thai way of teaching, mostly rote learning is dead and needs to be changed. Older teachers need to be retrained and use more current methods that engage the learner and actually make them think.
I have walked into a classroom and a full whiteboard of writing is to be copied into a notebook. The whole lesson is taken by students writing and the teacher sitting at a desk marking work. The students will learn nothing from this.
But there was some good news, teachers at the junior high level earned high marks. Obec said 58% of 14,816 teachers teaching maths were categorised in the grade A group with marks of more than 80%, while 54% of 13,385 teachers did very well in sciences.
So the year 7 to 9 students are safely in the hands of brilliant minds while the older students are being taught by people who have degrees in these fields but apparently know nothing about their subject.
I will say this though; these tests are really, really poorly put together a lot of the time. I have sat them over the years and some of the mistakes and questions that have no right answer have been many.
I am not standing on my soap box claiming to be the best teacher, or even claim I know all there is to the English language, far from it. I do not have a degree in teaching.
Often when I am teaching my year 12 class, and a question is raised or something is unclear. I have to admit that I am not sure of the correct answer, write it down and then find the answer, why this is correct and inform the students in the next class.
I still remember the words from a senior teacher, one who has much experience saying in front of a class. “Thai students cannot create.”
This came after presenting a new topic to students and trying to elicit what knowledge they might already have on the subject about to be presented to them.
I am being truthful when I say that the majority of teachers believe this and spoon feed the students the information, no student input, no audio, visual, or tactile approaches are used.
Using audio, visual and tactile or kinesthetic aids are so important for engaging students. You can engage what they are about to learn without a word. A few pictures, sounds or something for them to touch will produce all sorts of engagement from students.
I never want to stand in front of my students for more than a minute of non stop talking as I will lose them. I want to use any methods that limit my talking and get the students contributing to the topic at hand.
I don’t want to feed them, but they feed me their knowledge, real life experiences they may have had or even seen on TV or in a book. I want to draw this out of them.
Is this the best way to teach? I have no idea! I believe it works as my students engage when they see a flashcard and hands shoot up to say the answer, or a sound and the guesses of what made it start.
It is like a reading class, students have a long text. The teacher tells the student to read the story. The students pull dictionaries out and start translating most words they see. This is counterproductive to me. Or they ask individual students to read out loud, it is laboured, mispronunciations that the teacher corrects each time and so forth. So the teacher stands there and reads, this is so boring to students and you could be speaking any language in the world.
For learners of a second language many will find this daunting. I will find stories that have voice to them. It isn’t because the students cannot read, though many cannot. I want students to follow and hear the words pronounced, see the words and hear correct pronunciation. I want them to expand vocabulary, I have said again and again to my students that they need a good basic vocabulary and actually know what the words mean, so they can be used in everyday situations.
So many students in Thailand are taught to be parrots, they are rote learnt to say whatever they are being taught, but understanding what they are learning and then using this vocabulary in a real situation, just is not possible.
If I want to see, if a student can read I will conduct a reading test. But this usually only confirms what I already know. Read a paragraph, a rubric is used so that no bias is engaged. Fluency, pronunciation, punctuation, tones and so forth is evaluated. For students to read, they need to know the vocabulary, the pronunciation or be able to syllabify words so that they can be pronounced.
Often when I have a word students are having trouble with, I write it on the board and then have the students try and break it into syllables so it can be pronounced. At times it is really funny hearing a word pronounced incorrectly. But the students enjoy and engage and eventually hear the correct pronunciation. The meaning they can look up in a dictionary.
Okay way off track, back to the failing teachers. The best part was this and made me also grin, “about 95% of about 40,000 directors (school bosses) failed the tests."
And many wonder why there are many problems in the Thai education system. Could I fix it? No chance in hell. I don’t think in the next century it could be fixed as the false grades, smoke and mirror charades will continue as the importance of “face” is too prevalent.
A school to fail, or keep back poorly performing students, retiring teachers that may have passed used by dates would blacken the school, make ripples in the glassy waters.
Brunty
If you are a long time reader then you know what I do here in Thailand, a teacher at a private school. I have had a few ups and downs along the way and complained about the Thai school system that I still have so much trouble getting my head around things at times.
Well, this article, Teachers Fail Exams on Own Subjects was a very good laugh for me. It sounds terrible but I also hope it really puts a massive fire rocket up the arse of the incompetent people running the Ministry of Education (MOE) for so long.
Now the minister of education has said this, ''Even teachers fail, so how can we raise the quality of students?''
Why did he say this? Because of this. Thai teachers had to sit tests for the first time and the results are below.
The Office of Basic Education (Obec) said up to 88% of 3,973 teachers who specialise in computer sciences failed the test. A high number of failing teachers was also found in biology (86% of 2,846), maths (84% of 5,498), physics (71% of 3,487), chemistry (64% of 3,088) and astronomy and earth sciences (63% of 529).
These numbers are so sad, but I am in no way surprised. For years I have said the current Thai way of teaching, mostly rote learning is dead and needs to be changed. Older teachers need to be retrained and use more current methods that engage the learner and actually make them think.
I have walked into a classroom and a full whiteboard of writing is to be copied into a notebook. The whole lesson is taken by students writing and the teacher sitting at a desk marking work. The students will learn nothing from this.
But there was some good news, teachers at the junior high level earned high marks. Obec said 58% of 14,816 teachers teaching maths were categorised in the grade A group with marks of more than 80%, while 54% of 13,385 teachers did very well in sciences.
So the year 7 to 9 students are safely in the hands of brilliant minds while the older students are being taught by people who have degrees in these fields but apparently know nothing about their subject.
I will say this though; these tests are really, really poorly put together a lot of the time. I have sat them over the years and some of the mistakes and questions that have no right answer have been many.
I am not standing on my soap box claiming to be the best teacher, or even claim I know all there is to the English language, far from it. I do not have a degree in teaching.
Often when I am teaching my year 12 class, and a question is raised or something is unclear. I have to admit that I am not sure of the correct answer, write it down and then find the answer, why this is correct and inform the students in the next class.
I still remember the words from a senior teacher, one who has much experience saying in front of a class. “Thai students cannot create.”
This came after presenting a new topic to students and trying to elicit what knowledge they might already have on the subject about to be presented to them.
I am being truthful when I say that the majority of teachers believe this and spoon feed the students the information, no student input, no audio, visual, or tactile approaches are used.
Using audio, visual and tactile or kinesthetic aids are so important for engaging students. You can engage what they are about to learn without a word. A few pictures, sounds or something for them to touch will produce all sorts of engagement from students.
I never want to stand in front of my students for more than a minute of non stop talking as I will lose them. I want to use any methods that limit my talking and get the students contributing to the topic at hand.
I don’t want to feed them, but they feed me their knowledge, real life experiences they may have had or even seen on TV or in a book. I want to draw this out of them.
Is this the best way to teach? I have no idea! I believe it works as my students engage when they see a flashcard and hands shoot up to say the answer, or a sound and the guesses of what made it start.
It is like a reading class, students have a long text. The teacher tells the student to read the story. The students pull dictionaries out and start translating most words they see. This is counterproductive to me. Or they ask individual students to read out loud, it is laboured, mispronunciations that the teacher corrects each time and so forth. So the teacher stands there and reads, this is so boring to students and you could be speaking any language in the world.
For learners of a second language many will find this daunting. I will find stories that have voice to them. It isn’t because the students cannot read, though many cannot. I want students to follow and hear the words pronounced, see the words and hear correct pronunciation. I want them to expand vocabulary, I have said again and again to my students that they need a good basic vocabulary and actually know what the words mean, so they can be used in everyday situations.
So many students in Thailand are taught to be parrots, they are rote learnt to say whatever they are being taught, but understanding what they are learning and then using this vocabulary in a real situation, just is not possible.
If I want to see, if a student can read I will conduct a reading test. But this usually only confirms what I already know. Read a paragraph, a rubric is used so that no bias is engaged. Fluency, pronunciation, punctuation, tones and so forth is evaluated. For students to read, they need to know the vocabulary, the pronunciation or be able to syllabify words so that they can be pronounced.
Often when I have a word students are having trouble with, I write it on the board and then have the students try and break it into syllables so it can be pronounced. At times it is really funny hearing a word pronounced incorrectly. But the students enjoy and engage and eventually hear the correct pronunciation. The meaning they can look up in a dictionary.
Okay way off track, back to the failing teachers. The best part was this and made me also grin, “about 95% of about 40,000 directors (school bosses) failed the tests."
And many wonder why there are many problems in the Thai education system. Could I fix it? No chance in hell. I don’t think in the next century it could be fixed as the false grades, smoke and mirror charades will continue as the importance of “face” is too prevalent.
A school to fail, or keep back poorly performing students, retiring teachers that may have passed used by dates would blacken the school, make ripples in the glassy waters.
Brunty
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
At Work, Dreaming of a Holiday, Isaan Style.
There hasn’t been a lot to report of late. I am back in the grind of working again and most of my day is taken up at school. I arrive each day around 6.30am a good hour before any other teacher. This is simply because it is so peaceful and there are no interruptions of students and so forth. I can make sure my day is completely planned, marking is done and I don’t have to rush at all through the day.
Some teachers will stay a little after school but I am out of there as soon as possible, usually no later than ten past four. I am back at the local sport school in the gym doing cardio, trying to lose plenty of the excess baggage picked up over the break and also light weights trying to firm the ever sagging muscles, or what used to resemble muscles.
It is then home and I play with my amazing niece Nong Ja. It is up to her what she wants to do. Off to the park for a walk, to the shops or just playing around in the house or front yard.
We have dinner, and then I get some time at the computer. I said I was going to spend less time at the computer as I want to spend more time with Ja, start trying to teach her more vocabulary of things and such.
Some nights I am up to 2am or more doing other things I have going on. I still get up at 6am and roll out of the bed into the shower. But these nights aren’t too often. Most of the time, it is around midnight but if I am lucky just before. Now it is 10.46pm as I tap away and I am pretty well up to date with everything, so the free time and the blog post.
Below are some of the pictures from our holiday, I wish I could be at the beach in Rayong or somewhere in Indonesia right now relaxing and having a cool beer, early morning surf or swim.
While we were away, Ja couldn’t get enough of the water. Early in the morning when she awoke she would utter about swimming, but first we would drag her unhappily to breakfast on the promise we would swim straight after. An afternoon or evening swim was also undertaken each day. I would be all dried up like an old prune while Ja wanted to keep splashing and screaming. Thankfully Noot liked to get wet as well.
My two amazing girls.
In short burst Ja would hit dry land before waddling off back to the pool and one of us following close by.
At night time even after big days, (we would have an afternoon nap) Ja would still have enough energy to want to dance or drive you crazy wanting to go for a walk outside the hotel. Trips to 7 Eleven for snacks and drinks were frequent and I always had to buy something extra for myself, chocolate, chips and so forth.
The girls had bought these oversize sunglasses and Ja wanted a piece of the action. It was hilarious just seeing these massive things on her small face, little only while she was twirling, shaking and at times mimicking the break dancers she sees at Big C here in Ubon.
She was super cool and brings back good memories. I wish I could be on holidays every day. But again I am sure we all do.
Brunty
Some teachers will stay a little after school but I am out of there as soon as possible, usually no later than ten past four. I am back at the local sport school in the gym doing cardio, trying to lose plenty of the excess baggage picked up over the break and also light weights trying to firm the ever sagging muscles, or what used to resemble muscles.
It is then home and I play with my amazing niece Nong Ja. It is up to her what she wants to do. Off to the park for a walk, to the shops or just playing around in the house or front yard.
We have dinner, and then I get some time at the computer. I said I was going to spend less time at the computer as I want to spend more time with Ja, start trying to teach her more vocabulary of things and such.
Some nights I am up to 2am or more doing other things I have going on. I still get up at 6am and roll out of the bed into the shower. But these nights aren’t too often. Most of the time, it is around midnight but if I am lucky just before. Now it is 10.46pm as I tap away and I am pretty well up to date with everything, so the free time and the blog post.
Below are some of the pictures from our holiday, I wish I could be at the beach in Rayong or somewhere in Indonesia right now relaxing and having a cool beer, early morning surf or swim.
While we were away, Ja couldn’t get enough of the water. Early in the morning when she awoke she would utter about swimming, but first we would drag her unhappily to breakfast on the promise we would swim straight after. An afternoon or evening swim was also undertaken each day. I would be all dried up like an old prune while Ja wanted to keep splashing and screaming. Thankfully Noot liked to get wet as well.
My two amazing girls.
In short burst Ja would hit dry land before waddling off back to the pool and one of us following close by.
At night time even after big days, (we would have an afternoon nap) Ja would still have enough energy to want to dance or drive you crazy wanting to go for a walk outside the hotel. Trips to 7 Eleven for snacks and drinks were frequent and I always had to buy something extra for myself, chocolate, chips and so forth.
The girls had bought these oversize sunglasses and Ja wanted a piece of the action. It was hilarious just seeing these massive things on her small face, little only while she was twirling, shaking and at times mimicking the break dancers she sees at Big C here in Ubon.
She was super cool and brings back good memories. I wish I could be on holidays every day. But again I am sure we all do.
Brunty
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