We got our errands done yesterday before any rain came in. The wind started increasing while we were out and got cold. More rain came in overnight and will continue today. The forecast indicates mixed rain and snow through Thursday. Luckily we don't have to do anything away from home for the rest of the week. Looking at the Weather Channel we are glad we aren't any more south than we are--they are getting severe storms with the possibility of tornados.
So far I have spent a little time stitching but far too much with computer updates. Mine went smoothly but, for some reason, Mom's computer was changed and we haven't been able to get it back entirely. Why I don't know. That is simply the latest of technology headaches lately.
The situation in the Israel/Hamas conflict keeps going from bad to worse to worse yet. Yesterday the IDF bombed the Iranian consulate in Syria killing seven military officers (and no reports indicate how many others) and a van load of aid workers with World Central Kitchen in Gaza. Now all of the pundits are wondering how the Iranians will retaliate.
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We have snow and rain today. I don't think any snow will accumulate. However, we have decided to hibernate til Friday when we will see the sun again.
Random thought: listening to the news commentary on the Israeli "accident" that killed World Central Kitchen workers. However, that strikes me like some mass shooter claiming it was an accident someone died because he wasn't aiming at that person. Bulls**t. They managed to precisely target Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers in the Iranian consulate in Syria and yet they "accidentally" hit a 3 vehicle convoy on a route previously arranged with the IDF.
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Computer problems--not mine; Mom's. This whole mess started because Xfinity forced us into getting the new modem/router/hub (whatever). Oh, we could have "chosen" to keep the old one but they would have charged us an additional $5/month to use it. Some choice!!! But that upset everything. Mom got on line easily enough but I had to get my own line for my laptop and iPad. Then her internet connection kept cutting out. Mine was solid. We tried to fix it but haven't really succeeded. She shut down her computer but now she can't find the password to get the machine running again. But in all this crap we also lost the connection between our printer and the modem and our computers. We can't print out anything because the modem doesn't see the printer. There are times when I really hate this technology.
Aurelien posted this long article that I have let ferment in my brain for a couple of days and have re-read a couple of times. It brings up several points about education that have occurred to me over the last three decades. First: education has been reduced to a series of hoops people have to jump through hoping that when the last hoop is done the former student will be on a career path to the middle class or better. When I was teaching many students had an attitude that irritated me: D for diploma. They thought that grade was acceptable if the course was not core for their major but chosen to satisfy the "electives" requirement. Second: the commitments of time and money make it difficult for students to change paths even if the original path isn't suitable. Third: The cost in terms of time and money is unaffordable. Too many go into debt hoping that the "investment" will yield a comfortable living before they die but that depends on uncertainties like a job market that has a jobs available that match their training and that pay a wage/salary that allows them to pay back the loan and leave enough to live on. I knew a young PhD candidate who looked for teaching positions while she finished her dissertation and described, in disgust, the options as "genteel poverty." Aurelien is right that the mission of education has been redefined over time and is in a muddled stage now because we don't have a defined mission any more because our culture is so fractured.
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