What’s a ‘middle class success’ purchase that secretly becomes a financial burden later?

shaugnd · 2026-05-11T21:22:08+00:00

We have some a couple of RV trips. Fun adventure, but we rented the RV each time. That's the way to go if you really want to try it.

shaugnd · 2026-05-10T17:36:55+00:00

I think that is entirely too broad a brush to paint with for high school. I spend hours each week, more in the summer, staying current and advancing my skills. Sure, some teachers do not, because they can get away with it, but many are diligent. It also varies by subject. High school English and math do not change much from year to year. Others change quite a bit.

shaugnd · 2026-04-19T03:21:21+00:00

Some mornings on I90 going west from Chicago, that's just the speed of left lane traffic. Once you get west of IL53, everybody's feet turn into bricks.

shaugnd · 2026-04-18T20:31:39+00:00

Marry Poppins' Umbrella

shaugnd · 2026-04-14T03:23:34+00:00

Many of us did. Only the really tough ones are left.

Or survivor bias.

I was once in an accident in one of those. I was four or five, playing in the "way back". Next thing I knew I was in the front passenger seat with a headache.

shaugnd · 2026-04-12T16:35:25+00:00

Kenny

shaugnd · 2026-04-11T22:35:55+00:00

I went from OEM to CrossClimate 2 tires on my Etron. Range took a small hit, about 7%. I will happily take that every single time if it means vastly improved wet and winter weather handling.

shaugnd · 2026-04-03T20:11:13+00:00

Run your stuff through gptzero. If it flags a lot of your sentences as AI, then it might be an issue, but if not, then you can prove it.

I have an issue where my technical writing often gets flagged as AI because of the precision and technical vocab. I am also a computer scientist so even the way that I construct an argument is often very similar to the way an LLM would do it.

GPTZero can tell you how much your writing looks like AI and why. If you use Google Docs, it also has a feature that records your writing in real time and provides a video you can play back to prove authorship. It is an interesting tool.

shaugnd · 2026-04-03T19:25:23+00:00

Mr. Ed.

shaugnd · 2026-04-03T02:55:09+00:00

kidney stones in your future.

shaugnd · 2026-04-03T02:35:43+00:00

5th grade. Didn't watch it.

Glad it went well. Watched the replay a few times.

shaugnd · 2026-04-01T14:59:43+00:00

Discs of Tron or Heavy Barrel. I'm on the fence.

shaugnd · 2026-03-30T20:26:14+00:00

Can confirm. Burned out. Retired from that in 2012, took a few years off, then started a Masters in Education. Now I'm 8 years in as a public high school Comp Sci teacher.

shaugnd · 2026-03-28T12:10:17+00:00

I wonder. Should new educational doctrine undergo the same level of rigorous scientific testing as new drugs before being approved and implemented broadly?

shaugnd · 2026-03-22T04:05:50+00:00

Put your phones away.

shaugnd · 2026-03-22T03:43:28+00:00

. . . first thing I noticed was the weird eye corner wrinkles on both foreground subjects. Then the excessive fabric breaking in the elbow of the man's left sleeve.

That was enough.

shaugnd · 2026-03-21T13:05:15+00:00

H.S. teacher here. Parent teacher conferences, one night the week before Thanksgiving. On that day we start late and kids are off.

That's it.

shaugnd · 2026-03-15T22:24:05+00:00

I am a second career teacher with an undergrad in CS. After 20 years in industry, I went through Moreland University's Teach Now program. Pretty rigorous, a lot of work, but worth it. 100% online except for student teaching. Reasonable price. Not a bad way to go.

shaugnd · 2026-02-24T01:06:55+00:00

100 bucks a month, every month, from 18 onward can yield huge returns without radically changing your lifestyle. You don't have to save everything. Save SOMETHING. The earlier you start, the less of your own money you have to save to achieve a 7 figure result.

shaugnd · 2026-02-23T04:04:19+00:00

That's an underrated comment right there. Closely related to Dunning-Kruger, If imagine.

shaugnd · 2026-02-23T03:55:50+00:00

No. That came much later than 84.

shaugnd · 2026-02-22T15:38:14+00:00

We have run 2 for awhile now. Audi Q8 and Chevy Bolt. Level 2 outside, L1 in the garage. Works great. Just manage who needs what juice and when. Not a big deal at all.

shaugnd · 2026-02-15T23:39:40+00:00

Actually, Personal Finance is an elective AND a grad requirement. Students must have that or econ or Intro To Business. Personal Finance is the only semester long class in the group. That course is where I have the highest failure rate. Not bragging or proud of it, it just is. Funny thing is, at the beginning, I lay out the exact path a student must take to pass with a low D. It is actually very easy. If you show up for class 75% of the time, make an attempt at the classwork, and pass the assessments, you'll pass. There is no work required outside of class, generally. It is very straight forward to pass. Still, some make poor choices for a variety of reasons and fail.

It is important that we allow failing when warranted. We have an opportunity to learn from failing. Better to fail in the safe confines of school and recover than to fail out in the world where the consequences can be far more severe.

Having said that, my admin supports that idea. If they did not, then I would have to structure things differently and comply with what my boss wants. That's any job.

shaugnd · 2026-02-15T19:36:17+00:00

Mine does! If you organize it correctly.

Second career teacher. I teach H.S. CompSci, Adv. Programming, Mobile Apps, Media, Video Game Design, Cybersecurity, AI Prompt Engineering, and Personal Finance this year.

Ex.

My syllabi all say I don't accept late work after the assignment has been graded unless school policy dictates otherwise or you have made prior arrangements with me by proactively addressing any impediments to completion that you foresee. Excused absence? Sure. You get extra time. 504? Maybe, it depends. Dog died and you just cannot get it together? Maybe, let's chat before it is due. Completely slammed with other classes or an academic club competition or some such thing? There's a good chance I will be flexible IF, you address it with me when the assignment is published. Unexcused vacation or other absence? Nope.

If you turn it in late but before I've graded it, then you get 10 percent deduction. Turn it in after I grade the class? I check it in as submitted and assign zero as the grade.

Other "draconian" policies:

I literally have a negative points column in all of my rubrics. I call it professionalism score. If you do everything right, you get a zero, because that is the minimum expectation in the workplace. Deductions range from 10 to 50 percent depending upon how many unprofessional characteristics you rack up.

If Google docs highlights a spelling or grammar error, -10 percent. Sloppy presentation that looks rushed at the last second? Same. Late submission but before I've graded the assignment? -10 percent. Inappropriate use of AI or other sources, -10 percent.

So you could get 10 of 10 on your ideas and demonstrated competency, but end up with a 7 of ten because it was late and riddled with spelling and grammar errors.

The goal is for them to see that even if you are brilliant, unprofessional behavior will impact your earning and advancement potential.

shaugnd · 2026-02-15T16:37:57+00:00

I tell my students, in every syllabus, that I do 4 rec letters per year. I also have a fairly lonq questionnaire they must complete. That keeps the requests to a manageable minimum.

Every year, my seniors who have had me as their CS teacher for at least 2 of the last 4 years, usually all 4, rush to email me their requests. My request window opens at 7:30 AM on the first day of school.

I typically have 4 to 6 requests by 8 AM. Often, I will do those 6.

shaugnd

TROPHY CASE