First Day of School

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
08/24/2020 at 11:45 • Filed to: None

Can you see the brownish tint to the sunlight? Big Smoke. We are blessed that there are no flames about to jump the back fence.

This would be the view if I could be in my studio.

Good morning everyone. I’m meeting my students on Zoom in half an hour. Some of them, anyway. I feel much better connected to my colleagues this year than at any time in my career previously. I organized a spiffy Zoom studio out in my shed, but the State of California is on fire right now and air quality levels are unhealthy and I’m inside. As well this morning, my wife is presenting instruction one on one in speech therapy and is running two cameras and a second laptop she can log into the meeting and monitor. She had to learn all of that from scratch. My 18-year-old daughter is on Zoom in her university class in her bedroom . Everyone’s IT seems to be working properly and there seems to be adequate bandwidth. The dogs were going apes**t in the living room when the Fire Department showed up across the street, so they have been relegated to the backyard.

Props to everyone: Shop Teacher, WRX, Dipp o, and others and their spouses who are educators. The secret is out that public education at a basic level is daycare. The secret is also out what a critical foundation support public education is to our society.

This is my report.

DISCUSSION (39)

facw > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 11:51

I’ve realized that my education could have used more dogs. School dogs!

VincentMalamute-Kim > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 11:55

Congrats on going back to work I think?

I’m in the same situation as far as smoke. Haven’t ridden a bike in two weeks due to unhealthy air. Plus the n earby forest fire has taken out a few of my usual mtn bike routes.

DipodomysDeserti > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 12:13

Godspeed.

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 12:17

Is the blue tape so doggo doesn’t crash into the sliding door?

jminer > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 12:21

Good Luck! I know you’ve spent a good deal of time working on your setup for this. I hope everything goes well for you and your students!

You’re very right about everyone all of a sudden realizing how valuable schools are. For some reason most places it ends up with people yelling about how selfish teachers are instead of coming together and talking about how we can better support everyone.

If you need any tech support you know how to reach me - same goes for any other teachers that need a hand. I’m happy to do what I can with helping you fix things or get them setup.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > ttyymmnn
08/24/2020 at 12:31

lol. I was going to ask how many times the dog ran into the door before the blue tape was added.

ttyymmnn > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
08/24/2020 at 12:35

I’m pretty sure that that tall board between the box and the door is a doggie door that can be installed in the sliding glass door. So he would be used to coming in right there.

sn4cktimes > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 12:37

Your studio setup is pretty awesome. I’m from Alberta Canada and can sympathize with the fire smoke scenario. We’re pretty good now. But late summer usually gets a lot of haze.

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 12:37

Three down, two to go for the day. The last two are 6th grade classes, so they’re the ones who are all new to me. The other classes I knew almost everybody already. I’m working on editing my video for tomorrow’s lesson right now. Virtual shop tour!

user314 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 13:01

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Just Jeepin' > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 13:27

My office today, courtesy Shakamak State Park cabin 9.

(Ok, it was my office earlier; I went for a very short jog over lunch so I’ve retreated indoors to the A/C.)

Kinja'd!!!

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 13:37

Online school is one big compromise that usually seems to leave teachers and students high and dry, so my heart goes out to you in these coming weeks. You seem to have a pretty good set up there from what you’ve told us. And the wildfires don’t help anything.

I haven’t had an in person college class yet but I will soon once studio starts. Standing in line for food and getting this COVID test right now is about all I’ve done on campus outside my room. Thankfully everyone is wearing a mask (when not at the frat houses) and people have been good at social distancing. Only one small COVID outbreak so far and it was confined to one frat.

Bst wishes for managing students online. I'm sure you'll do great.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > facw
08/24/2020 at 14:40

Sometimes, I could use fewer dogs. The one on the porch there is a nutcase. But she refuses to quit loving me.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn
08/24/2020 at 14:40

Yes. I tell you, the dog is a genius .

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
08/24/2020 at 14:41

Twice or three times, as I recall. Inertia is that dog’s middle name. She is a one-dog stampede.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn
08/24/2020 at 14:41

Yup.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Just Jeepin'
08/24/2020 at 14:42

That’s a pretty soft state park if it has WiFi. I’m guessing that Shakamak is not in California or else it would be on fire right now.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > jminer
08/24/2020 at 14:44

Thanks. We had some of that yelling and now my union is all but hurt and ad hominem against the supt for not slapping the parents down. If my union weren’t corrupt and we had actual elections with actual campaigns, I’d like to see my union president primaried.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
08/24/2020 at 14:45

Thank you, my friend. Maybe the Darwin principle will put an end to fraternity houses once and for all.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > shop-teacher
08/24/2020 at 14:45

Cool. Emailed you today. Masks outbound.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > VincentMalamute-Kim
08/24/2020 at 14:48

Are you in California? There’s an excellent website www.purpleair.com that uses a network of private air quality sensors to track air quality. If we get even a mild, but steady offshore breeze, which we almost always have, then the air quality improves dramatically. But haven’t for about 48 hours...

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > sn4cktimes
08/24/2020 at 14:48

The studio was fun to set up. When things are going along apace, I’ll share a tour of it.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > DipodomysDeserti
08/24/2020 at 14:48

Likewise, my friend.

Just Jeepin' > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 15:01

WiFi was added to the cabins this year. And yeah, no wildfires within a couple of thousand miles, thankfully.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 15:02

The concept isn’t inherently bad but too often they turn into toxic environments where getting the same haircut is just the tip of the iceberg. I understand the appeal, but personally I don’t see myself joining a G reek Life organization. Especially this year. It’s not just that I don’t drink or that parties aren’t really my scene . The frat houses are basically the only place I have seen people not wearing masks, and that means it’s rare to see anyone wearing a mask at all there.

My school has done a great job of being cautious and taking measures to prevent spreading. The fraternities and sororities are the biggest threat to keeping the school open right now.

Even just walking around Atlanta I feel safer than walking around in one of the northern suburbs where people are isolated / rich enough to think COVID doesn’t apply to them. Well, there are like one or two nightclubs that have been packed with maskless people but it’s easy to avoid those isolated crowds.

VincentMalamute-Kim > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 15:03

I saw that site. Someone here posted it, maybe you. I used this site https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/ which looks better today. Yesterday it was on the border between Unhealthy and Very Unhealthy.

I’m halfway between Longmont and Fort Collins. It’s nowhere as bad as CA but hazy skies, smoky smell, and irritated eyes is new to me here.

facw > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 15:40

Na h, that just means you need another dog to distract her some of the time!

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 16:20

I saw that. Thank you sir!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Just Jeepin'
08/24/2020 at 16:55

Soft. Envy.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
08/24/2020 at 16:57

I hear you, but when these imbeciles infect sufficiently many of each other, then the authorities will shut everything down.

I was never an “in” person, so fraternities are ana thema to me, and sexual conquest and all of that. Yuck.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > VincentMalamute-Kim
08/24/2020 at 17:01

A southerly breeze has picked up, blowing heavy smoke our way. We are Very Unhealthy , approaching Hazardous . Current AQI = 274.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > facw
08/24/2020 at 17:03

We have that, and he is not helpful. Though to their credit, they enjoy ha rassing and killing mice and rats. The other one is schnauzerish:

Kinja'd!!!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > shop-teacher
08/24/2020 at 17:06

My mistake was that I treated the mailing like a mailing, and not like a package.

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 17:09

Whoops!

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/24/2020 at 17:31

I never liked large crowds, but current events make me detest them even more. I much prefer smaller and more laid back environments anyways. I do think if anyone is going to get us sent home it'll be the big frats. They've already had a big enough outbreak that it was easier to move the negative tested people than the positive tested ones out.

VincentMalamute-Kim > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/25/2020 at 16:13

yike!

You have more hair than me.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > VincentMalamute-Kim
08/25/2020 at 16:54

Our AQI briefly topped 300 yesterday. Then cleared considerably and cooled off and we opened up the house. I am monitoring the situation and hopeful that we may see a similar series of events today.

VincentMalamute-Kim > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/25/2020 at 19:14

I should get out and exercise. It’s so much better here than you guys.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > VincentMalamute-Kim
08/25/2020 at 20:16

It’s my excuse and I’m using it.