I actually had the time to sit and read through some of my networking journals at work today. (Usually they go in the big round filing cabinet by my desk, unread.) And Network Computing had this little gem that they’d gotten from the Full Disclosure mailing list.

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.

Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?

A: Top-posting.

Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet and in e-mail?

In another journal, on the last page (usually the best part of any good network journal), was an article about paranoia and that they really *are* out to get you. But what I liked best about it was the commentary on the vendors. Vendors, if you’ve ever been to a vendor show, don’t sell software or hardware anymore, they sell solutions. Dad and I have yet to figure out what “solutions” are and why we’d want to spend our limited school funds on them. Aparently the fellow who wrote the article felt the same way that we did about buying “solutions.” I’d quote what it directly said, but I ripped it out and taped it to dad’s monitor so he can read it tomorrow (on his one day working for this week).

Ah, tomorrow should be fun. Firstly, it’s Friday. Secondly, it’s PayDay! And Thirdly, it’s the day of our monthly county tech meeting. We gather at El Sombrero restaurant in Troy and sit around discussing problems and solutions (without any vendors around to get in the way!) Dad and I always learn a lot during these meetings and it’s always reassuring to find out that we’re not always the last ones to discover something. I will admit, there are times we feel more like the comic relief than valid participants, but from time to time we contribute something useful as well. Plus we get some good Mexican American food in our bellies and we get to talk to grownups for awhile. (That’s very important to do from time to time when you teach kids.)

On Tuesday, dad and I will get to be wowed by Vendors trying to sell us Solutions. But more importantly, on Monday we’re going to several workshops (paid for with professional development funds – yay!) that ought to be very informative. Last year we went to the tech conference and learned more in our 4 one-hour workshops than we’d learned in months. But we missed out on the vendors (who only come the second and third days of the conferences, with the first day for techs only). This year we were smart and set aside time to visit with the vendors on Tuesday. The conference is put on by SOITA, the Southwest Ohio Instructional Technology Association, and is always fun. (Plus we get lunch and usually a nice Lexus/Nexus bag.)

The only drawback to professional days is having a substitute teacher. Usually the subs are good folks and all, but writing up lesson plans for non-chemistry/non-physics people can be a real bear. (I have had bad subs, however, and returned to broken equipment – gah!) Still, all this teching will be good for my spirit and may help galvanize the work I need to do on the school intranet and WWW sites.