Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, November 6, 2019

 

  • Here’s something I found bothersome and unprofessional. I recently learned that at a somewhat local elementary school, two teachers are taking an entire week off to go on a cruise. Both teachers have well over a decade of teaching experience, so it’s not youthful ignorance. One is taking off the week of Thanksgiving and in essence, will have two straight weeks off. The other is taking the week before Christmas break off, so she’ll actually have three total weeks off. Perhaps some fault should go to their principal for approving their requests for time off.
  • Texas electricity prices up 43 percent this year, reflecting new price adders
    • Power generators hit pay dirt this summer when hot weather in August triggered surcharges approved earlier this year by Texas regulators, sending wholesale electricity prices soaring more than 40 percent, with the higher costs likely to be passed onto households and businesses.
  • Buddy Hackett was an exceptional comedian.
  • Ford’s electric Mustang project car packs a manual transmissionStick-shifting nostalgia meets a monster 900HP EV powerplant.
  • I didn’t watch this video but I alway assuming housing developers simply wanted to fit more houses in lot and the easiest way to do that was to cut down the size of land.
    Why American Yards Are Shrinking – Cheddar Explains

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4 Responses to Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, November 6, 2019

  1. AndreaJN says:

    I think teachers should be allowed vacation days, even up to a week at a time. And I suspect the weeks around Thanksgiving and Christmas are typically quite slow, so why not?
    Love your blog, Keith, hope you are well 🙂

  2. Ben W. says:

    I watched the video. The reason? Bigger houses combined with smaller lots = smaller yard. People want bigger houses because your house is an asset and bigger means better resale. Builders choose smaller lots because it allows for a bigger house while keeping costs about the same. And people want smaller yards because it’s cheaper to maintain.

    So, as with most everything else, the bottom line is: money.

  3. Bryan B. says:

    I have no problem with a teacher using the personal days they’re given any way they see fit and I’m not just saying that as an educator. I might have an issue if it were at a crucial time of year like the first week of school or immediately preceding or during standardized testing, but if it’s approved and plans are in place to keep things moving in the meantime, I don’t see any issue with it. That said, when my wife first started teaching, the day before or after any sort of holiday was never approved off using a personal day and the only way to take one off was to be docked a day of pay.

    I would believe the spike in electricity prices. I average my bill and, after a decade or so bills consistently between $230 and 260 per month, my bill for November jumped to over $300 for the first time since I had an undetected hot water leak.

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