Happens pretty easily.....

Yep. But here the word "gifted in a school context frequently refers to young students, who are selected to participate in advance studies. It begs the question, "Are the other students ungifted?"

But the "gifted programs" are often subject to politics and lobbying. Excellent test scores and grades make you elligible, but a gifted committee gets you in. While my kids take "advance placement" classes, which are grade based, they're not part of the Gifted Program...although my son at one time was asked to assist and tutor a "gifted" kid in his own grade.

The "gifted parent" term is kind of a tongue-in-cheek term to refer to parents, who brown nose and manipulate, monopoloize and dominate all the activities their kids take part in. They're a minority, but they make a lot of noise.

They tend to be patronizing too. every year the entire school selects a country to study and ther is a week of activities, assemblies, programs, food and games to learn about the country. This year it was Switzerland and one of the "gifted" parents, who organized some of the activities wanted to collect money to send to groups that help "all the starving people in Switzerland" from your well-to-do friends at P_____ Elementary." I laughed and said there were probably more hungry people in a 25 mile radius of the school than there are in Switzerland, which is not a Third World Country. She didn't know what third world meant.

Thanks Mark. When I wake up with a migraine I keep it all day.

Do they also put them on a ac/heated bus with a bathroom on it?

The poor of SWITZERLAND?? Oh, my. If there was ever a country that has perfected the art of making money, that is it! What other land-locked country do you know could achieve being the global leader in manufacturing maritime engines??

I also like the term "helicopter parents", because they are constantly hovering around their kids. I mentioned that to one of the girl's teachers, and she said, "Oh, you understand!!"

My wonderful wife, whom I love dearly, is a "helicopter" mom. So much so that my 24 year old son who is serving in The US Navy had a "dream/nightmare" about it. He called home from Iraq laughing and told us that he dreamed his SEAL unit was pinned down by insurgents gunfire and no one could help them. Lo and behold, he grabbed the satphone and called mom to the rescue! She arrived and saved them all within an hour!
Personally, I didn't know whether to cry or laugh! Sadly, this is a true story!

Mark, Next time you talk to your son tell him that I am proud of him for serving his country and tell him THANK YOU!!
My hubby served 20 years with the US Navy.

Yeah, Mark. You must be proud of your boy serving in a SEAL unit. If your wife was a helicopter mom, she did a great job no doubt. The SEALs are top notch.

Proximity

http://doitlater.com/showGame.php?id=2

It's a very cool game

My friend, and fellow GF enthusiast, had a birthday earlier in the week. I bought him "Godfather Trivia" from Books a Million. According to the box, there are over 900 questions spanning the entire triology. I am looking forward to playing at some point. I knew that I had to buy it when this sample question was on the back of the box: "Which character drank out of a hose?"

I'm so happy. My baby girl is coming up tonight and tomorrow we are working on wedding flowers.

Mig, that's wonderful. How long since you've seen Becky? Oh, and again, when't the wedding? Did you get your dress (and clutch)

Tell Becky hi and congrats



TIS

so yea, finding a decent left handed guitar for a good price is nigh impossible.

Im left handed and know the feeling..

Why has my baby tracker thingy disappeared from my signature?

You doing those drugs again?? I see the baby-tracker signature.

Do what Hendrix did.





I don't see it either.

works with strats, i have a left handed one of those, but mustangs and or jaguars it doesn't work as good because of where the amp cable plugs in.

I am using my last days holiday today before the end of March. Now i need April to come so i get my full quota back and start booking more time off

Today my parole officer threw up all over her desk. Right in front of me. Was a sick yet hilarious thing to see. I'm guessing she's pregnant.

Nice..

Thanks to all about the kind words regarding my Navy son. Indeed we are proud of him and love him very much. His mom is the best and he is where he is today because of her guidance and direction. Mama Mig, thanks to your hubby for his service! The Navy is a great place for young men to grow up and gain a lot of life's experiences!

If he had his way Mark, he'd go back in.

Thanks TIS. My dress won't be in till the end of April. We got Becky's bouquet done and her bridesmaids and maid of honers flowers done. When she comes up for her shower in April we're gonna do the mother's and grandmother's corsage's and the groomsmen boutonnieres.

A bit of a rumpus here in the UK where our Home Secretary (our Secretary of State if you like), a po faced old bag called Jaqui Smith has been pulled into a shitstorm over her expenses account and how she has been fiddling it

All our M.P's get £23,000 in an expenses account to pay for their "second homes" in London for when they are sitting in Parliament. She has spent just under the allotted amount on all sorts of stuff,including porn movies,bath plugs and 2 whole new kitchens? Why would she need 2 kitchens for a house she only uses occasionly i ask? The porn movies were apparently for her hubby

That is the only comic turn in this farce however. She is using tax payers money (our money) to feather her nest and has been caught. Everyone is screaming for her to resign but we will have to see what happens. She is claiming she has not broke any rules but seeing it is her and her crooked pals who make the rules,what chance do we have?????

An other example of our crooked pols rubbing our noses in it.

Bastards

We have that too in my neck of the woods.

Vince Fumo, a state senator (not U.S. Senator) from Philadelphia was recently convicted on all 137 counts of corruption in federal court. He organized his own charity, which he funded with state dollars. The charity's main purpose was to line the senator's pockets. He also strong armed a subsidiary of an energy company into donating more than $15 million to the "charity", and suddenly the senator changed his stance, and voted for deregulation of utility companies.

Fumo also used state personnel to oversee the construction of his mansion, partly funded by campaign contributions. He also used state workers to spy on his ex-wife. He and aides were also convicted of destroying documents and electronic communications that detailed his improper dealings with the energy company.

Funny thing is that he replaced a senator in his district, who was convicted of bribery, racketeering and obstruction of justice. He had helped that senator to arrange the payment of more than 30 "ghost employees" of the State years ago, but that conviction was overturned on procedural issues.

Fumo will spend at least ten years behind bars.

If you have a stash of pistachios in your house, pistachio ice cream in your freezer or trail mix in your backpack, don't eat any of it.

The FDA says it and the California Department of Public Health are taking "a proactive approach."
Wait until an inquiry into possible salmonella contamination is further along, advises FDA Associate Commissioner David Acheson.

Kraft Foods Inc. notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last Tuesday that it found salmonella in roasted pistachios during routine testing. The nuts were traced to Setton Farms in Terra Bella, California, about 75 miles south of Fresno.

Setton announced a recall, Kraft removed its Back To Nature Trail Mix from store shelves, and Kroger -- a grocery chain with stores in 31 states -- recalled Private Selection shelled pistachios from its retail stores.

"Ultimately, the question is what should consumers do, and our advice to consumers is that they avoid eating pistachio products and keep checking the FDA Web site for the latest information," Acheson said.

what the hell is going on with all of these recalls! i bet a thousand bucks that milk will get recalled next.

I've recieved 3 rsvp cards today from people who can't come to the wedding. That is fine that they can't come but they didn't even put their f'n name on the f'n card.