Mrs.J

1 hour ago, Always in Zugzwang said:

Oh, and hello there, @mappy and @Mrs.J!  I hope you are both well!  Haven't been in here for awhile, just trying to survive the God-awful heat!  I don't even feel like getting out on my bike with this.  But I am still taking photos when walking about now and then.  I'll see if I can post a few when I have a chance for everyone!

You are in the same place I am in. This heat has been too hot for me to even cook and enjoy it. Dinner tonight was leftover Cuban pork butt with some BBQ sauce. The rest of the family is doing Quesadillas. I did the butt in the crock pot I do not even want to turn on the oven. Broke down the other night and told Mr. J it was too hot to cook and we were ordering pizza. 

Waiting in the parking lot of the oldest daughters dance studio and getting dumped on! Wind lightning and thunder. Loving it!!

14 minutes ago, JakkelWx said:

 

I don't follow football. What name did they choose?

1 hour ago, psuhoffman said:

The prep drink is awful.  I had a minor surgical procedure a couple months ago related to Crohns complications. That’s why I disappeared for a while.  

I know I’m biased. I am in an at risk group. That makes my impact calculus different than some others.  But the percent of high risk workers in education makes it impossible to staff the buildings without risking those groups. 

I am in at at risk group also and I am not an employee of the local school system. So you are not the only one biased. My daughters themselves have said they want to keep me safe and from getting sick. They will do what it takes to make sure I am here for them. 

30 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

They haven't made a definitive decision yet but word is from someone I know that's a 12 month employee is they probably will scrap there original option of in class 100% or hybrid option especially for highschool and middle age . Word is that Carroll doesn't want any negative media attention for being the only county in the area offering inclass option.  Elementary might still do a hybrid I'm hearing. 

Frederick Co is still hanging. Although seeing FB posts this past week from some of the BOE members they are not comfortable with opening at all. BOE meeting is next week on the 29th. I think Fred and Carroll are the two last systems in the DC/Balt area that have yet to make a decision. And yes Liability is what is being asked about from the Board. One of the BOE members lives in my neighborhood and she is for 100% distance learning. And so is the President of the BOE and said as much on a FB post. Typical for Fred Co they even wait until the last minute to call a snow day. 

10 hours ago, DCTeacherman said:

 

I was in a gas station off I-81 near the 3 really big crosses and no one had a mask on in there. 

Yep. The looks I get when at a horse show over there, were you are supposed to have masks on at all times ring side, are like a death stare. Had one woman pass me 3 times at a show and stare me down while I was wearing a mask. 

43 minutes ago, 40westwx said:

One of the biggest issues that I face is family dynamics.. and I suspect this is a problem for others too.  I have two boys - 9 and 11.  In school they are angels.. one actually won an award for behavior five years in a row.  At home it is more or less a shit show.  Just like any boys that age, they fight and run around like maniacs.  

The only way I could get them to attend the daily online classes was to stand over their shoulder and watch them.  Their mom is more or less just a big sister and really doesnt enforce any rules and I work two and half jobs to pay for fortnite skins. 

To make matters worse.. all of the online sessions came at exactly the same time as my "meetings".  Standing over their shoulders was impractical in the long run and eventually they won the war of attrition and stopped logging in.  

A couple of my co-workers mentioned that in North Carolina there are rumors of a property tax protest if they dont open schools back up.  

Your boys would hate our house. Both Mr. J and I were on them like flies on a dog pile. The oldest Miss J did very well on her own so we only had to check in with her. The younger Miss J some days were better than others. Both girls have told us they want 100% online and are prepared to step up to the plate. 
 

As for the NC folks, do they not understand that property taxes do not just pay for the physical school building yes? Sounds like they are talking about cutting off their noses to spite there faces. 

53 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

My job takes me many areas in Md and Pa . Only 1 I can remember in Md inside a store . In Pa i have seen a handful of people without masks inside .

We board my daughters pony in VA. A lot of people over there are without masks.

Thunder and lightning to my South. In my backyard looks like we are splitting between the South and North part of the line with nothing here. 

1 hour ago, DCTeacherman said:

Wow it is way grosser than yesterday morning, dew points 74-77 around my area.  

Yes it is. Have been taking my daughter to ride very early to beat the sun rising. The last few mornings as long as we were done by 8 am it was good. Today we stepped outside to head over to VA and decided it was too nasty even at 6:30 in the morning. Current dew point here is 74.

10 hours ago, BlizzardNole said:

Wow nice rainbow pic!  That shower disintegrated a it passed by to the north, but it temporarily sucked some heat out of the air making for a nice cookout earlier.  It's HOT again and I am sweating bullets after only watering the garden beds.  

Hoping for a lucky t-storm tomorrow.  A sultry 88 degrees coming up on 9 PM.

Knocked power out for some. Knocked out our internet till well into the night. While the temp dropped 10 deg, humidity did not drop and it felt like a sauna the rest of the evening. But I don’t have to water my plants today. 

Had this cell pop out of nowhere. Ended up just on the eastern edge of it. Front of the house pouring rain. Back of the house crazy winds and pouring rain. Ended up with .30”. 

My parents surprised the Miss J’s with this telescope. My oldest said great now I can find my home planet!

Hoping for a clear night to check it out. 

10 minutes ago, WinterWxLuvr said:

I’m confused by these posts with high dewpoints. DP here is 59 with a temp of 93. Humidity is at 32%. Even Dulles only has a DP of 66. Is there some boundary out there that I don’t know about?

 

My temp is 95 with a DP of 77 humidity is 46%

I am kickin' it old style today. Eating a ham sandwich and have the SiriusXM Beastie Boys station on.  In other words this humidity is nasty and I am sitting my can in the house. Going to make no-noodle lasagna tonight that uses Zucchini. 

10 hours ago, psuhoffman said:

This is a very difficult decision. I’m torn. I really miss teaching live. I want to get back. Imo virtual instruction is woefully inadequate. Primary and even secondary education is just as much about the social aspect as the curriculum. Most job specific training comes as an adult. Yes kids needs basic reading and writing but mostly they need to learn how to analyze the world and participate in productive conversations that produce and expand knowledge. You can’t do that in an online class. Not very well.  

I also have an issue with how some teacher unions are marketing their policy advocacy.  “Dead kids” is bunk.  More kids are likely to die from accidents and other infections ancillary to attending school than covid.  The real threat is to the staff and the community.  And there are signs covid could cause less lethal but still serious side effects in some kids.  But all that is harder to fit in a sign then “dead kids”.

That said I’m also not sure how feasible an open is. The odds of avoiding mass closing seen low. Covid is still around. We just had a student in summer school diagnosed. Luckily it’s an online program but it highlights the issue. Every time a student gets diagnosed groups and schools will get closed.  I’m curious to see a district announce their mitigation strategy in the event a student gets diagnosed then a simulation run by a legitimate reputable source on how that would play out.  I’ve not seen that yet mostly because schools are being guarded with clear strategies. They don’t want to be boxed in. But it makes it impossible to run accurate impact calculus without those details. 

My girls want to be back too. But as I said above after the virtual town hall last night it became clear to me that school systems are in way over their heads with this. They had no plan in place yet when staff or a student tests positive after having been in the classroom. There is no plan yet in place about wearing masks in the classroom. There is to be no cleaning of shared surfaces in between secondary classroom changes. As of now relying on mask wearing and personal hygiene. Daycares have no concrete plans to work with the 2 day on 3 day virtual hybrid option as of yet. Teachers will swipe into the school and that means they are not symptomatic. Talk about on and off ramps with online only and in school.

The only thing that I took from the meeting that I am happy about is that hybrid or full school option there will be a 100% virtual option available to all parents. I personally know of a 5th grade teacher and a BOE member who are wanting an all online first semester. Will just have to wait this out. 

22 hours ago, losetoa6 said:

Anybody listen in to last evening's virtual Baltimore county school board of ed meeting? I did ...even though I live in Carroll county I wanted to get a feel for what  other counties are doing with respect with kids going back to school in the  fall . I listened for 45 minutes and what a disorganized mess it seemed to be . Every couple minutes there was dead air and someone would say ..I think we lost Mr . Smith..lol or someone would be reading off line 6 and the other members would be reading off line 4 for some reason . I lost interest quick and I swear I didnt hear anything about kids . The only thing I heard that made any sense was someone motioned to have an "in person" board meeting at one of the highschool auditoriums. They said making big decisions by email or virtual isn't  the right way to go about it .Hopefully Carroll county's live meeting tonight goes wayyy better . 

You should have dropped into the FCPS Town hall. 
 

I thought they were further along but it became painfully clear that once the questions started coming in they have only spent time on their preferred hybrid option. Had no plan on how to make masks mandatory. No plan on when someone tests positive. No plan on refusals to wear masks. When asked about cleaning in the classrooms of the secondary level one panelist replied that , there is not enough time between classes to even wipe down desks and would have to rely on mask wearing and personal hygiene. Sorry I do not rely on anyone else’s personal hygiene especially teenage kids. The only thing I got out of it was that we have defiantly confirmed our girls will be doing virtual learning. They touched on how it will not be like this past spring with more accountability. My whole take on the meeting... these school systems are in way over their heads when it comes to cleaning and keeping staff and students safe. They need to stay with what they know and just build up a very robust online learning platform. They do not have the budget to take this on. Our BOE will have the final decision and then the state BOE. There is no good answer. 

PG Co just decided on an all virtual online first semester. Have heard MoCo is moving in that direction. Tonight Fred Co has a virtual town hall with the BOE and FCPS. From what I can gather parents in Fred Co are pushing and all online first semester. Will be tuning in from 6-8 with parent in the FCPS system to see what the decision will be. 

On 7/14/2020 at 1:28 PM, mappy said:

Mine gets broken up with GIS stuff. But yes, cat/dog accounts to follow are good!

you can check out @trashpandaboys if you want one. 

1 hour ago, mappy said:

breaks are good, friend. do what you gotta. its nice having you post here in the meantime. if only the weather was more exciting. 

I find on Twitter that you need to have a decent amount of cat and dog accounts to follow. Breaks up everything else. Of course I have an account for my crazy crew of tabbies and their antics. 

49 minutes ago, Rhino16 said:

Just bought RadarScope the other day... no more rain for me until next year! 

I have had RadarScope. But just last month looked into Radar Omega. I get a bit more for the knob price. 

1 hour ago, JakkelWx said:

After July 20th it's all downhill from here for avg daytime highs.

This better happen! Sweat my butt off at at horse show yesterday. It was down right oppressive and wearing a mask to watch the youngest Miss J compete I for one will be grateful for cooler temps. Although we did get rained on and that felt down right fantastic. 

Mr. J spent some time growing up in SE GA. We visited GA one summer, this humidity is SE GA level thick sweat your a$$ off and I am not liking it. 

28 minutes ago, Herb@MAWS said:

I was up at 12:30 this morning.  It was pouring, with minor thunder and maybe a couple brief lightning flashes.  During the evening there was a fairly sold line of rain (lots of yellows and reds) moving east out from the Potomac Highlands.  The line gradually began diminishing and breaking up, but there was one small red cell that survived and just happened to pass over Columbia.

Location, location, location!!!

You got what moved over me at 11/11:30. Got 1.21" out of just one storm as it passed over. Occasional lightning. I am in SW Frederick Co.

2 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

I got

I got .68" a couple days ago but it's been fairly dry for 2 weeks .

Just checked 1.21” out of that storm. There is another developing behind this but it may miss me just to the N.