vintagebus

We have really seen a tremendous rise in our technology integration this past year. I firmly believe it has a great deal to do with how much Internet freedom we allow. When you restrict access you are forcing people into your “box”and dictating how they should practice technology infusion. The real irony is 21st Century skills are all about creativity and collaboration. When you block you dictate how to be creative an collaborative.
Now some folks in my district would still laugh at my previous comment. We do force certain practices. We have done this very deliberately. I am very aware that one misstep by a user, and our community reaction might be to limit and block everything. Schools as you well know are a difficult political environment where you have to play the game. As or teachers have grown we have relaxed our restrictions. We are all growing and learning together, teachers, parents, and community. I am very happy to say that in a few more years we will be able to put very little restriction on anything technology related. Our students are seeing tremendous benefit. Thanks to an open network, our school system is a collaborative environment, where everyone is involved in lesson design. Our students work with teachers and elementary teachers work with high school teachers. Four years ago when I took over, everything was blocked and the English teachers across the hall barely spoke to each other.The Internet and techie tools are the way to go.
Shawn

Why should technology play a vital part in your child’s education? My answer in 2009 would be why not? I would love to talk with anyone in the United States who says technology does not have influence over their daily life. Just because you do not sit in front of a computer every day does not mean you are not affected by one. The simplest example would be TV. Television is now all digital, satellite and computer driven. What if you are the academic who only reads and does not have a TV in the house? Well modern publishing is struggling to survive in today’s world. Print media is shifting to digital media. Even if you read a traditional newspaper, it was written and designed using word processing and graphic software.

If you use electricity the back end of that industry is computer driven. If you drive a car that is 20 years old or newer it has a computer in it that drives engine management. Some cars now have no physical shaft that ties the steering wheel to the wheels. The steering wheel is electronically controlling the steering mechanism similar to a video game wheel. Have you seen the cars that use cameras and software to self parallel park?

Knowing how much the computer has affected our daily life why would you want your child to avoid the use of technology? Even with a deep seeded hatred for all things technology you must realize that avoiding it puts them behind in today’s job market.

I am not advocating that every child should be a computer junkie like myself. If every child in the united States was however; I think our dominance in the world economy would return instead of continuing to diminish. There are many career paths that do not require as much interfacing with the computer as my life does, but I doubt in 10 years you could find a job without any computer skills.

The biggest benefit a computer offers to today’s student is the ability to have near limitless creativity at your finger tips. The computer offers a means of self expression, creativity and discovery that no other device has offered in the history of mankind. In the past if you sought knowledge you went to the library. If you sought collaboration you sought the biggest libraries and universities. Today I have all of that at my finger tips with a computer and an Internet connection.

If you are not the type who likes reading and writing, the computer still has something for you. You can create art and music with the same device. I believe the worst human trait is fear of new situations and change. I think that is the biggest issue holding most back who want nothing to do with the computer. Simple computing is not difficult to learn for anyone of any age, race, and religion who truly wants to learn. That is also why I think computing power is having a much larger affect on our current economy than people realize. Right now any age, race and religion has the opportunity to be an economic super power. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection. In the past, the more money power and influence you had, the more access to opportunity you had. Today most anyone with a computer has access to the same opportunities. Those with no money, power and influence have the most to gain, so they have little fear of new situations and change. In the United States educational institutions are still debating the value of the computer while impoverished nations are clamoring to have it. The United States needs to wake up and get an iphone, a laptop and a high speed Internet connection in the hands of their children every day.

Once again I find not all Bays are the same. My Steering wheel on the 68 Crew cab was in good shape and the one on the 69 Deluxe was mediocre. I am almost finished with Kermit (69 Deluxe) but the steering wheel needs replaced. I tried to pull the one off the crew cab and it cracked a huge chunk out near the mounting ring. So much for that one in good shape. I bought a good one of Ebay a while back. It looks great, but will not fit. It is off a later model bay.The center is smaller in diameter.

I looked for a replacement. $200 and up is what it will cost; not really worth it to me. So I tried to find a cover. Covers are $35 and up. I have tried this in the past and it looks cheesy to me. I have heard a lot about restoring steering wheels, so I am going to give it a shot in the morning. I just don’t see the paint holding up well, but we will see. A lot of people on the web swear by it so I figure I will give it a shot.

I started tonight by taking a Dremel tool to the large cracks to open them up more for epoxy. I scrubbed the wheel with dish soap and then ran it through a cycle of the dishwasher. It sure looks clean, but it took all the shine off. I hope that is ok. I doubt all of the shine was from oil on my hands, but it sure seems oil free now.

Today I walked into one of our English classes as a silent observer. Our high school is on notice with the state that it must improve its drop out rate or be taken over. A very frightening proposition for our Principal and Superintendent. While observing the teacher for a needs improvement plan I witnessed a debate among classmates. They were arguing for or against technology in school. Ironic isn’t it? The Director of Technology walks into a debate about this. What struck me as interesting was the against side. I was raised by a controversial radio talk show host, so I love the polar opposite side of any argument. The study of the human animal and it’s logic is quite fascinating to me, but I digress. The argument was we have really great teachers who never use technology. Technology is just a distraction at school with no real merit. Students do nothing but IM and check email anyway. Could this opinion be true everywhere? Or is it this way here because our students knowledge of what makes a really great teacher is limited to a school with a high drop out rate and very average ACT scores? When I have my laptop in front of me, and I am engaged in what is going on, I generally google things for more information. I also write notes on the subject for future use, or more in depth study later. I too am guilty of wandering on the Internet during a boring meeting. I also love to check email. I am much older than our students, but I am still quite a techie. I truly can carry on multiple conversations and still keep my train of thought. So using technology in a meeting for me does not necessarily mean I am no absorbing what is gong on. In fact the more immersed in technology I become the more my perceived ADD is kicking in. I no longer read novels because I find it hard to stay on task without the TV on, or pictures, or emails coming in. I do however read voraciously. It is mostly Internet content and magazines. I find books without pictures really boring. I start to wander all over the page and cannot recall content. Could it be that the old people who still scoff at the idea of picture books are completely out of touch with today’s multi-media junkie. “I love the new commercial campaign I want it all and I want it now”. I am 38 and feel this way. I can only speculate what a 16 year old thinks about a talking head lecture. I was still quite shocked by students who see little value in a classroom computer. No wonder the United States turn out fewer arithmeticians and scientist every year. I bet Indian and Chinese students are chomping at the bit for laptops in the classroom.

Anyone else feel compelled to have more projects than they can finish in a lifetime. I currently have a house that I am wanting to do some extensive remodeling on. I only want to finish the basement, put in a bunch of landscaping and yard, a koi pond, new deck, kitchen and two baths.
I have five websites I maintain, I am studying for my CCNA in addition to learning .Net and Flash. I also work a 55 to 65 hour a week job.
Now let’s start on the fun stuff. I have a 1984 Kawasaki turbo that needs a new O2 sensor, and clutch. I would also like to get an Olins shock for the rear. I have a basket case 1968 Honda 350. I am after a 1974 RD 350. I have a 2000 Yamaha Road Star that I would like to turn into a metric chopper. I have a 92 YZ250 that I used to race and it now needs a new frame. That just covers some of the motorcycle stuff.
I have a 1969 Bay window bus that has been in the paint process for about 2 years now. It still needs bumpers and a rear engine lid. After that the entire interior needs to be redone. I have a 60s something Kombi that needs the undercarriage restored so I can make it a safe driver but still have the rat rod look. About 6 years ago I bought a 68 crewcab to restore. I tore it all apart to media blast, and then moved on to other things. Recently I bought a rail buggy that needs an engine and some other mechanical items. I also have a compelling need to search Ebay every few days for more VW projects. I am looking to trade my 1950 Chevy truck for a 30s era Ford Fordor.
SO what the hell is wrong with me. If I won the lottery tomorrow I would still drag complete pieces home. I love the idea of a challenge. Why by something perfectly restored? So what psychological condition do I have? Anyone else feel the same way?
If I could keep my paychecks coming every month, and never go to work, I think it would realistically take me more than three years working 50 hours a week to get caught up with what I have now. I have dreamed of selling everything to just get down to one project that I could give all my time and money to. That way I could do it really well, and not feel overwhelmed. I am pretty sure I have been threatening to do this for about 15 years now without success. I just can’t part with my stuff.

Cheap Paint Job?
As a novice don’t even think about painting your car to save money. Do it for a quality job you can count on with better results than an economy paint shop would give you. Don’t think you can beat the $299 special on price though. I spent that in primer. Remember this is just an opinion and you know how those go. You can look at the pictures http://vintagebus.net/red/index.htm to see the extent I went to. I have over 10 hours in the color sand and buff which at $65 an hour shop rate, would have cost $650 alone.
The first step was to grind out all the rust and weld in any new panels. It has been going on for so long that I can only begin to guess at hours, but I would say close to 25.
Step two was to tape off and prime. The primer filler alone was over $100 a gallon. I would say block sanding and priming took about 40 hours. I should have done a lot more to truly get a flat panel worthy of painting gloss black. Don’t forget I have another $100 in sandpaper, masking paper, and tape.
Step three was to paint the entire car white. This was done not only for the two tone effect, but also for a white base to highlight the green. I bought cheap enamel offline at $50 for a gallon with hardener. With taping and spraying I would say about 6 hours.
Step four was the green. This was another $50 and about 3 hours of masking and spraying.
Step five was the clear coat. This cost another $50 and about 7 hours worth of masking and spraying the 5 coats.
Step six really sucked. The final coat of clear yellowed because of some type of garbage in the paint. I think it was juice from the million bugs that seem to land in the paint the minute you start spraying. Yes, I did use pre cleaner before every coat. So now I have to re-spray the white after sanding. There goes another 5 hours.
Step seven is another coat of clear. One hour for start to finish.
Step eight is the color sanding and buffing. Color sanding took about 5 hours and buffing took about 5. Don’t forget the rubbing compound and swirl remover with pads costs another $125.
So what was the grand total on my cheap paint job?
Miscellaneous supplies like thinner to clean the gun and pre-cleaner $80
Total hours 97 at $65 an hour $6305
Primer $100
Sandpaper $100
Paint $150
Buffing $125
Total without labor $555
Total with labor $6860

Classroom management is a teacher issue and not a technology issue. When students are surfing inappropriate content on the web where is the teacher? I work for a school system as a technology director and CIPA compliance is my responsibility. We do our diligence to make sure students are sheltered from the horrors of the internet. It is a constant cat and mouse game to block sites with bad content. Like all technology children find ways around. It is my goal to make it as difficult as possible to view inappropriate content, but the teacher must play the larger part.
It is comical to me when teachers complain about students surfing bad sites for two main reasons. Most of the time a teacher will not send an email or work order to notify us the site is open. They assume we surf all 800 million sites on the web and should have known it was open. Complaining in the hallway or faculty lounges does not mean we eventually get the message. If you want something blocked, or opened up for that matter, follow protocol and send in a work order. We will take care of it. The second issue is why is classroom management a technology issue? I promise you us tech guys would rather spend our day fixing servers than blocking the internet for people. We love the internet. I personally think it is not the governments place to regulate the web. If they do, bureaucracy will kill one of the greatest innovations of our time. Sure the bad side of the internet is pure evil, but mass communication on a global scale outweighs the negative. A good network administrator would not be able to do their job without google at their fingertips. I really should not play a role in what is accessible in the classroom, but the nature of the job forces me to. We have teachers who sit idly by while kids play on the internet in their classroom. These same teachers will complain about kids sending illicit content to each other and demand the technology office does something about it. We will, but my argument is that is not really my role. In that case I feel it is a teaching issue. Turn it into a teachable moment. Remember in this case it would be no different than students passing a Playboy around. All technology does it make it easier. The same rules apply; take action with the students. Making this a technology issue is why network administrators feel the need to lock and block websites. A school network administrator is so overwhelmed with other more important tasks that I can see why they lock the internet down. I don’t agree with their decision, but I walk a fine line everyday with our more open internet policies. I see the tremendous value in the classroom and I have support from our administration. How quickly would a technology director be replaced if students in an elementary classroom stumbled onto a pornographic site?

One of the biggest reasons I enjoy having a VW bus is the slower pace. I read a quote this week on the type2 forum “Life is the journey not the destination”. I am in the computer business and have a definite type A personality. I am impatient and usually work more hours at home on projects than I spend at work. A typical week at my day job is 55 hours. The bus forces me to slow down and enjoy the scenery.
I bought a 1968 Crew cab off Ebay several years ago. It was located in Omaha. My brother and I drove it from Nebraska to Alabama. I knew this journey would take all weekend. If I was in my daily driver I would have rushed through traffic and sped the whole way to make it in a long day. Something about the bus, besides the 65mph top speed and 40 hp made the trip enjoyable. That says a lot when it was in the middle of winter with no heat, and so many rust holes that it might have actually been warmer to roll the windows down.
Slow down and enjoy the journey. Life truly will be over before you know it.

Anyone want to trade for a 2000 Yamaha Road Star or a 1950 Chevy?