A BREAK

I have decided to stop updating my blog for the time being.

Thank you very much to all readers.  I always appreciated that and enjoyed reading the feedback, both good and bad.

STACKHOUSE SOAPBOX (Yorkton This Week June 13)

The teacher at the centre of the controversy to give high school students an academic grade of 0 for failing to submit work is, apparently, going to be fired for making his case public.  Isn’t it something how we can go real light and easy on the students for being lazy and then totally bring the hammer down on an instructor trying to do moral right?

Another teacher is in the middle of some controversy in the United States for delivering a speech to high school graduates entitled ‘You Are Not Special’.  The teacher is right.  The video has gone viral and if you get a chance to watch it, you will see he lists off a number of things we, as a society, are doing to students which does nothing but feed the sense of entitlement young people feel they have. 

I can't believe the state of the York Lake Road.  We drove on it Friday night for the Troyanda wind-up (which was a real nice time, by the way) but I won't ever go on that again.  Nobody should subject their vehicle to that kind of punishment.  I find it unfathomable to think that area could be home to people with really good incomes and yet also be home to a road that, honestly, is worse than a side road in the Dominican Republic.  I can't imagine taking an RV on it to the park.  No chance for this guy.  I realize the stumbling blocks as far as the RM taking control of this matter.  But, something should be done; even if it's through a monthly payable system privately with the land owners.  It's embarrassing.

A significant number of buildings in downtown Yorkton were spray painted by vandals last week.  This may seem harsh, but the best way to punish punks who do this would be to take their spray finger and bash it with a hammer, only after they clean up the mess.  After all, the intent of a punishment is to impress upon a person not to commit that act again.  Community service isn't an effective deterrent nor is talking about it with a counsellor.    Some will poopoo this idea as being archaic, but I wonder how often these kinds of crimes were committed in archaic times.

When I was young, I remember feeling really confused when an older person would tell me they just weren't as interested in professional sports like they once were.  Well, I'm now that older person and I couldn't be more uninterested in professional sports, especially the National Hockey League.  I have no idea what's transpired in the Stanley Cup final, which is too bad because Yorkton should have a vested interest with Jarret Stoll primed to bring Lord Stanley here.  All I know is that I looked at the summary of game one and saw that the two teams combined for 43 shots in 68 minutes.  Boring.  I watched the highlights to another game and three of the clips involved shots going wide of the net.  I'm, officially, done unless changes are made.  Make the goalie gear smaller so there is more of a net to shoot at.  Or, make the net bigger.  That's really all you need to do.   Philadelphia versus Pittsburgh was great.  I did watch that and was very entertained.

Another labour stoppage wouldn't help my interest either when it comes to the NHL.  The owners got exactly what they wanted last time, so no need to change.  And, the players are making more than ever before.  So, what's the problem?

The first cable/satellite company to offer me the opportunity to pay for what I watch when I watch it is getting my business.

I ran in the Salamander in Saltcoats on Saturday.  I say this, simply, to give someone a boost who may be considering getting into shape but afraid the task may be too overwhelming.  Trust me, if I can do it.  Almost anyone can do it.  The key is to work at your own speed and not be intimidated by people like Rick Vaughn.  I'm convinced Rick doesn't own an automobile.  He runs about as fast as one anyway.  I think he jogged to Saltcoats early Saturday morning as a warm-up and then raced through his 12km.

I’ve resolved to watch more Yorkton Cardinal games at Jubilee Park this year.  If you like baseball, appreciate talent, and like a leisurely evening in the summer outside, there is really no reason to not go.  Having said that, I would like to start a crusade to move the fences in at Jubilee about 20 feet.  Jose Bautista would have difficulty hitting homers here.  Some long balls would generate a little more excitement and to have one or two home runs a season in this ball park is simply not enough. 

Nice person mentions this week to Janna Bradford, Grant Doupe, Kim Kyle-Zwirsky, Zac Morgan, and Brendan Severight.

STACKHOUSE SOAPBOX (Yorkton This Week June 6)

It was a completely crazy week for people doing stupid things.

First of all, in Yorkton, somebody neglected to turn left going through the Robin’s Dough-Nuts drive thru last Tuesday evening and ended up just about launching their vehicle over the concrete pad.  This is reminiscent of the Dukes Of Hazzard and how the Dodge Charger would jump over other vehicles with Bo Duke behind the wheel.  That stuff is make-believe folks.  You can’t really do it.  There is a picture circulating on Facebook if you haven’t seen it.  I’d love to get the explanation for doing this.  Even if you have never been at that particular drive-thru ever before, this is not something that should happen.  It was also pointed out to me that a health condition could trigger this one vehicle accident and, fortunately, this didn't end up tragic. Point well noted.

Secondly, in Yorkton, I was standing in a very long line for the ATM at my bank last week when the manager came out and apologized to the customers for the second machine being out of order.  It’s not cheap to fix these things and they are seldom under warranty because the result of the break is, usually, customer stupidity.  This wasn’t the situation last week, but I’m told it’s not unusual for a customer to try and slip a roll of coins in the deposit slot.  My reaction was ‘are you kidding me?’  Nope.  This has happened more than once at this particular ATM, so I assume bank machines everywhere have been victimized by this brain dead attempt.  For those that have done this to bank machines, please understand that by doing so you are stripping the gears and forcing down time and, thus, inconveniencing other customers.  Furthermore, one of the ways banks can pay for this is through customer service fees.  So next time you are charged $2 for using an ATM, it is likely to cover a potential repair through someone else’s ignorance as much as it is for a financial institution to line its already deep pocket. 

In Edmonton, a school board has suspended a high school teacher for issuing a grade of 0 to a number of students who didn’t bother to hand in an assignment.  You got it right.  The teacher was doing his job and is being penalized.  It seems that, in Edmonton, a failure to comply on behalf of the student when it comes to doing work is a behavioral issue and not one of academics.  Therefore, a zero is not appropriate and the matter needs to be dealt with through counseling.  Oh do I wish that was the case when I went to school.  Do you know how many assignments I would have done if there was no such thing as a zero?  Zero.  That’s how many.  In twenty years, our country will be run by a bunch of morons who can’t spell their own name, but they will all have real good self esteem. 

By the time you read this, Vince Li will have had a leisurely stroll through Selkirk.  This, coming less than four years after he carved up Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus and ate some of his organs and body parts.  You see, it’s not Vince’s fault.  He was sick.  But, he’s better now and deserves to walk amongst the rest of us.  What a crock of dandelions.  Of course he’s sick and he might very well be ‘better’.  But, for the betterment of 99.9% of the population, he should be in an institution for the rest of his life.  The experts say the risk of him committing this offense again is very slim.  I would argue the risk of anyone committing this offense again is very slim, but since it’s already been done let’s not take any more chances.

A question I would have in the case of Li is that he, obviously, wasn’t medicating himself when he committed this incredibly sick crime.  So, who’s responsibility is it that he wasn’t on meds?  Was there supposed to be someone in charge of him, or was Li given the task of making sure he took his own pills?  I would argue the negligence of him taking his medication should be a criminal offense.  Furthermore, while he is out on these walks with supervision, who is responsible should he get away and commit another crime?  Do the guards go to jail for failing to hang on to him?  And, if you are a guard, are you a little nervous about walking with someone who has a history of eating another human being?

At the time of this writing, it sounds like Luca Magnotta has been arrested in Berlin.  He’s the main suspect behind the killing and dismembering of a university student and then sending body parts to the federal Conservatives and Liberals.  Should he be guilty, he should be put in the general prison population and whatever happens, happens.

Best of luck to Craig Stein, the soon to be retired sports announcer from GX94, who is embarking on a sales career at DR Auto Extras.  Huge shoes to fill in radio land. 

Nice person mentions to Troy Wilcox, Steve Gibson, Wil Middlebrooks, Mike Dreher, and Ashley Restau.

BAD DRIVERS, BAD BANKERS

This was the scene Tuesday night in the Robin's Doughnuts drive through in Yorkton as some turkey decided to change his/her mind about ordering coffee and tried to 'Bo Duke Style It' off the concrete slab and onto Broadway Street.  Just when I think I've seen some of the worst drivers in the entire province, I get this pic sent to me.  Nothing surprises me anymore.

Or well nothing should surprise me.  I'm standing in a very long line at the bank machine last night as it turns out one of the two ATMs in the branch is out of service.  The bank manager stops for a conversation as he's leaving for the night and says ATMs breaking down is not an unusual occurence for a variety of reasons.  On this particular occasion, it looks as though general wear and tear might be to blame, but the manager mentioned that several times brain dead customers have tried to insert coins through the machine.  Yep, as hard it is to believe, some brain dead moron (actually more than one) will throw a roll of pennies in an envelope and then as it goes through the machine, all the gears are destroyed rendering the machine useless and the bank then gets a costly repair bill.  And, we sometimes wonder why we have to pay exorbitant service fees.  Well, we can thank dumb dumbs like this.  And, remember if you are one of the dumb dumbs I'm referring to, your actions have a rippling effect.  That line for the ATM last night was lengthy and some people, I'm sure, stood there for fifteen minutes or more when it should be about five or less with two operational ATMs.

SOAPBOX AMENDMENT (Yorkton This Week May 30)

Because of the holiday Monday last week, I missed the deadline with Yorkton This Week, so they ran last week's version this week.

However, we had to take out the part on the Yorkton Film Festival since it has already come and gone.  It was replaced with this paragraph:

I’ve been hard on the Yorkton City RCMP for their vigilance on traffic offenses near the trouble spot area on Broadway located near the Parker Quine parking lot, as there have been an incredible amount of accidents there (sense the sarcasm).  The crosswalk near McDonald’s just further down the street is a different story.  What I would like to hear from the public through email submissions to me or through a letter to this newspaper is where do you think the trouble spots in the city are?  I’ve volunteered my driveway on Circlebrooke Drive a couple of times, but I don’t think it’s ever been used to nab traffic offenders.  Saturday night, I witnessed the second serious t-bone accident on Mountview and Circlebrooke in as many years.  I fear there’s going to be a death there and implore Yorkton City RCMP to vacate the comfort of the Parker Quine parking lot for an area on Circlebrooke that may slow people down and save lives.

TEACHER SUSPENDED FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING

I really feel for this guy.  Here he is trying to do the right thing and take a stand against an idiotic policy and he gets suspended.

We are teaching our kids to be lazy bums and then when they are called on their laziness, they can refer to a behavioral disorder.

What a load of nonsense.

It wasn't so long ago that I was in high school myself that I can't remember my reasons for not completing work.

The reasons are short and sweet.  I was too lazy to be bothered with it.  I'd rather do other things.  And, if a teacher referred me to a behavior specialist I would have eaten that right up and never ever completed an assignment.  Ever.  Instead, I got a couple of 0's and made good and sure on the follow up assignments that I did good work because I didn't want to fail.  Oh right.  We don't fail kids anymore either.

I wonder if there are any other countries out there who look at how we do things in Canada and pee themselves laughing.....

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120601/teacher-suspended-marking-zeroes-120601/