Sick Frog
The End 2026
We took down the tree and most of the decorations in the living room weeks ago -- earlier than we usually do but certainly later than many. The decorations in the kitchen, though, stayed up.
"Just a little longer," K assured us. I personally don't really care how long the holiday decorations stay up: not having grown up with them, I'm kind of ambivalent and also kind of enjoy them. I guess you could say I'm largely ambivalent about how long they stay up. There -- contradiction resolved.
It seems to be the end of winter as well. We had a massive (for our standards) snow storm Saturday, but by Sunday afternoon, most of the roads were clear. Nonetheless, because we do live in the south, school was canceled for Monday and Tuesday. We were out last week Monday through Wednesday because of the ice storm, so we've been in that time-defying what-day-is-it period for some time now. But weather is returning to normal here: it's supposed to be in the sixties this Saturday, a week after it was in the twenties.
Snow Melting
Actual Snow 2026
afternoon
One Year Ago Tomorrow
A list of concerns about Trump 2.0:
- Cuts prescription cost-cutting measures
- Threatens to seize the Panama Canal
Withdraws from the Paris Climate AccordWithdraws from the WHOBegins deportation processPardons all insurrectionistsThreatens to seize GreenlandExpresses hope to make Canada a US StateDoes away with civil rights gains“Ends” birthright citizenship- Threatens Columbia
Fires inspectors generalMass firings of those who opposed in any wayFreezes foreign aidFreezes grants with effects on everything from free lunch programs to housing subsidies, from Medicaid payments to child cancer researchOffers to buy out federal employees
One year in, and he's done (or started) thirteen of them.
Ice Day
Snow 2026
Preparing for the Storm
From School Site
Today, we continued working on our critical thinking/problem solving unit with a gallery walk of riddles. Spread around the room were nine different riddles of varying difficulty:
- Two fathers and two sons are in a car, yet there are only three people in the car. How?
- Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?
- What starts with T, ends with T, and has T in it?
- What is it that no one wants to have, but no one wants to lose either?
- Mary has four daughters, and each of her daughters has a brother. How many children does Mary have?
- Two in a corner, one in a room, zero in a house, but one in a shelter. What is it?
- I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
- A word I know, six letters it contains, remove one letter and 12 remains. What is it?
- Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it?
Students moved in their table groups from riddle to riddle and discussed them as groups. Some of the riddles were quite easy for the groups (numbers 1 and 3); some were a bit trickier (numbers 2 and 5); one was all but impossible (number 8), which stumped all but one student, a sixth-grade girl.
We used three riddle classifications to identify them as we went through the answers:
- word riddles, which contain hints within the words itself;
- faux-math riddles, which are actually just word riddles;
- pure riddles, which have no clues hidden in the text.
We discussed how the riddles work and how various riddles use language to trick our brains to ineffective ways of thinking based on how we usually use language.
Monday
Sick Frog
The End 2026
We took down the tree and most of the decorations in the living room weeks ago -- earlier than we usually do but certainly later than many. The decorations in the kitchen, though, stayed up.
"Just a little longer," K assured us. I personally don't really care how long the holiday decorations stay up: not having grown up with them, I'm kind of ambivalent and also kind of enjoy them. I guess you could say I'm largely ambivalent about how long they stay up. There -- contradiction resolved.
It seems to be the end of winter as well. We had a massive (for our standards) snow storm Saturday, but by Sunday afternoon, most of the roads were clear. Nonetheless, because we do live in the south, school was canceled for Monday and Tuesday. We were out last week Monday through Wednesday because of the ice storm, so we've been in that time-defying what-day-is-it period for some time now. But weather is returning to normal here: it's supposed to be in the sixties this Saturday, a week after it was in the twenties.
Snow Melting
Actual Snow 2026
afternoon
One Year Ago Tomorrow
A list of concerns about Trump 2.0:
- Cuts prescription cost-cutting measures
- Threatens to seize the Panama Canal
Withdraws from the Paris Climate AccordWithdraws from the WHOBegins deportation processPardons all insurrectionistsThreatens to seize GreenlandExpresses hope to make Canada a US StateDoes away with civil rights gains“Ends” birthright citizenship- Threatens Columbia
Fires inspectors generalMass firings of those who opposed in any wayFreezes foreign aidFreezes grants with effects on everything from free lunch programs to housing subsidies, from Medicaid payments to child cancer researchOffers to buy out federal employees
One year in, and he's done (or started) thirteen of them.
Ice Day
Snow 2026
Preparing for the Storm
From School Site
Today, we continued working on our critical thinking/problem solving unit with a gallery walk of riddles. Spread around the room were nine different riddles of varying difficulty:
- Two fathers and two sons are in a car, yet there are only three people in the car. How?
- Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?
- What starts with T, ends with T, and has T in it?
- What is it that no one wants to have, but no one wants to lose either?
- Mary has four daughters, and each of her daughters has a brother. How many children does Mary have?
- Two in a corner, one in a room, zero in a house, but one in a shelter. What is it?
- I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
- A word I know, six letters it contains, remove one letter and 12 remains. What is it?
- Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it?
Students moved in their table groups from riddle to riddle and discussed them as groups. Some of the riddles were quite easy for the groups (numbers 1 and 3); some were a bit trickier (numbers 2 and 5); one was all but impossible (number 8), which stumped all but one student, a sixth-grade girl.
We used three riddle classifications to identify them as we went through the answers:
- word riddles, which contain hints within the words itself;
- faux-math riddles, which are actually just word riddles;
- pure riddles, which have no clues hidden in the text.
We discussed how the riddles work and how various riddles use language to trick our brains to ineffective ways of thinking based on how we usually use language.
Monday