And the winner is?

(Canyonlands with the Shims and K-Stone)This is a pregression of my feelings about the end of my 'summer'. I now have 35 students in one class who don't believe that I WILL make them do junmping-jacks if they even consider yawning infront of me...(the bloody toe...I decided not to post the close-up Kelly took, it is a bit bloody for the blog)

Hugger-Mugger

Just a little something...dictionary.com word of the day April 1

hugger-mugger \HUH-guhr-muh-guhr\,

noun:1. A disorderly jumble; muddle; confusion.2. Secrecy; concealment.
adjective:1. Confused; muddled; disorderly.2. Secret.
adverb:1. In a muddle or confusion.2. Secretly.
transitive verb:1. To keep secret.
intransitive verb:1. To act in a secretive manner.

From here on in, it's all about security clearances, undercover surveillance, computers, microphones hidden in coat buttons and so much technical hugger-mugger you'd have to be a hacker to decipher it.-- Rex Reed, "On The Town With Rex Reed", New York Observer, February 3, 2003

Student Ratings

So I just read my student ratings from last semester. I have been waiting for a day when I feel good, not too emotional, and like I can handle the berating from some upset students. What I decided to do, after reading reviews from my first class, was read the "Suggestions" aka "what I hated about my teacher" section first, and then read the positive remarks second. Overall, the comments were helpful, there was some good feedback, and of course, the "I hate Mrs. Clark because...comments". I find the feedback useful, but emotionally stressful, mostly because any insecurities that I have teaching (which there are) are pointed out in a straight forward, there you have it way. Truth be told, I still haven't figured out how to write a good test...any teachers out there, I will gladly take suggestions; my voice is quiet...no matter how hard I try to speak loud and clear, it just doesn't carry well (so sit in the front of the class, not the back); and sometimes I am not as confident as I should be, but I know that has improved. But, I disagree with students who think I grade too hard on papers! What...is expecting good sentence structure, clear cohesive sentences and paragraphs, and giving credit where credit is due (i.e. so I copied this out of the textbook, do I really have to give the author of the book credit?) too much to ask? People, I teach COMMUNICATIONS!! Yes, you must be able to write well in my class, funny that a communications teacher would want clear writing! Ahh! It is interesting too how some students love the slides I provide, the video clips, the discussions, the examples, etc. etc. ...others hate it and find my classes terribly boring.

What I have learned is, I can't please every student, because each student learns in a different way. I have learned that many students find it terribly strict that I take attendance each day, but I do! And I have learned that I really enjoy teaching. I can't please them all, but I can help some of them learn and I can learn from them too. I have learned that I can provide an opportunity to get their brains thinking about subjects in a different way and get them to interact with each other.

And if all else fails, I will show them all my sweet jump in the snow from New Year's eve and challenge them to do better! Ha ha...kidding, it isn't sweet at all really, I just wanted to post a picture along with my rantings!

Huge Carbon Feet

I'll give you my steak when you take it from my cold, dead hands!

My brother-in-law, Jamie, began a website a few weeks back, it is called Huge Carbon Feet. For anyone that isn't quite buying the propaganda of the Green Movement, I think you will enjoy his site. If you are into global warming, population control, and giving up eating meat in order to save the planet, this site is not for you.

Check it out...Huge Carbon Feet

SEMA

Caroline and I went to SEMA in Las Vegas last week. It is a huge car show for after market products, but most of the major manufactures bring custom cars too. One of the major events of the show was the North American debut of the 2010 Lexus LFA. I never thought I would see the day when lexus made a $375,000 sportscar with a V10.

Pirelli always brings something extra special. Last year it was the Lamborghini Reventon (there were only 20 made) and this year they brought a Pagani Zonda Cinque (there were only 5 made).

This is the 2010 Porsche Panamera, which is a very polarizing car. Porsches are supposed to be rear engine coupes and this beast (it's huge) is a front engine sedan. So far though, every hater who has actually driven one has changed their tune.

The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro was probably the most commonly tuned car at the show, which was great because I think they look awesome. There were all sorts of cool and crazy versions. I liked this one because it make me think of an evil KITT.

Honda's display was quite disappointing. A Civic is a tuner boy's best friend and yet they didn't bother to tune any cars. They debuted the 2010 Accord Crosstour (a very ugly crossover) and brought some classic cars, which were cool.

I love Bentleys. Did I ever mention that I love Bentleys. Not their limo sized sedans mind you, but their coupes. This one was fitted with an agressive looking body kit and it might have been my favorite car of the whole show.

This another Camaro that was brought by GM. It was styled similarly to the Lamborghini Reventon, which is a good thing.

Products of every kind were on display throughtout the conference center. Caroline saw this tire and thought we might get some for Rafa.
Three years ago Michelin invented an airless tire they called the tweel. They indicated that it would be ready for production in a couple years, but other than being on a NASA Rover Concept it has seen any action yet. This airless tire, which looks surprising similar, is manufactured by another company and being marketed as a good option for the military.

Ken Block, owner of DC Shoes and a Subaru rally race driver, took one of his Impreza rally cars and put it on tracks. It came complete with a tow kit and a sleigh. I think Rudolph might be out of a job.

If you are interested in seeing more cars from SEMA (or just more cars) go to www.carpictures.com and search SEMA.

Chocolate Pumpkin Halloween Cake

Mmm...mmmm...good. I love halloween!

The Stalker

Our dear friend Matt went all out this year for Halloween. Moustache, mullet, outfit, the full deal. At least he said it was a costume.

P.S. - this is the full res version, so click on it, save it, and enjoy it whenever you need a smile.

BYU Women's Soccer

Caroline and I went to the BYU Women's soccer game tonight (thanks Grant and Kelly). It was fun and BYU crushed New Mexico 3-0. About a 1/3 of the way into the game, Cosmo (the mascot) threw a mini soccer ball into the crowd near where we were. To the dismay of the guys behind us I stood up and caught it. In fact, the two guys behind us were so eager to catch it that they both basically fell on me. One used me to catch his balance, while the other fell to the side and caught himself on the railing. It was pretty funny and we joked with them about it afterwards.

It's Fall!!

Last Friday evening Brad and I went for a hike up Provo Canyon in the foothills of Mt. Timpanogos. It was beautiful. The leaves on the Aspen trees were still mostly green while other vegetation had begun to turn reds, yellows, and oranges.

This was the beginning of the path. The sun was quite low at this time so you it is hard to appreciate how spectacular the green and yellows were against the white Aspen trunks (which of course are beginning to turn green in anticipation of winter).

One of many self photos of me and Brad.
Some of the colors that we got to see on our way back down the canyon. Anyone living in Utah, now is the time to take those fall leaf drives up the canyons.

Designer Cakes/Handbags

Last week I took some pictures for a friend's husband who makes wedding cakes, desserts, etc. They needed a picture of this handbag cake, which I was quite impressed with.



Apparently a man had given Martin a handbag of his girlfriends and asked him to make a replica of it as a cake.

So if you are interested in a very customized cake, Martin is the man for you. He is located in Salt Lake, his website is http://www.weddingcakessaltlake.com/.

Adventures in Canada

While in Canada, Caroline and I also went shooting with my Dad and went on some hikes. Here are a few of the highlights.

Calgary Zoo

In August, Caroline and I went to Calgary to visit my Dad. While there we went to the Zoo, which happens to be a great one.


By far Caroline's favorite animal was this little gorilla. You should have seen her face light up when she saw it.

We are not the best bloggers.

I realized today, well before today, that Brad and I are not the best bloggers. I mean there are so many things to keep up with these days, as far as electronic communications. There is facebook, which we recently joined. We have our Clark family website; I have my cooking blog, twolittlechefs, our photography website and our fineart photography website. That doesn't even include checking personal email, work email, reading what the word of the day is from dictionary.com, reading the news that I have delivered into my inbox, reading friends blogs/facebook, etc, etc....

How does one keep up with all this electronic communication and still have time to actually call and visit with friends/family? Not to mention eating, sleeping, playing, working, you know - living?

ps...this picture has no relavance to my post, I just know that people are more likely to read something if there is a picture along with the text. True?

Little Critters

For those of you who don't know, my wife absolutely loves little critters. And by that I really mean all animals of any kind. Seeing cats, dogs, birds, even cows will fill her with glee. Thus, it is to her great pleasure that we have a family of quail living in our backyard. In fact, she has even named them the Murphys. I must admit that watching 9 or 10 little puff-balls (chicks) following their parents was one of the cutest things that I have ever seen. The little babies just looked like fluff with legs. Ever since, Caroline has been stalking them trying to get a picture, but they are rather elusive. This one shot with the telephoto is all she has been able to capture thus far, but the hunt continues.

Soup is Good for your Car

I spent a couple hours lying in a gutter on Saturday, fixing my car. The exhaust pipe between the engine and the muffler broke, so little Rafa was sounding a lot more robust. To solve the problem I made Caroline and I some tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch. Then I cut the can and clamped it around the ends of the pipe where it broke, and viola, good as new. Well, as good as new as a 39 year old car can be. : )