Davalablog

2009-11-25T19:10:00.000-08:00

Zoom-o or Nefertiti?

I always wonder how toy makers choose designs. I believe this, however, is the latest incarnation of the great Egyptian, Nefertiti. Please view the following pictures and decide if there is a lawsuit from Nerfertiti's next of kin in the near future:

2008-12-29T08:07:00.000-08:00

Want to find something to chock your boat so it doesn't roll down your driveway?

Don't use these toys then. However, if you want a tasty treat, they should work fine for little kids.

2008-08-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

Thomas Potter? Harry Thomas?
If you saw my other post about Thomas the Train, you saw his last adventure included Nazis. This is something different.
Check out who I caught in a little snapshot on the Island of Sodor...
Too bad my brother in law actually drew the lightning in on the photo he sent me.

I love this show even more.

Check out the youtube: http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?video_id=C7MUyG82kdA&rel=1&eurl=&iurl=http%3A//i4.ytimg.com/vi/C7MUyG82kdA/default.jpg&t=OEgsToPDskLBlBAx2070jDgkTJMrF8j6&use_get_video_info=1&load_modules=1

2008-07-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

Clifford the Big Red Waste Hazard?

The other day I was wondering a few things while reading Clifford the Big Red Dog to my child.

How can this be possible? Can you imagine a neighborhood in which this dog existed?

There are a few things that the book conveniently leaves out that Emily Elizabeth has to deal with.

See the picture below to understand my concerns:

Imagine a month of this...

2008-06-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

Thomas and his Nazi Friends?
I did a little detective work recently. You see, I have an eye for weird out of place things.
I was watching Thomas and Friends with my kid and this train called Percy pulls up to the station. At the station is a crate with a weird burn mark on it. Going through my mental library in that split second I remembered: The Ark of the Covenant from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Is Percy from Thomas the friends working for the Nazis? Some of the pictures are from the movie, IJ, the others are from Thomas. Can you tell them apart?

Then my bro in law made a little Youtube of the episode. Apparently the Ark of the Covenant was kept on the Isle of Sodor for awhile.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NSwdlxL6yaM

You be the judge.
I just know I am a bigger fan of the Thomas show now.

2008-05-24T10:42:00.000-07:00

Remember these guys?

Are you a hater? Were they completely necessary for the movie to happen?

Was George Lucas on drugs at the time?

Watch the following video on ewoks and decide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdd0edT-BeE

2008-04-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

Flight of the Conchords.

This is a show on HBO, not certain how long its been on, but I am quickly becoming a fan. It is a weird comedy of two guys in a band from New Zealand that try to make it in NYC. Interspersed amongst the show are some ridiculous "music videos" of their songs.

I am particularly fond of the third episode on season 1.

I'm the mother-flippin'.

When you can, check it out. Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FArZxLj6DLk

2008-02-11T18:29:00.000-08:00

Relative Dating?

Mystery Science Theater 3000 teaches my geology classes for me.
Check out this link for the short I show in my science class for this particular subject.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV4GsIe7Kvw

2008-02-01T16:45:00.000-08:00

They say a picture says a thousand words. Well, this one only says one. Classy.

Thanks to "Classy" Alex Koehler for this one.

2008-01-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

Wait a minute... isn't that the fabulous Dr. Jones playing Guitar Hero with his family at Davala's house?

High School people give him some major props. He had never played it before and was the best I've seen beginning it.

Also, if you know people with a PS3, have them add me as a PSnetwork friend. My PSN is : sciteach

2007-12-29T18:45:00.000-08:00

The Best Movie News in a long time:

The Hobbit! (Parts 1 and 2) will be coming out in 2010 and 2011. Probably not directed by Jackson.

Read the page from this link http://www.thelordoftherings.net/

So this means once again I can have a book club at school where people will show (I, of course) will bribe the students to read by saying they must do so to get out of school to see the flick. (I was able to do that for all 3 Lotr movies).
Not many of my students at the HS will remember that, its been a long time. Maybe I can rig it so they can go at launch time.
And in the words of the fabulous Dr. Jones after seeing the Return of the King:
"What do we have to look forward to now?"

Dr. Jones, we have an answer.

2007-12-07T05:55:00.000-08:00

Everybody say "Pepper Spray!"
So when we went for our cool hike today we met this Nazi lady hanging out waiting for unsuspecting dogs and science teachers. Ash, my black lab, must've really scared her with his wagging tail and smiley demeanor and forced her to spray a fine mist of pepper spray at him. And of course Taylor got some residual mist in the eyes. (See his comment). I couldnt get that red eye out of his pic below.
Join our next hike in a month or two!

Last year our class went on a hike up to Multnomah Falls area. Had a great time. Even when I sliced Sandell with a knife. Tomorrow the 8th we'll be going for a hike at Tryon Creek Park at 2pm. Feel free to come along, high school people.

2007-11-19T18:30:00.000-08:00

The problem with the Playstation 3 is that it does not have a library of games that is worth a scratch.

Until now.

I've watched this game for a long time now, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

It is a modern day Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider/Pitfall (for those of you who remember this) for those of you who like action and adventure.

It is a difficult game. I've heard this from a few who played the demo. The difficulty does not arise from the platforming (which is fun but not wholly difficult... the paths to follow as you traverse cliff sides, fortresses, etc. are fairly obvious). It stems from another source:

In some games, enemy AI is fairly weak. They stand in the middle of a path and fire blindly at you. Not here. They cover each other and try to flank your position. They get brave and run toward you and then slide into some cover. They are tough.

I heard this was a short game, so I opted to play through on the Hard setting, which makes for of a challenge. I'm 35% through after a weekend of playing, but it will take longer to do the rest as the levels get more difficult.

Since I don't play games too much, my time for doing so is spent watching children or cooking, I think the fast paced action adventure will duit me fine.

As for the use of the SixAxis controller, there is minimal use of the motion technology, but still fun to use. Like aiming grenades, balancing yourself on a climb, or leaning to jump. I sure do miss the Dual Shock here, especially for the big explosions.

Graphics are top notch. Beautiful on an HDTV.

The good thing is that this is a T rated title, so get your parents to buy it for that reason. No need to buy Mature titles that are just a mindless blast fest. Get some brain for your game. No, it's not a break through in gaming technology, but it is a fun action game with a cool story, good acting, and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

2007-11-10T20:47:00.001-08:00

I guess I am particularly proud of this one. It leaves a lot to the imagination as to what is actually going on here.

2007-10-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

Scariest movie of all time or feel good movie of the year? You decide!

Click the link for The Shining

http://www.whoomp.com/articles/191/1/The-Shining-Movie-Trailer

2007-10-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

It seems that apple festivals breed stupidity. See my blog from last year, October 06.

2007-10-01T18:16:00.000-07:00

If you haven't gotten a chance to see this series from years ago that was canceled after a short season.

Don't know why, and neither do the fans of the show.

If you like clever stories, interesting and varied characters, and a sci-fi/western themed show, this is your thing. Try it out.

2007-09-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

guitar hero expert competition today.
i lost. i m a loser.
the party was fun though. 70 or so kids crammed into my science room.
should we do it again?

2007-09-08T19:21:00.000-07:00

well, the first week of school is done, 190 days left, or so?

so, i tried the donuts again to my advisory class (see one of my first entries last year) and ditto. the kids didn't eat them.

maybe they were all still freaked out that i knew their names the first day.

yes, i m insane.

on a different note (no pun intended) we held a Guitar Hero competition at lunch, with pizzas and sodas to boot. It was the Hard level of competition, and it was fairly amusing. ZS ended CJ's reign of terror by nailing Monkey Wrench. lesson learned: know more songs.

shall we continue the lunch competitions? I think only a few will come out of their shells for the Expert tournament next week. I may have to don the guitar and play as well. More later

2007-07-25T06:18:00.000-07:00

More Tales of a Guitar Hero

Well, after about a month of playing, I'm on Expert. Well, at least I try. I can play about 1/4 of the songs all the way through, a couple 5 stars, and all I had to do was end up looking like this photo.

2007-07-20T16:33:00.000-07:00

No scanner, but a little time on my hands to photo it. I miss the daily calendar days.

2007-07-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

Tales of a Guitar Hero

So some really great students of mine from last year, Taylor, Baxter, Franky, Jeff, Justin, Chris, but not Sam, pitched in and got me Guitar Hero II for the PS2. To say the least, I was utterly blown away. (BTW any students from 2 years ago, there's the XBox in the background you bought me... sweet)

I have been rockin on the guitar for a couple of weeks now, I've upped the settings to Hard, and can play a lot of songs well, but I haven't yet ventured into the Expert Realm. Someday. Well, I did play expert when I went ahead and got Guitar Hero I as well. I tried the first song on expert and beat it. I think the difficulty is set lower in the beginning in this game. I can imagine buying the Rocks the 80s version coming out this month because the game rocks.

My wife, daughter, father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister and brother-in-laws, have also played quite a bit, and I hope to entice my dad and mom into playing when they come to visit next month.

Once again, thanks guys. And not Sam.

2007-04-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't keep this one on my computer. Got another Angry Bucket image from a student. There are bits of anger flying around in this one, the room is lit with a devilish glow, and the lid is careening off with a trail of flaming rage.
All in all, not a happy image.

2007-04-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

Fancy yourself a soda drinker? Tired of all the Pepsi and Coke stuff going around?

I found a gem of a drink in the Mexican food section in Winco, possibly Safeway... called Jarritos.

It comes in a variety of fruit flavors... Lime is my favorite.

2007-03-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

The greatest day of the year? Perhaps. Nothing follows Angry Bucket. And lives, anyway.

2007-03-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

2007-02-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

In an effort to keep children off its structures, PGE has employed the electrical demon, Zappy, to do their deeds.

In exchange for raw energy and the occasional middle schooler, Zappy happily does his duty.

Despite his evil appearance, Zappy is actually a nice demon who lives with his wife and two demon babies in the suburbs.

2007-02-05T06:37:00.000-08:00

Hey its me chillin with my new boy, Jace Alden. He was born on 1/29/07 at 10:29 am.

He sleeps a lot...during the day

Here he is all fetal, just a day old. He s doing great, I m having a lot of fun staying home from school, changing poopy diapers.

I almost had forgotten the joys of infants.

Aside from the lack of sleep, its easier this time with the second kid. That is, it would be totally easier if the older one wouldn't dive onto the changing table when I need to change Jace's. She's a little jealous. Not much, though. She is just accepting the new world she's in. Where once she was the center, now she shares the stage.

At least she hasn't tried to eat him.

2006-12-27T12:57:00.000-08:00

2006-12-17T16:20:00.000-08:00

Games to play this Holiday Break for the PS2

Looking for a chance to play a game that breaks the mold of the quickly churned out videogames that seem to come out in droves this year? Getting sick of the umpteenth derivative of Doom (any shooter you see out there... except Half Life 2 that is)?
Have a parent that will only let you play a teen rated game?

I highly recommend Okami, a beautiful RPG/action/adventure... that some have called the PS2's answer to Zelda. Surprisingly deep and interesting, with colorful, enigmatic, (if not absurd) characters, and innovative.
The key to this innovation is the "Celestial Brush..." your tail (as my daughter noticed... I don't know how I missed that) can be used to draw different shapes to interact with the environment. For example: you can make a quick slash and slash an enemy, you can circle a dying plant to bring it back to life, and if pieces of the environment are broken you can redraw them and they are recreated. Obviously this gets interesting, and the 13 total techniques are needed to solve some interesting, if not too difficult of puzzles.

The depth comes in when you gather "praise" or "experience points," and you can boost up life bars, "ink pots" (your means of using the brush), and extra life vats.

The story is long, but engaging. I m playing and I m 40 hours in... although I haven't gotten all the techniques.

The visual style is crazy cool. It is set in feudal Japan, and it looks like the art is cool Japanese style on parchment paper. The world is a living breathing world, alive with color (once you return life to the land).

So, for $40 you can get this new, but I m also almost done, I could let it go for $30.

Other games you may be interested in that are unique:

Katamari Damacy
Shadow of the Colossus
Ico
Beyond Good and Evil

Check them out if you can

2006-11-25T18:23:00.000-08:00

better yet, i like this article. i especially dig the picture the man is pointing to.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/38575

2006-11-25T18:21:00.001-08:00

Here's a link to an article in the Onion. My new favorite news page. Maybe Mrs. Bryant would appreciate this as a current event?

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/38680

2006-11-22T18:54:00.000-08:00

so my scheme of getting rich by buying as many ps3s as i could and selling them on ebay has failed miserably, due to the near impossibility of owning one in the first place. sandell and i were to camp out at fred meyers, but they ended up doing this weird raffle deal where anyone who showed up at a certain time could get a ticket to win a chance to buy one of their 4 units. 4!
sandell, didnt get one, my wife didnt get one, and the time i had getting to the fred meyers was thwarted by a crazed driver causing a road block at the exit i was going to and me having to drive 10 miles out of my way to get there in time. i pulled into the parking lot as soon as they ended drawing for the stupid things.
i didnt even have a chance to have a chance at one.

i did buy a wii to sell, but nintendo aint no dummies so they have the market saturated right now, so i just only sold the thing i bought with a $70 profit. and every day i see less and less profit.

i m trying to get a ps3 to sell. capitalism rules.

2006-11-09T18:31:00.000-08:00

check out this link. i m all about new gaming technology but this is nice. the comments are classic.

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/toshiba/toshiba-shocker-that-crazy-game-helmet-is-for-reals-213133.php

2006-11-08T18:44:00.000-08:00

so i ve been harangued for not writing in awhile.

its only because i wait for things to pop in my head and not to pre-emptively pop them in. the results are never the same.

so lets just ramble a bit then, shall i?

ummmmmm.....

derrrrr

got to go to the high school today for a musical and it was a treat. not only because i got to take a break from teaching, but the second i got there i was surrounded by the oodles of students from the past. i mean, it was sensory overload as my brain went into rewind mode to bring up the countless names from the past.

i wanted to spend the rest of the day there, just wandering and hearing "davala!" from someone. i rarely get a chance to connect with the kids from my past, but it was pretty neat.

this is a note to all those who read this and are current students of mine to stop by sometimes after you bid your final farewell to school.

yeah so thats it. nothing special.
no tongue eating, no bizarre photos. no halloween pictures/stories (its a little too late now. i ll have something for christmas when it gets here)

give me a break. you know who i m talking to.

2006-10-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

So i was at an apple festival last weekend. I was lucky enough to snap this shot. btw not my kids. kyra is off to the side, you can see her head to the lower right

2006-10-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

please, if you want to sound intelligent, you will never say:

"PIN number"

or

"ATM machine"

If you learn anything in my class, make it these two things.

2006-10-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

What does your tongue taste like?

2006-09-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

this is for all you who have forgotten what middle school is all about.
on the way home, i picked up a note on the floor, it is between two girls (surprise) and i thought i would interpret what they said in my own words. (the names were changed to protect them from the other kids who read this)

"hi"
"Hi"
(Greetings)

"So, what are you thinking?"
(I am interested in knowing what is on your mind.)

"LOL about what?"
(Much amusement. To what does this question pertain?)

lol well... Carla was bugging me today so I just left. And I think that Mitch thinks I don't like him but I do and I don't know!! lol
(Your astonishment brings hilarity. In a social engagement today, Carla and I were not getting along so I took my leave. On a completely different topic, Mitch believes my feelings for him are unfounded, which is contrary to the truth. I am uncertain as to the unfolding of the events with him. I am filled with glee.)

lol do you want me to clear things up with Mitch?
(I feel glee as well. Given my personal skills, shall I speak with Mitch about the misunderstanding?)

lol sure just be like so how are things going with Michelle? And see what he says.
(I am sure feeling merriment today. I believe your method of tactful exposure will be successful. Be sure to brief me on the results. )

KK I will! sooo ummm Billy called me last night.
(Most certainly. Allow me to change the subject, please. I received word from William last night.)

WHAT WILL HAPPEN? WHO KNOWS? WHO CARES? I 'll finish next time...
Will Carla find love? Is Mitch in love with Michelle?

2006-09-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

so imagine if you lived in Dumbo's or Rudolph the red nosed reindeer's world, and you were ugly or different.

the only way to better yourself and be accepted by society would be to be extremely useful in the time of great need. only then would your mother be freed from a prison and you be accepted by anyone.

sure everyone loves them in the end, but only because they were useful or had a cool thing to do. i mean even santa shunned rudolph until he did something small like save the day.

what a jerk.

2006-09-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

school donuts

ok so when i made that last post it was before the school day was over. two hours later a donut crazed class came in and snarfed the rest of the donut holes, thus dispelling the "kids don't like donuts" myth

more orange juice ended up on the counter than in students' bellies thanks to a few spillers. excited about juice, i suppose.

theres a thing called "honeymoon period" in school. that is generally a time in the beginning of the year where students are perfect angels. they are feeling out what they can do, and in previous years it lasted a mere two days, tops. i would always tell my wife after the first couple of days, " these kids are awesome."
she would say, " you say that every year."

i m wondering when its over here. i m not looking foward to it, but it ll happen.

note to old students: desk is still organized, despite sandell's doubt of it being a regular davala filth pile after 1 day.

2006-09-06T13:27:00.000-07:00

well the first day of school is (almost) over. had some time here to blog a bit about the day.
first, the kids all think i m a freak because i know all their names already. first and last. and kids on the other team.

are kids nowadays afraid of donuts? i mean, i brought in a couple of boxes of donut holes and some oj for the morning, and about 3 kids came and got some. same with next period.

are they diet saavy? is there a tale of me handing out rancid donuts out there?

whatever it is, its pretty weird.

more later

2006-08-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

here i am, in my 7th year of teaching. ive taught here at rosemont ridge the whole time, and i am indeed lucky to be here. getting my job a couple weeks before school started while trying to set up my subbing career for the year was a surprise.

i started teaching algebra, with a little bit of geometry thrown in, and then moved into straight up science. i consider myself lucky to be here in such a great district.

of past students: ive taught (6 xs 120 or so... ) 700 students more or less and the end of the year is the hardest. you really have gotten to know the students and don't want to let them go.

with a week to go before the next batch has come in, i am now pretty psyched to get this year going.
goals for this year:
i m trying to get my desk organized (a joke, if youve been one of my students)
ok thats pretty much it since it will take all my strength to do that

to my past students, i hope you are all well, and to the newbies, i can't wait to get to know you all and teach some science.