Amazing Video - Hurricane Ike

Amazing video here. But, you won't be able to view it at school. It's a YouTuber.

Hurricane Ike

We are now in San Antonio and I am having my first computer time in over a week. Strange, but I didn't really struggle or miss it as much as I thought I would. I guess we were too busy taking care of Aidan, worrying about getting a good meal and considering that we needed to have fun despite the power outage.

I have finally started to see some of the footage out here on the Internet about the storm. I started with some stuff from our community. I found this youtube video pretty haunting, but it was exactly how it looked at our house too, just before the storm:
Youtube Video - will not work at school:


This one really got to me... it's of a lone house in Gilcrest. The video is amazing.



I found these pictures on the Houston Chronicle website. They just made me shake my head. Amazing how things happen sometimes...






Today I'll be watching my Houston Texans battle the Titans and hoping a win might cheer everyone up a bit. A friend of mine that lives in the next neighborhood over from us emailed me last night and said he has power. So maybe there is hope for when we go back on Monday. I know that will give me hope that things will be back to normal soon when we have power.

TV Interview

Here is my interview on our cable educational access channel about AVID.


AVID Interview from fordee on Vimeo.

Dancing at the Game

Friday night was the "Father-Daughter" dance for our school's dance team at half time of the football game. I was honored to dance with a former student of mine. Her Dad was unable to dance because he has MS.

Aidan had a great time at the game. Norma struggled some because her ankle was REALLY sore after working all week. But, she toughed it out and we went home and iced it down after half time. At that point the awesome Eagles were up 21-0 and later went on to win 40-0. Now the AHS Eagles are 2-0 for the first time in their three year history! Pretty exciting.

Half time went very well. My dance partner was great. She is quite the dancer. Afterwards her mom thanked me for dancing with her and I said, "Well, she made me look good, didn't she? She had to work PRETTY HARD to do that!" And I smiled. To make this white guy look good is pretty much an impossible task. But, she got the job done. It was a lot of fun to see the kids from school yelling my name and waving.

One of the teachers that I worked with said, "You looked pretty good for a guy that was just in an accident last week. Nice and loose." Well, the adrenaline was pumping a little. I never even tried to do 1/2 the moves that we practiced until last night because I didn't want to hurt my back any more than it is. But, once we got out there I was fine.

My dance partner's father has MS. So he couldn't dance with her. I felt a little guilty because he should be out there... but at the same time, I was proud to stand in for him. It is always amazing how something like this goes such a long way with the kids. They really enjoyed it.

Aidan had a ball. I waved up to him from the field and he waved back. It was cool to have him there watching. So I guess now I can say that my son saw me on a football field. Of course, this was NOTHING like what I used to do on a football field. It is actually much harder to face the stands and dance than it is to play a sport like football where you are just focused on your opponent. I never really paid much attention to the stands when I played.

Today I am a little sore and a little cranky. But, I am so glad to have had the chance to dance with her. It was a lot of fun.

The Dark Side of the Rainbow

This week we watched a short clip of The Wizard of Oz in AVID. I asked the students to consider who might play the parts of the characters in the movie in their life. It was a nice writing assignment and some students did an excellent job of coming up with comparison, simile, and metaphor.

We discussed a bit in my AVID II sophomore class that some have thought it odd how the Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd and the Wizard of Oz seem to go together. You start both at the very beginning and turn the sound down on the movie and the sound up on the album. I thought I'd post a few of the similarities here. We obviously don't have time in class to get into all that there. :)

Wikipedia says this: "When the album is played simultaneously with the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, numerous images from the film appear to synchronize with the music and lyrics. All band members (save Roger Waters) and engineer Alan Parsons have firmly stated that the phenomenon is a coincidence. This effect has often been called Dark Side of the Rainbow. Arguably, playing any two media together will produce an impression of a striking amount of coincidence (an effect known as apophenia)."

Rolling Stone did a quick Video Mashup of the coincidences: Dark Side of Oz! Pretty neat.

Here is the very beginning of the movie in sync with the album:

According to this author, here are the similarities:
Here are some interesting parallels that we've noticed over the years. As I said, I've tried to keep this list to the more striking moments. An internet search will turn up dozens more.

-First and foremost - take a look at the cover of the album. It's white light exploding into color, just as the films moves from black and white into color.

-In Breathe, the lyrics say "balanced on the biggest wave," as Dorothy balances carefully on a piece of wood.

-The piercing bells of Time begin just as the Wicked Witch of the West appears on her bicycle (it's pretty chilling if synced correctly).

-The lyrics say "home, home again, I like to be here when I can," as Dorothy contemplates heading back to the farm.

-Great Gig in the Sky begins as Dorothy's house goes up into the tornado. The wails of Clare Torry, the female vocalist, crescendo and decrescendo as Dorothy sails up into the sky, and then back down again. Again, it's pretty chilling. Also, Great Gig in the Sky is an interesting title for a song with no lyrics - They could have called it anything. Why something so reminiscent of Dorothy's situation?

-Then, in what is probably the most amazing feature of the sync, if your CD and movie are lined up just right, Dorothy opens the door to the world of color just as the cash register opens in Money. It's pretty amazing. And interesting that Money is the song playing while we are introduced to a world made of gold.

-Sometimes, it seems the munchkins dance to the rhythm of Money; though that may be stretching a bit.

-In Us and Them, the lyrics say "black and blue, and who knows which is which, and who is who," as the camera switches from the Wicked Witch (black) to Dorothy (in a blue dress). Did they mean "which is which" or "witch is witch?"

-In the same song, the lyrics say "up and down, but in the end it's only round and round," which is exactly what happened to Dorothy's house.

-It's interesting that the title of next song, Any Colour You Like, references "color." Again, it's an instrumental that could have been given any title.

-The next song is called Brain Damage - and we meet the "brainless" Scarecrow.

-In Brain Damage, the lyrics say "the lunatic is on the grass," as the Scarecrow, who's made of straw (grass), dances around.

-The song Eclipse ends with a thudding heartbeat, as Dorothy listens to the Tin Man's chest in search of a heartbeat.

What do you think? Coincidence??? Silliness??? Neat? Stupid?

Car Accident

I wanted to give everyone an update. Mr. Duez will be back on Tuesday. I am suffering from some headaches, back, neck and shoulder strain... but I am walking ok and I believe I should be back to work on Tuesday. I really missed class on Friday with you guys.






Well, Thursday was a tough day. We left our house around 5:30pm and headed off to have Italian at a new place in Kingwood. We pulled out of our village and headed up a two lane street. There was a truck in the lane coming towards us and he suddenly turned left onto a side street and plowed right into us. Very scary.

There was nothing I could do. I slammed on the brakes as he hit us. It was almost simultaneous. He had no turn signal on. And there was just no indication in my mind that he would ever try that turn. After hitting us, he also rammed into a lady who was stopped at that street and about to turn onto the same lane we were traveling in. I immediately got out and checked on Norma and Aidan. He cried for about 10 or 15 minutes which we were panicking and worrying about him. Once he calmed down we realized he was fine. He had some strap marks across his chest and shoulders and that was it.

The car was totaled. My right front passenger side made impact first on his right front passenger side of his Chevy Truck. Again this just shows there was no way I could have avoided him. It's not like I clipped the end of the bed of his truck or something as he crossed into our lane.

Our car spun with the back end pulling around and into the lane he was coming from. It jerked us around pretty good. I know my middle back is aching because of that twist and torque. Norma injured her ankle, which probably struck and was pinned by my seat. She was seated behind me. Aidan was in the back in the passenger side. Believe me, we are so pleased with our car seat that protected Aidan: Britax Marathon - worth every penny.

Luckily for us there was a cop in the car behind the guy that plowed into us. He jumped out of the car after calling the accident in and reporting it. The guy who hit us in the truck looked at the officer and said, "I never saw them." The officer said, "How the hell could you NOT have seen them! What's wrong with you!" It was nice to not have to yell at anyone, he was doing a good job of it for me.

In a matter of minutes there were at least 20 neighbors around us. Lots of them said they heard the crash from their homes. One lady brought ice for Norma's ankle and water for all of us. The police arrived and took our statements. They explained that they issued a citation to the driver of the truck and they gave me the insurance information.

In 38 years I have NEVER had an accident. I know I have been lucky... but I am an excellent driver. Our car was paid off in January! That really, really sucks that we will now have a car payment.

Today was spent in the emergency clinic for about 3 hours getting checked out. Norma has bumps and bruises all over and a badly sprained ankle. She's limping pretty good on it... but I am trying to keep her from walking on it. I have back, shoulder, and neck pain. My left knee is also bugging me. So we know we'll have a few weeks of discomfort ahead of us.

After the doctor we brought on more pain by meeting with our insurance claims agent. She verified that the driver of the truck had insurance through All-State and that our claim should be against them since he was at fault. She said they would be contacting me. I've never gone through this before. But, I am tempted to get some type of lawyer. We can not afford to be screwed around here. Yet a lawyer could screw us in just as many ways.

At this point we are going to know the value of our car at retail - it's about $15,000 for a 2003 Honda Accord. So we'd like to get between 15 and 20 grand out of this to put towards a new car. I CAN NOT BELIEVE we have to buy a new car. At this point we are considering a Honda Civic. My Honda was really, really good to me. We'll also test drive and consider Saturn Aura. I would love to buy a hybrid Prius or something of that quality but it is so much more expensive. And we are teachers. It's not like I have a money tree growing out back.

It's been a crazy week. First week of school and I've already missed a day with my kids! We are counting our blessings though. We are all ok. Cars are "things" and people are important.

2007-2008 AHS AVID Video

For the first year of AVID at our school, it sure was GREAT! If you would like the password to watch this video, please email me and I will send it to you. :)
Email Mr. Duez


AVID_2007_2008 from fordee on Vimeo.

Looking forward to making more memories in 2008-2009.

Flight School Landing

Hey everyone, it was great to see those of you who were up at school for flight school. I was there this week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. I missed Thursday because I had a class to take.

Freshmen - I am very excited about this year. We have a wonderful class shaping up. Our class roster is not totally finished yet, but it will be shortly. I am looking forward to getting started on the journey with you all.

Sophomores - You guys rock! Vanessa (and maybe CJ) will be heading to TMS to discuss the AVID binder on Monday morning. I am so excited for you guys and I wish I could be there. Unfortunately it is my first "contract" day of work. So I will be at AHS getting started and preparing for the school year.

I will be spending some time this week working on these things:
* AVID Parent Meeting Video ~ it is shaping up nicely!
* Double Checking student schedules to be sure that everyone is in classes that they should be.
* Hiring our final tutors. Right now we have 3 and I just need to hire one more!
* Planning our first two weeks together this year.

Can't wait to see everyone on August 25th during 6th and 7th periods!

Flight School - Thu & Fri

Hey everyone, don't forget about Flight School:
Thursday for Sophomores
and
Friday for Freshmen

Get your schedules, visit with your counselors, check your locker, get your books.

I'll be there on Friday to meet with new AVID freshmen and their parents.

First Parent Meeting - August 19th

Hope summer has been going great for everyone. I have had a wonderful, wonderful summer with my lovely wife and awesome boy.

School starts in just two weeks. I am very excited about it... this is going to be a GREAT year.

To get things kicked off we'll have our first AVID Parent Meeting on:
AUGUST 19th at 6:30 PM in the Auditorium at AHS (Also known as the Performing Arts Center or PAC)

We want to welcome all of our incoming freshmen from AMS and TMS (we have two full classes coming in) and welcome back our wonderful Juniors and Sophomores.

I will also be at school on Tuesday (for Senior Flight School) to recruit tutors for AVID. I will be up at school on Friday as well to be checking with freshmen and double checking their schedules. I would recommend very highly that you attend the sophomore AHS Flight School this week (it is on Thursday) and get your schedule verified with your counselor. They will be there from 8 to 2pm to sit down and be sure everything is how you want it.

If anyone has any questions about what classes they should be taking, please let me know. AVID period this year will be 6th period again. We will be meeting in my new classroom in the Blue House - room 2605. I can't wait to get started!

Can't wait to see everyone. Please spread the word about the AVID Parent Meeting (in case I miss anyone with the email) and let me know if you think you can make it. All students and family members are invited to come by on the 19th. I will be creating a video for the occasion to look back at the great things we accomplished last year and to invite our new AVID students.

Crazy Boy

My crazy boy in my AVID hat!

iTunes U.

Ever wonder what it would be like to sit in a college class? iTunes U gives you that opportunity to learn and see what college would be like - from your own computer:

Learn More About iTunes U

iTunes U is a part of the iTunes Store featuring free lectures, language lessons, audiobooks, and more, that you can enjoy on your iPod, iPhone, Mac or PC. Explore over 50,000 educational audio and video files from top universities, museums and public media organizations from around the world. With iTunes U, there's no end to what or where you can learn.

What a great resource!

Student Loan Crisis?

This is a little scary in the news:

Is Your Student Loan Safe?
Students Scramble to Secure New Loans as Dozens of Lenders Drop Out

Texas A&M University financial aid director Delisa Falks said that in the last few days, the university has heard from seven different lenders saying they could no longer provide federally guaranteed loans.

It's a problem that has been ongoing nationwide for months, leaving many students with fewer options for financing their college educations.

The economy has not been good lately. We have been in the middle of a mortgage (house payments) and bank crisis. So that has an impact on student loans.

Student loan companies traditionally raise capital by selling bonds, but as a fallout from the subprime housing meltdown continues to shake the country's financial sector, investors have become wary about putting their money into student loans.

I don't even understand all the fancy economic lingo, but what matters to you is that at this time there is less money available for students. Hopefully the economy will get better in the next year and prospects will improve.

A Sad Day - Last Lecture Professor Dies at 47

'Last lecture' professor dies of cancer
Randy Pausch, famed for his life-affirming message, passes at 47

I knew this day was coming. I just didn't expect it so soon. Very sad. I am so glad that I read the book when I did and did not wait until hearing about Randy before after his passing. His book, "The Last Lecture," really touched me. He has a powerful message for everyone about living life to the fullest.

Please do yourself a favor and read the book, or watch Randy's Last Lecture video online: The Last Lecture

Trip to the Beach

Mrs. Duez, Aidan and I have spent a few days this week at the beach. We went to Kemah and then Galveston. What a great time. Enjoy your summer, it's coming to and end in about a month!

Review of "The Last Lecture"

I finished The Last Lecture on Sunday evening. I cried a lot. It is a sad book. It especially hit home that Randy Pausch, the author who is terminally diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, is still alive and still thinking of the issues that he wrote about. The book is not yet the guide and legacy that he is leaving to his three kids.

On the day Randy does succumb to the disease, I imagine I'll be needing some tissues again. His story struck close to home for me because thoughts of my father kept coming to mind. The book raised some questions to me about if one had a choice, how would you check out of this world? It is a little bit of a philosophical debate that rolls around and I have been debating it with myself.

If you could be given a year to live and in that time have the opportunity to tell everyone goodbye would you take it? Or is it best to leave this earth suddenly, unexpected and not have your family and friends struggle with the knowledge of your imminent demise?

This is tough for me to even type. So I will keep it short. But, I am curious what you (my faithful blog readers) would choose. Or is this to hard a topic to even think of?

My father would have probably not written a book and given a "Last Lecture." But, he would have had a lot to say. When my grandmother died months before my father passed from a failed heart surgery, he took me into his office and sat me at the computer. He explained his plans for his finances if he should pass away. I was just looking at him like, c'mon Dad! I had no interest and didn't want to discuss it. He was not in failing health (from what we all knew). Plus, I didn't agree with what he was doing with his money (but that's a very long story).

My Dad drove me to the airport on the last day that I saw him alive. It was super early in the morning. But, yet we were both wide awake and having such a deep conversation about life. He didn't want me to leave and I really didn't want to go (although I was missing Norma and the baby very much). The last big hug that we shared is something I will always have from him. But, I never in my wildest imagination thought that was the last time we would hug.

Sometimes I feel cheated. But, mostly I feel like I have to appreciate what I had. To sit and complain or feel as if you were cheated doesn't do anyone any good.

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
--Randy Pausch


I am keeping Randy and his family in my thoughts and hoping that they have every opportunity to say a very long goodbye.

This is a must read book if you consider yourself a human being.

The TV Interview

My tv interview went very well. I was awfully nervous, but that faded away once I sat down and did the thing. Afterward the crew and producers were very nice and said I did a great job.

The crazy thing is that the person who was interviewing me had never heard of AVID before. She was on our school board for a few years, but had stepped down just as AVID was kicking up this year. I believe the night that we had kids present to the school board was the first night after she stepped down.

So considering that the interviewer was learning about AVID for the first time, it was great. After I got back to the car, the first thing I did was look back over my notes and my script. I was so worried that I might have forgotten to say something. But, I believe I mentioned everything.

We'll see. It will air during the month of August. I'll record it and post it here when it does. (as long as I don't look too stupid)

AVID Interview... and stage fright

I have a little case of stage fright tonight. Tomorrow morning at 10:15 I'll be on a set recording a cable access show for our school district. The topic is AVID tutoring. It will be a 7 minute segment.

I knew about this and was told it would be during July. Yesterday I sent an email and said, "Is this still happening?" Today I got a phone call and they said, "Oh yeah, it's tomorrow. Can you bring one of the tutors?" I have been calling all day and every one of my tutors is either out of town, working, or busy tomorrow. So it'll be me on my own.

Who knows why I am so nervous. It's kind of stupid. I am anxious because this can mean a lot, potentially. If we even get one tutor out of this, it will be worth it.

I've watched this program many times. It is on our local educational channel. The nice thing is that they highlight programs, teachers and kids who are doing great things. Just this month one of my former students Cortnee Howard was featured. I usually tune in while I'm ironing my clothes for the next day. To be able to appear on the show is really cool. To be able to appear on behalf of AVID in our school district... well that is awesome. AVID has really given me a lot and I'm so happy to explain that and to try and to encourage young people to become tutors in our program.

So tonight my stomach is a little queezy. I figured getting on here and typing a bit might make me feel better. We'll see how it goes!


I think I'm going to wear my AVID button down shirt with a tie. I tried it on tonight. Norma snapped my picture as she was taking some of our little guy.

This is cool...

Check this out!

AVID 2008-2009

Looks like AVID will be during periods 6 and 7 this year. I will have AVID II (sophomores) during 6th and AVID I (freshman) during 7th period. This will be great to get as many awesome tutors as possible. It's a good time to get them - many have the end of the day free.