The world of band directing has changed over the past few years as a result of the increasing pace of technological development.
Back then Contest preparation when I first started teaching way back in August of 2002 went something like this:
I began by digging through the CDs that I picked up each year at music conventions to find recordings of some of the band music that might be available. Then I picked up my copy of the UIL Prescribed Music List to see what was on the list. At this point, I went back to the recordings and tried to find whichever of the tunes I had on CD so I could listen. If a friend recommended a...
Look around you. How many unrealized plans do you see? How much unfinished business do you have sitting on your desk at work waiting for you in the morning? What about ungraded papers, unread emails, un-thrown-away junk mail?
Maybe paperwork isn’t your problem. Maybe it’s a half-finished basement, a bathroom renovation gone sour, a fence in the back yard that needs to be adjusted. Or you have bill collectors hounding you. Or you aren’t contributing enough (or anything) to your retirement plan. Or you are in debt out your eyeballs. Or you’re still lugging around that extra 5 pounds that you’ve been meaning to lose (or the 75 pounds that has grown as you’ve been ignoring it for the...
This evening, I decided to do something I’ve been toying around with since the summer. I finally deleted comments from my blog entirely.
Where it all began I began this blog as a hobby back in the spring of 2007, shortly after I began to learn more about the potential that blogs held. Life was much simpler back then. For one thing, I taught 6th grade beginning band only. My obligations outside of school were minimal, and the amount of time I spent in front of the computer was similarly low. Life was much simpler back then.
I long for that again.
Where it has taken me In the fall of 2007, I...
Since I have decided this new year to slowly end my hatred of running that I have harbored for the past decade or so, I’m reading more about it. I am inspired to find there are a handful of pretty good health and fitness blogs that my school hasn’t blocked on the network yet too! My conference period can now be spent walking, reading, or actually doing productive things for my band!
Today I have been catching up on some of the Twitter links I’ve seen and came across 13 Most Inspirational YouTube Videos of All-Time that Angela Maiers had sent out a few days back. I was really impressed by this video.
I was so impressed that...
I tried the alternative comment system DISQUS for a few months here and have just grown tired of it. Since installing it in October, I have noticed:
- A decrease in the number of relevant comments on my blog
- An increase in the number of spammy comments that get approved
- An increase in the number of complaints about the difficulty of commenting on my blog
- A substantial increase in the the time it takes for pages on my site to load
I turned off DISQUS commenting this morning and while I lost a number of comments that have been posted to my site, I also notice that some of the comments posted on DISQUS actually were preserved. I...