Thursday, April 30, 2015

The latest pain site

Carpal tunnel or arthritis?
Or perhaps some other type of itis?
It matters not what you call it.
What counts is how to forestall it.

Incognito

For within the home effacement
Try hanging out in the basement.
Once the cleaning lady has shown up
Best to skedaddle, me and the pup.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Turning into a Nets fan?

Growing up, I was for the Knicks not the Nets.
Against changing allegiance I'd have placed many bets.
But with D-Will surging and done with his stewing
Tonight against Atlanta I will be viewing. 

In praise of Remo

An 80s schlock movie
Really kind of groovy
Humor and satire
Plus Chiun's spiffy attire.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Rebranding

Adopting a new organization name
When what you do remains just the same
Will bend some out of joint
Asking what is the point
A move that seems rather lame.

The Flunk Funk

Is it especially crass
To fail an entire class?
Should a student found cheating pass?
The whole bit an ethical morass.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Numerous Examples of Numeracy

The term numeracy appears now in vogue.
Does calling it algebra make one a rogue?
Whatever you call it, we should all be tense
Cause American kids lack this competence.

Who needs an alarm clock?

Chirping birds at 3 AM
With their symphony of tones
Another reason for lack of sleep
Apart for pain in my bones.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Gail Collins on Marco Rublio's autobiography

Rob from the poor and give to the rich
That's the Tea Party's bait-and-switch.
Marco Rubio is their man.
If he can't do it, no one can.

The Ex-Im bank to help the little guy, Ha!

The preservation of monopoly power
Gives one reason why the economy went sour.
We know laissez really isn't fair
And of big firms lobbying we should all beware.

Friday, April 24, 2015

Wonders from the Subconscious

Having an intense dream in mind
In it wondering what's there to find
Does it only show that which we fear
Or is the message far less clear?


What wrath hath math?

Teaching math to those who will apply it
Part of the issue is getting them to buy it.
Wouldn't it be grand
For kids to conceptually understand?
But the technology beckons, so they don't try it.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

We don't need a philsopher to tell us what we already knew.

If equality in income distribution is the ideal
Why is it so hard to make real?
When the rich done care
About whether the outcome is fair
Can there be a social contract new deal?

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Yankee Pitching

An emerging recent trend
Is for Yankee pitching to tend
To keep the opposition at bay.
Keep doing that I pray.
Then to the playoffs send.

The Damage in TV-ifying Academia

Sacrificing the truth for the pretty
Ex post seems such a pity.
What is the lure
That gets to researchers pure
Then provides fodder for this ditty?

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Expert Witnesses Hoist on their Own Petard

When seemingly incontrovertible evidence proves flawed
The analysis of which has been done by forensic science
The federal justice system we do not applaud
Because it so trusted the methodology's reliance.

NBA Playoffs - First Round

In the match up of four against five
The underdog has thrived.
Elsewhere the favorite has held serve
Getting what the team deserved.

Source

Monday, April 20, 2015

Oy Vey!

English type of thinking when applied to Yiddish
Likely causes sinking and makes the reader skittish.

Consider the verbal analogy, first shtick and then shtickle.
If one is a laughter trick, the other causes humor to trickle.

So wary of the malaprop and other verbal abuse.
I wait not for the shoe to drop by keeping these rhymes obtuse.

After Laughter

Humor in writing is no mean trick.
You must reach the punchline rather quick.
Really the setup is key,
So begin with lunacy.
An improbable start makes it tick.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Prepping for Precipitation

How does one get ready
Today with a threat of rain?
Keep disposition steady?
Or let it rack one's brain?

It's not so much getting wet I fear;
The concern covers other points.
One of those that I hold quite dear;
I now feel it in my joints.

Challenging the Economic System

If we automated income distribution
So that everybody got their checks
We'd not fear the coming of machines.
The loss of jobs would not vex.

It's only because in our system
Earnings are so tied to production
It seems obvious that the system must change
That's the necessary and logical deduction.

For if there were automation to the nth degree
So that nobody had a job
There'd be no consumers to buy the goods
There'd only be an angry mob.

Before we get anywhere near that point
Rationality will prevail, I posit.
Before that happens something else must come first
Socialists must come out of the closet.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Time to Heat Up

The Yankees have started out slowly.
In their division they are lowly.
Let's give it a bang!
It's the song that he sang.
Then he can again shout, Holy Moly!


Teaching and Preaching

Our petulant pedant persisted.
Though irritating all he insisted.
It's never absurd
To select the right word.
Of this correct composition consisted.

Friday, April 17, 2015

The Wrong Model

If you're ideologically disposed against Keynes
During a slump your policy will create pains.
A move toward tight money
Really isn't funny
Making it impossible that the economy sustains.

Punctual Punctuation

What is the point of an exclamation?
Bent out of joint?  Or a proclamation?

Declarative statements should be averred, not obscene.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

A Freak Streak?

In the making of consecutive shots
High skill matters lots and lots.
Seventy seven 3's in a row
Is putting on quite a show
But not so rare one should plotz.

The Path to Critical Thinking

Is it the college major or the reading habit
That gives birth to the virtual rabbit
The one that gets pulled from a hat
By which to enable that

A dullard can reach the brink
Beyond which he's able to think
Making sense of the mysterious and complex
That had previously did his brain vex?

Pundits tend to glorify the U
Disregarding what it's apt to do
With the chase after the high GPA
Actually causing the brain to decay.

Montaigne preferred the company of peasants
Whose minds were unspoiled by pedants
So rather than push for the latest learning fashion
Ask what can fuel the mind's passion. 

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Free College, Worth the Price?

Pols demand there be low tuition for college
Ignoring any potential impact on knowledge.
Won't taxpayers be shrill
If asked to foot the bill?
Reduced spending per student to acknowledge.

The Legacy of Bluto and Otter

As their purpose seems mainly to make mayhem,
If fraternities didn't exist would we invent them?
With a tradition that was grand
Things since got out of hand.
Shut them down?  Alumni donors won't let them.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Where is the Sunshine?

In matters of international trade
There surely is no reason to evade
The public's scrutiny;

For it signifies that the fix is in,
Enables supporters to wield their spin,
While the throng mutinies.


Objective or Subjective?

How you feel
About what is real
Is no big deal.

You can depend upon
The world going on
Despite the brain's con.

Monday, April 13, 2015

The Fly in the (Virtual) Ointment

Playing a game against the computer
How could an opponent be any cuter?

For each of my tits in response is a tat
Absent any emotion, all just matter of fact.

It's not like playing chess with the local clown
Who feigns sardonic wit with the occasional putdown.

Just about everything about it with the computer is better
And on the rare day that I win, I've earned a red letter.

There's just one problem that sometimes causes me to shrug.
Once in a while in the game's program you'll find a bug.

I don't mean the type that would render the game inert.
I've never experienced that though if I did it would hurt.

I'm talking instead about discovering a cheat,
Which allows you to claim victory though really you were beat.

Winning that way tends to spoil the fun
And soon thereafter with that game you're done.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

The Race Space

For students of color is it right
To only have teachers who are white?
If their worlds don't intersect
How will they connect?
What then of the poor student who is bright?

Pushy P's

Although the Koala Dad might bite
It's the Tiger Mom who gives fright.
She wants to partake
When it's the kid's choice to make.
He prefers that they're both out of sight.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Why pillory Hillary?

The party of rich white men
Soon to be at it again.

Shouldn't they be fearful of the reaction
Since women make up the greater fraction?  

The real gig
To fail big?

Should we all stumble
In such a spectacular way
Needing a jolt in our approach?

To this I mumble
Without a firm mind what to say
Hoping you won't ask me to coach.

The key to success?
Still anyone's guess.

If already on the verge
Failure may then next step urge

Though maybe consider punting
To avoid permanent stunting.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Constrain by Refrain

Prolix in one form
Terse in another
Take the world by storm
Do what I druther.

Commenting by me
Quite sane or absurd
Spontaneously
Not what we have heard.

First aim is for mirth
Second be correct
A smile to give birth
Joy to resurrect. 

This is some reason
For this here new blog
Change of the season
My hope it's no slog.