Sunday, August 29, 2010

Jean Harlow


Welcome to Actresses of the Early Days of the Silver Screen week on OPOD. Today we have a picture of Jean Harlow. It was taken on Capitol Hill, and she is pictured with Senator Robert Reynolds. I find it interesting how much things have changed since this picture was taken. It is obvious they are just posing the shot for the cameras; however, today I think most politicians would have the good sense to not "paw" on a woman like this in front of the cameras. Second, notice that he is smoking a cigarette indoors, which is pretty much not seen today. The third thing, note how Ms. Harlow is wearing a fur coat . . . definitely a No No today.

Domestic Update:

OK, I finished my first week of the school year. I must say this is the finest group of students I have ever had. They are all polite, serious, and eager to learn. I am really looking forward to the electronics class. The school let me get really nice electronics lab equipment, so I will be able to have practical hands on projects to supplement the theoretical stuff. About half the students in this class are very smart, and are wanting to become electrical or mechanical engineers. The other half are more hands on learners, and are interested in attending a junior college to become either electricians, electronics technologists, or Certified Wind Turbine Technologists. All the students are working very hard, and view the material as something they really want to know. The hard thing about teaching the class is that it requires very strong math skills, and most of the students coming into the class are deficient in their math skills. In order to solve real problems in Electronics, you can not use Real numbers, the problems must be solved using imaginary and complex numbers. The students have almost no expertise in imaginary numbers. So, I have found that I have to teach them the math as we go through the class. What I have found is that the students LEARN the math much better in a class like this, than they do in a math class. They see that they have a problem to solve in a circuit, and in order to solve it they need a new math skill. The circuits put the math into the context of being relevant in the real world.

I have not talked about the greenhouse in a while. The electrician has been working on the wiring on the inside of the greenhouse. He is about done, so hopefully I can get the plumbers back out next week. Then we should pretty much be wrapped up, and I can start getting things planted.