Hey, folks, we're live again...

After a week of training in Chengdu, five days of solo language learning in the southern city of Xichang, and a weekend of curriculum planning followed by the first day of classes, the blog is back!

Ah, but you didn't think we'd left, did you? That's because way back in August, when I had some free time, I hired an army of robots to take over the web site. (Hence the more geeky computer-based nature of some of the posts...)

Speaking of robotic takeovers of humanitt, I have to get this out there somehow:


("The Humans are Dead" by Flight of the Conchords)

Sheep, basketball court

Outside Ringa village, Zhongdian, Yunnan

Family Album USA

In honor of the first day of classes, a scan of a college Engish textbook from our apartment that I found while cleaning out a bit of clutter this summer:



Sweet Lord have mercy! No wonder some of my students are scared to speak English...

Yum!

Yep, I've got a weakness for Indian painting, and eye burfi (burfi being a type of Indian candy) serves it up sweet. Just a couple of randomly selected images here, but if you go to the site, there's a lot more, both ancient and modern.

Six figure fish tanks

Wow. I like fish and all, but this is totally totally wrong (not the picture above, but the linked-to article, that is...). No further comment at this time.

Yeah, another bluegrass bit

A - recent? - video of banjo great Earl Scruggs, joined by Steve Martin and a guy who looks like Peter Frampton (?).
(Yeah, I like lots of other music too, but I think bluegrass is way too underrated...)

Why I love the internet

In honor of summer wrapping up (isn't it Labor Day somewhere over there?), I'm cleaning out the "links that I post someday" pile - some dating as far back as March - ulp. Don't worry, you can still try them. I've tested them all, and none of them contain botulism.

An interview with one of my former teachers, Bill Ayers. You may remember Sarah Palin's caricature of him from the 2008 presidential campaign, but this is a great introduction to a fascinating educator and a warm and concerned human being.

Speaking of education, what if we had educational reform that really worked? Here's one interesting idea. Also, the science of making up stuff, which is a (very very true - I lived it) critique of No Child Left Behind (...shudder...)

A collection a day. Really cool Stuff (as in things. and more things.) And I thought I had too much time on my hands this summer...

The old and the new, together in one photo. Or lots of photos.

Top Secret America. A huge article from the Washington Post about America's intelligence systems that I want to read, haven't gotten around to yet. Or maybe I have. It's Top Secret.

Did you know that the Soviet Union had their own Space Shuttle? Cool (and somewhat sad) pics from the now-mothballed launch site for a machine that never launched.

In praise of doing nothing. Don't know if I got around to posting about the Cult of Busy, but it's worth checking out. Or maybe you should go outside and play frisbee instead...

Revisiting the food pyramid Why do salads at McDonalds cost more than burgers? A clue: we make it that way...

People making bird sounds. Really, they sound like birds. Check it out first, then read the text to see how they did it.

Math is beautiful:



Wow, it feels like I just cleaned out my junk drawer! Thanks everyone, for your indulgence and support...