Random thoughts for a summer evening.

So I'm one glass into a bottle of 2006 Pascual Tosa Malbec (which is outrageously good for $10) and feeling the need to write something.

POLITICS. Four months ago I predicted that Obama would win the nomination. It finally came through. Now we just need to beat angry John McCain.

SPORTS. I know many people don't want to hear this, but I was happy to see a Celtic victory. Its been a while and although Boston fans can be assholes, they are passionate and unwavering. The Lakers cater to the wealthy and fill their first 10 rows with people looking to be seen. Its a business to them and I can't deal with that. Of course, my favorite soccer team went out and spent $250 million to fill some seats so what do I know.

BEER. What's up with July 4th? Who is hosting the BBQ? Let me know. FYI, my top beer for the summer is going to be Firestone Double Barrel. That and sapphire and tonics.

MUSIC. New Kids on the Block reunion tour? You heard right. October 8th and November 26th at Staples (now you don't need to look it up Randy)

WORK. I turned in grades today. Now, most of you have never experience the behind-the-scenes world of school. (All of those rumors you heard about certain teachers that smoked weed and did crazy shit are probably true) We all saw the world of education through the eyes of a student, but there is so much that we don't catch. In this case, you don't realize how stressful turning in grades can be. Here is the process for me:

1. I have to submit grades on the internet. This is very ironic since LAUSD still uses a DOS-based system for its student database. Somehow these two combine, with often disastrous results. I submit grades four times during a semester.
2. At the 10-week and 15-week submissions, I must put a warning that the student is in danger of failing. If I don't I can't fail them at the end of the semester.
3. Seniors are a special case. At the 18-week point I have to submit a list of seniors that are going to fail for sure. At least that's what the letter says. The school then sends a letter home telling the parent that their kid will not be graduating. Here's the catch. There are still two weeks left. According to the school, I can't fail a kid that doesn't get a letter sent home, but I'm also not supposed to pass a kid once they receive the letter. If I feel the need to change my mind and pass them, then I have to fill out a form for every kid that I change from failing to passing. That number was six this year. I originally submitted 24 as sure-to-fail. The administrator in charge complained that I did this. I complained that their system was retarded.
4. Once I submit these grade online I have to generate a 13-page report, print it, double-check that I did it right, and sign all 13 pages. This report is due tomorrow. I had a final today. The "window" to submit grades closed at 6:00 tonight. So I had about 7 hours from the end of the last final to finish grading everything and submit the grades.
5. The last step is to submit a gradebook that justifies all of my grades. LAUSD requires that I have two grades for every week of the semester. Besides an account of every assignment for every student, I have to also include a log of parent contacts, course syllabi, grading scales, and attendance records. I've worked out a system where this is super-easy for me, but I didn't know about this my first year and I got killed.
6. OK, so there is one more optional step. I have to listen to seniors cry about how my class is the only reason they didn't graduate. I think that will be avoided this year.

DRUNKS. Check out the Pete and Randy Podcast at Rat Race. Good times.

Finally, SOCCER. Galaxy are doing good. Join me at a game sometime, I promise beer and festive times. Euro 2008 is moving into the quarterfinals. This is basically like World Cup with only European teams. Its a huge deal. As of Sunday, I was #60 out of more than 60,000 in the ESPN Euro pick 'em contest. I've dropped to 278, which I still think is very respectable. Last year's winners, Greece, are out. England didn't even qualify. Both hosts (Austria and Switzerland) are out. Favorites Germany struggled in the group stage as did reigning World champs Italy. The new favorites? Netherlands. They destroyed France and Italy and their backups beat Romania. Record 9 goals in their three games. Total Football is back. The quarterfinal games are at 11:45am every day for the next four days (Thursday-Sunday). I predict that Germany will get a tough victory over Portugal (I have the least confidence in this pick), Croatia will beat Turkey, Netherlands will crush Russia Saturday morning, and Spain will win a shootout with Italy Sunday morning. These should be some great games and you should check them out.

The next step in porn... or any other video I guess

My brother sent me a link to a website called Immersive Media. They are the people that handle the Google "street view" option. If you don't know what I am talking about go here, enter your home address, and click on "street view. In any case, once you are watching the video you can click and drag on the screen to see the entire 360-degrees around you and up and down. Its pretty cool. Check it out.