Lack of Education

I saw this graphic on Facebook today. I've seen it before, but today for some reason it struck a nerve.

The only correction I'd make is about the time frame. This change has happened since I was a kid, and I'm not 60 yet!

What's happened here? I know there are many factors, but our schools are struggling, our kids are losing, and our nation has lost a lot of ground as a thought leader in the world. Have we so over-reinvented the educational processes that we've lost sight of the basic goal of an education? Which, in my humble opinion, is to to teach a child to think, to reason, and learn. If they can do that, they can do anything. Now we are so zeroed in on facts and figures we are only teaching test-taking and only testing memorization skills in standardized tests that make no sense.

Has family participation in education so declined that a teacher working a 10-12 hour day (yeah, 2-4 hours a day outside of school hours) is the only source of education these kids will get? When mom and dad are both working, there is no family time, and the TV and Internet are nanny, babysitter, and educational tool, the student loses. I learned my fundamental lessons at home before school began, and was responsible at home for work completion before I got to school to turn it in. Not any more. Helicopter parents have turned this around, over-protecting their children to the point where the kid can do no wrong, and it must be the teacher's fault if little Johny isn't making all A's.

Have we so politicized the process that the classroom is just a ping pong ball to be bounced around for political points? We should allow educators to take over education, and keep politicians out of the mix. If history is to be revised, it should be due to the discovery of new factual information that changes the understanding of a thing or event, not to support any political party's goals or particular desire for how things should have been. Give kids the truth and let them decide what they think about it - it might not be good for your party but it will be good for the country.

Have we put so low a value on education that there just isn't enough money to provide the needed classroom space and teacher to student ratio to provide effective teaching? I had some horrible teachers as a child, back when anyone could be a teacher, but I also had some wonderful mentors. Now, there are standards and requirements and curricula and refresher trainings and evaluations and it seems like there are more teachers than ever who don't know what they are doing, don't care, or just can't do it.  I tried to find a good, current chart of world academic standing but there are so many and they are so varied I could find a consistent report, so here is a study result from 2013:
     " According to the report, The Learning Curve, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the
      United States ranks seventeenth out of forty countries ranked in overall educational performance.
      Finland ranks first. The top ten countries in educational performance are:

1. Finland
2. South Korea
3. Hong Kong SAR
4. Japan
5. Singapore
6. United Kingdom
7. Netherlands
8. New Zealand
9. Switzerland
10. Canada"

Or shud we blame the inet? U no how peeps abbrev evrythng n 2 lazy 2 do it rite. :(

Yes, I know I'm over-simplifying the problem. And I know and respect many wonderful, dynamic, motivated, amazing teachers! I wouldn't be the professional, somewhat accomplished person I am without the wonderful teachers who made sure I got it. Thank you forever to all of them!

It used to be a good thing to be smart. It let us put men on the moon, create the internet, and gave us amazing tools like cell phones and the iPad - all revolutionary events that have changed the world. God gave each of us a brain and talents - we shouldn't ignore those precious gifts, we should do everything we can to help our children maximize them. It's the smart thing to do!

Mall Observations

I've had to go the mall a few times in the past week. This is unusual for me, as I am a very manly shopper in that I go to look for what I need, I find it or a don't, get it if I found it, and then I'm done.  Since I don't have a car here, my trips are tied to the bus schedule so I usually have more time on site than I need. Still, I don't wander around looking in every window to see what catches my eye like some differently gendered people might do (ok, half of you readers, you know who you are).

But I do enjoy watching the people at the mall. It's always entertaining, sometimes amusing and occasionally quite surprising.  It doesn't matter what country you're in, you get the same mix of people and similar generalized behavior. So here are a few observations from my recent trips.

Kids are kids. I saw two brothers fighting. Dad was trying to get them corralled and on the move, the little one was determined to go in one direction and his big brother was determined to help dad out and bring the younger one along. It was nearly a serious skirmish. Dad looked highly exasperated until he caught my eye and saw me grinning, then he smiled. I said "they're the same all over the world!" and he laughed, went and got a boy in each hand, and off they went. Now that you have a mental picture of all that, this took place in Saudi Arabia and dad was a Saudi man wearing classic  thobe and guptha (white robe and headgear).

They love malls in the Middle East, the bigger and snazzier the better. The malls in my area are fairly simple compared to the big cities, but these aren't bad. They love big domes with complex decorations and panes of glass, and they always look great on the inside. From the outside, typically, they are dirty brown and covered in sand and dust that just never seems to go away.

I saw a young Saudi couple, him in white and her in black head to toe, get up to leave a table at the food court. The father picked up their infant child, swaddled tightly, and cradled and rocked the sleeping child just as any father around the world would do. They left together with her pushing the stroller but with one hand on his arm, and him carrying that baby like it was the most precious thing in the world. Very endearing.

I've seen more and more couples holding hands in public, which is quite a paradigm change. It is normal to see two men or two women (or a whole gang of women) embrace or walk hand in hand or arm in arm in public. Totally normal here. But forever it has been taboo for men and women, married or otherwise, to touch or embrace or even walk too closely together in public.This is more a social constraint than religious, like women being covered head to toe. The Koran requires that women dress modestly. It is family and social pressure that hides them from sight.

You might notice that I rarely have people in the images I post from here. In general, that's because cameras are still officially a no-no, and the Saudis are wary of them. If I used my phone or, worse, a real camera to take a picture of a Saudi woman, I would likely have it dashed to the ground by the first group of men to reach me and I would find myself in serious trouble! I am respectful and mindful of that with every shot I take!

They are so concerned about covering women here, that the mall is very affected by it. The place is full of European and American brand stores, but the ad photos do not show women's faces, and the mannequins have no heads. This ad for a new store caught my eye. These are 5-foot tall signs on a base that are spread out all over the place. If you click on the image to see it larger, you'll see the man's features are in sharp focus, but the woman's face is pixelated so her detail is gone. This is the first one I've seen like this. Others I've seen have had the woman's face covered by paint or paper glued on, or cut off with a knife or slashed beyond recognition. It's usually done by male patrons, not by the stores. I really don't know where protectionism ends and misogyny begins.

They love corn here!! In most mall there is a corn vendor every 100 meters or so, and oh my goodness when you approach one it smells like summer kitchen boiling corn for dinner!  They sell it off the cob in little cups, and you can always see someone walking along enjoying a serving!

This window display caught my eye, being a wedding photographer and all. This is the first wedding dress I've seen displayed, and it's a doozy. With a lovely floral number for an attendant. And a matching tiny one for a flower girl, of course!

They do have weddings here, just like at home! The men get all duded up (and that's some serious business here!), and the ladies put on fancy dresses and do fantastic hair and makeup. The similarities more or less stop there. Because then the ladies put on their black abayas and veils and hair coverings, they all get together for the ceremony, and then the boys go one way and the girls another. When the girls are safely behind closed doors the robes comes off and they can show off for each other at their own party. This is another shop display I saw tonight, and these are pretty tame compared to many other dresses on display.

It's all about the clothes, right ladies?  I had one other pretty cool experience tonight at the mall, but this post has already gone on too long so I'll hit that next time.   Here's one more shot I got in Bahrain over the weekend, the Ritz Carlton Hotel. No, didn't stay there - just went to pick someone up and had to scour the place to find him, so I saw a pretty scene and took my best shot.  Best to all! Mark

#DhahranMall #SaudiArabia  #RitzCarlton  #Bahrain

Cars

I've been asked what kinds of car have I seen here. It's an interesting question, I suppose, because we tend to wonder what it's like in other places besides our home town. Fortunately, I've made some mental notes and should be able to give a good answer based on my keen observational skills.

In short: Y'all, they've got almost everything here!!

From the most basic to the biggest, it's here someplace. There are VW Beetles, Cooper Minis, and Fiat 500s. There are Humvees, Cadilac Escalades, and Ford Excursions.

From the simplest to the most exotic, that's here too.  There are little tiny cars from Europe that I don't even know the make - 4 seats, standard gearbox, and a speedometer and fuel gauge is about the extent of the equipment. At the other end are supercars - I've seen the white Audi sport coupe from Iron Man. This little beautiful McLaren graced the parking lot for a month or so - I've seen it on the road once or twice elsewhere. What a pretty car.

Ferrari, Bentley, Jaguar, Corvette - they're here. Some of the folks who've been in this business a long time have saved up some dough, and don't mind spending it on nice wheels.

On the more mundane side, there are loads of SUVs of all sizes and shapes, even my favorite - the Mitsubishi Pajero, which is the European name for the Montero. They stopped selling this terrific car in the US in 2006 and I never learned why, but it is still sold abroad. Wish I could get one here and take it home!

There are lots of BIG sedans here. I must guess that the most common is the Ford Crown Victoria - Aramco has a big fleet of these. In addition to Chevy Impalas and Ford and Chevy SUVs.  The Crown Vic is also a favorite for limo services.

But there are loads of smaller cars here too, with brands from around the world - Volvo, MG, Subaru, Toyota, Peugot, Honda. All the cars here are left hand drive, although speedometers are in Kilometers per hour. It is a crazy place to drive. Saudi drivers are well known to be the most unsafe in the world, and sadly that reputation is well-earned. Not all the cars here are new, either. There are lots of beaters that look and sound like they're on their last legs and should've been recycled a long time ago. But they can still be kept running, and just like at home not everyone can buy a new car every year.

Toyota is very popular here, with models from their tiniest to their fanciest. The new Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro are very popular with the younger guys - can't imagine why, unless it's the same stuff that we enjoyed when the originals came out - great styling, great engines!

I'll mention that conditions here are extremely dry and dusty most of the year. There is quite a cadre of intrepid young men who work the huge parking lots, armed with buckets, soap, rags, and 5 gallon jugs of water. They work the lots all day washing cars for the equivalent of about $4 each. No hoses, no wasted water, and these cars are kept spotless! Quite a little underground business.

In November there was a car and motorcycle show on camp, and I went down and got a few shots. Here are a few of the collectible vehicles shown that day!  I'm not certain on the years for these guys:
1949 Cadilac

 1960 VW Beetle

1964 Chevy Impala

1960s Cooper Mini

1967 Chevy Camaro

Office Photo Contest

One of the significant challenges about living away from home is keeping yourself occupied. It is amazing how many things you do at home that aren't part of your life when you step far away. Either they aren't needed when you're gone, or if they are important someone else takes them on (thank you Dana for picking up so much in my absence!!).

So when you relocated, suddenly you have time available, and different people handle that in different ways. Some folks I know here watch TV all the time - maybe that's also what they did at home for fun - but I get the feeling they aren't very satisfied with it.

Other people pick up hobbies - there are many offerings here, but most of them require driving or significant investment, neither of which are available to me. Some of us expand on a skill we already have and work to improve. Fortunately for me, I like photography.

I'm kind of an odd mix, really.  I love machinery and gadgets and figuring out how things work. I'm good with tools and wood, and love building things. I'm very effective as a technical writer to analyze and determine the precise steps required to complete a task or procedure. But I have a creative side that isn't satisfied with this work.

Before I came here I was advised not to bring a good camera, because the dust and desert would eat it up, and "there's nothing here to take pictures of anyway." Sadly, I believed this and just brought a simple camera that I've rarely used since figuring out it simply couldn't provide what I wanted to produce. So through effective perusing of the camp "For Sale" site I've pretty much recreated the camera kit I have at home. Fortunately no damage has occurred from the environment, and I have found no lack of terrific subjects to photograph!

There are four of us in my work group who are interested in photography and we have started a monthly contest, with a randomly drawn subject each time. We each have a month to come up with our four top images of the subject. In July, as Dana and I were planning on a European cruise, the subject of "water" was chosen for the next contest!

Sadly, nobody here gets me. I took and submitted images that I was confident clearly expressed "water," based on my understanding that the theme meant the subject was to be water! I didn't win. Sometimes I guess I'm just too clever for my own good, but clearly my "all water" images were too vague for the judges who didn't share my vision. The winning top three images are lovely, I don't intend to demean my co-workers, whose beautiful images of buildings, etc, with water as an element, CLEARLY CHEATED!! WATER. JUST WATER YOU GUYS!!!  OK, sorry, I'm better now. <sniff>

So here are my four entries, with a little description of what I was going for, although my lovely, wonderful, brilliant, perceptive, beautiful (I'm sure!) readers will doubtless see my purpose straightaway! You folks are fantastic!! :)

OK, you gotta get this one. Pretty obvious here, eh? Sun reflection on WATER. This was my most popular shot in the voting.

This one stumped people. One of the judges noted that the WATER was great - texture, color, motions - but that the water stopped and then there were just clouds.  <sigh> OK class, all together, what are clouds made of? What's that?? I couldn't hear you . . . Yes, that's right - WATER!!

They liked this one. Again, if you slap them hard enough they get it. This one has obvious WATER! Plus, it has texture, depth, and motion. One judge complained that if I was going to show something like this why didn't I show larger waves? <hand on forehead> Right, I guess I should've prayed harder for rougher seas and higher wind!

I am very proud of this one. I know you guys will see it right off, but nobody here understood. There's WATER everywhere - lake, clouds, snow, ice, blue glacier ice, and - although you can't tell it at this resolution - waterfalls coming off the glacier. Amazingly artistic and visionary, eh?

Well, those are my four contest entries, and I'm certain at least three of these should have been in the top three. All kidding aside, we had a great group of images in this month's contest! Next month, though, I'll keep it simple and OBVIOUS when shooting the next topic: landscapes.

BONUS IMAGE: I didn't submit this one, even though it was one of my faves.  I will title this "In Flight," and whichever brilliant, intelligent, delightful reader figures it out first will get a personalized congratulatory email from the artist!! :)

Best to all - more soon!! Mark

#North Atlantic  #cruise  #water photo

Product Tracking - Be careful what you talk about

Dana and I were fortunate enough to get to spend two weeks together earlier this month - a lovely trip that took us to Great Britain, a couple of North Atlantic islands, Iceland, and Norway, and gave us some much needed time together! More on the trip later.

My birthday was a month before we met at Heathrow Airport in London. I don't trust that things sent to me here are going to reach me here, so she brought my present and gave it to me in London.  I love watches, among other thing mechanical, and have quite a few. Sadly, my skin has changed over the last decade or so and the metal in the bands and/or case breaks me out pretty badly, so I rarely wear my watches any more.

Dana found a watch that is cased and banded with wood! How delightful is that? My new watch is enclosed in walnut, looks great, fits perfectly, and is light as a feather! The company, Jord Wood Watch, enclosed a nice little card that said, in effect, post pictures of your watch out in the world, tag it with #jordwoodwatch, and be eligible for monthly prizes.

Earlier this week I did just that on Facebook.  I do not Tweet, but I added the hashtag, as requested, at the end of my post showing my watch in Greenwich, England, at the marker for the prime meridian (we took pictures of this cool watch all through our trip!) Here's the shot:

Now, I've seen the effect on web pages I visit after I search for something on Amazon - the item I searched for will likely show up in a few places over the next few days.  Quite a different response with this - that hashtag thing must be powerful.  Almost any website I look at has an ad for Jord watches. On Facebook, on Youtube, on the weather site I prefer, all over the place. Little popup ads, great big banner ads, small sidebar ads, and they seem to be increasing!

So the moral of this is: they are out there, and they are watching your keystrokes. They are monitoring your searches, deciphering your wants, watching for your needs, predicting what you will wish for next, so they can SELL you something!! No, not Jord - they just sell wood watches (which I do highly recommend!!). I mean every marketer and website and manufacturer with a budget for social media marketing is aggressively tracking everything you do, see, search and shop for online.

To be honest, I can't decide if I feel more amused or threatened by this.  Is it a great opportunity for the great marketing machine in the web to do my shopping for me? Or is big brother standing right behind the marketing guys taking in a whole 'nother batch of information to keep track of everyone?  I just don't know.  

Just be aware. This is going on very quietly, without most people realizing every move they make is being tracked. And apparently Facebook's Messenger app for smart phones is the worst - but that's another tale.

For now, here's another watch shot! #jordwoodwatch #Geirangerfjord (more on this later!!)

More Heat!

Ok, this will be short and quick, just an update to yesterday's post. Today was even worse! Here's a look at today's temps. At 0700 when I walked to work the temp was 90 and the heat index was 115. Not too bad.  Through the day it went up and down as the humidity level changed. When I walked at lunch the heat index was 112, and at 1600 (4 p.m.) the heat index was 124:

Wow that felt HOT. But at 2130 (9 p.m.) it was truly sweltering! With temp of 99 and humidity of 63%, the heat index was 128.

The AC struggles to keep up with it, and they do AC on an industrial scale over here! When you walk out the door it doesn't just take your breath, it pretty much slams your whole body. It presses in on you because the air is so heavy! The ambient temp is supposed to reach 108 tomorrow with similar humidity - can't wait to see what happens!

Just thought I'd share.  How's your weather?  :)

Heat - it's all in my head

Here's another of the different kind of posts - not a travelogue or photo gallery, but delivery of some thoughts that have been rattling around in my head lately.  Be forewarned, these are gonna pop up her occasionally!

Living in Saudi Arabia certainly has built in challanges. Large among those is being, oh, 7500 or so miles from home. That is a major factor, and we're doing our best to deal with it.

Another big player is the heat. Yes, it does get toasty here in the summer! So far this summer we've seen 121 degrees F, in a week with 115+ every day, and it does get wearying. But it's doable, because for the first part of the summer it is dry - 10% humidity or less because the NW wind brings the air in after being baked by hundreds of miles of desert.

What's worse is the weather now. Today's high at noon was 109, but the humidity was almost 40%, so the heat index was 121. 121 degrees with no humidity is easily tolerable.  With high humidity it feels like you are walking through your dishwasher! It doesn't take your breath, but it does make it hard to breathe - like you just can't get enough into your lungs. 

If you walk outside with glasses on they are instantly frosted like a glass of iced tea outside on your porch in the summer.  Fire alarms go off from the high water content in the air. People go well out of their way to walk through adjacent buildings instead of around them, because every minute of being out in that soup means your clothes have more sweat in them that cannot evaporate until you go inside.  It can be pretty miserable, if you let it. I don't.

I grew up in a house with no air conditioning, traveling in cars with a similar lack of A/C. It wasn't tough, and it wasn't unbearable. It just was, and we dealt with it as best we could, lacking experience of anything different. We sat outside on the porch or under a shady tree.  We opened windows and hoped for any breathe of air to blow through the house. Lacking a breeze we used electric fans, which were a great source of entertainment - did you know you can make lots of cool noises with your voice by getting in close to the fan blade?

We sweated a lot, but we drank lots of tap water (or from the hose, or creek, or any source we happened across). We still played baseball and football and flew kites and rode our bikes and hiked and camped and climbed trees and had a great time! And we grew up pretty well not knowing at all what we were missing by not having air conditioning!

I know my family and friends think I'm crazy, but I still take a walk after lunch here every day (just under a mile today)! Tonight I walked to the gym and back, about 1.5 miles, with heat index about 115. I got back to my room soaked to the skin, but I drank water and cooled off and feel really good. 

After my lunch walk I came in at the same time as one of my good Arab friends. He's a little older than me, and told me of growing up in his grandmother's house with no electricity. He had pretty much the same experience as me, except no fan, no lights, and in Saudi Arabia! He said he did his homework and reading at night, outside on a table with a lamp. Just like us, all the windows would be open and everyone praying for a breeze. But that was just life - you dealt with it

So I will continue to exercise in the heat, just like I would do at home if I had to work outside all day in the hot, humid Arkansas summer, and I've done loads of that! Just get out there, get used to it, tell myself, "Yeah, it's not so bad - I can do this," and get after it without another thought. I've been doing this my whole life - no need to change now.

Stay cool everyone!