Nine Shift

Normal is the only norm

Well, I'm often too stressed or depressed to stay current with our report on "Will Willie graduate?" 

The update: It wasn't looking good Friday morning, til Julie got word from the school about some new alternatives to making up courses and graduating.  So we are still trying to pass the few remaining courses, but have some alternatives as back up. 

The school continues to believe that every student has to be "normal."  Only at this school, where Darwinism seems to be reigning, they believe that the more academic punishment, the better. The more work, the more overwork, the more overwhelmed a student is... the BETTER they are as a school. 

They think they are making a superior student.  But they are still a factory, just turning out a Lexus instead of the Chevy our public high schools produce. 

And if a student has a different learning style, then that person is abnormal or sub-normal or something ill defined... but bad, or "too bad."   

Traffic delays grow, and grow...

Today's news: the annual traffic congestion study from the Texas Transportation Institute was released today.

"There is no single solution that can reverse the growth in congestion," Lomax says. "The deliberations in Congress, decisions by state and local elected officials, the results of voter initiatives last fall, and our research findings recognize that reality," he added.

   The TTI study ranks areas according to several measurements, including:

   -- Annual delay per peak period (rush hour) traveler, which has grown from 16 hours to 47 hours since 1982

-- Number of urban areas with more than 20 hours of annual delay per peak traveler, which has grown from only 5 in 1982 to 51 in 2003

   -- Total amount of delay, reaching 3.7 billion hours in 2003

   -- Wasted fuel, totaling 2.3 billion gallons lost to engines idling in traffic jams.

No single solution. Actually no solution at all. Except light rail and trains. Come on Americans, get moving.