rangeor

Die? What? 1885 here. Going to Atlanta for FTC, but unfortunately lost in the semifinals today in FRC. :( Thought we also had a good shot at Chairman's, but unfortunately didn't win it. But I'd be glad to help! I'd like an actual image of your logo, though, rather than just a shrunk-down version of it on the banner.

You're completely wrong with your view of the No Child Left Behind Act as well as your plan of fixing it. The problem lies within the tests, but not the, "dumbing down," of the tests. They've always been ridiculously easy. The problem is they don't teach students anything. Teachers base entire curricula on one test, forcing rote memorization on students to get high passing rates. Students learn NOTHING. In history class, we memorize dates and events and people and wars. And that's all we do for twelve years. The only time I've actually had a change of pace was when I took AP European History. There was much more memorization, but luckily a little bit of analysis of political documents old and new. But that was rare, and it felt like the previous years of history with more rote memorization than was ever necessary. Thankfully it's difficult to ruin a mathematics course; by the time a student gets to Algebra 2 or Trigonometry, they're going to start having to think hard regardless of their intelligence or competence of the teacher/course. The worst that can happen is the student gets a bad teacher and curriculum, causing them to be unable to grasp the concepts. At least in this case there is actually useful material to be learned for whoever takes the course, unlike history, which really only makes a major effect on students interested in politics or a few other vocations. While fascinating and essential to know in some jobs, history really isn't as useful as schools would like to think. Unfortunately it is very rare for a student to actually obtain a good education prior to university. It isn't always a case of a student getting a bad teacher, and unlike the students' opinions, most teachers actually are good teachers. They just have to teach material that doesn't do the students any good, otherwise none of the students will graduate because they'll end up failing a ridiculously easy and useless test. AP courses are rarely any better. While they do give a better idea of the difficulty of the work a student should expect in the course in college, they still don't learn much. More often than not the teachers are people with measly teaching degrees and a training course on how to teach an AP course that lasts a few weeks. With the difference in college being actual access to a real professor with a Master's degree and actual experience in fields related to the courses.

This news shocks me. It initially made me briefly question the direction humanity is heading towards, until I read the content and noticed negligible amounts of justification. Next.

The constitution update doesn't currently seem like it will make too large of an impact. +- .4 points of damage (well now 4 actually) really isn't that big of a deal. Though it is a step in the right direction, and I'm interested to see what plans they have for it once the blog is up. edit: Seems useful enough, I won't complain. I also love the In Other News... section :D

Working and making money does not mean you get no free time. The cliched image of a man with a boring suit driving through a boring commute to work all day at a boring office job to come home to a boring life with no time for fun is completely unrealistic. The people who actually do work so much they don't have any free time is because they're working the type of job they love. Animators, musicians, architects, and many other people work around the clock because they enjoy what they do and getting paid to do it makes it worth the time. Then there are the people who have sub-par but still existent skill sets that work mediocre jobs to get by and spend their free time on hobbies they enjoy, such video games or music. You seem to enjoy traveling, so I'd suggest looking into a career regarding international relations.

Heh, The Dark Trail happens to be the first one I'm covering :P Then it's Quarter Past, Semi-Fiction, Oh the Casino, Ex-Creations, and Panama. It's gonna be sick. And I can agree with Runescape requiring patience, but it really doesn't require much intelligence at all.

To those who don't: the world goes on as normal. NO +800 D: They actually have a show about an hour away from me in April and the tickets are only $12, but my parents refuse to let me go for completely trivial reasons. It's really upsetting. Though my friend and I are covering all of the songs off of Manipulator in honor of them D:

Rhinestone Eyes by The Gorillaz

Last year I finished the last required year of Spanish in my county, and most other American public schools, which would be Spanish 3. I honestly do not remember much of it at all, and would be very unprepared if I traveled to a country that speaks Spanish. I think it should be mandatory through elementary and middle school but optional during high school, even though I most likely would not take it, if I was taught well at those young ages I would be better prepared to possibly learn a different language in the future.

Panic Attack by The Fall of Troy. R.I.P. :cry:

http://thefalloftroy.com/ NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :'( edit: I'm so upset I don't even care that I made a page-scroller D: Mod edit: Please have some consideration for other users. ~Rainy_Day

Oh man, this is going to be awesome! First I'll use up all my charms, then spend the rest of the time runecrafting! :D

I really like the oatmeal. This is probably my favorite :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_gUuJHDSvE I really have nothing better to do. :<

Well, first of all, ditch the iPod Touch. You've got until April, so think of something cheaper and more original.

In my opinion #7 would have been a decent choice if it didn't have that annoying whisper-singing >.> And in #8, the rave scene was brilliant, but everything else was sub-par, so I didn't vote. I chose #2.

That sounds like it was awesome, mage man. There's a Muse concert going on in about a week, but the tickets have been sold out since december. I know, because I've been checking every other day >.>

If everyone in the world used the, "life isn't fair," justification, then how do you think the world would be? Life would suck a lot more, I can tell you that much.

I love the colors. But I can't tell what it is :huh:

Yeah, it's definitely the low-fi theme. It's a big hindrance in some cases, but it's so much quicker at loading that it makes it worth it in my opinion :P

Learn russian! Then, shout randomly at people in the streets. Slavic languages are tame. People are going to know you're speaking some form of "Russian." He should learn something unusually niche like Estonian and use that instead. I feel like I am missing a reference. If he's from America, and I'm pretty sure he is, then learning any language other than French, Spanish or German will impress the hell out of most people :P

What makes you think girls will be any better?

My friends have talked to me about all the terrible questions they get asked. I've even seen multiple drama-related questions shot down by a quick and succinct "who r u to ask dat."

If I found myself fighting a 150 pound penguin... I'm not really sure. I don't know how dangerous a rabid 150-pound penguin would be. Or a 150-pound grizzly! He'd have to be like, super-thin and weak to be 150 pounds. That would make it easy. Or a 150-pound starfish. But I'd probably just surrender in that case. I'd be too scared to touch it; I'm a wimp when it comes to sea creatures.

I found the healing dharok amusing, but I agree that the insults just make you look like a jerk. Congrats Spiroff! :D