waltondammerung

Strong arm of the law

If Deuteronomy 19:15-1919 was always obeyed wherever the supposed biblical mandate for capital punishment is followed, then I might have enough confidence in the United States criminal justice system to support the death penalty. Maybe.

Purpose-driven week

I started to read A Purpose Driven Life, but I didn't get very far because it seemed kind of low on good, substantial spiritual meat. Maybe it has redeeming qualities, namely that it points its readers to the Bible and encourages a way of living that is centered around service for others. (Really, what more could you ask of a book, if you think about it?)

Anyway, happy week after Easter, and may we always remember the reason our faith in Christ is even possible.

Moo Kaluka

Now that we've been back from Hawaii for two weeks, here are some photos. Please click any photo to see a larger version.
Pearl Harbor
USS Missouri

The USS Arizona Memorial

Inside the Arizona Memorial

Part of a gun turret from the submerged USS Arizona

Inside the Arizona Memorial

Diamond Head Crater
As seen from Waikiki. I hiked to the highest point (not very high).

Inside the crater

Diamond Head lighthouse from halfway up the crater

The view to the North of the crater

Flowers inside the crater

Waikiki as seen from the top of the crater

Kualoa Beach
Chinaman's Hat

Weird birds that look like they have cardinal heads grafted to their necks.

White birds that look a little washed out in the photo, they are so white.

White birds fighting, but gracefully.

Kualoa Ranch
I went horseback riding at the ranch where they filmed Jurassic Park. Unfortunately, it is rather hard to take pictures while riding a horse, so I have these from after I had dismounted:

Lighting the Torches in Waikiki
The Torch-dude is announced by other dudes blowing conch shells.

The Torch.

Iolani Palace
The palace

Grave of King Kamehameha

Hanauma Bay
We went snorkeling here. There are no pictures of the best part of this experience, since my camera is not waterproof. You can see the reef in the photo--it's the dark area in the water. I hate swimming, but I loved this!

Words of Wisdom, Part II

"Writing is another powerful strategy that promotes discovery, comprehension, and retention of information. In recent years, teachers have begun to use the writing process and its various phases as an integral part of their content-area classrooms. They have found that writing helps students clarify their thoughts and remember what they have learned... Recent research has supported the use of writing in content areas by showing that students who write tend to understand more and remember more." Wow. Really.

Working stiffs

Apparently, only 25% of blog readers are women (or at least not men). I'm guessing, though, that even that other 75% might be interested to learn that the "fact" that women earn less than men for the same work is a myth. Women are simply less willing to trade quality of life for money, so they work fewer hours, look for jobs that give them more vacation days, etc. When women work the same hours in jobs that require the same level of sacrifice as men, they usually make significantly more than men. How bout them apples? To read more, see this article about a new book called Why Men Earn More.

Not many people know this, that my planet is Polynesian in nature!

Brief update on my life: arrived home very early yesterday morning from a trip to lovely Oahu with my better half. Busy catching up on homework and cleaning. Apparently a hurricane hit our apartment while we were gone.

This is Waikiki as seen from the nearby pier. Our hotel is the short one just to the left of the three hotels stair-stepped on the right. More photos to come.

Words of wisdom

From a chapter in my TESOL textbook entitled "Extensive reading: the foundation of every reading program":
"National tests indicate that one of the most important features of a school where students score high on reading tests is that its students do a lot of daily reading."

I never would have guessed. Just think what pearls of wisdom I'd be getting if I were taking this TESOL course in an actual classroom instead of just online.