tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post886332576140573377..comments2024-03-19T07:48:54.021-06:00Comments on Gus Van Horn: Quick Roundup 356Gus Van Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-42935401256831671852008-08-29T08:54:00.000-06:002008-08-29T08:54:00.000-06:00It's a good story, but I'm writing under a pseudon...It's a good story, but I'm writing under a pseudonym and it'd blow my cover, which I intend to keep unless I'm <A HREF="http://gusvanhorn.blogspot.com/2008/08/change-we-should-run-from.html" REL="nofollow">elected President</A> or something like that!Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-43979973219389879682008-08-29T02:18:00.000-06:002008-08-29T02:18:00.000-06:00I want to hear the punching story! :DRory/TenureI want to hear the punching story! :D<BR/><BR/>Rory/TenureTenurehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05508697774184528482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-36001290287650124232008-08-20T20:14:00.000-06:002008-08-20T20:14:00.000-06:00I also felt different then, but I suspect that the...I also felt different then, but I suspect that the small class size, combined with having instructors who cared more about what they were doing than the average public school teacher helped by providing another source of approval than other kids as well as a more constructive way of gaining it.<BR/><BR/>But life wasn't a bed of roses. School was full of kids better off than I was, and the popular preppy brands weren't affordable, so I felt a little self-conscious about that, for example.<BR/><BR/>And I found pep rallies and other such mass activities completely pointless.<BR/><BR/>To this day, I look askance at fads and almost anything that is popular for no apparent reason. Fads seemed somehow wrong then, and they seem silly now.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-65234904958465846502008-08-20T19:06:00.000-06:002008-08-20T19:06:00.000-06:00That essay about high school hits every target, an...That essay about high school hits every target, and strikes deep. I've <I>so</I> been there. The writer even notes that while the life of the nerd can be hell, they usually are not willing to trade away being smarter in order to be more popular.<BR/><BR/>Her parallels between high school and prison are DEAD ON... I made that connection frequently back then, and still do now.<BR/><BR/>In my case, I knew I was different, but held two paradoxical views of that difference.<BR/><BR/>One, was that I lacked something they all had, which is why they had friends etc. while I didn't (actually I did, but didn't really see it until it was too late). The flip side of that was that I was somehow superior to them because I was not vulnerable to the stupid things teenagers do to conform.<BR/><BR/>The upshot of that paradox was that I came to the conclusion that whatever it was that I needed to do to "belong", would cost me my soul (via conformity) -- and I refused. I refused to the point of walking out of high school in ninth grade and never looking back. (How I managed that in the era of mandatory schooling is another, long story).<BR/><BR/>The experience colors my personality to this day; I am still too quick to get combative if I pick up any kind of intimidation vibe coming from anyone, anywhere... rather like Marty McFly in "Back to the Future" with the word "chicken" :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-57857427137867000372008-08-20T12:48:00.000-06:002008-08-20T12:48:00.000-06:00Heh! She could have written some of this stuff!Heh! She could have written <A HREF="http://www.pawsperouspets.com/humor/catdiary.shtml" REL="nofollow">some of this stuff</A>!Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-37470594521846805012008-08-20T12:41:00.000-06:002008-08-20T12:41:00.000-06:00Re: how your cat sees things. I'd be careful if I...Re: how your cat sees things. I'd be careful if I were you. I won't post it here because of the length, but if you really want to know what cats think, Google "cat diary". What you find may be shocking, but not surprising. Be careful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-86147676723657390182008-08-20T10:08:00.000-06:002008-08-20T10:08:00.000-06:00"I also think it has to do with the fact that with..."<I>I also think it has to do with the fact that with warmer weather and longer daylight hours, more people are also doing outdoors type stuff.</I>"<BR/><BR/>What?!?! When they <B>could</B>be reading my blog instead?<BR/><BR/>Heh!Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-37741565142196420922008-08-20T09:53:00.000-06:002008-08-20T09:53:00.000-06:00The drop in summer traffic is pretty much standard...The drop in summer traffic is pretty much standard across the Internet. Radio Dismuke listenership drops every year during the warm weather months and then begins to pick back up during the fall. Some years you can also expect a bit of a dip around Christmas time. I usually have good traffic numbers in February and March but things start to level off in April and drop like a rock about the time school gets out.<BR/><BR/>I have also noticed the phenomenon on message boards as well - there is usually a decline in posting activity during those months. <BR/><BR/>I also think it has to do with the fact that with warmer weather and longer daylight hours, more people are also doing outdoors type stuff. Also a lot of people are away on vacation. That is one thing that I guess the "old media" had figured out a long time ago - which is why television networks go into reruns during the summer and back in the day the radio networks ran replacement programing.<BR/><BR/>This year, at least for my online endeavors and based on my off-the-cuff feel for the message boards I follow, the drop does not seem to be as sharp as it usually is. I wonder if that might have something to do with high gas prices. People might be spending more time at home to save money on gas and on entertainment expenses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com