How Screwed Are We?
Oct. 5th, 2003 04:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ciroccojI think that at some point this year I may very well be forced to poke my own eyes out. Just to have something to do.
Just finished an assignment on Alternative Dispute Resolution between a mall manager, a mall security guard, a patron, and his blue-haired teenage son. I want to cry. Tears of joy, because I'm finally done. And tears of anguish, because it's only the first of 4 assignments. And... man, I don't even like to go into malls to shop. I sure as hell don't want to read or write about them.
I'm also in the unenviable position of not being able to decide, at this moment, whether I want to do more readings on The Mall for ADR, or more readings about flax crops and manure, for Property, or more readings on people who got a 6'9" deep pool when they paid for a 7'1" pool, for Contracts.
It's like a choice between watching the Weather Channel, the TV Guide Channel, or the Golf Network. Decisions, decisions.
Oh well.
In other news, re: Daniel,
On Friday, on the way to school, Daniel started asking me geography questions. Now, my dad's an airline pilot and I've lived on four continents and visited every one of them except for Antartica, so geography is one of my fortes. In traditional Trivial Pursuit? My favourite topics were Science, then History, then Geography. Arts & Lit was OK, nosohot with the Entertainment, and bloody useless with Sports & Leisure.
So, Daniel says "What are the Seven Seas?"
"Um, well, the Atlantic and Pacific - although technically they're oceans-"
"What's an ocean?"
"A body of water larger than a sea. So, Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, Antarctic... uh... Mediterranean... (I make note to myself to look up "seven seas" at home) And I don't know the last one. I'll have to look it up." (Incidentally, they're actually the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian, Antarctic, and Arctic Oceans.)
"And why is the Atlantic called the Atlantic?"
"Uh... I think it's named after the god Atlas."
"It's not named after Atlantis?"
"Uh..." (note: look up etymology of 'Atlantic')
"And why is the Pacific called the Pacific?"
Oh! I know this one! "Because Pacific means 'peaceful'."
"Is the Pacific peaceful?"
"No, actually, it's not, there's lots of big storms-"
"So why is it called the Pacific?"
"Uh..." (note: try to figure out where the hell I can look up the reasoning behind naming the Pacific)
"And where's Tripoli?"
"In, uh... Lebanon. No, Libya."
"Where's that?"
"Northern Africa."
"Oh. Is that in the tropics?"
"Yeah, I guess so-" (mental note to look that up too)
"What are the sub-tropics?"
"The land south of the tropics. Daniel, where are you getting all these questions?"
"From James and the Giant Peach. So is Libya in the tropics or the sub-tropics?"
"Oh, look at that! We're at your school." (sigh of relief, as I'm waaay out of my element here)
So then that night, Daniel starts asking Chris about electricity and magnetism. And how are magnets and electricity and gravity related? And what makes the northern lights? And what can bend light? And are photons charged? And does gravity affect electrons? And what about magnetism - does it affect photons as well? And what's the Unified Field Theory? And - and at this point, Chris starts getting the same look I had on the way to school. The deer-in-the-headlights look of a parent who honestly thought he'd have a little more time before his kid started to realize that Dad doesn't, after all, know everything. And that really, Dad doesn't seem to know very much at all.
We're so screwed.
Just finished an assignment on Alternative Dispute Resolution between a mall manager, a mall security guard, a patron, and his blue-haired teenage son. I want to cry. Tears of joy, because I'm finally done. And tears of anguish, because it's only the first of 4 assignments. And... man, I don't even like to go into malls to shop. I sure as hell don't want to read or write about them.
I'm also in the unenviable position of not being able to decide, at this moment, whether I want to do more readings on The Mall for ADR, or more readings about flax crops and manure, for Property, or more readings on people who got a 6'9" deep pool when they paid for a 7'1" pool, for Contracts.
It's like a choice between watching the Weather Channel, the TV Guide Channel, or the Golf Network. Decisions, decisions.
Oh well.
In other news, re: Daniel,
On Friday, on the way to school, Daniel started asking me geography questions. Now, my dad's an airline pilot and I've lived on four continents and visited every one of them except for Antartica, so geography is one of my fortes. In traditional Trivial Pursuit? My favourite topics were Science, then History, then Geography. Arts & Lit was OK, nosohot with the Entertainment, and bloody useless with Sports & Leisure.
So, Daniel says "What are the Seven Seas?"
"Um, well, the Atlantic and Pacific - although technically they're oceans-"
"What's an ocean?"
"A body of water larger than a sea. So, Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, Antarctic... uh... Mediterranean... (I make note to myself to look up "seven seas" at home) And I don't know the last one. I'll have to look it up." (Incidentally, they're actually the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian, Antarctic, and Arctic Oceans.)
"And why is the Atlantic called the Atlantic?"
"Uh... I think it's named after the god Atlas."
"It's not named after Atlantis?"
"Uh..." (note: look up etymology of 'Atlantic')
"And why is the Pacific called the Pacific?"
Oh! I know this one! "Because Pacific means 'peaceful'."
"Is the Pacific peaceful?"
"No, actually, it's not, there's lots of big storms-"
"So why is it called the Pacific?"
"Uh..." (note: try to figure out where the hell I can look up the reasoning behind naming the Pacific)
"And where's Tripoli?"
"In, uh... Lebanon. No, Libya."
"Where's that?"
"Northern Africa."
"Oh. Is that in the tropics?"
"Yeah, I guess so-" (mental note to look that up too)
"What are the sub-tropics?"
"The land south of the tropics. Daniel, where are you getting all these questions?"
"From James and the Giant Peach. So is Libya in the tropics or the sub-tropics?"
"Oh, look at that! We're at your school." (sigh of relief, as I'm waaay out of my element here)
So then that night, Daniel starts asking Chris about electricity and magnetism. And how are magnets and electricity and gravity related? And what makes the northern lights? And what can bend light? And are photons charged? And does gravity affect electrons? And what about magnetism - does it affect photons as well? And what's the Unified Field Theory? And - and at this point, Chris starts getting the same look I had on the way to school. The deer-in-the-headlights look of a parent who honestly thought he'd have a little more time before his kid started to realize that Dad doesn't, after all, know everything. And that really, Dad doesn't seem to know very much at all.
We're so screwed.
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no subject
Date: 2003-10-05 03:08 pm (UTC)So even if the Atlantic was named after Atlantis, it's still named after Atlas ;)
Pacific
Date: 2003-10-05 08:45 pm (UTC)I know the Pacific one--Magellan (thank you, askjeeves.com--I'd forgotten which explorer!) saw the Pacific and at that moment when he saw it, it was nice and calm, hence the name, despite all the storms.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-05 09:39 pm (UTC)The Atlantic *is* named after Atlantis, but I have no idea what the etymology of Atlantis is, so take
Also, the Pacific is apparently calmer in general than the Atlantic.
And the subtropics are below the Tropic of Capricorn. I think.
Also, Daniel? SCARY.