Mania and the Decline of the Newspaper Industry

Hi Maria,

I will keep it short because of the short attention span of most readers.

This morning Good Morning America made it public that the newspaper industry is in rapid decline. A major cause of the decline is the result of attempting to pander to manic side of the bipolar personality; something that can not be sustained in the long run. The computer has made it possible to keep them interested in the short run, but racing a head of them is something we can do; but in the end, they always crash into their depression stage. Some return to their manic phase, others enter the realm schizophrenia from which there is no way out.

There is already enough at Lessonplans.com to satisfy a mentally healthy mind. That does not seem to be enough. I want to know what percentage of Americans that are now mentally sick. I am sure the percentage is over 5%. It could be as high as 50%.

Stephen

The difficulty identifying what is missing.

Hi Maria,

Identifying what is missing from Lessonplans.com is almost impossible to know when one does not know what should be there. One why of knowing is compare what you see from your home computer with what you see at the library. They should be the same. The difference is the effect of censoring.

Stephen

A Revolting Experience

Hi Maria,

I went to the Tarpon Springs Library yesterday to have a first time visit to USteam.TV. That was interesting and disappointing. I also visited Lessonplans.com. I was shocked to see that they had blocked all of the advertiser's ads. You should be aware that I pay my taxes with advertising revenue and all the other expenses. The money you receive is also from that source.

The Tarpon Springs Library takes all of my intellectual property, gives it away, pays me nothing and blocks any hope of someone else paying. Those people are like thieves.

I am very unhappy with those people and anyone else that does the same thing.

Stephen

http://www.lessonplans.com/stats/

Hi Maria,

Remember the lessonplans.com header? It refreshes every 60 seconds. A counter is incremented every time that happens. It is in fact a clock. You can get the refresh count from this URL. http://www.lessonplans.com/stats/

You can also get the visitor count from the same address. Knowing this data, you can calculate the average number of seconds a visitor stays at Lessonplans.com.

This is how I know the average length of a visitor's attention span.

Stephen

St. Petersburg Time's Fast Facts

Hi Maria,

This morning I asked a Wachovia teller if she read the St. Petersburg Times. She said that she did not have time. I told her about Fast Facts. She said that she would only have enough spare time to read Fast Facts. That would be about 30 seconds. The elapse time that we have at a red light. That is also enough time to read a short message on your Iphone.

Our shrinking attention span has negative consequences. One of these is the demise of the newspaper. There are others.

Stephen

Fast Facts

Hi Maria,

The St. Petersburg Times has added Fast Facts. It is a summary of what is in the article stated as bullet points. It is for readers that want to get the main points without taking the time to read the article before darting off to something else. I would add that this began happening in the Scientific American and Scientific Mind a few months ago, but I may have already stressed the attention span of my readers. So, I will stop here.

What value is writing without readers?

Stephen

Make it relevant.

Hi Maria,

Make it relevant! Relevant to who or what? This can be a dangerous logic trap, especially when attempting to satisfy bored students.

They would be interested if only I could make it relevant to them. It will never happen, so do not even try.

Make what you do relevant to what the student will need to know at the next level. That is enough.

It is their responsibility to learn what is being taught. Telling their friends that you are a boring teacher is their non-violent way of discrediting you; remember that.

Stephen

You can now visit Lessonplans.com with your iPhone.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/

Maria,

Last night I visited Lessonplans.com from the Lime-N-Coconut with an iPhone. It was a first time experience for me. Prior to that, I did not think that with such a small device I could see much. That is not the case. You can quickly zoom, scroll and navigate so see what you would with your PC.

The iPhone has made the Internet available from almost everywhere. It is a giant step forward.

Stephen

Words of Wisdom

'We understand you can't save your way out of a recession; you spend your way out. "

Source: CEO/president Chuck Mulloy of Intel

Could This Person Be Perceiving Reality Clearly?

Hi Maria,

I copied the following post from Macy's Yahoo bulletin board. It appears to be the thoughts of a rapper. My first reaction was negative. At first, this person has zero creditability. Upon thinking about it for a few days. I am not so sure. I think he should be taken seriously.

Stephen
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Layoffs are coming in the investment industry because too many people are clearly pulling their $$$ out (Baby Boomers actually WANT a retirement) and there's NO NEW money coming in. There are NO CATALYSTS to move this market up. Get out NOW before you lose it all. The "Investment Professionals (LOL)" CAN'T tell you the TRUTH because they're LEECHING off of your hard earned $$$ in management FEES to feed THEIR FAMILIES (they certainly DON'T CARE about yours)!! I can tell you the truth, the financial advisers WON'T, because they need to make FEE $$$. Don't go down with them!!! Get your $$$ out of stocks and yes, BONDS also, and into CASH (Bank CD's are a lot better than losing bigtime $$$ and RUINING your life). HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU'VE WORKED FOR AND KEEP IT! These guys will say ANYTHING to keep you at the CRAPS TABLE!Capitalism is based ultimately upon two polarities: how much can I charge for my good or service? and secondly: how little can I pay my employees to sell it for me? Obviously, the aristocracy at the top would want to charge the most while paying the least. However, charge too much, no consumer will consume, pay too little, no worker will work.WHAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING TODAY IS A COMPLEX PRODUCT OF CHEAP GOODS AND UNDERPAID EMPLOYEES!! Most reported employment growth is actually a complete "ILLUSION" as these are LOW PAYING CRAPPY JOBS!!!! MOST PEOPLE TODAY BARELY HAVE ENOUGH FOR BASIC NEEDS!!!My life and world are run and controlled by corporations, not good government, nor the fable of democracy.The rich have been accumulating MASSIVE WEALTH on the backs of the poor for years. Wealth should not be a product of how much I can F'UCK over the next guy, but rather a distribution of resources "more equally" amongst all the people. The days of the $50 million/year CEO's are indeed numbered.These "PUDGY" DRUNK Wall Street PRICKS (hanging out in Miami and London on your dollar!) just want FEE INCOME from YOUR hard earned $$! They are nothing but lazy DEGENERATE GAMBLERS! Keep your $$$ and take care of your family (they sure as hell DON'T care). This economy is collapsing as we speak. Don't buy any more stock - the smart $$$ is getting out now - I hope you're not too blind or stupid to see it. Recession? You ain't seen nothin yet we're facing a DEPRESSION that WILL last longer than any of you would have ever believed. Greed does NOT work in the long run.As Abe Lincoln said: "A House Divided CANNOT Stand" - and this DOES actually hold true on Wall Street! If everyone is at each others THROATS competing, backstabbing, and trading stocks between one another trying to profit off each others' backs WITHOUT hard work - the house WILL (and actually is) coming down. People today are Lonelier and Lazier than ever before - Please DON'T buy into this PONZI SCAM happening on Wall Street.Its time for these CLOWNS in $2,000 suits on CNBC to roll up their sleeves and do an honest day's work instead of GAMBLING YOUR $$$!! They deserve to go to WORK like the rest of us and stop gambling and flapping their big mouths - they don't know SQUAT and THEY KNOW IT!I'm LAUGHING MY ASS OFF right now listening to their conflicting OPINIONS - what a JOKE!! HOLD on to your $$...none of them are LEECHING off my family anymore. The CRAPS game is OVER!!!"

Intimidation of teachers worries board member

Hi Maria,

Intimidation of teachers worries Pinellas County, FL board member. Students that intimidate teachers is something we do not like to talk about. We do not even want to admit that it is happening. Elementary and middle school student never intimidated me. However, some high school student did. I just thought it was a part of my character flaw until I met Paul Beverly. At the time he admitted to me that he intentionally intimidated a teacher was when he was in his 70's.

Paul was a large men who after graduating from high school became a Marine. He told me he hover around a certain high school teacher to make him feel uncomfortable. He was a small male teacher and Paul was a contemptuous student. I am sure that the teacher was afraid of Paul.

It is still happening. "We have had black students tell white teachers, 'We don't want youo here because this is a black school,'" Brown said. Source: St. Petersburg Times.

I feel fortunate that I do not need to deal with this problem.

Stephen

Cyberbullying on the Rise

Hi Maria,

This was in the St. Petersburg Times.

• 18 percent of students in Grades 6-8 said they've been cyberbullied at least once in the past two months.
• 11 percent of students in Grade 6-8 said they had cyberbullied another person at least once in the last two months.
• Almost one in five regular Internet users between 10 to 17 reported being involved in online aggression; 15 percent had been aggressors, 7 percent had been targets, and 3 percent were both aggressors and targets.
• 17 percent of the 6 to 11-year-olds and 36 percent of the 12 to 17-year-olds reported that someone said threatening or embarrassing things about them through e-mail, instant messages, Web sites, chat rooms or text messages.
• Girls were about twice as likely as boys to be victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying

Source: Health Resources and Service Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Bipolar [manic-depressive] Personality

Maria,

Rush Limbaugh, Manny Pardy, Jim Walker, Mary White and Robin Williams, actor, have one thing in common. They are bipolar. One thing they routinely do is talk over others. They listen only long enough to get direction. They then talk intensely, loudly and rapidly until the listener is beaten into submission. At that point the listener exits or does something to rid themselve of the annoyance.

Two of the people on this list have been teachers. Listen to Rush on the AM band. Do it from the next room. While at your computer, have Rush in the background. You should not be able to understand what he is saying. That is important because what he is saying masks his mania. It is the cadence of his speech that reveals his bipolar personality.

Ned listened to Rush religiously for years and became a Rushite before his death. I find it interesting that someone with a mental health problem can rise to prominence. Rush is the respected spokesperson for the Republican Party. He has both wealth and fame. Perhaps I should include health. From his perspective, I am sure he thinks he is healthy. From my perspective, I think he is mentally sick.

Stephen