So I Haven't posted in A while why not an update?

I will hopefully be posting pictures soon but for this time it is all text.

I have been diligently training to fly helicopters, and I am pleased to announce that I am a fully rated Commercial Pilot. I am currently working on my CFI (flight instructor) and will be able to teach very soon

so on to the real reason I post this is for a school assignment.

Answers to this article,

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/education/18college.html?em

1. Is professor Grossman off the mark when he says “I tell my classes that if they just do what they are supposed to do and meet the standard requirements, that they will earn a C,” he said. “That is the default grade. They see the default grade as an A.” why?

A: there should not be a "default" this assumes incorrectly that all people can preform to a certain level and then those that put in the extra work receive a better grade. you should be graded based upon the amount of effort put into your work, just as in the real world. except in the real world you'll still get shafted for trying harder, so in the end it doesn't matter just do what your told because no one will be willing to pay more for better work. Unfortunately this is the average Americans belief. but who can blame them our current economic structure only rewards hard work with more taxes and stress on the already hard  worked. I'm not going to get into the classes argument, I just believe that everyone should be taxed evenly. it is unfair that the rich are taxed more just for succeeding through hard work and perseverance and give a break to Joe schmo who sits on his ass and plays xbox 30 hours a week. if Joe wants a better life he needs to go out and work for it, like his father and his before him.

2. What do you think is causing students to feel entitled to receive a good grade? Is it because a grade of A is now the expected default for "average" work where in reality a grade of A denotes "above average"? Are the students prior experiences in high school or earlier the cause? Are parents to cause "my child is perfect so it must be the instructors fault"? 

A: the notion of entitlement infuriates me. you get what you pay for and you get what you work for. granted there are people that have been born into wealth but they won't understand the happiness or the feeling of achieving your dreams. it's not the attainment of a goal it is looking back down the mountain and saying ya I did that. being satisfied with ones self is something that many people never truly achieve because the things you own end up owning you. as this indirectly answers the question, I will say that pointing Blame is childish and is very characteristic of the current generation not taking responsibility for it's action. as Robin  Williams said in his stand up routine for HBO "Live on Broadway", "My daddy was great my mom was great I'm just a shit head..." Blame is easily assigned  but accountability is the sign of a true leader. I think today's youth self absorbed in instant gratification where everyone is a winner is to blame.

3. Give your honest opinion of the article. Do you feel you deserve grades based on your effort or is it that you earned the grade you receive because of your effort? Anything else you would like to add?

A: I'm fairly sure I answered this above but I'll give the TL;DR

I feel the article was clumsy and oriented at placing blame instead of saying how jacked the American education system is. anyone know where Burma is with out looking it up? I would hope that my grade will reflect the amount of effort I put into it. it's one of the reason I dislike the redo stuff. if I fix something then I have put in extra work to learn from my mistakes. this should be rewarded by a better grade. if I go out of my way to really show competency or show mastery on the first go through then the A is deserved. otherwise get what you work for.

Thanks for reading and As always,  Talk to you soon
Bryan

Napier with Friends

So we went to Napier with Marketa and Stan ( our Czech friends).  We traveled  the city for a bit before going and laying on the pebble beach and burying Marketa in hot pebbles cause she was cold and watching Bryan run into the ocean and lose his 2nd pair of sunglasses and search for them. Its always a nice time here in Napier.

Driving into Napier on Marine Parade

A cool House that Bryan liked ( reminded him of the cat & dog show)

Bryan at the port of Napier

The Napier port

Stan and Marketa

The old Napier prison that they have made into a hotel..you can sleep on the old cell bunks for about $100 a night

The Prison

The garden that the prisoners used to have to work at

Bryan and Marketa infront of the waterfall

I wanted to climb to the waterfall so we did

They were cold

Just gorgeous

He loves to cuddle

Napier

Some cool old buildings

Odd motorcycle

Bryan jumping in the water

Bryan now searching for his sunglasses

And now hes out

She is always cold so we decided we were going to bury her in hot stones

Almost there

All done

One of the fountains here

And another

A beautiful garden that sits at the edge of the ocean

Too Funny

Kiwis

Huge on roller derby out here

The theater

Napier beach

Just like his mom basking in the sun

Napier beach is all small pebbles

Feeling the water

Enjoying life

Always throwing stones

Our Home ( for now)

where we live and some of the people we have encountered while we have been staying at the Eco Lodge. Many people here are French and German. But we have met alot of wonderful people, some of good friends are Czech. So enjoy the pictures

The Lodge that everyone hangs out at

John the main owner

The dining room and food storage area

Our kitchen we cook in

The main back area where laundry and BBQ is done

What most of the land here at the lodge looks like

Amazing sunsets here

Challenged the owner to pull-ups on a pull up bar we put up..

Bryan about to start his rounds

The boys BBQ dinner ( first time Stan and Marketa had homemade hamburgers)

Stan was getting his head shaved till it broke

Bryan being the barber

That is never a good sign to be distracted while shaving someones head

Bryan starting on his

Stan wanted to do Bryans head

And this is what we got as a end result from Stan

Bryan now playing with fire...never a good thing

Bryan and Stan welding

Our dinner

Our Cabin we live in

Kutchka the cat

The garden we take care of ( here is  cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes)

here is lettuce and some fruit

Beans and pumpkins

Our green house ( tomatoes, pumpkins and strawberries)

lettuce and pumpkins

And the rest of the yard

I love these flowers

Oh we also have grapes and asparagus

Amber saved another bird from the cats mouth

Toby the dog always comes to hang out at our place

Bryan being Bryan

Out here all toilets have 2 buttons ( small for a light flush like pee and the big one for a large flush) weird

Stan and Marketa about to go 4 wheel driving with us for the first time

The cat laying on Stans car

Mitch ( french) about to go to the Hash House Harriers ( which is a walk/run to different bars across towns for a free beer) look it up

And they all are weird

Love the sunsets

The entrance to the property

This place is a home away from home and we enjoy being here and meeting new people all the time.