David Bruce Murray

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Commented on Do you understand my first-grade child's homework?
It appears to be an effort to stop parents from doing their kid's homework for them. Seems to be working....
Commented on Copyright vs. folk music
Steve doesn't appear to understand what Harry Fox does. They merely collect royalties and forward them to publishers (for a fee of $15 per license). They don't own any rights. They process licenses for artists who record covers of songs...
Commented on Conservapedia proposes de-liberalized Bible
Genuine faith is a desire to know what God's word says regardless of one's on personal opinion. I am concerned about any "translation" that has an underlying agenda. I've read some that were entertaining, though. One of the most colorful,...
Commented on Hairstylists could be early-warning systems for senior health problems
The thought of Annelle Dupuy Desoto from Steel Magnolias (or even Truvy, for that matter) being told she's in a great position to make medical recommendations is scary....
Commented on Sony assaults Kindle with new touchscreen 3G reader
From Sony's description of the Touch Edition: "Take freehand notes and highlight sections of text you want to revisit later, just as you would in a real book, using the included stylus. If you prefer, a virtual keyboard is also...
Commented on Movie/record industry rep says that you shouldn't expect to be able to play your media for as long as you own it
It's one thing when I'm too lazy to back up my files and my hard drive crashes. It's another thing entirely when a file simply refuses to play....
Commented on Delete this book
In the scenario painted by #20, it would be impractical to retrieve 1984 illegally printed physical books with no trail to follow. With these downloads, it was practical for Amazon to retrieve the books they shouldn't have sold in the...
Commented on Kids on Bluegrass
Make that: I WOULDN'T want to see it modified to the point where it's no longer recognizable alongside traditional forms of the genre....
Commented on Kids on Bluegrass
Traditional Bluegrass artists can mix and mingle with people who come to their events because bluegrass artists don't, as a general rule, cultivate the sort of insane fans that are part of Pop, Rock, and Country. Bela Fleck uses his...
Commented on Ironing board doubles as a full-length mirror
The weight of the iron alone would be enough to turn it over. In the pic on Logerot's website, note how the model is supporting it underneath with her right hand. And it looks really cheap in mirror mode. It's...
Commented on To do in LA: Police Academy's Michael Winslow, The Human Foley, "Scores" Silent Films, Live.
Sorry...copied the wrong link! http://www.hulu.com/watch/30169/the-white-shadow-psyched-out#s-p1-so-i0...
Commented on To do in LA: Police Academy's Michael Winslow, The Human Foley, "Scores" Silent Films, Live.
Before Police Academy, he was in a television episode of _The White Shadow_. Currently on Hulu: http://www.boingboing.net/2009/06/09/to-do-in-la-police-a.html#comments Quite a few sound effects in that episode before he goes crazy and threatens to kill a teacher....
Commented on Kneeling Bench to Prevent Splashing While Peeing
Good luck selling that....
Commented on How drugs and technology help attain motherhood
It's true that the adoption process can be long and difficult, but many would be adopters only check with local agencies. International adoption is also an option, plus it's where the need is the greatest. I have friends who have...
Commented on Sales booming in remote-kill devices for cars sold to poor credit-risks
The idea of a car dealer (new or used) being able to remotely shut off a car I'm driving is pretty disturbing. What if they just want me to bring it in so they can profit from a fake repair?...
Commented on Cassette To Digital, the aptly-named USB tape deck
I want one....
Favorited Snarky Amazon reviews for Denon's dumb-ass $500 Ethernet cable on Boing Boing
Favorited BBtv Vlog: Joel Johnson - Blipfest / Candy Expo on Boing Boing
Favorited BBtv Vlog: Joel Johnson - Blipfest / Candy Expo on Boing Boing
Commented on Anti "clean coal" short by the Coen brothers
Phikus, Keeping grossly outdated dirty plants going when Duke is more than willing to replace them with a significantly less dirty plant makes no practical sense. If I failed to express that point clearly before, well, there it is. There...
Commented on Anti "clean coal" short by the Coen brothers
Phikus, There are other choices. I'm simply pointing out the course that Duke Energy is taking in this particular case. They either will build this new plant and take the old plants that are indisputably less efficient offline, or they...
Commented on Anti "clean coal" short by the Coen brothers
Duke Energy is building a new coal fired plant in my area. Their plan is to shut down several older, relatively inefficient units. Protesters are out in full force. By their actions, it appears they would PREFER for Duke to...
Commented on Hulu viewers have great taste in movies
What are the odds of Hulu's most popular movies coming up in alphabetical order?...
Commented on Meet me at the gun show with your gold
The statement on the poster is pretty much a statement of fact. Time will tell. #11 I'm trying to fall somewhere between Jesus and John Wayne myself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izneCqdrJHw&feature=related...
Commented on CES: Drew Carey and Three-year-old Son Hunt for Cars, Robots (BB Video)
$47,000? The Price Is Wrong, Drew! Sorry...couldn't resist an Adam Sandler reference......
Commented on Long crowing roosters
There are two annoying little chihuahua dogs living across the road that start chirping every time I walk out my door. One of these ought to put the fear of the coming apocalypse in them. Where can you buy one?...
Commented on Petition to "Get a Secretary of Real Food appointed" in Obama Administration
Food is one of the few industries left where the USA is a consistent leader. China grows the most wheat, but the USA exports more wheat. The most popular crop in the USA is corn. The USA exports more corn...
Commented on When spellcheckers attack: The Cupertino Effect
There have been times I've wished I had used spell check, times I've wondered why spell check didn't have any suggestions, and times when it was a waste of time. The only way it makes things worse is if the...
Commented on Boing Boing Charitable Giving Guide -- the 2008 edition
#39 - Good point. I responded to what I viewed as a ridiculous statement above, but what I said could have probably been better expressed on my own blog or in some other forum. This BB article is about giving...
Commented on Boing Boing Charitable Giving Guide -- the 2008 edition
"Any charity that gives you soup and a sermon at the same time is more interested in giving you a sermon than in giving you soup. Real charity doesn't come with strings attached." You think that's a "string attached" that...

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sugaku commented on Do you understand my first-grade child's homework?
Oddly enough, this is how I taught myself to quickly do math on pairs I couldn't remember well. If I wanted to add 8+6, I'd do 8+(2+4) then (8+2)+4 then (10)+4 then 14. Of course, this was the "wrong" way to do it, and I needed to "memorize" more...but it's mathematically sound and *if* it works for you, that's great. As other posters have said, it's probably an extension of a lesson, with a matching section in the textbook. Since this is the newest flavor for teaching that subject, the best thing to do might be to make sure that...
Blaatann commented on Do you understand my first-grade child's homework?
I agree that teaching kids to view 8+3 as 10 and 1, the one "spilling over" is a good idea, this is exactly how I visualize adding large numbers. But they could have taken the time to line up the numbers, text and graphic. I think the reason I had to check the comments to understand what was going on was that I just couldn't decipher the meaning due to the wonky text alignment....
TomChicago commented on Do you understand my first-grade child's homework?
This is one of many different strategies to solve basic facts problems and it's a very good one. The ability to break apart numbers here will serve kids very well down the road when they add larger numbers (302 + 153 is easy to add mentally when you think of it as 300 + 150 + 2 + 3) or when you estimate. The number 10 is taught to kids as early as grade K as a benchmark number as our number system is based on tens. So, they first learn in grade K different combinations of numbers that make...
Yooper commented on Do you understand my first-grade child's homework?
Homework in first grade, why? I am quite sure I have read that research as found no benefit to HW this young. Instead for your child, read a book, walk in the woods, play with hand puppets - they'll learn a lot more. This practice sheet was surely closely tied to the lesson. I suspect it was meant to be in-class practice. Please don't complain about the lack of clear insturctions - they are FIRST graders! For any innovative curriculum, parent-teacher/school communication via PTA meetings and/or parent conference days are critical but very hard to put in practice. But parents...
beameup commented on Do you understand my first-grade child's homework?
770-625. Your way: 0-5, can't do, borrow from the 7, add 10 to the 0, 15-5=5, 6-2=4, 7-6=1, read off the answer left to right: 145. This requires no understanding of place value, and for most people requires paper and pencil. Students that have learned the filling 10s method can move on to filling 100's. For this problem, I need 75 more to get to 700, add that to 70 = 145. Very quick, very simple, deepens understanding of place value and number. I think learning the mental math techniques is very valuable. BUT, like you, I do think it...

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