Jaime Escalante and 'The Other Johnny'

I read today that the math teacher, Jaime Escalante, died at 79. He became famous when a 1988 movie, Stand and Deliver, depicted the teacher, a Bolivian immigrant, as he transformed students in an inner-city Los Angeles high school into math aces. At one point, the school had more students studying advanced calculus than all but three other state schools in the US.

Amazingly, this week I'd shared with my students this story told by Zig Ziglar.

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Hanami- Cherry Blossom Viewing Begins This Week.

This is the first weekend of my favorite season in Japan-- the blooming of the cherry trees. Although 'hanami' originally meant simply 'flower viewing', it now means, 'cherry blossom viewing'.

Plum trees began blooming weeks ago, but for me this was just a promise of spring. When the cherry trees bloom, spring is really here.

I hope that the photos I've taken over six past seasons are varied enough to portray a portion of hanami's meaning and beauty.

You can find them here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tipserve/sets/

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Tiny Tsunami! Did You Say Salami? Andrew Said, 'Baloney'!

   Yesterday there was a tsunami warning. We were asked to evacuate our seaside home as a precaution.

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