i'm trying to learn Spanish using a software program called duolingo. My progress has been intermittent. Are you a traveler?

@kensmile4u No, no as much as I used to be. The best way to learn a language is to listen to native speakers. I always had two native Spanish speakers in each of the groups in my classrooms.

@DUCHESSA Thanks for the tip. I have some friends who speak Spanish as a first language.

@kensmile4u The news in Spanish are also helpful....because the first learning -any language- is through the ears.

@DUCHESSA That's a great idea. Thanks so much for the recommendations.

So you are good at flirting. You're good at sarcasm. And you learned criminal justice through a survival motive? That is a strong motive for learning. You must be ultra good at criminal justice! Just as a test let me hear your best criminal justice sexual innuendo. Lol

In the squad room,

Ok let's settle down
Today's case is top priority and we all need to get on it and ride it hard until we get a satisfactory result.

The details we have so far is This. Miss Goodbody has reported she was assaulted last night. It seems the perpetrater or several perpetraters entered her...

Takes a long time turning page.

apartment last night at about 6:09 pm and attempted to rob and sexually assault her. She has reported struggling and succeeding in beating all of them off. Which we believe diminished their intent considerably to the point where they weren't expecting such a vigorous energetic response and soon realized that compared to this young lady their bigger harder muscles were no match for a determined woman intent on sucking all their energy from them as best she could under the circumstances draining them of their energies one by one.

She is a hero and a woman any woman should learn from and look up to.

Now get out on those streets and find those men!

Update: the Goodbody case is solved. The perps were found and arrested without incident in the back alley, some smoking cigarettes and some caught literally napping.
Good job men.

@Anonbene Hahaha that was good.

Apologies if my initial response came off sarcastic. I was merely trying to illicit a response from you that played to your stated strengths. I truly am interested in what career path you chose in criminal justice?

@kensmile4u I didn't read it as sarcastic but as humorous so I didn't really take it seriously. I don't actually work in criminal justice and it is a bit of a long story why.

My brother and I had a rough childhood when my mother married her second husband. I tried to protect him when I could but despite feeling years older, I was only 14 months older

He was murdered when i was 30. He lived a criminal lifestyle and I was estranged from him at the time but I was allegedly a target because prior to the estrangement, he told me things. Eventually the shooter was captured

When my kids were teens, they often befriended and brought home kids that had been kicked out for being different; for the most part they were LBTQ I want to mention that although these kids were considered behavioral problems by their schools and parents, I rarely had a problem with them.

So our childhood and those kids are why I wanted to work with at risk teens but did not have the time for college

When I was laid off in my early 40's I decided to give it a shot because the kids were grown for the most part. So I started college then I took a full job with my current employer with the intention of it being only a few years.

Then I was diagnosed with cancer the same day my daughter found out she was pregnant with a high risk pregnancy. So now I have her, a 1 year old grandson and a 15 year old son all while knowing I will be out of work for a while.

I finished with honors despite getting a D in the first class after my surgery but I couldn't go after the masters for a couple of reasons; I was burnt out and way too behind in the bills between having to pay half of my share of cost in advance for treatment and not earning income for a while.

It took about 2 years to catch up my bills but by then I had a wage garnishment for the student loans. The wage garnishment cost me my home and I spent the next few years renting a room in other peoples homes. In addition, the 5 year pre-existing condition on insurance kept me at my employer

By the time I hit that 5 year mark, it would have been a pay cut to enter a field I never intended to work in- I only wanted the criminal justice degree to aid me in helping my target group of at risk teens.

The garnishment has been lifted but I still owe about 15k and I just can't see going back to college, increasing my debt in order to enter social service in my late 50s. I seriously doubt being able to find employment.

My current job is not rewarding but it does support me and allows me to help my daughter and grandchildren upon occasion because the schedule enables me to be home before they are.

@SherryMartin Life altered your plans in a huge way. I admire the fact you stayed generous through it all. I thoroughly believe the US healthcare and education systems are intentionally oppressive. I hope your cancer is cured.

@kensmile4u Yes it is. Thank you.

That is so true. And what I have found is when I teach any subject I am driven to expand my level of knowledge in that topic. So the best way to get super knowledgable on any topic is to teach it in my opinion.

A person can have both....in fact, many do.

Generally, it seems as though some are more adept at communicating concepts than others. Knowledge is important - but teaching is a gift.

The quality of services depends on the professionalism and experience of the company's specialists, so I pay special attention to this criterion.

I used to teach Special Olympics athletes to ride horses. Though it was mostly reins and bitless bridles. Most did not have the ability to use side pressures.

That is a diverse set of skills. Which did you enjoy teaching the most? How did you get introduced to Creole?

@kensmile4u Thanks. I learned Creole because that's the language spoken in Haiti, and I was born in Haiti, of American missionary parents. Because the other side of French/Creole-speaking Haiti is the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic, I picked up Spanish and French as well.

I'm fluent in Haitian Creole, but, but even though I can understand, read, and get by in Spanish, French, and Thai, I wouldn't call myself skilled enough to teach them.

@birdingnut I came to appreciate all things creole when i lived in New Orleans. But like you i only learned a little of the language. Creole food is my favorite in the world and I have been to a few places.

@kensmile4u I'm completely fluent in Haitian Creole, but don't consider myself proficient in French, since the Haiti French is corrupted.

Hey, me too! I used to teach informally at a publishing company I worked for and I had a few photography businesses. I would teach a 6 week class then some of those people would join our camera club. Those were the days! Much fun on film!

I have two good friends who are professional photographers. One shoots people. The other shoots and teaches bird photography. Both are very successful. What is your area of interest?

@kensmile4u - Mostly landscapes, nature, and lately drone photography. I shoot real estate for the income. Check out [jamesphotography.ca] and [hoverwolf.ca] if you're interested.

@Hominid I checked out all of your online work. You are clearly a professional. It was smart for you to embrace that new technology and capitalize on the opportunity for innovative images. How fast is drone photography growing in your industry? BTW-Hoverwolf is a clever name!

@kensmile4u - Thanks for the compliment! Drone photography is coming into its own, with some incredible images I could only wish to someday rival. It has everything to do with 1) the landscape/location, and 2) the lighting. Then of course there's Photoshop...

There's many beautiful images of cityscapes at dusk and nighttime that any experienced pilot looking at it will cringe, knowing every rule in the book was broken to take the image (i.e. elevation, crowd safety, proximity to airports, etc.) It's an evolving scene for sure!

Mmm. You probably remember the big floppy discs - what were they 9 or 10 inches, 51/4", 31/2". When we got 640k RAM ... ah, heady days. Orange monitors, screen burn outs, then those massive hard drives 10, 20, 40 Mb ... lol.

@FrayedBear Well, 8 inches, but since when does size matter? Early on we didn't have any RAM - everything ran off those diskettes. Left/top slot for the program, right/bottom for the data. Yeah, those were the days all right.

the first job I had at 15 in 1963 was as a lab tech one of my jobs was to go to 'The Computer ' (always said with awe) which was the size of a small room and spewed out paper tape with sprocket holes down the centre and punched holes either side of two's and ones . My task was to spool the paper tape which had fallen into large baskets by finding the end and then putting it on a mechanical winder - One day not my finest hour the whole bucket full of paper tape started flying round the winder - I panicked and kept pressing the button which only made it worse - I swear no one in the whole lab even noticed what was going on - later I was taught how to splice the tape back together again. When apple came out people who didnt even have computers were queuing round the block to buy the software- how times have changed

@astrochuck Yes, I dropped a stack of punch cards right in front of my instructor when I was learning whatever machine language it was. He looked at his watch and said, snarkily, "you have time to rerun those before class," spun on his heel and sashayed away. I got an A in that class to spite the bastard.

No everybody carries the "PEDAGOGUE GENE".

? I don't know what you mean

My late partner who was rated 'master' told me I was the worst teacher she ever knew! No patience.

I respect that answer.

I haven't got the patience either.

@LeighShelton "pedagogue gene"=teacher gene

I obviously can teach as a dog owner and bringing two boys up so i have that gene but a classroom. no chance.

You could feed me for life buddy.

I'm a fisherman too. I guess neither of us will ever go hungry. What is your favorite fish to catch?

@kensmile4u I don't like to eat fish. Lol. Which is probably why I like catching northerns. Aggressive and can get pretty big, not much for eating though. I used to go down to Florida every winter for a week. I would fish off the bridges on the old highway going to Key West. I've never fished inland, freshwater, in Florida but have always wanted to do it.

@Rudy1962 Northerns are kind of bony for me to eat. i like speckled perch from fresh water. But snook is my favorite saltwater species to catch and eat! I bet you caught some Tarpons in Key West.

@kensmile4u AH, perch. Back in the day (way back!) we used to love Lake Erie perch, freshly caught. I don't think I would eat it today.

@kensmile4u I wish I caught a Tarpon. Mainly smaller fish off the bridges. Best part was feeding them to the pelicans.

@Rudy1962 ew that's gross but the pelicans probably deserved it.

I went deep-sea fishing once. The captain asked if he could keep my haul to use as bait for his next charter. I guess that means my fishing trip was a success.

@poetdi56 It's only a two hundred foot walk from the dock to my kitchen. You can't get perch more fresh than that! Delicious!

@PappyOnWings lol

@kensmile4u Bring it on!!

i've been reading your comments on this site. You have a lot to offer!

@kensmile4u Thank you. It's kind of you to say that.

How do you make it fun to attend your class?

@kensmile4u My student's worship me. When I catch them on the phone the reward is to do a question on the board for me! We have a lot of fun. Where I work we have a Lecture/Tutorial style teaching like at universities, so our classes are all about the doing and I like to keep things lively. Now as for fun? I am unsure if its always meant to be fun to attend classes, rather when they leave class I like to think I have inspired in them the wonder of math and pushed them in some cases beyond the boundaries they set for themselves. They leave with a smile and a sense of achievement. Is that fun?

@ripcurldane That was an inspiring answer. Your students are lucky to have you!

@ripcurldane I do that too. But my students are adults, corporate learners, so I rarely have to worry about any kind of discipline. But I have had them in small groups working out web designs - they loved it. I also did a workshop format for certain topics where they bring their troubles to class and try to "stump the chump." After that happened, I asked for their files in advance so I could be ready for them. LOL! But everyone learns from everyone else. It was a super-popular format.

@poetdi56 It sounds great, I think each class and situation of learners is different and if a teacher can tune into that and harness the learning energy its a go!!

@josh_karpf Well I am here now. Happy to give you a basic algebra run down.
What's X + X = ?

First I must say I have much respect for you raising a child as a single dad. I've been there and i know it's not easy. Which of the three is your favorite subject to teach?

Math@kensmile4u

I'm very interested in what you do. Do you teach audio engineering or is it more esoteric?

I teach the science behind the technology, and the artistic approaches to operating the technology so that, in the case of live music presentation, the performing artist's intent and message is conveyed (with a high degree of integrity) to the audience.....hopefully eliciting an emotional response......

@jasen I am a member of the Audio Engineering Society. I have been certified by pro tools through their center for pro tools in live and studio audio production. I have a recording studio called stronger measures productions (strongermeasures.com). Are you working though an affiliated school like Berkeley or is your program a stand alone degree?

@kensmile4u Stand alone.....we utilize our professional contacts to place students with national sound system providers.....recent tours of duty for our former students include Tom Petty (his last tour), Carlos Santana,, Chris Isaak, and live reinforcement for this year's Super Bowl.....

@jasen That's top tier experience. Congrats! You must have some stories to tell. Are you guys working with the new FFT profile matching technology? This is where an act already has a snap shot of the preferred roll offs, notches, and peaks that were derived in the mastering process. It makes it real easy. Once you profile the energy (flat response) characteristics of any venue all you have to do is digitally overlay the predetermined FFT profile for each song. Some of the more sophisticated ones include the dynamic changes across the whole tempo map. Some are just a starting point. I have a lot of clients that come in with FFT profiles. Or some clients will tell me roughly who they want to sound like then I grab some songs and create new profiles. It really saves time.

What's the biggest Job you have undertaken on a home remodel?

@kensmile4u moved my bathroom, made the old one part of the kitchen, the adjacent tiny dining room became the bath, complete with deep tub (ordinary tubs are so shallow!)

@AnneWimsey That's impressive.

@kensmile4u thankyu, thankyuvurrymuch!

Is there anything you consider significant?

@kensmile4u Within a pulsating universe nothing is significant.

So, are you inundated or ignored?

Sounds awesome!

@FrayedBear
Ignored because everybody knows you can't get something for nothing so why even try to call my bluff by actually doing what I tell you too. It's much easier to critisize something you think can't be done by a guy that is actually doing the job than work. In spite of the fact that after I explain what I've done you no longer need me.

@Anonbene I've known squatters, I've devised plans to double a country's economy, plans to house thousands of homeless, written commonsense answers to presenting problems and in return been ridiculed and rebuked. A couple of years ago a friend convinced me to believe in the saying "never attribute to malice that more readily explained by stupidity". More recently I encountered the 5 laws of Human Stupidity espoused by Professor Cippolla. If you are not familiar please have a read: [qz.com] I would love to read what you advocate.

@FrayedBear no I'm not recommending squatting. I respect people's private property and would never suggest it. Good article, I've met a good many of those folks.

@Anonbene Property that is not used and simply held to obtain capital gains or other tax avoidance loopholes is not showing contribution to society. Here in Australia it has become practice for politicians and others in the housing industry to use housing as a means to artificialy increase GDP without real contribution. Prices are driven up through artificially created shortages etc. The purpose of housing to provide shelter and enable contribution to a countries well being by enabling future generations has been lost sight of. I will continue to advocate that people read and comprehend Professor Cippolla's laws of Human Stupidity :
[qz.com]

so where do I sign up, I'd just like the 'rich' one and maybe a 'podcast', please.

@ripcurldane NSW? You're a bit out of our commute. I'm looking for somebody a little closer to home

@ripcurldane lol

@FrayedBear if I do find someone that wants to host the show I'll let you know here and give you permission to steal it and do it in middle Earth. You have a breathtaking country there.

@Anonbene I'm in Australia like @ripcurldane only he is about 1100 klms from me.

@FrayedBear my mistake. I thought New South Wales was part of New Zealand.

@Anonbene I couldnt tell you where Arkansas is other than Dorothy lived there. So i always thought it was in an Hollywood backlot.

@FrayedBear
I liked the landscape in the Lord of the rings movies, New Zealand? But as far as Australia goes here's everything I know. Everything outside is trying to kill you. You have topless beaches so I guess it all evens out. I would put up with a lot of flying venomous kangaroos for that. I know you have them.

We deny Arkansas exists here.

@Anonbene LOL. No flying or venemous roos. We have drop bears - some need orthodontists but generally they are all drunk as skunks from the gum leaves fermenting into a rich brew inside them. As for outside I went down to the river this morning - Photo attached - no topless women but no venemous roos either - quite tranquil really....mind you not the beach either - the ocean is several hundred klms away.
8)

@Anonbene We try to deny that Tasmania and Canberra exist but ....

You have a diverse and very utilitarian set of skills. Have you ever though about getting an apprentice? Maybe you are better in a one on one setting.

Do you specialize in any particular area of writing instruction?

@kensmile4u As an editor, I spend a lot of time educating new and aspiring authors about structure, language use, plot development, etc.. I used to try to teach them about grammar and punctuation, but most would rather pay for proofreading services than learn what an em dash is. lol

I've done some house painting too. Do you use the the big spray guns or are you more of an artistic painter?

@kensmile4u I was a commercial painter for many years so I used airless sprayers a lot. It's really kind of funny, every time I went into the paint dept people recognized me as a painter and asked for advice. My advice: hire a professional...

@RobCampbell Those are my thoughts exactly. I was owner builder in my present home. I did all the painting instead of subbing it out. I used an airless sprayer to put on all the primer and three colors of final coat. It was 65 gallons of spraying ceilings and walls. Then 10 gallons of doors and trim. I will never do it again!

I was a dog breeder during my college years. It helped pay the bills. What breed do you like the most? I've studied some NLP. what you do with sabers? forms? collect?

@kensmile4u this is my teacher showing the saber form at slow pace

We have a great collection of teachers on this site!

I must admit i have never seen that on a ven diagram.

Is there a specific type of art that you teach?

mostly 3-D, ceramics and sculpture.@kensmile4u

@farmboy2017 cool!

@farmboy2017 That sounds like a fun job!

@kensmile4u I wish I got to make more art! But as they say" Any job in art is a good job".

@farmboy2017 True! another good saying is "If you love what your doing it never feels like work".

One of my favorite subjects! Did you find the economics background helpful in personal investment strategies?

@kensmile4u! I did find it very useful. I never taught anything that I didn't believe to be true for myself. Consequently, I am quite comfortably retired.

@Dwight It helped me too! Glad you are doing well.

I have a friend who is a geologist. He has a great job where they send him to far flung locations all over the planet. It makes the gypsy in me jealous. Do you get to travel in your work?

Geology was my original major, it became my second minor. Lol, I do travel for work, sort of. Anywhere from Dallas to Galveston, San Antonio to Beaumont, but mostly Houston and the northern suburbs. Every day I drive somewhere. Some projects take months like the school district we’re currently working. Johnson Space Center job took years. But other jobs take an hour. I guess I travel the region extremely well. @kensmile4u

I really like your profound and elegant profile intro. I think I can best you in chess but you will have your revenge on the backgammon board. I've owned many motorbikes. I prefer riding off road trails. What's your best fish story?

@kensmile4u best fish story would be ... watching frying pan sized Salmon, who were returning to their place of birth to spawn and then die. They were leaping up a waterfall in a place called Shin Falls, Bonar Bridge in Scotland. Magnificent sight to behold and willing or cheering them to make it to the top. Loved it

@IzziBell That's a great story. I've been to Scotland. My ancestry is from Aberdeen and the borders. It's a beautiful country! I have plans to return one day and really do a lengthy tour.

@IzziBell Thanks for the recommendations. I will look these locations up and add them to my itinerary. I wish you a good life and I look forward to our future interactions.

@ScienceBiker i work at a primary school as a part time teaching assistant and a visually impaired girl attended on a temporary placement. The Head teacher asked me to be a 'guide' for this young girl, whom i nicknamed 'Myrtle'.
'Myrtle' could Braille and had Perkins Brailler, she brought with her to school. She taught me the alphabet and then i enrolled on an on-line course called UEB (Unified English Braille), so i could learn and help her more. I've just qualified @ grade1 and half way through grade2. Once i have this i can look for employment within special needs or certain mainstream schools, or law courts ( Braille is quicker to write than full words, because certain dot combinations make single words, short-forms and contractions).
'Myrtle', has now moved onto secondary school and moved to a different part of the UK, we chat on facebook via the inbox message system and I Braille her letters; which she gives me honest feed back on. I asked her if there's any book she would like me to transcribe for her; JK Rowling's, Harry Potter and 'The Chamber of Secrets'... ! we giggled when i asked her for an easier one.... So, that's my challenge and i will do it for her.
I find it fascinating that 6 tiny dots can transcribe in an entire language.
tc and stay safe.

p.s i want all your crash helmets please and to cuddle your little dog (hugs)

The writer Henry James learnt braille so he could read in bed without hurting his eyes.
PS. I am very good backgammon player too.