Daily Tech News 3 August 2025

Top Story

Why Johnny still can't read. (APM Reports)

Well, the original book examining that question was published in 1955, so one possible reason is that Johnny is now 75 and refuses to wear his glasses.

But another reason is exactly what that book explained: Johnny can't read because teachers aren't teaching phonics - aren't teaching the relationship between written letters and spoken sounds.

Back in 1955 the trend was to jump too quickly from phonics to sight reading - recognising an entire word and its pronunciation from memory. If you were already a strong reader you were likely fine with this; if you were at all behind you would be left struggling.

Fast-forward a few decades and we find new generations of children who still can't read because they have been trapped by new - or once new - trendy pedagogies. Molly Woodworth was a poor reader as a child and came up with tricks to help make it through lessons, though the tricks never worked terribly well.

When she looked at the reading lessons for her daughter Claire, she was horrified to discover that the tricks she created for herself - the same ones that didn't work for her - were being taught as standard practice.
A couple of years ago, Woodworth was volunteering in Claire's kindergarten classroom. The class was reading a book together and the teacher was telling the children to practice the strategies that good readers use.
The teacher said, "If you don't know the word, just look at this picture up here," Woodworth recalled. "There was a fox and a bear in the picture. And the word was bear, and she said, 'Look at the first letter. It's a "b." Is it fox or bear?'"

Woodworth was stunned. "I thought, 'Oh my God, those are my strategies.' Those are the things I taught myself to look like a good reader, not the things that good readers do," she said. "These kids were being taught my dirty little secrets."
Why are teachers deliberately sabotaging reading skills?

Enter Ken Goodman.
The theory is known as "three cueing." The name comes from the notion that readers use three different kinds of information - or "cues" - to identify words as they are reading.

The theory was first proposed in 1967, when an education professor named Ken Goodman presented a paper at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in New York City.

In the paper, Goodman rejected the idea that reading is a precise process that involves exact or detailed perception of letters or words.
Goodman still believed that when this article was written in 2019 - the author requested and was granted an interview.

The problem is, he was proven wrong fifty years ago:
So, in 1975, Stanovich and a fellow graduate student set out to test the idea in their lab. They recruited readers of various ages and abilities and gave them a series of word-reading tasks. Their hypothesis was that skilled readers rely more on contextual cues to recognize words than poor readers, who probably weren't as good at using context.

They couldn't have been more wrong.

"To our surprise, all of our research results pointed in the opposite direction," Stanovich wrote. "It was the poorer readers, not the more skilled readers, who were more reliant on context to facilitate word recognition."
Or to put it another way:
Goldberg realized lots of her students couldn't actually read the words in their books; instead, they were memorizing sentence patterns and using the pictures to guess. One little boy exclaimed, "I can read this book with my eyes shut!"

"Oh no," Goldberg thought. "That is not reading."
Why did Goodman still believe in his failed ideas after all this time? (At the time the article was written, he was 91 and had just published a new edition of his book.)

Put as politely as possible, he was a dingbat:
"Word recognition is a preoccupation," he said. "I don't teach word recognition. I teach people to make sense of language. And learning the words is incidental to that."
No, he really meant that:
I pressed him on this. First of all, a pony isn't the same thing as a horse. Second, don't you want to make sure that when a child is learning to read, he understands that /p//o//n//y/ says "pony"? And different letters say "horse"?

He dismissed my question.

"The purpose is not to learn words," he said. "The purpose is to make sense."
He tripled down minutes later:
In his view, three cueing is perfectly valid, drawn from a different kind of evidence than what scientists collect in their labs.

"My science is different," Goodman said.
And why is fashionable nonsense so entrenched in education?

Lots of reasons, one primary reason, it seems to me, is that teachers don't have to live with their mistakes. You have a child for a year, cause lasting harm, and then get handed a fresh batch of impressionable young minds the next year.

Tech News

Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute. (Tom's Hardware)

An article about companies that were hacked, and subsequently went bankrupt. One paid the demanded ransom; the other did not. The outcome was the same.

Somewhat galling is that German police captured the criminals behind the first company's demise along with their crypto wallets, but refuse to return the ransom payment.
Reddit is people, so its search function searches content created by people rather than AI slop, says Reddit. (The Register)

Two problems here:

First, Reddit is not magically immune to AI slop.

Second, about 80% of Reddit users are insane, climbing quickly to 100% on any of the major "subreddits".

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: And sometimes higher.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 guten morgen, horde

Posted by: clarence at August 03, 2025 04:31 AM (HEnIi)

2 w00t

Posted by: m at August 03, 2025 04:31 AM (aURVT)

3 Nice one, clarence!

Posted by: m at August 03, 2025 04:31 AM (aURVT)

4 Good morning!

Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 03, 2025 04:35 AM (u82oZ)

5 m

Missed it by this much. ||

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 03, 2025 04:36 AM (u82oZ)

6 >>>The theory is known as "three cueing." The name comes from the notion that readers use three different kinds of information - or "cues" - to identify words as they are reading.

From the article, those three cues are:

--graphic cues (what do the letters tell you about what the word might be?)

--syntactic cues (what kind of word could it be, for example, a noun or a verb?)

--semantic cues (what word would make sense here, based on the context?)

Posted by: m at August 03, 2025 04:37 AM (aURVT)

7 Just posted under ONT, so just in case no one is looking there anymore.

Blue Origin - New Shepard
NS-34 - Launch Site One, Texas - Space Affairs Live
Sunday, August 3
Launch window opens at 7:30 a.m. CDT (1230 UTC, 14:30 CEST.)

https://youtu.be/XMH6D6Gojzc

Live coverage begins around 6:55 a.m. CDT

Posted by: Joyenz at August 03, 2025 04:37 AM (sPQoU)

8 My Celebration of Life for my late wife went very well. Even my Deep State judgmental sister was impressed.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 03, 2025 04:38 AM (u82oZ)

9 The article on reading is so sad.

"There was no rhyme or reason to reading for me," she said. "When a teacher would dictate a word and say, 'Tell me how you think you can spell it,' I sat there with my mouth open while other kids gave spellings, and I thought, 'How do they even know where to begin?' I was totally lost."

Posted by: m at August 03, 2025 04:39 AM (aURVT)

10 Joyenz

Thank you.

Much appreciated.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 03, 2025 04:39 AM (u82oZ)

11 When I was teaching, I got students woefully unprepared for HS. Probably because of stupidities highlighted here.

Posted by: Cow Demon at August 03, 2025 04:39 AM (WeMfR)

12 Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 03, 2025 04:38 AM (u82oZ

I am glad to hear that, Salty..

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 03, 2025 04:39 AM (2GCMq)

13 If her daddy’s rich, take her out for a meal; if her daddy’s poor, just do as you will

Posted by: Cow Demon at August 03, 2025 04:40 AM (WeMfR)

14 "My science is different," Goodman said.

Yeah, it's called Lysenkoism.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 03, 2025 04:43 AM (ynpvh)

15 I was reading before I was 6 years old. At 6, I was choosing my own books to read and the books were not from the chidren's section. I learned to read because my parents read to me.

The studies were done decades ago. One of the conclusions was that it should take only about 50 hours to teach someone to read if they do not have any serious disabilities.

Posted by: clarence at August 03, 2025 04:46 AM (HEnIi)

16 Oink!

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at August 03, 2025 04:46 AM (9vYpt)

17 15 I was reading before I was 6 years old. At 6, I was choosing my own books to read and the books were not from the chidren's section. I learned to read because my parents read to me.

The studies were done decades ago. One of the conclusions was that it should take only about 50 hours to teach someone to read if they do not have any serious disabilities.

Posted by: clarence at August 03, 2025 04:46 AM (HEnIi)

Goodman is certainly a dingbat.
Phonetics is a good way to learn, but far for perfect with an imperfect bastardized language like English...
::: remembering the first time I came across chaos and didn't pronounce the Ch as K... :::

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 03, 2025 04:49 AM (ynpvh)

18 I wonder if some teachers won’t teach phonics because it’s TOO HARD.

Posted by: Cow Demon at August 03, 2025 04:50 AM (WeMfR)

19 16 Oink!

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at August 03, 2025 04:46 AM (9vYpt)

That reminds me...there's bacon in my fridge...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 03, 2025 04:50 AM (ynpvh)

20 18 I wonder if some teachers won’t teach phonics because it’s TOO HARD.

Posted by: Cow Demon at August 03, 2025 04:50 AM (WeMfR)

It might clash with Spanish and Ebonics...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 03, 2025 04:50 AM (ynpvh)

21 Well, time for bed.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 03, 2025 04:51 AM (ynpvh)

22 great stuff:

It turns out that the ability to read words in isolation quickly and accurately is the hallmark of being a skilled reader.

Posted by: m at August 03, 2025 04:52 AM (aURVT)

23 Going back to sleep.

Have a great day, everyone.

May you all be surrounded by blessings in abundance. And I don't mean a hug from Stacy Abrams.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 03, 2025 04:52 AM (u82oZ)

24 If people wanted to improve education, the first thing to do would be abolishing mandatory eduction. Home schooling, either by the parents or hired tutors, was the norm long before education theories brought about the changes that has devastated so much of the population.

Posted by: clarence at August 03, 2025 04:57 AM (HEnIi)

25 By the time I was on the mortal coil, my parents made it their mission in life to ensure their two daughters could read, and thus, I had my parents and my sisters encouraging me to read, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know how to read. (So, no thanks to the teachers of America then who will insist otherwise.). By the time I hit 2nd Grade, the elementary school I was at put me in an advanced reading class. I was always far more comfortable with reading and writing than I was with math.

Posted by: Cow Demon at August 03, 2025 05:00 AM (WeMfR)

26 24 If people wanted to improve education, the first thing to do would be abolishing mandatory eduction. Home schooling, either by the parents or hired tutors, was the norm long before education theories brought about the changes that has devastated so much of the population.
Posted by: clarence at August 03, 2025 04:57 AM (HEnIi)

“(The Mexican government) has failed to establish any public system of education, although possessed of almost boundless resources, (the public domain,) and although it is an axiom in political science, that unless a people are educated and enlightened, it is idle to expect the continuance of civil liberty, or the capacity for self government.”
- TX Declaration of Independence, 1836

Yeah, about that…

Posted by: Cow Demon at August 03, 2025 05:03 AM (WeMfR)

27 What a dismaying thought, that the same incompetent teachers have decade after decade to ruin children's minds--and receive AWARDS for it.

Which leads to the question of how did we reach our pinnacle of most exceptional country on the planet?

Apparently there have been enough good teachers to overcome the fungi. So if you know an actual competent teacher, walk up to him/her and give a big old hug and handshake.

Posted by: IRONGRAMPA at August 03, 2025 05:04 AM (hKoQL)

28 Good mourning all Yaya.
😉

Posted by: OkJohn at August 03, 2025 05:05 AM (NC/it)

29 G'mornin' everyone!

I think it's quite deliberate; unable to read, unable to do math, therefore totally dependent on experts telling them how it is.

perfect peasants / peons / serfs for our techno-overlords, or so they believe ...

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 03, 2025 05:06 AM (dKEEs)

30 Apparently there have been enough good teachers to overcome the fungi. So if you know an actual competent teacher, walk up to him/her and give a big old hug and handshake.
Posted by: IRONGRAMPA at August 03, 2025 05:04 AM (hKoQL)

If I could locate my fourth grade teacher so I could do just that, I would.

Posted by: Cow Demon at August 03, 2025 05:07 AM (WeMfR)

31 In the Summertime Tutorial
Mungo Jerry Himself
https://youtu.be/um-xl9EVqvs

During a summer dominated by meh soft rock dreck like the Carpenter's "Close to You" and Bread's "Make it With You" out of the radio popped this delightful song by a completely unknown group. It created a bit of a ruckus and was an instant favorite as it captured that year's summer months with perfection.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at August 03, 2025 05:07 AM (9vYpt)

32 Back in the 19th Century, the Little Red Schoolhouse taught children their letters and numbers. That is, how to read (and sign your name) and count. After that was on the child (or parents).

Today, our school systems don't even meet that minimum standard.

Kids today can get into higher ed while requiring remedial math and English classes before proceeding onto 'real' courses.

Posted by: RickZ at August 03, 2025 05:09 AM (gKDq2)

33 Somewhat galling is that German police captured the criminals behind the first company's demise along with their crypto wallets, but refuse to return the ransom payment.

Merely, another example of the degradation of governments across the globe.

Posted by: clarence at August 03, 2025 05:10 AM (HEnIi)

34
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at August 03, 2025 05:11 AM (tljrc)

35 15 I was reading before I was 6 years old. At 6, I was choosing my own books to read and the books were not from the chidren's section. I learned to read because my parents read to me.

The studies were done decades ago. One of the conclusions was that it should take only about 50 hours to teach someone to read if they do not have any serious disabilities.

Posted by: clarence at August 03, 2025 04:46 AM (HEnIi)

Before I was in pre-school my grandmother bribed my generation of the family with 10 cents a page to read. It wasn't long before we were reading entire books. We didn't need dedicated instruction, just motivation and encouragement.

Phonics is just another weird fad.

Posted by: Sjg at August 03, 2025 05:17 AM (aqZN1)

36 My Celebration of Life for my late wife went very well. Even my Deep State judgmental sister was impressed.
Posted by: NaCly Dog

Such an important event, in a sense, a milestone that says as much about her as it does you. May the long healing began.

How did the feats of strength go? I hope you showed your sister up.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at August 03, 2025 05:19 AM (9vYpt)

37 Mornin'

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at August 03, 2025 05:19 AM (NkASH)

38 Bible verses to help ground us when life seems chaotic:

https://tinyurl.com/5fa6nnzf

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 03, 2025 05:21 AM (2GCMq)

39 A capella quartet sings one of the favorite old time hymns- "How Great Thou Art". From "Faithpot" site:

https://tinyurl.com/2s3rpybu

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 03, 2025 05:25 AM (2GCMq)

40 So good to hear that, NaCly! Her memory will remain a blessing.

Did any of the gold-diggers attend?

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 03, 2025 05:25 AM (dKEEs)

41 But another reason is exactly what that book explained: Johnny can't read because teachers aren't teaching phonics - aren't teaching the relationship between written letters and spoken sounds.

Amen. This is not that much different than not knowing the connection between scored music and how it sounds.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at August 03, 2025 05:27 AM (9vYpt)

42 Goodman began to create a psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic model of reading inspired by the work of Noam Chomsky.

A commie fuckstick inspired by another commie fuckstick.

Posted by: Richard Cranium at August 03, 2025 05:31 AM (uRZ8p)

43 "Second, about 80% of Reddit users are insane, climbing quickly to 100% on any of the major "subreddits"."

I had a Reddit account for about 3 months and then I deleted it. I quickly discovered Reddit is full of rabid leftwing sociopaths that have all the social graces of wolverines.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at August 03, 2025 05:35 AM (9vYpt)

44 FWIW, I appeared to have understood that the symbols on the page resulted in words that you can hear at an early age.

However, I gained that understanding by my elder sister reading from a book while I was standing/sitting across from her. I can read a page of a book that is upside down to this day (albeit with a slight context switch).

Posted by: Richard Cranium at August 03, 2025 05:37 AM (uRZ8p)

45 There is no incentive to improve your teaching in class. none

However there are penalties for disagreeing with the consensus

So teachers will continue teaching in the same wrong ways irrespective of how poorly they work until one of those things change

Posted by: 18-1 at August 03, 2025 05:46 AM (68H9P)

46 One of the reasons we have this kind of nonsense (teachers chasing trendy techniques for teaching things that are already well uderstood like arithmetic and phon8cs) is thaf we force them to take "continuing education" coursewkrk, which I cintend is utter bullshit. Insaw this creeping in when I was in public school five to four decades ago, when they were denigratinv the value of memorizing ANYTHING. I think we could save a lot of money and eliminate a lot if crappy teaching methods by ending continuing education requirements for teachers altogether. If there is a field where it matters, (votech?), it probabky should be outside the regular curriculum of a school anyway.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at August 03, 2025 05:53 AM (vd6bO)

47 There is no incentive to improve your teaching in class. none

However there are penalties for disagreeing with the consensus

So teachers will continue teaching in the same wrong ways irrespective of how poorly they work until one of those things change

Posted by: 18-1 at August 03, 2025 05:46 AM (68H9P)

Parents are to blame for literacy rates . Zero reason for any normal kid to be starting 1st grade without knowing how to read.

Posted by: Sjg at August 03, 2025 05:53 AM (aqZN1)

48 Please forgive my excessive error count in that previous post. I am very sleepy, and I seem to have neglected to proofread my typing. Thid keyboard is a little too small for my thumbs!

Posted by: Don in SoCo at August 03, 2025 05:56 AM (vd6bO)

49 sock_rat_eez

One, after everyone left. My brother did meet her. But not my judgmental sisters.

She really wanted to visit my up the hill neighbors. She is still heavily traumatized from her divorce decades ago. So she felt much more comfortable with the gay partners there than me.

I had no idea she was a fag hag.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 03, 2025 05:59 AM (u82oZ)

50 Evening and morning, Sunday troupers!

Pixy, the opening part of your post resonates with me. I learned to read by the sound-out method at home before I went to school. (My first-grade teacher asked me to stay after the closing bell one day early on, which scared me no end, and said to me, "Wolfus, you know how to read, don't you?")

With puzzlement, I witnessed my classmates struggling with the simple words in the Dick-and-Jane epics they gave us to practice on. Now I know that at that point, some five years after the 1955 book you mention, the schools here were using that sight method.

I remember a high school classmate saying, "I can't imagine what it was like not to be able to read." Our teacher said, "Look at a page of Chinese. The characters will make no sense to you. That's what it was like."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:09 AM (omVj0)

51 For those that are pray-ers and had to do other things so didn't get the entire prayer list , I would like to please bring to your attention, numbers 311 and 323. On that list all requests for prayer are important ( unless less someone is clearly goofing around,) so those two are late requests and so I didn't want people to to miss them.

And thanks to dear Tecumseh Tea- who is also in need of continuing prayer for healing - for alerting
Me particularly to 311. Thanks so much everyone!
May the Lord surround you with His love.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 03, 2025 06:09 AM (2GCMq)

52 Our parents were literally well read, and they extended that privilege to my brother and I. No restrictions or censorship other than requesting a title for whatever had our immediate attention at the time, coupled with a few suggestions for future perusal.

Posted by: IRONGRAMPA at August 03, 2025 06:09 AM (hKoQL)

53 Parents are to blame for literacy rates . Zero reason for any normal kid to be starting 1st grade without knowing how to read.
Posted by: Sjg at August 03, 2025

***
Mom told me she and I worked on comic books like Bugs Bunny. I'd read the "simple" words, and she'd read the "hard" ones. Eventually I was reading both kinds.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:10 AM (omVj0)

54 I think that's built into the mindset.

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 03, 2025 06:11 AM (dKEEs)

55 From the article, those three cues are:

--graphic cues (what do the letters tell you about what the word might be?)

--syntactic cues (what kind of word could it be, for example, a noun or a verb?)

--semantic cues (what word would make sense here, based on the context?)
Posted by: m at August 03, 2025

***
Isn't that what AI does to suggest the next word when you're texting? It's clever programming, but it isn't human reading.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:12 AM (omVj0)

56 And the same for you & yours, FS!

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 03, 2025 06:12 AM (dKEEs)

57 Parents should teach their children to read.

But if schools cannot teach those who don't start with that there is no reason for the first couple of years of school

Posted by: 18-1 at August 03, 2025 06:14 AM (lMF8B)

58 And thanks again to Annie for gathering the prayer requests and for MisHum for posting them.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 03, 2025 06:15 AM (2GCMq)

59 Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 03, 2025 06:12 AM (dKEEs)

Thanks, dear one.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 03, 2025 06:16 AM (2GCMq)

60 Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

Rejoinder: lower the boom.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at August 03, 2025 06:16 AM (WvZaB)

61 Mom told me she and I worked on comic books like Bugs Bunny. I'd read the "simple" words, and she'd read the "hard" ones. Eventually I was reading both kinds.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:10 AM (omVj0)
-----------
My mom read to me. A lot. For some of my favorite books, I made her read the copyright information as well.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at August 03, 2025 06:19 AM (WvZaB)

62 G'morning Horde.

NaCly Dog: I'm glad the celebration-of-life went well. May the good memories that you and your wife created together be a comfort to you and help sustain you.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 03, 2025 06:19 AM (O7YUW)

63 Grit is announcing a Rory Calhoun film fest this Friday. He is my mental picture of Lee Child's Jack Reacher, though he was hardly the height and size JR is described as being.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:21 AM (omVj0)

64 Parents should teach their children to read.

But if schools cannot teach those who don't start with that there is no reason for the first couple of years of school

Headstart, kindergarten are state sponsored and supported day care. The leading edge of over reliance on government programs and the dulling of children.

Posted by: clarence at August 03, 2025 06:21 AM (HEnIi)

65 53 Mom told me she and I worked on comic books like Bugs Bunny. I'd read the "simple" words, and she'd read the "hard" ones. Eventually I was reading both kinds.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:10 AM (omVj0)

Thanks, Mom!

Posted by: m at August 03, 2025 06:22 AM (aURVT)

66 My mom read to me. A lot. For some of my favorite books, I made her read the copyright information as well.
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at August 03, 2025

***
I wouldn't be surprised if mine did the same. I don't directly recall the "simple word/hard word" routine which came later, so I can't remember her reading to me, but she must have.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:23 AM (omVj0)

67 Sorry; I didn't get much sleep last night and so am a little "dippier" than usual . I don't think people goof around on our actual prayer list. Those are heartfelt concerns. Sometimes on other threads some wags goof around, for instance and and that that St Bunny of the Ranch" intercede and provide them a busty woman . 😉

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 03, 2025 06:25 AM (2GCMq)

68 Thing is, if you learn phonics, there aren't nearly as many "hard words", just new ones.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at August 03, 2025 06:26 AM (vd6bO)

69 >>>An article about companies that were hacked, and subsequently went bankrupt. One paid the demanded ransom; the other did not. The outcome was the same.

A good lesson.

Posted by: m at August 03, 2025 06:26 AM (aURVT)

70 I had trouble learning to read, thanks to dyslexia. My parents had me read a chapter of a book every night and my father or mother would ask me five almost random questions about the chapter every night (What color is Joey's coat? What is his dog's name? etc). I could miss one question but if I missed two I read it again.

Taught me to read for comprehension.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025 06:27 AM (ZZsBy)

71 I need another half cup of black juice before I'm ready for my morning walk. It's been three weeks since my simple surgery; time I got back to steady if not vigorous exercise. I mentioned to my surgeon a week ago that I was walking again, and he looked surprised, but said "Good." I guess the surprise came from having a lot of flabby and un-athletic patients.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:27 AM (omVj0)

72 Good morning.

Great opening article, Pixy. Thank you.

41 Alteria Pilgram: "This is not that much different than not knowing the connection between scored music and how it sounds."

This!

Posted by: Official Delurker, piano teacher at August 03, 2025 06:27 AM (fk2ym)

73 There is a critical relationship between reading and writing as well.

YOU CANNOT BE A GOOD WRITER IF YOU ARE NOT A GOOD READER FIRST!

Writers, as we know, wield tremendous influence and power. So it's to the Establishment's benefit to have a deliberately undereducated populace, as they are less likely to overthrow the Establishment.

Exhibit A: Declaration of Independence

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 03, 2025 06:28 AM (IBQGV)

74 Thing is, if you learn phonics, there aren't nearly as many "hard words", just new ones.
Posted by: Don in SoCo at August 03, 2025

***
I think my mother knew that, and it probably didn't take long for me to start reading the "hard" ones.

I still sound out new words, even from foreign languages like German, to be able to pronounce them. No idea how many English words I know and can pronounce and use properly, but it's a lot.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:30 AM (omVj0)

75 "they are less likely to overthrow the Establishment."
Yep. The game's on TV and the beer's cold. Sit down and shut up, they recommend.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at August 03, 2025 06:31 AM (vd6bO)

76 I had trouble learning to read, thanks to dyslexia. . . .
Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025

***
A co-worker of mine at my last job was dyslexic, yet she had earned a Ph.D., and in history -- which required one hell of a lot of reading.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:32 AM (omVj0)

77 The nutty CNBC anchors went nuts when PDJT fired the poor performing BLS head lesbian. It was pathetic. They change precious estimates by 90 % almost routinely, but fire her? No way, that's evil. Or so they seem to believe at CNBC.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025 06:33 AM (ggTUu)

78 Thing is, if you learn phonics, there aren't nearly as many "hard words", just new ones.
Posted by: Don in SoCo at August 03, 2025-
-----------
Sometimes, you come up against stumpers, like "eleemosynary." Not knowing where the stress goes can set you down the wrong path.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at August 03, 2025 06:33 AM (WvZaB)

79 A co-worker of mine at my last job was dyslexic, yet she had earned a Ph.D., and in history -- which required one hell of a lot of reading.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:32 AM (omVj0)
-------------
Remarkable story.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025 06:35 AM (ggTUu)

80 I think my mother knew that, and it probably didn't take long for me to start reading the "hard" ones.
_-_-_
Yep. I had similar guidance when learning to read. Hey, Mom, Dad, what's this 'ph' business? "Philadelphia"?

Posted by: Don in SoCo at August 03, 2025 06:35 AM (vd6bO)

81 Sometimes, you come up against stumpers, like "eleemosynary." Not knowing where the stress goes can set you down the wrong path.
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at August 03, 2025

***
Hadn't seen that one in a long time. English be weird, yo.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:35 AM (omVj0)

82 Some people become better readers later in life. My son, for example, never enjoyed reading until college, and rarely read for pleasure. Voracious now.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025 06:37 AM (ggTUu)

83 I'll take what is a dictionary for $ 1,000.

Posted by: Ben Had at August 03, 2025 06:37 AM (HFcKg)

84 A co-worker of mine at my last job was dyslexic, yet she had earned a Ph.D., and in history -- which required one hell of a lot of reading.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025
-------------
Remarkable story.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025

***
Her dyslexia was fairly mild, I think. Still, she started life with a handicap and overcame it. As part of her training, she did a year in England, researching old texts (her area was early Renaissance England, the Tudors and Stuarts). She may have had to read old handwritten documents as well as printed ones. Scary.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:39 AM (omVj0)

85 Byeeee...

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at August 03, 2025 06:40 AM (WvZaB)

86 I make my 14 year old keep a dictionary handy while reading. Just being able to sound out a word doesn't mean you have heard it before and know its meaning.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at August 03, 2025 06:40 AM (vd6bO)

87 My 2 year old grand daughter is the first toddler I have ever seen who prefers raw veggies and hummus to pizza. A miracle baby!

Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025 06:41 AM (4UA8O)

88 It probably helps, Wolfus, that her focus was on a wildly interesting period of English history.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025 06:43 AM (4UA8O)

89 Blessings counting time. My SIL was laid off last week and luckily scored a job within a week. A miracle for which we give thanks! His young son had gotten used to eating regular meals, so a paying job is much appreciated.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025 06:46 AM (RbVGf)

90 It probably helps, Wolfus, that her focus was on a wildly interesting period of English history.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025

***
True. I find it interesting too.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 06:47 AM (omVj0)

91 Can’t have people reading the founding documents, great literature, or most important , Holy Scripure.

Posted by: Eromero at August 03, 2025 06:47 AM (jgmnb)

92 Scripture that is.

Posted by: Eromero at August 03, 2025 06:47 AM (jgmnb)

93 It's one thing to get kids to be able to read but more important is getting kids interested in reading.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at August 03, 2025 06:49 AM (3Ope8)

94 Good morning morons from under a starry Sonoma sky

Interesting article on reading, the horde was discussing earlier this week their own experiences as novice readers.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 03, 2025 06:51 AM (JvZF+)

95 Rote memorization is awesome. The mind is like a hard drive on a computer. Load it up with data. Having a command of names, dates, and history will allow you to make comparisons and gauge certain claims being made many years, even decades later. It provides context, and you don’t need to look things up necessarily. it is impossible to overemphasize this.

They don’t want you to know history precisely because they intend to repeat it. I can’t tell you how many times in a school or university system or anywhere else, somebody would try to advance some nonsense. A command of the facts will shut their ass down. It is glorious. Food is a weapon. - well so is Knowledge.

Posted by: Common Tater at August 03, 2025 06:54 AM (zocr6)

96 Salty, may her memory be a blessing.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 03, 2025 06:58 AM (JvZF+)

97 Drove 300 miles last night and discovered satellite radio now has a "Yacht Rock" channel. Ace would love it!

Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025 06:58 AM (C5lbH)

98 ‘There is iron in the words of Common Tater for all men to see.’
- something Ten Bears would say

Posted by: Eromero at August 03, 2025 06:59 AM (jgmnb)

99 97 Drove 300 miles last night and discovered satellite radio now has a "Yacht Rock" channel. Ace would love it!

Do we tell him or let him find out on his own? Or did he leave off /sarc?

Posted by: clarence at August 03, 2025 07:01 AM (HEnIi)

100 One theory on the precipitous decline in public schools - at one time career opportunities for females was very limited. Schoolteacher was the most common.

When the workforce was opened up, the highly intelligent jumped on better paying avenues. While there are still very fine teachers, overall it is a dumpster fire. The only large pool available are ithe wack jobs who failed journalism school. Worse, they can’t do math or read very well and have no competencies in useful skills to impart.

Posted by: Common Tater at August 03, 2025 07:02 AM (zocr6)

101 It's one thing to get kids to be able to read but more important is getting kids interested in reading.
Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at August 03, 2025 06:49 AM (3Ope

---
Yep. Lifelong readers are likely to develop their own thoughts and ideas. The Establishment can't allow that to happen.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 03, 2025 07:04 AM (IBQGV)

102 The radio didn't play any of our Top Driving Songs from the other day. Bastards!

But I did listen to Tom Petty, and he's pretty good. Or, was.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025 07:07 AM (RbVGf)

103 mornin yall. A timely article on our local "news" site:

"Only 38% of third graders in Georgia can read proficiently, according to the Georgia Council on Literacy."

But at least someone is trying to do something about it:

"Smith, along with the Rotary Club of Centerville, launched Read United at Centerville Elementary six years ago. The program provides individual tutoring for students struggling to read at the third-grade level. Since the program started, Smith and other volunteers have tutored 250 children."

Seems rather subversive, ya know, doing the job teachers won't do.

Posted by: fd at August 03, 2025 07:08 AM (vFG9F)

104 Birdbath status?

Posted by: Just Wondering at August 03, 2025 07:09 AM (XQo4F)

105 Modern education has become a jobs program and education has become a secondary or tertiary concern.

Posted by: clarence at August 03, 2025 07:10 AM (HEnIi)

106 Morning peep.

I'd bet the majority of teachers themselves can't read either. Or at least can't read well.

That certainly doesn't help.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 03, 2025 07:12 AM (Q4IgG)

107 Hands down the most useful thing practically speaking you can teach anyone are the classical logic errors. Formal debate and rhetoric was hashed out 5000 years ago.

Nobody can be an expert in every field. And we can’t be everywhere to shield our kids from crazy ideas and persuasion. But learning how people are manipulated by pressing buttons, they will develop a finely tuned bullshit detector. “Trust me, I’m an expert” is of course known as “appeal to authority”. What if the experts are charlatans, cranks, and pseudo-intellectuals? How do you tell? Well for one thing, elaborate complicated scenarios and convoluted explanations are the hallmark of bullshit artists. They’ll muddy the water, to try and make it look deep. “It’s really complicated, you wouldn’t understand”. Uh-huh. Sometimes it is very simple. That doesn’t make it easy. But they want to conflate this. Politicians make careers out of this.

And we are supposed to defer to authority. This is why the school framework is so insidious. The Teacher is god, more or less.

Posted by: Common Tater at August 03, 2025 07:12 AM (Jkqe3)

108 "The purpose is not to learn words," he said. "The purpose is to make sense."

Well, the point is sorta correct. The purpose is to make sense. In order to do that, we need to know the words. The words are units of information. If I say "pecan" it conveys information to you - how much depends on how much you know about pecans. When you put those units of information together properly, it conveys more complex information.

Ironically, that requires recognizing the word as a whole*. Phonics is not required. Phonics is required if you need to speak those words. BUT, except for people who are totally deaf, learning the words requires someone speak them. It's how we learn. And, of course, it's how we communicate with each other so very often.

It's a whole muddled mess because we teach "reading" instead of "communicating," with reading as one way to do that.

(* Actually, as sub-units. So you can add prefixes, suffixes, etc.)

Posted by: GWB at August 03, 2025 07:14 AM (b+M7l)

109 Posted by: Common Tater at August 03, 2025 07:12 AM (Jkqe3)

Nailed it on that bit.

Posted by: GWB at August 03, 2025 07:15 AM (b+M7l)

110 I would like to see A Reading Test used when voting. If you can't read a small paragraph and answer correctly what it entailed, no vote for you.

Also, bring back The Poll Tax. I don't want stupid, broke ass mofos voting for the democrats like they always do.

Posted by: Old Ways Are Bestest at August 03, 2025 07:15 AM (R/m4+)

111 In my amateur experience, girls seemed to do much better as youngsters in learning to read. I recall in elementary school we used something called "SRA" cards to teach reading, and there was a competitive element to the cards. Suddenly boys got interested in reading, thanks to that.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025 07:15 AM (T+u7n)

112 We've got real problems in Georgia. Cannibal spiders:

"In the cases where cannibalism was witnessed, it involved one female biting and killing another, typically after a short fight. When two females of a similar size were placed together in a container, fights ensued 40% of the time," according to the study. “When females of different sizes were paired, fights happened 18% of the time, and the larger females were not always the aggressor.”

So the researchers put two spiders in a jar to watch them fight. Good work if you can get it.

Posted by: fd at August 03, 2025 07:17 AM (vFG9F)

113
Drove 300 miles last night and discovered satellite radio now has a "Yacht Rock" channel. Ace would love it!

Do we tell him or let him find out on his own? Or did he leave off /sarc?
Posted by: clarence

Screw ace -- tell Me Again Markle. Becoming a DJ for Yacht Rock broadcasts is something that she's been preparing for all her life.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Point&Laugh! Point&Laugh! Point&Laugh![ at August 03, 2025 07:19 AM (Tv15w)

114 However, I gained that understanding by my elder sister reading from a book while I was standing/sitting across from her. I can read a page of a book that is upside down to this day (albeit with a slight context switch).
Posted by: Richard Cranium

--

My older sister was bragged that we all knew how to read before starting school. Since I was the youngest, she was determined I not shame the family name by showing up to kindergarten illiterate she taught me to read.

I remember the little blackboard and her exasperation when I wanted to play instead. But she was relentless and I learned.
I was 5 and she was 13.

May she rest in peace.

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 03, 2025 07:21 AM (dE3DB)

115 "Flying Sex Toys" might be a good name for a band.

Posted by: fd at August 03, 2025 07:23 AM (vFG9F)

116 Well, Richard Dawkins- Yes, that Richard Dawkins from Oxford - has an essay in the "NY Post " called "No egg- ceptions " saying your biological sex is not a matter of feelings . I'm glad he is addressing that and not going on about "The God delusion" , atheist that he is , and guess what, Richard, the God which you don't believe talks about "make and female He created them. It has no concept of transgenderism either. I'd do a link but I can't seem to find it very easily. Sorry!

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 03, 2025 07:24 AM (2GCMq)

117
Modern education has become a jobs program to which we do not srnd our best and brightest and education has become a secondary or tertiary concern.
Posted by: clarence

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Point&Laugh! Point&Laugh! Point&Laugh![ at August 03, 2025 07:25 AM (Tv15w)

118 "Male" not "make"

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 03, 2025 07:25 AM (2GCMq)

119 110 I would like to see A Reading Test used when voting. If you can't read a small paragraph and answer correctly what it entailed, no vote for you.

Also, bring back The Poll Tax. I don't want stupid, broke ass mofos voting for the democrats like they always do.
Posted by: Old Ways Are Bestest at August 03, 2025 07:15 AM (R/m4
1. How many bubbles are in this cake of soap?

Posted by: Eromero at August 03, 2025 07:31 AM (jgmnb)

120 I have a little tinnitus going on this morning. Guess I should try one simple trick like jamming a bottle in my ear or holding a spoon on it. That's what the ads say to do.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 03, 2025 07:33 AM (gm9Sb)

121 Redditors are not insane, they are retarded. You can catch it if you sit around laughing at the same 3 comments for ten years

Posted by: GoK at August 03, 2025 07:35 AM (QyZFf)

122 Mornin' Horde. Considering whether to just do Bible study today and call it there, it really trashed my legs last week and I'm still struggling getting around over significant distances. Don't want to skip first Sunday, but last week was...not good.

May need to build more strength. Honestly, if it wasn't for other concerns I'd be in another stage of rehab.

Posted by: Brother Tim sez at August 03, 2025 07:39 AM (DL8Vk)

123
I quickly discovered Reddit is full of rabid leftwing sociopaths that have all the social graces of wolverines.
Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions

Speaking of Wolverines, fans and grads of thd University of Michigan having been going well out of their way lately to brag on the athletic prowess of their teams in all areas ofxspprting endeavor, particularly against those of The Ohio State University. It brings to mind when my late Mother asked me why I wasn't rooting for UM in sone bygone televised contest. My answer was to the point, "Because all their fans are assholes, Mom."

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Point&Laugh! Point&Laugh! Point&Laugh![ at August 03, 2025 07:40 AM (Tv15w)

124 Pawn, if you're here, I saw your prayer request yesterday on the Prayer Thread.
You and your family are being lifted up in prayer. You are seen, and you are heard, and you are cared for.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. Ps 34:18
Prayers will continue for you.

Posted by: TecumsehTea at August 03, 2025 07:40 AM (mZ/55)

125

Sccrrreeeeccchh!

*flings poo*

Posted by: PHONICS MONKEY at August 03, 2025 07:40 AM (jrmsy)

126 Morning, 'rons and 'ettes.

Posted by: olddog in mo at August 03, 2025 07:45 AM (jVYPw)

127
Heading back north today and I have a boat to zip up beforehand. Time to get up and get to work.

Later. Probably tonight.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Point&Laugh! Point&Laugh! Point&Laugh![ at August 03, 2025 07:45 AM (Tv15w)

128 Modern education has become a jobs program to which we do not send our best and brightest and education has become a secondary or tertiary concern.

Its been said that we should spend money on education, but end up spending money on the bureaucracy of education.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at August 03, 2025 07:49 AM (a4flb)

129 Three Cueing seems very similar to Whole Language, which one of my kids was subjected to for two years. A nightmare that took another year of after-school tutoring to try to remedy with some success, but not 100%. Thankfully he's a very smart guy so he's been able to work through it, but he admits there are lasting results that still presents some challenges to him after all these years.

Posted by: IrishEi at August 03, 2025 07:56 AM (3ImbR)

130 The nutty CNBC anchors went nuts when PDJT fired the poor performing BLS head lesbian. It was pathetic. They change precious estimates by 90 % almost routinely, but fire her? No way, that's evil. Or so they seem to believe at CNBC.

The anchors are compensated way over their abilities, and their job is to lie about everything all the time and appear sincere about it.

The BLS head lesbian is doing her job, she takes labor numbers provided to her by certain hedge funds, reports those, then eventually gets around to publishing the real numbers when its all too obvious that the reported numbers have little to do with reality.

Its either that, or CNBS anchors believe that Universal Basic Income, in order to have "dignity" needs to come with a job title and a corner office, though there is absolutely no requirement to perform job duties or appear at the office.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at August 03, 2025 07:59 AM (a4flb)

131 Three Cueing seems very similar to Whole Language,

So without illustrations, the reader is left clueless?

I wonder if we are doing laws wrong. Contracts, laws, and regulations need to be described in comic book form so that the Three Cueing imbeciles can understand what is being conveyed.

Absent that, it becomes a free-for-all as people project their own context into any assembly of written words.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at August 03, 2025 08:02 AM (a4flb)

132 >>>Why Johnny still can't read. (APM Reports)

Clearly a topic you are very passionate about, Pixy! Thanks for passing the topic and the passion along to us.

Posted by: m at August 03, 2025 08:03 AM (aURVT)

133 They don’t teach ABCs anymore?

You start with the basics, teach the alphabet, and the sounds for each letter.

Then you start with simple words that start with those letters.

Then you move on to sentences and reading books.

That’s the way English has been taught for hundreds of years and it works for the vast majority of people who don’t have a disability.

But they want to teach children to basically guess at what they are reading from visual clues and context and wonder why kids can’t read?

“Hooked On Phonics” was a hit for years, decades ago, because kids couldn’t read due to modern teaching, and they still are having this argument?

It’s not going to get better because it seems a lot of younger people today only read text messages and social media.

Now they’ll just let AI read everything to them.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 03, 2025 08:03 AM (6ydKt)

134 131 Three Cueing seems very similar to Whole Language,

So without illustrations, the reader is left clueless?

I wonder if we are doing laws wrong. Contracts, laws, and regulations need to be described in comic book form so that the Three Cueing imbeciles can understand what is being conveyed.

Absent that, it becomes a free-for-all as people project their own context into any assembly of written words.
Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at August 03, 2025 08:02 AM (a4flb
Vietnam era M16 operator’s manual in comic book format.

Posted by: Eromero at August 03, 2025 08:03 AM (jgmnb)

135 I wonder if we are doing laws wrong. Contracts, laws, and regulations need to be described in comic book form so that the Three Cueing imbeciles can understand what is being conveyed.

Absent that, it becomes a free-for-all as people project their own context into any assembly of written words.
Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at August 03, 2025 08:02 AM (a4flb)

----

They're called Graphic Novels, h8r!!

Posted by: You know somebody is going to say that at August 03, 2025 08:04 AM (PiwSw)

136 I am now the proud possessor of a "real ID", all my previous ID's being, apparently, fake

Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025 08:07 AM (K0VlB)

137 bill in arkansas:

Have you ever tried the "finger drumming" method for tinnitus? It's simple and works for many people, although not all. Worth a shot. Link is to a 40-second You Tube video:

https://tinyurl.com/3zsmawya

Posted by: IrishEi at August 03, 2025 08:08 AM (3ImbR)

138 As far as reading went, I was ahead of my peers from the start (unless they were taught at home). The Dick, Jane, Spot readers bored me. In fourth and fifth grade our teachers told us not to bring our readers home and read ahead. Naturally, being the contrary Wolfus that I am, I did just that, and was bored with the reading assignments for the rest of the year.

I wanted to move on to the grownup books as early as I could.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 08:10 AM (omVj0)

139 Why is learning to read made so difficult? I don't remember the process being that hard. Thankfully I had parents who read to me, and grew up in a house full of books.

I recall the use of a transitional alphabet (ITA) being taught to us little bratlings in first(?) grade. This was one fad that was actually helpful.

Let us not speak of the New Math.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 03, 2025 08:10 AM (kpS4V)

140 I'm looking at a chart showing the top 20 Brazilian exports to the US and which ones are hit with the 50% tarrif.

• Covfefe That is going to doom Starbucks since they source at industrial scale covfefe from Brazil

• Electrical Transformers which pretty much dooms the US electrical grid because now we are now almost totally reliant on our enemy China.

• Frozen Beef If Argentina doesn't step up their beef exports, fast food will be suddenly more interested in beef alternatives.

• Sugar So much for the cane sugar "Mexican Coke"

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at August 03, 2025 08:16 AM (a4flb)

141 Thanks Pixy,

I enjoyed the analysis on reading.

My mother was a teacher for decades starting in the 60's or so. Whatever came along, she'd close her door and teach the kids phonics.

Posted by: Stateless - HAPPY and NOT HOMELESS - New Life Creation - 15.8% at August 03, 2025 08:17 AM (jvJvP)

142 137 bill in arkansas:

Have you ever tried the "finger drumming" method for tinnitus? It's simple and works for many people, although not all. Worth a shot. Link is to a 40-second You Tube video:

https://tinyurl.com/3zsmawya
Posted by: IrishEi at August 03, 2025 08:08 AM

+++
Whoa. The stuff you learn here.
Thanks!
It seems to have helped!

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at August 03, 2025 08:17 AM (XQo4F)

143 Let us not speak of the New Math.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 03, 2025 08:10 AM (kpS4V)
-----
We all know that's a forbidden subject on the blog.

Even math (classic) is suspect.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 03, 2025 08:19 AM (IBQGV)

144 136 I am now the proud possessor of a "real ID", all my previous ID's being, apparently, fake
Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025 08:07 AM (K0VlB)

Because that original ID you’ve had since you were a teenager just isn’t good enough anymore, what with terrorists and illegals getting in and faking them and all. People have got to know they’re Real, people have got to know you are Real, not a fake Egyptian or Saudi terrorist who wants to fly Real planes into Real skyscrapers.

Now you can go a Real military base, get on a Real plane for domestic travel, or visit Really Mexico, Really Canada, and a few Really Caribbean islands without any Real hassle whatsoever.

You’ll need a Real passport for anything else, though.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 03, 2025 08:21 AM (6ydKt)

145 >>>Whoa. The stuff you learn here.
~~~~~

The HQ is a treasure trove of solutions. Some of my favorites:

--Drain King: cheap device that really does fix clogged drains. (Thanks, votermom for that!)

--Alan Carr's book, "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" (Thanks, Ace!)

--Slap a hot iron to it. Infamous AoS cure-all.

Posted by: IrishEi at August 03, 2025 08:22 AM (3ImbR)

146 G'Day everyone

Posted by: Skip at August 03, 2025 08:22 AM (bQn8Z)

147 But they want to teach children to basically guess at what they are reading from visual clues and context and wonder why kids can’t read?

I learned how to read Greek and Hebrew from reading out of the original language Bible. Since I already knew what I should be reading, due to familiarity with the passages, it was easier to learn the words that only show up a few times in the entire Bible.

Its like learning Spanish by having the Spanish subtitles on during movies.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at August 03, 2025 08:22 AM (a4flb)

148 Hot dog spill closes Pennsylvania highway:

https://tinyurl.com/yzfjctm7

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at August 03, 2025 08:23 AM (XvL8K)

149 I don't remember anyone reading to me and we had 3 books in the house; the bible, Ben Hur and one other that I don't recall. I learned the alphabet, sounded the words in simple books from the ones provided by my school. Progressed from there with the help of dedicated teachers and the local library. This shouldn't be difficult.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at August 03, 2025 08:24 AM (2NHgQ)

150 "Hot dog spill closes Pennsylvania highway:"

WNBA is agast.

Posted by: The rest of the story at August 03, 2025 08:25 AM (vFG9F)

151 • Sugar So much for the cane sugar "Mexican Coke"
Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at August 03, 2025 08:16 AM (a4flb)

We can import sugar from Mexico or China.

Coffee from Colombia and other countries.

Cattle ranchers in the U.S. are having the best year they’ve ever had currently with prices up.

And God knows, we should be making our own electrical transformers and equipment so we don’t have to depend on other countries for the supply.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 03, 2025 08:27 AM (6ydKt)

152 They wouldn't teach slaves to read because it gave them hope beyond the plantation life.
Wealthy landowners can't afford that, don't you know?

Posted by: Elrond Hubbard at August 03, 2025 08:28 AM (P0m9n)

153 Drain King: cheap device that really does fix clogged drains. (Thanks, votermom for that!)

--
You're welcome, IrishEI!

The device that demonstrates the triumph of physics over chemistry

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 03, 2025 08:28 AM (DoBxX)

154 Its like learning Spanish by having the Spanish subtitles on during movies.
Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at August 03, 2025 08:22 AM (a4flb)

If you gave me enough movies and several years I could probably pull that off.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 03, 2025 08:30 AM (6ydKt)

155 I still remember my mother reading to me the P.D. Eastman classic "Go Dog, Go." It was just a gateway drug that led to red and blue fish, cats in hats, Pippi Longstocking, Henry, Beezus, Hardy Boys, Twain and Faulkner.

I've read things, man.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at August 03, 2025 08:30 AM (XQo4F)

156 Local news reports yet another isolated measles case in rural Colorado in what appears to be a spotty outbreak...

(...wait for it...)

Posted by: muldoon at August 03, 2025 08:31 AM (poXs5)

157 F u cn rd ths, u cn gt a gd jb!

Posted by: NYC Subway Ad 1978 at August 03, 2025 08:31 AM (G5+As)

158 Hot dog spill closes Pennsylvania highway:

https://tinyurl.com/yzfjctm7
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at August 03, 2025 08:23 AM (XvL8K)
=====

"O The humanity!"
-1930s radio announcer

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 03, 2025 08:31 AM (JvZF+)

159
VEGAN TOTALITARIAN FASCIST BIOWARE-

Yes, it's a thing!

https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/08/01/u-of-

michigan-bioethicists-want-to-infect-people-with-

disease-that-makes-you-allergic-to-meat-n3805394

No steak for you evah!, deplorable.

Posted by: naturalfake at August 03, 2025 08:32 AM (iJfKG)

160 I was thinking that after my workout, shower, and breakfast, I'd drive up the state highway to a coffee shop and hang out there with my laptop for the Book Thread. Now that it's come to it, I don't really want to. The coffee shop chain is a nice one, but I keep remembering the independent ones in Denver that actually had books on shelves that you could read as you sipped your espresso, and even buy if you were so inclined.

There may be some like that here. But they are most likely in areas I don't care to drive to.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 08:33 AM (omVj0)

161 You're welcome, IrishEI!
The device that demonstrates the triumph of physics over chemistry
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 03, 2025 08:28 AM (DoBxX)
~~~~~

The thing's incredible!

Posted by: IrishEi at August 03, 2025 08:33 AM (3ImbR)

162 P.D. Eastman must have done loads of acid.

"It's party in the tree!"

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 03, 2025 08:33 AM (JvZF+)

163
Just a guess-

but lack of proper nutrition must cause vegans and vegetarians to go insane.

Sad.

Posted by: naturalfake at August 03, 2025 08:34 AM (iJfKG)

164 "O The humanity!"
-1930s radio announcer
Posted by: San Franpsycho
____

Local fire chief: "As God is my witness, I did not know hot dogs were slippery."

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at August 03, 2025 08:35 AM (XvL8K)

165 I still remember my mother reading to me the P.D. Eastman classic "Go Dog, Go." It was just a gateway drug that led to red and blue fish, cats in hats, Pippi Longstocking, Henry, Beezus, Hardy Boys, Twain and Faulkner.

I've read things, man.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at August 03, 2025

***
You had me until "Faulkner." Last week I took out a collection of his short novels from the library, and the long sentences are annoying -- not only because they take a while to get to the point, but also because I'm afraid if I read him, I'll start writing like him.

(I think this Tech Thread is going to merge imperceptibly into the Book Thread. . . .)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 08:35 AM (omVj0)

166 u-of-michigan-bioethicists-

First, do no harm.

Posted by: clarence at August 03, 2025 08:36 AM (HEnIi)

167 No such thing as a bioethicist

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at August 03, 2025 08:36 AM (bXbFr)

168 F u cn rd ths, u cn gt a gd jb!
Posted by: NYC Subway Ad 1978 at August 03, 2025

***
Vowels be racist, yo!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 08:36 AM (omVj0)

169 Just another frustrated mad scientist

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at August 03, 2025 08:37 AM (bXbFr)

170 *Local fire chief: "As God is my witness, I did not know hot dogs were slippery."*

They're the wurst.

Posted by: Oh, no. Sausage punz! at August 03, 2025 08:38 AM (XQo4F)

171 Really good Bookworm Beat meme thread
https://tinyurl.com/yb3uszz8

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 03, 2025 08:39 AM (JvZF+)

172 Local fire chief: "As God is my witness, I did not know hot dogs were slippery."
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at August 03, 2025 08:35 AM (XvL8K)

That confused me.

Has the man never taken a hot dog out of a pack?

They are as slick as a water slide when you pull them out.

Is the man a vegetarian?

Does his wife do al, the cooking?

Is he even a Real American to have so little basic knowledge about how hot dogs operate?

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 03, 2025 08:41 AM (6ydKt)

173 Good Sunday morning Horde. Thx Pixy.
"My science is different" in many ways the story of the Dem party

Posted by: Smell the Glove at August 03, 2025 08:42 AM (MeLed)

174 *Local fire chief: "As God is my witness, I did not know hot dogs were slippery."*
*
They're the wurst.
Posted by: Oh, no. Sausage punz! at August 03, 2025

***
You mustard do what you can.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 08:44 AM (omVj0)

175 (I think this Tech Thread is going to merge imperceptibly into the Book Thread. . . .)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 08:35 AM (omVj0)
----
** I sense a great disturbance in the blog... **

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 03, 2025 08:44 AM (IBQGV)

176 I think this dildo throwing won't stop anytime soon. I can see large segments on ESPN dedicated to bad behavior and the throwing of dildos.

What a clown world.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at August 03, 2025 08:44 AM (dR6yv)

177 *Local fire chief: "As God is my witness, I did not know hot dogs were slippery."*
*
They're the wurst.
Posted by: Oh, no. Sausage punz! at August 03, 2025

***
You mustard do what you can.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 08:44 AM (omVj0)

Get off your buns and get to work!

Posted by: naturalfake at August 03, 2025 08:45 AM (iJfKG)

178 Is he even a Real American to have so little basic knowledge about how hot dogs operate?
Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 03, 2025

***
Just like a certain jugeared president, who had no idea how Americans feel about their dogs when he allowed his "memoir" to include a story about eating one as a child.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 08:45 AM (omVj0)

179 My Sainted Mother taught all 9 of us to read before the 1st grade.
I read 104 of those little books in the 1st grade.
My spare time was spent divising ways to eat more of that deliciously tantalizing paste.

Posted by: Elrond Hubbard at August 03, 2025 08:46 AM (P0m9n)

180 (I think this Tech Thread is going to merge imperceptibly into the Book Thread. . . .)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025
----
** I sense a great disturbance in the blog... **
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 03, 2025

***
"And what do you think the Vulcans felt, when the Tech Thread merged into the Book Thread?"

"Astonishment."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 08:46 AM (omVj0)

181 As kids, we spent every Sunday reading the newspaper comics. Probably explains a few things...

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 03, 2025 08:48 AM (Q4IgG)

182 *Local fire chief: "As God is my witness, I did not know hot dogs were slippery."*
*
They're the wurst.
Posted by: Oh, no. Sausage punz! at August 03, 2025

***
You mustard do what you can.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 08:44 AM (omVj0)

Get off your buns and get to work!
Posted by: naturalfake

Relish every opportunity.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at August 03, 2025 08:49 AM (dR6yv)

183 Three Cueing seems very similar to Whole Language,"

Education 'theorys" seem to be a well structured as the "100 monkeys" crap.

Why do so many embrace obvious nuttery?

Posted by: man at August 03, 2025 08:49 AM (tubbA)

184 What a clown world.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at August 03, 2025 08:44 AM (dR6yv)

But the WNBC deserves that more than anyone.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 03, 2025 08:49 AM (iFhzS)

185 I think this dildo throwing won't stop anytime soon. I can see large segments on ESPN dedicated to bad behavior and the throwing of dildos.

Would not shock me if ESPN was throwing the dildos to create a story. They really, really want people to give a shit about the WNBA.

Yet - my fields remain barren.

Posted by: Man Without A Party at August 03, 2025 08:49 AM (dXEEh)

186 OT, but I think I need a new kitchen wall clock. The old one from Restoration Hardware, bought more than twenty years ago, is consistently ten minutes slow now even with a new battery in it. I wonder if my local watch repair guy could save it?

I saw a nice "outdoor" clock at Walmart yesterday, with not only time but also gauges for temp and humidity. Eleven bucks, and it would let me know conditions inside my place just as well.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 08:53 AM (omVj0)

187 The contrast between prose Faulkner and screenwriter Faulkner has always fascinated me. Lengthy, overwrought prose and spare, direct movie dialogue (see "To Have And Have Not").

Like two completely different writers.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025 08:53 AM (iSeMO)

188 I think this dildo throwing won't stop anytime soon. I can see large segments on ESPN dedicated to bad behavior and the throwing of dildos.

Lotta money in those dildos.

Posted by: Santino at August 03, 2025 08:53 AM (R/m4+)

189 The linked article on why Jonny can’t read is long, but worth it. As I was reading, I was thinking, ‘how can such a kooky theory still be taught in schools?’ I figured it must be (i) it’s easier for lazy teachers and (ii) money. Any bets on whether I was right or not?

Posted by: Elric the Bladiest Blade at August 03, 2025 08:55 AM (aeiyZ)

190 I LOVE REDDIT!!!

It's my favorite media outlet. In the same way as all AoS threads turn to boobs and guns, all Reddit threads turn to extreme Leftwing hate - no matter how crazy it has to be.

A reddit user asks how to get rid of an unwanted weed on his lawn. Within 15 comments, it begins:

"Why are you trying to clear out weeds?! There is no such thing as a "weed." People like you are causing global warming."

"This our mentality now, in Trumpland. See something you're unfamiliar with? Just deport it. Or kill it."

It's awesome.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 03, 2025 08:55 AM (BI5O2)

191 Just like a certain jugeared president, who had no idea how Americans feel about their dogs when he allowed his "memoir" to include a story about eating one as a child.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 08:45 AM (omVj0)

That’s because O was still playing the role of the Kenyan - Indonesian - Half-Black - Hawaiian at that point. Eating Fido just made him seem more exotic.

It wasn’t until later on when he had to play the role of All-American - Chicago - Professor - Lawyer - Community - Activist - Politician that he figured out canine-eating is verboten around these parts.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 03, 2025 08:55 AM (6ydKt)

192 The contrast between prose Faulkner and screenwriter Faulkner has always fascinated me. Lengthy, overwrought prose and spare, direct movie dialogue (see "To Have And Have Not").

Like two completely different writers.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 03, 2025

***
That, and Big Sleep too. Didn't Howard Hawks direct both? He might have had some input into Faulkner's scripts.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 03, 2025 08:55 AM (omVj0)

193 Why would someone throw away a perfectly good dildo? My forbears would be aghast!

Posted by: Uncle Pervy at August 03, 2025 08:57 AM (G5+As)

194 The Green Dildos would be a great name for a WNBA team. And think about the costumed mascot!
Get the Oakland Chamber of Commerce on the phone...

Posted by: Evil Capitalist at August 03, 2025 08:57 AM (XQo4F)

195 .
NOOD

Book Thread is live!

NOOD!

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 03, 2025 08:58 AM (O7YUW)

196 My favorite recent lunacy on reddit was the story of a guy who committed suicide in Denver, by hanging himself in a public park.

The thread was a lengthy, febrile discussion where they reached obvious conclusion. It's not a suicide. The right wing DPD was doing a cover up. The guy was Hispanic. Thus was a MAGA lynching.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 03, 2025 09:01 AM (BI5O2)

197 Spent a scant few years in "education." Every year it was filled with Teachers Inst Days that had some speaker (a friend of the admin, consultant) to tell us we've been doing it wrong the whole time and this new system (always a clever acronym) would solve OUR troubles.

It was always based on older (and failed ideas) but repackaged and tweaked. Same outcomes. Decline.

I was on the side of the fence (there were a lot of us) that these new "Systems" weren't to help the students learn but simply to make life easier for teachers ad easier to show "improvement" in students by monkeying with how improvement is measured.

All a silly game.

Posted by: GigantorX at August 03, 2025 09:37 AM (x8k2o)

198 "[...] instead, they were memorizing sentence patterns and using the pictures to guess."
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
So, basically it's the wetware version of a LLM AI? Able to store a LOT of sentence patterns, a LOT of glyphs that are located next to one another, but no true understanding of what they actually mean?

Posted by: Another Anon at August 03, 2025 10:40 AM (4h45B)

199 It was the 1970s. I was taught phonics in elementary. We were given phonics books. I remember being particularly annoyed learning the lesson of "oe" as the difficult one. Learning about "silent e" at the end of a word was fun. I found "th" interesting.

Posted by: hadsil at August 03, 2025 11:09 AM (Xht4H)

200 200

Posted by: m at August 03, 2025 01:57 PM (aURVT)

201 137 bill in arkansas:

Have you ever tried the "finger drumming" method for tinnitus? It's simple and works for many people, although not all. Worth a shot. Link is to a 40-second You Tube video:

https://tinyurl.com/3zsmawya
Posted by: IrishEi at August 03, 2025 08:08 AM (3ImbR)

I'm trying it. Thank you!

Posted by: m at August 03, 2025 01:58 PM (aURVT)

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