Exams, Strict Construction and Covetness

Tuesday Morning... my first period is taking their World History Final. Can you answer these questions correctly (answers at bottom):

1. What time in the past does "prehistoric" refer to?
a. before the Neolithic Age
b. before the invention of writing
c. before the establishment of civilizations
d. before the appearance of Homo sapiens

27. What do Muslims believe about Muhammad?
a. He was the last and greatest of the prophets.
b. He was the only son of the one true God, Allah.
c. He was the first and only prophet of Allah.
d. He was a combination of god and man.

31. Why did Kublai Khan favor Mongols and foreigners for government posts?
a. He did not believe in Confucian teachings.
b. He feared that Chinese officials would support Japan.
c. Genghis Khan had wanted him to remove all Chinese officials from power.
d. He believed that Mongols and foreigners had no local loyalties.

34. What was the chief goal of the Crusades?
a. to spread Christianity throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa
b. to recover Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Muslim Turks
c. to improve trade among Europe, Asia, and Africa
d. to force the Byzantines to become Catholics

60. How might small farmers of the agricultural revolution be compared to the working class of the Industrial Revolution?
a. Both endured long working hours.
b. Both suffered job losses due to progress.
c. Both lived in climates of social restructuring.
d. All of the above are true.

65. Which country was not a part of the “Big Four” that signed the Treaty of Versailles?
a. United States
b. Italy
c. Soviet Union
d. France

86. Which of the following gave the Europeans the greatest advantage against the Native Americans:
a. Disease
b. Guns
c. Horses
d. Religion

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Strict Construction -
(narrow construction) n. interpreting the Constitution based on a literal and narrow definition of the language without reference to the differences in conditions when the Constitution was written and modern conditions, inventions and societal changes. By contrast "broad construction" looks to what someone thinks was the "intent" of the framers' language and expands and interprets the language extensively to meet current standards of human conduct and complexity of society.

Perhaps Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor perhaps took a Strict or Narrow Construction view when her friends and supporters told her to "break a leg" before the Senate.

Sotomayor Breaks Leg on the Way to Capitol Hill

To her credit, despite the broken ankle, she kept her appointment for the day.

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"Thou shall not Covet" - Exodus 20:17

I blame and curse Apple. My iphone was the coolest and most useful (and addictive) thing ever. Key word: was. Apple introduces the new iphone 3GS, that boasts faster speed, more features (video recording, voice activation), more memory (16 and 32 gigs) and is available in white!

See the comparions between phones

I WANT ONE!

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Answers to exam samples: 1- b; 27 - a; 31- d; 34- b; 60- d; 65- c; 86- a

Sunday Observations - 10 May

- This week's proof the Murphy lives:
These are the things that broke on me in the last week:
1) Toilet broke
2) Check engine light
3) iphone froze
4) Lawnmower doesn't run
When it rains, ir pours...

- Fixed the toilet (easy), car going into my mechanic (it needs to get checked for a drive to Alaska this summer), sent phone back to Apple, gotta take mower in. sheesh.

- The iphone was the worst. I am back to using a monochrome phone with no camera, wireless, or games. It's quite humbling. I tell people I feel like Clark Kent in Superman II when he gives up his powers to become human. That's me. I am no longer Superman.

- Why Manny, why? Baseball is the new cycling. You wonder if there is anyone that is clean. The only difference is that baseball's testing system is a joke.

- Welcome back thunderstorms. I love them. Except that it postpones important track meets.

Crush of the Week:
Dot Case adopted me when I started as a teacher at North Henderson. She's always fought for me, supported me and fed me(she brought me brownies and banana pudding last week). She's taught hundreds of students over the last 39 years of education. This year, she's North Henderson's Teacher of the Year. In addition, she was also selected this week as Henderson County's Teacher of the Year.
Mrs. Case is truly one of the most inspiring and amazing people I know. I wish Brett Farve would either retire or commit to play. I understand his plight. He doesn't know what to do if he's not Brett Frave, pro football player. Ms. Case could have retired a decade ago. She loves the kids. She wouldn't know what to do if she wasn't Dot Case, educator extraordinaire.

Times News Article
Dot Case Interview in my Blog

There are 22 schools in Henderson County. Each year, every school chooses it's Teacher of the Year, from which the County Teacher of the Year is selected. With Mary Lou West, Rachel Durant and now Ms Case, North Henderson has had 3 of the last 4 Henderson County Teachers of the Year. Yes, more evidence that I work in the best school ever.

Sunday Observations- Nov 16

1) I went to Boone yesterday to see my alma mater, Elon, play Appalachian State in an important Southern Conference showdown. Elon was ranked 10th in the country and ASU ranked 2nd. It was a great game, even if Elon lost 24-16. I loved the game, it was cold and wet. Rain and, at times, snow were blowing into our faces. This is football. People around me were whining but I was in bliss. It made me feel like I was in Lambeau or Buffalo. I'm glad we made the trip, I haven't seen Elon play in about 5 years. Elon has come a long way since the days of playing games at Williams High School.

2) Random encounters are so neat. We walked into Mellow Mushroom in Boone and a young lady walked up to me and asked if I was Heang Uy. It was a girl I went to high school with. Then she turned to my friend Dave and asked, "were you in a band?" Dave used to play in a band called Dirt Poor Authority. You can find them on itunes. That encounter made Dave's day and made him feel like a rockstar. Dirt Poor hadn't played in over 5 years and someone from "the day" remembered him. Good times.

3) I love my iphone. I will admit that I am a bit addicted to it. That's part of being a geek. Now that it's cold, I have found one fault with it. The touch screen works on heat, not pressure, so I cannot use the phone with gloves on. Unfortunately for me, I am a glover when the weather is cold. So if you call and I don't answer, it might because I am fumbling my phone out of my pocket then taking off a glove and then unlocking the phone...

4) I would not recommend Geno's in Boone. We stopped there for dinner. The food was amazingly slow to get there and the selection bland. I'm to the point also that I don't want to eat where they allow smoking. The most amazing thing was when my friend asked for chili cheese fries and the waitress said they couldn't do it because the kitchen would be mad. She could, however, bring cheese fries and a side of chili for an extra charge. But bringing french fries, chili and cheese on one plate was not possible.

5) Discipline was the topic of the week at our youth leaders meeting and at church this morning. Read Proverbs 3. The Lord disciplines the ones he loves. When you are as egotistical as I am, discipline can be a very disconcerting thing. Who am I that I need to be disciplined? God's word humbles me.

Man-Crush of the Week: Jeremy Gillespie. Why? 1) He wanted to be it. 2) He let me bring my wrestling team to Camp Arrowhead for North Henderson Wrestling's boot camp. 3) He was pretty rocking when leading worship at Grace this morning. 4) His other identity (don't tell anyone, shhh) is Superman.