Leave a comment Posted on by Dominic Salvucci Random Musings

Learning to Relax…Once Again

It seems that I have forgotten how to relax.  I have somehow conditioned myself to not be comfortable just “chilling.” sitting back, doing nothing.  When I try, I become anxious and antsy.  My body rebels and tells me that I must do something, anything, time is “a-wastin,” get going.  The all too precious time is a “blowin’ away in the wind,” to mash up the movie and the Bob Dylan classic.

I  often try to enjoy espresso on the deck, sometimes while hanging out with family and friends, sometimes alone.  But even that time becomes more of a race to the finish than a relaxing time of reflection and conversation.  Slurping instead of sipping, clock watching instead of listening to friends, family, or even sounds of nature.

This new conditioning has become more than a nuisance, it has taken away one of the most important mental health tools people have, the ability to relax, clear one’s mind, then regroup and recharge.

I need to address this and soon.  I do not know where the blame falls, probably on me, but the situation needs to be remedied.  I have to re-train my brain and body that it is okay to do nothing at times, or just enjoy what I am doing in the moment, without planning the next activity or worrying about how much time I am spending on the current action or lack thereof.

Even as I write this, my mind starts chirping about me taking too long to type and review my post.  My inner voice starts to run down the list of tasks that still need to be accomplished.  It is like a movie or book that intentionally makes you uncomfortable, I am currently reading a Hard Case Crime novel by Ed McBain that sometimes has that effect on me.  The heroin-addicted main character’s manic episodes push me to a place I do not favor.  I toss out the description since I am not comfortable linking the book here.  This is an educational blog, so…

The re-training will start soon, but not until after I have another cup of coffee, clear my head, and just sit for a few more minutes.  After all, starting immediately in a rush only strengthens the bad habit I am trying to break.

 

Leave a comment Posted on by Dominic Salvucci Random Musings

Rainy Saturday Post

So it is a dreary, rainy, Saturday afternoon.  The weather forecasters said the rain was to have cleared out by now, but they were wrong.  I have numerous activities and outdoor chores I wanted to work on today, but the weather is not cooperating.  Both stations on TV that carry westerns are playing The Big Valley, which is not one of my favorite western shows, no offense meant to anyone, I loved it as a kid, but my preferences have changed over time.

Since I could not get outside to complete what I needed to do, I posted my classroom podcast, read part of a library eBook, enjoyed some espresso with frothed Half and Half from United Dairy Farms, played with Charli, our puppy, did some prep work for my Honors US II Summer Reading Project, and decided I needed a break.

My daughter started working on her blog again and asked about mine.  I had to admit I do not write to this space much anymore with my podcast and the PAECT Pod taking up time, along with many life commitments.  Due to my regret, embarrassment, or shame of not using this site, I thought what better way to take a break than to ramble on here.

We all need down days such as today.  I have many activities and chores to complete outside, but sometimes we just need to take time to relax.  Writing is one of the ways I relax, however, I have not made enough time to do so for a number of years now.  I hope to get back into the practice soon.  This is the first step.  Now, time to turn off all electronics and spend some time with the family and hopefully see the end of the rain soon.

Leave a comment Posted on by Dominic Salvucci Cool Stuff, Podcast, Random Musings, Rants

AI Declaration

I am typing this a bit facetiously…I have not posted a blog in many, many, let’s just say an extremely long time.  Chat GPT and other forms of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have sprung up for public consumption since my last post.  This is my declaration that I will not be using AI to write posts on this blog.

I make this declaration since I have read online at Business Insider that many books are showing up on Amazon that have been written by AI.  As a once-inspiring author, that does depress me a bit.  I like the concept of the human mind and imagination firing up stories that excite and hold our attention.  I may just be getting old and falling behind the times, or I may be a bit bitter that someone with a sentence or two into a website has completed a manuscript that I haven’t been able to complete as of yet.  The jury is out on where I fall.

In the meantime, I want to reassure my dedicated readers, thank you Mom, that the words that appear here and on my personal podcasts will be my own and not those of any Artificial Intelligence entity.

Leave a comment Posted on by Dominic Salvucci Class Updates, class work, Cool Stuff, Random Musings, Student Stuff

Chaos of Choice

This past week in class I had my students begin preparing for a Discussion Board assignment: straightforward, direct, rather basic discussion board assignment: they were going to respond to a classmates’ initial discussion board post.

There was one catch…they had to get approval from me as to whose post they would be responding to. As I suspected, they all wanted to respond to their best friend’s initial post. I shot that idea down and made them choose another student’s post to respond to. That is when CHAOS reared it’s mischievous head. Students asked for the same friend a couple of times, others asked for their “other BFF” from class, several tried to argue/debate the reasons why they should be allowed to respond to their friend, others inquired repeatedly as to why they could not respond to their friend, and other students went back to their seats and sulked.

The purpose for my not letting them respond to their “BFF’s” initial discussion board post was to get them out of their comfort zone and to have the interact with other students. Being able to comfortably, confidently, and appropriately interact and respond to others is a necessary skill. And in my not so humble opinion, it is becoming a lost art. I attempted to explain this to the classes, unfortunately my message was not making much headway.

A number of students then wanted me to pick the post they were to respond to. That was also something I did not want to do. The students were encouraged to read over the initial posts again and choose a post that they connected with. Just not a connection based upon being friends with the student. They were to focus on the message, not the author. It took some coaxing, but eventually they came around and chose another post to respond to, even if it was only grudgingly.

In the end the students overcame their angst and the CHAOS settled down. Students used this GUIDELINE to form their responses and overall did a great job for their first attempt at responding to others in a discussion board format.