Month: September 2015

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1892

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Bruce

1892You know I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel when I result to American Football. Most of my friends know that when everyone is going wild about football, I tend to joke about “soccer” just because.

I was once a football fan- I was 8 and Sears was selling “official” football gear at Christmas. My parents wanted us to grow up as good American boys.  My brother (who liked the ocean) picked the Dolphins. I picked the Raiders (we lived near Oakland) . Not much to say, as the years went by the Raiders followed me south, won a Superbowl, moved back north… and I moved east. Now I’m in “Colt’s Country” with everyone spending every cent of their disposable income to support the local team… I won’t go into my thoughts on this, I’ve upset enough people in person. That said, I really tend to support the team that plays well (without cheating- sorry Patriots). but I will always post about European football scores as people in the U.S. spend way too much time and money on bread & circuses. I wonder what would happen if everyone spent just as much on schools (no, not the high school football team, actual education), or infrastructure, or their own community.  Funny thing, in Indiana they don’t complain about tax increases to support millionaire football players, or billionaire owners, but stutter and stall at supporting local initiatives that actually help “real people.”  No, I don’t own an official “jersey” for Colt’s days at school… I know I’m just a bad person.

Oh, and I believe this referee call shown is “I’m innocent, don’t shoot” which sadly so many football players need these days.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #0083

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Bruce

0083I’m a teacher… I wanted to be one since I was in 4th grade. At least that’s when I recall first considering the idea, walking down the “halls” of Montemalaga Elementary School. Why? Am I a glutton for punishment? I chose my profession not because I wanted to make fistfuls of cash, but because I wanted to make a difference. As I grew older my ideas changed- I remember in middle school telling someone I wanted to be a biochemist- when asked “why?” all I could come up with was “it sounded cool.” So when I went to college I had three ideas for a profession- Teaching, International Business, or Advertising. I got the jolt to go into teaching when I looked at colleges and one told me they couldn’t give me a degree in elementary education.
You see when I was in 6th grade my parents decided to expand our family… so I ended up with two brothers, young enough for me to take on the role of babysitter. When I reached senior year I was able to get a job at a day care center. I recall when my mom asked about my first observation all I could think was “They call this work?!?” people say- do what you love… for more years than I can think I have tried.
So today’s MINIon is for all the teachers out there working against the politicians, and the media. Doing what they know is right to help create a future we all want to live in.
I couldn’t have done it alone, I was influenced by many wonderful teachers along the way. From my “Grandmother” (she never wanted to be called that) June- who without knowing it had three Nelson boys go to a classroom. My friend Mark’s mom, wh0 helped through the monotony that is undergrad, Education courses.  Along many master teachers I had – too many to name. I became the best teacher I could. Am I perfect? I wish. I still end up with a worm in an apple every once in a while… but that’s a part of life. My advice to you?- Just take some time to thank a teacher who influenced you, and remember them before you become a lemming and just follow the teachers are “Union Thugs” and “Lazy” line the media and politics are pushing.  To those students I’ve had- all I can say is “Thank You” for letting me be a small part of your hopefully wonderful life. And you know if you had done your homework… 😉

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #4176

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Bruce

4176I know the world is divided into three camps: the luddites, the non-Apple users, and the Apple users.  Those who dislike Apple have their reasons.  Those who love Apple have their reasons.  Luddites? They can’t read this so who cares.

My first computer ever- was an Apple II+ It had a cassette tape drive and a whopping 48k of memory.  We’d play things like Beneath Apple Manor- an adventure game in which you traveled through a dungeon taking on monsters and gathering treasure.  You were a white, flashing square.  The monsters were a colored square. You used the keyboard to move and fight.  It was a computer, and I learned a few things from it.  Most importantly- I learned I hated the way it worked. Yes, I hated working on a computer.

Once I was introduced to the Mac I saw how simple an interface could be and there was no going back.  Intuitive, and it just worked.  I’ve been a Mac owner since 1984.  I know people can list off thousands of reasons to not buy anything from Apple.  Don’t waste your time on me- I’m part of the cult, I have drunk the Kool-Aid. There’s no saving me now, just move on. Heck, I had a Newton that should tell you how far gone I am.  I like what I like, and like simplicity.

Oh, and one more thing… Here’s to whatever Apple is announcing today, it might not be Earth shattering, but I’m guessing it will be, in some small way game changing.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #4023

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Bruce

4023More than meets the eye?!? Allow me a brief (or long winded, I haven’t decided yet) trip into nostalgia land. I hate saying “When I was a kid” because I feel that somewhere in that hides “Get off my lawn!” That said when I was kid toys were toys and cartoons were cartoons. We didn’t have any of your fancy Cartoon Networks, or Nickelodeons. We had Saturday morning cartoons. Yes, we could only watch cartoons on Saturdays. Fine, local stations usually showed cartoons in the afternoon after school let out- around the time they now have lurid talk shows. I prefer cartoons and the sometime classic movie. That said some cartoons were tied into a toy line (Hot Wheels comes to mind) but besides that, as far as I recall there wasn’t much overlap. As I grew older (please note: I didn’t say “grew up”) cartoons became more and more tied to cartoons, with the cartoons being just 30 minute commercials. G.I. Joe shrank, but he got his own show. No more boot lockers filled with clothes and accessories.  No more dating Barbie. My little brothers were growing up during the height of this. I remember fondly my baby brother pulling a stick from the back of his shirt, holding it above his head, and shouting “By the power of Greyskull!” Besides He-Man another biggie was Transformers. I never really understood the appeal. I liked some of the anime coming out of Japan that had transforming planes fighting alien invaders, but Transformers just seemed a little silly.
As I look back, I still don’t see the appeal, but that’s me. If collecting transforming robots makes you happy- go right ahead. Just don’t tease me about my comic books, or my phaser, or my action figures, or my LEGO, or…

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #5556

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Bruce

5556You knew it had to happen some time… MINIon Elvis. I swear this one has been on my list since the start, but since I have a failing memory and rarely write down my ideas I really can’t say.  It was hard to choose which Elvis I would draw – young Elvis, or the Las Vegas era Elvis.  I chose the latter because of peanut butter and banana sandwiches.  Thank you, thank you very much.