Ontario Technological Education Teachers Mail Lists

When I did the provincial training for the new Tech Ed curriculum back in 2009, I created mail lists in Google Groups as a way for the teachers to network, both as part of the training and afterwards. A number of these mail lists have become hugely successful, with lots of dialogue about anything from field trips to textbooks, and what I am most happy about, with teachers creating and freely sharing resources that they have developed.

To join any of these lists, you have to have a Google account. If you have a Gmail account, then you already have a Google account, so you can just use that address to join. If you don't have a Google account, you'll have to create one, which you can easily do by following the directions after you click on one of the links below. Note that you do not have to create and use a Gmail account to join; you are welcome to use your school board or personal email address.

To join any of these mail lists, just click on the appropriate link below:

Animation Teachers - http://groups.google.ca/group/animation-teachers
Cisco Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.com/group/cisco-teachers
Communications Technology Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tgj-teachers
CS Consultants and Coordinators of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/cs-coordinators-ontario
Computer Technology Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tej-teachers
Construction Technology Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tcj-teachers
Exploring Technologies Teachers - http://groups.google.ca/group/tij-teachers
Green Industries Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/thj-teachers
Hairstyling and Aesthetics Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/txj-teachers
Health Care Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tpj-teachers
Hospitality & Tourism Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tfj-teachers
Manufacturing Technology Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tmj-teachers
Tech Design Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tdj-teachers
Transportation Technology Teachers of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/ttj-teachers
Tech Ed Consultants and Coordinators of Ontario - http://groups.google.ca/group/tech-ed-ontario
Yearbook Teachers - http://groups.google.ca/group/yearbook-teachers

When you apply to join the list, it is important that you provide your school, school board, or faculty of education affiliation, just as it states on the mail list home page, otherwise your application will be denied!

After your request to join the email list has been approved, why not introduce yourself to the mail list, and tell us a little about yourself? A little networking can go a long way, ultimately making our jobs easier by being able to reach out to our peers.

My 2009 Hyundai Sonata is a POS

Dear diary:

My 2009 Hyundai Sonata that I bought at Performance Hyundai in St. Catharines, Ontario is a POS. The car is only 20 months old, and in that short time...

- had the disk rotors machined because of vibration (which didn't solve the problem),
- when it's cold out, the radio occasionally refuses the let AM or FM work (they couldn't find anything wrong),
- had a headlight assembly replaced because it had condensation in it,
- had an oil leak on the engine repaired,
- had a temperature sensor replaced after the heater failed,
- has a loud buzzing in the exhaust in certain conditions (cold, low revs, pulling strongly, like up a hill) that they say is "normal",
- and now, at only 20 months of age, has a seized brake that has completely worn out a disk pad and caused major damage to the rotor.

My car is now limp in the driveway until the brake parts come in next week so it can be repaired. Thank goodness I have a carpool partner that can pick me up, otherwise I'd have to rent a car to get to work. (BTW when I called to ask if it was covered under warranty they immediately said "no", not even knowing if it's seized because of a rusted caliper or a seized piston in the caliper. In my opinion, it should be covered under warranty if it's a piston problem, but I'm too warn out by their battles to argue and will just pay to get it fixed somewhere else.)

This short posting doesn't tell the whole story of how frustrating the car has been. It has been overnight at the shop a number of times, even having to be there three days once because they thought they could solve the vibration problem with a software fix (they couldn't). For the vibration problem, they finally sold me a set of new tires at half price and are hoping that solves it. (We'll see in the spring when I put them on. With the larger diameter winter tires I have on now the vibration is reduced, but not gone.) (UPDATE: The tires didn't fix the problem, but I'm too frustrated to pursue this further with Hyundai.)

At one point a month or so ago Hyundai offered me a "real good deal" on a new car because they agreed that my car has been a lemon (Hyundai does not have a formal lemon policy, unlike some other manufacturers). In exchange for this deal, I had offered to take down a recent blog and video I posted about the car, and even promised to post the name of the salesman who had "come through for me" in the end. When I look back the numbers, it actually wasn't a very good deal, but I was just looking forward to getting rid of this lemon and moving on to something new. In the end, they reneged and wanted $2000 more when I went in to sign the papers because the car had been in a minor accident (which they knew about, but had overlooked when they assessed the trade-in value of the car).

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this car. Like many cars, the depreciation out-races the payments so if I sold it I'd be stuck with the outstanding balance on the loan. It's not actually a bad car to drive, but I've lost confidence in it, and in Hyundai.

Finding Vivian Maier, Chicago Street Photographer

This is a story of a full-time nanny/part-time street photographer in Chicago named Vivian Maier. Vivian sadly passed away in April of 2009, with her photographic work totally unknown to the world. It took a local real estate agent named John Maloof to uncover her amazing talent after purchasing her negatives at an auction. He hadn't heard of Vivian, and only bought the negatives in a search for some content for a book he was writing. It was when he was scanning the negatives that he realized what he had.

John didn't know what to do with this amazing body of work, so he started by putting together a blog to showcase some of the photos. He then reached out to the flickr community for ideas. It was there that someone recommended John look for funding on Kickstarter.com, which is how I learned about it.

John is looking for $20,000 to help fund the pre-production of a documentary movie he'd like to put together about Vivian and her work. The fundraising started two weeks ago, and not surprisingly once you realize the talent Vivian had, they have already exceeded their $20,000 target, with over two months left in the fundraising process!

I was extremely fortunate to be the last backer to receive a film spool for my $10 donation, but I think I will also donate another $25 to be able to download a copy of the movie once it is complete.

I'm quite moved by this story and find it very inspiring, both as an amateur photographer and frankly, as a human being. There is so much negativity in the world that a story like this just lifts your spirits -- at least that's the effect it had on me.