A few notes:

– If you ever wonder whether I reply to comments, yes, I do. Just check back on the post that you wrote in. Then again, I’ll also usually e-mail, too. After all these years (including the Xanga days), I’m still humbled by all the responses.

– Tomorrow’s Pick Up Day for the Penny Harvest, and I’m very excited, simply because having all this money is making me a little skittish. As if you needed an update, we actually had about $2,193, so I’m very proud of my school and their participation. I truly feel my committee and I did a lot of work to make this successful. The teachers also cultivated a sense of pride in those kids, not just for “winning,” but also to contribute the most they could.

– Reviewed Common’s thisisme then album on Blogcritics.org. Click if you’re interested.

– Finally made my Amazon.com Wish List. I have a million other things I wish I want, but really, that’s a solid list.

– I got a great shout-out from Simon J. Black, who also wrote about the Rock the Bells concert I told you about this summer. I’ll definitely have to expound on my love for hip-hop this week.

– Top Search Terms for my site: “workshop model,” “a rod,” “48 laws of power,” “across the universe layouts,” and “jayson tirado”, which all make sense. I’m just glad people aren’t searching for porn around these parts. Though almost surprisingly, people are searching for me directly, too. Sweet.

– I went to Atlantic City with my girl, and I lost all my money … on clothes! Imagine the biggest name-brands at cheap knock-off prices. Eddie Bauer, Nautica, Gap, Polo Ralph Lauren, … oh my. I already consider myself the flyest teacher in the school, so after tomorrow, the principal’s going to have to give me the crown as soon as I walk in. (Again, a little hyperbole never hurt anyone).

In any case, I sat at one of the slot machines, and already felt a little detached from this experience. My type of games usually involve a plumber with a nasty addiction to mushrooms and LSD or a set of cards we have to place in free cells to win. As the little colors flew past my eyes, and the double and triple jackpots teased me with their promises of fortunes, I wondered just how addicting the games must be for the rest of the denizens of Caesar’s Casino. I saw one lady’s butt planted and growing roots in those black cushy rotating chairs. Some of them had a rhythm, some of them switched it up depending on their luck, but most of them were 50+ years of age.

I thought about whether they’re playing these casino games and the lottery at the same time, or they abandoned the lotto for more instant (yet mathematically minuscule) fortunes. I tried my luck, after learning how it works, and bam: Jackpot. 30$ in my pocket from a $20 voucher for going on the Greyhound. In other words, I made profit.

Mathematically, I knew I had to leave immediately because in any of those games, the ratio between the money made / time and money spent wasn’t in my favor. To think, even with the way the system is currently shafting teachers out of time and money, I still rather play those odds than pulling a black handle for a living. But that’s another gamble altogether.

jose, who’ll be discussing hip-hop in the classroom this week, which I’m sure this edublog nominee will enjoy …