What is a Quafaie?


Quafaie (pronounced: kwa FAY) are fantasy creatures that exist in the fantasy writing of Hugh Kemeny, and are created by him. They are primarily in Hugh Kemeny’s Black Phoenix short stories...

To learn more, read this post: What is a Quafaie?

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Daily Inspiration

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.
- Anonymous
inspire daily calendar Wed 31 Oct 2012


Writers begin as bewitched readers.
- Susan Sontag
Teachers daily calendar Tue 17 Nov 2009

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Daily Inspiration

I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me. . . Failure always made me try harder next time.
- Michael Jordan
inspire daily calendar Tue 30 Oct 2012


Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too dark to read.
- Groucho Marx
Teachers daily calendar Mon 16 Nov 2009

Monday, October 29, 2012

Daily Inspiration

The only way to find the limits of the possible is by going beyond them to the impossible. 
- Arthur C. Clarke
inspire daily calendar Mon 29 Oct 2012


He started to sing as he tackled the thing that couldn't be done, and he did it.
- Edgar A. Guest, "It Couldn't Be Done"
Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 14/15 Nov 2009

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Daily Inspiration

The world will tell you to play it safe, but I say play it all. The world will tell you to make money. I implore you to make friends and to make a difference.
- Former South Carolina Teacher of the Year Christa M. Compton
Teachers daily calendar Thu 12 Nov 2009


The human brain is unique in that it is the only container of which it can be said that the more you put into it, the more it will hold. 
- Glenn Doman
Teachers daily calendar Fri 13 Nov 2009

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Daily Inspiration

To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you're not, pretend you are.
- Muhammad Ali
inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 27/28 Oct 2012


The preschool teacher said, "And that's why we all love America. Everyone in our country is free."
"Not me," said one child. "I'm four!"
- Leo Rosten
Teachers daily calendar Wed 11 Nov 2009

Friday, October 26, 2012

Daily Inspiration

That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.
- Abraham Lincoln
inspire daily calendar Fri 26 Oct 2012


Q: Why do soccerplayers do well in school?
A: They use their heads.
Teachers daily calendar Tue 10 Nov 2009

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Daily Inspiration

Where there's a will there's a way.
- English Proverb
inspire daily calendar Thu 25 Oct 2012


Bad spelling can be lethal. For example, the greedy Seriph of Al-Yabi was cursed by a badly educated deity and for some days everything he touched turned to Glod, which happened to be the name of a small dwarf from a mountain community hundreds of miles away who found himself magically dragged to the kingdom and relentlessly duplicated. Some two thousand Glods later the spell wore off. These days, the people of Al-Yabi are renowned for being remarkably short and bad-tempered.
- Terry Pratchett, Witches Abroad
Teachers daily calendar Mon 9 Nov 2009

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Daily Inspiration

No one expects us to agree on everything. But we are expected to govern with integrity, good will, clear convictions, and ... a servant's heart.
- Sarah Palin
inspire daily calendar Wed 24 Oct 2012


Fun Facts: the Universe
The Sun is four hundred times larger than the moon, but the Moon is Moon is four hundred times closer to Earth, so they appear the same size.
Under perfect weather conditions, a person with good eyesight can detect about three thousand stars.
The universe is between thirteen and twenty billion years old.
- Kenneth C. Davis, Don't Know Much About the Universe
Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 7/8 Nov 2009

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Daily Inspiration

The greatest results in life are usially attained by simple means and the exercise of ordinary qualities. These may for the most part be summed in these two: common-sense and perserverance.
- Owen Feltham
inspire daily calendar Tue 23 Oct 2012


"To learn more about her students, my son's teacher sent home a length questionnaire at the beginning of the school year. It asked about their likes and dislikes, and even included a question relating to their self-image: "When you look in a mirror, what do you see?" My literal ten-year-old son had no trouble with his answer: "Myself, and everything behind me."
- Phil Grosvenor in Reader's Digest
Teachers daily calendar Fri 6 Nov 2009

Monday, October 22, 2012

Daily Inspiration

Not to have control over the senses is like sailing in a rudderless ship, bound to break to pieces on coming in contact with the very first rock. 
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
inspire daily calendar Mon 22 Oct 2012


How to Be a Kid Again
  • Make a smily face with your bacon and eggs.
  • Wear your favorite shirt with your favorite pants, even if they don't match.
  • Wave at the drivers in the cars behind you.
Teachers daily calendar Thu 5 Nov 2009

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Daily Inspiration

Education is the mother of leadership.
- Wendell L. Willkie
Teachers daily calendar Tue 3 Nov 2009


Teacher Tip
I had business cards printed with my name, school address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address. I gave them out at meetings and conferences, and to my students as well. For the students, I laminated the card and glue a magnet strip on the back. Parents can put the card on their refrigerator for easy reference, and it's a reminder to my students that I want to be in touch with their families.
- Susan Randall, Lancaster High School, Lancaster, South Carolina; Works4Me on www.nea.org
Teachers daily calendar Wed 4 Nov 2009

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Daily Inspiration

Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it.
- Leonardo Da Vinci
inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 20/21 Oct 2012


Most Memorable Teachers
He cared for all of his students and spent time outside of school to help students in school and life. He stressed improvement as a grading priority and encouraged students to have fun. He was a passionate teacher as well as funny.
- Pro soccer player Michael Enfield regarding teacher Dennis Enfield, Ventura High School, Ventura, California, on www.nea.org
Teachers daily calendar Mon 2 Nov 2009

Friday, October 19, 2012

Daily Inspiration

You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everyone wins.
- Jim Stovall
inspire daily calendar Fri 19 Oct 2012


The first educational question will not be "what knowledge is of the most worth?" but "what kind of human beings do we want to produce?"
- John Goodlad
Teachers daily calendar Sat 31 Oct/Sun 1 Nov 2009

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Daily Inspiration

Turn your wounds into wisdom.
- Oprah Winfrey
inspire daily calendar Thu 18 Oct 2012


Q: Why did the skeleton flunk out of school?
A: His heart wasn't in it.
Teachers daily calendar Fri 30 Oct 2009

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Daily Inspiration

We must not allow other people's limited perceptions to define us.
- Virgina Satir
inspire daily calendar Wed 17 Oct 2012


The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life.
- Plato
Teachers daily calendar Thu 29 Oct 2009

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Daily Inspiration

What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it, that's another matter.
- Peter F. Drucker
inspire daily calendar Tue 16 Oct 2012


Nothing is predestined: The obstacles of the past can become gateways that lead to new beginnings.
- Ralph Blum
Teachers daily calendar Wed 28 Oct 2009

Monday, October 15, 2012

Daily Inspiration

The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.
- Drucker
inspire daily calendar Mon 15 Oct 2012


I must apply mad props to[Harry Potter's teacher] Severus Snape, who is a far snappier dresser than your average professor. I don't know what Dumbledore was paying Severus, but it was apparently enough to keep him in the latest offerings of the Johnny Cash Collection. I myself often fling open the classroom door looking like a person who just fell out of an episode of Little House on the Prairie or a Cyndi Lauper video or both. But Snape, here's a man who dressed for occult success; you can't swing an appointment as an instructor in Defense Against the Dark Arts when you're rolling the halls in a teal cardigan and loafers. It's all black, all the time, which must have made laundry day a simple affair. ("I'm ding another load of darks -- anybody want to throw in a cape? No? Turtleneck?")
- Mary Beth Ellis, "Severus Smape: One Teacher's Hero," www.msnbc.com
Teachers daily calendar Tue 27 Oct 2009

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Daily Inspiration

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
- Margaret Mead
Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 24/25 Oct 2009 


Home computers are being called upon to perform new functions, including the consumption of homework formerly eaten by the dog.
- Doug Larson
Teachers daily calendar Mon 26 Oct 2009

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Daily Inspiration

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
- Henry David Thoreau
inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 13/14 Oct 2012


If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless ummensity of the sea.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Teachers daily calendar Fri 23 Oct 2009

Friday, October 12, 2012

Daily Inspiration

There is a giant asleep within every man. When the giant awakes, miracles happen.
- Frederick Faust
inspire daily calendar Fri 12 Oct 2012


I was teaching an ESL class a few years ago in London. They were a marvelous group apart from one thing: almost all of them said. "What means . . . ?" instead of "What does . . . mean?" Nothing I said seemed to correct them.
One day, after hearing the mistake again I said in desperation, "If I hear 'What means . . . ?' again, I really will have to punish you all!"
A voice poped up, "What means will you use to punish us?"
- Lynne Pereira on www.onestopenglish.com
Teachers daily calendar Thu 22 Oct 2009

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Daily Inspiration

It's not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life; it is how you hadnle what happens to you.
- Zig Ziglar
inspire daily calendar Thu 11 Oct 2012


I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.
- Helen Keller
Teachers daily calendar Wed 21 Oct 2009

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Daily Inspiration

The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.
- Oprah Winfrey
inspire daily calendar Wed 10 Oct 2012


Word of the Day
imbricate : \IM-brih-kut\ : adjective
: lying lapped over each other in regular order
Example sentence: The antique mirror had tiny imbricate gold squared around its edge.
Did you know?
The ancient Romans knew how to keep the interior of their villas dry when it rained. They covered their roofs with overlapping curved tiles so the "imber" (Latin for "pelting rain" or "rain shower") couldn't seep in. The tiles were, in effect, "rain tiles," so the Romans called them "imbrices" (singular "imbrex"). The verb for installing the tiles was "imbricare," and English speakers used its past participle -- "imbricatus" -- to create "imbricate," which was first used as adjective meaning "overlapping (like roof tiles)" and later became a verb meaning "to overlap."
- www.merriam-webster.com
Teachers daily calendar Tue 20 Oct 2009

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Daily Inspiration

The individual who know the score about life sees difficulties as opportunities.
- Norman Vincent Peale
inspire daily calendar Tue 9 Oct 2012


Delicious ways to enjoy that apple brought to the teacher:
  • Dice or shred and mix into green salad or slaw.
  • Core, slice, and microwave with a bit of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
  • Combine thin slices with cheddar for a tangy grilled cheese sandwich.
Teachers daily calendar Mon 19 Oct 2009

Monday, October 8, 2012

Daily Inspiration

He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity.
- Ben Jonson
inspire daily calendar Mon 8 Oct 2012 


At math time, I told my students that we were going to talk about even and odd. One boy yelled out, "I know that story. It's in the Bible!"
- Chris Minch on www.yesiteach.org
Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 17/18 Oct 2009

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Tumblr Question - about Nude Modelling

Some of my readers know I have a NSFW tumblr site: http://nudecanadianboy.tumblr.com/
Most of the stuff I post there are nude photos of guys, with occasional photos of me.
I try and keep the photos there in the 'artistic' realm, to try and not to have it too overly sexual. I do occasionally get questions there, which I try and reply to when I can.

One such question, which I am replying to at the moment is:
im a canadian living in boston your really hot i enjoyed your photo. you should take a molding shot you would make it thanks scott
 My reply is:
Thanks :)
I have considered nude modelling, but a couple things have 'stopped' me (more obstructions than outright stops).
First, I'm not sure where to start in terms of modelling (nude or otherwise). I once applied to a place in the UK when I lived there, but never heard back (which I think has lead to me not being as actively looking for places to model).
Second, my professional career(s).... I'm not sure how well my nudism would be taken if known to my employer(s). One of the reasons why I try and keep the photos of me to more naturalism / nudism (vs 'sexual'), because then I can say they are 'art'

I created this blog post to add a couple more comments; comments I don't particularly want on my tumblr site, but don't mind saying here (and referring to this site on tumblr).

These comments are related to my professional career(s), and why I am a bit leery about nude modelling.
Currently I work for a post secondary educational school (a technical school). If I stay on with them, I'm not overly concerned about my nudism, still, not sure how the 'school' would look upon me if they found out.
I was looking at jobs with elementary and secondary school boards. If I end up working for one of them I am more concerned about my nudism being known to the students and parents. Which is why I try and keep my nudism photos to the more artistic side.
My previous career was in engineering. I am not certain if I will (or will not) return to that. Just as with my current job, I'm not as concerned, about my nudism, just about the 'boss' finding out and if it would affect my job.
But heck, that could go for almost anything one does in personal life.... that it could affect one's work life (I have a friend who was working for a non-government organization, and was heavily volunteering for a political party at the same time. When he was laid off from his job, he told me he thought it might have been because of all the political stuff he put on twitter).

Inspirational Updates

Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.
- Mother Teresa
inspire daily calendar Thu 4 Oct 2012 



Silly School Staff Directory
Carrie Okey, Music Teacher
  • Favorite teaching topic: Teaching the difference between Oprah and Opera
  • Extracurricular interests: Practicing her karaoke skills
  • How to become this teacher's pet: Adapt the latest Top Forty hit for the recorder

Paige Turner, English Teacher
  • Favorite teaching topic: Wht the book is always better than the movie
  • Extracurricular interests: Organizing her personal library by title, author, and main idea
  • How to become this teacher's pet: Start a haiku-of-the-month club
- www.timeforkids.com
Teachers daily calendar Wed 14 Oct 2009



A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.
- Chinese Proverb
inspire daily calendar Fri 5 Oct 2012



I am not young enough to know everything.
- Sir James M. Barrie
Teachers daily calendar Thu 15 Oct 2009



Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.
- Henry Ford
inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 6/7 Oct 2012 



I'm a teacher. All I need are mids for molding.
- Dewey Finn (Jack Black) in School of Rock
Teachers daily calendar Fri 16 Oct 2009

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Daily Inspiration

It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect it's successful outcome.
- William James
inspire daily calendar Wed 3 Oct 2012 



Quick Reference Temperature Conversions
(Fahrenheit - 32) x (5 / 9) = Celsius
(Celsius x 1.8) + 32 = Fahrenheit
Teachers daily calendar Tue 13 Oct 2009

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Daily Inspiration

I believe people are in our lives for a reason. We're here to learn from each other.
- Gillian Anderson
inspire daily calendar Tue 2 Oct 2012 



Teaching is an art, a science, and a passion. It is the noblest profession in the world because teachers provide hope for our future. That's why I was drawn to teaching and that is why I stay. I can't imagine a better way to spend my life. I love the excitement of knowing that if I do my job well I will change people's lives for the better. I love the pride in knowing that a student has pursued a career in science or a career in teaching because of me. I love the sound of unfettered laughter in the classroom. I love the thrill of helping a special-needs student achieve beyond his wildest dreams. The greatest reward, however, is my extended family of former students scattered across the globe; they are a source of joy and inspiration. When a former student beams with happiness at memories for out class, I know that in the mosaic of that person's life a few of the brightest tiles belong to me. What other profession can compete with that?
- Former New York Teacher of the Year Richard T. Ognibene Jr.
Teachers daily calendar Mon 12 Oct 2009

Monday, October 1, 2012

Daily Inspiration

You never find yourself until you face the truth.
- Pearl Bailey
inspire daily calendar Mon 1 Oct 2012 


Q: How can you tell if a school is haunted?
A: If it has school spirit.
Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 10/11 Oct 2009