Author Archive

BlogPhiladelphia is a wrap

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • Jul 12th, 2007 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

After working for 21 hours yesterday, I was not up for another social event, so I hopped an earlier train and skipped the wrap party. I hope it was as fun as the “work” session at Triumph Brewery Thursday night.
In no particular order, here some though…



Spelling Bees, blah blah, blah

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • May 31st, 2007 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

I just can’t get excited over another homeschooler winning the national spelling bee. Actually, I sort of dread my search feeds today as they’ll be filled with homeschoolers crowing about it as though it proves something, and opponents also crowing abo…



Top 5 Hair Metal Songs

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • May 30th, 2007 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

Alt Country star Ryan Adams posted his top 5 hair metal songs on his MySpace blog. (You may need to be a MySpace member to get to his blog)

Kix – “Don’t Close Your Eyes”
Slaughter – “Fly To The Angels”
Dokken – “Dream Warriors”
Vinne Vincent Invsion (…



Why is prom still a big deal

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • May 17th, 2007 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

Why is prom still a big deal?
18 May 2007
Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher raises an interesting point. If we believe all the press about the teenager hook up culture, and how dating is dead to them and they prefer to run in packs, then why is pro…



Failure is good

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • May 7th, 2007 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

I found this quote from James Dyson (the vacuum guy) rather interesting.

I’ve always thought that schoolchildren should be marked by the number of failures they’ve had. The child who tries strange things and experiences lots of failures to get there is probably more creative…

That’s obviously counter to the succeed now at all costs environment that most kids grow up in. Win the game, ace the test, nail the SAT, get into Harvard and on and on. The joy of discovery, which is usually marked by repeated failure, is totally lost on kids today.



Blue Cross is trying to kill my wife II

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • May 5th, 2007 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

I’m fairly certain Blue Cross will be the lucky recipient of it’s own category here very soon. Today’s madness involves blood test strips. BCBS made her doctor fax in a justification for why she uses 300 strips a month. The BCBS limit is 204 a month. (…



Blue Cross is trying to kill my wife

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • May 2nd, 2007 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

CVS called this morning and told Michelle that BCBS called to question the insulin prescription that they approved yesterday.
This is the conversation that ensued with the pharmacy dept.
BCBS: We need to verify that you really need insulin. Michelle: U…



Missing the point on truancy

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • Apr 30th, 2007 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

This Washington Post article shows that school officials completely and totally miss the point when it comes to truancy. Truancy is a symptom, not a problem. Hiring more enforcement personnel and spending more time and money dragging kids back to schoo…



The Last Colony

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • Apr 29th, 2007 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

In The Last Colony we return to the universe inhabited by John Perry and Jane Sagan, our heros from Old Man’s War and The Ghost Brigades. They are happily married, retired from military duty, and living the comfortable life of civil servants while rais…



Winning and losing in youth sports

By From http://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • Apr 23rd, 2007 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

Shannon has stirred the pot with her post extolling the virtues of going for the win in youth sports.
Winning is more fun than losing. Even the most hardened anti-competitive socialist will probably agree to that. However, in youth team sports, no sing…