mamamusings: September 28, 2003

jay allen's comment spam solution

Three cheers for the LazyWeb!

In his comment on my comment spam post, Jay Allen points to his solution for dealing with comment spam—and it’s a far more elegant approach than anything else I’ve seen.

Thanks, Jay!

(Thanks also for pointing to David Raynes’ new SubCategories plug-in for MT, which I’ll be making good use of soon!)

alex's "wowser" sentences

After I finished grading papers tonight, I took a quick look through my kids’ “portfolios” of school work from last week. (They bring a folder of work home every Friday.)

One of Alex’s (second grade) assignments had been to write five “wowser” sentences—sentences that are detailed and descriptive—using that week’s spelling words. Here’s his, intact. (Spelling words highlighted in bold.)

1. I love to splash and play in my pool near my swing-set.
2. Scooba-divers are people who go under-water with air tanks, goggles and flippers.
3. I often tell on my anoying bratty older brother.
4. Why do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway?
5. The damp green tree fungus said I know a funny joke.

He does make me laugh.

The teacher “corrected” the last one, placing a comma after ‘said’ and quotes around “I know a funny joke.” I’m tempted to send it back and point out that her changes significantly alter the meaning, and that perhaps he was recounting what the tree fungus said about him. But I won’t, since Alex seems quite fond of her, and being a pain-in-the-ass parent won’t make his life any better.