Here is a Different Drummer
column history
going back to July 1996
(I have been writing for the Benicia Herald since
1985; I stopped uploading in 2001. Someday I may begin to again. NOTE: I did start again in 2002 when blogging became available, posting a few. Since 2008 I began posting regularly once again. You can visit my blog here:
gibb0.blogspot.com )
Four-part series on growing up through the decades from 1950 to 2000
Crisis of congregation Part II
Movies in the classroom. Oh no!!!
Stock Market Follies -- Whoopie, we're going down!! .......October 12, 2000
Calzone.....No on Proposition 38 .... October 5, 2000
Bugs list What's eating me lately .....September 28
Olympic Surfing ...me and my TV ............September 21
Digital Grant Passes! Off to the Races!!...September 14
Cassie's Whirlwind....September 7
Gino has Really Swell Time in Yosemite (part II of II)... August 31
Gino has Swell Time in Yosemite (part I of II) ... August 24
A simple free lesson: How to build a Web page ...August 17
Cybernation and hybernation ... August 10
Inside Ray (part III) .....August 3
Eighty-sixed from 86 (part II) ..... July 20
Ray and Rule 14 (part I) .....A camping adventure in three parts July 13
Krispy Kreme .....doughnut happening in Charlotte ...... July 6
Sweet Charlotte, North Carolina .....databases and doughnuts .....June 29
Another column about the Digital Grant, which is almost finished .....June 22
School's Out for Summer ..... June 15
Three ways of doing things reviewing managerial styles -- a parable ....... June 8
Backpacking 2000 -- Hello again, Pine Valley .......June 1
Just like Romeo and Juliet ...................May 25
Mr. Turner retires!!....................May 18
Sacramento Rally -- teachers get pissed, get raise, get happy ..............May 11
May 4 -- no column -- another email snafu grants week off
Easter Ordeal Steve and Sue walk 14 miles to the nearest casino........April 27
April 20 -- no column -- email snafu gives me week off
Digital Grant (part II) Steve goes on about the grant, obsessively....... April 13
Present and future states On becoming a Digital High School ..April 6
Being a brand new being -- longing for the future. March 30
Motorcycle Sunday -- March 23, 2000
Tech2000 A summary of our trip to Palm Springs March 16
On the fly This
column was written in the hotel lobby
Internet Exhibit during Tech2000 convention ...March 9
Benicia Technology Support Club helps kids login ..March 2
Kids using PowerPoint ...Feb 24
Good grief The morbid topic of happiness........Feb 17
Beaten Paths a four-wheeled article.......................Feb 10
Bye, Bye Brownie ....................... Feb 3
Fuel Cells continued....................... Jan 27
Susan the love of my life.......................For Jan 20
Teacher build computers.......................For Jan 13
Leap Year Resolutions.......................For Jan 6
Y2K oh my God!!!!!!!!.......................For December 30
Cyrus part 2.......................For December 23
Mr. Big Nose --- a personal reflection.......................December 16
Cyrus -- a short Christmas story.......................December 9
Branches make the tree -- family misadventures..................December 2
Holiday spirit -- Teachers are responsible for learning computer skills.......................November 25
Feeling funny.......................November 18
Fuel of the future I hope to get a jolt out of this article someday........................................................11/11/99
Back to the caverns -- episode 12.....................................................................11/4/99
We finally got our hot tub! So why am I sitting here writing this?........10/28/99
Bad hair day Metaphors and similes out of control............................10/21/99
DSL Baby! I got it.......................................................10/14/99
From the heart -- tribute to Sue Hutchinson, a departing vice principal................................................................................10/7/99
My Fair Gentleman (part 2) -- beauty and the beastly, or how I grew to be the refined, upstanding, dignified gentleman I am today......................................9/30/99
My Fair Gentleman -- how I was refined (somewhat) by the efforts of a good woman...................................................................................................................9/23/99
Gybabytes How I use technology in my classroom........................................9/16/99
The same boat, brother Industry funds high school technology in a big way...................................................................................................9/9/99
The last leg -- (Episode VI) The final episode of our European Tour .............9/2/99
Glub grub -- (Episode V) Ron's life is spared on his 44th birthday...........8/26/99
Tutti Magnifico -- (Episode IV) Meeting David and Dante in Florence, then romping through Rome.....8/19/99
Darkness and Light -- (Episode III) a sad tour of Dachau, then a happy welcome to Italy! .....8/12/99
Herr Jung and the Cajun -- (Episode II) meeting people admidst the places ...............8/5/99
Backdoor through Europe (Episode I of many)....................7/29/99
Cherry Charity -- Kristi and Chad get a cherry tree. Who gets the cherries?..........................7/22/99
College Prep? -- are students learning what they need in high school? (a short story).................7/15/99
Gorillas in the Missed -- A summary of five investment books (Part III in Stock Trilogy)..............7/8/99
Lock, Stock, and Bare All I reveal my investments (Part II in Stock Trilogy)..............7/1/99
Long Sunrise -- betting stock on a company without a product (Part I in a Stock Triliogy) ...................6/24/99
One Week Later a vacation update...................................................................6/17/99
The First Day -- school's out for summer!.......................................................................6/10/99
Trees at last The Backpacking Club goes on an outing...............................................................................................................................6/3/99
Not Mentor Be I lose my technology mentorship position. My God!! Whatever will I do with all the free time? ...5/27/99
Bay to Blisters A gentle San Francisco stroll for some; no, for most........................5/20/99
Well Schooled thoughts on Spring and the end of school..........................5/13/99
SimReality -- The biggest game on earth......................................................5/6/99
APRIL 1999
Ripples and Waves -- A sidebar to the Columbine shootings..........................4/29/99
Catch a Bull at Four -- more on my recent stock market obsession.........4/22/99
Heckle and Jive Taking Stock in Myself..........................................................4/15/99
Writers on the Storm A conference of writers and others ... in Fresno ... at the Piccadilly......................4/8/99
Race to keep up Kids don't know as much about computers as adults think they do.....................................................................4/1/99
MARCH 1999
(3/25/99 Herald had email crash, column was bumped to 4/1/99)
Waterman's Dream a frantic fiction --------------------3/18/99
Editor Supremo Ode to Paw...........................................................3/11/99
Writing lesson plans for school while pretending it's a newspaper column thus allowing me to work on school after hours during the union negotiations. .......................................................................................................3/4/99
FEBRUARY 1999
Playing with computers makes you their friend......................................2/25/99
Spa-ing Partners Our kids buy a hot tub and now the heat is on.....................2/18/99
Heads Up! Teachers are walking the picket line...................................2/11/99
SimCity 3000 has arrived! .........................................................2/4/99
JANUARY 1999
Natural cool How it is uncool to try and be cool an cool to not try and be cool..........1/28/99
Making the Grade -- final exam week at good old Benicia High School................1/21/99
Civil Action Reaction -- pollution in my day was a non-issue...................1/14/99
Mileage Footage How film saved my life.............................................1/7/99
DECEMBER 1998
1999 Unplugged -- how crazy can it get?..............................................12/31/98
How Angus McGee spent his first $10 on Christmas Eve -- a story of panic and mixed metaphors ..12/24/98
Kids these days -- an unscientific pondering into the present nature of teens..................12/17/98
Megabrains -- A constant change in my final exam. Meet MegaBrains SR-II..................12/10/98
Thanksgiving nails The story of how Rochester makes it through another family gathering....12/3/98
NOVEMBER 1998
Into the Caves we go Our eleventh cave spelunking trip to the California Caverns.................11/26/98
Windows98 or Windows 9Wait Go from 95 to 98 or 95 to 2000?...11/19/98
Chain Reactions A story about putting on snow chains, hanging out in north shore Tahoe, and a great restaurant..................................................11/12/98
Family Webs Senior citizens go online in great numbers..11/5/98
OCTOBER 1998
Kristi and Chad buy a house and raise a barn ..............10/29/98
50s Style Susan Gibbs turns 50 in style!.............................10/22/98
The Son Also Rises Adam returns from Europe..........................10/15/98
Goes without saying I'm an English teacher, but I can't think of good essay topics. What's up with that?...................................................................................................10/8/98
Golden Opportunities A real winer................................................................10/1/98
SEPTEMBER 1998
Bone Voyage, Lennie.................................................................................................9/24/98
Feeling Groovy A summary of my school year three weeks into it............9/17/98
Phaser Master Benicia
High teachers zap and get zapped at
Q-ZAR Laser Tag Gaming
Center...............................................................9/10/98
Transformations Change for the sake of it....................................................9/3/98
AUGUST 1998
98 Woes My tribulations installing Windows98............................................8/27/98
Bare bear I share my student criticisms of my English class......................................................8/20/98
On to School Thoughts on the start of school..........................................................................8/13/98
SCAT a rambling tribute to a good old cat and evidence of my reluctance to face his departure...8/6/98
JULY 1998
The Fence a parable....................................................................................7/30/98
My family and all back home. ...................................................................7/23/98
Pennsylvania -- having a blast in my past..................................................7/16/98
Oklahoma The first leg of my journey into my past.................................................7/9/98
Road Trip a-comin' -- prelude to a journey.................................................7/2/98
JUNE 1998
Some-are Stories -- a fictional folk funnel...................................................6/25/98
Pet Project -- Scatman recovers, Lennie the dog goes on the fritz..............6/18/98
Cat tonic -- Scatman disappears after 13 years on the lawn........................6/11/18
MP3 Revolution -- Music across the Internet: a how-to...............................6/4/98
MAY 1998
Oregon shoot-out -- A teacher's view of student violence...........................5/28/98
Adam hits the road Our son trades in college for world travel.....................5/21/98
Book Binding a summary of my grand finale lesson plan in Lit I Honor....5/14/98
Spring Overflow A day shopping and bewildered by all the computer enhancements, and other tangents...................................................................................5/7/98
APRIL 1998
A bunch of rambling BS highlights in a dull week ................4/30/98
Back again More on the Mexican adventure..........................4/23/98
MexiGO Back Again The Gibbses and the Wests go south of the border to Cabo San Luca....4/16/98
21 Son Salute Adam turns 21 today..................4/9/98
Vexing Tasks Those annoying odd jobs that grow and grow..............4/2/98
MARCH 1998
The 70th Oscars -- happy hoohum and thanks a million...........................3/26/98
A day at Bay Meadows.............................................................3/19/98
Rafting mentor dream, a dream of wetness...............................3/12/98
Tracking vs Detracking, WASC and the new buzz words..........3/5/98
FEBRUARY 1998
WASC Grades us. This column is overly optimistic..................2/26/98
Puddle or Die...the POD team state of the state address..........2/19/98
Enuf Reign Trapped on I-80 during a blizzard.........................2/12/98
JANUARY 1998
Democrazy...I can't figure it......................................................1/29/98
Nevermore Suddenly...we heard a scratching.................................1/22/98
Veggie Wedgie A beef about produce liable laws and Oprah battle in Texas...1/15/98
Turning Leaves Meeting an old friend who has turned a few of his own........................1/8/98
With Reservation: reflecting on the year 2000...............................................1/1/98
1997
Scratchet? A critique of Scrooge's redemption with closing question.............12/25/97
Hard Go at Christmas Shopping: thinking out loud about shopping....12/18/97
Christmas Heist: from my childhood: I stole $20........................................12/11/97
Ho Ho Ho Boom: Baby Boomers are one day closer to retirement.............................12/4/97
The high cost of technology: A public-school plight...............................11/27/97
Cave Spelunking in the cold mountain caverns of California........................11/20/97
Oh, Icy -- from my childhood: One time a joke backfired and I almost froze to death 11/13/97
Doll Raffle -- from my childhood: an embarrassing encounter............................11/6/97
Saw Toliver -- a Halloween fiction.....................................................10/30/97
Rocks of Ages -- from my childhood: A place of free adventures.....................................10/23/97
Santa in the Mist -- from my childhood: Gorilla Claus, Santa's helper................10/16/97
My first prep period -- from my childhood: an unscheduled hour in high school........10/9/97
Marry Kristi Mass My daughter gets married on 9/27/97...............10/2/97
My Wife The whole truth ................................................................................9/25/97
Frankenstein Computer Company...first-time technicians..............9/18/97
Too many doors Teen-ager in transit.............................................9/11/97
First this then anyhow "How can I use technology in my classroom? I only have one computer and 30 students. What do I do? Let them each take turns for 30 days?" With presentation software and display devices, one computer can serve the needs of a whole class. .....................................................................................9/4/97
Empathy A tragic and beautiful true story that everyone who is either a child or a parent should read...................................................................8/28/97
Fences and Gateways Ramblings about the start of school.............................8/21/97
Rite of Sausage A bachelor party of tribal proportions................. 8/14/97
Mendocino memories, a love story.....................................................8/7/97
Technology a Demon? Nahhh............................................................7/31/97
*Ravi Shankar? I'm a frayed knot Conned by philosophy...............7/24/97
Hi, Perbol Lee, you big bullshitter, you.............................................7/17/97
Cow Tipping: A horrible, deplorable act, but funny......................7/10/97
BUZZWACKET A friend makes good through sweat and perseverance.................7/3/97
*Ellis Island A wild Tahoe night spot..............................................................6/26/97
Peace Party A gathering of inlaws and a little nitroglycerin...............................6/19/97
School is Out!! Wahoo! Boohoo! I'll miss the little squirts..............................6/12/97
Fathers and sons A fiction about getting along and breaking away................6/5/97
Awards and Rafts A two prong story that I miraculously tied together.........5/29/97
Water Measures Teachers bust balloon fights -- oooo!.... 5/22/97
Now and Then Doing a little comparative study................5/15/97
Tax Brakes Putting our tax dollars to work........................ 5/8/97
Second to None -- A new look at public schools................ 5/1/97
Burnt Corn Meal -- a story of perspective......................... 4/24/97
Ho, Malone! -- Trapped home alone without my wife for three days 4/17/97
Ventana '97 -- The backpackers have a ball...................... 4/10/97
The baby boy man -- Adam comes home and turns 20 ........4/3/97
Joy Ride -- Ode to Spring -- Bay Area Fun Spots .............3/27/97
Present Tense -- Various management techniques ala fiction ......................3/20/97
Techno-Myth -- No, Dorothy, kids don't understand computers any better than adults 3/13/97
Trail Scouting -- A long, futile, and totally enjoyable drive into the foothills...3/6/97
Weak Week -- Nothing happened, but the column goes on..........................2/27/97
Rough and Red-EE -- A stupid rafting story, four guys in a rubber duckie... 2/20/97
Valentine97 -- Don't forget........................................................................ 2/13/97
Loop de Loop -- A tribute to Ground Hogs everywhere..................................................................................... 2/6/97
To Track or Not to Track -- An observation on recent trends at our high school................... 1/30/97
Sweet Times -- A bedtime story...........................................................................................1/23/97
Eight is enough -- An eight-year commitment..................................................................... 1/16/97
Wet New Year in Tahoe -- Nine people, one cabin, one week, one flood............................. 1/9/97
Christmas rush rush rush -- No time to invent a subtitle.......................................................... 1/2/97
1996
Eschew obfuscation -- Beigonics or Ebonics 12/26/96
Dropped my pencil -- An adventure in cause and effect 12/19/96
Blew Horizons -- A bad day at the office. 12/12/96
Out of my Class -- Out of the frying pan and into the fire. 12/5/96
Thanksgiving and giving 1996 -- Hectic Holiday Oxymoronic Ramblings 11/28/96
8:20 -- I remember granny 11/21/96
Staying busy in an empty nest -- Trying to fill the gaps after a lifetime of family outings. 11/14/96
Webheads of Benicia, unite! -- Unifying all local web pages. A noble attempt. 11/7/96
I just got back from a humongous CUE conference -- A land where Macs rule. 10/31/96
People who ignore instructions -- They bug me. 10/24/96
A shadowy nightmare -- Don't ask where this came from; it is twisted. 10/17/96
George Miller visits my computer class -- Getting publicity for a new program. 10/10/96
I cleaned my den -- I accomplish a lifelong goal. 10/3/96
Adam's farewell -- Sonny goes off to college. 9/26/96
The beast within -- A look a evil. 9/19/96
Two weeks in -- Reflections on the start of school. 9/12/96
Low income housing fiction -- Fun at the expense of the disadvantaged. 9/5/96
We went wine tasting -- The Gibbses and Wests hit the wine. 8/29/96
In the movies with Robin Williams -- The whole family is cast in Father's Day staring Robin Williams and Billy Crystal. 8/22/96
Went fishing -- The Gibbses and the Wests hit the mountains. 8/15/96
Windows95 Conference -- I spend a day learning Windows95 -- Whoopee 8/8/96
Mail By Mule -- (This is a BIG ONE) A chronicle of my 18-day Colorado River rafting trip 7-96 double-feature
If you want to read further back, visit my old web site.
If you want to jump to the BHS Paw newspaper web site, go for it.
If you want to see a big picture of Colorado River rafters on Ron West's page, go for it.