Harry in Jimmy Carter's Head - Plains GA

Roosevelt's Little White House In Georgia

Franklin Roosevelt died at Warm Springs GA while he was getting this portrait painted. This is the unfinished painting.

Roosevelt's car had hand controls for the gas - brake - and clutch pedals. They were very basic - just long levers that pressed the pedals.

Most of the world did not know about these wheelchairs and leg braces. Often times he has his photos taken standing behind wide podiums and sitting with his legs crossed jauntily without his braces on.

This bathroom was next to the bed where he died. Notice the first "American's With Disabilities Act" toilet. He was "ahead of his time." He made this nation run when he could not walk.

Franklin Roosevelt made 46 trips to his vacation home at Warm Springs GA. He first came there in 1922 for the "healing" effects of the 88 degree mineral waters. He was able to stand in 4 feet of water unaided. Little did America realize that their president of 12 years could not walk or stand on his own without leg braces. During his time he guided the world thru the Great Depression and World War II against Germany and Japan.

He died at Warm Springs in April 1945 - the War was almost over. He had already approved the atomic bomb. He died of a brain hemorrhage while getting his portrait painted. He was with his good friend Lucy.

At his funeral - they played Franklin's favorite song - Going Home.

We Got In First Two Games - We Bought Tickets Outside for $15 Each

Got a pair in section 101. Row P. seats 8-9. $15 each.

Walked about 5 blocks from our hotel. Gobs of scalpers. Ready for tip off. Clemson and Va Tech. Tickets are 4 two games. Nice new arena. Philips arena.

Added later - Clemson beat VaTech - Miami beat Ga Tech. FSU will play Miami at the 9 PM game Friday. It will be an expensive ticket because Duke plays in that same session - Session 4.

Harry's iPhone

With Stops in Plains and Warm Springs - Welcome to Atlanta and the ACC Tournament

The Prius computer does not lie - 55.5 miles per gallon.

We left home in Tallahassee at 7 AM this morning and drove the backroads of Georgia. We spent a couple hours in Plains and had an unexpected stop at Warm Springs to see Roosevelt's Little White House. Finally - 285 miles later - we handed the valet the key to the Prius to put her to bed for 3 days at our hotel. We are on the 13th floor in a Residence Inn in downtown Atlanta.

The Prius served us well. We got 55.5 miles per gallon! It was a very comfortable quiet ride with very little traffic.

We will spend 3 nights here watching FSU and Duke play basketball games. Hopefully - we have a reason to stay for the final game Sunday.

Our first stop was the Home of Jimmy Carter - Plains. It is a really small town that time has left behind. The railroad track parallels the main street in downtown. Several little stores were selling trinkets and peanut stuff. We enjoyed some soft serve peanut butter ice cream and bought a bag of fried peanuts and a big bag of chocolate peanut brittle.

Jimmy's high school has been turned into a first class museum. We were lucky enough to stumble onto a dramatic presentation in the auditorium. A lady was playing the housemaid at Miss Lillian's farm. Next we drove out of town to see Jimmy's birthplace home and store. Also - we drove by his present home. We did not see him - but he still teaches Sunday School twice a month in town.

Half way from Plains to Atlanta - we stumbled onto Warm Springs. Roosevelt spent lots of time there - mainly to swim in the 88 degree water coming out of the spring. The water was full of minerals and he was convinced that it helped his polio. The spring is still flowing today - 900 gallons a minute of 88 degree water.

After that - we had roughly two hours to drive to Atlanta. Our hotel in downtown Atlanta is very nice. We have a suite on the 13th floor - bedroom - kitchen - living room - bathroom. We arrived to 72 degree temperature in Atlanta. We can see the Capitol golden dome out our window. We can walk to the games at Philips Arena.

We expect a visit from Lulu's brother Jackie over the weekend.

Here we are in front of Roosevelt's Little White House.

Franklin Roosevelt died in this bed a couple of weeks before World War II ended.

Roosevelt was president for 12 years - and no one knew that he could not walk. He had polio and was paralyzed from the waist down. Imagine trying to hide that today. Here you see his wheelchair and leg braces.

This is Jimmy Carter's boyhood home in Plains. The family had a store next to it. The house had a small bathroom - heat was from a fireplace in each room and a kitchen stove. Water flowed by gravity to the bathroom from a water tower filled by a windmill.

Downtown Plains is really small. Lulu enjoyed shopping there - prices were reasonable. We probably saw less than 15 people the while time.

This old train station served as Jimmy's campaign headquarters. Across the track was Billy Carter's filling station.

Plains Georgia - Home of Jimmy Carter

We are enjoying a pretty sunny day in downtown Plains. Jimmy still lives here. His boyhood home and school are museums. This is still a very quaint little village. A single home right downtown is for sale for $30,000.

Harry's iPhone

In Camilla Georgia On To Atlanta

Lulu and I are driving to the ACC Tournament in Atlanta. We plan to stop in Plains to visit Jimmy Carter.

Harry's iPhone

Lulu in New York

Shopping in Chinatown

Holy Cow Are You Kidding?

Click on "Kidding" for Video of Final Shot

By: Brandon Mellor, Seminoles.com Senior Writer

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- For a team that has made a habit out of hitting game-winning 3-pointers, this was a new one for No. 22 Florida State.

Like the buzzer-beating wins over Duke and Virginia Tech, FSU's 63-60 victory at No. 24 Virginia Thursday ended the same way with a clutch long-range jumper. But on a night when the Seminoles (20-9, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) were looking to avoid their first three-game ACC losing streak since 2008, it wasn't Michael Snaer that took the final shot and Bernard James wasn't there to set a well-timed screen or celebrate with his teammates.

Instead, Ian Miller played the role of hero this time as his 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left gave the 'Noles their fourth-consecutive 20-win season and capped off an impressive comeback after it seemed like the garnet-and-gold colored wheels had fallen off following James' ejection.

FSU's senior center was tossed from the game after he half-heartedly but intentionally kicked Virginia's Joe Harris with 4:58 remaining. James' uncharacteristic play occurred before the Cavaliers (21-8, 8-7) increased their lead to 58-47 20 seconds later.

But despite the loss of its best post player, FSU's guard-heavy lineup -- and perhaps the team's emotional response to James' impromptu absence -- erased the 11-point deficit and closed the game on a 13-2 run.

In that time span, not only did Florida State get nine points from Miller but the Seminoles also forced four Virginia turnovers.

"It was like, `It's on now,'" Snaer said. "They messed up. They shouldn't have ever threw BJ out of the game. That was the mistake they made. The fans were like, `Yes. BJ's gone. We can attack them.' No, because we just get even more mad, We just get even more fuel.

"We're a fuel team. We're an angry team and when we're angry, we can hurt you."

Miller's nine points in the final minutes were indicative of his second-half performance in Charlottesville, Va. The sophomore guard scored 15 of his team-best 18 points in the second period while shooting 5-of-8 from 3-point range all game.

And none were bigger of course than his final three as his deep triple was made despite good defense by Cavs guard Sammy Zeglinksi -- another anomaly in FSU's year of buzzer-beaters as Snaer's two game-winners were both registered when he was wide open.

"When it left my hand, I knew it was good," Miller said.

As for Snaer, he and Xavier Gibson combined for 12 points apiece and the Seminoles shot 51.1-percent from the floor. Virginia, which was 17-0 in games that it scored at least 60 points prior to Thursday night, shot 45.4 percent and was out-rebounded 25-17.

Mike Scott scored 28 points for the Cavaliers but he was held to just one shot attempt during the 'Noles' late-game run to victory.

Before the game even tipped off, FSU had already secured a No. 3 seed and first-round bye in next week's ACC Tournament in Atlanta thanks to a Miami loss the night before. The 'Noles will play a week from Friday at 9 p.m. in Phillips Arena after they conclude the regular season this Sunday at home against Clemson.

It will be Senior Day at the Donald L. Tucker Center and before tipping off at noon, the program will recognize James,Deividas Dulkys, Luke Loucks, Xavier Gibson, Jon Kreft and Jeff Peterson.

Nightclubbing at Dangerfield's!

Free Dessert at Tony DiNapoli's for Dolores' Birthday

Delores seems to have a birthday wherever she goes.

Posted directly from Lulu's iPhone

Betty and Delores Arrive in New York City with Their Escort

The Golden Girls Live Once Again

Lulu - her Mom Betty - her Aunt Delores - and her Cousin Georgianne.

Last spring - Lulu had a visit from her mother - her aunt - and her cousin. They all came to Tallahassee to spend a week in the warm weather. They reminded me of the 4 Golden Girls on television.

Two weeks ago - Lulu was invited to sit on a panel at the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue in NYC. They offered her a nice stipend and an all-expense paid trip to the Big Apple which included a Marriott Hotel room across the street. Right away Lulu called her Mom and asked if she wanted to spend 3 days in the city with her. She also asked her aunt and cousin to fill out the party.

It is 5 AM - I just put Lulu on a plane here in Tallahassee. By noon she will be in her hotel room. Lulu flies so much now she has a Gold Medallion card. You get it for flying 50,000 miles a year. With it - she gets upgraded to first class almost every flight. On this flight she is flying first class.

The other three will be traveling from Tamaqua by TransBridge Bus.

Lulu's library gig will be over in an hour. The rest of the time they will spend shopping - dining - and going to Broadway shows and comedy clubs.

In December - Lulu had another presentation in NYC. On that time she invited her 3 cousins to come stay. They had so much fun - Lulu thought it would be years before she did that again. Here - a few months later - it is deja vu. This is like having your cake and eating it too. Lulu has lost over 20 pounds in the least 5 months - I hope she does not have too much cake.

Lulu plans to be home on Saturday to see the UNC at Duke basketball game on TV. She is leaving 3 days that are expect to hit 80 degrees in Tallahassee. Up North they are having a snow and ice storm. I am home alone with the house and weather to myself. We are all winners :-)

Bill Gates Says - Shame Is Not the Solution

By BILL GATES

Seattle

LAST week, the New York State Court of Appeals ruled that teachers’ individual performance assessments could be made public. I have no opinion on the ruling as a matter of law, but as a harbinger of education policy in the United States, it is a big mistake.

I am a strong proponent of measuring teachers’ effectiveness, and my foundation works with many schools to help make sure that such evaluations improve the overall quality of teaching. But publicly ranking teachers by name will not help them get better at their jobs or improve student learning. On the contrary, it will make it a lot harder to implement teacher evaluation systems that work.

In most public schools today, teachers are simply rated “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory,” and evaluations consist of having the principal observe a class for a few minutes a couple of times each year. Because we are just beginning to understand what makes a teacher effective, the vast majority of teachers are rated “satisfactory.” Few get specific feedback or training to help them improve.

Many districts and states are trying to move toward better personnel systems for evaluation and improvement. Unfortunately, some education advocates in New York, Los Angeles and other cities are claiming that a good personnel system can be based on ranking teachers according to their “value-added rating” — a measurement of their impact on students’ test scores — and publicizing the names and rankings online and in the media. But shaming poorly performing teachers doesn’t fix the problem because it doesn’t give them specific feedback.

Value-added ratings are one important piece of a complete personnel system. But student test scores alone aren’t a sensitive enough measure to gauge effective teaching, nor are they diagnostic enough to identify areas of improvement. Teaching is multifaceted, complex work. A reliable evaluation system must incorporate other measures of effectiveness, like students’ feedback about their teachers and classroom observations by highly trained peer evaluators and principals.

Putting sophisticated personnel systems in place is going to take a serious commitment. Those who believe we can do it on the cheap — by doing things like making individual teachers’ performance reports public — are underestimating the level of resources needed to spur real improvement.

At Microsoft, we created a rigorous personnel system, but we would never have thought about using employee evaluations to embarrass people, much less publish them in a newspaper. A good personnel system encourages employees and managers to work together to set clear, achievable goals. Annual reviews are a diagnostic tool to help employees reflect on their performance, get honest feedback and create a plan for improvement. Many other businesses and public sector employers embrace this approach, and that’s where the focus should be in education: school leaders and teachers working together to get better.

Fortunately, there are a few places where teachers and school leaders are collaborating on the hard work of building robust personnel systems. My wife, Melinda, and I recently visited one of those communities, in Tampa, Fla. Teachers in Hillsborough County Public Schools receive in-depth feedback from their principal and from a peer evaluator, both of whom have been trained to analyze classroom teaching.

We were blown away by how much energy people were putting into the new system — and by the results they were already seeing in the classroom. Teachers told us that they appreciated getting feedback from a peer who understood the challenges of their job and from their principal, who had a vision of success for the entire school. Principals said the new system was encouraging them to spend more time in classrooms, which was making the culture in Tampa’s schools more collaborative. For their part, the students we spoke to said they’d seen a difference, too, and liked the fact that peer observers asked for their input as part of the evaluation process.

Developing a systematic way to help teachers get better is the most powerful idea in education today. The surest way to weaken it is to twist it into a capricious exercise in public shaming. Let’s focus on creating a personnel system that truly helps teachers improve.

Jam Session at the White House Last Night

Nothing like having a jam with Mick Jagger - Jeff Beck - BB King - and Barack Obama.

Tree Down At Corner of Hemlock and Magnolia in Tallahassee - Our Power Was Off For 8 Hours

Video and story sent directly via iPhone

This tree just fell across the road out of the blue. At about 4 PM Sunday - this giant oak took down several power lines making our neighborhood powerless until midnight and blocking a main thoroughfare. Traffic had to be routed through our neighborhood.

City work crews toiled tirelessly to remove the tree and repair the power lines.

Lulu and I decided to go to Beef O Grady for supper and to watch the Duke at Boston College basketball game (Duke won). While watching the game we received an email and pictures from Drew and family. They decided to drive to Boston to see the game. Lulu really enjoys watching a game on TV when she knows somebody at the game.

We returned home about 7 PM - with the power still out - I hooked the TV and satellite dish to my big battery and inverter. While the neighborhood was dark - we basked in the blue glow of the tube.

Just before midnight - the power came on. We were already asleep but all of the light coming on woke us both up.

Panther Valley Middle School Students Visit Uncle Harry

This is Jean and Earl Eidem on the steps of the Old Florida Capitol - now a history museum. They live in Crestview Florida now.

We just spent 3 days with Jean Santore Eidem and Earl Eidem - two of my former students at the Panther Valley Middle School. Earl used to live in Summit Hill and Jean lived in Nesquehoning. Now they live in Crestview FL which is about 2 hours west of us in the Florida Panhandle.

You know you are old when you have students that are also already retired. Earl served in the Air Force. He has lived in Florida - Alabama - Washington State - Iceland - England - and Alaska. He first served in Florida more than 20 years ago - so he has been here longer than us.

Earl has earned his Bachelor's degree at Auburn University and his Master's Degree at the University of Arkansas. He recently was hired by Boeing to write technical manuals for service on their planes. Jean works Florida Northwest State College doing contract work. They have 3 kids - including a son - Earl - that just completed his basic training in the Navy. Earl and Jean are in the process of adopting two brothers. They own a 10 acre estate outside of Crestview - a town of about 40,000 people.

I re-connected with Earl and Jean on Facebook. I noticed in a post that they were now living in Florida so we invited them over for a basketball game. They arrived on Friday - we had a lot of catching up to do. On Saturday they saw their first college basketball game and were so excited to see FSU beat Miami. After that we toured the town - and re-watched the game on video over pizza.

This morning they drove back home to get ready for the adoption. In the past they used to attend FSU football games - something we hope they renew.

Like us - they seldom return to "the Bubble" although they still have family back home.

You can tell by the pictures that Earl is a lot bigger than me now. In 7th grade - Earl said I paddled him. He asked me if I would like to try it now :-) Only kidding - Earl is a real gentlemen - has served his country well - and has a wonderful family.

I am really proud to be Earl and Jeannie's old science teacher.

The New Capitol has a 25 story observation post - but it is not open on weekends. We settled for a tour of the Old Capitol.

Earl is a big Bobby Bowden fan - here we are posed with Bobby's Statue in front of the FSU Hall of Fame. We got to see two national championship trophies and two Heisman trophies.

FSU handily beat Miami before a happy crowd of about 9000. Seldom do I buy tickets ahead of time - I usually "shop" outside for deals. This time we wanted 4 seats together - so I bought them early - showing off. We also got to see FSU Softball clobber Tennessee Tech.

At the Florida History Museum - Jean and I posed before this old green model T camper. It reminded them of my green tour bus.