O’Maley Takes Advantage of Local Gems to Enhance Learning in the Classroom
On October 12th, Lighthouse students participated in a Gloucester field trip to enhance their work with the interdisciplinary theme of perspective. After having done work with a biography of Fitz Henry Lane, students traveled to the Cape Ann Museum to hear a presentation on his life. Following the presentation, students were able to walk around the museum and observe/analyze the large collection of Fitz Henry Lane originals. The museum visit enhanced their understandings of the following essential questions: 1. How does landscape affect who we are and how we see the world? 2. How does understanding deepen when we consider a subject from the opposite view? 3. How are the five themes of geography evident in Gloucester’s landscape? 4. How can museums become classrooms? 5. How does art “speak” without words?
After their museum visit, students proceeded to the Lane house on Harbor Loop. Here, students listened to a monologue by O’Maley teacher, Jay DiPrima. His theatrical speech as Fitz Henry Lane kicked off their work at their first site. Students surrounded the Lane house and sketched landscapes considering perspective and the way the five themes of geography affect landscape.
Jordan Govani sketches inner harbor
Students also sketched views from Rocky Neck and from the boulevard. Lunch at the Gloucester House ended a successful trip.
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Anyone have any idea what leaping little creature made these tracks on the beach?Â
Bounding is done by animals with relatively long bodies. The animal springs forward like a slinky-toy releasing itself, and all four feet come down in the same general area, and then they repeat the operation, leaving clustered prints in widely separated groups, as shown above. There are plenty of bounding animals — weasels, minks, otters, and many more. However, in our backyards most of us will only see the tracks of two kinds of bounders — chipmunks and squirrels. And they don’t always bound.
Prints of chipmunks and squirrels often show claw marks, but sometimes the claws don’t show at all. (from backyardnature.com)
E.J. Lefavour
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Anybody who follows us on GMG knows the depth of talent living on Cape Ann (plus, I tried to capture it in an article for The Noise called Vintage Cape Ann — you can see it below the Brad Byrd interview here). Â Now, it seems that major talent is arriving from off island more and more — especially when you look at the live music schedule for this weekend and next week. Â Here are a few highlights:
SATURDAY: Isaac Hayden at The Grove Cafe in Manchester. Â Isaac comes all way from Nashville. Â This new boutique/coffee house is beginning to pack the place with people who appreciate good music.
NEXT WEEK:
Thursday @ The Gloucester House – Berklee in Gloucester – World-renowned Berklee Professors performing with Top Students  to raise money to send Gloucester students Berklee.  The first of this year’s series kicks off with The Jim Odgren Quintet.
Sunday @ the UU Church – Free BSO Chamber Music Concert –Â The Boston Symphony Orchestra has chosen Gloucester to launch its 2012-13 Community Chamber Concerts series. Â What a coup for Gloucester!
Rick Johnson, Applied Materials Director of Facilities and Mark Baldwin, Baldwin Crane CEOÂ
Click images to view larger.
When I asked Mark Baldwin if he minded if I took a few snapshot of the men at work, he said go ahead and graciously introduced me to a few of the guys. Â I was thinking we have posted many fabulous photos of the equipment and turbine, but few of the men working. As Mark said, “The equipment is impressive, but my crew makes it all happen.”
Mark Baldwin is the third generation of the family-owned Baldwin Crane & Equipment Corporation. To read the company’s interesting history and about their crisis/response program (and why the Baldwin apple is their log), visit the company’s website. From roots in dairy farming in Wilmington, Massachusetts, to meeting today’s heavy lifting needs in the most challenging environments, Baldwin Crane provides innovative lifting solutions. They have worked on projects as diverse as the new Mets Stadium and the search and rescue efforts at Ground Zero in New York City.
Ryan & Wood Distilleries is pleased to announce its selection as a Finalist for the 2012 Massachusetts Family Business Awards. As finalists in the First Generation Business category, the Ryan and Wood families will be honored at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge on October 25 where winners will be announced. The annual awards program honors excellence in business management, growth, community service and business transition within family businesses. Past winners of the prestigious FBA awards include local favorite Woodman’s of Essex (2011 Small Business).
Bob Ryan had this to say about his company’s selection: “We knew about the FBA but the initial nomination and then selection as a finalist came as quite a surprise. It’s a huge honor to be recognized because the people behind the scenes at the FBA are truly dedicated to helping family businesses prosper in the commonwealth. We were pleased just to be noticed by a great group like the FBA.” Bob and Kathy Ryan, their son Doug, and nephew Dave Wood all work at the Distillery and cite the family nature of the business as a major asset. Doug Ryan comments that “although you never seem to clock out at the end of the day, you feel good about working hard for one another. After all, our name is on each bottle.” Ryan & Wood’s first three products had fanciful names, but when it was time to name their latest spirit, Doug insisted on naming it simply Ryan & Wood Straight Rye Whiskey as he was especially proud of this offering. “I wanted our Rye to bear our names and nothing else to drive home the fact that it’s made with care by a local family. That should mean something, because like any good mom, mine doesn’t let me cut corners.” That is why Kathy Ryan is the operation’s chief taster, in charge of barrel selection for the rye, and barrel blending for Ryan & Wood’s Folly Cove Rum. “She has the best Palate in the building, and refuses to compromise,” said Doug Ryan, “which shows that without the whole family’s involvement, we would be short valuable team
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We continue our medulla oblongation exercises this week with the added tincture of Mr. Bob Enik to the mixture. He’s a new guy: came by to show Lisa Marie how it’s done some weeks back and now he returns to lead us all into temptation. He mostly plays glitar but had been known to sing, too, usually after applying pressure with a hose clamp.
And furthermore, he’s bringing his own ventriloquist dummy in the form of keyboardist Jim Gambino with him. Watch his hand disappear in the middle of his back! This cat can really play and sing, too. He eats tone clusters for breakfast!
And finally, Mr. John Loud, formerly of Glou. but now living under the bridge, will be handling the vibratory duties on his eardrum kit. I’ll be playing bass and singing, too. I can’t wait! We’re drug and gluten free, so you don’t have to be!
This link is all I could find and a neat video with him playing at the Grog
As a tech geek and content creator I feel there are limitations to how efficiently I can create when traveling solely with my iPad but I appreciate how light and easy it is to bring along on trips compared to the behemoth laptop our family currently uses- a 17 inch Toshiba Satellite. The Toshiba Satellite has served us well as a living room couch internet device/editing tool but by todays lighter laptop standards it is like lugging around an elephant.
With a ridiculous number of tablets coming out and an equally ridiculous number of powerful lightweight laptops coming out on a weekly basis I question what the majority number of today’s users will buy.
My guess is that for 85% of computer users a lightweight tablet is adequate for 99% of their daily computing needs.  The vast majority of computer users simply consume content and bang around on their social media websites but only a small percentage of computer users need more than what they can get out of a lightweight tablet like the iPad. Sure there are many computer geeks like me and content creators that are far better served by a laptop but it seems that those people are becoming the minority.
The iPad really really is a marvel for consuming content and taking along with you on a daily basis. With the latest technology super lightweight ultrabooks and macbook airs are just a tab bit heavier but they have FAR greater storage capacity and computing power. But because so few people need that power and storage capacity they’ll opt for the more convenient to carry and cheaper tablet (iPad, android tablet).
This rush by the majority of the population to purchase tablets instead of laptops or PC’s has made these fantastically powerful and lightweight laptops very affordable.
To me as a power user who pushes my computer daily with video editing, photo editing and blogging the ultrabook is a no-brainer. For a couple hundred dollars more than a tablet I can create about 3-4 times more efficiently than I can on an iPad. That’s not a knock on the iPad. It’s super light and thin and portable and slick. It just lacks a physical keyboard and mouse and the processing power to create content like you can on a machine with more RAM and processing power. Yes there are bluetooth keyboards and mice you can use with a tablet but at hat point you could have just bought yourself a macbook air or a windows based ultrabook and have a far more powerful machine.
As fantastic as these ultrabook and macbook airs are the number of tablets that are selling is blowing them out of the water. The reason/s? They are cheaper and most people just don’t demand that much from their computing devices.
Exciting times for laptop buyers, exciting times for tablet users.
The iPad mini is coming out which will be a smaller version of the iPad. Some pundits have come out and said there won’t be much demand for it. I wholeheartedly disagree. This mini isn’t going to be aimed at adults who already own an iPad. They are aiming straight for the people who bought much less expensive Kindles and Nooks.  Last year when I endorsed the Kindle Fire at $200 I believed it was a tremendous value, but if Apple comes out with a similar product but running the Apple ecosystem as opposed to Amazon’s android system it’s gonna be lights out Amazon.
If Apple prices their iPad mini at $250 or less they are going to absolutely own Christmas presents for young adults. It will come at the expense of Kindle sales, Android tablets, Nook sales and their own iPod Touch. It’s gonna be the Christmas present for young adults to receive and that is the price point that will make it happen.
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Joey!! The O’Maley Field Hockey team is undefeated!! We have scored 31 goals this year!! The girls are playing so hard and have come so far!! The pictures are of our three captains, Callie O’Leary, Emma Larmoureux, and McKenzie Plante, one of them celebrating their win and the other a great team picture. We have 5 more games left!
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Good Morning Gloucester 