So That's What That Does...

If you've seen my blog before, then you may have noticed something new when looking at it today: A giant banner ad running down the right side of the page.

If you've never seen my blog before, and still don't know what I'm talking about: There didn't used to be a big banner ad running down the right side of the page.

On the blogger.com page (where I go to write, look at comments, settings, edit posts, etc.) there is a tab marked "Monetize." I never knew what it did, because whenever I looked at the page, it looked weird and scary. So, today I decided to just go ahead and do it. How intrusive could these ads really be?

Well, as it turns out, not very, and very. The first thing I noticed was that the area for the blog entries seems slimmer. Other than that, it seems ok. Not sure if I like it.

It's supposed to be under AdSense, where the ad program scans your viewing history and shoves ads down your throat based on your preferences. So, why then, when my viewing history is made up almost entirely of video game and movie websites, did I get an ad for Blogger.com when I was testing it out.

I'm not sure if I'm gonna keep the AdSense stuff yet, but I thought I might give it a try. And if an ad pops up that you actually find useful, give it click, why don't ya? I do get hundredths of a penny that way...

Senor Coach Chief Captain Awesome McAwesome III

That is my name now. Or, at least it is according the schools I teach at. It started off with a group of 5th graders and an exercise in which we (myself included) had to answer the question "If you could change your name to anything, what would it be and why?" Well, I already like my name, so I just went for silly. And so Captain Awesome McAwesome III was born.

I know what you're thinking. Why Captain Awesome McAwesome III? I'll break it down. I've always wanted to be called captain, because it just sounds important. And cool. And important. And what's more awesome than Awesome? Why, McAwesome, of course. It's like a double dose of awesome. And "III?" Does that mean there are two Captain Awesome McAwesome's before me? No. Adding "the Third" just makes it sound silly.

And what about the rest of the names/titles? Later on in the day, the students were wrapping up a unit on Native American Indians, and part of the the project was to assume a Native American identity. The same goes for the teacher. So that's where "Chief" came from. As for coach. I subbed for a gym class a couple days after that, and for some reason it's just second nature for students to call the gym teacher "coach," even if that person has taught English or Math or whatever. And as for Sr.? Same as the others, a natural instinct to plop Sr. in front of the teacher's name if they're teaching Spanish.

So that's the story of how Sr. Coach Chief Captain Awesome McAwesome III was born. Mind blowing, isn't it? I figured it was something other than a review for whatever movie or game or album I had happened to have watched/played/listened to lately, so there is that.

Also, how awesome would a Call of Duty-style game based on the Max Brooks' book "World War Z" be?

Very, I think.