Phil Blessman

Happy father of twins, Christian, German/American, physics educator, basketball player and coach, quizbowl coach, SPD, GEW

[Fifty Shades of Whey @davenewworld_2]

A crossing guard in Maryland saves a young child from being hit by an oncoming car

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@QuizBoss 😂 At least it seems they know Iowa: 1. Is a US State. 2. Is somewhat squarish/rectanglular and 3. is "somewhere in the middle." I would LOVE to see a study on what percentage of adult New Yorkers can Identify Iowa on a blank US map and/or can name even one German state.

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

I love love love hate that the World Rapid Chess Championship is just as bad at tiebreakers as 87% of high school quizbowl tournaments my teams have attended. Any team/player tied on record for first place should have a chance to win the Championship. https://t.co/PVzDsKXT6u

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@SurthrivEDU 2/2... as who calls whom what too often then is an indicator of relationship and/or status and/or privilege, as pointed out by others. It also is confusing to students if they call some teachers by first name, some by last, especially if there are differences in one classroom.

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@SurthrivEDU 1/2 I have worked in schools with both approaches, and both worked well, IMO. A big part of this was that we had a schoolwide policy, whether teachers were called by first or last names. This avoids students and teachers having to make the choice, which can lead to issues...

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@ArminiaFans Going in to this season, most of us expected Arminia to be sitting in Schalke's spot, NOT holding our fate in our hands, so I am REALLY excited to be watching the team play to stay up today. We win, we're in! Let's go, boys! For the team, for the fans! Give it all you've got!

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@ArminiaFans Dardai has been rotating new players in like a mad genius, and they are riding high. Hertha will tie or win, no "worries."

And with Bremen-Augsburg also keeping those two teams from each earning 3 points... If Arminia wins they will be sitting pretty in 15th, no matter what!

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@ArminiaFans I would be surprised if Hertha lost to Cologne. They have been brilliant coming out of quarantine, doing what had to be done, and now they have to get a result against Cologne. One point, and they are basically safe, they lose, and they could realistically still finish 17th.

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@ArminiaFans If Schalke has "enough" players the game should happen. Really no other place to push the game to, Schalke was going to lose anyway, and Hertha actually would now have an advantage if the Schalke game was pushed past the 34th day.

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@arminia Stark! Auswärts einen Punkt geholt, und der Klassenerhalt kann wieder aus eigener Kraft geschafft werden. Jetzt "nur" Hoffenheim und Stuttgart schlagen, und wir bleiben auf jeden Fall drin. Die beiden Teams spielen ja jetzt um die goldene Ananas, sollte mit Kampf zu schaffen sein

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@ArminiaFans Thanks for sharing! Couple thoughts: 1. Giving us fans a chance to see Arminia LIVE in the Bundesliga is definitely a great reason to hope/pray for the team to avoid relegation. 2. It is just AWESOME that Arminia is in the position they are in. Their fate is in their own hands.

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@ArminiaFans Arminia has to take care of business on their end. Get results, keep focusing on the next game. No need to keep obsessing about other teams' results... The only thing that matters is placement after Day 34. That being said, my prediction is 16-Cologne & 17-Hertha.

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@ArminiaFans The tie is HUGE and keeps Mainz within reach. Cologne in my mind the leading candidate for spot 17, and if we somehow can pass Hertha or Mainz down the stretch, we might just escape without having to bother with the relegation matches. But, if we end up 16th, I like our chances.

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

All in favor of Thomas Müller rejoining the German national team: 🙋‍♂️
But we need to open up a spot for Müller: How about Löw? 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@rayyyynell @austintaciouss It was TWO blatant fouls by the helper, once with the body, once with the arms. The foul by her defender (yes, that's a foul, too)... Hmmm... You can let that slide... But the other two fouls HAVE to be called, independent of earlier missed calls.

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@ArminiaFans A very bad match day overall, I agree, but all is not lost, even if we lose the Mainz. The team has shown they can beat Leverkusen away, surely they could beat Freiburg and/or Augsburg. And then comes Schalke...

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@ChicagoTheatre Easy! Herbert @groenemeyer, February 2013!!! Awesome show!

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@murkee @SJDJ Satyendranath Bose was awesome, but a man (I think you suggest he is a woman?). The Curie was indeed named after BOTH Pierre and Marie, so that is a half unit (and it's been replaced by the Becquerel, and Henri Becquerel was a man as well).

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@SeattleGordon LITERALLY the VERY first thing my Professor told me at TA orientation about writing quiz and exam questions: "There is NO need to be clever." Stuck with me, and I stuck to it... Most of the time. ;-)

[Phil Blessman @pblessman]

@ArminiaFans I think it is very telling that as Arminia fans we simultaneously fear Schalke somehow catching up NINE points to us, and are ready to lose hope if we are TWO points out of 15th with ten games to go. Plenty of games left, but I think we'll pick up three points on Wednesday.