We actually have a few folks in education here. Anybody have thoughts on Common Core?

The Common Core still exists, though the details vary from State to State. Many of the English Language and Math requirements have changed but even in States that dropped out of the mandates of CC, those States continue to follow parts of the curriculum that was agreed to when the standards were enacted back in 2010.

2015 was pretty decent for me. Had a promotion at my job, first anniversary with the wife, some nice vacations at Busch Gardens, Pigeon Forge at Dollywood, saw a Rush concert (was awesome) and unfortunately some bad stuff too. My dad passed away and I miss him. Overall it was still a good year.

Apart from some family arguments and the occasional mistake at work, 2015 was a very good year for me. I did a whole bunch of interviews for Pop Geeks (which reminds me that I need to update the thread I made about those with the more recent interviews I've done). I acquired a whole bunch of autographs, some at the Chiller Theatre convention in Parsippany, NJ, but most through the mail. I attended the wedding of two dear friends and did a reading for them at the ceremony. Finally, the big event for me in 2015 was going from the outside to the inside at work, trading my job as a cart pusher in for a job as a cashier. It's been a learning curve, but even with the mistakes I've made, I'm still loving being a cashier, and I anticipate doing so for many years in the future.

2016 will also be a big year for me, as this is the year I plan on learning to drive. I was hoping to do that last year, but making the jump from cart pusher to cashier turned out to be more important and more work. I'm determined to learn to drive by Fall. I'll also be doing my first Pop Geeks interview of 2016 tomorrow, and I have quite a few potential interviews in the works for this year.

Sorry for your loss, Linux. I hope this year exceeds the last for you.

Once again, way to go Caps!