Cellphone Joy 2.0

I'm so glad that my cell phone has a camera. I just cleaned out some photos that I've collected over the past couple of weeks. The vomiting lips - I had to take out a real camera, 'cause that just called for more quality :)

The lewd and the academic, all rolled into one = University graffiti.


Thank goodness for fort James. This informative piece of graffiti explains our debt.


Must have been a great night. Either that or a sloppy laundry day, but hey, I need my illusions

Cellphone Joy

grrr... Perfomancing is evil....

One More Thing

The students got hammered with a very expensive textbook (my fault, I know, but its a good book they can use for two classes) and an expensive reading packet.  So for the next class I'm going to take a huge leap of faith and have the library put the readings online.  I bring them the books and they scan in the sections I ask for, lickity split (or so they say).  I've warned the students that they are still required to not only read the frickin' readings, but also bring copies to discussions. 

Am I delusional in thinking that they will do this?  Probably.
Am I doing this to save the students money?  Partially.  It's cheaper for them to print the copies out, even if they pay to print per page.
Am I doing this so I can put off arranging some of the readings for the last couple of weeks?  Partially, but I'm ok with that.

I fear that I am becoming overly enamored of italics.  Is this dangerous? 
Does running too much cause rambling?
Does teaching summer classes cause jello-ification of the brain?

For the answers, tune in for the next episode, same bat-time, same bat-channel.

6.84mi - 48'17"

It's still not entirely copasetic if I compare it to the gmaps pedometer, but it's closer than it was, and hey, who knows, maybe it really doesn't matter after all :)

This comes as a complete surprise to me:  I am exhausted.  I want to go home and sleep. One quick trip to the library and I will do that.

Money Changes Everything

• I had a dream last night where my brother won exactly $108,491 playing some kind of lottery.  I was quite jealous.  Why did I remember the exact amount he won?
• I discovered that because of the way the paychecks are being put out in the summer, my monthly salary is actually less than what I was making as a TA.  Were I a guy who gets angry, that might do the trick.  Luckily, an entirely different department handles all the summer stuff, so I can happily get angry at them while keeping my good opinion of the folks in my department.  Still, grrr...

Confucius Was A Bright Man

子曰知之为知之不知为不知是知也。

The Master said, "to see knowledge as knowledge and ignorance as ignorance - this is knowledge."

I shoulda listened to Confucius.

The one thing I'm confident in as a strength in my teaching style is that I usually know when to say, "I don't know that. Let me get back to you on that."

It's always good to do this when you don't know something.

Because when you don't, you may be tempted to suggest that a certain person holds a certain opinion.

And then you may find out that one of your students went to high school with said person.

And said person holds the opposite view.

I shall meditate on the wisdom of ignorance.

6.78mi - 47'41"

Ok, it's clear I obsess, right? So I was still very skeptical of the results for the iSweat Nike+ thingie. Maybe it was because I installed it a bit wonky. Possible. Nike's version of the shoe puts it under the padding in the arch of the shoe. Well, dang nabbit, so will I!



Marked out a place to cut...



Box cutter of doooooooom goes to work - choppity chop



And thar she is, snug as a bug in a rug.

I actually did this before the Saturday run. I can't even feel it when I run, so I guess that's good. I could actually feel it a bit when it was outside under my shoelaces. I recalibrated on Saturday too. I think the distance is closer to what I think it ought to be, but I'm still not completely convinced. I'll have to go to an officially marked off 10k or something and check against that. We'll see. It's not that important... really...

It's just that I obsess, you know.

Hip, Hip, Hippopotamus!

A trip to the library to pick up a couple of books that for some reason aren't already on my shelf and a wild and hot evening with the photocopier, and I'll be done with the nastiest tasks!  I've still got 'Make a final exam' on the list of things to do, but that's not too bad, I pretty much know what's going to be on it, and if I don't write it out, then the students can't pry any info out of me! Bwahaha.

Whew.  I got pretty much all that I hoped to get done tonight and it's only 8!  I think I need to stop by the store on the way home and pick up some celebratory chocolate.  OOOO  ICE CREAM.   I know it's too late to be eating a calorie bomb like that, but hey, I'll run a lot next week.  You guys hold me to it, ok? 

Zerodoll said that I needed ice cream, and, by gum, she's a smart gal. 

Double Plus Unquiz With an Increased Chocolate Ration

I missed a week – sorry ‘bout that, I’ll make it up with a couple extras here

let’s get right down to the quiiiiiz!

Pre-quiz questions!
1. What does the microphone smell like?
2. What was odd about Cyndi Lauper’s Dad’s beard?
3. What are the two (out of three) that aren’t bad?
4. Who was looking for Lee Ho Fook's? And how was his hair?
5. In ’84, which guys did she think were ‘OK?’
6. What do the papers want to know about Bowie’s spaceman?
7. He’s just a man, with a man’s courage. Who is he?
8. What kind of music just soothes the soul?
9. Why would Stan make a new plan?
10. Who worked for Mr McGee at the Five and Dime? And why didn't Mr McGee like him?
10.5. Janet's fiancée didn't know know to do their dance. What dance did he ask if anyone knew how to do?

Ok, ok, quiz questions!
11.

You’ve gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you’re gonna have to get used to it

12.

But everything changes
And my friends seem to scatter
But I think it’s about forgiveness
Forgiveness

13.

Second time around, I'm still believing
The words that you said
You said you'd always be here
And love forever still repeats in my head

14.

There once was a time and there once was a way
We had something going and to my dismay
Attention to me seemed to drift though I don't know where

15.

Out where the river broke
The bloodwood and the desert oak
Holden wrecks and boiling diesels
Steam in forty five degrees

16.

You remain
My power, my pleasure, my pain.

17.

So I wake in the morning and I step
Outside I take deep breath
I get real high
Then I scream from the top of my lungs

18.

Somebody once asked could I spare some change for gas
I need to get myself away from this place
I said yep what a concept
I could use a little fuel myself
And we could all use a little change

19.

I went to a party last Saturday night
I didn't get laid, I got in a fight,
Uh, huh
It ain't no big thing

20.

She said I'm sorry baby I'm leaving you tonight
I found someone new he's waitin' in the car outside

Freshness, Charm - The Enticement of a Skin More Precious Than Personality or Cleverness - Do You Seek It?

The library at Duke (I guess) put up something called Ad*Access - some wonderful ads from early this century online for our enjoyment.  Well, I'm sure that was the reason they did it.  Go take a look!  There are racial ones and ones that explain to the girls what men really want. 

Ok, seriously, I'm going back to work.

This Time I Mean It

Allrighty.  All the labors that needed to be done at home have been done (seriously, no quarter was given - laundry was folded and socks were matched)
Now I am ensconced in my office with a pizza on the way.  I vow here and now to not leave until:

• Labor the First (grading) is completely finished
• Labor the Second (next class syllabus) is completely finished
• Labor the Third (next class reading list) is completely finalized and at least mainly compiled and ready for the print shop

Labor the Fourth (writing the final exam for this class) is going to be postponed, I think.  I may fiddle with some ideas if I need a break from earlier tasks, but it's not going to be a requirement for me going home.

There may be enough break time to put together a quiz in there somewhere :)