not enough hours between...
This morning, I was reminded of some movie or commercial or TV show or something... where a guy takes off his clothes, climbs into bed, gets under the covers, and as soon as his head hits the pillow his alarm goes off... he pulls off the covers, gets up, puts back on his clothes...
5 hours of sleep last night and 7 hours from the time I left the train to the time I got back on it this morning. Those aren't very many of hours.
I almost, almost, almost stopped in the middle of putting on my shirt this morning and went back to bed. I would have only missed the team-taught class, and I wasn't scheduled to contribute today. But I was a good boy and went to work and contributed to the discussion and had a fairly nice class of my own.
But wow. Tired.
Tuesday, February 28
aggressively health-food shopping...
They recently opened a Whole Food Market at Union Square, which is way closer to my office than the one on 7th Ave. I was running out of tea, so I figured I'd walk over there today and check it out.
Fucking. Zoo.
Seriously - I have never seen so many people in a grocery store. It was like taking Grand Central Station at rush hour and giving everyone a shopping cart.
The lines were enormous, but here's the thing - the store has 36 registers and all but TWO of them are open. And they have line wranglers shuttling people to the next available checkout. Hence, I waited in line for LESS time than I usually do at our dinky suburban grocery store with 3 cashiers.
This is what I love about New York. They do NOT fuck around.
They recently opened a Whole Food Market at Union Square, which is way closer to my office than the one on 7th Ave. I was running out of tea, so I figured I'd walk over there today and check it out.
Fucking. Zoo.
Seriously - I have never seen so many people in a grocery store. It was like taking Grand Central Station at rush hour and giving everyone a shopping cart.
The lines were enormous, but here's the thing - the store has 36 registers and all but TWO of them are open. And they have line wranglers shuttling people to the next available checkout. Hence, I waited in line for LESS time than I usually do at our dinky suburban grocery store with 3 cashiers.
This is what I love about New York. They do NOT fuck around.
the repor(t)...
Went to the filming of The Colbert Report today - by myself. We couldn't really score a sitter for such a late night event, and let's face it... I have no friends. It was fun, if a bit of a long wait. An hour outside in the cold (sheltered from the wind in a covered alley, but still cold) then an hour inside standing in a crowded room, then an hour listening to the warmup comic (there was a delay, nobody explained why) all for a 20 minute TV show. I never fully warmed up before it was time to walk back to the train station.
Anyway. To summarize - Fun. Cold. And as is always the case when you see things like that up close and behind the scenes... a little surreal.
PS> I got to "high-5" Steven Colbert
Went to the filming of The Colbert Report today - by myself. We couldn't really score a sitter for such a late night event, and let's face it... I have no friends. It was fun, if a bit of a long wait. An hour outside in the cold (sheltered from the wind in a covered alley, but still cold) then an hour inside standing in a crowded room, then an hour listening to the warmup comic (there was a delay, nobody explained why) all for a 20 minute TV show. I never fully warmed up before it was time to walk back to the train station.
Anyway. To summarize - Fun. Cold. And as is always the case when you see things like that up close and behind the scenes... a little surreal.
PS> I got to "high-5" Steven Colbert
Monday, February 27
seasons...
It may not count as a "sign of spring" but it certainly is a step in the right direction. This morning when I left for work, the sky was starting to brighten with honest-to-goodness morning twilight. Another couple of weeks and I'll be leaving for work after sunrise! This is very good for my psyche.
Of course it's still 10 fucking degrees this morning, so... I'm not exactly frolicking through fields of flowers just yet.
It may not count as a "sign of spring" but it certainly is a step in the right direction. This morning when I left for work, the sky was starting to brighten with honest-to-goodness morning twilight. Another couple of weeks and I'll be leaving for work after sunrise! This is very good for my psyche.
Of course it's still 10 fucking degrees this morning, so... I'm not exactly frolicking through fields of flowers just yet.
Sunday, February 26
cordless in seattle...?
We watched "Flightplan" on DVD tonight (lame) and now we're watching Sleepless in Seattle on cable. The weird thing about this movie? Nobody has a cellphone. Tom Hanks's kid calls him at a restaurant and the waiter brings him a phone! Nobody even has a CORDLESS in their HOUSE.
It's like watching the fucking Andy Griffith show. "Hello, Mabel?? Get me Sherrif Taylor!"
Anyway, I know my wife and I saw this when we were dating (1993) so it makes me feel very, very, very old.
We watched "Flightplan" on DVD tonight (lame) and now we're watching Sleepless in Seattle on cable. The weird thing about this movie? Nobody has a cellphone. Tom Hanks's kid calls him at a restaurant and the waiter brings him a phone! Nobody even has a CORDLESS in their HOUSE.
It's like watching the fucking Andy Griffith show. "Hello, Mabel?? Get me Sherrif Taylor!"
Anyway, I know my wife and I saw this when we were dating (1993) so it makes me feel very, very, very old.
Thursday, February 23
damned right i'm "compelling"...
I think I mentioned the other day responding to a "call for contributors" to write essays for a new sourcebook in the history of science. Well, yesterday I got this response from the publisher...
... which means that by the end of the year, I could have some stuff published by an honest-to goodness textbook publisher. (I googled the editors to make sure they were legit, and they seem to have put together more than a half-dozen of these sorts of publications for a major academic press.)
It's about time I fell ass-backwards into one of these textbook projects. I have colleagues who work on them, and they can never adequately explain how they wind up doing so... it just kinda falls in their lap. Finally something falls into MINE.
Anyway, they have a specific entry list. They are looking for 6000-8000 word essays on things like gravity, relativity, and quantum mechanics. (Also things like polymers, organ transplants and trigonometry in other fields.) They pay between $900 and $1200 per essay, which is fine, and somewhat more than a "pittance", but really - it's not about the money. It's about padding the big folder when my faculty appointment comes up for review. This project should serve nicely.
Yay, me!
I think I mentioned the other day responding to a "call for contributors" to write essays for a new sourcebook in the history of science. Well, yesterday I got this response from the publisher...
"Dear Dr. Dave,
Thanks for your response regarding The Encyclopedia of the History of Science. We quite enjoyed your writing samples; they did indeed show you to be a compelling writer. We'd be happy to give you a better picture of this project and hope you'll be interested in writing one or more entries."
... which means that by the end of the year, I could have some stuff published by an honest-to goodness textbook publisher. (I googled the editors to make sure they were legit, and they seem to have put together more than a half-dozen of these sorts of publications for a major academic press.)
It's about time I fell ass-backwards into one of these textbook projects. I have colleagues who work on them, and they can never adequately explain how they wind up doing so... it just kinda falls in their lap. Finally something falls into MINE.
Anyway, they have a specific entry list. They are looking for 6000-8000 word essays on things like gravity, relativity, and quantum mechanics. (Also things like polymers, organ transplants and trigonometry in other fields.) They pay between $900 and $1200 per essay, which is fine, and somewhat more than a "pittance", but really - it's not about the money. It's about padding the big folder when my faculty appointment comes up for review. This project should serve nicely.
Yay, me!
daveflix...
I don't have much work to do this morning (one class on the Solar System today... it's "eyes closed" stuff) so I'm about to watch "Constantine" on my laptop. I have a new scheme when it comes to Netflix movies that only *I* want to see and not the wife, which is to order them, rip them to my HD and send back the disk immediately. Which is probably illegal in the very strictest sense, but as long as I only watch the movie ONCE and then delete it, it SHOULDN'T be illegal, since nothing different has transpired than if I had just watched the DVD on my computer. It just speeds up the turnaround time with Netflix by a couple of days.
Anyway... it's me and Keanu this morning. Please keep your comments to yourselves.
I don't have much work to do this morning (one class on the Solar System today... it's "eyes closed" stuff) so I'm about to watch "Constantine" on my laptop. I have a new scheme when it comes to Netflix movies that only *I* want to see and not the wife, which is to order them, rip them to my HD and send back the disk immediately. Which is probably illegal in the very strictest sense, but as long as I only watch the movie ONCE and then delete it, it SHOULDN'T be illegal, since nothing different has transpired than if I had just watched the DVD on my computer. It just speeds up the turnaround time with Netflix by a couple of days.
Anyway... it's me and Keanu this morning. Please keep your comments to yourselves.
Wednesday, February 22
promise broken...
I know I promised I'd be more interesting, but the thing is... here's the problem - I'm too BUSY to be interesting in the morning and too TIRED to be interesting after work. So you people are just Out! Of! Luck!
The only good news I have for today is that I know there are Girl Scout cookies waiting for me at home. Eighty-six cases of them, in fact.
Don't worry... I won't eat them all. A few are for other people.
I know I promised I'd be more interesting, but the thing is... here's the problem - I'm too BUSY to be interesting in the morning and too TIRED to be interesting after work. So you people are just Out! Of! Luck!
The only good news I have for today is that I know there are Girl Scout cookies waiting for me at home. Eighty-six cases of them, in fact.
Don't worry... I won't eat them all. A few are for other people.
fifth grade was HOW many years ago...?
Busy day ahead... I guess. I'm giving a big lecture on E=mc^2 to a combined group of my physics class and the department chair's class on the Atom Bomb. It'll be nice to teach in a "lecture hall" for a change. Then a science department meeting, then my music class. I've come to the conclusion that the textbook I've chosen is just way too much for these kids. I'll be hard pressed to come up with some questions on the readings that they can actually answer.
We're talking about woodwinds and brasses today, so I brought my trumpet with me. It occurred to me this morning that this trumpet is older by far than any of my students. Very depressing. I should probably set aside some time today to practice producing a steady tone before I go trying to demonstrate the harmonic series for my class... it's been a long freaking time.
I got some fun toys in the mail yesterday from the science supply company... strobe guns and sound meters and metal plates shaped like violins... much of which would have been more useful had it arrived 3 weeks ago. Oh well.
That's about all I have on my mind this morning. I'll try to be more interesting on the way home.
Busy day ahead... I guess. I'm giving a big lecture on E=mc^2 to a combined group of my physics class and the department chair's class on the Atom Bomb. It'll be nice to teach in a "lecture hall" for a change. Then a science department meeting, then my music class. I've come to the conclusion that the textbook I've chosen is just way too much for these kids. I'll be hard pressed to come up with some questions on the readings that they can actually answer.
We're talking about woodwinds and brasses today, so I brought my trumpet with me. It occurred to me this morning that this trumpet is older by far than any of my students. Very depressing. I should probably set aside some time today to practice producing a steady tone before I go trying to demonstrate the harmonic series for my class... it's been a long freaking time.
I got some fun toys in the mail yesterday from the science supply company... strobe guns and sound meters and metal plates shaped like violins... much of which would have been more useful had it arrived 3 weeks ago. Oh well.
That's about all I have on my mind this morning. I'll try to be more interesting on the way home.
Tuesday, February 21
a good omen, perhaps...
I'm frequently a little bit late in the mornings, which will sometimes result in a missed train, but it's rare to wind up accidentally on an EARLIER train. Somehow the drive this morning was just faster. I think the 6:15 train was a few minutes late too. Anyway, I'll get to the office almost 15 minutes early this morning, which is pretty cool. I enjoy my office-before-class time in the mornings... the more leisurely the better. Maybe this will be one of those days where everything goes right!
Ha!
I have plans to maybe grade some this morning. Maybe on the train... maybe at the office. I do want to get some of my music classes papers graded before tomorrow, though. They are WAY overdue. My modern physics class too... I haven't even THOUGHT about them. Sigh...
Much has been getting done around the house. Between the combined efforts of my wife and I, the living room and kitchen no longer look like a pig fraternity house (Swine Beta Kappa) and in the past few days the basement has been mostly framed and mostly sheetrocked, so we're excited about the progress there. Once the plumber gets the bathroom together down there, it's our job to tile, paint, and install the ceiling. Yay.
We sent the Boy to preschool yesterday, even though the Girl had off from real school. (Wife was doing taxes, I had some stuff to do, and it's already payed for... but yes, we still feel guilty when we do that.) The Girl walked around all day proclaiming her boredness. "Can't wait for summer" I said. The wife, responding to a comment from the Girl the day before, said... "Yeah, if she thinks she's NOT going to summer camp, she's crazy."
Given all the tax weirdness from the past year and the two states and unemployment checks and buying and selling houses, it was hard to know what to expect refund-wise, but it looks like all told we'll be getting more than $2500 back this year. My reaction to that is - "Oh good, we can pay off a chunk of this home equity loan." My wife's reaction... "Oh good, that will pay for our cruise this summer."
Interesting professional news - yesterday I responded to a "call for contributors" to a massive 3-volume textbook on the History of Science. They are looking for 4000-8000 word essays, which is something I could do easily on just about any topic in physics or astronomy. The text is aimed at HS/college, so I'm hoping that my 4 years of high school teaching will give me an edge. Anyway, it's an easy pub, so I hope I get the call. My CV could really use this.
Anyway... I'm at work now. Time to do something productive.
Dave
Postscript: Two assignment stacks graded in one hour. Amazing how I torture myself over a task that really isn't so bad once I sit down and DO IT.
I'm frequently a little bit late in the mornings, which will sometimes result in a missed train, but it's rare to wind up accidentally on an EARLIER train. Somehow the drive this morning was just faster. I think the 6:15 train was a few minutes late too. Anyway, I'll get to the office almost 15 minutes early this morning, which is pretty cool. I enjoy my office-before-class time in the mornings... the more leisurely the better. Maybe this will be one of those days where everything goes right!
Ha!
I have plans to maybe grade some this morning. Maybe on the train... maybe at the office. I do want to get some of my music classes papers graded before tomorrow, though. They are WAY overdue. My modern physics class too... I haven't even THOUGHT about them. Sigh...
Much has been getting done around the house. Between the combined efforts of my wife and I, the living room and kitchen no longer look like a pig fraternity house (Swine Beta Kappa) and in the past few days the basement has been mostly framed and mostly sheetrocked, so we're excited about the progress there. Once the plumber gets the bathroom together down there, it's our job to tile, paint, and install the ceiling. Yay.
We sent the Boy to preschool yesterday, even though the Girl had off from real school. (Wife was doing taxes, I had some stuff to do, and it's already payed for... but yes, we still feel guilty when we do that.) The Girl walked around all day proclaiming her boredness. "Can't wait for summer" I said. The wife, responding to a comment from the Girl the day before, said... "Yeah, if she thinks she's NOT going to summer camp, she's crazy."
Given all the tax weirdness from the past year and the two states and unemployment checks and buying and selling houses, it was hard to know what to expect refund-wise, but it looks like all told we'll be getting more than $2500 back this year. My reaction to that is - "Oh good, we can pay off a chunk of this home equity loan." My wife's reaction... "Oh good, that will pay for our cruise this summer."
Interesting professional news - yesterday I responded to a "call for contributors" to a massive 3-volume textbook on the History of Science. They are looking for 4000-8000 word essays, which is something I could do easily on just about any topic in physics or astronomy. The text is aimed at HS/college, so I'm hoping that my 4 years of high school teaching will give me an edge. Anyway, it's an easy pub, so I hope I get the call. My CV could really use this.
Anyway... I'm at work now. Time to do something productive.
Dave
Postscript: Two assignment stacks graded in one hour. Amazing how I torture myself over a task that really isn't so bad once I sit down and DO IT.
Monday, February 20
olympic fever...
What does Dave do with his big day off work? Well, right now I'm watching Olympic Women's Hockey. You should see Canada's women's hockey coach... it's like if you took everyone's high school girls' gym teacher... and rolled them into a kind of Mega Voltron Ultra Butch Lesbian Coachbot. The clichéness makes me smile.
What does Dave do with his big day off work? Well, right now I'm watching Olympic Women's Hockey. You should see Canada's women's hockey coach... it's like if you took everyone's high school girls' gym teacher... and rolled them into a kind of Mega Voltron Ultra Butch Lesbian Coachbot. The clichéness makes me smile.
at the movies with dave...
Thanks to some diligent TiVo use and a little free time last week, I've recently managed to catch up on three movies that up to now I've failed to see in their entirety due to various reasons. (Lack of opportunity, lack of interest, and childhood trauma, respectively.) I present my brief reactions below....
Anyway, I feel somehow relieved to get some of those pop-culture-literacy points out of the way.
Thanks to some diligent TiVo use and a little free time last week, I've recently managed to catch up on three movies that up to now I've failed to see in their entirety due to various reasons. (Lack of opportunity, lack of interest, and childhood trauma, respectively.) I present my brief reactions below....
THE SHINING: No, I don't know how I've managed not to see this one either. I've seen all the "scary" parts here and there though, so the movie lacked any real suspense whatsoever. Still, it's nice to finally know how exactly it all hangs together. I found much of the dialogue in the first act very entertaining though, and very reminiscent of the first act of 2001. It makes me wonder what kind of stage direction Kubrick used to give his actors. "No! Flatter! FAKER! Give me LESS emotion!!"
DR. STRANGELOVE, (OR: YADDA YADDA...): Every time I've watched more than 10 minutes of this film in the past my reaction has been the same... "I thought this was supposed to be a comedy...?" I wasn't exactly rolling in the aisles this time, but at least now I "get it". I've always been skeptical of the label of "genius" often pinned on Peter Sellers... it's nice to see him in something other than "The PInk Panther".
WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY: My wife TiVo'd this for the kids, and I mustered up the resolve to sit through it. I didn't find the same things creepy as I found as a kid... but I could clearly identify what they were. And that's not to say I didn't find it creepy this time. I just found DIFFERENT things creepy.
Anyway, I feel somehow relieved to get some of those pop-culture-literacy points out of the way.
Thursday, February 16
last train home...
God, this day has been so long... I can't even remember how it started so I can write about it. Same old crap... class, class, then a break. I went out to grab a bite to eat (newly discovered curry-chicken buns from the chinese bakery - $1.10) and noticed that the weather was so gorgeous I'd feel awful about myself if I just sat in my office for an hour and a half. So I walked a few blocks over to the Strand, browsed their "18 miles of books", jotted down three titles and left without buying anything.
Back to the office for the faculty meeting, which was contentious in tone and long in duration. There were supposed to be "drinks" after, and sometimes when they say that they mean a full bar, but it was just beer and wine. Oh well, had some nice chats with my science colleagues. Somehow we always wind up in a bunch off in the corner. It's like the nerd table in the school cafeteria.
I never had my second cup of tea today. I hit my low at around 5:00... right in the middle of the meeting of course, but I'm actually feeling pretty ok now. Which is good, since I won't be getting home until 10:00.
I think the plan for tomorrow is to drag the kids (who are off Friday and Monday for "President's Day"... when the fuck did THAT become a 4-day weekend??) in to the city for a Museum day... probably the Met... it's been a while. I know the natural history museum will be packed with NYC kids who are off school... I'm hoping the art museums won't be too bad. I'm not sure yet if we're driving or talking the train. I'm sure I'll be TOLD the plan at some point... probably the last minute.
I can feel the free-associating starting to kick in. I should quit that.
I wish I had a movie on my computer to watch. You know... other than porn, I mean. Maybe I have an episode of South Park or something.
God, this day has been so long... I can't even remember how it started so I can write about it. Same old crap... class, class, then a break. I went out to grab a bite to eat (newly discovered curry-chicken buns from the chinese bakery - $1.10) and noticed that the weather was so gorgeous I'd feel awful about myself if I just sat in my office for an hour and a half. So I walked a few blocks over to the Strand, browsed their "18 miles of books", jotted down three titles and left without buying anything.
Back to the office for the faculty meeting, which was contentious in tone and long in duration. There were supposed to be "drinks" after, and sometimes when they say that they mean a full bar, but it was just beer and wine. Oh well, had some nice chats with my science colleagues. Somehow we always wind up in a bunch off in the corner. It's like the nerd table in the school cafeteria.
I never had my second cup of tea today. I hit my low at around 5:00... right in the middle of the meeting of course, but I'm actually feeling pretty ok now. Which is good, since I won't be getting home until 10:00.
I think the plan for tomorrow is to drag the kids (who are off Friday and Monday for "President's Day"... when the fuck did THAT become a 4-day weekend??) in to the city for a Museum day... probably the Met... it's been a while. I know the natural history museum will be packed with NYC kids who are off school... I'm hoping the art museums won't be too bad. I'm not sure yet if we're driving or talking the train. I'm sure I'll be TOLD the plan at some point... probably the last minute.
I can feel the free-associating starting to kick in. I should quit that.
I wish I had a movie on my computer to watch. You know... other than porn, I mean. Maybe I have an episode of South Park or something.
Wednesday, February 15
it's almost possible to imagine relaxing...
I feel like I have a little bit of a breather for a few days. I know pretty much what I'm doing in Astro tomorrow, and I have off Monday, and then I have Astro again on Tuesday. So basically - a whole week off from my "hard" classes. Thank god.
I should take this time off to get ahead on my lectures and get caught up with my grading, and I will do some of that I'm sure, but right now... I think I'm going to take the night off. It seems like I should have loads to blog about, but... not really...
The women of NYC seem to be engaged in some sort of "Ugliest Galoshes" competition. It's been going on all winter, but this latest snowstorm was really intensified things. (Come to New York! It's a Slushapalooza!) I'm guessing that the point is, to wear boots so ugly and garish and brightly colored and weirdly patterned that it is clear to everyone around you that these boots are not part of your "outfit" nor are you trying to "look good"... you are merely trying to keep your feet dry. And doing so in a whimsically ugly way is just easier than trying to find attractive waterproof boots.
Anyway... I find them an affront to my eyes and a violation of my basic guidelines for footwear.
(--- insert train nap here ---)
Somebody asked for more political commentary here at Dr. Dave's. Really? Politics? Is there really anything that needs to be said anymore? Apparently Dick Cheney shot somebody, though... at least that's something NEW... something stupid we haven't seen before. I keep thinking... "Ok, THIS will be the one idiotic act of criminal incompetence that finally gets people to realize what a bunch of malevolent boobs they've elected to run the country." But nobody ever seems to fully appreciate this fact.
Boy this train ride seems much shorter when you sleep through 1/3 of it.
I feel like I have a little bit of a breather for a few days. I know pretty much what I'm doing in Astro tomorrow, and I have off Monday, and then I have Astro again on Tuesday. So basically - a whole week off from my "hard" classes. Thank god.
I should take this time off to get ahead on my lectures and get caught up with my grading, and I will do some of that I'm sure, but right now... I think I'm going to take the night off. It seems like I should have loads to blog about, but... not really...
The women of NYC seem to be engaged in some sort of "Ugliest Galoshes" competition. It's been going on all winter, but this latest snowstorm was really intensified things. (Come to New York! It's a Slushapalooza!) I'm guessing that the point is, to wear boots so ugly and garish and brightly colored and weirdly patterned that it is clear to everyone around you that these boots are not part of your "outfit" nor are you trying to "look good"... you are merely trying to keep your feet dry. And doing so in a whimsically ugly way is just easier than trying to find attractive waterproof boots.
Anyway... I find them an affront to my eyes and a violation of my basic guidelines for footwear.
(--- insert train nap here ---)
Somebody asked for more political commentary here at Dr. Dave's. Really? Politics? Is there really anything that needs to be said anymore? Apparently Dick Cheney shot somebody, though... at least that's something NEW... something stupid we haven't seen before. I keep thinking... "Ok, THIS will be the one idiotic act of criminal incompetence that finally gets people to realize what a bunch of malevolent boobs they've elected to run the country." But nobody ever seems to fully appreciate this fact.
Boy this train ride seems much shorter when you sleep through 1/3 of it.
Tuesday, February 14
shouldbegrading shouldbegrading shouldbegrading...
Hmm? What?
I'm habitually too damned tired to do anything productive on the ride home lately. I don't know what I have to do... go to bed at 10:00 I guess. Ugh.
As for the meeting, I really can't imagine being on a committee on which I had LESS to say. Really.
I bought my obligatory flowers today. (as did most other men boarding the train... amusing sight, really) I bought them from a pushy Chinese lady at a farmer's market store. "How about these? How about these? You like rose? This very nice." WILL YOU SHUT UP AND LET ME LOOK AT THE FUCKING FLOWERS PLEASE??? It's Valentine's Day, I'm fucking standing here, I'm clearly going to buy some of your damned flowers, so... enough with the hard sell.
Anyway, not much planned for the evening. We had a no-present pact... the wife seems to be cooking some sort of "dinner" (!!)... and I'm sure there will be some kind of The Sex at some point. Why? Because we have to. Because the flower people and the greeting card people and the candy people say so. And the pushy Chinese ladies. "You having the sex? It very nice."
Hmm? What?
I'm habitually too damned tired to do anything productive on the ride home lately. I don't know what I have to do... go to bed at 10:00 I guess. Ugh.
As for the meeting, I really can't imagine being on a committee on which I had LESS to say. Really.
I bought my obligatory flowers today. (as did most other men boarding the train... amusing sight, really) I bought them from a pushy Chinese lady at a farmer's market store. "How about these? How about these? You like rose? This very nice." WILL YOU SHUT UP AND LET ME LOOK AT THE FUCKING FLOWERS PLEASE??? It's Valentine's Day, I'm fucking standing here, I'm clearly going to buy some of your damned flowers, so... enough with the hard sell.
Anyway, not much planned for the evening. We had a no-present pact... the wife seems to be cooking some sort of "dinner" (!!)... and I'm sure there will be some kind of The Sex at some point. Why? Because we have to. Because the flower people and the greeting card people and the candy people say so. And the pushy Chinese ladies. "You having the sex? It very nice."
adding it up...
Morning headache + Unprepared for class + Committee meeting + Valentine's Day = SUCK!!
--- -- --- -- ---
I have no desire to sit here and prepare something for class today. I'm considering proclaiming it "Astronomy Tangent Day". Let's talk about black holes! Let's talk about aliens! Let's talk about what would happen if the Earth were struck by a giant meteorite! Anything so that I don't have to sit here and work up a lecture on Galileo's Dialogues!
--- -- --- -- ---
I found out yesterday that our Chemistry professor has been offered the position of department chair when our current Chair retires. Which is fine. And, as I suspected, it looks like we're moving towards a rotating three year term, which means if I hang around here long enough, I'LL get stuck with it eventually. Luckily, I demonstrate my administrative incompetence so regularly... they'll probably hold off on offering it to me for as long as possible.
--- -- --- -- ---
I noticed the other day that my laptop's 80 Gb hard drive only had around 4 Gig free. What the hell?? It took me 20 minutes of digging to discover that my bit-torrent program had accumulated 15 Gb worth of aborted download chunks. Yikes. So... 18+ Gig free now, and all is well.
--- -- --- -- ---
Alright. I'm giving up on this charade of maybe doing some work, and closing my eyes for the rest of the train ride.
Morning headache + Unprepared for class + Committee meeting + Valentine's Day = SUCK!!
I have no desire to sit here and prepare something for class today. I'm considering proclaiming it "Astronomy Tangent Day". Let's talk about black holes! Let's talk about aliens! Let's talk about what would happen if the Earth were struck by a giant meteorite! Anything so that I don't have to sit here and work up a lecture on Galileo's Dialogues!
I found out yesterday that our Chemistry professor has been offered the position of department chair when our current Chair retires. Which is fine. And, as I suspected, it looks like we're moving towards a rotating three year term, which means if I hang around here long enough, I'LL get stuck with it eventually. Luckily, I demonstrate my administrative incompetence so regularly... they'll probably hold off on offering it to me for as long as possible.
I noticed the other day that my laptop's 80 Gb hard drive only had around 4 Gig free. What the hell?? It took me 20 minutes of digging to discover that my bit-torrent program had accumulated 15 Gb worth of aborted download chunks. Yikes. So... 18+ Gig free now, and all is well.
Alright. I'm giving up on this charade of maybe doing some work, and closing my eyes for the rest of the train ride.
Monday, February 13
i brought an extra pair of socks...
So, they had been calling for snow, but never more than 12". We woke up yesterday to find maybe 4" on the ground, and it snowed on and off all day... but it never amounted to more than 6" or so. I shoveled the driveway in about 15 minutes.
It was a pretty busy day... we did some house cleaning and we went to Target in the afternoon once all the roads were clear. I must have avoided contact with the news all day, and it never occurred to me to check and see how much snow the surrounding area got until maybe 10:00 last night. Being north and west of the city, you always just assume that everyone else got less than you, but being a "nor'easter", this storm was supposed to hit Long Island and the city the hardest. So... how much snow in the city?
TWENTY SEVEN FUCKING INCHES!!!
Totally not cool. And of course, school is open normal hours today. (What does it take to close New York City Schools? Has it ever happened?) Luckily, I only have to walk 2 blocks and cross one street on my new commuting route, but still... I expect to have to trudge through some snow banks to do so. Hence the title. But my train was on-time (although I overslept a bit this morning and had to run for it) and the roads up here are clear, so... I have nothing to complain about... yet.
So, they had been calling for snow, but never more than 12". We woke up yesterday to find maybe 4" on the ground, and it snowed on and off all day... but it never amounted to more than 6" or so. I shoveled the driveway in about 15 minutes.
It was a pretty busy day... we did some house cleaning and we went to Target in the afternoon once all the roads were clear. I must have avoided contact with the news all day, and it never occurred to me to check and see how much snow the surrounding area got until maybe 10:00 last night. Being north and west of the city, you always just assume that everyone else got less than you, but being a "nor'easter", this storm was supposed to hit Long Island and the city the hardest. So... how much snow in the city?
TWENTY SEVEN FUCKING INCHES!!!
Totally not cool. And of course, school is open normal hours today. (What does it take to close New York City Schools? Has it ever happened?) Luckily, I only have to walk 2 blocks and cross one street on my new commuting route, but still... I expect to have to trudge through some snow banks to do so. Hence the title. But my train was on-time (although I overslept a bit this morning and had to run for it) and the roads up here are clear, so... I have nothing to complain about... yet.
Friday, February 10
not what you want to see first thing in the morning...
No classes today, but I have a lunch meeting, so I took the Boy to preschool, stopped by the Middle of Nowhere Café to pick up some tea, and then headed to the train station, where I was greeted by the sight of a freight car hanging off the tracks, half on its side, blocking the track on which the train I was planning on taking was supposed to run.
Hmm.
There was a whole transit clusterfuck milling about with cranes and yellow trucks and guys in reflective vests. I was beginning to think I might have myself an excellent excuse not to go to this lunch meeting, but they just brought my southbound train over on the northbound track - opened one door and made us all walk across the tracks.
A bit of an odd start to the day, but... pretty impressive that the whole delay amounted to no more than 10 minutes.
No classes today, but I have a lunch meeting, so I took the Boy to preschool, stopped by the Middle of Nowhere Café to pick up some tea, and then headed to the train station, where I was greeted by the sight of a freight car hanging off the tracks, half on its side, blocking the track on which the train I was planning on taking was supposed to run.
Hmm.
There was a whole transit clusterfuck milling about with cranes and yellow trucks and guys in reflective vests. I was beginning to think I might have myself an excellent excuse not to go to this lunch meeting, but they just brought my southbound train over on the northbound track - opened one door and made us all walk across the tracks.
A bit of an odd start to the day, but... pretty impressive that the whole delay amounted to no more than 10 minutes.
thursday evening, forgotten post...
If I had the tiniest sliver of sense in my brain, I'd be grading papers right now instead of watching odd BBC sitcoms that I've pirated online, but... well... we all know who wins that fight, now, don't we?
Tired, as usual, but at least today my classes went well. Which is to say, I actually enjoyed teaching one of them for a change. The classroom dynamic in my astronomy class is settling into something bordering on pleasant. I mean... my classes are pretty authoritarian and didactic... so when something resembling a conversation crops up, I consider it a huge event. And when they start to get my jokes... well... sometimes that NEVER happens.
Now if only my music class would stop looking at me like I'm speaking another language.
If I had the tiniest sliver of sense in my brain, I'd be grading papers right now instead of watching odd BBC sitcoms that I've pirated online, but... well... we all know who wins that fight, now, don't we?
Tired, as usual, but at least today my classes went well. Which is to say, I actually enjoyed teaching one of them for a change. The classroom dynamic in my astronomy class is settling into something bordering on pleasant. I mean... my classes are pretty authoritarian and didactic... so when something resembling a conversation crops up, I consider it a huge event. And when they start to get my jokes... well... sometimes that NEVER happens.
Now if only my music class would stop looking at me like I'm speaking another language.
Thursday, February 9
Wednesday, February 8
picking up the pieces...
Well, kids... the Alone Time is over... the family should be home around 7:30 tonight. (**) I guess that means I need to take some time when I get home to de-bachelor-ize the house. There seem to be no small number of plates, pizza boxes, and chip bags scattered about. And socks.
Another crazy day... a hamster day...I won't go into it. I'll just allow that phrase to serve as shorthand from now on.
The basement is looking pretty good, I must say. Almost all the framing is done, so one can imagine what all the rooms are going to look like. The bedroom and playrooom are going to be huge. The office... so, so. But the workshop... too small. And the bathroom? Forget about it. I have NO idea how we are fitting a shower, sink, and toilet in there. If you had to leave one out, which would it be?
I added this new little cymbal to my rudimentary drumkit the other day. I don't know how drummers do it. It's like... if I could choose how many strings to put on my guitar, or... you know... I think I'm gonna leave the 8th fret OFF. Every time you get $100 rattling around in your pocket, your instrument changes shape, and there is some new thing to bang on now. I can't think of another instrument that has that kind of malleable architecture. I guess I'm just not cut out to be a drummer. (Evidence? I just used the phrase "malleable architecture"!)
Time to nap.
Dave
(**) Of course, it was snowing in Chicago today... I supposed there is always a chance they could get stranded there for another day. Oh! I shudder to think!
Well, kids... the Alone Time is over... the family should be home around 7:30 tonight. (**) I guess that means I need to take some time when I get home to de-bachelor-ize the house. There seem to be no small number of plates, pizza boxes, and chip bags scattered about. And socks.
Another crazy day... a hamster day...I won't go into it. I'll just allow that phrase to serve as shorthand from now on.
The basement is looking pretty good, I must say. Almost all the framing is done, so one can imagine what all the rooms are going to look like. The bedroom and playrooom are going to be huge. The office... so, so. But the workshop... too small. And the bathroom? Forget about it. I have NO idea how we are fitting a shower, sink, and toilet in there. If you had to leave one out, which would it be?
I added this new little cymbal to my rudimentary drumkit the other day. I don't know how drummers do it. It's like... if I could choose how many strings to put on my guitar, or... you know... I think I'm gonna leave the 8th fret OFF. Every time you get $100 rattling around in your pocket, your instrument changes shape, and there is some new thing to bang on now. I can't think of another instrument that has that kind of malleable architecture. I guess I'm just not cut out to be a drummer. (Evidence? I just used the phrase "malleable architecture"!)
Time to nap.
Dave
(**) Of course, it was snowing in Chicago today... I supposed there is always a chance they could get stranded there for another day. Oh! I shudder to think!
Tuesday, February 7
zzzzzzzzzzz...
The bachelor week is just going straight downhill. Today the highlights of evening include a committee meeting and a nap. I swear, I have never spent a whole day so fucking tired. Nothing helps. I think... "Well, maybe I need a little nap", and I nap on the train. Still tired. "Maybe some caffeine?" Two cups before noon... nothing. "Maybe I'm hungry, I'll have some food." Fifteen minutes later and I'm falling asleep on my desk. I don't know what it is... I wasn't up THAT late last night... not even past midnight.
Anyway, the only piece of good news I have for today is that I got the parking people to void my ticket from last week. She did something over the phone that involved checking the totals for the day... I have no idea, but I don't really care. When one of those rare occasions arises where customer service works for you without having to yell... you don't ask questions.
The basement was about half framed as of yesterday. I expect to get home tonight and find it mostly done. No major mistakes so far. Now that there are ROOMS, though... the shit we still have piled down there is all way too close to the walls. Before they do the electrical and the sheetrock, we are going to have to haul a lot more shit upstairs. I have NO idea where it's going to go.
Anyway... the plan is for the rest of the evening... go home... check basement... call wife... nap on sofa... wake up... take shower... go to bed.
God. I'm so lame, I don't even DESERVE a week alone.
The bachelor week is just going straight downhill. Today the highlights of evening include a committee meeting and a nap. I swear, I have never spent a whole day so fucking tired. Nothing helps. I think... "Well, maybe I need a little nap", and I nap on the train. Still tired. "Maybe some caffeine?" Two cups before noon... nothing. "Maybe I'm hungry, I'll have some food." Fifteen minutes later and I'm falling asleep on my desk. I don't know what it is... I wasn't up THAT late last night... not even past midnight.
Anyway, the only piece of good news I have for today is that I got the parking people to void my ticket from last week. She did something over the phone that involved checking the totals for the day... I have no idea, but I don't really care. When one of those rare occasions arises where customer service works for you without having to yell... you don't ask questions.
The basement was about half framed as of yesterday. I expect to get home tonight and find it mostly done. No major mistakes so far. Now that there are ROOMS, though... the shit we still have piled down there is all way too close to the walls. Before they do the electrical and the sheetrock, we are going to have to haul a lot more shit upstairs. I have NO idea where it's going to go.
Anyway... the plan is for the rest of the evening... go home... check basement... call wife... nap on sofa... wake up... take shower... go to bed.
God. I'm so lame, I don't even DESERVE a week alone.
Monday, February 6
nuggets...
I stayed in the city for a few hours after work, just because I could. I did some paperwork and went to the Guitar Center and bought a cymbal. Not too exciting. Tomorrow after work I get to go to a committee meeting. Yippee!
It would appear that the contractor has indeed started work in the basement while I was at work today. So I get to go home and see how much progress they made, and whether or not all the walls are in the right places. I love surprises!
I had a weird low-grade celebrity sighting today. I left my office to walk to class this morning and standing by the stoop of the next building over was the actress who played Paul Buchman's mother on "Mad About You". Somehow I think that seeing almost-celebrities is weirder than seeing "real" celebrities.
I TiVo'd "The Shining" yesterday, and I might watch it tonight. Would you believe that, as big of a Kubrick fan as I am, I've never seen it? I mean, I've seen pieces of it, but I've never sat through the whole film. My wife's helpful comment... "Spoiler! Jack Nicholson is CRAZY!"
I was hungry this afternoon, so I bought some apples and some grapes to eat in the office. Good, right? Then when I left the office I stuffed an apple in my bag so I'd have something to eat on the train, but it just occurred to me that really... apples are NOT very good things to eat on a train. They are kinda sticky and drippy, and when you're done you're stuck with the inedible leftover bits of the apple to dispose of in some way.
One of my students asked in class today... "It's ok if we're a little confused now, right?" My response was "maybe".
I just actually literally dozed off in the middle of typing a minute ago, and this is what I wrote... "44444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444
444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444
444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444"
I stayed in the city for a few hours after work, just because I could. I did some paperwork and went to the Guitar Center and bought a cymbal. Not too exciting. Tomorrow after work I get to go to a committee meeting. Yippee!
It would appear that the contractor has indeed started work in the basement while I was at work today. So I get to go home and see how much progress they made, and whether or not all the walls are in the right places. I love surprises!
I had a weird low-grade celebrity sighting today. I left my office to walk to class this morning and standing by the stoop of the next building over was the actress who played Paul Buchman's mother on "Mad About You". Somehow I think that seeing almost-celebrities is weirder than seeing "real" celebrities.
I TiVo'd "The Shining" yesterday, and I might watch it tonight. Would you believe that, as big of a Kubrick fan as I am, I've never seen it? I mean, I've seen pieces of it, but I've never sat through the whole film. My wife's helpful comment... "Spoiler! Jack Nicholson is CRAZY!"
I was hungry this afternoon, so I bought some apples and some grapes to eat in the office. Good, right? Then when I left the office I stuffed an apple in my bag so I'd have something to eat on the train, but it just occurred to me that really... apples are NOT very good things to eat on a train. They are kinda sticky and drippy, and when you're done you're stuck with the inedible leftover bits of the apple to dispose of in some way.
One of my students asked in class today... "It's ok if we're a little confused now, right?" My response was "maybe".
I just actually literally dozed off in the middle of typing a minute ago, and this is what I wrote... "44444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444
444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444
444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444"
and so it ends...
The Bachelor Weekend, that is. Yes, technically the family doesn't get home until Wednesday, but with work and all, I don't really have much time to "enjoy" myself today and tomorrow. I can't stay up late, and I can't fuck around too much because I have work to do for my classes. I was gonna go "out" in the city after work one day, but for various reasons that's looking more and more impractical.
Still, the weekend was a nice mixture of relaxing and productive. I did my basement-hauling and took down some shelves and stuff down there. (They are supposed to actually start working today. We'll see.) I did lots of TV watching and went to see "Walk The Line" on Saturday, then hung at Barnes and Noble for a while. I played drums for about an hour on Sunday, then fucked around on GarageBand for about 3 hours. I watched the Superbowl (mostly the commercials) and ate pizza and drank a very little and chatted with various people online, including The Wife. Then I watched Grey's Anatomy and went to bed.
Oh, speaking of "bed", I neglected to mention... I slept undisturbed until 7:20 yesterday!! Then I dozed on an off until almost 8:30!! Oh, the luxury of sleeping past sunrise!
Now it's back to the work thing. The team-taught class is out of my hair somewhat until midterm, so now it's just a matter of keeping up with my three classes. That'll get easier as we go along. The modern physics class is about to jump into relativity full-force, so I'm clear there for a while. (Straight physics, I've taught it before, no prep.) The astro class is about to do Renaissance-era stuff... Copernicus - Galileo - Kepler - Newton, which is a pretty easy couple of weeks for me. And the music class... god, I don't know. We're doing standing waves on a string and the harmonic series today, then Fourier analysis on Wednesday. I'm worried that class is going to fall apart soon, though... my "new" classes often do. I'd like to at least make it to freakin' midterm.
So, I guess this shouldn't be a BAD week. I need to work up some assignments for the second half of the week, I guess... and prepare a guest lecture for one of my department chair's courses. But I'm not feeling quite as hamster-wheelie as I have been.
Fucking hell... I just started iTunes up in my headphones without checking the volume... I think I actually lifted up off the seat a few inches. I hope nobody on the train was watching that.
Anyway, on that (very loud) note... I need to do some other stuff. One of these days I'll blog about something OTHER THAN how much all my classes suck... really.
The Bachelor Weekend, that is. Yes, technically the family doesn't get home until Wednesday, but with work and all, I don't really have much time to "enjoy" myself today and tomorrow. I can't stay up late, and I can't fuck around too much because I have work to do for my classes. I was gonna go "out" in the city after work one day, but for various reasons that's looking more and more impractical.
Still, the weekend was a nice mixture of relaxing and productive. I did my basement-hauling and took down some shelves and stuff down there. (They are supposed to actually start working today. We'll see.) I did lots of TV watching and went to see "Walk The Line" on Saturday, then hung at Barnes and Noble for a while. I played drums for about an hour on Sunday, then fucked around on GarageBand for about 3 hours. I watched the Superbowl (mostly the commercials) and ate pizza and drank a very little and chatted with various people online, including The Wife. Then I watched Grey's Anatomy and went to bed.
Oh, speaking of "bed", I neglected to mention... I slept undisturbed until 7:20 yesterday!! Then I dozed on an off until almost 8:30!! Oh, the luxury of sleeping past sunrise!
Now it's back to the work thing. The team-taught class is out of my hair somewhat until midterm, so now it's just a matter of keeping up with my three classes. That'll get easier as we go along. The modern physics class is about to jump into relativity full-force, so I'm clear there for a while. (Straight physics, I've taught it before, no prep.) The astro class is about to do Renaissance-era stuff... Copernicus - Galileo - Kepler - Newton, which is a pretty easy couple of weeks for me. And the music class... god, I don't know. We're doing standing waves on a string and the harmonic series today, then Fourier analysis on Wednesday. I'm worried that class is going to fall apart soon, though... my "new" classes often do. I'd like to at least make it to freakin' midterm.
So, I guess this shouldn't be a BAD week. I need to work up some assignments for the second half of the week, I guess... and prepare a guest lecture for one of my department chair's courses. But I'm not feeling quite as hamster-wheelie as I have been.
Fucking hell... I just started iTunes up in my headphones without checking the volume... I think I actually lifted up off the seat a few inches. I hope nobody on the train was watching that.
Anyway, on that (very loud) note... I need to do some other stuff. One of these days I'll blog about something OTHER THAN how much all my classes suck... really.
Saturday, February 4
home alone...
THEY'RE GONE!!
And so begins dave's 5 days of bachelorhood. Which, given that the contractors were delayed by yesterday's rain and are starting the basement TODAY rather than yesterday, will start out with an entire day of listening to hammering.
For those of you without kids, perhaps the fact that I regard a day of hammering as an IMPROVEMENT over a typical weekend day with the children tells you a little something about the joys of parenting.
THEY'RE GONE!!
And so begins dave's 5 days of bachelorhood. Which, given that the contractors were delayed by yesterday's rain and are starting the basement TODAY rather than yesterday, will start out with an entire day of listening to hammering.
For those of you without kids, perhaps the fact that I regard a day of hammering as an IMPROVEMENT over a typical weekend day with the children tells you a little something about the joys of parenting.
Friday, February 3
aversion therapy...
I swear to god, I am buying two of those electro-shock, anti-barking dog collars and rewiring them to respond to the sounds...
I swear to god, I am buying two of those electro-shock, anti-barking dog collars and rewiring them to respond to the sounds...
1. "No, they aren't"and putting one on each child for as long as it takes before they stop contradicting every fucking thing I say!!!
2. "No, I'm not"
3. "No, it isn't"
Thursday, February 2
why not replace the drop-box with a fucking roulette wheel...?
I got out of my car at the train station last night to find a parking ticket on my windshield. I ask you... what the fuck? I park in the same damned spot every day - 210, then I slip my $2 into the little slot... I mean... is there a chance that I slipped the money into 220 instead? I guess, but it's not like I was in a HURRY yesterday morning or anything. It's not that fucking complicated. And yet the simplicity (aka "stupidity") of the system means you get no receipt or anything that you could use to prove that you paid. Someone makes a mistake somewhere... how to you prove it? Who the fuck knows. I called the parking company and left a message on their "problem" line. I mean - it's a $7 ticket so I'm not going to waste too much breath on the issue, but... it's just one more little piece of idiocy I'd rather not be dealing with.
And the whole thing is made worse by the fact that I applied for a MONTHLY tag last week and they told me it would arrive by 2/1. WRONG!
I got out of my car at the train station last night to find a parking ticket on my windshield. I ask you... what the fuck? I park in the same damned spot every day - 210, then I slip my $2 into the little slot... I mean... is there a chance that I slipped the money into 220 instead? I guess, but it's not like I was in a HURRY yesterday morning or anything. It's not that fucking complicated. And yet the simplicity (aka "stupidity") of the system means you get no receipt or anything that you could use to prove that you paid. Someone makes a mistake somewhere... how to you prove it? Who the fuck knows. I called the parking company and left a message on their "problem" line. I mean - it's a $7 ticket so I'm not going to waste too much breath on the issue, but... it's just one more little piece of idiocy I'd rather not be dealing with.
And the whole thing is made worse by the fact that I applied for a MONTHLY tag last week and they told me it would arrive by 2/1. WRONG!
burnin' for you...
The difference between last semester and this semester... last semester I had 2 classes with 17 and 12 students. This semester I have three classes with 20, 18, and 17 students. That's like... a LOT more. And the problem is, I've now been pushed over some kind of statistical threshold where every day, at least ONE students is guaranteed to be absent. Meaning that every day somebody is bugging me to burn them a CD of the lecture they missed. And as proud as I am of my little lecture-recording setup, it sure would be improved by the ability to host them for download someplace. I feel like all I do is burn CDs.
The additional student load also means that I will never, never, never know more than 2/3 of their names. Not to mention ever grade their papers.
Anyway. I'm fucking tired. I had wanted to work a bit on the train... I have a few things I could actually accomplish in this 2 hours, but... ugh. I'd like to think I could take a short rest, but... I can tell that if I close my eyes now, I'll be no more good for the whole ride.
Oh well... no choice. Eyes refuse to remain in the "open" position.
The difference between last semester and this semester... last semester I had 2 classes with 17 and 12 students. This semester I have three classes with 20, 18, and 17 students. That's like... a LOT more. And the problem is, I've now been pushed over some kind of statistical threshold where every day, at least ONE students is guaranteed to be absent. Meaning that every day somebody is bugging me to burn them a CD of the lecture they missed. And as proud as I am of my little lecture-recording setup, it sure would be improved by the ability to host them for download someplace. I feel like all I do is burn CDs.
The additional student load also means that I will never, never, never know more than 2/3 of their names. Not to mention ever grade their papers.
Anyway. I'm fucking tired. I had wanted to work a bit on the train... I have a few things I could actually accomplish in this 2 hours, but... ugh. I'd like to think I could take a short rest, but... I can tell that if I close my eyes now, I'll be no more good for the whole ride.
Oh well... no choice. Eyes refuse to remain in the "open" position.
looking for the brake...
I overstepped my syllabus in Astronomy on Tuesday... now I have NO idea what I'm doing in class today. I can't get too far out ahead of the homework assignments, and I want them to do at least 2 more readings before we get to Copernicus. Dammit. If I spent all of today doing an in-class reading of Aristotle, that might waste enough time, but... fuck I hate that guy.
I am tired, tired, tired this morning. No more staying up past 11:30... that's totally the magic number.
Nothing more this morning. Maybe later. Today is Thursday, so if I'm awake on the train ride home, I'll have a couple of free neurons to blog with.
I overstepped my syllabus in Astronomy on Tuesday... now I have NO idea what I'm doing in class today. I can't get too far out ahead of the homework assignments, and I want them to do at least 2 more readings before we get to Copernicus. Dammit. If I spent all of today doing an in-class reading of Aristotle, that might waste enough time, but... fuck I hate that guy.
I am tired, tired, tired this morning. No more staying up past 11:30... that's totally the magic number.
Nothing more this morning. Maybe later. Today is Thursday, so if I'm awake on the train ride home, I'll have a couple of free neurons to blog with.
Wednesday, February 1
getting where we are going...
There seems to be a tiny light at the end of a number of tunnels right now, in that my three classes are ALL about to emerge from the sluggish introductory material that I've been struggling with for two weeks into the light of "the good stuff". Well... ok, the "good stuff" never comes until after midterm, but at least we're about to get to "the stuff that will make the students all stop looking at me like I'm torturing them".
Meanwhile, on the homefront, the basement contractor guy starts on Friday, so I have 2 more nights of carrying-shit-up-the-stairs-until-I-pass-out facing me tonight and tomorrow. Think of it as exercise! It's the Carry Shit Up The Stairs Master. As seen on TV!
Hey... speaking of TV... Survivor starts tomorrow! Reason to live after all!
There seems to be a tiny light at the end of a number of tunnels right now, in that my three classes are ALL about to emerge from the sluggish introductory material that I've been struggling with for two weeks into the light of "the good stuff". Well... ok, the "good stuff" never comes until after midterm, but at least we're about to get to "the stuff that will make the students all stop looking at me like I'm torturing them".
Meanwhile, on the homefront, the basement contractor guy starts on Friday, so I have 2 more nights of carrying-shit-up-the-stairs-until-I-pass-out facing me tonight and tomorrow. Think of it as exercise! It's the Carry Shit Up The Stairs Master. As seen on TV!
Hey... speaking of TV... Survivor starts tomorrow! Reason to live after all!
because i really don't have enough to obsess about...
... thanks to fellow blogger and New Yorker Caryn, I now have to live with the knowledge that I work but a short city walk from THIS place.
I mean... really...
And Dr. Dave knows the difference between a "theraputic" massage and well... the OTHER kind of massage, but these three sure to spend a lot of time on their blog talking about how beautiful they are for a self-professed "not an erotic massage".
Anyway. Either way... damn.
$240 is a lotta lunch money.
... thanks to fellow blogger and New Yorker Caryn, I now have to live with the knowledge that I work but a short city walk from THIS place.
I mean... really...
And Dr. Dave knows the difference between a "theraputic" massage and well... the OTHER kind of massage, but these three sure to spend a lot of time on their blog talking about how beautiful they are for a self-professed "not an erotic massage".
Anyway. Either way... damn.
$240 is a lotta lunch money.
no blog post this morning...
... because I went to fire up my PowerPoint on electrodynamics and Maxwell's Equations, and somehow, between the last time I showed this presentation on my old computer and now, all the the fucking equations have disappeared. Kinda hard to teach Maxwell's Equations without the goddamned EQUATIONS.
So... that's what I did on the train. Lovely.
... because I went to fire up my PowerPoint on electrodynamics and Maxwell's Equations, and somehow, between the last time I showed this presentation on my old computer and now, all the the fucking equations have disappeared. Kinda hard to teach Maxwell's Equations without the goddamned EQUATIONS.
So... that's what I did on the train. Lovely.
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