today, tomorrow...

Today I have 7 term-papers left that I don't want to grade, and two lectures that I don't want to give. Tomorrow I have an annual review meeting at 2:00, a meeting with my senior thesis student at 3:00, a faculty meeting at 4:00, drinks with colleagues after the meeting at 5:30, and possibly coffee or drinks with a former student at 7:00.

To summarize - Meet. Meet. Meet. Drink. Drink.

Two more weeks of being booked-solid, and the semester will be over. It took a while, but I've hit that point of neglecting current work to plan for future work. I've been tweaking syllabi for the fall... it's going to be a bitch of a semester. I'm teaching my Einstein course, which is somewhat technical, so I have to plan for it almost every day. I'm teaching a new team-taught course with 32 students, so that requires lots of joint planning and creative thinking about assignments and stuff, on top of the usual "inventing a course from scratch" work that comes along with a new prep. Then there is my basic physics course, which I'm considering changing a little bit. I shouldn't. I should leave it alone this year. It's a bad semester to be tweaking a third course. But I can't help it. I have some ideas for improving it that I probably can't sit on for a whole year. I'm my own worst enemy.

one of those people...

Who is that guy walking down the street carrying a pair of $95 shoes from a specialty Manhattan running store? And snacking on carrots and granola? I HATE GUYS LIKE THAT.

Oh, wait... that's ME. Fuck...

It's the slow-motion video treadmill analysis, people. How am I supposed to resist that? "See that, right there, the little bulge when your ankle turns in?" YES! YES, I DO SEE IT! "We're going to get rid of that" OK!! HERE'S MY CREDIT CARD!! They probably could have sold me just about anything with slo-mo video analysis.

So, I have this $95 pair of running shoes, and I'm walking to my car last night thinking, Wow... I can't wait to try these out tomorrow to see if they help with the shin pain... and then I realize, no, wait... I ran this morning... tomorrow isn't a running day... I won't run again until Thursday... and you know what? I was DISAPPOINTED!!

What the fuck is happening to me?

Anyway, last night I picked the tiny stones out of the treads of the $55 department store non-professionally-fitted-and-selected running shoes so I can take them back. Even though I've run with them 3 times, they still have that new-shoe-smell inside, so I think I can get away with it.

work...

I spent most of my train ride this morning finishing up the paperwork for my "annual review". There is a form we are supposed to use. It's always kinda depressing when I get to the section that says "Publications: Articles and Essays (please attach an extra sheet if necessary)" Really? An EXTRA sheet? Fuck YOU!

I really need some pubs out there, god dammit. I'm so lazy. If I worked for a week straight on nothing else (which is supposedly what the SUMMER is for) I could easily get two manuscripts ready for submission. And yet every year, things sort of slip away and that never happens. I really need to fix that. I should schedule some hard-core writing time this summer. EARLY summer, too... before the kids get off school. I have almost a whole month where the kids are in school and I'm NOT. I can't piss that away this year.

I just found out that my 3 year review this fall is NOT a promotion review... just a probational review. Which is good, I guess. It means that if they decided I suck, I don't get fired, I just get told "Hey, you suck... you have 3 years to stop sucking". (See lack of publication record above.) I don't know what this means in terms of my sabbatical, which I was expecting in '09/'10. But I don't really care that much. I'll take the 3 year grace period instead.

the saga continues...

Ran the first day of Week Three on Sunday. The move up from 90/90 walk-run to 90/90, 90/THREE, 90/90, 90/THREE looked really daunting on paper, so there was a bit of a mental battle there. But when it came down to it, the three minute runs weren't so bad. I was winded, but no moreso than the first days of the other two weeks. My shins were really starting to hurt during the second three-minute set. Today I'm going to start some exercises to see if I can strengthen some of those lower leg muscles. I really would like to avoid buying $150 shoes.

more run-blogging...

(Dr. Dave Reader Poll: Who is sick and tired of all the blogging about running already??)

Finished my 3rd day of week two today. Felt pretty good, although I can feel that as the weather warms up I'm going to have to run earlier and earlier in the morning! I don't like it when it gets above 65º. Which means in a month or so I'll be running at 3:00 AM.

I feel ready to move up to TWO minute runs, but I'm a little worried about the THREE minute runs in week three of the program. Seems like there should be a week 2.5 in there with alternating 2/2 run/walks. Oh well... who am I to argue? I'll give it a shot on Sunday and report back.

Also I'm starting to see some results in terms of weight-loss. Not so much on the bathroom scale (although there has been some progress there, from 205±2 to 201±1 pounds) but in terms of certain... well, "problem areas" that become very noticable when the 205 boundary is crossed.

(*ahem* manboobs...)

new toys...

I bought a Wacom tablet...



... I drew a kitty.

The end.

benefits...

I've been joking about the "energy" thing... about how exercising is supposed to give you more... and I think yesterday I FINALLY got a little glimpse of it. It wasn't something I could put my finger on, but after I ran Tuesday morning, I felt a little *zingy* all day. Well not all day, but until 3:00 or so when I always crash. It probably wouldn't be worthy of notice if it weren't for the fact that I so rarely feel any sort of *zing*.

Also, an added bonus of the running that I had never even considered... man, I can run for a fucking train now, no problem! Kinda cool.

please shut up...

Headphones on!! Attention people of the train!! If I want to listen to uninformed idiots talk out their asses about politics without actually saying anything, I'll put on Fox News.

yay for poorly managed budgets...

So yesterday I tallied up the receipts for my research/teaching/computing expenditures for the year and found that I've only spent $616 since September. This means that I still have $300+ left in my annual research budget, and the end of the academic year is fast approaching.

You know what that means... I see an iPod Touch in the near future!! Or, as the expense report will read: "Apple Touchscreen PDA/Portable Wireless Internet Device".

Now if I can only wait out WWDC in June to avoid any price cuts or upgrades. The Mac pundits and rumormongers are predicting refresh of the Macbook line too, so I'll be putting off buying a new laptop until the end of the summer. I've decided to borrow one of the Macbooks from the lab for the duration of the summer, so I can compute in style in the meantime. It makes no sense for a brand new laptop to sit unused in a cabinet for 4 months! Now if I can only convince the department chair to let me do the same with the 24" iMac.

busy, and in denial...

There are three weeks left in the semester. I have yet to grade some of the MIDTERM papers. Soon there will be two piles of exams, two piles of term papers, and assorted problems and labs to deal with. So what am I doing on the train this morning? Watching a Lewis Black standup show I pulled from the TiVo.

That's me... always gettin' it done.

Ran this morning. Took a shower. Hopped in the car. Caught the 8:15 train. Tuesdays are pretty low-key, but I have a meeting today that I should gear up to be involved in. It's some sort of technology task force that I've stumbled into, and they are talking about things like podcasting and iTunesU... stuff I'm actually personally concerned with. I should make a good impression and say things and look smart. Hate that.

Meanwhile, the mother-in-law arrives tomorrow and the house is still a wreck, but with these isolated islands of clean. We will have to provide Mom with a map so that she only attempts to navigate in approved areas.

quick blog thing...

I'm between a class and a meeting and another class, so I don't have loads of time. I intended to write a blog entry on the train, but I seem to have accidentally fallen asleep instead. Where is this mysterious "energy" that regular exercise is supposed to give you? I have not seen it.

First an update on the running - I started week 2 yesterday, and it was surprisingly ok. The 90 second runs were really nothing, which is pretty amazing given the panting I was doing after 60 seconds the first day. I find it astounding that the body is able to respond THAT QUICKLY to increased demands. Like, you run two days, and the body goes - "Shit, I'd better make some fucking red blood cells in case he intends to keep this up!" I'm stunned.

My shins are still giving me trouble about halfway through, so I went out last night and went up the scale of running shoes a bit from what I have. I picked up some $80 Asics Gels on sale for $55. They felt really soft and cushiony when I ran a few steps in the store, and I was all "Ooh! These are much better than the ones I have" until I realized... dude... you are running on CARPET. Still... I hope they are ACTUALLY better.

My bigger workout this weekend came from all the CLEANING we were forced to do. My mother in law is coming on Wednesday, and this was the last chance for a full-day, full-house cleaning blitz. It's not nearly what I would call "clean", but at least the ground floor is livable. The tasks that remain are mostly of the "tidying" variety.

{meeting}

{class}

Ok, I was going to try to get that all posted before I got interrupted by WORK, but that didn't happen. So I'll write more on the train and then post tonight. I stopped for Thai food at the train station, and they didn't have the mild green curry I usually get so I got a red chicken curry that is WAY fucking spicier. Probably a mistake. Thank god I also got some water.

I'm reading more Hemingway now, and I fear that my blog writing is going to accidentally take on that tone.

I got on the train and it was comfortable but crowded. The seats were hard but comfortable and nice. It was a nice train. The rocking made me sleepy so I slept for a while. I asked the porter for some wine and he brought a bottle. I drank a glass of wine and it was a nice wine, so I had another. I looked out the window and you could tell it was Spring even in the city. I had another glass of wine and then another and by then I was feeling a little drunk. Isn't this is a fine damned train, I thought. I could really go for some wine...

Someone please tell me if I start to sound like that. Because, really... reading Hemingway really makes me want to drink. A LOT. Because everyone in his books drinks SO fucking much. If Hemingway drank HALF as much as his characters (as I know that he did) I don't see how he was ever able to write ANYTHING.

We rented "Juno" the other night. It was a a sweet enough movie, but the SOUNDTRACK... oy. There is such a thing as TOO QUIRKY. We also rented "Bee Movie" to watch with the kids, which was just... bleah. It tries SO HARD to be as clever as a REAL Pixar movie! And fails on almost every level.

I could probably think of more to write about, but really... I think a nap would be more productive at this point.

C25K week one, day three

The middle of this run was really tough. My shins really hurt. I should maybe stretch more. And probably buy better shoes.I suspect I may be overpronating. Or that's what the Interwebs tell me anyway. But I did one of my 60 second runs completely uphill (ouch... air...) and I had enough energy to throw in one more 30 second sprint at the end. Hopefully I'll be ready to start week 2 on Sunday.

Meanwhile, I've only lost about a pound or so, but I'm not surprised, since I haven't done much on the DIET side of the "diet and exercise" program yet. As for right now, I really want a Hostess Cupcake, but I'm eating a Grāpple instead. Look at me!! I'M BEAING ALL HEALTHY!!!

(mmmm.... cuuuuuupcakes....)

C25K week one, day two, part TWO...

I ran.

It was harder on the legs, easier on the lungs.

I'll be glad to get to week two just so I don't have to listen to this one particular song anymore.

belated...

I posted my 2000th post a few days ago without noticing. So... Happy 2000th Post to Me.

C25K week one, day two, part one...

This doesn't mean anything.

I was going to run in the morning. I set my alarm and everything. But it was 28 fucking degrees. The only thing I hate more than exercise is being COLD. Exercising in the cold? Fucking forget it. There is a reason I waited until there were two "no-jacket" mornings in a row before starting this little project.

I'll run tonight instead. Really.

C25K week one, day one...

So, in order to be held accountable for my progress on the Couch-to-5k program, I've decided to blog my way through it.

I got my new Shuffle yesterday, so I decided there were no more excuses, so I threw on my excercisy clothes and set out this evening on episode one. It was harder than I expected. The 90 second walking breaks between the 60 second runs seemed to get shorter and shorter. I did it, but it wasn't pleasant. The best part was after the 4th run cycle or so when the Podcast Narrator says "Ok, you should start feeling your run now, but you shouldn't be winded or out of breath..."

Oh? Wanna bet, asshole?

Anyway, my legs are a little rubbery. We'll see how they feel tomorrow. Wish me luck keeping it going.

my marriage in a nutshell...

[ring ring]

WIFE: Hello?

DAVE: Yeah, hold on, I was looking down and dialing and I just ran into a street sign.

WIFE: GASP!!! On no!!!

DAVE: (pause) No, no... not in the car, with my BODY.

WIFE: (pause) HA HA HA HA HA!!!!

you whippersnappers with your fancy new-fangled gizmos...

I think I've complained before about how we're paying way too much for our cellphone service given the amount of minutes we use. Well today, I went to a website that purports to be able to recommend the cheapest service for you based on your usage. I entered the number of minutes I use a month, the amount of my monthly bill, and my zipcode, and it gave me a list of 5 competing plans.

The first one was only $29.99 a month, from Verizon. It was called the "65 + 200" plan. I wondered what that meant... like 65 regular minutes plus 200 anytime minutes? Seems like a good deal. I read more closely.

Oh.

"65 Plus"

As in... the plan for SENIOR CITIZENS.

Mother fuckers. Just because I only use my phone 17 minutes a month does not make me a senior citizen.

refurbishing...

So... "fitness".

As much as I hate the idea, I'm just about settled on running as the exercise that makes the most sense. It's free, basically. (See below) I can do it by myself. I don't have to go anywhere special.

There is this Couch-to-5k program from coolrunning.com that always looks so reasonable, with such tiny steps week-by-week, that it seems silly not to try it. And I found that a few people have created PODCASTS for the program that tell you, ok... run now, walk now, 30 seconds more... so you don't have to read a freaking stopwatch or, like... remember things. Which is perfect for me.

Here is where it gets interesting.

So, I need an iPod to run with. But my iPod is the big kind. And clumsy. Too heavy to stick in a pocket, because you know... it would bounce all around. And all those wrist things and arm things and things where you strap them to your head... those are all cumbersome and goofy. I need something tiny. Like an iPod Shuffle! And you can buy those refurbished for $39!! And that's totally cheaper than a month at the gym! Hell, cheaper even than running shoes! Purchase...? RATIONALIZED!!!

So, I ordered an iPod shuffle. Whee!

Of course... I was going to start running TODAY, but naturally I can't, because my shuffle is not here yet. But once it comes, I'll be so excited I WON'T BE ABLE TO WAIT TO RUN!!!

That's the plan, anyway.

possibly most bizarre email ever...

Which, if you know some of the people I deal with online, is saying A LOT...

Dear Professor,

My name is Andre Kornikov. I'm ufologist with 22 year experience.
The book "ATECs, UFOs and interstellar flights" is written by me and which I want to publish for english-language audience. To уou as human taking interest in said matter and having experience of similar publications I offer co-authorship. Firstly, уou can add own ideas into this book.
Secondly, book is being needed the editing and correcting of grammar, syntax and phraseological mistakes which are being contained in manuscript.

Should you be interested in this offer I wait answer.

Faithfully yours
Andre Kornikov.

This is the kind of situation where I have to expend a LOT of willpower to quash the little devil on my left shoulder shouting "DO IT!!!"

I'm not sure why he would choose ME to ask such a thing, since the public record of my writing on the topic of UFOs consists of blasting most of the theories a full of crap. I mean, maybe the book is a NEGATIVE treatment of the topic, but most people who debunk UFOs do not refer to themselves as Ufologists!

Anyway, with my tenure review fast approaching, I really think the best thing to have at the top of my publications list would be a book about fucking flying saucers.


P.S. ATECs - Advanced Technological Extraterrestrial Civilizations

done...

...or rather, NOT done... but wanting to be done with the whole "travel" thing. Got to the airport today to find that my flight was more than 2 hours delayed, meaning I would miss my 1 hour connection in Atlanta. For a while it looked like I would just be stranded in Atlanta until the next morning, but after much frowning and poking of the keyboard, my SFO-ATL-HOME itinerary on Delta was changed to a SFO-DETROIT-HOME trip on Northwest. It's still a tight connection, but it should be ok. It'd better be. It would suck to pass up a night stuck in Atlanta only to be stuck in fucking DETROIT.

I'm tired. I just napped a little, and I tried to read, but it's not working. My EYES seem to be reading, and following the words down the page, but none of the words are making it to my brain. I never got onto PST at all, I just slept at whatever random times of day I got around to it. At least I won't have jet-lag.

I'll just be glad to shake the weird-in-the-head feeling I get from conference travel. Whenever I'm out of town at a conference, I always feel like I should be doing something that I'm not doing. Or doing something that I shouldn't be doing... if you know what I mean... just because I CAN. It makes me all distracty and stuff.

Anyway, I've decided that now, when I get back to NY, is the time I'm going to start to do something re: eating and exercise. The last straw? Chafing!! I swear to fuck, I can't walk 10 blocks anymore. And it isn't just that my thighs rub together b/c they are too fat, although that's part of it. It's that my expanding midsection forces the waist of my jeans DOWNWARD leaving the crotch hanging too low, and all sorts of jean-parts rubbing against the wrong spots. This may all be too much information, but ... there it is. So, it's time to lose it.

Oh! I don't think I mentioned that the tennis guy from Craigslist finally got back to me. He was out of town for a while, and now he's back. I think we are going to try to set something up for later next week. He seems not to be interested in sex... just tennis, at least as far as I can tell. He may very well be straight after all. I'll watch carefully to see how excited he gets when I mention that I just got back from San Francisco.

in-flight entertainment...

For our movie today, we have selected "Million Dollar Baby". It was good, but a little slow. And seeing Clint Eastwood that old makes me a little sad. Sadder than the plot of the actual movie. Which is also sad.

For our book, we stared and stared and stared at the bookcases at home, and NOTHING jumped out at us. So we opted for a classic - Hemingway "To Have and Have Not". The deciding factors? Thin enough to fit in my man-purse, short enough sentences to read while sleepy.

Not to self... bring more UPLIFTING entertainment next time. Jeez.

for my own amusement...

The first leg of my flight was from NY to ATL, then from ATL to SFO. (Yeah, I know... don;t ask) When I got to my gate at Atlanta, I noticed that about 2/3 of the passengers waiting at the gate appeared to be over the age of 65. My reaction...

Umm... is this the plane to HEAVEN??

The only thing that sucks about traveling along is having nobody to share such awesome commentary with.

tiny, tiny movies...

My iPod is all packed with entertainment for the trip, all from the "never got around to watching it" file of ripped Netflix DVDs, including...

1) Kill Bill
2) Million Dollar Baby
3) Requiem for a Dream
4) Sunshine

Maybe I don't need that book after all!

its been what, two weeks...?

* It feels like the beginning of the end of the blog. Never any time to write. Never any desire to write. Never any THING to write about.

* Yesterday was insane. Graded a stack of exams, taught class, was interviewd by NPR, taught another class... all without a break of any sort between. I was EXHAUSTED.

* The topic of the interview? Will the Large Hadron Collider create a mini black hole that will suck the Earth into a parallel universe.

* Synopsis of interview? "Probably not".

* The wife had surgery on her toe. She is hobbling around the house, doped up on Vicodin.

* The children both had tee-ball/baseball practice this weekend. Temperature? 28º. Guess who had to take them? (see previous)

* I am leaving for San Francisco tomorrow. The list of things I need to do today to prepare is a page long.

* I need to choose a work of fiction to read on the trip. It should be something I've never read but feel I should've. It should be so long that there is no danger of accidentally FINISHING it before the plane ride home. I'm thinking "Dune" or "Moby Dick".

* There are two dorks across the aisle on the train playing "Magic: The Gathering". A) Do people still play fucking "Magic: The Gathering?" and 2) I have never heard two people make more NOISE with a deck of fucking CARDS. Flick-flick-flick Dude! You gotta know when to HOLD 'EM.

* I'm having coffee later today with the out-going Dean. I'm not sure why. I can see an IN-coming Dean wanting to have coffee, but really... at this point... why bother?

* I printed out my poster for the conference ($100!) I really need to stop doing graphics work an old, dim laptop screen w/o checking it out on a color-managed desktop Mac first. What I thought were nice light blue backgrounds and fonts on my poster? Printed out as purple. It looks nice, still, I guess. It will definitely be eye-catching!