fuuuuuck...
It's been more than two weeks since I've run (since before the Great Intestinal Emptying) so I figured this weekend would be a good time to get back into it. I also had something that needed to be Priority Mailed at the post office, which is almost exactly a mile from our house, so I figured... two birds/one stone... I'll throw on my running clothes, jog to the post office, walk/jog back.
Two flaws with this plan...
1) After 2.5 weeks off, I can no longer actually run a mile without bursting a lung.
2) You can't actually MAIL anything at the post office unless you bring... you know... "money" or something.
Friday, June 27
Manage Comments - HaloScan.com
poor planning...
Little League season ended last week. The last day of tennis was today. Also, the last day of school. So now that it is summer, and the kids NEED something to do, there is... NOTHING TO DO!
Little League season ended last week. The last day of tennis was today. Also, the last day of school. So now that it is summer, and the kids NEED something to do, there is... NOTHING TO DO!
New School University Libraries - Electronic Reserves
i have read the internet...
... someone please make MORE.
... someone please make MORE.
Tuesday, June 24
Monday, June 23
moo...
So, we bought one of those pools for the kids that is sort of between a kiddie pool and a regular above-ground pool. Forty bucks with a little filter and all. We set it up in the sideyard at the end of the driveway. We figured it would be temporary enough that we would put it right on the lawn and move it or empty it before it killed all the grass.
Well it sat there for about two weeks and it became clear that the filter isn't worth a damn... it kept getting green and we would shock it and it would get green again. So I decided to dump it, scrub it and start over. I let the water run down the driveway and dragged the pool across the yard to hose it off and... what... is... that... SMELL?
I'll tell you what that smell is, dear readers. You see, when you combine the following special mixture of ingredients... moisture... darkness... GRASS... and the secret hidden ingredient, BACTERIA, you create a fully-functional working model of the INSIDE OF A COW!!
The barnyard smell has only just now started to weaken. I'm sure our neighbors LOVE us!!
So, we bought one of those pools for the kids that is sort of between a kiddie pool and a regular above-ground pool. Forty bucks with a little filter and all. We set it up in the sideyard at the end of the driveway. We figured it would be temporary enough that we would put it right on the lawn and move it or empty it before it killed all the grass.
Well it sat there for about two weeks and it became clear that the filter isn't worth a damn... it kept getting green and we would shock it and it would get green again. So I decided to dump it, scrub it and start over. I let the water run down the driveway and dragged the pool across the yard to hose it off and... what... is... that... SMELL?
I'll tell you what that smell is, dear readers. You see, when you combine the following special mixture of ingredients... moisture... darkness... GRASS... and the secret hidden ingredient, BACTERIA, you create a fully-functional working model of the INSIDE OF A COW!!
The barnyard smell has only just now started to weaken. I'm sure our neighbors LOVE us!!
Friday, June 20
rock on...
I mentioned (via Twitter) last night that I had tidied up my iTunes library... tracked down missing song names, deleted unwanted stragglers, eliminated duplicates, labeled all the "unknown artists". Very satisfying.
Today's job was to tackle the problem of GENRE BLOAT. Now that I have a few different iPods of different sizes, it would be nice to be able to sync them with different-sized playlists. And of course, I don't need things like "The Feynman Lectures on Physics" on my iPod. One easy way to have the "smart playlists" function be able to group things would be by genre, only I tend to ignore the genre field because it is so maddening. Every song you get from a different place has its own classification system for this or that band. Indigo Girls - rock or folk? Norah Jones - pop or jazz? Radiohead - alternative or electronica? (Or does it depend on the album?) AC/DC - metal or classic rock?
Today I made a decision. The only acceptable genres in my iTunes library are...
If there is not a cello or a banjo in it, it is ROCK. Norah Jones... you are rock. Bob Dylan? ROCK. Ryan Adams... fuck the "alt country" label you used to get to claim all to yourself. ROCK!!!!!
Some people may have a problem with this system. I don't care. To me, the label means one thing... this is the music I may want to listen to while driving my car or riding the subway or jogging and not... everything else.
So. For those about to rock... Dave salutes you!
I mentioned (via Twitter) last night that I had tidied up my iTunes library... tracked down missing song names, deleted unwanted stragglers, eliminated duplicates, labeled all the "unknown artists". Very satisfying.
Today's job was to tackle the problem of GENRE BLOAT. Now that I have a few different iPods of different sizes, it would be nice to be able to sync them with different-sized playlists. And of course, I don't need things like "The Feynman Lectures on Physics" on my iPod. One easy way to have the "smart playlists" function be able to group things would be by genre, only I tend to ignore the genre field because it is so maddening. Every song you get from a different place has its own classification system for this or that band. Indigo Girls - rock or folk? Norah Jones - pop or jazz? Radiohead - alternative or electronica? (Or does it depend on the album?) AC/DC - metal or classic rock?
Today I made a decision. The only acceptable genres in my iTunes library are...
1) Books and Spoken Word
2) Country
3) Classical
4) Soundtracks
5) ROCK
If there is not a cello or a banjo in it, it is ROCK. Norah Jones... you are rock. Bob Dylan? ROCK. Ryan Adams... fuck the "alt country" label you used to get to claim all to yourself. ROCK!!!!!
Some people may have a problem with this system. I don't care. To me, the label means one thing... this is the music I may want to listen to while driving my car or riding the subway or jogging and not... everything else.
So. For those about to rock... Dave salutes you!
Tuesday, June 17
Sunday, June 15
Thursday, June 12
the theatre is my life...
Spent FIVE HOURS today editing the video of my play from last October so that I can put a copy of it in my professional dossier this summer. The "two camera" shot seemed like such a good idea at the time... editing those two angles together and keeping the audio synced was a fucking NIGHTMARE in iMovie. I really really need to learn Final Cut. This was not the right tool for the job.
Anyway... after a day of staring googly-eyed at a timeline, I went to see the Boy's kindergarten class production of "The Ugly Duckling". It was kind of awesome in a ridiculous way... construction paper swan-hats and whatnot. I will say this, though... the slide whistle was never intended as an ensemble instrument.
Spent FIVE HOURS today editing the video of my play from last October so that I can put a copy of it in my professional dossier this summer. The "two camera" shot seemed like such a good idea at the time... editing those two angles together and keeping the audio synced was a fucking NIGHTMARE in iMovie. I really really need to learn Final Cut. This was not the right tool for the job.
Anyway... after a day of staring googly-eyed at a timeline, I went to see the Boy's kindergarten class production of "The Ugly Duckling". It was kind of awesome in a ridiculous way... construction paper swan-hats and whatnot. I will say this, though... the slide whistle was never intended as an ensemble instrument.
Tuesday, June 3
As I mentioned earlier, I had coffee with the outgoing Dean today. During this meeting, it was revealed that...
Jesus. I should go out to lunch with administrators more often.
1) I'll be getting the standard raise + a $2000 merit bonus this year
2) My research budget for 08/09 will increase from $1000 to $1500
3) I should email the Associate Dean and ask for some course development money for the Science & Religion class
4) I should send him an email telling him what kind of computer I want this summer, and they will buy it(!!)
5) I should email him and the Assistant Dean to ask for a better office.
Jesus. I should go out to lunch with administrators more often.
back on the train (yeah)...
For three days, anyway. Me and the Religion Guy are spending all day today planning our course for the fall. Then at 3:00, I'm having coffee with the outgoing Dean. (Not sure why, other than - he asked.) Next two days, we're having a science department "retreat", which basically means... we sit around a classroom and bicker over curriculum. Ok, "bicker" isn't quite the right word. More like dither over curriculum. I don't mind, though. I enjoy big-picture curricular discussions. And it's a good chance to show off all the edu-speak lingo I picked up at my old job.
Speaking of my old job, a good friend of mine from the Old School is interested in the Ecology position at my college. I actually think he would be a really good fit, too. I'd pull some strings if I had any idea what strings to pull, or any access to any strings whatsoever.
My car is back on the road. Those of you following the Twitter will know some of the details. Those of you who don't, well... GET WITH THE FUCKING PROGRAM, PEOPLE!! Short version - $500 fucking alternator, which pretty much makes up for the two car payments we've saved since it was payed off. Also, probably puts off my iPhone purchase another month.
Good news on that front from the MacRumorMill sites, though! There is speculation that the Apple "Back Ta School" promo this year will include a free iPod Touch! Add that to the rumor of a complete design overhaul for the MacBook line, and I could have a Very Special Mac August!
(I know, I've said I will never step to the front of the line for an Apple re-design, since their hot-off-the-drawing-board computers can be a fucking mess until the first revision, but... the timing is such that I really can't wait beyond September. It's encouraging that I haven't heard any horror stories about the MacBook Air. Of course, I think they've sold about fourteen of those.)
Work-wise, the summer is going really well. This "buffer month" when I'm off school, but the kids are still IN, has been really nice. I get up, take the Boy to school, come home, read my mail and stuff, then head down to the guestroom retreat... dim the overhead lights, turn on my paper Ikea-Chinese lamp, set up my laptop on the tiny, clean desk... hook up an external keyboard and speakers... put on some classical background music, and write for about 2 hours straight. If this is what sabbatical is going to be like... I could really get used to it.
Mostly I'm working on polishing up curriculum supplements for the Fall... both so I can use them in class, and so I can put them in my dossier for my review. I've also been working a lot on the dossier itself. They want the written statement of teaching, research, and service to top out at 10pp. What I had written already was more like 20. Not a big deal, some of it just needs to be moved to the Appendices, but it's a lot of thinking and re-organizing.
I tackled two of my syllabi yesterday, for the two courses I've already taught before. No big changes, a cut here, a new topic there... some new books, a different final paper... stuff like that. They aren't done, but they are done enough that I know I can stop thinking hard about them all summer and revisit them in August. The big work will come from the new Science & Religion class, hence the day-long meeting today. We really have nothing set up except for a sort of over-arching "theme", which is a good theme... it's just a question of... do we really have enough for a whole COURSE on these topics? And if not... um... fuck?
Anyway, I have some reading I should probably be doing to prep for the next few days. I'll be back tomorrow.
For three days, anyway. Me and the Religion Guy are spending all day today planning our course for the fall. Then at 3:00, I'm having coffee with the outgoing Dean. (Not sure why, other than - he asked.) Next two days, we're having a science department "retreat", which basically means... we sit around a classroom and bicker over curriculum. Ok, "bicker" isn't quite the right word. More like dither over curriculum. I don't mind, though. I enjoy big-picture curricular discussions. And it's a good chance to show off all the edu-speak lingo I picked up at my old job.
Speaking of my old job, a good friend of mine from the Old School is interested in the Ecology position at my college. I actually think he would be a really good fit, too. I'd pull some strings if I had any idea what strings to pull, or any access to any strings whatsoever.
My car is back on the road. Those of you following the Twitter will know some of the details. Those of you who don't, well... GET WITH THE FUCKING PROGRAM, PEOPLE!! Short version - $500 fucking alternator, which pretty much makes up for the two car payments we've saved since it was payed off. Also, probably puts off my iPhone purchase another month.
Good news on that front from the MacRumorMill sites, though! There is speculation that the Apple "Back Ta School" promo this year will include a free iPod Touch! Add that to the rumor of a complete design overhaul for the MacBook line, and I could have a Very Special Mac August!
(I know, I've said I will never step to the front of the line for an Apple re-design, since their hot-off-the-drawing-board computers can be a fucking mess until the first revision, but... the timing is such that I really can't wait beyond September. It's encouraging that I haven't heard any horror stories about the MacBook Air. Of course, I think they've sold about fourteen of those.)
Work-wise, the summer is going really well. This "buffer month" when I'm off school, but the kids are still IN, has been really nice. I get up, take the Boy to school, come home, read my mail and stuff, then head down to the guestroom retreat... dim the overhead lights, turn on my paper Ikea-Chinese lamp, set up my laptop on the tiny, clean desk... hook up an external keyboard and speakers... put on some classical background music, and write for about 2 hours straight. If this is what sabbatical is going to be like... I could really get used to it.
Mostly I'm working on polishing up curriculum supplements for the Fall... both so I can use them in class, and so I can put them in my dossier for my review. I've also been working a lot on the dossier itself. They want the written statement of teaching, research, and service to top out at 10pp. What I had written already was more like 20. Not a big deal, some of it just needs to be moved to the Appendices, but it's a lot of thinking and re-organizing.
I tackled two of my syllabi yesterday, for the two courses I've already taught before. No big changes, a cut here, a new topic there... some new books, a different final paper... stuff like that. They aren't done, but they are done enough that I know I can stop thinking hard about them all summer and revisit them in August. The big work will come from the new Science & Religion class, hence the day-long meeting today. We really have nothing set up except for a sort of over-arching "theme", which is a good theme... it's just a question of... do we really have enough for a whole COURSE on these topics? And if not... um... fuck?
Anyway, I have some reading I should probably be doing to prep for the next few days. I'll be back tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)