Abyssean

My yearly post?

2011-02-13T21:01:00.002-06:00

I just noticed that it has been almost a year since I've posted in this space.

What can I say? I've been busy: work, two kids, scouting, had major surgery -- you know, busy.

Baseball is near, which is a good thing. That what is really "new" for me. This past year I have rediscovered my passion for the sport. Mind you, I never stopped being a fan. I tried to keep up with what was going on each season, it just wasn't a priority.

What I have finally figured out is I needed something. That something was always with me, I had just ignored it for far too long. Something where I could just sit, relax, and slow down. I was going too fast for too long, and I really though I was loosing my sanity. That is what I really love about baseball. It helps me take a break. It helps me refresh. It does keep me sane.

Forgive my ramblings. Its getting late and I need sleep.

Very neglected…

2010-02-18T17:27:00.001-06:00

Yes I know…this is a very neglected blog.

Things are very busy right now. The semester is in full swing, I am not happy with the publisher of the texts I use for my courses, SIFE is gearing up for competition and finishing projects, I am causing trouble by pointing out items that should have been obvious to the people who are supposedly “more in tune” than I with the subject they are talking about, scouts are…well…the scouts. In other words, it is just like normal.

With that said, family is going great. We are (mostly) happy and healthy. My biggest medical problem is looking to be, for the most part, behind me with no need for surgery. Rachel is doing her thing (those that know her can keep up with her via her blog, which is much less neglected than this one). The kids are doing what kids do best, amaze and infuriate us all at once. :) Right now Rachel and the kids are out and about. Nick is all gun-ho about selling chocolate (school fundraiser) and that is what he is trying to do now. Just what I, the diabetic, needs…

That is about it. Sure, there are more boring details, but those are the highlights. Until next time, whenever that is…

c.p.

Whoops!

2009-04-09T13:54:00.001-05:00

I completely missed this one..

The BSA apologises for newsletter goof.

Talk about long-term!

2009-02-12T13:02:00.002-06:00

The story is on the New York Times website. I copied the first few paragraphs below. I strongly urge my readers to read the rest of the article. No comment is needed.

-----------------

February 13, 2009

That’s What You Call Investing for the Long Term

By JO CRAVEN McGINTY

Anyone who has failed to keep track of a winning lottery ticket for all of 12 months may want to consider the efforts of 39 bondholders who have been safekeeping valuable, tissue-thin, New York City securities since shortly after the Civil War.

Next month, one of the bonds, issued in 1868 and thought to be one of the oldest active municipal bonds in the country, will come due. And the city stands ready to retire the debt incurred when Winston Churchill’s grandfather came up with the idea of building a road to one of the nation’s first racetracks, which he had opened in what is now the Bronx.

For 135 years, New York City has been dutifully paying 7 percent annual interest on the bonds, which financed construction of the road. On March 1, the owner of one of them is entitled to come forward and collect its face value: $1,000.

The other 38 bondholders have notes that will mature sometime between now and 2147, a mere 138 years away.

Favorite comic of the day...

2009-02-03T09:15:00.004-06:00

People who know me will understand why this comic made me laugh out loud (the only one today that I have seen that has done that).

The link to is here:

Approaching the end...

2009-01-31T09:02:00.002-06:00

I haven't been posting very here much because I have been BUSY. The good part of this is there are a couple of things that are almost completed:

1. The Study Guide -- I have been working on this since May '08. All that needs to be done is to review the 2nd pass pages from the 2nd half of the chapters (which will be done as soon as I receive them from the publisher).

2. The Testbank/Textbook update -- The Textbook part is done. (I did NOT author the textbook. All I was asked to do was to update the Web Exercises and Web References at the end of each chapter for the new edition). The Testbank has a little more work to do. I have to finish updating the last five chapters (which should be done this weekend), error check the first half of the Testbank (which is being authored by my co-author), and check the 2nd pass pages (which will be sometime in March/April).

At least I have my "normal" load in terms of teaching (2 sections of Money & Banking and one section of International Trade) and the bulk of this "extra" work will be done before the 2nd half of the semester. That is when SIFE really takes up the bulk of my non-teaching time (competition time is always fun!).

Taking another meaning for the title of this post, my home desktop computer is approaching the end. It is to the point where I refuse to dump anymore money into it (it is about 5 years old). So I spent time this morning "building" and ordering a new computer. It should be here by next week. As for the old computer, it is still good enough to do basic tasks, so my son is happy that he is getting it so he can play his CD-ROM games. However, he will NOT have Internet access in his room. Not for security/safety issues mind you...logistically, connecting a non-wireless compatible computer to the Internet in his room is more work that I am willing to do (reference the statement above about dumping more money into this computer).

What do 2 million people look like...

2009-01-21T08:27:00.003-06:00

...from 423 miles up?

Take a look:

This image is from the Popular Science web page. They have another image that is centered in on the Washington Monument at the link.

Link found via io9.com.

Yikes!

2008-12-16T15:01:00.003-06:00

Warning! Rare wonkish post from this economist.

Oh Lord...it has happened. The Federal Reserve cut their target for the federal funds rate to a range between 0% and 0.25%. That's right, the floor is now as low as it can go. (Statement is here.) Three things that are interesting about all of this:

1. "In particular, the Committee anticipates that weak economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for some time." -- i.e., don't expect any moves from this range anytime soon.

2. "The focus of the Committee's policy going forward will be to support the functioning of financial markets and stimulate the economy through open market operations and other measures that sustain the size of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet at a high level. As previously announced, over the next few quarters the Federal Reserve will purchase large quantities of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities to provide support to the mortgage and housing markets, and it stands ready to expand its purchases of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities as conditions warrant." -- i.e., otherwise called quantitative easing. The traditional tools of monetary policy will not work now. The Fed has to rely on non-traditional methods. Which leads to...

3. "The Committee is also evaluating the potential benefits of purchasing longer-term Treasury securities. Early next year, the Federal Reserve will also implement the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility to facilitate the extension of credit to households and small businesses. The Federal Reserve will continue to consider ways of using its balance sheet to further support credit markets and economic activity." -- The first sentence, in my view, is key. Of all interest rates, the Fed has the least effect on long-term rates. If they start buying the longer-term Treasury's, they will have a more direct effect on these rates. The last sentance is played very low-key, especially when you realize that the Fed has about $2.2 trillion to "play" with.

The downside of all of this is, on the face of it, we are looking very much like Japan did in the early 1990's (to my non-econ friends -- that is NOT good). A point that Paul Krugman makes.

Check please!

2008-12-05T15:38:00.002-06:00

If you like your fantasy very campy and without a plot, you will LOVE this.

As for me, I'm wish I had my 4 wasted minutes back...

tip (or is it dig) of the sword to io9.com.

Zoe learns about puppets

2008-11-17T22:23:00.002-06:00

If you get disturbed easily by mental images...stop reading now...you have been warned.

So I am holding Zoe this evening and she has in her hands a fuzzy dog that can also be used as a puppet. So I take it and put it on my hand and start talking with it. Zoe loves it and immediately takes it and tries to put the puppet on her hand. We go back and forth for about 5 minutes.

She gets tired of this game and wants to get down. This is fine. For 15 months old, I consider it a succesful game if it was holding her attension for 5 minutes. I look down and she goes to where Zeus is trying to nap. Do I need to tell you what happened next? I will anyway...

She puts the fuzzy dog puppet down and then tries to use Zeus as a puppet. Needless to say, Zeus wasn't napping for long!

I warned you! :)

Random Thoughts....

2008-11-17T09:20:00.001-06:00

-- Nothing like Facebook to bring back ancient history. A photo of me has appeared on someone else’s page (circa 1990-91) that… well let’s just say that if you didn’t know me back then, you wouldn’t know the photo was of me.

-- I have to get prepared for my money and banking lecture tomorrow. You see, this semester has been real interesting. I had a “Dead Poets Society” moment in my class about one month ago. It went something like this: “I have pulled the PowerPoint for Chapter 15 from Moodle because it has become out-of-date. You can also rip Chapter 15 from the textbook because that has also become useless…” Never a dull moment when you teach all about The Federal Reserve.

-- Felt like crap all weekend, didn’t get anything useful done…unless you count doing Framework and Fill-It-In puzzles useful.

-- Prayers and well wishes to my Father-in-law. To my sibs-in-law…hang in there. We (should) see you all in December.

-- One thing about being in education…usually the demand for my services goes up when the economy goes down (people staying in school versus trying to find a job, etc.). I am still working on a study guide (final deadline is January). I have just signed a contract to work on the new edition of the test bank I co-wrote a couple of years back. There may (and I stress may) be outside consulting work coming my way. Things are just busy.

-- Good luck to the Pres-Elect. I really didn’t have a dog in this fight. This was the first year where I honestly can say I held my nose while voting, since I didn’t like ANYBODY running (I include major and minor party candidates).

-- Well…Citigroup is cutting more, stocks in the red again…I’m so glad we have most of our funds with a credit union.

-- When will it END…Auto makers want a bail-out…now the auto-part makers want a piece. I’m sorry, but this is what Chapter 11 is for. BTW, has it occurred to anybody that there is a connection between the industries that are seeing the most trouble right now…they are the most heavily unionized industries. It’s not all the companies fault, it takes two to negotiate union labor contracts.

-- I leave you with this…Evidence why the BCS system in college football needs to go. Quoted from Today’s Wall Street Journal Sports column by Darren Everson: “The BCS Doomsday Scenario: Why a Loophole in How College Football Leaves the Door Open for Chaos This Year if the SEC Implodes” (need subscription to access link):

“At the moment, college football appears headed for a clear-cut championship game. If undefeated No. 1 Alabama and undefeated No. 2 Texas Tech win out, the BCS avoids any campus riots. Even if Florida defeats Alabama in the Southeastern Conference title game and finishes 12-1, no one could rationally protest leapfrogging the fourth-ranked Gators over third-ranked Texas for the right to play the Red Raiders, given how strong Florida looks. The Longhorns already took their shot against Texas Tech and lost.

But what if Florida and Alabama both lose a game between here and season's end? This doesn't seem likely, but the Gators (at Florida State) and Crimson Tide (home against Auburn) have nasty in-state rivalry games yet to play. What if the SEC self-destructs?

That would probably result in an all-Big 12 South national-title game, one that would make little sense and one that poll voters likely couldn't stop. Texas, Texas Tech and No. 5 Oklahoma all will have played each other. If the Sooners top the Red Raiders this week, that means picking between Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech after they've all gone 1-1 against each other.

Even if Texas Tech wins out, fans might have to settle for a Longhorns-Red Raiders sequel if the top SEC teams can't handle their business. While voters in 2006 prevented Michigan from staging a championship rematch with Ohio State, vaulting Florida over the Wolverines in the final BCS standings, this year the Big 12's top three teams all have enough of a cushion on No. 6 Southern California in the standings to suggest that at least two of three would remain ahead of the Trojans almost no matter what.

Or imagine if OU wins out, the SEC implodes and the Sooners meet Texas in Miami. Haven't Texas and Oklahoma already played on a neutral field? Say what you will about USC's schedule, but what's the point of having the Longhorns and Sooners play again?”

What RPG Class are you?

2008-10-03T12:11:00.000-05:00

Stolen from Quilter

Your result for The RPG Class Test...

Smart Paladin

52% Combativeness, 23% Sneakiness, 85% Intellect, 61% Spirituality

Valorous! Noble! Or possibly just a self-righteous jerk (but with the brains to keep you alive!)... You are a Smart Paladin!

Paladins are holy warriors. They are valorous defenders of the light. Unfortunately, most of them are so ardent in their defense they tend to meet sticky ends faster than you can say "rampaging red dragon." Many people look up to Paladins, while others just consider them stuck up, overbearing, or self-righteous.

Fortunately for you, unlike most Paladins, you're pretty smart. Which means that you're more likely to fall into the "admired" category, rather than the "obnoxious" or "dead" categories.

Much like the crusades, you manage to combine violence and religion, though unlike the crusades, you add a healthy does of intelligence. You may be a staunch defender of the faith, a valorous champion of the weak, or the stuff that jihads are made of. Which ever one you are, just be happy that you've got the smarts to back it up and make it work.

Take The RPG Class Test at HelloQuizzy

We are fine

2008-09-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

We made it through Gustav. Only have minor damage.

To locals, the only phone that is currently working is my cell.

I am sure my wife will have more to say once we get more communication.

Later

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Huh?

2008-08-05T10:55:00.002-05:00

I don't know whether I should laugh, cry, or just be disturbed by this...

Oh my lord, the RNC has finally grown are pair of ...

2008-07-31T09:50:00.002-05:00

Now, those of you that know me should realize that I am no fan of either of the two major political parties. However, I have to give a little credit to the RNC here. They have just release an ad that will hit home. The timing of this add is perfect: the House just adjorned and it not in October where most people have turned off there sets to the political races. Embeded below (with a tip of the old hat to hotair.com) is the ad.

I would haved loved to see the reaction...

2008-07-31T09:25:00.004-05:00

One of the many hats I wear at LSU is I am a member of the faculty pool that sits on hearing pannels for the Office of Judicial Affairs. Basicly, I hear and and decide on cases that involve alledged violations of the Code of Student Conduct. I had one of these hearnings yesterday. This post refers to a conversation between two of the other faculty members on the pannel that was going on before the hearning started (hence, it is not confidential :) ). I would haved loved to see the reaction of somebody who walked in during the middle of this who did not know these two individuals. I am not using any names for, hopefully, obvious reasons and I am paraphrasing from what was actualy said:

Person #1: "So [Person #2], how are the cadavers?"
Person #2: "They are doing fine, we need more donations though."
Person #1: "Running out of bodies?"
Person #2: "No, with the downturn of the economy, we have pleantly of bodies lying around."

As an economist, I got a good chuckle out of that...

This is wrong on so many levels...

2008-07-28T09:40:00.004-05:00

I realize there are very few original ideas in films these days, with all of the re-makes, sequels, movies made from other mediums, etc., but at least some of the time it is done right.

This is not one of those times...MTV (?) is remaking Rocky Horror.

I have to agree with io9 on this one...how in the hell can you re-make a movie that has been remade by the audiences countless times over? Furthermore, lets be honest...the only reason this first movie is a classic is it was so bad that the audience can't help itself to yell at it.

Full disclosure, I have attended quite a few showings of Rocky in my time in full costume (for those who know me, it should be obvious who I dressed up as).

While I am on the subject of remakes/sequels...does the world really need another Harold and Kumar movie?

Feather Art -- WOW!

2008-07-21T08:31:00.007-05:00

I received these pictures in an e-mail from a fellow Scouter. Yes, those are feathers. I don't know the artist's name. If you do know who did these, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due. These are just amazing...

Ahh...Those were the days.

2008-06-30T14:31:00.001-05:00

Now this should bring back memories for some of you...

So...what do the scientist in Antartica do during the 24-hour darkness of winter months?

2008-06-12T14:45:00.003-05:00

I think this story says it all!

I do like the quote from the station manager -- "Since everybody knows everyone, it becomes a little bit uncomfortable.."

At least we know they will be, um, safe. :)

Movies that make you go...?

2008-04-18T09:49:00.002-05:00

After reading this review about a new movie that debuts today that was made by Jay and Angela Lee, all I can say is ... OOOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKKKKKKKK. A post structuralist feminist film based around zombie strippers. Riiiiiiiiight.

Now, in all honesty, you can tell this is going to be a god awfully bad (i.e., cult classic) movie from the trailer.

In any case, it can't be any worse that this movie, can it? CAN IT?

A way to scare a faculty member...

2008-04-17T10:13:00.001-05:00

Just had a knock at my door.

"Hi, I have an order to disconnect the phone in this room."

"(pause) Excuse me?"

"I have an order to disconnect the phone in 2113."

"This is 2123."

"Oh, sorry, wrong room."

Waiting for my heart rate to drop back down...

Who says Economists don't have any fun?

2008-04-17T09:19:00.005-05:00

The first link is from U of Michagan and the second is from U of California at Berkley.

[EDIT] -- the embeding is not working for the second one. The link is http://vimeo.com/852637.

I am reserving judgement...for now.

2008-04-14T08:34:00.002-05:00

Thanks to io9.com, here is a leaked trailer for the animated "Star Wars: Clone Wars" that will be released this August.

Will I try to go see it...probably. I will wait until more information is released.

Talk about wasted energy...

2008-04-03T11:56:00.001-05:00

This is amazing...

http://io9.com/375485/underground-fires-that-burn-for-decades

To slow (or just to busy) to get in on it...

2008-03-25T14:32:00.002-05:00

OK, the Bad Astronomy Bog had a puzzle on its hands. Fortunately, the first person to comment on the post solved the puzzle.

http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2008/03/25/what-object-fell-on-brazil/

:)

All kidding aside, it is an interesting puzzle (referring to the bottom of the pic, of course).

Why do I find this LOL funny?

2008-03-10T13:49:00.004-05:00

So...N.Y. Governor Spitzer has been very TOUGH on corporate crime, the governer that wanted to issue N.Y. driver's licences to illegal immigrants, was elected to N.Y. with the "bring ethics reform" to the state, yadda, yadda, seems to have other things on his mind right now...

According to the NY Times, he is about to be named as on of the clients of a high roller prostitution ring (by high roller, we are talking clients who are multi-millionaries).

Why do I find this so funny? Back in 2004, another high-end prostitution ring was busted in New York. What did the governer say about that one (quoted by the NY Times article linked to above): In one such case in 2004, Mr. Spitzer spoke with revulsion and anger after announcing the arrest of 16 people for operating a high-end prostitution ring out of Staten Island.
“”This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multitiered management structure,” Mr. Spitzer said at the time. ”It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring.”

This, on top of another scandle -- Spitzer's adis being caught in trying to tarnish Joseph Bruno's reputation (Bruno is the majority leader in the State Senete and is the state's top Republican).

Full discloser (in case you haven't figured it out already), I am NOT a fan of Spitzer. So I will admit that I am going to enjoy watching this from afar while being happy that it is not a Louisiana elected offical that is being caught up in something like this this time.

UPDATE: It is expected he is going to resign from office! Damn...this is getting good...

Sadness...

2008-03-04T17:49:00.002-06:00

Gary Gygax, the co-founder of D&D has passed away.

I remember the first time I played the game. It was during "free time" at school, I was 12 years old and in the 6th grade. My friends and I played during English class all throughout 7th and 8th grades until we were finally caught when a new enterent to the campaign yelled out "oh shit" when his fighter was eaten by a dinosaur (he was an idiot anyway). This game gave me a lot of happiness in my life. Heck, if it wasn't for this game, I probably wouldn't have gotten a chance to know my wife (yes, while we met once before, we didn't really get to know each other until we were in a campaign together).

Happy trails Gary...you will be missed.

This looks bizare, but very cool...

2008-03-04T17:32:00.003-06:00

Complements of io9.com:

"Iron Chef meets Dark Star in New Graphic Novel" (Click this link for a sample of the artwork.)

The actual book description taken from another website:

Johnny Boyo could have had it all. Women. Money. Fame. As one of the premiere chefs in the galaxy, Johnny's culinary skills could have made him a star. So with everything he ever dreamed of his for the taking, why would Johnny leave it all behind to become a space trucker? Not even Citrus Watts, the girl he left behind, knows for sure. With the sizzle of life in the kitchen behind him, things were going okay for Johnny. Now after years out of the catering scene, Johnny and his pal Deacon are about to find themselves in water hotter than anything they've ever seen before! Johnny will once again have to pick up the whisk and skillet, but will his eroded skills be enough to get them out of the craziest cook-off in the Universe? And what good is a spatula against space ninjas?

How can you go wrong with this?

Fortunes I can do without...

2008-03-03T19:10:00.003-06:00

Have any of you noticed how fortunes out of the cookies are just not what they used to be?

Take, for instance, the batch we got tonight for dinner. First, my wife's:

Not bad. Not great, but perfectly passable. Then, the one my five year old son got:

Huh? Since when do fortunes tell you you're having a bad day? Aren't these supposed to light, joyful messages to end your meal with? Just imagine somebody who is already suffering from depression getting this...better yet, some nut-job who is on the brink of snapping... (BTW, my son just laughed and laughed. "My day wasn't disastrous?"

Then there is mine:

Umm...this was f***ing take out! This makes me wonder...what percent of chinese food is ordered for delivery/take-out versus sit-down meals? (Can't stop economist trained brain from working....)

We did get an extra cookie...the fortune wasn't much better:

Enough said...

Tomorrow Morning....

2008-02-25T16:56:00.003-06:00

...for those of you up just before before dawn. (This will be on the morning of Feb. 26.)

Look to the east and you will see Mercury and Venus just 1 degree apart in the sky. If you have a telescope, you should be able to get both planets in view at the same time.

I do hope we have better luck here than for last week's lunar eclipse.

I'm amused...

2008-02-25T16:45:00.002-06:00

OK, I use Stat Counter on this blog just for curiosity. I am amused on the keyword searches that people have done that ended up here:

1. saturn 78000 mile check up price -- they landed here
2. richard stahl economics answer -- just found the blog (probably a student thinking that they could find old test question answers on the web...)
3. camp avondale map -- I've mentioned camp avondale a few times
4. sympathy lines -- they landed here (which is the eighth link on Googles list (?) ).

Bummed...

2008-02-20T09:09:00.002-06:00

Tonight is a total lunar eclipse and it is predicticed to be a fantastic one (of the blood red type).

Problem...the forcast says that there is a 50% chance of rain and it will be cloudy all night.

While I have seen total lunar eclipses before, I am really getting bummed about (presumably) missing this one because the next total eclipse doesn't happen until December 20-21, 2010. (There will be a partial eclipse viewable in The Americas during the morning of June 26, 2010, but those are not as dramatic.)

Disguntled, as usual...

2008-02-14T08:13:00.004-06:00

As usual, I am very disgruntled by the choices we have for President. By that I mean from an economic stand point.

First, we have McCain who has admited in the past that he didn't know much about economics.

Then there is the Seanator from my old home state, Clinton, and Obama. While there are some differences in their views on economics, I don't agree with either of them. For example, Clinton has shown favor for government programs that are meant to give inventives for people to behave in the way that the Government wants them to. An idea that drives the Libertarian in me nuts. And don't get me started on the health care proposal...

However (and I can't believe I am saying this), Obama actually scares me more. Here is a direct quote taken from his recent primary victory speach, as quoted in the NY Times:

"It's a game where trade deals like NAFTA ship jobs overseas and force parents to compete with their teenagers to work for minimum wage at Wal-Mart."

Where do I begin with this one...all studies on the effects of NAFTA on employment that I know of only look at how many jobs were lost, not how many jobs were created. We know jobs were created because NAFTA-related U.S. exports has grown.

Fine, let's just look at the NAFTA-related job loses only. One study done in 2000 finds that NAFTA-related job losses averaged 3,200 a month (a figure that the authors of the study admit OVERSTATES the probable true number of looses due to the estimation method they used). On average, from 1993 to the time of this study, the number of jobs created in the U.S. was 200,000 a month. 3,200 vs. 200,000 -- the number of job losses is NOT signifficant.

One thing that the NAFTA has done...because of the increase in NAFTA-related imports, it has helped keep the inlfaiton rate down in the U.S.

For purpose of discussion...

2008-02-11T13:15:00.000-06:00

I had to stop to post this link: The Trouble With Child Labor Laws by Jeffrey A. Tucker

Two quotes from the article to get you interested...

"The exceptions cut against the dominant theory of the laws that it is somehow evil to "commodify" the labor of kids. If it is wonderful to be a child move star, congressional page, or home-based wreath maker, why it is wrong to be a teenage software fixer, a grocery bagger, or ice-cream scooper? It makes no sense.
Once you get past the exceptions, the bottom line is clear: full-time work in the private sector, for hours of their own choosing, is permitted only to those "children" who are 18 and older — by which time a child has already passed the age when he can be influenced toward a solid work ethic. "

And...

"We know the glorious lessons that are imparted from productive work. What lesson do we impart with child-labor laws? We establish early on who is in charge: not individuals, not parents, but the state. We tell the youth that they are better off being mall rats than fruitful workers. We tell them that they have nothing to offer society until they are 18 or so. We convey the impression that work is a form of exploitation from which they must be protected. We drive a huge social wedge between parents and children and lead kids to believe that they have nothing to learn from their parents' experience. We rob them of what might otherwise be the most valuable early experiences of their young adulthood."

Let the discussion begin...

Busy day so far...

2008-02-11T12:22:00.000-06:00

My day so far...

Firast alarm went off at 4:30 am -- finally got up at 5:00 am (when the second alarm went off).
Arrived on campus at 6:15 after stopping to get coffee and a breakfast sandwich (from RaceTrac).
Picked up copies of the 4 newspapers we get on campus (which are still sitting on my desk unread).
Checked/took care of e-mail, et. al. -- finished at 6:45
Talked with co-worker before he had to leave for class -- 7:15
Started working on an economic impact report (I had crunched all the numbers at home during the day/evening on Sunday with a afternoon break to go with family to the new Bass Pro).
Office hours began at 9:30 am -- was still working on report.
After seeing 5 students, office hours ended at 11:00 -- still working on report
11:45 am -- draft of report is finally done -- sent it to the Director of the Division to look over (will get it back at some point this week to send it to the Chamber).
11:50 -- Ate lunch
It is now 12:30---still on the "have to get done today" list: copy off exam giving tomorrow, write two exams that are to be given on Thursday, catch up on e-mail that has come in since this mroning (32 unread messages there now), clean out reader (97 posts there now -- that will be quick since I don't read every single word), read newspapers I picked up earlier (might have to bring home to look at), make sure SIFE team members submit individual competition entries (they are due at 5 pm today), and anything else that comes up this afternoon.

Just think...I don't teach at all today. If I do this type of post tomorrow, I would REALLY have a long post...

BTW, 12:40 -- make that 35 unread e-mail messages...

Later!

Aww Shucks...Now everybody knows....

2008-01-31T14:39:00.000-06:00

“The problem is not that economists are unreasonable people, it’s that they’re evil people...”

Link to full article.

The rant of rants for ALL Science Fiction fans...

2008-01-30T17:51:00.000-06:00

This is "fraking" funny....

http://io9.com/350759/discover-magazine-demonstrates-its-uselessness-by-discovering-facts-about-science-fiction

20 years, 5 months, 7 days....

2008-01-30T16:58:00.000-06:00

After reading Sammy Jankins post today, it got me thinking...

On Monday, I bought two tickets to see Rush on April 19th in the New Orleans Arena. It will not be the first time I will have seen Rush live. I have seen Rush preform six times. The first time I saw Rush live was on November 12, 1987 in the RPI Fieldhouse in Troy, NY. Now you may say wow, it must have been quite an experience for me to remember the exact date. Well, it was a very memberable experience...but you see, with Rush, there are, how shall I put this, VERY devoted fans out there that actually keep track of every show that the band plays. So I did look up the exact date.

Back to the point of this post...Sammy made the comment about being a "old foggy" with regards to his recent concert experience. While I will not go that far about myself, I will admit that I am getting this "oh s**t, I am getting old" feeling thinking that, when my lovely wife and I go see the band in April, it will be almost 20 and a half years since my first experience of Rush live.

At least this time around, there isn't a 4 hour car ride to get to the show (to my wife's great relief, I'm sure :) ).

Interesting...

2008-01-27T10:51:00.000-06:00

A very interesting post on the Strange Maps Blog. Link to the whole post is below:

http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2008/01/27/237-regionalism-and-religiosity/

It is a map of the U.S. that shows which church body is predominate in each country/parish. While there are areas that are not surpprising (baptist in the south, mormon in Utah), for me all of New York's counties have Catholic as the predominate religion is surprising. Having grown up/lived in various upstate New York towns, I never had the impression that Catholic was the majority. Then again, my immiedate family was not church going folk, even though I was raised Dutch Reformed, so I may never had a true sense of what faiths people had around me.

Further proof...

2008-01-17T14:08:00.000-06:00

...that some elected officals REALLY don't know what they are talking about!

Added Blog roll

2008-01-02T11:31:00.000-06:00

OK, so I finally got around to adding a sample of some items from Google Reader that I look at.

Happy reading!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T12:13:00.000-06:00

I know, my typical pattern has emerged...4 months and no posting.

Here is something for the new year from the Bad Astronomy Blog:

http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2007/12/31/repost-happy-new-year/

Have fun!

Personality Type

2007-08-31T10:50:00.001-05:00

Yep, they got it about right. The only differene between this and other Personality tests I have taken is I am usually split 50-50 between sensing and intuituve.

The Norwegian Drop

2007-07-27T15:24:00.000-05:00

This comes from the Strange Maps blog. The artist is Rolf Groven and he made it as a poster proposal for Norway’s pavilion at the World Exhibition in Seville (Spain) in 1991.

Very cool!

WHY???

2007-07-25T16:21:00.001-05:00

OK, when I use the email-to-post feature, the page elements I had on the side of the posts get moved to below the posts and I can't get them back up to where I want them...

I've sent a message to the help group...I hope I get a response.

Grumble.....

Edit...

Never mind...I found the problem...

Top Ten No Sympathy Lines

2007-07-25T15:42:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Funjackals for this. The link is http://www.uwgb.edu/DutchS/nosymp.htm. BTW, this is a hit with my co-workers.

---------------------------------------------

Top Ten No Sympathy Lines (Plus a Few Extra)

This Course Covered Too Much Material...

Great! You got your money's worth! At over $100 a credit, you should complain about not getting a lot of information. If you take a three credit course and get $200 worth of information, you have a right to complain. If you get $500 worth, you got a bargain.

The Expected Grade Just for Coming to Class is a B

This belief seems to be making the rounds in some college circles. The expected grade for just coming to class and not doing anything else is a D or an F. The average grade is supposed to be C although grade inflation is a perennial problem.

Unlike Lake Wobegon, all the children in the real world are not above average.

I Disagreed With the Professor's Stand on ----

The time to deal with this issue is when it comes up in class. I have no respect for anyone who complains on the course questionnaires.

But the professor might put me down, or the students might laugh at me. Not too likely, but even if it happens, so what? If you don't have courage in the safe setting of a classroom, when exactly are you planning to develop it? When your boss asks you to falsify figures or lie under oath? When someone throws rocks through your minority neighbor's windows? When the local hate group burns the synagogue?

Some Topics in Class Weren't on the Exams

The point of a class is the material, not the exam. The exam is a check to see whether you learned the material.

Do You Give Out a Study Guide?

Hmm. The textbook simplifies a vast amount of material, then I simplify it more in lecture. Then you want me to extract the most important ten per cent of that and put it on a study guide, so if you know most of it you can get an A.

So what you're saying is the cutoff grade for an A should be 10%, right?

How Am I Doing In Class?

You're failing.

If you don't know the class material well enough to assess your own progress, and you don't know enough math to estimate your grade given your progress to date, you're failing.

You may luck out and get something higher than an F, but as theologians say, don't confuse mercy with merit.

I Studied for Hours

How many? A college credit is defined as three hours' work per week; one in class and two outside. That's why adding a three-hour lab to a class only results in one additional credit.

This means that 12 credits translates to an average of 36 hours' work a week. That's why 12 credits is considered full time; it's the equivalent of a full-time job.

If you have a course that meets three hours a week for 3 credits but doesn't require six hours of outside work a week to keep up, consider yourself lucky. Other courses may require more time. Also, individual students require different amounts of study time. It does no good to complain that three hours a week per credit is excessive, any more than it does to complain that 26 miles is too long for a marathon. They are what they are.

The one thing you can count on is that a few hours of cramming before the final will not give good results. I recently heard from a student who lamented that she stayed up until 2 A.M. studying, then got up at 6 A.M. and studied some more, and did poorly. And she was surprised? She'd have been better off getting a decent night's sleep.

I Know The Material - I Just Don't Do Well on Exams

Leprechauns, unicorns, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, hobbits, orcs - and students who know the material but don't do well on exams. Mythical creatures.

I've met students who claim to know the material but not do well on exams, but when you press them, it turns out they don't know the material after all. If you can't answer questions about the material or apply the knowledge in an unfamiliar context, you don't know it. You might have vague impressions of specific ideas, but if you can't describe them in detail and relate them to other ideas, you don't know the material.

In addition to content, every type of exam used in college requires specific, vital intellectual skills. Essay exams require you to organize material and present it in your own words. Short-answer exams require you to frame precise, concise answers to questions. Multiple choice exams require you to define criteria for weeding out false alternatives and selecting one best answer. All of these are useful skills in themselves. If you can't do well on some specific type of test - learn the appropriate skill.

I Don't Have Time For All This

Life is about choices. We all have more to do than we can do completely, and we have to set priorities. So we may have to accept tradeoffs. Some options:

Reduce your credit load and take longer to get through
Cut back on social events
Cut back on work hours and accept a lower standard of living and fewer possessions
When you have two conflicting assignments, focus on the most important one
Accept lower grades

The one option that is never on the table in life is to choose a course of action and choose the consequences. If you select a course of action, you also select the consequences. If you want to avoid or achieve a certain set of consequences, you select your course of action accordingly. So easier grading and fewer assignments to free up time for non-college activities are not an option. Don't waste time asking.

But you don't understand. I have a job

No, you don't understand. This is your job. If you don't believe me, just go out with what you have on your resume now and try to launch a career.

I got a message from one guy who did just that - dropped out of school and is now earning six figures as a Systems Administrator. This guy didn't finish college but still has a successful career. When he found out college wasn't for him, he quit and accepted the consequences. He didn't expect college to loosen its standards for him. (Of course, he was successful. If he hadn't made it and was earning minimum wage, I wonder if he'd have taken full responsibility?) So if college is cramping your style, go and do likewise. Get a job as a Systems Administrator, or buy a foreclosed property and sell it for a huge profit, or get in on the ground floor of some new business, or invent a perpetual motion machine. Or start a company to topple Microsoft. Instead of saying that Bill Gates didn't finish college, show me that you're a Bill Gates (would Windows be the mess it is if Gates had spent a few more years learning to think coherently?). Einstein and Edison didn't finish school either. Show us you're an Einstein or an Edison.

Just don't wake up on your fortieth birthday, say "my life sucks," and blame your lack of life satisfaction on your school taxes.

Students Are Customers

True. Students are customers, and they have every right to complain about poor service, unprofessional behavior, and out-of-date material. They also have a right to complain about low standards that water down their credentials.

Students are also products, and employers outside the University are also our customers. These customers have a right to complain if our graduates are lacking in skills, knowledge, and motivation. They have a right to complain if we certify someone as being a potentially good employee and that person turns out to be unqualified.

Despite the rising share students pay for their college education, students still only pay 40 per cent of the total cost. That means the University's responsibility is 40 per cent to students, and 60 per cent to the community. And our customers in the community want people who can communicate, reason, and have a good general stock of knowledge they can call on for unexpected needs. They also want us to provide an assessment that accurately reflects the quality of work students are likely to turn out as employees.

Do I Need to Know This?

You can survive without the things you learn in college. People survive scrounging out of dumpsters and sleeping in doorways. If you want to talk about quality of life, we need to be a bit more demanding.

There Was Too Much Memorization

Sad to say, students have been victims of a cruel hoax. You've been told ever since grade school that memorization isn't important. Well, it is important, and our system wastes the years when it is easiest to learn new skills like the ability to memorize.

Memorization is not the antithesis of creativity; it is absolutely indispensable to creativity. Creative insights come at odd and unpredictable moments, not when you have all the references spread out on the table in front of you. You can't possibly hope to have creative insights unless you have memorized all the relevant information. And you can't hope to have really creative insights unless you have memorized a vast amount of information, because you have no way of knowing what might turn out to be useful.

Rote memorization is a choice. If you remember facts and concepts as part of an integrated whole that expands your intellectual horizons, it won't be rote. If you merely remember things to get through the next exam, it will be rote, and a whole lot less interesting, too. But that is solely your choice.

It is absolutely astonishing how many people cannot picture memorization in any other terms than "rote memorization," - even after reading the paragraph just above.

This Course Wasn't Relevant

If something as vast as mathematics or science or history can pass through your brain without even scraping the sides on the way through, that's a pretty big hole. Are you sure it's the course that doesn't relate to anything?

Our other customers in the community want people who have a good general stock of knowledge they can call on for unexpected needs. Being able to cope with unexpected needs means learning things that may not be immediately needed. You need to stop worrying about whether you need it now and begin worrying about whether your boss might need it later. A ten year old girl in Thailand saved hundreds of lives on December 26, 2004. She had just learned about tsunamis in school, recognized the warning signs, and convinced her parents to warn the resort management. As a result there were almost no casualties at her resort. In all likelihood none of her classmates will ever have need to know about tsunamis. A number of indigenous groups in the region escaped the tsunami with almost no casualties. They recognized the warning signs, which had been passed along through generations with no tsunamis, until finally that "irrelevant" knowledge became relevant.

Exams Don't Reflect Real Life

Some critics of education have said that examinations are unrealistic; that nobody on the job would ever be evaluated without knowing when the evaluation would be conducted and what would be on the evaluation.

Sure. When Rudy Giuliani took office as mayor of New York, someone told him "On September 11, 2001, terrorists will fly airplanes into the World Trade Center, and you will be judged on how effectively you cope."

Examinations are unrealistic. On the job evaluations where people are told in advance when they will be evaluated and exactly what will be covered are even more unrealistic. They're utterly artificial, carefully neutered attempts to be as fair as possible. The most meaningful evaluations in life are:

Completely unexpected.
Totally comprehensive. Absolutely everything you ever learned could be included.
Include material you never studied and maybe never even heard of.

When you skid on an icy road, nobody will listen when you complain it's unfair because you weren't warned in advance, had no experience with winter driving and had never been taught how to cope with a skid.

I Paid Good Money for This Course and I Deserve a Good Grade

Right on! And ---

I paid good money to get on this golf course and I have a right to shoot par. Anyone can enter the U.S. Open - that's what "open" means. But if you don't make the cut, you don't play in the tournament. Nor do you get a refund of your entry fee.
I paid good money for a lawyer and I have a right to win my case.
I paid good money for a house and I have a right to see it increase in value, even if I haven't lifted a finger to maintain it in ten years.
I paid good money for this stock and I have a right to see it go up, even if I haven't bothered to watch the stock market. (I just know the XYZ Beta Video and 8-Track Tape Company is poised for growth!)

Almost everything you pay for in life is an entry fee. What happens next is up to you. Buy a Lexus and never change the oil and see what happens. Get a triple bypass and keep on smoking and snorking down the cholesterol - you'll be back.

All I Want is the Diploma

The work force is full of people who do the minimum necessary to get by. Give me one reason why I, as a citizen or consumer, should help create more of them.

Call me elitist, but there are a lot more people who want good jobs than there are good jobs to go around. I think society has a perfect right to reserve those positions for people who demonstrate a commitment to excellence.

For people who want to get by on the minimum, there's a reward already established. It's called the minimum wage.

5 hours and $720 later...

2007-07-25T14:33:00.001-05:00

I’m testing my e-mail-to-post setting for the blog. We will see how this goes…

I had a WONDERFUL morning. I went to the Saturn dealership to get my 78,000 mile check-up. I also asked them to check my shocks/struts because the car was riding a little rough. Well…shocks and struts were fine, the swing arm in the front was not. I also needed new pads on the front breaks.

This was fine, however I wish they would have told me how long this would take. I had told them I would be waiting for the car when I arrived (which happened to be at 7:15 this morning). I left at 12:15. That’s right, 5 hours and $720 or so later, I had my car back.

Which leads me to why I’m learning to e-mail posts to blogger…you see, Saturn has a computer in the waiting area for their customers. The problem is, “social community” sites are blocked. Blogger is on this list, so I couldn’t post while I was there. What got me is, while I couldn’t read all your blogs on Blogger, I could get to my wife’s blog just fine. The blocking software they use must not know of blog-city.

I any case, I have come to the realization that I am not getting much done today.

Later.

Edit: I misremembered the price I paid, so I fixed it. Still $720 is $720...

Web Trend Map 2007

2007-07-23T09:28:00.000-05:00

Informational Architects has released their Web Trand Map for 2007. From their post..."The 200 most successful websites on the web, ordered by category, proximity, success, popularity and perspective. "

What they use for their base map? The map of Tokyo's subway system.

Very cool.

DeepDiscount.com -- D'OH!!!!

2007-07-19T12:07:00.000-05:00

I hate to be the worker at deepdiscount.com that made this screw-up! (Text below taken from The Wall Street Journal website). For those who are interested, the text of the law suit can be found here: Text of Scholastic lawsuit (PDF)

Full text of Scholastic Corp.'s statement on Harry Potter
NEW YORK, July 18 -- Scholastic has recently learned that some individuals have received copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" through the mail, beginning on Tuesday, July 17th, as a result of a breach of the on-sale agreement by the distributor, Levy Home Entertainment, and shipments made by DeepDiscount.com, a customer of that distributor. We are taking immediate legal action against DeepDiscount.com and Levy Home Entertainment. The number of copies shipped is around one one-hundredth of one percent of the total U.S. copies to go on sale at 12:01 am on July 21st.

We are also making a direct appeal to the Harry Potter fans who bought their books from DeepDiscount.com and may receive copies early requesting that they keep the packages hidden until midnight on July 21st.

Scholastic is especially grateful to the other retailers and distributors for their careful attention to keeping the books secure until the release time and for planning thousands of spectacular midnight parties where fans will celebrate together. And we ask everyone, especially the media, to preserve the fun and excitement for fans everywhere.

The fans themselves have made it abundantly clear that they are looking forward to going to the midnight parties, receiving their very own copy of the book and finally getting to read the book they have so anxiously awaited.

Question of the day...

2007-07-17T13:04:00.000-05:00

A simple yes or no question...

Is the south boundary of the north half of the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter the same line as the north boundary of the south half of the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter?

The Ark redux...

2007-07-14T09:49:00.000-05:00

A co-worker sent this to me with the message: A libertarian would appreciate this. He was right. I have no idea who the author of this is. If I ever find out, I will give credit in this space.

Edit: It seems this has been going around for a while now. I have seen this posted elsewhere with 2005 and 2006 as the years. Oh well, it isn't the first time I have been behind the times...

The Ark

In the year 2007, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in the United States, and said, "Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save two of every living thing along with a few good humans." He gave Noah the blueprints, saying, "You have six months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights".

Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard, but no ark.

"Noah"! , He roared, "I'm about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?"

"Forgive me, Lord," begged Noah. "But things have changed. I needed a building permit. I've been arguing with the inspector about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbors claim that I've violated the neighborhood zoning laws by building the Ark in my yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the Development Appeal Board for a decision. Then the Department of Transportation demanded a bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark's move to the sea. I argued that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it.

"Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls. But no go!

"When I started gathering the animals, I got sued by an animal rights group. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. As well, they argued the accommodation was too restrictive and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space.

"Then the EPA ruled that I couldn't build the Ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood.

"I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my building crew.

"Also, the trades unions say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only Union workers with Ark building experience.

"To make matters worse, the IRS seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species.

"So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least ten years for me to finish this Ark."

Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky. Noah looked up in wonder and asked, "You mean, You're not going to destroy the world?"

"No," said the Lord. "The government beat me to it."

Simpsons Avatar...

2007-07-10T13:06:00.000-05:00

By request from AlanBox:

Meet Abyssean (I think...) -->

A Challenge

2007-07-03T16:43:00.000-05:00

Beware, this is addicting!!!

Monkey Kick-Off!

Currently, my best is 4325 Meters. Can you beat it?

Later!

I love it...

2007-07-03T10:14:00.000-05:00

It is headlines like this that make me smile (and the story behind the headline is good as well)...

Plastic duck armada is heading for Britain after 15-year global voyage

Quack!

LOL...

2007-06-14T15:40:00.000-05:00

OK, everybody who knows me hopefully realizes that I CAN'T STAND Michael Jackson (both his music and the person). However, this is ****ing hilarious!

updates...

2007-06-14T08:52:00.000-05:00

Well, summer school started this week. I am only teaching one class this summer, intermediate microeconomics. There is currently only 9 students in the class, and I don't expect any more to add (the deadline to add is today). If anybody does, there prospects of doing well are not great...the first exam is Monday. I just graded their first problem set and ... they still need to get in the swing of things.

Tomorrow is the second of three Fridays that I will be going up to Camp Avondale. Summer camp for the Boy Scouts is in full swing and on Fridays, the members of the OA go up and give the kitchen crew a break for dinner. We serve the meal and then clean up. It one of the ways the lodge gives service to the camp and council, which is the main mission of the lodge.

As for this weekend, it looking like it is going to be pretty quiet (unless Rachel has other ideas that she hasn't told me about yet). I do have some typical lawn work work to do that I am planning to get done Saturday morning (hopefully before it gets too hot outside, realtively speaking).

And finally, for my fellow baseball nuts out there, I have found the best site I have ever seen looking at the history of the game: This Great Game.

Later!

New Content .. Weird News Video and Economics Roundtable

2007-06-12T08:17:00.001-05:00

At the bottom of the main page of the blog, you will notice I have added Weird News Video. It is an extension of This Is True by Randy Cassingham.

On the right is the feed from Economics Roundtable. The site is a "one stop shop" for all of the different economics related blogs out there.

Enjoy!

Quick update...

2007-06-04T11:10:00.000-05:00

Sunday was all about one thing...Rachel's birthday. (Happy birthday love!)

In the morning, Nick and I watched Rachel open her gifts in the morning (I'm sure she will fill in the details when she blogs again). Then they went off to church while I did this and that around the house (ok, mostly I was on the computer). Then after lunch (which included cupcakes because Nick just couldn't handel the concept of a birthday without some form of cake), we went to an unrelated party for the church's RE teachers. For diner, we met up with friends and ate at the Melting Pot. Needless to say, I ate WAY too much food during the day.

Nick was, well...Nick. The Melting Pot was just too weird for him. He didn't like the cheese course, he didn't like broth used to cook the meat, but he had no problem getting into the idea of the desert. On the way home from dinner, he said that he wasn't tired at all and it was just not FAIR that we were going to make him get ready for bed when we got home. He just had TOO MUCH ENERGY. Well, about 5 minutes from arriving at home, he fell asleep. I had to carry him to his bedroom, take off his shoes and place him in bed. He didn't wake up at all during this....

Later!

Ten best of the day

2007-05-21T14:29:00.000-05:00

OK, so I have this tradition of getting the "365 Stupidest Things Ever Said" Calendar every year for my desk at work. Now, I'm not the best at keeping up with it everyday, but I do catch up every now and then. Well, today I noticed I hadn't looked at it since April 26. So in catching up to today's date, I present the faviorate 10 I saw today:

10. On Yes, DO Restate That: "After standing on the stage, after the debates, I made it very plain, we will not have an all-volunteer army. And yet, this week -- we will have an all-volunteer army. Let me restate that." -- President George W. Bush

9. On We'd Prefer the Sashimi Platter, Thank You: "WE SERVE PEOPLE LIKE YOU AS GOOD FOOD" --sign at a restaurant in Japan

8. On There's A Reason It's Called A Christening: "We want to have Brooklyn christened, but we are not sure into what religion!" -- soccer star David Beckham, referring to his son, Brooklyn

7. On Isn't That Kind of Hard?: "When cosmetic surgery turns fatal, here's what to ask your doctor first." -- news tease on KABC-7 (Los Angeles)

6. On Just What King of School Is This, Anyway?: Are you a lively and stimulating teacher? Do you enjoy working within a supportive and caring environment? Are you happy working alongside dedicated and committed staff? Are you challenged by articulate, preceptive and thoughtful children? If the answers are YES, then this is the wrong school for you." -- ad for a teacher in the Saffron Walden Reporter

5. On Isn't This Taking Political Correctness A Little Too Far?: "ATOMIC BOMBERS UPSET OVER ENOLA HOMOSEXUAL EXHIBT" -- headline in the Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, Illinois), referring to the Smithsonian Institution's planned exhibit on the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima by the plane the Enola Gay

4. On I Know How I'd Interpret It: "Plaintiff: A Mr. Smith and I had a disagreement, the exact nature of which I don't remember, but it was over some aspect of my work that he wanted me to perform in a manner different than, I guress, I was performing it. And Mr. Smith's -- excuse my language coming up -- Mr. Smith said, 'If you f*** with me, I'll kill you.' Lawyer: When he said, 'If you f*** with me, I'll kill you,' how did you interpret that?"

3. On We Could Not Fail To Misunderstand This More: "I could not fail to disagree with you less." -- British Member of Parliament Boris Johnson

2. On Navies, Nude: "NAVY CHANGES SKIRT POLICY, MAKING APPAREL OPTIONAL" -- headline in the San Diego Union-Tribune

and, finally...

1. On Regrets, Regrets: "Some of our greatest historical figures have been adulterers. Regrettably, the days have vanished when an ability to do the job in hand came first." -- from the London Times

Later!

"Break" Time

2007-05-15T08:30:00.000-05:00

Well, semester is over, grades are in, now it is a "break" time until the summer sesstion starts up on June 11.

The trip to Dallas was very uneventful. SIFE didn't place in competition, but that is fine. I did manage to "convert" the Assistant Director of LSU's Career Services. He wants to become a co-fellow for the team. Imangine that, I finally have somebody around to help me run this circus.

One thing I did notice this smester, the new "W" policy is starting to show its effects. For those of you who don't know, LSU instituted a new withdrawl policy for classes. You know have a limit to the number of W's you can get, depending on your credit hours. Previously, there was no liit to the W's. As expected, the overall GPA of the classes have been lower and I have been giving out an increasing number of F's. Does this bother me? HELL NO. If the students don't take the class seriously by putting the work into it, they get the grade they deserve.

What will be interesting is next fall. There is now a waitlist for all classes. This should create an interesting dynamic the first couple of weeks of the semester.

Leter!

Keep on Rolling...

2007-04-26T15:58:00.000-05:00

The semester is winding down. Only one week of classes left and then finals. At least I will get a little break before the summer session starts in June. All I have left to do before then is teach two more classes for each of my three courses, write and then grade the final exams, get the SIFE team to and back from Dallas, post final grades, continue working on the other projects, write syllabus for summer course, and anythin gelse that comes up.

Also, outside of work I am busy for the next two Saturdays. Both of which I will be at Camp Avondale. This Saturday, I am helping out with the Sewell-Eagle District Camporee. It's not all work this day. During the campfire that night I will be receiving my Wood Badge beads. Wood Badge is an advance leader BSA training course that consisits of taking two weekends of classes where you are put into a patrol (hence I am a Wood Badge bear) and then completing a "ticket" that you have a max. of 18 months to comlete. I finished mine in 11 months, which is a little longer than average. Then again, I had a rather "involved" ticket (so I am told), so it all evens out.

Next Saturday I have committed myself to, once again, help in the kitchen for the OA lodge's Spring Ordeal. (BTW, OA stands for Order of the Arrow, the "national honor society" of the BSA.) Usually, I am up there for the entire weekend for this, but that is not in the cards this time. You see, I have to pack for Dallas on Friday night, get up to arrive at the Ordeal on Saturday before breakfast, leave after dinner so I can get to bed at a decent hour so I can get up and leave for Dallas on Sunday at 5 am (you read that right, that is on the road at 5am). I should get to Dallas just in time for the 1 pm pre-SIFE national conference meeting that I have to attend.

Like the title says, keep on rolling...

Later!

It never ends...

2007-04-23T16:26:00.000-05:00

I had a meeting this morning in conjunction with the work I am starting to do for the Division of Economic Development and Forecasting. I will not talk about the Division much because about 99% of the info I am going to be dealing with is proprietory (i.e., I get in BIG trouble if I squwak!). What I am doing is running impact studies to estimate how much a new business venture will impact the state and a specific parish.

Anyway, this morning I find out that the new study comming down the pike all of a sudden has a rush job on it and I need to get preliminary results done by Wednesday. Why is this a problem? I am giving an exam tomorrow that I have to have graded and sorted by Thursday, I have to get the SIFE team organized so we can get to Nationals on the 6th, not to mention that it is transfer season and I am seeing on average of 20 students a day knocking on my door for approval (I think I have mentioned this one before in my last post).

Don't get me wrong, I LIKE doing the impact studies. I just wish that I could have been given more warning about the pace of this one. I know...wishful thinking. That is the way it goes.

In other news, this weekend went fine. We went camping with the Y-guides in Fontainbleau State Park. It turned out to be a great weekend weather-wise. And hey, at least it didn't start out like our last camping trip! I'm sure my wife will fill people in on other details.

One thing about Fontainbleau that struck home: We still have a long way to go with huricane recovery. About half of the campground was still closed. See, the campground has these blacktop trails to drive on to get to the sites. Well, after Katrina, the park got equipment in to clean up the downed trees and such. The problem...the blacktop trails couldn't handle the heavy machines and were all torn up. They don't have the money in yet to get them fixed. Thus, half of the camping sites are still closed. I really seems interesting to me that all of the money that is comming into the state is getting spent on every other thing except fixing what needs to be fixed. (I'm not just talking parks here...how about the regular roads!).

However, that is a rant for another post and this one is long enough as it is.

Later!

Grrr....

2007-04-18T16:15:00.000-05:00

1. I hope SIFE USA never, never, NEVER schedules their National Eposition during finals week again. It has been a NIGHTMARE getting students excused from final exams. I realize it really is out of their hands and they had no choice this year, but it is still frustrating....

2. It is the season for transfer credits. Students taking classes abroad need to get their P.A.C.E. forms in by next week. P.A.C.E. forms are basically pre-approval for transferring courses back to LSU to get credit. Of course, students being students, are waiting to the last minute to get my signiture for approval for Economics courses. It has been a steady stream. Can't get anything done....

These are the days that I just feel like...

Conference

2007-04-18T13:06:00.000-05:00

OK, I said I would say something about the conference, so here it goes.

The conference itself is called T. H. E. Forum (Teaching in Higher Education). Basically, the concept is to come together and learn about the cutting edge technology and techniques other post-secondary educators are using.

There was one presentation done by someone from Utah State that was...interesting. First, he teaches in instructional psychology & technology and he only teaches graduate students (and important fact that will become clear later). He is a HUGE proponent of open source information.

Before I go any farther, I should state that I have no problem with open source in education. I think what MIT has done with their courses is trend setting and can be very beneficial. However, I do believe that there is a limit to its GENERAL usefulness.

Now, here is what the guy has done with his classes…he has made the entire class open source. Everything he does is on a wiki framework: his lecture notes, his topic list, HIS SYLLABUS…think about that for a minute…any of his students can go in and CHANGE THE SYLLABUS FOR THE CLASS! Granted, he only teaches graduate students who (presumably) are more serious and more mature, but there is no way I can foresee doing this with undergraduate students.

To be fair, I have to admire one thing he did. You see, he had to be away for a conference in China for a week and he didn’t want to cancel his class, so he decided to have all the students sign up for an account for Second Life and held class there. He said when he came back for the second class there; the students “decorated” the class and had some “interesting” avatars.

Overall, the conference was good. My presentation with one of the SIFE students abour SIFE's Ethics project went fine and, as usual, we were fed well.

Third time a charm?

2007-04-18T11:43:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm back (again...). I know, this is the third attempt at the blogging thing, but who knows...I might actually stick with it this time. Not much to say right now. Just very busy catching up from being away from my desk for two days while attending a conference (local, so I was still home at night). I will come back later and say something about the conference, because I thought one presentaiton was...well...interesting.