I'm into biking and all,

so naturally this caught my eye:

HS student builds all-wood bicycle.

sweet.

(ignore obligatory snark in comments section)

This Blog Needs Pictures

So, I give you two pictures involving Life with a Little Boy:

First, a boy and his kitty, watching Sesame Street:


Second, well, what can I say? Note the many details:

If you remember the infamous "Balikbayan Box"

then you'll love this.

Here's a meeting theme to make your heart race

I offhandedly volunteered last term for service on this year's "Teaching Scholars Institute," a cooperative effort between UTM, MSU, and WKU focusing on a yearly meeting. Well, I just received the preparation materials, and here's what we'll be spending the day discussing:

"Good practice in undergraduate education emphasizes time on task."

Now you just know I'm looking forward to spending a whole Friday on that!

The Induction to the Mirror for Magistrates

Hawthorn had lost his motley livery,
The naked twigs were shivering all for cold;
And dropping down the tears abundantly,
Each thing (methought) with weeping eye me told
The cruel season, bidding me withhold
Myself within, for I was gotten out
Into the fields, whereas I walked about.

(stanza 3)

a good set of lines for a rainy day in late January

"Fishing for Purpose"

I used to read Erin O'Connor's blog faithfully, until she shut it down. Here, she has some interesting stuff to say about why the humanities matter and why certain recent arguments (by a very prominent "English" professor) don't hold much water.

Hugo Project, #7

The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson. Winner of the 1996 Hugo.

I'm a big fan of Stephenson's work. It's dense, challenging, and written with a subtle humor that sometimes takes me completely off guard. This one is set in Shanghai and deals mostly with nanotechnology and the use of fairy tales. No Enoch Root in this one, as best as I can tell.

Piers Wonders

why there is an AAUW (American Association of University Women) flyer posted in the men's restroom on the second floor.

Academic Freedom, my arse

of course, an ag school in NW Tennessee is more or less insulated from this kind of stuff, but as a professor who is becoming known for chasing rabbits and (a little) sardonic humor, this scares the s*** out of me.

Preschool update

Some of you may remember our angst a few months ago about The Little Boy's experiences at the day care. Well, we muddled through last semester with him going as little as possible. W did find him a slot at the day-care center run by the university, and yesterday was his first day.

What an amazing difference!

He went in with nary a whimper, evidently had a great day (even took a nap!), and came home singing and laughing. W's joy and relief are wondrous to behold.

I visited when we picked him up yesterday afternoon. It's a nice facility, well-run, attractive, and--important for him--quiet and orderly. Wow!

If you care about free expression

then this should be on your current reading/watching list.

From Lileks's Bleat page:

When the government calls you in to ask what was in your mind when you published something, here’s how you respond.

With apologies to those who find this kind of thing tiresome.

Adventures with Students, Vol. 15

I saw it happen yesterday about ten minutes into my opening of my upper-level 16th century lit class. One student totally checked out. It was a subtle shift in body language, but when I got back in my office I commented to W: "I've got one that will drop either today or tomorrow."

Sure enough: today, 1:49 pm--Drop or Withdrawal Notification

I called it!a

MacBook Air

despite the cheezy name,

WANT

This has the potential of becoming my Major Soapbox

a plan for students & staff to be compelled to sign a code of behavior at Bergen Community College. Bravo to those faculty willing to defy the BCC administration.

This is an important weekend

because it's the NFL divisional playoffs weekend, our last full helping of football before September comes back around. Snow on the ground at Lambeau for the Packers-Seahawks game. Awesome.

You say you want to look like a Bond villain?

well, Brooks Brothers has your look.

Thinking about the way language makes me think

What would happen if I were to take a break from the typical kinds of language I use to describe challenges--struggle, difficulty, painful--and instead force myself (for instance, when I write in my daily journal every morning) to write about challenge or pushing myself or even bring it on?

I recognize that inasmuch as I thought last term was difficult, the main difficulty was in the way I was thinking and reacting, not so much the actual events. In retrospect, I could have saved myself a lot of heartache by being less concerned with the way it all didn't 'feel' exactly right.

So now I'm on my way to being a Pollyanna, right?

3rd Quarter in the BCS Bowl

and it looks like OSU is in dee-eee-eeep trouble. Not saying they'll lose, but their meltdown on LSU's first possession of the half can't inspire confidence.

Life with a Little Boy, v. 6

Here is a list of characters we have been instructed to impersonate over this past week:

Curious George
The Man in the Yellow Hat
Blue (from Blue's Clues)
Magenta (ditto)
"Lightming" McQueen (from Cars)
Sally (from Cars)
'Mater (from Cars)

and he's consistent--no breaking of character!

ACC Basketball

it's going to be the death of me yet

Hugo Project #6

Ringworld, by Larry Niven (1970 Hugo winner)

Unlike the previous items in this project, this is true "hard" science fiction. Interesting aliens too!

It's also a trip reading this book and playing Halo at the same time. The senses of scale are different, naturally, but--ringworlds are ringworlds.

Life with a little boy, v.5

This week, while Piers is not at work, The Little Boy and I have been working on important boy skills:

1. swordfighting with balloon swords
2. kung-fu
3. air guitar