Saturday, December 05, 2009
Semester's over! Seriously.
First semester is basically under my belt. Exams are given, just need to grade them, input grades, go to a Christmas party and that's about it.
Things on my To Do list for the um, Winter Break, we'll call it:
Professional development: 1)work on "active learning" classroom activities, studies keep showing that traditional lecture is not the best way to learn for most people
2)keep fingers crossed that I get the full time gig at CCD
3)look around for grants and research ideas for non-traditional undergrads
4)write grants and work on my professional writing
5)put together a blog for my classes which will contain assignments, downloadable assignments, syllabus, class info, interesting links to Youtube videos, lectures, etc.
6)update resume and apply for traditional and non-traditional chemistry jobs
7)increase my online professional presence-google page, Linkedin profile, hmmm, any others that I'm missing?
Personal development: 1)finally update this blog-best of, template change, etc.
2)READ! Also I'll be keeping a list of books I've read and some reviewish ideas and impressions
3)get used to exercising in the snow or do more indoors-get into skiing shape which mainly involves developing stamina in my quads and core
4)use my free time efficiently
5)keep developing the budding friendships we've made in Denver so far
6)keep nurturing friendships with friends who I don't live near anymore
7)begin each day with a something physically stimulating, even if that's taking a walk outside
Other fun stuff:
1)watch gobs of college football bowl games, predominately online: thanks Justin.TV and CBS sports!
2)probably watch some movies
3)probably play some video games
4)fix the problems that Focus is having (freakin' suspension rattle) and change Tercel's blown lightbulbs
5)work on my winter driving
6)go back to Alabama for visiting family!
That's enough for now. My December 2009 resolution is to take a huge chunk out of this list.
I'm watching the Clemson Tigers hopefully win the ACC championship right now! Go Tigers!
Things on my To Do list for the um, Winter Break, we'll call it:
Professional development: 1)work on "active learning" classroom activities, studies keep showing that traditional lecture is not the best way to learn for most people
2)keep fingers crossed that I get the full time gig at CCD
3)look around for grants and research ideas for non-traditional undergrads
4)write grants and work on my professional writing
5)put together a blog for my classes which will contain assignments, downloadable assignments, syllabus, class info, interesting links to Youtube videos, lectures, etc.
6)update resume and apply for traditional and non-traditional chemistry jobs
7)increase my online professional presence-google page, Linkedin profile, hmmm, any others that I'm missing?
Personal development: 1)finally update this blog-best of, template change, etc.
2)READ! Also I'll be keeping a list of books I've read and some reviewish ideas and impressions
3)get used to exercising in the snow or do more indoors-get into skiing shape which mainly involves developing stamina in my quads and core
4)use my free time efficiently
5)keep developing the budding friendships we've made in Denver so far
6)keep nurturing friendships with friends who I don't live near anymore
7)begin each day with a something physically stimulating, even if that's taking a walk outside
Other fun stuff:
1)watch gobs of college football bowl games, predominately online: thanks Justin.TV and CBS sports!
2)probably watch some movies
3)probably play some video games
4)fix the problems that Focus is having (freakin' suspension rattle) and change Tercel's blown lightbulbs
5)work on my winter driving
6)go back to Alabama for visiting family!
That's enough for now. My December 2009 resolution is to take a huge chunk out of this list.
I'm watching the Clemson Tigers hopefully win the ACC championship right now! Go Tigers!
Labels: blogs, preview, teaching
Friday, August 28, 2009
Sit down! Shut up! Aaaaaiiiiieeee!
Luckily those are things that have never come out of my mouth in any of my classes. I did medium yell at some whiners who were complaining about an ambiguous question on a quiz. Of course I caved and just wanted them out.
This isn't becoming a "teaching" blog, but since that's how I'm paying the bills now, it'll probably pop up every once in a while.
Upcoming post preview:
Denver restaurants
Denver parks
Ford Foci (Focuses)
The Denver Public Libraries are AMAZING! Check out whatever you want, and return at any branch. We picked up 5 DVDs today and paid nothing! Ah. Also Blockbuster does 1 day rentals of non-new releases for $1. Great for burning through TV shows if a certain significant other is addicted to say, Desperate Housewives. I wouldn't watch it on TV, but on DVD it doesn't make me want to kill myself. The dark twists keep me mildly interested. And Marc Cherry did a cameo on Arrested Development, so he gets my professional support, and Blockbuster support.
We Netflixed Order of Myths by Margaret Brown and watched it last night. It's about Mardi Gras in New Orleans and how race is related to it. Very interesting insider look into Mardi Gras and race relations in Mobile, Alabama. Not many people know the first Mardi Gras took place in Mobile, 15 years before New Orleans (or Nawlins) was a city. Great history of Alabama, Mobile, race relations and Mardi Gras. I highly recommend it. Also another little known fact, the last slave boat to come to America sailed into Mobile, after the slave trade was abolished.
This isn't becoming a "teaching" blog, but since that's how I'm paying the bills now, it'll probably pop up every once in a while.
Upcoming post preview:
Denver restaurants
Denver parks
Ford Foci (Focuses)
The Denver Public Libraries are AMAZING! Check out whatever you want, and return at any branch. We picked up 5 DVDs today and paid nothing! Ah. Also Blockbuster does 1 day rentals of non-new releases for $1. Great for burning through TV shows if a certain significant other is addicted to say, Desperate Housewives. I wouldn't watch it on TV, but on DVD it doesn't make me want to kill myself. The dark twists keep me mildly interested. And Marc Cherry did a cameo on Arrested Development, so he gets my professional support, and Blockbuster support.
We Netflixed Order of Myths by Margaret Brown and watched it last night. It's about Mardi Gras in New Orleans and how race is related to it. Very interesting insider look into Mardi Gras and race relations in Mobile, Alabama. Not many people know the first Mardi Gras took place in Mobile, 15 years before New Orleans (or Nawlins) was a city. Great history of Alabama, Mobile, race relations and Mardi Gras. I highly recommend it. Also another little known fact, the last slave boat to come to America sailed into Mobile, after the slave trade was abolished.
Labels: Denver, movie, preview, restaurant reviews
Monday, October 20, 2008
100,000 hits!
Thanks to all my visitors for taking me over the 100,000 mark! Hooray!
Protege and Acura were here this weekend. They flew in from Texas (which is still recovering from Hurricane Ike) to come back and visit everyone. They have mostly been busy with work and renovating their "new to them" house. Parts sounded pretty gross. They installed some bamboo flooring themselves and it looked really nice.
We (minus J who was tired) went downtown and hung out with friends. Since I've been writing I haven't hung out with them socially probably since around July, so it was good having real conversations instead of short pleasant exchanges on campus.
There was talk about them trying to get tickets for the Georgia Tech/Clemson football game, but since we lost to Maryland and then Wake Forest, Clemson's ACC conference win and decent bowl game dreams have gone up in smoke. So we had a wonderfully relaxing Sat. afternoon (seriously I was the only one up before 10 am, well me and the cats) and I had a pleasant Sat. morning where I watched a little TV, straightened the house, walked Leon and then walked downtown to retrieve Tercel because I rode in (we have a paparazzi name for Protege and Acura in "real" life but what could their blog 'razzi name be? Pracura? Actege?) their rented white Sebring convertible since that last Wild Blue (by Blue Dawg Brewery in Baldwinsville, NY apparently bought out by Anheuser-Busch) was an 8% alcohol by volume doozy and I was in no condition to drive home. Yes I realize that I live in South Carolina and drinking and driving is just what people do here, but that doesn't make it right!
So I had a lovely stroll downtown (also side note: they don't allow overnight parking in the new fancy pants Clemson parking deck, so if there is a small chance your car won't make it home, park it on the street, walk, or take the CATbus) about a half hour before kick off. So I hop into Tercel, stop by Starbucks, call the house to see what everyone wants (large black iced coffee, small nonfat Mocha, and a small PSL for J) and then return home to fire up the grill. Flounder, salmon, zucchini, potatoes, all were deliciously and lovingly grilled by yours truly.
Relaxing, football, some F1 qualifying and then it was time for dinner. Actege treated us to sushi that was amazing. Protege commented that the bill wasn't bad but then remembered he was in backwoods SC where the cost of living is low especially compared with big city Houston. We came back and watched National Geographic's Giant Crystal Cave show which is truly freakin' unbelievable. More on that in another post.
Then we went to another friend's birthday party, drank, chatted, played with the dogs at the party, met some new people, then came home, woke up and our guests left. Thanks for visiting! And yes we will come to Houston as soon as we can.
Post previews:
Crystal Cave of the Giants
F1 China Qualifying (and race report once I watch it)
Writing update?
Stolen Obama magnet
Which reminds me that I saw John McCain's quote of "I like being the underdog" on CNN's front page. Uh John? You're an old white guy running for President in America, you'll never be the underdog.
Protege and Acura were here this weekend. They flew in from Texas (which is still recovering from Hurricane Ike) to come back and visit everyone. They have mostly been busy with work and renovating their "new to them" house. Parts sounded pretty gross. They installed some bamboo flooring themselves and it looked really nice.
We (minus J who was tired) went downtown and hung out with friends. Since I've been writing I haven't hung out with them socially probably since around July, so it was good having real conversations instead of short pleasant exchanges on campus.
There was talk about them trying to get tickets for the Georgia Tech/Clemson football game, but since we lost to Maryland and then Wake Forest, Clemson's ACC conference win and decent bowl game dreams have gone up in smoke. So we had a wonderfully relaxing Sat. afternoon (seriously I was the only one up before 10 am, well me and the cats) and I had a pleasant Sat. morning where I watched a little TV, straightened the house, walked Leon and then walked downtown to retrieve Tercel because I rode in (we have a paparazzi name for Protege and Acura in "real" life but what could their blog 'razzi name be? Pracura? Actege?) their rented white Sebring convertible since that last Wild Blue (by Blue Dawg Brewery in Baldwinsville, NY apparently bought out by Anheuser-Busch) was an 8% alcohol by volume doozy and I was in no condition to drive home. Yes I realize that I live in South Carolina and drinking and driving is just what people do here, but that doesn't make it right!
So I had a lovely stroll downtown (also side note: they don't allow overnight parking in the new fancy pants Clemson parking deck, so if there is a small chance your car won't make it home, park it on the street, walk, or take the CATbus) about a half hour before kick off. So I hop into Tercel, stop by Starbucks, call the house to see what everyone wants (large black iced coffee, small nonfat Mocha, and a small PSL for J) and then return home to fire up the grill. Flounder, salmon, zucchini, potatoes, all were deliciously and lovingly grilled by yours truly.
Relaxing, football, some F1 qualifying and then it was time for dinner. Actege treated us to sushi that was amazing. Protege commented that the bill wasn't bad but then remembered he was in backwoods SC where the cost of living is low especially compared with big city Houston. We came back and watched National Geographic's Giant Crystal Cave show which is truly freakin' unbelievable. More on that in another post.
Then we went to another friend's birthday party, drank, chatted, played with the dogs at the party, met some new people, then came home, woke up and our guests left. Thanks for visiting! And yes we will come to Houston as soon as we can.
Post previews:
Crystal Cave of the Giants
F1 China Qualifying (and race report once I watch it)
Writing update?
Stolen Obama magnet
Which reminds me that I saw John McCain's quote of "I like being the underdog" on CNN's front page. Uh John? You're an old white guy running for President in America, you'll never be the underdog.
Labels: Acura, crystals, food, football, J, preview, Protege
Monday, September 29, 2008
Nothing just yet
I'll post up about Paul Newman, the debates, the debates that should include 3rd party candidates, the upcoming VP debates, Singapore F1 night racing (once I finish it) and Black Lake Michelin Proving Grounds autocross (with pictures).
So until then...
So until then...
Labels: preview
Monday, July 07, 2008
How did you celebrate your freedom?
J and I celebrated by driving our Focus to Gatlinburg, TN, walking around, buying souvenirs, eating, sleeping, and enjoying the Aquarium of the Smokies.
More on all that later. A decent post will soon be comin' atcha!
More on all that later. A decent post will soon be comin' atcha!
Labels: family vacation, preview
Monday, June 30, 2008
What?
There will be a post this week, just not today.
I think I have a draft I saved that talked about the current season of Morgan Spurlock's show on FX, 30 Days. That should be up soonish.
I think I have a draft I saved that talked about the current season of Morgan Spurlock's show on FX, 30 Days. That should be up soonish.
Labels: preview
Friday, February 22, 2008
Posts to be
I found some websites recently and plan to talk about them in the future once I've read through them. I probably won't read all of the 2nd one but it's exciting.
http://outside.away.com/outside/destinations/200803/cuba-environmental-record-1.html
http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/where_we_stand/other_issues/medmarijuana.pdf
Weird. It doesn't recognize it without me pushing the button. Ah well. Copy and paste for a preview. No hints.
http://outside.away.com/outside/destinations/200803/cuba-environmental-record-1.html
http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/where_we_stand/other_issues/medmarijuana.pdf
Weird. It doesn't recognize it without me pushing the button. Ah well. Copy and paste for a preview. No hints.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Aha!
You thought I wasn't coming back, that I had already checked out for Christmas but you would be wrong! Myself and labmates, much like Santa's elves, are furiously toiling away while nary a creature is stirring on Clemson's campus. We ate lunch outside in the "finally back to normal" 47 degree weather. It was very nice. The 75 degree weather last week was incredible but just felt wrong.
I'll be around this week and then I'll probably be out until after Christmas, but you might get lucky.
Small detail from a future post: I had to Febreze the inside of Focus.
I'll be around this week and then I'll probably be out until after Christmas, but you might get lucky.
Small detail from a future post: I had to Febreze the inside of Focus.
Labels: preview
Monday, July 23, 2007
Weekend review preview
Ikea was great. They didn't have the huge $8 shoe shelves that we wanted but I'm going to the 'Ham in a few weeks and can swing by on my way home to pick those up.
I really like my new tie/belt racks. I had exactly enough ties to fill one of the racks. Oh yes, it was meant to be.
Traffic was heavy but not too bad. Ikea was bustling when we got there about 10 am and then it got crazy around 12:30-1.
I picked up a "Make Your Own 6 Pack" of beer at the Plez-U in Pendleton because they have one of the best beer selections around. I will have reviews and pics of the ones I have tried so far. Included will be a small homage to Hunter S. Thompson.
One of our old Ikea shelves finally made it up onto the wall as a faux mantle and above it is a new clock J picked out that has the temp inside and outside. The outdoor sensor stays outside and the indoor transmitter stays inside, includes a outdoor temp. display and transmits for up to 30 meters! So even though the clock is downstairs, we will know what the temp. is outside. We have it set to Fahrenheit because we live in the States and are not comfortable with just Celsius. I wish it would display both simultaneously.
I also hopefully will be back in ATL this weekend with the Atlanta Region SCCA's Super Regional autocross. It's a 2 day event but I'll just be doing one day. Protege is supposed to co-drive with me and we're just trying to decide what day is better.
Back tomorrow with pictures and reviews. Chemist's honor.
I really like my new tie/belt racks. I had exactly enough ties to fill one of the racks. Oh yes, it was meant to be.
Traffic was heavy but not too bad. Ikea was bustling when we got there about 10 am and then it got crazy around 12:30-1.
I picked up a "Make Your Own 6 Pack" of beer at the Plez-U in Pendleton because they have one of the best beer selections around. I will have reviews and pics of the ones I have tried so far. Included will be a small homage to Hunter S. Thompson.
One of our old Ikea shelves finally made it up onto the wall as a faux mantle and above it is a new clock J picked out that has the temp inside and outside. The outdoor sensor stays outside and the indoor transmitter stays inside, includes a outdoor temp. display and transmits for up to 30 meters! So even though the clock is downstairs, we will know what the temp. is outside. We have it set to Fahrenheit because we live in the States and are not comfortable with just Celsius. I wish it would display both simultaneously.
I also hopefully will be back in ATL this weekend with the Atlanta Region SCCA's Super Regional autocross. It's a 2 day event but I'll just be doing one day. Protege is supposed to co-drive with me and we're just trying to decide what day is better.
Back tomorrow with pictures and reviews. Chemist's honor.
Labels: autocross, Ikea, preview, weekend
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
If you can't say "fuck", then you can't say "fuck the government."
- Lenny Bruce
We watched the documentary F*ck (Fuck) last night. If you're curious, they used the f-word 800+ times during their 93 minutes for a fpm rate of 8.6+. [link borrowed from Wikipedia via Cynical-C]It was very educational and they even portrayed a little from both sides of the freedom of speech argument. I probably won't be hanging out with Dennis Prager any time soon, whoever he is, a radio show host apparently. I want to watch it again actually but that Lenny Bruce quote is going up on my Facebook.
Does anyone in San Francisco know this guy?
Apparently he's been harassing Thomas Hawk and some other photographers for taking pictures on public property and impersonating an officer. Wow, I also just noticed this was originally posted last June, and so far not much has happened. But just be on guard. He might come after you next.
We moved our new living room furniture around last night and it's still Wii friendly and comfy. We even ate dinner on our new dining room table! We're also not allowed to eat on the couches, that goes for you too. Sorry.
I should have a review of ESPN's 2007 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and a summary of our bouldering trip to um, somewhere near Asheville, NC up sometime this week too. I'll have more comments on Fuck also.
Edit: A-ha! Just remembered. How I sprayed 10 Molar KOH (potassium hydroxide, a strong base) on my face and chest will also get some blog time. Don't worry it's a "this is why we wear safety attire" story as opposed to a "I can't fucking see anymore" story.
We watched the documentary F*ck (Fuck) last night. If you're curious, they used the f-word 800+ times during their 93 minutes for a fpm rate of 8.6+. [link borrowed from Wikipedia via Cynical-C]It was very educational and they even portrayed a little from both sides of the freedom of speech argument. I probably won't be hanging out with Dennis Prager any time soon, whoever he is, a radio show host apparently. I want to watch it again actually but that Lenny Bruce quote is going up on my Facebook.
Does anyone in San Francisco know this guy?
Apparently he's been harassing Thomas Hawk and some other photographers for taking pictures on public property and impersonating an officer. Wow, I also just noticed this was originally posted last June, and so far not much has happened. But just be on guard. He might come after you next.
We moved our new living room furniture around last night and it's still Wii friendly and comfy. We even ate dinner on our new dining room table! We're also not allowed to eat on the couches, that goes for you too. Sorry.
I should have a review of ESPN's 2007 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and a summary of our bouldering trip to um, somewhere near Asheville, NC up sometime this week too. I'll have more comments on Fuck also.
Edit: A-ha! Just remembered. How I sprayed 10 Molar KOH (potassium hydroxide, a strong base) on my face and chest will also get some blog time. Don't worry it's a "this is why we wear safety attire" story as opposed to a "I can't fucking see anymore" story.
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