Facebook Meme: 25 Random Things

This is a crazy sort of meme that has been going around Facebook for the past week or so. I posted this list on Facebook...I am cross-posting it here for those readers who are not members or friends:

My 25 Random Things:

1. Never seen the ocean (any of them).
2. Don't like riding in elevators...generally use the stairs if at all possible. Something about them that is too much like a roller coaster.
3. Have always hated OSU football, even before starting at U of M. I guess it was always about being the contrarian to all the people in Dayton who slurp up everything OSU.
4. Almost always leave a single bite of whatever sandwich or burger I am eating. Its weird but remarkably reliable.
5. Never really had pets aside from fish and even that was a longtime ago, but really love cats. I want one.
6. I like to get up at 6 am on school days, consistently get to school between 7:30 and 8 (sometimes earlier).
7. Vowed hater of naps.
8. Notoriously leave cups everywhere all over the house/apartment seemingly never refill the same cup. Its really kinda silly.
9. Something about the grocery store creeps me out. Always antsy to leave whenever I am in on. Doesn't help keeping a well stocked fridge.
10. Have been known to watch a soap opera or two in my life.
11. I like the cold and especially snow. It makes you feel alive.
12. Cherish all the people I interact with even on a wildly inconsistent basis and those I have lost touch with. Perhaps that is why I have my 6th grade, 8th grade, and 12th grade class photos hung on my wall.
13. Don't really drink alcohol because I don't care for the taste and have no desire to get drunk.
14. Perhaps enjoy gummy bears a little too much.
15. I miss not teaching this semester...though its the biggest of biggest timesinks...its just so rewarding.
16. Not a fan of making phone calls or talking on the phone in general. Face to face communication is the best.
17. WSU Raiders basketball, U of Michigan football, Dallas Cowboys football, and Texas Rangers baseball are the best!!
18. Slowest ice cream eater in the world.
19. Biology puts me to sleep...almost instantly.
20. I keep all books and potential useful papers from all my classes dating back to high school. Have a whole bookcase full of books and binders.
21. Have seen the episodes of ALIAS so many times...I see a little of it almost every TV show.
22. I strongly dislike Daniel Craig as Bond...I personally like Roger Moore's Bond.
23. I think the eyes and hair are the most important to the overall attractiveness of a girl (please no more straight bangs)
24. Am a sucker for community activities (like this list idea) as well as department picnics, reunions, etc.
25. My family is the most important thing in my life. They are the greatest!!

Really Nice Article About the Relationship of Science and Democracy

Of the many gripes I have with the Bush Administration perhaps none irks me so personally as their general disregard for science. One of the major cornerstones of our society is science. It is responsible for understanding how the world works and for the development of ways in which to improve it as well. The Bush Administration seemed content to thwart important scientific advances such as stem cell research and climate change research with their narrow-minded and partisan views on the issues. (These are just two issues that come immediately to mind...I'm sure the list is more extensive. I would not be surprised if funding for science was not adversely effected by the 8 years of the administration.) Wasn't Bush's first veto like however many years into office a veto of a stem-cell funding bill? One that would open up federal funding into additional lines of embryonic stems cell that could have the potential to treat a variety of maladies.

Well anyway, a very nice essay appeared in the NYT earlier this week. (Pointed out by Dr. Kiki on her Twitter feed today). It can be found here.

My favorite excerpt of the essay sums up succinctly a view of science which I whole-heartedly agree with:

Science is not a monument of received Truth but something that people do to look for truth.

That endeavor, which has transformed the world in the last few centuries, does indeed teach values. Those values, among others, are honesty, doubt, respect for evidence, openness, accountability and tolerance and indeed hunger for opposing points of view. These are the unabashedly pragmatic working principles that guide the buzzing, testing, poking, probing, argumentative, gossiping, gadgety, joking, dreaming and tendentious cloud of activity — the writer and biologist Lewis Thomas once likened it to an anthill — that is slowly and thoroughly penetrating every nook and cranny of the world.

Go science!! I hope Obama follows through with his pledge to bring back science to its rightful place. I have no doubt that he will.

Talk of the Nation is of the same mind…

So yesterday I talked at length about my thoughts about snow days…and aired my grievances about the diminishing number of them. 

Well much to my surprise, one of my favorite NPR programs…Talk of the Nation today talked about this very topic.  Obama weighed in on his thoughts earlier in the day to the media about school being canceled in the Washington area…calling people living in the Washington area wimps…needing to toughen up like Chicagoans. So why not open up the discussion to the Nation?

Eugene Robinson (whom I love for his visits on Countdown with Keith Olbermann) wrote an op-ed column for the Washington Post about the subject and joined Neal Conan on the show today to discuss the issue.  Of particular interest to me was the fact that he is actually a graduate of the University of Michigan (GO BLUE!!!) and he related the fact that during his four years here at U of M there maybe was one day in which Ann Arbor received like 22 inches of snow and classes were only canceled until noon! I feel his pain

You can listen to the segment here.

Snow Days...

Ok so seemingly the whole world was on a snow day today from Indiana to Erie...well...except of course: me.

Now it is fair to say that we did not get nearly the amount of snow as the swath of the country directly hit by the one-two punch of the storms, but I can still complain about the injustice of it all. Can't I?

Perhaps it is the nostalgia of the good old days when snow days actually meant something...like in elementary school. Those days were magical. No homework. Nowhere to be (except outside). This is kinda in stark contrast to what snow days are for older students.

Homework suddenly is a longer term "project" where just because you aren't having school a particular day doesn't mean something still won't be due the day you get back. During these years, especially the high school ones, you start to be your own weather forecaster or superintendent trying to foresee how bad a particular storm is and whether or not you can procrastinate on your homework knowing that classes will assuredly be canceled the following day.

Add to the mix that the fact that as an "older" person, you have added responsibilities that never manifested themselves like being responsible for clearing the driveway and cleaning off your snow. Unless you are really into that sort thing, snow can become a tedious affair. And let's not forget that many of the simple pleasures of snow days are kinda lost to you...no longer do you just want to go play outside in the snow (whether it is sledding or snowball fights)--that has lost its novelty.

By the time you get to college (or gasp...graduate school), a snow day really has lost most of its pep. So classes might be canceled, but that just means one less day of class...more that you have to learn on your own. The remaining lectures will be more jam-packed than ever with info you have to absorb, and lab classes will be thrown all asunder. Snow days don't mean extra time for projects or pushed back exam schedules. For graduate students, research must go on. I would argue most college students come to regard snow as a nuisance, especially if it is "bad" (for driving or walking purposes) but not "bad" enough to really shutdown the world.

I myself am a huge snow lover...in whatever amounts Nature wishes to dole it out. (The more the merrier though.) I still have almost that elementary school outlook on snow and snows. Playtime! I watch/listen for my old stomping grounds to be closed...jealous that I no longer go there to enjoy the perks of a day off.

For U of M to truly shutdown would probably take something of epic proportions, seemingly nothing will stop classes campus-wide. Which means, no snow days for me.

But at least I will always have my memories of snows long past:

Ch-ch-ch-Changes...

So I am in the middle of listening to Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me on NPR...so I thought I would muse because frankly...how much work can you get done while listening to Wait Wait?

I don't know if anyone else does this (probably not because I am weird), but I like to pursue the websites of my old stomping grounds (Fairbrook Elementary School, Ankeney Middle School, and Beavercreek High School) periodically just to see what has changed personnel-wise since I last haunted the halls.

Surprisingly of all those schools, Fairbrook arguably most resembles the school that I left oh about 10 years ago.  My kindergarten teacher, first grade teacher, third grade teacher, and fourth grade teachers are all still there.  While my second grade teacher retired when I was still in elementary school and my fifth grade teacher retired the year following my class.  Outside of the teachers I actually had there are still a fairly high number of the rest of the staff still there after all these years though the whole of the teachers who taught 6th grade have gone from being dispersed to Ankeney to all of them being retired at this point.  Frankly, I think the biggest change about Fairbrook would be the building itself.  There has been a lot of rennovation to the building since I left, so it would perhaps be a shock at how technology has developed and by some of the new facilities (i.e. the IMC and Art Room).  Let me just say modulars rule!

It is shocking how much Ankeney has changed since I was there about 8 years ago.  There are now 3 eighth grade teams?  And what is up with the PRIDE team changing there name to the Golden Flashes?  A lot of pilage has been done bringing teachers from Ankeney to BHS, so not all the familiar faces are completely out, but seriously I doubt I would be remembered much at all if I were to go back today.  Mrs. Bianco (at BHS), Mrs. Ford (still there), Mr. Seilhammer (retired), Miss Ahlers (now Mrs. Dixon and now a counselor),  Mrs. Knudson (retired), Mr. Wegley (at BHS), Mr. Dukes (???), Mr. Vinson (still there).  Mrs. Getter and Ms. Gribler have retired and the Pathfinders and Bridgebuilders teams are barely recognizable (if at all) than to defections to BHS.  Mr. Group, Mr. and Mrs. Nartker have all moved up to BHS.  The administration has now completely changed with the departure of Ms. Taiclet to Oakwood.

Finally BHS, with a school as large as it is teacher turnover is pretty high.  All my math teachers are still there, but the science department has been dramatically change since I was there (except for stalwarts Mrs. DeBrosse and Mrs. Volmer).  The English staff has almost been completely reshaped with the retirements of Mrs. Herman, Mr. Geer, Mrs. Gates, Mr. Cobey, Mr. Johnson, and Mrs. Gardetto (wow...all since I was in 12th grade).  There are still a lot of familar faces at BHS and I'm sure if I visited I would find that really not much has changed.

It's hard to imagine the school district without some of the great teachers that I had back in the day, but I'm sure the new members of the school district are going to be just as talented as my wonderful teachers one day. Maybe they are already.

RIP Grandma

The obituary can be found here: http://www.legacy.com/dfw/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=122857504

Louise D. Clark
1919 - 2009
Louise D. Clark, 89, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009. Graveside service: 2 p.m. Saturday in Moore Memorial Gardens. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Moore Funeral Home-Bowen Chapel. Survivors: Husband, Rex K. Clark of Arlington; son, Eddie Clark and wife, Maggie; son, Jerry Clark and wife, Jan; sister, Lucille Garlington; and grandsons, Travis, Jared, Derek and Nathan.

Doesn't really do her justice...but we will always have the memories

A Blast from the Past...

Sometimes its interesting to see where I was at this time a few years ago...check out this post from the blog archives from January 10, 2007.  Yikes.

http://www.theterrifictc.com/2007/01/wow-its-been-awhileso-much-to-talk.html

OK so its been forever...

So it like 6:30 PM on a Friday night, and I should be working on something in the lab, but honestly I am just tired after a week of hard work, late and early nights.

I have been meaning to write a blog entry as sort of a year in review for 2008 for several weeks now, but haven't summoned the will to yet (if I ever will).  It was a year that covered the gamet of emotions.  I'm not sure I really want to re-hash all the lows again, or remember all the highs that may not be reached any time soon. Hmm...maybe this weekend?

Anyway some random odds and ends just to fill space:

1.  Windows 7

Today is the day that the much anticipated Windows 7 beta is to be released (supposedly).  And I have downloaded my copy (though through a somewhat roundabout fashion) depsite the massive traffic bombarding the Windows page that has been thwarting other excited users.  As of writing this I am still waiting on Microsoft to get their act together so I may get my activation key.  Once I get home tonight hopefully I will have a DVD so I may burn the ISO image.  Should I create a dual boot partition on my Vista machine or should I create a virtual machine on my Mac?  Tough question...

2.  Snowy Snowy

Its kinda been snowing on and off here over the last several weeks so the area is kinda building a nice foundation of snow.  Starting this afternoon, Ann Arbor is beginning to get dumped upon by a more significant snow fall.  By the afternoon tomorrow supposedly, we might expect upwards of 10 inches of snow.  (Which might be a very fine excuse not to come back into school tomorrow.)

Yesterday (or maybe it was the day before),  I rediscovered my love for the sound of falling snow.  There may not be a prettier sound than that of snow hitting the ground or other objects.  I guess in order to really appreciate it you need to be in a quite place.  (My favorite was alway, outside by myself, shoveling the driveway).  This makes me wonder....is there any aspect of snow that isn't wonderful?

3.  Finding my inner happiness

Something of a New Year's resolution I guess for me this year is what I am deeming "finding my inner happiness".  I think all too often last year I found my general happiness being tied to external events or people, which often led to great disappointment (see the Cowboys or Wolverines as prime examples of this).  Perhaps I just too emotional for own good.  So far this year, I have had some success just trying to stick to my own center-lotus-of-happiness thing and its been working pretty well.  I mean I don't think its exactly the greatest thing since sliced bread, and it can be a cause for a bit more isolation which often breeds a bit of loneliness.

Now some quick hitters...

(These really would make quite good Twitter posts...see the column on the right for little nuggets from my life.)

5.  Things are starting to get massively disorganized for me...looking at the piles of books and random papers scattered all around me.  As someone who usually likes things at least to some degreed organized, this is usually a prime sign that the times are becoming more and more stressful.

6.  I am really enjoying Windows Weekly more and more each week...its quickly become almost as much of an enjoy as MacBreak Weekly usually is. (Speaking of which...glad to have Merlin Mann back on the last show.)

7.  Sad to see Wright State lose to Butler...we really don't have a lot of offensive fire power these days which could be helped by Vaughn Duggins coming back from injury.  Also, you just can't give up lots of threes to Butler and turn the ball over and expect to beat Butler on a consistent basis.  Really its all about positioning for the Horizon League Tournament at this point...we really can't afford too many more losses if we want a good seed.  I would also prefer not to have play in the finals at Hinkle Fieldhouse, but I'm afraid the Bulldogs may be running away with the conference at this point.

8. Buzz Out Loud is just delightful...everyone should listen if he/she is interested in tech news.

9.  Really am enjoying using Google Reader as a feed aggregator...it really is a cool way to keep up with a bunch of sites that you might not frequent all that often otherwise.  Also sharing stuff is cool too.  (You can see the things I "share" from my read at the top...called "Stuff I'm Reading/Interested In"

10.  My current favorite song is The Fray's You Found Me. (It never hurts a song's chances when it is used in a LOST Promo.)

All right that's enough...I have been batting around the idea of like a "Graduate Student Song Mix" blog entry that I may revisit at some point later this weekend.

(oh and how great is the song "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield...I still love the dance Apolo and Julianne did to the song on DWTS a while back (look it up on Youtube))