Two syllabi and a 1-2 page book chapter proposal. By end of day Monday. Oh, yeah, suuuure. And of course, the day is gorgeous, now that the storm has past.
While I go wrestle with obligations and worry about the folks in New Orleans, here’s the latest picture of Leia, who is acting more and more [...]
Archive for August, 2008
Staircase kitty
Posted in Introductions, tagged cute himmie, Himalayan cat, I is Siamese and I don't please, Leia, princess kitty, seal point, work overload on 31 August, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Further adventures in Cat Chess
Posted in Introductions, tagged "how not to be seen" fail, cat chess, cats, Leia, Malkin on 28 August, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Yes, there are two cats in that picture. Two. Leia is puffed up on the left, and Malkin is on the right. Only yesterday did we discover that Leia had ‘graduated’ from sleeping under our bed to sleeping on top of the bed, right where she could be seeeeeeeen.
For all the teaching peeps
Posted in Uncategorized on 27 August, 2008 | 4 Comments »
A quote you may find useful, if not at all consoling:
“…when people are incompetent in the strategies they adopt to acheive success and satisfaction, they suffer a dual burden. Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it. Instead… they [...]
Mangling Spanish in my spare time otra vez
Posted in Elsinore, Gardening, My brain, tactless observations, tagged difficult neighbors, Gardening, getting rid of your lawn, language abuse, Spanish grandmothers on 22 August, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
This morning I am outside extirpating another section of the lawn, and my brain decides to practice explaining this to Salvador, who probably doesn’t care, but would understand it better if I used Spanish. Since my opportunities to use the language of my forebears is somewhat limited, my Spanish is perpetually rusty, and it’s not [...]
Tactless earworm about Beach Volleyball
Posted in Filking, My brain, tactless observations, tagged beach volleyball, Filking, my brain again, Olympics on 20 August, 2008 | 7 Comments »
Tonight, NBC wanted to show us BMX racing, but instead had to ’settle’ for showing us dripping wet women diving into the sand and then hugging each other in the rain.
Oh, I think there might be a ball involved somewhere. They seem interested in keeping it off the sand, which I understand because repeatedly slamming [...]
And now, a word from our President….
Posted in Uncategorized on 18 August, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
No, not of the United States of America. Other blogs can cover that. And David Letterman seems to be having a good time roasting the man; my help there isn’t necessary. But college presidents can also do some heavyweight damage to the English language, especially at Commencement — here’s two from about 11 years ago:
“We [...]
“This is why some people raise chinchillas…”
Posted in Uncategorized on 17 August, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Being disappointed in Olympics coverage seems trite, but I guess there just aren’t enough advertisers out there interested in supporting broadcasts that I’d really enjoy. I don’t really want to have every moment filled with commentary; I do not care to hear the US angle on everything, and I think it would be refreshing to [...]
A moment of bad writing
Posted in Festival of Bad Writing, Musing about Teaching, travel on 13 August, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
….since the semester is right around the corner:
“I could imagine that after this would occure once his future articles, if any would be for the most part wholly ignored.”
Yes, that was a native English speaker. The core problem here is too many concepts trying to be juggled in one sentence, with inadequate punctuation, I think…
I [...]
The language of elevator speeches
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged audience analysis, blackberry pitches, caterpillars, corporate language abuse, elevator speeches, pitcher plants on 12 August, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Jargon creep has gone on for ages, but I didn’t encounter the bizzare task of crafting “elevator speeches” until about 2003, when I was working for a company that believed everyone should have one to reflect their role in the organization. These little ditties are what you are supposed to recite, clearly and forcefully, [...]
Things you don’t want to hear your contractor say
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged contractors, doom, dreaded moments, home repair, this is gonna cost ya on 6 August, 2008 | 2 Comments »
“Y’know, even with a pretty steep rise, putting that staircase in from the hallway is gonna put you right up against the rafters when you come up…”
“Arrrrrhgh. There’s no — [silence].”
“Now….that might be the water pipe… But I don’t think we want to touch it — if it’s been like that for a hundred years, [...]
