Media and Things

Shout out to my peeps who got the wordplay... Well anyway, welcome to the third decade of the 21st century. It looks like I built this space awhile back and have come back to it at times, only to drift away for an average of eight years. I found this place while attending an online conference last week - I looked up a professor who was a guest speaker and his blog link went straight to Blogger and I had a total flashback and dug in a little bit and holy moly. Talk about a blast from the past.  A few things have changed since I last updated... I also found some other blogs hosted here that I started before I started this one. I've disabled them for now but I'll probably go through them and repost some of the old school greatest hits here, just for kicks.  For a super quick update - I'm not department head anymore. I stepped down in August of 2024 due to burnout caused by lack of institutional/administrative support  combined with too much work that kept piling up. I'll w...

I guess it's been awhile. Stay tuned...

... just do the best you can. Received official confirmation from the Dean's Office a few minutes ago that she recommends me for the Chair position starting in July. The confirmation was sent to the Provost's office and I was copied on it - from what I've heard from others (and from the Dean) is that once this point is reached it's pretty much a done deal. So I'll start up on July 1 officially for a three year term. I'm pretty excited about the change. I'm also pretty anxious and hesitant about it. I know it will be a ton of (new) work in addition to what I regularly do. I guess the big question is what kind of new work and how much will it be? I know it will be different and more; I just don't know how different or how much. Again, part of bringing this thing back from the dead is to document how things go (without giving away too many details, of course). If anyone is ever interested, all of the truly personal thoughts and experiences are/will be *...

... fruit flies like an orange. I had completely forgotten about this patch of internet that I started to work on over seven years ago. The only reason I found it is because I am in the process of merging the majority of my work space and content to the Google environment from places like Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft. I'll still use those platforms and services but I've finally decided to take the plunge and dig in mostly here. Man, some of those previous entries are silly. I was young and dumb then, so cut me some slack. The main reason I'm moving mainly to Google/Android is because I need to start trimming my online footprint down into one primary area rather than have it scattered all over the place. It's getting to be a pain and hassle to remember all the services and passwords lately; I just don't have time for it. And I guess if I had to pick one "Big Boy" for all of this, I'm going with Google and Android. They're cheaper and practically e...

So here I am again - I know, but don't ask. I noticed today that The View took the really strange step of inviting Bill O'Reilly on to the show today.  Apparently there were enough fireworks to cause Whoopi & Joy to actually leave the stage during the interview.  Here it is, in case you missed it -- Yikes - but first a disclaimer... for starters, I am not a regular viewer of the program.  Usually I'm too busy in classes or meetings during the time the show airs but even if I had more free time then, I like to think I'd be doing something better than watching the show.  What brought this event to my attention was Facebook - two of my so-called friends posted the clip with the requisite snarky comments, and a post from Media Matters also made it on my feed... so I checked it out. A couple of obvious observations - 1)  I, for one, actually think what Whoopi and Joy did was a good thing and I don't blame them for doing it.  Looking at their react...

Nothing like a month a half layoff from posting.  If I was one of my students I'd have failed myself by now. I'm wondering why it is so difficult to post to a blog (for me anyway).  I think part of it is just flat out remembering I have one; part of it is finding the time; and part of it is that I think I just have better things to do.  And I also think people have better things to do than read my brain droppings online But, here I am.  A lot has happened since my last post.  The spring break trip to Alabama went well.  It was a long drive (over 2,600 miles round trip) and it was even longer when I came back - it was raining most of the way and my driver-side windshield wiper was acting all screwy.  But a half gallon of Rain-X on the windshield seemed to do the trick. I helped install flooring for three days while in Alabama.  My knees are finally feeling better.  Got to see my grandparents for a day while I was there as well, which was...