Okay, since my phone can play mp3's, I want to hop it up with some fun/peppy tunes. The problem is, my playlist is terribly short. Here's the sort of stuff I consider appropriate, but obviously I need help (on so very many levels):
Blind Melon's 'No Rain'
Rusted Root's 'Food & Creative Love'
Men @ Work's two hits
Lou Bega's 'Mambo #5'
ELO's 'El Dorado Overture prelude'
...Honestly, I've not given this much thought, but I hope both of my readers :) will.
Contribute. Save my ears.
Though it may not fit this mix, I also really enjoy the old school, true cowboy songs of the ol' west. Problem is, I've only had a passing interest and don't even know an artist of this ilk.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Friday, August 25, 2006
Drive Time
Why did the chicken cross the road, anyway?
Why don't we think things are just good enough in our own back yards?
I'm just filling space to get around this picture.
Ah, now...recently I moved to a homestead north of Wichita. It's quite a drive for someone around here, but I grew up in Western Kansas. Back home, we would drive 90 miles for a current movie release. It was also typically that far to get any kind of fast food (which was a treat when I was a kid--now I despise it, but eat it when life demands [another blog on fast food]. I lived in the country as a kid, and I wanted that for my children, so I sought after just the right place for, honestly, decades. Of course, re$ource$ kept me from buying the farm, until now.
This place of mine needs a name. [another blog, another time]
I have a commute of 20 minutes in the early morning, a bit longer when radars and traffic inhibit me in the afternoon. The national average commute was 24.4 minutes in 2002 (most reliable current data I could find via a US Census piece. I guess, once again, I'm average.
Those reading in the Wichita area have an average commute of 16.5 minutes, FYI.
This is the first week I've made the drive daily. Altogether over 200 miles. It will cost me over $2,000 in fuel alone this school year, given my big 4x4 Chevy truck and my driving style. I'm in the market for something economical.
Usually a nice commute gives me time to get my game on (early am) and then leave work at work (pm). Lately, however, drive time thoughts have been collecting in my head. I seem most moody when behind the wheel (especially Saturdays, when I get road rage while garage sailing). I've been thinking things like:
gotta get a cheaper ride (guilt)
i'm spending almost an hour a day driving...I need to multi-task behind the wheel
(early morning) wonder when the next deer will spring out?
gotta get a cheaper ride
*#$*@ petrolarchy we live in
this would take most of the day to travel 100 years ago
books on tape...books on tape...
sometimes, I even miss the semester I taught 5 classes online
So, anyway, there are other, less publishable things collecting in my head as I roll on down the road. I think I'll surf the net and find others to commiserate with on the subject of commuting.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
I've been FEZed
Some mysterious stranger (likely a student-reader of this blog) has altered the course of my life. Last May I wrote about a Fez, and Tuesday morning, upon entering my office--there it was, the stuff of dreams. I now have in my possession an incredible Fez. (Thanks! Is it mine to keep?)
Other ramblings and updates...or...what else does a 40-something guy do in the middle of the night when sleep evades him...
School is ON and I am frankly so into it I am not sleeping much. I don't know why. Monday I woke up at 3:3o. Tuesday I was at my desk at 5am. And now, early Wednesday morning, I'm awake and eager to get back at it.
I bought a new cell phone. I'd like to think it was not prompted by cell phone envy. (James Bond would envy some of the phones my students take for granted.) Mine was from 2002 and was unreliable at best. The new one sports more bells and whistles than I'll ever use, but it has an mp3 player that is promising, even if it gets used for little else.
My beagle wheezes. (I just like the sound of that sentence, not particularly the sound of Roger's chronic lung problem.) You'd think it would inspire me to, say, quit smoking or something. At night he grunts around, something like a pot-bellied pig.
Parenting is such a great purpose and joy in life--if only I'd known, I would have made many more kids, back in the day. Herding toddlers in my 40's is...well, challenging, enlightening, rewarding, tiring, etc.
The Blue Man Group is going to be in Oklahoma this semester. I will be there.
I am a lifetime honorary member and current advisor of Phi Theta Kappa, the academic honorary of community colleges--but I graduated at the middle of my high school class, tanked on the ACT, and frittered away years and fortunes in college. Nonetheless, PTK is cool [another blog, another day].
Tonight in the tub my 3 yr old was fascinated with his manhood. Female readers of this blog are likely thinking, 'some things about men never change.'
Steven Wright is one of the world's greatest comedians. (Look him up.)
My homestead is overgrown with weeds. At first, I had no equipment to manage the problem (that was a good excuse!). Now my Super C Farmall runs like a top and my newly-revamped ZTR Hustler mower can run circles around--well, around anything. Travel was always in the way, for I was out of town/state every two weeks this summer. Now, I'm rooted, back at work, going no where for 3 to 4 weeks at a stretch. My latest excuse won't last much longer--that it's too hot or humid or wet out. The weeds are grateful. My conscience is heavy-laden with guilt...BUT, I rationalize and theorize until I can live with it.
Here's my latest (and in some ways viable) excuse: I want this place to be 'environmentally responsible' and I want to live in harmony with nature instead of constantly kill and mow and spray everything. (Maybe that one will carry me until it snows!)
Writing blogs is a practice in vulnerability and exposure as well as expression. Reading blogs is a practice of voyeurism and enlightenment. I don't know what anyone gets from reading my blog, really, but I've been dormant for three months, so I gave you a break.
I read that over 8 million people are blogging weekly.
I think I'll go do some laundry.
It's foggy outside.
This blog is getting foggy, too.
Adieu.
PS: 'adieu' would be a terrible word for Wheel of Fortune, Hangman, etc.
Other ramblings and updates...or...what else does a 40-something guy do in the middle of the night when sleep evades him...
School is ON and I am frankly so into it I am not sleeping much. I don't know why. Monday I woke up at 3:3o. Tuesday I was at my desk at 5am. And now, early Wednesday morning, I'm awake and eager to get back at it.
I bought a new cell phone. I'd like to think it was not prompted by cell phone envy. (James Bond would envy some of the phones my students take for granted.) Mine was from 2002 and was unreliable at best. The new one sports more bells and whistles than I'll ever use, but it has an mp3 player that is promising, even if it gets used for little else.
My beagle wheezes. (I just like the sound of that sentence, not particularly the sound of Roger's chronic lung problem.) You'd think it would inspire me to, say, quit smoking or something. At night he grunts around, something like a pot-bellied pig.
Parenting is such a great purpose and joy in life--if only I'd known, I would have made many more kids, back in the day. Herding toddlers in my 40's is...well, challenging, enlightening, rewarding, tiring, etc.
The Blue Man Group is going to be in Oklahoma this semester. I will be there.
I am a lifetime honorary member and current advisor of Phi Theta Kappa, the academic honorary of community colleges--but I graduated at the middle of my high school class, tanked on the ACT, and frittered away years and fortunes in college. Nonetheless, PTK is cool [another blog, another day].
Tonight in the tub my 3 yr old was fascinated with his manhood. Female readers of this blog are likely thinking, 'some things about men never change.'
Steven Wright is one of the world's greatest comedians. (Look him up.)
My homestead is overgrown with weeds. At first, I had no equipment to manage the problem (that was a good excuse!). Now my Super C Farmall runs like a top and my newly-revamped ZTR Hustler mower can run circles around--well, around anything. Travel was always in the way, for I was out of town/state every two weeks this summer. Now, I'm rooted, back at work, going no where for 3 to 4 weeks at a stretch. My latest excuse won't last much longer--that it's too hot or humid or wet out. The weeds are grateful. My conscience is heavy-laden with guilt...BUT, I rationalize and theorize until I can live with it.
Here's my latest (and in some ways viable) excuse: I want this place to be 'environmentally responsible' and I want to live in harmony with nature instead of constantly kill and mow and spray everything. (Maybe that one will carry me until it snows!)
Writing blogs is a practice in vulnerability and exposure as well as expression. Reading blogs is a practice of voyeurism and enlightenment. I don't know what anyone gets from reading my blog, really, but I've been dormant for three months, so I gave you a break.
I read that over 8 million people are blogging weekly.
I think I'll go do some laundry.
It's foggy outside.
This blog is getting foggy, too.
Adieu.
PS: 'adieu' would be a terrible word for Wheel of Fortune, Hangman, etc.
Recent Rant
Here's an editorial I wrote recently, to be published in a local paper:
‘Tis the season of new beginnings for many engaged in academics. We look forward to this time as an opportunity to meet people, learn a little something, and, in general advance. As a teacher, I strive to deliver my material more effectively every semester. For me, it’s another chance to do better. Many students also approach a new term with the same optimism and enthusiasm.
For those readers outside the halls of learning, however, it’s just late summer. Those folks may bemoan increased traffic, the return of lumbering yellow busses, and pesky pedestrians at school crossings. Parents may be gnashing their teeth and pinching pennies as they pony up for supplies and tuition. I imagine some people far removed from academics simply do not ‘get it.’
I contributed a biographical tidbit for a class reunion write-up once. In it, I stated, “After suffering a lengthy bout of academia, Mark is now settling into a new job.” I did not attend the reunion, but a close friend did. He reported many concerned people inquiring of my health, “you know, after he had that…sickness or whatever.” My former classmates didn’t get it. They were so far removed from education, they thought I had actually been ill, when in fact, I had simply been caught up in a decade of college.
From my vantage point, the potential for distance between citizens and education seems to be an issue on both sides of the school yard. If education is happening inside hallowed institutions in some hermetically sealed environment, I question its value. When learning and teaching have become practices and professions isolated from the surrounding world, the ‘real’ world, what is really going on? Likewise, if parents or members of a community hold learning at arm’s length, it not only sends mixed signals to students, it also suggests that school lacks validity. Primary and secondary schools must be no more than holding pens, and post-secondary schools must simply be diploma mills and money pits
Why wouldn’t everyone care what happens in the classroom? The United States has mandatory school attendance for children, tuition assistance for college, and millions in tax dollars funding schools for one simple reason: education offers hope. Requiring and supporting schools, so the theory goes, has a payoff—an investment in the future.
I am one of those Ed-u-ma-cators who has always been in school. I’ve now spent almost 30 years involved in post-secondary, higher education. I am throwing that in, just in case you are a new reader. The rest of my readership is likely already braced for the rest. I realize as I punch this out on the keyboard that we all want to be validated in our lives and work, that we all hope what we do is relevant. In my field, particularly the Humanities, that’s not always the way it feels. We have all heard critics of education and can cite any number of examples of its failings. I’m worried what may happen to my children once they start school. Who hasn’t endured (or paid for) what seemed to be a worthless course?
Maybe that is the crux of the matter. If all of education were relevant, applied, and engaged in reality, maybe then it would be more appreciated. That kind of education would have an influx of private dollars, for corporations and philanthropists and every-day folk would all chip in. That school would have an open atmosphere of ‘educators’ of all walks of life coming in…and also an outpouring of direct benefits to the surrounding community. Students would be equipped in the classroom and in the field, and they would contribute substantively to their environs.
Such a symbiotic system of learning has been proposed and addressed by a variety of theorists and academics. Variations on the theme have been given flattering names, been campaigned for and against, and absorbed more than a little of our tax dollars.
I am a proponent of one of those theories, myself. It has a fancy name, and in many situations it’s federally supported. I know enough to know it is not the end-all, the panacea, but…try this on for size: service-learning.
This pedagogy claims that students can do altruistic acts in their community and learn from it. In other words, kids of all ages can volunteer and contribute, and their actions enhance their education. Likewise, their education can amplify their effects on the community. It teaches students to give back, it encourages relevance in the classroom, and it minimizes this distance between school and the real world. Chances are, it’s already being practiced to some degree in virtually every school. I hope service learning and similar strategies can bring people together over all these issues of academics.
Put all the tax woes, lofty theories, and issues aside this month. Do yourself and your school a favor. Check it out. Don’t haunt the playground, for someone will scream ‘pedophile.’ Don’t bolt right into the building unannounced—you could be considered a terrorist. (Isn’t it a troubled time we live in!) I recently visited a grade school and just the smells…floor wax, plastic aprons for painting, crayons…brought it all back for me. Attend a school function. Ask a student, “Say, what’s it like in there?”
The answers are pleasantly surprising.
‘Tis the season of new beginnings for many engaged in academics. We look forward to this time as an opportunity to meet people, learn a little something, and, in general advance. As a teacher, I strive to deliver my material more effectively every semester. For me, it’s another chance to do better. Many students also approach a new term with the same optimism and enthusiasm.
For those readers outside the halls of learning, however, it’s just late summer. Those folks may bemoan increased traffic, the return of lumbering yellow busses, and pesky pedestrians at school crossings. Parents may be gnashing their teeth and pinching pennies as they pony up for supplies and tuition. I imagine some people far removed from academics simply do not ‘get it.’
I contributed a biographical tidbit for a class reunion write-up once. In it, I stated, “After suffering a lengthy bout of academia, Mark is now settling into a new job.” I did not attend the reunion, but a close friend did. He reported many concerned people inquiring of my health, “you know, after he had that…sickness or whatever.” My former classmates didn’t get it. They were so far removed from education, they thought I had actually been ill, when in fact, I had simply been caught up in a decade of college.
From my vantage point, the potential for distance between citizens and education seems to be an issue on both sides of the school yard. If education is happening inside hallowed institutions in some hermetically sealed environment, I question its value. When learning and teaching have become practices and professions isolated from the surrounding world, the ‘real’ world, what is really going on? Likewise, if parents or members of a community hold learning at arm’s length, it not only sends mixed signals to students, it also suggests that school lacks validity. Primary and secondary schools must be no more than holding pens, and post-secondary schools must simply be diploma mills and money pits
Why wouldn’t everyone care what happens in the classroom? The United States has mandatory school attendance for children, tuition assistance for college, and millions in tax dollars funding schools for one simple reason: education offers hope. Requiring and supporting schools, so the theory goes, has a payoff—an investment in the future.
I am one of those Ed-u-ma-cators who has always been in school. I’ve now spent almost 30 years involved in post-secondary, higher education. I am throwing that in, just in case you are a new reader. The rest of my readership is likely already braced for the rest. I realize as I punch this out on the keyboard that we all want to be validated in our lives and work, that we all hope what we do is relevant. In my field, particularly the Humanities, that’s not always the way it feels. We have all heard critics of education and can cite any number of examples of its failings. I’m worried what may happen to my children once they start school. Who hasn’t endured (or paid for) what seemed to be a worthless course?
Maybe that is the crux of the matter. If all of education were relevant, applied, and engaged in reality, maybe then it would be more appreciated. That kind of education would have an influx of private dollars, for corporations and philanthropists and every-day folk would all chip in. That school would have an open atmosphere of ‘educators’ of all walks of life coming in…and also an outpouring of direct benefits to the surrounding community. Students would be equipped in the classroom and in the field, and they would contribute substantively to their environs.
Such a symbiotic system of learning has been proposed and addressed by a variety of theorists and academics. Variations on the theme have been given flattering names, been campaigned for and against, and absorbed more than a little of our tax dollars.
I am a proponent of one of those theories, myself. It has a fancy name, and in many situations it’s federally supported. I know enough to know it is not the end-all, the panacea, but…try this on for size: service-learning.
This pedagogy claims that students can do altruistic acts in their community and learn from it. In other words, kids of all ages can volunteer and contribute, and their actions enhance their education. Likewise, their education can amplify their effects on the community. It teaches students to give back, it encourages relevance in the classroom, and it minimizes this distance between school and the real world. Chances are, it’s already being practiced to some degree in virtually every school. I hope service learning and similar strategies can bring people together over all these issues of academics.
Put all the tax woes, lofty theories, and issues aside this month. Do yourself and your school a favor. Check it out. Don’t haunt the playground, for someone will scream ‘pedophile.’ Don’t bolt right into the building unannounced—you could be considered a terrorist. (Isn’t it a troubled time we live in!) I recently visited a grade school and just the smells…floor wax, plastic aprons for painting, crayons…brought it all back for me. Attend a school function. Ask a student, “Say, what’s it like in there?”
The answers are pleasantly surprising.
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