I survived Week Four
Lots of things happened this week, too.
I have a student who is taking one of my courses for the second time. The first time, this student had a stellar 33 average. Yes, you read that right. 33. This is a student who can't be bothered to do homework or participate in an online course; one can only imagine what would happen if the course was face-to-face. Well, this time around--now that we are in Week Four, with now 42 of the possible 100 grading points completed, our young learner--our special snowflake who only needs this class to graduate and therefore is taking only this class--has an absolutely startling average of 4.3%!
Tuesday I sent an e-mail to this genius suggesting that the prudent course of action would be to withdraw from the class. I've gotten, surprise, no response.
So far I have six MS students working on projects. Hopefully at least one will turn out to be good enough for a paper.
My good friend Karen successfully defended her dissertation yesterday. The defense was at the horrible hour of 8:30 a.m. but went swimmingly. It was so nice to see Karen, and all my colleagues and former profs and stuff. Like old home week, complete with adviser complaining about research. Or lack thereof. Hahahahaha. He's right, I need to do more. How to find the time without working every waking hour is the problem. Other resources, like students and data and industry contacts, are also at a premium or non-existent. Just have to try harder, I guess.
As a sign of how blessed a day it was yesterday, I did not get a ticket while on campus despite parking my rather distinctive truck in the bookstore lot, where the time limit is one hour.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Trebuchet lab
Last night was Treb Lab in my experimental design class. One of my students met me at my office, and carried my two tabletop trebuchets to the classroom. It was funny to watch all the puzzled (and some interested) looks we got as we walked across campus.
The classroom we are in is in a basement of one of the newer buildings. It's nice because the floor is carpeted, and there was only one other class going on at the time. The bad thing is that it's hot as blazes down there, so we have to prop the door open or we all die of stiflation.
Anyway, I give them 15 minutes to familiarize themselves with the siege engines and to figure out what factors they want to include in their experiments. This group of students, usually so quiet and seemingly disinterested, just wanted to PLAY. I warned them at the 10-minute mark; I told them to start experimenting at the 15-minute mark; all I got was "Pleeeeeeeeeeease? Just one more shot?" Finally, I told them once their chores were done they were free to play as much as they wanted. That made them happy and they got right to work.
One guy kept sitting right directly behind the trebuchet. Way to get your mouth rearranged, dude! But thankfully, no one got injured although he had a close call because he wouldn't listen to me.
One group was having WAY too much fun, so I went to see what was going on. Well, it's a basement. Basements usually mean bugs. They were trying to hit a beetle crawling slowly across the carpet.
I think next year I am going to introduce an element of competition. I need to build castle walls somehow....hmmmm
Last night was Treb Lab in my experimental design class. One of my students met me at my office, and carried my two tabletop trebuchets to the classroom. It was funny to watch all the puzzled (and some interested) looks we got as we walked across campus.
The classroom we are in is in a basement of one of the newer buildings. It's nice because the floor is carpeted, and there was only one other class going on at the time. The bad thing is that it's hot as blazes down there, so we have to prop the door open or we all die of stiflation.
Anyway, I give them 15 minutes to familiarize themselves with the siege engines and to figure out what factors they want to include in their experiments. This group of students, usually so quiet and seemingly disinterested, just wanted to PLAY. I warned them at the 10-minute mark; I told them to start experimenting at the 15-minute mark; all I got was "Pleeeeeeeeeeease? Just one more shot?" Finally, I told them once their chores were done they were free to play as much as they wanted. That made them happy and they got right to work.
One guy kept sitting right directly behind the trebuchet. Way to get your mouth rearranged, dude! But thankfully, no one got injured although he had a close call because he wouldn't listen to me.
One group was having WAY too much fun, so I went to see what was going on. Well, it's a basement. Basements usually mean bugs. They were trying to hit a beetle crawling slowly across the carpet.
I think next year I am going to introduce an element of competition. I need to build castle walls somehow....hmmmm
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
How to tick off a professor
Not what you think---this isn't a student, but an adjunct who teaches for me.
1. Back out of a commitment to teach a class, two weeks before the term starts, because it interferes with work. Oh, and don't have the textbook ordered. Okay, that's a pass (except for the book). I have no idea what's going on at your work, but you were working at that same job when you committed to teaching two classes per term. Now you can't teach any?
2. Repeat #1 because of a health issue. Okay, that's another pass. But hey, I came back four days after a thyroidectomy and taught my on-campus classes. Your class is online, and your procedure was outpatient.
3. Ask for a recommendation for a teaching job at another local institution. Hmmm.
4 . Repeat #1 because you are teaching at the other local institution and can't spare the time for me. Say what?
5. Call me several times to ask about course mechanics. Here's a clue: you are the teacher for this class. I gave you my materials and told you to feel free to change whatever you wanted. It's your class this term--run with it!
6. Call me several times to ask about the midterm questions I wrote for the last time this class was offered. Seriously now, are you going to use the exact same questions?
7. Call me again to tell me about a student who is struggling with the material. Suggest changes to the class based on her problems. Don't check to see if she took the pre-requisite course, and take her word for it when she sends you the old, obsolete course description. Suggest that I rewrite the course description because the one she sent you is, so she says, misleading. This is the fifth time this course has been taught in its new format. She is the first to complain about the rigor, and she doesn't have the current description--which, by the way, YOU helped me write!
Guess who I am not recommending for summer session teaching.
Not what you think---this isn't a student, but an adjunct who teaches for me.
1. Back out of a commitment to teach a class, two weeks before the term starts, because it interferes with work. Oh, and don't have the textbook ordered. Okay, that's a pass (except for the book). I have no idea what's going on at your work, but you were working at that same job when you committed to teaching two classes per term. Now you can't teach any?
2. Repeat #1 because of a health issue. Okay, that's another pass. But hey, I came back four days after a thyroidectomy and taught my on-campus classes. Your class is online, and your procedure was outpatient.
3. Ask for a recommendation for a teaching job at another local institution. Hmmm.
4 . Repeat #1 because you are teaching at the other local institution and can't spare the time for me. Say what?
5. Call me several times to ask about course mechanics. Here's a clue: you are the teacher for this class. I gave you my materials and told you to feel free to change whatever you wanted. It's your class this term--run with it!
6. Call me several times to ask about the midterm questions I wrote for the last time this class was offered. Seriously now, are you going to use the exact same questions?
7. Call me again to tell me about a student who is struggling with the material. Suggest changes to the class based on her problems. Don't check to see if she took the pre-requisite course, and take her word for it when she sends you the old, obsolete course description. Suggest that I rewrite the course description because the one she sent you is, so she says, misleading. This is the fifth time this course has been taught in its new format. She is the first to complain about the rigor, and she doesn't have the current description--which, by the way, YOU helped me write!
Guess who I am not recommending for summer session teaching.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
The gift of time
My days are just packed full of meetings and classes and tasks and chores--it's tough to get a moment to breathe. Some chores, especially cleaning stuff, gets shoved aside because I just cannot get to them.
I got a message that my noon meeting was canceled, and now I have an extra hour before I have to be on campus. What a relief! I vacuumed, threw in a load of laundry, cleared the end table and dining room table, and got Homework 3 rewritten for my data mining class. Now I have time to read some journal articles I need for November's conference talk. Yay!
My days are just packed full of meetings and classes and tasks and chores--it's tough to get a moment to breathe. Some chores, especially cleaning stuff, gets shoved aside because I just cannot get to them.
I got a message that my noon meeting was canceled, and now I have an extra hour before I have to be on campus. What a relief! I vacuumed, threw in a load of laundry, cleared the end table and dining room table, and got Homework 3 rewritten for my data mining class. Now I have time to read some journal articles I need for November's conference talk. Yay!
Friday, September 21, 2007
I survived Week Three
Although the addition of a fourth course means a lot more work, it's not quite as bad as I originally thought. The professor had posted all his lecture notes already, so I just need to run the discussions and deal with term papers. Not having to write lectures is HUGE, and makes this load a lot more bearable.
The week was really busy. Yesterday I had back to back meetings from 11 until 4, then students coming in and out, and then class at 6. I have homework to grade from two courses and discussions to grade from the two online classes. In addition, I am proposing two new courses to the faculty on Monday and need to get those forms in shape--and then there's the quality certificate proposal forms--argh! Too much to do!
Today was Shot Day for Youngest Daughter and it did not go well. First off, Spouse's car decided to die last night, and we had to get it to a repair shop this afternoon. I called my brother, got his recommendation, called the place, got referred across the street, and made the appointment for noon. I figured I'd pick up Spouse at the shop on our way to the allergist. Well, once again the Best Laid Plans went agley.
One exit after we got on the highway we ran into a four- or five-mile-long traffic jam. Of course, the DOT puts one of those message signs (warning us that the right lane was closed) AFTER the nearest exit ramp so we are all trapped on the highway. It took over an hour to get past that traffic jam. In the meantime, we called the allergist and told him we'd be late, and Spouse decided to take the bus home. We pulled into the doctor's parking lot 40 minutes late. They took YD almost right away, which was nice.
We've been trying a new routine for the shots to see if it helps make the process less painful for YD. First, I hold an ice pack on her arm. Then the nurse sprays her arm with a topical anesthetic. Then she gets the shot, and the ice pack goes back on. We have to wait in the outer office for 2o minutes just in case she reacts to the dose, and then we can leave. Sometimes this routine works well, but it didn't today. Today the shot stung and burned more than usual, and the poor thing had pain in her right arm for over an hour afterwards. We've got at least two more months of this to look forward to.
On a bright note, my passport came in the mail!
Tomorrow is Chamberpot Singers and ice skating. YD needs a dress for concerts. It will set me back $60. Sigh.
On another bright note, I have been putting $50 a month aside for YD's college fund for a few years now. There's enough in the fund to pay for her Italian classes this year at my uni! I logged on tonight and set up the withdrawal. That really helps the monthly budget, not having to shell out the $1100 for her tuition every three months.
Finally heard from the guy who owns the land I was looking at. I think I may make an offer. First, though, I need to get financing. Yikes. Fingers crossed!
Oh, one more thing--in the "I said what I mean, and I mean what I say" category: the dropbox for homework assignments snaps closed promptly at midnight the day the assignment is due. I've had two students tell me they were going to be late with their homework, and when I told them they'd get a 10% late penalty as per the syllabus, they were just SHOCKED! "But Professor, I told you I'd be late!" "Yes, you did. I told you late work loses 10%."
When a student has a week to do the assignment, and the day before it's due she finds out Intel wants to interview her the next day, should that qualify for an extension?
Although the addition of a fourth course means a lot more work, it's not quite as bad as I originally thought. The professor had posted all his lecture notes already, so I just need to run the discussions and deal with term papers. Not having to write lectures is HUGE, and makes this load a lot more bearable.
The week was really busy. Yesterday I had back to back meetings from 11 until 4, then students coming in and out, and then class at 6. I have homework to grade from two courses and discussions to grade from the two online classes. In addition, I am proposing two new courses to the faculty on Monday and need to get those forms in shape--and then there's the quality certificate proposal forms--argh! Too much to do!
Today was Shot Day for Youngest Daughter and it did not go well. First off, Spouse's car decided to die last night, and we had to get it to a repair shop this afternoon. I called my brother, got his recommendation, called the place, got referred across the street, and made the appointment for noon. I figured I'd pick up Spouse at the shop on our way to the allergist. Well, once again the Best Laid Plans went agley.
One exit after we got on the highway we ran into a four- or five-mile-long traffic jam. Of course, the DOT puts one of those message signs (warning us that the right lane was closed) AFTER the nearest exit ramp so we are all trapped on the highway. It took over an hour to get past that traffic jam. In the meantime, we called the allergist and told him we'd be late, and Spouse decided to take the bus home. We pulled into the doctor's parking lot 40 minutes late. They took YD almost right away, which was nice.
We've been trying a new routine for the shots to see if it helps make the process less painful for YD. First, I hold an ice pack on her arm. Then the nurse sprays her arm with a topical anesthetic. Then she gets the shot, and the ice pack goes back on. We have to wait in the outer office for 2o minutes just in case she reacts to the dose, and then we can leave. Sometimes this routine works well, but it didn't today. Today the shot stung and burned more than usual, and the poor thing had pain in her right arm for over an hour afterwards. We've got at least two more months of this to look forward to.
On a bright note, my passport came in the mail!
Tomorrow is Chamberpot Singers and ice skating. YD needs a dress for concerts. It will set me back $60. Sigh.
On another bright note, I have been putting $50 a month aside for YD's college fund for a few years now. There's enough in the fund to pay for her Italian classes this year at my uni! I logged on tonight and set up the withdrawal. That really helps the monthly budget, not having to shell out the $1100 for her tuition every three months.
Finally heard from the guy who owns the land I was looking at. I think I may make an offer. First, though, I need to get financing. Yikes. Fingers crossed!
Oh, one more thing--in the "I said what I mean, and I mean what I say" category: the dropbox for homework assignments snaps closed promptly at midnight the day the assignment is due. I've had two students tell me they were going to be late with their homework, and when I told them they'd get a 10% late penalty as per the syllabus, they were just SHOCKED! "But Professor, I told you I'd be late!" "Yes, you did. I told you late work loses 10%."
When a student has a week to do the assignment, and the day before it's due she finds out Intel wants to interview her the next day, should that qualify for an extension?
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Lordy Lordy
In a stunning show of stupidity, James Brolin (aka Mr. Streisand) wished Connecticut radio hosts a "Happy 9/11."
What are they DRINKING there in Hollywood?
On another note, blogposts may get real sparse for a while. I noticed an extra course showing up on my course management site...turns out the professor is sick, unable to finish the quarter, and Yours Truly got volunteered to take it over. That makes four courses, one that I've never taught before and am picking up in Week Three.
Oy. I need serious chocolate now.
In a stunning show of stupidity, James Brolin (aka Mr. Streisand) wished Connecticut radio hosts a "Happy 9/11."
What are they DRINKING there in Hollywood?
On another note, blogposts may get real sparse for a while. I noticed an extra course showing up on my course management site...turns out the professor is sick, unable to finish the quarter, and Yours Truly got volunteered to take it over. That makes four courses, one that I've never taught before and am picking up in Week Three.
Oy. I need serious chocolate now.
Hahahahaha
Good post in National Review Online:
Good post in National Review Online:
Re: Shut Up and Sing Already [John Podhoretz]
If I were Elisabeth Hasselbeck, I would refuse to sit next to Barry Manilow. After all, "I Write the Songs" has officially been categorized as a war crime by the Fourth Geneva Convention. Here at home, even Wayne LaPierre supports legislation to declare "Mandy" an assault weapon deserving of a complete ban. This is not to say that Manilow hasn't been of service to his country, albeit inadvertently. Unconfirmed reports claim that Khalid Sheikh Muhammad would not break, even with a bullet in his groin, until they played 15 seconds of "I Can't Smile Without You," whereupon he cried like a little girl.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Semi-amusing and random stuff
- One of my neighbors here at the condo was getting into her car the other day just as I came around the corner, heading for work. She stopped dead, stared at me, and when I noticed her staring (and waved to say good morning), she said "You look really nice!" as if that was the most unusual thing in the universe. Ooooookay.
- I completely cleaned the condo's kitchen today. I mean completely. Even moved things around on the counters to give me more space. Youngest Daughter was disoriented by all the changes.
- Someone tell Kitty Son that on weekends it's not necessary to wake me at 5:30 a.m.
- It takes approximately 20-25 minutes to get to the Uni from the plot of land I've been looking at.
- I was virtuous today and walked around the ice rink for 15 minutes while YD skated. Of course, this morning I ate a huge sticky bun, so I guess it's a bit of a wash.
- Today was the first day of Chamberpot Singer practice for YD. I sat at the outside tables of the coffee shop next door to her music school until my fingers froze. The rest of me was nice and warm in the Virginia Tech hoodie my friend Lisa gave me.
- The first scholarship committee meeting was Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. Most everyone on the committee is nice except for Old Tenured Dude (not to be confused with Old Tenured Bald Dude) who was the quintessential socially-challenged and cantankerous engineer. We asked who was interested in being the chair. His response: "Not at all." We asked if Monday would be a good day for meetings. His response: "I'm not coming in just for some meeting," Sure, Dude. It's a pleasure working with you.
- My alma mater's football team hung in for almost a half with one of the premier football teams in the country. Go, boys! There's a light at the end of the tunnel!
- Son left two big five-shelf bookcases in his bedroom here at the condo. I moved one into my bedroom, discovering three chocolate Easter Eggs in the process. No, I didn't eat them. I wasn't THAT desperate for chocolate.
Friday, September 14, 2007
I survived Week Two: blogging from the hallway
It's been a busy week! I hardly had time to breathe, there was so much going on. The big news is that Week Two is successfully past. Whew!
So far this quarter I have one student close to finishing his MS project, one seriously getting down to work on hers, and two more looking at doing their projects with me. I've got a master's student in my own department who will be doing her capstone project with me, so that makes three for sure and maybe five students this year. Yikes!
Fortunately, one of the students is working on the research I need done for the INFORMS conference, which is VERY helpful. That conference is coming up fast, and I have the basics done but need to firm up the rest of the work.
My data mining class had to hand in their term project proposals last night. I've not had a chance to look at them yet. My other grad class, robust design, has until Wednesday to get their project proposals in. We did a Slinky lab in that class this past Wednesday night. I bought four Slinkies: two metal and two plastic, in two different sizes. I also bought a four-foot pine plank, a speed square, and a rug grip mat (the Slinkies tend to slide on the pine). We tried different Slinkies on different slopes and timed how long it took for them to traverse the board. Well, nothing came out significant--not the material, not the size, not the slope. Hm. It was, at least, a good teaching tool for what happens when none of the factors prove to be significant. Fortunately, I had the writeup from the popcorn experiment for them to download and read--in that experiment, we actually had findings!
Today is shot day. I was not planning to go to campus today, but two of my data mining students wanted to meet with my colleague and ask to use his data for their class project. He had said he would be available before 11 a.m. but didn't set a specific time to meet. I waited until this morning for his response with a time, and then just e-mailed the students to meet at my office at 10; we'd see if he could shoehorn a ten-minute meeting with us. So, I went to campus. I no sooner walked in the door than the staff assistant told me Colleague had called from home, and wanted me to call him because he decided this morning not to come in after all. Fortunately I was able to catch Student A before he took time off from work to come for no reason at all. We worked out the details over the phone and Colleague apologized for standing me up (yeah, right). It wasn't a totally wasted trip, as I paid for Youngest Daughter's skating lessons and dropped off a mug for one of the advisers.
Then it was off to shot day. That went fairly well, although YD was very disappointed to find that she will need two more months of weekly shots because she has had some strong reactions to the dosages. Afterwards, we stopped at the HomeCity house to pick up some things, and headed straight back to UniTown because YD is, at this moment, in her music theory class. That's why I'm blogging from the hallway.
Tomorrow she has Chamberpot Singers from 9 to 10:30 and then skating at 2:30. In between, I'm going to try calling the owner of the land I looked at last week. I don't know if I can swing this on my own, but I am surely going to try.
Eldest Daughter attended her very first Tupperware party last night, and was seduced into hosting her own. I told her attending one is okay, but you know you're old when you host one! She had a good time, which is nice. Tomorrow she gets her new queen-sized bed so she can sleep diagonally with impunity.
Son successfully landed a library job at his new grad school, and is settling in well. We miss him very much. Tomorrow I'm packing some things up for him that he forgot--his snorkeling gear, his jacket (it DOES get cool there, silly boy!) and his research notebooks. If I'm not too tired tonight, I might be able to include a surprise in his box...
It's been a busy week! I hardly had time to breathe, there was so much going on. The big news is that Week Two is successfully past. Whew!
So far this quarter I have one student close to finishing his MS project, one seriously getting down to work on hers, and two more looking at doing their projects with me. I've got a master's student in my own department who will be doing her capstone project with me, so that makes three for sure and maybe five students this year. Yikes!
Fortunately, one of the students is working on the research I need done for the INFORMS conference, which is VERY helpful. That conference is coming up fast, and I have the basics done but need to firm up the rest of the work.
My data mining class had to hand in their term project proposals last night. I've not had a chance to look at them yet. My other grad class, robust design, has until Wednesday to get their project proposals in. We did a Slinky lab in that class this past Wednesday night. I bought four Slinkies: two metal and two plastic, in two different sizes. I also bought a four-foot pine plank, a speed square, and a rug grip mat (the Slinkies tend to slide on the pine). We tried different Slinkies on different slopes and timed how long it took for them to traverse the board. Well, nothing came out significant--not the material, not the size, not the slope. Hm. It was, at least, a good teaching tool for what happens when none of the factors prove to be significant. Fortunately, I had the writeup from the popcorn experiment for them to download and read--in that experiment, we actually had findings!
Today is shot day. I was not planning to go to campus today, but two of my data mining students wanted to meet with my colleague and ask to use his data for their class project. He had said he would be available before 11 a.m. but didn't set a specific time to meet. I waited until this morning for his response with a time, and then just e-mailed the students to meet at my office at 10; we'd see if he could shoehorn a ten-minute meeting with us. So, I went to campus. I no sooner walked in the door than the staff assistant told me Colleague had called from home, and wanted me to call him because he decided this morning not to come in after all. Fortunately I was able to catch Student A before he took time off from work to come for no reason at all. We worked out the details over the phone and Colleague apologized for standing me up (yeah, right). It wasn't a totally wasted trip, as I paid for Youngest Daughter's skating lessons and dropped off a mug for one of the advisers.
Then it was off to shot day. That went fairly well, although YD was very disappointed to find that she will need two more months of weekly shots because she has had some strong reactions to the dosages. Afterwards, we stopped at the HomeCity house to pick up some things, and headed straight back to UniTown because YD is, at this moment, in her music theory class. That's why I'm blogging from the hallway.
Tomorrow she has Chamberpot Singers from 9 to 10:30 and then skating at 2:30. In between, I'm going to try calling the owner of the land I looked at last week. I don't know if I can swing this on my own, but I am surely going to try.
Eldest Daughter attended her very first Tupperware party last night, and was seduced into hosting her own. I told her attending one is okay, but you know you're old when you host one! She had a good time, which is nice. Tomorrow she gets her new queen-sized bed so she can sleep diagonally with impunity.
Son successfully landed a library job at his new grad school, and is settling in well. We miss him very much. Tomorrow I'm packing some things up for him that he forgot--his snorkeling gear, his jacket (it DOES get cool there, silly boy!) and his research notebooks. If I'm not too tired tonight, I might be able to include a surprise in his box...
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Update from www.wgr550.com: Everett still needs our prayers
Within 1 hour of the injury, Everett was diagnosed with compression of the spine and a fracture between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae. The spinal cord itself was intact.
He had no movement below his shoulders, but could feel sensation when pressure was placed further down his body. He was awake and responsive, knew what had to be done when given the options by his doctors. Before going into surgery, he tried to comfort his mother and said he would recover.
During the surgical procedure on Sunday night, doctors realigned and decompressed Everett's spine, and fused the third and fourth cervical vertebrae with screws.
Monday morning, doctors performed neurologic tests and determined that he could breath on his own, and had similiar sensations as the night before, but stressed they still do not have a prognosis. Doctors are concerned about blood clotting and pneumonia to start, and will keep him in a protected state with drugs for the next two to three days. Everett is also on a respirator.
The Bills today announced the signing of tight end Matt Murphy. In accordance with team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Murphy rejoins the team after he was released by Buffalo on Saturday, September 8th. Murphy first joined the Bills on November 22, 2006 and played two games last season. Murphy is in his fifth NFL season. Everett has been placed on injured reserve.
Everett Update:"Not Out Of Danger, Less In Danger"
WGR Newsroom - Monday, September 10, 2007 - 4:47 PM
Within 1 hour of the injury, Everett was diagnosed with compression of the spine and a fracture between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae. The spinal cord itself was intact.
He had no movement below his shoulders, but could feel sensation when pressure was placed further down his body. He was awake and responsive, knew what had to be done when given the options by his doctors. Before going into surgery, he tried to comfort his mother and said he would recover.
During the surgical procedure on Sunday night, doctors realigned and decompressed Everett's spine, and fused the third and fourth cervical vertebrae with screws.
Monday morning, doctors performed neurologic tests and determined that he could breath on his own, and had similiar sensations as the night before, but stressed they still do not have a prognosis. Doctors are concerned about blood clotting and pneumonia to start, and will keep him in a protected state with drugs for the next two to three days. Everett is also on a respirator.
The Bills today announced the signing of tight end Matt Murphy. In accordance with team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Murphy rejoins the team after he was released by Buffalo on Saturday, September 8th. Murphy first joined the Bills on November 22, 2006 and played two games last season. Murphy is in his fifth NFL season. Everett has been placed on injured reserve.
Football's dangers
I was watching the game yesterday between my Bills and the Broncos, and saw the helmet-to-helmet hit that felled TE Kevin Everett. Things don't look good. The entire team knelt down on the field in prayer together for their teammate. I'm praying too.
By Allen Wilson NEWS SPORTS REPORTER
Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett suffered what could be a career-threatening injury during Sunday’s 15-14 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday in Ralph Wilson Stadium.
I was watching the game yesterday between my Bills and the Broncos, and saw the helmet-to-helmet hit that felled TE Kevin Everett. Things don't look good. The entire team knelt down on the field in prayer together for their teammate. I'm praying too.
Everett undergoes lengthy surgery, may be paralyzed
Bills tight end suffers damage to cervical spine, is reportedly on respirator
By Allen Wilson NEWS SPORTS REPORTER
Updated: 09/10/07 8:34 AM
-
- Bills players gather in prayer for teammate Kevin Everett after he was injured early in the third quarter of Sunday’s game in Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Everett was admitted to Millard Fillmore Hospital with a cervical spine injury. Bills spokesman Scott Berchtold said Everett went into surgery about 8 p.m. Sunday, but he didn’t know whether Everett had shown any signs of movement since he was driven off the field in an ambulance.
The Bills provided no other details, but a source with knowledge of the situation told The News that Everett’s surgeons removed his third and fourth vertebrae.
There was word at the hospital late Sunday that Everett, 25, was out of surgery and in the intensive care area. He was said to be on a respirator.
A spokesman at the hospital declined to comment.
“He’s had some sparse movement,” Everett’s agent Brian Overstreet told the Associated Press in a phone interview late Sunday.
“The next couple of days is going to be critical,” said Overstreet, responding to a question about paralysis. “Our concern is for him to come out of this healthy and, hopefully, be able to walk again.” Overstreet said Everett came out of a “lengthy surgery” Sunday evening and the plan was for his mother, Patricia Dugas, to arrive from Texas today.
Word out of the Broncos’ locker room was that Everett was paralyzed.
“We hear it’s not good,” Denver kicker Jason Elam said.
Everett went down after a collision with Denver’s Domenik Hixon on the opening kickoff of the second half. Everett lowered his head into Hixon’s chest to tackle Hixon and appeared to be knocked unconscious on contact before falling to the turf.
Everett seemed to regain consciousness, but had no movement in his extremities. He was placed on a backboard and stretcher with his head and body immobilized and was loaded into an ambulance near the Broncos’ sideline.
Before Everett left the field, the Bills huddled near their sideline for a silent prayer for their fallen teammate, who was on the ground for about 15 minutes.
“We’re very concerned,” cornerback Terrence McGee said. “You always see guys get shaken up and you see some kind of movement. With him I was looking the whole time and I never saw him move. It’s real hard to take. Hopefully everything will be all right.”
Given the serious nature of Everett’s condition, the loss was secondary in the minds of the players. “When we came in here after the game the first thing we thought of was Kevin,” wide receiver Lee Evans said. “There are some things that are a little bigger than the game.”
“Obviously, we lost the game, but Kevin is critical to our team,” added tight end Robert Royal. “We love him. We want to stand by him. That was the first thing Coach Jauron said when we came into the locker room. Our prayers go out to Kevin and his family.”
Safety Donte Whitner said the incident put the game in proper perspective.
“This is a physical game and guys get hurt, but you never want to see anybody have something like that happen to them,” he said. “What happened to Kevin lets you know how easily everything can be taken away from you.”
This injury adds another chapter in Everett’s hard-luck NFL story. The 2005 thirdround draft pick was robbed of his rookie season after tearing the anterior cruciate in his left knee during the Bills’ first postdraft minicamp in April.
Although a groin injury briefly delayed his comeback a year later, he was back on the field for training camp.
But Everett’s playing time last season diminished as he struggled to pick up the offense. He was expected to have a larger role this year.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Important stuff to read
One of my good friends wants to go to Iraq to help with the rebuilding efforts. I can see why. This article appears on National Review Online (link here) and shows what we've done so far.
One of my good friends wants to go to Iraq to help with the rebuilding efforts. I can see why. This article appears on National Review Online (link here) and shows what we've done so far.
A Surge of Public Works The president’s strategy bears much fruit. By Deroy Murdock As the world awaits General David Petraeus’s progress report on President Bush’s troop surge, even war critics concede that deploying 30,000 additional GIs has improved Iraq’s security. Largely overlooked, however, is how increased safety has helped U.S. soldiers and contractors rebuild its physical and institutional infrastructure. — Deroy Murdock is a New York-based columnist with the Scripps Howard News Service and a media fellow with the Hoover Institution. |
While terrorists blasted holes in highways and water pipes, America has paved 38 new roads. Once 41 total projects are done, Iraqis will ride 265 miles of fresh thoroughfares. Already, 3.1 million Iraqis enjoy 142 million new gallons of purified water daily. Eventually, 300 million such gallons will flow daily to 5.2 million Iraqis, some of whom routinely fill buckets at distant wells.Thursday, September 06, 2007
I survived Week One
Barely...but I did it.
Today was oil change day for the truck. I had a 9 a.m. appointment; I figured that gave me enough time to get home and change before my 12 noon meeting. Except that the dealership was backed up and they never even got the truck in until 10:40. I just FLEW out of there back to the condo to get changed. I hate when stuff like that happens, I feel like I'm running to catch up the whole rest of the day.
My friend in the CS department let me know that they are doing a search for a data miner, so my tenure as the data mining instructor will probably end after this year. I did expect that, though.
I get my uni computer back tomorrow. They had to replace the motherboard. Hope it works correctly now.
Tomorrow is another busy day. Youngest Daughter has a friend staying with us for the weekend, and it's Shot Day. We had to do some quick rescheduling when we found out that YD's Italian class runs Monday through Thursday instead of M-T, TH-F like last year. We had made her shot appointments for Wednesday and that obviously was not going to work.
She also has her first music theory class tomorrow evening, and then her audition for the chamberpot singers the next day (Yes, I know it's Chamber Singers. We've called it "chamberpot" ever since Eldest Daughter was in her high school's version).
Mom has found some land she thinks I might like. We're going to take a look at it Saturday.
RIP Luciano Pavarotti. Sing with the angels now.
Barely...but I did it.
Today was oil change day for the truck. I had a 9 a.m. appointment; I figured that gave me enough time to get home and change before my 12 noon meeting. Except that the dealership was backed up and they never even got the truck in until 10:40. I just FLEW out of there back to the condo to get changed. I hate when stuff like that happens, I feel like I'm running to catch up the whole rest of the day.
My friend in the CS department let me know that they are doing a search for a data miner, so my tenure as the data mining instructor will probably end after this year. I did expect that, though.
I get my uni computer back tomorrow. They had to replace the motherboard. Hope it works correctly now.
Tomorrow is another busy day. Youngest Daughter has a friend staying with us for the weekend, and it's Shot Day. We had to do some quick rescheduling when we found out that YD's Italian class runs Monday through Thursday instead of M-T, TH-F like last year. We had made her shot appointments for Wednesday and that obviously was not going to work.
She also has her first music theory class tomorrow evening, and then her audition for the chamberpot singers the next day (Yes, I know it's Chamber Singers. We've called it "chamberpot" ever since Eldest Daughter was in her high school's version).
Mom has found some land she thinks I might like. We're going to take a look at it Saturday.
RIP Luciano Pavarotti. Sing with the angels now.
Censorship rears its ugly head
From the LA Times:
From the LA Times:
Screenwriter of docudrama says ABC exec said delay has been prompted by unflattering portrayal of previous administration.
Among the nearly two dozen television DVDs slated for nationwide release on Sept. 11 is the second season of "Bones," the third season of "Grey's Anatomy" and the miniseries "The Starter Wife" that aired earlier this year. Not on the list on that day or any other in the near future is last year's highly controversial "The Path to 9/11."
The $40-million, five-hour ABC miniseries, which recently received seven Emmy nominations and drew a combined two-night audience of more than 25 million viewers, is for now on the path to nowhere. Its Amazon page reads: "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."
With no date for the release, questions are being raised about whether political pressure is behind its current status as a stalled or discarded DVD project. The reasons are murky, but the miniseries' writer, Cyrus Nowrasteh, believes it's crystal clear: Powerful forces are out to protect Bill Clinton's presidential legacy and shield Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) from any potential collateral damage in her bid for the White House.
Nowrasteh, also one of the miniseries' many producers, said he was told by a top executive at ABC Studios that "if Hillary weren't running for president, this wouldn't be a problem."
"Whatever anyone may think about me or this movie, this is a bad precedent, a dangerous precedent, to allow a movie to be buried," added Nowrasteh, who received death threats even before the miniseries was broadcast last September. "Because the next time they'll go after another movie. The Bush administration may go after a movie. The next administration may go after a movie. No matter who it is, they may go after a movie. I think this town needs to stand up."
Even before "The Path to 9/11" aired on ABC late last summer, the docudrama ignited a political firestorm, almost entirely from high-profile Democratic leaders who viewed its account of events leading up to the terrorist attacks as a right-wing hatchet job on the Clinton administration and its efforts to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. Attempts to pressure ABC to cancel the miniseries at the time were unsuccessful, but last-minute network edits were imposed to quell the critical outcry.
An ABC spokeswoman reached Tuesday would say only that the company "has no release date at this time," and she declined to comment further.
Meanwhile, Sen. Clinton's campaign staff did not return an e-mail or a phone call seeking comment.
Last year, a Clinton spokesman referred to the ABC enterprise as "despicable," and then Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and four other Democratic senators signed a letter to Disney Chief Executive Robert A. Iger stating that if the miniseries were shown it would "deeply damage" Disney's reputation. As a result of the tumult, ABC was unable to attract advertisers for the miniseries.
Thus far, few have noted the DVD's absence in the marketplace. Among those who have are conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh, who questioned last month why the disc isn't available on the nation's retail shelves. (Limbaugh and Nowrasteh have met on several occasions but do not regularly socialize, Nowrasteh said.)
With a possible writers strike and fall television premieres around the corner, the DVD's release hasn't galvanized Hollywood as a cause célèbre. But voices traditionally associated with the political left are disturbed by the DVD's uncertain fate. This isn't about politics, said film director Oliver Stone, but about the right of artists to have their work distributed.
"This is a shame; it's censorship in the most blatant way," said Stone, who has hired Nowrasteh for several writing projects. "I'm not vouching for its accuracy -- it's a dramatization -- but it's an important work and needs to be seen."
Average: four monthsThe time between a program's television broadcast and subsequent DVD release varies, but these days it's generally around four months. However, for TV movies and miniseries -- mostly because so few are made these days -- the rules are less clear.
For instance, HBO's movie "Buried My Heart at Wounded Knee," an adaptation of Dee Brown's famous book, and the USA Network's miniseries "The Starter Wife," about a Hollywood power wife scorned, premiered in late May and will be out on DVD Tuesday.
Still, there are plenty of miniseries, most of them produced years ago, that never make it to DVD. The chief reason is usually a perceived lack of interest and profit.
"It's really up to the studios when they want to release the DVD," said Gord Lacey, founder of tvshowsondvd.com, a website that tracks DVD releases from television. "But this is odd. It may be this is a very sensitive subject and they [ABC Studios] don't want to go through the PR nightmare again."
In 2003, after vehement protests from Republicans, CBS yanked its scheduled miniseries "The Reagans." Republicans complained that the docudrama created a distorted and unflattering picture of the former president. Eventually, the program was shown on CBS' much-less-watched sister network, the pay cable outlet Showtime, and was later released on DVD.
Initially, Nowrasteh was told by executives at ABC Studios that the miniseries would have a DVD release in January. Then, April. Then, this summer. Currently, Nowrasteh has not been notified of a specific release date for the DVD.
Despite a virtually nonexistent Emmy marketing campaign, "The Path to 9/11" claimed seven nominations, though none in the more prestigious categories for writing and directing. As the miniseries' writer and a producer, Nowrasteh is entitled to revenue from DVD sales, but it would be fractions of a penny for a disc sold. DVD sales, too, could potentially help ABC offset its considerable financial losses on the project.
"I go to Blockbuster and I see a lot of crap on the shelves," added Nowrasteh. " 'Path to 9/11' deserves to be available to people who want to see it or buy it or rent it or whatever. Every controversial movie I can think of, whether it's 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' the Reagan miniseries . . . they were all released; they were broadcast. You can get them on DVD."
martin.miller@latimes.com
The $40-million, five-hour ABC miniseries, which recently received seven Emmy nominations and drew a combined two-night audience of more than 25 million viewers, is for now on the path to nowhere. Its Amazon page reads: "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."
With no date for the release, questions are being raised about whether political pressure is behind its current status as a stalled or discarded DVD project. The reasons are murky, but the miniseries' writer, Cyrus Nowrasteh, believes it's crystal clear: Powerful forces are out to protect Bill Clinton's presidential legacy and shield Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) from any potential collateral damage in her bid for the White House.
Nowrasteh, also one of the miniseries' many producers, said he was told by a top executive at ABC Studios that "if Hillary weren't running for president, this wouldn't be a problem."
"Whatever anyone may think about me or this movie, this is a bad precedent, a dangerous precedent, to allow a movie to be buried," added Nowrasteh, who received death threats even before the miniseries was broadcast last September. "Because the next time they'll go after another movie. The Bush administration may go after a movie. The next administration may go after a movie. No matter who it is, they may go after a movie. I think this town needs to stand up."
Even before "The Path to 9/11" aired on ABC late last summer, the docudrama ignited a political firestorm, almost entirely from high-profile Democratic leaders who viewed its account of events leading up to the terrorist attacks as a right-wing hatchet job on the Clinton administration and its efforts to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. Attempts to pressure ABC to cancel the miniseries at the time were unsuccessful, but last-minute network edits were imposed to quell the critical outcry.
An ABC spokeswoman reached Tuesday would say only that the company "has no release date at this time," and she declined to comment further.
Meanwhile, Sen. Clinton's campaign staff did not return an e-mail or a phone call seeking comment.
Last year, a Clinton spokesman referred to the ABC enterprise as "despicable," and then Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and four other Democratic senators signed a letter to Disney Chief Executive Robert A. Iger stating that if the miniseries were shown it would "deeply damage" Disney's reputation. As a result of the tumult, ABC was unable to attract advertisers for the miniseries.
Thus far, few have noted the DVD's absence in the marketplace. Among those who have are conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh, who questioned last month why the disc isn't available on the nation's retail shelves. (Limbaugh and Nowrasteh have met on several occasions but do not regularly socialize, Nowrasteh said.)
With a possible writers strike and fall television premieres around the corner, the DVD's release hasn't galvanized Hollywood as a cause célèbre. But voices traditionally associated with the political left are disturbed by the DVD's uncertain fate. This isn't about politics, said film director Oliver Stone, but about the right of artists to have their work distributed.
"This is a shame; it's censorship in the most blatant way," said Stone, who has hired Nowrasteh for several writing projects. "I'm not vouching for its accuracy -- it's a dramatization -- but it's an important work and needs to be seen."
Average: four monthsThe time between a program's television broadcast and subsequent DVD release varies, but these days it's generally around four months. However, for TV movies and miniseries -- mostly because so few are made these days -- the rules are less clear.
For instance, HBO's movie "Buried My Heart at Wounded Knee," an adaptation of Dee Brown's famous book, and the USA Network's miniseries "The Starter Wife," about a Hollywood power wife scorned, premiered in late May and will be out on DVD Tuesday.
Still, there are plenty of miniseries, most of them produced years ago, that never make it to DVD. The chief reason is usually a perceived lack of interest and profit.
"It's really up to the studios when they want to release the DVD," said Gord Lacey, founder of tvshowsondvd.com, a website that tracks DVD releases from television. "But this is odd. It may be this is a very sensitive subject and they [ABC Studios] don't want to go through the PR nightmare again."
In 2003, after vehement protests from Republicans, CBS yanked its scheduled miniseries "The Reagans." Republicans complained that the docudrama created a distorted and unflattering picture of the former president. Eventually, the program was shown on CBS' much-less-watched sister network, the pay cable outlet Showtime, and was later released on DVD.
Initially, Nowrasteh was told by executives at ABC Studios that the miniseries would have a DVD release in January. Then, April. Then, this summer. Currently, Nowrasteh has not been notified of a specific release date for the DVD.
Despite a virtually nonexistent Emmy marketing campaign, "The Path to 9/11" claimed seven nominations, though none in the more prestigious categories for writing and directing. As the miniseries' writer and a producer, Nowrasteh is entitled to revenue from DVD sales, but it would be fractions of a penny for a disc sold. DVD sales, too, could potentially help ABC offset its considerable financial losses on the project.
"I go to Blockbuster and I see a lot of crap on the shelves," added Nowrasteh. " 'Path to 9/11' deserves to be available to people who want to see it or buy it or rent it or whatever. Every controversial movie I can think of, whether it's 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' the Reagan miniseries . . . they were all released; they were broadcast. You can get them on DVD."
martin.miller@latimes.com
Monday, September 03, 2007
First class done, 49 to go....
I don't know if I can do this again, it's a grueling schedule. Argh. Lasted an hour and 10 minutes before my voice and throat gave out, so they got to go home 50 minutes early today.
Youngest Daughter is doing her Italian homework and I am going to start the laundry. Maybe I'll make popcorn in a little bit.
Seemed to be a good group of students for this class.
Tomorrow night's class is in one of the new computer lab/classrooms with a back wall that's glass and looks out onto a busy hallway. I am thinking that's going to be both distracting and unnerving, and I hope there are shades I can pull down to block the "view".
My uni computer is (hopefully) being repaired so I am using my personal laptop. I forgot to send myself the program I've been writing, blast. Now I can't work on it.
I don't know if I can do this again, it's a grueling schedule. Argh. Lasted an hour and 10 minutes before my voice and throat gave out, so they got to go home 50 minutes early today.
Youngest Daughter is doing her Italian homework and I am going to start the laundry. Maybe I'll make popcorn in a little bit.
Seemed to be a good group of students for this class.
Tomorrow night's class is in one of the new computer lab/classrooms with a back wall that's glass and looks out onto a busy hallway. I am thinking that's going to be both distracting and unnerving, and I hope there are shades I can pull down to block the "view".
My uni computer is (hopefully) being repaired so I am using my personal laptop. I forgot to send myself the program I've been writing, blast. Now I can't work on it.
Oh, and not a good way to start out the term...
Student e-mail to me:
Student e-mail to me:
I have registered for your class. I Just want to know which book should we refer for this class? I appreciate your help.
My response to student:
The book is available in the bookstore.
What I was thinking:
Look it up yourself on the bookstore website!
Student response:
My response:
See, the thing is--these kids are supposedly internet-savvy. It's a grad class. I'm not their mother. Either look at the bookstore website or wait for the first day of class. Not rocket science, ya know? I have dozens of students in three different classes. I don't have time to answer questions like this.
My response to student:
The book is available in the bookstore.
What I was thinking:
Look it up yourself on the bookstore website!
Student response:
Please let me know the name of the author and book.
My response:
See, the thing is--these kids are supposedly internet-savvy. It's a grad class. I'm not their mother. Either look at the bookstore website or wait for the first day of class. Not rocket science, ya know? I have dozens of students in three different classes. I don't have time to answer questions like this.
Start of the academic year
For some strange reason, my uni starts classes on Labor Day. That means Youngest Daughter has Italian at 1, and I have to teach from 6-8. Ugh. Not that we would do anything on Labor Day anyway, but sheesh. The rest of the country gets a day off, we get to start sprinting toward May. Here's hoping the new uni prez takes a look at this wacky schedule. It's so bizarre that one summer session had classes scheduled on Independence Day--ALL day. The provost was insistent that professors had to hold class. Just bizarre (I would, if I'd been scheduled to teach on July 4, follow in the footsteps of my ancestors and revolt).
I am ready for the week although my cold is hanging on and I'd like nothing more than to watch movies and drink Russian Caravan tea while I sniffle and sneeze. Ah well.
Random stuff, because I've been rather out of it all weekend between being sick and catching up with lecture writing:
For some strange reason, my uni starts classes on Labor Day. That means Youngest Daughter has Italian at 1, and I have to teach from 6-8. Ugh. Not that we would do anything on Labor Day anyway, but sheesh. The rest of the country gets a day off, we get to start sprinting toward May. Here's hoping the new uni prez takes a look at this wacky schedule. It's so bizarre that one summer session had classes scheduled on Independence Day--ALL day. The provost was insistent that professors had to hold class. Just bizarre (I would, if I'd been scheduled to teach on July 4, follow in the footsteps of my ancestors and revolt).
I am ready for the week although my cold is hanging on and I'd like nothing more than to watch movies and drink Russian Caravan tea while I sniffle and sneeze. Ah well.
Random stuff, because I've been rather out of it all weekend between being sick and catching up with lecture writing:
- John Edwards wants to require Americans to have checkups. What is he going to do if I refuse to take a yearly mammogram--sue me? Sorry buddy. I am all for preventive medicine, but don't you dare take away my freedom to choose whether or not I go to the doctor regularly (Picky, pedantic note: the proper word is preventive, not preventative--that just drives me nuts).
- Speaking of picky pedantic things, it's orient not orientate.
- My condo association put in new landscaping. It's dying. YA GOTTA WATER IT, GUYS!
- There's a big smear on my truck's back window that is bugging me. I suppose I should get out the Windex. Maybe tomorrow.
- Palestinians shot another rocket into Sderot, Israel (something that's been going on for a while and that the MSM doesn't report) and it hit a day care center. Scared the kids and parents plenty although, thank God, no one was hurt. Israel just ought to drop tear gas on the place in Gaza that's lobbing all those rockets at defenseless citizens and throw the whole lot in jail. That would give Hamas another story line for their latest terrorist Disney character knockoff. The "Bad Jews killed Mickey Mouse" plot has been done.
- The power went off twice last night around 11:30 p.m. Weird.
- One of the departments I teach for ordered the wrong book for my class. Sigh. It's not a fatal error, just annoying because I replaced that book last year with a marginally better one. There's no good text for this class. I'd write one, but there's no profit in it for the amount of time and effort it would take me. That's the Ferengi in me, I guess.
- Kitty Son thinks I should be up and about at 5:30 a.m. Kitty Son needs to be retrained.
- I'm out of breakfast cereal. Nothing good can come from that.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
The Move, Part Deux
Spouse was supposed to meet us at the condo in UniTown at 7:30 a.m. Monday. We were driving to the parental units' house to pick up my loaded truck, then proceeding to the U-Haul facility (why, oh why, was the tow dolly at a facility 10 miles away when there was one down the street?), hooking up the dolly, loading the car onto it, and getting underway for the State Too Very Far Away. I figured we would be on the road by 9:00.
You know that axiom about the best laid plans? Yup.
Spouse was an hour late. The hookup for the dolly needed a four-pin attachment and my receptacle was a seven-pin. Fortunately, the U-Haul place had an adapter, which cost us $15 (not too bad). I bought the extra insurance that covered both vehicles and their contents, just in case. By the time we topped off the gas in the truck, paid for the dolly rental, hitched it to the car, bought and installed the adapter, hooked up and checked the lights, got Son's car up the ramps, figured out where to connect the chains to the frame, washed all the grease off Spouse's and Son's hands, tightened the ropes on the tarp to eliminate excess flappage, and finally got underway--it was nearly 11:00.
We stopped at the entrance to the turnpike to check the connections one more time. Good thing, because the passenger-side tire straps had slipped and had to be repositioned. I drove the first leg of the journey, an 8 hour stretch through Big Hilly State. I killed a monarch butterfly! The hapless creature flew right at my windshield, and the slipstream pushed it to the side so that it wrapped itself around my antenna. Spouse opened his window and pulled it off. Poor butterfly.
Around 4:00 we pulled into a rest area to eat and check the flappage and connections. We left some crumbled Ritz crackers for the sparrows and got back underway.
My initial plan was to drive halfway, stop at a hotel and sleep, then finish the journey on Tuesday. But, because of the load and the hills, we didn't make good time--so we pushed on through the night. Spouse took over for the night driving, then I drove from 6 a.m. until we reached our destination at 4 p.m., 30-some hours after we left the U-Haul place. Along the way we lost most of the plastic covering to incessant flapping, despite retying the ropes at each gas stop. Fortunately, we didn't run into any rain. Son had made several CDs of music which kept us entertained most of the way. Youngest Daughter was the only one to get lots of sleep en route; the rest of us just catnapped.
Eldest Daughter, our personal GPS unit who got to miss out on this Incredible Journey, looked up the addresses of the U-Haul places we were told could take the tow dolly, and found that one site was two exits before our final destination. We decided to go there first, drop off the dolly, and have Son follow us in his car the rest of the way. The facility had a long driveway down one side, and a small parking lot in front. We couldn't see what was at the end of the driveway, but a semi came out that way so we thought there was probably a place for us to turn around at the back of the building (one cannot back up with a tow dolly--so things like getting gas, and finding a place to park at restaurants, require some planning to avoid getting stuck in a spot where the only way out is to back up. We nearly got stuck twice on the way down).
I pulled into the driveway and parked alongside the building because there was no outlet in the small parking lot. When I walked up to the door of the facility, I saw a sign that said "We do not take tow dollies or auto transports". What?! I went in anyway, and the nice lady at the desk said that they had asked U-Haul several times to take them off the list of dropoff sites for tow dollies, without avail. She and her husband, who run this small facility, told us where to take the dolly. One small problem, though--there was no turnaround at the end of the driveway. We would have to take the car off the dolly, take the dolly off the truck, turn the truck around, pull the dolly around, and reconnect it. In 90+ degree heat, after 30 hours of driving. Sigh.
The nice lady took pity on us, thanked me for not going ballistic, and called the other facility to see if they would come over to pick up the dolly instead of us going there. They agreed, and we happily unhooked everything and pushed the dolly into an empty parking space in their lot.
By the time we got to the apartment complex, the load in the truck must have looked like the Beverly Hillbillies--plastic ripped and flapping, tarp frayed (it was an old tarp, and one grommet in the back just pulled right out entirely), driver and passengers bleary-eyed and rumpled. We went in to the office, signed the lease, paid the security deposit, and got Son's keys. Fortunately, his apartment building has an elevator and his apartment is right next to it. It didn't take us too long to unload and move everything in, which was good because it was horribly hot.
Youngest Daughter and I made a grocery store run for essentials like toilet paper and a shower curtain. Spouse dismantled the frame on the truck. Son helped his roommate move in. We all showered and bedded down for the night around 10.
At 6 a.m. my alarm went off, and Spouse and I packed up to go back home. It was really hard saying goodbye to Son. Youngest Daughter is staying with him until tomorrow, and flying back by herself for the very first time Sunday (Yikes!).
The ride back went a lot faster, since we weren't towing anything, and we got to the condo at UniTown around 7 a.m. I took a four-hour nap and woke up with a nasty cold which is still bugging me (thank God for Russian Caravan tea!). Spouse had an adventure trying to get into the HomeCity house, as the old front door's lock decided to break and his key wouldn't work. But, we are home and the move is done, and "all" that's left is the cleanup. My truck is dirty and needs an oil change, which I will get next week. I'm taking short breaks from lecture writing and nose-blowing to straighten up and clean the condo. We managed to get here before the garbage trucks came on Thursday, so we got all the debris from Son's packing out on the curb in time.
We got decent mileage on the way down, averaging about 16 mpg. On the way back, with no load and no vehicle in tow, we were getting 21.5 mpg. Not bad! The truck is fine, Son's car is fine, and everything made it in good condition, so the move was a success. We even got to see the campus where Son's classes are, which was pretty neat.
Now it's time to get ready for the academic year to start. My calendar is already filling up with meetings.
I miss my boy terribly.
Spouse was supposed to meet us at the condo in UniTown at 7:30 a.m. Monday. We were driving to the parental units' house to pick up my loaded truck, then proceeding to the U-Haul facility (why, oh why, was the tow dolly at a facility 10 miles away when there was one down the street?), hooking up the dolly, loading the car onto it, and getting underway for the State Too Very Far Away. I figured we would be on the road by 9:00.
You know that axiom about the best laid plans? Yup.
Spouse was an hour late. The hookup for the dolly needed a four-pin attachment and my receptacle was a seven-pin. Fortunately, the U-Haul place had an adapter, which cost us $15 (not too bad). I bought the extra insurance that covered both vehicles and their contents, just in case. By the time we topped off the gas in the truck, paid for the dolly rental, hitched it to the car, bought and installed the adapter, hooked up and checked the lights, got Son's car up the ramps, figured out where to connect the chains to the frame, washed all the grease off Spouse's and Son's hands, tightened the ropes on the tarp to eliminate excess flappage, and finally got underway--it was nearly 11:00.
We stopped at the entrance to the turnpike to check the connections one more time. Good thing, because the passenger-side tire straps had slipped and had to be repositioned. I drove the first leg of the journey, an 8 hour stretch through Big Hilly State. I killed a monarch butterfly! The hapless creature flew right at my windshield, and the slipstream pushed it to the side so that it wrapped itself around my antenna. Spouse opened his window and pulled it off. Poor butterfly.
Around 4:00 we pulled into a rest area to eat and check the flappage and connections. We left some crumbled Ritz crackers for the sparrows and got back underway.
My initial plan was to drive halfway, stop at a hotel and sleep, then finish the journey on Tuesday. But, because of the load and the hills, we didn't make good time--so we pushed on through the night. Spouse took over for the night driving, then I drove from 6 a.m. until we reached our destination at 4 p.m., 30-some hours after we left the U-Haul place. Along the way we lost most of the plastic covering to incessant flapping, despite retying the ropes at each gas stop. Fortunately, we didn't run into any rain. Son had made several CDs of music which kept us entertained most of the way. Youngest Daughter was the only one to get lots of sleep en route; the rest of us just catnapped.
Eldest Daughter, our personal GPS unit who got to miss out on this Incredible Journey, looked up the addresses of the U-Haul places we were told could take the tow dolly, and found that one site was two exits before our final destination. We decided to go there first, drop off the dolly, and have Son follow us in his car the rest of the way. The facility had a long driveway down one side, and a small parking lot in front. We couldn't see what was at the end of the driveway, but a semi came out that way so we thought there was probably a place for us to turn around at the back of the building (one cannot back up with a tow dolly--so things like getting gas, and finding a place to park at restaurants, require some planning to avoid getting stuck in a spot where the only way out is to back up. We nearly got stuck twice on the way down).
I pulled into the driveway and parked alongside the building because there was no outlet in the small parking lot. When I walked up to the door of the facility, I saw a sign that said "We do not take tow dollies or auto transports". What?! I went in anyway, and the nice lady at the desk said that they had asked U-Haul several times to take them off the list of dropoff sites for tow dollies, without avail. She and her husband, who run this small facility, told us where to take the dolly. One small problem, though--there was no turnaround at the end of the driveway. We would have to take the car off the dolly, take the dolly off the truck, turn the truck around, pull the dolly around, and reconnect it. In 90+ degree heat, after 30 hours of driving. Sigh.
The nice lady took pity on us, thanked me for not going ballistic, and called the other facility to see if they would come over to pick up the dolly instead of us going there. They agreed, and we happily unhooked everything and pushed the dolly into an empty parking space in their lot.
By the time we got to the apartment complex, the load in the truck must have looked like the Beverly Hillbillies--plastic ripped and flapping, tarp frayed (it was an old tarp, and one grommet in the back just pulled right out entirely), driver and passengers bleary-eyed and rumpled. We went in to the office, signed the lease, paid the security deposit, and got Son's keys. Fortunately, his apartment building has an elevator and his apartment is right next to it. It didn't take us too long to unload and move everything in, which was good because it was horribly hot.
Youngest Daughter and I made a grocery store run for essentials like toilet paper and a shower curtain. Spouse dismantled the frame on the truck. Son helped his roommate move in. We all showered and bedded down for the night around 10.
At 6 a.m. my alarm went off, and Spouse and I packed up to go back home. It was really hard saying goodbye to Son. Youngest Daughter is staying with him until tomorrow, and flying back by herself for the very first time Sunday (Yikes!).
The ride back went a lot faster, since we weren't towing anything, and we got to the condo at UniTown around 7 a.m. I took a four-hour nap and woke up with a nasty cold which is still bugging me (thank God for Russian Caravan tea!). Spouse had an adventure trying to get into the HomeCity house, as the old front door's lock decided to break and his key wouldn't work. But, we are home and the move is done, and "all" that's left is the cleanup. My truck is dirty and needs an oil change, which I will get next week. I'm taking short breaks from lecture writing and nose-blowing to straighten up and clean the condo. We managed to get here before the garbage trucks came on Thursday, so we got all the debris from Son's packing out on the curb in time.
We got decent mileage on the way down, averaging about 16 mpg. On the way back, with no load and no vehicle in tow, we were getting 21.5 mpg. Not bad! The truck is fine, Son's car is fine, and everything made it in good condition, so the move was a success. We even got to see the campus where Son's classes are, which was pretty neat.
Now it's time to get ready for the academic year to start. My calendar is already filling up with meetings.
I miss my boy terribly.
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