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Showing posts from October, 2008

Victory

So the UW club hockey team defeated Colorado School of Mines 11-2 tonight on the home ice. Meggie, Kaijsa, Tawnya and I had dinner at Sweet Melissa's Vegetarian Cafe before heading off to the arena. We ended up getting there about 25 minutes late, which worked out okay because there was, apparently, a bit of a miscommunication about refs, so the teams were still waiting for the officials to show up when we got there. Hockey equipment stinks. I mean, really. Kirkmeyer was unimpressed that he'd been sitting there for 25 minutes waiting for the game to start (and for the rest of us to show up) and smelling the overwhelming of stale ripe sweat. I guess that's the smell of victory. Tonight, at least.

isles of langerhans and other fun times

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For the record, Britannica says that the islets of langerhans are "irregularly shaped patches of endocrine tissue located within the pancreas" named after German pathologist Paul Langerhans. I like playing board games with my smart friends because I learn new things. Ibises are long-legged wading birds; ibexes are wild mountain goats. So, after my morning of oats and raking, I did some grading, a little bit of shopping, planted some bulbs, and then met up with Elsa at the Headquarters Trail for a short hike. Look! Another photo of the same tree I take a picture of every time I hike this trail! I love this view, though. Then, after the hike, Elsa and Quincy came over for pumpkin cheesecake, tea, and a game of Scattergories. My shopping today included a couple of new pillows. "Down-wrap" pillows, with feathers on the inside and down on this outside. Firm support, for side sleepers (like me!) So, not only has it been a great day, but I'm excited to head to b

fine fall day

This morning I'm finishing off a bowl of steel-cut oats and a cup of tea, then heading out to rake leaves. This afternoon I think I'll drive up to Vedauwoo for a hike. And the pumpkin cheesecake I baked last night will be a well-deserved afternoon snack. I could think of worse ways to spend a Saturday in the fall.

the last line is the funniest...

"you're pretty good, for a Democrat"

Happy Hockeyween!

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So, since I haven't yet been invited to anybody's rockin' Halloween party, and since I probably wouldn't get dressed up anyway, I've decided to recruit fans to the UW Club Hockey game on the 31st. The story is: 7 pm, at the Laramie Community Ice Arena. UW vs. CSM, which I think stands for Colorado School of Mines. Y'all come!

Shiny happy people

Seems like I spent a lot of time today bitching about the guys last night who were bitching about student attitudes. So maybe that makes me even worse. Bitchiness squared, or whatever. Seems like one of those times when I should pause to be thankful for the good things: --Like, I just discovered that there's a home hockey game on Halloween. Since I haven't heard of any rocking costume balls yet (and don't have a rocking costume to wear anyway), I'm thinking I should try to assemble some people to go cheer for the home team. Powder River, let 'er buck! --Also, April and Joyce. I'm lucky to have such smart, thoughtful colleagues. --Also, the delicious bread from the Safeway deli. --Also, humble self-deprecation. I've been the wounded osprey waaaay too often. I feel better already.

STFU

Tonight I went to a "working dinner" event of K-16 teachers and administrators to discuss the process of strengthening the bonds among the various levels of teaching and learning. The first 40 minutes was supposed to be a discussion of the final chapter from My Freshman Year , at assigned-seating tables. At my table, two people dominated the first 15 minutes or so of conversation, whining about how bad today's students are. About how entitled students are, about how lazy they are, about how this is the "first generation to 'rent' rather than 'own' knowledge." As in ( one dude explained to the other), students just retain information long enough to pass the test and then they dump it. Nods of assent all around. And I said, "Well, that's also potentially liberating, isn't it?" And they looked at me with eyes that said: "That's the stupidest effing thing I've ever heard." And then they went on bitching abo

disappointing and childish

Who is this "joe the plumber" guy they keep referring to? I missed the first few minutes of the debate, so maybe he was introduced to everyone and got to take a bow, but he sure does seem to be important. Is this the same guy as joe six-pack?

a little bit of craigslist poetry

To the hot chick at Ten Minute Lube - m4w To the smokin hot chick behind the counter at Ten Minute Lube. You have dark hair and so do I. Almost shoulder length. I have a red Dodge pickup and wore a black long sleeved t-shirt. I was there around 1:30pm today. There wasn't a connection but would've liked to be. If you read this, let me know. Maybe we can hang out. Sometime.

enjoy the ride

The new title photo was taken earlier this year, near Esterbrook, looking south to Laramie Peak. It's some beautiful rugged country. In related news, I'm hopeful the weather will hold up and that I'll be able to go on the moonlight Med Bow hike tomorrow night. In unrelated news, the new Freshman Comp curriculum has me feeling wounded. I've never been so optimistic and discouraged at the same time. I think the students are finally reaching that critical juncture where things are going to either all fall into place or all fall into pieces. The only thing to do is ride it out. I guess it's like the wise sage once said: Sit tall in the saddle, Hold your head up high Keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky And live like you ain't afraid to die And don't be scared, just enjoy your ride.

New colors

So I've been reading in The Seven Sins of Memory that the left side of the brain does a really great job of generalizing, rationalizing, and handling verbal information. Tonight I feel like my left hemisphere is on vacation, so I guess that updating the theme of the blog will have to serve as my contribution.

for the record

It's Vedauwoo, not Veedauwoo. I've been meaning to set this right for a while now. I misspelled it in a couple of earlier posts, but USDA/Forest Service says Vedauwoo, and I guess they'd be right about something like that. In unrelated news: It's like all the leaves decided, overnight, to fall. The mountain bike trails at Happy Jack were paved with gold this afternoon.

Quixote

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So here's one of the big newish windmills west of Cheyenne. I stopped to take a picture of the windfarm today, coming back from Octoberfest in Sidney, Nebraska. I thought about jumping the fence to go fight this whole herd of gigantic windmills, but they were really big. So I jumped back in the truck and motored on down the Happy Jack Road. In related news, I made it from Pine Bluffs to Cheyenne entirely on the back roads. So my 150-mile trip back today was only 20 miles of interstate--unlike yesterday, which was all interstate. I like the old highways and the gravel country roads, though I did spend twenty minutes driving around in Pine Bluffs looking for the turn-off for Road 212. Finally found it, though.