iPhone


28
Aug 12

Back to class

Samford

My first class of the semester was this afternoon. This was the sky over the Samford campus later in the evening. We did the syllabus thing, and the let’s-all-get-to-know-one-another thing. This time I just asked them what was the most interesting things they did this some. Some stayed home and worked. A few took road trips. Others did work with their churches. One did a mission in Kenya.

Our students are always doing cool things like that.

Like a mean teacher, I lectured for a while. No time like the present to start in on AP Style, I always say. So we worked through a bit of that. I let them go a few minutes early, first day of classes and all that. It won’t happen often.

They had such bright eyes and took good notes today. They laughed at my jokes.

I promised them a quiz next week. They might laugh a bit less then.

Saw some faculty I haven’t seen in a while. Got to tell my collarbone story one more time. Usually these tales get better with each telling, but this one is good enough. Besides, my shoulder needs all the karma it can get just now.

Missed a meeting with a student because of my class. There will be plenty of meetings with students this week.

Football season is upon us and I’m posting photographs we found last week while sifting through archives in Auburn University’s collection in honor of this most festive time of the year. This is from some undated game. There are tons of photographs in the archives without names and dates. A shame, really. But I love this boater hat.

Go

We were just having a conversation about the Tigers/War Eagles thing. No one wants to admit it, but War Eagles was used as a noun as recently as the 70s around here. I’m pretty sure that is what the rest of this guy’s hat says.

The guy on the left, he’s clearly seen something he didn’t care for on the field. I wonder if he’d remember this game today. That guy’s got some good hair, too. I wonder what he’s coating it in.

Everyone in the stands seemed to well dressed. These were clearly different times.


25
Aug 12

Photo week – Saturday

A photo (or two) a day meant to express everything that needs to be said. Don’t over extrapolate or strain yourself making too many inferences. They are just pictures.

sunset

I hate these pictures. They are pretty, but this time of year they just feel like summer is leaving. They are just beautiful reminders.

Here’s the same shot, just a bit farther down the road, and through the polarizer at the top of the windshield.

sunset

One of our graduate school buddies was passing through the area with his new wife and so we were invited to a cookout with friends in Wetumpka. His brother was there, along with various of his college friends who have taken us in as peripheral members of their group. We had great burgers and a fine time sitting on their back porch, talking and laughing and singing out of tune. The Yankee asked me to get her sweater out of the car.

Just beautiful reminders.


24
Aug 12

Photo week – Friday

A photo (or two) a day meant to express everything that needs to be said. Don’t over extrapolate or strain yourself making too many inferences. They are just pictures.

sleep

Soon. I should be riding my bike in the trainer more. I want to ride it on the road. I got a new helmet this week, a surprise gift from my lovely mother. And now I just need to buy a new tire, wait another week or so to get back out onto the road.

It is strange. I’m in a rush to get back to normal, but the lingering pain says “Ease back into it.”

I’m siding with discretion on this.

We had a nice discussion online about the New York Times use of graphic user-submitted art after the shooting near the Empire State Building. Someone asked my thoughts on Facebook and took a screen capture for wider posterity:

screencap

Dr. John Carvalho, a journalism professor at Auburn, was kind enough to share it as well.

(Incidentally, I wrote that will spinning down on the bike trainer.)


23
Aug 12

Photo week – Thursday

A photo (or two) a day meant to express everything that needs to be said. Don’t over extrapolate or strain yourself making too many inferences. They are just pictures.

tomatoes

Come have a tomato with me! We picked up our basket o’ vegetables today, and there are four giant, beautiful red ones in the bottom. I still have two or three left from last week’s basket.

I love a good tomato, but in our house I am the tomato eater. And if you don’t eat them with almost every meal they pile up.

I don’t care for cherry tomatoes too much. I’d rather have grapes. We have a ton of grapes.

Come have grapes with me!


22
Aug 12

Photo week – Wednesday

A photo (or two) a day meant to express everything that needs to be said. Don’t over extrapolate or strain yourself making too many inferences. They are just pictures.

Unicycle

Saw this guy today, on the largest unicycle I’ve ever seen in person. He was handling it well, talented guy.

There are quite a few unicycle riders in town.