Final Exams suck!

So I thought that since I hadn't posted in ages why not add something on here while I'm giving my final exam. All my students are diligently working away on the 18 pages of my "too long" exam. They'll finish it in 90 minutes with maybe a few extra at the end since I'm such a sucker for letting people finish writing.

Probably heading out for wings with Junior afterwards. Something we had talked about this summer but then when we were scheduled to teach on Tuesday nights (wings night) it quelched that plan...who wants to eat greasy wings after 10 or 11 at night when you're exhausted?

I am really going to grade these things over the next three days. Hopefully tomorrow! I say this every year, but I just don't have time to put them off...so many other things to finish. Final exam for my 2D NMR class (but that will be enjoyable because I'm some sort of wack-job that loves NMR problems), precomp, starting my comp, assessing if i need to go back and get any research redone...hope I've got all the characterization but I think there are 3 or 4 I may have missed.

Nate's blog has ground to a halt. Michael's has ground to a halt. Kristin's is just about dead. Mine is dead. Boy! we really caught the blog bug. I think I need a better theme to tie all my posts together but not sure what I'm after. Saw one girl who did what's in her tummy, and it was all about what she had at meals and the recipes...super cool idea. if I can find it maybe I'll post the link so all this traffic I generate here can wander on over there!

OK...enough doing this while they all work hard. Besides I still need to put together my gradebook so I can calculate final grades. Entering 60 names and student numbers, 60 x 12 quiz grades and 10 x 9 report grads is cake!

A little warm here..

Soooooo hot. Want to touch the hiney...

That's all. Back to work!

do lab reports get it on and multiply?

I've been grading just about every free minute for the last 30 hours and all I have to show for it are 6 completed lab reports, 6 completed molecular modeling assignments, and a couple quizzes. I still have 30 quizzes, 11 reports and 11 modelling things. I swear that the ungraded pile is actually growing.

HELP!!!!!!!

She gets it!

So allow me to be a guy for a minute and say, "FINALLY!" Thank you thank you thank you. Girls, check this out. She makes some good points. This doesn't exonerate all us guys all the time. But boy, it certainly would make a lot of life easier if we weren't constantly left to read minds. Guys, check it, but let's not gloat too much, not like we're perfect. I may be, but then again I've always said I'm not normal. Just kidding! Enjoy kiddos!

Do guys really not listen?

Yowzers!

So I tend to keep mental lists of things. Things to be done. Things to read. Things to write about here. Things to buy. People to call...and there are a lot of them. I better get to work

Eileen and Michael (and don't forget Jacob!)
Meg
Colleen
Erin
Lisa
Chrissy
Emily
Tina

an hour a pop and that's EIGHT hours. Geesh. I'm bad.

oh lord!

Oh wait, I probably can't say that. I bet according to these folks there's no way I could actually believe in God.

Evolution on trial as Kansas debates Adam vs Darwin

Poor kids :-( I don't even know what to say. I'd laugh becuase it's funny this is the subject of debate. But in all honesty it is not humorous in the least when you consider they are actually serious! Save us.

from the horse's mouth...

so...the new news is that they made it through the weekend without fighting and had some good talks. Simply putting off the inevitable?? Who knows? Well, I guess some people have their opinions but you can just shush :-p

Damn Liberal Media! hehehehehe...

Judge for yourself.

Anyone want to write a caption for this one?

Check it!

Where did I find this photo?

through the grapevine...

Apparently all is not perfect and wonderful for those non-single folks out there. I woulnd't dare wish for someone to break up...would I? ehhh, actually I really don't think i would so much anymore, but the gossip is still interesting to catch in bits and pieces. Have to keep my head up to see how long it takes now...maybe by Monday even!

ugh, i feel dirty. bad, bad gossip. in the words of an old high school buddy - necesitos cacahuetes.

Repeal the Initiative for a Nice Warm Globe

Still in denial, Mr. President?

To further strengthen the argument for global warming a new study confirms the climate models that have been being used. Not going to preach to anyone. Believe what you will. What gets to me are those, especially those who dictate national policy, who refuse to acknowledge the problem. What most is eating at me is the reminder of the president's stance at the end of this story.

"We do not know how much effect natural fluctuations in climate may have had on warming. We do not know how much our climate could, or will change in the future. We do not know how fast change will occur, or even how some of our actions could impact it. No one can say with any certainty what constitutes a dangerous level of warming, and therefore what level must be avoided." - W, 2001 climate policy speech

So, yes, I think he realized there could be a potential connection between humans and climate change, but it's like he needs to be roasted in 120 degree heat, or flooded under or whatever possible extreme outcome would wake him up. (I know I'm going a little nuts, ever since Mr. Kasper I've realized I have a tendency to use hyperbole a little too freely, oh well!)

But anyway, which one of so many possible analogies do i draw here? Is this like cigarettes and tobacco companies? Well, there is some evidence that smoking causes lung cancer, but I'm not sure. X years later and Y avoidable deaths, hmmmm, looks like cancer sticks really are unhealthy! well no shit sherlock. Another analogy? I don't know. I want to go home and get dinner, add your own. Idea being, mind the cliche, and ounce of prevention.... Why not cap greenhouse gas emissions? Oh wait, because China and the rest of Asia wouldn't fall under the same levels. (I have a letter from my wonderful senator, Mr. Rick Santorum *vomits*, who outlines all of these wonderful reasons for axing Kyoto) Since when does the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA take it's cue from Asia? We used to be the kid on the playground who watched out for the skinny kids who got picked on, the nation that budding democracies looked to as an example. So much for being a leader, we're just another lemming now. Oh wait, unless of course we need to protect ourselves from nasty WMD..eerrr, spread freedom...cough cough...get some oil, then we grow some balls and take the lead. Thankfully no one follows us there.

How big can a dolphin get?

Wholphin! Wha?!

Yea, still putzing around on MSNBC while waiting for some crystals to form. Wholphins whoa! All fine and good then the idiot bug struck the writer as happens so much more often than I would expect for a major news service such as The Associated Press. sigh....my expectations must be too high.

Anywho, the point being, how big a an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin? Writer doesn't know, and now I don't...not that I care enough to go google it. It's one of those principle things.

It's towards the end of the story in the last 5 paragraphs. The following are separated by only three sentences:

"Park researchers suspect the wholphin's father is a 15-foot long Atlantic bottlenose dolphin named Mikioi."

then 3 sentences, then

"Atlantic bottlenose dolphins reach a maximum size of 12 feet and can weigh up to 700 pounds."

Maybe dad was measured by one of the men in the park??

ummm...ok...so

So when the msnbc.com homepage popped up this morning the headline "Can anyone beat Tom on 'Survivor'?" caught my eye for absolutely no reason at all. And now I've spent the last couple minutes wondering, "So what? Who gives a damn?"

Does anyone who bothers to watch this show actually care what the people at msnbc have to say? Blah!

Waste your time

ok, i'm done.

motivation

motivation to go work out that is...and it's name used to be tina. But nope, no tina in pittsburgh and no motivation. Well, there is motivation. Just with different names and different kinds. But with each day my resolution to start running this summer and getting back into Ultimate is growing. And with any luck, I'll be back to my junior year self and all dead sexy. but hot damn is there motivation to run!

Some things never change.

ever just had that one annoying habit you just wish you could drop? Everyone's got one. And I'm not talking about any of those habits that dog people like smoking. I'm talking more behavioral things. Just old things that pop up every couple of months or on an annual basis. Well, one of those has come back to bug me. And this time no erin or lisa or the rest of you (this is like an oscar speech, I'm not going to go on listing to the point i leave one person off and blow it). Part of that's just life here. You don't get those people right away, especially not when there just aren't a lot of folks around. So regardless, here we are, the same as spring 00, fall spring 01, and spring 2002, fall 02, etc. Except I get to call folks now and annoy them rather than getting in their faces. Yep, I've fallen and am hooked again. And no one around for a swift kick in the ass.

Cryptic, you bet. deal.

Resolution

Happy New Year!

I suppose a good resolution this year would be to make more frequent posts than last year...so if i get one more I'm on my way! Maybe actually writing would be a better one. I'll try for that.

So here goes, catchya later

Finally!

So it's been nearly three months now I've considered starting this. Two months since I registered. 'Bout time I actually post something! All along there's been one constant motivation. A week ago I got the final kick in the rear. I can relate to k. in that I've always been pushed to improve by those who write well, especially better than me. Not sure I have an analogy to guitar or violin playing though...I'll have to work on that. I'm a science "nerd" and so have never really committed the time to read that I wish I would, and so my writing suffers. There has been a fairly constant counterweight to these thoughts, but more on that at another time. For now, I'll pat myself on the back for finally writing something. Today after all is my golden un-birthday (if you can decipher all those qualifiers) and I don't think anyone can hold a grudge if I don't want to overwork myself. It's 7:30 on a Friday night and I'm still at work! Enough already, right?

And so, while no promises of daily postings or really anything of relevance to your life (or maybe even mine), hopefully there's some reason you'll stop by and check in. Leave comments when you think something I've said is just brilliant (like sliced bread) or more exiting when you have a bone to pick. Ouch!