A busy rest

Saturday evening and all is well.

Back in the Swing

Internet: Read a lot of stuff today
- David Mamet: Why I Am No Longer a 'Brain-Dead Liberal' puts him much more in the Libertarian camp
- A column about what Hitchens thinks about Eliot Spitzer - Hitchens on Spitzer's Lust: Why else do men run for higher office?
- Something we will see more of in Asia and Africa - Dictatorial Capitalism, based on China & Russia
- Arthur C. Clarke, RIP
and at Gizmodo this evening
- Graphene Chips,
- First Military Pilot Review of the F-35 Strike Fighter (Verdict: Kicks Ass)
- OLED - TV's immediate future
Writing & Reading: Picked out my favorites from the largely sappy, but useful, Life's Little Instruction Book as a start in reviewing my 'success literature'. The glue gave way and much of the book came loose from the binding. I won't spend much time thinking about what that might mean. Since then I've picked back up summarizing 38 Mistakes
TV & Movies: Nothing the last couple of days. Less and less as time goes on.
Music: I've wondered why so many people seemed to care if Amy Winehouse slowly fried her brains. So I got ahold of her album, which won her five Grammys btw, and as it turns out I really liked it. Sounds like a soul singer with a modern edge. She may have only one good album in her, and if she dries out she may not be any good anymore, but I certainly appreciate the effort expended and quality workmanship done in entertaining me.
Animal Kingdom: All is well.
Home Improvement: Working on maintaining an even strain with us both at work.
Teaching: My kids worked on maps comparing 1821 U.S. and 1861 U.S. on Monday and Tuesday my Honors worked on a book assignment on industrialization & my AP on slavery.
Exercising: A mile on Monday & two 1/2-mile dogwalks on Tuesday evening.

Saturday Night's Alright for a Zombie/Vampire Holocaust

- Took a trip to the Priceville Bookmark and The Booklegger used book stores on Saturday with Tobermory.

- Picked up Lyra's Oxford by Phillip Pullman and a little summary/book on Richard Dawson and The Selfish Gene.

- Clyde joined us and we watched I Am Legend. It was really good, except for a little fate/religion tacked onto the end.

- Letting everyone I know in on hulu, which has NBC & Fox Shows you can watch online, like the entirety of Firefly.

Friday!

We got some more cleaning in and Tobermory came back from her 2 weeks of manager training. Woo Hoo!

Laundry Day (Thursday)

- I have been washing clothes and straightening this place for more than 12 hours (except for a trip to resupply DMD).


- I'm not certain that it seems that anything has actually gotten done, but it damn sure has, nonetheless.
- The Tournament started today, and truthfully, I just don't care.
- Top Chef is up and running and has started well.
- 1-mile dogwalk with Thisbe this evening, followed up with another 1/4 mile+ with Ada.
It's not just me When it comes to the Fischer Space Pen.

Soon

Battlestar Galactica

If I weren't a history teacher...

I'd probably most enjoy a job fixing home computers.
- On Wednesday I got one up and running that had been out of commission (for Cassondra's manager-friend) and cleaned it up a bit, downloaded updates and so forth, & had a great time doing it.
- Ate lunch with some coaching friends from my old coaches' staff, including Jeff Miner, a really smart guy who's in Tennessee now. He's frustrated, just as I was, by his head coach. Outsmarting the other guys is not always enough. (And got lunch free from the manager!)
- Ate supper with a couple of the Goodfellers and had a fine time.
- Everyone here was well-regulated, but no extra work got done.

Big Wednesday Morning

Not Really.
Yesterday:
Washed a ton of clothes.
Pets were all properly cared for.
Overpaid for a Waffle House breakfast.
Watched most of the first episode Top Chef.
Dog-walked a 1/2 mile in the morning and two 1/2 miles in the evening.

Notes on the Robot Holocaust

My latest post over at "I'd offer you some, but they mine."

Spring Break Woo-Hoo!

Teaching: see post title
Home Improvement: Maintained our gains in the front room, hall bedroom & kitchen. Washed several sheets & changed & freshened the bedclothes.
Pets: Everybody was on schedule & I think Tarquin (the frog) actually ate a cricket.
Writing & Reading: Nothing today
Movies & TV:: Watched the first & second episodes of John Adams with Bromide this morning. It's good work. Not overwhelming, but workmanlike.
Internet: Ironically spent time looking at productivity blogs this evening.
Exercising: Slacked off today

No Country for Old Men

TV: Bromide came to visit and we watched the preview episode (ep.2) of John Adams. It appealed to my history geekdom, especially emo-Jefferson - about the Declaration, as it's being edited, "Well, that's what I think."
Movies: No Country for Old Men - watched it the last two nights - it's damn good.
The House: Got the hall bedroom setup for Bromide, front room is orderly chaos, and the kitchen is chaotic neutral. Beware the Den.
Exercising: Walked a mile this morning.

Post 33 - Saturday morning.

33 was the 1st episode of the new Battlestar Galactica.

I've been keeping up with things mundane for nearly a month now. It has really helped me be more productive by trying to make sure I have something to write about.

Teaching: Friday was "Spring Picture Day" in History classes, but my AP kids still had to finish their Jackson essay - "To what extent and in what ways did American politics change between 1824 and 1840?" - that's right up Bromide's alley!
Home Improvement: A week w/o Tobermory and the place hasn't fallen in, but it is on the edge. No disgusto, just lots of stuff to be washed & coordinated.
Pets: We are settled into a one room existence for the dogs for now until the girls get better canine toxic waste management skills. Ada went with Thisbe & me last night for her first night walk - canine chaos ensued.
Writing: nada
Reading: Read a few articles from Arts & Letters Daily, including one on military success in Iraq and one by a UVA professor on these kids today.
Movies,TV: despite having the place to myself, very little viewing.
Internet: Film School Rejects, Cracked, just a guy thing, The world's 50 most powerful blogs (according to the Guardian, YMMV).
Exercising: Walked morning & night Friday and Saturday morning as well.

The Man Who Was Thursday

Chesterton's Book
Teaching: Kids did a test review yesterday & took their test today on the Age of Jackson - AP guys are working on an essay - a dash of whining, but I think they may actually be toughening up.
Home Improvement: There is an a ton of work keeping up with these pets. I'm gonna have to make sure I do my part from now on. Front room 'clean', working on the dishes.
Writing: Quick article on writing at io9 - 8 Unstoppable Rules For Writing Killer Short Stories
Exercising: Walked a mile with Thisbe thursday am.

A Lost Tuesday

Teaching: Jackson, Clay, Van Buren, formation of the Whigs; AP Essay & Test research & a jacksonian test review
Home Improvement: Garbage Morn, Pet Maintenance
Exercising: A mile this morning with Thisbe
Destroyed the Jeopardy internet category at lunch.
There was a nap and lost time in there somewhere.

Weekend

- As good a weekend as could be had, considering.
- Clyde came to visit and Tobermory worked a lot. Saturday Clyde & I watched the 2nd half of season two of Dexter. Just a damn fine show. It had us on edge, and really that's about all you can ask from a TV show.
- Good Geek stuff at geekdad @ Wired. And serious list of lists at The List Universe.
- Sunday we scouted out Tobermory's "manaher" training site - looks like she'll have plenty to do. She'll be gone all week, so we'll be stirring up trouble alone.

Friday

Teaching: Let my guys know the plan for a short pre-holiday week: Andrew Jackson.
Home Improvement: Big floor & garbage clean-up
Internet: Article: Strategy Game Pits Players Against Desktop Invasion - Game: Desktop Tower Defense
TV: A little South Park on Clyde's visit

Weds./Thurs. in Review

Teaching: Getting ready for next week - the week before spring break and after state testing - the kids will be soo focused - one more day of babysitting
Home Improvement: I've spent a lot of time on puppy toxic waste lately.
Writing, Reading: I've got to get off the couch & out from in front of the monitor
TV, Movies: Finished up Firefly with my captive kids during testing/babysitting and will finish Serenity today.
Internet: Another fine Gary Gygax tribute at xkcd.
Exercising: Fail

Lazy Wednesday

- Took the day off, so no grad exam babysitting today.
- Gary Gygax died. D&D led to a lot of the games, books, & movies that have been my entertainment. We'll roll a d20 for E.G.G.
- I've been making a list of webcomics/comics that I should check regularly. And tributes to Gygax showed up in a favorite, Full Frontal Nerdity and in one I'd missed - Order of the Stick.
- Added some door gates to block off canine ambitions.

Monday Night Home Improvement

Teaching: No teaching (Grad Exams) but I did make a list of the most frequently used subs, which should be quite popular with the faculty.
Home Improvement: The hall bedroom is cleaned out and setup for visitors (and more storage).
Internet: Looked at the scifi trade journal Locus this evening. It led me to SFSite, which is largely book/story reviews. Also to FantasyBookSpot and the bookslut scifi column.
Exercising: Worked my butt off around the house.
Tobermory worked late - now off to bed.

Early Monday

- Watched 30 Days of Night and it was surprisingly good. There is actually a heroic story within the Vampire madness. It surprised me like Sunshine, in that it was much better than I expected, and I'm surprised there wasn't more positive press. Plus Ben Foster plays crazy very well in a supporting part, as he did in 3:10 to Yuma.
- Almost done with the hall bedroom. All carpet gone & 1/2 the furniture (and books) are back where they should be.
- Tried, but couldn't find anything particularly good on the internet yesterday.
- A mile Monday morning with Thisbe.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

Had a good day.
- Tobermory's cellphone is up and running and I guess mine is to. The downside of teh 21st century - ubiquitous access to info means that people expect to be able to reach you too. ugh.
- We went to a reptile-oriented Pet store in Madison - Animal Trax.
- Followed up at the Booklegger and finished up collecting the Wheel of Time oeuvre with the New Spring prequel. Let's hope George RR Martin finishes his...
- Ate at Macaroni Grill. Certainly my favorite chain restaurant. Had a Guinness Draft.
- Dropped by Mamaw's (ma'am-aw) place yesterday to wish her a Happy 81st birthday. She was born in 1927.
- Fell asleep on the couch with the dogs...
- Continued to wrangle Thisbe & Ada. They are getting along better, but sleeping (for me) is still iffy.
- Walked a mile with Thisbe this morning.

Friday/Saturday Morning

- I showed Firefly to my captive 9th graders (I'll have them for about three hours in the morning for the next week). What a great show. Showed The Patriot to my afternoon classes. It drives me nuts to sit around & not teach during the grad exam - but that's what we have to do.
- Working hard at regulating dog behavior and toxic waste.
- I've had a chance to surf the net a lttle and have been mostly checking out scifi sources and the new io9 is pretty damn good.
- I'm entertained by the Iron Man Trailer
- I've added a few good del.icio.us links lately as well
- Walked a mile this morning with Thisbe
- Spent the rest of the morning trying to fix the Austin High wikipedia page, which had obviously been done by a Decatur High plant.