This is not new. This is something a wrote a while back, before blogging was in, and before blogging was out and tweeting was in. I used to write before i had a blog. I will probably post more of these reprints here in the future because i like to read the things i write. so here it is:
My Purdue Experience
On February 26, 2005, I, accompanied by your friendly webmaster, attended the President’s dinner at Purdue University. I have only been to Purdue this one time, so my experience may not be a representative sampling of this fine institution. I will attempt to convey my experience as best as possible.
As noted above this was my first trip to Purdue University. On no previous occasion could reason be found that would compel me to visit West Lafayette. It seemed that on this occasion even the Gods disapproved of my trip. The drive from Auburn to Fort Wayne was made under sunny skies in unseasonable warmth. As the car drove ever closer to our destination the weather became more and more inclement. Sleet and snow assaulted us in ever greater quantities as we drew closer to West Lafayette, but we would not be deterred. Finally, as nothing short of an Apocalypse would prevent the completion of our journey, we arrived in West Lafayette. Their intentions frustrated, the Gods then ceased their climatic assault. The first thing one notices upon arrival in West Lafayette is the general appearance of despondency. One is struck with the impression that the buildings wished they could be located somewhere else. Shortly after the sight of the city one is assaulted by the smell. West Lafayette carries a rank odor. Perhaps this smell goes unnoticed by the residents and students as a result of constant exposure. Perhaps not?
We then began the task of locating the Stuart Center Gallery. This task was made unnecessarily difficult because Purdue elected to not label its buildings. This was the first campus I had ever been to that eschewed the convention of large signs proclaiming the name of each structure. Eventually we resorted to seeking directions from one of the students. This fellow seemed to have a poor command of language skills, but his spacial visualization and mechanical reasoning were superb. Mike informed me that such students were common at the university.
We eventually arrived at the Stuart Center Gallery. We were there for an exhibition of rare texts by such luminaries as Hobbes, Locke, Newton, and Smith. The centerpiece of the collection was a third Dunlap printing of the Declaration of Independence published in 1776, of which only three copies remain in existence. It was charming to see the assembled tradesmen and farmers (Purdue Alumni) celebrating works that were clearly beyond their comprehension. At one point one of the guests remarked, “Them there books is pretty old.”
Following the exhibition we were escorted to the Purdue Memorial Union where dinner was served. Having been to President’s dinners at other universities I expected each table to have a student hostess, or two. These hostesses are normally comely lasses whose presence makes the alumni blood flow warm with randy thoughts of young co-eds. I was surprised to see several average looking women numbering amongst the ten assembled student representatives. I remarked to Mike that it was encouraging to see that this progressive institution did not select its hostesses merely based on their appearance alone. Mike then commented, “No, these are the most attractive women at Purdue.”
Following dinner we then headed home. There was a palpable sense of improvement as we left West Lafayette. Despite the late hour of out departure, I swear that the sky actually grew brighter. Surely the Gods were smiling upon us as we took out leave from the campus of Purdue University.
- Bob
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Law Day
I've been doing Law Day for fifteen years now. Friday was Law Day in DeKalb County. Normally we observe the first Friday in May as Law Day, but this year it got moved to accommodate better scheduling. So what is Law Day? Lets see what the trusty Wikipedia has to say:
Long before President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared it, May 1st was May Day. A day to remember the struggles of workers who were killed or oppressed in their fight for better wages and working conditions.
Counter to this, Eisenhower proclaimed May 1 (Previously known as May Day or International Workers' Day) would now be known as Law Day, U.S.A. in 1958. Its observance was later codified into law by Public Law 87-20 on April 7, 1961. (Thanks, Wikipedia)
Erik Weber deserves a lot of credit for the way Law Day is run. Typically he coordinates it, makes sure all the classes get covered, and makes sure we have party favors for the class. This year we had a pen, pencil, button, and T-shirt. I had two classes. I kept the pens, gave the teachers the buttons, and let the teachers give away the T-shirts. I cannot account for both pencils, but i think Stephanie and Cari are getting them. Additionally the Bar Association selects a book of two to put in each school's library. I like to imagine that at lest one of these books has been looked at by a student.
Now we know what Law Day is. But what is law day for me? Law Day is mostly about me going back to DeKalb High School and looking in on things there. I don't go to DeKalb every year, but most years i get one or more classes there. Most of the teachers i had are now gone, so i no longer visit with them. I do check to see if the plaque for National Merit Finalists is still up. It is, DHS has still not had another year with three finalists.,seems that most years they do not have one.
This year i signed in at the front desk. When i started doing Law Day there was less security and i would simply wander in and try to find the class i was covering. No i sign in because it is the done thing. I refuse to wear the lanyard, like i do all lanyards and ID badges. Claramary warns that someday the Commissioners will make all DeKalb employees wear ID badges, fortunately judges are not county employees, otherwise i might look like a jerk when i refuse to wear mine. But that day is five years into the future and if obama is re-elected, janet napolitano and homeland security will probably issue everyone badges and you will have to be groped before entering any public building. Keep this in mind when voting in 2012.
So then i was met by my teacher, she was younger than i. I would observe most of the teachers were younger than i. This was an odd sensation. After twenty-two years DHS does not regress me back to the eighteen year old version of myself any longer, but it is strange to be older than the teachers. The students never get any older, so they do not make me feel old, but seeing these fresh young teachers did, a little.
I could go on to tell you about the students and their questions. How the one girl was appalled that i was so callous in doing my job. How i met the guy in my class that people would tell me was what i was like as a senior. But let's face it, you have all heard these stories before so i won't belabor them here. I did tell the students not to be lawyers, be dentists instead. Next year i will select something else because it is far too difficult to get into dental school now for a typical kid to think about getting in to dental school. Maybe i will suggest CPA.
I am now bored with this subject so i will wrap it up so i can go play Bioshock.
Later
Bob
Long before President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared it, May 1st was May Day. A day to remember the struggles of workers who were killed or oppressed in their fight for better wages and working conditions.
Counter to this, Eisenhower proclaimed May 1 (Previously known as May Day or International Workers' Day) would now be known as Law Day, U.S.A. in 1958. Its observance was later codified into law by Public Law 87-20 on April 7, 1961. (Thanks, Wikipedia)
Erik Weber deserves a lot of credit for the way Law Day is run. Typically he coordinates it, makes sure all the classes get covered, and makes sure we have party favors for the class. This year we had a pen, pencil, button, and T-shirt. I had two classes. I kept the pens, gave the teachers the buttons, and let the teachers give away the T-shirts. I cannot account for both pencils, but i think Stephanie and Cari are getting them. Additionally the Bar Association selects a book of two to put in each school's library. I like to imagine that at lest one of these books has been looked at by a student.
Now we know what Law Day is. But what is law day for me? Law Day is mostly about me going back to DeKalb High School and looking in on things there. I don't go to DeKalb every year, but most years i get one or more classes there. Most of the teachers i had are now gone, so i no longer visit with them. I do check to see if the plaque for National Merit Finalists is still up. It is, DHS has still not had another year with three finalists.,seems that most years they do not have one.
This year i signed in at the front desk. When i started doing Law Day there was less security and i would simply wander in and try to find the class i was covering. No i sign in because it is the done thing. I refuse to wear the lanyard, like i do all lanyards and ID badges. Claramary warns that someday the Commissioners will make all DeKalb employees wear ID badges, fortunately judges are not county employees, otherwise i might look like a jerk when i refuse to wear mine. But that day is five years into the future and if obama is re-elected, janet napolitano and homeland security will probably issue everyone badges and you will have to be groped before entering any public building. Keep this in mind when voting in 2012.
So then i was met by my teacher, she was younger than i. I would observe most of the teachers were younger than i. This was an odd sensation. After twenty-two years DHS does not regress me back to the eighteen year old version of myself any longer, but it is strange to be older than the teachers. The students never get any older, so they do not make me feel old, but seeing these fresh young teachers did, a little.
I could go on to tell you about the students and their questions. How the one girl was appalled that i was so callous in doing my job. How i met the guy in my class that people would tell me was what i was like as a senior. But let's face it, you have all heard these stories before so i won't belabor them here. I did tell the students not to be lawyers, be dentists instead. Next year i will select something else because it is far too difficult to get into dental school now for a typical kid to think about getting in to dental school. Maybe i will suggest CPA.
I am now bored with this subject so i will wrap it up so i can go play Bioshock.
Later
Bob
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Kris is a Good Friend
"Did you open the box?" This is the question Kris posed to me today. Of course i had not opened the box yet. Things have been hectic around here. Wedding planning is consuming more and more of my time. Erin is doing approximately one hundred times more work on the wedding than i am, so you can imagine the pressure she is under. But this story is not about the wedding. This story is about the box.
"No, i have not opened it yet."
"You probably should," replied Kris.
And i promised i would open the box when i got home. So i drove home from Warsaw determined to open the box. I had no idea what might be in it. It was given to me on Thursday along with two other presents. In the hustle and bustle of the days events the box was all but forgotten.
The first thing Kris gave me was an odd magnetic circular object with a large plastic gem in the middle. In and of itself it was interesting. Then it turned out that he had supplied several of them in a range of colors. Turns out it was a purse holder. Neither of us have any use for them in their intended capacity, but they remain interesting and Erin will put them to good use.
The second gift was a tray of blue LED light up novelty ice cubes. They are blue. They light up. It should be apparent to any of you who have read more than one post here that i was quite taken with them. Kris is a good friend.
And we come to the box. Plain brown cardboard. It's dimensions were about 6'' x 6'' x 8''. Inside was an object wrapped in a styrofoam sheet. I unwrapped the object and was pleased and perplexed. Thanks to the handy megapixel camera that came with my Droid, you can see for yourself below:
I am quite taken with my new card box. Sometimes i think Kris is a better friend than i deserve. Then again there are the times that i do something brings us closer to parity, to wit
Thank you, Kris.
Later
Bob
"No, i have not opened it yet."
"You probably should," replied Kris.
And i promised i would open the box when i got home. So i drove home from Warsaw determined to open the box. I had no idea what might be in it. It was given to me on Thursday along with two other presents. In the hustle and bustle of the days events the box was all but forgotten.
The first thing Kris gave me was an odd magnetic circular object with a large plastic gem in the middle. In and of itself it was interesting. Then it turned out that he had supplied several of them in a range of colors. Turns out it was a purse holder. Neither of us have any use for them in their intended capacity, but they remain interesting and Erin will put them to good use.
The second gift was a tray of blue LED light up novelty ice cubes. They are blue. They light up. It should be apparent to any of you who have read more than one post here that i was quite taken with them. Kris is a good friend.
And we come to the box. Plain brown cardboard. It's dimensions were about 6'' x 6'' x 8''. Inside was an object wrapped in a styrofoam sheet. I unwrapped the object and was pleased and perplexed. Thanks to the handy megapixel camera that came with my Droid, you can see for yourself below:
 |
| Ok. So far this is pretty cool. |
 |
| Cool from this angle too. |
 | |||||
| That's right, it is a card box. |
I am quite taken with my new card box. Sometimes i think Kris is a better friend than i deserve. Then again there are the times that i do something brings us closer to parity, to wit
 |
| This was the last thing i got for Kris. |
Thank you, Kris.
Later
Bob
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
A Few Random Observations
I am trying to do a lot of things right now. I need to purchase my building, though to be fair Adam is in on that. Erin is in full-on wedding planning mode. The wheels of justice continue to grind. I am trying to use the damn treadmill. And i still try to find something to write about.
There is no unifying theme here today. I am just going to list random or semi-random things until i get bored or until you do, whichever comes first.
Pinball Wizard
That song rocks. No, it Rocks!, maybe even ROCKS! I am been listening to it a lot in the last few weeks. I went back and edited the last post to add a high definition version of the video. The costume is even better in HD so that you can make out the sequins.
Other Music
There are a few other videos i am currently viewing a lot. Mumford and Sons, The Cave is my current favorite video to view while on the treadmill. ET by Katy Perry might hold the top spot for treadmill music, but the Kanye parts suck.
Two Door Cinema Club, What You Know is going on the new disc i am making for the convertible. I am soliciting suggestions for additional tracks, please leave comments.
Chuck Taylors
I want to buy some Chucks. Erin is opposed. The question is not whether or not i get them, i will. The question is what color? I used to own a pair of electric blue/canary yellow extra high tops. Being an adult now i think i ought to get something a little more subdued. I am leaning towards a pair of Bright Blue Moons low tops. On the other hand Yellow would go with the Professor Zoom shirt.
T Mobile Commercials
As i finished the last section a T Mobile commercial came on. Those commercials wore out their welcome when they were Apple commercials. That Girl is hotter than Justin Long, what with her having long pretty hair and the correct genitalia to be attractive to me, but it was John Hodgman that made those commecials and he is absen from the T Mobile versions. If you doubt the talent of Mr. Hodgman, try checking this out.
Raising Hope
If you liked My Name Is Earl try this show out. Same creator, set in the same universe. Who knew that Martha Plimpton would turn out to be cute.
Ice Machine
My ice machine rules. I love having ice on command. If you think ice is just for cooling beverages you are really missing out. Zero calories and who cares how much electricity i use to get my snack of choice. If you are looking for environmental guilt and hand wringing over the fate of the planet, boy did you come to the wrong place.
Blue Moon Rising
Patrick Chapin has this book listed on Facebook. That was everything i knew about the book when i bought it. Sometimes gambles pay off.
Ok let's talk about the book.
Rupert is the second son of the Forrest King. His father sends him on a quest to slay a dragon. Rupert's only companion is his mount, a talking unicorn. In order to find the dragon he has to confront and deal with the Night Witch. Rupert and the unicorn must then cross the Darkwood, where the sun never shines and from which no living man has returned. Rupert scales the treacherous slopes leading to the dragon's lair braving bitter cold and a lack of provisions. Rupert then confronts the dragon and save it from a captive princess. When Rupert, the unicorn, dragon, and princess return to the Forrest Kingdom they are set upon in the Darkwood by a horde of demons. The dragon casts a mighty spell sending Rupert to the Rainbow's End where Rupert obtains a magic sword. Armed with the sword Rupert and his companions destroy the horde and return triumphantly to the Forrest Kingdom to confront Rupert's father and his destiny.
All of this happens in the first fifty pages.
There are still another three hundred fifty pages to this book.
I haven't read a better opening to a novel since i read Snow Crash. I am looking forward to the next book. God Bless Pat Chapin, Amazon.com, and the God Bless the United States of America. (Yes i stole that from the State of the Union Address. No i am not giving obama credit.)
Sports Show With Norm MacDonald
If you are not watching this show turn in your Y chromosome, our service representatives are standing by with a shiny new X chromosome for you since you are clearly not a man.
Firefly
Sam this is for you. If you do not watch this show i am not going to speak to you any longer. This time i am serious. You are only hurting yourself.
Externs
Externs are good. Everyone should have one. Too bad for you that i have the best one. Well to bad for all of you except Stephanie. To Stephanie, welcome back. I am excited to be working with you again.
Taxation
If you payed income taxes this year, congratulations! Welcome to the minority. This year for the first time a majority of Americans paid no income taxes. And obama wants to give more tax cuts to the 51% that paid no taxes.
Ok that is enough for now. Sports Show With Norm MacDonald is starting up. If you stuck it out to the end, leave a comment. I need songs for the new disc and color suggestions for my new Chucks.
Later
Bob
There is no unifying theme here today. I am just going to list random or semi-random things until i get bored or until you do, whichever comes first.
Pinball Wizard
That song rocks. No, it Rocks!, maybe even ROCKS! I am been listening to it a lot in the last few weeks. I went back and edited the last post to add a high definition version of the video. The costume is even better in HD so that you can make out the sequins.
Other Music
There are a few other videos i am currently viewing a lot. Mumford and Sons, The Cave is my current favorite video to view while on the treadmill. ET by Katy Perry might hold the top spot for treadmill music, but the Kanye parts suck.
Two Door Cinema Club, What You Know is going on the new disc i am making for the convertible. I am soliciting suggestions for additional tracks, please leave comments.
Chuck Taylors
I want to buy some Chucks. Erin is opposed. The question is not whether or not i get them, i will. The question is what color? I used to own a pair of electric blue/canary yellow extra high tops. Being an adult now i think i ought to get something a little more subdued. I am leaning towards a pair of Bright Blue Moons low tops. On the other hand Yellow would go with the Professor Zoom shirt.
T Mobile Commercials
As i finished the last section a T Mobile commercial came on. Those commercials wore out their welcome when they were Apple commercials. That Girl is hotter than Justin Long, what with her having long pretty hair and the correct genitalia to be attractive to me, but it was John Hodgman that made those commecials and he is absen from the T Mobile versions. If you doubt the talent of Mr. Hodgman, try checking this out.
Raising Hope
If you liked My Name Is Earl try this show out. Same creator, set in the same universe. Who knew that Martha Plimpton would turn out to be cute.
Ice Machine
My ice machine rules. I love having ice on command. If you think ice is just for cooling beverages you are really missing out. Zero calories and who cares how much electricity i use to get my snack of choice. If you are looking for environmental guilt and hand wringing over the fate of the planet, boy did you come to the wrong place.
Blue Moon Rising
Patrick Chapin has this book listed on Facebook. That was everything i knew about the book when i bought it. Sometimes gambles pay off.
Ok let's talk about the book.
Rupert is the second son of the Forrest King. His father sends him on a quest to slay a dragon. Rupert's only companion is his mount, a talking unicorn. In order to find the dragon he has to confront and deal with the Night Witch. Rupert and the unicorn must then cross the Darkwood, where the sun never shines and from which no living man has returned. Rupert scales the treacherous slopes leading to the dragon's lair braving bitter cold and a lack of provisions. Rupert then confronts the dragon and save it from a captive princess. When Rupert, the unicorn, dragon, and princess return to the Forrest Kingdom they are set upon in the Darkwood by a horde of demons. The dragon casts a mighty spell sending Rupert to the Rainbow's End where Rupert obtains a magic sword. Armed with the sword Rupert and his companions destroy the horde and return triumphantly to the Forrest Kingdom to confront Rupert's father and his destiny.
All of this happens in the first fifty pages.
There are still another three hundred fifty pages to this book.
I haven't read a better opening to a novel since i read Snow Crash. I am looking forward to the next book. God Bless Pat Chapin, Amazon.com, and the God Bless the United States of America. (Yes i stole that from the State of the Union Address. No i am not giving obama credit.)
Sports Show With Norm MacDonald
If you are not watching this show turn in your Y chromosome, our service representatives are standing by with a shiny new X chromosome for you since you are clearly not a man.
Firefly
Sam this is for you. If you do not watch this show i am not going to speak to you any longer. This time i am serious. You are only hurting yourself.
Externs
Externs are good. Everyone should have one. Too bad for you that i have the best one. Well to bad for all of you except Stephanie. To Stephanie, welcome back. I am excited to be working with you again.
Taxation
If you payed income taxes this year, congratulations! Welcome to the minority. This year for the first time a majority of Americans paid no income taxes. And obama wants to give more tax cuts to the 51% that paid no taxes.
Ok that is enough for now. Sports Show With Norm MacDonald is starting up. If you stuck it out to the end, leave a comment. I need songs for the new disc and color suggestions for my new Chucks.
Later
Bob
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