More Excitement

Today we received word on campus that the campus police had received an anonymous email from someone claiming to have overheard someone else planning to bring a gun to campus and "do something" to a teacher in one of our buildings. The university sent an alert to the campus community saying that no one has seen anyone with a gun, nor has anything else suspicious been reported to the police. Therefore, we should remain alert and go about our regular schedule. However, one department in the affected building has decided to cancel its classes for the rest of the day because of the threat, well that and the fact that the heaters are working overtime and making the temperature unbearable over there.

It is entirely possible that this is some person's idea of an April Fool's joke--I think that's probably the case--but it's a rather sick joke.

Bombfuzzled

I would normally be in class right now instead of blogging, but I seem to have a free hour because of a bomb threat in the building where my class should be meeting. You'll probably hear about it on the news tonight, as I saw a news van cruising around campus a few minutes ago.

I just wish the guy had called in the threat a little earlier so that I wouldn't have walked all the way across campus just to find the building closed.

Things that make you go hmmm.

Yesterday Husband and I received a notice from the Internal Revenue Service that we may be receiving a tax rebate check from the government. The letter was very vague, and it didn't say much more than what we have been hearing on the news for the past several weeks. Husband and I just shook our heads and wondered how much money our government has just wasted sending out letters to everyone who may get a check.

According to a Newsweek article, the cost to send a letter out to approximately 130 million households is 41.8 million dollars.

Nearly $42 million to tell us something that anyone who has been even remotely near a television or radio for the past month has already heard about.

There are so many things I could say right now, but I think just shaking my head will suffice.

Independent truckers will soon be priced out of business.

Unless you drive a diesel powered vehicle, you probably haven't thought much about the fact that the price of diesel has recently risen to around $3.75, which is around .60 higher than regular gasoline. If you don't have to buy diesel, you may think that this doesn't affect you. However, you are wrong.

Have you noticed the price of groceries going up? Much of the reason for the escalation in food prices can be attributed to high diesel prices. Think about it. Nearly everything that you buy in the store arrived there in a truck that runs on diesel fuel, and when the cost of diesel goes up, so does the cost of transporting those goods to the stores. Thus, the prices of those goods goes up accordingly.

Up until the past few years, the price of a gallon of diesel fuel had been lower than the price of a gallon of regular gasoline by around 30 to 40 cents. However in the past four to five years, diesel has been 15 to 25 cents more than gasoline, and just last week, diesel went up nearly 25 cents per gallon in one day.

Even if you can still afford to fill up your car's gas tank, the cost of diesel is something we all need to be concerned about because the higher the price of diesel, the higher the price of nearly everything else we buy, including that gasoline that gets hauled to the gas pumps in a diesel truck.

I'm a winner

I am flattered and honored that Ayatollah Mugsy would choose my haiku as first place winner in his Valentine's Day haiku contest.

Now if I can only find a way to use my remarkable talent to augment my teacher's salary.

Duh!

A couple of researchers recently learned from their study that men think that kissing should lead to sex.

Did they really have to do a study to figure that out?

I'm It

Justin tagged me the other day, and I'm just now finding out about it. The deal is to pick up a book of at least 123 pages, go to page 123, find the first five sentences, and then quote the next three. So here goes:

"To a sensitive being, pity is not seldom pain. And when at last it is perceived that such pity cannot lead to effectual succor, common sense bids the soul be rid of it. What I saw that morning persuaded me that the scrivener was the victim of innate and incurable disorder."

I'm going to quote the next sentence as well, as the above makes little sense without it (and because I just like the next sentence):

"I might give alms to his body; but his body did not pain him; it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach."

This is from the story "Bartleby, the Scrivener" by Herman Melville, and it was in a literature anthology on a shelf in my office.

I'm supposed to tag five people, but I'll leave it open to anyone who wants to participate. (I would like to hear from you, Mugsy!)

Don't disagree with the preacher or you may end up in jail.

I just read an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal about churches who are taking dramatic measures in disciplining church members for "sinning." One little old lady in Michigan was arrested for trespassing, handcuffed, and taken to jail for attending church after having been banned from church after pressing the new pastor to appoint a board of deacons. The pastor decided that she was spreading a "cancerous spirit" in the church and banned her from attending anymore. At another church in Texas, a woman who who went to her pastor for counseling and confessed having had an extra-marital affair. The pastor publicized her sin to the congregation, apparently so that they could shun her.

According to the article, more and more church leaders are disciplining their congregants by exposing their "sins" to the rest of the congregation, causing much discord and humiliation. Isn't this the type of behavior that Jesus condemned the Pharisees for? This type of stuff is one more reason that I have against joining a church.

What Happened to Christian Radio?

It has been my habit for quite a while to listen to public radio in the afternoons on my way home from work, but with my new schedule this semester, I go home too early to listen to the NPR news. So this afternoon I decided to turn on Christian radio and maybe hear one of those bible question and answer shows. However, to my dismay, I found that on one Christian station a woman was talking about the United States' economy. On another station another lady was talking about immigration. And on another station a man was talking about the importance of having a clean colon.

Whatever happened to talking about Jesus on Christian radio?

Branching Out Into New Territory

After much prodding by my students, I finally joined Facebook. For the longest, I saw absolutely no use in it; it seemed just a frivolous waste of time. However, I've become convinced that my having a Facebook page will result in more students knowing what is actually going on in class more of the time.

Students inevitably check Facebook first thing when logging onto the internet. If they know that they can go to my page and be reminded of the due date for the next assignment, they will do that long before they will log into the school's server where I keep my class website. After exploring Facebook and its different applications, I have found that I can make my page a somewhat educational experience by adding news feeds and a "word a day" application. So as my students are goofing off online, maybe they will pick up some useful information that could actually turn into a good class discussion.

I'm continually finding that I have to go to where my students are if I'm going to be able to get them to learn what I need for them to learn. I'm hopeful that this will be a good experience.

(Of course, my students aren't the only people welcome at my Facebook page. If you know my real name so that you can find me there, I'll be glad to "friend" you.)

Who's to Blame?

Everyone at my university received the following email alert today:

A female [university] student reported that she was possibly sexually assaulted by someone she knew at [a particular] fraternity house in the early morning hours of Saturday, December 1, 2007. The female student reported that the alleged assault took place following a party at the house, and that she was incapacitated at the time of the incident. This case is under investigation by the [university] Police Department.

Why was this female student "incapacitated"? Is it possible, just by an off chance, that she had passed out from drinking herself into oblivion? I hear from students all the time about their drinking binges in which the next day they remember little to nothing of the previous night's events. How does this student know that in a drunken stupor, she didn't consent to sex?

And does she plan to tell her parents about this "possible" sexual assault? If she does, will they be objective enough to realize her level of irresponsibility in putting herself into that kind of situation? Or will they want to place all the blame on the male student, or even blame the university?

I certainly do not condone the behavior of the person who possibly assaulted her, but this young woman certainly should bear some responsibility. Surely she has learned a lesson from this.

Our Faith Needs Some More Work(s)

This morning I listened to a story on public radio about a couple of women who had encounters with different presidential candidates. One of the women went to a rally for Barak Obama in hopes of speaking to him. From the story:

Punteney has faced much tragedy. One of her brothers was burned as a boy in a Fourth of July fireworks accident and later died. Her brother, as she told Obama, has late-stage cancer. Her father died recently. Her mother has not been well. Punteney said she cries a lot.

A few weeks ago, at the home in Oelwein, Iowa, she shares with her mother, Punteney said she'd been inspired to see Obama when he came to the area.

"I'd seen the commercials," she said. "And he just seemed sincere, like he's for people like my mom, my brother and me."

Many people feel politicians may not be the first place to turn when in dire need of help. But Punteney said she was confident Obama could do something to make her feel better.

"I never had anyone pay attention to me and my needs — and he held my hand," she said.

When I heard this I was reminded of all the people who followed after Jesus because they had no hope, because they needed something that no one else could, or would, give them. This woman sought comfort and relief from a political leader much the same way that people in Jesus’s day sought him out, hoping that he would bring them comfort and relief, hoping that he would bring about a political revolution and change society for the better. What a shame that two thousand years after Jesus came and taught people how to love each other that we still have people who feel the need to seek help and relief for their daily needs from a politician. It is obvious that the church is failing in its directive to feed Jesus’s sheep.

Obama told the woman that he was working to bring health insurance to all people, and then he said to her, "Tell your brother we're thinking of him. Maybe I'll write him a note before you leave today."

I realize that Obama is a busy man and that he can’t respond to every single request for help; however, his reply reminded me of the passage from James 2.15-16: If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

Those of us who call ourselves members of Christ’s church must do more than wish others well; we must do what we can to help make their lives better. We are called to go out of our way and sacrifice our own wants to help those who need it.

I read another story this morning that is indicative of Christians’ lack of response to those in need:

When the first snow falls this winter, 61-year-old Grace Murphy won't be turning on the heat in her Dorchester, Massachussetts home.

With her heating oil tank at empty, she'll be huddled around her gas oven with her husband Paul, 66, and her 88-year old mother.

"I don't buy heating oil because I can't afford to," Murphy said.

[snip]

In Murphy's case, spending on heating oil will mean cutting back on medical expenses, and trimming down an already slim food budget. Murphy, a diabetic, has spent months without taking her medication.

How can those of us who have more than enough tolerate knowing that others are skipping meals and struggling to keep warm?

I recently heard the results of an annual poll that asks consumers to estimate the amount of money they plan to spend this year on Christmas gifts. The average number this year is $909, up from last year’s figure. I know people who will spend hundreds of dollars this year on Christmas gifts for their children, children who received hundreds of dollars worth of gifts last year. What would happen if Instead of spending $500 on toys that the child will get tired of in two weeks, every family were to spend that money on helping someone pay a heating bill or doctor bill, or helping to stock that person’s pantry?

I think if we did this, we would be much, much closer to the kingdom that Jesus promised to his followers.

Keep Quiet!

I usually think that church signs are really cheezy, but today I saw a really good one:

Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.

If we Christians would spend less time talking and more time doing, this world would be much better off.

Milestone

Well, it's finally arrived, the day I knew would come, the day that would make me officially feel "old."

Yesterday one of my students told me that her mother is 36 years old.

I am older than the parent of one of my college students.

Working Through the Distractions

This week has been an extremely busy one. I took up essay drafts from all of my students, and that is all I've had time to read this week. Actually, I did manage to get my bible lesson read, and I read a couple of blogs, but the bulk of my time has been spent with freshman personal experience stories and sophomore analytical responses.

This semester I'm experimenting with small group writing workshops in which each group member must exchange essays with the others and read and comment on each essay outside of class. Then the group comes back together to discuss what they have read and help each other improve the essay for the final (graded) draft. This is working out rather well, as the students seem to enjoy "playing teacher" with each other's essays. However, since I am a member of all the groups, I must read and comment on over 100 essays. To do this in a timely manner is next to impossible. I actually was a little over-ambitious in planning how many essays I can read in a week which resulted in my not finishing all the essays that were due to be discussed today. However, it seems to have worked out well anyway because the students were prepared and were able to carry the conversation without much input from me. Perhaps this is what should happen most of the time from now on.

Today is game day at my university, and early this morning parking lots were already being blocked off for tailgating before the game this evening. I really hate Thursday games because it seems that our university is trying to turn into another UT. Tailgating and other pre-game activities are more important than academic activities on days like today. And the students aren't the only ones buying into this attitude; the administration is promoting it as well, it seems. Tailgating begins well before the game and takes place not only near the stadium but also in the middle of campus. The campus is open to all tailgaters, student and non-student alike, and cars are parked in some of the grassy areas which have been transformed into picnic areas complete with gas and charcoal grills brought from home. And although our campus is dry, alcohol is allowed and flows freely. So even as some students are still trekking from class to class, others are enjoying the festivities that are taking place right outside classroom windows. I'll admit that the atmosphere is nice, but it makes it hard for those teachers who have serious activities planned for class. I'm glad I'm not teaching a late afternoon class today.

I'm supposed to do office hours until 2:00 today. My students have essays due next week, and some of them need to come in and get help. But I doubt that any will come today, not with all the better options outside my office.

The band has just begun rehersing out on the lawn. I guess this signals the official start to tailgating. Class dismissed.

Quotable Quote

From a second-year college student and third-string cornerback on the university football team:

If one has God given talent, one should not misuse it or take it for granite.

Labor Day Anniversary

I survived the first week back at school without any big mishaps. My students seem OK, but I can already tell that I have at least a couple of slackers. However, I also already know which is my favorite class. My research and argument students had to read a couple of chapters and a newspaper article that I assigned, and one class in particular really impressed me with their level of participation and the intelligence of their discussion. I'm really looking forward to going to that class every day. The only bad thing about it will be that the rest of the day will go downhill because the other two classes after that one don't seem nearly as talkative. But maybe that was just first-week nerves or something.

Today is JMG and Husband's 12th anniversary. I can't believe it's been that long sometimes. We marked the occasion by going out to eat at a home-cooking type of restaurant last night and having some dessert. It was OK. I think today we'll make some homemade ice cream, and if I'm feeling really celebratory, I might even bake a cake.

It's difficult to make special anniversary plans when the occasion falls during the first week of school, and this year it's even harder to do so because we have had an emergency with one of our dogs. We had to take Trixie to the vet yesterday because she was in terrible pain in her back. X-rays showed that she has two bulging discs. She spent the night in the hospital last night receiving pain killers, muscle relaxers, and steroid shots. We're hopeful that she can come home sometime today or tomorrow, but when she does, she'll have to be on strict cage rest for four weeks. Do you know how hard it's going to be to keep a Jack Russell Terrier happy in a cage for four weeks? We'll probably be sleeping with a cage on the bed for a while.

I hope everyone has a nice day off tomorrow if you have the day off. I know I'm going to enjoy mine, even if I end up having to do some school work.

Back to the Salt Mines and Other Stuff

I've been quiet lately because I've been getting ready to go back to work, which started back up today. I won't meet classes until this afternoon, so the day has been pretty good so far. We'll see what types of first-day of the semester emergencies this semester brings.

Nothing noteworthy has been happening to me as usual, which I guess is good. Husband and I went to the fair last week. We decided this year we'd pay the dollar to see the "World's Smallest Woman" assuming it would be some kind of trick with mirrors and stuff. But to our surprise, when we went up the steps and looked over the wall, there sat a real live, very tiny woman. We said hi and then hurried back down the steps, amazed that she was for real. The next day when we were talking about it, we realized that we both had the same weird, uneasy feeling when we saw the real live woman. It wasn't that we were weired out by her size, but that we felt strange about paying a dollar to look at an unusual person. We wondered whether she's happy being a side show, if she's placing herself on display by her own free will. We both agreed that we'd have felt much better if the whole thing had been a mirror trick instead of a real person.

We also avoided the horse-made ice cream this year. If you have never seen that, don't bother. They put a horse on an inclined treadmill that is hooked up to turn a manual ice cream freezer. The horse must walk or risk slipping off the treadmill. It seems really uncomfortable for the horse.

This was our first visit to the fair in several years, and I think we got enough this time that we won't need to go back for several more.

Convenience is not all it's cracked up to be.

Yesterday I stopped at the Kroger to pick up a couple of items, and when I went up front to pay, there was only one register open. Because a lady with a full cart was already in line, I decided to go against my principles and use the self check out. I do not like checking out my own groceries because first of all, it takes me twice as long as it would take an employee, especially when I’m buying a head of lettuce and the barcode is crumpled up and I have to straighten it so that the scanner will read it. Then I have to feed my money into the machine, and if a dollar bill has a crease on the edge, I have to take the time to straighten that out as well. But the main reason that I am against checking my own groceries is that I don’t get a discount for doing so. Part of the price that I pay for groceries goes toward the store’s overhead, which includes paying someone to work at a cash register, take my money, and bag my groceries. When I have to perform these tasks myself at a store, the store is receiving that much more pure profit while providing less customer service. Also, the extra labor involved in my checking my own groceries means that I am in effect paying more for my groceries than when I let the cashier check them.

Every now and then, when I am in the store and see a long line of people waiting to check out, I forget these things and go through the self check out because I perceive it to be more convenient. Yesterday, however, as I struggled to get the lettuce to ring up, I remembered why I hate the self check out, and I resolved to from now on be content to wait in the line and get my money’s worth in customer service.

Summer's Almost Over

Yesterday I signed a contract making it official that I am employed by the university for at least one more, and up to three, academic years. School starts up again on Monday, August 27. That gives me a little more than three weeks left to finish getting ready. Where did the summer go?

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Husband and I have begun a new project. We are now a part of the community of antique car owners. For a long time I have thought it would be neat to have a car to fix up and drive around to the various cruise-ins, and husband has thought so as well, but we've just now gotten around to doing something about it. We recently acquired a 1949 Ford sedan and a 1949 Ford pickup truck. Alas, we won't be driving our antique automobiles to the cruise-ins for a while, as they require massive work to get them road-ready. My past few weeks have been spent perusing hot rod magazines, websites, and parts catalogs. Yesterday, we took a trip to the paint store and a couple of body shops. We have a vision for what our autos will look like, but it will take some time to get there. My future contains lots of sandpaper.