Semester, COMMENCE!
First day of classes! It’s super early this year (all the dates are weird this year), but we’re done on like December 6th or something, so it balances out.
This is going to be my first time (officially) coordinating MATH 249, though I wish I was coordinating STAT 213 as well, as that course has become my baby over the past four years or so.
At least I get to teach a section of it, though!
Flipper (not the dolphin)
So I just found out about this wild open ocean research platform called the RP FLIP, which is designed to flood (partially) and flip 90 degrees so that the top of the platform is sticking straight up from the water.
It’s not in operation anymore, but there are of course videos of it doing its thing.
Can you imagine seeing this thing and having no idea what the hell is going on?
A more in-depth vid:
Wild.
Y’know What?
This was a good summer.
It’s been the first summer in several years where I’m not frantically prepping for something big, like ASHA or tenure track renewal or tenure. We had good weather while my mom was up here in June and despite it being like 100+ degrees in Moscow when I was down there in July, at least I got to go down there (and I didn’t get injured this time!).
I had lots of time to experiment with my new favorite medium of watercolor and got to watch a LOT of SolarBalls while doing it.
I got to run a lot, even if most of it was at like 3 AM in the pitch black and in creepy Bowness Park.
Yup.
Good summer.
Two Unpopular Media Opinions:
1. Breaking Bad did not live up to the hype. It was good, but it wasn’t as good as I was expecting it to be given all the praise.
2. I don’t understand the appeal of Stranger Things, I don’t think I ever will, and shows that take like a decade to release all their seasons should be launched into the sun.
END
Computer Science Department, WHY?
In the Science A building on campus, there are these little showcase windows, one for each department in the Faculty of Science, that show off articles, objects, videos, etc. of interest from each department. Some of them are pretty boring (Chemistry just has a big periodic table in theirs), some haven’t been changed in a while (Math/Stats has had the same papers and crocheted patterns/figures for like a decade), and some get changed up quite frequently. Computer Science’s case is a good example of that last category. They change their content every few months it seems.
And what do they have in there right now?
I have a visceral reaction of dread and panic when I see these slides, man. Not because of teaching online (though that was pretty rough), but just because of all the early pandemic stuff in general.
Claudia’s Dental Saga: Episode 11
In the never-ending saga that is “Claudia Mahler and the No Good, Very Bad Teeth,” I got the mold done for my crown plus a cavity filling.
Man, I remember when I was a kid and had absolutely NO teeth trouble.
But then I grew up and destroyed my teeth in a matter of about six months with a really bad habit and now they’re all awful.
Ugh.
Somewhat Mid-Year Mileage Update!
So I had to switch to a new pair of shoes today and it’s been a while since I’ve done a mileage update, so LET’S GO!
Not counting today, I’ve walked/run 4,264.57 miles so far this year. That’s approximately 150 miles more than I’d done by this time last year and almost 700 miles more than I’d done by this time in 2023.
The ultimate goal is still 10,000 kilometers (about 6,200 miles)…can I do it???
Water Main Shutdown COMMENCE
Here we go again!
It sounds like this repair (these repairs?) are going to take a while; we’ll see if the city complies or if people will start rebelling, haha.
The city did do a pretty bad job of getting the word out about this second shutdown, though. You’d think with something as critical as not running out of potable water would warrant, I don’t know, at least like a pamphlet in the mail. Or they could do like they did with the original water main break and send out an emergency alert. Just so that people know what’s going on.
Bah. Who knows. We’ll see.
Random Things I Miss from Childhood and Teenagerhood
- The Pizza Hut Book-It! program
- Birthday parties where the whole class was invited and we got goodie bags of cheap and amazing trinkets
- Holding birthday parties at the University Inn where we’d get a poolside room (and I’d get to give out goodie bags of cheap and amazing trinkets)
- My dad’s condo
- Going to my dad’s on the weekend (except for going to church, haha, and only after about age 13)
- Going to my dad’s after school during junior high and being an absolute nuisance in the Yahoo! chatrooms
- Pre-2006 internet
- Trolling the hell out of people on Yahoo! Chat
- Fruitopia
- Opening presents at my mom’s on Christmas Eve and opening presents at my dad’s on Christmas
- Doing all my dumb artsy “films” with my mom’s camcorder
Paranoia? Preparedness.
So since it seems like you can get Covid now just from looking at an infected person*, I decided to go get an air purifier for my office for an additional layer of protection.
I don’t let anyone in my office anymore because it’s my “Covid Safe Zone” (I hold office hours in a different room), but the cleaners come in there every few weeks and mop the floors and stuff, and I want a way to help clear the air faster and more efficiently after someone else has been in there.
And also just in general, because I don’t trust our ventilation system anymore, either.
Anyway, behold!
(Yes, I have Christmas lights in my office. They make me happy, fight me.)
*Obviously an exaggeration, but the newest strains seem super contagious
CHRISTOPHER TIN IS DOING THE CIV VII MUSIC
LSJFLSHGLESAFHLFHF
(For context: he did Baba Yetu for Civ IV and Sogno di Volare for Civ VI, which are two amazing songs)
BLURBLURBLURBLUR
IT’S A SURVEY OH WOW HEY GUESS WHAT NO ONE CARES
Have you ever been to Legoland®?
Nope. I do miss the thousands of Lego pieces I had as a kid, though. My childhood predates the Lego kits; give me the tubs o’ bricks any day, anyway.
Have you ever done something heroic?
I don’t think so.
Have you ever built a snowman?
Probably? I remember we used to roll these giant snowballs on the playground in elementary school (like, big enough it took five of us to push them); I’m sure we made snowmen, too.
Do you have any lucky items, objects or traditions?
I used to have an outfit that I’d wear whenever I had a test in college.
Do you have any superstitions?
Not really. I have routines that I like to uphold, but I wouldn’t call them superstitions.
What’s your favourite Movie quote?
“Disco is NOT dead! Disco is LIFE!” (Mystery Men)
Do you wear sunglasses indoors to look cool or stylish?
I wear my sunglasses inside so I can so I can…
Are you a hat person?
I wear a hat when I walk. I wear a different hat when I run. Apparently I look really good in hats. I wouldn’t call myself a hat person, though.
Do you prefer digital or rotary/analogue clocks?
Analog. I’ve switched my Garmin display to an analog clock because I’m cool as shit.
Have you ever been to a gym?
I miss the gym, yo. I miss being able to go to Anytime Fitness at like 4 AM to go for a walk/run when it’s -35 outside.
Have you ever been approached by someone who knew you but you couldn’t remember them for the life of you?
This happens all the time with my old students, haha.
What do you do to keep fit?
I walk. I run. I loathe my appearance with the fire of a thousand suns and use my self-hatred to fuel my walks and runs.
How often do you wash your ears?
The insides or the outsides?
Could you go out with someone who had a child from a previous relationship?
No. I don’t like kids. I don’t want kids.
How much would it cost to buy your love?
Already in love, sorry.
What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?
Existed.
Voyage
On this day in 1977, Voyager 2 was launched! The probe’s main mission was to study the outer planets and then study interstellar space beyond the heliosphere. It was able to visit the four outer planets due to their periodic alignment in the late 1970s and reached Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune in 1979, 1981, 1986, and 1989, respectively. It remains the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune (which is sad…the ice giants need more attention!).
It also carries one of the two Voyager Golden Records, which act as time capsules and are designed to be studied by any intelligent extraterrestrial life that may encounter them.
Also, slightly related (and I’m mentioning it here because I saw it on Tumblr today), here is a painting by Rick Guidice that visualizes a Pioneer probe doing a slingshot move using Jupiter’s gravity and if you say this isn’t the coolest freaking thing you’ve ever seen then you’d be WRONG.
Claudia’s Dental Saga: Episode 10
More dental crap today. Teeth were cleaned. Looks like I’ll need a crown on that broken tooth but won’t need a root canal on it.
Hooray.
(I know nobody cares. I don’t care either, but whatev.)
Scale
I think it’s really hard for humans to, in general, understand scale at either an extremely small level or an extremely large level. That’s why I’m always interested in things that attempt to help us understand such extremeness.
Such as this one! Here’s an attempt to give us an idea of the ridiculous size of the Solar System and the distances between the objects within it by traveling in “real time” at the speed of light from the sun outwards.
Also, slightly related, but I’m so glad that the little Solar System drawings are still on the Moscow side of the Chipman Trail. I’ve always loved those and their attempt at scale.
HOLD UP
You mean to tell me that all the male characters in SolarBalls are voiced by THE SAME PERSON??
That is some ridiculous talent. I mean, listen to this:
All of those voices are the same dude. He also does like a dozen or more moons, too. And Astrodude. And Houston.
I’m a sucker for great voice acting, and this is great voice acting. Like I’ve said in the past, there have been at least three times when this freaking series about talking planets has made me cry, and all three have been due in large part to the amazing voice acting.
And now I love this series even more, hahaha.
An Apple a Day Can’t Make Me Good at Watercoloring
But I’ll try anyway. This is my first non-flower in a while!
Migraine! Again!
DIDN’T I JUST HAVE ONE OF THESE LIKE TWO WEEKS AGO
RIP Reznor
So one of my favorite cats on TikTok unfortunately just passed away. He was a big orange polydactyl cat named Reznor. Even though he was obviously not my kitty, it’s always sad to see them go.
Edit: sounds like his mom is going to keep his account up so that she can still share old videos of him. Here he is if you want to see the sweet boy (and the other sweet cats she’s got).
Claudia’s Dental Saga: Episode…9?
Dentist time.
Ugh.
So they weren’t able to do anything with the half tooth today, but they said as long as it’s not hurting, just be careful with it and chew on the other side of my mouth (which I can’t really do because I have a GAPING HOLE where that bridge needs to go…).
X-rays were done, though, and it sounds like they’ll be able to fix things next time I go in there.
I repeat: ugh.
I freaking love watercoloring, yo
The pinks in my watercolor palette blend really nicely. This one turned out pretty good, considering, y’know, my lack of talent.
Consistency, Persistence, Payoff
I think I have finally gotten to the point where running a marathon is routine. I’ve been doing a marathon basically every week this year (the only exceptions have been weeks where the weather just hasn’t allowed it, like those -30 degree nonsense weeks we had back in January) and they no longer feel that much more difficult than my regular 18-mile runs.
And that was one of my goals this year – to make that distance a “routine” distance – and now it is.
So that’s cool I guess.
GeekOut BandPants
The SpongeBob SquarePants episode “Band Geeks” originally aired on September 7, 2001. Since then, there have been 276 more episodes of the show. “Band Geeks” still holds, in my opinion, the title of having the coolest scene in all of SpongeBob history:
Eigenblogger 