Walking Through the Park....

...and reminiscing....

So, I'm finally back in school, almost 20 years to the day I left.

It's kind of familiar, but still a new experience, as it seems that many new buildings have gone up, everyone's wired, and, of course, I'm sitting in the (new, to me at least) student union typing this post.

Twenty-five years ago, I would've had to go next door to the Engineering building and get in the computer lab to type this up and email it. And, let's face it, pretty much the only folks I could've emailed it to 20 years ago were my fellow professors and students, who I saw every damn day in the lab anyway, and wouldn't have even bothered.

The times they have done changed. Well, except for the pretty girls in jogging shorts running around the mall. Nowadays, I can snap a picture with my phone (I just did), and send it to my old college roommate up in the Pacific Northwest without a single pause of consideration (although I do wonder if his phone gets pictures).

Like I said, times changed. But, at least the Engineering building is still open and I got to sneak in and see my old T.A.'s office, even if I was leading a dog around with me, and we ignored all the "No Pets" signs. Twenty-five years ago, the Engineering, Computer Science, Architecture, and the Main, Science, and Medical Libraries were the only buildings that were open 24/7/365, and I know, because I spent way too many hours than a human being should writing code at 3 a.m. and eating out of vending machines. I guess some good came out of all that (wireless access for one), but it's still nice to get a look of surprise when I pull a mouse out of my bag to plug into the laptop. "Mouse?, they say. Why not use the trackpad?" Hell, people, when I was your age, we had to build our own mouse out of wooden blocks! A-and, we had punch cards, dammit!"

Wow. Gettin' crotchety in my old age. If'n I don't watch myself, I may go out to the mall area and yell at those young'uns to "Git the hell off my lawn!"

There's still a band playing and some activity going on out on the mall, and Old Main is still a nice place to watch the sunshine. And, some Mensa for high schoolers organization in doing science qualifications (sponsored by Raytheon) all over campus are walking by with the strangest looking experiments (it looks as if someone made a windmill with eggshells for the blades).

But, that's all for the travelogue. I'll try post if I get a chance to go to South Tucson for some real food, but otherwise, sometime when I get back to the homestead.

Enjoy the weekend!

St. Sleazy Needs a (Running) Mate

In the dying light of the last days of my old brewery, we still talk politics. Tonight, we had a bit of fun choosing running mates for St. Sleazy McCain. My choice was Charles Barkley, but Ted Nugent won the straw poll. I have to like the person who put Paris Hilton (who?) on the list. So, who should St. Sleazy McCain (running) mate with?

Another Friday Boobie

Sorry that I haven't been posting much lately. I haven't felt like I've had much to say. So here's the Friday boobie. Enjoy!

Why I Shouldn't Complain

My water is fixed, and I really shouldn't complain. A minor inconvenience, but not a disaster. A day without a shower may be less romantic, but it's really nothing. Other folks have had to deal with hurricanes, tornado's, blizzards, and earthquakes. I've spent days in the wilderness, and liked it. Sometimes we bitch about the smallest things. Thanks for the kind comments.

Is This a Prank?

Today started with a morning aggravation. I went to take a shower...no water. I was pretty sure that the bill was paid, so my immediate suspicion was that one of the housemates was celebrating April 1st. No such luck. Looking outside, the city is tearing up a large chunk of the water main. Dear city of Flagstaff: it would be really nice if you would tell us ahead of time before engaging in such projects. And, as April Fool's jokes go, I didn't find this one amusing.

Baseball and Our Shrub

Zymurgian and I watched last night's season opening Nationals-Braves game (OK, the season actually opened in Japan), and were forced to listen to shrub opining in the announcers booth with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. While it was painful to listen, I really wish that shrub had stuck with baseball instead of going into politics. His intellectual bankruptcy was mostly harmless when he was screwing up the Texas Rangers rather than the whole country. I love baseball, but I'd happily sacrifice my favorite team if it meant that shrub was safely out of the presidents office. We were a lot better off when he was trading away Sammy Sosa than we are now with him trading away our future.