Arranged Delirium

One nice thing about being an academic is that every seven years (hopefully) we get to enjoy a sabbatical. This is a time away from teaching where we get to focus on our other work: research, course development, reading, etc. I’m fortunate enough to be entering this period right now. So, I won’t be teaching again until January of 2011. Sweet!

What will I be working on, you ask? Well, I have a number of projects I’d like to finish - too many really. So I need to try to focus on limiting my work. Aside from finishing a few things that are hanging around, I want to take my new work in three directions:

• Publications - I have several articles I need to wrap up and an edited text I’m hoping to start work on.
• Web Design Text - different than my research, this is a title that would be useful for web development courses
• Course Development - specifically, I’m going to develop a mobile applications design/development course
• Photography - I have thousands of images that need my attention, and I’m looking to spend some time with this creative work

So what does this mean for Arranged Delirium? A couple of things. First, I’ll likely post about fun things more than regular technology developments; and second, I’ll probably post less often for a bit. I’ll also likely take this time to re-design the site and update the server software on the back end.

As a follow-up to my earlier post and a display of my Geekdom, I present to you the soliloquy of Sir Patrick Stewart. (a.k.a. Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise during the Star Trek: The Next Generation series. Five Stars.)

OK - technically it’s not a soliloquy, but an interview from the PBS documentary Digital Nation...but still. I agree with absolutely everything he says, and that is an extremely rare circumstance. He must be brilliant! In all seriousness, I appreciate his critical views on technology, along with his exuberant appreciation for the positive elements it brings.

While the Oil Spill (yes, it deserves to be capitalized) in the Gulf is a horrendous tragedy and not something to make light of, I have been able to find some comfort by making fun of BP. Here’s a funny video from UCB Comedy that does a good job of relating how we all must feel (warning - you might want to keep the volume down on this one due to language at the end):

...or a Dork, depending upon how you view things. Thanks to The Other Dr. Fee for sending this along. Do you think she’s trying to tell me something?

As a graduate student, I promised myself that I would never be one of those professor’s that was always so busy they were always working and never seemed to have time for anyone. With practice, I’ve learned that any professor (today) that is actively doing their job will be considerably overextended. The result is that I am always running from meeting to class, or trying to fit student consultation in between various other things. But with the addition of baby #2, I find myself running late more than usual (which is saying something because I’m typically running late - that’s OK: time is cyclical, right?).

I do feel bad about being late for class though, and I usually do everything in my power to avoid it. And, I have a number of students who are similarly respectful. But I also have others that are chronically late. Anyway, The Other Dr. Fee sent me this link to a NYU professor and his response to a specific student situation. It’s funny, and I appreciate much of what he’s saying - even if he’s clearly a jerk.