The latest “Infobits” (which comes out of the University of North Carolina’s Info Tech services area) is particularly useful for the likes of me, someone who is teaching online and someone who is teaching a course about teaching with technology. Lots of stuff about online teaching and also about social software in the college classroom. I think my reading list for my grad class might have just changed again. Anyway, check it out.
Month: February 2007
Those foul-mouthed Austrians
I stumbled across this page at Scopes.com, where I learned that in Austria, there is a town named “Fucking.”
A few things I’ve learned here:
- The tool I used to “Stumble Upon” this site, which is stumbleupon.com and which Linda AK showed me today, is very cool and addictive.
- Here’s another place I’ll need to go before I die.
Blogs as Writerly Spaces: The proposal
When I am advising students who are working on their thesis or a final writing project as part of our MA in Written Communication, my most common bit o’ wisdom is that when you’re working on a project like that, you have to “touch it” every day. I’m not suggesting to these students that they work on their projects for an hour or two every day (though, if you can be that disciplined/regimented, that’s probably a good thing), because different days will afford you different amounts of time. But, I tell my students, even if you have all kinds of other work and life responsibilities and the like, you still should try to at least touch your project, just to keep it in the back of your mind. Sometimes, that will mean spending just a few minutes on it. But those few minutes, I tell my students, will help you on those days when you really do have time to work on your project in more detail, and those few minutes at a time will help you keep on your long-term goal of finishing.
Like I said, this is advice I give to my students, but like so many other pieces of advice, it’s easier given than followed.
Well, today I’ve decided to start taking my own advice and I’m going to make myself get back into the swing of a project I’m calling Blogs as Writerly Spaces. Thus the category here of “BAWS.”
My first “touch” on this project (and to be honest, I see only touches on this thing for the next couple weeks at least, but hey, I’m still following my own fine advice) has been to revisit the proposal I submitted for a sabbatical for next year. I’d be of course curious to find out what others out there have to say about it– oh, and if you’re a book publisher and want to offer me a contract straight-away, let me know.
I’ve obviously got a lot of thinking, researching, interviewing, writing, etc., to do on this yet. But I will say that it’s nice to look back at this proposal, something I haven’t paid much attention to for about two and a half months, and still be reasonably happy with it.
On NyQuil
I’ve had a cold for the last couple of days– not one of those “agh, pass me the puke bucket” kind if sicknesses (I think I’ve managed to dodge that bullet this year, and that’s saying something since this was going around at work big-time in December), but just one of those “I feel just miserable enough to complain about it, but not quite miserable enough to just stay away from work” colds.
In the words of Lewis Black, this is just the sort of event that allows me to indulge in my favorite drug, NyQuil. Or at least it was my favorite drug– see below. Every time I’ve gone to the doctor with something like what I have right now, they either seem to suggest NyQuil or to at least say that there’s nothing wrong with it.
I went out and bought me a double-pack of NyQuil and settled down to have my dose before bed. Of course, I chose the original flavor, but this did beg the question last night as I was pouring out my shot: what flavor is the original flavor?
I asked Annette. Her response was “What’s wrong with you?!”
So, naturally, I turned to the Internets for an answer. Oddly, even with this fine wikipedia entry, I could not find a satisfying answer to my question. Apparently, Denis Leary once described the flavor as “Green Death,” but to me, that would be more ashy-flavored.
Anyway, last night, I think I actually had a bit of a reaction to the NyQuil. I ended waking up at about 1 am with a dry hack and a hard time breathing. I ended getting up and drinking about six glasses of water, and then this morning, I went out and bought a humidifier. Hopefully, that will help.
Oh, and I think I know what the flavor of NyQuil “original” is: Jägermeister. Which makes a certain amount of sense because because Jäger is kind of a medicinal liquor. And it’ll mess you up bad.
Maybe I’ll try to use the left of my NyQuil to make a flaming moe or something….