One Chemist's Corner of the Web

New host

2011-11-01T17:23:00.001-07:00

Flag in the ground.

Digital Professor Series: Part 2-Digital Grading

2011-08-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

So amongst all the components of my digital conversion project, I'm going to describe my move towards digital grading. Not that these are in any particular order of importance, just this is what I've been working on for the past 2 days. First of all, why? I don't want to do something digitally just because it can be done, but because there is some kind of benefit, either in productivity or pedagogically. Here are the reasons I came up with:

1. As higher education moves toward more online and distance learning (in the case of my institution they will have to be dragged kicking and screaming), there will naturally be less paper passed back and forth between students and professors.
2. Grading lab reports is already the bane of my teaching existence. Just looking at the physical stack of 20-24 lab reports is daunting. Digitally, they don't take up a whole lot of space. Also, by having students turn them in digitally,it means they will probably come into my inbox over a 24-48 hour period rather than in pile at the beginning of a lab period. Maybe, just maybe I might even start grading them as they come in.
3. I can get them back to students via email within seconds of grading them rather than having them wait until the next lab period. So, theoretically, students could get feedback before turning in their next lab report.
4. Less paper. I really could care less about helping the environment. Most trees in the US are grown for the specific purpose of turning them into paper. While they are growing we get the added benefit of them participating in the carbon dioxide/oxygen cycle. However, I do think it's silly to waste resources.
5. I won't have to put up with students asking if they can borrow my stapler. Get your own stupid stapler!! The sell them at Walmart. Asking me if you can borrow a stapler right before you turn your report in tells me you just printed it 5 minutes ago in the library. Digital documents don't need to be stapled.
6. I don't have to think about taking stacks of papers to grade. If I'm at home in the evening and want to grade 1 or 2 while on my iPad I can. There isn't as high of a barrier to grading.
7. Documents transferred digitally have time stamps and leave trails. They don't get lost, eaten by pets, and there is no question as to when it was received.

So, now that I've convinced myself and you that this is something worthwhile, how will I do it? Remembering my guiding principles, it can't be clunky, can't rely on the student to have achieved Power User computer status, or take too much extra effort.

Here's the workflow I've developed:
1. The student gets me the document digitally in whatever native format they produced it in. This likely is a Word document, but it could also be a Pages, RTF, or a PDF. This will probably occur via email, but there are a number of ways to get the bits to me. That really doesn't matter.
Aside: "why don't you just use the track changes tool that is built into Microsoft Word?"
I'm glad you asked. I don't use MS Word as my primary word processor. Choosing this tool would mean that my students would HAVE to use a particular platform to complete their work. This goes against one of my guiding principles. Secondly, Track Changes behaves unpredictably if you are mixing different versions of Word, and thirdly, most students don't even know this feature exists. Fourthly, I can't draw big happy faces with my finger using Track Changes like I can when annotating a PDF.
2. The document gets converted to a PDF if it isn't already. This is super easy on the Mac as this functionality is built right in. I've even built a simple Automator action that will convert the file and dump it into a specified folder with a single click from my email inbox.
3. Our lab reports make use of a rubric that is shared among all the instructors in our department. It's a simple spreadsheet. Before, I'd have to Xerox at least 25 copies for each lab section. I'd fill the rubric out and staple a copy to the report along with any comments written on the report itself. Well, I just used Adobe Acrobat to create a PDF form of this rubric with drop down menus for each scoring section. This way, instead of typing the actual number in a text box, I can quickly have a score inserted for each section. I created a simple script in Acrobat to append this rubric form as the first page of the student's lab report PDF that was created in step 2. As part of this script, any PDFs in this folder get updated at one time. I don't have to do this individually for each report. This file is dumped automatically into a specific folder in my Dropbox. No manual syncing or thinking. It just works!
4. This new combined PDF has a "!-" appended to the filename to indicate that it needs grading.
5. To actually grade the report, I can open it on my iPad using a program called PDFExpert. I prefer GoodReader, but it can't do forms. I can fill in the rubric, annotate the report itself with comments, underlines, strikethroughs, etc. I can do the same thing on the Mac with Preview.
6. Once I'm done, I save a copy of the file replacing the "!-" with "$-" to indicate it's done. From both PDFExpert and Preview, I can have it emailed to the student with 2 clicks.
7. The student can view the report and all the annotations with any ubiquitous PDF reader. All the campus computers have this capability, it's built in to all Macs, and if by chance doesn't have Adobe Reader installed, it's a quick free download and trouble free installation. It doesn't matter what operating system they are using. It just works!
8. The last thing I do is save a locked or "flattened" copy of the PDF on my system. This becomes the canonical copy in case there is any question as to the content of the graded paper. I wrestled with the idea of sending this un-editable version to the student rather than the editable one. It turns out that sometimes, depending on what software is used, some of the comments get lost and are not visible to the student. Again, I don't want to have to think or be constrained to a particular software workflow to make sure the student receives all the feedback they need. A student just has to realize that even though they can change their score on the form from a 24 to a 40, if it doesn't match what my canonical copy says, it doesn't mean anything.

My initial plan is to test drive this one the first lab report of the semester. If things go well, I'll do it for all the formal reports. As for the worksheet labs, my hope is to use our copy machine to scan the reports to PDF en masse and do a similar thing, but we'll have to see about that.

Digital Professor Series: Part 1-Guiding Principles

2011-07-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

For the longest time I've wanted to put down in writing and chronicle my journey toward a more efficient, productive, and stress/free life. A lot of this centers on my adoption of the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology developed by David Allan. It's not an overnight conversion. There is no magic system, tool, or piece of software that if duplicated and followed to the letter will produce mystical feats of productivity. On the contrary, my system has been slowing changing, stalling, restarting, and evolving some more over the past year or so.

Guiding principles:
1. The system has to be simple. If it's too clunky I won't use it.
2. It has to be modeled after how I generally work already. My workflows have generally come about without much thought. Over the past 6 years, stuff comes in and I need to do something with it. A lot of my tasks and projects fall into general categories and often repeat over time. I have lectures to prepare, stuff to grade, funds and resources to procure and manage, meetings to attend which produce tasks, etc. Since I've generally kept up with this stuff using the systems I've thrown together on the fly, why reinvent the wheel when I can simply refine it.
3. Use as few software programs as needed, but don't force myself to use aspects of a program if they don't work for me. For example, I could probable stuff most of my GTD system into Yojimbo, but I don't think that works best for everything.
4. The system has to work seamlessly and flawlessly across my digital universe. Whether I'm at work, home, or on a mobile device, I have to be able to get my stuff, and it has to stay in sync.
5. My system can't go down. Will a corrupt database file, a dead hard drive, or prolonged Internet outage throw me into a tailspin?
6. Does my system promote endless tinkering, or will it just exist in the background so I can get things done. Many bloggers and sites seem to focus all of their time on the next great piece of software that will change your life. You can spend hours browsing, downloading, and playing with program upon program, while forgetting about the work your supposed to be doing. People have coined a term called "productivity porn" to describe this unhealthy and unproductive behavior. I just want the system to work.

iPad is here

2011-06-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

I'm posting this blog from my new iPad 2. Very cool. Now that summer is underway and I can actually think a little bit, I'm going to be starting one of my big summer projects. As I move to my "less paper" office (not quite paperless), I'll be posting a series of blogs called "the digital professor" which will talk about my conversion. I'll be discussing the apps I use, how it fits into my GTD workflow (Getting Things Done), and how I just "let go" of stuff I don't need. Stay tuned.

One page filled

2011-05-04T05:48:00.000-07:00

I just took a few minutes to do a simple ritual that I began when I started my academic career. Although it only takes a few minutes, I have come to really enjoy and appreciate it. I write down the names of the graduating seniors on one of the front pages of the Bible I keep on my desk at work. I can’t believe that after only 6 years at Saint Vincent and 1 year at Central Michigan University, I’ve already filled the first page. I am humbled every time I think about the trust that God has in me to place me here to teach these wonderful students. I have to remember that my ministry to them extends beyond teaching them about molecular orbital theory and chemical synthesis. I’ve known these students for 4 years. That’s four years of them watching me as I conduct myself int he classroom, in the lab, and how I interact with my family when they come up. Although I don’t do it as often as I should, I do read over the names and pray for each one of them by name. Many of them I’ll stay in contact with through email or through Facebook. I won’t see some of them ever again. Anyway, it was a nice break in the midst of grading. Thanks for reading.

Why I'm Skeptical of Our Institution's New Website

2011-04-19T15:58:00.000-07:00

So, I attended a meeting today for faculty that were interested in blogging for our college's new website that is going live next month. Initially I was interested as it might encourage me to blog more often (you can see from my personal blog here that I don't update it very much). However, after attending this meeting and learning more about where our admissions office is trying to take the website, I must say that I'm much more skeptical. Although I think those spearheading the effort have the best of intentions, I think they are missing the point. People read specific blogs because they...

are familiar with the author's work (either books or newspaper columns) and want to read more content from them that is updated more frequently.

read other blogs on related topics and those blogs reference and link to other blogs the reader finds interesting. This process continues until the reader realizes he or she is now following something like 5324 blogs like my wife.

stumble upon a specific entry after doing a Google search on a specific topic. This often happens to me when I'm researching a particular piece of software I'm considering. I'll find a blog post that describes the author's experience with the software. I'll read it and move on, never to read that blog again.

are related to the blogger and read their posts out of pity or obligation (Hi Honey!)

18 year old teenagers (or their parents that will be most influential in their college choice) have absolutely no interest in reading the rantings of philosophy professors discussing the theological implications of Kant's favorite type of tea, liberal history professors blaming George W. Bush for absolutely everything, or lunatic chemistry professors talking about why the Mac is superior to the PC (it is by the way). Potential students are not going to base their decision on where to attend college on how spiffy the website is. They don't care about our mission statement, they don't care that we have a very nice coverlet gallery, and they don't want to read letters of welcome from our administration. They come to the website to see if we offer a particular major, find out how much it costs to go here (that in itself is very complicated as nobody pays sticker price anyway), and maybe apply online or download an application. There was an interesting article on INSIDE HIGHER ED on why college websites suck. You can find it here. I also found this interesting venn diagram from cartoonist Randall Munroe that explains it very simply.

I don't mean to be such a downer on this. I really want to support my institution, but I have a feeling that it is going to be a dismal failure. One thing that was brought up by faculty present in the meeting today was concerning WHO would be the judge of whether something was appropriate or inappropriate. Our institution is not known for embracing controversy or drawing attention to itself. I said that the first time a blog entry gets yanked from the website because it is a bit controversial, this whole thing is over. No faculty member is going to want to have his or her work approved and sanitized before being published. I haven't even mentioned that most faculty members barely have time as it is to attend meetings, advise students, do research, and whoops, almost forgot, actually teach and interact with our students.

"Well Dr. Vohs, since you seem to have all the answers, what would YOU suggest we do with the website?" Well, I'm glad you asked.

Simply the website. If people can't find out the information they need, they'll look elsewhere. Forget all the marketing stuff, forget all the buzzwords, just give visitors what they need.

Forget the blogs. There is more value in faculty having their own hosted blogs, free from outside influence where they can speak their minds on topics that interest them. Faculty members will develop their own brands and followings, and people will know that they are faculty members at our institution. This enhances the institution's reputation.

Focus on what we do best. We have a great institution with great faculty. Support us in our mission to be great teachers and scholars and our reputation will speak for itself. No social media gurus or consultants needed.

Guy Bourque

2011-03-03T03:14:00.000-08:00

        Yesterday I learned that a young man who I taught in Sunday School for a few years lost his battle with cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that causes the build up of mucus in the lungs and digestive tract. People with CF also have a form of diabetes that makes it hard to put on and maintain body weight. Even after getting to know Guy, you’d never know there was anything wrong with him. People living with CF, for which there is no cure, must endure a crazy regimen of medications and respiratory therapies. Guy also had to use a special vibrating vest a couple of times a day to break up mucus in his lungs. He NEVER complained, whined, or moaned about his condition. He used his condition as a type of personal ministry to others. He never blamed God for his lot in life. When we first moved to our church in Latrobe, we took on the Singles/College ministry. Guy and his sister Raych were among the first in our class. He seemed really excited about having our class every week, and he was at just about every activity we did. If I was having one of those grump sunday mornings where we had had a rough time getting the family out the door for church, Guy was always there to great us, wearing his cowboy hat of course. He also always had a really corny joke to tell to put me in a better mood.
        There are many adjectives that could be used to describe Guy. Although the world would probably use some rather unkind and unflattering ones, I would have to say that Guy was the most kind-hearted and genuine young man anyone would have the pleasure of knowing. Guy was not a smooth operator or a ladies’ man and had what I would describe as an unhealthy obsession with Indiana Jones; however, he had a heart of gold and never said an unkind word to anyone. He was a hard worker. Everything he did, he did “as unto the Lord.” Whether it was singing in church, working at Walmart, or participating in the Civil Air Patrol he did it with gusto. I never heard him complain about his job either. During the last couple of years, he started having more frequent stays in the hospital. A simple cold or respiratory infection would send him to the hospital for a week or more. He’d be hooked up to numerous IVs and be stuck in bed, but when I’d call him on the phone to see how he was doing, he never complained. He would point me to a Youtube video he just uploaded, a bible passage he had read that day, or tell me how he was flirting with the nurses, but never say how miserable he must have been feeling.
        When we decided to leave that church about a year ago, leaving that class and Guy was probably the hardest part. We kept in touch on Facebook for a while, but he dropped off in the past couple of months. I know he had some personal battles recently among all of his health issues. We got the call that he was in the hospital a couple of days ago. His sister did not seem optimistic. When I heard about his passing, my heart sank. Those of us who knew him will miss him. As I laid in bed last night, tears came to my eyes as I thought about not ever seeing him again. But then I smiled. I was thinking about the one-man Gospel music festival Guy would be putting on in heaven. He had his guitar, his harmonica, and would be singing in perfect tune. Not sure if he would have the cowboy hat though. Maybe a white one? Guy would have no more IVs, no more hospital stays, no more pain. However, he would be able to sing and play for his Savior for eternity. We’ll miss you Guy.

I'm through one more hoop.

2011-01-18T06:16:00.000-08:00

Well, favorable recommendations from my chair, my dean, and the vice president of academic affairs, and now a good recommendation from the Rank & Tenure committee. My six-year job interview is almost done.

The day the net went down

2011-01-11T13:24:00.000-08:00

OK, maybe it wasn’t really as dramatic as it sounds. The whole internet didn’t go down, just access to the chemistry wing. Around 9:15 this morning, the construction workers doing renovation to the biology building cut the fiber optic cable that connects us to the network. No email, no access to network printers, no internet, nothing. It didn’t impact any courses as I don’t teach on tuesday, but I never realized how much I’ve come to rely on internet access for my daily work. So it was no big deal that I couldn’t read my daily columns or journal articles, no problem that I didn’t have new emails coming in with new requests of my time and energy, but it did make lecture prep a bit of a chore. Simple questions I would normally turn to Google for had to be hunted down in reference books and printing to the network printer had to be delayed. I couldn’t do any work with Blackboard or my online homework system from my office either. I suppose I was more fortunate than one of my colleagues who couldn’t access any of his documents that were stored on the network drive as I have local copies. Where am I going with this? Well, it just made me stop and think about my current workflow and system for storing information. I make heavy use of Dropbox which keeps most of my documents in sync at home and work and in the cloud. Good thing I didn’t make any heavy edits at home as they were not able to sync this morning when I logged into my home machine. Although this is the first major, all-day network outage I’ve had to deal with at work, it still makes me cautious about having my system rely too much on network access. A couple of other faculty members and I plan on testing the use of iPads in the classroom next fall. One of the components is the use of e-textbooks. Some publishers offer downloadable titles that don’t require a network connection, but some do. Having lots of course content online for a lecture would have been a problem today. Anyway, moments like these are good every now and then, they just make you stop and think about the way you do things.

New look to the site

2011-01-04T15:56:00.000-08:00

I’ve been playing around with some new journaling software on the Mac called Macjournal. It allows me to make posts from within my journal. I also thought the site needed a facelift too. I’ll be playing around with the design a bit more, and hopefully posting a bit more too! Hope you like it.

Black Friday? Not this year.

2010-11-19T06:08:00.000-08:00

For the past few years on the day after Thanksgiving, you would find me out with all the other folks trying to save on Black Friday deals. I was never after any of the "must-have" items, so I never needed to be the first in line. I was really good about getting in, getting modest savings on a few items, and getting out before being trapped in the check-out line. Every year I came home by about 7:00 am with everything on the list. I even did Toys R Us one year. You'd never find me at Best Buy though, those people are mentally ill. I just read that the first shoppers have already lined up outside a Best Buy store in Florida! This year I decided that I wasn't going out. I'm very thankful that we will be travelling to Dianne's grandparents for Thanksgiving. Not only do I just love being around such a Godly couple, but it will help lessen the temptation to go scurrying around at 4:00 am looking for deals on plastic stuff our kids will play with for a few weeks that we will then have to throw away. Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas and presents as much as the next guy, but this year I want to really pull back a bit and put our focus where it really needs to be, on Christ. I'm especially troubled by the way a lot of stores are moving their promotions onto Thanksgiving to try to pull even more traffic into their stores.We love taking our kids to see Santa (we already did this year) and we loving giving gifts to our kids, but we never take it too far. We're grateful that since our kids don't watch much TV, they are not bombarded by commercial after commercial for plastic stuff. They actually have really modest requests and we are happy to fulfill a lot of their wishes. I don't think we will be able to get the "giant computer as big as the world" for our 2 year old though. I never want Christmas in our home to be about stuff, especially stuff for stuff's sake. So this year, I don't care that Target has the Wii Fit for $67 instead of $99. It's a great deal, but I'd rather pay an extra $30 have my heart right. For those family members we're going to be seeing over the holiday's, we can't wait to see you.

Happy New Year (if you're in academia)

2010-08-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Monday begins a new school year. For those of us in academia, our calendars run September to May rather than January through December. June and July don't really exist, and August is a blur because we are so busy preparing for the new term. I love the first day of school. The weather is starting to turn, I get to meet a bunch of new students who are ready to begin their 4-year journey through college, and I get to try out a few of the hairbrain ideas I've come up with during the summer. My goal for this year is to really, honestly, try to enjoy my job as much as I can. Not that I haven't in years past, but this year I don't have the spectre of Tenure hanging over me. My tenure application is done and is starting to work its way through the official channels. There is nothing more to add. I've made my case and I'm at total peace with it. Not to sound too cocky, but I don't really expect anything except a positive outcome. Now receving tenure doesn't mean that I stop trying to do better. Quite the contrary. It just means that I can do my job without having to justify what I'm doing. I don't need to keep track of everything that I do, and I don't need to do more stuff just to make my tenure binder thicker. This year I'm just going to focus on my students. I'm going to put every ounce of effort into reaching as many as I can. I want my senior research students to have a great experience. I want my freshmen to see how exciting (yes exciting) chemistry is. I want my organic lab students to really do well and not think organic chemistry is a miserable experience like I did. Yes, this is going to be a great year. I am still praying that "Joe" can graduate this year too. So put on your party hat, grab some noisemakers, get the confetti ready, and be ready to kiss the one you love come midnight. Happy New Year!!!

Malcolm Gladwell is a great author

2010-08-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

Just finished "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. It's the third book I've read by him and I'm adding his newest book "What the Dog Saw" to my to-read list. In fact, Malcolm Gladwell is now in that category of authors where it doesn't matter what the book is about, what the reviews are, I don't need to browse a few pages, I just add any new book he writes to the to-read list. Period. I don't care if it's a yiddish cookbook; if Malcolm writes it, I will read it.

Reading list update

2010-08-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, two posts in the span of 10 minutes! While I'm thinking about it, I just wanted to give an update on the "YEAR OF THE READING LIST" project I've been doing. Yes, it is still going on. I had to take a little break and read a bit of nonfiction. My list of books I wanted to read was getting out of control so I wanted to knock a few off. Before any of you judge me or call me a quitter, just keep in mind that I got pretty far into "Anna Karenina" before I couldn't take it anymore; that book would cause most people to swear off reading for a bit. I will tackle a few of the shorter, less-Russian volumes next. I'm thinking about some Hemmingway.

Really? Only one week until school starts?

2010-08-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

OK, here it is. My long awaited return to the blog.I've finished my tenure and promotion binder, migrated from my old work PC to the new Mac, and got chemicals ordered for student research projects. Next week we will hopefully be able to move some stuff into the new science building. All that is left is to get things ready for classes. I say that like it's just a couple of things. In essence, it really is. I'm not making any wholesale changes to the courses I'm teaching, but I always have grand ideas bouncing around in my head. I'll see about getting to those as the semester goes on. That's enough of a post for now. Back to work. Thanks for reading. Hopefully the next post won't be months away.

One less at graduation

2010-04-14T16:22:00.000-07:00

I know, it's been a while since I've posted, but here it goes. I've come to regard the middle of April as a unique time in the academic year. The craziness of March which involves preparing for the national American Chemical Society conference, reading drafts of proposals and senior research theses, advising students for fall registration, and oh yeah, teaching classes too, slowly moves toward a two week lull. It's nice not to have to prepare for speaking engagements, crumby first drafts of papers from students are giving way to more polished final drafts, my lesson plans for the last few weeks are done, and the scrambling of finals week and grade submissions is still a couple of weeks off. Yes, this is the time to start reflecting on what a great semester it has been, how exciting it will be to see the seniors walk across the stage, and how I plan on tackling a myriad of projects over the summer. Only this year I am also feeling a bit of sadness too. There is one particular student of mine, I'll call him Joe, that I've taught in a number of courses over the past four years. I've also served as his academic advisor. In all likelihood, Joe will not be graduating with a degree in chemistry. He's missed a number of key deadlines in completing his research, I'm not sure if a course he's taking at another school is going well, and a take home exam in my course will probably not be turned in tomorrow, and he'll fail my course. That will be the last shoe to drop, and Joe will not meet the requirements for graduation. Of all the students I've taught whether it be at Saint Vincent or at Central Michigan, I can think of no other student whom I've invested more prayers and tears for. Without giving the entire back-story, Joe suffers from severe medical depression. It's made his personal and academic life incredibly difficult. Joe's had many ups and downs this past year, but I really thought he was going to be able to limp over the finish line. I've prayed and prayed, and imagined how great it would be to see him cross that stage and receive his diploma. Sadly, I don't think that is going to happen. I haven't seen or heard from Joe in over a week. I've never felt such an emotional attachment to one of my students before. I was his chief cheerleader and advocate in the department, but reality is settling in. I have the custom of writing the names of the graduating seniors in the front of my Bible. I try to go through that growing list at least every other week and pray for each student by name. Sadly, Joe's name won't be on that list. My department chair, who's been an incredible mentor to me, has reminded me of how even though we're going to see one senior not make it, we have 14 others who have done a phenomenal job this year. Indeed they have. As I've reflected and counted the blessings of this past year, God has been good. These students excelled academically, completed really good senior projects, and most will be going on to top notch graduate and professional schools or careers in the chemical industry. However, my thoughts and prayers are with Joe and I ask that those of you reading this will keep him in yours. I'll close by saying that Joe's name does appear in my Bible, perhaps on an even more important page. I had the privilege and honor of leading him to the Lord about a year ago, and so far, his name is the only one on that page. I pray that more will be added as time goes on. I hope that Joe can take the next step and develop his walk with the Lord, because it's going to take His power to help Joe break that stronghold in his life. I pray that he finds a church and a good preacher to mentor him. I had offered to disciple Joe, but he declined, saying that he wanted to focus on finishing his schooling first. I didn't push the issue, but wish I had done more. I wish they prepared you for this stuff in professor school. Thanks for reading.

Next Year's Reading List

2009-12-21T14:02:00.000-08:00

I did not become a reader until half-way through graduate school. A couple of reasons why were:

my addiction to television (which I've since overcome)

my lack of time (I had lots of homework until I finished grad-school coursework)

I hated reading because my teachers assigned crummy books that THEY thought I should read. They didn't bother consulting me on the matter.

Now that none of these conditions apply, I thoroughly love to read. I choose what I want to read. However, there are a number of titles that I never read that I probably should read in order to be considered a learned individual. Therefore, 201o will be the year of the SUMMER READING LIST. I've consulted a number of different lists of great books, thought about titles that often come up in "JEOPARDY" questions, asked my wife, and consulted some of my students to compile the following list of 30 titles. The only titles that I eliminated from consideration were:

titles that were incredibly long (I've budgeted 2 weeks per book). I'm sure that "Crime & Punishment" and "War & Peace" are great books, just not for this exercise

books I've read already

books where I saw the movie (regardless of how true to the book the movie is)

books by chicks (sorry, Jane Austin, the Brontes, and especially Toni Morrison, were what caused my dislike of reading) The exception is "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, but hey it's a monster book. If it makes any of you feminists feel any better, I do plan on reading "Pride & Prejudice & Zombies" and "Sense & Sensibility and Sea Monsters."

Without further delay, here is the list:

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain

"Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut

"Animal Farm" by George Orwell

"Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy

"Moby Dick" by Herman Melville

"Around the World in 80 Days" by Jules Verne

"For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway

"The Invisible Man" by H.G. Wells

2 Shakespeare plays I haven't read-TBD

"The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan

"Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson

"Mere Christianity" by C. S. Lewis

"The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkein

"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Arthur Conan Doyle

"The Agony and the Ecstasy" by Irving Stone (this is for you father-in-law)

"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck

"Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger

"The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

"The Prince" by Niccolo Machiavelli

"Swiss Family Robinson" by Johann Wyss

"Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift

"The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" by Victor Hugo

"Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Defoe

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams

"Ulysses" by James Joyce

"Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie

"A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Toole

It's A Girl

2009-12-06T11:33:00.000-08:00

Well, today was an exciting day. It all started around 1:30 am on Sunday morning. Dianne began having some really strong contractions. Based on her past history of quick labors, we called our friend to come over and stay with the kids in the house while we went to the hospital. At the hospital, the contractions remained strong, but started to get farther apart. Even after walking laps around the labor & delivery floor, the contractions remained sporadic, and they sent us home around 7:00 am. Our friend went home, and we fed the kids breakfast. Dianne's contractions continued throughout the morning and we made plans to drop our kids off at church to stay with friends for the day. I met a friend halfway to church and got back home as soon as I could. Good thing. Dianne was definitely in full-on labor. The contractions were very strong, but still around 9 minutes apart. Most hospitals tell you not to come in until they are 5 minutes apart for a full hour, so we waited. They got to about 6 minutes, and I could see from Dianne's face that we needed to go. There was no 5 minutes apart. Everything turned into one long continuous contraction. At this point, the car is running, the stuff is in there, and I am wondering if I am going to get Dianne to the car. She had a sensation like her water broke, and things start to move very quickly. While Dianne is getting into the car, I dial the hospital and tell them we are coming quickly, be ready. About a mile down the road, about 4 minutes from the hospital, Dianne informs me that the baby is coming. I suggest to her kindly that it would be a good idea for her to wait a few more minutes, but her water breaks en route. I get on the phone to 911 while in traffic at a red light. The operator asks if I need an ambulance, and after consulting the birth committee, I decide to pull over into the parking lot of the First National Bank. After pulling into a parking spot, I rush over to Dianne's side of the car, and the baby was there. Everyone asked if I delivered the baby, but I really didn't do anything. I was just the only guy who was there to sign for the package. The ambulance arrived on the scene in about 2 minutes, and I let the professionals take over. Everyone got to the hospital in great shape. Mommy and baby are doing great. She weighed in at 7 lbs 8 oz.

John Quincy Adams

2009-11-12T04:41:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading "John Quincy Adams" by Lynn Hudson Parsons. Great biography. It was nice that it was only about 300 pages, unlike the other biographies that I end up reading that have more like 600. The author does a great job of encapsulating our 6th president's life without using "historian speak" or editoriallizing too much. I believe only David McCullough could write a better bio. I can sum JQA up by saying he was a very learned man, someone with a servant's heart, a patriot and statesman like his father, but a lousy president and politician. I find it interesting that the author devotes very little time to his actual presidency other than to show how his distaste and therefore lack of "electioneering" pretty much made him easy pickings for his opponents. I can't say I agree completely with all of his political philosophies, but the man had principles and a devotion to the Union. The fact that he was called into service as a member of the House of Representatives after he was president until the day he died (he actually died in the House) shows his statesmanship. His work as an opponent of the spread of slavery will be his legacy, and though historians are not kind to his years in the White House, no historian can doubt his integrity and love for his country. Overall, this bio gets 4 stars. Thanks for reading.

Camp Barakel-"Where God has blessed"

2009-10-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

[caption id="attachment_172" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Shear Lake at Camp Barakel"][/caption]

This past weekend my wife was gracious enough to send me to a much needed men's retreat at Camp Barakel. I dropped the family off in Ohio with grandparents and I headed on up to northern Michigan. The speaker for the weekend was Tom Harmon who is the father of our best friends in Michigan. He is truly a Godly speaker. I've listened to him preach in person a few times, and I've downloaded many of his Barakel messages. Perhaps the most needed part of the entire weekend was being away from all media: no wifi, no cell phone (other than to talk to my wife a couple of times), no TV, no football, no newspapers, no Facebook, no Twitter, nothing. It was great being with 300 other Christian men in the midst of the woods, with a beautiful lake right outside my cabin window. The worship services were amazing! Imagine all these big, burly men, singing out wonderful choruses, and genuinely pouring their hearts out to the Lord in song. There were no ties, there were no suits; think lots of flannel and cammo. The messages were just what we needed. Tom Harmon lays it out very plain and simple and the Holy Spirit makes sure each man hears what he needs to hear. There was much time for quiet reflection too. I thanked the Lord for my wife, my children, and the students he has given me charge over. Many tears were shed. It had been 4 or 5 years since my last visit, but I hope to make this a more regular trip. Barakel in hebrew means "where God has blessed." God surely has blessed Camp Barakel, and I received many blessings by being there.

Simple Traditions

2009-09-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the Little Man and I had our traditional meal at the Greek Food Festival. I've been every year since I've been in PA, and various members of the family have accompanied me. However, since it's usually a very crowded affair, and eating out with all the children usually turns into a fiasco, it's become a boys night out. We've been three years in a row, and each year it gets more special. Traditions need not be elaborate, just something simple you can share with your family.

[caption id="attachment_167" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Little Man enjoying his baklava sundae"][/caption]

Predictably Irrational

2009-09-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

Just finished reading "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely. It was an unabridged audiobook, so my wife claims I didn't "read" it though. Call it what you wish; I absorbed it into my melon. It was a very fascinating look into why we make the decisions that we do. I especially like how he describes the various experiments he and his colleagues performed. It also helped that the reader had a wonderful british accent, so that made the experience very enjoyable. All in all, I highly recommend this title, and I plan on giving it 4 stars. Cheers.

First Wordpress upgrade.

2009-08-31T14:17:00.000-07:00

Wow. That was a little scary. Deleting all the content, editing the PHP file, re-uploading, whoops error. Got it fixed, mistakenly put a comma where there should have been a period. Big relief to see the page load correctly.

This will be the semester I'm going to...

2009-08-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

Most people view January 1st as a time to start fresh, make a New Year's resolution and forget about the mistakes of the past. As an academic, I tend to view the start of a new academic year as the time to wipe the slate clean. I love this time of year; the weather is not too hot and not to cold. Football season is just around the corner (this will be the year of the Titans by the way), and a new cohort of students have a arrived on campus. Just like most of my students, I look back on the previous semester and think that I was too disorganized, didn't get everything I wanted done, and didn't perform as well as I wanted to. And just like most of my students I say "things are going to be different this semester." This will be the semester I'm going to:
*be two weeks ahead in all of my classes
*come up with brilliant demonstrations to wow my students
*effectively manage my 4 senior research students and get enough results so that I can write a publication with each one.
*really make connections with some of my students and truly be a mentor to them.
*not get bogged down with grading lab reports.
...and the list goes on and on. They say good intentions pave the way to you know where, but I guess it never hurts to try. I did have a good first day. I am two weeks ahead in my classes. My desk is clean heading into day two. So we shall see how long my two-week cushion lasts. I have a new teaching project I want to start this year, I have some interesting projects planned for my upper-level lab, and I am confident my seniors will work hard on their research. I've been really blessed to have the position I have. I never dread going in to work, my colleagues are my friends, and my students always motivate me to be a better professor. Who knows, maybe this WILL be the semester where I realize near Jedi-like teaching abilities, publish a paper or two, and keep my inbox clean. It never hurts to dream.

Facebook notification test.

2009-08-21T16:24:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to link my blog updates to my Facebook profile. Please excuse this test, it's only a test. If this had been an actual status update, it would have been followed by news, photos, or other useless information. Thank you.