Dog Training

Last night, attended the orientation session for Loki's obedience class. It went well but he will have to stay on the opposite side of the class from two of the other dogs until we know how he will react.

I look forward to the next 8 weeks. I'm working on my current assignment: teaching Loki to associate clicker with treat. I think he has it.

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I got up earlier this week. I'm able to walk Loki in the morning, make breakfast and lunch, get dressed and make it into the office close to 8:00 am. Do this for three more weeks and it will become a habit. Ugh. I've found that I have a major bout of sleepiness from 9:00 - 10:00 am. I might attempt a 15 minute nap to see if that helps. I have a phone and people walk into my office. Maybe I can get 5 minutes uninterrupted.

Hooray for the weekend. I can catch up on sleep.

Health care dilemma

Who can resist the siren call of the internets. I make web pages and I cannot resist. The great blessing of the Internet: it looks like work.

Its call is really powerful because I'm in a different office filling in for a co-worker. Fortunately, I memorized all my favorite URLs and passwords. I can access others via links to ones that I know.

The situation with the co-worker has caused me to reconsider my health care plan. That and other incidents. Getting a diagnosis is bit of a Herculean task. My problem is relatively minor and irritating, a rash that appears on my arms and legs from time to time, but my co-worker's is quite serious and it took a long time to get the diagnosis.

Health care plan enrollment occurs in July and we get the literature in May. This will give us time to look at how we actually use medical services and see if there is an option that would better suit our needs.

I hope the election of Barack Obama will put to rest McCain's proposal to tax health benefits as income. With my health benefits added to income I end up in a higher tax bracket.

Considering the large amount that me and my employer pay for health insurance for me and Walter (about $10,000 per year combined) I think I deserve more than 15 minutes of my doctor's time and a test to see what the hell this rash really is. After paying $50, twice, plus time for stronger hydro cortisone cream, I wonder what the hell all that money that comes out of my paycheck and my employer pays, pays for?

I wonder if my family doctor just kind of lazy or overworked. A few years ago, I did receive some testing for something by a substitute doctor, it turned out to be nothing serious but now there is a good baseline for my heart in my medical records. My regular doctor said he would not have preformed the tests based on my description of my symptoms. This really concerned me after reading about how heart attacks behave differently in women and that younger women in particular have trouble convincing doctors to run the tests or consider a heart attack.

I guess I should be grateful for what I have but screw that attitude - crap is crap regardless of what others don't have.

Vent

If I had an appointment time available on the day and time you asked me about I would have mentioned it.

If one more student puts a questioning inflection at the end of a declarative statement, I will respond, "Are you certain?"

If an advisor tells you that you need to do something calling me will not change that. You still need to do the thing the advisor told you to do.

If I have a time slot available I will mention it. I have no reason to withhold time slots.

Enunciate.

Ladies, turn down the high pitches. It hurts my ears.

Pay attention.

That's my job!

Besides, forcing people to open up and meddling in their lives is my job, says Mary Worth.

A bit of useful advice:
While waiting for someone to answer your phone call, stop talking.

Texas A&M - Galveston

The TAMU - Galveston students and faculty were very friendly and polite to me while I helped them get set up in a couple of classrooms. It made my day.

Below an article from the Eagle about the transfer of the Texas A&M - Galveston students:

A&M leaders estimate cost of Sea Aggie transfers at $37M
By HOLLY HUFFMAN
holly.huffman@theeagle.com
.
Repairing damage at Texas A&M University's branch campus in Galveston and moving the displaced students to College Station and housing them during the interim could cost more than $37 million, university officials said Thursday.

Administrators estimated preliminary damage and relocation costs at $34 million for Texas A&M at Galveston and another $3.5 million for the College Station campus, where 285 course sections have been added to accommodate the 1,572 displaced Sea Aggies.

The money ultimately will be paid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, insurance and special item funding from the state, A&M officials said, noting that estimates already had been provided to the governor's office.

Administrators have said the relocation would be "cost-neutral" for students.

The Galveston campus was evacuated and closed down Sept. 10, just days before Hurricane Ike ravaged the Texas coast. A&M officials have said it would remain closed for the semester.

On Thursday, Texas A&M University President Elsa Murano and Galveston campus Vice President and Chief Executive Bowen Loftin updated the Texas A&M System Board of Regents on the effects of the hurricane. The update came less than two weeks after Ike pounded the coastal town and just one day after Galveston students began taking classes in Aggieland.

"To say that this is an unprecedented effort in higher education I think is absolutely the case. I don't think we know of any other situation [like it]," Murano told regents Thursday, the first day of their two-day meeting. "Nothing of this magnitude -- 1,572 students in a matter of less than two weeks."

Roughly 88 percent of the Galveston campus student body -- including its entire Corps of Cadets -- opted to relocate to College Station, and Loftin said he expected more to come. Others are taking classes via distance learning.

Loftin said he would begin contacting the remaining 200 or so students who have not been reached to see if there is any way the university can serve them. Those who can't continue this semester will be allowed to withdraw without penalty, and the tuition will be rolled over to the spring semester, when the campus is set to reopen, Loftin said.

"We put the students first," Loftin said. "That's the most important thing we could do."

More than 70 faculty members -- all but four of the total -- have signed on to teach classes in College Station, Loftin and Murano said.

Murano said the university decided against dispersing the Galveston students among existing course sections. Instead, she said, 285 new sections have been added to keep the students with their classmates and professors.

Of those sections, about a dozen will meet on nights and weekends, Murano said. Some are meeting in non-traditional spaces such as A&M United Methodist Church and St. Mary's Catholic Church, The Tradition at Northgate and Calloway House and even in Sbisa Dining Hall.

Murano said officials had secured 300 beds on campus and 1,200 rental units in the community for the visitors.

"To tell you it was a big undertaking is an understatement," Murano said, explaining that the relocation affected dozens of departments such as housing, transportation, dining, parking, billing, financial aid, medical services, counseling, communications and research.

"Everything you can think of, we needed to provide in a couple weeks or less," she said.

The College Station City Council also met on Thursday and unanimously agreed to allow city officials to be "more lenient" with residents who might be violating city ordinances by housing Galveston students. The ordinance prevents more than four unrelated people from living together.

During the board meeting, Loftin showed slides of the damage to the campus. The Sea Aggie Center and one of the dorms -- two of the weakest buildings on campus -- sustained significant damage. Other buildings, however, appeared unaffected by the storm.

All emergency repairs are complete, Loftin said. However, he said, there is some concern about the availability of student housing for the spring semester.

Loftin told the regents his dream was for the regents, together with Murano and A&M System Chancellor Mike McKinney, to be in Galveston in December, watching as the 100 or so graduating seniors walk the stage.

"That's the dream we have right now. I think we can do it," Loftin said as he displayed a photo taken before the storm of waves crashing over the seawall and onto a memorial erected after the deadly hurricane in 1900. "The Aggie Spirit, the spirit of Galveston, lives on."

Package v. Reality and other Photos

When I was in college InterVarsity Christian Fellowship were the nerdy, kind of goofy people who happened to be Christians (I was turned on to Star Trek while a member) and often befriended nerdy, kind of goofy seekers while Campus Crusade took everything a bit more seriously. InterVarsity members would have appreciated the humor in the room schedule. I'm not sure how Campus Crusade members would have reacted.

I've been contacted via mail by the current InterVarsity staff person to provide support as an alumni and join an alumni organization. I'm curious but also afraid to send in the post card. I wonder if InterVarsity still attracts the nerdier students.

Some bonus Loki photos. It was a rare moment with good lighting and contrasting flooring. These were taken in the exam room while we waited for the vet.

That tongue is about 3 inches wide. Thankfully, Loki is not much of a kisser.

Loki waits for the doctor to enter. He surprised the tech that walked in. She saw the name on the chart and expected to find a Lhasa Apso who is a frequent patient. My Loki is the complete opposite of a Lhasa Apso.

The Texas Hall of Fame had a dessert theme in its concert bookings.

Today's lunch (these were part of a special - buy four and get a bunch of other food free). The package:

The reality out of the microwave:
My boss' dog followed me to my office after I cooked this thing. The smell of peanut sauce was too tantalizing for a Jack Russell Terrier to ignore. I let her lick the plate. With all the people in the office feeding her bits of food she will gain five pounds by the end of the semester.

Texas A&M in the funnies and it's not even an Aggie joke

I expect to receive an e-mail from Dr. Murano (not a personal one but a university-wide one) asking everyone to stop pointing out today's Baldo to her or asking her about it. Baldo does not run in the Eagle but it does appear on the Houston Chronicle website. Tomorrow, the Eagle might mention Dr. Murano's appearance in the funnies. Then maybe not because the Eagle might have to explain its tiny comics section (tiny both in terms of selection and print size). I bet the comments will be turned off for that article online.

For those who do not follow Baldo, Gracie, the little girl writing, has been working on her essay for Hispanic Heritage month since Monday. Baldo is a good comic strip and would make a great replacement for any of the zombie strips*.

Speaking of zombie strips, it looks like Terry Bryson is working on her escape from Toby's stupid. Don't bother using the door, Terry; go out the window, that way you will avoid walking behind Toby and catching some of her stupid. As a security expert, Terry has already mentally scoped out the room and knows which objects she can grab quickly and use to defend herself.

I'm no longer certain about background continuity anymore. When Terry and Toby first entered this room the window was directly behind them. Now it appears the window has moved but it is consistent with yesterday. What is that in the lower left hand corner of the second panel? That better not be Toby's monitor. Gah! Now I have a headache!

The sad thing is that despite Joe Giella's age and funky scenery shifting he still draws way better than I do.

*Zombie strip - a comic strip that continues to run in the papers despite the death of its creator.

The UTI has passed or at least no longer causing me discomfort.

Be the Brand

Yesterday, I attended BrandMaster Training. Learned the background behind the name changes, the importance of getting the brand into the public's mind and making sure to use the energy lines. This training is meant to get over 3,000 employees to make the public aware of the various brands - College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Agrilife Research and AgriLife Extension. They want us to be the brand. A positive experience with an employee equals a positive association with the brand assuming that the employee mentions the brand.

I'm willing to be the brand but only from 8:00 - 5:00 Monday through Friday. The rest of the time I will be the Linda.

I was disappointed not to learn any neat tricks like they teach in Jedi Master training.

I realized I couldn't have success in the "branding" field because I just could not take it too seriously. I couldn't make the presentation with a straight face.

I've read on business websites about people applying the concept of branding to a personal level. Using various tools to promote the, for example the Linda brand, and create positive associations with the personal brand. At lot of these articles use marketing terms to dispense this advice: Be good. Don't be a jerk.

A bit of advice:
Make one black and white copy of your colored charts to make sure the contrast is retained before making thousands of copies and discovering red and purple look exactly the same on a black and white copy.

63 slides

I've spent most of today and several evenings scanning slides. 63 so far. I will see slides in my sleep. I scan two slides at a time on my home scanner and can scan 4 slides at a time on the work scanner.

The process has gone faster thanks to a faculty member who allowed me to take a scanner that he no longer uses. It's an Epson 4490 and I like it so far. It scans slides only up to 1200 DPI but that is better than the nothing that 2 HP scanners did.

If I receive a third HP scanner that does not fully function, I will definitely look at an Epson.

At least the slides have interesting content. Wolves in the high Arctic. Lots of wolf pup pictures.

Right now, I'm listening to my Julie London channel on Pandora. I got tired of scanning and color correcting slides for today.

Now, I go finish coloring and lettering the last You've Been Warned panel. I've put two hours into this panel so far.

No stupiding

Mary, you don't have a life, just a compulsion to give unsolicited advice. If you had a life you would not spend so much time meddling.
I want one of those signs.

Loki knows all his commands but only does sit.

My new scanner arrived and it needs a new lid to fix an issue with the transparent materials adapter. This is a common problem addressed on the HP website. Here's an idea; don't ship defective products.

Muffin Mae Snooze-Alarm

Greg and Mort, stop messing with my head.
Six days! This funeral has gone on for 6 days! Even though people come and go the walls in Santa Royale still rotate. Rotating walls the one constant in the Mary Worth universe.
The hyphenated last name really adds the right touch of surreal. Joe has become used to his sister's insanity and is only concerned about the tree accommodating the fake name.
You're a plugger if you took a low paying job after college or your education was way over-priced. It took me 10 years and I did not land a high paying job after graduation.
Olive Oyl showed her dark side during the spincoal storyline. Olive is either surprised that her dark side is so obvious or confused about the Sea Hag's appalling grammar. It does add a bit of insanity to read it without the contractions.

You are potential, dearie... you are potential!! Maybe Sea Hag plans on changing her career to motivational speaker.

The editor at King Features no longer cares.
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Tomorrow, Walter and I celebrate 14 years of marriage. We did the state sanctioned part at the Justice of the Peace on May 16 and held a ceremony on May 21 (our minister did not have the power vested by the state of Texas). I think this is the gypsum anniversary.

My new job title went into effect on the 15th. Yipee!

Sucking Lice

I filmed a research seminar today. I film two tomorrow. It's been a busy week.

Because of today's filming I've learned more about sucking lice than I ever wanted to know.

According to the presenter's research, mammal parasites have evolved along with the mammals they feed on and we could learn a lot from this.

Also learned that humans have two species of sucking lice that feed on us while gorillas and chimpanzees only have one. The gorilla lice is related to human crab lice and the chimpanzee lice is related to human head lice.

We can learn a lot about the human past by studying our parasites and why the parasites chose us as hosts.

I itched a lot during this presentation. Interesting presentation but not for the very squeamish.

I have something to talk about during dinner with the in-laws.

Apathitis

I experienced a small bout of "I don't give a damn." Had it since Friday and I think I finally got over it today. I was able to function enough to do important things like visiting family but I just did not give a damn about routine stuff - updating my website, this blog, exercise, drawing and scanning. I let several things slide so now I play catch up. I needed some rest. As to whether or not I earned it - I don't care. Who decides whether or not I deserve a bit of rest or blow off a few little tasks for a day or two anyway?

I bought the elements for sandwich wraps and lunchables and ate my first self-made wrap for lunch today. I even added spinach. Take that South Beach!

On the work front, last week, I answered the question, "Do you need my name and phone number" several times without an ounce of sarcasm.

I warned my fellow church board members that all that repressed sarcasm might leak out during the meeting last week.

I need to vent some more sarcasm before the congregational meeting. There is a proposed policy on the agenda and some anxiety about it has already floated up. Rev. Eric and some of the Board members hopefully dealt with it this past Sunday. I was out of town visiting family so I missed the forum.

After this congregational meeting, Walter and I will become common members. No more titles for either of us.

Lunch for today - 4.23.2008

Kashi Chicken Pasta Pomodoro, the package:
The reality after microwaving:

I received some cookies, lotion, shower gel and a Chick-fil-A gift card for Administrative Professionals Day. All of this came in a purple metal pail.

The shower gel is pineapple scented and Walter bought coconut scented conditioner and ocean breeze scented shampoo. I now have everything I need to smell like a great vacation.

Going paperless sometimes uses a lot of paper

I just made a PDF from a printed Master's thesis.

I had a bit of a dilemma: time vs. greenness.

Thesis was bound. I could have used my flatbed scanner and scanned a page at a time. Very tedious. Or I could make a copy and put that into my multi-page feed scanner. Job done quickly but require the use of extra paper plus whatever energy expended by the copy machine.

I decided to make a copy. I made the copy two-sided since the multi-page scanner can scan two sides. The copy ended up in the recycle bin. A copy of some one's Master's thesis will eventually become toilet paper or whatever they make out of the recycled paper.

At least the process happens only once.

It is a testament to my religion that I even weighed the options.

Time to make the donuts

Time to make the donuts. This phrase runs through my head every morning when I get up to get ready for work. This does not happen on the weekends. Dunkin Donuts has not used that campaign in over a decade and the character actor in the commercial died a couple of years ago and yet my brain chooses to play this phrase. Does it count as a prayer, affirmation or mantra? Maybe, I relate to the sleep deprived donut maker a bit too much.

I wonder if actual donut makers use this phrase? On second thought, it would likely cause blank stares given the date of the campaign and the age of the workforce.

I had my first generational shock, eight years ago, when students in one my professor's class did not know about "I'm Just a Bill" from Schoolhouse Rock. They did not know how a bill became a law and had to gain that knowledge in the form of a slightly dry PowerPoint presentation rather than an entertaining cartoon.

I forget that I interact regularly with people that would not get pop culture references from the 1970's and 1980's. I wonder how the hell I know "Sock it to me!" Oh yeah, it got crammed down my throat via reruns and commercials.

Work - Fun Balance

I found myself spending too much time on non-work related stuff so today I did things differently. Work with periodic short breaks for non-work. Worked pretty well and got a few things off my to do list.

My color printer is evil. It turns a seemingly simple job of printing invitations into a stressful chore, every damn semester. Features don't work consistently, random errors, printing in a layout exactly the opposite that I requested, not retaining the settings, taking up multiple sheets of paper and of course the random paper jam. The printer works fine for smaller jobs but for some reason the damn invitations causes it to go crazy. These things are printed on regular size sheets of paper and then cut and half so there goes the unusual paper size excuse. The amount of work that goes into these things - oh crap - I remembered the envelopes. Oh, the fucking envelopes. Really, this damn thing takes way too much of my time. Lots of people better show up for this event.

Rented Kung Fu Hustle from Netflix. Great movie. Stephen Chow must have realized that Kung Fu movies are rather absurd so he took it way over the edge. Don't eat or drink while watching this movie, otherwise you might choke or redecorate. Kung Fu action with cartoonish comedy and a bit of sweetness thrown in. I might buy a copy of this movie.

The most mundane post ever

After doing a job for over 10 years I finally figured out a more efficient method of doing a routine task. It cut my time in half. Ironically, the more efficient method worked because I did not use one of the features of Microsoft Word that makes things more efficient.

The task is making two versions of an exam. I receive the "A" version from the instructor, I then edit that one then make a "B" version with the questions in reverse order. I have not successfully done this by simply changing the order from ascending to descending. The whole thing becomes a mess when doing it that way. Mostly has to do with how the instructor lays out the test - would work fine if every question were in an outline form but the instructor prefers not to do that because it would add two or more pages to the exam. Multiply that by 50 copies and a lot more paper gets used. We do two sided copying.

This time I did not use the auto numbering function and was able to simply renumber on the "B" version (save "A" version as "B" version and then renumbered) and a few minutes of cut and paste put things in place. With auto numbering on cut and paste is a bit more dicey. Ended up helping grade the last test because of an error in order between the two versions.

I take the small joys where I can get them.

Getting things done

I finally found a way to get up in the morning and make it to work on time. I use my cell phone's alarm clock feature and have the sound set to the chirps of Salvador. The sound wakes me gently rather than jarring me out of a dream and Walter does not hear it and get disturbed. I've tried it successfully for two days so far. I haven't experienced the 9:00 am - 11:00 am struggle to stay awake, either.

I've accomplished a few minor but overdue tasks.

Things have become a bit busy at work but I don't mind. Keeps me out of trouble and justifies my existence at work.

I feel good about how this week has unfolded so far. I'm a bit behind in scanning my cartoons but I still have four days worth on the hard drive. I have three cartoons in the box awaiting scan.

I still read the comics but nothing has been worth commenting on. At least the Charterstone Tales did not happen as I feared.

I finally saw the Chocolate Rain video on YouTube. Oddly enough, a reference to it appeared on both South Park and Lewis Black's Root of Evil tonight. I did not go looking for the video. I received a subscription update - looked at that video which lead to the Chad Vader parody of Chocolate Rain and finally to Chocolate Rain. I'm glad I caught that bit of pop culture when I did or else tonight's line up on Comedy Central would not have made as much sense, especially, South Park.

Massage therapy is winning the Mary Worth poll. Still time to cast your vote. If you want to know what being a super delegate feels like vote 1,000 times.

Living the dream

Wally and I have the same dream.

My job title is changing to better reflect what I do and will do. The HR people in my office will offer suggestions to the agency HR office. A lot of the candidates have "communications" in it. The agency HR will do whatever they want with those suggestions. I don't have the programming skills to qualify for "Software Simian" but I could squeak by with "Code Monkey". The agency has a career ladder for its people to climb. A prehensile tail would facilitate the climb. I will probably end up with Senior Office Associate (because we don't want you to start climbing a new ladder that more accurately reflects your skills and duties). I have no reason to be so pessimistic. The actions and suggestions taken so far lead me to believe that I will have the opportunity to climb a different ladder. Regardless of the title, I'm excited about the new duties and responsibilities. Unlike Wally, I will have to do more work and show real value.

Mary is also proud of taking part in the washing of Pilate's hands, standing around St. Petersburg when it was time for a change, and riding a tank while holding a general's rank. Have some sympathy, courtesy and taste.