Journeys with Tim

I've done it

I didn't set out to do it, but this is the first month I've posted everyday. Wait a minute, that's not quite right. Sometime during the month I decided I wanted to post everyday. I don't know if my posts are any better, but it was a good exercise in discipline. I even remember getting out of bed to post because I had forgetten. I think I posted just before midnight.

Now that the semester is over I have some time to try to improve the site. I'd like to add a few things, but still keep a clean look. Expect to see some more photos and a few other things.

what happened?

The weather was getting warmer, and I was ready to get some great photos, but suddenly things got cold. Light rain today, and even colder tomorrow. Looks like no good photos for the next few days. I'm bummed. The weekend looks better.

Tomorrow I hand out final grades for my 106 students. There shouldn't be too many surprises. One of the grad assistants grading another class got a threatening email the other day from one of his students. Not good for that student. Make a threat and leave a trail. No wonder he's getting a bad grade - not too smart!

hot and windy

I finished all my grading for the semester. Ahh, that feels nice. Tomorrow may be the last day of class, though my ethics class might meet during finals week, even though there is no final. We read quite a lot of books this semester, and are only now getting to the good ones. No worries.

Meanwhile the weather was hot and windy, a nice change from the cold of only a few weeks ago. I badly need some sun. Days like today make me miss the beach.

salsa

enlarge

There's no reason for sharing this shot except that I'm in the mood for good salsa. Too bad it can't be found at the school dinning hall.

i see the light

Ah, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm almost finished with my grading and I have one more class before the end.

For some reason I always feel a sense of renewal after the semester is over. I guess maybe it's because the pressure is off and I can get started on other things that have been put off.

† Read the last Harry Potter book.
† Start going to the gym regularly.
† Spend more time with the camera.
† Spruce up the web site.
† Reformat the ancient (and very buggy) desktop computer.

So many things...

...

The prime time TV schedule is an hour earlier here in the midwest. I'm still not used to it. It's strange having Jay Leno come on at 10:30. But maybe it fits in with the rest of the culture; like the fact that people seem to eat dinner earlier than in LA. I wonder what that's about. I just chalk it up to another midwest difference.

self portrait

I'm a little behind (for various and sundry reasons) but here's the self-portrait for Photo Friday's challenge of the week.

This was taken today just as I was heading out for lunch. I've got my Matrix sunglasses, a short sleeve shirt and a Mona Lisa smile. Or is it a frown? Perhaps a grimace? I shoot, you decide.

As you can see the weather is starting to resemble spring. My camera and I are likin' this.

the last week

This is the last week of the semester, also known as dead week. None of the classes I'm involved in are meeting, though I have some grading to do.

Sunday is also the last day for my logic class. It's been a fun ride, but one of the hardest things I've done. Teaching logic can be difficult if the students don't get it because there's only so many was to explain a concept. But the really hard part for me was creating exams. It's tough to create a test that reflects a student's understanding. Somehow essay exams just don't seem to work in logic.

photo weather?

The warm, clearer weather is perfect photo weather, but before I can get out there I've got to deliver one more lecture. Then I'll have some time for trying my hand at photography.

I am teaching an ethics course this summer, but because I've taught it before much of the work is done. Now I can look forward to making the class even better. I'll have that puppy purrin' like a mazaratti. The classroon isn't set up with a projection screen, which would be sweet. It does have a TV, so I'll want to use some more video's and stuff. Can't wait.

kant's birthday

Today were celebrating a very important Day. You may have heard about it. That's right, today is Kant's birthday. He was born on this day in 1724. We finished reading his Critique today, but I feel I only scratched the surface. Rereading is a must. But maybe not just yet.

grading

I feel for my ethics students. They took a test today that in my opinion doesn't reflect their knowledge of the material. There's nothing I can do, but be as understanding as I can. Designing tests is hard, much harder than grading them. Essay exams clearly test students' knowledge better than objective tests, but grading them is a pain. The plain fact is that there isn't enough time to both teach a lot of content and give, and then grade good exams.

I'm glad there are still places that have Great Books programs, I just wish more major universities had them.

yellow

I continue to be impressed with my camera's image quality. Both the color and sharpness are amazing. I'm still learning how to process in Photoshop, which I think will really add to my pictures' impact. But don't you just love the sharpness?

back

Today was the first day back and I'm getting into the swing of things. I've got a busy week ahead. Students already asking me when their papers/exams will be graded. It seems like a mountain of work.

On the bright side the weather is warming up and it's a little breezy; it's so much better than LA right now!

M&M

A bumpy flight into Lincoln, but otherwise a nice trip back from my brother's wedding in LA. While he's off having fun, I'm here grading papers. There's lots to do before the semester's over, so I best be getting to it!

Look for images soon.

wedding day

Today's the big wedding day for my brother. We're hoping to avoid rain because the reception is outside (30% chance as of yesterday). But even if it rains, it'll still be a great day.

Also, I will be talking lots of pictures, some of which I'll share. Perhaps even some video. Stay tuned!

viva la comida

My parents house is pretty crazy these days - my brother is getting married tomorrow and there are lots of family and friends around. It's nice to see folks I haven't seen in awhile.

For my part, I've got a few last minute things to attend to today.

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Visiting LA means enjoying real mexican food. Here's what a friend and I had yesterday.

flying to rehearsal

Flew in to LA today for my brother's wedding weekend. Tonight's the rehearsal dinner and Saturday the wedding. Lots of family and friends, and me with a new camera - this will be fun. Looks for pictures soon!

do you know the rules?

the rules.

Rule No. 38: There comes a time in any man's life when airborne livestock is no longer funny.

Rule No. 442: Only acceptable pick-up line: "Hi, my name is [insert your name], What's yours?"

Rule No. 488: A man over the age of 30 should not use the word "Dawg" except to refer to a creature with four legs and a leash around its neck.

Rule No. 448: If you ask about her previous boyfriend and she gets a small, wistful smile on her face, change the subject.

macro

Feel like discovering the world of philosophy? I do. The image is from a book called World without Design: The Ontological Consequences of Naturalism by Michael Rea. One of the biggest challenges for Naturalism is what Rea calls the Discovery Problem. More about that later. Right now it's enough to know that this shot fulfills Photo Friday's challenge of the week.

I just love the macro abilities on this camera. It can create such sharp images from only a few centimeters. The possibilities are endless.

Tomorrow's the last day before I leave for LA. Got lots to do, but mainly it involves making sure my substitute logic instructor has everything he needs. I will only be in LA a few short days, not enough time to do everything I want. Oh well. There's always summer :)

the beginning of the end

It's the beginning of the final stretch toward the end of the semester. I've got 70+ papers and a final exam to grade for my ethics class. Add to that one more lecture, and two more exams to grade for my logic class. It'll be one big final push at the end. Isn't it always?

Thankfully the weather is warming up. Seeing the sun is always engergizing.

Oh, Master and Commander is worth the rental.

Happy Easter

Keith Green wrote one of the best Easter songs I've heard. It's available here.

Enjoy!

morning sun

I expected overcast skies today, and another day of the camera on the shelf, but it looks like there might be some sun after all. I braved the unseasonably cold weather and took a few early morning shots.

spring showers

I wasn't able to take photos today; overcast and raining all day. Tomorrow looks better, but I'm not holding my breath.

What did you do today? Observe Good Friday? I collected about 70 papers from my Ethics students. I told them not to expect them to be graded anytime soon, not that any of them seemed to care.

I also went to the graduate student colloquia we have on Friday's. It was a good talk, but everyone's tired.

Weekend agenda: prepare a logic exam and lecture for next week, pray for better photo weather, and Celebrate Resurrection Sunday.

clouds

The early evening sky.

Theme Thursday

I've joined Theme Thursday which posts photographic tasks each week. It's great for inspiration, plus it'll give me more opportunities to play with my new camera!

This week's theme...heavy metal.

!!!

I have entered the digital world, and it is good.

Da Vinci Code

Word on the street has it that the Da Vinci Code sets a publishing record.

"It taps into a lot of longstanding stories about Jesus in America," he [Stephen Prothero] said from his home in East Sandwich, Mass. "Americans have been ruminating since the Colonial period about finding documents that would settle all the mysteries about Jesus."

"One thing that makes people so interested in Jesus is that we don't have the answers. We've got these Gospels, but there's a lot of unanswered questions."

" 'The Da Vinci Code' participates in the 'religion-bad, spirituality-good' model in America," he says. "It provides a way to be spiritual while tapping into your suspicions about the Church."

There's lots to be said about this, including the obvious point that this seems to be an opportunity for Christians to interact with the culture about Jesus. I know we've been busy with The Passion, but maybe it's time to move on to discuss The Da Vinci Code.

workin' out

The weather is warming up so I decided to go to the gym today. I know the weather shouldn't matter, but it does. And yes, this does say a lot about my commitment level, but what'da gonna do? It felt good to get out there. I think I'll hit it more often. And I'm sure it'll give me the energy to finish grading those logic exams - we all know they won't grade themselves.

hey, that's not funny.

Just heard on tonight's Simpson’s...

Scene: Marge, Lisa and Bart at the local coffee shop.

Bart: I'm gonna go taunt the PhD’s.

Bart: (to people behind the counter): Hey I just heard there's an assistant professorship opening up. At the University of...psyche!

gmail

1000 megabytes of storage? Gmail must be crazy. But who cares, it's good for us!

UPDATE: The down side: (from the Laporte Report)...

Gmail will automatically include Google Adsense messages tailored to the content of outgoing messages. In other words, if you send a message to your buddy telling him how the fishing is in Montana, the mail will be tagged with ads for fishing rods and hip-waders.

If the US postal service did this...

...

As you can see I'm still playing around with the design of my site.

I want a way to display more pictures on my site (you'll know why in a few days). But I don't want to simply insert them as basic entries. I've thought about using Gallery, but that may take more time than I have to install.

I've been impressed with many of the sites listed at photoblogs, but since I don't know jack about web design, I'm not sure I can use someone's design ideas on my site. One thing I won't do is make Journeys complex or cluttered. Simple and elegant is the way to go.

...is worth a thousand words.

Visit Photoblogs.org and click on any one of the amazing sites. Don't miss JinkyArt, or chromasia, or heather champ.

whew

The week ends on Thursday for grad students (no class on Friday), which is great because I'm exhausted. Of course they might have to teach discussion sections on Friday. Fortunately, I don't have to teach sections this week because the students took a test on Monday, so tomorrow looks like the perfect oppotunity to start on another Kant paper. Will the writing ever end?

Meanwhile, look for a new set of links to appear starting tomorrow.

Good night.