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can't trust that day
went to the gym today! half an hour on the eliptical, and hung out at about 126 strides per minute the whole time. w00t, but why can't i ever keep moving like that when i have someplace to be?
also got some work done!
also, in a completely fortuitous move, sold a book i've never even opened to a new student in my department! bought "a history of old english" last january and almost immediately changed my thesis topic, but not so immediately that i could still return the book. had just noticed it on the shelf the other day, and regretted the £20 i'd spent on it, because while books (and books about old english) are good, books i may eventually consult but only out of curiosity are evidence of money that could have been better spent elsewhere. but then my department "daughter" mentioned that she was off to blackwell's before it closed to get this book on old english, and i said Oh, i have a book on old english i'd be happy to sell you if you want it, and didn't it turn out to be exactly the book she needed! and i mean it was in mint condition, so she gave me the cover price for it! go me!
did in fact send a letter to the washington post:
and, finally, today's bpal, which is hellcat:
it shouldn't surprise any of you by now to hear that i can smell the almond a lot more when the stuff is wet than when it dries. as it warms up and the almond fades, i can smell the buttercream quite a lot, and what must be the honey mead and the rum -- and then when i move my wrist away from my nose (to type, for example), the hazelnut comes out quite nicely. as if the hazelnut has a longer wavelength, or something.
don't know if i'd order this again -- i wouldn't refuse to (see 'wrath'), and it does get a serious push from the name :-), but it's just pleasant; it doesn't really sing to me.
also got some work done!
also, in a completely fortuitous move, sold a book i've never even opened to a new student in my department! bought "a history of old english" last january and almost immediately changed my thesis topic, but not so immediately that i could still return the book. had just noticed it on the shelf the other day, and regretted the £20 i'd spent on it, because while books (and books about old english) are good, books i may eventually consult but only out of curiosity are evidence of money that could have been better spent elsewhere. but then my department "daughter" mentioned that she was off to blackwell's before it closed to get this book on old english, and i said Oh, i have a book on old english i'd be happy to sell you if you want it, and didn't it turn out to be exactly the book she needed! and i mean it was in mint condition, so she gave me the cover price for it! go me!
did in fact send a letter to the washington post:
A couple of things concerned me in Maria Glod's article "A Hop, Sprint and Jump Beyond PE" (October 17). The article describes Cindy Lins, a PE teacher at Spark Matsnaga Elementary School, as "[cheering] every student who rounded the edge of the schoolyard to complete a lap" in preparation for the Darcars Young Run -- but then goes on to describe her encouragement of one student: "'How in the world can you be pooped? I don't understand that,' she teased when another girl jogged by slowly." In my experience, elementary school kids do not find it encouraging to be "cheered on" by teachers who mock them. "I don't understand how _____ can be difficult for you" tends to come across as "There must be something wrong with you, because _____ is easy." It's bad enough to hear that from a classmate; they shouldn't have to hear that from their teachers.
A few paragraphs later, another teacher, Anne Collins (and is there any connection to http://www.annecollins.com?) is noted as going from a size 18 to a size 4 in one year. Granted, the article doesn't talk about the specific weight loss involved; that nevertheless seems like a really startling change in a frankly very short time. Assuming the sizes given are correct, and there are no typos, one hopes the teacher concerned is going about her "wellness program" under some kind of professional supervision, and not holding up this dramatic weight loss as necessary or even always desirable. In a position to influence eight- and nine-year-olds (a group particularly vulnerable to eating disorders), a teacher should emphasize the importance of being healthy rather than necessarily being thin. Children are never too young to learn that their results may vary.
and, finally, today's bpal, which is hellcat:
A soft, sensual, luxuriant blend with a wicked bite: hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum and sweet almond.
it shouldn't surprise any of you by now to hear that i can smell the almond a lot more when the stuff is wet than when it dries. as it warms up and the almond fades, i can smell the buttercream quite a lot, and what must be the honey mead and the rum -- and then when i move my wrist away from my nose (to type, for example), the hazelnut comes out quite nicely. as if the hazelnut has a longer wavelength, or something.
don't know if i'd order this again -- i wouldn't refuse to (see 'wrath'), and it does get a serious push from the name :-), but it's just pleasant; it doesn't really sing to me.