May 31, 2006

I do hope y'all are ready for the 78th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. Are you? The first few (untelevised) rounds took place today. Here's the list of the words that were in Round One (the written round) this morning. Yikes! This is a contest that I surely would not win. Thre's no way I'd make it through the first round. Culottes? That's how that's spelled? I don't think I ever once pondered the spelling of that word. I suppose, if pressed, I might've come up with it but...really? Nullipara? Huh? Sprachgefuhl? Are these even real words? In any language? Wow. I have to say I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's televised rounds. 'Wish I could stay home and watch 'em live. Alas, I'll have to content myself with TiVo. Nevertheless: woo hoo!

One more thing. I've decided I'll be rooting for Matthew Evans from Albuquerque, New Mexico. For no particular reason other than that he's from New Mexico and he just tickled my spelling fancy.

One more thing #2. I went and looked those two words up and it turns out I'm a nullipara! Huh. Who knew?

UPDATE. Alas, my pick went out in the 7th round (tied for 14th, I guess). I'd set my TiVo to record an extra hour for the afternoon and evening shows...in case things went long. Good thought since the (live) shows did go long. Alas, during the afternoon broadcast ESPN switched coverage over to ESPN2 so I missed all but the first three spellers in the 7th round. The evening broadcast started with the 8th round. It also went long. But, oddly enough ABC did not switch over to another network (!) at then end of the second hour. This time, I got the whole broadcast. Anyway, good show. As always. 'Love the spelling bee.

May 22, 2006

Question of the day. So, we're setting up a new research group at work and I was working on a logo. I'm torn. This is simple and has clean lines:

And, then there's this:

It's got substance and depth. And, the oil drop's shape is prettier since it doesn't go all the way to the bottom of the O. But, is the whole bevel/drop-shadow thing too tired and over-done these days? I honestly can't decide which one I like better. If you have a preference, please drop me a line and let me know which one you prefer (and why). Thanks.

May 12, 2006

From today's Campus Watch crime report:

Criminal Trespass Warning (Jester East Dormitory, 201 E. 21st St.)
A non-UT subject refused to leave the building after getting into an argument with a UT student inside the T.V. lounge. When stopped by the police officer, the subject stated that she hated all Texans and would pray for a flood. In addition to other law enforcement actions taken, the subject was issued a written criminal trespass warning and escorted from the area. Much to her chagrin, Troy Kimmel's weather forecast for today is sunshine and 89 degrees. Occurred on 5-11-06, at 7:26 PM.

"Much to her chagrin." Indeed. Heh heh.

May 4, 2006

Lots of goofy stuff happens at work. All the time. I almost never post about it, though. 'Cause that's work and this isn't. However, I noticed something today that was too good to pass up. One of the things I do for the professors I work for is prepare Powerpoint presentations for talks they give at conferences and such. One of the professors usually starts with something, prints it out, marks it up with a red pen, and then sends the whole thing to me to clean up. I got a set of printed slides from him yesterday and have been going through them. One set of slides came from one of his grad students. A student I don't really know. The professor inserted the grad student's illustrations and wanted to cite the student's thesis on the slide (note the text in the lower right-hand corner):

There were three such slides in a row. The student's name was spelled differently on each slide. As I said, I don't really know the student and had no idea what his last name really was. So, I looked him up in the UT directory. Guess what? All three spellings were wrong:

That last spelling (which I wrote in pencil on the last slide) is the correct spelling according to the directory. That's pretty impressive, doncha think? Three attempts, doubtlessly made within 4 or 5 minutes of each other, and every one of them wrong. Again I say: impressive. Heh.

Before I get any quibbles: yes, I know. I do post from the Campus Watch reports all the time. Technically, those are from my workplace. But, they're always (well, 99 times out of 100) about people I don't know so they don't really count as posts about my work. Okay? Okay.

April 3, 2006

I was reading today's Campus Watch crime report and came across the following:

Criminal Mischief (Robert Lee Moore Hall)
A UT staff member reported an unidentified subject(s) hung undergarments from the ceiling located inside a 4th floor lobby. Signs placed in the lobby provided a name of an organization responsible for the creation of the proclaimed "museum." Later that same day, a request for subscription to the Campus Watch came in. The prefix for the e-mail address was the same as the organization listed on the signs - happy reading. Removal cost: $25.00. Reported on 03-31-06 at 8:21 AM.

I realized the report was referring to an incident I'd scanned past in a letter to the editor from today's edition of the Daily Texan so went back and reread the letter (first one). Not surprisingly, I didn't pay much attention to it the first time I saw it. The fact that the Campus Watch writer noticed the email subscription address and gave 'em a "shout out" caught my attention so I figured it deserved a bit more attention. Here's a link to the blog documenting the silliness: The Underpants of Science. Heh.

March 28, 2006

WebMD's Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) Test page. I'm just putting the link here so I can find it later. Grandma had one of these tests done yesterday and got the results today: 840. Hopefully, the medication being prescribed by her doctors will bring the value back down. Quickly. 'Love you, Grandma.

March 8, 2006

From today's Campus Watch crime report:

Pedestrian in the Roadway / Evading / Resisting Arrest (200 West Dean Keaton)
A non-UT subject, who matched the description of a suspicious subject in Townes Hall, was found walking in a lane of traffic. When an officer ordered the subject out of the roadway, the subject replied in a manner that indicated he did not intend to leave the roadway and continued to walk in the roadway. After the subject ignored a second order to exit the roadway and to stop, the officer attempted to physically stop the subject. On two occasions, the subject pulled away from the officer and continued to walk. When officers were able to stop the subject he fell limp and would not comply or respond to the officers' directions. Officers needed to physically carry the subject and place him a patrol vehicle. Occurred on 03-07-06 at 9:55 AM.

I like how the report is very non-specific with its "the subject replied in a manner that indicated he did not intend to leave the roadway" comment. And, we all know exactly what the non-UT subject's reply really was. Don't we? Yep. Indeed we do.

March 4, 2006

Wow. I can't believe I didn't post anything here on the main page in February. I'm about to make up for that, though. My buddy Cyrus has been playing soccer since he was a wee tyke. He recently took some training and is now working as a referee for games with younger kids...aged 8 and younger. Or so. I think this morning was his second or third time being referee at a game. As he and his mother were driving away, she asked if he'd enjoyed himself. His reply:

"That's the easiest money I've ever made."

At the ripe old age of 12, I believe this may be the only money he's ever made. Heh. 'Cracked me up.

January 31, 2006

From yesterday's Campus Watch crime report:

Public Intoxication (Frank C. Erwin Special Events Center)
A non-UT subject, who was under the age of 21, was stopped after being observed attempting to open the door to a private suite before turning and running into the arena concourse wall. When asked for his identification, the subject handed the police officer a $20.00 bill and claimed it to be his identification. "Andrew Jackson" went on to state he had consumed 18 alcoholic beverages and begged to be let go to avoid facing another of many alcohol offenses. "Andrew Jackson" was found to be under the influence of alcoholic beverages to the point he was a physical endangerment to himself. Occurred on 01-27-06 at 8:05 PM.

Interesting that "Andrew Jackson" was not charged with attempted bribery of a public official or some such, eh?

January 28, 2006

At last! I figured out what I'm going to do about all those photos I took of the #1 Tower earlier this month. I've decided to revamp my Photobox page. It's a blog so if you've got a newsreader, sign up for the feed. I'll try to post a new photo every day or two and will also work on getting the old content from the Photobox converted to the new format. Isn't this fun? Heh.

By the way, I will not be putting a notice here each time I update the Photobox page. No worries.

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joanna@joanna.org
URL: http://www.joanna.org/archive/Jan2006-May2006.html
Last updated: May 31, 2006

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