Saturday, May 24, 2008
Shouldn't a banquet have food?
As you'll recall the original reason for my trip back to Macon was for the annual Mercer Computer Science Honors banquet. You can read the invitation in my post here. As you can read in that post, this banquet sort of fell apart without Penny there to direct and manage it. Invitations weren't mailed out, attendance was lower than usual, and then there was the food. Or maybe I should say "and then there wasn't the food." Check out the tables:  Normally the schedule for the banquet starts with the food, then the guest speaker, then presentations of the awards and coveted coffee mugs to the graduating seniors. Somewhere in there they also recognize the alumni. This year since it was determined that I'd graduated earlier than anyone else, I was the designated fossil. After the food and the awards, the final event of the evening is usually the induction of the new members of Upsilon Pi Epsilon Computer Science honor fraternity. Normally, with the inductions being the last event on the schedule, everyone has a chance to run and hide from Dr. Allen so they don't have to be in the initiation ceremony. Unfortunately, with the food snafu, the schedule was rearranged, and no one had a chance to run and hide. And you can forget claiming not to be a member of UPE, as Dr. Allen prints up a list of members and brings it with him. As punishment for losing the camera shoot out, there was no way I was going to avoid being in the ceremony. Especially since, at one point, I think I was even president ("Upsilon") of the Mercer Chapter. (They say it UP-silon, not OOP-silon, which all Greeks know is the proper pronunciation.) With all the celebration and ceremony out of the way it was finally time to get some of the food that had miraculously arrived while we were inducting new members. Choosing your seat at a banquet like this is always tough. If you are a software guy (like me) and you find yourself alone at a table of hardware guys, then you'll be tortured and ridiculed all night. And of course the reverse is true. Us software guys show hardware folks no mercy. Don't even get me started on the pompous networking guys, that everyone hates. If you've looked through the pictures of Penny at Mercer's CS page you may have noticed me just off to the side in a few pictures. Rather than wading into the whole hardware/software/networking war, I usually sat with one or two seats of Penny and Carol Ann. Molly one of Penny's favorite student workers would also usually sit at the same table within a couple of seats of Penny. This year, without Penny and Carol Ann, it just seemed natural that Molly and I wind up sitting together. It sort of helped ease that feeling that something or someone was missing. Sitting there, eating dinner, you couldn't help but think about Penny, who at the time had only been out of surgery for a few hours. I couldn't help but find myself asking WWPD? (What Would Penny Do?) Well if you read my post on Penny's nicknames for me you know exactly what Penny would do. She'd put me in awkward, uncomfortable situations and then take pictures of it. I know that because she did it last year, too.  Me and Molly at the 2007 banquet/cookout   Much better!  |
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Dr. Freeze (and Pam!)
| Despite having eaten almost a pound of steak, and salad, and soup, I had to make haste to Macon. I had several people to see and some Krystals to eat. Next stop: Pooler, GA. There it was:   As soon as I checked in, I placed a call to Dr. A. Ever since my post about him we'd been emailing about catching up with each other. In yet another Krystal Koincidence, I was heading back to macon anyway, so we made plans to do dinner on Friday. On my long drive to Macon it slowly occurred to me: Who would know more about Brain Freeze than "Dr. Freeze" himself? (If you've watched his video, linked from the post above, you'll understand the nickname.) I met Dr. A and his wife Pam for dinner at the super gigantic chinese buffet out by I-475. I hadn't seen Pam in ages and she's lost a lot of weight since then. (Don't worry Pam. I found it. Or it found me!) Dinner lasted a coupe of hours as we talked about the old days, and the days in between. So much has changed and yet so much hasn't. After dinner, we made our way, where else, up to Krystal on Zebulon Rd. With a couple of Krystals and Freezes in hand (cherry for me), we got a few pictures. I also decided to spring my question at that point. What did Dr. A think was the secret to the Brain Freeze and more important, how would one avoid it? After a long discussion I think the answer we came up with was: I don't know. Apparently more research would be needed. Sadly, I was unable to make off with my own bucket of liquid nitrogen, so I am having to come up with a slightly less lethal test for Brain Freeze. Of course the results will be posted here eventually (if I survive!) As a side note, had I been paying attention to the Krystalist blog, I may have seen that they linked to my Straw Poll post that studies straw sizes as a possible reason for brain freeze. Had I seen the post it might have reminded me to bring my Bubble Tea super straws. Sadly, I forgot them at home and Macon doesn't have a bubble tea place that I know of. But I didn't let the lack of a super straw stop me from the persuit of brain freeze. In fact, over the entire weekend I managed to try all seven Krystal Freeze flavors, and got brain freeze on 3 different occasions. 
There is sure to be more on Freezes, and my Brain Freeze research in the future. But lets not get too far ahead, there's plenty of weekend recap left. |
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Dinner with Andrea
| While KrystalAdventures has more or less been on hold for 2 weeks, MY adventures have not. So that means I now have about 15 very busy days and 2 or 3 adventures to catch up on. While I am trying to get a handle on that, let's just go ahead and get the best part out of the way first. The first weekend of this month was the bi-annual Alumni reunion of my fraternity. These guys have been getting together every two years for quite a while and I am honored that about 6 years ago they invited me. I missed the event 2 years ago, but was determined not to miss it this year. It is such an amazing feeling to be among all of that brotherhood even though most graduated 30, 40 and 50 years ago. In fact on Friday I was the youngest person there by at least 10 or 12 years. (For those Mercer ATO's closer to my age that are reading this, it makes me sad to see the lack of participation by the younger crowd year after year. Missed opportunities to connect and reconnect with that which makes our fraternity great, our brothers. Yeah, I'm calling you out!) Anyway while planning my trip I decided that I always have such a blast it would be a shame not to share the weekend. So I summoned up the nerve (that took about 3 weeks) and I invited Andrea. I technically met Andrea about 12 years ago, but due to her career taking her all over, we lost touch until about 2 years ago and we've been emailing since. Because I was in the middle of finals, and Andrea's life was rather chaotic, it took a while to get our plans set, but she was able to come down for the Saturday evening banquet.      |
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Famous Jason and Penny Pics
| For years when I got email from Penny (and I got a lot of Penny email, or P-mail) I always noticed a rather curious thing. I have yet to find the official name for it but I have seen it called a nickname, a lookup name, a real name but it is NOT an "alias." Beside my email address, in parenthesis, I was labeled "Famous Jason." This is apparently how I was listed in Penny's address book. I don't exactly know why I got that label. This was well before this whole Krystal Kid thing really got started. As you saw in my previous post Penny had plenty of options for names to use for me. I guess I was just thankful was "Famous Jason" not "INfamous Jason." Penny always did see more in me than I saw in myself. She always fought for me, defended me, and encouraged me. Would I be where I am today if not for Penny? I doubt it. I may never know exactly how I got to be "Famous Jason" but that's ok. I'm just honored by the title. This past week has been my attempt to make sure the whole world knows about "Famous Penny." I very much appreciate you allowing me this aside from the usual Krystal Kraziness. For those who have posted comments and sent emails, I do VERY much appreciate them. This past week has been a rough week for me. Between dealing with the loss of Penny and the end of the semester, I have more or less been in a haze the past 2 weeks. (Or as Penny was fond of saying, I was "shot out!") But starting on Monday it's time to get back to work. Krystal Adventure will return to "normal" (as if it ever was.) Like me, Penny hated it when she was kept away from work. Mostly because she knew without her there to manage things, it would be a disaster upon her return. And then she'd have to clean it all up. I cannot imagine life at Mercer CompSci, AP (After Penny). If you visit Mercer's CompSci website they've been running a nice tribute to Penny for the past week where people can upload their own Penny pictures. I quickly went out to find some, knowing that I would have a lot of Penny and hockey pictures. But as I dug through my pictures I found a severe lack of picture of Penny. It was then that I realized that most of the time Penny was taking the pictures, not me. So I have a large collection of pictures from Penny's point of view.  Penny Hated the Columbus Cottonmouths  But she did enjoy the rough stuff. That is why I chose today, Mother's Day, as the proper day to wrap up this week of celebration of Penny, Famous Penny. With the greatest of love, -Famous Jason, Thumper, or Robin |
Labels: Mercer, Warner Robins
Friday, May 09, 2008
I may not be Batman, but I'm still famous
| Early on when I was teaching at Mercer, I happened to be sitting outside with Penny on a smoke break with Connie, who was the Math Department's Admin Assistant. I really have no idea how we got onto the topic but I related the following story: When my brother and I were little (I have no idea HOW little) we of course liked to pretend to be super heroes. Since there were two of us, options were limited. Of course we went with Batman and Robin. My brother, being older, got to be Batman, and thus I was Robin. Via my father, we had our utility belts (military surplus belts) with canteens, pouches and various other neat stuff. My mother, being ever helpful and a whiz with the sewing machine, decided to make super hero capes for my brother and I. Nicely hemmed, Velcro neck closures. I mean top quality stuff that kids today simply can't imagine. Have you ever looked closely at Batman and Robin's capes. The REAL Batman and Robin, not that new age garbage in the movies with the full leather outfits.  Take a close look.
Penny immediately decided that the entire course of my life was determined by that cape. I had some sort of cape inferiority complex. I coveted Batman's cape. Apparently, I am who I am because I never got to be Batman. In those times when I was especially whiny, Penny would simply "comfort" me by saying "Aww, poor Robin." This was said in the same way that southerners (Penny was VERY southern) recite the phrase "bless your little heart." It's comforting at first but then you realize they we're NOT being comforting. Well it took quite a few years, and a lot of work, but I eventually got my very own black cape. It's really quite cool. While I would never question my mother's sewing ability, this one may be a bit tough to tackle. And I get to don my super hero costume this evening at CFCC's Graduation. You see my "cape" is often referred to as a "hood." It's my master degree hood. Due to a unique situation, mine is a really neat black and orange, while most other hoods are 3 or 4 colors. They all have a black body, then a velvet strip with the color determined by the degree field (mine is orange for engineering). Then the lining is usually two colors determined by the school that awarded the degree. Mercer's colors are black and orange. Thus my hood is completely black and orange. It's kind of manly, dark, and tough. It sure isn't sissy yellow! I also have a black "tam" to wear. Sadly, it doesn't have bat ears, but it'll do. I haven't yet figured out if I can get the utility belt on under the robe or not, but I am working on it. You just never know when the Joker or the Riddler will attack your community college graduation ceremony (bless their little hearts). Pictures will certainly follow at some point. I just have to be careful to protect my secret identity, so y'all don't tell anyone now, ok? |
Labels: Mercer, Warner Robins
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Penny NMN?
| I am unsure if this story is really true or not. Penny loved to pull my leg. She was very good at it, and sadly, I am very gullible. One day Penny told me she actually had no middle name. The discussion came up because her email address at Mercer followed the standard format of last name, then first and middle initial. In Penny's case it was PJ. She told me she had no middle name, but because at some point she "needed" one for an email account she made up her own middle name: Jo Of course all of this discussion then turns to my middle name. Those who know me know that I never use my middle name. Very few people even know it. While Penny had no middle name, and got to choose her own. I was never given an option and have been trying to rid myself of my middle name for years. Sadly, on one piece of paper back in 1988, I put my full name, and that got mailed to Mercer. Because all of Mercer's computer systems are connected, my middle name followed me from prospective student, to undergraduate student, to graduate student, to staff, to faculty, and on to alumni. I once went to the registrars office and asked if they could simply remove my middle name, leaving only my middle initial. They replied that they would happily do that for me... once I provided them with documentation of a legal name change. The reason I wanted to get my middle name expunged was that ALL mail sent by Mercer pulls from the same database and thus prints your entire name. Since I worked in the post office off and on for several years, I could rattle of many student's middle names. I wasn't nearly as good as Nikki, my girlfriend in college who worked in the post office. She could rattle off full names and box numbers of any student. We're talking Rainman level recall. Lots of fun at parties! Because all of my campus mail had my middle name, Penny knew it. She sent out and sorted lots of mail to and from me. Growing up, the only person who ever used my first AND middle name was my mother. To this day, if you ever use my first and middle names back to back it's like a shock collar. It gets my immediate attention. Penny would pull that one out on rare occasions, just to make sure I was listening. Thankfully, Penny had other names for me. If you go way back to my early post about my nicknames many of them are from Penny. Dr. J: When I first started teaching at Mercer, I was in a "class" of about 20 new faculty members. The largest group of new faculty in Mercer history. Most of them were "freshly minted" PhD's. I learned very quickly that many PhDs and especially the newly minted PhD's are freakishly sensitive about being addressed as "Doctor." I decided right then that once I got my PhD I would never intellectually poke someone in the chest and demand they address me as Doctor. When i related this story to Penny I told her that would ruin my plan to be known as "Dr. J." She picked up on it and ran with it. I would walk into the office and she would greet me loudly as "Dr. J!!" I once had a student who was in the office at the time Penny announced my presence look at me very confused and ask "You're a doctor?" The possible sarcastic answers to that question overwhelmed me, but I settled for the simple "No." Thumper: In real life (IRL) I am actually a very shy person. I am even more so around pretty girls and beautiful women. I have difficulty looking them in the eye, or forming complete sentences. I tend to look at the ground, mumble, kick imaginary rocks, and just kind of draw circles on the ground with my toes. Penny picked up on this once, many years ago, and being the "Disneyphile" that she was, she declared that I was "twitterpated" and immediately branded me with the nickname "Thumper." Being typical Penny, she simply couldn't let it go at that. Many times Penny would find a pretty girl at a hockey game, grab my camera, and ask her if she could take a picture of her WITH ME. Thus capturing good ol Thumper on film. And to escalate matters, Penny would pretend to have "camera problem" just so she could take an extra 4 or 5 pictures, prolonging the agony. Looking back on it, though, I must admit, thanks to Penny I do have several pictures of some very pretty girls. I, of course, look like a train wreck in them. Apparently Kodak film is good enough to capture sheer panic in addition to all those lifelike colors. But more important, I think Penny may have had a master plan that has taken me years to figure out. By purposely forcing me into those awkward uncomfortable situations, she was teaching me to relax, calm down, and maybe, just maybe, not get quite as twitterpated. I'm not quite there Penny, but I am working on it. A few years later, I related the story to Natasha, who twitterpates(?) me even to this day. She then found and emailed me this picture:  |
Labels: Mercer
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Got a Penny, give a Penny
| I have changed the background for the remainder of this week as Krystal Adventure goes into mourning for the loss of my dear friend, Penny. Penny's funeral is tomorrow and as much as I would like to be there, it is abundantly clear that will be impossible. There simply isn't enough time. BUt when you think about it, there never really is enough time. I am so very grateful that I did get to see Penny last Friday even if only for 30 minutes. I do need to thank Courtney for helping me to see how important that part of my trip would be. My freshman year of college, I missed seeing my grandfather before he died by only a couple of hours. I swore I would never let something like that happen to me again. Penny's funeral is tomorrow around 3pm. If you think about it tomorrow around that time, I would appreciate it if you could take a moment to pray for Penny and her family. I am lucky that the semester officially ended for me today, as normally at 3pm on a Wednesday, I am starting my third class of the day. Though I will not physically be in Macon tomorrow, I will most certainly be there in my heart. I think this may be the first time since I moved to Wilmington that I actually regret not living in Macon. I do know that Penny was sad when I left Mercer, but was very happy and exciting when I finally escaped Warner Robins. On my last trip down and back to GA I stopped to fill up my truck and buy a cold drink. My change wound up being 29¢. I told the girl "just drop all the pennies in the dish." The dish was of course, the well known "Got a penny, give a penny. Need a penny take a penny" dish. Looking back on it, it is now very easy to see. For the longest time, we've all been in need of a Penny, and we got to borrow one. But now, God needs a Penny, so it's time for us to give one back. We should just consider ourselves very very lucky for being allowed to borrow her as long as we have. |
Labels: Macon, Mercer, Warner Robins, Wilmington
"Get to know Penny"
| Starting back about 2002 Mercer's Computer Science Dept. started having annual banquets to honor graduating seniors. All alumni were also invited to attend. That is the banquet I attended two weeks ago in Macon. In fact the CS Web Page still gives the details: All students and alumni in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Science, and Computational Science are invited to attend the end of year spring banquet to be held at 7:00 PM on Saturday, April 26th at the Woodruff House (located next to the Mercer Law School on Coleman Hill). The meal is free for all students and alumni. Recognition will be given to graduating seniors and UPE inductees. A great southern buffet menu is on tap including the following items. Southern Fried Chicken, Sliced Ham, Southern Style Green Beans, Garden Salad, Tomato, Onion, & Hot Pepper Tray, Corn on the Cob, Macaroni & Cheese, Rolls, and Banana Pudding. Friends & family are also invited to this event. We ask for $10 per guest. Hope to see you there! When I arrived at the banquet (late as usual), I noticed there weren't as many people as usual. It was quieter than usual. I also noticed the place wasn't set up. I started to wonder if I was early instead of late. I merged in with the group of alumni closest to my age range (Dave, Scott, Matt, Bobbie) to find out what was going on. I then found out that all the wonderful food discussed above was not there and was not coming. Apparently the catering had gotten screwed up. "If Penny was here she'd be pissed!" I said. "If Penny was here you know this would never happen" was the reply. This was greeted by a round of nods, because we all knew it was true. I first met Penny when she started at Mercer back in about 1992. It quickly became clear to me that Penny was important to know. She made things happen and she got things done. Sometimes she even made miracles happen. You need a pencil? a pen? paper? a floppy disk? a mint? chewing gum? three ping pong balls, a rubber band and a magic marker? Somehow Penny made it happen. I once saw a student ask Penny for help because the student missed a class. Somehow Penny was able to produce a photocopy of notes for the class. To this day I don't know how she did that. Penny taught me many valuable lessons over the years, but one of the best was that most people draw their organization charts upside down. They put the presidents, VPs, directors and deans at the top and secretaries and janitors down at the bottom. Those at the top feel they have the most important jobs. In reality if it wasn't for those "at the bottom" nothing would get done. Ever. I see it sort of like the tires on your car. Everyone takes them for granted. They mistreat them. They don't check the air pressure or the tread wear. They even kick them on occasion. Those "at the bottom" get no attention and no respect. Yet when they're not there, you're just stuck. When I was faculty at Mercer (a job I got in part due to Penny) I would always tell my students "Get to know Penny. She can get things done no one else can." If you ask me for something, I will forget. Penny never forgets. If you need me to do something for you, I'll screw it up. Penny doesn't screw up. And Penny enjoyed that part of her job. I remember one day I had a particularly complicated photocopy job. (Yes, there is such a thing!) I was in the copy room behind Penny cussing up a storm as I kept screwing it up. Eventually Penny walked in and took the papers from me. "You give these to me, and you go back to your office now." Five minutes later I had my copies, sorted, stapled, and perfect. Even after I left Mercer, Penny still got things done for me. I had been tyring to get a book for a class I was teaching. I tried to get the book from the school I worked for and making little progress. A week later, Penny handed me a brand new copy of the book. Penny made miracles seem easy. Penny did the impossible, effortlessly, every day. And she laughed, smiled, and joked the entire time. I would occasionally get forwarded emails from Penny. Not the stupid annoying ones that EVERYONE passes around the internet. Penny's were always thoughtful, wise, useful, interesting, and funny. Pretty much little electronic copies of Penny. I pray for Penny. I pray for Carol Ann. I pray for Penny's children Ricky and Amber. But I also pray for the Computer Science Department, and the students. I suspect the banquet was just a glimpse of the future without Penny. The Computer Science Department has lost a wheel. Which normally might not be that bad except I think, in this case, the department is a unicycle. |
Labels: Cheese, Macon, Mercer, Onions
Monday, May 05, 2008
Penny
For years when I went to the Macon Centreplex for a hockey game, I always got there an hour before game time. I would enter the arena with a mighty and unmistakable "WHOOP!" which was usually greeted by loud laughter from Penny who ushered the games for years and was often the only other person there that early. Penny loved hockey as much as I do. Penny and Andrew Rodgers, Feb, 2000 I put on my Phil Valk Whoopee Jersey and walked into the Medical Center. I have had one person tell me that since Penny was in a coma she wouldn't be able to see that I was wearing "Valkie's" jersey. Tell me that again and I'll punch you in the mouth. Trust me, Penny knows. Carol Ann greeted me and walked me back to Penny's room. I managed to stand there for about 17 seconds before I had to step outside and break down for a minute. I don't deal well with hospitals. Period. Penny died Sunday morning. Molly, one of Penny's (and my) favorite student worker, forwarded me this email this afternoon: I am glad you got to see Penny as well. I know you are not supposed to do this over email, and I apologize, but I have never had to do this. Penny passed away Sunday morning. Dr. Digh called me yesterday to tell me. I am forwarding you an email her sister-in-law sent me on Saturday. Molly, I wanted to e-mail you because I know you were very important to Penny. I have some really bad news...Penny has had more strokes and they said it is beyond repair. They are going to turn off the machines tomorrow (Sunday) that were sustaining her to this point. They have put up signs that only immediate family can see her now at the NICU until the end. We will keep everyone up to date on the plans that are being made. I really wanted you to know how much she appreciated you and cared for you. Thank you so much for everything you did for her. Please let me know if you need anything. Be blessed... thankfully i only had one final exam to give at 3pm. I have found that I am an emotional shark. As long as I keep moving and talking, the AngerFearSadnessDepressionFrustrationPain doesn't have a chance to sink its claws in. But now I am home. I am quiet. and I am still. All of my emotions are sitting just outside in the hallway waiting for me to join them. And it is finally time. Visitation - Tuesday, May 6th 5-7 pm at Macon Memorial Park on Mercer Univ. Dr. Funeral - Wednesday, May 7th 3 pm at Macon Memorial Park Donations in lieu of flowers to: The Penny Cato Memorial Fund 1670 Rivoli Drive Macon, GA 31210 Penny J. Cato, Administrative Secretary in the Computer Science Department of the College of Liberal Arts died Sunday after a brief illness. She was a member of our Mercer family for over 15 years and was loved by the faculty and students she served. She was a giver known for thinking and doing for others before she thought of herself. She walked among us with joy and with a firm spiritual foundation. She deeply loved her children, Amber and Ricky, and was a committed friend. She loved the South, The Braves, hockey, John Wayne, country music, and butterflies. If you go and visit the offices in the Computer Science building, you catch a glimpse of the person Penny was - sassy, spiritual, opinionated, loving. Hugs were her signature. Several of her faculty have called her the Mother Hen. She pushed to get her work done, always doing so with grace. One of the quotes on the bulletin board says, 'Laughter is God's Sunshine, Take time to Laugh for it is the music of the soul.' With her passing, some of our joy is gone. But, as she would say, you have work to do and smile! Love, Penny |
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The perfect gift for the Krystal Lover in your life
| If you were watching the Krystal Coke bottle on eBay that I mentioned the other day, you probably noticed something went wrong. Tiffany gave the scoop over at Krystal-Lover Blog. Apparently eBay in their infinite wisdom waited til roughly the last minute to yank the auction because it violated some rule of theirs. The bidding had surged over the $600 mark by that point. Thanks eBay! Way to go out of your way to screw a charity auction! Anyway, Tiffany has put the bottle back up for auction again here. The bidding currently sits at $305 with about 3 1/2 days left. Sadly since the last auction was well underway, a lot of bidders now know just how high this could get, so watch for the snipers to go bananas on this one! Now if $305, or $600 (or perhaps $1000) is too rich for your blood, have I got a deal for you. Actually I did see a Kreed that went for less than $20 (plus about $20 for shipping) a few months back. Wouldn't this make a fantastic gift for the person you love that loves Krystal? You could hang this on the wall of your dining room and when you bring home a sack full, it'll feel like you're eating in the Krystal dining room. Well, back when the stores displayed the Kreed in the dining room. Why am I not bidding on this incredibly unique and valuable item? Well first of all I already have one. It is perhaps the most prized item in my vast Krystal Kollection. The second reason I am not bidding is that I wont be around when the auction ends, and I fully expect a bit of sniping. No when this auction ends, I may very well be sitting in a Krystal stuffing down a pile of Border Burgers. (Those are the Krystals you get at the last store before you enter Burgatory.) This weekend I am headed back to Macon. My itinerary is quickly getting packed as I make plans to see folks. The central reason for the trip is a banquet hosted by the Mercer Computer Science Department. Apparently they haven't yet figured out that if they keep inviting me, I keep showing up. I had hope to get to see Penny, but her surgery got delayed and is actually tomorrow morning. About the time I will be rolling out of Wilmington, she'll be rolling into the OR. It's going to be tough driving 9 hours with my fingers and toes crossed for her. While in town I will certainly be getting my fill of Krystals, and should finally be able to have a Krystal Freeze, or two (or seven?) And I hear the spicy chicks are back. And we all know the only thing better than a regular chik is a spicy chik! OK, maybe a spicy chik with RANCH! Mental note pick up some ranch dressing prior to hitting Krystal. And Doritos.) Second mental note write that down on paper because you'll forget in 10 minutes. So rather than wishing me a safe journey, I am rubber, and Penny is glue, your wishes will bounce off me and stick to her this weekend. Tonight I shall sleep as visions of Sunrisers and Cheese Krystals and Chili Cheese Fries dance in my head. After this weekend they shall all be dancing in my stomach!  |
Labels: Cheese, Chiks, Chili, Macon, Mercer, Wilmington
Monday, April 21, 2008
He's not an ANGRY kind of Mad Scientist
| About two months back I got an email from Chris with a very simple question in it: Neither is Dr. A. Many years ago while I was still at Mercer my fraternity was running rampant without any sort of advisor. As you can probably imagine, a group of college fraternity men without ANY adult supervision can be a dangerous thing. That's probably why, at least for ATO you're not allowed to have a chapter without advisers. I am unsure where the suggestion originally came from (oddly enough I think it may have been a different Chris) but Dr. A wound up being our advisor for about a year. During that time I got to know him and his wife, Pam, very well. Dr. A has the coolest job ever. Looking back after so many years, I realize that I, too, have perhaps the coolest job ever. I get paid to be a geek, and hopefully interest and entertain people with my geekiness. And maybe, just maybe, I can convert some people into geeks, too. The reason Chris was asking was that he'd had lunch with Dr. A that afternoon and found out that Dr. A had been at Mercer many years ago. Why was Chris having lunch with Dr. A? Well Chris works for a school system up in Atlanta and had the opportunity to film one of Dr. A's lectures. Go here and click on Dr. A'a Science Show Please be aware the entire video is about 75 minutes long, but entertaining from start to finish. Obviously Dr. A is kind of a nerd. But he is one of those rare scientists who can speak the language of the common man, or more specifically, the common child. I am often asked why I like to teach. The explanation isn't really that easy. I can explain it in scientific terms easily. At a point in time, we'll call n my student doesn't know/understand something. At another point in time, we'll call n+1 he does understand. Good Old Newton's First Law of Motion essentially says: An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion continues in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. This is often called the "Law of Inertia." If we tweak this a bit and think about the student. His mind was essentially "at rest" at time n and in motion at time n+1. The "outside force" that acted upon him was me, the teacher. I am the "agent of change." You often hear about a metaphorical "light bulb" coming on when someone "gets it." While you don't usually see an actual light bulb, I assure you that you CAN see the moment when someone "gets it." It shows in their eyes, in their posture, in their energy. It is an incredible event to witness and even more incredible to be involved with. I just can't seem to get enough of that moment. That's why, much like Dr. A, I see every moment in life as an opportunity to learn and an opportunity to teach. I have said for years that if "You live and you learn" then the moment you stop learning, you die. Or taken another way, if "you learn something new every day" then any day you don't learn something new, you never really lived that day (and you've lost that day forever.) Obviously I am a big fan of life long learning. You don't "get old" because the calendar drags you through time. You get old because you willingly let go of your childhood curiosity, wonder, and thirst for knowledge. (But always wear your safety glasses, just in case!) |
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A Penny for my thoughts.
| I've mentioned Penny here a few times in the past. Penny's known about my Thursday Krystal thing longer than most folks. She even gave me a Krystal Calendar at one time. I finally had to take it down off the wall since it's a 1999 calendar. (I do get to reuse it again in 2021.) She also knows first hand how much I dig Cadbury Creme eggs. Traditionally she brings me my first so she can see me eat it whole. And oh the countless hndreds of hockey games we've been to. Last October when I returned to Georgia for the Perry Square Off, I had hoped to catch up with Penny. It turns out that weekend Penny's health took a serious down turn, eventually leading to surgery. Recovery has been slow and steady, and I got to see her when I passed through town back on Christmas vacation. A little slower moving than usual, but still the same Penny. Well I got an email Monday night that she's going back in for surgery today (not sure what time). I don't know all of the details on the surgery, but when there is talk of using an artery from one portion of your skull to replace an artery in another portion of your skull, that sounds pretty darn serious to me. Over the years Penny's done a good job of looking out for me, especially when I was teaching at Mercer. I could do my job without fear of screwing up because I always knew Penny had my back. Even after leaving Mercer, when I ran into trouble (as I often do) and couldn't find a solution (as often happens to me) Penny would always seem to have the simple and obvious solution. Well now that the tables have turned and Penny needs help, I am sure you understand my frustration at being completely unable to help. Even if I knew I could do it, there simply isn't enough time for me to go to medical school, serve my residency, and become a surgeon. Not to mention I am 9 hours away now. Frustration. Time and again in my life I have to relearn a few things. When you keep throwing your hands up in frustration and desperation, it would be more effective if you'd just put your hands together instead. It always seems that when all else fails the last place I find myself is probably the first place I should have been: saying a prayer for Penny having faith that things will work out for the best. I usually feel guilty praying and asking for things. Frankly, I think I have far exceeded my lifetime quota of blessings. Heck as much as I've screwed up in my life, I'm lucky I'm not dead. But since I am asking for something for Penny, not myself, I think it'll be ok. If you feel so moved today to take some time out and send positive thoughts or prayers for Penny, I would be grateful. I have been stressed this week with the end of the semester approaching. But then you take a step back and realize that, compared to what Penny's dealing with, is the end of semester stress really that tough? No, it isn't. So Penny will be in my thoughts today, and I hope to catch up with her next weekend while I am down in Macon for a Mercer Computer Science Dept. function. I also hope to catch up with Brian, Bernida, and a bunch of other folks on my whirlwind trip through town. |
Monday, April 14, 2008
Brian's chillin' with Krystal Freezes
Recently, Brian took my Krystal BrainFreeze challenge to heart. Here is his emailed report:I have officially tried every Krystal freeze offered!And if that report isn't enough for you, here is his video report (required viewing for all former Mercer folks as Brian gives us a Papa Joe and Trimble update): I actually knew the answers to Brian's pomegranate queries. As luck would have it, the night before I caught Brian's video, Alton Brown had covered Pomegranates in his Good Eats episode Fruit 10 from Outer Space. (You can catch it again as it repeats later this month on Food Network.) Also, be sure to catch Alton's Man Food Show tonight at 11 and again at 2am. Alton makes "Mini Man Burgers" which are sort of like Krystals, until he smears mayonnaise on them and I throw up. As always, Alton delivers tons of interesting facts on pomegranates. I already knew that many people feel that the "forbidden fruit" that Eve gave to Adam was not an apple, but a pomegranate. I do wonder, though, if someone was influenced by the story of Persephone, Hades, and the Pomegranate Seeds. I knew that pomegranates and hand grenades had something in common as well. I did not know, however, that grenadine was originally made from pomegranates. I, like apparently most folks, believed that grenadine was made from cherries and came from the island of Grenada. (It doesn't.) Anyway, due to a "scheduling quirk" (that's a fancy way of saying my job) it appears that my next shot at a Krystal Freeze will be in roughly 2 weeks in Macon. Mercer's Computer Science Department has an annual seniors and alumni banquet and while the distance has drastically increased (9 hours instead of 9 minutes) I am going to try and make it. It's going to be a whirlwind trip and with Krystal Freezes everywhere, you might even say it'll be a blizzard! I won't say that, though, cause Dairy Queen already makes those. |
This post was a test of Blogger's Scheduled Posting Feature
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Ice cream = yummy
| With the impending Brain Freeze challenge, I decided to go into training. While assembling my Easter Peepsicles I had to buy a box of Popsicles for the sticks. I could have bought just sticks at the local craft store but what am I to do with 500 Popsicle sticks? Actually I know a billion things I could do with them, but I don't really have that kind of free time these days. So my training has consisted of eating Popsicles (actually, pudding pops) on a regular basis, hoping to build up a cold food tolerance. Honestly, though, I don't usually keep ice cream in the house. Me and dairy don't get along for the most part. If I have a big bowl of ice cream I have to chase it with a glass of water or I'll be feeling quite yucky for the next day or so. But when you're in training, certain sacrifices must be made, right? Actually, if I do buy ice cream it is pretty much one of three varieties:
With a baby on the way and law school looming, Jack chose to ride a bike most everywhere leaving their station wagon for Tina to drive. Made plenty of sense, saved gas money, and also allowed Jack to stay in shape, and pregnant Tina had a car in case of emergencies. Jack always was kind of smart like that. I spent my summer working at Mercer's Post Office. Running all over campus and up and down stairs lugging 50 pound buckets of mail all over. That allowed me to save gas money and stay in shape, but oddly it didn't really save me much money. I just made me sweat. A lot. I apparently am not kind of smart like that. One afternoon, as I sat on the couch recovering from work, there was a frantic knock on the door. I opened it to find Jack, obviously excited and slightly sweaty. He had what seemed a simple question. But since he was pre-law, I should have known any "simple question" from Jack was a loaded question. Jack asked: Jack was riding his bike home from the Law School, which entails riding it up Georgia Avenue. Those familiar with Macon and the Law School know exactly the torture I speak of. The Law School is perched upon the highest point in Macon, yet somehow every road around it seems to go up hill both ways. As Jack was pedaling up hill he came upon an ice cream truck. Not the clown music kind of ice cream truck that attracts children for miles. This was a freezer truck meant to deliver ice cream to grocery stores. The driver flagged Jack down and told him that his truck was broken down and without being able to run the engine the ice cream was going to melt. He made Jack the offer of a lifetime: I am unsure if Jack had completely thought out his plan or not. If he had he is even more brilliant than I had ever thought. Personally I would have taken one or two cartons and been happy with that. Jack must have taken like 20 or 30 quarts. I mean it was a lot of ice cream. You always hear the stories of pregnant women and their ice cream cravings, but how much ice cream can a girl eat in 9 months? I asked Jack how much he got and Jack's reply was simple: "All of it." It was everywhere. Once Jack got home he either realized his problem (too much ice cream, no time, and even less freezer space) or he put his master plan in action. Jack and Tina started calling everyone they knew. Even though it was summer time, there were still plenty college friends in town. They apparently made everyone the same offer they made me: You simply can't beat coming home from a long sweaty day of delivering mail and kicking back on the sofa to a big bowl of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream (and a tall glass of ice water). That was probably one of the greatest summers of my life. To this day, I can't have cookie dough ice cream without thinking back to that summer. I guess I need to thank Jack for introducing me to Edy. |
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Mouse? What Mouse?
| With the CFCC 50th birthday celebration and our department's decision to go with "Information Technology over the past 50 years" I saw my opportunity to crack open the vault of ancient programming languages. (If you don't want to read about the evolution of programming languages, stop reading NOW!) When I was teaching at Mercer, one of my classes was the Theory of Programming Languages. A large portion of that class was devoted to the evolution of programming languages. Now that I think of it, I guess it is only natural that I find the topic fascinating. My father is a history buff, so perhaps I am, too, except in the very narrow field of programming languages. The dirty little secret is, not only do I know about them, I can also program in them (and have in fact taught many of them too!)  Beside the FORTRAN is Lisp. While not one of my all time favorites, it is fun to play around with. Lisp is probably the VW Beetle of programming languages. Those who "get it" love it and won't ever let it go. They'll swear up and down they can make it do anything all the other languages can do and more. But when it gets right down to it, they never really do. It's cute, and it's fun, but really, very few people in the real world have much use for it. (Lisp is for those artificial intelligence geeks at UC Berkley.) The Lisp example solved the Towers of Hanoi problem, but taking advantage of Lisp's strong recursive abilities.  The cute little flowcharting book represents the paradigm shift from "Unstructured" to "Structured Code". Goto statements are gone. Well not really, but programming classes stopped teaching them. I now regularly tell my students that no matter where and no matter when if they ever use a goto at any time in their lives, I will jump out of the shadows and punch them in the back of the head. Using a goto statement is a clear indication that you don't have a clue what you are doing. Yes, I currently teach flowcharts in my job. For purely theoretical reasons I'd rather teach Nassi-Shneiderman Diagrams (or "Nasty Schneiderman Diagrams" as we'd call em). But since they pay me to teach em, I guess I'll just go with the flow... charts. (Yes it's a bad pun. Sue me!) Ah, Pascal. The cute, fun, little teaching language. I squeezed a whole lot out of that language, and made a little money off of it over the years. Eventually, though, I simply HAD to take off the training wheels and step up to the grown ups table.  I included Ada, not because it is an especially great language or even because it represented some new trend in the evolution of programming. I put it on display as an example of what you get when the government (DoD) decides to make it's own programming language. The language was so bloated and complex and took so long to create that by the time is was "done" no one would use it. The DoD basically FORCED people to use it, but within 10 years even the DoD stopped using it. The problem then was that they had a fleet of aircraft with Ada software on them that had to be maintained. Thus my job teaching Ada on the base, since the Air Force cannot find Ada programmers to maintain code they have to grow their own. That's your tax dollars at work folks! Keep that in mind next week (April 15th)!  I'd certainly love to crank up a C++ class. (That's actually a pun, but only geeks will get it.) There are a few aspects of VB and the particular book we use that makes my skin crawl. (Global variables, which are almost as bad as Gotos, are standard fare in our text.) While I certainly got a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction out of my languages display, I think the only thing that anyone else got out of it was the fact that in the old days of programming, there was no mouse and you actually had to type in words to tell the computer what to do. You lazy kids today with your crazy mouse with not one, but two buttons! You don't know how spoiled you are! |
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Pizza Persuit
| One of the dining experiences I have missed since moving to Wilmington is, as I call it, "Cheap Crappy Pizza." I do have to be up front by saying that the pizza is not REALLY bad, otherwise I wouldn't eat it. It's just inexpensive, and you wouldn't go bragging to your friends about having it for lunch. Back in Warner Robins we had Shakey's Pizza. Here's the link for the chain: Shakey's. And here's a few pictures I found of the Warner Robins shop. (sniffle) And for those of us who were in Macon in the late 80's and early 90's who could forget Shakey's out on Mercer U. drive. (sniffle) Ahh yes, you now understand "cheap crappy pizza." Actually as far as Shakey's in Warner Robins goes, I found it to be well worth the trip. The pizza was "cheap and crappy" but the fried chicken was always great. I regularly ate way too many fried mushrooms, and the MoJo's, oh my Lord, the MoJo's. Think THICK sliced potato chips or skins battered and fried. Get a small bowl of ranch from the salad bowl and it was deep fried heaven. It made rushing to Shakeys and back to work worth the effort, especially since you can count on the Price Is Right being on the big screen. I miss Shakey's! Once I got to Wilmington I started to look for a suitable replacement for Shakeys and was coming up empty (and hungry). Driving up and down College Rd. I couldn't help but notice the CiCi's Pizza over on the right. CiCi's is nothing new. We had them in Macon and also Warner Robins, I believe, but I had never been. I had been warned repeatedly about CiCi's. Due to their incredibly cheap kid's menu, CiCi's was apparently where parents took their kids "off leash" to eat and run rampant, like the dogs around the corner here in Empie Dog Park. It was explained very clearly to me: Do NOT go to CiCi's on the weekends or the evenings. I should only go to CiCi's when kids are in school. One tiny problem with that idea, however, was the fact I had a J-O-B. Any time the kids were in school I was at work. One person told me that the "CC" in the name stood for "Crazy Children" and another told me it was for "Concentrated Chaos." I didn't dare go against the warnings/threats, so I just never went to CiCi's. Besides I still had Shakey's. As I grew more and more hungry and more and more desperate for cheap crappy pizza, it finally occurred to me. I now have Fridays off! (I love my job!) So I started making plans for a Friday CiCi's pizza buffet extravaganza! I was walking on garlic scented clouds as I walked in the front door and was greeted loudly by the girl at the register. I don't really remember what she asked me as my eyes were wide as a large pepperoni pizza while I looked around the place. The one thing that was clearly missing, though: Kids! I got a little salad with lite ranch dressing just to make this a legitimate "meal" before I stepped up to the wall of pizza. The guy behind the counter told me "Hi! I'm Tommy. If you don't see anything you come ask me and I'll get it or make it!" I liked Tommy. I think I stacked up 6 slices of cheap crappy pizza on my first run through, and almost didn't have room on my plate for the 2 cinnamon rolls at the end of the buffet. Thankfully they were sort of stick and they held tight to the rim of my plate. I sat down at my table, took a big swig of my beverage, and raised that first delicious bite to my mouth. Then, through the front window, I saw something horrible. Not one, but two school buses had pulled into the parking lot. What appeared to be millions of children began streaming (and screaming) from the buses towards CiCi's. Apparently the field trip from a local middle school had stopped for lunch. I followed the lead of most of the others in CiCis as they ran to the buffets and stocked up a second or third plate before it was all demolished by the kids. I think made what I lovingly refer to as a "Pizza Sandwich." you take two side by side slices of pizza and fold them along the cut separating them, so it's crust on top and bottom and filling inside. This arrangement allows you to firmly grip the sandwich with both hands with minimal topping/filling loss as you shove the sandwich into your face. I find I can eat 30% more and 30% faster this way. I do need to warn you though, that you should wisely choose your two halves for your pizza sandwich. CiCis has dessert Pizza and I suspect an apple cinnamon pizza slice won't go well with the pepperoni and mushroom. But now that I say that, you know I am going to have to try it someday. But not today. Some Friday, I mean. |
Labels: Macon, Mercer, Warner Robins, Wilmington
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Spring Break
| I took 5 years to get my undergraduate degrees. I would have stayed longer, but apparently all scholarships will run out, eventually. I immediately went from undergrad at Mercer U to graduate school at Mercer. My first year of grad school I was also a graduate teaching assistant to help cover tuition. Sadly, after that I had to go get "a real job" because apparently the government expects you to repay all that money they gave you to go to school. So basically I was a full time student at Mercer for six straight years. When I was working at my first real job at The Bibb Company, I still had lots of friends enrolled at Mercer. It was about this time of year back in 1996 that I suddenly realized what's wrong with "a real job." My friends Halle and Heather asked me one afternoon: Being a good sport, I packed them each "Spring Break Survival Kits" and left them outside their apartment doors to find the next morning as they left for Myrtle Beach. Included were their favorite bags of chips, their favorite six pack of sodas, and various other fun stuff. Then I went to work. I got a taste of the good life 3 or 4 years later when I was back teaching at Mercer, but it again didn't last. I was forced back into "the real world" of teaching on an Air Force base. Every day. Year round. Forever. (Well, 5 years.) But not this year, my friends. No, tonight, I am proud to say, it's Spring Break! I am too old to go party my butt off at Panama City beach or Daytona or where ever college kids go these days, but that won't stop me from enjoying the break. Stop back tomorrow morning (early) as I review my plans for the coming week. I say come back tomorrow, because the way things have been going lately, plans will change two or three times between now and then. But until tomorrow, and in the words of Halle and Heather, I have but one question: |
Labels: Mercer
Friday, February 08, 2008
What's in a name?
Something new is coming to Krystal. But it needs a name. Tiffany posted this request up on the forum at Krystal Lover's Lounge a week or so ago. They've come up with a new sandwich and are taking name suggestions: Product Description: Its a 100% Black Angus beef chuck patty with melted swiss cheese and onions on mini toast.Obviously you can see the mini toast, the Black Angus beef chuck patty, the swiss cheese and the onions. But if you look a lot closer you'll find something that is NOT one of those four items. I can clearly see a yellowish and a whiteish color. I will assume the yellow color is Krystal's delicious mustard. While I personally would never have thought to put mustard on this sandwich, I wouldn't kick it I hate mayo. In fact hate is not really strong enough of a word. They need to make up a new word to describe my level of hate. Abhor, detest, despise, loathe, spurn, they all fail to reach the level of hate I feel towards mayo. Sadly it appears there may be mayo on this new sandwich. Either than or that's marshmallow fluff. (And yes, I'd prefer marshmallow fluff on my hamburger before I'd go for mayo.) Currently "The Krystal Melt" seems to be the favorite. It's short and sweet and to the point. There are also a lot of other suggestions trying to come up with creative abbreviations. The problem with doing the abbreviations is that it's just too complicated. I am quite sure Tiffany and Kenny know of the fable "elevator pitch." The idea is that if you are in an elevator with an executive, you have literally seconds to pitch your idea to the captive executive audience before one or the other of you gets out of the elevator. Often it is over simplified to a certain number of sentences or less. This is the reason that The Fair Tax, despite being a brilliant solution to the US Tax problem, will never pass. It takes too long to explain it to people. (The flat tax is not as good as the Fair Tax, but it's easily explained so it caught on quickly.) When I was teaching at Mercer I had a few theory classes and those tests often included long answer/essay questions. The problem with those is that some student who does not know the answer go with the idea that if they just keep writing they will either accidently stumble over the answer I am looking for, or I will get tired of reading it and give them credit. At one time I was working on a scheme that would allot a certain number of words for the entire test (5000 words?) and the student had to "spend" his words carefully among the various questions. Perhaps one day I'll revisit that idea. Speaking of revisiting, lets get back to the new sandwich, shall we? Being the sarcastic trouble maker I am, I have thrown a suggestion into the mix: The K-swiss, short for Krystal with Swiss. Of course I am unsure if Krystal's legal department is ready for the lawsuit they'd certainly get, and if they somehow were able to keep that name, you know people would compare the sandwich to a tennis shoe. And while we're at it, why do most tennis shoes have holes on the sides for ventilation, but K-SWISS, the one shoe that SHOULD have holes, does not? I have spent the last week dreaming about the deliciousness that is a BA burger. For those that missed it, you can see the ultimate example of what a BA can BE when I created the Holy Crap Burger™ and Oh My God Burger™ a year and a half ago. That post will also give you a glimpse into why abbreviations for foods are not a very good idea. If the cashier has to explain what the item is to the customer, then quite simply the item won't sell. History is flooded with products that simply wouldn't sell because of the name. So I start to think about what is really IN this new sandwich. I have to get past the whole Black Angus thing. First of all, the lead guitarist for AC/DC, Angus Young is not black, nor does he do any cattle ranching that I know of. He's certainly not Swiss either. After I got over that headache, I got back to work. Then the idea suddenly hit me from three directions at once. Its ground beef Chuck, right? And everyone knows Chuck is another name for Charles. I don't know WHY it is, but it is. I know this because in college, my fraternity big brother, Rich, believed my roommate, Brian looks like Charlie Brown, so Rich always called Brian "Chuck." (Brian was not amused.) There is also, of course the commercials for Charles Schwab that advise you to "Ask Chuck" or "Talk to Chuck." There's also everyone's favorite wine, Charles Shaw, or "Two Buck Chuck". Now Charles is a more grown up, almost stuffy name. We all know Krystal is far from stuff, and always young at heart, so Charles just won't do. But Charley will! (Or Charlie, Charlee, or whatever.) It's cute, it's fun, and it’s playful. But it's now so far from where we started, the elevator pitch will need at least 18 floors. But wait, there's more! What's the big difference between a BA Burger and a Krystal? OK, sure there are a lot of them: square vs. round, the meat, the toppings and of course the size. But the important one is the fact that unlike every other Krystal sandwich, the BA Burger is grilled. Char grilled. wait for it. YOU GOT IT! The Charrley |
Labels: Cheese, Mercer, Onions
Friday, January 18, 2008
Any Size, Same Price
| In my recent post I mentioned how Chris and I spent a large portion of one summer cruising around Atlanta. After my post I got an email from Chris with one simple, cryptic comment: "Suddenly my bladder's full and I don't know why!" And when I say "cryptic" I mean cryptic for you, not for me. I knew immediately what Chris meant, and I also knew immediately how Chris felt. One important factor in that summer was "The Thirstbuster Game." I am not 100% sure how the "game" started or if we ever officially declared "Game On!" In fact I am not sure the rules were ever spelled out very clearly. Here is what I do recall. In the early 90's Circle K started selling beverages of many different sizes. Their big sales pitch was the same price for any sized drink. I am pretty sure it was 79 cents. The biggest drink of all was the fabled "44oz Thirstbuster." It absolutely had to be said with reverence tempered with a touch of fear and awe. While in college at Mercer I had taken advantage of the deal as we had a Circle K adjacent to campus. Let's face it: as a starving college student with little cash, a deal like that was hard to beat. Buy a Thirstbuster at lunch and it'll carry you thru late night studying. One day as Chris and I were cruising around Atlanta (again for reasons I can no longer remember) we stopped in at a Circle K for a drink. Being the wise thrifty young adventurers we were we decided we simply had to go for the 44oz Thirstbuster. If you're paying 79 cents, then why not? How could we face ourselves or each other knowing we hadn't really gotten the best deal possible? At this point you probably think the game is some sort of bladder buster game: whoever has to take a leak first loses. There was a bar not far from Mercer that did this every week. You paid a flat fee and sat at the bar drinking beer. It was all you can drink until the first person had to go to the bathroom. Since I personally find beer revolting, I find the entire set up to be laughable. My objectivity and complete disinterest has given me a different perspective, though. If people were really really serious about getting their money's worth, they'd purchase adult diapers for everyone at the bar, and then really do some serious drinking. (Might I suggest the purchase of Oops! I Crapped My Pants.) While the quest for relief did occasionally come into play, that was not the point of the game. No the original Thirstbuster game was even easier, and a lot less messy. The rule was simply this: you must buy the 44oz Thirstbuster and finish it before you get home. This quite simple rule actually bring a lot of strategy into play. Obviously the earlier in the trip you get your Thirstbuster the longer you have to drink it. So basic strategy is to buy at the first Circle K you can find. One particular trip we had at least 5 or 6 places to go by, so we felt we'd easily find a Circle K along the route. After all there are Circle K's all over the Atlanta area. Good fortune must not have been with us that day because we simply couldn't find a Circle K. In all of our discussions of Thirstbusters and getting worked up for the challenge we were getting ferociously thirsty. By the time we'd finished our last stop we were almost screaming in agony due to thirst. Finally Chris decided he knew where a Circle K was and we made a mad dash. Those Thirstbusters never stood a chance. Since we were so close to home, though, we probably wouldn't have finished our drinks in time if not for our extreme thirst. This incident lead to a change in the rules. To avoid being stranded without access to a Thirstbuster new rules state that you MUST stop at the first Circle K you see. This new rules however later caused problems. One day we were on an especially long drive. We stopped for our mandatory 44 and casually finished it off. With an empty cup in hand and half the trip left to go we decided to go for seconds. Circle K used to offer discounts on refills of ANY size. Looking back, I see where our problem came in. Forty four ounces times two is eighty eight ounces. You may think it is impossible to do the pee-pee dance sitting down but I assure you it's not. Of course the most common problem with the game was simply getting down 44oz of ice cold soda before you get home. Circling the block simply to get extra time is strictly forbidden. Many instances of brain freeze occurred. Some trips we probably needed a sump pump and a garden hose. This past Christmas while back in Conyers Chris and I did some driving around to get ready for his party. We joked on occasion about the old days of Thirstbusters and Whoot! There it is! (and Boooty) Secretly I kept my eyes peeled for a Circle K. I was shocked that I couldn't find one. My memories were that they were at every exit off I-20. It must have just seemed that way because of my near bursting bladder back then. Then, ahead, just off the interstate at the next exit, I saw it! Perched just slightly above the trees. The big red K in the big red circle. "Look!" I screamed, pointing excitedly. Chris very calmly pointed out that we were getting off at the exit after this one and there was NO WAY he was stopping. I would have protested more but I was scared Chris would hiss at me and jab me in the neck like the Dog Whisperer. Instead I stared with my nose pressed to the window as we drove past. I think deep down inside, I heard my bladder say "Thank you!" Curse you, Circle K! Curse you and your impossibly large beverages! You may have escaped from me this time, but we will meet again. And I will be ready for you! |
Friday, November 16, 2007
You have 30 seconds to draw a duck...
| Yesterday driving home from work I happened to catch the song Freebird on the radio. Normally I wouldn't have noticed this since in Macon they play Freebird once a day on pretty much every radio station including, I believe, the rap stations. But it had been a while since I had heard it (thankfully) so my ears perked up at the opening chords. "How ironic." I thought as I drove home, knowing I would soon be tossing a very NOT free bird (actually 3 birds plus stuffing) into an oven! And by the way, Tony Turducken is comfortably resting and defrosting in the fridge as I type this. About this time tomorrow, though, he meets the oven. When I am teaching I hate taking attendance. I find it a bit insulting to everyone involved. When i was teaching on the base it was very important because my students were there instead of being at their work station. The class was their job for the day so missing the class was bad news for them. When I was teaching at Mercer, I didn't take attendance at all. I figure they have already paid a lot for the class and if they want to skip it that's their call. They're the ones who suffer when test time hits. And in all fairness I did skip some classes in my college days (though none my freshman year). Well times have changed. Most students get financial aid from either their state or the federal government. The government wants to be sure they're getting their money's worth so now we have to report attendance to the government. Anyone who doesn't attend 80% of the class hours fails the class. Period. So now I am forced tot ake attendance every day. The reason why I personally don't care if someone attends is easy. The numbers clearly show that if you do not attend class, you will do poorly in class. I have stacks of data that confirms this. The bottom line is: Go To Class! I begin to get frustrated with students who obviously do not care about attending classes. I get countless excuses for why they miss clas or show up late. Parking downtown can be a nightmare. However 95% of the rest of the students don't seem to have a problem. Perhaps leaving a bit earlier to give time to find parking, or take advantage of the parking decks a few blocks away that offer free parking with your student ID. Anyway once recent 8am class I had perhaps 5 of the 18 students when class was to start. I decided it was time to become proactive. I told the class "This is a pop quiz. Everyone get out a sheet of paper and draw a duck. You have 30 seconds to hand it in." I give 30 seconds because it often takes 10 seconds for them to realize that I am not kidding. That leaves 20 seconds for them to find a pen and paper (which they really should already have out since class is starting). That means they usually wind up with about 10 seconds of actual drawing time. You should see some of the "ducks" I have gotten. I scanned them and was going to post them but then realized that since this was a graded assignment, I would be violating FERPA laws, even if I blanke dout the student's name. So you'll just have to imagine. A duck shaped like a Hershey's Kiss. one student got motivated enough to grab her highlighter and color her duck in yellow. Some ducks lack a beak and many are missing eyes. My favorite however was the one with four legs. I have also had one "Picasso Duck" where the head was not attached and both wings were on the same side of the body. Pretty much if anyone put something on paper and handed it in it was worth 5 bonus points on the test. As expected word spread quickly to those students who skipped class or showed up late. I wish I could say it improved attendance. It hasn't. I would love to take credit for this creative idea to encourage attendance, but I can't. One of my college professors, Jim Stumpff, used this in my FORTRAN programming class my freshman year. We were all dumb freshman and didn't know anyhting, but apparently the "Jim Stumpff Duck Quiz" was famous. I feel I have done my part to continue the legacy of the Duck Quiz. I had the stack of ducks on my desk at work for a couple of days before someone in my office finally asked about them. Also once I had taken them to my department secretary to get them scanned I had to explain the story to her. So now the legend of the Duck Quiz has spread among some of the faculty as well. So there are really just three important things to remember to survive college:
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