Archive for August, 2008
Watchmen Trailer
Posted by Michael Livingston in Uncategorized on August 31st, 2008
An amazing book, now a terrific trailer:
Kowal: “Scenting the Dark”
Posted by Michael Livingston in Uncategorized on August 30th, 2008
Mary Robinette Kowal, recent winner of the Campbell Award and long-time awesome human being, has a new story online at Apex: “Scenting the Dark.”
I post the link here because (1) it’s a terrific story, one of the best I’ve read in a long time, and (2) I plan to teach it next week. This way I don’t have to hunt for the link when I need it.
Citadel Football
Posted by Michael Livingston in Uncategorized on August 30th, 2008
First game of the season is this evening, and we’re debuting half of a new stadium. Should be quite nice. Have a barbecue at a neighbor’s house before that, which should be a lot of fun, especially since their house backs up to the parade route where the cadets will be marching.
Go Bulldogs!
Obama 2008
Posted by Michael Livingston in Uncategorized on August 28th, 2008
Just watched Obama’s DNC speech. I might be a Bull Moose supporter, but THAT was why I voted for Obama in the primary last spring.
If you haven’t done your homework to check out the facts of the candidates, please do so. As he just made potently clear, we’re long past the point of knee-jerk reactions. The clock is ticking, America. Just be informed. That’s all I can ask.
Oh, and vote Livingston in 2020. The Bull Moose Party will rise again, baby!
Laptop Rebuilt with Ubuntu
Posted by Michael Livingston in Homelife on August 28th, 2008
Started teaching yesterday. Seemed like good students overall. I’m exciting to start warping shaping their minds. I’ve scheduled my office hours for Wednesday afternoons, and it’s too early for many folks to be stopping by (the big rush comes after I turn back papers for the first time), so I spent the time with our Sony laptop in pieces across my desk as I attempted to install a new hard drive and operating system.
The digital surgery was a tremendous success. The Sony seems to be running better than ever, with the latest Ubuntu operating system.
I’d never used Linux before, but I’m really loving Ubuntu. It’s cleaner, faster, prettier, and safer than Windows (or Mac, actually). And with all the free software that’s been developed for it (plus software that allows one to run most Windows programs on it), I’m not sure why it isn’t a bigger Micro$oft-killer than it seems to be at this point.
Oh, I also built an external hard drive out of the other laptop drive. Now, if I’d just replace the Dell desktop, with its old CRT and what-not, I’d be super fancy.
Convocation and a Surprise
Posted by Michael Livingston in Homelife, Student Successes on August 26th, 2008
Today was convocation, an annual ritual in which college professors welcome incoming freshmen by dressing up in preacher robes, wearing funny hats, and then getting really sweaty since it’s the end of August and no one in their right mind ought to wear such things when the humidity is high.
On the plus side, this year a fellow English professor, Sean Heuston, gave the welcome-to-college speech to the beleagured knobs (that’s “freshmen” to y’all in non-cadetland). He did quite well, I thought. I hope the young folk were paying attention.
But the real nice thing that happened today? Walking back home in my insanely hot and heavy preacher-man robes, I first ran into Cadet McKenna, who seems closer to an English conversion — hallelujah! — and then into Cadet Burnley, who has already seen the light of becoming an English Major and is doing yeoman’s work bringing the truth to his fellows. Both are fine young men who should have much success in life, and I was very glad to see them.
That said, special notice this day goes to Mr. Burnley, who is fresh from a summer spent abroad in Europe. He had under his arm one of those hardboard-and-plastic poster frames, with a print already mounted inside. This, he explained, was a gift for me, thanking me for the recommendation I wrote for his study abroad trip (he got a nice scholarship, good lad). No thanks are really necessary for such a thing, of course, since I don’t lie in recommendations. I just tell the truth (which, in this case, happened to be good since he’s an excellent young man).
Anyway, even though I don’t feel like I earned the gift, I gladly accepted it. How could I not? It’s a limited edition, numbered print (103/1000) of Mark Knopfler from his world tour this summer — the one I so desperately wanted to see. Mr. Burnley picked up the print in Europe when he saw him in concert (lucky lad!) and then carried the thing halfway around the globe. Can you believe that?
And that’s not even the best part.
It’s autographed.
Unbelievable.
Categories Working Again
Posted by Michael Livingston in Homelife on August 25th, 2008
For some reason, WordPress 2.5 had nuked my post categories. Everything appeared as “Uncategorized” no matter what I did on my administrative end. The new update, though, has them working again. Phew!
Wrong Hard Drive
Posted by Michael Livingston in Homelife on August 25th, 2008
Oops. I ordered a replacement drive for our laptop and it came today. I got out the handy-dandy screwdriver and ripped the guts out of the Sony only to discover … and there was some sad cursing here … that I’d somehow ordered a SATA drive when my old laptop takes a PATA drive.
Drat.
There’s a 15% restocking fee if I send it back, so instead I’ll spend another $10 (less than the restocking fee would have been) to buy a USB SATA enclosure for the drive. I’ve been needing a good external hard drive for the desktop anyway.
And then I’ll order the PATA drive.
