Central Maine Ice Fishing Report

Yes, that's an official category in the sports section of the Morning Sentinel newspaper. And it's a serious article about the shorter ice-fishing season for this year.

I hope it's still linked:
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/sports/stories/3541415.html

I guess I'll have to start reading the sports section daily to get the latest ice-fishing report. :-)

Directly above the article was a picture from the 2004 "$150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza." It looks like dotted Swiss fabric, but each dot is a person fishing on this lake. It's wild! I wish you could see the photo but I can't find it online. However, I did find the announcement for this year's Ice Fishing Extravaganza. It's in Minnesota, not Maine, but their "Tips for people coming to fish in the extravaganza" is an informative list that gives you a feel for the "sport".

http://www.brainerd.com/ice/index.html

Later that night . . .

NOTE: Don't read this posting unless you've read the prior one titled, "Coca Cola, Mentos, and Buckfield Maine."

When I got home on Monday the 22nd (the day I posted the last posting about Mentos and Diet Coke), MRM said, "Check out the cartoon for today." And there was Zits . . . about Mentos and Diet Coke! King Features doesn't post their cartoons on the web anymore, you have to subscribe to their service. So try to go find your newspaper from January 22, 2007. In frame 1, two boys are outside the faculty lounge. One is crouched down holding the door open, the other is flicking something into the dark abyss of the lounge and shouts, "Mento in the Hole!" In frame 2, both boys have their fingers in their ears and their eyes shut tight. The faculty lounge door is off the hinges, a very large "ka-foosh!" is overhead, and something is spraying out of the lounge. In frame 3, as both boys are running away, one says, "It's surprising how many teachers are Diet Coke drinkers." The other replies, "I'd call it 'fortunate.'"

Coca Cola, Mentos, and Buckfield Maine

I think I have to find this place.

Check out these two videos.
http://eepybird.com/dcm1.html
http://eepybird.com/exp214.html

Oh wait, they tell you how to post the video on your own website. Check out this:



And to think it all took place in Buckfield, Maine. According to googlemaps.com, that's only 38.7 miles south of Farmington! (An hour's drive.)

Thanks to MRM who showed it to me first and to RBF who thought of telling me about it but MRM insisted I see it for myself.

I should enter the contest and win the grand prize of a free trip to Buckfield.

Parking

At University of North Texas, a faculty member pays for their parking permit. Most of us have it deducted from our paycheck or it can be paid in one lump sum. My last parking permit there was $140 for a "D" permit. Or I could've paid $100 for a "G" (general) parking permit or $300 for a "reserved" parking permit which would allow me to park in spots designated as "A" spots. Reserved A spaces are located very close to buildings and are few and far between but only available to people with an A parking permit. Students can have a "C" pass for commuters or an "R" pass for residents (students who live in dorms). There are other possibilities. Each one has a fee and it's a lot of money and except for the A pass, there's little guarantee that you'll find a parking space, close or otherwise.

Here at UMF, I signed up for a parking permit, but it costs nothing. I just received it today in campus mail. I'm seriously psyched! There are similar issues of not enough close parking spaces, but I doubt it's as serious as UNT where I spent 20 minutes or more looking for a parking spot at the beginning of a semester.

First Mail: January 18, 2007

I checked my mailbox today. It's tricky to check you mailbox because the mailbox lobby is only open an hour or two more than the main lobby, then the building is locked. So you have to go during business hours, basically.

I remember when we had a PO Box in Dallas. If we went out of town, the first thing we did when we got back was go check the PO Box. At one point, we had two . . . one for home and one for business. It was often Sunday night and after dark when the post office was closed but we could still get in to check our boxes. At Hollins, we had post office boxes, but we could check them any time of day or night. I guess it's a sign of the times.

So, Today is Day 10. It's been 2 weeks since I had mail stopped in Richardson to have it forwarded to here in Maine. I've stopped at the Post Office 10 times (once a day for 10 days) and no mail. But today I got my first mail. It was 2 bills, but I was actually excited to see them with their little yellow labels. I hope more are to come.

Community Education . . . for a different community

When I went to check my post office box for the first time, there were only two pieces of mail in there, both addressed to "Postal Customer". One was the catalog of Community Education from the local School Administration District. I flipped through it just for fun and found the following class.



I don't believe I've ever seen this class in all the continuing ed catalogs I've looked through in my life in Dallas. ;-) There's also an "Advanced" version of this class taught by the same guy.

I told the story to MRM and RBF and RBF said, "Oh, is that taught by Pete Tracy? I know him." I told the story to Beth and Dr. Grace and Beth said, "I bet that's being taught by Pete Tracy. I know him."

I am enjoying the change from Texas to Maine, but also the adjustment from Big City to Big Town.

What happens when it's always below freezing

When you walk in the snow to your car, you naturally get snow on your snowboots. You try to shake most of it off before you get in the car, but some stays on your shoes and then falls on the floor while you're in the car. You also get snow inside your car when you open the door and some falls off the roof or blows in. In Dallas, that snow will melt either when you turn on the heater for a long time or the sun shine in your window for a while or the temperature gets warm again. But here, that snow is still in your car, exactly where you left it, two days later when you get back in your car again. I don't drive far enough for the heater to kick in and make a difference, so I have little snow piles in my car that unless I brush them out or scoop them out, will still be there in two or three more days because it hasn't been over freezing in quite a while.

First Day of Teaching: January 17, 2007

My teaching schedule is basically 12:20 - 4:30 on Wednesday and Friday, and 12:20 - 2:40 on Monday. It definitely sounds easier than the old 8:15 - 3:30, 5 days a week when I taught elementary school. In some respects it's just as much work. But it sure is nice to have one whole day (or weekend) before each teaching day to get ready! Of course, there's a ton of work up front to get ready for the semester. In elementary school teaching you can make up your lesson plans a week at a time and sometimes a day at a time. In college, everyone expects you to lay out all 16 weeks up front. I've been stalling on that part. I don't want to commit to a plan that I figure out after the first week isn't going to work. But I do hope to finish up the syllabi this weekend.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, I taught Block 1 for 1 hour 10 minutes, then had Block 2 for 1 hour 10 minutes, then had 10 minutes to pack up (which takes longer when you have to put on your big coat and gloves et.al) and get to the next building. Then I taught my EDU 101 class for 1 hour 40 minutes. It was a whirlwind to remember what time each class began and end and where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to be covering. Three preps is pretty wild.

So how did it go? Well, if I had remembered earlier in the day to take off my snow boots and put on my regular shoes, I think my feet wouldn't have hurt so much at the end of it. Did the students do a good job and stay engaged? Yes. In all 3 classes. I came out just about right time-wise in the first 2 classes. In EDU 101, I was done with what I had planned to cover in an hour and I had 40 minutes to go. Well, I'm not one to let anyone out early, so I vamped on an activity that I was planning to do later in the semester. It wasn't totally thought out but I knew the basics of what I wanted to do, how I wanted to do it, and what the end product should look like. Praise God for 21 years classroom experience plus 18 sections of CECS 4100 over the years . . . I pulled it off. It went really well and the students (except those who read this blog posting) will never know.

I think I like this college professor life. :-)

Pedestrians

Now that I am such a frequent pedestrian, I gotta tell you how impressed with drivers in Farmington. They stop for you. They stop even before you step out into the street. Somehow, they see you on the sidewalk and anticipate that you're going to cross the street and they stop. It's very impressive. In the half mile stretch of High Street that goes through UMF campus there must be at least 5 pedestrian walks. But in the snow, you can't see the painted stripes on the road and often pedestrians cross where they want to and not where the pedestrian walk is painted. The same is true on the half mile stretch of Main Street that goes through campus and downtown Farmington. It's very impressive.

Now I only hope that when I'm a driver I can a) remember to keep a lookout for pedestrians, b) anticipate their crossing, and c) stop in time.

Brown and blue eggs

It was like being back at Lamplighter! Dr. Maggy, who teaches elementary math methods, walked in my office last Thursday (Jan. 11) with a dozen eggs and said, "The first one's free. If you'd like more, they're $1.50 a dozen on Tuesdays and Thursdays." Inside the carton were brown and blue eggs. She told me they have Barred Rock chickens and Anaconda chickens. It was so fun to get to tell her about The Lamplighter Layers and our chickens and all that the kids did with them. As a chicken farmer herself AND as an elementary math teacher, she of course loved the story.

She said the grocery stores here only sell brown eggs. At easter time you can get white eggs. At Hannaford's, I checked. Yep. All brown eggs. There was a little stack of cartons of white eggs down in the corner of the refrigerator case.

I fixed scrambled eggs for dinner last night (Wed. Jan. 17). I couldn't find salt and pepper in the kitchen so I just fixed them without any salt and pepper. Good thing! They were delicious without any seasoning! I had scrambled eggs again for breakfast this morning!

It's cold everywhere: January 17, 2007

I got this official email from UNT this morning. I guess the storm that is there now is the one we're predicted to get on Friday. More cold on top of more cold. I hope ours is more snow and not ice like Dallas is getting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: OfficialNotice@pres.admin.unt.edu
Subject: UNT closed Jan. 17 due to inclement weather
Date: January 17, 2007 8:13:18 AM EST
To: scdeveryone@unt.edu

January 17, 2007

The University of North Texas is closing all offices, classes and
libraries on Wednesday, Jan. 17, due to inclement weather.

First Day of School: January 16, 2007

Today was really more orientation than teaching. The three of us (Beth, Grace, and I) that work with the Practicum Block met with each block of students for an hour and a half. We played "2 truths and a lie" (a.k.a. "guess the fib") to get to know each other, then went over the calendar and some general expectations. So tomorrow is my first real day of teaching. I can't believe how excited I am!

After orientation, the 3 of us went to lunch in the snackbar. I worked in my office a little, then went to the computing center to check on my classroom for tomorrow. Then I went on a photo-taking spree. The sun was out and there was all that fresh snow from last night. Check my website for photos. I walked down to the Post Office but there is still no mail in my PO Box. It's been 11 days now since they stopped the mail back home. I hope it comes soon.

I went back to the Education Center and got in a groove making the class wiki for all 3 classes and a bunch of other stuff for class tomorrow. Suddenly my phone rang. It was 7:45! I had no idea it was so late. It was MRM on the phone who called because it was dark and cold and she was worried about me. I looked at the thermometer in my window sill and it said it was 7 degrees outside. How did that happen?! That really is COLD!! She and RBF were going out but would be back in an hour. She offered to come pick me up. This definitely goes beyond "nice landlady". I am so blessed to have this awesome roommate. And I have sooooo much to learn. This New England winter weather is nothing to play around with.

First Wintery Walk: January 16, 2007

After my delicious and warm oatmeal breakfast, I left for my first day of school. I left some of the heavier stuff out of my bookbag. I borrowed (at Jody's recommendation) a pair of "yak trackers" from MRM. I have no idea if I spelled that correctly, but that's what I heard when they called them by name. They are grippers that attach to the outside of your shoe and give you traction. Jode recommended them for my first walk in the snow.

I got outside and the streets were so well plowed you could see asphalt! The street was very busy with traffic and pedestrians. I walked past the same 3 kids waiting for their bus that I had seen on Friday. It was actually a very easy walk. I wasn't sure if I was on sidewalk or not but it was flat snow and there were other footprints ahead of me, so I just kept walking. It was actually very uneventful. I was very grateful for uneventful. I tried to be extra appreciative of the fact that there was no wind and no ice. In fact, the sun was shining! It was a beautiful day!

I wish I could've taken a picture. I hope to see this device again and I will photograph it then. As I crossed the bridge and neared the Education Center, I saw what looked like a mini front loader but it had a chimney on top and snow was spewing out of it. It was headed toward me on the sidewalk and I didn't know who had right of way or what the protocol was. But then he pulled over into a driveway and signalled for me to come ahead so I did. In the front of his frontloader was some kind of spinning device. It looked like a horizontal auger but I'm not sure. Apparently, the spinning thing picks the snow up off the sidewalk and then it blows it up and out of the chimney. The driver can control the direction of the spray. The whole thing was the width of the sidewalk. It was a sidewalk snowplow!

Soup and Good Fun: January 15, 2007

My roommate (MRM) and her boyfriend (RBF) were home from their trip but out buying groceries when I got home. Benny greeted me at the door and Cassie was in her kennel. She was barking to get out but I knew I couldn't guard all the belongings that were unpacked from the car trip, so I left her in the kennel. Shortly thereafter MRM and RBF arrived from the store. I was planning a quiet dinner of Progresso soup but MRM was making homemade soup. She fixed 2 different kinds: french onion soup and a vegetable soup/stew. She was stocking up for the week. Her friend Jody was coming back from her day of reporting on the ski patrol so there would be 4 for dinner. What fun.

We had a delicious dinner but everyone was exhausted from their various travels and work. We were going to play a game but we all crashed instead. MRM did make a cool oatmeal concoction that cooks in the crockpot overnight. She said she wanted me to have a good send-off on my first day of school. I hadn't even thought of it as my first day of school, but it would be! How cool that she commemorated it for me with an extra special breakfast. :-)

First Drive in the Snow: January 15, 2007

I left the house a little after 9. I was going to stop at the University, then go on to church. There was about 2 inches of snow on the car that I brushed off. Then I carefully walked across the street and took the photo that's in the prior posting. The drive to UMF was short (gotta love that .3 miles!) and uneventful. Two cars passed me, so I guess I was driving pretty slow. I did figure out, looking out the back windshield, why it's important to brush off the roof of the car as well as the windows.

I did a little work, sent a few emails, then went to church. Again, pretty uneventful. But during mass, it snowed the entire time and the flakes got bigger. So when I left mass, there was another 1 - 2 inches which I brushed off (including the entire roof this time). The car was facing east on Middle Street and I needed to go west, so I slowly did a 3-point turn in the driveway of an apartment complex just a little down the road. I got to the Education Center safely and easily.

I worked all afternoon in my office. I could see the snow stacking up on the roof outside my window. I decided I would leave before sunset so my drive could be in daylight. When I got to the car, there was 4 -5 inches of snow on top of the car this time. It took longer to brush it all off and I was a little nervous because the bottom of my long coat was brushing the top of the snow. Another inch and that snow would've been over the top of my snowboots. I could open the car door safely but as I did I realized there are many factors to consider when attempting to drive in the snow. No wonder some cars and trucks are so high off the ground!

The parallel parking spaces next to the Education Center are wonderfully long. You don't have to parallel park, you can just pull in. I tried to back up a little so I could pull out more safely, but the car didn't want to back up. Fortunately, I had enough room in front to just pull out. I had to really rev it up to get over the hump of snow that had built up next to my tires. I pulled out and started heading east on Lincoln. Hmm, no 3-point turn this time, I'm going around the block.

There were groups of students unloading and moving back into the dorm after the break. Many of them were walking in the street. Oh thank you so much for the additional hazard! I didn't hit any of them. I went ever so slowly around the block, including going by the church again (that's how close it is). This car has a low gear but I sure was wishing for a stick-shift car at this point. There was a LOT of traffic. In addition to students going to the dorms, there were families and groups of young children going home from sledding and lots of trucks and other vehicles with plows on the front driving to places that needed plowing. It appeared most of them didn't plow all day and were just waiting for it to stop which means they had at least 9 inches (by my calculations and informal measurements taken during the day) to plow.

I slowly drove south on High Street, successfully avoiding all sledders, plowers, and other drivers. I turned left into the driveway and came to an abrupt stop. That little pile of snow (read "big hump") left by the plow was prohibiting me from getting into the driveway. And there were cars coming! I backed up and tried again. At least this time, I was heading straight into it (which also meant I was perpendicular to traffic). I got over the first hump but got stuck on the next one. At least I was out of traffic. But now what?!

I said a little prayer and tried to assess my situation. I was thinking that backing up and trying again with more confidence and a little more power might do it, but that was just a guess. About that time a pedestrian walked by and looked at me kind of funny so I quickly opened the car door and said, "I'm from Texas and I don't know how to get the car into the driveway." He was very nice and talked me through it and offered to help push while I drove it. I did have the right strategy, I felt good about that.

I'll never know if it was his push or my new confidence-filled driving or a combination but I got into the driveway and was able to drive all the way down the drive to what has unofficially become my parking spot. Shwew! I hopped out of the car really fast but my guardian angel pedestrian friend was no where to be seen. I hollered out really loudly to nobody in particular, "Thank you!" Well, I actually yelled it to the friendly pedestrian in particular, it was the direction in which I hollered it that was not particular. If he didn't hear it, I hope he at least felt it.

Guess who's walking in the morning?!!