the case of the reverse disappearing footprints

This might be good for an episode of CSI.

I came home one night and started heading upstairs when I suddenly realized I still had my snowboots on. I quickly took them off and went back to the entry door. I put the boots in the pile by the door and got a paper towel to wipe up my muddy footprints that I had left. I went back to where I had taken off the boots and wiped up those footprints and then worked my way back to the door. As I approached the door, the footprints were lighter in color and smaller . . . less water. That's weird. They should've done that as I walked away from the door and eventually all the mud came off. Why were they disappearing as I approached the door and in fact, there were none by the door??

I wish I had a little flap under which I could hide the answer. Oh well, here it is: When I first got home, the dirt and snow were still frozen on the bottom of my boots. So the first few steps, everything was still stuck to the boot. As I walked further into the house, the ice and snow started to melt and left the little boot prints. The further into the house I got, the longer I'd been in the warmth of the house and the more the muck melted, leaving bigger and wetter prints.

Did you figure it out?? Congratulations! You are a either good detective for a person from away, or a Mainer (or Mainiac) who's laughing that I had to figure that out.

cigar box under the counter

The local movie theatre here is a very nice multi-plex cinema. I went to see Dream Girls and was impressed with the comfortable seats and the generous leg room. The sound system was good. It was really nice. MRM had told me ahead of time that the thing to do was buy the gift certificate. For the same price as just going to the movie, you get a certificate for admission plus free popcorn and a drink. You can buy the gift certificate at the theatre or at the local Hallmark store. So I stopped in at the Hallmark store earlier that day to buy my gift certificate. "I think I have one left," the lady behind the counter said. And she reached down underneath the counter and pulled out a cigar box. In it were the certificates and an envelope. I gave her a $5 bill [note: first run movies are only $5] and she proceeded to put it inside the envelope. Then she gave me my certificate, wrapped a big rubber band around the cigar box and put it back under the counter.

That is my kind of accounting system!

the long and the short of it

Let's go back in time to December 5, 6, and 7 when I came to visit UMF for the first time. I observed classes, met with the Dept. Chair and the Dean, visited with my future teammates, met with a realtor, and just got a feel for the place in general. I arrived on Monday night, Dec. 4, spent the night in Portland, and drove to UMF in the morning on Dec. 5. The high on that Tuesday was 26 degrees (low = 17). I had my silk long underwear that I had ordered on the Internet at the suggestion of Mary S. (and the reaffirmation of Julie D.) and was wearing my big furry long coat with the hood that Mother had given to me for Christmas 2005 for all my trips to New York. I was toasty warm. On the 6th, the temp went up to 37 for a high (low = 12). I even risked running across the street from Franklin Hall to the Student Union without my coat (but with long underwear and several other layers). By Thursday, I was stumped. I had tried to pay particular attention to what people were wearing so I could get a feel for how casual people dressed, what was considered professional attire, etc. But what I noticed most was that no one was wearing long coats. So I finally asked, "Is this a fashion faux pas to wear a long coat? I only see ski jackets and short coats." The reply was, "Oh no. We all have long coats. We wear them when it gets cold."

Oh.

So when I was in Albuquerque for Christmas, I bought a short wool coat on sale. (TIP: Don't buy coats in Dallas . . . they're only fashionably warm-looking. Buy coats for warmth in a city that really has cold weather. Hence, I buy coats in Albuquerque.) But when I got here, it was cold! So I was wearing my long coat. But nobody else was wearing long coats. In the entire month of January, the high temperature in Farmington has been above freezing only 4 days. But no one is wearing long coats. So I've actually worn my short coat many days. I've been surprised, but it's actually been warm enough (as long as there are 3 layers underneath it . . . long underwear top, sweater, pants suit jacket; long underwear pants, pants, sock liners, socks, snow boots). The disadvantage to a long coat is: it's big and bulky. Where do you put it when you get inside. In my office, I can just hang it on the back of my door. When MRM and I went to a stage production by the local high school improv group, I was sitting 3 inches higher than anyone else because I was sitting on my coat. So only when the low is below zero, or when the wind blows (oooh, that wind chill stuff is so true), do I wear my long coat. Otherwise, I've joined the natives and am wearing a short coat.

all the news that's fit to print: January 30, 2007

The Morning Sentinel, founded in 1904, is a newspaper "Serving Northern Kennebec, Waldo, Somerset and Franklin County Communities." Good for them, they really only carry local news. So here's the contents of today's front page:

Top headline, article and photo stretch all the way across the front of the page: "Ripe for the plucking: Madison greenhouse begins selling 1st batch of tomatoes" (small inset photo on right) It's a story about a company that has a 25-acre greenhouse and is staking "its futre on the premise that vine-ripened tomatoes will taste better than those picked early and shipped thousands of miles." Amen to that! And it's good for the local economy.

Above the fold, directly under prior article, 3/4 of the way across the page:"Riding with some of the best: Oakland-based school district bus system nationally recognized" (big photo, 3 columns wide, above the article showing all the bus drivers in a bus) This is a clever photo and a great story. That should be front page news when your bus fleet gets national recognition.

Above the fold, 1/4 of the page, to the right of the prior article: "N.C. sex offender charged with rape." Sad but true, a registered sex offender from North Caroline is charged with raping a local woman Sunday morning. There's a small mug shot of the guy flush in the article.

Bottom third of the page, with table of contents, weather, and 2 news briefs in the middle: to the left: "Commission backs mandated insurance, cigarette tax increase."

And in the lower right hand corner of the front page, my all-time favorite: "Runaway donkey stays a step ahead of owner, police." The article is long enough it's even carried over to page 6. "A donkey that escaped its pen more than a week ago is stubbornly clinging to her freedom. Jenny, a 5 year old, has apparently not traveled far from Mary Gaeta's Higgins Road farm since escaping Jan. 18, but she is still on the lam despite numerous attempts to bring her in. 'We can't catch up with it,' said Chief Steve Emery of the Pittsfield Police Department. Gaeta, owner of Mary's Farms, had the donkey less than a month when she tried to coax the animal from its pen into the barn. Gaeta erected a barricade to guide Jenny, but she managed to slip underneath and ran into the road. 'It's been on the loose ever since,' Emery said. 'It sneaks in every once in a while to get a bite to eat.' Jenny has spent much of her time in a backyard just three houses down the street, Gaeta said.

and the story goes on from there. But isn't that a hoot? :-)

permutations and combinations: February 4, 2007

How many ways can US Air route me between Dallas and Portland? Let's see. In December, I went through Reagan. Going up it was a single flight with one stop (but we changed aircraft . . . that's a whole other story). Coming back it was 2 flights. On January 8, I went from Dallas to Reagan to LaGuardia to Dallas. My delayed suitcase got to go Dallas to Reagan to Portland. On February 1, I went Portland to LaGuardia to Charlotte to Dallas. February 4 I was scheduled to go Dallas to Reagan to LaGuardia to Portland but my Dallas to Reagan was delayed and the very nice gate attendant re-routed me Dallas to Philadelphia to Portland. I was scheduled to arrive within 6 minutes of the original plan, but it gave me a nice layover in Philly where I shouldn't have to RUN to my next gate and I only have to do 1 flight change instead of 2. There are actually more combinations available, I saw some inefficient ones when I booked my flight, but those are the ones I've tried so far.

My luggage was delayed on 100% of my flights on the first three (On January 8, I had 2 bags and one made it but one didn't). Add to that: on my first trip on US Air from Dallas to New York a year ago, my luggage was delayed on both legs of that round trip. Fortunately, my suitcase made it on the wild run through Charlotte (2 flight changes) on Feb. 1. Good thing, since otherwise I would've had to go camping without any gear and probably picked the suitcase up at the airport on my way back out of town. ;-) I packed one suitcase inside another plus all my gear because I had a very long list of things to pick up while in Dallas. So I checked 2 bags on Feb. 4. Guess what. They didn't make it. So 4 out of 5 trips between Dallas and Portland and 6 out of 7 trips on USAir, my luggage hasn't arrived on the same flight as me. At least it always arrives! US Air delivered it to the side porch of my house, as requested sometime after 11:30pm Feb. 4 and before 7:00am Feb. 5. And they even wrapped them in very nice plastic bags (to keep the snow off?). I was impressed.

And I have to say, everyone I've ever dealt with at US Air has been incredibly nice. The people at that airline almost make up for the baggage service (or lack thereof).

spelling lesson

One of my students pointed out that the Lewiston hockey team spells their name Maineiacs. Perhaps my blog name is misspelled. I wonder if there is a "right" spelling.

short musing.

Sitting in Charlotte: February 1, 2007

Well, the Charlotte airport has free Internet service! How nice is that? Unfortunately, I have over 2 hours to experience this because my flight is over 2 hours late. The 2 previous postings I wrote while on the airplane. You can send an email to a special address and it automatically gets posted. how cool is that? I had the same feature on my dissertation blog and loved it. I found it in the settings of this blog service and knew exactly what it was. I thought I had lost the email address, but I found it and was able to successfully post via email. Ain't technology grand? :-)

L.L. Bean: February 1, 2007

My flight to Dallas isn't until nearly 2:00, but I left Farmington early so I could have some shopping time in Portland. I wanted to go to LL Bean. Of course, with their store in Freeport being open 24 hours a day/ 365 days a year (they say that there are no locks on the doors, but I forgot to look), I could've gone late Sunday night when I get back. But I decided to go during the day when I could see it. I drove through Freeport on my way to Farmington back on January 8, but didn't see the store. I had no trouble finding it though, today.

Jodi lives near Portland, and she left her ski pants at the house when she was in town for the ski patrol article, so Melanie gave them to me to give to her if it was convenient. So I got to town and I called Jodi from the LL Bean parking lot. She couldn't believe that she hadn't missed her ski pants and she was thrilled with the timing because she was going somewhere this weekend and probably would've needed 'em. She was lying in bed reading a good book when I called so she got up and was going to meet me in town. Good timing! I went on in to LL Bean (she has worked there off an on for a long time, so she didn't need to go in the store). I got some "mocs" and a shirt on sale (and a new pair of smartwool socks not on sale) and had a chance to look around the store. My original plan was to get the snow mocs and leave them in the trunk, but the weather is so bad in Dallas (Brenda wrote that it snowed twice yesterday) that I shoved them in my suitcase and will break them in in Texas. I was in my car getting ready to call Jodi when she called to say that she was on Main Street. We talked on the phone until she pulled into the parking lot and could see me. We actually had time to grab a bite to eat. We ended up at a local place that's famous for its chowder....Morrison's I think was the name. I got corn chowder which was delicious. We yacked a lot and then I had to scoot. I got to the airport without any problems and was checking my bags in 40 minutes before the flight. They have the 30 minute rule, so I had 10 minutes to spare. It was very stress free. I kind of like flying out of Portland. It's a nice size airport and never very crowded. Plus I REALLY like the airport gift shop after I found the perfect thank you gifts for my committee in less than 20 minutes when I was there in December. ;-)

getting out 10 minutes early: January 31, 2007

Well I did it again. I got to the end of what I needed to cover and either the content or the presentation of the content was such that it just didn't go as well as I had hoped. There were 10 minutes left and I just said, "Y'all can go." But then one of the students said, "But you never let your classes out early." How did he know that? Well, it turns out, he read my blog! I was taken aback while simultaneously being flattered. But there was a good informal discussion afterwards and I figured out that one thing was, now that the class is 2 hours and 10 minutes, I should've given them a 10-minute break in the middle. But I'm so used to teaching for 5 straight hours, I didn't think about it. Last week, I had two one-hour-long classes with a natural 10 minute break but this week, one group is out in the classrooms and I have the other group for the full time period. Wait! That means, I didn't let them out early, I just gave them their 10 minute break at the end of class! . Too bad I didn't think of that quick comeback in class. ;-) So I gave the illusion of letting them out 10 minutes early. That's the ultimate classroom management trick! I wonder if it's still considered a magic trick if the "magician" isn't aware that s/he is doing it at the time.

But they're a good group of students and a lot of fun. They just keep me on my toes for making sure my class is really engaging. Fortunately, I have fabulously engaging content: technology (fun stuff) and classroom management (they know how critical this is).

But it will be warmer next week . . . January 27, 2007

That was the conversation at Curves this morning. They were talking about how cold it was yesterday (5 degrees was the high yesterday) and one woman said, "But it will be warmer next week. It's supposed to be in the 20's all week." And the wild part is, I found myself thinking, "Oh good. That will be pleasant." I guess I won't have to wear tights under my long underwear it will be so balmy. ;-)

Yesterday in class, my students were talking about how cold it was. They asked if I was just freezing here. I said as long as I have on my long johns, I'm fine. And then the question was, "Long johns or long underwear?" There's a difference? I later asked MRM and we determined that a Union Suit is the one piecer with a flap in the back, Long Johns is the one piecer that buttons all the way down the front, and long underwear are the 2 pieces: a long underwear top and a long underwear bottom. I'm not sure there's really a standard term and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who interchanges the terms, but I definitely have the 2 pieces. I have one pair that is rated 1 snowflake and two pairs with a 2 snowflake rating. I need the 3 snowflake rating version, but oh well. The tights underneath works well.

All that stuff about "dress in layers" is true. It really works. Of course, in Texas, we dress in layers so we can be warm when it's cold and we can shed layers as the day warms up. Here, you just dress in layers so you can be warm. I have yet to shed a layer.

Bitterly Cold Wind Chill Values On Tap: January 25, 2007

This advisory was issued just a while ago by the US National Weather Service. We'll see what this is like. :-) Tonight I walked to the post office and as I headed north on Main Street I could hear the clips on the flag poles banging against the pole. It was "breezy" but it felt a lot colder than it has before. The bank sign said it was 7 degrees but "breeze chill" is just a milder wind chill and it was chilly! I only had one letter and it was a membership renewal. Definitely NOT worth the trip to the post office. ;-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
from weather.gov:

Wind Chill Advisory
Northern Franklin (Maine)

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
302 PM EST THU JAN 25 2007
...BITTERLY COLD WIND CHILL VALUES ON TAP FOR LATER TONIGHT AND
FRIDAY IN THE MOUNTAINS...
.ANOTHER ARCTIC BLAST IS SET TO MOVE INTO THE MOUNTAINS TONIGHT
INTO FRIDAY. TEMPERATURES DROPPING BELOW ZERO OVERNIGHT AND ONLY
RECOVERING TO AROUND ZERO FRIDAY...COMBINED WITH A GUSTY NORTHWEST
WIND...WILL PRODUCE BITTERLY COLD WIND CHILL VALUES LATE TONIGHT
AND FRIDAY.

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.