Imposter

Barney imposter spotted in Eastern US!

Ruby's Collar of Shame...

Ok, Allison, those pictures are just too funny to leave in an email. So I've posted them here. I love 'em!

Getting dog at the pound: $40.00

Heartworm Treatment : $700.00

Food eaten from bottom shelf of fridge: $50.00

New food container for dog food: $65.00

Dog eating prescription glasses: $ 200.00

Dog eating calcium chews: $20.00

Dog leg surgery $500.00

Photos of dog in the Cone of Shame: Priceless

I've got some pictures to post as well, but I haven't downloaded them from my camera yet - which is at school right now... Hopefully I'll find some time over the weekend. Hope everyone's having a good week!

Our dogs are smart!

So tell me that your pets are smarter than this dog... (click on the picture - it's not this dog, but wait'll you see it!)

Happy Friday!

Life begins at 40

“Forty isn't old, if you're a tree.”

"Life begins at 40 - but so do fallen arches, rheumatism, faulty eyesight, and the tendency to tell a story to the same person, three or four times.”

“At the age of 20, we don't care what the world thinks of us; at 30, we worry about what it is thinking of us; at 40, we discover that it wasn't thinking of us at all.”

“The ‘I just woke up face of your 30's is the ‘all day long’ face of your 40's.”

“At 20 years of age the will reigns; at 30 the wit; at 40 the judgement.”

“What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy”

“To be 70 years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be 40 years old.”

“A fool at forty is a fool indeed.”

“The first forty years of life give us the text: the next thirty supply the commentary.”

“Every man over forty is a scoundrel”

“Forty is the old age of youth, fifty is the youth of old age.”

“Thanks to modern medical advances such as antibiotics, nasal spray, and Diet Coke, it has become routine for people in the civilized world to pass the age of 40, sometimes more than once.”

“You're not 40, you're eighteen with 22 years experience!”

Happy 40th from Mom and Dad!

What a week!

Yes, it's been a while, but with the start of school, can you blame me? And if you got the emails I sent yesterday from one of my students' parents, you can imagine I've been in a strange mood. At first I was really annoyed that that parent had the temerity to try and dictate my teaching (and in such a tactful manner, too!) But then I decided that I wasn't going to give him that kind of power over my feelings and emotions. He's got his opinion, right or wrong, and I'm not going to stoop to his level. So I've written a polite, professional response addressing his concerns. I've shown it to the Dean of Students (who liked it) and I'm waiting to hear back from my department head. If he still has problems, I get to shove him upstairs, where I've been assured I have the full support of the administration.

The letters have been the source of some amusing conversations in the faculty lounge, that's for sure! One of my coworkers sent the following pictures to cheer me up. Ok, so maybe only math nerds can appreciate them, but they put a smile on my face!

Other than that, it's been a pretty good week. It looks like I've got a great group of kids this year. Managing the extra section will be a challenge, but I like the fact that I get more interaction with the students. Especially with my classroom effectively being shunted off to the fringes of campus because of the new construction. And I've been housesitting for Darrell this week, so I've got easy access to the pool!

How about some updates from the rest of the family? Any Barney stories? How's Dark Hollow looking? Brian, did Indian Wells turn out to be a profitable trip?

Labor Day Weekend

Wow!  No more Callahan’s (at least for awhile, I guess).  Definitely some great memories!  How about our Irish-jig dancing waiter?  It will be missed.  I hope they decide to rebuild, and not change much.  I can’t think of how they could make it any better.

Speaking of memories, I was at the Hollywood Bowl twice this weekend.  Saturday, I went to see John Williams.  The first act was a tribute to composers that were his inspiration.  After intermission, he played his own movie scores.  Talk about a walk down memory lane!  Star Wars, Superman, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws… my entire adolescence!  I can remember going to see Raiders and E.T. on preview dates, before their official release dates.

Sunday I went with a group of friends for Movie Night at the Bowl.  This year, the American Film Institute’s Top 100 list was the Top 100 Musicals in the last 100 years.  The top 25 were unveiled at the show last night.  Guess who nailed the top 4?  That’s right…  In case you were wondering: #4 – The Sound of Music, #3 – The Wizard of Oz, #2 – West Side Story (I thought of you, Mom and Dad, when they played a few bars of “Maria”), and #1 – Singin’ In The Rain (of course!).  There were a couple of amazing montages to open and close the show as well.

Other than that, it was a working and workout weekend.  Time in the gym and in Darrell’s pool, and time setting up the classroom.  Since we’ll be getting together next weekend (sorry you won’t be there, Allie and Rich!), I wanted to get a jump on the school stuff before our meetings suck up my time this week.  I even set up my class blogs!  I’ve got a couple more posts I want to put up on each of them (mostly concerning blog etiquette and safety) before school starts, but at least I’ve got the frameworks!

Hope everyone’s had a great Labor Day weekend!

Up In Smoke

Sad to say, Callahan's burned to the ground yesterday afternoon. We all have fond memories of good times there - my 70th, Allison's 40th and Allison's recent birthday dinner outside with me, Rich, Emily and Jonathan (aka the champagne popper) . Thankfully, the aviary birds were released without harm. Hopefully, it will be rebuilt and we can look forward to more happy get togethers!