Fourth of July

I had quite a lovely Fourth of July. It started off with a picnic by the bay with Greg - chicken, potato salad, chips, watermelon, pretty view, lovely weather. With all the people who have invaded our beach town, I'm glad that we can just walk to the beach. I think half of Arizona is here. Spent a quiet afternoon reading The Patriot Witch, which is appropriate material on this day. Tonight's dessert was red, white, and blue - strawberries and blueberries soaked in sugar and amaretto, poured over vanilla ice cream and cake, topped with whipped cream. After that, we decided to venture out into the neighborhood to watch fireworks. We passed by a house flying the Union Jack and remarked "Tories!" Fireworks started on the west side of the bay. Overheard comment: "I don't know how they can afford all the fireworks. They're just a small yacht club." That firework display ended as we reached the tip of the little peninsula that we live on. Next overheard comment, spoken as a challenge: "Alright, SeaWorld." Yup, we settled in to watch the fireworks from SeaWorld. A good show, I must admit. Watching the armada of boats going from the west bay to the east side of the bay to catch SeaWorld's show was almost as entertaining. All-in-all, a very nice Fourth of July in our neighborhood.

We live in an expensive area. In all seriousness, we pretty much live in a city park. Our rent is high, higher than we'd like. A day like today puts the rent in perspective, though. By the time we had our picnic, parking was scarce. A local gas station was offering spaces for $30 - yikes! We didn't have to drive to get to our destinations. We didn't have to spend $65 each to enjoy SeaWorld's fireworks. So the next time I pay rent, I'll try to grumble a little less.

New view of the Moon

New images of the Moon from LROC were released today. If you go to this link and scroll all the way down, you can zoom in and see what 73 cm/pixel of the Moon looks like. Lovely. And some people think the Moon is boring.

Here's one of the press release images:

Back from the desert

I greatly enjoyed my week in Arizona, hanging out with friends and eating at old favorites and hiking amongst the beautiful outdoors. Here's one of my favorite photos from a hike in Sedona:

From Southwest Trip - June 2009

See whole album here:

Southwest Trip - June 2009

It's like looking at a different world, the beauty is so grand and exotic. One of these days I'll have to get back there when it isn't summer, because I had to keep my hikes short! It's good to be home, but part of me already wants to be on the road (and in my hiking shoes) again.

Things I Miss

• Exceptional colleagues.
• Good friends.
• Red rock country.
• Best Starbucks ever.
• Amazing desert sunsets.

From Southwest Trip - June 2009

Dry heat

Back in Arizona. Hitting some of the old haunts. Carlsbad Tavern is as good and tasty as ever. Our old Starbucks has remodeled with many more outlets. And the temp isn't even 100 degrees! With low humidity! Strange the things the desert makes one grateful for.

Productivity

I've been bizarrely productive this week. Cleaning, organizing, work stuff, car maintenance, car wash, ... even baked cookies! Makes me feel good, actually. I know I'm on vacation and I need to relax, but if I'm not productive, I feel all icky about myself.

Tomorrow, we're heading in an easterly direction. I'm looking forward to the trip, but would the desert please arrange to cool off a bit? Please?

Cell phone manifesto

There used to be a big problem with cell phones ringing during class. That doesn't happen very often any more. Two reasons: 1) experience evolving into etiquette, and 2) the students are ALWAYS using their phones, so there is NO CHANCE for them to go off.

What am I blathering about? Students are now constantly texting or web-surfing on their phones. Up til this point, I hadn't cared. You want to ignore part of the class? Fine, I know it'll show up in your grade. However, for the first time, the correlation between attendance and performance has waned in my astronomy courses. Even the students who know it's rude to use the cell phone during class feel no remorse about jumping in and out of the classroom to use it. So now it has turned into a distraction for more than just the user. Which is funny, as you'd think the cell phone ringing would be more annoying, but it isn't. I have a couple of specific examples from this last semester that have motivated me to come up with a long, clear cell phone policy for my syllabi. Here's a first draft:

CELL PHONE POLICY

All electronic devices must be turned to “silent” before class starts. Cell phones should not be in use during the class period at any time. Usage includes answering the phone, making calls, sending and receiving text messages, browsing the internet, listening to music, taking or looking at photographs or using the phone as a calculator. If such usage is noted by the instructor, the student will be asked to leave class for the day.

Any usage of a cell phone during an exam will mean that the student is finished with the exam, and the exam must be turned in to the instructor at that time.

If there is an extenuating circumstance (ex: on-call at work, family emergency) that means that the student must be in contact via voice/text messaging, the student must inform the instructor at the beginning of the class period. Any voice/text messaging in that case must be conducted outside of the classroom. The student will be as silent as possible in this situation out of respect to fellow classmates and the instructor.

Comments? Suggestions? HELP!?!?! Sadly, this is now the longest part of the syllabus!!!!