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July 29, 2005

Looks like rain

A sleepy Friday afternoon here in Rock Hill (I typed Charlottesville and had to erase it). I'm at the office; we have class this evening. A disadvantage of three week long summer courses is classes on Friday nights.

The insane, oppressive heat has finally given way to clouds. The high on Tuesday was 102, before the 80-85% humidity kicked in. It looks breezy outside now -- possibly a storm soon.

I synced up my new Treo with my office computer. Winthrop uses MS Outlook, which makes me a little wary. I've heard about all these security issues with Outlook. Hopefully they have gotten rid of most of them; I'll make sure to download all the updates.

As you no doubt can tell, not much is happening. Just a sleepy Friday afternoon. I don't even feel like grading (my students have an assignment due today and some have already emailed it to me). Hope all of you are having an interesting Friday.

Posted by Nakia at 03:41 PM | Comments (0)

July 28, 2005

Luck to Daniel

Just wanted to wish lots of luck to my friend Daniel, who is taking the Georgia Bar Exam soon. (He may have even taken it this week already). I know he will kick the exam's ass and be a great lawyer. Go Farnsworth!

Posted by Nakia at 02:52 PM | Comments (3)

A dungeon in reverse

I've had this gaming idea in my head ever since I finished The Rule of Four. The gaming idea spoils some of the book, so if you are planning on reading it (or planning on playing in a D&D game I run soon), don't read any further.

A central part of the backstory in The Rule of Four is the conflict between the humanists of Renaissance Florence and a prominent religious figure. The religious figure felt the flourishing arts of Italy were detracting from people's devotion to God. He then organized the annual burning of these object on Fat Tuesday -- the Bonfire of the Vanities. The author of the mysterious book in The Rule of Four made it his mission to oppose the religious guy. He began gathering precious works of art, books, maps, etc and hiding them away so they wouldn't be destroyed.

You could certainly use this as a basis for a D&D game. The PC's find clues to where the precious items are hidden (the largest of these clues is the book itself) and spend the campaign tracking them down. It's your standard "loot the dungeon" style game.

But what if the PC's worked for the guy who was writing the book? Their job would be to recover and/or acquire all those books and works of art for a mysterious patron. The patron is actually building dungeons and crypts to hide the items in so he can save them from the growing hostility toward those things in the culture. Maybe the mysterious patron has a vision or something about a night of fire, when items will be destroyed. Maybe he's collecting magic items, because he knows of a growing anitpathy towards magic or a cataclysmic event that will destroy magic items that are not protected. At first, the patron is mysterious and unknown to the PC's. They just get hired for jobs -- find this item, escort this caravan, deliver this letter. Then, they get drawn into the plot more and more and find out they are actually helping to MAKE dungeons. Maybe they will try to prevent the cataclysm that is supposed to happen. Maybe they will come into conflcit with the figure(s) that are trying to burn the art. Maybe they will turn on their patron. Lots of things could happen. I just like the idea of PC's helping to make dungeons and hide away treasure.

Does this sound fun?

Posted by Nakia at 02:31 PM | Comments (5)

July 27, 2005

Home away from home

Things have taken many steps forward at work. Now, I have a real office, a phone, and a new computer. My office here is great. I've got these big, north-facing windows that look out onto a tree and parking lot. If I'm not here at night, there's no reason to ever turn on a light. I hauled some boxes of books up here, but am only just beginning the settling in and decorating process here (just like at home). Nothing on the walls yet, just a few books on the shelves. The only decoration I have are some photos of Sarah and I and the Red Sox World Series Champions Snow Globe my old boss brought be from a conference he went to in Boston.

Sarah and I also got new cell phones yesterday. I splurged and got a Treo. Now, I have one device that serves as phone, Palm pilot, camera and MP3 player. I can also check my email and surf the internet from anywhere I have a cell signal. It's a pretty cool piece of equipment so far.

Sarah also has worked hard around the new house while I've been at work. She put up blinds in several rooms. I also had dinner waiting for me when I got home last night. She rocks. I am fully supportive of whatever career path she ends up taking, but it's kinda cool to have her taking care of things around the house for the time being.

Saturday I went into Charlotte and checked out noted comic store Heroes Aren't Hard to Find. As far as pure comic stores go, this one is hard to beat. Everything one could ask for, including lots of small press and indie stuff and an amazing array of back issues. The store was also very organized and the staff friendly. They even went so far as to tell me of stores closer to me. I ended up signing up for a subscription service at a store in Rock Hill -- Grand Slam Collectibles. It's a pretty small outfit, with lots of cards (sports and otherwise) in addition to comics, but it's close and Jim (the owner) gives subscribers 25% off, which is a deal. I just signed up, so we'll see how it all turns out.

Okay, I have to go look over the stuff my students are presenting today. Some A.S. Neil, Kieran Egan, Michael Walzer, and Israel Scheffler.

Posted by Nakia at 01:56 PM | Comments (0)

July 25, 2005

Harp Magazine

Just a quick one today, since I just got done with class and Sarah is on her way to pick me up. We're down to one car; her car was leaking oil so we took it in today. I hate car trouble. Anyway, we went to Columbia yesterday and dropped by Manifest. I picked up a copy of Harp Magazine, a music magazine I had never seen before. I guess the audience is "adults who are into music." This particualr issue featured interviews with Ryan Adams, Jay Farrar, and Bob Mould, with short pieces about Jeff Tweedy, Willie Nelson, and a bunch of other people. It also had LOTS of reviews. Very cool magazine.

Posted by Nakia at 08:09 PM | Comments (0)

July 23, 2005

Easing into new habits

I don't like the word "diet" because that suggests a temporary thing, when what I am trying to do is fundamentally change my eating habits. Since I was finally able to get groceries, things have gotten better already. I'm eating cereal and turkey sausage for breakfast instead of Waffle House. The past two days, I have only had one Coke per day. Last night I broiled some pork chops and had some green beans. I did have a few (reduced fat) chocoalte chip cookies and milk for dessert.

I've been grading papers all morning, but now I'm off to get some lunch. Then I'm headed into Charlotte to find a comic book/gaming store.

Sarah will be here tonight. Yeah!

Posted by Nakia at 12:14 PM | Comments (1)

July 21, 2005

The Rule of Four

What do you get when you cross a historical, puzzle-solving adventure and some college graduation personal drama? A bit of a mess, actually. I just finished my fluffy summer book, Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason's The Rule of Four.

The novel is driven by Tom, a Princeton senior, who is torn between his developing realtionship with Katie, a sophomore, and the Hypnertomachia, a Renaissance text shrouded in mystery and murder. Tom must choose between continuing his father's legacy and helping his best friend solve the text's mystery and going to the big dance. Seriously, that's the conflict. Sure, people are killed, professors are brought low, relationships are brought to the brink, but the main problem is Tom. He can't have his two loves -- the book and the girl -- and so he must choose.

The problem, perhaps, was in the marketing. I expected a historical mystery. The book never makes up it's mind just how important that mystery is. Granted, that may be the point. But I never really felt for Tom, with his internal dialoge full of mixed metaphors, art allusions, and Latin phrases (Does everyone at Princeton think and talk like the people in this novel? I kinda doubt it). I just wanted him to pick one -- the girl or the book -- so we could get on with the story.

It wasn't horrible. I don't feel like I wasted my time or my $8.00. It did generate a pretty good idea for a D&D game (more on that later). But I really can't recommend the book to anyone else -- unless you REALLY like Princeton.

On a realted note, am I the only one that gets a little depressed whenever I finish a novel? "Post Fiction Depression"? I just know that I'll never be able to read that book for the first time again, which bums me out a little.

Posted by Nakia at 02:25 PM | Comments (4)

July 20, 2005

The John Harper Diet

Finally, I have a refrigerator. Our Kenmore Elite Ultra Satin was delivered at about 3:30 today, half an hour early, even. This means that, once it has reached it's proper internal temperature in 24 hours, I will be able to have perishable food in the house. This will actaully enable me to cook, thereby improving my dietary habits significantly.

For the past few days, I have been on the John Harper diet. This diet involves eating out a lot, often at Waffle House. Today, for example, I had a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwitch with a side order of hash browns. While I refrained from getting those browns covered, they were effectively "drowned" in the butter/grease mixture used for cooking at the casa de waffle. I have been suffering the effects of that meal, and the previous days of eating similarly, all day. Poor stomach, tired, listless. Ugh.

With the arrival of the fridge and the emminent return of Sarah, I am going to embark on an ambitious plan to change my dietary habits. This will make me feel better and help me to loose (or dimminish) the growing spare tire around my midsection. It will also stand as a bulwark against the Pope Heart Disease Triumvirate which is beginning to plague my father -- high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol. It's quadruple bypass waiting to happen.

The new eating plan includes the following:
1. No fast food. None, period. If it has a drive through, I am not eating there.
2. A dramatic decrease in the amount of soda I consume. Perhaps I can make the switch to Coke Zero or something, but I just need to drink less soda. I will do this is stages, decreasing the amount I drink in the attempt to eliminate it alltogether. Phase one: only drink Coke during the day (11-6) and no more than 20oz per day. Phase two will be to not drink soda at all on one day of the week. Phase three will be to narrow the time frame and reduce the amount allowed. Subsequent phases will follow the same pattern, until soda has been minimized if not eliminated. Exceptions will be permitted for special events (baseball games, movies, and D&D nights).
3. Reduce/eliminate high fructose corn syrup. This is a really bad kind of sugar and not eating it eliminates almost all candy, which is good all the way around.
4. Eat more fish instead of red meat. Lean protien, good fats, Omega-3's that help prevent Alzheimer's (also in the family history).
5. More fruits and veggies. This is actually the hardest, because I don't like a lot of fruits and vegtables, primarily because of texture. I really don't like things raw. I'm just going to have to get over this and/or find new ways to increase the intake. Smoothies come to mind.
6. Eat less cheese. I love cheese. I know it's not all that bad for you, but I probably consume way too much, getting too much fat in the process.

I am sure there are other things I can do, but these are the six that come to mind first. I'll officially begin Sunday, with Sarah back in town to help me stay in line, but I'll start incorporating things tomorrow once the fridge is able to be stocked.

I'd appreciate other tips and general encouragement.

Man, now I'm really hungry. (It is after class, so way past dinner time).

Posted by Nakia at 08:00 PM | Comments (14)

July 19, 2005

Blogging in public

I've decided not to write too much in my blog about school or work. I'd hate to post something when I was in a bad mood, then have my students or fellow professors read it, take it the wrong way, and get angry. I will probably make general comments and talk about my life as an assistant professor, but steer away from specifics. I'd be anxious to hear opinions from all of you out there on how to best handle this. I want to be honest with myself and my readers, whomever they may be, about what's happening in "Professor Pope Land," but not damage that land in the process.

Posted by Nakia at 03:40 PM | Comments (4)

July 18, 2005

School's In

I'm back in Rock Hill. Currently, I'm sitting at my (temporary) desk in my (temporary) office. My first class starts in an hour.

I'm eating a sub from Jersey Mike's. It's not so good.

I bought a refrigerator today. By tomorrow night I can actually have food in the new house.

Sorry, all this isn't terribly interesting. I'm a little distracted by the impending class (and lack of an office space to call my own). Although this office does have a poster of John Dewey, which is pretty cool.

More interesting stuff later, promise.

Posted by Nakia at 04:00 PM | Comments (3)

July 17, 2005

Sunday morning in Charlottesville

Sarah is listening to her favorite radio show -- "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" -- on NPR. I'm packing up and getting ready to head back to Rock Hill, to the house we own that does not have a refridgerator. My class starts tomorrow. This will be the last day I am in C'ville for the foreseeable future.

For some more vacation details, read on.

Sarah and I spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Blowing Rock, North Carolina at The Village Inn. We splurged and got the room with the huge king-sized four-poster bed and jacuzzi on the deck; it was well worth the extra $20 or so a night. We just spent a couple of days relaxing, reading, and exploring Blowing Rock and Boone. The weather was cloudy and rainy, so we were not able to hike. We did do some shopping, though. I found a copy of Ellwood Cubberly's Public Education in the United States (1919) at a used bookstore, which is a pretty cool book to have if you are in my profession. We got some Mellow Mushroom pizza to go and ate it in our hotel room while watching the All Star Game. We checked out The Blowing Rock, which was not at all worth the six-dollar -per-person admission. It was a good getaway and helped to relieve a lot of the moving/new job/new town stress.

Posted by Nakia at 10:23 AM | Comments (1)

July 16, 2005

Back to work, even if still on vacation

I should be back on a regular update schedule from now on, even if I have not made it back to Rock Hill yet. Sarah and I are back in Charlottesville. I'm dropping her off, basicly. She's going to housesit for a week while I go back to Rock Hill tomorrow. My class starts Monday and I've still got some prep work to do.

I'll catch everyone up with periodic updates.

Sarah and I drove up here from Blowing Rock, North Carolina on Thursday. We took the Blue Ridge Parkway for about 200 of those miles. It was, perhaps, not the best day for Parkway driving. Scattered rain and lots of fog obscured most of the views. It was still nice to be on the Parkway, however, cruising along at 45 miles per hour, not really seeing anyone else. The Parkway was virtually empty; I'd easily drive for 30 or 40 miles without seeing another car. The stops at overlooks and info stations were almost deserted. It was a welcome change from all the interstate driving we have been doing -- doding trucks on I-81, waiting 30 minutes to eat at Cracker Barrell (which is now officially Off The List). We cruised along, alone, atop the Blue Ridge and amidst the clouds for most of Thursday.

As a non-poetic aside to all you Texas haters: Texas people know how to drive on the interstate, at least. The left lane is for PASSING in Texas, not cruising in, not going 3 miles an hour faster than the person in the right lane and eventually going around them. In Texas, if you pull in the left lane, you speed up to get around the person in the right lane, then you get back in the right lane, resuming your normal cruising speed. The key is speeding up when you get in the left lane, even if you are already going faster than the person you are passing. This is key because, even if you are going faster than the person in the right lane, someone else is probably going faster than you, so you minimize your left lane occupancy time and they can get around easier. It makes for a much better interstate experience, but people outside of Texas don't seem to get the only pass in the left lane and speed up when you do concept.

Oh, glad to hear Steve, Jennifer, and Estelle are doing well and wern't too affected by the hurricane. (and I'm pretty sure I used "affected" correctly there, staying away from "effected", but I could be wrong). Grammar comments are welcome.

Posted by Nakia at 10:08 AM | Comments (6)

July 11, 2005

Another quick update

Just wanted to let everyone know Sarah and I are still traveling, so updates are coming less freqently for the moment. Today we're actually back in Rick Hill, but we don't have internet at home yet. Hell, we don't even have a refrigerator yet. But we're headed off to NC tomorrow for a little private getaway. We'll be in Charlottesville for the weekend, then I'll be back in Rock Hill for good on Sunday.

Thoughts and prayers are with our friends Steve and Jennifer and their daughter. They live in Panama City and probably got hit by the hurricane pretty hard. Hope things are well, guys.

Posted by Nakia at 11:02 AM | Comments (4)

July 06, 2005

Bar-B-Que in the Big D

Today, our last day in Dallas, we ate lunch at the famous Sonny Bryan's bar-b-que joint. It's tiny, run down, and you sit in old school desks. In other words, it's great. I had some ribs, but the real stand out was Sarah's beef sandwich. Slow roasted brisket. . .mmm. Although I have decided the tomato based Texas sauce is not my favorite, the que at Sonny's was worth the reputation.

Tonight we hung out for a bit with Simon and Erin. Erin worked with Sarah in Charlottesville. Simon just finished his PhD at UVA in motor learning and just got a job at North Texas. We had a great time hanging out and helping them get acclimated to Texas.

I then made Sarah drive 20 minutes out of our way so I could try and get a copy of the new Dungeon magazine, which apparently isn't out in stores yet. I am a pathetic geek who has the best wife ever.

Tomorrow we head back east, stopping in the casino resort town of Tunica, Mississippi to spend the night. Come on, seven, daddy needs a refrigerator for his new house. . .

Posted by Nakia at 11:18 PM | Comments (6)

July 05, 2005

Hooters and the Big D

What happens when you combine Nakia, Hooters, his in-laws, the Boston Red Sox, and 96 degree heat? An adventure like no other!

A big reason Sarah and I decided to spend the 4th of July with her family in Texas is that the Red Sox are playing the Rangers from the 4th-6th. Sarah and I wanted to see some baseball this summer, I was co-opted into the Red Sox nation via the evangelism of John Harper several years ago, so the stars were aligned when it came to our trip. What better way to spend the 4th than with family at a baseball game?

Leanna (Sarah's younger sister) got us good tickets -- right down the third baseline, just before the left field foul pole. I was pumped. Before the game, she suggested we go to Hooters. That's right, Hooters. Apparently, the Hooters near the Ballpark runs a shuttle. You can park at Hooters, eat and have a beer to two, then they'll drive you to the game and pick you up. Now, I had never been to a Hooters and had no real desire to go. It's not like I find it offensive or exploitive or anything. Hooters is lumped in there with Maxim magizine for me -- it's for men who want some debauchery but are afraid to go for it, so they have to cover it up with some veneer of respectbility. It's like wanting a steak, but thinking that's it bad for you, so you just get a burger instead. It's still not good for you and it's not really what you want, you're just making due because, for whatever reason, burgers are more socially sanctioned. All I am saying is, suck it up and go to a strip club or buy some porn, don't mess around with half-measures.

And don't give me this crap about "they have good wings" because I had there wings yesterday, and they suck. At least the articles in Playboy are actually good, even if that's not the reason you buy it.

Where was I? Oh, yes, the Hooters shuttle. So, the shuttle plan worked okay. We ate some (crappy) wings, then got on the shuttle.

The Ballpark at Arlington (now Ameriquest field at the Ballpark at Arlington) is one of those retro-style parks. In some ways, it's really nice - exposed iron beams, the club logo wrought into the end of the rows, and these cool baseball lamps atop the outside. But, unlike Camden Yards, it's totally enclosed. Where Camden has that open outfield, the Ballpark put an office building. Seriously, behind center are the offices for the club. Now, it's not like the giant strip mall that is Arlington offers nice views, but having a totally enclosed park means no breeze in the park. This is Texas. This is baseball, which is played in the summer. It was 96 at game time yesterday and I don't think it cooled off at all. I could see the flags on the top of the stadium flapping away, yet down in the hole it was still as Christmas. The Boston players felt the heat, too. When they announced the temperature, they also noted that it was then 69 degrees in Boston. I saw Manny Ramirez just shake his dreadlocked head (I was pretty close to Manny in left, which was cool).

Despite the heat, this was the best baseball game I have ever been to. I had someone definte to cheer for, unlike when Sarah and I go to other games where we just pick a favorite. The stadium was packed, with 50,000+ in attendance. The Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, attacking a shaky Wade Miller in the first. Miller settled down and the Sox climbed back into it, mainly behind Trot Nixon and David Ortiz. It was tied by the 4th. Then, it the top of the 8th, Ortiz whacked a double into right-center. Manny then BLASTED a homerun to almost dead center. It was 450 feet easy, and the Sox were up by two. The Sox have had some bullpen issues all year, so I was a little nervous. Timlin gave up a run in the 8th and the Rangers were gatherhing momentum. This momentum crashed on top of the struggling Kieth Folke. Foulke, in the bottom of the 9th, gave up a tripple, then a double that tied the game. He then gave up a single, then HIT Alfonso Soriano to load the bases. The next batter then knocked the ball down the left field line. Manny just looked up at it, knew there was no way he could get there, and started walking to the dugout before the ball even landed. Rangers win in the bottom of the ninth. A great game objectively, but a bit hard to take if you were rooting for the Sox. What the hell is wrong with Folke? He has like a 5.8 ERA or something.

After the game, the folly of the Hooters shuttle became apparent. We waited for at least 45 minutes before it came. It was so late because someone had puked on the first shuttle ride back and they had to clean it up. It was like I was in college again -- someone puking and ruining the fun for everyone. Meanwhile, I'm sitting in the 96 degree Texas night, tired, thirsty, and nursing a hard loss.

It's almost 1:00 AM by the time we get home. And then I have to fix the toliet. . . (which is kinda funny now, but was not all that pleasant then. That's another entry).

Now, removed from the heat and the bleach/vomit smell of the Hooters bus, I can be a bit happier about the fact that I got to see a great baseball game on the 4th of July with Sarah, Leanna, and Ma & Pa Gette. That's pretty cool.

Posted by Nakia at 10:17 AM | Comments (4)

Quick Catch Up

Sarah and I are in everyone's favorite state, Texas, at her parent's house in Irving. It's been a pretty eventful few days, as we've moved all our stuff to South Carolina, then driven out here for the beginnings of our vacation. Here's a qucik recap:

We loaded up the truck on the 29th with help from our friend Rich Miller. Rich rules, as he took a day off from work to help. You never know how much crap you have until you have to fit it into a 15' truck. We went with Budget' I hoped to get one of those blue trucks with the funny moving tips ("Do not pack dog and cat in same box") on the side, but we just got a plain white one. I'm just happy it was there when I went to pick it up, ran okay, and had windshield wipers. We stayed with Rich and Laura that night, then left at about 7:00 on the 30th for Rock Hill.

The drive down was uneventful. Sarah played Bandit to my Snowman, drving the car while I drove the truck.

We had lots of help unloading -- Dad, Andre, and our friends Lee and Marianne who brought their son Ben. Ben is very cute and was extrordinarily helpful at, say, putting our brooms and mops in a straight line in the garage floor. Big props to all of those folks who helped unload in the heat (it was 90 or so and probably 90% humidity -- Ah, South Carolina).

We hung out in Rock Hill for the next day, unpacking and getting stuff for the house. That night (the 1st, I think) we went over to my cousin Robert's place. He and his family live in Rock Hill. They also have a big 4th of July weekend party every year, with relatives coming in and staying (typically in campers) for the weekend. We ate some good food and watched NASCAR on Robert's 52 inch TV. I learned all about Qualifying, why some driver's race in the Bush race, and heard some theories about why Jr (that's Dale Earnhart Jr., for the uninitiated) isn't doing well this year. Yep, I now live in South Carolina.

Saturday we lit out for the West, leaving at about 7:00. We rocked the I-Trip some of the way and even managed to hear some of the Live 8 concerts on a radio station out of Atlanta. We rolled into Jackson, Mississippi about 5:00. I had made a reservation there, since I had no idea how crowded things were going to be on the holiday weekend.

Jackson was alright, I suppose. Some interesting home architecture in a neighborhood we drove into looking for a place to eat dinner -- Frank Lloyd Right-ish, which one would not expect in Jackson.

Jackson was also the first Whataburger sigting of the trip. Had to have a BOB for breakfast the next day as we rolled out and onto Irving. I have no idea whay makes sausage, egg, and cheese on a hamburger bun so appealing, but the BOB is awesome.

After getting into Irving about 3:00, I napped. Later that night, we went to Addison (a Dallas neighborhood/suburb) where Jackopierce was playing a free 4th of July concert. Sarah loves the Jackopierce. It was good acoustic duo stuff and was good to see Sarah so excited. There were fireworks after. Then, HELLISH traffic getting out of there. I'm talking sit-in-your-car-unmoving-for-half-an-hour, worried about running out of gas, don't care where you go as long as it's out of the traffic traffic. It was just silly how hard it was to get out of there and it kinda marred the whole evening for me.

The 4th of July marked Nakia's first ever trip to a Hooters, with his in-laws, no less, but that's another story. . .

Posted by Nakia at 09:46 AM | Comments (0)