Industry in a Lazy Summer

If this is the life that I have to look forward to as a math professor, then I certainly could have chosen a worse profession. My one class of the summer ended over a month ago, and since then I've had little to do other than take care of daily affairs and study. Not even marriage has changed the ease of the summer to which I have become accustomed over the last twenty years.

I feel sometimes like I should find more constructive uses of my time, at least while I have so much time to spare. And I don't mean to say that I've been doing nothing but playing video games and relaxing (although there has been plenty of both). I did help mow the lawn of a member of our church recently, and I'm making a dessert for someone else today. And, of course, there have been the dishes, the bed-making, the cleaning of the apartment, and the taking care of bills and other duties.

And it's not like I haven't tried to find work, but unfortunately, no one seems to want a tutor this summer. Maybe I'm finally starting to see the effects of the weak economy myself. Too bad, too. We could have used the extra money.

So, I'm not feeling really guilty, or anything, but I don't want to spend all my time enjoying myself without doing anything constructive. Maybe I can look for a few more opportunities to do something now, while I have time. Because sure enough I'll be busy once the fall semester starts.

Only one more year until my PhD (I hope)!

Rereading The Lord of the Rings

You know what's really great is when you've said to yourself, over and over, for years, that "one of these days" you're going to do something, and then you finally do it. "One of these days I'm going to Alaska," or "I'm going to learn French," or "I'm going to start a popular website."

The Lord of the Rings is my favorite book ever. By far. No contest. I got a paperback copy for Christmas about twelve years ago and read it three times in fairly quick succession, and I haven't read it since. I even bought an $80 hardbound set with illustrations by Alan Lee (at a fair discount) back in 2002 with the intention of reading that set one time and keeping it on the shelf thereafter to avoid spoiling its pristine condition, but I never did. I've meant to reread it for years now, always reminiscing about my favorite literary world and intending to revisit it. And then I realized that "one of these days" would remain just that until I finally made the decision today.

So a few days ago I decided that, instead of playing more video games or starting another book or whatever else I might do, I was going to reread The Lord of the Rings. You know, I said before that it's a really great feeling when you finally do something you've intended to do for a long time, but another great feeling is when you revisit something that has become a nostalgic topic for you but that you haven't actually experienced in a long time and find it to be every bit as good as you remembered. Such is the case with The Lord of the Rings.

In fact, it may even be better than I'd remembered. Tolkien is long-winded and breaks a few of the cardinal rules of literature, but there's no doubt in my mind that he's a genuinely great author. The Lord of the Rings perhaps lacks the profundity that other great works of literature possess, but its themes are those which are most fundamental: nobility, perseverance in weakness, the lust for power. In addition, Tolkien set his story in what I believe is the most genuine fantasy world to have ever been created.

I've skimmed ahead through the book, and thought with excitement about the parts I haven't yet reached: the trek through Moria, the Battle of Helm's Deep, the sacking of Isengard. I can't wait to relive each one. Here's looking forward to several more days of excellent reading!

Fatty, Fatty Two-by-Four

First off, these Eat This! Not That! articles are awesome. More than just a gimmick, they offer legitimate, comparable alternatives to calorie-laden foods. In addition, they also give solid health tips, such as the ones in this article: 20 Habits That Make You Fat.

Yeah, some of this stuff is pretty obvious (at least, it ought to be), but there's some stuff on here that I was surprised to learn. Here are my comments on a few of them:

Fat Habit #1: Eating "low-fat"
I've already heard the supposed dangers of the artificial ingredients used in many "low-fat" foods, and while I haven't heard any solid evidence for or against them, I have heard enough to make me cautious. However, that's not what this tip was about. Rather, it had to do with the fact that "low-fat" foods still usually contain about as many calories as the regular varieties, and that it's the calories that play the real role in adding pounds, not the fat. Also, "low-fat" foods tend to leave you hungry sooner. Things to keep in mind next time I'm buying yogurt.

Fat Habit #3: Sleeping too little or too much
I've heard this one before, but it bears repeating: get a good night's sleep! Lay off the caffeine in the afternoon so you can go to bed on time. And beware the opposite extreme, too; sleeping too much makes you lethargic, which means you'll burn fewer calories.

Fat Habit #5: Drinking soda--even diet!
When did it become the norm that every meal had to be accompanied by a flavored beverage? Obviously, before my time. Truly, soda is the bane of a healthy lifestyle: it's loaded with unnecessary calories, sugar, and sodium, and it offers nothing in return. It isn't even filling! And more recently data has arisen that suggests diet soda also encourages weight gain, despite having zero calories. I've saved many, many calories (and a lot of money, too) since I switched to drinking water at every meal.

Fat Habit #13: Eating white bread
When I look back on my youth, I have to wonder why I ever even liked white bread. It's a bland, near-flavorless imitation of fibrous, delicious whole grain variety. Oh, and it's also bad for you.

Fat Habit #16: Having overweight friends
OK, I have to admit: I just found this one funny. But seriously, I have plenty of overweight friends, and I love them all. I do hope they read these tips and take them seriously, though.

Fat Habit #19: Drinking fruity beverages
This probably could have been lumped in with the tip on drinking sodas, but whatever. As the article points out, most restaurants don't even serve real fruit drinks anymore, preferring that you guzzle down syrupy, artificially flavored concoctions. Obviously bad stuff. Here's another tip: even real fruit juice can be bad for you. Fruit juice has all the calories of an equivalent serving of fruit, but without the solid bits that help fill you up.

Again, you can read the whole article through the link at the top. Hope it's useful.

To Build a Website

So, I've wanted my own website for a long time. A long time. And a few months ago, I finally got one. Thing is, I've done nothing with it. Turns out that it takes work and time to run a website. But I've decided that I'm not going to let that stop me, that I will have my website! You shall not stop me!

But to have a website, I'm going to need content. I've already decided on a couple of things I want on my site: retro game reviews, and writings I've writ. But what else should I have?

That's where you come in, dear readers. What kind of great stuff should I put on my website?

TELL MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Not wishing to become the favorite object of disdain at the local hair salon, perhaps I should clarify things by saying that I don't really advise throwing one's phone against the wall, and that it's something I try not to do, myself. Still, I am loving my new phone (in fact, I think it's the first phone that I've ever really loved), so if I need to work on my anger management, at least my timing was perfect.

Today I got a nice envelope from some nice people. Inside was something that I've spent eight years working and two months waiting for: my diploma. The diploma stating...well, let me read it to you:

"The University of Alabama has conferred upon Caleb Daniel Holloway the degree of Master of Arts with all...blah blah blah...May, 2011."

So now I have a master's degree. In math. That sounds so cool to say. "A master's...in math." Well, I'm glad to have it. It took a lot of work, and a lot of time, and now I'm far more marketable than I was a few weeks ago.

I also recently accomplished another goal that not many people have achieved. Yesterday morning I finally beat Final Fantasy XII. And let me say, it was quite a good game. It's the object of a lot of criticism from a lot of fans, and I guess that...some of it is deserved. A lot of it is just silly, though, as is so often the case with a game in a longstanding series that shakes up the established series formula.

With Final Fantasy XII completed (at least until I go back to complete more of the sidequests), I today started my eighth playthrough of Metroid Prime. Some people replay Final Fantasy VI or Ocarina of Time every year. For me, it's Metroid Prime. Looks like I'm going to have fun with this one...again.

And that's all I've got. Hit me up with some comments.

The Hidden Virtues of Unbridled Fury

Without going into the whys and wheretofores, suffice it to say that today I experienced a brief fit of frustration that ended with me throwing my phone against the wall. I say it ended, but really that was only about the halfway point of my frustration, because upon retrieving my phone I found that it had not merely had the battery case pop off, but that the phone was in fact broken at the hinge. It would still come on, but the top half of my flip phone had lost all function, meaning that I couldn't see the screen or hear anything from the speaker. So, after yelling at my phone and myself for a minute, I decided that I should go see about getting a new phone.

I arrived to find the AT&T store very busy, but I was helped by an associate surprisingly quickly, and in far less time than I'd expected I was out the door with my new Samsung Solstice II (the same phone that Benjamin has, except mine is cooler). I hadn't even realized that I was due for an upgrade, but happily I was. In fact, if I had realized it, I would have taken advantage of it already, because it's a well-documented fact that I hate my old phone. Seriously.

So, the moral of this story is, go ahead and throw your phone, because if you do then the fates will arrange for you to be eligible for a new one.

The Joys and Trials of a UA Graduate Assistant

On the bad front (I guess I'm doing the Joys and Trials in reverse order): Rebecca, on attending her first class of Spanish 102 yesterday, found out that she had to take Spanish 103 instead. The reason given was that since she had taken Spanish 101 at Shelton State and not UA, that she needed to take a course that would go over both the 101 and 102 material in order to make sure she was on the same page as the other students.

Problem is, the only offering for Spanish 103 conflicts with the math class that she's already taking. I spoke to the dean on this issue, who said he would see if an exception could be made. Some mouths were likely wagged as a result of my call, but in the end Rebecca arrived at class only to be told that she still had to sign up for 103. This, despite the fact that Rebecca had in fact used the very same book and covered the exact same material in her Shelton 101 class as she would have in a UA 101 class. Once again, the stiff and unyielding rules of course registration prevail over common sense.

Fortunately, she's been able so sign up for a communications class that she needed to replace the Spanish class. So, unlikely as it seemed before, all is well with regard to her classes.

Now, for the good news: I learned today that my stipend at UA would be increasing by a significant amount. This could not have happened at a better time, what with our recent marriage and our bills having increased. So...huzzah!

Despite my complaints about UA's other departments (especially Satan's Den...I mean, Parking Services), the math department has really treated the other graduate students and me very well.