Wednesday June 28
We woke up bright and early – to be fair, we had no choice. Monki was up at 3:30 or so and that meant we were as well. When she fell back asleep we caught a few more minutes ourselves and then we were up and, with the whole family, ready to hit the day. This was going to be our first day of actual sight-seeing and we were doing it up right – hitting the world famous San Diego Zoo. Continue reading “Animals and Sunscreen – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Tuesday June 27
After the crazy adventure getting in, our first night was a wash. We ate, said hello, then quickly collapsed. Monki experienced jetlag and was up at 1:30am, ready for the day to start. We were kept active with her until 5:30 when we were finally able to get a couple more hours of sleep. Continue reading “Sun and Sand – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Sunday-Monday June 25-26
I’ve said it before, but traveling from Lithuania is not easy. At least not by plane. Very few places are accessible directly, and those that are, are usually through the low-cost airlines (let’s never forget Flights for 50p, shall we) and get you someplace near your destination (For example, going to Paris, Ryan and Wizz fly you to Beauvais, which is about an hour away). Anyway, for our flights to the US, where we are going to spend a week on vacation with family in San Diego then all head back to Vegas for mom’s Bat Mitzvah, we decided to do it in two jumps – Vilnius (not even from Kaunas, so that’s another hour added on to the journey) to Paris then Paris to LA. Continue reading “Coming to America – 2017 Summer Holiday”
I know I don’t have the time for this, but anyone wanna go in on a semi-regular podcast?
It’s always fun when I get to combine my friends with my work. This month, for David, I get to do just that and interview two amazing people – Maria Gara and Steven Lee August. We talked about all sorts of great stuff and some of that even made it into the article!
So I did this thing.
I was asked to give a speech at the commencement ceremony for the Political Science faculty, something between 5-7 minutes. I went on for 8 1/2. Honestly, a bit intimidating speaking before a graduating class. And then you sit there, on the stage, with your fellow presenters, while all the students come up to get their diplomas. And every now and again, one would come over and shake our hands as well. I haven’t shaken that many hands in a long time!
Anyway, if you’re interested in what I had to say, there’s a video below. Continue reading “Commencement 2017”
Dive into some lesser-known facts about the deep.
Source: 25 Things You Didn’t Know About the World’s Oceans | Mental Floss
Yesterday, in an offhand conversation, I was asked whether someone should pursue teaching in Lithuania. My immediate response was “not if they want to make a living.” Here, the powers that be are trying to “fix” the education system with all sorts of radical ideas, including combining all of the many and varied universities into three umbrella institutions among others. And yes, there are issues which should be addressed. One of the areas is pay for the faculty. It hasn’t gone up since 2001. In fact, over all, the baristas at the local coffee houses make more money than your average university lecturer. Continue reading “Why I teach.”
So a few month ago, I made a post about my own accountability. I was trying to lose weight and get rid of the belly and all that. And I’m still working on it, but I recently hit a milestone for me and I wanted to make an update to keep up with said accountability.
So, as of the end of May, about 4 months or so after I started this thing, I’m down a bit.
Continue reading “Weigh in”
The 110 million-year-old fossil of a nodosaur preserves the animal’s armor, skin, and what may have been its final meal. The 5-year-old in me, who wanted to be a paleontologist, is thrilled beyond measure. The 49-year-old me is almost as stoked.
And here’s another piece, from Gizmodo, looking at how it “still has it’s skin.“
A lot of people have been posting this and I’m going to as well. It’s an important thing to understand  – not just for you but for me, too.
Source: You’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you – The Oatmeal
So I just read this book – Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons by Michael Witwer and my initial thought was that it “Makes me long to find my dice and get a campaign up and running…”
This got me thinking about D&D and role-playing and creative endeavors and all that stuff.
Okay, so you all know I am an aficionado of the magical arts. That is to say, I loves me a good card trick. I also really enjoy learning the methods and the  psychology behind a great performance of magic as well. This was often the focus of the many articles I wrote for Magic Magazine over the years.
And now, Steve Valentine, twice awarded by the Magic Castle (lecturer and close-up magician of the year), has started Magic on the Go, a kinda “Netflix of magic” so if you’ve ever wanted to learn from one of the best, now’s your chance.
For those of you wondering what it is I do when I run away with the clowns… here’s a good overview. What a great office to have.
Last year, Best SciFi Books.com published a list of the top 17 pulp science fiction novels. While I may or may not agree these all qualify as “pulp” they are certainly a great list to get you started reading. In fact, the site has some other great lists, all of which are perfect for fostering the kind of geeky debates I sorely miss. For example, here’s their top 10 underwater SF books (of particular interest to me) as well as the 29 Best Alien Invasion Science Fiction Books and The 23 Best Science Fiction Books by Female Authors!
Of course, if all you’re interested in are the covers, check out this Pinterest page! I wish they were still honestly putting out books with these covers, as opposed to doing it self consciously or with a wink, nod and tongue firmly planted in cheek. Maybe I should write one?
Either way, though, there’s some mighty fine books for summer.
Let the debates begin!
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 