Monday, November 28
What the hell? Cold?
Yep, the high was 69 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday and about the same today. And, yes, that's cold for El Centro, even though it sounds like a nice warm day for November in most parts of the country--including most desert areas, which are actually rather chilly during the winter (especially at night). El Centro is in what is called the "low desert" in California, meaning that we're at or below sea level and, hence, don't get the really cold temperatures that folks in the "high desert" get on a regular basis. A friend of mine works in Barstow (between San Bernardino and Las Vegas) and regularly runs into snow and ice during the winter--even though the temperatures in the summer there are easily the equivalent of El Centro's 110-115 degrees.
Oh, and the SIQ has hovered around the 20s lately--some manure smells and other nasty odors, but always faint and easy to ignore. That's another benefit of the cold weather!
More thoughts (since I haven't posted for a while):
Oh, and the SIQ has hovered around the 20s lately--some manure smells and other nasty odors, but always faint and easy to ignore. That's another benefit of the cold weather!
More thoughts (since I haven't posted for a while):
- I've been admiring The White Stripes from afar for a while now, liking their music but not entirely being sure as to why. Then I bought Get Behind Me Satan and it clicked: they are the garage rock equivalent of a 12k/Line artist like Richard Chartier, Taylor Deupree, or Christopher Willits. They are minimalist--that is assured: two people, plays drums and the other plays the guitar (mostly) and sings. No bass or other accoutrements are allowed (though, as with all great artists, they know when to break their own rules). The difference between the Stripes and the 12k guys is simply that the Stripes choose to center their music in and around the blues tradition, whereas the 12k guys are working from a more abstract, academic tradition. Both rock in their own ways and both are experimental minimalists, but people pay to see the Stripes because Meg White keeps a funky beat and Taylor Deupree doesn't.
- I have a new job--I'm the Distance Education Coordinator for Imperial Valley College. That means I don't teach as much and I oversee all matters concerning online education at the school. The program is just beginning, so there's lots to do, and I'm eager to make the program a success. It's a bit scary to leave my first tenure-track job, but I feel comfortable doing it now (rather than later) because I'm not actually leaving the school where I'm working and because I will be able to return to that job in a few years (if all goes well).
- Hope all Americans had a happy thanksgiving. This holiday is one of the few things the US ever got right, I think--a day of reflection and celebration and massive quantities of food. It's fun! I think that's why many of my students tell me that they celebrate Thanksgiving by having a turkey dinner at their relatives' houses in Mexico--even though it's not a holiday in Mexico! My theory is: if the holiday is fun, it works! Hell, if Islam had a holiday half as fun as Thanksgiving or Christmas, people would be jumping off the Christian bandwagon left and right. And, yes, that's the problem with atheism: no fun holidays. Atheists and pagans should get together and figure out a holiday they can share--and it's not Halloween (atheists don't believe in Halloween).
