What Would You Do With Brett Favre?

Talk about a shit sandwich. I am so glad I don't run the Packers. If I did though, I think I would have stuck to my guns too. With camp coming up, if I got the phone call I guess I would have said "well, you're welcome to come back, but we've proceeded with our planning based on your retirement, so you will have to begin the season as our backup." I guess it would be hard to say, but really is he in shape? Have they been working all off season to build something around someone else?

I mean, you have to let him come back, yes?

It sounds like that stance - to come back as the reserve - is not acceptable to Favre. But with the way QB's go down in this league, what's to say that if you do come back on the bench that you're not starting by week three? And this way starting for Green Bay rather than someone else.

I was wondering if he could be in shape and then I remembered that after MJ retired he came back and scored 55 on the Knicks mid-season. Maybe Favre has been working out too.

It's a good thing he didn't take that $20 million dollar payoff to be a front office rep. That would have been a lousy resolution. Still, with the way things are going it doesn't sound like they have much left in the solution column.

It'd be really weird, but I think Favre in a Bears jersey would be interesting. Last few years have been pretty sketchy for the Bears at QB. I wonder what Chicago sports radio sounds like this week. I bet the thought of Favre going to the Vikings makes people in Chicago pissy.

On ESPN radio they played a promo wherein they suggested that they should just give up and cancel the whole season if Favre can't play. Sounds reasonable to me.

By the way, did you notice that the Olympic opening ceremonies are playing up against a full slate of NFL preseason games? I wonder who missed that little detail on the calendar. Maybe they were too distracted thinking about where Brett Favre is going to play.

Shorties

• 11:44 @scoutfinch2271 yeh, I have drugs - sometimes just doesn't matter #
• 11:44 I need a haircut #
• 14:07 and now I have one #
• 00:02 Anyone going to LDI? #

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It's August

The list of things I was supposed to do this summer and haven't would exceed my blogger storage quota. And now I need to add my prep list for the fall. Let me tell you, it's a long, long list.

Shorties

• 16:14 deadly allergy day, damn #

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Shorties

• 11:10 out of shape - hands hurt, feet hurt - I should get a job or something #
• 16:13 new shoes - excellent #

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The End of TV?

Eureka: SciFi Channel Sells Out Eureka: "While my kneejerk reaction is just to complain bitterly about this kind of thing, I have to admit that Eureka is maybe the one show on the SciFi Channel that could make it work. But if I hear even a rumor about the final episodes of Battlestar Galactica explaining that the Cylon Menace can be placated by Stride Gum, then there'll be trouble."

Your Government At Work

Wonk Room » House Conservatives Employ DeLay-Style Tactics To Kill Legislation That Would Rein In Oil Profiteers: "Fadel Gheit, Managing Director and Senior Oil Analyst, Oppenheimer & Company testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee:

I believe the surge in crude oil price, which more than doubled in the last 12 months, was mainly due to excessive speculation and not due to an unexpected shift in market fundamentals.

During the alloted time for voting, 291 members cast “yes” votes – more than enough to pass the bill. Then Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) and their minions went to work. Thirteen Republicans flipped and joined the 16 Democrats and 122 Republicans already in opposition. Final result: the bill failed, and profiteers will continue to drive up oil prices."

Shorties

• 09:54 out at 9:30, back at 9:30 - a little too much like stock for me #
• 20:11 Dino proj08 over! Some pics here: tinyurl.com/6bv96r - more on my site later... #
• 23:15 Dino wrap up: tinyurl.com/5fdkra #

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I CAN HAS DYNASAAR - 2008

So the Dinosaur Workshop is over and a great time was had by all.

We had 10 students and 2 prekie assistants this year and we spread the workshop over a night and a class period the next day. Then it was going so well we took it on the road for another class period and most of the afternoon and evening. It was all that and a bag of chips.

If the *festival project* and *knot dating* were the signature pieces of my early teaching and the *critical path/Rube Goldberg* and the *John Henry* projects are the signature of my current teaching, the *Dinosaur Workshop* is definitely my Pre-College signature piece. This is the second year we've done it. Last year we barely finished two pieces. This year with some excellent drawing revisions we managed to complete seven pieces and add one as big as it can be version.

We'd done the T-Rex, Trike, Spino, and Steg before:

This year we added a brachiasaur, in the same scale:

and somewhat larger:

The somewhat larger version is roughly 17' long and 12' tall. Last year when I did this I got featured on Toolmonger.com and they posited "How big can he go?" This was their answer. The largest piece in this model is sized to be as big as it can be on a 4x8 sheet of plywood without having to add any seams. The whole model takes seven sheets of plywood, and this variety of puzzle actually has about 1/3 less pieces than the ones we drafted last year.

The scale is too big. The neck is too slender to support the head of the model, so in the end we had to add a cheater bar - we clamped on a piece of 1" box steel. If we do another one, we'll probably double up the thickness of several of the more load bearing pieces. Although this thing would hold itself standing it was decidedly wambly. Going to 1.5" on the spine, hips, shoulders, and legs would probably solve that issue, although clamping on a piece of 1x didn't so maybe it would need to be even beefier.

After lunch we cleaned up the shop and moved outside (cue the legions of slaves - nothing gets it done like the legions):

I thought the kids would have fun taking their small pieces around campus and shooting odd photos. A couple did, but mostly they just collapsed and soaked up the sun. So we wound up with a fairly nice display. First we did the "Mother and Children" picture:

and then something with a little conflict:

and then a great big family photo:

It turned into a little bit of a happening. People were stopping by and snapping a lot of photos. I heard many things like "That is awesome" and one "Why does CMU have to be so cool?" A bunch of Drama faculty saw it and I even had a brief conversation with the Provost - as well as many less distinguished viewers. Probably the neatest group was the pre-school daycare kids who were just amazed at the whole thing, and who amazed me by knowing the names of all the dinosaurs. It was so popular among passers by that I decided to leave it up after the end of class at 3:30 until 6:00 and then at 6:00 to leave it until 7:30; and while we were striking it at 7:30ish someone showed up and asked "Where are all the dinosaurs? I came back from home to take pictures." There were also quite a few "I wonder if this will be up through Monday?" murmurs along the way.

Probably the highlight of my day though was mid-day at the end of the session when I hear "Best, Class, Ever!" from one of my students. Nice to hit the target once in a while.

More pics...




Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Shorties

• 11:21 If Favre won't take that $20 million over 10 years to not play, tell the Packers to sign me up! #
• 11:22 @scoutfinch2271 bummer, sorry. #
• 21:22 One dino done... tinyurl.com/66oom8 - six in process - one waiting (it's a biggie) #

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