A rip in the fabric of space-time...

...seems to have let a balmy spring day slide through and land in the middle of October. No complaints from me - today has been filled with fussing around, walking around, running errands, having lunch, playing with cats, and responding papers, and it all seems a little brighter and lighter with the sun out and the warm zephyrs playing. Of course, I can't decide whether to wear a just a t-shirt or a hoodie too, so I keep switching back and forth: small price to pay. I guess we should all enjoy it, since with the morrow come the rains.

Just before we drove off Friday on the road trip to the Spoke, I looked down our block and saw Ruby Scooter lying on her side. It seems someone, perhaps pulling into the parking lot, had clipped her nose and knocked up onto the curb and over. I stopped, righted her, and moved her into the back lot before we took off. There was a significant bit of fiberglass damage to the front wheel well/fairing and some cracks to the lefthand side of the handlebar fairing, but all in all no serious damage: the blinkers work and the mirrors are fine. I made a closer inspection today, and with a bit of drilling and some screws and washers, I should be able to stabilize everything, re-attach the black nosepiece, and generally add a bit of a Mad Max vibe to the whole affair. Viva Ruby!

The conference in Spokane played out just fine, by the way. The sessions were generally very substantial, although I still can't shake the feeling that a lot of the changes to approach that we try are doomed to failure because the very institutions of education in this country are dysfunctional and need to be completely overhauled. Whatever little bits of technique I develop or acquire to increase student involvement, engagement, and learning must be applied in a environment that is inauthentic and ineffective - my professional development ought to be more than learning to make the best out of a bad situation, shouldn't it? Ah, maybe I've just been listening to Stella too much...

I think I could do this. Maybe I should. (I know. Shut up.)