Brief layover at home
I can't believe I've been forgetting to mention the guy in a kilt. I finally talked to Chris (alias Chrizzly - he's a really big guy) late Monday night. The entire duration of the convention he wore a Utilikilt. It wasn't tartan, it was just plain khaki material, and had cargo pants-type pockets all over. When he was telling me about it, he said that there's a pic on the website (showing its carrying capacity (which everybody needs to know) of a guy loaded up with 20 beers, spread out in 3's and 2's across eight pockets. Apparently they make them in all kinds of colors and materials, also including denim and leather. It definitely looks cool, and is now on my shopping list.
On the second leg of my return flight, from Denver back to KC, someone had a cat in a carry-on bag. It was yowling loudly and obnoxiously the entire flight. I was just waiting for it to piss all over the carrier, and the fumes to permeate the cabin.
So I'm now home, for less than 48 hours, before leaving again for Virginia Friday morning. This will be the first trip back there since my last girlfriend (of over four years) and I split up, which is going to seriously change the dynamic. That does mean, however, that I'll have more time for my other friends there.
The one major event while I'm back there will be going in to a friend's biology class to cover her evolution unit. I met her as an undergrad, she was a Chem major, and after graduation got a job at a small private high school teaching Bio, Chem and Physics. She's got the background to cover the Chem and Physics fine, but not so much the Bio - she generally stays one chapter ahead of the students. So last year we arranged that when I was back over Christmas, I'd go in and teach her evolution unit, since it's a tricky subject under the best of circumstances, and obviously I've got a much better handle on it than she does.
Right before the end of the semester last year, I did a dry run in front of the SOMA people, got a bunch of good feedback, and managed to clean it up a bit before the class. I spread it out over two days, and still ran overtime both days. So this year, I'm gonna stretch it to three, add a little more stuff, and cover Intelligent Design as well - for what it really is, pseudoscience crap, analogous to astrology, phrenology, alchemy, etc. And then, just to be "fair and balanced", I'm going to throw in the Flying Spaghetti Monster as well.
On the second leg of my return flight, from Denver back to KC, someone had a cat in a carry-on bag. It was yowling loudly and obnoxiously the entire flight. I was just waiting for it to piss all over the carrier, and the fumes to permeate the cabin.
So I'm now home, for less than 48 hours, before leaving again for Virginia Friday morning. This will be the first trip back there since my last girlfriend (of over four years) and I split up, which is going to seriously change the dynamic. That does mean, however, that I'll have more time for my other friends there.
The one major event while I'm back there will be going in to a friend's biology class to cover her evolution unit. I met her as an undergrad, she was a Chem major, and after graduation got a job at a small private high school teaching Bio, Chem and Physics. She's got the background to cover the Chem and Physics fine, but not so much the Bio - she generally stays one chapter ahead of the students. So last year we arranged that when I was back over Christmas, I'd go in and teach her evolution unit, since it's a tricky subject under the best of circumstances, and obviously I've got a much better handle on it than she does.
Right before the end of the semester last year, I did a dry run in front of the SOMA people, got a bunch of good feedback, and managed to clean it up a bit before the class. I spread it out over two days, and still ran overtime both days. So this year, I'm gonna stretch it to three, add a little more stuff, and cover Intelligent Design as well - for what it really is, pseudoscience crap, analogous to astrology, phrenology, alchemy, etc. And then, just to be "fair and balanced", I'm going to throw in the Flying Spaghetti Monster as well.