Trend alert: Band names beginning with "The" are out. Bands with "Glass" in their names are in. Also - random animals, still popular ( Read more... )

I just returned from our annual pilgrimage to the Big Teacher Conference. This time, we did a two-day workshop along with all of the normal two-hour presentations and various schmoozefests. Everything went fairly well, even though I was horribly unprepared for one of the presentations (panic = realizing you are a) the only non-science person in a ( Read more... )

Today my colleague and I received a bit of a shock when, while perusing the conference program, we discovered that we were scheduled to present a whole day earlier than we had thought ( Read more... )

You know what I love about you guys? I love that we spend our time stomping about the city, working with computers by day and playing with them by night. I love that we wouldn't be caught dead without boots on, and that we can barely function without industrial-strength coffee and a steady influx of beats siphoned directly into our ears. And I love ( Read more... )

Because I am a glutton for punishment, I volunteered to come back to Georgia. Once again, I am torturing classes of fourth graders by giving them a 90 minute test. What makes it worse than last time is the fact that it's a pretest, which means that -- ideally for our research purposes -- they are not supposed to do very well. Imagine being nine or ( Read more... )

This week, I am administering assessments to fourth graders in rural Georgia. Here are some things I have discovered ( Read more... )

I am in Austin for a conference. I don't have to present this year, which is a huge relief. The conference is exciting and things are going well, but I do feel quite out of place. I keep getting asked, "Are you a doctoral student or an assistant professor?" Okay, people, I may be thirtyish, but I am neither of those, thank you come again. And then ( Read more... )

My new favorite band: The Teddybears. Trust me, you have not lived until you have seen Swedes in three-piece suits and giant bear heads playing guitars. (Said defenestr8r:"Well, that was unexpected ( Read more... )

The scariest thing in the universe is extremely drunk science teachers hitting on men at a hotel bar by trying to explain the intricacies of the Arkansas public school system.

Bad touch.

I can't wait to get home. Get me the fuck out of the midwest.

Oldest people at the event: surprisingly, not us
Best hydrated people at the event: definitely us
Number of Lollapalooza flashbacks I had: 4
Percentage of these that were brought on by Perry Farrell: 50
Best score of the weekend: posh gay resort hotel room, by my 'lovely wife' defenestr8rCost of beer at the event: $7 ( Read more... )