Inmates Working and Worst Trip Ever

While driving on I-85 yesterday, I passed two different sets of "Inmates Working" signs; however, I never saw anyone working.  Of course, I thought, "Should I be concerned that I have been told twice that inmates are working, but I don't see any?"  I'm guessing the signs were placed on the road a bit before the inmates actually arrived; however, I think it would be best to place the signs on the road at the very moment the inmates arrive and then remove them at the very moment the inmates leave.  That way, there is no cause for concern that we are possibly missing inmates.

Although not extremely clumsy, I have been known to lose my balance a time or two.  My most memorable fall was at a friend's wedding 5 or 6 years ago.  I lost my balance on some carpeted stairs.  My embarrassment quickly faded when I saw blood running down my leg.  Jay and I had to leave the reception early to attend to my knee.  The carpet did quite a number on it.  In fact, it took several weeks for my injured knee to heal.  Okay... that might be a bad trip, but the worst trip ever goes to the gallery visitor who recently ripped a portion of Picasso's The Actor.  According to the New York Post, the accidental trip reduces the value of the painting by at least 65 million dollars!  Can you imagine!?!  I wonder if she'll ever visit a gallery again.  I also wonder why such valuable works of art are not fully protected so that this sort of thing cannot happen.  For more on this story, see:

• http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7002316.ece
• http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/woman_tear_in_picasso_slashes_value_7VH7Cz7cyi3ytLRIexXTNI

Believe me, the next time I visit an art gallery, I'm going to be extra careful!

Cake

Cake was served at an event I recently attended.  In my opinion, the cake wasn't great.  In fact, I didn't finish my piece, which is very telling since I absolutely love good cake.  Of course, I do not plan to identify the event I attended when served this cake.  What I found interesting was that so many of the people attending commented on how much they liked the cake.  Now, they either liked the cake or were just being nice.  I'll never know.  As I listened to the comments, I was reminded of Paul Foot's comedy act about this very topic.  I just remembered to find the video clip.  Here's a link to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4sqS8pFwG8.  I think the whole act is really funny; however, if you don't have 8 minutes and 39 seconds to watch, skip to the 4:40 mark. 

Jane Austen's Emma

A friend just informed me that PBS has a new Masterpiece on Jane Austen's Emma.  The airing of the first part begins January 24.  I can't wait to see it, and I wonder whether or not it will be as good as the Pride and Prejudice Masterpiece.  If it is, I know what I'll be wanting for my birthday... the DVD!

See: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/emma/.

The Big Bang Theory and Mathematics

Last night's episode of The Big Bang Theory was just okay in my opinion; however, I really liked last week's episode "The Psychic Vortex."  Danica McKellar made a guest appearance as one of the cute girls that Raj and Sheldon met at the University mixer.  Although she is best known for her role as Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years, Danica McKellar is building a reputation as a champion for mathematics.  After earning her B.S. in Mathematics from UCLA, she authored two math books for pre-teen girls (Math Doesn't Suck and Kiss My Math). 

One of the reasons I liked last week's episode so much is because I appreciated the writers' intentional inclusion of mathematics for McKellar's guest appearance.  Particularly, a few times during the show, Sheldon mentioned the book Flatland.  Although most would correctly identify the book as one about mathematics (specifically, geometry), the book also has much to say about society and the role women play in it.  The book is a quick-read, and I highly recommend it.  If you missed "The Psychic Vortex" episode, I highly recommend it, too.

Today's Workout

For several months, Jay and I have been members of Anytime Fitness, and, yes, that means we are able to work out any time. :)  We typically exercise 4 times a week.  Since Jay is working from home today, we decided to go to the fitness center this morning.  It was quite crowded.  My favorite elliptical machine was not available.  In fact, all of the elliptical machines I use were occupied.  Usually, when this happens, we leave and return later in the day; however, I decided to give the elliptical crosstrainer a try.  After completing my 4 miles using the same resistance levels I normally use, I was soaked and exhausted!  Adding the adjustable CrossRamp to the mix really made a difference.  Interestingly, the machine estimated that I burned 472 calories (the same estimate my usual elliptical machine reports).  I guess both machines are programmed to use the same formula to estimate the number.

Why not?

This semester, I am taking a break from teaching to do some other things.  Although I miss being in the classroom each day, I'm happy to have time to read, think, and do some things that I haven't had time to do in quite a while.  I've been considering starting a blog, and I figured, why not?  So, here it is.

I'm guessing that I won't have too many visitors and/or followers of my blog because I'm not planning to advertise it; however, if you're visiting this site, welcome!  Feel free to stay a while. 

As you might have guessed after reading the blog's name, I'm a fan of Frasier.