Professor ranked #2 in the nation!!

This is very cool. Really. UW-Manitowoc's Physics professor, Mike Sherman (not the former Packer coach), is ranked #2 nationally in Men's Sport Mountain Biking. I suppose I have to add "in his age group," which is 60 and over. But he can put most people half his age to shame. And the word on the street is that he is a terrific teacher, too.

Orientation. Orientation. Orientation

New students probably got a postcard in the mail about the New Student Orientation and Kick-off event that's happening on Thursday, August 28th starting at 6:00pm. New students who didn't get a postcard, or who didn't see or read the postcard, are still welcome. There is always a pretty decent (and not too long) presentation from a rep from Monster.com, and you get to meet the faculty, and this year they're having brats and burgers and all that stuff, and there are some really good "give-aways" and sign-up tables. All in all, it's a fairly painless way to break the ice before classes start.

But really somebody should come up with another word for it. We already get an "orientation" when we show up to register for classes during the summer. And "kick-off" seems like it should be followed immediately by a game. "Start - up" seems better suited with the Indy 500. And the academic expression "convocation" may be accurate, but, frankly, it sounds sort of off-putting for an event that is supposed set everybody at ease. At least they haven't started to call it:"boot up." (I would break into tears.) Any suggestions? "Welcome"?

Going Green--A Little Rant

I know we’re supposed to be going “green” and all on campus this year (along with everybody else--Yeah, right, Walmart, which doesn't sell anything that's not from China,--is "going green"). But I tried cutting the lawn with a push mower the other day, thinking that it would be good exercise and save on the carbon emission and all that rah-rah stuff. Well, I thought I was going to die! Now maybe I’m just a wuss looking for an excuse, but I think I’d be better off using up the one-fifth of a gallon of gasoline it takes for me to mow with internal combustion power than having to spend a half hour in the shower and an hour in front of a fan in order to recover from heat stroke. Or maybe we should just let our lawns revert to prairie. But then the City will fine us for not maintaining our property.

Last Minute Admission--Can Do!

It’s amazing how different people are about things like deadlines or being the early bird or putting things off to the last minute. Now, on most things, I am a last minuter. But then again my idea of last minute is still before the final deadline, while some people really do arrive after the train has left the station, and they are surprised, even p.o.’d, that the train is gone. I’ve also noticed that the early bird types get sort of uppity about people who just make the deadline, treating us as if we are late. I want to tell them to just get a life—on time is on time, even if it’s not early.

Around here, the Business Office is very firm about due dates, etc. But, hey, that’s what they have to be, audits and such. In Student Services they’re pretty easy going about some things, but other things they don’t have a choice about. One thing they can do on a small campus like this is continue to process admissions to the University right up through the beginning of classes. That’s a good thing for people who change their minds or are late deciders. The only drawback is that things can get pretty frazzled. The best thing to do if you’re a late applicant (like I was) is to be prepared for the possibility of having an unusual schedule the first semester and to really listen up to the instructions you’ll get (at 683-4707) about the stuff you have to do to make it all happen. Oh, and then you have to do that stuff. Pronto.

Free DVD's!

DVD’s available for free! Remember, if you’re a student here at UW Manty, you can check out videos, Cd’s, and DVD’s from the library. And the selection is really very decent.

Question # 1

Question: What do people between the ages of 16 and 21 do during the summer when they’re not working? Is it all video games and shopping malls and internet and summer softball/baseball? TV?

Books

Advice about buying books. First of all, they are stinking expensive. But at least tuition here is very low compared to any other university, so buck up.

If you can, you want to buy used books. Who cares if someone else paid for it before. There’s a good chance it was never even read. And if it was, then you may be lucky enough to have the important parts highlighted. (Although that can be rather annoying.)

If you decide to try to buy course books on-line through Amazon, etc., be sure to use the right ISBN numbers so that you’re getting the right edition. If you check out the Bookstore link under Student Life on the Website, you’ll find the complete listing of the books you’ll need for each class, with the ISBN numbers.

And if you’re buying books on campus, get here very early—like before 7:00—on the first day they go on sale, or don’t bother coming until 11:00 or so.

In some cases it might work to “share” a book with another person in class. But make sure this is someone you wouldn’t mind being in a life raft with.