Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
November 6, 2008
Frequently being on the road driving to and from the classes I teach gives me the opportunity to occasionally see some fairly odd things. Most often I observe people with strange items in their trunks, on their cars or otherwise in-tow. I’ve learned to never underestimate the creativity (or, in some cases, stupidity) of people when it comes to their cars!
I decided to start documenting as many of these “moments” as possible and aptly (and, I hope, humorously) title them under the heading of “Junk in Your Trunk.” I will randomly post images as I take them or discover images I took earlier that seem to fit the bill. I am also willing to post photos anyone else takes and sends my way — so feel free to “shoot and send!”
The photo below was taken on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 while I was driving north on highway 99 en route to Bakersfield (where I was teaching at DeVry University later that afternoon). It is a bit hard to see, but there is a car engine in the trunk of the silver Honda Civic in the foreground! I am unsure why there is a car engine in the trunk, though I was certain it was not the engine powering the car, but there it is!
Note: Unfortunately, the camera in my Palm Centro is adequate, but not always ideal. However, you can click on the photo to see a larger, and slightly clearer, version of the photo.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2008, August 6, Bakersfield, CA, Civic, commuting, digital photography, funny, Highway 99, Honda, humor, matthew gilbert, North, oddities, Palm Centro, photography, photos from the road | No Comments »
October 29, 2008
Last night I had an interesting and unexpected experience at the AM/PM on Ming Avenue near the 99 Freeway while getting coffee for my drive home from Bakersfield to Valencia: comped coffee! That’s right, a whole $1.39 of coffee for free! Who says good things never happen to nice people?
I had just left the DeVry Center where I had stayed late to grade assignments for the two classes I am now teaching – COMP-100 (Computer Applications for Business with Lab) and BUSN-115 (Introduction to Business and Technology) — and was “filling up” with caffeine for the 75 mile drive south.
As I was making my coffee as “unlike” coffee as possible (adding my usual four to six packets of sweetener and six to eight small container’s of French Vanilla cream) the lights went out on the entire corner and nearby areas. At that point the clerk and I were the only people inside the building — which suddenly became eerily quiet without the constant humming of equipment that normally permeates the store.
I was unsure what to do. Despite it being dark outside and very late, I felt no great sense of urgency or panic. The clerk was busy looking for a flashlight and didn’t give me any instructions either. So, I continued making my coffee! Of course, since it was dark I had to use my cell phone as a flashlight while I mixed and stirred my drink, but all things considered it worked out well.
Of course, when I was done and asked the clerk how to pay him, he admitted that, given the circumstances there was really no way he could charge me for the coffee (the register and everything else was locked and had no power). So, I thanked him and graciously accepted my “comped coffee!”
I wonder if a free lunch is next?
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged California, matthew gilbert, valencia, Bakersfield, Interstate 5, South, commuting, coffee, COMP-100, Computer Applications for Business with Lab, BUSN-115, Introduction to Business and Technology, caffeine, freegan, freebie, Ming Avenue, 99 Freeway, AM/PM, free lunch | No Comments »
September 19, 2008
One year ago today, September 19, 2007, this blog was born into the online world. At the time I launched it I wasn’t really sure what to expect or how this experiment would play out. Overall, I have enjoyed writing this blog, though I certainly wish I was able to contribute to it more regularly.
However, my philosophy is “quality over quantity.” I would rather wait to post something substantive than just add more noise to the already overloaded Internet. Hopefully the posts I’ve made have, in some way, contributed positively to the individuals who have read them and, perhaps to the larger academic community.
Statistically speaking, here is some basic info about the blog:
- Total views: 7,169
- Busiest day: 126 — Wednesday, January 23, 2008
- Views today: 14
- Totals
- Posts: 38
- Comments: 34
- Categories: 16
- Tags: 858
Developing this blog has been educational and inspirational — I find myself constantly looking for information to distribute or knowledge to share using it. I have used it twice as an educational repository and tool: once for an English class at DeVry University and another time for my UCSB Extension course. Both times enabled me, and my students, to explore the power of blogging on multiple levels.
I hope to continue contributing to it and finding unique and clever ways to leverage the technology. Speaking of which, WordPress is an amazing tool — bravo to those who make it all work. I have never before experienced such a seamless and mutlifaceted web-based content management system. Using WordPress has definitely been a significant part of why my first year blogging was so positive.
In any case, I am looking forward to “year two” and outdoing my effort in “year one!”
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Doctorious, Ph.D., Education, UCSB, matthew gilbert, teaching, Adjunct Instructor, blog, educational technology, wordpress, UCSB Extension, teaching aides, content management system, doctoral programs, adjunct professor, adjunct teacher, road scholar, freeway flier | No Comments »
