contemplating digital orality

Four weeks (and one day) after meeting with my committee post-quals, I  completed and submitted a full dissertation proposal first draft (a respectable 39 pages) at about 2am on 01.11.11. This is the next step in the milestone requirements for my degree.

On 01.21.11, I passed the proposal stage with committee feedback consisting of (in essence) an “okay,” a “mostly I’m content with this version,” and a “More revision and rethinking effort at this stage on your proposal is needed,” along with some excellent feedback for improvement. I know the areas that need strengthening; now, to make it happen.

Qualifying Exam:
3 questions answered in 4 days, resulting in:
38 pages, 161 paragraphs, 9627 words Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a letter I found necessary to write today. While it is completely off topic from my studies, perhaps it will provide you with some understanding as to why there will be no on-topic post today.

Dear little evil gut bug,

I am writing to implore you to cease your operations, which surely must be complete by now. You have, sir, accomplished what I assume to be your goal of removing all solid and liquid matter from the system through the upper hatch I used to load it. I find your thoroughness in clearing out the food containment unit most commendable. That you chose a more carpet bomb approach over selectively removing specific items a few at a time does not show a laziness or a lack of preciseness. Rather it reveals the effectively delivered, quality plans of an individual with an aim toward efficiency. I genuinely stand by this statement despite the fact that this procedure has been underway for over 12 hours, now. Read the rest of this entry »

OK, this Blog is supposed to be all about my research. But I thought I’d share this nice pic. Thanx to Tyson Crosbie for this one.