Just spoke to UNR Extended Studies. They’re going forward with the interviews. Guess I should get ready. ;-)

From the Reno Gazette-Journal:

UNR halting new state-funded hires

Faced with a projected $2.1 million shortfall partly caused by soaring utility costs, the University of Nevada, Reno has implemented an immediate hiring freeze on state-funded teaching and staff positions.“Just as our own personal utility bills have escalated, the university’s utility bills have skyrocketed - in our case, more than $650,000 to date - beyond what we initially had anticipated,” UNR’s Provost and Executive Vice President John Frederick wrote in a campuswide e-mail Monday.

I’ll be making a phone call in the morning…

Whenever I set a personal best, the first words out of The Bride’s mouth are, invariably, “Don’t you think you’re doing too much?” (She stopped saying that recently, but only with great willpower.)

My response: “What is the point of having limits if you don’t keep pushing them?”

The United States Marine Corps says it better: “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” Booyah, Baby!

You know where this is going and I must beg your forgiveness, but I’m burning on an endorphine high as I write this. In January, I’ve done eight 30-minute rides so far (and four 20-minute rides). These are the distances in miles. If you want to know my average speed on these rides, simply double the distances:

Jan. 09: 7.15 (14.3 mph average)
Jan. 10: 7.70
Jan. 17: 8.25
Jan. 20: 7.11
Jan. 26: 8.18
Jan. 27: 7.80
Jan. 28: 8.30
Today : 8.80 (17.6 mph average)

That’s 7.9 average with a 23% increase in distance from the first ride to the last. According to bikejournal.com, I’ve burned 5,600 calories this month when including the 20-minute rides. I’m aiming to complete ten miles in 30 minutes.

In the grand scheme of things, especially in the world of bicycling, these numbers are nothing, but like all things relative, they mean something to me and all of this would have been totally unthinkable a few short years ago. I’m a techie by trade, and daily exercise is pushing a mouse and a good diet means not supersizing.

But then my personal fitness hero, Aunt Lily, re-entered my life and she’s a marathoner (!!!). A close relation of mine is physically fit? Get out of town on the horse you rode in on. And so is her significant other, the Zinger, someone for whom I have an infinite world of respect. They have this incredible love for life. Amazing.

My catchy line at this point is usually, “When I grow up, I want to be just like them.” The fact is I am grown up, so no more excuses and no fear. I can’t run like them, but I can fly on a bike.

Speaking of which, I rode to Dayton last October and I coasted down the big hill at about 41 mph. Reading the current issue of Bicycling magazine and found a blurb about Alpine bikers who regularly descend mountain roads at an average speed in the 50s. Holy cow. Think how fast I would have gone if I’d had a street bike instead of a mountain bike. (grin)

By the by, Aunt Lily is training again so check out her blog, dudes.

Distance: 8.80 miles
Time: 30:00 minutes
657 calories burned

Took the day off from the gym to give my legs and knees a break. Will probably work on class stuff and other crap.

If you haven’t seen the SNL Narnia video, please come out into the sunlight. The world is pretty and we miss you. Here’s the West Coast response for you.

Bumped in an old high school teacher at the gym yesterday, but I doubt he remembered me. It’s funny how people can be a large influence in your life for a chunk of time. This particular one dominated every room he was in and had little to no patience with hyper-hormonal teenagers…and our bunch were the ones who behaved ourselves at Cartoon High. Today, he’s in his seventies and has shrunk to half of what he was. It was kind of a spooky encounter.

In the category of getting your knees cut off: President Bush among many others advocated “intelligent design” (ID) as an alternative method of introducing creationism into K-12 education. It’s a nice catchphrase to rally around and gives credence to the faith-based belief that a Great One (no, not him or him) developed a universe from a cosmic blueprint.

It sounds good, except for teeny-tiny, oh so little insignificant detail: somebody forgot to check with headquarters. A scholar published in the Vatican newspaper wrote that ID was ideology and not proven science, and that biological evolution “represents the interpretative key of the history of life on Earth.”

“This isn’t how science is done. If the model proposed by Darwin is deemed insufficient, one should look for another, but it’s not correct from a methodological point of view to take oneself away from the scientific field pretending to do science.”

Here’s a summary of the article. Memo to creationists: back to the drawing board. Pun intended.

I don’t have a problem letting kids learn about ID in public high school as long as it’s taught as an alternate method. I suspect it’d be a waste of time because kids today are so much more worldly that they were fifty years ago. They cut their teeth on the scientific method, for the most part.

Dropped in this blog somewhere the mention of Barry Bonds quitting the World Baseball Classic because he wants to be healthy for the upcoming season. ESPN reports the athletes participating in the WBC will have to undergo Olympic-style drug testing for all performance enhancing supplements, hormones, and condiments (like sweet mustard - it’s a dog). It will not be the cursory examinations previously mandated by Major League Baseball. Coincidence, Mr. Bonds?

We all have our addictions but methamphetamine users are in a special hell of their own doing. Check out these pictures.

Did the bills and found we don’t got the capital to cover our debits (surprise), so I gave up on My Ultimate IPod Dream and bought one of the cheaper models. Now the bills are a little happier and my conscious is not so angry.

And now after playing with the darn thing, I’m having that “having is not nearly as satisfying as wanting” feeling. There’s a reason Greed is a Deadly Sin.

(That aside, please feed my hungry little IPod. :))

The fun never stops. After setting a new distance record on the stationary this morning, came home and found the interview package from UNR Extended Studies (EXS) (verbatim below). The butterflies in my stomach have turned into Boeing 747s with firewalled engines.

—————————-

Interview schedule for Robert Moore

Friday, February 3

8:15-8:30
Review interview questions

8:30-9:30
Meet with committee, conference room

9:30-9:35
Short break for candidate

9:40-9:55
Presentation and Q&As with EXS staff, Room 109

9:55-10:10
Meet with Associate Vice Provost, Dee Henderson

Presentation Information
Our staff would like to get to know you! In order for this to happen, please be prepared to deliver an informal ten (10) minute presentation to the entire Extended Studies staff regarding your motivation in applying for this position.

We’d like you to tell us why you feel this position meets your career goals and why you want to working in Extended Studies. We’d like you to address the following items, but you are certainly not limited to these, if time allows!

- What skills will you bring to this position?

- What motivates you in the workplace?

- What is your management/training style?

- What is your preferred/strongest communication style?

- How do you function in a constant multitasking environment?

- What expectations do you have of your direct reports and consequently what expectations should they have of you?

- What expectations do you have of Extended Studies and what expectations should the organization have of you?

—————————-

Distance: 8.30 miles
Time: 30:00 minutes
609 calories burned

Things are quiet around the Moore house these days. The Bride is going through some work stuff and she’s looking forward to her interview next week (big jump in responsibilities; unequal pay raise). Eldest is at work, biding her time until potential employers start calling. Middle started the semester in her usual fashion and going to school about eight hours a week. Youngest has been pissed at me for a solid month now. Sins of the father here: I treated my parental units exactly the same. Doesn’t help much that I’ve had to insert fiscal responsibility into recent discussions. The daughter and I are so much alike, it’s freaky.

Here’s a notice: I do not like snow anymore. I miss the drought. I want to live in a place where I can bike outside year-round and not have to use a stationary next to Sam the Free-Flying Sweathog (literally). Yes, I’m retaining water, my ankles feel fat, and I’m craving chocolate. Do these jeans make my butt look fat?

The good news of the day is UNR returned my messages and I will be rocking/rolling with them next Friday. Trying not to set myself up for disappointment here, but I’m one charged-up dude for that interview.

The other bit of good news is I will buy my IPod sometime in February. I’ve been saving a little cash here and there since last year to (a) see if I can do it and (b) reward myself for working three jobs for much of 2005. It’s been a long, frustrating exercise in fiscal patience.

Speaking of which: Look at this bills! Oy!!!! I gotta find a weekend job.

But at least I finally satisfied my avacado craving.

(And I recognize the paradox: not being able to pay all of the bills, yet having the moola for an IPod. I’ve been working like a dog at extra jobs to support the family, and whatever $$$ is used for the toy would hold back the tidal wave of debt for only a day or two. Might as well be listening to cool tunes as they repossess the truck/van, and we live in a cardboard box. :))

Distance: 7.80 miles
Time: 30:00 minutes
547 calories burned

Went to my favorite sandwich place after the gym to satisfy my avacado craving. They had none. Grr! Annoyed, I stepped out of the store and saw my daughter’s place of employment across the parking lot (you remember, of course, where she works). Mulled for five whole seconds and decided to stop by. She seemed glad for the visit because it looked like another quiet night. I’m fairly certain I blushed the entire time I was there.

The word is all three of my Spring classes are going to fly. This semester, I have one class at each of the three prisons in Carson City, instead of all three at one prison or two at one prison and another at a second, as in the past. I checked if anyone else is doing that and out of 354 professors/instructors scheduled to teach Spring 2006, only three (<1%) are scheduled to teach at three or more campuses (discounting video and web classes). All three are Prison instructors and the other two guys are teaching studs. It’s cool to be even distantly associated with them, so I’m gonna suck it up and teach like a sumbiatch.

(And how do I know all that? I did college enrollment stats for a long time. It ain’t hard…after years of learning. :))

Distance: 8.18 miles
Time: 30:00 minutes
578 calories burned

The Bush administration came out swinging against critics of the domestic spying issue, with the President, Karl Rove, and the Attorney General speaking publicly on the issue. Bad idea, gentlemen. Don’t give the opposition more ammunition to use against you in the press and the impending congressional hearings. If you’re silent and take the high road, you might have a chance. Btw, please grasp the idea that Karl Rove is a symbol, good or bad, for everything that’s gone wrong since G.W.’s election so many years ago.

Speaking of symbols, Washington Post reporters, among others, were denied access by the current administration to old photos of President Bush meeting with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff because they were “not pertinent” to the scandal investigation. Watch this story gather steam and energy faster than shit through a goose. Yes, it is possible for a picture like that to put a Democrat in the White House in 2008. It only took 18 minutes of silence to make a president resign from office.

Carson City officials discovered a horrific episode of child abuse recently. Commenters on the Nevada Appeal web site were understandably outraged, and some suggested extreme measures for future abusers, including sterilization of repeat offenders. There’s a chance in a million that those comments will be taken seriously, but what’s scary is Nazis used sterilization techniques on Jews and other non-Aryan minorities during the Holocaust in the 1940s. Do we really want to discuss something that puts us in the same breath as them, even remotely?

And yes, I do have an idea (surprise!). Instead of the numerous reactive ideas proposed, including stiffer prison sentences and permanent separation of the children from the abusive parents (which in some cases should absolutely happen), how about we as a country and society develop proactive family-friendly social programs that include free parenting and nutrition classes, and a child welfare program that’s isn’t buried in red tape? Of course, there’s no profit in that, other than our next generation of leaders, workers, taxpayers, and, oh yeah, inmates.

This morning’s Chronicle had an article about the importance of team chemistry, something the employees of the San Francisco Giants feel is absolutely essential to their success in the NL West in 2006. On the exact same page in the Sports section, there was another article on how Barry Bonds was complaining about being forced to bat second for the American team at the World Baseball Classic. He resigned from the team some time later for “health” reasons.

There’s a reason why Dusty Baker’s not managing on the west side of the Bay, but I can’t decide if it’s because Dusty is smarter than the Giants management or because ol’ B.B. forced him out (wanna put money on it?). IMO, there’s a sorrier bunch of fans than the Cubbie Bleacher Bums and they’re called Barry Bonds’ Apologists. When Barry pulls the team down yet again with his usual “me first” antics, it will be the Giants fans that suffer the most. When he breaks Babe Ruth’s home run record, will anybody really care in a positive way?

Cruised through some blogs and haven’t found a single non-American blog in support of the current administration. When President Bush is mentioned, it’s always negative. Mull on that for a moment, please.

United States Supreme Court justice-nominee Samuel Alito will be confirmed by the Senate. Get used to the idea. Also get used to the idea this is the first time in American history that five Roman Catholics have sat on the bench at the same time. Roe v. Wade supporters: start to feel nervous.

Speaking of which, the famous or infamous RvW decision was not so much a decision supporting the right to abortion. It was more about the right to have a say over your body and your overall right to privacy. If you believe in those issues, especially with the administration’s recent actions and beliefs on domestic spying, you should really be nervous now.

A Florida man was released from jail after DNA tests confirmed he was innocent. The man spent 24 years in jail for his crime and he’s only 45 years old. Some folks are proposing there be time limits placed on the DNA testing of criminal evidence. How would those people feel if they had a loved one behind bars or on Death Row for crimes they did not commit? A majority of Death Row inmates are non-whites. Would folks make the same suggestions if every single inmate was white? Time limits on DNA testing is stupid, cruel, and inhumane.

In fact, when are people going to learn that anything that hinders our evolution as a society is stupid, cruel, and inhumane? Here’s a short list: torture, child abuse, hate crimes, death penalty.

Here’s the test: if it’s an action or law that we’ll be ashamed of in about 100 to 150 years, let’s not do it today. After all, we freed the slaves, gave women the vote, and released children from dangerous working conditions in that time period. What are we not grasping here, people?

(And this was going to be a nice quiet entry, too…)

Distance: 3.24 miles
Time: 20:00 minutes
146 calories burned

Haven’t seen it. Jeannette Catsoulis of the New York Times in her review summarizes the problem with current Hollywood filmmaking:

“Maybe one day, Hollywood will figure out that pouring acting-challenged starlets into black neoprene and sticking them in front of a blue screen do not a movie make.”

Did a quick scan of the movies to be released in the first part of 2006. Ain’t rushing out the door for any of them.

Will be interviewing at UNR a week from Friday. Haven’t been this excited about an interview in a long time. Got some things to do, got some things to prove. :-)

If this website is to be believed, I burn 3162 calories a day (77 inches/250 pounds/44 yrs/lightly active), so why the hell ain’t the pounds falling off? Grr!

Have other things to blab about, but I nuked myself at the gym tonight and feeling very low/slow right now, especially in the arms and neck. I stubbed my foot last night and keep waking up to the throb, so sleeping tonight is not going to be a problem.

100 stomach crunches
Distance: 5.08 miles
Time: 20:00 minutes
346 calories burned