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Archive for the 'Thoughts-Reflections' Category



Student Affairs Technology: To Boldly Go

Student Affairs Technology: To Boldly Go
“They should have explained the basic concepts at the beginning (e.g.: podcasts, blogs, wikis, etc.).”
“Be less technical.”
“Helping me to boldly go where I’ve never been before.”
One of these statements is not like the other two. I’m sure you can guess which one gives me hope as a student affairs […]

Who I am

I’ve had numerous friends and family members who have unsubscribed or even flat out refused to read my blog. The reason given was usually that they didn’t agree with me. Some folks have even told me that they are afraid that if they read my blog that our friendship will cease to function/exist. […]

Kicking ass in the sphere

Kevin, a long-time blog buddy, thinks that I am a kick ass blogger. I am honored to be given this award. A lot of the bloggers that have received this award have been mainstays in my RSS reader since I started wading into the blogosphere pool.
There are some rules/regulations for the awarding […]

500th Blog Post

This is my 500th blog post. I’ve been blogging for almost 4 years now. Time flies when you’re blogging. I never thought I would last this long. I’ve had a few breaks here and there. It takes a lot of juice to keep blogging on a regular basis. The blogosphere and the brickosphere require […]

Columbus Junction, Iowa

The flood stage for my hometown of Columbus Junction, Iowa is 19 ft. The floodwaters reached 28.3 ft. in 1993. The current prediction is that the flood waters will crest at 33.2 ft. I remember how bad it was in 1993. This is much worse. My parents live out in the country and are […]

Dog in a cage

I really miss our old neighbors. They used to throw parties in their back yard and were extremely friendly. The new neighbors have a loud gas-powered leaf blower and drive a huge Mercedes SUV.. I guess their goal must be to find as many ways as possible to waste gasoline. Anyway, Wendy and I […]

Barack Obama ‘08

It has been a little over a week since Barack Obama’s speech on race in America. I watched the speech while I was at an Academic Advising conference in Vancouver, BC. It feels like a moment that I will remember for a very long time. It’s similar to the Challenger accident or the events […]

Community forum series

I was in Waldo Hall about a month ago when I came upon a larger version of this poster. I’m a fan of inverted black and white posters as they remind me of my graphic design days in Chicago.
The poster was advertising a community forum to discuss “isms in media.” I moved a little […]

A letter to Ikea

Dear Ikea,
Many years ago, in 2001, I purchased two beech-colored items of furniture. The items, a bookcase and a CD tower, were bathed in a lovely golden brown veneer. Recently, Wendy and I decided to embark on a trip to the new Ikea in Portland, Oregon. We decided that we would like to procure […]

Real racism

One of the themes that I keep seeing as I peruse the rather lengthy list of racist incidents at college and university campuses is the idea of “real racism.” Comment after comment are posted on how nooses and blackface are not “real racism” and that dialogues about these events should not take place as […]