The lineup

In the faculty lineup in Pasadena for the annual commencement ceremony. I march in with the College of Allied Health faculty and don't really have anything to do other than clap for the graduates. I still enjoy the ceremonies, long as they are. This was my last ceremony for Western, and I felt that was going to be the case, even if I didn't know how my interview in Minnesota would turn out.

Mission Control

Back at work, we're testing a teamwork simulation assessment I developed. It was a lot of fun being in the control room monitoring everything on four-way split screen.

City by the Bay

I'm in San Francisco for a few days for a conference. Unlike most of my conferences, this one's actually at a really awesome location -- in the Embarcadero right across from the Ferry Building. I took this from the elevator lobby in my hotel.

Mission Control

At work, I'm running a study on a new assessment battery for simulated healthcare patient encounters. In the control room, a bunch of faculty are observing the student-doctors at work and taking score.

Party bus

Late fall plus far western edge of the Eastern time zone means that our pickup for the morning meeting was in the predawn dark. The bus has funky fiber optic lighting and a wet bar, clearly meant for a crazier crowd than us academic educator types.

Gehry

Meeting on the campus of Case Western Reserve University. The building where I am sequested for two days of long Powerpoint sessions is kitty-corner from this much more interesting Frank Gehry structure.

The card I was dealt

At a work-related meeting high above Marina del Rey. Isn't my place card impressive?

A staggering work of heartbreaking genius

Here's a piece of a grading model I used to explain the consequences of different point assignments on students' final grades. My colleagues had me walk through this model several times with them, then photograph it so we could refer back to it. Knowing statistics is a heavy burden, but I carry it with joy.

Strolling professor

I did a walking tour of the bronze statue exhibition on campus. This is my favorite -- the "Strolling Professor." He's reading a chemistry textbook. It doesn't look at that engrossing.

Eye-catching

I'm attending an accreditation conference in California. Not exactly thrilling stuff. This vendor has slightly overdone it with the giant neon signs on their booth.

Distracting

Trying very hard to pay attention at the conference roundtable. Kind of difficult when the view behind them is of surfers and beach volleyball games.

I'm a Manly man

The vacation part of our Australia trip is technically over for me. We took our luggage on the ferry over to Manly, on the north side of Sydney Harbour, where I'll be attending a conference for the next few days. The conference hotel is a Novotel right on Manly Beach -- this is the view from our balcony room. We could leave the doors open and go to sleep listening to the surf.

Quiet on the set

SoCal is a "company town," and everyone knows someone in "the industry." The entertainment industry, that is. That red brick building in the center of the frame is across the street from the Starbucks near my office. The street was blocked for a few weeks by a lengthy caravan of trucks and equipment. I also wondered why the building had a McCain/Palin poster in the window, some American bunting, and a sign that said "Election Headquarters." An odd choice of decor for 2010. 

It turned out someone was shooting a Bollywood romance set during the 2008 election. I'm sorry to have missed the big dance number.

You've got some big bronze ones

Sculptures, that is. My university is having an exhibition of life-size bronze sculptures of various men and women in assorted real-life poses. Here they are, being unloaded.

Conference time again

I'm in a familiar locale for an academic -- a conference hotel. It's a workshop put on by the regional accreditor in Long Beach, California. Although I'm a few blocks from the ocean, I didn't get to see it.

We gotta fill this hall, people

I'm involved in a big course for first-year students at my university. Here's the kick-off day. We have four lecture halls like this filled simultaneously.

Spared no expense

Here's one of dozens of study rooms in my university's new education center. These soundproofed rooms are equipped with giant flatscreen monitors, for collaborating on documents or, I dunno, watching Harry Potter movies in Blu-Ray. Nice. I'm still kind of envious, though. When I was in college, a blackboard with actual chalk was the height of luxury.

Flight time

Back in the air! En route to Houston (via Salt Lake City) to look at a database my university is considering. Arriving at 1 AM, leaving at 6 PM the next day. Seventeen hours on the ground.

Dem bones

OK, so I work at a medical school. I walk by the bookstore every day. They've decorated the windows for Halloween. However, the windows were already full of medical props and body parts. Can you guess which of these things are Halloween decorations?

Dr. Ollivander's

At Hogwarts, the boys and girls go to Ollivander's to get their wands. At my new job, the students go to the bookstore for their stethoscopes. I like to see Ravenclaw all dressed up in their black and blue scrubs.