A Library Dream

Posted on 19 July 2023 by RobertLovesPi

I just woke up from an afternoon nap, and was having a strange dream. It was the beginning of Summer, and I was working on a second master’s degree at UALR — and working at the UALR Ottenheimer Library again, where I worked in real life from 1988 to 1992, as an undergraduate. It was my first day back in the job, and I was getting there at about 12:45, with my shift starting at 1:00 pm. I was also bringing a fancy pot for a pepper plant. Upon arrival, I put all my stuff away, said hello to Tony (my boss there, and a friend), looked at the schedule, and saw, to my dismay, that I was supposed to be there from 7:00 am to noon. I wasn’t early — I was very late! There was nothing left to do but apologize to Tony, which I did. At that point, I woke up.

Deadname Trans Kids, or Lose Your Jobs, Arkansas Teachers! Here’s a Legal Way to Push Back.

Posted on 16 July 2023 by RobertLovesPi

A new law in Arkansas is going to force teachers to “deadname” their trans students when school starts next month, unless we have parental consent to use their new, preferred name. To say I’m angry about this would be an understatement. I’m caught between doing the right thing for the students I serve, and staying out of trouble because of extremist anti-trans laws the Arkansas Legislature passed just a few weeks ago. This is not a comfortable situation.

However, there is a way we teachers can legally show our support for our trans kids: by putting the stuffed shark Blåhaj (pronounced “blaw-high”), a new trans icon, on display in our classrooms. It marks our classrooms as safe places for trans students. For more detail regarding this soft, plushy, stuffed shark, simply follow this link: https://www.newsweek.com/how-ikea-shark-became-trans-icon-1753400?fbclid=IwAR3HSIw2l6fgV-zjkvuLsBkjClva_ACuZkPY4x3xcmLCPLJBLXzarC9XA9o.

My 1987 Visit to the Golden Gate Bridge

Posted on 16 July 2023 by RobertLovesPi

(Photo credit: CNN.)

After my freshman year of college, in 1985-86, I dropped out of college (temporarily, as it turned out), and went hitchhiking around the Western U.S. during the next school year. (Important disclaimer: this is not a recommended mode of travel!) One of the highlights of these journeys was my visit to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. Having no car, I walked across this famous bridge, starting from the San Francisco side. It is an awesome landmark, with an incredible view. I stopped half-way across, and sat there on the bridge’s walkway for maybe half an hour, watching the waves in San Francisco Bay, as well as looking over the bridge at the Pacific Ocean. After sitting for that time, enjoying the view, I got up, and resumed my walk north, across the bridge to Marin County.

Months later, after returning home to Arkansas, I ran into statistics like these I just looked up, using Google: there were 31 suicides in 1976 from people jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge, 24 in 1980, and so on. I wondered: how exactly did they know? Do they just count bodies that wash up on the shore, or is there a guy with a yellow legal pad and a pencil, in a small office at the base of the bridge, getting paid by the City and County of San Francisco to watch for, and count, jumpers? And, if there is such a guy, what was he doing when I sat in the middle of the bridge in 1987 for half an hour? Was he watching me with binoculars? Was he saying to himself, perhaps out loud, “I wish that jerk up there in the black t-shirt would make up his mind, already! Jump, or get off the bridge! I’m late for my lunch break, AND I have to go to the bathroom!”

At no point have I ever been suicidal, but I still laugh thinking about that hypothetical guy with the yellow legal pad. Dark humor is, in my opinion, the best kind.

The 24K Gold Burger

Posted on 14 July 2023 by RobertLovesPi

This is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen on a restaurant menu . . . on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, at a place called The Sugar Factory. No one in our party ordered it, and I’m glad — due not just to the $150 price tag, but also because this burger contains real gold leaf, and gold is not safe to ingest. The total amount of gold on the burger would be less than a gram, since gold leaf is extremely thin, but it could be a hazard to people who alreadly have heavy metals, such as lead, thallium, or mercury, in their bodies. Heavy metals are not meant to be eaten, so I had a turkey burger, instead.

A much better place to eat on the Riverwalk is Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub — tasty food, live music, and much more reasonable prices.

Abraham Lincoln, on Elections

Image

Playing Gothic Chess (Also Known as Trice’s Chess)

Posted on 20 June 2023 by RobertLovesPi

Gothic chess (an invention of Ed Trice’s) is played like regular chess, except there are two new pieces, and a wider board (and extra pawns) to accomodate them. In the image shown above (which I found with a Google-search), the piece between the king and queen is called the chancellor, and can move like a rook or a knight. The piece between the king and the king’s bishop is called the archbishop, and it can move like a knight or a bishop. The only other difference between gothic chess and regular chess is that the king moves three spaces when castling, instead of two.

I’ve known about this game for years, but have had trouble finding people to play against me on my physical set. However, I just learned that there’s now a free download of an A.I. that plays the game, at https://gothicchess.info/programs_01.shtml, and that program cleaned my clock swiftly in my first game against it. While the download is free, donations to Trice are accepted and appreciated. I’ve donated $10, but you can choose whatever amount you prefer.

My Sanity Pill

Posted on 4 June 2023 by RobertLovesPi

This is a ball-and-stick molecular image (found on Wikipedia) of an olanzapine (Zyprexa) molecule. It’s the medication prescribed, by my psychiatrist, to treat Brief Psychotic Disorder, which I’ve had, secretly, for years.

When I take my meds as prescribed, I’m an atheist and a skeptic. In this state, I can easily handle many science and mathematics problems, well enough to teach at the high school level in both subject fields. If I miss a dose or two, however, one of the first set of symptoms that appears is religious beliefs, seemingly coming out of nowhere.

Later, when I’m medicated again, it becomes clear that those religious beliefs were actually delusional. I don’t think I’ve ever had a non-delusional religious belief.

I try, hard, not to miss doses.

Cave Pictures From Our Vacation

Posted on 25 March 2023 by RobertLovesPi

We just got back from a vacation to Texas. One of the fun things we did there was visiting Inner Space Cavern in Georgetown, where I took these pictures.

The Latest Episode (With Bandit the Kitten and The Flaming Lips)

Posted on 9 March 2023 by RobertLovesPi

So we’re watching the latest episode of Star Trek: Picard tonight, as we do every Thursday night, when Bandit the Kitten decides to tear a gash in my leg with his incredibly sharp claws.

I waited until the show was over before pouring rubbing alcohol on it, which, of course, stung quite sharply,

In that moment of stinging, I realized that there’s a song for this occasion. It’s by The Flaming Lips.

My favorite lines in this song, “The Gash,” form a question: “Will the fight for our sanity / Be the fight of our lives?” With this kitten here in our apartment, it just might be exactly that.

My 2023 Birthday Star

Posted on 12 January 2023 by RobertLovesPi

Today is the day I turn 55, so here is a 55-pointed star to mark the ocassion. It’s composed of eleven five-pointed stars, which works because (5)(11) = 55.