When I saw an ad for Adjunctopia in my Gmail, I thought about a recent post at Dean Dad's, in which he wrote:

there’s a hefty chunk of change to be made for some enterprising type who sets up shop in an area with lots of colleges and establishes a temp agency for adjuncts. “I need a cultural anthropologist, stat!” Anybody who has ever chaired a department with significant numbers of adjuncts knows that there’s always that one last section to staff two days before the semester begins, it’s full of students, and absolutely nobody can take it. A temp agency for adjuncts – call it Kelly Profs – could be the number a harried chair could call. “Hello, Kelly Profs? I need three daytime sections of freshman comp covered, starting Tuesday. No problem? Wow! Thanks, Kelly Profs!” Dollars to donuts, someone does this in the next five years. Hell, if I had the entrepreneurial zeal and absolutely no soul, I’d do it myself.)

Looks like they've been online since at least 2002.

• In my composition courses this semester (two FYC and one Advanced Composition), the first assignment is a list-style composition after the style of Being Poor, preferably engaging the local setting -- life in Greenville or North Carolina. The first-year students are doing this as a collaborative assignment. As I've said before, I think there's really something to the list as form that makes it especially participatory. Notice how many people built on the White Privilege Checklist (links) and the 350+ comments at the "Being Poor" post, many of which contribute to the list. There was also a separate response to "Being Poor" which I'm assigning along with several other list compositions. The idea is that in the first-year classes, students have to get to know each other enough to find some common ground, so that each one can contribute points to the list. Hopefully it'll go well.
• In reading some back columns of Dear Margo, I was a little disappointed with her advice to a coworker of a new mother. How about, "Ask the company to provide her a separate space so she doesn't have to pump in the bathroom in the first place"? (The woman was pumping in the bathroom and making business calls at the same time, and the Dear Margo advisee was uncomfortable flushing when someone was on the phone.)
• My fear of flying has been renewed.
• I had an awful dream last night. My left arm had been torn off at the shoulder somehow, and I was holding it with my other arm. It was heavy, and I couldn't lift it high enough and hold it steady enough to set the bone. I thought, "I'm going to have to find a doctor to do this, and it's going to hurt."
• I'm close to finishing the knitting project I've been working on for SUCH a LONG time and getting sidetracked from: a felted handbag. I'll post pictures if it looks okay.

Now Fantastico can install Drupal with one click. Here's proof. I was even able to download a bunch of Drupal themes and install them easily. If only upgrading were that easy.

Finding this out is a lifesaver -- just in time for my fall classes (two sections of first-year composition and one section of advanced composition).

I suppose the world needed this:

Last seen at New Kid's: Go here and look through random quotes until you find 5 that you think reflect who you are or what you believe.

1. If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there and worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the loss of sleep.
   Dale Carnegie
2. Live simply that others might simply live.
   Elizabeth Seaton
3. Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
   Dr. Seuss (1904 - 1991), The Lorax
4. Wherever you get near the human race, there's just layers and layers of nonsense.
   Thornton Wilder (1897 - 1975)
5. I am not a star. A star is nothing more than a ball of gas.
   Elijah Wood

So it seems that my blog got changed all of a sudden to display my entries in chronological rather than reverse chronological order, BUT ONLY WHEN I'M LOGGED IN. If I'm logged out, everything's fine. I'll get to the bottom of this, but until then, I'm leaving this post sticky on the front page. I've poked around and poked around, but I can't find how to change this setting. How is it looking to you when you're logged in versus when you're logged out? Drupal folks, do you know how I can fix this?

Update: Seems this only affects admins, so other logged in users should see the content in the right order.

So today I did my defense and passed; I guess that means I'm either with PhD or that much closer to being. Hooray for me!

I've known Jason for going on three years now, and it doesn't surprise me at all that he's biking across Canada to raise money to fight AIDS. I encourage all of you to donate to the cause and circulate the link to their site. Here's Jason's announcement:

Hi everyone,

I'm currently cycling across Canada this summer and am stopping in
Toronto for the XVI International AIDS Conference. 4,500 km have been
completed and there are another 3,000 km to go. This week we are trying
to spread the word as much as possible about the bike ride so that we
can reach our fundraising goal of $50,000 for bicycle ambulances in
Malawi, Africa. If you can, please consider donating to this very
worthy cause and help pass this email along to your friends and family.

Thanks!
-- Jason

My name is Jason Shim and I'm biking across Canada with Kylie Hicklenton
to raise money for bicycle ambulances in Malawi, Africa. These bicycle
ambulances will help transport AIDS patients from isloated villages to
local health clinics. I do not have AIDS. I do not know anyone who has
AIDS. All I have are the tragic stories that have been told and retold
by people who have been there and witnessed how this disease devastates
communities. I am 23 years old. If I lived in a rural village in
Malawi, Africa I could expect to live another 14 years. If I had a
child, there is a 1 in 4 chance that they would not live to see their
5th birthday.

Imagine what it's like to be suffering from HIV/AIDS in an isolated
village. You cannot get the medical help you need because you cannot
afford to pay someone to drive you there. This is a reality for many
people living in rural villages in Malawi. It can take several hours to
walk to a local health clinic that is 15 km away. This time can be cut
down to a mere 40 minutes with the help of a bicycle attached to a
portable stretcher. This time can mean the difference between life or death.

As we bike across Canada, we spend about 8-10 hours each day on the
road. The journey is over 7,000 km and through blistering summer heat,
rain and mosquitos, we cross our great nation. I have to admit, at
times it can be tough, but each day we remind ourselves of one thing:

We ride our bikes to raise money so that others can ride bikes to save
lives.

There is where you come in. Our goal is $50,000. Does it sound like a
lofty goal? It is. But perhaps not when you shift your perspective and
see it as 1,000 donations of $50. Or 5,000 donations of $10. Or 10,000
donations of $5. This email is being sent out to 200 people. If each
of you donates just $5 and forward this to 10 people who are also
willing to donate $5, we will meet our goal.

We have donated much of our own time, money and energy to this project,
but this all means nothing without you. We need your support and
encouragement. Please take a moment to visit our website at
http://www.bikeacrosscanada.ca, donate and post a comment every now and
then. We read every single comment and though we may not always respond
immediately, it always cheers our spirits to hear from friends, family
and strangers. If you can, please donate and encourage others to do the
same!

Thank you for your generous support and encouragement!

Jason Shim
jason@bikeacrosscanada.ca
http://www.bikeacrosscanada.ca