Random Thoughts Thread

[happyone]

This goes under the category that the world is a small place

While down in Cedar City for our annual trip to the Shakespeare Festival, we took some time to drive up to Cedar Breaks National Monument. I personally like it better than Bryce Canyon - higher, deeper, the same type of rock formations and colors, and most importantly NOBODY (well almost nobody) is there!

Anyway when we were at the main view point and starting talking with the two other couples that were there. Turns out they were from Savanah Ga. I mentioned that my nephew's first duty station in the Army was at Ft. Stewart. (he PCS'd from there to Korea about 4 yrs ago) They asked his name and When a told them the said they had baby sat his kids. Appearently Ft. Steward is in their ward. Turns out the wife is still facebook friends with his wife.

FTR the Festival was excellent as usual. If you get the chance the opening scene of Twelfth Night is worth the trip, it is amazing. They grafted the opening (shipwreck) scene from The Tempest on to it and the lead actress does the shipwreck with gymnastic silks. Visually stunning. Hamlet is also very good - they move the "to be or not to be..." speech back in the play from where it usually is and thought it worked. I thought Triolis and Cressida was the most though provoking.

[Copelius]

Overheard at education week:

I never go to the marriage help classes. I think Ihave a great marriage, and Idon't want to find out what's wrong with it.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Overheard at education week:

Tough to argue with that logic.

[Northwestcoug]

We are visiting my son who works at a resort in a remote part of Vancouver island. He’s told us that they see bear regularly and that we should come see. He was right. The first day we arrived we were driving to our air bnb and I hit a bear cub crossing the road

we pulled over and tried to call animal rescue but they had no after hours service. We turned around and drove past it, and I noticed it was still breathing. This was threatening to put a damper on our whole stay here. I was already starting my internal monologue about it was a complete accident and these outcomes are inevitable when humans and wildlife are thrown together. And that even if the cub wasn’t hit by me survival odds are still iffy. But as we watched amazingly the cub got up and walked away. It might have had a limp or it was just concussed, but it managed to walk away from the road and into the trees. We then put it together that we hadn’t technically run over it; it just ran into the side of our car and it got knocked over.

anyways that cub is still probably not long for this world, as wolves have been reintroduced in this area. And I still have a few pangs of sorrow about watching it lumber back into the forest. But at least it still has a fighting chance. My guilt is mostly assuaged, and the rest of our short vacation has been salvaged!

[Jeff Lebowski]

Oof. That is sad.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Holy cow!

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[Pelado]

Holy cow!

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Are prospective students finally figuring out that Tuscon is hot?

[All-American]

Declining freshman enrollment means admission standards will have to drop. Maybe my moron kid can get into BYU after all.

[Northwestcoug]

Are prospective students finally figuring out that Tuscon is hot?

It's all relative. Sometimes we'd head down to Tucson instead of melting quicker in a Phoenix summer.

[Green Monstah]

Holy cow!

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I was just talking about ASU vs. U of A with my brother at lunch. He's an ASU grad and was shocked that I think ASU has overtaken UofA as the flagship university in AZ. He pointed to ASU's huge number of online programs and how he feels his degree is diluted by that.

I told him that if you were an entrepreneur or an engineer and wanted a better chance at a bright future, I think I'd pick ASU. Their President, Michael Crow, has been a rock star--dancing on the razor's edge of improving quality and perception AND accessibility. I'm sure there are programs in Tucson that are better, but the days of settling for ASU are over.

As a sidenote, I think in 20 years, we'll have the same coversation about UT and aTm, but that has more to do with the cult-like love Aggies have for their school, and the amount of money they're willing to donate to it to assuage their clear inferiority complex vis-a-vis the "tea sips." (also-they have room to grow, and UT is hemmed in).

[PaloAltoCougar]

I was just talking about ASU vs. U of A with my brother at lunch. He's an ASU grad and was shocked that I think ASU has overtaken UofA as the flagship university in AZ. He pointed to ASU's huge number of online programs and how he feels his degree is diluted by that.

I told him that if you were an entrepreneur or an engineer and wanted a better chance at a bright future, I think I'd pick ASU. Their President, Michael Crow, has been a rock star--dancing on the razor's edge of improving quality and perception AND accessibility. I'm sure there are programs in Tucson that are better, but the days of settling for ASU are over.

As a sidenote, I think in 20 years, we'll have the same coversation about UT and aTm, but that has more to do with the cult-like love Aggies have for their school, and the amount of money they're willing to donate to it to assuage their clear inferiority complex vis-a-vis the "tea sips." (also-they have room to grow, and UT is hemmed in).

Something ASU's doing that I'd love BYU to copy is their Mirabella program that provides for on- or near-campus living for seniors who can take classes and who teach and mentor young students.

[MartyFunkhouser]

Higher education is broken in this country. I have a hard time encouraging my son to go to college at this point.

[Northwestcoug]

update on the bear cub. The town’s local Facebook group posted pics of a mother bear and two cubs. I’m going to choose to believe that the cub I hit is still alive and recovering.

[Jeff Lebowski]

update on the bear cub. The town’s local Facebook group posted pics of a mother bear and two cubs. I’m going to choose to believe that the cub I hit is still alive and recovering.

Could be. I hit a deer once with my car and the crazy thing got to its feet and took off.