Update

Today I was taken away and locked up! Thank you all for helping raise bail for me. Today I raised $80, 10% of my personal goal for Jerry's Kids. That is enough to pay for 1 minute of research, or 3 flu shots (with come change left over). Thank you everyone! If you forgot and still want to donate, my website is still open to securely take money.

Roll Tide!

Ok, I'll admit it. I LOVE FOOTBALL. College football to be precise. Which leads to faux debates with J about college vs. professional. I like the screwups and the bad seasons. I think the skill and unseasoned-ness of college students is awesome. It probably comes from having this thing for wanting to work with college students and see them be successful. Anywho, I know I'm right that college football "rawks!", so to speak.

That's not excatly the point of this post. The point is, I'm going to 'Bama this weekend to watch the USC beat Alabama (I know, in my dreams, cuz 'Bama is having a great season so far). So I'm going to watch the game in Alabama... on TV. Yup, I'll be watching from Birmingham, but I'll be cheering for the Gamecocks. Go Gamecocks!

So weeks ago, I signed up to help raise money for Jerry's Kids, a part of the MDA, or the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I have a week and a half before I'm thrown in Jail. Here's what you can do: go to https://www.joinmda.org/aiken2009/annev and donate. It's that easy. Please consider giving a little (or a lot). So you know how much of a difference just a little bit of money makes, I've included a chart of what donations go towards:
* $30 - Flu Shot
* $82 -1 Minute of Research
* $100 - Support Group Session
* $800 - Child to MDA Summer Camp
* $2,000 - Assist with Wheelchair or Leg Braces
* $4,000 - Cabin of 5 friends at MDA Summer Camp

If just 3 people donate $10, together they can help pay for a flu shot and help these kids stay healthy. My Goal is to send a child to the MDA Summer Camp, so I'm trying to get to $800 dollars.

Fall Break Thursday

I love students. But sometimes, a small break from them like fall break can be rejuvinating and refreshing. I'm already off to a good start this morning and I'm excited to get more stuff done, like grading final exams. (If you're one of my students, the good news if I'm half way through grading your finals. The bad news is I'm not posting grades until Monday).

Fall is starting to be kinda nice here in South Carolina, but unfortunatly it's just not that good of a season here. The leaves kinda change, but they also do that when we have drought conditions. No, the season I really, really like in the South is Spring. There's so many beautiful things blooming at that time, that it catches your breath with the beauty surrounding you. Sorry Southern Fall, you lose to Southen Spring.

USCA's Small Obsession

So I came back to campus today and found this gem in my email from a faculty member on campus:

Yes, that is an Albino Squirrel. Like anything albino, apparently these are pretty rare. I guess something must be in the water because this is the second Albino Squirrel to take up residence on the campus. Our last Albino Squirrel died last spring. and the death was verified, as someone found the dead animal on the ground.