I'm sitting here in the University Center (dubbed 'the U.C.' which having come from a U.C. is confusing), fifteen minutes before my 9am Computer Music class, relazing and drinking my first chai in over a month.

Things are really settling in, and I'm enjoying the warm weather (94 degrees yesterday!) in the absence of the earlier high humidity. The cicada have all died off, and night has been reclaimed by the crickets. I can feel the days getting shorter, yet the perpetually forecasted 72 degree days are always several days off, replaced by scorchers as the days roll on.

All's well in Kevinland at the moment, and I'm doing cross-country-trippage video-editing in the off-hours. I dreamed that it snowed last night, and that day will probably come sooner than I expect.

Just wanted to wish everyone a pleasant morning, while most of my readers are probably still asleep...

I'm really starting to settle in to Pittsburgh. Not that I don't miss home, but the apartment's really come together nicely. I'm making a lot of friends, and even the weather's been cooperating, with humidity in the 30s instead of the 80s. Even so, it's supposed to be 90 degrees out today.

So in addition to the eternal classwork, this is a week of web consolidation (where have we heard that before?). As soon as I tidy my apartment, I'll shoot some video, which should give a better feeling than photos of exactly how everything's laid out, and what it's like.

I'm also working on the cross-country travellogue, starting with a brief 'farewell to the Palazzo' video I shot in my completely empty apartment, moments before Ammy and I hit the road on our journey.

Don't worry, the stories will all be told...

Err, I mean the Mole in The Weakest Link.

After appearing on the show last week (to be aired in several months) he posted an exposé on just what it's like to film a half-hour game show.

Really interesting stuff. It reminds me of Jepoardy, where they instruct the audience to 'fast-clap' so it sounds like they have more people there...

I went to the CMU Ballroom Dance Club's first meeting of the semester last night and it was a blast. Though in form and nature it was almost identical to the UCBD lessons I took five years ago, but my experience here was completely different, because somewhere over those intervening five years I actually learned how to dance. Not necessarily specific dances, but just the general comfort of dance.

It's like learning to play the piano. Learning to dance isn't about learning one kind of dancing, say foxtrot, then learning another, say cha-cha. Learning that way is like learning to play the piano by learning one song, then another song, and another and so on until you're a pianist. No, it's far more effective to learn how to play the piano, then learn songs.

I suppose that's how general dance classes work, but sadly 'pick-up' lessons, like those taught in most clubs, have to cater to all points in the learning curve, so they just teach you the specific dance, like teaching a specific melody.

The good side of this is that nowadays I can pick up these dances in a snap. Lead/Follow ratio was about 1.2:1, which isn't bad, but if UCBD is any indication, it'll oscillate over the course of the semester.

In the absence of a dance-focused circle of friends (I miss Plough/Gaskells/Peers/FNW) I'm also planning on attending the Saturday competition team lessons. It looks to be a fun group, and though I've never tried competition ballroom, it could be a lot of fun.

Only they all do Rotary Waltz out here, not Viennese. We'll have to see what can be done about that.

That, and I'm considering teaching some Irish set dancing... (Ammy? Any advice on a lesson plan? It's been forever since I've spent time in the beginning class at Plough... Oh, and I might need my Starry Plough dance book after all! We'll see...)

A linguist at Temple University in Philly has come out with a paper spelling out the evolution and relevance of the slang term, 'like.'

Telling us GenX/Yers what we've known for, like, ever, it goes into reasons why 'like' is just as valid a word as any other.

Personally, I'm waiting for the inevitable copycat theses addressing such high-minded terms as 'was all' (eg. "And she was all, 'don't go there.'"), 'shiznit' 'hella' 'moted' (thanks Mellie for reminding me of that Valley gem!) and my new favorite: 'yinz.'

My favorite are the highly regional words (like moted and yinz). 'Sosh,' apparently revived from the '60s was another real-world valley girl fave. Got any of your own?

It's always a good idea to ask the pros about things I don't know enough about: How to Glue Stuff to Other Stuff.

Useful surprisingly often.

(link kudos to filepile...)

(I only wonder what kind of googles that title will attract...)

Crystal pointed me to an interesting Amazon photo and review of Harry Potter's Nimbus 2000 broomstick. Check out the last (as of now, anyhow) review.

I'm not sure which is funnier: the visual, or the fact that the reviewer only rated it one out of five stars for educational value!

On a related note, Amazon is getting a little too touchy-feely, as their most recent 'new for you' email to me reveals.

I like that in Pittsburgh, they don't care on which side of the street you park. In residential areas, at least, I can pull in to a space facing the wrong way and nobody cares.

I wonder (and would be very curious to hear) about the experiences and perspectives of folks who have September 11th as a birthday.

Do you feel overshadowed? Is your birthday forever tarnished, or do you think it will become a badge of distinction? Speaking as a real-live nephew of my Uncle Sam, with a Labor Day sister, a Christmas grandmother, a Bastille Day grandfather, not to mention off-by-one Valentine's Day dad and Halloween stepsister, I especially wonder how this particular day of distinction will evolve in the coming decades.

Of course it's too early to tell, but I'd love to hear opinions from those born on or near 9/11.

The San Francisco was a great success. It felt so good seeing folks, and everything scheduled out just right!

I liken it to a booster vaccination. The first dose of SF primes your system, but the booster dose a month later innoculates you for a good long while.

Which is good, because I probably won't be back 'till the Holidays, when I'll be there for around 3 weeks!

Oh yes, and taking the redeye home is stupid if you have class that morning, especially when you're in a center seat, forget your earplugs in your checked bag, and didn't even think about an eyemask because you couldn't foresee the bright LCD screen up near the overhead lights giving in-flight entertainment to the 4 people (including the 2 year old right behind me) who aren't trying to get sleep on the flight.

The couch in the HCII offices is comfy, or failing that, horizontal and soft. Mmmm. Home soon. (Heh, 'home.' How'd that happen?)