Dr. Zhou: I've never seen an old man with muscles like that before."

I presented a chapter about electromyography in my psychophysiology class today. This was the opening slide:

The professor remarked that he'd "never seen an old man with muscles like that before." The whole thing seemed to be a big hit, though I was a little disappointed that Mary Katherine didn't attend class today for obvious reasons. This has the potential to be a favorite class; stay tuned.

A new old drum

It's not that I needed another snare drum, but this old Kent was impossible to pass up. The seller was parting with his collection (http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12817&d=1264905999) of 30 Kent snares and two Kent kits and was nice enough to separate two of the snare drums and sell them to me. I kept this red sparkle one and shipped its blue onyx cousin to Rob Edwards, who is now on the road with Days of the New.

Even with new heads and snares, I've got less than a hundred bucks total in this drum, so I don't feel that guilty for buying it. The biggest problem is that the shelving unit in my apartment is now completely full, which means that I can either take some more drums home to store at my dad's place or get another shelf, which of course will create the problem of empty shelf space that needs to be filled with more drums. It's a vicious, expensive cycle.

Santa sighting

Santa Claus is vacationing in Alabama and wearing a Hawaiian shirt. His popularity on campus is second only to that of coach Bear Bryant. I assume he didn't travel via reindeer as he is smart enough to realize that they would be shot on sight upon entering 'Bama airspace.

Fred receives the gift of warmth

Fred's Snuggie arrived in the mail today and Kristi reported that he wore it for five minutes with "no complaint." We'll see how long that lasts. Perhaps he'll put two and two together if he wears it outside and stays warm, but I'm doubtful. He never really was the smartest dog on the block. But he's certainly the cutest.

And yes, I deserve ridicule for buying an item that I once publicly mocked. So be it.

Fred report

Fred was apparently exhausted from a major day of playing with other dogs on Suday. Kristi was good enough to send me a photo of the aftermath and reported that he lounged all day today. Clearly, he remains the world's greatest dog.

Great Alabama blizzard of 2010

I made a snowperson from the few flakes that stuck to the top of my car this morning. You can see the accumulation on the street that was responsible for the university and many businesses closing today.

The orange hat that I put on my snowperson is an old guitar pick I found in the parking lot. It's there for scale more than anything.