Wow. That is the longest break I have taken from making posts here since I started this in March 2002. Not that I didn't have ideas, when I did either the Internet wasn't convenient, or I had other priorities.

This summer, the university switched to PeopleSoft, and now faculty can enter grades online. No more handing in bubble forms at the last minute, after the Registrar has closed, at Public Safety! But just as I was about to submit grades on Thursday (the deadline, of course), "Northeast unplugged." Friday morning, power restored, I snap on my network (I have a little two-computer arrangement, could that drain be the straw that broke the camel’s back? But I kept most lights and other unnecessary appliances off, though, just to be a good citizen) and the two machines operate very nicely independently, but there are no network drives, no printing, and no Internet.

Five hours and many iterations of “Restart,” “Skip this step,” “Uninstall,” “Add new hardware” later, it was nothing more serious than corrupt drivers and I was back in business at home. The university, however, was not. I guess that stupid Blaster virus followed by the power failure was too much.

Off to Samsonville (where two recent power outages meant the contents of the refrigerator/freezer hit the garbage) for the weekend. Meaning that back in Castleton this morning, all systems seem to be working everywhere, and I finally submitted the grades!

As the semester draws closer, advisement has started to pick up. I will be teaching three sections of class this Fall, and so soon I will have to get started preparing. But during the next two weeks, there will be a few days just for writing. So I'll start to catch up.

The garden is producing. I think the yield of cucumbers and zucchini will be fine this year, but the beans and tomatoes are off. The plants look good, but too much rain, not enough sun, who knows what else. I am starting to get ripe tomatoes, finally, though.