Blogger was down this morning, and now it's back, but all posts since 5/11 have been removed. These kinds of issues were routine in 2002, when I first started to use Blogger, but for years I've rarely had a problem when I want to post. Looking at the status updates makes me realize that bugs are not uncommon, I just have good timing!

There are people in the ecommunity who hate Blogger; it's no different than any other popular software or hardware. There have always been people annoyed with and trashing AOL, Google, IBM, etc. and all their users, particularly once the services and users trend mainstream, old and unhip. If I cared, I would probably look into something else, but in economic terms, it's not worth the effort I'd have to expend.

Anyway, status says they are working on it, and will restore everything soon. So I'll take this an an omen to not take a break, instead I'll get back to grading and forgo making a new post right now. Happy Friday!

Later: Hmm. Supposed to be fixed? Yesterday's post is back, but comments are missing, and the tag is weird. Maybe it will take a little more time.

Still later: I tried to change the label, and the post became my newest post? Strange. So I copied and pasted it below.

This is my post from Thursday, May 12, 2011. 

Yesterday was my last day on campus for the semester, the day I clean up my office, go to the end of semester luncheon, change my telephone voice mail message, etc. It was a nice day at the end of a good semester, and much appreciated. There have been a few semesters where grading was so burdensome (ie, teaching six sections, two of which were huge; or my exotic portfolio assessment design) or other parts of life were calling (ie, Spring '09 and '10 at Albany Med) and I wasn't able to spend a day on campus. My automation of the assessments is really making a difference. (Fingers crossed, knock on wood.) This is when the hard drive dies! No, lesson learned and still remembered, all is routinely backed up on a flash drive. Or maybe this is when a time-consuming plagiarism case crops up? Perish the thought! The dean asked me yesterday if I'd found any this year. I had to think a moment, but the answer is no.

I will have to be there one more day at some point before my summer session class starts (late June), because I am part of the pilot who are upgrading our Blackboard courses and we are "required" to have training. Unless the training is a webinar (my preference), then no trips to campus for me until late August, but I suspect it will have to be FTF.

Not to be snotty, but I've been an early adopter for (almost) my entire working life. I'm an independent, self-directed learner, which is why I support online approaches. I've never needed much (or any) training to use software or courseware. I even know (more than) a few things about hardware. So training has always made me "itchy."

But I'll be "good" and attend a training. It will have other benefits, besides learning the new Blackboard. It's not a bad idea for me to be around people occasionally during the long summer break. I tend to slip into borderline agorophobia ~ and serious night owl syndrome otherwise.

I'm looking forward to gardening as soon as grading is done. It's going well but this weather is killing me! Once I am done it will probably turn rainy. The grass needs weed whacking again and that's what I want to be doing.

I have several other things I want to write about (ranging from Chaz on Letterman to some stream of consciousness on assessment and student demands to my usual animal rights schtick) but I have procrastinated enough already. Back to grades you slacker!