Month: August 2005

Morning Whip, August 25, 2005

#10: Which incarnation of The Doctor are you?
#9: Professor goes underground (undergrad)
#8: UMKC, K-State women’s basketball schedules
#7: Dakota NAIA conference looks at move to NCAA D-II
#6: Royals 4, Red Sox 3, 12 innings
#5: Fire phasers, Mr. Sulu!
#4: Robertson: Oops! Sorry!
#3: Iran…North Korea…Iran…North Korea
#2: Full text of Iraqi constitution
#1: War, death, and victory

Which incarnation of The Doctor are you?

For you Doctor Who[*1] fans–a quiz[*2] to determine which Doctor you are:

The Doctor… a renegade Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, roaming time and space in his stolen TARDIS, crusading for liberty, individuality, and civility wherever his adventures take him. This quiz will tell you which of the first seven Doctors (sorry, folks, I’m only using the ones with established bodies of televised stories) you most resemble.

Filbert discovers he’s the Fourth Doctor:

You are the Fourth Doctor: A walking Bohemian conundrum with a brooding personal magnetism and a first-rate intellect concealed somewhere beneath your charmingly goofy exterior. You are perhaps the most terribly clever of all the Doctors, though your occasional bouts of childishness get you in trouble. You never go looking for a fight, but when someone messes with you… good heavens, are they ever sorry they did.

via De Doc[*3] .

Professor goes underground (undergrad)

A Northern Arizona University professor goes native[*1] , enrolls as an undergraduate to find out how today’s students live:

(Northern Arizona University professor Cathy) Small said she found that students downplayed publicly the effort they put into assigned reading or papers, but when interviewed, many said they were interested in their course work.

Her surveys also found that only about a third of what students were talking and thinking about outside of class was based on their course work.

That finding has led Small to change her coursework to better connect to the real world and to skip reading assignments that don’t have a direct purpose.

Part of the trick to college life, she learned from good students, was being able to quickly decipher what work needed to be done and what could be skipped. Those management skills helped students balance classes, part-time work and involvement in volunteer or professional groups, Small said.

If professors are this out-of-touch with how their students on the same campus are living, how well do they understand what goes on in “the Real World” outside academia?

UMKC, K-State women’s basketball schedules

Missouri-Kansas City releases the Kangaroos’ women’s basketball schedule[*1] :

The UMKC women’s basketball team will play six doubleheaders along with the Kangaroo men’s basketball team in the 2005-06 schedule that was announced today. In addition, the team will face four teams that advanced to the 2005 post season as it will travel to Kansas State, Tulsa and Arkansas and Mid-Continent Conference champion Oral Roberts.

Kansas State’s women’s basketball schedule[*2] :

Overall, three non-conference opponents (Santa Clara, Houston, La. Tech) and five league opponents (Baylor, Iowa State, OU, Texas and Texas Tech) on this year’s slate reached the NCAA Tournament in 2004-05, while three (Creighton, Nebraska, Texas A&M) were selected to the postseason WNIT field. Televised games and remaining game times will be released at a later date.

Dakota NAIA conference looks at move to NCAA D-II

The Dakota Athletic Conference, currently in the NAIA, is considering a move up to NCAA Division II[*1] :

The eight remaining DAC members are Minot State, Black Hills State, Mayville State, Valley City State, Dickinson State, South Dakota Tech, Jamestown College and Dakota State. They will be comparing the NCAA and the NAIA, researching such issues as cost, competition, recruitment and enrollment.

“There are a lot of differences between the two,” (Minot State University athletic director Rick) Hedberg said. “The NCAA puts limits on recruiting and scholarships. There are travel costs to keep in mind. There are conference dues and scheduling concerns.”

Hedberg said that if the DAC decides to move to Division II, it likely would happen quickly.

Royals 4, Red Sox 3, 12 innings

Backhanded praise[*1] from a Boston paper:

Although they left their powder – Jonathan Papelbon and Jeremi Gonzalez – dry for tonight, the Red Sox suffered a dispiriting loss against a weak team with a pretty good bullpen.

They also wasted a chance to pick up a game in the American League East on the Yankees, who lost 9-5 to Toronto.

Royals need to go 22-16 to avoid 100 losses.

Fire phasers, Mr. Sulu!

U.S. may deploy anti-missile lasers on fighters as soon as 2007[*1] .

“We’ve combined the high energy density of the solid state laser with the thermal management of the liquid laser,” New Scientist quoted project manager Don Woodbury as saying.

Doug at Below The Beltway goes for the Star Wars metaphor[*2] instead. I suppose a Babylon 5 or Battlestar Galactica reference would be in order as well.

Robertson: Oops! Sorry!

TV preacher Pat Robertson apologizes for wanting Venezuela President Chavez “taken out”[*1] .

“Is it right to call for assassination?” Robertson said. “No, and I apologize for that statement. I spoke in frustration that we should accommodate the man who thinks the U.S. is out to kill him.”

Er, Pat, apparently there are some in the U.S. who do want to kill him . . .