Online voting (keep on keeping on)

For those who are still fighting for online unsecured voting:

Paul Einselen (IRHA, SG) is preparing to campaign this fall for unsecured voting. He's created a website to tie together his plans - most readers probably won't find any new information here, but it is an excellent resource for someone with a casual interest in the topic or a way to contact Paul if you have questions or would like to be involved in the campaign.

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A warm welcome to 2nd Floor as a Swamp Pundette blogger - head over there and check out their coverage of Detroit's mayoral race. I think you'll see some familiar UFSG...personalities reflected in the faces of the candidates.

Hey, Mr. Tangerine Man

It's almost time for the, uh, Outta Stater Gators and those who live where it's SO HOT right now!!! to make the long trip back to Gainesville for the start of the fall semester. Because I love to travel and also because of a weird recent abundance of weddings (great) and funerals (not so good) in my life, I have more Gville airport and road trip stories than I know what to do with...so I figured it'd be fun to talk about them for the next few days. If you have any of your stories of your own to share, please feel free to e-mail them to ufalleygator@gmail.com.

My favorite time to fly is at night. My least favorite time to fly is in the morning. So, in a moment of pure brilliance, I scheduled a flight for 6 am on a Monday morning. And the guy next to me wanted to talk.

I'm not exactly a good conversationalist when I'm half asleep, but I didn't mind listening. Pretty soon I realized that this guy had exactly one topic of conversation. It wasn't anything you'd expect from a perfect stranger - not the weather, not Gainesville, not work, not even the family he was going to visit (okay, so he did mention them in passing). No...this guy was obsessed with oranges. Actually, tangerines. (And if he knew what I just posted, you'd probably be treated to a kind but slightly dry lecture on the difference between the two.)

I learned more about tangerines then I ever thought anyone could learn about ANY subject on a 45-minute flight. Of course, I forget it all the second I stepped off the plane, but he was nice enough to give me a couple of his home-grown tangerines to take with me when we parted ways. I didn't even realize that people grew that type of fruit so far north (although I suppose Gainesville could have a booming business that I don't know about).

And I have to admit, they were pretty damn good.

Signed copies available MWF 6...

I am insanely jealous of those professors who, like several of mine this semester, write their own textbook(s) and require students to purchase these for their classes.

I mean, come on! Let's look at Mike Moulton of Wildlife Issues fame. He makes at least $70,000 a year and requires his students to buy a book and CD that's worth about $15 and is marked up to about $80. Let's say that with all he has to pay to his co-author, the publishing company, the bookstores etc. he only makes $10 per copy. (I just pulled that out of the air, so if anyone has a better knowledge of publishing than me, please feel free to correct me.) 600+ students a section, 2 sections a semester, 2 semesters a year? That's an extra $24,000 in a bad year.

Damn. Sign me up.

Not that anyone would hire me as a prof anyway...but a Gator can dream.

(A gentle disclaimer: This post is not meant to insinuate in any way that Prof. Moulton does not deserve whatever he does happen to make - despite the fact that his class is widely considered a "blowoff," he makes things interesting and is passionate and good at what he teaches.)

Better late than never

The Progress party has set up an online form with which students who support universal online voting (see the Unsecured Online Voting section of the SG Voting Options Forum blog) can contact their specific senator.

The amendment, offered by Susan Henriques, proposes that instead of banning universal online voting, the decision should be left to the Supervisor of Elections. According to Progress, the e-mail will ask senators to support the amendment but also to support the bill without the amendment as a step toward universal online voting (this second option will allow for secure online voting). They go on to say, "Senators NEVER get e-mails from constituents, so this could have a huge impact on their votes."

I'm not sure how much this will actually help, but it can't hurt - so if you support this bill and its amendment, head over to Progress's short form - it'll take no more than a minute to complete. Opponents will have to do a little more legwork but it's still worth it to take action since this is a decision that could quickly affect every student in a very tangible way.

EDIT: Gotta give credit to the Reitz Rambler for speed and...uh...excellence (yeah, I know that sounds cheesy, but I couldn't think of a better word!). Check out RR's take on this as well.

Young idealism

There's been a lot of freshman bashing going on in one of UF's LJ communities lately. It ranges from general to scarily specific and from pretty damn funny to just plain stupid. Some of the freshmen are even fighting back. Well, sort of.

So, the point of all these links? They represent a pretty typical attitude of several students, and there are probably even more who just don't care. I used to consider freshmen as students just like anyone else (who of course have the potential, at least during the first few weeks, to get lost far more than the rest of us.) I mean, it's been less than four years since most of us were freshmen ourselves, and that's not long at all.

But this week, I got an IM from an incoming freshman (we'll call her Suzie) who really opened my eyes to what's so great about this group of people. She found me on Facebook when searching for information on clubs she wanted to join. Suzie is amazingly excited about EVERYTHING, from her roommate to her classes to to football games to Gator Nights to UF's abundance of trees to the goddamn layout of the journalism building - she even told me that she has to pinch herself every so often when she's looking at pictures of the school because she just can't believe she's getting this opportunity.

Yeah, there are kids who walk around with their noses in the air and a sense of entitlement; there are Harvard rejects who carry their bitterness onto our campus; there are even students on scholarship who make it their top priority to let everyone know that they'd be somewhere oh-so-much-better if it weren't for the money. But for every one of these downers, there's someone like Suzie who is one of the reasons why our student body is, in general, so friendly and great.

So this fall when we get the big rush, pay attention to the new students, both freshmen and not (I already see many students stopping to help them out, so I guess this won't be a problem at all). They're really EXCITED to be in a place and that excitement can help stop us from taking it for granted. I know I'm making a big generalization, but it can only be good for all parties involved! Their idealism is at the least, heart-warming, and in its extreme cases, even inspiring.

Love and Theft and Basketball

Matt Walsh playing for the Miami Heat? I'm not sure what to think of this. I'm still a little aggravated with his premature decision to leave UF and his arrogant assurance (at least as portrayed by the media) that he would not only be picked in the NBA draft, but make it in the first round. See last week's slightly old but still good Alligator cartoon on the subject:


I think this summed up my previous feelings on the subject (and you gotta love the agent's hand). But the more time that passes since the signing of Matt Walsh's 2-year, over $1 million contract with the Heat, the more I realize that I just don't have it in me to root against a fellow Gator, whether he wants to be a Gator or not.

As much as I used to laugh at the Nationals (well, back then they were the Expos), I feel a certain sense of pride for those former underdogs (not such underdogs anymore, are they?!) every time Brad Wilkerson gets a hit or makes a great play. As indifferent as I usually am about soccer, I was still screaming and on the edge of my seat during last year's Olympics when Abby Wambach, Heather Mitts and their team got the gold.

And as angry as I am (or was?) at Matt Walsh and as much as I have always disliked the Heat, I have this nagging feeling that I'll be rooting for him next season. If he flubs it up and doesn't get to play, or if he's dropped like a hot potato once his two years are up, I know I'll be feeled with indignant rage.

But as soon as Walsh is finished with the Heat, and I sincerely hope that it's on his own terms, the team can go to hell. (Sorry, fans. Just wanted to make that clear.)

Efficiency? What?

Props to the UF Housing Department for switching from the old "we'll-send-you-your-roommate-assignment-which-may-or-may-not-get-lost-in-the-mail-a-full-month-AFTER-the-rooms-have-been-assigned" mentality to the 21st century. The Housing Department has announced that they will be sending roommate assignments out through e-mail on or around July 15. This has no real use besides giving the freshmen an opportunity to check out (or stalk, if you prefer) their roommates on Facebook a little earlier (sorry, I'm a little jealous of this class), but it's always nice to see progress being made and technology being utilized, whether it involves employee paychecks or random roommates.

And apologies to you for my lack of reliability. It'll increase tenfold in the fall, for reasons I'm afraid to divulge in the interest of keeping some anonymity around here. You can count on it.