Wednesday, February 28, 2007
speaking of
Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born March 20, 1904, in the small Pennsylvania town of Susquehanna. His father was a lawyer, and his mother a strong and intelligent housewife. His upbringing was old-fashioned and hard-working.
Burrhus was an active, out-going boy who loved the outdoors and building things, and actually enjoyed school. His life was not without its tragedies, however. In particular, his brother died at the age of 16 of a cerebral aneurysm.
Burrhus received his BA in English from Hamilton College in upstate New York. He didn’t fit in very well, not enjoying the fraternity parties or the football games. He wrote for school paper, including articles critical of the school, the faculty, and even Phi Beta Kappa! To top it off, he was an atheist -- in a school that required daily chapel attendance.
He wanted to be a writer and did try, sending off poetry and short stories. When he graduated, he built a study in his parents’ attic to concentrate, but it just wasn’t working for him.
Ultimately, he resigned himself to writing newspaper articles on labor problems, and lived for a while in Greenwich Village in New York City as a “bohemian.” After some traveling, he decided to go back to school, this time at Harvard. He got his masters in psychology in 1930 and his doctorate in 1931, and stayed there to do research until 1936.
Also in that year, he moved to Minneapolis to teach at the University of Minnesota. There he met and soon married Yvonne Blue. They had two daughters, the second of which became famous as the first infant to be raised in one of Skinner’s inventions, the air crib. Although it was nothing more than a combination crib and playpen with glass sides and air conditioning, it looked too much like keeping a baby in an aquarium to catch on.
In 1945, he became the chairman of the psychology department at Indiana University. In 1948, he was invited to come to Harvard, where he remained for the rest of his life. He was a very active man, doing research and guiding hundreds of doctoral candidates as well as writing many books. While not successful as a writer of fiction and poetry, he became one of our best psychology writers, including the book Walden II, which is a fictional account of a community run by his behaviorist principles.
August 18, 1990, B. F. Skinner died of leukemia after becoming perhaps the most celebrated psychologist since Sigmund Freud.
written by Dr. C. George Boeree
Burrhus was an active, out-going boy who loved the outdoors and building things, and actually enjoyed school. His life was not without its tragedies, however. In particular, his brother died at the age of 16 of a cerebral aneurysm.
Burrhus received his BA in English from Hamilton College in upstate New York. He didn’t fit in very well, not enjoying the fraternity parties or the football games. He wrote for school paper, including articles critical of the school, the faculty, and even Phi Beta Kappa! To top it off, he was an atheist -- in a school that required daily chapel attendance.
He wanted to be a writer and did try, sending off poetry and short stories. When he graduated, he built a study in his parents’ attic to concentrate, but it just wasn’t working for him.
Ultimately, he resigned himself to writing newspaper articles on labor problems, and lived for a while in Greenwich Village in New York City as a “bohemian.” After some traveling, he decided to go back to school, this time at Harvard. He got his masters in psychology in 1930 and his doctorate in 1931, and stayed there to do research until 1936.
Also in that year, he moved to Minneapolis to teach at the University of Minnesota. There he met and soon married Yvonne Blue. They had two daughters, the second of which became famous as the first infant to be raised in one of Skinner’s inventions, the air crib. Although it was nothing more than a combination crib and playpen with glass sides and air conditioning, it looked too much like keeping a baby in an aquarium to catch on.
In 1945, he became the chairman of the psychology department at Indiana University. In 1948, he was invited to come to Harvard, where he remained for the rest of his life. He was a very active man, doing research and guiding hundreds of doctoral candidates as well as writing many books. While not successful as a writer of fiction and poetry, he became one of our best psychology writers, including the book Walden II, which is a fictional account of a community run by his behaviorist principles.
August 18, 1990, B. F. Skinner died of leukemia after becoming perhaps the most celebrated psychologist since Sigmund Freud.
written by Dr. C. George Boeree
Monday, February 26, 2007
b.f. skinner has eaten my dinner
there's a body in that trunk.
this past weekend flew by, but it was fun. on friday night we had some beers at home and chilled out. it was nice. saturday morning saw us at cj's for a killer breakfast, then me at work and shea carting around amelia to all sorts of events going on. i think they made some art somewhere. then i got off from the shop and shea and amelia met me at home where we watched amelia and then watched something on the television. sunday i was up at 5:30 and got ready for our ride. todd was there at 7:30 and we drove to mobile to try the chickasabogue park thing again. this time we had no mechanical issues and no one got hurt. the weather was supposed to be wet, but ended up being beautiful outside. we got back to pensacola around 2-ish and went to shea's moms where everyone teamed up to make some killer fried grouper, cheese grits, salad, bacon wrapped asparagus, fried tofu, fried artichoke, and corn on the cob. i say "teamed up" but really shea and her mom did most of the work. they rule. so we ate and had some beers and then crashed for the most part.
i would like to say i have a bunch of pictures from my stellar weekend, but i haven't recharged my camera batteries in a while. better get to it.
this coming weekend we will be in destin at the condo for our anniversary. it is going to rule and i can't wait.
this past weekend flew by, but it was fun. on friday night we had some beers at home and chilled out. it was nice. saturday morning saw us at cj's for a killer breakfast, then me at work and shea carting around amelia to all sorts of events going on. i think they made some art somewhere. then i got off from the shop and shea and amelia met me at home where we watched amelia and then watched something on the television. sunday i was up at 5:30 and got ready for our ride. todd was there at 7:30 and we drove to mobile to try the chickasabogue park thing again. this time we had no mechanical issues and no one got hurt. the weather was supposed to be wet, but ended up being beautiful outside. we got back to pensacola around 2-ish and went to shea's moms where everyone teamed up to make some killer fried grouper, cheese grits, salad, bacon wrapped asparagus, fried tofu, fried artichoke, and corn on the cob. i say "teamed up" but really shea and her mom did most of the work. they rule. so we ate and had some beers and then crashed for the most part.
i would like to say i have a bunch of pictures from my stellar weekend, but i haven't recharged my camera batteries in a while. better get to it.
this coming weekend we will be in destin at the condo for our anniversary. it is going to rule and i can't wait.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
holy crap
today is my first day back at the office and it has been somewhat hectic, but not really. i had a minor amount of computer issues that needed resolving but that's about it.
our trip was fantastic. the only issue we had was on the way up my saris bones trunk rack had a minor issue with a stripped plastic bolt, but duct tape came to the rescue and we were back on track and it held up for the drive up.
once we arrived it pretty much became a stress free trip with the only thing on the agenda being the aquisition of a new bolt for the rack and seeing the whoremoans play on tuesday night. both items were accomplished and we had a boatload of fun doing everything else as well.
the first two nights we stayed with shannon and jo-jo. we stayed up drinking pbr until about 4:30 in the morning. and then came saturday. we all lounged around and recovered from the previous day until later toward the afternoon and evening when i rode over to the closest bike shop to begin my search for my bolt. after that we went to eat at a wonderful place called huey's and then went to see some bands play a show at the buccaneer. the only band from that night that i can recall the name of is the anti-curtains. they played the third set and set it off. after that we went back to crash. sunday saw us involved in bike rides, dog walks, drinking 40's on the front porch, checking into the motel6, going to eat downtown, walking around, and drinking more 40's back at the room. monday had us doing some other things, i think that was the day i actually found the shop with the replacement part i needed for the rack, then we played fetch with mable down on the river walk, then we got some sushi and some more 40's and went back to the hotel room. shannon didn't kick it with us on monday because she had band practice. tuesday we did some more wandering around with mable and some more beer drinking and i went on another bike ride into overton park. that place is pretty cool, makes for some nice riding and/or walking as i went home and woke shea and mable up and then dragged them back to overton park to walk around with me. since mable had been so well behaved we treated her to some crab and cream cheese wontons. she was stoked. tuesday night we went to see the vacant, the whoremoans, and the mansfields. the vacants were ok. they didn't seem too enthused about playing and it showed. but it was ok. the whoremoans kicked ass. the set they played was fun to watch and even included someone sawing the head off of some teddy bears. the mansfields were nuts, complete with their own lights and smoke machine. their set was great. after their last song shannon convinced them to play the ramones "the kkk took my baby away" while her and shea got to sing. then after that they started playing pipline which then turned into "dancing with myself" by billy idol. it was so good. some douche bag with a fake ass andy warhol haircut almost got his nose broken due to him acting like an asshole toward everybody and then saying something to shea about her taking pictures. i don't think he said anything else after she called him out for something and then he made another remark about pictures being taken and he turned around and saw it wasn't a girl but me instead. after that he was kind of quiet, so we ignored him and didn't let him ruin our fun. besides, no one wants to end up in jail in a strange city the night before you're supposed to leave, right?
all in all it was a great trip and i can't wait to move. i am going to get everything ready and lined up as quick as possible now.
our trip was fantastic. the only issue we had was on the way up my saris bones trunk rack had a minor issue with a stripped plastic bolt, but duct tape came to the rescue and we were back on track and it held up for the drive up.
once we arrived it pretty much became a stress free trip with the only thing on the agenda being the aquisition of a new bolt for the rack and seeing the whoremoans play on tuesday night. both items were accomplished and we had a boatload of fun doing everything else as well.
the first two nights we stayed with shannon and jo-jo. we stayed up drinking pbr until about 4:30 in the morning. and then came saturday. we all lounged around and recovered from the previous day until later toward the afternoon and evening when i rode over to the closest bike shop to begin my search for my bolt. after that we went to eat at a wonderful place called huey's and then went to see some bands play a show at the buccaneer. the only band from that night that i can recall the name of is the anti-curtains. they played the third set and set it off. after that we went back to crash. sunday saw us involved in bike rides, dog walks, drinking 40's on the front porch, checking into the motel6, going to eat downtown, walking around, and drinking more 40's back at the room. monday had us doing some other things, i think that was the day i actually found the shop with the replacement part i needed for the rack, then we played fetch with mable down on the river walk, then we got some sushi and some more 40's and went back to the hotel room. shannon didn't kick it with us on monday because she had band practice. tuesday we did some more wandering around with mable and some more beer drinking and i went on another bike ride into overton park. that place is pretty cool, makes for some nice riding and/or walking as i went home and woke shea and mable up and then dragged them back to overton park to walk around with me. since mable had been so well behaved we treated her to some crab and cream cheese wontons. she was stoked. tuesday night we went to see the vacant, the whoremoans, and the mansfields. the vacants were ok. they didn't seem too enthused about playing and it showed. but it was ok. the whoremoans kicked ass. the set they played was fun to watch and even included someone sawing the head off of some teddy bears. the mansfields were nuts, complete with their own lights and smoke machine. their set was great. after their last song shannon convinced them to play the ramones "the kkk took my baby away" while her and shea got to sing. then after that they started playing pipline which then turned into "dancing with myself" by billy idol. it was so good. some douche bag with a fake ass andy warhol haircut almost got his nose broken due to him acting like an asshole toward everybody and then saying something to shea about her taking pictures. i don't think he said anything else after she called him out for something and then he made another remark about pictures being taken and he turned around and saw it wasn't a girl but me instead. after that he was kind of quiet, so we ignored him and didn't let him ruin our fun. besides, no one wants to end up in jail in a strange city the night before you're supposed to leave, right?
all in all it was a great trip and i can't wait to move. i am going to get everything ready and lined up as quick as possible now.
i would like to send a huge amount of thanks and gratitude to shannon for letting us crash at her place for two nights and to jo-jo for keeping mable entertained for the entire time. i hope that sometime in the future we can return the hospitality that was shown to us.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
love life, ride bikes
i got some up on www.fixedgeargallery.com
amazing.
i wonder what they're thinking. i can't remember if that is the first thing i've sent to them or not. mostly just sketches of mable though. maybe i should send them something better, possibly something bike related.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
and that's the hand that fed me
last night we watched that movie "the last kiss" by the guy from scrubs. while i find scrubs a tolerable show to watch, the movie was sort of retarded. it did have a couple clear messages though:
one: it is true, around 90% of architects (based on my experience) are assholes, even in movies.
two: it is ok for you to cheat on your companion as long as you say you are sorry enough times and make an attempt at honesty. after that they have to forgive you, right? in reality it is almost the exact opposite, but who am i to complain about the little details?
and three: a toyota prius hybrid can kill a tree. watch the movie and you will see.
in other news, we're gearing up for our trip back to memphis on friday. we will be there for longer than a weekend this time. we are planning on staying six days, three couch surfing and three in a hotel. among our activities we will be passing along our resume's, checking out the sights of the city, looking for a new place to call home, riding bikes, walking dogs, and more than likely drinking beers.
again in other news, with some spare time on friday and monday i managed to mail out 23 more envelopes filled with sketches, drawings, stickers, and other assorted stuff. maybe i'll start writing this blog address on the envelopes so people can check this thing out and then tell me to stop mailing my garbage to other people for them to throw away. wouldn't that be funny? you know, it might not be a bad idea to start taking some pictures of more of the stuff i mail out. one day when i can remember to charge the batteries for my camera.
one: it is true, around 90% of architects (based on my experience) are assholes, even in movies.
two: it is ok for you to cheat on your companion as long as you say you are sorry enough times and make an attempt at honesty. after that they have to forgive you, right? in reality it is almost the exact opposite, but who am i to complain about the little details?
and three: a toyota prius hybrid can kill a tree. watch the movie and you will see.
in other news, we're gearing up for our trip back to memphis on friday. we will be there for longer than a weekend this time. we are planning on staying six days, three couch surfing and three in a hotel. among our activities we will be passing along our resume's, checking out the sights of the city, looking for a new place to call home, riding bikes, walking dogs, and more than likely drinking beers.
again in other news, with some spare time on friday and monday i managed to mail out 23 more envelopes filled with sketches, drawings, stickers, and other assorted stuff. maybe i'll start writing this blog address on the envelopes so people can check this thing out and then tell me to stop mailing my garbage to other people for them to throw away. wouldn't that be funny? you know, it might not be a bad idea to start taking some pictures of more of the stuff i mail out. one day when i can remember to charge the batteries for my camera.
Friday, February 02, 2007
polar opposites
so i have been working like crazy lately. i have been pulling twelve hour days and i'm on day twelve straight without a day, or even an afternoon off. i know i have probably been irritating everyone with work complaints too. i apologize to everyone that i know and talk to and who reads this too. it's probably only shea, but i'm not sure she even reads this. anyway, i just went downstairs to get a print and we have two twelve packs of beer kicking it for everyone's enjoyment. you know, sometimes things just aren't as crappy as they seem. and people don't always suck as much as they have the potential to. it is a rare happening so i am going to appreciate and be thankful while i can.
this busch is for me.
this busch is for me.
while you were out
shea made us some kick ass fried tofu sandwiches the other evening. the were very, very good. as usual.
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