Gustav

My heart and prayers are with everyone who is in the path of Hurricane Gustav.  I hope everyone is able to evacuate safely.  At least 1.1 million people have evacuated south Louisiana.  More than 200,000 have left the area of New Orleans.  (Ed Anderson – The Times-Picayune)

For more information visit The Times-Picayune at www.nola.com

Gustav can be tracked at www.ibiseye.com

(www.nola.com)

Comair Flight 5191

August 27, 2008 marked the 2 year anniversary of the tragic crash of Comair Flight 5191.  The Atlanta bound plane crashed moments after takeoff out of Bluegrass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky.  49 of the 50 persons on board died.  The pilot took off the wrong runway.  I just wanted to take a moment to remember those who were lost and their loved ones.

http://www.kentucky.com/169/

(Michael Hayman/Louisville Courier-Journal, via Reuters)

New student move-in day

Today, Eastern Kentucky University will be opening the doors to the Class of 2012.  We expect over 2,000 new students to move in.  This is always a fun and crazy time for EKU as well as Universities and Colleges across the nation.  I always look forward to the beginning of the fall semester.  The campus is buzzin’ in the beginning of the year.  Facility Services have been working real hard over the summer to make our campus “The Campus Beautiful.”  Staff have been planning and preparing for all the new programs and providing excellent customer service.  Faculty are arriving, finalizing their syllabi for the fall semester.  All good things.  Welcome students.

Here are the activities for EKU’s New Student Days sponsored by First Year Programs.

Fall Convocation

This is the picture for EKU’s Fall Convocation, August 19, 2008.

(President Doug Whitlock, photo by Chris Radcliffe)

I think it is badass.

Olympics update

I am all about the Olympics.  The summer games in Beijing have captivated me since the Opening Ceremony on 08.08.08.  Of course the highlight of the Olympics so far for me has been Michael Phelps.  How can you not like and root this guy on?  The 4×100 m freestyle relay was simply amazing.  It just keeps getting better and better.  Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson won the gold and silver medals, respectively, in the women’s all-around.  The USA women’s gymnastics won the team silver medal a couple days prior.

“Michael Phelps is five-for-five in Beijing, winning gold and setting the world record in each of his events. In his first, on Aug. 10, Phelps won the 400m IM in 4:03.86, more than a second faster than the record he set a month earlier at Olympic Trials. The next day, Phelps and the U.S. team squeaked out a win in the 4×100m freestyle relay. Phelps’ leadoff leg of 47.51 was an American record, but anchor Jason Lezak dove in with more than a half-second deficit. Lezak posted the fastest relay split in history, 46.06, to catch Frenchman Alain Bernard for the win, by just .08 of a second. Phelps easily won the 200m free, for his third gold in Beijing and his record-tying ninth career gold. But he wasn’t tied for long, as the next morning, Phelps won two more gold medals: first, in the 200m butterfly, where the race was tighter than expected. But the only race in the 4×200m freestyle relay was for second, as the U.S. men, with Phelps leading off, broke the record by more than four seconds and beat the field by more than five.”  – NBC Olympics

(Reuters/David Gray)

(Reuters/Jerry Lampen)

BEIJING, Aug. 15, 2008 – Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, and Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, Iowa, won the gold and silver medals, respectively, at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, becoming the first U.S. women to go 1-2 in the all-around at an Olympic Games. Liukin joins Mary Lou Retton (1984) and Carly Patterson (2004) as the only U.S. women’s gymnasts to win an Olympic all-around title. – USA Gymnastics

BEIJING, Aug. 13, 2008 – The U.S. Olympic Team for women’s gymnastics claimed the team silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. The U.S. women finished with 186.525 points to earn their second consecutive Olympic team silver medal. China won the gold medal with 188.900 points, and Romania earned the bronze medal with 181.525 points.

“I feel proud of the USA and our team,” Johnson said. “We are proud of each other no matter what. I think that we represented USA very well.”

“My goal was to come out and know that at the end of the competition, I’d have no regrets,” Liukin said. “I definitely have no regrets. I’m happy with how everything went and to say that you have an Olympic medal is just amazing.”

“I’m definitely happy with silver,” said Memmel, who injured her ankle during training before the qualification round. “It’s the Olympic Games and we have a silver medal. The Chinese were the better team today. We had a few mistakes. The only disappointment for me was that I couldn’t contribute more to the team.”

“Leaving Beijing with a silver medal is such an honor,” Peszek said. “To have a medal hanging around my neck from the Olympics is remarkable. We’re all so proud of everyone.”

“You have good days and bad days, and I just wish that today was a good day for me,” Sacramone said. “My teammates were amazing today, but I just wish that my performance was a little better.”

“It’s amazing and having any medal is remarkable,” Sloan said. “We gave it our hearts, but China was just having a really good day today.” USA Gymnastics

(FIG photo)

Late advising & registration

Fall 2008 semester is right around the corner.  This is the time Academic Advising & Retention begins to feel it.  Those students who are new, transfer, or returning, who do not have a class schedule for the fall are finally realizing that it is August and classes will be beginning soon!  In fact, first day of classes at EKU are August 25.  We are doing our best to get those students advised and registered.  This week we have been seeing students in groups.  Career Services is gracious to let us use their classroom and computer lab.  We advise the students and then the students go into the computer lab so we can walk them through the registration process.  Class availabilities are not the greatest, however, we are doing a pretty good job getting students a full schedule.  I say that now, but lets see where we are at next week.  Should be fun.

2008 Olympic Games

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China kicks off tomorrow 08-08-08. I am actually looking forward to watching a bit of it. Although, most of the coverage I will watch will be taped, I think it still will be cool. There is a 12 hour time difference between Beijing and EST. So, although the Opening Ceremonies will be on TV at 7:30 pm tomorrow night, they actually begin tomorrow morning at 7:30 am. However, there will be lots of coverage on the web in real time. Check out these sites for more Olympic coverage:

http://en.beijing2008.cn/

http://www.nbcolympics.com/

www.ESPN.go.com/Olympic

Here is a widget to see video from the games.

2008 Olympics Video Coverage at NBC Olympics.com!

Gymnastics

Michael Phelps

“The Dream Team” (1992).  Not to be confused with the Redeem Team (2008).

In case you missed it

Here is footage of Tom Cruise on Oprah a few years ago.

Here is footage of Dane Cook on Jimmy Kimmel.

Hilarious.