Welcome back students; so long summer

Well, after a few months of sunny days and nearly catatonic traffic levels at campus hotspots, the Texas Tech is bustling again. The fall semester has started. This is a development I welcome with mixed emotions. While it's nice seeing the pulse quicken around here, I tend to get spoiled by roadways free of blindered students and lines no more than three people deep at the Student Union. Oh well, here we go.

This year we welcome our largest and most diverse freshman class in history. We have abour 5,045 new students on campus -- 12 percent larger than last year -- and increased our minority student numbers, which is always a good thing. We increased black enrollment by 4 percent, and saw 17 percent more Hispanics enroll.

And the gains didn't cut academic quality -- these students actually boast higher average SAT scores.

So, on that note, welcome back.

Go Live

If you're in the market for a T-shirt -- or skateboard deck -- be sure to check out Live Clothing. They have some awesome works from some really amazing artists and have lowered their standards a bit to include me lol. My stuff is on two T-shirts and a skateboard deck so far. You can see the designs on the company's Myspace page or visit the Website.

The Chancellor-Office Shuffle

Keeping track of the careers of college administrators is a bit like watching one of those street-corner cup tricks: if you're not paying close attention, there's no telling where they might turn up.

This morning presented two examples of this principle as both a former chancellor and soon-to-be former president were mentioned as possible future leaders of other systems.

The first suggestion came from the Gov., Rick Perry, who mentioned John Montford in casual conversation over hamburgers at San Antonio's famous greasepit Chris Madrid's. Apparently Montford, Texas Tech's first chancellor -- and fundraising powerhouse -- might be the man who could tie on the shoes of UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof, who's scuttling the Longhorns in favor of a gig heading that university system out in California.

And Jon Whitmore, who's stepping down as Texas Tech's president, is himself apparently a candidate for a chancellor's job at Louisiana State University. Whitmore just removed himself as a candidate for president at Portland State University.


Dizzy Yet?

A pleasant surprise

Had a pleasant surprise on Friday. I'd been contacted a few months ago by Jordann, a Texas Tech student and KTXT DJ, about submitting a picture for inclusion in a book she was creating on Lubbock artists. Word was, the book would go on display at Stein's on Q for the First Friday Art Trail. I gave her a handful, including the one above. Figured she could choose between them.

Anyway, was curious to see what would result, especially since it seemed like everything was way behind deadline. So I drop into Stein's Friday expecting to see a book propped up on the counter or something. Instead, there are at least three of my pieces hanging on the wall as part of a full-bore exhibition that will be up for the next month or so. Awesome event. Keg in the corner, DJ mixing in the other and a graffiti art display outside.

SSo go grab some coffee or a sandwhich. I'll be on the wall.

Law, livestock and chess

What do these three things have in common? Just a few months ago, I would have said not much. It's growing increasingly apparent, however, that these might be the biggest dynasties in an admittedly sports-rich school.

Case in point: Just today we announced that a Texas Tech debate team won a national championship while the Meat Evaluation Team won its second in a row.

This announcement by the Department of Animal and Food Sciences came only days after Texas Tech's livestock, meat and wool judging teams completed a sweep of intercollegiate judging competitions at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Meat Judging Team won its fourth consecutive title.

Another Texas Tech law team won the 2008 Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition for the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) Rocky Mountain Region.

Meanwhile, the Knight Raiders, led by Susan Polgar, recorded their best finish in team history and were honored for their outreach efforts by the Texas Association of Partners in Education.

Working life sucks

It's nearly nine and the toothpicks are still straining beneath my eyelids. Coffee isn't helping. My muscles feel like they're tied to lead weights. I love Daylight Saving's Time.

I did, however, have a nice little sleep-in yesterday. Came breezing into work at 8:10, bugged about being ten minutes late but figuring Texas Tech will survive, log in to my computer screen, look down at the clock in the corner and, huh, that's weird. 9:15? That can't be right. No way I took so long to get to work. Unless... wait a second. It's spring. Spring. Spring forward...

Damn, the clock's right, which means that I'm missing the Monday morning staff meeting that began 15 minutes ago. I dash down the hall and drag a chair up to the full conference table just about the time the meeting is wrapping up. Brilliant.

I had no such excuses today. Up and out of bed at like 4:30 according to body clock time. Horrible. I want to be sleeping. I want to duck out on an early spring break like all the students on campus have. Working life sucks.

Of course, I do get to set things on fire today, so that's not bad. We are making a commercial for Texas Tech's Emergency Alert System. The concept is a parody on the old game of telephone, where a message gets twisted as it is passed down the line. This one turns a simple class closing into a plague outbreak, wildfires on campus and, ultimately, a fireball dropping out of space.

Today I think we're going to play with burning a ball of paper and throwing it across a room to see if we can't get some really high-tech special effects. Hopefully we won't have to activate the emergency system because of it.

Is iTunes really psychic?

The song is Cuts You Up. Sung by Peter Murphy, formerly of goth pioneers Bauhaus. I don't know any of this. Or remember, really. All I've got is a snatch of song cycling through my head.

Frustrating.

Damn frustrating.

Just curious at this point -- scratching a mental itch. Driving me crazy not having words to put to the music.

But, since I don't even know the lyrics, I can't Google it. Believe me I tried. But how do you search for a song that could have been sung anywhere from, oh, like '83 to maybe the mid-ninties? Especially when the singer's not on the cover of People every week. Hell, you can't even think of another song to cross-reference.

Oh, and the lyrics I do happen to remember, I don't remember. Turns out I don't remember them correctly, anyway.

So I Google. I Google. I Google. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. Parrot squawking song clattering between my ears.

This itch is becoming an infection.

I ramboogle, typing in overblown strings of search terms that I hope will grab something, anything -- some hint of a whiff of a clue.

Collective Soul. That's what I get. Collective Soul. Collective Soul.

Infection's spreading. Getting more painful. Suddenly it's all I can think of. Need to know. Must know.

I'll never know.

After all, what are the odds of it popping on the radio sometime, oh, in the next ten years? Slim.

I give up. Hate to, but I'll live. I mean, could be worse. You know, it could be an arm I'm looking for, my name, something essential like that. So I can't remember a song. Oh well.

That was three weeks ago. Today I sit down from my computer after lunch. iTunes is up because I was charging my iPod. Just for kicks I decide to check out the store. I never do this. For me, the store is typically serves as a launching pad, a starting point allowing me to dash off on whim song searches.

Today, I just want to look. You know, see what's new. And under all those slick buttons that I typically ignore is a box titled Just for You. I've never scrolled down this far. Two years of iTunes and I've never scrolled this far.

Suggestions aren't bad. Really, kind of spooky how close these programs are to tabulating my eclectic and admittedly esoteric music tastes. Second offering: Cuts You Up, by Peter Murphy.

Wait a second. That looks familiar. Could it be? Surely not...

It is.

I'm getting this computer exorcised. But first I downloaded the song. Don't want to go through that again.

Valentines Beware

So I sit down at my computer yesterday. I check my Outlook folder. E-mail from Hallmark. Early Valentine, I suppose. After all, this is the season, and my family doesn't hesitate to send some electronic love.

Anyway, I open the E-mail and... weird. Instead of a sender, there is a url address. Red flags. Road flares. All kinds of warning signals flashing. I go ahead and take it a step further, wincing slightly, and click. Instead of going to Hallmark's Web site, which is typically the routine, I get a little gray box asking me if I'm ready to download a file. Yeah, uh, I think I'll cancel that order.

I decide to try the safe route. Go to Hallmark, enter the username and password in the e-mail. No dice. Hallmark doesn't recognize the digits. I try again. Same results.

Yep. Virus, I'm pretty sure.

I sit down at my computer today. Checking the news. Come across this little story about Valentine's greetings spreading trojans. That was close.

My point? Valentine's day is a dangerous occassion as it is. Don't increase the hazards by opening bogus cards. There will be plenty of potential landmines anyway.

Coming soon...

to a computer near you: Texas Tech is making its first official venture into the wacky and admittedly addicting realm of user-submitted online video. On Monday, we will announce the launch of a new channel created in cooperation with video behemoth YouTube.

There, amongst all the basement comedians and amateaur pupeteers jostling for attention; the Rubik's Cube demonstrations, the self inflicted injuries, the sobbing fans, the song remixes, the sentimental compilations -- and, yes, the girls jiggle-dancing in their bathrooms wearing tank tops and booty shorts -- we will try to snag some eyes as we make the case that Texas Tech is the coolest university ever (see accompanying video below).

The site is an enhanced channel, meaning we get bells and whistles the average posting Joe doesn't: linked banners, avatars and bigger, longer videos. Due to the nature of the site, we took a bit of a gamble with the page and broke from the university's typical look. We asked Dirk Fowler, an associate professor in the School of Art known internationally for his concert posters, to design the banners and wallpaper.

We also left open a playlist for content generated by students, faculty, staff -- whoever -- to possibly include their content. Oh, and I made a cartoon -- the first of several I have planned, although this is admittedly the most elaborate. It's a bit rough, but I had fun making it. I used the free 3-D animation lab at the Texas Tech Library. Cool stuff.

Anyway, visit the site Monday: www.YouTube.com/TexasTech.

And now for the cartoon:
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The season in review

As far as laying groundwork goes, this was a good season. Say what you will about turning corners and moving to next levels, Red Raider Nation can settle into this off-season with some degree of satisfaction. After all, these guys flipped what should have been a dud fall into some important currency for the 2008 campaign (thankfully no Obama on this trail).

Texas Tech ended the year ranked 22 by the AP and 23 in the Coaches Poll. Stewart Mandel of SI ranked the Raiders at 14. Not necessarily chump change for a rebuilding team.

If he accomplished nothing else this season, Leach managed to embellish Lubbock pirate lore a bit further with a late-season romp on a Sooners team that had its eyes on the national title (and, granted, later died painfully in the desert) and a miracle 3-minute rally in the Gator Bowl. Those 17 points the Raiders hung around Chris Long's neck may have cemented this team's legacy as comeback bowlers. You doubt the buzz? They're even talking about the team's clutch play in Canada.

Plus, Crabtree, who'd already managed to haul in just about every honor a freshman reciever can hope for, was named the AT&T All-American of the Year. Now, this fan-chosen title may lack the street cred of certain other mantlepieces (you know, the one with the pose), but it provided prime real estate for showcasing the freshman on college football's biggest stage.

Now for next season. Not to jinx anything, because, yeah, the Raiders know how to stumble on their shoelaces when things get rolling, but the elements are in place for a break-through season.
What was one of the youngest teams in the nation will have matured a vital year. The Double Tpops up in the top 20 of preseason predictions in places such as Rivals.com. Tech loses two solid players in Amendola and Trlica, but returns a cast of characters that should be poised to continue tossing up gaudy stats and stretching defenses. As for ours? It's moving in the right direction and hopefully McNeill can patch the remaining leaks enough to avoid any further shoot-outs.

Oh, and Missouri and Colorado are off the schedule. This could indeed be a good year.