Went to a doctor appointment this morning. It started off odd, Stephanie talks more about that. And the doctor told me what I already knew, but I was hoping he would say something different. At least the lady was nicer to me on the way out than she was when I got there.
Cotton Bowl
Of course we lost to Auburn in the SEC championship game 38 to 28. Not as bad a loss as I had expected. Now Tennessee is headed to the Cotton Bowl to Texas A&M. The game is Jan. 1 at 11 a.m. on Fox.
Tennesse’s post season record isn’t that great lately, but at least it gives me something to watch on New Year’s.
Ken Jennings finally loses a Jeopardy match
Ken Jennings’s first appearance on Jeopardy was June 2, 2004. His 75th match aired today and guess what? He lost.
Of course this isn’t exactly breaking news. Word of the loss leaked out in September, when the episode was taped. But the airdate was questionable due to holidays etc. Now we know. I’ve set the Tivo to record it, I want to make sure I have a record of Ken’s loss. 🙂
Therapy etc.
Well I started outpatient rehab therapy at Patricia Neal today. Just evaluation stuff today, the real work starts Thursday. The initial doctors order is only for 4 to 6 weeks, which is when I start taking classes and teaching again at UT. So therapy is going to be very focused on improving my walking and getting more use out of my right arm and hand. Last Tuesday I did an in-clinic driving evaluation and I working on getting a road test scheduled to see what I need to drive.
Today, I saw this article, “Paralyzed Woman Walks After Stem Cell Therapy“. Nice headline, I’ll believe it when I see some verification. At least the researchers that did this “cautioned that more research was needed and verification from international experts was required”.
In other news I’ve finally completed the work for the incompletes I got when I left UT because of the wreck.
Serenity premire moved to September
The movie based on Firefly, Serenity has been moved from April 22, 2005 to September 30, 2005. Guess I’ll have to wait a little longer… More Serenity info can be found at IMDB, FireflyFans.net or Whedonesque.com.
Sick and bizarre game
From Google News I found this article talking a about a new game JFK Reloaded. The game recreates the events of November 22, 1963 and the player is Lee Harvey Oswald. The goal is to recreate the shots Oswald fired that killed JFK. The closer you get to recreating those shots, the closer you get to the perfect score of 1000.
I downloaded the demo which allows you to watch Kennedy’s motorcade travel through Dealey Plaza in Dallas and past the the sixth-floor window of the Texas Schoolbook Depository. You can aim the gun, but not fire. I’ve got no problem with violent video games, I know they aren’t real. Even when you play games that recreate historical events, there is still a sense of detachment.
But here it’s exactly like you where watching news footage. Not only are you watching, you’re the guy with the gun. These are real people and one of the people that was in that car, Nellie Connally, the wife of Texas Gov. John Connally, is still alive. You can see the faces of these people, you’re aiming to kill. This is too close to reality for me, and the events of November 22, 1963 are a reality that doesn’t need to be recreated in a first person shooter game.
Tennessee beats Vanderbilt 38 to 33
Vanderbilt put up a fight but Tennessee hung on to win. With the win Tennessee clinches the SEC East Division championship and will play Auburn in the SEC Championship game.
Crusade – The Complete Series
I just found out that Crusade – The Complete Series is coming out on DVD December 7th. Crusade was a spinoff series of Babylon 5. Crusade only lasted 13 episodes before it’s network, TNT, cancelled it. There was one more attempt at a B5 series after this, Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers but it didn’t fare too well.
Crusade is on my Amazon wish list, and it’s only $41.99 (hint, hint)
Accents
I’ve been told I have a multi-stage accent. I grew up around Limestone, Tennesee home of Davy Crockett . Most of my family lives in the mountains and hills of northeast Tennessee, so whatever accent I have is 100% Tennessean.
My accent his been dulled a bit by speech therapy, first as a kid and then later in college. I’m also on my working on my third college degree and this long in higher ed has exposed me to lots of people and lots of ways of speaking. This has led my my multi-stage accent that changes depending om who I’m talking to. I don’t notice but other people seem to.
The Metropulse has an interesting article on the Knoxville accent. I think the conclusion is that accents are just strange things.
Update: Nov. 21 Metropulse has a follow-up to the original accents story.
TennCare is history… probably
Looks like TennCare is on its way out. That sucks because I have TennCare. South Knox Bubba has highlights of Gov. Bredesen’s speech. The Knoxville News Sentinel also has more information