Project Self: Something, Grabs a Hold of Me Tightly

I seem to have a penchant for meeting some interesting folks. Last night was no different. I'm rockin' it out in Greenville, SC. The Southland. Pretty terrain, pretty weather, and pretty girls. I was downtown, which I've talked about in old postings as being a pretty cool area. So, I hit up the Blue Ridge Brewing Company again, for some good beer made on the premises, as well as some tasty food. After that I hung out over at The Corner Pocket, a sports bar/pool hall, and just did some people watching and a little conversing with the natives.

After I wrapped up my evening, I headed over toward the sushi joint that stayed open until 2am, only to find that they were closed. On my way over, I started chatting w/ this old-timer named "Ice." He was a black dude with dreads. Ice said that he was fifty, but he face showed a few more years than that. He wasn't dressed particularly well, but not particularly shabbily. I guessed that he was homeless, since he was just hanging out there on the street by himself. Then again, so was I, so maybe there was something else to it. It turned out that I was right.

We chatted for a while. Ice wasn't the "typical" homeless person. He never asked me for any money. He never had a story for me that was supposed to make it seem like I'd be just helping a brother out. I walked by him, and asked him, in passing, "How's it going?" He answered me, and walked along to tell me about it. It turned out that this fella actually had two college degrees. One in theology and one in psychology. But one doesn't end up wandering the downtown streets at that hour, unless they get derailed. Or are getting a PhD in Marketing. Which could be construed by many as getting derailed.

It turned out that Ice did a score in the Pen. Which would make him the 2nd convicted felon that I've chatted with in the past year. But Ice was different from the fella that CJ and I dined with back in the spring. This guy still had a sharp mind. He would drift off into a mumble at times, but he could still dial it in for some legitimate thought. He seemed genuine, charming, and in his own unique way, proud. Not about the life that he has. And not about the life that he lost - he was genuinely sad when he talked about how he never saw his kids grow up. But in how he was. Ice could still quote scripture. He liked Romans 8:31. When I offered that I personally liked Psalm 23, he quoted that to me, too. Ice still had hope. I liked Ice pretty much instantly. Anyone who has the stones to just walk and chat with someone like he did gets a gold star in my book.

I don't know how Ice is going to turn out. He does some odd jobs here and there, when there's work to be done - a little roofing here, a little plumbing there, and some landscaping in between. He's got some people that take care of him, make sure that he cleans up, and make sure that he gets a hot meal every once in a while. Chatting with him, it sounds like his biggest problems were that he smokes and the drinks a little too much. Of course, that's reminiscent of roughly all of the folks back at school. But for someone who still has a sharp mind, to only be able to do odd labor is not a good sign. Eventually, all bodies give out, and for those who are living out in the conditions, those sands flow a little faster. I think that Ice could be a heck of a preacher. But then again, what do I know?

I gave Ice my card. Asked him to go to the library and have someone teach him how to sign up for a free e-mail address so that he'd drop me a note every couple weeks. Or to ask to borrow a cell phone to drop me a line sometime. I gave him the little cash that I had on me, and I made him promise to buy only food with it. I don't know if he will do any of those things. I may never hear from or see Ice again. I hope that I do.

I have all sorts of questions in my head. I wonder about the system. I understand the need for prisons. What do we do with people after they're done with their time? In the heart of the Bible Belt, seeing the disdain one the faces of the relatively privileged, who were almost exclusively white, when looking upon the poor black was interesting, though I'm not sure why. What should the government do? What should the church do? What should individuals do? I'm not sure, but I'd love to hear some of Ice's thoughts on the matter.

Merry Christmas, Ice.

-Chairman

The Best Laid Plans....

... of mice and men often go awry. For mice, sometimes, you get the cheese, and sometimes you get the trap. For men, sometimes, you're a rock star, and sometimes you're the dude who's cleaning up the beer bottles and condoms out of the hotel hot tub.

And on Friday, I sort of had my mop out.

My weekend was planned out pretty well. First, Fred was getting married up north on Saturday. So, I was planning on getting out to Chicago for that. And in a happy coincidence, my old buddy Pat has been writing for Second City, a comedy troupe/school up in Chicago, and has one of his shows playing right now: Brian and Patrick's Holiday Show II: Christmas is Ruined... Again. So, the plan was for me to wrap up my Proseminar presentation at 3, and just leave for Chicago right afterwards for JohnnyO's place. The idea is to get in there by 6, and head out to the show. And then probably hang out with Pat afterwards and catch a beer somewhere. Go back and crash, and then drive out to the suburbs for the wedding and reception on Saturday. Have a great time at the wedding, and then decide if I was going to stay up north or drive back after the reception.

Of course, none of this happened.

Neil St. is a fairly major road in Champaign. Two lanes going north, two lanes going in south, and a turn lane in the middle. I'm topping off my gas tank and filling up the air in my tires for my impending drive to Chicago. And I want to turn left onto Neil. So, just a little to the right, there's a stoplight, and southbound traffic is slowed up a little bit. In the near lane, there's a little more traffic, so a nice older gentleman decides to wave me through. No problem. I creep out into the first lane. I look left. I've got some time. I look to the right. No problem. So, I creep a little further out as I start my turn into the middle turn lane. Of course, as soon as I'm getting into the turn, I look up, just in time to see a little red Dodge Neon bearing down on me.

Basically, the only way that a driver, while going in a straight line, hits someone who's moving at less than 5mph is by zoning out. So, homeboy obviously wasn't paying a lot of attention. But, sure enough. My front left end hits his front left end. And legally, it's my fault. Oh well. That's what insurance is for. And I've been wanting to get a new car, anyway.

And really, my first thought was, "dammit." Then the crash happened. My next thought was, "that wasn't that bad." And after that, I just started laughing. I had been a little stressed out Thursday night and Friday morning getting stuff ready for my presentation and my trip up north. And my first thought was that it would be a lot more relaxing weekend just hanging out in Champaign, though I'd have to figure out what I wanted to do with the car and all that jazz.

I backed back into the gas station, and stepped out to take a look at my car. Things actually looked alright. I knew that I could still drive the car home, though the fender was done. I was still giggly when I walked out into the street to see how the guy was doing. He was looking a little annoyed, but I didn't really care. I was locked into my mood. So, I basically start joking around, knowing full well that if he was mad, I'd end up just laughing at him. I think that he saw that, and actually lightened up his mood. We ended up joking around while we waiting for the cops to show up. Turns out that he's a grad student in landscape architecture. I think that I'll end up Facebooking this guy.

So, really, no harm, no foul. I'll end up getting a nice check from the insurance company for my car. And hopefully, I'll be able to fix my car for less than that amount, which leaves me a little extra cash, which hopefully will cover my insurance increase next year. And I think that it's time to switch up cars. Unfortunately, I just put $300 into some new speakers and a new stereo. Oh well. I think that I'll just try to sell the car after it's repaired. Blue book is something like $2150. If I can get anything close to that, I'll be content.

The current plan is to look around for cars that would be relatively affordable and be a step up from the ol' Nissan Altima. Failing that, there's maroon, '99 Camry waiting for me down in Greenville, SC. So, I'll fly back on the 20th to see the folks. If I want to, I can drive the Camry back to Illinois. Otherwise, I'll just fly back on the 25th. Either way, it's cool. Get to see the folks. Have the option of getting a free car that's a step up from the Altima.

Well, we'll see what the story is.

-Chairman

Illini Musings

So our squad has been hit by the injury bug. What's great is that we've been competitive, despite not really having Jamar and Randle for much of the season. Add on Richie's affinity for beer causing him to still not be in rhythm, and you've got some definite chemistry issues. But you know what? Having a lead on Maryland with 8 minutes left to go, as well as playing Arizona tough the entire game were both eye-opening losses. In the good sort of way.

I like this team.

Whereas I thought that last year's squad never fully bloomed because it deferred to Dee, and sort of underachieved down the stretch, I think that this year's squad is going to overachieve a little bit. I actually think that we'll make a deeper run than we did last year. Here's my case.

We've got better point guard play this year. Dee was a shooting guard, really. Chester is the real deal at point. He plays D, he moves the rock, he penetrates when it's there, and he can shoot just fine. Plus, having Trent, our next White Hope, there as a backup point, and maybe even as a quick jolt of outside shooting is good. I think that he'll be a legitimate player that will complement Chester well. He won't be as good as all of the fans want him to be (or think he is), but he'll be alright.

We'll have more experience at the 2. While Dee was a shooting guard, he also wasn't. Richie has shown glimpses of a mid-range game which makes him a threat to score 17 night in and night out. Plus, Jamar will get back and contribute his offense (and his improving D, as well). And perhaps most importantly, Calvin is looking a little less lost out there. He'll still mystify me on the offensive end at times, but his effort has picked up on the defensive end. He's the one who has the pure athleticism to be very intriguing (at at times infuriating), though. He can make the little baseline J, which is a spot on the floor that you can get to consistently. That alone makes him good for 6 points a game. Add on an outside shot and a couple hustle buckets, and all of a sudden, seeing Calvin go for a dozen isn't that surprising. Plus, he has the capability of guarding bigger guys, much like Luther, and to a lesser extent Deron, did for us a couple years ago. If you want to run 3 guards, you have to have at least one guy like that. We can go for a few minutes at a time with Chester, and two of the Jamar/Richie/Trent trio, but that catches up to you. Doing that for too long, you just give up too much on the defensive end.

Watching our bigs play, I love how much Pruitt is demanding the ball this year. He's always known that he's stronger than most guys he's up against. Now he seems to believe that he's better. Which is huge. He's moving well on D, though the rotations aren't always there. And he's running th floor. He's a threat to go 18 and 10 every night. And oddly enough, so is Warren.

My man Warren has always been a bit of a savant. He knows how to score. The shot is sort of ugly. The shot selection is sort of ugly. But it's strangely effective. I don't even question it anymore. I just sort of chuckle. And defensively, he's always been a decent rebounder. But where he's improved leaps and bounds is with his overall awareness. He is much less lost on offense now that he's one of the primary options. His weakness was always not knowing where to go when he was away from the ball. Now, the ball screens and motion are going to his side. He's the one who's setting screens for the pick and roll or slipping screens for the quick fade. On defense, he's also a little better off. He's playing against a lot of 4's, whereas in the past he'd often come in at the 3. Against 4's, he's much more likely to go from block to block. In the past, he's be asked to defend on the perimeter a lot. And that's where he'd get lost in traffic or on back-cuts. I don't know if he's just improved his knowledge of the game, or if it's just situational, but I'm not yelling, "Warren!" nearly as much now.

An intriguing freshman is Carlwell. He's awfully light on his feet and runs well for a huge guy. He'll get stronger physically over the years (if he works like Pruitt has the last 2 years, watch out), but he has to be willing to do two things: The first is to assert himself in the low block - I think that he's used to guys just giving up position to him because he's so huge, but he doesn't fight for his spot on the block hard enough. I don't know what sort of moves he has there, but he should be big enough to make up for any deficiencies there. The other thing is to play defense with his feet, and not his hands, particularly away from the hoop. He likes to lean in with his arms on players, which makes him smaller and foul prone. I like his energy, though. I think that he'll be a player, as well.

edited, 12/05/06: Another freshman who may get some run in Richard Semrau. Now, I know that he's white. But he may still be an alright player. He's got the frame at 6'9", 230, but he could stand to add on 10 pounds, which he will over the next couple years. He's very active, is actually a pretty quick leaper, and plays with energy. I have no idea what his offensive game looks like, other than hustle points. I think that he'll eventually be a very good player (I can see him being darned good with Carlwell in 2 years). I don't see him playing a ton this year, unless Bruce gets away from the 3-guard offense a little more (which I'd actually be thrilled with - I'd say that running Randle at 3, Warren at the high post, and Pruitt at the low block is probably our best lineup, and likely how Bill Self envisioned using Warren and Randle, and that). And at this point, Marcus Arnold is almost an afterthought unless we're in deep foul trouble like we were against Arizona. He's just not quite big enough to handle the bigs, not quite quick enough to handle the wings, and not quite explosive enough to be a consistent offensive threat. And sadly, I think that I'll be saying the same things about Charles Jackson. I don't know. I wonder if he won't (or maybe shouldn't is the right word) go back to football, preferrably for the Illini, if all the hype was true.

But the biggest question that we've got is at the swingman. The only player that we have that really fits the profile is Randle. I think that he'll shoot much better this year than last year. I don't think that there's a mathematical alternative, actually. But he's the one guy that can shut down wing scorers for us. He's the one guy that I want consistently taking the ball to the hoop for us on offense. He's the one guy that makes us different from a good mid-major team. Those teams have good little guards and big guys who make themselves into players. They don't often get natural wing talents that are 6'7". Those guys go to the BCS schools. I like Randle's game. I think that he can do what the Pistons asked of Tayshaun Prince of a couple years ago when they were winning championships. Defense, rebounding, hustle points, and timely shooting. But what he really brings to us is an attitude change on perimeter defense. Without him there, we'll scrap with you, we'll work hard, we'll keep hanging on your hip, and we'll pester you. With him here, we've got swagger, we'll shut you down, and we'll take your lunch money.

So here's the prognosis for this team. We've just had a bump in the road, but we'll probably end up 12-3 in non-conference play. We've got a nice conference schedule, this year, as we only play Ohio St. and Wisconsin once, both at home. I think that 10-6 is a reasonable prediction, though really 13-3 isn't out of the question, if this team jells. Tough games look to be Ohio St., Wisconsin, at Indiana, at Michigan, at Michigan St., and at Iowa. But our last 9 games look pretty manageable. So, we'll be somewhere around 22-9 going into the Big Ten tourney. If we can get to the semis, we'll be 24-10, heading into the dance, probably good for a 6 or 7 seed. I think that this team will do well in the dance, and maybe even make a little noise. Let's just say that I wouldn't mind another shot at Arizona this March.

-Chairman

Project Self: Carrying Meaning

I've realized that my chosen career path allows me a privilege that many others do not have. I have the opportunity to do projects that really mean something to me. And in a typical academic career, the project that sets the tone for the first few years is the dissertation. Often the dissertation is the only work that ever gets published. And it is clearly the project on which you make a name for yourself. Underneath it all, I've held on to a need to do work that I think is socially relevant. After all, if I have the power to choose the theoretical basis as well as the context in which it is used, then I would be rather wasteful if I didn't find a way to do work that is socially relevant. As a result, for the last few months, I've been wrestling with what I wanted to do for my dissertation.

My research is on decision making and problem solving at the individual level. And what I'm interested in is how people get good at this, or, to put it another way, how expertise develops. There's a lot of research that tells about how people who have low functional literacy can't do things, but very little research tells us what these folks can do. And I believe that there is enough variance in the different domains of life such that there will be different paths in the development of expertise. I'm not sure, but my guess is that relatively little education is required to develop expertise in domains where experiential (as opposed to theoretical) learning is dominant.

I'm envisioning some cool studies where people try to solve puzzles with different types of learning as the variable. Instead of the typical surveys and questionnaires, we'll have actual behavioral observations. Now, the design of these studies is something that I haven't figured out, yet. So there's still work to be done.

Anyway, I believe that the current thought is that I'll have the front end of my dissertation taken care of, leading up to my proposal defense, by the end of the spring semester, ideally by April 15. Which puts me in a good position to have a reasonably relaxing summer, hopefully teach during one of the sessions, and design a few studies that I'll pretest on my students and have ready to roll in the fall. Of course, this also means that this summer, I'm sending out my packets and starting the whole interview process to get the ball rolling on getting a position locked up next fall so that I'll have a job the following fall. Strange, isn't it?

Anyway, the current plans are to knock out a bunch of small tasks tonight and tomorrow, to collect data this week and next week, and hopefully wrap up all of the data collection on a project. For break, all I'm planning on is chilling out as the only things that I'll be doing are watching sports, playing video games, honing my skills in the kitchen, buying some odds and ends for the apartment, hitting the gym, and starting up on the dissertation. I'll probably hit up Cincy to catch the Xavier-Illinois game w/ Mick, and I'll try to hit up St. Louis for the Braggin' Right game, if they ever let us know about tickets. But the work should be minimal, which I'm definitely looking forward to.

-Chairman