Test 2

So, I got this email in my work-related account the other day. My immediate reaction was concern, because PayPal = MY MONEY.

While I do have a PayPal account, it is not associated with my work email. So that was my first clue that this person needs to step up their phishing game.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the writer of this message has no concept of capitalization. Just look at the first full sentence:

Your PayPal Account has been temporarily Locked!

Why were “account” and “locked” capitalized?

And don’t even get me started on the broken grammar and poor spelling:

We detect unauthorized Login Attempts to you PayPal Account from other Ip Adress.

Yikes.

Beter luck nxt Times, terible phshing Person.

For months, I have been working on the LionPATH project for Penn State. This is the enterprise student system that will be replacing the legacy system that the University has used for more than 30 years.

LionPATH went live in mid-August, which was an achievement for sure, but initially we were only collecting applicant data. We hit a major milestone last week when we produced the first admission decisions in the new system:

That’s the first pile of offers of admission to Penn State.

That is my fantastic colleague Caley, modeling the very first offer of admission latter that was produced from the system.

“So what?” you say? “What’s the big deal?”

The project has been going on for nearly two years (even though I joined up a couple of months ago), and it has taken lots of great folks a LOT of hard work to get this thing up and running.

So, this is merely a self-congratulatory post because I think that it is pretty friggin’ awesome that this thing works – and works well (so far)!

I was on the teevees the other evening as part of Dr. Eric Barron’s “Higher Education in Focus” program. We chatted about Penn State’s application and admission processes.

…and I was the only one wearing a bowtie. BOOM.

Dad. Why did you need SOOO MANY drill bits? These are only the ones that I kept!

Upside: I now have a working table saw, drill press, belt sander, and a ton of other stuff. WHO WANTS TO BUILD A BAR?! This guy does!

Dad. Why did you need SOOO MANY drill bits? These are only the ones that I kept!

Upside: I now have a working table saw, drill press, belt sander, and a ton of other stuff. WHO WANTS TO BUILD A BAR?! This guy does!

A peek inside of an Instant Message conversation between The Wife and I had recently:

The Wife 2:23 pm: phew The Boy got a 91.38% on his math test today

Admissions Dude 2:23 pm: NICE. Attaboy!

The Wife 2:23 pm: this access [to his academic record via an online portal] is addicting

Admissions Dude 2:23 pm: haha... *thump, thump, thump*

Admissions Dude 2:24 pm: that’s the sound of your helicopter blades

The Wife 2:24 pm: he’s 12

The Wife 2:26 pm: it’s going to go like this:

• 12 years old = helicopter,
• 13 = toy heliopter,
• 14 = paper airplane,
• 15 = occasional snowflakes,
• 16 = sprinkles, and
• 17+ = special ops helicopters that only come when called upon

Admissions Dude 2:24 pm: hahahahaha
"special ops"
BRILLIANT

The Wife 2:24 pm: well thank you

She’s awesome. And I’m not worried about helicopterizing my kids – given all of the helicopter parents that both The Wife and I have experienced in our work in higher education. We have made vows to each other that we won’t be like THAT. Hopefully.

So yeah. This happened.
100 miles were DESTROYED today in the Tour de Chocolatetown (http://tourdechocolatetown.com). Actually, because I took a wrong turn and went a few miles out of the way, my total distance was just under 104 miles.

When I woke up this morning and was prepping for the ride, I could not eat much breakfast because I was so nervous. I have never gone this distance (my previous personal best was 60 miles). Would I get leg cramps? Would I be able to finish?

The answers to those questions are a resounding ‘no’ and 'damn right’.

Made some repairs to my cycling shoes prior to the big ride on Sunday. I hope that the “crazy glue” holds the toes…

Yesterday’s 50-miler. Pictures of my bike leaning on things.

It might not be what you would expect, but this is what success looks like.

*mic drop*