And so it begins...again

Ah, it's back-to-school season here in Rust Belt. The graduate students are being oriented, the undergraduates are being "launched" (don't ask), and the dean is addressing the state of the college tomorrow. Syllabuses have been made and I'm busy scanning oodles of stuff and collecting piles of books for reserve for my two -- count 'em -- two graduate courses. (Weird trivia about my upcoming semester: I'm teaching all graduate students. And then next semester it's pretty much all undergraduates.)

Of coures, the title of this post also refers to this blog starting up again. Sorry for the disappearing act (the second in a row, no less). I'm actually going to write about the reasons why in an upcoming post on routine. Right now I just wanted to pop in and say I'm alive and well and that this mini-post announces the fact that I'm going to get back to regularly scheduled blog writing and reading. Which reminds me -- I have three weeks of blog reading to do! Ack!

In the next post I'll finish up that silly 100 Facts meme in one fell swoop. And then I'll get back to substance. This post is really just to hold me to all of this.

Oh, and by the way, I think it's hilarious that a link from Le Blog Bérubé, buried deep in one of his characteristically long posts a couple of weeks ago, got me my highest visitor stats all summer, and also bumped me up the Great Chain of Being, just when I wasn't even posting a damn thing. Go figure. I write, no one reads. I don't write, I get a gazillion click-bys. See, this is why all that Ecosystem and Site Meter watching is unhealthy.

And PS -- Regarding the TV shows I mentioned in the last post: Eureka is lame. It had potential, but it has turned out to be quirks for quirks' sake and little more. So there's an hour a week I don't have to waste anymore. Hex got a little disappointing, too, but partly because BBC America showed the first English season plus three episodes from the second English season and called it "Season One" here. No wonder we felt let down. BUT, I am absolutely delighted to say that I love, love, LOVE Life on Mars even more episode by wonderful episode. I'm utterly obsessed. Completely smitten.