who helped u do that?

"Who helped you do what?"

Set me up with my new Georgia Southern email address.

"Oh, that. Who texted the question to you?"

Gladys Batista, the Chemistry department secretary, sent an email using that text-speak. She had sent an earlier email that I needed to set up an appointment to get my new email address and I told her I had already done it. She was taken aback, clearly. I'm surprised she didn't put a frowny face on her message to me.

"How very odd of her. Doesn't she know what work you did in the Navy?"

Oh, please. No one there, except maybe Brandon, has a clue that I did electronics repair and DOS programming on the first Intel computers. Brandon only is marginally aware because he was a sailor too.

"Really? Can't they read your resume? Oh, wait, what is that la-di-dah phrase they use... oh, right, I meant 'curriculum vitae'. I though you had evidence that someone had read it, right?"

Right. That would be the department head, Will, as evidenced at the ACS trivia party.

"Yes, that's right."

So you would expect that they would also know I have a background in electronics... but, no. You would be quite mistaken.

"Alright, let's put that aside. Hadn't the physicist told you that the email addresses had already been set up, that we could start using them any time?"

Yes, Secrest did tell me that, about three weeks ago, when we had dinner at Bonefish together. I decided right then that I would go ahead and get started with it so my students would be able to find me at all times.

"That's right! And you had gone back to the link in the email from Cynthia Graves about email migration and followed the rabbit down the interlinked holes in the ether."

That's exactly what I did! Like poor Hansel and Gretel following bread crumbs, but with better results. First, I went here, the link from that email the first week in February. That spoke generally about the process and safeguarding our files.
That next led me to the GaSou portal for faculty and staff. After reading the directions there, I bounced over to the actual portal, saw the link for "first-time users" and clicked it to land here. Easy as pie.

"That's straightforward enough. Seems like everyone would have done that."

Oh, please. You'd be surprised how many people in my department waited to have that done for them. Many of them don't even use Armstrong eClassroom to post grades and assignments.

"That's truly sad. I don't know how they'd do at Savannah Tech, where use of Blackboard for grade-posting and messaging is not an option, but a requirement for every class."

Yes, it surprised me that STC was so much more tech-heavy than Armstrong. Maybe that will change for the better in the future.

"Let's hope so. The students would appreciate that!"

The Tech head at GaSou, Paul Reaves, certainly appreciated my 'can-do' approach! Even so, he will send a tech around to see me next week to update my system. At Armstrong, we're still on Windows 7, but not for much longer! As well as having brighter lights in our halls and offices, we'll have Windows 10 rocking on the computers.

"You'll still be able to have your Dropbox for your files, won't you?"

Oh, you bet I will! Well, I hope so, at any rate. I'll know for sure next week.

"Cool beans!"

Sure enough! Let me tell you what else was cool - my tour of the hydroponics building this afternoon! Actually, I should have called it the Sustainable Aquaponics Research Center. Heather Joesling, the woman in charge, led me and a group from GaSou through the operations of the site. There are four tanks of tilapia on one end of the building. The water from the tanks is then fed into the troughs for the plants, which slurp up the nutrients from the fish poo. By the time the water has reached the far end of the troughs, it is clean and ready to cycle back into the tank again. It really made me flash back to my days with STERI in high school!

"That sounds like it was marvelous fun for you!"

Oh, it truly was! And I have more marvelous sounds in store tonight!

"Hahaha! I saw what you did there, transposing the words!"

(smile) Jolly good, dear! Now, I really must be going. I'm ushering for the Bee Gees tribute band at the Lucas and want to have some dinner before I go.

"Toodle-oo!"

Same to you! Later!