I was on my way to a meeting and then my faculty orientation at LTU this past week when I saw a bumper sticker on another car on the highway that said "What Would Montressor Do?"

I need one of those myself.

As far as the studio at LTU goes, I'm going to be take my cue from sleigh (who is actually full-time faculty) and only speak indirectly about student work in my studio. They shouldn't find themselves being discussed here (should they even find this site; I don't know if they'll dig like that or not). So I don't expect I'll talk too much about particulars of how the studio is going. But I may have to come up with some kind of a link so that the fellow architects, green supporters, and general lurker types can take a look at some of my materials and offer their thoughts.

Faculty Orientation was something of an ordeal. It almost seemed like it had been a two-day long program for new full-time faculty that was condensed (into a 4-hour program) for adjuncts. I doubt I absorbed a tenth of what they presented; it was somewhat overwhelming. There's a lot of online stuff for the class using a system called Blackboard, and I have to become acquainted with all of it. There's the faculty e-mail system (and I have an e-mail address at ltu.edu now, in addition to all my other ones). I've seen my studio space, as well. It's pretty basic, but I hope the class will make it their own.

One of the perks of teaching is that I now have a university-issued laptop. It's an IBM/Lenovo that's a bit bigger, newer, and faster than my own. I was wondering whether I really needed a university-issued laptop when I have one of my own already. But it's preloaded with the LTU Architecture Department suite of applications, which includes AutoCAD 2008, Revit (including Architectural, Structural, and Mechanical packages), InDesign, and a bunch of other stuff I haven't even explored yet. So I've got a nice new (or new-ish) laptop. It doesn't have the extended battery my own laptop has, and the bigger display means it goes through the battery faster, so I can't run unleashed for as long. It is nice to have access to all these toys, though; I'm glad I took it.

I've already had one student contact me about wanting to add my class, and I'm completely unfamiliar with university policies and procedures, so I punted to the department head. I think we can sort it out, but it was another thing that I have to learn.

For those keeping score at home, the textbook I'm using is 'The Green Studio Handbook' by Alison Kwok and Walter Gronzik. But I think I'll reference a lot of other stuff, too. Got any suggestions?