With many of my colleagues from the four U of M campuses, I am in Columbia, Missouri this weekend attending the Teaching Renewal Conference as part of the year-long New Faculty Teaching Scholars Program. On the food front, I had a nice soy latte at the Lakota Coffee Company, some great slices at Shakespeare’s Pizza, and breakfast at Waffle House. We also managed to get in a few games of pool last night at Billiards.

Update: We also took a quick trip to the Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, home of the Devil’s Icebox, a geological formation caused by an underground river gradually eroding limestone until a sinkhole is created. Climbing down into the Icebox on a warm late-winter day, you find that the temperature drops significantly, a few patches of ice and snow are still present, and you can see your breath. On the drive out to Columbia, we saw a deer at the edge of a forest, and on the way home we spotted a flock of wild turkeys resting in a field. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the statue of Beetle Bailey to be found on campus; cartoonist Mort Walker is a Mizzou alum.