Monthly Archives: January 2024

Sometimes I come across something on eBay that is simply irresistible, just absolute catnip. Thus I have for you today a spectacular advertisement from the 1939 volume of the Engineering News-Record, a construction industry publication that still exists: That’s a … Continue reading →

Ron Sass was truly a stalwart of Rice. He was hired in 1958, when William Houston was president, and he stayed for his entire career. He was here for the semi-centennial and here for the centennial. Ron’s wisdom, compassion, and … Continue reading →

It’s been one of those rains that just won’t stop. Hard, soft, drizzle, drips, but always something. Three days so far. After a hundred and twenty years of working on campus drainage we don’t get the kind of epic floods … Continue reading →

I got several emails and comments about the new sidewalks in the engineering quad, both pro and con. For my part, I have mixed feelings. That pea gravel came, I believe, out of an effort to maintain as much as … Continue reading →

Sorry to have been absent recently–I was trying hard to finish a project which is just . . . about . . . done. (I hope.) I drove through a lot of stuff coming from northwest on Monday–we saw rain, … Continue reading →

I came back from break today to a drippy, dark, sodden campus. Here’s what the quad looked like this morning from the fifth floor of Fondren: Pretty messy: but not as bad as this: That’s from a big rain in … Continue reading →