31 July 26

The last Friday in July is always National System Administrators Appreciation Day. I shepherded the Blackboard system at Eastern Kentucky University for 24 years! When I retired in January 2024 the Blackboard corporate staff (now Anthology) rewarded me with two wonderful neckties, one with the words Blackboard Learn and the other featuring the "Space Dog" logo. Space Dog was the iconic mascot for a special user-help tool called Assist; it was retired after 3 years because some people said it took up too much screen space.

1 July 25

Today's tie symbolizes retirement. Yesterday Eastern Kentucky University ended 26 years using the course management software Blackboard. I shepherded that system for EKU from December 1999 through my own retirement at the end of 2023. In 2020 the Blackboard company added a user-help feature named Assist, identified with a clever logo starring a spacewalking astronaut and a canine assistant (“Space Dog”). Three years later, the company retired the Space Dog logo. When Lisa Clark and others in Blackboard/Anthology Product Development learned that I was retiring from EKU they decided that I needed a Space Dog tie! EKU is now painting its future with the Canvas software.

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3 January 24

The Tale/Tail of Space Dog

At Eastern Kentucky University I was the primary system administrator for the Blackboard learning management system (which gives a Web page for every class). In 2020 the Blackboard company added a feature named Assist, identified with a clever logo starring a spacewalking astronaut and a canine assistant (“Space Dog”).

Some universities complained that the Space Dog image took too much screen space (haha) on the browser page, and in 2023 the company retired Space Dog. When Lisa Clark and others in Blackboard Product Development learned that I was retiring from EKU they decided that I needed a Space Dog tie. So now Space Dog and I can enjoy retirement together!