(As before, I’m still not sure whether, in the metaphor, the factory is building monkeys or staffed by monkeys. Perhaps, really, we’re in the business of making educated monkeys, and the problem is that our administration views this as akin to making widgets. Anyway, the point is: Explosions! Chaos! Shrieking! Brachiating along the pieces of wreckage!)
We had our beginning-of-the-semester faculty meeting today, and I have to conclude that our department is in an abusive relationship with the university (and system) administration.
Why I’m convinced of this is the simple fact that we have little to no idea what will make them spank us, at least not in advance of being spanked.
Category Archives: Personal
New Year’s Eve gabfest.
If I were not involved in preparing food for Casa Free-Ride’s New Year’s Eve celebration (after which, I will be joining my family members to celebrate and/or test our endurance in the face of fatigue — I’ll let you know afterward which of those it ends up being), I would totally be writing you a nice ethics-y and/or science-y post.
Since I’m not, and since you appear to have a moment to be reading this, let’s make it a party. Use the comments to share:
An appeal to help light the darkness.
In the last few days, I’ve gotten a bunch of emails reminding me that the window for tax-deductible charitable giving for the year is closing. So, as 2009 winds down, I want to make an appeal to those readers lucky enough to have a bit of money for discretionary spending. Last year I wrote:
[T]o the extent that we can, we can shake our tiny checkbooks and try to bring a bit more light to the darkness.
Especially since doing it before the last minute of 2008 (at least in the U.S.) may give you a tax-deduction on your 2008 taxes.
(Minor sidebar here: As the tax code stands in the U.S., rich people who make charitable donations effectively get more of a tax-deduction than do lower income people. I don’t know if this is supposed to encourage those with piles of money to be more charitable than they would otherwise; if it is, I don’t know if it works. In any case, given the current tax rules, this means that the people on the financial edge who find a few bucks to give to a charitable cause are the real heros. Also, that it may be worth reexamining the tax code.)
In the event that you have even a little money to spare and you want to see 2008 out doing something to help others, here are a few organizations near to my heart.
The same three organizations I recommended in 2008 are still on my list, but I’m adding some more this year.
Movie review: Avatar.
While the sprogs were hanging out at the aquarium with the Grandparents Who Lurk But Seldom Comment, my better half and I went to see a 3-D IMAX screening of Avatar. My big concerns going in were that all the 3-D IMAX goodness would make me motion-sick, and that if that didn’t get me, then the story by James Cameron might make me lose my lunch.
Back to posting soon.
… once my fingertips holler “Uncle!” and tell me to take a break from my new ukulele.
To help you pass the time, some uke players who are way better than the n00b that I am on day 2 of my musical odyssey:
Christmas wrapping.
Well, technically, wrappings for Christmas eve dinner: discos para empanadas.
It turns out, peeling them apart requires some patience and dexterity. Luckily, I had sufficient quantities of both.
An open letter.
To the young people wandering around Casa Free-Ride singing Christmas songs (not just the refrains but all of the verses):
None of the canonical reindeer is named Connor. And Santa does not have a reindeer named Nixon.
Love,
Dr. Free-Ride
P.S. The last batch of cookies will be out of the oven in one minute. But you need to let them cool before you sample them — just like the other batches.
A bad way to use your officially sanctioned cheat-sheet on an exam.
I am, as it happens, done grading. But I need to express my concern (OK, bumfuzzlement) about something I saw quite a lot of on the final exams I was grading.
You may recall that I let my students prepare a single page of notes (8.5″ by 11″, front and back) that they can use to help them on their exam. Sadly, not all uses of such an officially sanctioned cheat-sheet end up being helpful. Imagine the following exam question, which the students are asked to answer in a few sentences:
The elder Free-Ride offspring breaks into song.
Possibly related to the last post. The lyrics are original.
(For this, you need to imagine the younger Free-Ride offspring humming in the background as the elder sings.)
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
We’re sorry that we killed ya.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
At least we didn’t grill ya.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Our only Christmas casualty.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Be thankful we don’t “nil” ya.
Santa Claus and ethics.
It’s time for Dr. Free-Ride to have a chat with the grown-ups. If you’re a kid and you’re reading this, think how much the adults in your life would appreciate it if you got up from the computer and put away your stuff that needs putting away (or played with your brother or sister nicely, or folded some socks).
I’ll have a post with some neat-o pictures in it up in a few hours.