I've been published...

... on Rate Your Students! (Mine is the second part of this post)

Trailer Tuesday

D has been home sick since Sunday (some intestinal virus or something). The DVD player is getting some good use, since she blazed through her DVR'd shows pretty quick. Here's one she watched this morning (note: this is a 'homemade' trailer that someone posted- I couldn't find a good quality one on YouTube)

Global Climate Change

A friend of mine e-mailed to ask for website suggestions for someone she knows that thinks global warming is just hype and isn't about to watch Al Gore's movie. Here is what I sent her:

Hi K:
Don't you love people who think that global warming is a political agenda? You might let her know that it's ONLY in the U.S. that global warming is seen as political. Here are a few sites that I know of:

BBC News In Depth
There are links to lots of environmental problems including these on climate change:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/sci_nat/04/climate_change/html/climate.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/05/sci_nat_how_the_world_is_changing/html/1.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/2004/planet/default.stm#

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
A group of hundreds of scientists from all over the world, their latest report comes out this Friday

Union of Concerned Scientists
"... the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world."

Climate Hot Map
Early signs of global warming

2100: A World of Wild Weather
Recent article in New Scientist.

RealClimate
"Climate Science from Climate Scientists" (science blog)

The HBO documentary "Too Hot Not To Handle " is also excellent- I show it in class. Have you seen it? They interview climate scientists and talk about impacts of climate change on the U.S., specifically. Here is their list of links (some may be too political for your friend).

Those are the main ones I know- there is plenty of information out there. I don't get people who think it's all a liberal hoax- to what end? Good luck convincing her!

Tech Tags: climate change science

I hope it's warmer where YOU live.

Just a quick post tell you that I am writing an exam (OK- picking questions from a test bank!) for my freshman course and I can hear the window screens and siding rattling. It's currently snowing sideways, the temperature is 16°F or 17°F (we don't have a weather station here in Small College Town), and the windchill is between -1°F and +2°F!!! AND IT'S the MIDDLE of the DAY!! Why did winter have to show up for real??? I'm glad I don't have to go anywhere, except dinner at a colleague's house later- unless D doesn't feel better (she has a tummy ache).

yuck. why, oh why do I live here?

Some Art Saturday

I saw this photograph on Antiques Roadshow last night (it was DVR'd). I already knew about Alfred Stieglitz and that he photographed Georgia O'Keeffe. These are her hands. I find this appealing on so many levels- especially because my husband said that the first thing he noticed about me was my hands. To see the hands in this photo and know that they painted so many beautiful works is fascinating.

Hands with Thimble

Alfred Stieglitz, 1920
from The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation

Priceless Produce

Those of you planning to buy 10 pounds of peppers will be stopped at the door!

taken with my cell phone

Trailer Tuesday (oops!)

Wow- where did Tuesday go?? Since I forgot to post a trailer yesterday here are TWO YouTubes for you. The first is a wonderful movie- don't let the slow b/w beginning fool you. Most of the movie is told in flashback (which is in color) . If you haven't seen it, add it to your Net Flix queue soon! The second is a hilarious fake commercial from Conan O'Brien. "...it's a treadmill..."




doh! (as in Homer Simpson) They removed the Conan O'Brien clip from YouTube, so here's a link. Under videos, click iPhone Commercial.

More crazy weather

This picture was taken by my blog-less brother, who lives in Tucson. They had an inch of snow last night! Doesn't it look gorgeous??

*Live* blogging from campus!

Yes- I'm blogging from campus! Isn't it exciting? I just met with my first lab for my 100-level course (my TA is down there, still). I think it's going OK. I will be checking in on the other labs later this afternoon. My TA is holding up OK- this is her/his first time as a TA, so s/he's struggling to explain some class concepts to the students. Send your good vibes his/her way! While the labs are going on, I will be doing some other exciting things here in my office. What's on the agenda? Reviewing applications for a search we're doing! Preparing for the rest of this week's classes! Drinking decaf coffee (it really doesn't keep you awake, you know?) It's more excitement than I can handle... But- this is live blogging from campus!

f---ing Bush- I just heard a sound byte about his crusade against stem cell research- he was speaking by phone to an anti-abortion rally saying something about 'not taking innocent life for medical research'. It's a bunch of cells! The cells are not even differentiated! The unused (for IV fertilization) frozen embryos are destroyed anyway! There are WAY worse things going in the world! This digression brought to you by live blogging from campus.

My state gets a big F

Apparently it's Blog for Choice Day, so this is my contribution. (read Bardiac's post, too)

Bardiac has a link to NARAL's abortion access report cards for the states. According to that source, 91% of counties in my state have no access to abortion (Dr. Brazen Hussy will be happy to know that her state is even worse!). It knew it was bad, but not that bad. Wow.

One other comment I'll make is that I think men have no right to argue about stopping abortion. When they get a uterus, I'd be happy to hear their opinion. It also drives me CRAZY how militant pro-lifers are ALSO opposed to birth control. You can't have it both ways! Birth control PREVENTS abortion. Duh.

Some Art Saturday

Georgia O'Keeffe's work has become quite ubiquitous, but I still love it. One very special piece of art that I own is a cross stitch version of the painting below. My best friend from grad school did it as a wedding gift and it hangs in our kitchen. I know she worked on it for a long time for us (including having it mounted and framed) and that's what makes it so special. I've never been to Santa Fe, but if I ever get there I will definitely visit the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.

Oriental Poppies
by Georgia O'Keeffe, 1928

Tech Tags: georgia o'keeffe poppies painting art

Doomsday

Well, looks like there's just good news all around.

cheers.

Somewhat random midweek non-bullets

The days are getting away from me and I really don't like neglecting my blog this way! My schedule is vastly improved over last semester, but there are enough extra things going on that I still feel a bit overwhelmed at times. Tonight, H and I are taking a break and watching TV. I have plenty that I could be doing, but I'll put it off for now!

My Google Reader list was so long that I basically skimmed most of the blogs and had to leave it at that. I subscribe to a couple weather blogs and they've been full of interesting weather all over the place. I know that 'global warming skeptics' like to use any cold spell as a sign that there is no human-induced climate change going on, but what they neglect to realize is that global warming will lead to generally unpredictable weather. Average global temperature will keep increasing, but specific weather events can still go the other direction- even heavy snow may be more common in some places with warmer temperatures.

I cannot do the random call-on-students thing. I picked out one guy in the back today to answer a SIMPLE question that anyone would know and someone else jumped in with an answer. I'm just not going to be able to do it. The whole thing was too awkward and I just don't feel comfortable singling people out. Oh well. So sue me.

I need to get back to getting up at a ridiculous hour. I don't get much done in the evening, so I'd be better off sleeping early and just doing the work in the morning like I used to.

OK- that's all for now... I just wanted to check in. I hope you are all doing well out there in the blogosphere.

Trailer Tuesday (& 200!)

Hi everyone- not much time for a post today, as I am drowning in class-prep (on my supposedly research-only day!), annual report/tenure dossier, letters of recommendation today. However, I just saw this movie over the weekend (thanks, NetFlix!). We loved it...



This is my 200th post, too!

And a BIG oops! for me...

I was supposed to review a research proposal for a (non-American!) government agency by FRIDAY and I completely forgot (and it's in my Google calendar, too). I don't know how I managed that, but I did. I am going to read it today and do the review, but I feel just terrible about it. I hope they don't think I am the biggest flake, EVER!

more later...

eta: I got it done and submitted (electronic form!), so that will hopefully be OK. I figure it won't be too much of a problem, since Friday was the deadline and it will be there Monday morning when they get to work! Now, I need to catch up on letters of recommendation (like this one) and my annual report- oh yeah and I have classes next week, too!

Some Art Saturday

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I am posting a painting by an African-American artist this week. Robert Scott Duncanson was a 19th century landscape painter influenced by the Hudson River School. He studied in Scotland, left the U.S. during the Civil War, and spent much of his time in the U.S. between Detroit and Cincinnati. The link above has a nice biography, so I won't try to copy it here. The location in this painting is on the Ottawa River in Canada.

A Wet Morning on the Chaudière Falls

by Robert S. Duncanson, c. 1868
from the National Gallery of Canada CyberMuse

Last night before bed, my daughter told me that she was glad that Martin Luther King did what he did, because she wouldn't be allowed to go to school with her friends otherwise (they were talking about it in school yesterday).

Tech Tags: african american art landscape paintings canada

More strange winter weather

As Trillwing pointed out, the weather is being very odd this winter. Here are the current conditions (as of about 8:30AM EST) for a few places and once again, Small Town is warmer than places in CA and AZ! It's also raining, which is more typical of their winter weather than ours!

Thanks for letting us have your nice mild winter weather over here! We're really enjoying it!

climate change is the 'new' evolution?

Please- see this blog post and the news story it discusses...

Teaching strategies

As I mentioned yesterday, I am trying to make my BIG lecture class more interactive this semester. Today was the second round and I think it also went pretty well. I had more actual lecture time today, because I had to explain some complicated material that wasn't entirely covered in the book. Here are things I've observed over this week:

1) I think I am too timid/nice/empathetic to specifically call on students during class. I need to work on this- I am expecting them to read and I have a seating chart. I could (should)? ask specific people about questions on the reading, but I am afraid! The class has almost 100 students and I know that some students would not feel comfortable speaking in front of their classmates. I don't want students to be afraid to show up if they didn't get to the reading, but I do want to encourage them to get it done. I will be working on this over the semester, so stay tuned...

2) I don't have to 'cover' everything I expect them to know for exams during lecture. I've always 'known' this, but this is the first semester that I am really practicing it. I am going to be touching on the most important concepts in class, but they will have to read their books if they want to succeed on the exams.

3) I actually know enough about this topic that I don't need to have text on the slides. I don't know why I never realized this before- I've only taught this class (or its equivalent) 17 times over the past 11 years*, but it really hadn't occurred to me.

4) Changing my textbook may not be as tough as I thought, since I am only putting figures on the slides for class. I am also writing on the board a lot more than I used to. I think it take some time to get used to switching back and forth between slides and chalk (dimming lights, etc.)

I am optimistic at this point, so we'll see. Enjoy the long weekend, everyone. Cheers!

*In case that timeline doesn't jive with what you know about me- I taught part-time as an adjunct between Master's and PhD.

Tech Tags: academia teaching lecturing

Comments on the first week of the semester

I've been settling into my new schedule and I can tell you that I am really enjoying teaching three days a week instead of five this semester. I'm staying at home T/Th to work on research- in fact I am trying to completely ban working on teaching on T/Th. I am taking an extended lunch break right now and listening to yesterday's Al Franken show (the podcasts are so nice, because they have SO many ads on Air America).

Monday I taught both classes- I handed out syllabi and did some overview-type things in class. The students seem fine so far. In my 100-level class I think I covered all the pet-peeve issues like that I can hear them talking- even in the back of the room, that I HATE when they pack-up before class is over (they started doing that 7 minutes before class ended on Monday- how dare I keep them the WHOLE time on the first day!), that they should never call me MRS. N., and that they need to do the reading BEFORE class. There seems to be one very sarcastic guy who likes to answer questions that I pose with a loud sarcastic response- we'll see if I have to say something or not. In my upper-level/grad class I had two people who didn't show up on Monday- including one grad student who I am supposed to be advising(?) What the hell is up with that? And the course is directly related to what he will supposedly by doing for his research.

Tuesday I never left the house- except to go to the bus stop to drop off/pick up D. I finally made those revisions on the solo paper! They weren't too tough, but I wanted to be thorough to be sure that the final acceptance comes through.

Wednesday I taught both classes 'for real' including some new approaches to my 100-level course. I am trying to do less lecturing and make the class more interactive. I am going to be relying on them doing the reading and then asking them lots of questions to keep the class moving along. I think it well yesterday, but I have to wonder if they will complain because it isn't so structured with the text on powerpoint slides, etc. I am providing them 'study guides' for each book chapter (which I am following closely) so that they know what to focus on. I'll probably do a midterm evaluation to get feedback and see how they like it.

Today I wrote up my response to the reviewer comments this morning, then took a walk on the treadmill before lunch. This afternoon I need to write the cover letter and make sure things are in order to send off the final version (hooray!) I may break my non-teaching rule, too, because I need streamline things for tomorrow and figure what they can do during class (I am trying to include 5-10 minute small group activities most days to keep it interesting). BUT- the letter comes first- I can always finalize the teaching stuff tonight.

Tomorrow I only have one class because I am not having labs this week and then I don't teach until Wednesday! I need to work on my annual report, so I guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend. Lovely. I'll try to keep up with the blogging better, too! I've been distracted with online shopping lately, so I my blog has suffered a bit.

Trailer Tuesday

This is one of my favorite movies. Maybe it's because I am such a science nerd, but I LOVE that it was written by Carl Sagan. I almost cried in the movie theater when they showed the "For Carl" before the end credits (he died before the movie was released). I really need to buy this one on DVD.

Sigh...

They're back. students

Not so good things...
Classes start tomorrow and I am NOT excited about it. I didn't revise that paper over break like I should have. I changed textbooks for my 100-level class (just to make things tougher for myself!) I am traveling to the West Coast at least twice this semester and making another trip (to Florida) right after classes end. My last pre-tenure annual review is also due in one week.

Better things...
The west coast trips should be great, but getting ready for them will be stressful- especially in the middle of the semester! Exciting things could happen this semester (I can't elaborate at this point). I am NOT teaching every day (like I was last semester), so I plan to NOT be on campus Wednesday afternoons or Tuesday or Thursday at all. I should have time to get the work done, but need to get back to my early morning schedule.

I've got laundry to fold before D's piano recital (yes- there is another one!) I'll let you know how tomorrow's crop of students are!

Tech Tags: academia research teaching

Some Art Saturday

I am going back to my History of Photography class for this week's selection. I love landscapes, whether they are photos or paintings. I am especially fascinated by really old photos of landscapes. This photo was taken by George Washington Wilson, a 19th century Scottish photographer. At the time, most photos were taken on glass plates coated with collodion and silver-iodide using long exposures. These glass negatives had to be developed in the field, so landscape photographers had to carry darkroom equipment and tents to the field with them! The photo below is in the George Washington Wilson Collection at the University of Aberdeen. This collection contains 40,000 of his glass negatives and you can even order prints! I think I will eventually order a few prints to have framed to hang at home. They're just gorgeous and remind me of my trip to Scotland.

The Silver Strand, Loch Katrine
by George Washington Wilson, c. 1875-1880
from the University of Aberdeen Photographic Archive (item A1599)

Tech Tags: art photography landscape scotland

Does this f---ing university actually want us to publish?

Greetings! If you reached this post from Inside Higher Ed, please take a look around. Browse my Posts of Substance (on the right). Look in my archives. Not all of my posts are bitch-and-moan sessions like this one. Cheers!

I had a co-authored paper accepted a while back (I'm second author) and we got the proofs the other day along with the page charges. My U has a process to obtain money to "cover" publication costs. We are limited to $500 per year. My co-author and I (in the same department) thought we could contribute $500 each to the charges for the paper (which are just over $1000). Our admin assistant checked to see whether we needed two forms and this is the email I just got from her:

I spoke w/[research office person] to check if we needed to do 2 applications or how it worked. S/he said that $500 is the maximum for the paper. S/he could split the $500 between the two of you and you both would have $250 left to use towards the next reprint or the total $500 could go towards one of you, and one of you would still have $500 to use. I've also spoken with [dept. chair] about where you're supposed to get the remaining $527. S/he said the department would support each of you for $200, which leaves $127. I've checked your contingency and grant overhead accounts and Addy has $100, and [co-author] has $50. So that will cover the total. How's that sound?

This pisses me off for several reasons.

1. I have not used that alotted $500 every year (but apparently it's 'use it or lose it'),
   
2. I am SECOND author on the paper, but since my co-author used up his/her contingency money last year on OTHER page charges (so s/he's being penalized for too many pubs??), I have more to spend,
   
3. why the hell does the U have this $500 per paper limit? If we use our funds on one paper, that is our own problem,
   
4. is it reasonable to limit our funds on required activities (including how our conference travel funds cover little more than REGISTRATION at this point),
   
5. if our department can come up with $400, is another $127 really a hardship?

I am so angry right now- I have three conferences this semester and I will be paying at least part of my own expenses on every single one. Is it too much to ask my U to pay publication charges??

ETA: I wanted to follow up on ScienceWoman's and Chaser's comments about using grant money for travel, publication costs, etc. My department does not have a strong record for getting grant money (we teach five courses per year and have no PhD program). Since I came here, I have been trying to obtain grants despite this lack of mentoring and support (those of you you've read my blog for a while have heard about some of my trials and tribulations there). So far, I have not had any success, so I am left without any supplemental money for papers and travel. Every time these issues come up, I am reminded about those unfunded proposals, too.

Tech Tags: academia research publishing

Crazy Weather in Small Town

Does anyone else find it odd that it is substantially warmer here in SmallTown, Midwest than it is in Tucson, Walnut Creek (east of San Francisco), Downey (near LA), or San Diego

IN JANUARY???

Our 'normal' (average) high temperature for this date is 38°F, by the way. See this story, too.

Weather conditions from Weather Underground as of 9:30 AM EST 01/05/2007

Tech Tags: weather climate change wunderground

Advising dilemma

I want to tell you about Master's student that I am currently advising (we have a small Master's program and no PhD) This student is in his/her 3rd year, so has used up all his/her funding. Let's call this student, P. P is an OK student, but does not seem well-suited for a PhD. Well, P is applying for PhD programs and has listed me as a reference. My dilemma is this, do I:

1. tell P that I don't feel comfortable writing a letter for him/her?
   
2. write a letter, but be brutally honest?
3. write a letter that says I recommend this student for a PhD (when I don't?)
4. write a letter that says anything good I can think of, but isn't glowing?
   
5. some other option that I haven't considered?

I am in a bind here for a few other reasons. This student is from a distant country (here on a student visa) and has chronic health problems. If P is no longer a student, s/he will have to go home where treatment is not readily available. However, if I write a glowing letter, P starts PhD work and is clearly not up to snuff, my own reputation could suffer. I already have a good idea of what I will likely do here, but still wanted to hear your thoughts.

Tech Tags: academia advising

Trailer Tuesday

This week's trailer is from another movie I saw recently (NOT in the theater). H and I see most movies on TV- either DVD or on the one the HD movie channels- and this is one we watched a few weeks ago. It was directed by Spike Lee, but quite different from most of his movies. It is very suspenseful and I didn't figure it out until the very end- it keeps you guessing and wondering exactly what is going on and will happen. If you haven't seen it- I highly recommend it. The second clip is the music video for the song that plays in the movie's opening and closing credits. It's from India- which seemed an odd choice since it unrelated to the movie. But- I liked it and the video is really interesting, too.

Sweet... I'm a cool villian

And, I can pretend that I'm Elrond, too!

Agent Smith You're evil this much: 62% You're old school crazy villain in a new school style. You're big with the usual fighting and taking over of the world and whatnot. Agent Smith is so bad that even in the other Matrix movies, the other bad guys are scared of him, because he's really really bad. The other Matrix movies suck, by the way, but still, you're quite an interesting villain. Link: The SUPER VILLAIN Test written by genepoolfun on OkCupid

Starting off right!

After my last week or so of NON-working, I am actually getting some things done today! I did one minor thing for my paper revision, then spent some time updating my information for the pre-proposal due next this week (Friday). I was debating about hopping on the treadmill for a short walk, but I might take a break today (or maybe not!) I want to do some things around the house today, like taking down the Xmas tree and vacuuming (done!). Maybe, I'll post something more substantive later...

Happy 2007, everyone!