September 13 - 106 years ago, Mimmie was born. In 2007, I found Ande, a tiny little stray cat, in the parking lot at Villa Valenti. Since it was her birthday, and she always had (lots of) cats, I took it as a sign, and scooped him up. Two months ago, he passed away.

I wrote this piece several years ago, in April, on the anniversary of Mimmie's death.

Next Spring, If I’m Alive

Outside the living room window, there is a pussy willow tree that is just beginning to bud. It is now encased in a coating of ice, as is everything else. It looks like it might be January out there, except that in January there were two feet of snow.

Ten years can seem like a long time ago, or a moment. On this day in 1993, my maternal grandmother, Mimmie died. When I think of the things that have happened in the past decade: graduate school, job changes, building a weekend house, the growing up of nieces and nephews, adopting pets, getting published for the first, second, third time, it seems like a lifetime.

But when I think of Mimmie, of the other people who have passed on, and the animals who have gone over the trail, it seems like yesterday. "Next spring, if I'm alive," she would say every year, when she talked about gardening plans. So I guess her leaving in the spring was somehow appropriate.

One of my most prized possessions is a gorgeous antique bookcase that was Mimmie's. In my lifetime she used it to store utility items on the back porch. It was painted green and sat next to the springy wooden screen door that creaked when you opened it. The porch at the old place had the fragrance of mildew mingled with cats. It may seem strange to choose the word "fragrance" to describe the odor but in my memory it wasn't unpleasant. My front porch here in Castleton smells much the same way, which could be another reason I like this funny little house. But open my front door and the scent of "hound" may knock you down; this wasn't the case at Mimmie's.

Ma remembers that Mimmie cut the bookcase in half during the 1950s, so that it would fit in the living room at the house in West Shokan where they lived at that time. The woodstove may be what happened to its other half, sacrificed for an apple pie and a pot of baked beans. In the 1970s, a couple of years before Mimmie moved from the old place to her trailer, my mother stripped the green paint away and revealed solid oak. My growing collection of novels replaced the paint cans on its four shelves.

It sits now in my living room, and holds my finest books. The top two shelves are devoted to Mark Twain, and should he need more space, the others will be gradually evicted. There is one shelf for a set of his complete works, and one shelf for miscellaneous copies of his books. I've never formally studied Mark Twain. His books were not assigned in high school, and I never took a college class that included his work either. Regardless, you might say I'm enamored with the subject. Just some examples of my collection: I have six copies of various editions of Life on the Mississippi and four copies of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; one of those copies of Huck Finn is from 1948. I have A Horse's Tale from 1907, A five volume set of his more popular works from 1917, A 2001 copy of A Murder, a Mystery and A Marriage, and two versions of his two volume set autobiography from 1925.

The bottom shelf houses The International Cyclopaedia (1892); the third shelf contains various hardcover books, including Lincoln by Gore Vidal, Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, some Georgette Heyer novels that were gifts from my Aunt Jean and have been worthy of a place in the oak bookcase since it became mine in high school, several dictionaries, and books about Mark Twain written by different scholars.

From my later studies I know this handsome furniture is Federal-style. Sometimes I notice the still-rough end and I lament that Mimmie sawed this piece in two. Then I assess the size of the room and realize that it wouldn't fit anywhere if it was still intact.

I suppose the cold weather will be gone soon enough, the pussy willow will thaw, and my thoughts will go from reading and books to outdoor pursuits. Looking ahead to late spring and early summer, I eagerly anticipate strawberry season. Mimmie didn’t like to go many places, but she did enjoy strawberries picking; in fact, she even liked it more than she feared snakes.

In my mind’s eye I can see her, wearing sneakers and a house dress, carefully navigating the rows, carting quarts of perfect berries, making sure that she didn’t step on any plants. She looked frail, but somehow strong at the same time. Mimmie never gave into temptation as the rest of us did, by sampling the berries while out in the field. That was due more to the fact that insects may have been on them at some point, than to a concern about pesticides. And if she discovered later that a bug had gotten into one of her quarts, she’s have to throw the whole thing out.

“Next spring, if I’m alive,” she’d say afterwards, her blue eyes sparkling as she looked off into the distance, as if she could see all the way until the following June, “I’m only going to pick medium sized red-orange ones, instead of ripe ones. They’re rotten by the time you get them home. And the big ones look nice but they’re tasteless.”

No matter what berries she used, Mimmie’s strawberry jam was never tasteless.

I had an irony attack.

Last night I had so many ideas for things I wanted to post - but as often happens, other priorities crop up. (Actually those other priorities are always there, and I can happily procrastinate if the distractions are things such as picking tomatoes or going grocery shopping, but it's hard to allow nonessential writing to take precendence over my academic and administrative duties, sadly.)

Anyway - checked off a bunch of stuff, and I don't want to forget to comment on this. As you can see, the letter I mention here is the first one.

Editor's Note: We had taken the use of the "crowbar slapping" term referred to in a letter in our last issue as a metaphor designed to push the argument to a different level, and applied in a cartoonish manner (the author being a cartoonist by trade). We had not expected the term to be taken literally, and agree that such terminology is less than the civility I see in the overall discourse between these two writers.

A whole lot more defensive than then "good point" response I received via email, eh? It reminded me of this go around from a few years ago. At the time, I puzzled over why Mr. Thayer attacked me personally, and why the OP would print it unedited. A couple of weeks later, when I was in Samsonville and had access to the print edition (at the time they did not post the entire issue online as a PDF file, they only put up excerpts in HTML), I saw that Mr. Thayer regularly advertised his landscaping business in the Olive Press. So that explained why they printed his attack.

The editor's note about Mr. Murphy being a cartoonist struck me. How did they know that about him? I went through the PDF edition and saw that he is credited as the OP's cartoonist! So again, this explains why they ran the letter with the disturbing language.

Am I missing something here? I admit to not being much of a fan of the OP. I believe it is often poorly edited, sloppily researched, and that the bias is almost always anti-Olive. (And the cartoons suck.) The editorials - written by the editor and/or publisher - are truly pathetic. They are invariably stream-of-consciousness pieces, and finger-wagging in tone - admonishing us ignorant, provincial folks to suck it up and embrace whatever agenda the OP is pushing, with exhortations about what is "right." When they know they cannot reasonably push their preferred side of an issue for some reason - they meander around lamely and finally duck the issue.

Maybe that's the reality where such language is only a metaphor, and positively changes the level of discourse. (The editor's note must mean he perceives the level to have been elevated, right?) But how are threats of violence, even metaphorical ones, cartoonish? (I always hated the Road Runner cartoons, btw, and rooted for the coyote.)

I suspect it is because the OP agrees more with Murphy's politics than with Langbert's. As I wrote in my letter, I am not interested because I care a bit about the nuances of their arguments, but I do confess to feeling like snarkily saying to each of them: "hello Murphy? It's the '60s calling. We want our talking points back" and to Langbert "can the tiresome appeal to pride and make your case without the list of great books you believe only the ignorant have not read."

It is such a beautiful blue sky day, strangely reminiscent of nine years ago.

I have a hard time with September. Not because of my birthday next week, which I don't mind at all. Still one year on the right side of 50! Or is that the left side?

I've written about my ambivalence toward September many times before, and so won't rehash it all now, but instead will link to this. (Have to now add my little Ande to the list.) There are many more things I could add as reasons - but that will keep - for another time, or forever.

A bunch of stuff is keeping right now - again, maybe forever. It's the kind of stuff that makes writing in a private journal appealing. (But I probably won't do that either.)

Two fun things I did recently: the Chatham Fair last weekend (I love the showcasing of agriculture at fairs, and that has become the one I usually get to in the summer), and the Bridgeport - Port Jefferson Ferry yesterday! Wow! Only way to go to LI, wish I knew that long ago.

Today is the Castleton village-wide garage sale! We participated last year - but are too tired from our travels yesterday to bother with trying to sell our junk. Still, it is worth the trip.

You'd never think this kind of thing would happen in Boiceville.

Another terrific column! I always look forward to the Wednesday Troy Record just to read John Gray's writing.

As a kid, I loved stuffed animals. They were my favorite toy; I much preferred them to dolls or board games. (I also liked the arts - drawing materials and craft kits especially.) I have had this rabbit, "Trix," for about 45 years. It was my favorite stuffed animal. (Can you tell? :-) My sister won it (used, although it looked like new) at a little carnival our cousins had to raise money for MDA, and she gave it to me. So in honor of Jerry Lewis weekend, I thought I would share it here.

Sigh. Well, at least they aren't tearing it down. (I hope.) Brings up unpleasant memories of the late Defreest-Church House debacle.

If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all...so here's my comment on this: thank God the innocent drivers were not killed.

So cute she brings tears to my eyes.

Ugh. I wonder what happened to him after this? Out to pasture? Life of abuse? Sent to slaughter? Will Disney show his last years? Nah. Of course not. It will be Disney-fied. In Disney's world, horses just love to run races in beastly hot weather, care about winning, and don't seem to mind breaking their legs, and slaughterhouses, abuse, and euthanasia are never the outcome. Or at least they are not common. The Disney equation is horse racing enthusiasts = horse lovers.

I remember July 6, 1975. It is seared into my mind. I was 13. We were at a BBQ at my parents' friends' house. A horse race from Belmont was on television. A promising Thoroughbred named Ruffian was running. My mother was interested because it was a filly - a very young one, and she disapproved of horse racing (still does, maybe more adamantly). Ruffian snapped her leg. Big surprise! Horses that age do not have leg bones that are fully developed.

She was euthanised the following day. Another big surprise! Horses are not good candidates for that sort of repair surgery. There was a movie made about her in 2007, but somehow I doubt it was a Disney project, unless they were able to Hollywood-ize the ending. I'd never watch it, of course.

The semester is off to a good start! Classes seem engaged, and I am having fun. Best part of all: my computer is fixed and back in my office. Really, it is pathetic how dependent we all are on technology, and I am no exception. I didn't know what to do with myself!

On Saturday, coming back from Cortland, we stopped in Oneonta. Why experience the new semester at two colleges, and not at our alma mater? They started up a week ago, so students were already settled in. I don't think we've been to Oneonta when classes were in session for quite a while. After visiting the Union, we went downtown and walked around. I'm happy to report Main Street is much more vital than what I wrote here.

We ended our visit with a trip to Brooks - no trip to Oneonta is complete without it!

First day of classes (for me) yesterday. I walk into my office early (for me), snap on my computer, and get ready to get working. Have to print rosters, email students, make changes to documents, print a few other things, and make some copies. The PC had other ideas. After sitting idle for nearly four months, it won't let me log on and go into Windows. Freezes every time I boot, and even Ctrl-Alt-Del doesn't work. It also won't go into Safe Mode. I forlornly (and nervously) watch as it is taken away. Sigh. I hope this isn't a warning, a harbinger of a bad semester looming. If I didn't have to teach, I would have just gone home.

I managed, used the white board rather than handouts for discussion questions, scrambled to print a few things in the GA office and make a bare minumum of copies (which weren't enough, naturally). Hopefully the machine will be fixed and I will be back in business tomorrow. Luckily I had my blackberry with me yesterday, but that is a poor substitute, and I don't get work-related email on it.

Classes were good overall, despite technology's betrayal.

So much to write and no time to do it! This is how the semester always slams me, I go from a nice leisurely pace, to being pulled in every direction. I feel a Nileston News coming on, and I have no "space" to draw it!

This really irritated me: Ulster sheriff, DA will confer over fatal Route 28 crash. I can't tell you how many fatalaties occur along that stretch of road, but let's just say that growing up near 28 probably is some of the cause of my driving phobia. The article itself didn't bother me that much (aside from the obvious impact of thinking about the tragedy), but the comments! Who cares if he is a nice guy? I may not be a licensed driver, but I am a walking manual of driving laws. I've taken the permit test more than anyone - and scored 100 every time.

Rearend collisions are not a grey area at all. Everyone knows who is at fault, you don't have to get a perfect score to know the law - it is a no brainer. He wasn't paying attention, was going too fast, or was following too close - simple as that. That particular spot is uphill and he was driving a big truck - think about that for a minute. It wasn't an accident, it was a crash - that's what they are called now, because accident implies it was not avoidable, and most crashes are due to driver error.

I have often commented that if you want to kill someone and get away with it, do it with your car. As long as you are not drunk, that is. But sober drivers can get away with it with hardly a slap on the wrist. It is disgusting.

"Spoke" too soon!

I read this local paper (which generally is crap, although it sometimes makes a good effort and I am sympathetic to the difficulties of newspaper publishing), often am alarmed at the articles and letters, and occasionally (rarely recently) write in myself.

There are some letter writers who submit something for almost every issue.

As  I was making the dog food, I couldn't get one of the letters off my mind. I had been shocked when I initially read it, but as I often do, clicked to the next thing on my list and decided to ignore it. Didn't work.

So I came back upstairs and sent a short note to the editor:

It's not my intention to argue the merit (or lack of merit) of either position in Mr. Murphy's or Mr. Langbert's ongoing debate, but to ask the Olive Press a question. In your August 26 editorial, you state: "Look back over the pages preceding this editorial... folks are addressing local issues, occasionally angry over interpretation of facts and reading of signs. But the dialogue always returns to a central civil reality: people enjoy the dialogue."

In whose reality does slapping someone in the face with a crowbar qualify as civil?

I think because I am contemplating the semester's beginning, which means a new section of Toleration class, I couldn't just let it go.

Later: the editor responds: "I guess only when it occurs in print. good point..."


I didn't bother emailing again, but isn't that a distinction without a difference? 

Last post (I think) before I have to weed whack, pick veggies (garden is awesome), make dog food and do laundry - all efforts to be ready for tomorrow's day on campus. Not that any of those necessarily have to do with academic work, but if they are hanging over my head, I have a hard time focusing.

I think you can see how well Sam, Sophie and Teddy are getting along! Easiest adoption ever.

Tidying up my blackberry in advance of the new semester (not that I use my bberry for work, but whatever), I realized that I forgot to write very much about our trip to Philadelphia earlier this month.

We walked around near the Liberty Bell, and ate at the City Tavern. I'd read a few reviews of it before we went, and found them to be mixed. I'm assuming that residents of Philly might find it touristy and not as good as places that are familiar to locals, and that might be true for those in "the know." But we loved it! Definitely worth visiting. Great pot pie! Wonderful atmosphere.

Also, a couple of weeks ago we ate at the Mountain Brauhaus in Gardiner. It was wonderful! Love those potato pancakes.

Finally, in Cortland we went to the Stone Lounge and danced. What a great band they had, it was so much fun.

First day of classes (for me) is tomorrow. I am ready, I guess...

Back from my visit to Cortland (what fun!) and Samsonville (where I swam yesterday!), here is my promised post, in "honor" of Travers weekend (seems I was wrong about the weather).

From 2003-2008, more than 3,000 horses died at race tracks in the United States, with 637 of those deaths happening in New York. Those statistics don't include what happens to horses that have retired, or the ones that are not "winners;" some are sent to slaughter. This doesn't make the news, unless the horse is well-known.

The fleabitten grey is Cinderella, a Thoroughbred who once raced, rescued by my mother from a life of neglect. The Morgan is April, who has enjoyed the loving care of my mother since she was a foal.

This post is really to honor them, and all horses, who deserve better than what a "career" in racing offers.

Worked a long day, about 12 hours. But I finished my syllabi and the online class BLS site so it was worth it. I still have a bunch of stuff to do tomorrow (and hopefully there will be enough breaks in the rain for me to pick the tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers...not to mention weed whack). I'm taking Friday off, going on a short road trip to meet a friend I've known since the first day of kindergarten (44 years!). She's dropping her daughter off for freshman year of college. Fun, but the timing isn't great.

Still, I'm in OK shape. It feels very hurried, though. It's complicated by the consulting project, not only does it take time, but the good impacts I've noted on myself have extended from cartooning to changing a lot of assignments. Injecting them with a shot of creativity. I tweak every semester, but a major overhaul doesn't come around very often. This is partially fueled by a need to make changes in the assignment where I found plagiarism last Spring.

The schedule this semester is strange. My thursday class will only meet 12 times, instead of the usual 14. Two classes to cut. Need an injection of creativity there too! Also there's the need to add in some current issues, among them: more on immigration, the mosque in NYC controversy, and some new examples of ethical lapses. How to do this with two less classes!

Here's a (season inappropriate) horse scene to tide me over until I take one of Cindy.

I am close to freaking out! The semester starts Monday 8/30. One of my classes is fully online, and the others extensively use online materials as supplements to the primary on campus delivery method. On Thursday, the university did maintenance to Blackboard, which is what we use for the online component. Having the courseware unavailable for a day this close to the start of the semester was a hassle, but not that big of a deal. However, since the maintenance, I have been experiencing browser errors when I try to design. It happens on all of my machines, with different set-ups, browsers, IP addresses, and even providers. The "helpdesk" seems to be stumped...they recommended a bunch of time consuming things to try which didn't work and haven't responded since Friday. What compounds it, in my opinion, is that they operate with a 9-5, M-F approach, rather than 24/7, especially this close to the start of the semester. This has been my chief criticism since we switched to a new model back in Spring 2008. I will need to troubleshoot this myself if I don't hear from them with a solution very soon. AAAAHHHHH...

We spent the weekend in Samsonville. Teddy/Theo traveled like a dream! What a good kitty. It was cold on Saturday, and rained all day yesterday, so no swimming :-(. I think the weather forecast is muddied in the Capital District because of Saratoga. They don't want to discourage people from going to the track. I have been "anecdotally" observing this for years. Early in the week, the forecast always predicts the weather will be lovely for the weekend, unless there is a hurricane or something brewing that would make people suspicious that it was wrong. Then late in the week, the forecast mysteriously transforms.

I hoped to take a picture of Cinderella to post here (as promised), but the weather was so crummy I've decided to wait until this weekend. It will then coincide with Travers weekend, which is perfect. But Travers weekend is one where an inaccurate forecast never fails to be in evidence. So I wonder if we will have buckets of rain this weekend?

Yesterday, coming home, the southbound lanes of the Thruway were backed up to Catskill. Those silly folks who believed it would be sunny...

Update: BLS problem is fixed! YAY.

Watched Precious last night. Good movie, strong performances, although very difficult to watch at points.

Took Teddy/Theo out on a leash. He wasn't a bit afraid. He found the flowerpot of catnip and was so excited, rubbing against it - then rolling on the patio. Got his beautiful coat quite dirty :-). Too bad he is declawed, because he can never be loose.

I feel another Nileston News coming on...

The countdown to the semester is here. I am busy, busy, busy. Juggling the consulting (which revs up during the K-12 academic year) is going to be a challenge. Right now my to do list is long! Going to Samsonville this weekend, and Cortland next weekend, that's not exactly helping. Oh well. I'm sure it will work out.

I spent the past two days with teachers, in workshops, preparing. Lots of interesting things developed, but nothing to write here at the moment. Not enough time, and I still need to parse it - figure it all out, including what I am comfortable sharing here.

Blackboard was down today for maintenance, so making progress on syllabi etc. was not possible. I'll have to get up early tomorrow to make up for it.

Teddy/Theo is adjusting really well, he's such a sweetie. No problems with the dogs at all. He's not thrilled over the switch to canned food, but I notice he is already more perky. He has discovered how to use his own legs!

Meet Theodore! He'll be Teddy or Theo, or maybe both, jury's still out. I tried several times, and this was the best photo of the bunch. He's much more handsome in person! He's a real sweetheart, and his introduction to the dogs was incredibly easy.

We got him Maine Coon Cat rescue, via petfinder. He's five years old, and was still with his owner. We drove all the way to southern NJ to get him, left at 8 am and got home at 2 am! We stopped in Philadelphia on the way, went to the Liberty Bell and ate at City Tavern. It was fun!

The cat's got a couple of issues. The most obvious is that he is obese. I knew from the pictures that he might be overweight, but this is more than I expected. We checked yesterday, and he weighs 17 pounds. (The owner had emailed me 18.) I didn't think much of it because male MC cats can be 15-25 pounds. Edna was 13, and I'd say he is no bigger than Edna (hard to tell) so I'd like to get him to 13 or 14. Even 15 would be a big improvement.

I did some research on the net yesterday about cat obesity. I vaguely remembered some suggestions from when MHRHS took in that 35 pound cat a couple of months ago. I guess it is epidemic, just like with people. It is caused by feeding low quality dry and leaving a bowl out constantly. Not all cats will eat and eat, but some will. And cats need more protein than what is in dry food.

I plan to eventually feed him canned Wellness, like I did Edna, but it will probably take weeks to get him fully switched. I can't start out with Wellness because it isn't as palatable as commercial brands and even a fat cat will starve itself when it is addicted to cheap dry food. But I started the transition, using Fancy Feast canned. Luckily he gave me no problem about eating that, although he will only eat one can a day, so I still have to give him dry food for the other meal. No free feeding, though, I am measuring it (1/3 cup dry per day), not just leaving it out. I have to weigh him every 4 days or so to be sure he isn't losing too rapidly. Since he doesn't have that much to lose compared to morbidly obese cats, and he likes Fancy Feast, just going on canned and having portion control should do the trick, but it will probably take about 6 months to get him to 14 pounds.

Aside from being too fat, he's a beautiful cat. Coat and coloring are gorgeous. His eyes are yellow. Sometimes they seem a little cloudy, at other times we don't notice that. I've never had a cat with yellow eyes so maybe it is just because we are used to green. He sees fine, and they aren't red or runny, but that is something for the vet to check out when we take him. I think it could be caused by being overweight, too. Something about fat lipids collection.


Personality-wise, he's a dream. Uses his litter box, etc. There have been no problems with the dogs at all. Sam would like to play, but that isn't happening, until this cat loses some weight I doubt he will be at all playful. I gave him a ball and he wasn't interested.

He is used to being carried around. He isn't so fat that he can't do things on his own but he expects to be picked up and carried - he meows at you, when you bend to pet him, he jumps up and puts his front paws on your shoulder so you can lift him, and is happy to be carried around that way all the time. It's cute but he's going to learn to use those legs!

When we had him in the car about 5 minutes, were discussing how fat he is and Bob said, "I'm attached to him already." He rode loose in the car, and does not seem to get car sick like Edna did. You just pick him up and put him in, he doesn't struggle at all. Then you just get out and take him out. He didn't know how to go downstairs (he could go up), and would wait, meowing for me to come and carry him down. (He's too heavy for Bob!) That was a hassle, because he kept going upstairs, hasn't wanted to stay in the kitchen and so I'd have to take him down when he wanted to use the litterbox or have water or to eat . But this morning he learned! Yay! Otherwise I would have to block him in a room with a litter box and water when I am not home.

He's declawed, which may be contributing to his problem with the stairs. I would never declaw a cat, can't understand why someone would, but I suppose if I have to carry him a lot, it is safer on my arms.  I do plan to take him out sometimes, but I'll put him on a leash. He needs fresh air and exercise. I tried to get a collar on him today, and he acted like I was crazy. So that will have to wait until Bob is home.

I think he is afraid of thunder and lightening - we had a terrific storm and he hid in the office behind the printer the whole time. When it stopped he came out.

His name was Andy. That kind of freaked me out, although Bob didn't mind. It just didn't seem respectful to my little Ande. But we decided to wait, and see what we thought about keeping his name after getting him. Well, he doesn't seem to know the name Andy at all. So, we figure there is no problem with changing it. We settled on Theodore, will call him Teddy or Theo. Teddy has the "dy" sound, similar to Andy, and he does look like a bear. My father suggested Leo, which would be a good choice also. So maybe Theo. Bob said Teddy while he is fat, and Theo after he slims down!

This morning I was up early (for me, during the summer). I planned to work on the blackboard component of my classes - specifically, for the fully online class, which goes "live" on Monday. I was greeted by a black screen - apparently the machine had re-started at some point during the night. An error message about wininet.dll resulted when it tried to load my desktop, and all I got was the wallpaper and screensaver, no icons. It wouldn't go into safe mode, except for the one with the C prompt. Going back to the last good boot didn't stop the error. I could get the task manager by hitting ctrl-alt-del, but it wouldn't run anything. After trying many things, and the feeling of panic starting to set in that I might need to use the repair CD...or worse, maybe it was a hardware problem...

I found this website, followed the steps, and it worked like a charm! Must have been another virus. I fully scanned the system, but didn't come up with anything obvious except for registry errors. But, so far, so good.

The remainder of the day was spent with graduate student emails. Some sticky situations always arise this close to the start of the semester. So blackboard and the Fall online class will have to keep.

I don't know how I missed this story. (Probably because I find myself only reading the advice, obituaries, and three or four comic strips since the TU stripped out nearly all other worthwhile content in their last makeover.)

I'd be more likely to have read the story if it had appeared in the Record, so went to their website to check if I'd also missed it there - and the link goes to the TU story! Why is it still exclusive, I wonder? Isn't this public information? I swear, schools operate under such a veil of secrecy when it comes to personnel issues.

Anyway, glad to have stumbled across the details here.

I know students in my classes, especially my toleration class (where it is the focus of one three hour class) wonder why I am such an extremist on this issue. I cite many examples, but this will resonate when I include it in the reading next semester: A piece of recent local evidence, right in the education field.

Got The Lovely Bones from Netflix and watched it a couple of nights ago. I already read and loved the book, and didn't expect it to be as good. I have to admit they did a fine job of adapting it to a movie. It can't have been an easy story to transform into a screenplay. They managed to capture the essence of the book. (I still enjoyed the book more, though, and I am glad I didn't watch it first - after seeing a movie version, I am rarely tempted to read the book it was based on.)

It was borderline too creepy for me to watch, though. I had no trouble with this aspect when reading it. There must be something about the printed word, or about my imagination, that allowed me to handle it. Visually represented, it has been haunting me, especially at night.

I don't get why what this guy did was illegal? He didn't beat someone up. He didn't commit an act of vandalism. I don't see where anyone was placed at risk. He cursed out a passenger, took beer, and slid out of the plane. An offense that he would be fired over? Yes, certainly, but it seems to me as if he was [dramatically] quitting anyway. I suppose people may have been afraid. But this isn't the Minority Report world. I think how he expressed his frustration is way better than the workplace nutjobs who litter the news because they shoot up colleagues.

Yesterday, it wasn't a boiling hot day, but the solar cover had been on, so the water was warm, and I swam. Today, it is so humid and hot - earlier this afternoon I had to water my container tomatoes because they were wilted. I tried to pick string beans, but the sun was just too much. Unfortunately the pool is 65 miles away...:-(

I did manage to go out a little while ago and pick the beans, though. And thankfully the tomato plants have perked up.

So far I have had only one email from a student complaining about summer grades. (The final grade was D.) Now I have a few days before I have to immerse myself in my consulting work, and in the Fall semester. What shall I do?

I have to complete an online training to get approval for research I am doing, so that will be one thing on the list. The other is yard work, I have to weed whack. The garden is bountiful! What a great year for growing things, almost makes up for last year's constant rain and abysmal harvest.

This strikes me as incredibly disingenuous. You are caught stealing on videotape, resign so that you can escape criminal charges, shoot a bunch of co-workers, and then your family blames it on discrimination? Talk about the ultimate in not taking responsibility, blaming others, and denial.

Unrelated...last night as I was cooking dinner, through the kitchen window I noticed wild turkeys crossing the back yard, a bit down the hill. I had to do a double take, and run from window to window (covering Sam's eyes when necessary) to get a better look. Sure enough, that's what is was! It's a sight that is commonplace in Samsonville, but completely unexpected in Castleton.

I'm done with summer grades! A day before deadline. Yay!

Today I walked to church in a better mood. I've been feeling blue lately, mostly associated with the loss of Ande so suddenly, and the end of the semester pressure is always anxiety producing (grades are due Wednesday). But, I started to do some light looking (I expect it to take a while) for a new cat, and just seeing pictures of possibilities made me think about the future in a positive way, instead of dwelling on sadness. Plus, I got a major amount of grading done yesterday.

The weather was beautiful, perfect for walking. My ankle held up well!

I got there pretty early, as I always do when I walk rather than go in a car (the car can be so last minute, a deadline pusher). I was expecting some "news" among the announcements at the beginning, and sure enough, there was. But it was not what I, or probably anyone else (except for those few already in the know) was prepared to hear.

You can imagine that the congregation was so distracted after this thunderbolt that it probably would have been better to cancel Mass (not that this ever would be done, of course). Our band was playing today, and they are so good - but even that didn't help. The music either made you feel like crying, or no one joined in and sang at all.

Back to feeling blue. Even though I made more progress again today on the end of semester stuff!

Woman neglected 40 dogs, Ulster SPCA says - The Daily Freeman Blotter: Serving the Hudson Valley since 1871(DailyFreeman.com)

Beware of "antivir solution pro" which gives popup messages that look very authentic and say you have virus infections. It also interferes with running your own anti-virus check or system utilities. It is actually a spyware scam designed to get you to buy anti-virus software. There are a lot of time consuming ways to get rid of it, but I just went into Safe Mode and restored my system back to a point before the popups mysteriously started to appear and that took care of it.

I've been meaning to link to my sister's painting site.

Also, over the weekend, we saw Inception. It's an interesting movie, worth seeing. My only complaint: why are movies so loud? Can't theatres turn it down during the action?

It's nearly August, time for my annual Saratoga post! I looked back on what I've written here over the years to mark the occasion, and found this from 2002, this from 2003, this from 2006 and this from 2007. I also have an essay from 1998, written in the dark ages (ie, pre-ejournal), I'll have to upload it to GBP before I can link it here. So I guess I can't call it an annual post, some years I do my best to ignore it.

This year opening day passed and I was too preoccupied with other things to focus on it. My class has been competing with consulting. Plus, yardwork and all the heavy lifing are entirely my responsibility now. I'm blue over Ande's death. And of course, Prankstergate trumped opening day in the news coverage (that's no mean feat). I did have a flash of pleasure that it rained, though.

Something that I can't stand about the Capital District is the obsession with horse racing. There isn't one thing about it that charms me, not the hats (and I love fancy hats), not the gambling aspect (I don't even buy scratch-off lottery tickets), not the nightlife (and that's another thing I love, or at least used to, before I got too sleepy), not the pink sheet that the newspapers come wrapped in (it has been handy for housebreaking my various puppies, though), and especially not the gushing over it everywhere (just shut up, OK?).

The only thing I do like are the horses, and that's the reason why I hate every other aspect of it. For the gushers it's about how it is the "summer thing to do." Glamorous, fun, fashionable. Taking vacation days, or absolutely having to be there opening day are considered as legitimate as your doctor appointment or kid's recital or tournament (this is reminding me why I don't miss the 9-5 world).

It certainly isn't about the horses. If it was about the horses, the track would be closed because it is so dangerous. That part doesn't make the headlines, it is a passing mention (if that).

This weekend I will take a picture of Cinderella and post it here. She is my mother's rescued retired thoroughbred. Cindy wasn't her race horse name, that's what my mother calls her, because she was so pitiful, but so beautiful, when she rescued her.

This would be great! I am going to contact my representatives to voice my support.

Check out this video:

A Vision of K-12 Students Today.

Strikes me as containing a lot of "truthiness."

This is a great idea! A campaign I can really get behind. Go get a sign at MHRHS!

Another positive thing to do: Vote for Pastor Charlie.

What with Ande's death, I have been remiss about posting some things so here goes...

I saw "Curtains," which was put on by Spotlight Players last night. Good show. Another thing I can get behind, community theatre!

I also saw "Chicago" at Mac Haydn theatre recently - wow. I've seen it many times before, and it has been great every time (the movie is also good), but it really stood out as theatre in the round, with few sets.

Then, recently I finished Atwood's "Year of the Flood." As always, great book by a master contemporary writer. Scary too. "Oryx and Crake," sort of its "pre-quel" was better, though.

DA drops charges. Yay!

Recently I have taken on a consulting project that I believe will be beneficial to the organizations I am consulting for, as well as to me - in that it will inform my own classroom behavior in a positive way, and finally, I think it will benefit the university as well.

One of the essential elements of the project is encouraging teachers to get in touch with that early love of learning that many of us lose touch with the more we are formally educated. In this way they can connect with students, who still have natural curiosity.

I’d say the overall philosophy of this very free approach to learning is constructivism, with the tool of inquiry-based learning being the focus. Although the discovery-learning approach has much in common with progressivism (which falls out of favor any time back-to-basics movements are popular), it is a more abstract approach, while progressivism is concrete. As a result, a few elements of the more structured approaches, such as essentialism, are also in evidence.

As I spend more time working on this project, I already find that it is influencing my thinking. I have evolved my college teaching over the years to be more constructivist, although I also have some essentialist elements. But a big piece is about the students asking questions, and they are used in online and face-to-face discussions. It works well, better than always having me asking - and sometimes answering - the questions.

In this project elementary students are told to ask questions and see where that takes them. The questions are explored, changed, added and subtracted. Eventually they will identify possible sources and try to find answers.

I’ve been doing quite a bit of writing on the subject, so it is often on my mind recently.

A few days ago the story broke of the homeowner who is facing charges because he tackled one of four teenagers who was trespassing and causing mischief in his yard late at night. I was writing an important note to my nephew on my laptop in the livingroom, when the story ran on the Channel 6 news. I was half-listening (as opposed to not listening at all, which is my usual state) because the story was interesting. Then I heard the name Rob Madeo and it caught my attention. I sometimes read his blog that appears on the Times Union website, and also read his now-defunct Albany Eye blog, which he wrote anonymously. Very little of the story was left, and I thought he was the man who had tackled the kid. I thought that was interesting, so I decided to read the details from my desktop, before going to bed.

I found the story was already semi-viral, and that Madeo was the teenager’s father, not the homeowner. I read the original story, and saw that it had run on the front page (remember I am a print subscriber even though I often read stories on the internet instead), with no identity of the kid’s father. Then the next morning, the story with Madeo identified was the top story on the front page. I also noted that an anonymous emailer with the alias “the Delmar tipster” was credited as the source for some allegations from the kid’s side of the story that were not in the police report.

The story jumped out at me for several reasons. I could see that it generated controversy in the blog commenter community even before Madeo’s name was revealed. The parents of the boy were pressing charges against the homeowner, while the teenager was too young to be cited. This raises questions about our rights to private property, a very big issue, and it did not surprise me that there could be national interest in the story. Next, on an emotional level, I think it captured the frustration many feel with people blaming others, taking no responsibility, and using the courts and lawyers to resolve things that used to be between neighbors.

Once Madeo’s name was revealed, the local interest in the story jumped even more. In the days before the Times Union jumped into the blogging scene, when there were Capital District bloggers mostly toiling away with little audience, the Albany Eye was one of the few blogs they routinely trumpeted. It was no secret the author was a media insider, but the question was who. AE clearly had access to information not privy to outsiders, and also had an axe to grind with some media folks and organizations.

The question was answered in 2006 when AE broke the story of Trey Anastasio’s arrest. Turns out the insider was from television: WNYT (which went a long way toward explaining AE’s animosity toward Liz Bishop), and AE had scooped his boss. To keep his job, AE had to be shut down, and it was. I don’t remember whether that was when I first heard his real name, because I vaguely remember reading posts about it on some other Albany-based blog that existed at that time (and maybe still exists, not sure), and also reading a personal blog that did not cover media which was purportedly written by the AE blogger. But my memory about that detail could be wrong. I do know when I heard his name, it wasn’t familiar to me - I think he was never on the air at WNYT and so viewers would not be exposed him. I don’t regularly watch WNYT, so I am not sure about this either.

Fast forward a few years and he surfaces in the Times Union blogger community, not as a paid staffer, as a volunteer. By now his identity is known, and it appears he is no longer connected to the television station. His posting style didn’t change very much. Some of it is funny and interesting, but there are a lot of nasty, offensive posts that are defended as satire. In his FAQ about the Albany Eye fiasco, he blows off the ethical questions.

His fellow bloggers are an assortment. The paid staffers tend to be political (one of them was recently hired by YNN, and she sucks. She brings the same nasty tone to Capital Connection that she did to the TU), write about lifestyle issues such as whether to shave your pubes or paint your fingernails pink or red (which gets a lot of commentary, go figure), or about fine restaurants to try in a quest to become even fatter (I’m mean). Some of the staffers rarely post, and all treat the blogs like 9-5 jobs, which is understandable. But topics die out at night and over the weekend, because all comments are moderated. This may also happen because people are reading and commenting on blogs only while they are at work. (The implications of that alone could be the subject of a study.)

This leaves the volunteers - on a wide variety of topics. There are the super controversial (Animal Rights, Tea Party), the various other causes, the very nice (mostly about pets, animal rescue, eating healthy, etc.), and the town-specific (sometimes these go viral, sometimes these are nice, and other times mundane). It can be a cliquey environment, both between various bloggers, and among the commenters. A couple of male volunteers have been very outspoken in support of Madeo. The females who have posted on the subject are more critical.

I’ve been chronicling my comments on various Times Union blogs so that I have a record. The ethical questions raised by this story are what I find most interesting. I’ve been interested in the issue of plagiarism for a long time, since I sometimes catch cheaters in my classes. It’s an issue about which I am an objectivist - not a constructivist as I usually espouse, when teaching, learning, or in the consulting project. I note the ethical failings in our society (Enron, Jayson Blair, Hevesi, too many to list) and see a connection to the students who cheat.

Parents who intervene for kids who can do no wrong. Taking no responsibility for the consequences of one’s actions. Suing one’s neighbor, rather than having an iced tea or beer with them.

I find it frustrating that the TU is absent self-reflection, as if it does not have a role in shaping perception. This is always the company line at the TU, and I have never seen any of the volunteer bloggers call them on it. In the Troy Record, this story appeared today, far inside, and the father was not named. The TU can say they are withholding the kid’s name, but when the father is so prominent in their front page stories, how can they make this claim with a straight face?

They can try to shush the dissent, all the while glorying in the hits.

I’ve covered so many of the points that disturb me in my comments which I have pasted below, so I won’t re-hash them all here, but I think you would have to be very dull witted to not wonder what Madeo’s role is in the shaping and presenting of this narrative. His defenders can deny it, but his public actions have demonstrated a pattern of deception and low ethics. He hid his identity, threw unsubstantiated mud at others, and betrayed his employer. This time around, that his son is involved does not seem to matter to him at all. He’s going to prosecute, to sue, to get even. And delight in the limelight and the sympathy of fools all the while. I bet I am right, that the Delmar tipster is Madeo. Try not to look at the man behind the curtain!

Interestingly, last night I was thinking about this, and generally, when I am fevered with thoughts, I am inspired to write. Instead, I took paper and pencil and drew a cartoon satire. It is something I do from time to time, all the way back to childhood and it is always called Nileston News. But I have not done it in maybe a decade, and before that, it was decades since I did it routinely. I could instantly see the influence my consulting project has had - I am rediscovering that joy in asking questions and seeing where it leads me.

Despite this sensible editorial, another wagon joins the circle.

Another wagon joins the circle.

Couldn't resist.

This is so much fun to watch. Not the hapless homeowner, but the spin of the TU, Madeo, and his BFFs.

jt: I agree with you 100%.

JES: I resent the generalization that those who disagree are writing under cowardly aliases and that those of us who question the TU's role are stupid. Why was Madeo's kid outed in the TU? Why was this front page news? Who is the "Delmar tipster?" I'll bet it is Madeo. Why did he lawyer up anyway? His kid has not been charged, isn't the district attorney's office enough? Seems to me the TU had a major role in the spin. Shame on Rob Madeo, and shame on you and Kevin Marshall for defending him. Yeah, I get it. He's your friend. Tough. All of you write under the TU masthead and so open yourselves up for scrutiny. You chose to write here. You could have stayed in your own little corner. If you are sure you don’t want to spend your free time writing for this audience then why do it?

More:

JES:

I’m not suggesting that there is some sort of concerted effort of TU bloggers to have a conspiracy. However, I think it is silly to just blow off this discussion entirely. There are several things that disturb me about the TU’s, and various “volunteer” bloggers, spin.

-commenters are chastized for things Madeo is proud of in his online persona (anonymous posting, personal attacks)
-sweeping generalizations and lumping together dissenters, anonymous commenters and the truly abusive
-lack of reflection on Times Union role (this is not only true for this story, but often in the TU, and I see nothing but denial and justification whenever the editor addresses it)
-lack of real reflection on motivation for posting (research demontrates that we are more likely to stereotype people unlike us, people we do not know, versus cut slack for those that are like us, and that we know)

1) “Re: The cowardice of anonymous comments: I stand by that. Whatever I say in public, I say under my own name, so I have to take ownership of it…But most of the comments that I read that made my soul hurt were anonymous ones . . . from people who would never speak that way if they were forced to use their real names.”

Actually I agree with you on many of the anonymous comments on TU blogs generally, not just in this viral story. Look at comments on just a couple, the Animal Rights blog or the Tea Party blog, for instance. I imagine there are some that are even worse that do not make it through the moderator’s filter.

However, the reactions of you, Kevin Marshall, and Michael Huber in making generalizations about aliases in an effort to demonize the other side is unfair. Not all dissenters are anonymous, and not all the anonymous vitriol is directed toward Madeo. It also seems disengenuous – if you are so dismayed by the vitriol (who isn’t?), the huge interest in the incident and the dissent from the presented narrative, why was the story on the front page of the print edition for three days, highlighted on the website for days (still is), and the subject of today’s editorial? Why so much posting on it from the bloggers?

2) “Re: Me being protective of Rob Madeo because he’s my friend: I think the total time that we’ve spent speaking to each other in the “real world” runs to about, maybe, 10 minutes…Plus, whatever I felt I need to say to or about Rob, I would say to him directly, in private. Our whole lives don’t have to be lived online, folks…”

Frankly, I don’t care whether you are friends, but I asserted that you were because I could think of no other reason why you would defend him so stridently or be upset by the commentary this has generated. His online persona has not inspired any confidence that he merits loyalty. (You later mentioned that your wife is a lawyer, and that explains it. You are not as repelled as I am by our litigious society. Think it is OK to sue a relative when you hurt yourself at their house, etc.) I guess there must be opportunities to add to that 10 minutes of FTF time between you, since you mention saying something directly to him in private and not living our whole lives online?

3) Re: ggiuliano’s “All of you write under the TU masthead and so open yourselves up for scrutiny.” I do open myself up for scrutiny . . . I live and work in the public domain, both as a paid writer (not for the Times Union), a volunteer blogger, and as an employee at my day job. I work for a nonprofit corporation . . . you can easily go online and find my salary, benefits, all sorts of other stuff. Google my name and you’ll pages and pages and pages of hits about me, because I use my own name online. I don’t really know what additional “scrutiny” you wish me or others to undergo. If I were involved in a controversial community issue, I have no doubt that the TU editorial staff would go after me just as they went after both parties in this case. I hope that never happens…to me OR to you…”

The same is true for me. I am not anonymous online, nor have I ever been. I don’t write things on the internet that I would not say in person. I am not suggesting you should or that I want you to undergo scrutiny. I am saying that you have to be realistic that you will undergo greater scrutiny by writing under the TU’s masthead. That is part of the tradeoff. You must have agreed to blog here for a reason, I assume to get more readers? With readers comes pushback, debate, and opening yourself up to more scrutiny and speculation. This is one reason why some prefer aliases, and even popular bloggers have tried to conceal identity. They want to say things that may have repercussions if they were identified. Rob Madeo tried to do this with Albany Eye. Was he a coward? He wrote a lot of personal attacks about the on air talent of competing networks. Was that unethical? It certainly backfired on him eventually. Why is no commentary offered about that when the viral commenters are ridiculed?

When you were in your own little corner, you could probably write pretty much anything you wanted without worrying about getting a ton of disagreement among commenters. Comments that were rude but would still be acceptable in the TU blog world could be deleted, and the offending commenter would go away and not upset your mom when she read your blog. This is true for me. My identity is not a secret, and I could be scrutinized and called out, but that rarely happens because I am in my own little corner, one step above the paper journal I kept for years before moving to the electronic world.

I am a little uncomfortable with this: If I were involved in a controversial community issue, I have no doubt that the TU editorial staff would go after me just as they went after both parties in this case. I hope that never happens…to me OR to you…”

First, because I am still wondering if the TU unwillingly outed Madeo? Next, because they have not gone after him with nearly the same fervor as the homeowner. And third, certainly I agree that the TU would go after me if I was involved in a controversy. But you wording (all caps OR) makes it sounds like a threat? I assume that wasn’t your intention.

4) Re: ggiuliano’s “If you are sure you don’t want to spend your free time writing for this audience then why do it?” That’s exactly the question that I was asking myself, in public, under my own name, putting it for public scrutiny…”

Well, it is a good question. I can see why this more public forum could be less enjoyable than the little corner. Words have power, and a thick skin is necessary to protect sanity. I’m not sure why you repeat this to me, though. I am not anonymous, nor have I ever been.

I think I touched a nerve (I often do when I jump in, which is why I rarely jump in):

JES: I’m just asking questions and seeing where it takes me. If you don’t like the insinuation, that’s OK. I am not implying it is as orchestrated or top down as you seem to think I do. But I think there are still questions to be asked. I don’t know you (aside from this blog), your wife or your mom. Your mom I mentioned because I would delete insulting comments on my blog that might offend mine. I think that was clear in my next sentence which you didn’t quote. I know the thing about lawyers is touchy, and I apologise for offending you. I added it because you said you hated the phrase “lawyering up” which I used (and I believe it is perfect for this situation). To me it just illustrates a different world view of ethics, morality, law etc. than the one I hold. The example I gave may not capture your feelings at all.

Bravo. I agree with this 100%.

This too. Amen, sister.

Hmm. A gap in the circle.

First wagon in the circle.

Pasting my comment here. Also going to add the plagiarism tag, because I always keep track of things I believe to be influential in producing the ethical erosion I deal with sometimes. [Later: changed to a new tag, ethics]

I am neither an anonymous coward nor a hypocrite. I wonder why you, and your buddy Rob, embrace the son’s version of the story with barely a question while what the homeowner says is “alleged?”

Kids lying is also older than our grandparents and is still fairly common.

1. Ding Dong Ditch is older than your grandparents. It actually dates as far back as the 19th Century and is still fairly common.

How does this matter? It’s an old prank so that makes it charming? Or are you suggesting not having heard of it before makes one ignorant? Kids don’t do it in my village as far as I know, and I didn’t know anyone who did it when I was a kid, either.

2. Madeo is going to punish his son. If you’d read the article, you’d all know that.

I have read every article, before you started wagging your finger, in fact. Frankly, if the TU wanted to out the parent’s identity, and Madeo jumped right in, then why not reveal what that supposed punishment is? I can already hear the cries of MYOB when essentially this story is being milked for all its worth.

It takes a village to raise a child, right? That shouldn’t just mean entitlements. It should also mean that families are accountable to communities, not that you could be sued or arrested for intervening when a kid is misbehaving.

3. This is all still new and raw. We don’t know that these charges are going to be maintained or if/when the Madeos may decide to drop them.

The fact is that they are currently pressing charges. If that’s met with silence it is doubtful they will make the right decision on their own. Perhaps with the community speaking out the Madeos will do the right thing and drop the charges. (They should also make the kid apologise, but I have a feeling that will never happen.)

4. A lot of you are crying “you don’t know what you’d do to protect your children!” while chastising Rob for looking at his bruised and visibly shaken son and deigning to press charges against the man who did it, regardless of the circumstances.

Regardless of the circumstances!! You have to be kidding me. Son was the catalyst, and actions have consequences. He wasn’t hit by a car while riding his bike.

5. I’ll be attacked for saying it (again), but regardless of where it happened, Mr. Van Plew gave chase and was WRONG WRONG WRONG. Not from a moral standpoint, but from a safety one. Under absolutely NO circumstances should you do that, whether the people fleeing were playing ding dong ditch or trying to steal your stereo. That’s not just me saying that, that’s also any police officer. You all cry “you have no idea what they were up to!”, completely disregarding that if this kid did have evil intentions, Mr. Van Slew’s actions would have further put himself and his family in danger. Anybody who knows for certain they would react similarly needs, for their own sake, to re-examine their thought process when it comes to this sort of thing.

Nice of you to throw away the moral angle. Yes, we all know for our own safety we shouldn’t walk alone at night, and we shouldn’t fight with an attacker over our purses. I would not chase someone who was lurking around my house, nor would I hold them for police, but I am a small woman deep in middle age. Wrongdoers depend on good people doing nothing. Where do you draw the line on blaming the victim? If I do walk alone and someone assaults me, is it so much my fault that the attacker should walk?

6. Every single one of you who suggested Rob’s son should have been beaten worse or shot – what the Hell is wrong with you?

No argument there.

7. As someone else pointed out, kids do dumb things. To suggest that parents – whether it be the Madeos or the hosts of the sleepover – maintain constant mental control over all actions their kids take shows a stunning lack of grasp on reality.

I don’t believe parents can do this, and I also know that even good kids do stupid things. But Madeo is responsible for his own actions, and pressing charges is sending the wrong message to his kid.

8. Every single one of you who suggested Rob was a bad father clearly don’t know Rob or his family. More importantly, you should be ashamed of yourself.

You know what? I deal with young people all the time. Most are wonderful, but a handful are unethical and amoral. They would cheat, lie or low level steal if it served their ends. They are used to having their parents intervene and defend every mistake they make. I suspect it is one reason we see so much professional misconduct in the news – everything from Enron to Jayson Blair to Blagojevich. Often I am the first person whose path they cross that does not let them off the hook lightly after catching them. I do blame poor parenting, and frankly, that is more of a stretch than this case because the young people I reference are young adults, not teenagers. I am most sincerely not ashamed of my attitude – I feel I am doing them, and the world, a service by being the wake up call, and holding them accountable.

9. I sincerely regret my initial stance, which was nothing less than a full indictment of Mr. Van Plew’s actions. My reaction was raw and not well thought out, and I need to man up and apologize for it.

Again, no argument.

10. A kid who plays ding dong ditch isn’t a “hoodlum.” Get some perspective.

Maybe not, but based on Madeo’s reaction of placing blame, I am not convinced it is not a pattern, and that his kid isn’t starting down a bad path. Will the next article or blog in the TU go to great lengths to show junior is an honor student, loved by all, and is kind to babies, puppies and kittens?

A later comment: Your defense is evolving to ginning up sympathy for a dad wanting to pursue justice for his poor battered baby.

Since you have admonished us to read the articles, I’m having trouble reconciling this from the 7/22 story “The police report said the Madeo boy suffered a cut on his elbow, bruise over his eye and a bloody lip after being tackled by Van Plew, but the boy refused medical attention” with your statement in the comments above “what’s being reported is that the police reported several lacerations, a bruise above the eye, a swollen lip, and according to their lawyer it’s said he could end up permanently removing teeth.”

Although he refused medical treatment at the scene, his injuries were such that he may lose teeth? And there were multiple lacerations in addition to the cut on his elbow? This is in the police report, or the lawyer asserted it? Where is this being reported?

More:

I actually can understand why you are writing about it, because you quite clearly are friendly with him. And I recall reading a post you made several weeks ago about your desire for fatherhood and fondness for infants. I think that instinct is sparking you to identify with your friend’s situation, and think he is admirably protecting his son.

Babies eventually grow into 14 year olds. They can be a lot more challenging at that age.

DL writes “I don’t see how the TU has any vested interest in him.”

I do. He may not be an employee, but his blog hits, and the traffic generated by this fiasco are revenue generators. Selling newspapers is getting more and more difficult. Plenty of media outlets have folded.

Kevin writes “…it’s people trying to score points on the internet (WHY?) at the expense of Rob and his kid. And I think that’s wrong.”

Just on the internet? The Times Union isn’t capitalizing on the situation? Yesterday’s print story was low on the front page and didn’t include Madeo’s name, but did include this:

Gerstenzang denied that Van Plew threatened the teenager with violence if he tried to escape before police arrived, as the teen allegedly told police in a statement, according to an e-mail from a town insider who calls himself “the Delmar tipster.”

Is the Delmar tipster Madeo?

The story is all “allegedly” about the kid’s behavior, but not the homeowner’s. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Madeo’s son is not the one facing charges. It also included TMI on the homeowner’s life.

Today’s story was on the front page, above the fold! In fact, it was the top story. Madeo is extensively quoted. The last is “…it’s a very sensitive issue that I’d rather not be discussing.” Than why was he discussing it? Why was he identified in the paper at all?

Madeo may deny it, but he is a public figure. The controversies he has generated are bound to spark discussion and criticism. (He may even be enjoying the attention in a conflicted kind of way.) What I think is wrong is that it is being presented as poor him and his kid, boo hoo, it’s all at his expense, you people are mean.

This is exactly why much of the community is outraged. I am tired of the sense of entitlement, ethical relativism, and lawyering up. This is what I see in his behavior and the justifications for it.

I could not care less about scoring points on the internet – I write for myself, have done so for years, and note this incident to keep track of ethical failings in media, politics and elsewhere because it is a particular interest of mine.

More on this story. I wrote the following comment, but since what I wrote yesterday mysteriously didn't appear on the Bethlehem blog, I guess my instinct to post it here was correct. So here's my take today:

Careful, Teri — better get the disclaimers ready because the TU blogger “community” is already circling the wagons. It must be so hard for the clique to resist posting on this controversy — all those seductive hits and comments! But dissenting from the company line is not allowed. When censoring the commentary isn’t sufficient to extinguish debate (as is happening at the Bethlehem blog), then the next step is dismissing it with remarks such as “But not under any circumstances am I going to allow anybody to cheer on the actions Van Plew took, regardless of his intent.”

The mention of intent is ironic, given this from Madeo’s Albany Eye FAQ: The Question: You worked at one TV station and made fun of other TV stations. Wasn’t that unethical?

His response: That’s a question worthy of a master’s thesis, not a web FAQ. I don’t think you can judge ethics without examining intent —and take my word for it, I did not use the blog as a tool to drive up ratings.

I don’t need to write a master’s thesis to know that his ethics are clearly questionable, as demonstrated by his online persona, both at the TU and in the Albany Eye days, the Trey Anastasio fiasco, and his pressing charges in defense of his troublemaker son for an incident that should be handled between neighbors.

The Times Union’s reporting also raises red flags about “intent.” Why did they report so extensively on the homeowner’s background and neighborhood in the original story? And why did they later out the kid as Madeo’s son, so that his identity is now known? To generate traffic?

BTW, I too have never heard of “ding, dong, ditch.” It would upset me if punks were doing it my neighborhood (luckily better families live in my more humble neck of the woods I guess). Yes, many teenagers pull pranks and use profanity, and much of the time it doesn’t make the paper. Some also shoplift, drink, do drugs, destroy public property, do acts of vandalism, drink and drive, speed and text while driving, and take other foolish risks. They have to learn that there are consequences for their behavior, and this is a teaching moment opportunity. It is a warning sign — a chance to nip it in the bud before the kid’s behaviors escalate into a tragedy. Too bad the Madeos are choosing to convey the wrong lesson.

A later comment:

I think this is a productive suggestion. I do believe that farmwork is a good experience for kids. It has been a big part of life in my extended family, and having real “chores” builds character. This will only work with a dear friend or family member, though. I doubt farmers have time for a stranger’s or acquaintance’s kid with and attitude.

Last month I was picking strawberries and there was a woman nearby with her teenaged daughter and the daughter’s friend. The friend was not unpleasant, but the woman’s daughter was all about copping an attitude. Complained constantly, sighed that is was boring, said strawberries are bigger, better and cheaper in Price Chopper so why bother. Mom’s goal was only three quarts, with each picking one, but eventually the woman gave in after quickly picking a scant quart and promising to make waffles for the daughter.

Although I like the idea of community service, I am not certain of its usefulness as punishment. The stigma may turn people off instead of inspiring them to be lifelong volunteers and better people in the long run. But I am not completely opposed to the idea.

Some ideas for what works:

1) Modeling good behavior yourself.
2) Learning when to say No and sticking to it.
3) Television, game systems, computers, smartphones: beware. I like technology and have mixed feelings about these things, but taking them away for a time, and making the privilege be earned, can be effective. I also believe that television should be very limited for older kids as a general rule, and entirely absent in infancy/early childhood.
4) Being proactive about who are your children’s friends. Also being cognizant of when it is your kid who is the bad influence, instead of always blaming others.
5) Having something to do. It doesn’t have to be a myriad of activities, although activities can be positive, it can also be a job, but it doesn’t have to be that either. Responsibility at home works, caring for pets, the garden, washing dishes, mowing the lawn, doing laundry, otherwise helping out – cheerfully.

A 'ding dong ditch' clickfest -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY

I sometimes read the father's blog at the Times Union, and read the old Albany Eye years ago. I posted the following comment at the linked blog, but I decided to repost it here.

"We feel he’s being disciplined in an appropriate manner,” Madeo said. What did he do, wipe his son’s tears away, hand him a new ipod and say don’t worry, we’ll get even with that creep who dared to try to hold you accountable? Big surprise, Rob Madeo has no moral compass. His offensive July 20 blog post “The Glenmont Cat Wranger Rides Again” is his idea of funny. The July 19 post “How To Get Fired from TV News Without Really Trying” completely skips the irony – he practically got fired, and had to shut down the Albany Eye blog for stealing the scoop from his employer. His idea of funny at that time was making nasty comments anonymously about the appearance of women who were on air at competing networks, or tossing flip comments about horsemeat as a delicacy. No doubt he is raising a menace. What a loser.

Basset hound lost in Village of Colonie: Updated with photo

I've started some long-term consulting work, and so I'm busy, busy, busy at the moment. It's good stuff professionally, and personally, it is taking my mind off the loss of Ande somewhat.

We spent the weekend in Samsonville, and did a lot of swimming!

The thought of getting another cat has entered my mind. At this point I know I will, but the question is when. I've never waited very long after one of my dogs has died (the longest was 6 weeks or so, the shortest was one week). I didn't get another cat after Edna died, although I seriously considered it and did some looking. But Bob's recurrence was detected less than 2 weeks after Edna died, and I decided it would be better to wait until he recovered. Getting to the vet etc. was just too difficult while he was convalescing. Little did I know that by the time he was feeling almost 100% better, I would also have lost Ande.

Ancient Buried Ship Hull Found at Ground Zero Site. Fascinating!

I thought it might help to focus a bit on happy, rather than sad, memories. Although his life was far too short - but that's always true, I guess - in his time with us Ande made a big impression on everyone.

He was so cute! His tiny size contributed to that, as did his friendliness. From Edna he learned to slide his front paws down before jumping off a cabinet - this was a trait she developed as an older cat, and even though he could have easily jumped to the floor without this caution, he copied her behavior. Despite this, he did like to jump up on high perches, and would often go up on cabinets, especially in Samsonville.

As a kitten, while we were introducing him to Sam, Sophie and Edna, we kept him in the bedroom sometimes, and I remember we could hear him playing with various toys - batting around a ball with a bell. He wasn't all that playful otherwise, but he would often play with Sam, or bat small objects from the table to the floor. He liked to tip over our full water glasses! And to follow me in the bathroom, where he insisted on sitting on my lap. I could flip him upside down and he let me cut his nails. When a window was open, he would sit on the windowsill and watch the birds and squirrels.

I wanted him to be an indoor cat, but felt bad that he couldn't go with Edna and the dogs when they went outside, so I would put on his collar and a leash, and bring him out with me. He was very docile, and that much exposure made him happy - in fact he loved to go, would calmly lay in a lawn chair while I watered the plants or weed whacked the yard.

He liked to perch on our portable dishwasher, which is on a table near the window, and while up there, he would bat the small Woodstock chimes that are hanging above it. I don't think I will ever be able to hear the tinkle of those bells without thinking of him.

He wasn't a big eater, but he loved Greenies and salmon flavored Natural Temptations. He also liked to drink the water from canned tuna, salmon, chicken or turkey. He was very vocal, communicated with loud meows. Sam was his buddy, more than Edna or Sophie.

He wasn't a hunter, but I think he did get one mouse when he was young.

Some of these cute things may have been indicators of his health condition, I guess - his calmess, his tiny size. (And of course, his poor appetite.) Sniff.

Sometimes I called him "Ando," but our favorite nickname for him was "Little" and he may have thought that was his name. Ande is Edna backwards, and today I am thinking without an Edna maybe there couldn't be an Ande?

Here is another post from Food is My Porn (this time the author is my nephew).

Trying to articulate some of the ways I feel.

When I was 12, I got a baby goat for my sixth grade graduation present. My mother asked me if I wanted a ten speed bike or a goat, and naturally I chose the goat. I am not sure of the date I got her, but I know it was in the Spring when she was several weeks old. I named her Heidi, and she was a cross between a Nubian and a Toggenburg. We didn’t have a fenced area near the barn for her, she was extremely mischievous, and when she was loose, she would attack the bushes near the house. She could devour an entire large shrub in minutes. So when I couldn’t closely watch her but didn’t want to lock her in her stall, I would tie her in the yard.

One day in August, I had her tied so I could swim with my friend in our pool. During that time, she managed to stretch her collar and the rope so that she could reach some brush at the edge of the yard and the woods. A small branch slipped through her collar. She was very smart, could untangle herself. So she tried to get loose by going ‘round and ‘round. Her collar became a tourniquet, and she strangled. She was still warm when I found her minutes later. I will never forget the sight, or the horror I felt. I yelled for my mother. We rubbed and rubbed her, trying to revive her, but it was too late, she was gone. I was devastated.

One result of that trauma is that since then, I have never felt comfortable with leaving a collar on an animal. I much prefer harnesses for walking, and I never tie my dogs. I take their collars off whenever they are inside, and they don’t wear them at all in the yard (which is fenced). I always took Ande’s collar off, too. He wasn’t free-roaming, and he was always closely supervised when outside. Edna didn’t wear a collar at any time. (I know their collar-less states create risk of them being lost without ID tags, but I am just as neurotic about being sure the animals don’t get lost.) The other outcome of that horrible experience was that at the time, and for 36 years, I blamed myself. I still do today.

My mother said it wasn’t my fault. Whether she said this because she believed it to be an unpreventable accident, or because I was a child and couldn’t be blamed for that reason alone, I am not sure. But I didn’t agree, and still don’t. It most definitely was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention, and I didn’t properly assess the risk.

I’m not saying that it was intentional, or even that I could have been expected to know it could happen. I’m also not arguing that there is a need to place blame for accidents, or for when someone dies.

But I do believe in learning life’s lessons, taking responsibility, and being careful to not repeat mistakes.

I am (not clinically, but self-diagnosed) to some degree OCD. I have to check certain things, and there are triggers: in particular, fire risk or the animals. I lock the doors more to be sure someone doesn’t open one and inadvertently let the dogs out, rather than because I am afraid of burglary. So I have to make extra sure that the door is locked when I leave. I always unplug certain appliances, am sure the oven and stove top are off, and close all windows when there is a thunderstorm. I don’t let my dogs stick their heads out of the car window both to protect their ears, and to be sure they don’t jump or fall out. (They never would, as they take on the beliefs of their owner eventually, and so they always bark at all dogs they see who have their heads out of the car windows – warning them of the dangers, perhaps? This has been true for all of my dogs.)

I worried over every minor health problem that my first dog Howie had, or any tiny change in his behavior. He seemed sickly, always had skin and digestive issues. But he lived to the age of 15 ½ with few major sicknesses and little need for veterinary intervention. The same is true for Sophie, although she has had more illnesses than he had, and as a result has needed more trips to the vet over the years. But despite her various issues, she’s never been seriously ill. She is now 11 ½, which is quite old for a Bassett Hound. Doesn’t matter, though. I worry still.

Howie's start in life was a good one, though. You could tell his mother had a fabulous home. Sophie's is unknown, but I assume she is the product of a puppy mill.

I never worried about Penny. She ties with Edna as the easiest pet I’ve owned. Never sick, no issues, behavioral or otherwise, no need for constant fussing. Both proved there was no reason for concern – Penny lived to be 16 ½, and I had Edna for over 16 years. (I don’t know her age, but she was an adult when I found her.) Penny had been born in a home, although the family clearly didn’t have a lot of money, and were sort of running a backyard breeding operation. But she had no papers, so they weren’t really cashing in. And they did seem to adore her mother, and even cried when I took Penny home. Edna was a stray, so who knows what her life was like before. But she was a Main Coon Cat, and Penny was a Poodle, so maybe the breed had something to do with their robustness.

Similarly, I didn’t worry over Rudy. He, of all my pets, was the picture of health. Shiny, handsome on the inside and out. High energy, and blessed with a winning personality. I was so proud of him. Then he got Lyme Disease at age 7. I am not sure if that was the cause (maybe), or if it was his beginnings – born at the shelter to a stray mother. But he got cancer when he was 9 years old, and died a week after his 10th birthday.

I am not sure why I didn’t worry over Ande. Certainly the pillow paw should have always been in the back of my mind. Although I didn’t make the connection, his eating habits (not good), small size, and docile temperament should have been red flags. And his beginnings were even worse than Rudy’s – Ande was born in a feral cat colony. So why didn’t I worry more?

I don’t worry much over Sam either. So far he seems very healthy. I got him at the shelter, but he was owner-surrendered. I assume his mother was not a stray.

All of these pets have eaten homemade diets. I was doing it before it was “cool,” when people said you were wrong to not feed commercial food. They all drank spring water. Some have taken supplements. The vaccination / flea control history is different with each pet – in some cases, I followed the vet’s recommendations (which have changed over the years), in others I was more cautious. But generally, I have erred on the side of caution. I can't make any generalizations about whether it has had an impact, though, or if I should have made a different decision.

None of these dogs and cats succumbed to accidents – Heidi’s sad death taught me to be mindful. However, the reason I accept blame for Heidi (I wasn’t paying attention, and I didn’t properly assess the risk) is true for Rudy and Ande, also. Of course they did not die from a sudden accident, but there were occasions, before and during their final illnesses, where I should have been as mindful as I am about making sure stoves are turned off and windows are closed. I ask myself, why didn't I notice? Why didn't I do some things differently?

Leaving out Heidi's very different circumstances, my worry over all of my animals' health has been warranted in two cases where I didn’t worry (so I was wrong), unwarranted in two cases where I did worry (so I was wrong again), and unwarranted in two cases where I didn’t worry (I was right for a change). Sam is still young, so the jury’s out, but my track record says that I am neither a good nor a bad judge of risk.