I finished my grades!

Thursday Threesome
::Plenty of time::

Onesome: Plenty-- of time, take a deep breath. Overnight/Saturday delivery could work for you... So could a trip a few hundred miles away if you're into shopping on Sunday! How are you doing? Do you have it together?

As far as the holidays go, yes, I have it together. But my focus is really on 12/26 at 11:59 pm...that's the deadline for grades.

Twosome: of-- all the states, I'm hearing the worst reports from Ohio! It has no snow! No snow, no Christmas! What's to be done? Is it looking like the normal Christmas weather there for you?

It is colder than it was a few days ago, but it isn't normal Christmas weather. No snow (though what's normal is a real question; some years there is a lot, some a little, some none at all) and it is warmer than usual. I wish it would get cold! Not sub-zero, but colder than it is. Some snow would be nice too, but not on the days when I have to travel.

Threesome: Time--Time? Good grief, the 24th is days away, and most men haven't even awakened a sense of urgency as yet . Is anyone done, finished, wrapped and resting?

Done and finished: pretty much, but not completely. The joy of online shopping! I have to go to a little gift shop and pick up a few things on Friday or Saturday. Wrapped: no, aside from the things that were wrapped by the store employees. Resting: yeah, right! See the grading deadline. I have made good progress, and with five days to go that should be plenty of time, but since two of them are Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I am a little nervous. Then, there is the wireless dilemma competing for attention. Decorating is done in Castleton, and another waiting project in Samsonville. Baking is out of the question again this year. Now, remind me again why it is I like to live my life on the academic schedule?

Too tired on Friday, and we got back too late on Sunday, so we put up our tree in Castleton last night. It is quite big, too big for this tiny house really, but it is a nice tree. We didn't put up a tree in Samsonville over the weekend, so that is the plan for Friday or Saturday.

The reason we didn't put up a tree in Samsonville, and also why we got back to Castleton so late, was that I spent nearly all weekend working on the computer situation there. First, I had to get the cable modem working. I don't think the Time Warner technician had it hooked up right. So after wasting some time tinkering, I gave up and installed an ethernet card in the machine. The technician had it connected via USB, and that was no good. With ethernet, it worked fine right away.

Then, I hooked up the wireless router. That was a breeze. I took my laptop over the my parents' house to see if the signal went that far, but it didn't. So I threw in the towel, went back home, called Staples, said I wanted to return the wireless adapter and get an ethernet card for my mother's machine instead. Then I did some surfing, read on the Internet that wire only works for a maximum of 328 feet.

The next morning, I reconsidered, moved the router around, and while I was at church, Bob discovered that the wireless signal was within about 75 feet of my parents' house. So we went to Staples and bought a range extender, as well as two very long ethernet cables, so I could move the router to the end of our house that is closest to my parents' house.

When we got home, I moved the router and hooked up the signal extender. With those changes, my laptop could see the signal from my mother's computer room. However, something about the range extender isn't working right since I couldn't get on the Internet with my laptop. I installed the wireless adapter in my mother's machine anyway, thinking that maybe it would work better than the laptop (since the laptop is "G" and the router and adapter are "N"). But I ran into another snag, since her machine has Windows ME and it seems the adapter is for Windows XP and 2000.

I gave up at that point, because it was getting very late, my patience was thin, and we had to make the drive back to Castleton. Yesterday morning I called Staples, canceled the return on the adapter (but kept the ethernet card order just in case), and called Netgear to see whether the problems with the signal extender and adapter can be corrected, or if wire will be the better solution (though I am still concerned about the distance).

The good news is that the Netgear technician gave me a link to software to download so that the adapter will work with ME, and said that he can walk me though configuring the signal extender. And Staples said that they will take everything back if necessary, even though I have opened all the boxes. So on Friday and Saturday, in addition to putting up the tree there, I will be back at the computers.

This week's regular (and priority) focus is end of semester grading, and it is going OK.

I spent a few minutes and figured out what was wrong with the archives. I was forced to change the template (something I haven't done since establishing a blog). I didn't want to do it, but gave in. I have no time to tinker at the moment, and I'm not crazy about this template...but it will have to do for now.

Thursday Threesome
::Holly Jolly Christmas::

Onesome: Holly-- Hmmm... Do you have holly where you are? Is it used for decorating? ...and if not, what types of greenery are used to show off the season? Inquiring minds and all that...

Yes, it grows here and I have a holly bush in my yard. I don't use it for decorating, though. Evergreen is the most common greenery used. I think we will put up our tree here in Castleton tonight, and one in Samsonville this weekend. Both will be real. We already have wreaths on the doors of both houses.

Twosome: Jolly-- Jolly Elf or The Grinch? How is your Christmas experience going so far?

It's OK. The end of semester complicates things. But I have the majority of shopping done, the Internet is a lifesaver. I even sent five Christmas cards out today. That is a real accomplishment for me - for the past couple of years I just haven't had time to send any. I would love to decorate and bake more, but the grading deadline is looming.

Threesome: Christmas-- Hey, I miss ol' Burl Ives singing the song in this header: who does your favorite Christmas song? ...and which song is that? Yes, yes, you're allowed more than one ...

I like Christmas music. I have quite a few CDs by various artists. My favorites are Bare Naked Ladies and Willie Nelson. I also love the religious music that we sing in church. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer always makes me smile, and remember the past.

Today is my last day on campus until January 18. Fall grades have to be done by 11:59 pm on December 26. Naturally I will be working nonstop until then to make the deadline. Oh, I guess I will have to take a break of a couple of days to celebrate Christmas, but otherwise...

I have several changes in mind for next semester. I have to cut down my end of semester workload to a more reasonable level. And, I am getting tired of the assignments. I am going to make students write a lesson plan and present it to class with their groups, instead of just writing a book review individually. Change is good.

I don't like having to sign into google to use blogger. That's my only criticism so far, and it is fairly minor, but when I wrote a comment and used my blogger sign-in, it vanished. How irritating. Oh, I forgot. I do have one other concern. My archives aren't appearing, and I don't see where to re-publish them. I'm sure it is somewhere, but I haven't spent the time looking.

We didn't go to Samsonville this weekend (Bob was working on a group project that wasn't going well - although it turned out OK) so I will have to wait until Saturday to see if I can get the wireless running. Now there's another day that I won't be working on grades. So I better not procrastinate otherwise!

I'm psyched; today I switched my wired router for a wireless one, and got wireless DSL up and running on my new laptop. Tomorrow's project involves getting it to work with the new cable modem in Samsonville. I hope it goes as smoothly. I just upgraded blogger - not sure what I think of that yet. Tonight we are going to see The Producers at Proctor's.

Time Warner came and we are hooked up! My mother reports that the technician said the machine is old and so the broadband is slower than it could be. I knew that. I may upgrade there eventually, but first I have to get wireless up and running in both houses. I ordered all the necessary components from Staples and this weekend I'll give it a try in Samsonville. I will probably do Castleton on Friday, if I have time.

Last week I was (attempting) to show a DVD to class. There were numerous technical snafus and so I had to call AV Services. While the technician was working on the problem, he said that they often find that people change the settings on the TVs, VCRs and DVD players and screw them up. Last year, I heard the same thing about the smart rooms - that people unplug the computers and projection equipment so they can't be used easily by the next instructor. The AV guy speculated that it is Luddite instructors (he didn't use the word Luddite though) although I think it could also be disgruntled students looking to waste time and get out of class (though not for the smart rooms, since students can't access the cables). Anyway, after the AV guy left, one of the students said, "I think it is the ghost. Did you know there is a ghost in the education building?" I said I didn't, and she proceeded to tell me the story, which I later located on the Internet here. See "Albany - Education Building."

I was thinking of this today as I was coming back from the cafeteria. This building connects to the campus center at the basement level, and I take the elevator up from there. Seems I always work somewhere where there are reputed to be ghosts! (When I worked downtown at the former D&H building there were so many stories, although none are listed on the website with the School of Education ghost.) I always think, maybe I can put them to work? How do you think Jason is at grading end of semester essays?

It snowed! Only enough to coat the ground, but still it looked pretty this morning with the flurries coming down. The air is cold and crisp and wintery. Yay! I am completely sick of the strangely unseasonable weather. Goodbye fleas and ticks!!

It did make me a little sad, though. It reminded me of Rudy. He would dash out the door every time it snowed, delighted. Even with a mere dusting like today's, as the first snow of the season, he would do his best to roll in it.

I found out today that Time Warner is coming tomorrow afternoon to install Road Runner! Hopefully it will go without a snag this time. They are charging me $20 less for installation because of the screw up.

I am all set for the end of the semester. Today I finally finished grading everything I had from earlier in the semester! The back of my head is a little numb but overall I am happy. Tomorrow the final papers start to come in so the respite will be brief.

I guess the 21st Century is on hold. When the installer came on Tuesday, he discovered that the cable still needs to be connected at the pole on the road. So far, my calls to Time Warner have gone unanswered. Oh well. At least the CD Rom drive is up and running.

End of semester work has arrived. Classes end December 12, and then I have until December 26 to get the grades submitted.

Long time no post! I have been busy with evaluating papers, and finally finished the journals yesterday. Today I baked pies (the last two come out of the oven in about 15 minutes). Sophie loves raw fruit and vegetables, and her favorites are asparagus, zucchini and apples. So today, while I was peeling apples, I had to give her two. After she finished eating them, I turned and saw her with her head in the bag of apples - she took a third apple herself! I was reminded of Howie. He never took one himself, and I don't think would have eaten a whole apple, but he would sit nearby as I made pie, demanding the apple peels.

And I found out that high speed internet will be installed in Samsonville on Tuesday (provided I manage to replace the broken CD Rom drive in the machine there in time). Happy Thanksgiving to all.

I found out today that the Samsonville house is only 156 feet from where cable ends...so Time Warner will hook us up for free! Yay!

My mother's cat Tabby died yesterday. Tabby was a barn cat, and spent her time with horses. She was at least 14 1/2 years old. Someone dropped her over 13 years ago, during a blizzard in 1993. She was cared for (and named Tabby) by an elderly woman who lived next door to my parents.

Tabby was pregnant when she was dropped, and after she had kittens, my mother took her and had her spayed, earning her the knickname "52," because that's how much it cost. One of the kittens, now old and somewhat wild, is still hanging around there. When the woman couldn't take care of herself, much less Tabby, any more, my mother started feeding her, and it wasn't long before Tabby migrated from the empty house to the barn. That was about 10 years ago.

She was a good cat, and I liked her. Although a small cat, she scared many a dog, and in her day, she more than scared many a rodent. A funny Tabby story is that once when my parents took her to the rabies shot clinic, Tabby managed to squirm away, and their dog Hobo chased her. She ran right up a tree, and a neighbor had to climb up and retrieve her. Several people at the clinic didn't know that Hobo and Tabby were with the same people - they watched Tabby and my mother sympathetically, clucking disapprovingly at Hobo and my father. They were probably thinking, "How could that man allow that bad dog to terrorize that woman and that poor cat!" Tabby was generally in control of all dog interactions, driving canines away from the barn, and Hobo was afraid of her. I guess chasing her that day was his revenge.

Last night, when we went out to dinner, it seemed to me that I saw stray cats everywhere, looking at me, perhaps auditioning to be the next barn cat. One was a half-grown kitten, very cute. But my mother doesn't need any help in that department.

Here's a story from the Freeman, updating the status of the Game Farm animals.

I voted this morning. Since I have a night class to teach, that seemed like the best strategy. I really don't understand why people don't vote. It isn't difficult or that inconvenient. I also don't understand why people don't read the newspaper. I read two daily papers (that are delivered), one daily paper online, one twice weekly paper that I buy in the store, and an every other week paper that I read either online, or in paper. If I go away and my morning papers build up - almost the first thing I do when I get home is sit down and read them.

Today during the sermon, the priest asked us "what would you want on your tombstone?" He explained that in recent years people only put names and dates on there (he didn't say this, but I wonder if it is because headstones are so expensive now) but years ago having poems, prayers, sayings, etc. carved in the stone was very common. So he wanted to know how we would want our lives summed up, what we would want future generations to know about us. So I gave it some thought and found it easy to decide: She loved animals.

Sigh. Now I am getting bombarded with spam from a petition organization that I visited over an animal rights issue. Are they asking me to support something to do with animal welfare? No. They are asking me to sign up to telephone people in my area to get out the vote for "progressive" candidates (whatever that means). But the effort is really MoveOn.org's, not the petition website's. So, I responded with this:

Why are you sending me this email? I do not support MoveOn.org. I am very offended to receive emails like this from that organization, I have zero interest in their agenda and consider their tactics disgusting. I do vote, but I am not an overly political person and I am an Independent. I have no interest in telephoning anyone. I can't stand telemarketers myself.

I have visited your site in the past because I am a big champion of animal rights. Recently I was thrilled when the House of Representatives passed the horse anti-slaughter legislation. Although he is not my representative, this was sponsored by Congressman Sweeney and I do live in a nearby district in upstate NY. His advocacy on this issue has earned him the endorsement of the Humane Society in his re-election campaign.

I know MoveOn.org is supporting his challenger, because they are running advertisements slamming Sweeney. I'm sure they do not care about animal rights, and define his opposition as "progressive." So the fact that you would let MoveOn.org send me this spam when they are supporting a candidate whose winning would be contrary to animal welfare, which is the only reason I visited the petition site, is an outrage.

*************

I have also been the recipient of numerous emails recently that are not spam, but they are partisan in nature and are being sent via a supposedly non-partisan list that I joined. After about the 100th message (I'm exaggerating, it is a small list and the number of emails was probably about 20) I couldn't take it any more. So I wrote an email to the list protesting. Two members responded to me (off-list), and the list quieted down for a while. What a relief. But then today, it started up again. HELLO?!

I forgot to mention this since the article gives me short shrift, but my historical society presentation got about a one sentence (future tense? What is up with that?) mention in this rag of a paper. Scroll down to "Heralding Our Own History." I'm wondering if maybe the reporter was snoozing - or in the bathroom - or maybe in the next room, browsing the books in the library during half the presentations.

I agree with PETA.

Amazing Edna.

When we got home yesterday, we discovered that she had gotten a mouse. She is still proud today, puffed up to twice her size - and she is a big cat already. I was very surprised, since we have had her 13 years, making her at least 14 - and I thought her mousing days were over long ago.

I am busy grading midterms. I am about one-third of the way done, and although I know students would love to have them back tomorrow, I am burnt out on reading at the moment, so they may have to wait a few more days.

I couldn't be home for Halloween, so we put an "honor" bowl of candy on the porch. I don't think any kids came while we were gone, though. Bob said four trick-or-treaters came while he was here. That is the fewest ever, some years we get 100 kids, more recently we get at least 35, but I think darkened houses are not very inviting, and I am not sure the neighbors were home either. So trudging up the Green Avenue hill didn't seem worth the effort. There were a lot of kids out, and when I got home, I heard teenagers making a racket in the cemetery. Hopefully they didn't do any vandalism, and were just having fun scaring each other.

We have decided to get high speed internet access for Samsonville. After years of struggling with dial-up, we are both fed up. I already know my preference (and what I have in Castleton), DSL won't be coming until the distant future - and even then, it may not come because digital will be a better option (Verizon says they may bring digital in a year, but it will probably be more). A cell phone provider is also not an option. There is currently no cell phone service there.

So I emailed Time Warner (a company I hate, but oh well) and the response was that there are no active customers on Jomar Lane. I had been under the impression that Jomar was wired, but that other nearby roads were not, and I had heard horror stories of TW offering to bring the cable - but the homeowner pays, to the tune of $1300. I was very disappointed - who knows how far away the cable is and how much it would cost to run it - so I asked if that meant I couldn't have Road Runner at all? The response gave me a number to call. Which resulted in a voice mail, and (of course) it wasn't returned.

So yesterday I called again. This time I spoke with a very helpful young man who explained that it may be that the problem is not that Jomar Lane isn't wired for cable, but that the house is more than 250 feet from the road. He wasn't sure, but he said they have to send a survey team out to assess it. I believe that is the limit they are willing to absorb the costs for, and that we would have to pay to have it brought from the road if it is too far. We already have a pole so I can't see why it would be a big deal even if we have to pay.

The woman responsible did call me back and a survey team is being sent, so I should know next week. She said, "is your driveway long?" I really didn't know how to respond. I said, "well, I don't think it is for a rural area - but compared to a suburban area or a city - yes!"

While I was waiting to hear from TW - anticipating a "no" or at least an answer that is cost prohibitive - I have been researching satellite. I did this once years ago, and the answer was disappointing in terms of speed and cost. Things have improved a lot. Satellite still is more expensive (at least assuming the connection charges to TW are not exhorbitant), and not as fast as either cable or DSL, but it is a lot better than dial-up. I have found 4 providers, so if TW doesn't work out, I will do some more legwork and go with one of them.

Either way, we are going to get Road Runner or satellite internet. I'm psyched. Once it is hooked up, I think I will install a wireless network there. Of course I will have to keep it a secret or I will have all of Samsonville driving up Jomar Lane to hitch a ride on the signal! Luckily my traffic to this site from the town is not all that high!!

As my sister says, "this is the 21st Century, it shouldn't take $1300 and and Act of Congress to get high speed internet." A cousin adds, "yes, I thought all the taxes and surcharges that us city folk have to pay were going toward rural access."

Now I am getting political spam in my university email. This isn't the first time; last time it was from the Albany County DA (odd, since I do not live in Albany County), and after receiving several messages, I reported it to IT Services and they stopped it. This time it is from some group calling themselves the "RFK Democrats." The message I received today said:

Are you as appalled as we are at the ongoing debates about Alan Hevesi’s "ethical lapse"? It almost makes us ashamed to be Democrats----not because of Mr. Hevesi, but because other Democrats including Mr. Spitzer have allowed the "wuss factor" to override their good judgment. We are not saying that Mr. Hevesi did no wrong. He did--and he deserves to be fined, sanctioned, or whatever is decided. An ethical lapse is a far cry from criminal behavior. Ask Bill Clinton. There is every reason to vote for Alan Hevesi this coming Tuesday. Consider the following:

Where were/are we in our moral outrage when we have had to spend hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars to provide "safety and security" on 3 (three!) houses (Garrison, Essex Co. and the Mansion) for a governor who has spent more time in Hungary, Iowa, New Hampshire and other states than he has here in the Capital of NY. He has never lived in the Mansion. We still have to pay to maintain and guard it. The Governor did not give a knee jerk reaction to all of this--and neither should we.

Where is our moral outrage on the fact that we cannot get legislation passed where mental illness is treated in the same way as physical illness by our insurance companies. Mr. Hevesi should be supported for trying to provide safety, security and privacy to his wife in very difficult circumstances and not abandoning her. If we did not have biased attitudes toward mental illness, maybe he could have been more open and dealt with the security issue in a more appropriate way. Where were his political friends then--especially those who are abandoning him now? And where are the mental health advocates weighing in on this?

Do you really think that Mr. Callahan is a competent, credible state comptroller? We do not. His fiscal ideas are about as passe as his bowtie. As Saratoga County Comptroller, he was cited on issues. He made serious errors in his mortgage application? And he is going to run the state pension fund and audit others' books?
Keep in mind fellow Democrats--and others. Not voting for Hevesi is a vote for an extremely incompetent candidate: Callahan. Let the Legislature decide what his penalty should be. He is a good man. He is not a criminal. And he deserves better from us. He has done his job well; he has served the people of NY well. A vote for Alan Hevesi is a vote for the future fiscal health of New York State.

So I went to the unsubscribe link, and it appeared to be a place where you enter your email address for more information! So naturally, I didn't.

Instead, I hit respond, and wrote this: DO NOT SEND ME SPAM MAIL OF THIS NATURE - I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE YOU GOT MY EMAIL ADDRESS FROM BUT I REALLY DON'T APPRECIATE GETTING POLITICAL SPAM - ALTHOUGH SINCE YOU DON'T CONSIDER A SERIOUS ETHICAL VIOLATION TO DISQUALIFY SOMEONE FROM SERVING AS OUR TOP ACCOUNTANT WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR PUBLIC FUNDS, YOU PROBABLY ALSO HAVE NO CLUE THAT SPAMMING PEOPLE AT THEIR UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS IS ALSO QUESTIONABLE. TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW SERIOUS I CONSIDER ETHICAL BEHAVIOR, I CONSIDER PLAGIARISM TO BE A SERIOUS ETHICAL VIOLATION, ALTHOUGH NOT A CRIMINAL OFFENSE. BUT I HAVE ZERO TOLERANCE FOR CHEATING, AND I REPORT EVERY INSTANCE I DETECT - AND STUDENTS GET KICKED OUT OF SCHOOL.

Usually when I write a long post like this one, blogger freezes up, sends it off to the parallel universe, and I remind myself once more that I should have copied it elsewhere. (But of course I never do.) So here goes.