Can someone please tell me what is the problem with audio file hosting sites? I need something for the online class. The university could host them, but the problem is that they need a long lead time for uploading - so I can't record something on Friday and expect to have it there for when the module opens on Monday. So that would be OK for content that doesn't change much, but not for the updates I do every week. I've been burned three times on services I have joined - not that I haven't gotten my money back, but the sites unexpectedly go away and are unreliable even when they stay in business. I have avoided free services because I expect them to be low quality - but you'd think premium services would work better than they do. This is really having a bad impact on my productivity in the online class. It takes way too much time that I should be using to grade essays.

I had a relapse of cellulitis on Saturday. I've been off antibiotics for a week and I guess the course I took wasn't long enough. So it is back to the doctor today. Sigh. Speaking of bug bites, Sam was stung by a bee yesterday! He is such a baby about things like that, he carried on terrible. Poor Sam-Sam.

I'll balance that with some good news: Swimming was wonderful on Saturday. The pool was 81 degrees. And I've been picking tomatoes in Castleton!!

Long time no post! You'd think in the summer I'd have more time for posting. But until Thursday I had a really terrible chair in my home office and my back was killing me. Add in the bug bite reaction, keflex side effects, summer session class, gardening, and going to Samsonville every weekend (where there are numerous distractions, including the pool) and posting is pretty low on my list.

Anyway, the bite is 95 percent better. Swimming seemed to help it a lot. I finished the keflex on July 4. I have a couple of other pictures of its progression which I will post once I get around to downloading them.

I got a new office chair! Actually it is used, from a business that traded it in at a commercial office furniture place. New it must have been $500-$700 dollars, I got it gently used for $175. It is awesome! I had a cheapie from Staples before. It wasn't any good a week after I bought it. The new chair is heavenly.

I also got a new mattress. It will be delivered on Thursday. Now, if I can find suitable shoes, my orthopedic problems will be totally gone.

I also have this year's gardening pictures. We have eaten lettuce, garlic scapes (both from Samsonville), and tomatoes (from Castleton) so far. It looks like the zucchini in Samsonville will start to be ready this weekend. Bugs in the summer may suck, but the fresh produce is the counterbalance.

It took until Saturday for there to be improvement in the bite site. The keflex has been hard to tolerate - but I didn't want to throw in the towel because I know how hard skin infections are to treat. What a relief to see that it is getting better. I have more pictures to post; I will put them up as soon as I download. I also have flower and garden pictures from both Castleton and Samsonville. The plants are loving this weather. I went swimming three times this weekend; maybe the Baquicil helped the bite too.

Class started on Monday - luckily I had everything all set to go by then, because I really was not up to sitting here at the machine for long periods of time.

This is the story of my 1984 Brown Recluse Spider bite.

And now for the latest chapter on why I like winter.

I got bit by something on Sunday while I was standing on the deck at our house in Samsonville. I felt a sharp bite on my leg. I think it bit me through my jeans, high up on my right thigh on the outside of my leg. I suspect it was one of those mean flies we have there but I am not sure. There was no blood and the bite is tiny. Bob thought maybe it was a bee since Sam was stung earlier in the day, but it didn't hurt like a bee sting. I went inside and pulled down my pants and it looked terrible within minutes. There was no tick attached or anything like that. I shook my pants out and couldn't find any bugs. By late that night when we were back in Castleton it was just awful, about 4" across and very red. Not a bull's eye, a dark, solid red circle.

It only hurts and itches a little. I had to be on campus Monday and had forgotten my insurance card at home so couldn't go to one of those urgent care places (there is one right next to campus), but I was kind of worried all day. Monday night I put baking soda and cortisone cream on it and thought it looked OK, maybe even a bit better so I stopped worrying. By yesterday afternoon the redness and swelling had traveled to my groin and I freaked.

So I went to the doctor, she said it could be any type of bug but they suspect a spider, although probably not a poisonous one like last time. (She said they do get a growing number of people in recent years who have been bitten by brown recluse spiders, though, which is interesting.) She also said it doesn't have the characteristics of a tick bite. I still think it was a flying insect that bit me through my pants because I'm pretty sure I would have seen a spider inside or outside of my pants.

Anyway, I am on keflex. When I got to Rite Aid to get my prescription, the pharmacist came out and had one of those counseling sessions. I mean a real one, not just one they make you sign off on. He asked me about my penicillin allergy. He said there is a 5% chance I will react to keflex since it is related. I don't think I have ever had keflex before, at least not as far as I can remember. He said if I get a rash I should stop taking it immediately. I laughed because a rash is what I am taking it for!! But a friend of mine told me to take that very seriously, because the 5% is too much of a softball, and the reaction could be delayed, or more serious. (Great, so now I have something else to worry about.)

Too bad there were no digital pictures in 1984! No one would believe me that the Brown Recluse bite was worse.

I saw The Happening last night. I'd avoided reviews of it because I knew there would be spoilers, but even by just skimming or reading an article or post nearby, I knew that it wasn't getting rave reviews. I think he is currently the director/producer/writer who is trendy to dislike. I wasn't surprised that I really liked it, though. I always like M. Night Shyamalan movies, and not just the Sixth Sense. I've seen them all, except for his first two (before the Sixth Sense). My least favorite was Unbreakable, and even that was OK. This latest one was delightfully creepy. I enjoy his take on nature. It's a lot more imaginatively realistic (assuming that is possible) than something like the Blair Witch Project and that got a lot of fanfare. Sometimes on those nights when it seems especially dark and foreboding outside, I will say "the trees have faces." That's not really too scary, I'd say it's more fantastic. His movies remind me of that feeling.

I went for my first swim of the season yesterday. The water is warm already (76 degrees). I'd like it better if it was a bit warmer, but 76 wasn't bad. The water is clean!

During the week, a thunderstorm caused a power outage and surge which fried my router, cable modem, and two ethernet cards in Samsonville. So I swapped in my cable modem for a new one, and ordered a new router and NICs. Luckily, last fall, I bought three surge protectors that have connected-equipment warrantees. It's a hassle to get reimbursed, but better than all the money I lost last summer due to surges. That's assuming Belkin doesn't give me a hard time about the claim.

If my experience with Canon is any indication, maybe it will work out fine. My camera came back, in good working order - at no cost.

I had taken pictures of my new hanging baskets in Castleton. The baskets lasted a day - they were too heavy, and they bent or ripped out the brackets! So we replaced them with a smaller, lighter version and took the big ones to Samsonville. I'll post pictures soon.

Still no luck finding shoes! The ones I ordered have to be sent back. Thinking of trying Nursemates? Maybe they would have a similar shoe to the Trek (they are made by the same company).

The heat wave was incredible but today seems more normal.

The garden and all the flowers, except for the window boxes, are now in. (The shelves that hold the window boxes need work, so that project will have to wait.) I am pleased by the accomplishment, since my favorite hobby sort of took my mind off the problem: all week I have been suffering with my feet.

Last Saturday I got a pair of New Balance shoes that are rumored to be an adequate replacement for the Treks, but the jury's still out. It doesn't look promising, however. I also got a pair of crocs, not to wear all the time, but just for occasionally. The result was that by yesterday I was in agony. Not just my feet, but my knee, leg and back - worse on my left side.

So today I am back in my treks and feeling better. I haven't used the treadmill since last Thursday. Complicating things are that I need a new mattress and a new office chair. (I haven't used my upstairs computer since earlier in the week - which means my campus work is kind of building up.) Things to do with my rebate!! But I really need to find a solution to the shoe dilemma. Softspot First Class is another recommendation I received, but I would like to try them on and I cannot find a store that stocks them. I guess I will have to buy them online and take my chances.

It is supposed to get very hot tonight!

The pool is open! It isn't as green as it was last year. Today, I am working on the garden and yard. At this point I am only up to clean up in the yard (so many vines and bamboo grass the remove; mother nature certainly takes back the land quickly), but I have 4 bags of horse manure to rototill into the garden.

I used my rototiller yesterday! I works great. The main garden is done (not planted yet though). It really cuts down on the heavy duty work in gardening. It is making me dream about additional places to till and plant.

I think we will open the pool this weekend.

This weekend I read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I am not sure how to link it, so here is my review from Goodreads: This book was great! A real page turner. It was sad, even disturbing at times, but very well written. There was one brief section toward the end where I felt it "jumped the shark" a little (in the teacher's notes that follow the story it said this section is the most talked about part of the book), and when I was finished there were a couple of things that happened that frustrated/disappointed me (I won't say what they are because I don't want to ruin the story), but neither of those things make this less than a 5 star book.

I didn't write this on Goodreads, but the paperback copy of the book that I got from Amazon had flaps on the cover that imitate a dust jacket - but they are just folded extension of the cover, they can't be taken off. I loved that! It is like having a built in bookmark.

As long as I am on the subject of books, may as well write about a movie too. I got Sweeney Todd from netflix. I like Broadway musicals a lot, and I also think Johnny Depp is great. I knew what it was about, but I'd never seen the entire production, I had only seen clips on PBS specials of Angela Lansbury (love her :-) singing from the original Broadway production. Although Sondheim's shows aren't usually my favorite, I really liked the movie! It was pretty creepy - but worth seeing.

Yesterday I went to the Memorial Day parade in West Shokan. I go to it almost every year. My father marches with the American Legion and my cousins march with the fire department. I love the parade, and there is something very special about West Shokan. How it is snuggled in the hollow between the mountains. How it seems the wind always gently whips up during formal ceremonies such as funerals, dedications, and parades. How connected you feel to past generations.

On Sunday, I'd read an old West Shokan newspaper obituary that my mother typed up. At the ceremony after the parade, I couldn't help thinking of all the old articles I've read about gatherings in West Shokan.

For the past few years, it has struck me how much the high school band has deteriorated. Not the uniforms, which are truly gorgeous, but talent-wise. It reminds me a bit of the Music Man - minus the enthusiasm. The similarity is in the sense of being beautifully turned out, while having no clue of how to play. In my position, I have a tendency to blame the teacher, to say he's burned out, undisciplined, or uninspired, but some part of it could be that kids aren't really interested, don't care or are spread too thin, that they don't show up at practice and parents enable that behavior.

Yesterday, one kid banged a drum during the march from the post office to the town hall, and then while we stood there, they played the Star Spangled Banner. At least that's what I think it was supposed to be, it could also have been Battle Hymn of the Republic. I'm not really sure. Finally, one kid played Taps. It sounded like they had not practiced at all.

Maybe they just do not know how to play parade music, but are capable at sports games and during concerts, but I doubt it. If they knew how to play anything at all, I think they would play it. I mean, it is hardly worth it to fire up the bus and drag them there for one kid to bang a drum.

It's no secret that my experiences in K-12 were not great, and as a result I have no particularly warm feelings about my high school alma mater, but one thing I can say is that when I was a student there, our band was second to none. They were a sight to behold and made everyone proud. They marched in the Macy's parade on Thanksgiving in NYC. The music teacher who was the band leader was tough yet dedicated, and it came through in the band. The school had both a junior high and a high school band, and the bands took turns going to the parades. One year, your town would get the junior high, the following year, they would get the high school. Besides that, we had an orchestra.

I wasn't in the band, since in elementary school, just when we were poised to leap from the flutofone to a "real" instrument, one day the teacher yelled out, "who's Catholic?" A handful of us raised our hands. We were taken across the street to the church for religious instruction, and so we missed instrumental music. When we got to junior high, those of us who were not in band took general music, which involved reading a primer, listening to snippets of Peter and the Wolf, and having to answer multiple choice questions extemporaneously when the music teacher/band leader barked your last name. It was terrifying.

If I had the opportunity, I had planned to choose the clarinet, since that's what my sister played. I would have rather learned the piano, since I had a toy one that I loved to bang on at home, but it wasn't a choice. I never considered the violin, which is surprising, because today that is the instrument I would most like to know how to play. In fact, a couple of years ago I bought one, I guess it is sort of a "bucket list" for me, even though I think the idea of a "bucket list" is silly.

Besides the beautiful uniforms but corresponding lack of skill, another thing that was noticeable was that the band must be about half as big as it was when I was in school there. The shrinking demographics could not have been more obvious.

I never wanted to be the person who laments about the current generation and then sighs "when I was a kid..." I teach 100 young people per semester and I am optimistic about the future; the majority of my students are great. But I have noted a few times the subtle (and not so subtle) changes over time, and not all of them are positive. So here goes. When I was a kid, the band knew how to play!

My camera started acting up about 2 weeks ago. I thought it had been accidentally switched to an unfamiliar setting (although I've had the camera for over 4 years I only use the most basic functions) but after locating the book and trying everything suggested - I couldn't get it to work. It is taking dark, blurry, distorted images. So I searched the Internet - and discovered that powershot A60 cameras and a few other models have a flaw, and Canon will fix it for free, including aborbing the shipping costs, regardless of warranty status! Wow!

I've occasionally written about the problem with my feet. Well, this solution really worked great: custom orthotics plus Trek shoes. The problem was solved for a long time. Treks were discontinued quite a while ago, but I was able to find them at an outlet and I had stocked up. I go through about 3 pairs per year, wearing them all day, every day. Once they get broken in, they are no good for me. I need them to be nearly brand new to keep my foot stable.

It works great, invasive treatment avoided, I can even hike and use the treadmill. I have already experimented with other styles when I was down to only a few pairs, but none of them were suitable. I am now down to my last pair. They are white, so you know I am desperate! I have been dreading this day. I must find a new source for Treks or a suitable alternative within the next four months or my symptoms will return. I dread that happening. I am practically frantic.

I've spent many hours searching. I have a saved search on ebay, a post on craig's list, I have emailed shoe outlets, the manufacturer, and custom shoe businesses. So far, no luck. If by chance anyone stumbles here that has - or knows were I can get - Softspot Supreme Trek shoes, women's 8W, please let me know! I will take as many pairs as I can find. I prefer black, but I will settle for any color.

I threw in the towel and got a new printer. It's a HP 6310. I ordered it from Amazon - since I have prime, shipping is free and takes 2 days - but it came in one day! UPS brought it this afternoon. I have it all hooked up already. This is my third all-in-one. The first all-in-one (HP 1170C) still works OK (I had to repair it once and we took it to Samsonville). It cost about $700 in 1998. The second all-in-one (HP 6110) must have been 3-4 years old. It cost about $350. This new one was $159. Aside from the price coming down, the size did too (and I think the flimsiness increased also). They are essentially the same printer, just more modern versions. But I think this steady price decline is why inflation isn't listed as being worse - it is all due to technology.

Grades are done! Very close to the deadline this time around. What with hiking on Mother's Day, Monday being shot because we had problems with the truck's brakes and had to spend an extra day in Samsonville, my printer breaking and spending 1/2 day working on it (the time was wasted, it still isn't working, but now I have several torx screwdrivers), running downstairs with my flashdrive to my old faithful computer and photo printer when I needed to print something, spending Wednesday on campus because of the end of semester faculty luncheon, and finally, my nephew's college graduation on Saturday, it is a miracle I finished them at all.

I was basically done at 9:30 last night (deadline was 11:59 pm). I typed them into the university's grading website at 11 pm, after taking a break from it (to eat and take a shower) so I would have the stamina to look them over one more time before entering them. I don't like pushing it that far at all. I am always a procrastinator and it takes forever to do the grades, but usually I'm done by 5 or 6 on the day of the deadline.

What a relief. The end of semester crush, that extension forever of the schedule of a student, is the worst part of teaching. Especially for an adjunct, because of the heavy teaching load. Everything else about it is great.

The garden is calling! Yippee!

I did something I have never done before, I crafted an out-of-office reply message on my campus email (because there are always a few students who demand immediate explanation for their grade). Besides working on the garden (with my new rototiller :-), I need to give fixing the printer one last try (before biting the bullet and getting a new all-in-one). I also have a (paper) book I want to read, and housecleaning demands some attention. Finally, there are posting here, and catching up on website reading! I decided that I deserve a few days off before I get back to students.

A group of 15 (that's 13 humans and 2 dogs) hiked to Vernooykill Falls on Mother's Day.



The camera setting must have been accidentally switched to B&W. That is some nice swimming hole behind us! It was a beautiful day on Sunday, but too cold for swimming. Here is some information on Vernooykill, and here is a beautiful picture (that last link is a beautiful site generally).

This is no surprise. Nor was this, three years ago. The vote for incumbents! Vote for change! message isn't really inconsistent. It is consistently anti-Olive. (Also consistently and ironically status quo.) Well, one thing is for sure. Nothing will guarantee that Town of Olive residents won't vote for you more than an endorsement from the Olive Press!

I am probably kidding myself, but I feel like I am in good shape going into the last day of the semester. Classes end tomorrow, and I have only one day left on campus after that. Grades are due late on the 19th. I'm sure I'll have to work like mad to make the deadline (for one thing, I have to design new ways to assess the students in the hybrid class, I changed/added an assignment in all classes, and the Blackboard switch may or may not make evaluating the online component(s) more difficult).

But I still feel like I am in a good place. So I thought I would sneak in a post. Quite a few things I could write.

I bought a rototiller on Friday. I've wanted one for years and every spring, I tell myself that I'll get one in the Fall when they go on sale. Then I never do, because who cares about rototillers in the Fall? I saw Sears had them on sale, and I decided this is the year. It is a modest one, a small Craftsman. I am psyched!!

I am sick over the Kentucky Derby. Barbaric, disgusting spectacle.

School board election at my alma mater is shaping up to be a real battle of the titans. I had to move away as graciously as possible. It probably made me no friends, but oh well. I have to be true to myself. As is so often the case for me, my viewpoints are very hard to categorize. It's a reason why I rarely join any political effort. I'm usually not comfortable endorsing platforms. I'm a single issue person, and it's not out of the question that my single issues conflict. I don't mean my values are inconsistent; not at all. Consistency is vital, but I find most political platforms are not consistent. A variety of things are extracted from an assortment of interest groups, then tied together and the whole package is unpalatable. Anyone who reads this knows that I find K-8 to be a promising model. I value reseach. Also, I have some important concerns with high per-student costs in the district. Large parcel is another issue that is important to me. Finally, I don't have warm sentiments toward that school district, and I know my personal experience adds bias to my perspective.

Last class is May 6. Grade are due May 19. I doubt I will be posting very much!! Luckily the weather has turned from early summer-like to raining and chilly. That makes it easier to stay inside and work. I caught another cheater! Ho-hum. It was in the hybrid class.

I took this picture on Saturday. It is High Point Mountain Road in West Shokan, looking toward the Ashokan Reservoir.

The weather is so beautiful...I want to be home! (Not stuck on campus.) But I should stop wishing my life away and get back to grading essays.

I've been very busy personally...and overwhelmed in terms of campus work! I'll get it done but as always, the end of the semester is stressful.

Is it me, I wonder, or are students getting more rude by the semester? Rude may be too strong a term. These are not bad students. But an example would be emailing me (and usually using my first name as the form of address) and then: 1) asking me something in-my-face such as can I reduce the workload? Or 2) claiming a grade is unfair and demanding an explanation for a B+. Or 3) suggesting an assignment is inappropriate? Or 4) attaching high importance and resending the message every few hours (I always answer as quickly as possible, but on a weekend a day [no more] may pass before I respond).

Then there is the constant in-and-out of the classroom, especially during 1)presentations of other students 2) videos 3) groupwork but even during 4) my lectures to some degree. This happens in all classes, but it is especially irritating in the twice a week day class. You can't sit still for 1 hour 20 minutes and not have to 1) pee etc. 2) text 3) chat on phone 4) email 5) get bottled water? It is definitely a growing problem in the past couple of semesters. This semester it is downright ridiculous.

Must be something about this point in the Spring semester. The weather turns warmer, the birds are singing, bulbs are sprouting...and students start to wing out. The end of semester looms, the presentations have arrived, the workload is ratcheted up, and they freak. Without going into too many details, yesterday there was an incident in each of my classes. Groups in a panic because there are several free riders; in-my-face demands that I explain a (fair) grade; obnoxious posting on the online discussion board; and a student who hasn't regularly attended class really throwing in peers in group and complicating the upcoming presentations. So you might say this all has crossed my "line in the sand." Although I am probably too sympathetic to students in general, I do have a line that once crossed, turns me from nice and understanding to stone-faced and exacting. Sadly, I've found that it is necessary. Sometimes there are a couple of students who test the limits because I suspect they misperceive my good nature as weakness. That's a mistake they should not make. Afterwards, though, I am always left feeling uncomfortable because it really isn't in my character to draw that line in the sand. I just don't like being forced to do it and I wish mutual respect was a commonly understood concept. The final thing that makes me uneasy is that you never know what is in a student's mind. Teaching can be a tricky business.

I managed to get the midterms finished last week. I am still working on journals - and hope to have them finished by tomorrow. The grading just seems endless from the middle to the end of the semester.

This has been a rough winter, but now we're having nice, early Spring weather. A lot of birds are back. I don't see many flowers out there yet, but if it stays this way it won't be long. I did a little yard work yesterday, but there is a long way to go.

Hooray!

Make that 16 times. (See here for information on 1-15. This time, I saved the editorial at the link - not getting stuck paying another two bucks!) They are shameless. Just exactly what is the Times Union afraid will be discovered? Here's The Record today - they are asking the same question as I am. (Sadly, they conclude that we will probably never know the answer regarding the TU.)

Finished the midterms!! Now I have journals, and a new batch of essays.

I met again with the hybrid class. They are having a better experience I think, although there are clearly some "lost" students. They aren't putting in much effort. Whether they are weak students generally, or if it is the technology...who knows? Some of the comments the students shared this week:

-add a link ane/or chat, where I will answer their questions on content of the material
-the day class may have been more suitable for turning into the hybrid (meet once per week, online once per week)
-videos are practically not watchable - too slow, audio and picture don't match
-AIM is way better than blackboard chat
-blackboard is often unstable
-uneasy sense that they don't know how they are doing in class
-audios and powerpoint slideshows are helpful

The class becomes mostly an on campus, standard delivery, face-to-face arrangement now - there is only one more online session left. There are four on campus sessions.

Break is over for me - back to campus for the last five weeks of the semester. I accomplished a lot of evaluation/feedback, worked on the article, did the taxes, updated the website for the online class, and chose a new book for next semester. Naturally, I still have a couple of undone tasks (journals for one class and midterms for one class) that I didn't get to. So I will scramble tomorrow to get some journals done (I might be dreaming, it is sure to be hectic) and on Wednesday, I'll try to finish the midterms. So anyway - I probably will be dropping back to my usual one post or so here per week. Time for bed!! I have to curtail the owl tendencies too.

In my continuing theme on the hypocricy of newspapers (no, I don't have a label for that, probably should), today's editorial in the Times Union really irritated me.

I did have to laugh at their championing the "fake but accurate" approach. (You'd think they'd remember that the risk is great of that derailing an eager journalist's career.) I remembered this post where I believed the paper had no credibility on the subject, and that got me thinking about the number of times since last July they have put out essentially the same message.

I can tell you: fifteen. Eleven editorials (7/31, 8/3, 8/9, 8/12, 9/12, 9/20, 9/22, 9/26, 9/9, 10/11, and 3/30), three Fred LeBrun columns (7/27, 9/23, 12/9) and one Rex Smith column (7/7). All with "move along, nothing to see here" as the message (Smith's was his usual patronizing and defensive). Why are they still water-carrying? I mean, the man has resigned. You'd think they would now want to dig, dig, dig. (You would think that they would have wanted to even before this, but that would be expecting too much. Water-carrying is a big, important, time-consuming task that goes on into perpetuity.) Maybe they might even want to ask a question or two about the timing and strange inconsistencies in the DA's report. But no. It's about travel and truth, because they have said so fifteen times.

I believe they have some serious skeletons in the closet and that's why they want this scandal to be over, never to be heard from again. The FOIL request was a fabrication, done after the fact, or at the very least it was submitted because the governor, or Dopp, whispered in the reporter's ear after they ordered up the fake but accurate records and spat "F*** him, he's a piece of sh*t, shove it up his a*s with a red hot poker." (Somehow the TU managed to avoid printing that statement, describing it as expletives and leaving it at that.) But they gobbled up the whisper. It was just what they wanted to hear, regardless of Smith's weak denials. They were so eager for the smear that they were careless. They allowed themselves to be duped. And they have no intention of admitting it. So instead they were printing the truth! And shoving the red hot poker is actually an honorable endeavor!

The fourteen editorials before 3/30's are in the archives, and cost me $2 each! A sacrifice to the altar of blogging. A fool and her money soon parted. So I copied and pasted them to a PDF file, I don't intend to pay more than once. Actually, I already paid twice! I was kind of irritated about that too. I am a loyal print subsriber to the paper. I have had it delivered every day for the past 24 years - ever since I moved to the Capital District. I believe access to the archives should be free for me! You can read all fifteen editorials and columns here, in reverse chronological order.

I worked all day on evaluating students in the online class. It's midsemester feedback time for discussion and journal. I think it took me longer than it usually does, but that isn't completely blackboard's fault. I am requiring another small assignment for every discussion (students submit their best post). But that isn't solely responsible either; the assessment seemed more rich than usual. It might have taken longer, but I think the results are better. I like the journal commenting feature. I usually respond to journal posts occasionally, but since the switch to blackboard, I have not responded at all. I had not spent any time figuring how to respond, it wasn't a priority. So in addition to compiling my usual tally of points, I went through and commented on many of the entries. It is almost like a blog, and it could be a dialogue. It think there are interesting possibilities for the future; I may have students post an assignment for all class and see if I can get other students to make comments.

Evaluations have taken up pretty much the whole week. There is still more to go. But I did manage to steal a little time to work on the article, as I mentioned. It is about the toleration class, specifically, it is about one assignment in the class that is intended to reduce ignorance of the unfamiliar, stereotyping and prejudice.

Now that I have slept on it for a day and done a little looking into guidelines, I believe I have found a suitable market for it, but I am thinking that it may need to be cut by about 1,000 words and I probably should add more literature. Sigh. I don't think I can get to that until summer. Or maybe I am just being overly critical? It is probably good enough to send with the expectation of getting a revise/resubmit, which how most academic journals respond for the first round anyway.

One thing I am going to do is get permissions from all the students whose self-assessment essays I quote. The quotes aren't very long, and they are anonymous, so that probably isn't really necessary either, but I think it would be a nice courtesy to do it, and I have no doubt every student will be flattered and will say yes. I have good relationships with students and this assignment is one that they all really liked.

I see as the week has gone one, since I haven't had to be on campus, I've slipped back into my preferred owl pattern. Staying up too late. I have to start getting back into the routine, Tuesday will be here in no time!

Things get more interesting around here by the day. When I heard the report about this on the news, and they came to this quote that Spitzer allegedly said to Dopp about Bruno, “F*** him, he’s a piece of sh*t, shove it up his a*s with a red hot poker,” I had this strange image of the movie Liar, Liar. It's the scene where Swoozie Kurtz is in the courtroom, Jim Carrey is up to all sorts of strange antics in an effort to not lie, and the look on her face is one of increasing horror. I felt that was the way my face must have looked. In the capitol confidential post I linked, it describes Spitzer as being so angry he was red-faced and kind of spitting. I read basically the same description in the New York Times over the weekend; it was an account of a meeting with a representative from the Working Families Party. The WFP rep was hoping to have some influence because the party had supported the ex-gov big time. He basically told them to get lost (but not in such a nice way). What a nutjob. This whole thing is a train wreck. I just can't look away.

I almost forgot! We had a spring snow.

I have been skeptical of middle school as a grade configuration for quite a while. Recently, this issue has heated up a bit more, and since the superintendent and much of the Board are now different, I again made an effort to have input. I heard back from the superintendent, which was a pleasant surprise, even though her response consisted of dismissing or ignoring my concerns. At this point, there is a community group that has organized around the idea.

In this week's Olive Press, this article appears. (I am linking to the Phoenicia Times website instead, because the Olive Press continuation does not go to the rest of the story.) For a lot of reasons, I am quite sympathetic to this group's goal of not restructuring the school district. However, what strikes me about this article is the overt anti-Olive bias. I guess, given the source (Olive Press) that shouldn't be a surprise. (The anti-Olive tone does not become apparent until the second page of the story; interestingly, that is the link that does not work at the Olive Press site.)

I mean, I have in the past lamented that "Olive" is plastered across the masthead. Take a look at this editorial from 2005. Deja vu anyone? Are the unidentified people described in the current article who were at the meeting discussing "how to get people motivated to vote in towns other than Olive. Many blame apathy for low voter turnout. They explored reasons ranging from an influx of weekend homeowners, the mascot issue, the closure of West Hurley, taxes and lack of organization or community feeling" the same ones who wrote this, in the 2005 editorial?: "This has been exacerbated in recent years by the difficult tax issues raised by the Large Parcel issue, by the nostalgic loyalties brought to the forefront during the mascot debacle; by the disparity of the townships brought together under the Onteora roof."

Also interesting, I notice a definite shift in the paper's perspective. In 2005, the tone was pro-middle school (and their assumption, with no evidence, seemed to be that Olive would foolishly oppose it or insist that Bennett School remain open even if there were better ideas). Here's the excerpt that so annoyed me when it was published: "Secondly, the Middle School model — which we could only eschew completely knowing that it would then set our students apart from a shared national and state experience — suggests that mid-grade students learn best when in their own school, yet with access to the sports and classroom facilities of junior and senior high schoolers."

However, now the paper appears to be championing the anti-middle school cause. The group that opposes the middle school has membership from all the towns, but I'm guessing Olive is probably the least represented. So as long as the Olive Press can trumpet a cause they perceive to be anti-Olive, they are happy to change positions and "eschew" the middle school idea. Isn't some explanation necessary? Or is it quite simply that the staff just can't stand our town?

Burned a little midnight oil (this is late for me now, how pathetic) and finished the article. Now I have to figure out where to send it. I have four journals in mind.

Back to grading tomorrow.

This comment gave me an idea. So I took a break from evaluating and article writing (ie, procrastinated) and found some photos to post. Sort of an early Spring 2008 Virtual Museum.

Howie was a champion bed sleeper. Here he is in the dorm in 1980 as a six-week-old puppy (yes, it was against the rules).



Here he is, with Penny and Bob, in Brewster, in ~1984 (I remember we got that comforter as a wedding present). Penny liked sleeping on the bed, too. Mostly because she wanted to be near Howie.



Here he is, once again with Penny and Bob, but this time Edna has joined them. This is Castleton, circa 1994. The iron bed has been mine since I was a kid. It came from Watson Hollow Inn, where Mimmie worked. That blanket has become a "dog heirloom."



Not exactly a bed picture, here he is with me, under the covers on the couch. I think I was battling an illness at the time, if memory serves. This was about 1995, shortly before he died.



Rudy was more of a "floor" dog, but sometimes he would get on the bed. Here he is in Samsonville in about 2000. I know I have shared this picture here before. How handsome he was. Also always immaculate.



Here he is with Edna, around the same time. I think this says that Edna is pretty EEO about dogs, eh?



Sam is more likely to sleep in the bed than Rudy was, but he also likes chairs.



The next three are a series of shots I couldn't resist a few days ago. I didn't know I would be posting them here at the time, I just thought he looked cute. Especially since he is so active, it is rare to catch him snoozing.







Sophie is happy to get on a bed, when she can reach it. In Samsonville, she gets on the bed, but in Castleton, the iron day bed in the living room is too high, and she can't do the stairs to the bedroom. Her legs are too short and her body is too long! So she spends most of her time on a couch or chair.



She usually is covered, or as we call it, "wrapped." (Note that I did not cover her. I took the picture because I thought the way she had covered herself was so funny. She often wiggles under blankets, slipcovers or throws and barely disturbs them.)



Can you tell she's here?



Here's the close-up.



I don't have any bed pictures of Ande yet. But he likes the iron day bed too.

I think the moral of the story is that animal lovers think everything beloved cutie pie does is worthy of a picture.

My Easter was lovely. Now it's spring break. I am up to my eyeballs in evaluations. Making progress, but I doubt I will finish everything I planned. I really, really want to finish an article I am writing but it just isn't my top priority. But maybe it can be before the end of the week.

Two Times Union stories: this one, about some creep who put an adorable Jack Russell terrier out with the trash. What is the matter with people?

Then, this one, about blogging, which irritated me. First, because it is so last week. Maybe it would have been Earth shattering back in Y2K, but come on. Most readers probably know more about blogging than this journalist. Second, because it has that tired, smug tone that "print" people lord over "online" folks. Third, because it spends the majority of its words trumpeting the TU blogs. How great they are, how many hits they get, how often they post, blah, blah, blah. As if being linked by the newspaper, and being employed there as writers, have no impact!

Spring break! So early this year. Still, I need the days "off" to catch up on grading and do some writing, I have an article almost finished. It isn't looking much like Spring here yet, aside from the longer days.

I have a long list of things to do today for all my classes - write a midterm, grade essays, make updates to the blackboard sites. But I, like everyone else in the Capital District, as well (I suspect) as the rest of the state has had something else competing with the To Do list for the past few days...that would be refreshing various Internet webpages to see the latest news on the governor's scandals!

I am not given to write much about politics here. In fact, the only time I have written anything about the governor was here, in January 2007, and here, in July 2007. However, I have been thinking for the past almost-year that, being no fan of the prior governor, and even less of some of his appointees (I had a major run-in with one shortly after he was elected), that it is important to be careful what you wish for. In other words, I didn't think the governor and his appointees could get any worse, but then the latest jerk was elected, and "worse" got redefined in short order.

Two things come to mind that make that especially true. First, that he has been the pinnacle of hypocrisy, and that is something I can't stand. Second, that his enthusiastic supporters were always mouthing stupid lines such as "we're very energized" by his election, as if somehow having him in the Capitol was going to usher in utopia.

It's a shame that his downfall was a sex scandal, because the most ardent of his supporters will transform the "we're very energized" into statements about how prudish a country we are and allusions to Bill Clinton's troubles, when I haven't a shred of doubt that there are tons of non-prostitution related skeletons in the creep's closet. I admit sex scandals sell, and policy wonk ones don't. On Charlie Rose's show last night, Alan Dershowitz was saying what I have heard from others, that having private character flaws does not translate to being a bad public official and if we use such litmus tests we will eliminate everyone from the candidate pool. I've also read comments that it was just a "mistake," no biggie. How dumb and how naive can supposedly smart people be?

I call BS on those statements. In fact, I was so mad as I listened to Dershowitz on Charlie Rose that I wished someone like me had been there to tell him he is part of the problem. Maybe if once he stood in front of his law students and gave the testy lecture I give students about ethics, cheating and personal responsibility we would have a higher calibre of people in important positions in government and elsewhere. Because private character most certainly does impact public decisions. It has a role in every decision - personal, political, private, public, great and small. But no, I'm sure all Dershowitz does is teach students how to screw people and get away with it. It seems getting caught is the only problem for people with zero moral compass.

You know something? I could not care less about his sex life and wish I did not have the image of that ugly (inside and out, it seems) man not wanting to use a condom with a prostitute. (Bob laments, here the Health Department spends enormous sums on public education efforts aimed at getting people to practice safe sex and the governor clearly doesn't believe in the message.) I did feel bad seeing his wife looking so humiliated, but I also wondered why the h-ll she was standing beside him at the press conference rather than throwing his expensive suits out of the window of their Fifth Avenue apartment.

Regardless, I care very much that he is a person of bad judgment. I don't for one minute believe that this scandal is the only time Spitzer has done something unethical. I'm sure he has more often than not acted unethically, in fact. It was a part of the routine of his life, and until now, he got away with it. And gloried in it too. I'm also sure he surrounds himself with people who have similar values. In a word, "bad." People like that make my job as an instructor and mentor to students so much harder. How many times (12, actually) have I caught a student cheating and had to suffer through excuses, tears, insistence that is was only a mistake and the sole offense (and then caught the same student again)? Yeah right. Mistake, my a-s.

And speaking of a-ses, don't let the screen door hit you in it on the way out, Elliot. Not that I care one way or the other whether he stays or goes. I don't. He's history, regardless. A joke. Which reminds me...he has certainly given the comedians a lot of new material.

In completely unrelated news, I met with my evening/hybrid class again last night. The first thing I did was hand out slips of paper with three choices: Discontinue Hybrid, Continue Hybrid, No preference. I was expecting discontinue to win, or at least that it would be close, and I had planned to divide students up by preference to have a debate on the subject, with the no preference students serving as the jury. But something completely unexpected happened! Continue won by a landslide, so no debate was needed. It seems the experience of the past two weeks was much better than it was during the first session.

A sign of spring! The blackbirds are back. They pause here on their way north. Their numbers are huge, and the racket they make is incredible. They are quite skittish too. I hope they stay a few days.

More cruelty involving an athlete, this time from a golfer, proving that stupidity is not limited to any particular sport. I'm not sure why I didn't notice this when it happened (probably because it got little or no coverage until he was charged?), but I hope he gets the maximum. Jerk.

We are finishing up philosophy of education in one section of my class, and in the day class yesterday we talked a bit about why students in the evening hybrid version is not loving the experience. One student knows someone who is in the hybrid class, and several others chimed in as well. They believe that students prefer structure, that they learn better when hearing material in person, and also that online delivery may give students the feeling that they are not getting feedback. I responded that it is interesting because many students will profess a preference for "freedom" over "structure," that they almost always say they find lecture boring, and that I give the same amount of feedback to online, hybrid and on campus students. But perception is everything, I guess.

This is unrelated, but recently I have been doing some reflecting on my own struggles with an inferiority complex. I can't say that it is an overwhelming burden or anything, but consistently in my professional life especially, I have trouble in this area. I marvel at others who do not have this problem. Or at least they do not seem to have this problem, it may be that they do, but they hide it. What does it take, I wonder, for someone to overcome this? Or is it futile, because they never had the problem in the first place?

After days of brutal cold, more snow! What a winter.

Today is the sixth anniversary of Gully Brook Press. I suppose I should have something insightful to write about doing an online journal for six years - it is the most sustained journal effort ever for me, throughout my life I have kept some sort of journal, on and off - but I really don't.

Last Sunday, in my continuing quest to change my diet, I made a quiche using a buckwheat pie crust. The sites I read about substituting buckwheat for regular flour all cautioned that the taste is too strong for most people's liking. I didn't find that to be an issue, but wow, rolling it out was hard!

Since the weather means another weekend in Castleton rather than Samsonville, I think we will put the finishing touches on the livingroom rehab - the border! It sure is looking good. Makes the rest of the house seem shabby.

Last night, my hybrid class met and did I get an earful! This is what I took away from their comments:

• Can’t open long PDF files
• Can’t always log into chatrooms
• Shorten discussion titles
• Move most current Learning Module up on homepage
• Send email reminder to regular accounts of discussion deadlines during online weeks (3 days before deadline)
• Continue to post checklist of what’s expected during blackboard classes
• Uneasy feeling that not enough is being done during online weeks
• Uncertainty about whether expectations are being met during online weeks
• Confusion about deadlines and reasons for them
• Concern about missing assignments
• Skepticism about effectiveness of hybrid model

I told them that we will give it a go for another week - and at the next face-to-face session (3/11), we'll talk about whether they want to "bail" and go back to a traditional format.

A marathon weekend spent painting the livingroom. The bottom half will be dark green, the top half will be tan, and as a chair rail we have ordered a wide border that should be in next week. The trim (there's a lot, five windows and two doors, as well as a wide baseboard and ceiling molding) and ceiling will be bright white. It hasn't been done in about 15 years so it was way past due. It is a big job, since the house is small and as a result furniture has to be shifted here and there within the room. The disruption is hard on the animals. Only Edna stays away. The "boys" are a handful at all times, and with open paint cans everywhere there are moments when I am sure we will have a river of dark green all over the floor. One chair or the couch has to be kept accessible for Sophie or she gets restless. I think we will finish with a couple more nights of work.

I'm freaked out by the shootings at NIU. I was in my class last evening (which happens to be in a lecture center this semester). As the students were having group discussions, I turned off the projector and went on the internet to check my email. That's when I saw the headline, about two hours after the event happened. It was creepy.

On a completely different note, we watched Daughter from Danang a couple of days ago. I got the DVD a couple of years ago. PBS sent it to me for free when I bought a bunch of others I was reviewing to see whether they would be appropriate for one of my classes. It was very interesting and thought-provoking, definitely worth seeing.

Now here's an election that really matters. I am not all that interested in dog shows, being the type of person who prefers shelter pets. But since I love hounds, I did get a charge out of this. I love that he howls. Go Uno!!

Good news! This shows that ebay is a reputable organization.

I am concerned that this semester, technology is going to get in the way, and not be just a handy tool. I think next semester, once I am in the groove, it may be a different story. But I am not sure that me learning the coursewere while the students learn it is a great idea. I certainly wouldn't have planned it that way if I had any role in the decision.

Anyway, next week will be the first online week in the blended class. I am curious to see how that will work.

This must be the week for outraged students or something. I received two emails, one from a student who was in last semester's class, and one from a student in the current semester. The one from last semester is asking for yet another explanation for her "unfair" grade. I have explained twice already, what more is there to say? The guy from this semester hates the reading and I suspect he thinks I am a moron.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I continue to have so much work to do that I have no opportunity to return voice mail messages. Call me at your own peril!

I've been so busy I hardly have time to do this. The semester is really revving up!! One comment about that: I hate Blackboard! Oh it has nice features - and although there is a learning curve, I'm figuring it out. But it is so SLOW that it is almost not usable.

Two recent stories of note in the Times Union. First, there is this. I am speechless. Not really - if this guy had taken a class with me, I would have caught him cheating and taught him a lesson about honesty and ethics! Students may wonder why I enforce the rules so much. Well, this is an example.

Next, as usual, North Greenbush welcomes absurdity with open arms. Remember the awful destruction of the Defreest Church House? (Too rushed to find the link, maybe I will eventually - just click the label if you want to follow that sad tale.) Well, now they plan to demolish two treasures to make way for yet another Rite Aid, and a Walgreens too. Can't have too many drug stores, don't you know.

First day of classes went well! Teaching college is such a great profession. Every semester it is new. Working with young adults is very rewarding. The only glitch: once again, I only landed one smart room. My two other on campus classes are in rooms without technology!!

The semester starts today, my classes begin tomorrow and I guess I am ready!

Last night, we watched the movie Shortbus. What was good about it: 1) It was different. 2) The dialogue was generally interesting. 3) The music. 4) The animation.

Unfortunately, there was much more that wasn't worthwhile at all. I found it to be very immature, pretentious and self-indulgent. The majority of the movie is graphic, unsimulated sex. That was the major reason it was innovative, it certainly wasn't the story, which was almost non-existent. Afterwards, I read some reviews on the Internet; viewers tended to see it much more favorably than well-known reviewers. Those who gave it raves mostly shared the perspective that anyone who didn't like it is an uptight, moralistic prude.

That's pretty ignorant, really. There were so many things to find offensive about this movie, and the sexual content was the least of it. But let's start there, since it is the obvious place. The sex scenes were so numerous and went on for so long that it was almost like one of those awful action/adventure movies, so filled with shootings, explosions, gore and car chases that it all becomes tedious. Then, the title itself. I'd never heard of a small yellow school bus for special needs students being labeled that way, but apparently that is what the reference means. Are we supposed to think that the characters, who go to the club for which the movie is named, face life hurdles that are even close to those of disabled kids? The majority of people in this film were unlikable. They were also immature, pretentious, and self-indulgent, just like the movie. Pathetic, really. Not at all like children with special needs. Finally, why would any of the events at the end of the movie erase the problems with which these people were struggling? It was too neat, too easy.

There were numerous things that were not at all believable. Would someone who just attempted suicide be able to check himself out of the hospital after only a few hours? No. Would there be a lot more drugs flowing than shown in the settings portrayed in this movie? Yes. Then, there is a woman who calls herself a couples' counselor. I write calls herself, because I seriously doubt she could have had either the MSW or PhD. Would a licensed professional really reveal details of her patients to her husband? No. That is unethical. Would she slap a patient and get away with it? No.

The portrayal of women generally left a lot to be desired, except for (perhaps) the one or two scenes of a group of women at the club who sat in a separate room and talked. In fact, that was about the only valuable dialogue in the movie, aside from a few other snippets here and there. There just wasn't enough dialogue, and as a result it was difficult to identify with the characters, or to sympathize with what they were going through. I'm sorry, extended scenes of people giving each other what were supposed to be meaningful gazes are not suitable substitutes for real writing. On the subject of women's perspectives in the movie, I was reminded of a great line from a truly wonderful movie, Moonstruck. Olympia Dukakis' character remarks, "what you don't know about women is a lot."

I so wondered what the h-ll the makers of this film were thinking that I sat through the special features. I very rarely bother with the "making of" clips that are on DVDs since they are invariably the same. You know, rah-rah, aren't we all so wonderful and isn't it fascinating how we picked the cast and came up with the idea. But in this case, I learned that there was no story. They kind of made it up as they went along, after they picked the cast. That answered a big question for me. Then, some of the deleted and extended scenes contained additional dialogue that would have made the movie better, had it been left in. (One exception involved a stalker who in the alternate scenes was supposed to work as a personal assistant to the president's daughters. Hello! Why would some guy who works at home in NYC be their personal assistant and why would the president call him every five minutes. It makes no sense at all, and I assume it was only there because the director has some personal axe to grind. So cutting that out was one of the few good decisions he made.) The director appeared very young, and I figured that explained why the movie is so immature in perspective. But then I learned that he is only two years younger than me. So I guess the young do not have a monopoly on immaturity. It seemed to me that he took advantage of a lot of unknown actors who were desperate to get a movie credit.

I mentioned that it struck me as pretentious, and that is the final comment I will make. It really summed up the attitude that I have encountered many times in my life, having grown up in an area that is a weekend vacation land for people who live in the metro area. That the city is so great, so open, so enlightened, and the rest of us are ignorant stump jumpers. News flash: there is a whole world beyond your nine miles that manages just fine in navigating those life issues you find so insurmountable and doesn't appreciate your form of judgmental moralism. Grow up.

The good news is that I was able to download and burn the recovery CD. I hooked up the computer, using the monitor from downstairs, and the keyboard, power cord and mouse from up here. More good news! The repair worked, and the machine booted into XP.

So maybe tomorrow I will have time to upload the Christmas tree etc. pictures I took.

I think I am basically ready for the semester. Oh, there's a lot left to do, but it doesn't have to be finished by Thursday, which is the first day of classes for me. There are many things I like about Blackboard, but there are just as many things I can't stand, chiefly that I have to work directly on the Internet. (I know I mentioned that before, but I can't say it enough.) Also, the process of uploading audio files is awful. In fact, I cannot do it - I had to get my own site and upload, I was not able to do it to the university's server. So it is great to talk about all the wonderful features and exciting possibilities - but the reality is a lot less satisfactory. I should know better, and not get sucked in. It wastes a lot of time, being an early adopter.

I spent most of today trying to repair my mother's computer. I am not having much luck yet. Actually, I have not even got to the point where I can say that - it is taking me hours to download the necessary files so that I can burn a recovery disk. The lesson here: Be sure to make one when your computer is new, or at least working fine. (Will I take my own advice? No, of course not.) Bob went to Florida for a few days, just in time to miss the very cold weekend. Brrr!

I had another anxiety dream. The Blackboard and blended learning thing must be really getting to me! This one was more weird. I was in a classroom with a full class of students. The room had a glass wall on one side, across from my desk and behind the rows of student desks, that looked out on a courtyard. It was almost like a sun room. I'm thinking it was some strange combination of my high school (which had rooms that were on a center courtyard, although the wall and windows were institutional, not at all like a sun room) and a historic house. The room itself was a typical classroom, but smaller than usual. Some unknown professor came from the courtyard and opened a glass door that was on sun room side of the classroom. He invited my students to come and listen to his lecture - on something (he said, but I don't remember). It wasn't especially interesting sounding, but about a third to a half of my students immediately jumped up and left. They sort of looked at me to see my reaction on their way out. I didn't tell them it was OK, I kind of just stood there, helpless. The remaining students didn't go, although some were standing, hesitating, but you could tell almost all of them wanted to go, even the ones who were still sitting and facing me. Whether they were actually interested in listening to his lecture, or if they intended to bolt once they got "permission" to leave, was not clear. I turned from helpless into some kind of caricature of a school marm, angry, threatening, violated. The only thing I could relate to this experience was the occasional instructor who has the class prior to mine and continues teaching until ten minutes into my class, or the few who arrive ten minutes early and act like I should dismiss my class because they want the room. But even that isn't as bad as this dream was!

I found out that another of my former elementary school teachers has died. This is a woman I had for fourth grade. My recollections of her aren't really numerous or specific. It may be that the year she taught me was the only year she was at my school. I do know I thought of her as so old. I mean, it's natural for a little kid to think of a teacher as old, but in this case - I remember thinking that she was a lot older than my parents - if my calculations based on her graduation dates from high school and graduate school are true that isn't the case at all; she was only in her early 30s at that time. I even thought she was older than my second grade teacher when in truth she was young enough to be her daughter! She was the definition of an old school marm: hair in a bun, stiff, thin and bony, with plain attire that featured high collared shirts. I think she was a pretty good teacher in terms of conveying the material, though. She was old fashioned in her methods, nothing like the other "young" teachers. I remember all the kids hated her. I think we believed her to be pretty mean overall. Equal opportunity mean. Not warm and fuzzy at all. We were terrified of her. She wasn't particularly mean to me, but she wasn't exactly nice to anyone. Starting in third grade, I had two teachers per year. I had this teacher in the morning, and the other half of the day I had a different teacher. I remember how relieved we all were to go to his class in the afternoon. I liked my elementary school and believe my education there was decent but when I think back I realize for how many years I had teachers that were scary. Ones that must have disliked kids. It's amazing I didn't fake sick every day. I always wonder how people would react if you went to a funeral and stood up when they invite people to make remarks or wrote in one of the legacy.com websites your actual recollection! Of course I could never do that but it is a funny thought nonetheless.

Back from a weekend in Samsonville. It is snowing today, not a really major storm though. Saturday was my mother's 75th birthday, my sister hosted a nice little celebration (what is little for us is a bash for most people, though. There were 12 people there).

Yesterday I spent a big part of the day working on my mother's computer, which I believe has crashed. I wound up bringing it back to Castleton with me, and I hooked up her old machine in its place. The old one works fine, although it is Windows ME, which sucks. But with high speed internet access, the difference is almost not noticeable. Luckily, I had bought her a flash drive about a month ago, and backed up her documents. So it isn't that much of a big deal if I can't fix it. While I was working on the machine, my father worked on my portable dishwasher (from Castleton). My mother made eggplant for me as a payment for my computer work, and I joked that I should just hand it over to my father, as payment for his repair of my dishwasher.

The blackboarding of class is going OK. The slowness of working over the Internet is a pretty major issue, though. I managed to get the audio files to work by subscribing to mediamax, which is a place for hosting files. I hope to not have to keep paying for that space, though, since the university really should be able to help me with this.

I had one of those anxiety dreams about the semester last night. When I was a student, those kind of dreams took two forms: one was that I'd arrive at school dressed completely inappropriately. Either wearing pajamas, or just underwear or no clothes at all or something. I have heard that this sort of dream is fairly common. For me, they usually happened when I was younger, in elementary or high school. I remember the odd thing was that no one else in the dream ever noticed, despite the fact that I was in a panic, trying to figure out what to do. When I was in college, the anxiety dream more often took the form of realizing that the semester was almost over, and I had not been to class at all or done any work.

They have a new variant now that I am an instructor. Last semester I dreamed that I arrived at the first day of class without a syllabus to hand out, and with a bunch of disorganized papers on the desk that I was frantically flipping through, trying in vain to find my notes and the handouts. I had no idea of what to say to class. Last night I dreamed that I screwed up the first several weeks of class by doing the wrong things. I forgot what we were doing in class and did not do the things I planned. After a disasterous class I realized my mistakes but it was too late to fix the problem.

I thought I would do this meme this week because 1) I am waiting for an audio lecture to upload (Blackboard conversion is not as bad as expected, although working directly on the web is slow); 2) I am procrastinating on yard clean up (see here if you must know what that means) since the snow melted (I am not going to wait until it snows again and be forced to delay until spring); 3) I really wanted to answer question 3; and 4) since it is winter break, I am home on Thursdays.

Thursday Threesome: Kidney stone and herbal remedies:

Onesome: Kidney--beans? Lima Beans? Pinto beans? Which legumes do you like to cook with? Hmmm... A hot pot of chili sounds good this week!

I love all legumes. In fact, there is a pot of bean soup in the fridge right now. My favorites are chick peas (hummus! yum!) and white beans (greens and beans! yum!) but in the soup I made there are chick peas, red beans, white beans, and black beans.

Twosome: Stones?-- Monoliths? Pebbles? Do you use any of these in decorating? Heck, we'll even count marbles in vases!

Not really. I do have some great rocks out in the yard, though.

Threesome: and herbal remedies-- Hey, there's a good one: do you have any herbal remedies for us to try? Anything? I'm betting this bunch will have a trick or two to work with!

Yes, I am a great believer in alternative treatments, including herbs and supplements. Holistic veterinary care is how my animals get treatment, including Rudy, when he was dying from cancer. I take magnesium - and it works like a charm for the unmentionable problem that has plagued me for life. Bob has severe rheumatoid arthritis. He tried the medical model but it failed him miserably, but his regimen of sam-e, glucosamine, fish oil, etc. (too many others to mention, but they include non-herbal things such as not drinking coffee or eating beef) has put him in remission. He was told by the rheumatologist when he was diagnosed in 2000 that he'd probably be in a wheelchair in two years. He was in very bad shape at the time. Conventional treatment did not help - and in fact, the side effects were hurting him in a big way. So he did his own research in journals to develop a course of treatment. He has two physician's desk references for alternative therapies as well. Six years after he was supposed to be using one - there is no wheelchair in sight, and he can even do the stairs with no problem. The only negative is that there are a lot of people who refuse to acknowledge his approach, consider alternative approaches to be quackery followed only by nutjobs, and constantly suggest to him that he should try whatever miracle drug is being advertised on television. They can't accept that he doesn't even have to take Advil any longer and he feels great. There isn't anything all that radical about eating less or no refined carbohydrates, trying to exercise and pursue a lifestyle with less stress - but I guess to those people the presupposition that there is only one approved way is easier. To them it makes more sense to pop a Remicade.

Monday blues. Holidays are over. House is a mess. I have so much work to do and such an unrealistic deadline that any sane person would be having an anxiety attack. Bob's birthday was Saturday, so on Friday we went to see Juno (it was good; worth seeing), on Saturday we went to dinner at the marvelous Carolina House, and yesterday we went to see John Prine at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall (which was great). The calendar page turns and as usual, there is a lot of reassessment. But right now the message is: get back to work!!

Happy New Year! The weather has been notable and so I want to mention it: we've had four medium sized snow storms so far this winter, and right now we are experiencing zero temperatures.

I am going to do something I never do, which is write about television. I watched Leno last night - and I think he is better without writers. I suppose a disclaimer is necessary here, so here goes: I have absolutely nothing against the striking writers, and although I am relatively uninformed about the issue, I feel sympathy for them and their cause. Now, back to my impressions from last night. What I noticed was that the show was a lot more real than usual. I like real. Audience participation bits on all the current late night shows are always scripted, and they are unevenly funny. Taking audience questions and ad-libbing responses reminded me of the Carol Burnett Show, which I always loved. The overall atmosphere felt warm and personal.

Christmas was wonderful. My mother's cream of mushroom soup outshines the finest chef's. But our holidays continue. Tonight it's back to Samsonville (kind of feel like we are on an elastic band like one of Ande's new toys, being stretched and snapped back on the Thruway). Tomorrow we are off to Long Island to see Bob's family; it's his mother's birthday today. We are going to meet friends and spend the night here. Yay! Indoor pool! Then back to Samsonville on Sunday. My brother is having a New Year's Eve party, and then on New Year's Day, we head back to Castleton. (So I'm not sure whether I will post, although I do have the resources to do it from Samsonville. But I rarely have the inclination.) Then, January is filled with birthdays so celebrations continue.

I probably won't post tomorrow so...

Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve! I have a short list of tasks to do today. Finish making a handmade gift that's almost done, wrap a couple of remaining gifts, bake two apple pies, and cook dinner.

For the first time in the 20 years I have lived in Castleton, I am going to be able to go to mass at Sacred Heart Church on Christmas Eve. The reason is that although we are going to Samsonville tomorrow (and then back here the day after), this year Bob decided to work today and instead of being on the road, we are traveling to Long Island to visit his family over the weekend. Usually, I go to mass for Christmas wherever I am - so that might be a church I have never stepped foot in before, or occasionally, to St. Augustine's, where I went as a kid, and where I go when I am in Samsonville. But since I prefer to go on Christmas Eve, usually I am either in Long Island, or we make a mad dash to be back in Samsonville by midnight, and I scramble to find a midnight mass somewhere (Occasionally, I go to St. Augustine's on Christmas morning - but usually they only have a 6 pm mass on Christmas Eve which I miss).

So I am so excited!! I don't consider myself "devout" exactly - although I do go to church every Sunday and it means a lot to me. I consider religion to be a private matter, and I rarely talk about my faith, or the beliefs of others. I don't judge or disrespect. However, I am turned off by what I consider to be the excessively materialistic focus of this holiday. It's hard to not judge or disrespect consumerism as God. Even movies that people consider Christmas classics such as Miracle on 34th Street have an offensively material message - yet pretend to be reverent.

Full disclosure: I am pretty anti-consumerist as it is. Separate from any religious discussion, I tell my students in Toleration class that a test of my tolerance is materialism. I disapprove of it, but I believe people have a right to that lifestyle if they want and so I must tolerate it. It is a good example for Toleration because students often get stuck by the idea that toleration does not equal celebrating diversity and that idea bothers them. I think this is because toleration has religious roots, and now is viewed as a sort of cultural/social concept. So my anti-material viewpoint is appealing to students and sparks them to consider that there are still many things in society that we may not like but should tolerate, although we do not have to "celebrate" them.

Anyway, back to Christmas Eve. Some years I am worn out, and go into the traveling and gift wrapping exhausted. It all seems like just one more chore. Oh, I still enjoy seeing family and going to church, but overall, the season doesn't do a lot for me. But this year is different. I got some rest. And I am psyched to go to mass here. The snow, the very modest but carefully selected gifts I bought, the lovely trees (I'll put up a picture of both after the holiday - we have a fresh cut one from the local boy scouts in Castleton, and a cedar from our yard in Samsonville), the wonderful cards (not a huge number, just enough for me to be able to exchange without it being an enormous task), the anticipation of seeing family, and most of all - Christmas Eve mass at Sacred Heart Church. It is really making Christmas extra special for me this year.

Those comments from my students helped too. I got two emails, by the way, from an A- student and a C- student, demanding a breakdown (which I always send, but I like to take a few days off, and wait until late in the month or early next month).

I am done with grades!! I finished at 8:30 last night (the deadline was 11:59 pm). Every semester I wonder why I have designed such complicated measures for evaluation. I know it works well, but it takes a lot of effort on my part.

One task at the end of the semester is that I tally up 11 peer assessment spreadsheets in my classes. I had 100 students between my 4 classes. Each student participates in peer assessment three times (for the online class, 19 students, it is twice). A couple of days ago - during a 14 hour stretch as I was power entering, looking up from the student's form to the screen (I am getting to the point in my life where I need reading glasses, after always having 20/20 vision, priding myself on it and considering the wearing of glasses to be a moral failing - I haven't a problem with grey hair, but glasses! I will forget them, lose them, drop them in the garden, sit on them, step on them, the puppy or kitten will get them, ...) I am wearing my glasses, and for paper with small type they are dandy, but they make it difficult to see the screen (my distance vision is still one of those 20s) after hours and hours of entry I am getting dizzy, nauseous, maybe even delirous. I try to not look through the glasses when I enter, but then I have to switch, because I can't see the numbers on the forms I printed out without them. The nauseous delirium turns into a touch of claustrophobia. This room is VERY small and it seems like it gets dark at about 3 in the afternoon.

So I decide to switch to a reading task instead. I don't accept paper from students and I don't print out papers or jounals, I read them off the screen. Don't need glasses for that. I start opening the journals and soon I find I can't see once again. I get to the end of each one, entry #14, and almost every single student has written nearly the same thing. They are gushing about how wonderful the class was, how they would take it over again next semester if they could, how they were sad on the last day, how attending it wasn't a chore, and thanking me in words so profuse and touching I am dumbstruck. Well, I am not talking to anyone at that moment, but you know what I mean. I have to blink away the tears, and I don't often cry. Could there be a better job on this planet? The assessment task got a lot easier after that. I think I will have to compile them in some way to read when I am feeling blue or frustrated in the future. I hope I can work the same magic next semester. With all the changes in the courseware arena, who knows? But I do have some new ideas boiling, so maybe!

Anyway, it looks like I am going to have to get bifocals over the break (with plain glass in the top) or else those tiny half-glasses like Marian the librarian.

Merry Christmas! I am feeling especially inspired this year. Maybe because my faith has been growing recently. Maybe because we are having wintery weather. Who knows?

I got the idea to do this from Elaine.

Well, he should have gotten the maximum (which isn't enough and should be increased), but I'm feeling pretty good about this outcome!

Two stories from the TU. First, this one is scary! That site always freaks me out when I see it. Then, here's this one, another example of how awful some people are to animals. Luckily, these dogs were rescued. But what's with the order forbidding this jerk from raising animals expiring? Does that make any sense?

Interesting set of coincidences yesterday. This is the last week of classes, and in my social foundations classes, yesterday was focused on educational technology. I spend some time talking about what it is, what are the pros and cons of the approach, and what teaching online is like. In all three sections, I solicit student feedback and thoughts on educational technology. Something I tell students is that afterwards, I remember the faces of on campus students, and the names of online ones. A student called me who took the evening section of the class in 2003, and later in the day he stopped by to talk to me about graduate school. Then, as I was waiting for the elevator, another student came up to me and asked if I was (insert my name here). She explained that she had taken the online section of the class during Summer 2006. I remembered them both. It was especially nice, because both told me how much they liked the class, and asked me if I am teaching any at the graduate level.

It snowed a little tonight. And it is supposed to be a cold weekend. I spent the day working on the courseware transition. One thing I've been experimenting with is recording audio files of lectures.

I had a nice Thanksgiving. My apple pie came out perfect. I used Honeycrisp apples (usually I use Granny Smith) and it was yummy! I learned something interesting about Honeycrisp apples recently; they were developed by the University of Minnesota (through a long process detailed here); introducted in 1991, and the parents were thought to be McCoun and Honeygold. But the discovered that neither is the parent! One parent is Keepsake, and the other is unknown. Read all about it here.

I took four days off, which was tiring! I think my regular routine is easier to manage than having fun. Now it's the push to the end of the semester. Only three days left on campus. Grades are due 11/20 at 11:59 pm. The semester just flew by!