Wealthy SoCal folks not vaccinating their children. Will they grow up to be healthier? One could find out.
Natural experiments are only useful if there is a follow-up
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And college professors wonder why our students won’t spell correctly.
Not so much can’t as won’t. Even when we tell them repeatedly. Even when we take off points for it. They’ve all survived Lower Education in America, and they’ve gotten the message.
The first job candidate of the week . . .
The first job candidate of the week made it in last night – we’ll see if he can fly out on schedule tomorrow evening. The problem with flying out of Rochester or Syracuse in the winter time isn’t ROC or SYR – they know how to deal with winter up here. It’s getting the equipment out of, say, Philadelphia, NYC, or Chicago during a big winter event. I’m so used to de-icing now that the extra 20 minutes on the ground after we pull away from the gate doesn’t even surprise me.
My walk to school this morning – Winter Storm Linus
The first normal weekend of the year
This was the first normal weekend of the semester. Last weekend was “first weekend,” so there wasn’t anything to grade. This weekend I graded most of a pile of homework, which doesn’t have to be returned until 1:55 tomorrow. The semester has well and truly begun.
Coffee time
My sister et al. gave me a new Cuisinart coffee machine for Christmas. Since the previous machine died early in the summer, I’ve been using a free-standing burr grinder and a french press. All in all (including parts washing) they take about the same amount of time from start to first cup – but the cuisinart does make more! Yay for that!
Oh look – it’s going to get up to freezing on Wednesday!
Praise Steve for Find this iPhone
Praise Steve for Find this iPhone and Play a Tone. But how did my iPhone get in the paper recycling bin?
Once again in the thick of the job season – but this time is it a mistake?
The second of four candidates for a tenure track studio position is here today, and a lot of other departments are going through the same procedure (I walked past a restaurant the other night and saw two tables of colleagues with candidates).
I worry about this year’s hires – and about the due date next week for position requests for NEXT year’s searches.
See – we’re in the middle of a curriculum revision. But the HIRING procedure is pretending that nothing will change. Maybe nothing will – this has not been an inspiring process and there doesn’t seem to be much passion in the discussions. Still, it’s a mistake to recruit a couple of entering classes purely into departmental major and minor curricula and not use at least a year’s worth of hires to provide some ooomph for the next thing.
If I were provost I might have declared this a Two Year Position Only year and put a hold on next year’s requests, promising a round of position requests over the summer to meet whatever new needs show up in the curriculum we vote on in March.
But I’m not provost!
OMG – just came across a video I’ve been missing.
I kept looking for this – and suddenly, here it is! 1984, Rickie Lee Jones, The Real End. It’s not quite how I remember it, but it’s still marvelous.
I was remembering it as a single long shot – I didn’t remember how many cuts there are. Still a great example of a moving-down-the-street video. And what a voice! I saw Jones once live in Atlanta – was it at Chastain? Sounds likely!
further: I think she was partnered with Lyle Lovett the first time I saw him? The Large Band tour was without anyone else, I think.
No Snowpocalypse in the Finger Lakes
But it’s more than a snow shower.
First day
This was a rare TUESDAY start – and my classes are MWF. So today I mainly fiddled with syllabus decisions and getting all of my first year students into a fourth class (don’t let the perfect schedule be the enemy of the good!).
ARTH 101 tomorrow at 9:05!
UVa begins to deal with the legal (and financial) blowback
I told a lawyer friend the other day he ought to get ahead of the curve and put hangtag fliers on the doors of all the fraternities. There’s going to be big money in this. I just hope the inevitable lawsuits don’t shut these Colleges down – we’re not really rich.
Theseus Ring on display
Interesting Minoan/Mycenaean ring on display. I need to read more about this (how did they authenticate it?), but the image is certainly neat – go look!