The Fora: A Higher Education Community

Quote from: evil_physics_witchcraft on November 13, 2023, 05:10:58 PM

Quote from: hmaria1609 on November 13, 2023, 03:06:29 PMTo some neighbors: Couldn't wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas?!

Same here!

I thought that this morning when I saw that the city has begun putting up decorations on Main Street.

I wish I could say "blow your damned nose."

To my generally pleasant but clueless neighbors - Either corral the yard apes or have the hard conversation. My boys were generally stains on good behavior certificates ergo I have long and deep experience with miscreants.  If it couldn't be smashed, enflamed, or exploded, those three savages weren't interested.  Just because the schools have temporarily released your feral children into the wild for a week doesn't mean you have permission to go 1950s housewife.  I don't have time to village up and look after the children roaming across my front lawn, on my drive and front porch, and down the alley.  If you want an extra relative, I'll happily put them to work cleaning and hauling off trash without pay.  That's how ad-hoc childcare worked back in the day.  However, you don't really want an extra auntie.  Y'all want an unpaid babysitter. Screwww that. 

Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring;
Oh, hush the noise, ye men of strife
And hear the angels sing.

And ye, beneath life's crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Look now! for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing.
Oh, rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing!

For lo! the days are hast'ning on,
By prophet seen of old,
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold
When Christ shall come and all shall own
The Prince of Peace, their King,
And saints shall meet Him in the air,
And with the angels sing.

Edmund H. Sears, "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear"

The house directly across the street from us burned this morning. It's an old house, with a small upstairs apartment and downstairs flat; the grown daughter downstairs got up and went to the bathroom around 9:15 to find it filled with smoke. She threw on clothes, got the dog out, jumped in her car and drove up the block to call her dad at work; he called the fire department. (Don't know if the little boy downstairs was home or not.) Upstairs, a man, wife, and their son moved in only a month ago. They were all gone, and their two small dogs died from the smoke.

It seemed to be under control by about 10:30, but then flames came through the roof of the second story.  All told, it went to 7 alarms, with departments from every town and fire district within 20 miles of here, along with 2 ambulances, a rescue truck, multiple city cops, and several state cops as well. No idea of the cause yet; the trucks are still here at 1 p.m. It's the biggest fire I can remember since coming to college here 40+ years ago; even barn fires/combine fires/field fires only bring out 3, maybe 4, departments.

Luckily the wind laid from the 35-40 mph we had Wednesday, or this whole old neighborhood could have gone up in a flash. The fire crews were here in a flash--all volunteers in this very rural small town in the middle of farm country.

Very, very sad, especially with the loss of the dogs, and the two little boys (one upstairs, one downstairs, both about 6 years old) having this happen right at Christmas time, not to mention both families having lost literally everything they own.

Oh, my gosh, that is horrific. So sorry to hear it!

But all the people got out?  That's the main thing.

We have multiple house fires in our town every year about this time--two in the last few weeks.  The flip side of having enough old, inexpensive housing that nobody has to get squeezed out into the streets is that many of these old houses are terrible firetraps.  Since fires are more likely to happen right when it gets cold enough to need to turn up the home heating, having to mobilize the community to help fire victims has gotten to be a normal part of our holiday season.

We got off to a shaky start to the work week overnight here in Maryland:
https://wtop.com/local/2024/01/very-scary-windows-shook-dc-maryland-residents-experience-reported-earthquake/
Scroll past ad breaks to read full article. Posted on WTOP Radio 1/2/24

I just lost the game

So you know how when you would call, they would play hold music so you knew you were still connected?

Now, when you are online chatting with customer service, it makes small talk while the real person is doing their thing, juggling multiple calls, whatever. How's your day going? How's the weather? Look for our new app on Google Play or Apple Store...

And it responds. Glad to hear. I'm sorry it's cold. Etc, etc, etc.

Just got the email from the dean's office that I've been recommended for tenure!  (still goes to provost and board, but I've never heard of them reversing here)

But I can't take a break to celebrate because have to go back to doing grant reviews due Monday, which doesn't seem quite fair somehow. Before tenure, chop wood, carry water. After tenure, chop wood, carry water.

Quote from: Puget on January 26, 2024, 10:23:25 AMJust got the email from the dean's office that I've been recommended for tenure!  (still goes to provost and board, but I've never heard of them reversing here)

But I can't take a break to celebrate because have to go back to doing grant reviews due Monday, which doesn't seem quite fair somehow. Before tenure, chop wood, carry water. After tenure, chop wood, carry water.

Congrats, Puget. Chop wood, carry water, indeed!

Congratulations!

Quote from: Puget on January 26, 2024, 10:23:25 AMJust got the email from the dean's office that I've been recommended for tenure!  (still goes to provost and board, but I've never heard of them reversing here)

But I can't take a break to celebrate because have to go back to doing grant reviews due Monday, which doesn't seem quite fair somehow. Before tenure, chop wood, carry water. After tenure, chop wood, carry water.

Félicitations!

Quote from: Puget on January 26, 2024, 10:23:25 AMJust got the email from the dean's office that I've been recommended for tenure!  (still goes to provost and board, but I've never heard of them reversing here)

But I can't take a break to celebrate because have to go back to doing grant reviews due Monday, which doesn't seem quite fair somehow. Before tenure, chop wood, carry water. After tenure, chop wood, carry water.

Congrats!!!