The Fora: A Higher Education Community

Not a predatorial journal per se, but this was just kind of funny.

Even though I no longer work for my old uni, I still have access to all their pages and apps.  Someone just neglected to push the "off" button on me.  Since I am trying to register for some grad classes, I checked my email and got this email from one of those on-demand, personalized textbook publishers.  It was just, well, odd how the frustration bled through.

Subject Line: "Last Email From Me For a While, I Promise!"

QuoteDear Wahoo,

As the subject line says, this will be my last effort to get in touch with you! Similar to dating, it takes two interested parties for it to work :).

Are you open to having a conversation on course materials?

If you aren't interested, please let me know and I'll move on with my efforts.

Thanks, Wahoo! Wishing you all the best!

Sincerely,
Camryn

I feel like this is one of those online dating stalkers (I mean, I've never had that happen to me, just supposing...).  Or is this a badly designed ploy to get a reaction?

I'm gonna continue to ghost Camryn just to see what happens.

Thanks, Clean. I already teach online every summer, so this won't interfere with that.

The problem with taking more partial FMLA in the fall is that it eliminates my chance for OL. I'm scheduled for load, plus 2 OL sections (as I was last fall when I had to take the entire semester off). Then, and again this fall if I have to do it, I was unable to teach my 2 F2F classes but still taught my 4-class load online. It probably makes me sound money-hungry, but I really need all the OL I can get, both to beef up my retirement as I near the end of my career, but also because I'm the only one working. (My spouse has been retired for 10+ years, with only minimal Social Security each month, and I also support our oldest adult child who is bipolar and has a TBI but has repeatedly been denied SSI.)

So. . . it will all work out, somehow. I'd just rather hobble to work for the first few weeks of the fall, if needed, and keep the online OL. Push come to shove, I'll get my doctor to prescribe/requisition an on-campus aide to help me get to/from the car when I teach (only Tuesdays and Thursdays). Aside from the OL, though, I do like your plan, Clean! We don't get to take our sick leave with us when we quit, either, and I have over a semester's worth built up. Once the pension is where I want it to be, I plan to take that semester off to do exactly as you say and get all the "maintenance" done while I still have the health insurance!

And I shouldn't be venting at all: I do have a job and insurance, so there's that.

Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius, but both took a while.  You're so close, cathwen! Good luck!! Yesterday husband had QBABH.  I was missing enticement, entitlement, icemen.

Argh, I also had quarks, but I just didn't really get time to look at it yesterday.  Today I feel like I'm close!

Thanks for the good wishes, Langue_doc! I hope you get to catch up on your sleep!

We tried for the Northern Lights again last night to no avail.  Oh well.  Forgot to say that we saw a very yellow bird with a black beak this morning.  Pretty sure it was a hooded oriole from the pics.  It didn't make any noises that Merlin picked up, so I'm not sure, and the pic in Merlin of that type doesn't look quite as yellow, but online pics look closer (like the second one here, by Frederick Mitchell: https://tucsonaudubon.org/bird_profile/hooded-oriole/).

Happy solving!

For several years now I've had a little tradition of having bud vases with roses delivered to the library for each of the mothers on the staff.  Which is all the staff, period, apart from one guy.  I hope he doesn't feel too left out....

Was not able to be with my actual mother for several reasons, among them the fact that I've been getting over a cold and didn't want to take a (small) chance of bringing infection to my 80-year-old parents.  I did send her a card and spoke with her over the phone, with a promise to be there for Memorial Day weekend.  We speak on the phone quite regularly as it is.

More today.

Although its a full book, I think you might want to take a look at Ari Shavit's My Promised Land. Its not at all what most people would think is an Israeli point of view on either historical Zionism or hope for a Palestinian state. Just an idea. I'm no expert.

Spork,

I think you might be jumping to conclusions.

Honestly, I think many schools do this to avoid law suits and trouble with the feds (Title VI?). However, I can see a coalition of the left and right pushing this sort of thing on a local or state level for totally different reasons (from each other that is), in a way that might be somewhat in line with what you are suggesting.

Good morning!

QBwH for titmice, which is ironic because I have lots of tufted titmice visiting my dogwood tree. Today I'm at QB-1 and having a hard time finding that last word.

LB: Argh! I had quakes and quarks. I had flower. But somehow I failed to see sunflower! Oh well... I found a 2fer easily today, though.

Happy puzzling!

Good morning!

Almost QB, but no pangram. QB yesterday.

quarks/sunflower

Easy twofer today, so must be the NYT solution.

ab_grp, meaning to send congrats and good wishes!

Several long days in a row.

Happy solving!

And, of all people, Jerry Seinfeld involved: NBC: Duke students walk out of Jerry Seinfeld's commencement speech amid wave of graduation anti-war protests