Random Thoughts Anew

[paultuttle]

Yesterday, after the Big but Brief Storm (tm) came through--the rain was so heavy at times I couldn't see the street, 30 feet from my window--I heard a repeated knocking sound on the side of the house next to my office.

I soon figured out that the refrigerator, air conditioning, and washing machine/dryer noises were persuading a friendly neighborhood woodpecker that there was some food in the walls of this house.

(Fortunately, it gave up the fight after about 15 minutes of not finding anything to eat, but I thought I was in Disney's live-action "101 Dalmations" for a bit.)

[Langue_doc]

I saw a mustache (on a man) today that I thought had gone out of fashion decades ago. It looked slightly more complicated than the one in the first illustration https://beardstyle.net/french-mustache/

The one I saw was slightly longer and had an extra loop (curl?). I had to try very hard not to stare. An actor perhaps, needing the mustache for his role?

[mamselle]

Or a cosplay partygoer?

;--}

M.

[mamselle]

Double a bit later.

My adult keyboard student has two kids, each with specific ADHD issues, the younger one a bit more rigid and worrying than the older one, who also studies with me.

She divorced their (very difficult) dad a few years ago now, which I think was quite wise, and they're amicably sharing parenting duties. Both are computer/IT/education/media-based workers, she directs online learning programs for her R1 school; and until recently he was doing background IT for a decently-placed but not very exciting corporation that paid well but has no name recognition.

Apparently the dad just took a job with one of the very visible tech-y media corporations, and was bragging about it to his ex-in-laws in the kids' hearing.

They were slightly impressed, the FIL saying, "Well, that's good, you're working at [media giant] and [daughter] is at [R1 school]. Sounds very reliable."

The younger 10-year-old piped up and said, scathingly, "Yeah, but one's a SCHOOL, and the other's a cringe-y CORPORATION, so what's so good about THAT?"

Sometimes it's helpful to have no filters at all....

;--}

M.   

[apl68]

I see in the news that airports in our state have been awarded something called "Airport Terminal Grants."  Wouldn't it make more sense for the federal government to issue grants to struggling airports before the situation appeared terminal?

[mamselle]

;--}

Well done!

M.

[secundem_artem]

Ever stand behind somebody in the checkout line and being amazed/puzzled/horrified at what they were buying?

Today, I had to run a variety of errands.  Upon my return home, I realized I had purchased bullets, beer, and antidepressants.

[ciao_yall]

Ever stand behind somebody in the checkout line and being amazed/puzzled/horrified at what they were buying?

Today, I had to run a variety of errands.  Upon my return home, I realized I had purchased bullets, beer, and antidepressants.

It's called The Walmart Game. Buy 3 things from Walmart that would freak out people in line.

Looks like you had a winner right there!

[downer]

Looking at the course description of a course I'm teaching in the fall, I see that it includes 6 major topics to be covered. I am only covering 3 of those. (I don't think the 3 I am not covering are particularly relevant to the students, and I'm covering topics that I think are more relevant instead.) I wonder if the dept chair will notice. I doubt it.

[downer]

Do you ever look at a course description for a course you are teaching and wonder how it passed the approval committees? Looking at this one right now, it is ungrammatical, doesn't make much sense, and seems to be written by someone unfamiliar with the topic.

[ergative]

Looking at the course description of a course I'm teaching in the fall, I see that it includes 6 major topics to be covered. I am only covering 3 of those. (I don't think the 3 I am not covering are particularly relevant to the students, and I'm covering topics that I think are more relevant instead.) I wonder if the dept chair will notice. I doubt it.

I recently discovered that I'd been teaching a cross-listed Undergrad/grad class entirely wrong for something like four years. Grad students were supposed to have X specialized sessions in addition to Y shared sessions with undergrads, and instead I'd been doing Z specialized sessions and no shared sessions.  We only discovered it because the person in charge of scheduling changed, and the new person looked at the course specification rather than rolling over 'how it's always been done' to next year. Oops.

Actually, I think the correct way of doing it would be better, anyway (probably why I wrote the proposal that way in the first place!) so it's just as well someone caught it.

[downer]

Interesting job description in the ad for President of Ocean County College, NJ.

Innovate and expand programs and services to increase enrollment, retention, and completion.
Engage all constituents to further a culture of trust, transparency, and belonging, and inspire faculty, staff, students, and stakeholders to work together to collaboratively address the needs of the College and the Ocean County community.
Appreciate the importance of effective strategies supporting, at a high level, the value of diversity in the community and the student body.
Continue to advance college-wide, state-of-the-art technology to deliver in-demand programs and services through traditional, hybrid, online, and HyFlex modalities.
Advocate for OCC by communicating the value of higher education and increasing local, regional, and global outreach to further OCC's status as a college of first choice with a 34% yield from County high schools.
Continue to generate new sources of enrollment and revenue in a time of decreasing traditional resources by collaborating with regional, national, and international businesses, industries, and academic partners to meet the workforce needs of the community, energize potential donors who are generous with their philanthropy, and build upon the $24 million currently held in the College Foundation, which distributes nearly $1 million in gifts and scholarships annually.
Understand the impact of the COVID pandemic on students, the community, and the College, and envision strategies to use a wide variety of resources to assist the College, its students, and the general community to successfully meet these challenges.
Expand on the College's pioneering work to bring American community college education to the Middle East.

https://www.ocean.edu/about-us/board-of-trustees/presidential-search/#Position

It doesn't specify what time schedule they have for those aims.
Bruce Springsteen is an alumnus.

[Langue_doc]

Do any of you check under the hood to make sure that there aren't any critters living there? I'm tempted to do so because we in the city apparently have a rat infestation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/03/nyregion/new-york-rats-cars.html

[downer]

Do any of you check under the hood to make sure that there aren't any critters living there? I'm tempted to do so because we in the city apparently have a rat infestation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/03/nyregion/new-york-rats-cars.html

A friend of mine had rats chewing through wires, which cost a bunch to repair. He blames the outdoor dining areas, which give rats a lot more space to live.

[AmLitHist]

A bunny was sitting and munching on clover in the front yard in the rain this morning. (Looked like a young one, from this year's "crop" of rabbits.)