Liz's Bloglet

Stolen from a pseudonymous person on the Chronicle...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:32:25 -0600

Stolen from a pseudonymous person on the Chronicle forums:
The job search: Unlike most jobs, the academic hiring process is done at a glacial pace. Advertisements go out in September, you send applications in October and November, get calls in December or January, go on interviews in February, and the hiring is done by April. In some cases, it even takes longer than that. And, unlike school districts, it's unheard of to send in an unsolicited application. Very few universities have departments of X, and of those that do, I've got to wait for someone to die or retire before they advertise for a position. I can't apply to nearby schools because they're not hiring.

The professor's job: Teaching is less than one-third of a professor's job. If you teach four classes a semester (12 hours), then you will likely spend three hours prepping for every hour of class (36 hours). That's already 50 hours of work each week. Then, on top of that, you are also expected to conduct research, supervise interns in the field, write and publish articles and books, present at conferences, participate in local and national organizations, serve on committees and attend department and college meetings. The day seems more flexible than a 9-to-5 job, because many of those things can be done from the couch or desk, but they still have to get done.
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Happy job news day

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:11:12 -0600

Happy job news day
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The Raleigh School Board just voted to resegregate...

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:04:15 -0600

The Raleigh School Board just voted to resegregate their public schools. Raleigh had previously been hailed for a 10 year policy ensuring socio-economic diversity of its schools, which was used as a model in many places nationwide after the ruling which resegregated the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and scared everybody from considering race in pupil assignment.

I heard a friend of mine, a Presbyterian minister, on the radio speaking in the School Board meeting, reminding the Wake County School Board that they do not speak for all Christians and certainly not for all parents in Wake County, and that a phrase like "holy war" has not place in a discussion like this. I wish Judy and people like her were able to provide a class for folks who move into the school system, to help them understand our history and why this matters more than your desire for your kid to go to school with people who are just like you. It's hard to believe how many people don't view "relating to people from many different backgrounds" as an important goal of education. We have fought so long and so hard for this it just kills me that the bigots are going to win. What will the next generation of leaders be like, if they've never even had a conversation with someone who's not just like them? Maybe they'll be like the newly elected Wake School Board?
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Two things that made me cry and both involve...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:30:13 -0600

Two things that made me cry and both involve Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Roger Ebert's voice and Schuyler versus the mean kids
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I feel dumb for never knowing that both Dumas and...

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:11:18 -0600

I feel dumb for never knowing that both Dumas and Pushkin were of mixed ethnic ancestry and were considered Black during their lifetimes.
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I received a rejection letter today that addressed...

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:56:05 -0600

I received a rejection letter today that addressed me as Dr. "me", MD and was sent to me at Pseudo Ivy University in Durham, ND. The first mistake must have been made by someone who was skimming and saw the abbreviation of the state where St. John's is on one of the upper lines of my CV and didn't process what they were doing even a little bit. The second mistake is utterly mystifying given that the school sending the rejection is also in NC (not ND) and Pseudo Ivy is presumably not unknown at a small college 3 hours from here.

Either that, or somewhere there's an MD in ND wondering if why their rejection doesn't call them doctor and has NC on it.

It actually was a very pleasant rejection that said that they were interviewing other candidates whose qualifications more closely matched their requirements. Which is much better than being told I suck. Or that the MD in ND sucks.
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In a better world, this young man wouldn't seem...

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:21:01 -0600

In a better world, this young man wouldn't seem remarkable, but in our world he really is and deserves to be honored for that.
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Hey Blogmass: You all need to blog more because I...

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:28:20 -0600

Hey Blogmass: You all need to blog more because I miss y'all! Facebook is a poor substitute and I don't Tweet.
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A great picture of what's been afflicting the...

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:43:01 -0600

A great picture of what's been afflicting the mid-Atlantic
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I think of all the healthcare companies, Medco may...

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:00:18 -0600

I think of all the healthcare companies, Medco may be the most evil. I'm just not sure how it's ethical to have the same company "manage" my prescription insurance coverage and also be required to buy drugs from them or pay a premium price.

They love to say things like "Did you know you can save money by switching from Naproxen to Ibuprofen?" Did you jerks know that Ibuprofen only lasts for 4 hours and destroys my stomach lining in the process while Naproxen lasts for 12 hours and doesn't, and in fact the two are essentially in no way comparable and it's utter nonsense, because of dosing and the need for stomach protecting drugs, that it would actually save any money at all? I don't actually buy Naproxen from them, because I prefer to handle as many of my prescriptions as possible through a local pharmacy where an actual human being talks to me. But since Medco "manages" my prescription coverage, they know which drugs I take (other than the one I'm required by my insurance to buy from them) no matter where I fill my prescription.

I'm looking forward to socialized medicine putting Medco out of business and their alleged "pharmacists" (who "I can choose to speak with over the phone if I have any questions") are forced to get jobs actually helping people.
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Thrff jub unf n cubar vagreivrj sbe na npghny...

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:43:54 -0600

Thrff jub unf n cubar vagreivrj sbe na npghny graher genpx wbo? (uvag: vg'f abg Ghkrqb)
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My brother is going to Haiti to do this...

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:12:23 -0600

My brother is going to Haiti to do this. Cisco is a better company than one might think. He's done some disaster relief stuff before, but never on this scale.
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This guy is pretty awesome...

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:48:27 -0600

This guy is pretty awesome. And that right there is the closest I will get to the Superbowl.
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This comic is even better as a metaphor for grad...

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:25:12 -0600

This comic is even better as a metaphor for grad school
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A hero died this week

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:18:59 -0600

A hero died this week
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I've got to say that "Wintry Mix" is probably the...

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:57:26 -0600

I've got to say that "Wintry Mix" is probably the #1 reason not to live in NC. Hope the rest of you enjoy your snow.
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I'm starting to think that in the battle to the...

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:04:18 -0600

I'm starting to think that in the battle to the death between me and this paper it may actually win. All of my colleagues have great suggestions for improvement, all of which increase exponentially the work required before submission. So ready for this to be over.

The advise has never been more true: Don't go to grad school if there's anything else in your life you can possibly imagine doing that doesn't require grad school. If you really really want to be an academic, look at the number of job ads in your field and what they're expecting of their applicants versus the number of applicants and what their qualifications are.
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Two worst job hunting stories I heard yesterday: ...

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:59:42 -0600

Two worst job hunting stories I heard yesterday:
1)From a friend who applied for a tenure track position at a small liberal arts college where she had adjuncted last year and was still on their faculty listserve. She found out via that listserve that they were interviewing people who were not her.

2)From the ecology job hunting wiki, where jobs and their hiring progression are unofficially posted by candidates the better to commiserate (and gloat if you actually get an interview or job). "The rejection email didn't even bother to say what university it was from. I had to look at the email address to figure out who was rejecting me. WTF?"
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A snow plow just went by on our street, which...

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:57:56 -0600

A snow plow just went by on our street, which melted on its own yesterday afternoon. This is the first snowplow I've seen. One can only hope they are making a big circle and will be back to do our north-south street, which was still an impassible icy mess as of 5:30 this afternoon.
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This is good

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:23:22 -0600

This is good
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I'm not sure how much snow we have...

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 06:03:30 -0600

I'm not sure how much snow we have. Enough to obliterate the distinction between road and sidewalk. Enough to anger The Cat. It seems to have switched to sleet now. A nice weekend for writing papers and cleaning the house.
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My excellent officemate for the past year just...

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:00:52 -0600

My excellent officemate for the past year just left to go back to China, where she is on the faculty of the National Botanical Gardens. Things will be pretty lonely in my office without her, since our other 2 officemates are rarely here. The freeway through my office to the offices on either side will continue, of course.
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The application score is: ...

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:21:36 -0600

The application score is:
Tenure track applications: 5
Visiting professor applications: 3
Post-doc application: 1
Positive reponses: 1
Panic: high
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I'm excited that President Obama proposes...

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:23:17 -0600

I'm excited that President Obama proposes following President Franklin Roosevelt's lead by proposing a New Freeze for the 21st century. Like FDR's New Freeze, this program will end many successful current government programs as well as preventing any new ones from starting so that the government does not get in the way of business's rapid progress at fixing unemployment and bringing back the vibrant economic activity of the previous administration. Also following FDR, President Obama proposes providing only minimal assistance for people struggling and dying due to lack of healthcare. And of course, FDR's boldest, most important move, was insuring that our tax system was regressive as possible and that the rich had all the disposable income they needed to insure the trickle-down effect makes our economy as robust as possible.
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Has Microsoft had a dumber idea than the XML...

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:15:13 -0600

Has Microsoft had a dumber idea than the XML Office files? I mean, of course, other than the complete incompatibility of documents from any version of Office with any other version of Office, XML or otherwise.
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The loss of the universities in Haiti

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:07:51 -0600

The loss of the universities in Haiti
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This is the title of a typical incendiary blog...

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:22:59 -0600

This is the title of a typical incendiary blog post
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Someone did this

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:43:22 -0600

Someone did this
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I am thoroughly disgusted with Congress, the...

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 08:48:41 -0600

I am thoroughly disgusted with Congress, the Democratic leadership, and the President.

Lawmakers, Congressional aides and health policy experts said the package might plausibly include these elements:

-Insurers could not deny coverage to children under the age of 19 on account of pre-existing medical conditions.

-Insurers would have to offer policyholders an opportunity to continue coverage for children through age 25 or 26.

-The federal government would offer financial incentives to states to expand Medicaid to cover childless adults and parents.

-The federal government would offer grants to states to establish regulated markets known as insurance exchanges, where consumers and small businesses could buy coverage.

-The federal government would offer tax credits to small businesses to help them defray the cost of providing health benefits to workers.

-If a health plan provided care through a network of doctors and hospitals, it could not charge patients more for going outside the network in an emergency. Co-payments for emergency care would have to be the same, regardless of whether a hospital was in the insurer�s network of preferred providers.

The package could also include changes in Medicare, to reduce the growth in payments to doctors and hospitals while rewarding providers of high-quality, lower-cost care. To help older Americans, it could narrow a gap in Medicare coverage of prescription drugs, sometimes known as a doughnut hole.

Nancy Pelosi is ridiculous if she can't convince the gigantic majority in the House to vote for the (weak and spineless) Senate Bill. The President promised repeatedly that he would eliminate pre-existing condition exclusions for all Americans, not just those under 19, and suggested over and over again that he was going to make healthcare accessible to all Americans. And the Senate Democrats, where for some unknown reason they chose one of their most conservative members to be their majority leader and then are shocked when he gets nothing done, still have a majority in the traditional sense of the world and yet are so terrified of the Republicans that they refuse to act like it.

People are dying. People are in chronic pain. People are scraping by with visits to the emergency room, wasting money and getting inadequate care. People are going without medications they desperately need. People are dying. And all they can do is throw up their hands because one ineffective candidate lost an election in one little tiny state.
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I hadn't mentioned it before, but this semester...

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:12:42 -0600

I hadn't mentioned it before, but this semester I'm TAing my advisor's Aquatic Field Ecology class. Which is basically saying, "Here's the thing you love most in the world, go teach other people how to do it." We're doing inquiry based learning, which means that the whole class is them working through the scientific method to develop and answer questions about different aquatic systems and us facilitating that. It is really really cool.

I have very different duties from my previous TA gigs. I'm less of a lecturer and more of a question asker, real-time transcriptionist, bad assumption poker, van driver, and equipment fiddler. Tomorrow, I have to set up aquaria. Because I've never done fish or amphibians for my own research, or any bug stuff that required them actually being alive, I've never set up and maintained an aquarium. We had fishtanks when I was a kid, but my mom did everything for them and I just got to watch the fish.

I bought a used copy of this a few years ago and I think it will come in handy. I already used it to help identify the various odds and ends of different filtration systems that were lying around in the teaching lab. And I of course understand the nitrogen cycle, pH, etc. I think it will be a good learning experience.
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