Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Sleepless

I am in one of those periods of time when I cannot sleep again. There is just too much going on at work and I am behind on a project so instead of sleeping I end up staring at this little screen.

So I looked up some articles on this topic and to my surprise, exercise actually keeps people awake if they exercise too close to bedtime. Now since exercise is a rare and novel event in my life, I am certain that this does not apply to me but I do remember that exercise can make you pretty tired so this one is a puzzle to me. The website I found this on is filled with photos of fit people so maybe the rules are different for the slim and trim rather than the round and well padded.

The article is at http://http//www.fitbuff.com/i-cant-sleep-4-common-causes-of-insomnia/ in case you are interested.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

St. Thomas of Villanova on the Love of God

Every now and then you read something that is simply beautiful and you wish you could write something half so memorable. Today is the day to honor the memory of St. Thomas of Villanova who was the Archbishop of Valencia in the 1500's and a noted educator of his time. Although he was remarkable in many ways, it is his writing that stays with me. This is how he described the love of God.

"Wonderful beneficence! God promises us Heaven for the recompense of His love. Is not His love itself the greatest reward, the most desirable, the most lovely, and the most sweet blessing? Yet a further recompense, and so immense a recompense, waits on it. Wonderful goodness! Thou givest thy love, and for this thy love thou bestowest on us Paradise."

No wonder he has been called one of the glories of the Church in Spain.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Darth Vader Grotesque

A grotesque in masonry is a stone sculpture that acts like a gutter to direct water away form a roof. (A gargoyle serves a similar purpose but the water exits out the mouth of the carving; the water runs over the top of a grotesque). In the great age of cathedral building, these often depicted demons or other representations of evil as well as mythical or fanciful figures.

In the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., there is a grotesque of Darth Vader very high on the northwest tower. You can see a photo of it at this link.

http://www.nationalcathedral.org/about/darthVader.shtml

Pretty neat way to tie modern myth to traditional practice.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Value of Old Books

I was in the library last week looking for an old textbook on metal working. I had forgotten how to calculate something and to my surprise, the information I needed was no longer in my current books. All of the newer books have wonderful sections on why something should be done or the theory behind an idea or practice but specific directions on how to do something is slowly vanishing.

I consider this a major problem since more and more industrial and trade workers are retiring and these skills will be lost with them. The likelihood of being able to find this information in the future is not strong since it is unlikely that these old books will be digitized since they are “so out of date”.

In many trade areas, there is now only one textbook available in the field. In some areas, we are down to zero. No matter how many years of experience a worker has, it is unlikely that he or she knows everything about all aspects of their trade. Most workers specialize and so they are very strong in the area in which they worked and less strong in other areas. Since people tend to teach what they know and use often, good methods may be lost without a book or other reference to record seldom used methods. Yet there are times when this information is still needed.

We need to start recording this information on the Internet so that it remains available. If you know something well, consider writing about it and either publishing it or posting it online. Just a few of the areas that seem to be vanishing from print include beginning pipe drafting, metal casting, and geometric constructions in drafting and safety layouts for machine shops.

By the way, I found what I was looking for in a 1942 textbook. I put in a request that the book not be discarded when the collection is reviewed for culling. I wonder how long it will remain on the shelves. I also wonder how many people realize that old books are now the best place to look for this type of applied information.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Swine Flu

Woke up with muscles so stiff that I could only move like the Tin Man. Since this had gotten progressively more painful over the last two days and I had a fever, I decided to go to the doctor. This was quite a learning experience.

We have not been in the area long enough to have a family doctor so I went to an after hours clinic. While I was waiting, several persons were denied treatment because they did not have insurance or the right kind of insurance. I wondered what these people would do and frankly it was hard to watch those conversations. Some of these people were obviously quite ill.

After about an hour, my name was called and the receptionist requested my insurance information. After glancing at my papers, she quickly informed me that they did not accept Blue Cross/ Blue Shield and told me to call the number on the card to find a local provider. Stunned, I retreated to my car to make some phone calls.

It turns out there is only one network provider who is an internist in my town and who is accepting new patients. The first open appointment would be in the second week of October. The other four phone numbers were either disconnected or no longer accepting patients. At this point, the pain in my muscles was significant and I could not stand without using something to pull myself up. I seriously considered going to the emergency room. Instead I called my physician in my former town (2 hours away) and I was able to get an appointment.

My husband generously left work early to drive me. It turns out that I have swine flu and it has aggravated a problem in my back since the flu affects muscles. I have a bag full of drugs and will have to stay home for a few days.

But what about those other people who did not have any place to go? How many of those people just go home? I know that I did not want to go to the emergency room because of the potential cost and I also know that no matter what I said on the phone, the physician offices I called had no other suggestions. They did not have any place to refer me to other than the emergency room.

Think about this.

This means that if you do not have insurance, you either must ignore the problem or go the emergency room. This is because by law the emergency room must treat you.

Notice that since my insurance was not accepted, my only local options were to go the emergency room or wait weeks to see a doctor.

One of the big arguments against health reform is that we would have to wait weeks for an appointment. How is this different from what we have now?

Another argument is that you would have to travel to receive health care. Travel? You mean drive two hours one way to see a doctor like we did today?

One thing that might be different is that those dejected people who left that clinic this morning might not be spreading whatever illnesses they have to their communities since they would receive treatment.

I find it hard to believe that the current system is best we can do

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Issues in a pug's life

When you are a pug, one of the big problems in your life is what to do with your tongue when you nap. Here are some of Kao's attempts at a solution.








Hold it with your paw.












Fold it in half.







Rest it on your pillow.


I am sure that he will work on this again tomorrow.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Falling on your sword

Last week senior faculty in the department of economics at my university offered to retire to save their department and the jobs of their younger colleagues. Although I admire the nobility of the gesture, this idea makes me uncomfortable.

It can easily become an expectation. Although at present, such a movement would benefit me (in my profession, I am still considered young), I worry about what this says about our culture as a whole. When will the noble gesture become a de facto requirement?

It is way too easy to assume that everyone is ready or able to retire at the same age. It is impossible to know everyone’s individual circumstances. They may not be financially able to retire. They likely have important ties in the profession that will be lost with them.

In many ways, we are responsible for creating the world we live in. Do we really want a world where employers push everyone past a certain age or term of service out the door because their benefits are expensive and times are tough? Is this not a form of age bias? Note that this does not have to be a stated requirement, once a few precedents have been set it will become a cultural expectation.

In ancient Roman, leaders were expected to take personal responsiblity for their actions and the actions of others and if they failed at an important task, they were expected to “fall on their sword” to preserve the honor of others. I wonder how many noble sacrifices it took for this to become an expectation. Based on recent conversations and blog comments, I would bet it was a pretty small number.

That practice fell out of favor. It is not always effective to solve problems by shutting out the individuals who have the most history with the issues. I hope we take the time in current situation to consider the larger picture.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Transitions & Tenure

Last spring, I achieved the famous goal of every academic. After years of work I was awarded tenure. This is considered to be the ultimate gold star.

I have worked in industry and in higher education and the hours in the university world are very long, much more so than industry jobs. The public does not see this since so much of the work takes place in locations outside the office. One year I worked more than half of the weekends of that year on a project related to my job. I do not know of many professions that require seven day work weeks on a consistent basis. In my field, most of my teaching is at night and I teach at multiple locations. This makes for a very long work day since I still have responsibilities that must be addressed during business hours.

For this reason it has always bothered me when I hear people talk about those lazy professors since it is such an unfair judgment. Only about a third of the job duties of a professor involve teaching; you must create and publish research, participate in leadership roles in professional societies, serve on government committees and work to generate grant funds. All of these are required to stay employed. It is great job but it is like an iceberg; there is more to it that meets the eye.

Tenure is difficult to earn and many professors do not make it. If you are declined for tenure, it can mean the end of your academic career because your chances of landing another job at a different university are greatly reduced. You will lose your current job if you do not receive tenure. So the stakes are very high; if you do not make tenure you are basically out of the profession.

Most people do not understand this at all. Tenure means you can keep your current job, not that you have lifetime employment. It is also protects you from being dismissed if your research is in an unpopular or controversial area. It is intended to protect academic freedom. It is not a gravy train that allows you sail off into retirement.

Universities can and do void tenure agreements. This is most commonly done when there is a financial crisis. They can close programs and dismiss the faculty in those programs to save money even if the faculty is tenured. It is customary to give a year notice if this is to take place since academic jobs searches are usually held once a year and so it is very hard to find another job in the middle of the academic year. So you can work very hard for the five to six years that it takes you to earn tenure and still lose your job.

This week my program was selected for closure. This means that my position is will likely be eliminated. I will need to look for a new position by next May. So I am at a crossroads, should I look for another academic slot or move back into industry? It is time to consider how I want to spend the rest of my working life.

In case you are interested, the closing of my program made the papers. Here are two stories about the closure:

USM terminates 3 professors
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009909010317




Where will we get vo-tech teachers?
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009909020301