It’s been that kind of day.

"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
03/23/2020 at 21:11 • Filed to: Necessary drinking with chariotoflove

Double margarita while I do the dishes.

My colleagues running the DDS year 1 course have decided to go ahead with remote proctoring of their test using the scheme I came up with but intended only for outliers that couldn’t get in physically. Now 106 of them will be proctored by video conference. Technical glitches will be rampant. Cheating more so. I told them may the Schwartz be with you, but I’m canceling my test. Academic integrity is kind of a thing with me.

I told my DH students we’ll let the D1s be our guinea pigs and find out everything that can go wrong before we try it.

At least research can go on as normal, so my lab stays open. And liquor stores are classified as essential services under the County order. Gotta love Texas.

Also, my daughter baked several dozen chocolate chip cookies. So the world still has plenty to recommend it tonight. Be well friends.

DISCUSSION (59)

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Chariotoflove
03/23/2020 at 21:22

I had my first round of online classes via Zoom. It’s a rough adjustment, especially when everyone’s internet connections aren’t always perfect. I’ll acclimate to it eventually. And MI is on a three week stay-at-home order.

Other than that, I’m at a dead end for the 924 (need two people to get the flywheel and clutch installed, and I’m not looking forward to going into my savings if the fickle partisan crap shoot continues...

I’m glad to still be here. I’m reserving my small booze supply for Thur-Sun as I normally do during the school year. I’ve been on a weight loss adventure since last year. I’m gonna get some exercise in within the next couple of hours.

Keep staying well!

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove
03/23/2020 at 21:23

Austin goes on lockdown tomorrow . Really, though, it’ll be no different from what we’ve been doing the last week. Staying home, going to the park, riding bikes, trying to scrounge for groceries. No official word yet on how the Mayor’s order will affect UT, since it’s a state university and, I suppose, can pretty much do as it pleases. They can’t completely close things down since somebody has to deal with the mail. I think my wife and some other ladies are going to work out a rotation, unless the department comes back with some official plan.

Good luck with the exam, and enjoy the margarita.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chariotoflove
03/23/2020 at 21:29

Academic integrity is a thing for me, too and young people today have zero concept of it. What’s the point of remembering something when you can copy and paste from YouTube?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chariotoflove
03/23/2020 at 21:36

Aren’t you supposed to salt the rim of the glass?

VincentMalamute-Kim > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/23/2020 at 21:42

I was just about to ask that. I like the salted rim . Then I worried maybe it meant I was low brow or something.

Chariotoflove > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
03/23/2020 at 21:48

I’ll keep my sanity as long as I can balance work indoors with my rides around the lake. Changing it up with physical activity is crucial.

I hope your zooming works out. It will be a new thing for me.

Chariotoflove > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/23/2020 at 21:49

Probably. I have rim salt. I just forgot.

WRXforScience > Chariotoflove
03/23/2020 at 21:49

I’m in DFW with high school juniors and seniors, I just found out second hand that we’re most likely going to a pass/fail evaluation for at least the last quarter. Us teachers were just told to ‘figure it out’ as far as the remote learning goes, lots of “leadership” from the administration. Good thing we had all that training on active shooters instead of distance learning.

Chariotoflove > VincentMalamute-Kim
03/23/2020 at 21:49

It’s standard. I’m probably being low brow using bottled lime juice. Isn’t stopping me though.

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn
03/23/2020 at 21:51

Thanks. We’re a state U too. Still fall under the county orders though. This is all new ground though. Every county will be different. That’s partly why Abbot did it this way I think.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > VincentMalamute-Kim
03/23/2020 at 21:51

Academics: they go all bollocks when it comes down to the practical things.

Chariotoflove > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/23/2020 at 21:51

Ugh. Don’t get me started.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chariotoflove
03/23/2020 at 21:52

You would not have been required to reveal that if you’d salted the rim of the glass.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chariotoflove
03/23/2020 at 21:53

We could commiserate .

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chariotoflove
03/23/2020 at 21:53

But isn’t it fun when you catch them?

fintail > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/23/2020 at 21:54

Chariotoflove > WRXforScience
03/23/2020 at 21:54

What?! Our catholic elementary school is having training for the teachers and there will be an online learning curriculum starting Wednesday. I’m waiting to see how it goes.

You don’t have to tell me, but I’m wondering what school you’re in.

Chariotoflove > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/23/2020 at 21:55

Guess I’ll have to make another to atone.

Chariotoflove > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/23/2020 at 21:55

No. I feel miserable. And that sucks.

WRXforScience > Chariotoflove
03/23/2020 at 22:05

Carroll Senior High in Southlake, TX. No training at all, principal literally had a “magic 8 ball” last time I saw him to answer questions (really about as accurate a way to answer questions as was available).

I’m pretty disappointed in the admin and available training, but that’s par for the course. They lean heavily on the teachers to get things done, they do then humble brag on how well things go.

Hopefully, this means I can put off getting my ESL certification another year, January 2021 was the deadline but I don’t think there’ll be any testing this summer (the district made it a requirement then offered no funding, pay, or even professional hours credit for it).

At least they decided not to be at the bottom of pay for the surrounding area a couple of years ago and started giving us raises to get us up to the median pay for the area (all while constantly saying how we have the best teachers in Texas while paying less than all the other schools in the area). At least we’ve never had a bond issue fail and can build new Fine Arts centers, even if our roof has leaked for the last decade. Priorities.

100% pass rate (because we basically aren’t allow to fail students even when they’re terrible) and great AP scores (because the AP classes are almost an entirely different system and the teachers all work ridiculously hard) allow the admin to take lots of credit for making the school one of the very best in the state and nation.

I’m a bit salty (and a little tipsy thanks to the last of my rum, I’m coping with the lockdown pirate style).

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/23/2020 at 22:06

I caught one. Sent him up to academic affairs. He threatened to sue the school. Academic affairs backed down. That was my last semester teaching. I left for the private sector a few months later.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Chariotoflove
03/23/2020 at 22:08

That means you have to tear it like a giant tequila shot. Lick the hand, sprinkle the salt, suck the lime, lick the salt, down the margarita.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Chariotoflove
03/23/2020 at 22:15

Kinja'd!!!

Results from my most recent trip to town. Not sure which bag I’m most proud of.

Not shown is a 20 litre drum of oil for the tractor and 1500 metres of high tensile 2.5 mm plain wire....more jobs.

‘Lockdown’ on a 100 acre rural property is a very different concept to what city Oppo's are seemingly experiencing...

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Chariotoflove
03/23/2020 at 22:31

The New Mexico order includes breweries (to go sales and only) as essential services.

DipodomysDeserti > Chariotoflove
03/23/2020 at 23:17

One of my neighborhood joints is doing a can of beer and a shot of mezcal for $6. I imbibed yesterday.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chariotoflove
03/24/2020 at 00:17

Good plan.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/24/2020 at 00:18

Were you tenured yet?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chariotoflove
03/24/2020 at 00:19

honestly, I hate catching them too, because then I have to explain to them why it is that there's a nose on the front of their face.

Chariotoflove > WRXforScience
03/24/2020 at 00:48

Arrrr.

I’m sorry to hear they are not taking advantage of e-learning. Difficult situations like these bring hidden opportunities. I’m trying to find ways myself for both my kid and my students.

Chariotoflove > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/24/2020 at 00:49

Got it. Brb...

Chariotoflove > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
03/24/2020 at 00:51

I think lockdown means when you get all the chores done...oh who are we kidding, the chores are never done. You just take a break for a bit.

Chariotoflove > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
03/24/2020 at 00:52

Well duh.

Chariotoflove > DipodomysDeserti
03/24/2020 at 00:53

It’s a start.

Chariotoflove > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/24/2020 at 00:54

Heard that story before.

Chariotoflove > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 00:56

Dammit! Why can’t they see what they’re doing? It will all become so clear later when it’s too late.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 03:35

Nope. There’s a nasty trend that’s been going on for a while now. Colleges are moving away from hiring tenure-track. I nstead, they are hiring adjunct or they are delaying tenure to the point where it’s difficult or impossible to achieve. I knew when that happened that I was a poor fit for that school. Really, that was the last of several events that led me to realize I would have a hard time getting tenure there. So we left. When I left I received a 33% raise and was making more than some of the tenured professors.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chariotoflove
03/24/2020 at 08:18

...or maybe it won’t. Integrity is an interesting concept and elusive at times.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/24/2020 at 08:35

That trend has been going on for twenty years. You have a PhD? What is your field of endeavor?

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 08:53

Urban and Regional Science. Purposely vague so we can do what we want! :)

I was interested in long-term urban growth issues, especially in the context of disasters. Some of my classmates studied issues in low-income housing, others studied epidemiology. It varies based on the student’s and the sponsoring professor’s interests.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/24/2020 at 09:02

So this COVID disaster is right in your wheel house. You’re in the private sector now?

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 09:11

My focus has always been on flood-related disasters. Katrina brought me out of academia. Harvey took me to Houston. Now I’m back in Louisiana working on disaster-planning projects.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/24/2020 at 09:20

Yes; I remember you telling me that a while back, now that you mention it.

I went to some effort after Houston received Noah’s Ark amount of rain, to illustrate for my 8th grade math students how large a two-mile cube would be. It likely went over 95% of their heads, but you never know when something will lodge in some kid’s brain. A few things lodged in mine when I was younger...

Kinja'd!!!

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 10:37

That’s nice! I really like it when I can apply the subject I’m teaching to current events. When Katrina happened, I grabbed some of the early data and had my Intro to GIS students do some preliminary analysis as part of an in-class exercise. With some basic assumptions (ie. like a $50k payout to each household that flooded) and everyone working together to locate all of the houses that flooded in New Orleans, we came up with a $3B first estimate. This was when the President first promised a few million in aid. By the next class period, the President had increased that promise to $3B. My students knew from their work that even $3B wasn’t going to be enough since they had focused on a limited area of New Orleans. It was fun to see them get excited about using computers to solve problems. Most of them were forestry and wildlife students. All they really wanted to do was tromp around in the woods.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/24/2020 at 10:44

So are you working for a government entity now?

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 10:53

I work for an Architecture and Engineering firm. I’ve done work at all levels, including cities, counties, states, and federal agencies. I’ve done environmental work in swamps and deserts; inspection work on roads and levees; disaster analysis and recovery ; and program management for disaster recovery. I’ve really been lucky that way - I’ve worked in the field and in the office, usually both on every project.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/24/2020 at 11:07

And if it’s stuff you find truly interesting, even luckier.

Academia is really weird.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 11:38

It’s been good that I can switch around tasks and responsibilities. No two projects are the same, so even tasks which I have performed on other projects have a new twist to them.

You’re right, a cademia is weird. I’m really starting to believe that the business side of it has become dominant and that it has lost focus on the primary mission - educating students. What other job requires you find someone else to pay your salary and pay for research which is a part of your job requirements ? Imagine working at McDonalds but having to find outside support to pay your hourly wage while sponsoring your research on the ideal temperature for cooking fries!

I really enjoyed teaching advanced students, so I may end up in academia again someday. I just have to get my own kids through college and perhaps build up my retirement before I go back .

VincentMalamute-Kim > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 11:40

haha! I’ll definitely buy into that stereotype.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 11:53

Are you teaching in middle or high school?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/24/2020 at 12:05

Maybe you could dabble by teaching an interesting graduate course as an adjunct.

I teach 8th Grade Math, which is interesting. I began teaching at age 38, after Army, college, and washing out of a couple of jobs. When I started, if they’d put me in a middle school, I’d have wound up either dead or unemployed or in prison. I thought 8th graders were the worst of the worst. Now, I like them the most. I taught Geometry and Algebra 2 for five years, and lots of high school Pre Algebra and Algebra 1. What I like about 8th grade is that it’s a chance to instill in the kids some skills that were always lacking in the high school. And primary grade teachers are weak in math; many of them will outright tell you that, and no doubt, that attitude is going to leak out and get picked up by the kids. So yeah. Number theory, essentials of Euclidean Geometry, teach them how to read a protractor and a ruler... And they’re still child enough to care what you think. Get them ready for high school.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 12:37

I ha ve great respect for you and what you do. Some of the most foul-mouthed human beings I’ve ever been around were 8th graders. I would rank them right behind submariners if only because of a lack of vocabulary .

Math was one of those subjects that I wasn’t comfortable with until I took my first statistics course in college. I think the biggest holes in my education all centered around functions and what they really represent. I’ve tried to help my kids get around that by showing them how those functions produce graphs and how those graphs tell us something about what’s happening in the world around us. The coronavirus graphs are an excellent example of that even if most of them lack all of the information that would normally be included.

The proliferation of videos that show the math behind the phenomena has really helped both my understanding and my ability to help my kids with their understanding.

Keep up the good work, sir!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/24/2020 at 12:46

I never passed Algebra in high school.

My students are generally not foul-mouthed because I have an expectation that they not be. And when they slip, I cry, Language malfunction! Then they own it and we move on.

The stuff I struggled with the most is what I try the hardest to teach well and thoroughly. And don’t take it personally if you can’t seem to help your kids in math, because it is personal.

Thanks for the good word.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 12:58

The kids who r uined my ears with their language weren’t speaking in front of an adult. I had a truck malfunction when I was in high school and I had to ride the bus for a few days. These were the kids in the back. :)

You’re right about personalities. T he re are some subjects my wife does a better job explaining than I do. Then there are subjects that we just have to leave to the teachers. If the kiddos have trouble and we can’t help with subject, we help by finding them the right help .

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/24/2020 at 13:15

My second daughter is 21. She and I had our individual struggles when she was in high school and it wasn’t pretty. Now, we do alright, but underlying things is this sort of loathing that she has for me that she cannot help and I am learning to live with. Not that things are so dramatic in your clan, but sometimes, you just can’t let your old man help you with something because it’s not what you really need from your old man. Intellectually it makes sense, but emotionally, it’s a kick in the belly.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 13:30

That’s rough. I have been pretty lucky with my children so far. One day, o ne of our neighbors was having a screaming match with his daughter when my daughter and I pulled into our driveway. When we got into the house, I told her that I loved her and I thanked her for never behaving that way. Our son has his own struggles and gets angry when he has trouble with schoolwork. He’s so determined to do it on his own that it’s difficult to get him calmed down enough to let us help him. That’s when the tutors come into play. He doesn’t want to embarrass himself in front of either of these lovely college girls, so he remains calm and listens to their instruction. Never underestimate the power of a lovely lady. :)

As for me, I had my own issues growing up without a dad around. Without a good example to look to, I often feel like I’m just winging it here.I guess we’ll know for sure once they leave home. If they never want to talk to me again, I’ll have my answer.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/24/2020 at 13:46

My dad was around, but he was raised by vicious hillbillies and didn’t know how to dad very well, but he worked hard at what he did and provided for our temporal needs, if not so much emotional. What you describe with your son is what I was primarily thinking of. Lovely college girls: what could be nicer? Having a good relationship with a tutor can change the game. Or not.

I’ve decided, and I’ve put this out to my daughters, is that I own who I am and I want to be a good dude. So if I come up short, it’s not like I’m trying to pretend it’s their fault, which was my dad’s game for 50 years. That vicious hillbilly sarcasm I have to work daily to keep it stamped down. Every. Single. Day. And some days, I am not successful.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 14:00

Vicious hillbillies. That’s a new phrase for me. Descriptive too.

My dad had a reputation and it was well-deserved. My mom did well to get us away from him. To her credit, she never bad-mouthed him as so many divorcees do. When I met his brother for the first time, he asked if I’d like to see what my dad looks like (we didn’t have any pictures of him). The picture my uncle shared was my dad’s mugshot.

I have a sarcastic streak, but it’s never vicious. My wife doesn’t get sarcasm at all and my kids had a lot of trouble with it when they were young, but now that they’re teenagers, they get it. In spades. I understand where you are coming from. I work hard to be the calm, cool, collected one where my wife is more of a fireball . I was more like her when I was young, so I feel like I’m making up for youthful transgressions.

We all have our days. I hope that your daughters realize that and you all can find ways to build bridges. As I learned some time ago, love is a verb. It’s something you do. The hardest times are when you have to choose to love despite what you feel inside.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/24/2020 at 14:35

We’ve all forgiven each other, but healing takes a long time.

Hillbilly Elegy , by J.D. Vance. Vicious hillbilly is a phrase I coined, but it was directly inspired by, and somewhat derivative of this work, which was a very good read.

Love, the verb; I like that.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/24/2020 at 16:20

Now I have something to read!

All the b est to you and your family.