I promise not to send you crap

Anyone else on FB seeing lots of those really effin' stupid status updates about crafts?


I am not crafty.  But I  would love all of my FB friends to send me their crafts.  Without having to do anything in return.


So I suppose my status update will have to look like this:


Pay it forward 2011:  I promise NOT to send something homemade to the first five people who leave a comment here.  To be eligible, you must repost this status, offering the same thing to five other people.



In other news, has everyone stocked their liquor cabinets in preparation for the spring semester?

PSA: Don't status update your job interviews

Like, srsly.

I have watched many a grad student or postdoc inform all of their Facebook acquaintances the status of their job search.  The academic world is small, my friends.  Privacy settings or not, what the hell are these people thinking?

I used to message these "friends" of mine to point out the error of their ways, but I've since given up.  Besides, it can be somewhat entertaining, particularly when you suspect that two of your FB friends are dueling for the same positions.



Some keep it vague: "I've got my first interview!"

Others feel compelled to list locations: "Goin' to the midwest and then the east coast for interviews.  In ONE WEEK!  What what!"

A few on my list name the actual schools.  That turned them down.  "Guess PrestigiousU is going to be missing out on one AMAZING prof this fall.  Losers."



What.  The.  Facebook.

My New Year gift to you

As some of you nurse your hangovers (CPP, I'm looking at you, darlin'), here's something to take the edge off.  I should warn you, however, that if you are prone to high blood pressure, you might want to save this link for another day:  Retraction Watch.


What a depressing year for retractions!  (Or great year, depending on your POV.)



Enjoy.  Time for me to get cracking on my first book of 2011.  I suspect that this first selection will go by quickly.

My winter break gift to you

I know you have been curious.  "Whatever will UR give us this year?" You wondered.

Here it is, my friends.  My 2010 gift to you: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/ 


I laugh so hard I cry.  I hope you do the same.

Why is this happening to me?

Because today I dropped beats that cracked my cranium.

Now accepting texts?

I don't Facebook with current students. I don't put my home phone number on my syllabus-- pretty easy, since I don't have a home line.

I most certainly don't give out my cell number to my students.


I was at lunch with a colleague the other day. Her cell phone dinged, indicating the arrival of a new text. "Hmmm," she said, as she wrinkled her nose at her phone. "I'm being reminded that I have an advising meeting at two. The problem is, I don't know which student just texted me. I don't have their number in my phone."

I did my best to hide the "WTF??!!" from my face. The idea of receiving texts from students, let alone storing their numbers in my phone, is completely foreign to me.

I give everything to my job. I have to keep some lines drawn. Some parts of my life need to be kept my own, even if it just my cell phone. Students can reach me by email, and I can choose when to respond. I don't need them texting me on a whim.


Am I overreacting? Are texts from students an inevitable requirement of the job?

Would you like some cadmium in your coffee?

No? How about in your daughter's (or son's) jewelry?

CBC News - Health - Toxic cadmium taints kids' jewelry


OMFG, as the kids would say.

Was Billy Bob Thornton in my class today?

I think Billy Bob Thornton was in my intro-level course today.


Okay, so not really the creepy man himself, but I had a conversation with Undergrad that went something like this:

Me: Undergrad, what time did you start the homework assignment?

Undergrad: I have no idea what you are talking about.


Watch this clip of Billy Bob completely shutting down after a Canadian deejay comments about his acting career.

DJ: When did your band form?

BB: I have no idea what you are talking about.

The first interactions comes around the 1:20 mark. (If you want to watch the meltdown, skip next to around the 7 minute mark or so. (As seen on perezhilton -- yes, I admit I read it; been reading back in his page666 days.)






So...anyone else have some Billy Bobisms from students?

facebook etiquette

Dear facebook friends (erm...acquaintances),

Please stop doing status updates about TV shows. I don't watch TV in "real time." I watch TV with my DVR or netflixs, usually around 1 am after one (or three) grading-induced beers.

So I'd appreciate not receiving any spoilers via the effing facebook feed.*







*Yes, I could stop checking facebook. But it is my internets equivalent of chocolate or Gossip Girl: it is bad for me but I HAFTA have it. NOW.

Home before 9?

Yes, that's right. I got home before 9 pm today....only 13 h in lab today?

That could only mean one thing: I finished my freakin' thesis!


Now I have a week to tweak my defense presentation and catch up, in no particular order:

- sleep

- N.A. time

- cleaning

- data analysis (yeah, I know)

- blogging

Blogroll?

Anyone out there use blogrolling? It seems to be down, so I've lost my list of blogs.

Any suggestions on a more reliable way to keep track of updated blogs? What do you use? (I do like to display them on my blog in order to encourage others to check out blogs I find interesting.)