Good news: no class tonight so no irritatingly moronic line of questioning

Bad news: I still have a paper due for the class tonight ... and I haven't written it yet...

UPDATE - 4:10am
The book review I was working on - DONE, four hours late...

but I have a feeling I'm going to be late to work today...

Anyone who wants a copy of my review on The Coming Democracy by Ann Florini, let me know... it's a great 6.5 pgs of bedtime reading.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 09:03 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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We got to look at examples of different terrorist attacks from around the world in class today... it was really interesting stuff! I kept looking at the clock though, not because I wanted it to be over but because I wanted to know how much more I was going to get to see. I realized though, he probably thought I was bored...and it reminded me of a story back when I was teaching...

I told my students up front, point blank... (1) I would not take attendance, (2) anyone who would rather be somewhere else, is welcome to be somewhere else, (3) I only wanted people in the room that genuinely wanted to learn something.

The guy in the back though... perhaps he was hard of hearing...

One day he was fidgety and sort of noisy. He kept distracting me from my lesson and from the explanations individual students were asking for. Finally I noticed he was trying to find a clock - he was getting frustrated because the classroom didn't have one.

Unfortunately for him, I was having a bad morning...

I paused for a moment, looked down at my watch, looked straight at him, and said... 'There's no clock in here, but it's 10:20...which means I've got 30 more minutes to go, unless you have somewhere else to be...'

He squirmed a bit and turned sort of red, but remained silent.

Remember I said bad morning? It was a particularly bad morning...

I followed his silence with, 'No? Ok, goodÂ’ and went back to teaching my lesson.

I think it was a pretty good day after that...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 10:54 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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If there is any question about why I so enjoy my Tuesday night instructor, just read his piece in the Washington Post about the media and terrorism (I've posted it below the fold) even if it is a few years old. I think he's trying to start a new reality show, "Who Wants To Be My New Hero?" A little wordy but I think he shows promise as a contestant.

The piece is a little old but it is no less true today than it was in the year following 9/11. He calls for what some people say is censorship of the media - he says it is common sense. And I for one think he is right on the money. Report the news but can you guys please start leaving out some of the specifics? Tell American's that their freight system might not be as secure as they'd like but leave out the specific company you interviewed/researched, the specific location, and what the guard staff normally does with their time! For christ's sake... that's just common sense people.

If the military can function and communicate within the limits operational security, I think the media can get on board with the same concept without short changing their overall purpose or the public interest.

Read for yourself and decide. Nut-job or sensible individual? more...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 07:55 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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After all my troubles with the head of my department and this blog, another faculty member has published an article espousing the benefits of blogging. This professor is a representation of the opposite side of academics publishing their opinions than the one I have previously blogged about here - He has a point, he argues it articulately, and maintains professionalism throughout. I am proud to say he is representing our institution in the public eye.

The article itself references the importance of academic blogs in multiple disciplines and closes by saying blogs should be embraced wholeheartedly. Here is the link so you can read for yourself what he has to say.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 12:33 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Since I found out about this internship I have been pestered by family, friends, classmates, and anyone else who knew about it with the inevitable... "So...what exactly will you be doing during your internship?" I always had to come back with either the truth (I didn't know), or something witty, yet believable like, "My job will be to save the world from idiots like your ex-girl/boyfriend."

But today I found out what I'll actually be doing instead...

Re-writing/updating procedural manuals, developing quality assurance procedures from existing metrics, and overall making the assistant to the head of the office look good.

Not exactly what I had in mind when I signed on, but better than the call center I thought I was going to be sitting in.

Humorously enough though, I have already managed to put my foot in my mouth. In trying to characterize myself for the boss I managed to say... I'm an anal fixer ... before I realized how it would sound out loud. Perhaps the words perfectionist or detail oriented would have been a better fit...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 10:50 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Hallelujah! Four weeks into this course and the flashing fluorescent migraine maker is finally fixed.

Unfortunately, that little God-send did not improve my ability to concentrate. The instructor got knocked off his agenda by a student induced tangent and once he was of, it was clear that the derailment was fatal for the lecture as a whole.

Poor little agenda... he never even had a chance...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 11:44 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Wow...It was a really full day! We showed up at the ungodly hour of 8:30a to get pre-screened and collected in a conference room by 9:00a. Ice breaker games and chit chat lasted for almost half an hour, but then it was down to serious business.

What came next was aboslutely grueling work...an hour and a half spent having paperwork explained, blanks filled, and signatures checked. My brain was truly taxed...

At 10:30 we were sent to find ourselves some lunch. Which made us happy since 10:30 is a much more reasonable breakfast time than the earlier 7:15 when I had a piece of toast. I ended up leading a posse to Starbucks and then my office mates to a courtyard. I parked myself in the shade, sat up on a cement call, kicked my shoes off, and enjoyed my iced americano & turkey sandwich. You know, we felt a little rushed though... only three hours for lunch! You can't fit food and a decent map in that time... I mean, I'll do my best to try... but I can't make any promises...

So... disappointed with the medicore lunch plans ... we trooped back for our last brief of the day. Boy, we sure exherted ourselves on that one, I tell ya... and after being sent to an office that turned us away, our day came to a close at the late hour of 2:30p.

I know it's going to be tough, but I made it through the day so I know I can make it through those that come after. The first step is always the hardest...

But I think I can do Federal work...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 11:41 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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