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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Did I say I hated this instructor? What I meant to say was, I really hate this instructor.

I spent the week preparing for my presentation tonight and the dude just walked all over it. 30 minutes into my discussion of the main article he interjects that we need to move on. Ok, so my partner and I move on. Only he's not happy with that. He wants us to go back to the theoretical type discussion we were having previously. Well if you had let me finish my presentation the way I wanted to we would have been able to address all the topics you were so frustratedly trying to add. I mean, my God... if you wanted us to present specific concepts from these readings then why the hell didn't you just do the presentation yourself? The best part was how he lost his composure trying to direct the discussion that the entire class refused to sign on to.

Oh, and that giggling you see us doing during class? Yeah, we're all looking at each other and laughing at you ...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 11:06 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Each Tuesday I look forward to going to class - it is the class I have outside my regular department. If all my courses were like this one, I would be getting a PhD.

This week I was highly rewarded for my attendance... he kept my attention for the full meeting, educated me, and entertained me. I'd say I love this man, but I can love only one at a time and right now that place is reserved for an instructor I had last fall. Mmmm... easy on the eyes, decidely Republican, confident, and oh so connected... We really could have had something ... that wife and those kids were a bit of a problem though... But I'm daydreaming...

Back to Tantalizing Tuesday... the annoyingly argumentative leftist in the class decided to pipe up a few times today and just would not let go of his ill-formed concept with very little relevance to the big picture at hand... The instructor finally had enough of his badgering and shut him down by retorting, "Well, that's certainly one viewpoint" and moving on. I damn near shot my iced latte out my nose it was so funny.

Tuesdays are the new highlight of my week.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 02:25 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In case you didn't know, it looks like G.W. has gotten our country into another war...and YOU are on the front lines!

Well, at least that's what this man wants you to think...

and of course, where would my lovely graduate institution be if they didn't support overblown, exaggerated language used to garner attention? That's right, we're hosting a 'free exchange of ideas' on campus tomorrow night titled "The Republican War on Science"...unfortunately, that man will also be there. Here's the excerpt from the back of his book that they posted to promote the event:

"The Republican War on Science" is Christopher Mooney's assessment of our current government's politicization of scientific findings. In his presentation, Mooney will tie together the disparate strands of what he sees as an attack on science into a compelling account of our government's increasing unwillingness to distinguish between legitimate research and ideologically driven pseudoscience."

And this issue of 'war'... Was that word really necessary? Do you really want to accuse the President of the United States of actively seeking the destruction of science policy? I hardly think so. The man has a country to run and he may have different priorities than you'd like, but that doesn't mean he's going out of his way to plan the destruction of your pet projects. There's only so much money and every year a lot of people work to try to figure out where it goes. That's the long and the short of it...now way around it...just deal.

Now get off your high horse and take a long look at reality before you open your mouth again.

Yes, I'm having a bit of an angry period... just bear with me...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 10:58 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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After all the phone calls, confusing e-mails, and disorganization...

I have finally landed my Fall internship. I start exactly one week from today.

I'm not as excited about this one as I am about the one I announced a few months ago that starts in the Spring semester, but it is going to look good on my resume just the same.

Unfortunately I am still a little bit in the dark on the whole thing. I know what the Department does, and I know what this section of it does, but I have no idea what the office I now work for does. God forbid these people provide any information... From the sounds of it, it isn't exactly my field. Not that I expect to be in over my head, just less interested than I would have liked. Oh well, I'll just keep reminding myself ... foot in the door...foot in the door...

Too bad I decided to go to school full time on the assumption that I hadn't gotten it... this should be fun...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 09:33 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Shower, get dressed, have a bite, talk to Dad, check availability of books at the library, leave for library, talk to friend on the way to the library, get to library, book is checked out, I lose it.

That's right...In the 25 blanking-blankity-blank minutes that it took me to get to campus after checking to see that the book being held on reserve is available, someone else borrowed it. GREAT.

So I call my partner in the project and it's not him. SUPER!
So I sit outside the library, try to study. It's not working, I'm too pissed.
So I go back inside to see if they have some kind of waiting list. Oh, gosh, no... Of course not! That'd make too much fucking sense when the book is being held for the semester, not allowed to leave the library, and given out for only 2 hrs at a time.
So I go back to a computer and start reading the news. Partner calls & I go outside. The next 25-30 minutes are spent bitching about how ridiculously incompetent the professor is and how the program is just absolutely FUBAR'd. I felt a little better after that but for some reason there weren't any people around me anymore once I was done...

I finally got my hands on the damn book 2 hrs later, spent less than 10 minutes photocopying the pages I needed, gave it back to the library people, and promptly left. The train was semi-crowded on the way home too so that didn't really help my mood.

After I got home I ended up scanning my copy and e-mailing it to the entire class just to prove a point.

Told you I'd be royally pissed if this happened...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 06:26 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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The professor from WTF Wednesdays...

I.FUCKING.HATE.THIS.MAN

whew, I feel better now...

Seriously though, wtf is this put a book on reserve for the whole class and not have it in the bookstore bullshit? Do you seriously think I want to sit my ass in the library and read this book? No, first because I don't even want to read it at all. It is an inappropriate choice for graduate level study and useless in furthering our knowledge or our discussions. The only reason I'm going to read it is the 'discussion' I am supposed to lead next week, for which you assigned a lame-ass chapter by a commie blowhard that can't write a rational thought to save his life.
And what do you think I'm going to do when I spend the time to drag my ass all the way to the creepy life sucking center that is the library and someone else has decided to read it in the time between I checked its availability and got to the library? Yeah, that's right... I'm going to be royally pissed that I have to spend the next two hours waiting around campus for this crap-tastic bit of reading.
Oh, and those excuses you throw out about being too busy to make the readings available electronically and too busy to finish grading our papers? BULL.SHIT. 40 papers, 2-pgs each, double spaced. Not done 3.weeks.later? WTF.IS.YOUR.PROBLEM? 'I have too many students' 'I don't have a TA yet' 'They are all so different I'm having a hard time comparing them to one another' Uhm, NO. I've graded papers before buddy...free response exams for 600 students...IN A SINGLE WEEK.

Like I said before... I feel better now...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 12:29 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 Well, I'm glad we got that one cleared up.

Posted by: dick at September 22, 2005 01:36 PM (XlQVK)

2 EWWWW...your professor needs to put down the bottle and pick up his pen and start grading!

Posted by: Dorothy at September 22, 2005 02:56 PM (MD3a9)

3 Ummm.....sorry, but as a WTF person, I resent being "guilty by association" because some chucklehead professor read an obsure book years ago and thought it was "enlightening".

Posted by: whiskytangofoxtrot at September 22, 2005 05:11 PM (bt6al)

4 Hmmm.... Just nticed the link. Very possessive, but I'm kinda digging it.

Posted by: elliott at September 22, 2005 05:52 PM (XlQVK)

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I meant to actually post something today but I slept in (to the wonderful hour of nearly 11am), went shopping for school stuff, stopped by the grocery store, and I've been stuck in the kitchen hacking up a chicken ever since.

I've got the fun class tonight and I'm taking someone with me to listen in because I think the professor is so kick ass. I'll be sure to report anything cool he says this week. Last week's winner was, "If you can successfully go underground for two years, you don't have to do the project." But if you get found out...I think you fail...

Btw - taking a whole chicken and hacking it into pieces isn't exactly easy the first couple of times you try doing it... but whacking through its bones with a cleaver is amazingly fun...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 03:32 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Last week I was damn near asleep only half way through Monday's class and I was kept awake solely by the growing migraine caused by ... blink.blink.blink.blink ... of the fluorescent light at the front of the room that was flashing more than 60 times a minute, accompanied by the wonderful sound of ... buzzow.buzzow.buzzow.buzzow ... of each and every flash.

This week I faced a nearly identical situation. Before I had been sitting in the classroom for even an hour I was already obsessively checking my phone to see what time it was.

The light was strobing away, flashing like a drunken 18 year old on her first spring break...my migraine was again gaining irritating strength...and the professor had yet to make a single argument despite all his talking...

...I got grumpy...

I respect the guy - not only is he an incredibly smart guy (who just happens to talk through his nose and have hair rivaled only by The Donald), but one that can talk politics (as is the nature of the program we're in) AND leave his personal leanings at the door. I just wish he could do more than throw out bits & pieces of information that could form an argument if assembled correctly.

Maybe then I could stay focused...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 07:59 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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After sitting through two class meetings I am ready to say that this semester, Wednesdays are going to SUCK...

As I dread going back for a third session tonight, let's take a moment to revisit last week's gathering:

**scene: 20 students seated in individual chairs with desk arms, chatting to their neighbors about various topics**

**enter instructor - think Dr. Nick from The Simpsons**

Instructor: Ok, everybody... lets put our chairs in a circle...

WHUAA?

I couldn't help it, my reaction just spewed out...
'you've got to be kidding me... what, did I just fall back into pre-school or something?'

If he heard me, he didn't let it show. My classmates just laughed and rolled their eyes at how annoying the next two hours were bound to be.

The only thing that got me through the evening was the joy I found in my classmates all ganging up on the instructor for his irritating nonsense. You see, he spent an hour and a half discussing whether or not there was a transnational space. Not like outer space, not like a building, not like a country, but as an abstract concept. We grew bored of his blathering early on and tired of his metaphors that fell apart mid-sentence. The truth is, in order to have the course we have to take on faith that there is a transnational space. Without that assumption, there is no course. Therefore, Mr. Blah Blah Blah was wasting our time instead of dropping the discussion at the point we all agreed with each other and disagreed with him.

From now on, its Whiskey.Tango.Foxtrot Wednesdays...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 03:02 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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The guys over at The New Editor have picked up the same op/ed I commented on last week (check it out here). Go check out their brief take on what the professor had to say.

I think it is important to make clear that I believe this professor is entitled to his opinions - freedom of speech and all that - but I argue that it is his position that requires greater discretion. While he is free to write articles expressing his beliefs outside the classroom, the problem lies in the fact that this man does not leave those expressions outside the classroom. That is not an estimation, that is personal experience talking.

At the risk of incurring his wrath or being struck by the force of his vengeance, I shall continue my rant...

Actions such as this article are inappropriate in a professional setting, especially one in which this gentleman is tasked with training the security/intel personnel of the future. His students, as practitioners, need the tools to build a better tomorrow, not a scathing vocabulary capable of hurting the opponent's feelings. It is his responsibility to equip them with the critical thinking skills necessary in order to deal with a crisis, before or after it occurs.

Moreover, threats to our security are blind to party lines and it is important for those working to ensure that security to be as blind to them as possible, as well.
In the end, regardless of their party membership, government personnel need to be able to respond to security threats of all types. By pushing politics instead of developing the skills necessary to do that this professor is robbing our country of a class of professionals more savvy than those that came before them. Whether he is on the left or the right, he should recognize that he is moving the current problem into the future instead of working to solve it. Moreover, by engaging in these tactics, he is simply working to ensure that genuinely bi-partisan government remains a pipe dream. His unwillingness or inability to teach in a non-partisan manner does nothing less than undermine critical aspects of America's future security.

What's more, it is unimportant which side of the aisle this article's author stands on when his op/ed was nothing more than an attack on individuals. It was not constructive toward the future he claims his party can provide or even a useful critique.

Katrina is tragic, without question, but he should be using it as an opportunity for people to learn how to do things better the next time. Partisanship and personal feelings are not part of that.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 03:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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If anyone ever has a question as to why I don't get along with the administrators of my department, all they have to do is read this op/ed piece one of them wrote in the Baltimore Sun today.

Headline: After Katrina fiasco, Time for Bush to go.
(The article is posted in its entirety below the fold)

God forbid this academic institution employ people capable of putting their personal partisanship aside for a few moments (or in the classroom). We couldn't possibly exhibit a sense of professionalism that focuses on solutions to the current problem and preventative measures for the future. Oh no, we most definitely couldn't have that. more...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 12:08 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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I have ventured out of my department and into another school within the university for one of my classes this semester. So far, I am highly impressed.

How sad is that? Just one class and already I'm impressed off my ass with this other department. It just confirms what I have said from the very beginning...my department/school has its head so firmly planted up its ass that the light of common sense shall never be seen within its halls.

The next 13 Tuesdays should prove to be quite interesting...and finally it is in a good way!

Posted by: Princess Cat at 09:22 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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The semester has officially, and finally, begun. And following in our institution's sorted fall tradition, we kicked it off with alcohol cheap beer. I believe they officially called it the 'New Student Social' for which you must have RSVP'd or your lowly presence would not be tolerated - tuition paying or not, those not on the guest list were proverbial scum at this event.

I personally couldn't tell you how the food tasted - I wasn't in the mood for watery salsa or melted cheese - but most people were upset there was no 'real' food to speak of. How hard is it to get a mini-sandwich out of these people?

Yingling and Bud Light in a can and wine in a box just weren't what I had gone looking for that evening either. So when a good portion of the student body headed to the bar like lemmings marching to their death, so did I... Killians it was for the rest of the night.

Snippits of conversations from the bar...

"Can I touch your boob?"

"If it's anything besides penis-vagina sex, she just squirms!"

"Do you know how hard it is to be a gay republican?"

"This is so cool, you're such a geek!"

I took last train home that night. Not so much because I was that intrigued by those I was talking with but because I just couldn't tear myself away from the oddity that the new class of students freaks truly represents.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 09:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I just got a phone call from a very soft spoken, speed talking, and seemingly annoyed woman asking if I would be willing to accept an internship in Washington DC. I could not understand what office she was calling from. Finally I figured out where she was referring to and told her I would be willing to since I live there.
But I had to make sure it didn't conflict with my other one so I asked her what time frame she was talking about. She had no idea what I meant. Finally we sorted out that she was referring to the fall. Well slap me silly and call me susan, you're damn right I'd accept an internship for the fall!

and then she said, "ok... we'll be in touch..."

BITCH

UPDATE: They have called 3 times now to confirm if I would be willing to take an internship in DC instead of San Diego. But none of the calls have been to actually offer me a position... AHHH! These chicks are driving me crazy!

Posted by: Princess Cat at 08:51 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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