Master Index of Archived Threads


The All Purpose Going Back To School Thread

ScarletKnight41 Jun 29 2005 01:32 PM

With the Cyber Tsunami, my Freakin' Rutgers Accepted Me thread was nuked on the old board. So I thought I'd start a thread here on the subject, and for any other Crane Poolers who are in school or going back to school. Today I received information about my orientation that's taking place in August. And it all suddenly seems real. I'm going back to school. Holy crap! I know this is the right decision. I know that I should have studied Library Sciences in the first place. And I know that I am a capable student - give me something to study and give me a test and I usually do very well. But holy crap - it's real now. And I'm committed to it for the next three years. Tuition....tests...papers..... My mind is fine with all this. But emotionally I'm suddenly freaking out. It's actually happening. Wow!

KC Jun 29 2005 01:36 PM

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, and turn that cell phone off.

ScarletKnight41 Jun 29 2005 01:37 PM

OK - when I can't make a class, you'll sub for me ;)

ScarletKnight41 Jul 12 2005 12:57 PM

Orientation is less than a month away, and freakout mode is escalating. In a lot of ways, due to the nature of my studies, I'm more nervous about orientation than I am the actual classes. It's an online program, with flexible scheduling, so I can take my classes at home, in my bathrobe, and nobody will know or care. But the three-day orientation must be attended in person. So I'll be meeting my classmates in person before I get to know them online, which is the opposite of how I'm used to relating to people from my cyberlife. Being thrust into social situations is always daunting for me, and I suddenly feel like I'm in junior high school again - What should I wear? Will people sit with me at lunch? Will I make friends? Classwork will be nothing compared to this.

cooby Jul 12 2005 01:04 PM

lol, what's not to like?

ScarletKnight41 Jul 12 2005 01:27 PM

I'd rather meet my classmates online first. I always do better when I know people in advance.

cooby Jul 12 2005 01:32 PM

1) take a class with all of us 2) get all of them to join the CPF There, two solutions! :)

cooby Jul 12 2005 01:33 PM

PS do not tell them of the $358 administrative costs until they are already here

ScarletKnight41 Jul 12 2005 01:41 PM

cooby wrote: 1) take a class with all of us Do y'all want to become librarians? ;)

holychicken Jul 12 2005 01:43 PM

]Do y'all want to become librarians? Only if I get to where those cute librarian glasses and short skirts. . . err. . . I didn't just type that out loud, did I?

ScarletKnight41 Jul 12 2005 02:10 PM

If I can wear my bathrobe, you can wear the short skirt and glasses ;)

Willets Point Jul 12 2005 03:00 PM

holychicken wrote: Only if I get to where those cute librarian glasses and short skirts. . . I used to have a librarian fetish too. Your post cured me of that. Good thing I'm marrying an editor.

Iubitul Jul 12 2005 03:42 PM

="Willets Point"] I used to have a librarian fetish too. Your post cured me of that. Good thing I'm marrying an editor. You must have loved Adam Ant's Goody Two Shoes video as much as I did...

holychicken Jul 12 2005 05:19 PM

Holychicken - curing librarian fetishes since 2005

ScarletKnight41 Aug 08 2005 05:21 AM

Today is the big day - orientation begins. I'll get to meet my cyber classmates in person. Eek!

ScarletKnight41 Aug 08 2005 03:13 PM

Day 1 went well. Only one wrong turn on the way to school. My classmates seem nice. The staff seems very helpful. Now I just have to pay that first semester bill....

ScarletKnight41 Aug 09 2005 05:49 PM

Day 2 went well enough that they decided that we don't have to schlep back to campus for Day 3 (either that, or we have sufficienly traumatized the staff so that they don't want to see us anymore. Either way, no more driving - yea!). I am seriously excited about my course of study, and I'm looking forward to my classes starting in the fall. Oh, and I have a student ID now. I can get all of those cool discounts for students <g>

TheOldMole Aug 09 2005 08:39 PM

I'm going back. In two weeks. After a year out of work. Just put in my book order today.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 09 2005 08:42 PM

Very cool! What are you studying Mole?

Rockin' Doc Aug 11 2005 05:58 AM

Kids just headed off for the first day of the school year. My littlest joins her brother in high school.

seawolf17 Aug 11 2005 06:12 AM

The first day of school is in August?!?! What ever happened to the Wednesday after Labor Day?

Willets Point Aug 11 2005 09:36 AM

Not just August, but August in North Carolina!!!

Rockin' Doc Aug 11 2005 11:27 AM

We have air conditioning so the heat is really not a problem. Of course, they will be out for the year before Memorial Day. I grew up with the more traditional calender of starting after Labor Day. It is weird for them to start school so early, but it's been that way for years.

TheOldMole Aug 11 2005 08:41 PM

Scarlet -- I'm back to teaching again. Two courses at SUNY New Paltz. Creative Writing and a course called Honors English, which is Freshman Comp for smart kids. I think.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 12 2005 05:42 AM

Very cool Mole - best of luck with that!

seawolf17 Aug 13 2005 07:43 AM

New Paltz has come a long way; they're much more competitive than they were a few years ago. (They're still no Geneseo.) Welcome back to the fold, Mole.

soupcan Aug 13 2005 07:49 AM

New Paltz was my 'safety school' way back when.

TheOldMole Aug 13 2005 11:17 AM

New Paltz was my Waterloo way back when. As a young professor during the 60s, I was fired and blacklisted...didn't teach again for over 15 years.

Edgy DC Aug 13 2005 11:57 AM

Whoah, sorry to hear that I don't know if New Paltz then was the New Paltz of my youth. But to us, NP was the SUNY you went to if you wanted to get baked for four years and not get nailed for it.

TheOldMole Aug 13 2005 04:07 PM

They owed that to me. It was the pioneering work of a few of us in the mid-60s that led to the full flowering of New Paltz in the late 60s and 70s. The glorious hippie era followed the hardcore political era.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 24 2005 02:18 PM

School starts a week from tomorrow. As I figured, I'm way less nervous about actually starting classes than I was about the orientation. I'm still concerned about this term's IT class, but I've been doing a little studying and at least I'm not downright horrified anymore (plus I'm getting the scariest class over with in the first term, so that's a good deal). It's fun when someone asks me what I do, and I answer that I'm a student. It's like I've defied their expectations, and they don't know how to categorize me anymore <g> Maybe I'll watch Party Girl again tonight. I want to be a librarian! <g>

Willets Point Aug 24 2005 02:20 PM

Remember: He's not a dick, he's a patron.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 24 2005 02:22 PM

I was thinking of that line earlier today. I actually considered using it as a tag line, but you'd be the only one who'd get it, and other people not in the know might interpret it the wrong way.

MFS62 Aug 26 2005 06:40 AM

TheOldMole wrote: They owed that to me. It was the pioneering work of a few of us in the mid-60s that led to the full flowering of New Paltz in the late 60s and 70s. The glorious hippie era followed the hardcore political era. Mole, I went to CCNY at a time when it was still recovering from its 1940's / 1950's reputation as "The Little Red Schoolhouse". Later

ScarletKnight41 Aug 30 2005 10:31 PM

[url=http://www.saveoursummers.org/pages/1/index.htm]Some Floridians Want To Change The School Calendar[/url]

ScarletKnight41 Sep 01 2005 09:55 AM

Well, it's the first day of school. I have assigned readings, I'm going to have assigned writings, and I'll be assigned to groups for group work. I really have to buckle down now! My IT instructor assured me that the class doesn't delve heavily into programming. Whew! The most reassuring thing is that, since this is an online course of study, our class participation grade will depend upon our posts on the class message boards. Hey - I can do that! <g> Wish me luck guys!

Willets Point Sep 01 2005 10:37 AM

A good first post on the student message boards will include the words "pompous pricks" directed at your classmates.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 01 2005 12:22 PM

Plus I have to make sure I refer to the place as Freakin' Rutgers ;)

MFS62 Sep 02 2005 09:34 AM

My granddaughter spent her first day in pre-school yesterday. She loved it, and said he had "homework". She has to make a paper hat that shows what class she's in.. Later

ScarletKnight41 Sep 02 2005 10:30 AM

Schoolwork is definitely reducing the amount of time I have to hang out here.

seawolf17 Sep 02 2005 10:55 AM

Well, then you need to quit school.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 02 2005 11:19 AM

LOL - nah. I've waited too long to do this. I'm finally doing what I should have done in the first place.

Willets Point Sep 02 2005 11:23 AM

I could turn over archiving duties to you and you can make it an electronic librarianship term project. Then you can read all the threads you want and get school credit too!

ScarletKnight41 Sep 02 2005 11:50 AM

Perhaps in my third year, when I can do an independent study project ;)

ScarletKnight41 Sep 02 2005 03:01 PM

D-Dad is going to help me with my homework this weekend <g> I have to compose a 2-page document in Word, and he's going to walk me through Word before I do it. So he's NOT doing my homework for me, but he's teaching me how to do it myself. By the end of this semester I might actually be computer literate. What a concept!

ScarletKnight41 Sep 04 2005 01:08 PM

OK - I wrote my Word document (Kase will appreciate how long I put off learning that, LOL), and now I'm getting ahead on my Week 2 reading. RAM....ROM...bits...bytes..... Shouldn't I be learning the Dewey Decimal System instead?

TheOldMole Sep 04 2005 01:13 PM

They don't use it any more, do they?

seawolf17 Sep 04 2005 01:15 PM

Oh, Scarlet... let the Dewey Decimal System go. It's all about information management, not books.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 04 2005 01:22 PM

LCCN is the primary system, I believe. But some libraries still use Dewey Decimal. It brings back childhood memories. Plus it reminds me of a bit from Weird Al Yankovic's movie UHF, when Conan the Librarian admonishes a patron, "DON'T YOU KNOW THE DEWEY DEC-I-MAL SYSTEM?!?!?!?" Seawolf - I'd rather just believe that there are elves inside of the magic box that make all of this happen. You have no idea I've put off learning this stuff.

MFS62 Sep 04 2005 01:41 PM

Mom, you going to start a Rutgers sports thread this year? Youze guys had a perennially good Big 10 team by the throat yesterday and let them go. It would have been a regular season chance to say something good about Big East football........ Later

ScarletKnight41 Sep 04 2005 01:47 PM

Honestly, I don't think I'm going to get into the sports teams all that much. I'm going to be too busy learning about computers to pay attention to any new sports teams.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 04 2005 01:48 PM

Oops - wrong thread.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 23 2005 09:45 AM

This week I need to learn Microsoft Excel.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 26 2005 11:16 AM

I need a topic for my term paper in Human Information Behavior. I mentioned this place to my teacher in terms of looking for a possible topic. He liked it, and directed me to study the literature in "Mediated Communication" and "Human Computer Interaction." We'll see how it develops.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 06 2005 08:17 AM

Learning Access is giving me fits :(

Willets Point Oct 06 2005 08:21 AM

Wait until you learn Dialog or LCSH.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 06 2005 09:02 AM

Oh boy....

ScarletKnight41 Oct 06 2005 03:01 PM

You guys are in luck, or at least off the hook. I'm going to focus on the information seeking behavior of distance students for my term paper.

Willets Point Oct 06 2005 03:06 PM

So you're writing a paper about yourself then.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 06 2005 03:09 PM

Basically.

TheOldMole Oct 07 2005 06:10 AM

Information seeking behavior? Tell us more.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 07 2005 07:01 AM

It's really the psychology and sociology of searching behavior. It's pretty esoteric - definitely the most theoretical course I'm going to take for this degree. In fact, after talking to some friends who are librarians and who never took this kind of a course, I did my own searching and found out that only Rutgers includes this class as part of the MLIS program, largely because many of the top researchers in the field are on staff at Rutgers. The most interesting concept so far is that knowledge isn't a fixed entity as much as it's a form of communication. It makes sense when you think about it, but you definitely need to knock that one around in your head at first.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 07 2005 07:46 PM

Wow - I just got my first real grades in my Human Information Behavior class. They are much better than I thought they'd be, and way better than I think I deserve, to be frank. Now I feel like I have to work harder to show what I can really do once I'm in a groove. Oh, and I got 9 out of 10 on my Access quiz :)

ScarletKnight41 Oct 11 2005 04:31 PM

After getting this week's grades in the behavior class, I see that I'm in the exact position I didn't want to be in. Right between and A and a B. If I apply myself, I know I'll get an A, but I can just coast and easily get a B. I don't NEED A's - B's are just fine. But my competitive instincts are howling for the A. Argh!

TheOldMole Oct 11 2005 09:49 PM

Go for the A. You're our shining pride, girl.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 31 2005 02:46 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Oct 31 2005 03:05 PM

I have just introduced my classmates to the word suckitude. If the word ever makes it into Webster's, it's because the librarians of tomorrow just learned the word today.

Willets Point Oct 31 2005 03:01 PM

I checked the OED and sadly "suckitude" does not yet have an entry. Our other favorite word "freaking" has a long lineage dating back to Samuel "Marshmallow" Pepys: ]1665 PEPYS Diary 25 Jan., He told me what a mad, freaking fellow Sir Ellis Layton hath been.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 31 2005 03:04 PM

Speaking of which, MK and I are going to run a 5K on campus in early December. I had to coach him not to refer to the school as Freakin' Rutgers while we're up there, because non-Crane Poolers wouldn't understand the reference.

ScarletKnight41 Nov 08 2005 09:12 AM

I do not want to work on my term paper!

Centerfield Nov 08 2005 09:20 AM

The name of the school is Freakin' Rutgers. If Rutgerarians don't know that, it's about time they got in touch with the school's history.

ScarletKnight41 Nov 14 2005 10:29 AM

My term paper is due in three weeks, and my final project in IT is due a week and a half after that. The end (of the first semester) is near. Next semester I'm going to be taking Multimedia Production and Principles of Searching. Then for the summer semester I can take Cataloging. I'm excited about the Cataloging course - they'll finally teach me the Dewey Decimal System <g>

ScarletKnight41 Nov 18 2005 09:32 PM

If I haven't done any work on my term paper by this hour, I'm just not getting to it today. My avoidance behavior wasn't unproductive, however - I completed a quiz and substantially completed a lab for my IT class.

ScarletKnight41 Nov 20 2005 01:12 PM

The bad news is that every little sentence I get written is like pulling teeth. The good news is that I've actually gotten about half of the paper written, and for the first time I'm confident that I'm going to reach my page minimum. The other good news is that the paper is due in two weeks, so I have plenty of time to finish pulling my teeth and then work on the editing process.

ScarletKnight41 Nov 28 2005 10:24 AM

Mole - I may wind up letting you down. I was stressing out over my term paper. If it's an A, I get an A for the class. If it's a high enough B, I'll still get an A. OTOH, I'd have to really tank on the paper not to get a B or B+ for the course. It dawned on me that my paper, although not stellar, is certainly good enough so that I'll get at least a B+ for the term. And I'm willing to settle for that - it's not worth stressing out over the grade.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 01 2005 02:34 PM

It's December, and the end is in sight. The paper, for better or worse, is due on Monday. It'll be a relief to hit the submit button and be done with it!

TheOldMole Dec 02 2005 08:18 AM

I have to start thinking about things like finals. I'll really miss this bunch of Creative Writing I students. They were great.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 05 2005 06:19 AM

For better or worse, the term paper has been submitted. It's not the very end of the semester for me. But the worst is definitely over!

ScarletKnight41 Dec 12 2005 04:45 PM

Hey Mole - you can be proud of me. By the skin of my teeth I pulled an A in the Human Information Behavior course :) The IT course isn't done yet - we'll be submitting our group project later this week. But I have a lot of wiggle room in that course, grade wise (which is ironic, because that course has scared me from Day 1, and it still scares me - LOL). I guess I'm cut out for this grad school stuff :)

cooby Dec 12 2005 07:08 PM

WTG, Scarlet!

ScarletKnight41 Dec 12 2005 07:11 PM

Thanks cooby - LOL :)

TheOldMole Dec 12 2005 08:40 PM

I am proud of you.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 13 2005 05:58 AM

Thanks Mole. There was something about one of your posts earlier in the thread that really made me want to work for the A.

TheOldMole Dec 13 2005 12:42 PM

I remember posting that. In a deluge of final papers to grade.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 13 2005 12:50 PM

Good luck with those!

ScarletKnight41 Dec 18 2005 07:35 PM

cooby - get ready to dance again. It was the same situation in my IT class - I pulled a high enough B in my final project so that it didn't pull down the A I had accumulated from my prior work. I'm not expecting straight A's every term, but it's really nice to have had a strong first semester of grad school. I'm pleased and relieved, and this decision still feels very, very right to me :) After a month off I'll be taking Multimedia Production and Principles of Searching. Multimedia intimidates me, but after getting through IT (and doing nicely at that), I'm not scared to death the way I was when I started this past semester. 1 semester down, 5 to go!

ScarletKnight41 Dec 29 2005 12:30 PM

The good news is that I don't have to buy any textbooks for next semester's classes - any readings that I will be assigned will be available online. The bad news is that I have to cough up the big bucks to purchase [url=http://www.macromedia.com/software/studio/productinfo/products/]Macromedia Studio 8 software[/url]. What can you guys tell me about this suite? Will it require coding? How hard is it to learn this stuff? I'm apprehensive about this class. However, considering how scared I was of the IT class, being apprehensive is definite progress ;)

TheOldMole Dec 29 2005 05:41 PM

I wonder if any fleld has changed as much as library science in the past couple of decades.

ScarletKnight41 Jan 19 2006 02:55 PM

I'm sure other fields have changed greatly as a result of technology. Off the top of my head, law enforcement has become much more sophisticated in recent years. That said, library sciences has changed greatly over the last 20 years or so. Classes resume on Monday. I'm ready for the new semester (I think - LOL).

Willets Point Jan 19 2006 03:08 PM

What are you taking this semester?

ScarletKnight41 Jan 19 2006 03:13 PM

Multimedia Production and Principles of Searching. For the summer semester I'll take Cataloging. I'll be learning Dialog starting next week.

ScarletKnight41 Jan 22 2006 02:47 PM

Classes start tomorrow. We've known for about a month that we'd need to purchase Macromedia Studio 8 for the new semester. I have no sympathy for my classmates who are posting today that they haven't purchased the software yet - what were these people waiting for?

TheOldMole Jan 22 2006 07:51 PM

Tomorrow for me too, and they just called tonight to ask if I'd take on a third class. I said yes.

ScarletKnight41 Jan 22 2006 08:02 PM

Wow! Is the third course something you can teach easily on short (as in no) notice?

ScarletKnight41 Jan 23 2006 08:10 AM

My Multimedia instructor has audio lectures attached to his PowerPoint slides. It's cool being able to get a lecture at home, with the ability to pause the lecture when necessary. It's way better than sitting in a lecture hall, having to listen to the lecture in real time.

ScarletKnight41 Jan 23 2006 03:13 PM

Hmmm - DIALOG is kind of confusing, and the instructions for this week's lesson are really confusing. Ack! But I have six days to figure this out, at least.

TheOldMole Jan 23 2006 04:56 PM

Yeah -- it's The Short Story, and I can teach any stories I want. I have an anthology I really like called "You've Got To Read This" -- contemporary writers picking a short story they particularly flipped out over, and introducing it. I started off my creative writing class with the "Fucking Your Sister" exercise.

ScarletKnight41 Jan 23 2006 05:31 PM

Dare I ask, what is that exercise?

TheOldMole Jan 23 2006 07:02 PM

Well, I'll give it to you the way I give it to them. I When I use it, I do it on the first day of class, so they know what amounts to nothing about me. I give them the exercise, tell them they can turn it in when they've finished and then leave, and we'll talk about it next class, and I'll explain why I gave it. You're writing a letter to someone. You can choose who, it just has to be someone specific (doesn't have to be real). This is someone you have not communicated with in a long time, so you're catching this person up on what's going on with you. And what's going on with you has not been so good. You have a twin - probably a twin of the opposite sex, though it doesn't have to be - and a year ago your twin committed suicide by jumping off a cliff. You're trying to put this terrible incident behind you and go on with your life, but your mother simply can't. Virtually every day, she takes you back to the cliff and stands there, and asks Why? Why did it have to happen? And what's really tearing you apart is, you know something that she doesn't know, that might have a bearing on it, and you can't tell her. Just a few days before, your twin came to your room late at night, and had se with you. You were in the middle of a strange dream, and it could almost be part of the dream, but it wasn't. It really happened. You don't know for sure how it happened, or even whether or not you were forced, or were a willing partner. OK, write the letter, turn it in, and we'll talk about it next time.

ScarletKnight41 Jan 23 2006 07:20 PM

I think exercises like that are the reason I prefer nonfiction.

TheOldMole Jan 23 2006 07:30 PM

That's probably how my students feel, too.

cooby Jan 23 2006 07:32 PM

Tell them you wrote a song for Harry Belafonte, then you'll really have them wondering about you. ("This guy assigns fucking your sister essays but writes songs for Harry Belafonte?")

TheOldMole Jan 23 2006 07:44 PM

It wasn't actually a song, it was a monolog -- for a tribute to Marian Anderson.

seawolf17 Jan 24 2006 03:41 AM

A tribute to Marlon Anderson? By Harry Belafonte? Come on, Mole. I know he hit that game-winning inside-the-parker, but come on. (Just kidding.)

TheOldMole Jan 24 2006 11:07 AM

Well, he wanted to do Hot Rod Kanehl, but I insisted...

Rockin' Doc Jan 24 2006 11:10 AM

Wow. I'm glad I didn't have Mole for my college English. That is one assignment that I would have really hated. Definitely does make one think, which I guess truly is the purpose of college. I would probably have done the assignment in the form of a letter to a fictitious person explaining what a twisted assignment my professor had assigned to me and how I refused to participate in such an assignment. That way I could still turn in the assignment while expressing my contempt for the subject matter. Probably not the best way to get a good grade, but it is how I would most likely have handled it.

seawolf17 Jan 24 2006 11:15 AM

Rockin' Doc wrote: Wow. I'm glad I didn't have Mole for my college English. That is one assignment that I would have really hated. Definitely does make one think, which I guess truly is the purpose of college. I would probably have done the assignment in the form of a letter to a fictitious person explaining what a twisted assignment my professor had assigned to me and how I refused to participate in such an assignment. That way I could still turn in the assignment while expressing my contempt for the subject matter. Probably not the best way to get a good grade, but it is how I would most likely have handled it. This is why I can't wait to teach Freshman Writing classes.

TheOldMole Jan 24 2006 02:53 PM

Doc -- that actually would have been acceptable, since this is a creative writing class, not a freshman English class, and at least one of the purposes of the assignment is to discuss the choices we make when we set out to write something. I would have asked you, however, to discuss not just the choice to talk about the twisted assignment, but the language you used to describe the twisted assignment and the twisted professor, the assumptions you needed to make about the twisted professor in order to compose the letter, and who your fictitious correspondent was and how and why you created him/her.

Rockin' Doc Jan 24 2006 04:53 PM

Mole - "Doc -- that actually would have been acceptable, since this is a creative writing class, not a freshman English class, and at least one of the purposes of the assignment is to discuss the choices we make when we set out to write something." Such an assignment would have made me think, no question about that. Upon reading it today, I quickly thought of how I would have tried to satisfactorily complete the assignment without imagining or writing about a subject I viewed as morally reprehensible. Mole - "I would have asked you, however, to discuss not just the choice to talk about the twisted assignment..." My decision to discuss the assignment, rather than actually imagining and writing about fictitious incest was a way of making the the assignment and subject matter more palatable to myself. Mole - "...the twisted professor, the assumptions you needed to make about the twisted professor in order to compose the letter..." I said the assignment was twisted, not the professor, but I most definitely would have questioned what motivated the professor to choose such a controversial subject matter. Of all the possible subject matter available to him, why would he choose incestual relations for the assignment. Did he simply wish to shock us freshmen or was it a way to indulge some perverse desires through his reading? Mole - "...who your fictitious correspondent was and how and why you created him/her." The fictitious person to whom I wrote would likely have been my best friend from high school. He would have still been at high school as a senior, since I was a year older than he. His name would have been changed to "protect the innocent". I would have elaborated upon the differences between college and high school. Obviously, a thought provoking question. As I said, that is of course the purpose of college, to stimulate learning by provokiing thought. Hell, look how it prompted me to analyze a means of completing the assignment in a means I felt more comfortable with. Damn, I knew that assignment was too hard. Too much thinking required in being creative. That's why I was always more of a math and sciences type of person.

TheOldMole Jan 24 2006 06:46 PM

I started doing this assignment a number of years ago, when I was teaching a course on Understanding Poetry in prison. I had each of my students do a report on a contemporary poet, and one of them drew Diane Wakoski, and one of the poems by her in the anthology we were using was on this theme. The guy -- and these were terrific students -- said something about this bitch being crazy, and if he got a letter from her, he wouldn't even answer it. I said, "Are you sure? Yeah, suppose you're right. She's crazy, and she's warped, and she's been driven that way. And she's someone you know, maybe not well, and she writes you -- Dear Ray, you're the only person I think can maybe understand what I'm going through..." and I went, more or less the way I gave it here earlier, through the plot of the poem. I could see his face changing as I did it. When I finished, I said, "Are you sure you wouldn't write her back?" and he said, "Yes, of course I would." So it struck a chord with me, partly because I've always thought of poetry -- at least to some extent -- as kind of a letter to someone you don't know. Different from a letter to someone you do know, because you can't count on that built-in caring that you get from someone you do know, that wanting to understand what you're talking about. So you have to find different ways to draw your reader in. And I've used it since -- to let students know that they're going to be challenged, that they have to expect the unexpected in this course, and that there aren't going to be taboos. But mostly I do it for the discussion that follows. What was it like doing this assignment? What was hard about it? What was challenging about it? What was interesting about it? What decisions did you have to make, in order to do it?

ScarletKnight41 Jan 24 2006 06:51 PM

TheOldMole wrote: I started doing this assignment a number of years ago, when I was teaching a course on Understanding Poetry in prison. Like [url=http://snltranscripts.jt.org/81/81apros.phtml]this[/url]?

Rockin' Doc Jan 24 2006 08:19 PM

A classic SNL skit from when the show was still funny. Thanks Scarlett.

ScarletKnight41 Jan 24 2006 08:49 PM

You're welcome RD :)

Willets Point Jan 24 2006 09:25 PM

Kill my landlord!

TheOldMole Jan 24 2006 09:48 PM

Great stuff.... not exactly like that.

ScarletKnight41 Jan 26 2006 01:55 PM

My term project for Multimedia Production is to create a website that answers the question, "Why Be a Librarian in the 21st Century?" Everybody is assigned this topic, and our instructor showed us some projects from previous classes to demonstrate the variety of ways in which people have created interesting webites that dealt with different aspects of this topic. I was trying to think of a topic - something original, dynamic and fun. And then it dawned on me - Librarians in the 21st Century can archive and maintain Baseball collections! There must be baseball libraries around the country. If there aren't many that are specific to baseball, I could branch out and include other sports as well. But at least it gives me an interesting topic, and something that's a little off the beaten track.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 02 2006 09:04 AM

I hat DIALOG :(

Willets Point Feb 02 2006 09:16 AM

DIALOG weeds out the wannabes from the REAL librarians.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 02 2006 09:28 AM

DIALOG suxx!

Willets Point Feb 02 2006 12:29 PM

Well, it's not like you're ever going to use it in the real world.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 02 2006 01:41 PM

Thank goodness. I went to my local library today to see whether I could get a little guidance on using the system. The guy at the reference desk had never worked with DIALOG. On Edit - I finally figured out what I had to do for my assignment. I feel like I should get a medal in remedial searching.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 04 2006 12:34 PM

After listening to audio PowerPoint lecture slides for the last hour, my Multimedia professor's Swiss accent is stuck in my head.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 13 2006 06:50 PM

This is cool - I got a 92.5 on my first draft of my first Multimedia exercise in Dreamweaver. My professor gave me a couple of reasonably simple things that I can do to bring my grade up even higher. I am totally thrilled :) By the end of this semester, I'm actually going to know how to put together a simple website :)

cooby Feb 13 2006 07:54 PM

Maybe you could set up Elster's girly pic website for him

ScarletKnight41 Feb 13 2006 08:19 PM

Um....I like Elster....But that wasn't quite what I had in mind.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 20 2006 02:54 PM

OK - I have to work on my first draft of my term project in Multimedia Production. I have to create a draft of a website in Dreamweaver, with several pages that link to each other. I think I have the backgroud to do this. OTOH, those of you who know me know that I'm scared to death of this. But, for better or worse, I need to have something to hand in next Monday, so I'm going to knuckle down and start working on it. Wish me luck. This is big time stuff for me.

ScarletKnight41 Mar 10 2006 11:44 AM

The good news is that I was able to put together an animated GIF in Fireworks. The bad news is that I can't figure out how to transport it to Dreamweaver :( On Edit - I finally got it loaded. Yea! :)

cooby Mar 10 2006 10:13 PM

Good for you! :) You'll be setting up your own Mets website before we know it! (and Elster's girly pic one)

ScarletKnight41 Mar 12 2006 12:11 PM

I'm on Spring Break. Woo-Hoo!

ScarletKnight41 Mar 25 2006 11:30 AM

Zvon - thank you for helping me with my homework. You are a lifesaver!

ScarletKnight41 Mar 29 2006 10:04 AM

I need homework help. I'm supposed to find two Flash animations on the Internet as examples of what I want to emulate for my term project. The more I surf, the more I realize that I don't visit a lot of sites that feature animation. If anyone knows of a good site that features simple Flash animation, PLMK. Thanks.

TheOldMole Mar 29 2006 02:07 PM

How about the one that does the Titanic with bunnies? http://www.angryalien.com/0604/titanicbunnies.html

ScarletKnight41 Mar 29 2006 02:59 PM

LOL Mole - I forgot about angryalien.com. Thanks :)

ScarletKnight41 Mar 31 2006 10:40 AM

[url=http://img291.imageshack.us/my.php?image=letsgometsanimation2rm.swf]Here's what I made in school today[/url]

cooby Mar 31 2006 10:48 AM

Very nice, you'll have to figure out a way to stick it on your refrigerator door!

ScarletKnight41 Mar 31 2006 10:53 AM

Perhaps a cyber-fridge <g>

ScarletKnight41 Apr 12 2006 10:13 AM

I have a question for the teachers out there - I understand that sometimes you teach a course that someone else developed. When you do that, how much care do you take to make sure that the material is still current, especially when it's material that you are instructing your students to use in order to complete an assignment?

TheOldMole Apr 12 2006 01:41 PM

Even if someone else developed it, it's your course once you're teaching it. You should take responsibility for choosing all the materials.

ScarletKnight41 Apr 12 2006 02:20 PM

Thank you mole. I thought so.

ScarletKnight41 Apr 18 2006 01:09 PM

I have another question for the teachers - Your class has a 15-25 page term paper, worth roughly half the course grade. At what point in the semester do you tell your students what the outline of the paper has to be? Specifically, how close to the end of the semester can you cut it before giving out the details of something that large?

Willets Point Apr 18 2006 01:11 PM

That should be in the syllabus handed out at the beginning of the semester.

ScarletKnight41 Apr 18 2006 01:21 PM

Willets Point wrote: That should be in the syllabus handed out at the beginning of the semester. One would think, huh?

ScarletKnight41 Apr 23 2006 12:30 PM

I'm deeply ensconced in Term Paper Avoidance Mode.

mlbaseballtalk Apr 23 2006 12:50 PM

Hey SK, now your post-count avatar really does agree with your regular avatar! Of course that being said, both President Bushes did go there...

OlerudOwned Apr 23 2006 01:13 PM

Speaking of Scarlet's avatar, that Ron Darling link goes to David Cone's UMDB page.

TheOldMole Apr 23 2006 04:04 PM

Thank God I didn't have to assign any term papers this semester.

ScarletKnight41 Apr 23 2006 04:06 PM

Mole - I wish you were one of my teachers!

cooby Apr 25 2006 09:39 AM

Got a 100 on my Excel for Geniuses test

ScarletKnight41 Apr 25 2006 11:51 AM

Yea cooby!

cooby Apr 25 2006 12:00 PM

Thanks, I was immediately humbled though when I went to print out the certificate and forgot to set the printer for landscape mode

ScarletKnight41 May 05 2006 02:18 PM

So I got some feedback on the draft of my term paper, and I think I have a shot at an A in the course if I push myself a bit on the revisions. Damn - I really didn't want to work on it anymore, but I think I'm going to. For better or worse, this semester ends in a week. I cannot wait!

ScarletKnight41 May 12 2006 01:22 PM

Status of The Semester From Hell - It's all over but the grading. Whew!

TheOldMole May 12 2006 05:20 PM

I still have to write two final exams, administer them, and grade them.

ScarletKnight41 May 17 2006 08:53 PM

mole - be proud of me. I miraculously pulled an A in Multimedia Production (I credit the Knowledge is Power scroll that Zvon designed for me for giving me a focal point for my term project), and if I'm doing the math correctly I should have an A in Principles of Searching. This was a frustrating semester in many ways, but a good one for my GPA. My summer course (Cataloging and Classification) begins just after Memorial Day.

TheOldMole May 17 2006 11:01 PM

You go, girl!

ScarletKnight41 May 18 2006 01:14 PM

Thanks mole :) And it's official - 4.0 for the semester. Frankly, I'm shocked - I was going for B+ in both classes, and I would have been very happy with that.

Rockin' Doc May 23 2006 05:41 PM

School is officially out for the summer. My son took his Biology II and Calculus finals this morning. School released for the summer around 1:00 PM. They don't have to report back to school until August 28th. Work, however, continues on as usual.

ScarletKnight41 May 23 2006 06:22 PM

Wow - my guys are in school for four more weeks.

cooby May 23 2006 06:30 PM

June 1 for my son, next Thursday. My daughter is done June 16 He will be going to school in Germany this summer though. Graduation day for my son is set for June 1, 2007.

Willets Point May 23 2006 08:11 PM

It's too freakin' hot in North Carolina to keep going to school.

Rockin' Doc May 23 2006 10:55 PM

That's why we have air conditioning and beaches. Oh yeah, and beer. Lots of cold beer helps to cool down those hot summer days.

Willets Point May 23 2006 10:58 PM

Beaches and beer are definitely better than school. Might also want to get up and shag.

sharpie May 24 2006 07:22 AM

Mid-June for Lenny and his sister. Lenny graduates from middle school.

ScarletKnight41 May 30 2006 07:12 PM

My summer course started today. So far I'm loving Cataloging. I know it's early. But this class is so much better than the two I had last semester. It'll be even better once the textbook arrives.

cooby Jun 01 2006 07:28 AM

Last day today...and it's just a half day! My son had his river stuff with him, I believe they are going jetskiing. Can't blame them

ScarletKnight41 Jun 06 2006 02:08 PM

The texbook arrived today. Now I can finally catch up on last week's readings, not to mention do this week's work.

ScarletKnight41 Jun 25 2006 03:54 PM

Doing homework in the summer suxx!

ScarletKnight41 Jun 26 2006 05:44 PM

Connexion crashed on me for the second time in less than a week, on a day that I have an assignment due. ARGH!!!!!!! The saving grace is that my teacher is very understanding, so she won't hold it against me that the assignment will be late. But I'm totally pissed off!

ScarletKnight41 Jul 01 2006 01:00 PM

I'm going to learn the Dewey Decimal System this week. I'm unduly excited about that :)

TheOldMole Jul 04 2006 03:13 PM

Feel younger, Scarlet? http://www.montclair.edu/pages/insight/Insight09-21-05/StoryHaroldDinzes.html

ScarletKnight41 Jul 04 2006 03:55 PM

That guy reminds me of my dad. He got his law degree in his 50s and his MBA in his 60s, pretty much just for the hell of it.

ScarletKnight41 Jul 07 2006 05:02 PM

I found out today that my favorite teacher from last year will be teaching one of my fall classes. I am SO psyched! <G>

ScarletKnight41 Jul 12 2006 09:11 AM

Nine days until the end of the semester. One final project to go. I just have to sit myself down and make myself do it....

ScarletKnight41 Jul 22 2006 08:11 AM

I am now a free woman until September! The final project hasn't been graded yet, but I'm pretty secure in the knowledge that I'm going to get an A in this course, based on my grades to date. I'm ready for the break - taking a summer class online is pretty intense, moreso because the program is still being developed, and we're dealing with those inevitable bumps in the road. The bottom line - I've now completed five out of the 12 courses that I need for my degree. I'm almost halfway there, a mere year and a half after deciding to apply to the program. It's been a productive year. I have gone from knowing extraordinarily little about computers to having an introductory knowledge of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash. I had a theoretical course that was unexpectedly stimulating and uplifting, a practical course that was poorly taught and disappointing, and my first look at the complexities of cataloging. What's more, I feel like I'm indoctrinated into the professional mindset - I'm starting to think like an information specialist. And I have confirmed to myself that I am making the right choice this time around - this degree program, despite the bumps and growing pains, feels very right to me.

ScarletKnight41 Jul 26 2006 05:48 AM

It's official - the 4.0 is intact <g> I say that while I can - next semester we start getting into more specialized courses. I don't know what Digital Libraries has in store, but it won't be a cakewalk. And while I'm thrilled about my instructor for Reference Sources and Services, I know that I'll really have to work in that class, so an A is far from certain. So I'm going to enjoy the perfect average while I can <g>

ScarletKnight41 Aug 09 2006 06:59 PM

I just got my fall textbook. I'm going to try not to look at it for a few weeks.

cooby Aug 09 2006 07:28 PM

Have one of the kids hide it

ScarletKnight41 Aug 09 2006 07:47 PM

No way - I'm going to need it long before I would be able to locate it in the messes that they call bedrooms!

ScarletKnight41 Aug 26 2006 01:12 PM

In a week and a half my fall semester begins.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 05 2006 11:18 AM

Back in school. Second year out of three. The fact that I'm posting while listening to a lecture tells you that I'm much more comfortable than I was a year ago - LOL. I have my favorite teacher for one course and an influential one (who, at a quick glance, seems to have a pretty decent sense of humor) for the other. Knock wood, it should be a good semester :)

ScarletKnight41 Sep 07 2006 05:38 AM

I can use some assistance here. In my reference course I need a topic to research. My instructor is giving us a lot of leeway, and I have a couple of weeks before I have to settle upon something. So I thought that it would be fun to come up with an academic topic that is related to baseball. This is where you come in - any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks :)

Willets Point Sep 07 2006 09:22 AM

If you can expand on the two interesting but underdeveloped exhibits at the Baseball Hall of Fame on the Negro Leagues and Women in Baseball that would be the pissah, especially if you share your research with us.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 08 2006 09:01 AM

I'm not sure I have a good sense of that Willets. But thanks for the idea. I'm now also thinking of going in a totally different direction - looking into the side effects of statin drugs. Something near and dear to my heart, literally. But I have about three weeks left to settle upon a topic, so I'm willing to consider pretty much anything. BTW, I'm already loving this class. This instructor is really into discourse and delving into issues, and he "gets" me (which is why he's my favorite instructor - there's something truly cool about being "gotten" by someone you like and admire). I swear that I'm not fixating over grades this semester - I'm willing to enjoy the process right now.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 15 2006 08:39 AM

It looks like the string of straight As will end this semester. I'm not on the same wavelength as my Digital Libraries instructor, and the material is not engaging me. I should be able to get through the course well enough, but I'm definitely not looking at an A here.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 24 2006 10:12 AM

I think it's totally unfair that I have to do schoolwork while the Mets are heading towards the playoffs. I should be excused from all schoolwork through the end of October, IMO.

Willets Point Sep 24 2006 09:15 PM

I remember that feeling during the Red Sox postseason in 2004. I mean Fenway Park was but 1/2 a mile from my school and I had to pass all these happy people going to the games on the way to my class. How can you pay attention during all that?

TheOldMole Sep 25 2006 08:20 AM

If you were in my class, I'd let you out.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 27 2006 10:14 AM

Thanks Mole :) In the meantime, I did all of the work that I need to do for the class I like, so now I'm stuck with having to work on the other class's assignment. <pout>

ScarletKnight41 Oct 16 2006 09:05 AM

I hate my weekly assignments in my Digital Libraries class. It's hard to get motivated when the teacher hates everything that you turn in :( At least my Reference class is going well.

TheOldMole Oct 16 2006 10:20 AM

What are some of the assignments?

ScarletKnight41 Oct 16 2006 10:28 AM

It's not so much the assignments as trying to figure out what the predetermined correct answers are. In my other class, my instructor rewards it when you think outside the box. In this class, the professor rewards mind reading.

MFS62 Oct 16 2006 10:34 AM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: In this class, the professor rewards mind reading. Y'mean you can't? I can. For example, I can read your mind. You're thinking of ... Bloomingdales. Later

ScarletKnight41 Oct 16 2006 10:55 AM

I haven't thought of Bloomingdale's in years. There's none out here.

MFS62 Oct 16 2006 11:01 AM

Really? Before they built the one in White Plains, MMYF and I used to go to the one in Paramus. Guess you live at a different exit (old Joisey joke). Well then, you may substitute the store of your choice. After all, its your mind. Later

ScarletKnight41 Oct 21 2006 01:30 PM

So get this - I decide to just double check my Freakin' Rutgers account balance, even though I was all paid up at the beginning of the semester. I find out that I owe them money. How much, you might ask? 25 cents. WTF? What was so urgent that they had to charge me 25 cents now, instead of tacking it on to the spring semester bill. I put it on my MasterCard. The school adds a 2.2% "convenience fee" to credit card payments, so I'll get a charge of 26 cents on my bill. Freakin' Rutgers....

SteveJRogers Oct 21 2006 02:05 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: So get this - I decide to just double check my Freakin' Rutgers account balance, even though I was all paid up at the beginning of the semester. I find out that I owe them money. How much, you might ask? 25 cents. WTF? What was so urgent that they had to charge me 25 cents now, instead of tacking it on to the spring semester bill. I put it on my MasterCard. The school adds a 2.2% "convenience fee" to credit card payments, so I'll get a charge of 26 cents on my bill. Freakin' Rutgers.... Heh, I would have just gone right to the Burstar's office and plucked down a quarter, said a few unkind words and stormed out!

SteveJRogers Oct 21 2006 02:17 PM

Late last summer I decide to stop screwing around and go for that Masters in Journalism at Iona that I've been thinking about doing for 7 years, and I decide to take the GRE since my GPA isn't up to snuff, plus I'm taking accreditation accounting courses, so basically the process of getting in would have to be timed to start the program in Nov. of 2006. So I get all my transcripts sent last fall, and I take the GRE twice, last fall and again this spring (wasn't pleased with the Math score on the first one) and in late September I go down to Iona to check in and make sure my application items are in order and schedule an appointment with the head of the department. Then I was told there was no record of me ever applying! Essentially the person I dealt with left Iona (interestingly enough I had last spoken to her in August of 06!) and all of my documentation was dumped into a general archive and "locked" It was then suggested to restart the application process from scratch and they would be able to rescue what was lost (transcripts, GRE scores and one letter of recomendation) Well that didn't work, and I found out the hard way based on actually going down to Iona during my lunch hour at work! So I went back AGAIN with my GRE scores and transcripts from my undergrad at Fairfield (Class of 1999) and a couple of courses matriculated in SUNY Purchase and hand delierved them to the person I was now dealing with. I am SOOOOO going to enjoy telling who I need to tell at Iona why I'm not going to be taking any courses Martin Luther King Day Weekend! (Probably won't be any classes anyway, but it will be worth annoying them based on the aggravation I've gotten in the last month or so)

ScarletKnight41 Oct 21 2006 02:51 PM

SteveJRogers wrote: Heh, I would have just gone right to the Burstar's office and plucked down a quarter, said a few unkind words and stormed out! One advantage of being an online student is that I never have to deal with those people face-to-face.

seawolf17 Oct 21 2006 05:12 PM

Hey, I got a perfect score on two out of the three sections of the GRE. I'm a big ol' nerd.

TheOldMole Oct 23 2006 11:56 AM

Doing some fun stuff with my Honors English class. I've made them all choose a critical theory, study up on it, and apply it to everything we read and discuss. So far I have a bunch of feminists, a bunch of Freudians, one Marxist, one Semioticist and one myth/religion critic.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 23 2006 12:56 PM

Mole - that sounds like a great project!

TheOldMole Oct 23 2006 02:52 PM

Love your new avatar.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 23 2006 03:02 PM

Thanks. It's hard finding female Mets-related figures, but this one appealed to me :) Meanwhile, my Digital Libraries class is starting to look up a bit. We seem to be done with the weekly papers that had been causing me so much angst - the activities coming up in the second half of the class seem much more interesting and on point (and less dependent on mind-reading).

TheOldMole Oct 23 2006 06:55 PM

What will you be doing?

ScarletKnight41 Oct 23 2006 07:23 PM

We'll be evaluating some international digital libraries in class discussion and having a class debate concerning copyright law. After that, we'll be focusing on our final projects (I'm hoping to get approval to work on a digital library of one of my personal collections as a final project). I know it doesn't sound thrilling, but compared to the first half of the course it's a drastic improvement.

TheOldMole Oct 24 2006 06:42 AM

Actually, it does sound interesting. This is where library science is going, and you're among the first generations of librarians to be really grounded in it.

seawolf17 Oct 24 2006 12:36 PM

That's what my wife has found. The "old guard" in the library community is afraid to alienate the little old ladies who come in to get their large print books, but the younger, more current people coming through the ranks think much more globally.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 30 2006 06:48 PM

I've incorporated baseball into both of my class projects. In my Reference course I'm researching the decline of the Negro Leagues, and for Digital Libraries I'm planning on creating an archive of some of my old columns.

ScarletKnight41 Nov 03 2006 02:04 PM

In the spring I'm taking Metadata and Digital Library Technology.

ScarletKnight41 Nov 15 2006 04:47 PM

So things are progressing. I received approval for the Independent Study that I want to do. I'll technically be taking that in the summer, but in reality I'll start amassing my required 150 hours almost immediately. I'll be taking this in lieu of a class, which is sweet. Because I'm taking this as a summer course, by the end of the summer I will have completed 10 out of my required 12 courses. So I'm toying with the idea of taking two courses in the fall and graduating early. The only thing holding me back is that one of the Fall 2007 courses is taught by a professor whom I don't particularly like (he knows his stuff and can teach it, which I appreciate, but he's something of a control freak on creative matters, like the colors one can use on projects). But if I just decide to suck it up and deal with Professor-I-Don't-Like-Grey, I could be part of the Class of 007. It's worth pondering.

SteveJRogers Nov 15 2006 05:15 PM

First class on my road to being the next Mike Lupica (well okay, maybe pick your favorite middle of the road sports columnist, maybe I shouldn't shoot THAT HIGHT) Journalism Law and Ethics. Teacher's name is Breslin, no relation I think to the famed Jimmy Breslin. I surprised the hell out of the head of the department when I said I'd thought this was an interesting topic! Geez, its a topic thats always in the news and one that is always evolving, especially in the age of New Media. Well, its alot better than the year and change crash Accounting Certificate program I'm a couple of classes from completing! In terms of campus, less frantic tri-mester, ect. I'd recomend College of Westchester to anyone, and they are in the process of becoming a 4 year place.

SteveJRogers Nov 15 2006 09:10 PM

Just had a cold dose of "Gee in the internet age everything can be stored and come back to annoy you" For reasons I'm still not unsure about my well meaning parents thought computer programing could be usefull since I did some dabbling in web design courses and my hobby included trying to do some sort of all incompassing Met website, something along the lines of UMDB but not just on the field player centric. I may still do it one day, but thats another story. ANYHOO, in September of 1999 I entered an Intro to Computer Science grad course in Iona, with an eye to the Journalism program I'm in now. Lets just say it was akin to watching the 1994 Mets. I stunk. It was on C++ and I couldn't make heads or tails out of it. HTML basics, yeah I know that, but programming language? And when I tried to get a tutor at the help center, probably the worse tutor ever! This girl decided to show me what to do, not tell me step by step and have me learn by trial and error, actually did it and I tried to keep up. It was like showing a kid video of Tom Seaver and telling the kid "Okay, now you try" Well the class started and I pretty much was told to withdraw from the class by the time Kenny Rogers threw that ball four in Game 6! Anyway, point is, today I started what I thought was a clean slate at Iona, but there staring back at me was my record for Fall of 1999, Intro to Computer Science! Guess you never really can hide from your past! =;)

ScarletKnight41 Dec 05 2006 07:09 AM

Last night I received a cryptic message from my Digital Libraries professor. I thought that he was not happy with my final project. It turned out that he wanted to see the accompanying presentation, but he didn't go to the designated discussion thread where I had posted it. (This man makes me crazy - he's supposed to be this Digital Libraries guru, yet he can't seem to figure out eCollege. Granted, eCollege suxx, but it's not all that hard to decipher. Further, it's obvious that not only didn't he design this class, but he has barely read what has been designed.) Thus, heart attack averted - the last thing I want to do this week is start from scratch on my project (especially since I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out).

ScarletKnight41 Dec 12 2006 07:54 AM

I'm a happy camper. I just received approval to drop Digital Library Technology (taught by the teacher who has been making me nuts this semester) and take Information Seeking and Using: Understanding How Young People Use Electronic Information instead. Not only is the Info course interesting, but it's being taught by my favorite teacher in the program. It's not an easy ride - this guy makes us work, and he's not an easy grader - but he's a fabulous teacher, and I learn so much more in his classes than I do in others. I am very happy this morning :)

attgig Dec 14 2006 09:29 PM

wow there's a thread for everything around here :-) I've been working as a computer programmer since 2001, and I went back to school last fall to Biblical Theological Seminary in a suburb of philly. it's been rough, especially since I've been a computer geek all my life, and all of a sudden, I'm forced to read and write papers...how do you do that!?! anyways, almost 1/2 way through, and this fall has definitely been my roughest semester. I'm sitting here, typing away at this post, instead of reading and working on my 2 papers that I have due on saturday by midnight. go figure. anyways, I've enjoyed most of this program, with a few exceptions here and there. I've definitely been challenged in how I read scripture and how I understand culture through that lens. And I've made some really cool friends through school. but the stress is getting higher as I'm approaching the latter half of my studies. what the heck am i going to do with this education? leaving a cushy job for a low paying, thankless job? God... i hope He makes it real clear soon, cuz it's gonna take his voice to get me to do that.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 19 2006 02:04 PM

It's all over but the grading. I'm fairly certain that I have an A in Reference. Digital Libraries is a crapshoot, but I'm guessing that the likelihood is that I have a B+ there. Meanwhile, I just ordered my Metadata textbooks for the spring semester.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 21 2006 10:40 AM

Not a B+ - just a B in Digital Libraries. It just confirms to me that I made the right choice in switching out of this guy's spring course. I could not get a bead on this guy all semester, and it wasn't for lack of trying. I'm still waiting for my grade in Reference, but I'll be shocked if it's not an A. I would have had to have truly tanked on my final paper in order to kill my grade in that class.

TheOldMole Dec 21 2006 11:06 AM

Final grades due tomorrow, so I'm hunched over my computer finishing up my reading of short stories and research papers. Which is why I keep coming back here to Answer/Ask lyrics.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 21 2006 11:20 AM

How did the papers turn out? My daughter and I were intrigued by the concept that your students approached things from specific perspectives throughout the term. That must have led to some fascinating class discussions.

seawolf17 Dec 21 2006 12:10 PM

Incredibly, not a single student mentions your patrician baritone on your ratemyprofessors.com page.

TheOldMole Dec 21 2006 12:12 PM

I never dare to look at it.

TheOldMole Dec 22 2006 11:44 AM

Grades turned in. As usual, I was easy grader-chump of the year.

DocTee Dec 22 2006 11:53 AM

I outchump you Old Mole: only 8 (of 140) Fail my classes this term.

ScarletKnight41 Jan 13 2007 07:19 AM

The new semester starts Tuesday. I'll be taking Metadata; Information Seeking and Using: How Young People Use Electronic Media; and I'll continue to work on my independent study project. It'll be busy, but the end is near. Once I finish this work, I'll be one summer course, one fall course and a couple of colloquia away from graduation. By this time next year I'll have my degree :)

ScarletKnight41 Jan 18 2007 02:38 PM

My Metadata teacher is ill. Nobody is telling us exactly what's up with her. Depending upon who is talking at the class, she will be out somewhere between "a week or two" and "several weeks." In the meantime, the class is being babysat by two professors, one of whom is the jerk I had for Digital Libraries last semester. I'm not a happy camper at the moment.

cooby Jan 18 2007 03:53 PM

lol, you can't get away from that guy...

ScarletKnight41 Jan 18 2007 04:03 PM

Apparently not :(

ScarletKnight41 Jan 19 2007 02:45 PM

The guesstimate on "several weeks" is four. This is going to be a choppy semester. I decided to buckle down and complete my Field Study this semester. It won't mean much more substantive work than I currently have at the moment, and I'll get my administrative stuff for the internship out of the way substantially earlier.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 01 2007 12:27 PM

It's been a rough semester so far, which is quite a trick when you're only 2 weeks into the semester. "Several weeks" to "Four weeks" has become "She ain't teaching this semester." Up until this morning the class had been a total disaster, but we finally have a new professor assigned to the class. She is an expert in the field, and she seems to have a handle on teaching complex material to a class. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the course will ultimately work out. Otherwise, things are fine. The other course is going well, and the field study is progressing nicely. I'm still on track to graduate in December, and keeping my eye on that prize makes me happy.

cooby Feb 01 2007 03:27 PM

I told you if you sent that chain email to 10 friends that something good would happen

ScarletKnight41 Feb 10 2007 09:50 AM

A week into the new professor, and I do think that I'll get through Metadata after all. At least I'm not feeling totally lost, as I had been when the subs were in charge. (Thread Police - my hope and plan is to keep this thread active until I'm done with school in December. After that feel free to relegate it to the archives, but it's helpful for me to find the school stuff in one place and have a record of this odyssey.)

TheOldMole Feb 11 2007 06:44 AM

Scarlet -- I always read it. Even though I am officially up to my ears in papers now.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 11 2007 07:56 AM

Thanks Mole. And best of luck with those papers!

ScarletKnight41 Feb 15 2007 05:59 PM

The new Metadata teacher must be good. I'm working on XML encoding, and I'm nowhere near being in tears!

cooby Feb 18 2007 05:31 PM

Why is it that I think nothing of eating leftover scraps off of my son's plate, but wouldn't dream of eating off of my daughter or husband's plate?

TheOldMole Feb 20 2007 06:36 AM

No one could explain that.

MFS62 Feb 20 2007 07:04 AM

I just went back to school. I completed my course at the Institute of Technology and Business Development of Central Connecticut State University last week. As a result I am certified in Six Sigma Quality Project Management. And, another result will be my rooting for Central to make the NCAA tourney. Later

TheOldMole Feb 20 2007 07:16 AM

I tried a new exercise in my creative writing class last night, and it worked pretty well. I passed out strips of paper to all my students, and had each of them write a simile -- whatever came into their heads. Then I had them read out their similes, and discuss how they worked -- what the second part of the simile told us about the first part. Pretty standard exercise. "Her lips were like orchid petals" -- her lips were soft, moist, warm, rare, valuable, etc. -- even bluish in color. Then I collected all the slips of paper, tore them in half, shuffled them around, retaped them together, read the similes created that way, and discussed what these new similes told us. "Her lips were like a chew toy for men." That makes the lips different, doesn't it? What do we picture now? Chapped -- maybe rough and reddened from too much passionate, violent kissing -- and apparently with more than one man. "Her unshaven legs were like a desert cactus" became "Her unshaven legs were like burning embers." So rough you could strike a match on them? Capable of exciting passion even though unshaven? My point...you don't have to worry about making connections too obvious. The human mind is a connection-making machine -- it's wired to look for connections between things. You can take chances, try for the unexpected, try for effects you may not even understand yourself. As Richard Hugo says in his great book, The Triggering Town, "when you are writing you must assume that the next thing you put down belongs not for reasons of logic, good sense, or narrative development, but because you put it there. You, the same person who said that, also said this. The adhesive force is your way of writing, not sensible connection."

ScarletKnight41 Feb 20 2007 07:35 AM

Mole - I wish I could have you as a teacher. That sounds like an amazing exercise!

Rockin' Doc Feb 20 2007 11:25 AM

Mole has to be a great teacher. He (re)taught me what a simile is. If you can get grammar, punctuation, and English so that I can understand it, you have to be good. Of course, I'm still working on how a simile is different from a metaphor. I haven't given up on that iambic pentameter stuff yet, but it is much harder for me to get a handle on than was a simile.

TheOldMole Feb 20 2007 05:56 PM

Simile says in so many words that something is like something else. As in Bernard Malamud's 'The Assistant' -- "her ass was like a flower." There's no confusion -- this is like that. Metaphor makes a statement that is not in fact true, but makes you think about the thing you're metaphoring about differently. "Her ass was like a flower" is not necessarily untrue -- her may well be like a flower, even though it's not really a flower. But when Shakespeare says "All the world's a stage," we know that's not true. The world is actually not a stage -- a stage is this thing made of wood, with a curtain in front of it." But we don't say, 'Hey, you're lying," because we know he doesn't mean it literally. He means that the way MacBeth is feeling just then, nothing seems real to him. When Shelley says "I fall upon the thorns of life," we know he's not telling the truth. Life doesn't have literal thorns, so he can't possibly be falling on them. But we know what he means. Life is full of really dangerous shit. And that, too, is a metaphor -- shit isn't literally dangerous, and life isn't literally full of it. So - in a simile the guy goes out of his way to tell you that he doesn't mean for you to take him literally -- he's very deliberately not saying that her ass is a flower. With a metaphor, you're on your own. It's up to you to decide that the guy isn't telling the literal truth, and it's up to you to figure out what he means -- what does the world have to do with a stage, what do thorns or shit have to do with life.

metsmarathon Feb 20 2007 08:41 PM

oh, no, shit really is dangerous. it is composed mostly of water and bacteria and stuff. if you handle it, you can become terribly ill, as a result of the bacteria, and if you step on it, you can slip, and bump your head, 'cos of the water and stuff. its no joking matter. whenever i see shit, i steer clear.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 21 2007 01:05 PM

It looks like I may be done with this course of study more quickly than I envisioned. This summer I'll be able to take one face-to-face class (Social Software Literacy, which will include things like Podcasts, RSS, etc.) as well as one online elective (to be determined - possibly Fairy Tales as Literature). After that, the only thing left for me will be colloquia in the fall. What this means is that I should be in a position to look for work in the fall, and to be working as a librarian just over two years after entering school. I'm psyched. A little scared about the summer workload, but psyched nonetheless :)

TheOldMole Feb 21 2007 01:13 PM

If you take Fairy Tales as Literature, I have a friend who's a real authority in the field.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 21 2007 01:18 PM

Very cool - shall I assume that your friend teaches the material?

cooby Feb 21 2007 03:03 PM

Now Scarlet, t hat's good news! Got any job leads?

ScarletKnight41 Feb 21 2007 03:19 PM

Actually, a couple. In the fall, I'll be able to pursue them.

cooby Feb 21 2007 04:26 PM

Don't be nervous; you'll be ready. And there's always Brodart, lol...

ScarletKnight41 Feb 21 2007 04:45 PM

I'm not nervous. I'm more than ready. And I don't need Brodart ;)

cooby Feb 21 2007 06:51 PM

Aw, come on, who doesn't dream of 60 hour work weeks? ("and if you don't have your 60 hours in by Friday night, you are welcome to come in on Saturday....")

TheOldMole Feb 21 2007 06:58 PM

Yes, and he's written extensively on the subject -- and he's a very nice man. Boria Sax. http://www.boriasax.com/

TheOldMole Feb 21 2007 07:01 PM

Metsmarathon -- actually, you've done a much better job of defining a metaphor than I did. "Dangerous shit" asks us to look at shit differently, and to look at danger differently. To see both the dangerous aspects of shit, and the shitlike aspects of danger. And if you bring in a third element -- "Being stationed in Basra is dangerous shit" -- it applies all of the above to that third element.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 21 2007 07:46 PM

TheOldMole wrote: Yes, and he's written extensively on the subject -- and he's a very nice man. Boria Sax. http://www.boriasax.com/ Thanks Mole - I'll check him out :)

Rockin' Doc Feb 21 2007 08:50 PM

Since I'm trying to expand my horizons a little bit through this thread I want to know where an analogy fits in with similes and metaphors. Cool, I just became Tug.

TheOldMole Feb 22 2007 06:54 AM

as near as I can figure out, an analogy is a comparison between two things that you'd use for more practical explanations -- using something the reader knows about to help explain something he doesn't know about. Here's one explanation I found: Analogies are things or stories that partially resemble each other, and successful use of analogy helps you explain things by comparing them closely with things your audience already knows about. Let's suppose that you want to explain the quail's egg you ate at a Chinese restaurant. If you tell your friend that the quail's egg was about 1/3 the size of a hen's egg, and that it was a bit "moldy-tasting," you will have used two analogies to explain the quail's egg. You used a hen's eggs as an analogy for size, and you used mold as an analogy for the taste. "All the world's a stage" or "sleeping with your best friend's wife is dangerous shit" involve a comparison between two things that the reader knows about, but you want him to see them in a new light.

Rockin' Doc Feb 22 2007 11:05 AM

Thanks mole, that's pretty much what I thought an analogy was. I use them a great deal when explaining things to patients. I try to use an example of a situation or scenario that they are comfortable with, in order help them better understand their medical condition. I guess I try to take some of the mystery out of medical diagnosis so that they can better understand and be more comfortable with their given condition.

TheOldMole Feb 22 2007 05:15 PM

And a metaphor is more likely to be used to put the mystery back in.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 23 2007 02:17 PM

It looks like I won't be taking Fairy Tales as Literature after all. There's a course in Art Librarianship that I can take on campus, and that doesn't overlap with the Social Software Literacy course. It looks like I'll be giving up the online study for my last couple of courses.

ScarletKnight41 Mar 06 2007 08:46 AM

I'm set with the summer courses. Art Librarianship for the first summer semester, and Social Software Literacy for the second one, both on campus. The next several months are going to be crazy busy, but it'll be worth it. You know how Ph.D. candidates who have done everything but their dissertations are called ABDs? Well, since all I'll have in the fall will be colloquia, in mid-August I'll be an ABC :)

ScarletKnight41 Mar 13 2007 02:24 PM

Now that the Metadata class is almost on track, the teacher is off to Sweden for a week, leaving us with a bunch of unanswered questions and in the hands of yet another substitute. I keep shaking my head and laughing - there is always something new going on with this class! On the brighter side, my Art Librarianship teacher initially thought that he'd have to change the class schedule, which likely would have meant that I wouldn't have been able to take the course. But the course schedule is back to what it had been, so the house of cards that is my schedule is still standing.

TheOldMole Mar 13 2007 05:29 PM

This is data about the Mets, right?

ScarletKnight41 Mar 13 2007 05:58 PM

[url=http://www.loc.gov/standards/mets/]METS[/url] is actually one of the Metadata languages that we're studying this term.

cooby Jun 04 2007 07:46 AM

My son will be graduating from HS tomorrow night (thank god). Today is supposed to be his Senior Picnic but I think Mr Barry might have something to say about that

Willets Point Jun 04 2007 08:33 AM

Mr. Barry?

cooby Jun 04 2007 08:57 AM

That's Mr. Tropical Storm Barry to you. I just hope he's gone by tomorrow night...

Willets Point Jun 04 2007 09:02 AM

Oh, so that's why we're having such shitty weather.

MFS62 Jun 04 2007 09:07 AM

We'd be Lyons if we didn't think Barry might be a problem. Hope it clears up, Cooby. Later

Rockin' Doc Jun 04 2007 11:02 AM

Congratulations to junior cooby. My son graduates Saturday morning.

sharpie Jun 04 2007 12:08 PM

NYC kids graduate later than anyone else, don't know why. My daughter graduates HS on June 26.

cooby Jun 04 2007 04:13 PM

Beautiful out now, lets hope it holds :) Congratulations to all our seniors!

cooby Jun 04 2007 08:29 PM

Just performed my last official duty as a school kid's mom--I ironed my son's gown. Actually it was about a half hour ago, but it took me this long to get logged in.

Edgy DC Jun 04 2007 08:34 PM

I've been having log problems also.

Batty31 Jun 04 2007 08:34 PM

Congrats to your son, cooby!

cooby Jun 06 2007 06:54 AM

Beautiful night, didn't rain, nice ceremony, my son of course was the handsomest boy in the class, etc etc.

Batty31 Jun 06 2007 10:33 AM

I'm sure he was, cooby. ;) So what are his plans now that he's graduated?

cooby Jun 06 2007 01:28 PM

Well, so far today, he watched TV while his girlfriend cleaned his room.... Actually he's going to go on to college this fall, Lock Haven University. This summer he'll take a little trip to the beach and hopefully get a part time job again. His sister woke him up in alarm this morning because she saw on the LHU website that he was supposed to have his course schedule done by now but he thinks he did it. Sigh. I think I have traded in the tension of his making it through 12th grade for the tension of hoping he makes it to college. If not, I've got a nice college fund to spend on myself and Mr. cooby somehow... My parents assure me he is a typical teenage boy.

Johnny Dickshot Jun 06 2007 01:33 PM

Congrats to Coobers and Sharpies young and younger.

cooby Jun 06 2007 01:38 PM

Thanks :)

sharpie Jun 06 2007 01:43 PM

That goes for me too. Today is "Senior Cut Day." That didn't happen in my time. She spends the day at the beach.

Batty31 Jun 06 2007 07:59 PM

cooby wrote: Well, so far today, he watched TV while his girlfriend cleaned his room.... Actually he's going to go on to college this fall, Lock Haven University. This summer he'll take a little trip to the beach and hopefully get a part time job again. His sister woke him up in alarm this morning because she saw on the LHU website that he was supposed to have his course schedule done by now but he thinks he did it. Sigh. I think I have traded in the tension of his making it through 12th grade for the tension of hoping he makes it to college. If not, I've got a nice college fund to spend on myself and Mr. cooby somehow... My parents assure me he is a typical teenage boy. He thinks??? Good grief!!! I sure hope so!! Congrats to you, too, sharpie.

cooby Jun 06 2007 08:20 PM

I hope so too, and if he really didn't, his sister, who is a teacher, will rip him a new one, I know.

Willets Point Jun 06 2007 08:50 PM

How do you feel about potentially being the mother of multiple-anus boy?

cooby Jun 06 2007 09:08 PM

Should make buying him new underpants mighty tricky

cooby Jun 06 2007 09:13 PM

By the way, I should have said: His sister, who is a teacher and a Leo, will rip him a new one.

sharpie Jun 27 2007 10:22 AM

My daughter graduated from high school yesterday. Ceremony was at the Ethical Culture Society. Afterward, we all went to Tavern on the Green. Her school has only 100 in the graudating class but the ceremony went on for over two hours. One of the kid speakers talked about how unhappy she has been. A Ukranian teacher spoke and I could barely understand anything she said. Otherwise, it was a fine ceremony.

cooby Jun 27 2007 11:56 AM

sharpie wrote: . One of the kid speakers talked about how unhappy she has been. . Wow, inspiring

sharpie Jun 27 2007 12:12 PM

Yeah, it was pretty weird and was the talk of the event.

Rockin' Doc Aug 19 2007 01:23 PM

Moved our son into his dorm room and CN State yesterday afternoon. The move went pretty smoothly as the each parent had assigned parking dependant upon the dorm their child was staying in. Then upperclassmen, working as volunteers, met our car with a flat bed golf cart for us to load all his things on. They then transoprted our son and their belongings (we had to walk) to the front entrance of their dorm. The volunteers then unloaded his stuff at the entrance to the dorm while he registered and signed for his room keys. They had hnad carts and bottled water available for us to use while moving in. All in all, the school really seemed to have their act together which made the move rather quick and easy. Now, hopefully things will go as smoothly with his classes.

cooby Aug 19 2007 04:45 PM

Sounds like they know how to welcome their new students! How far is he from home? My guess is that Mrs. Doc has spent the weekend in tears

Rockin' Doc Aug 19 2007 05:48 PM

North Carolina State campus is roughly 50 miles by interstate. Much to my surprise, Mrs. Doc shed no tears during the goodbyes. She got a little choked up, but she didn't cry. Little Dockette gave her big brother a hug, then quickly got back in the car before she could get too upset. I walked him back to the dorm and had a brief father-son talk with him. I told him that his future starts now and that I had faith in him that if he gave it his best effort he could accomplish great things. I told him to work hard, but have fun. I told him to be true to himself and his faith. I told him that I was proud of him, gave him a hug and told him that I loved him. I watched him disappear into his dorm, then I turned and walked back to the car for the drive home. It went much better than I imagined it would and the Mrs. handled it far better than I thought she might. When does your son head off to college? Or has he already left?

cooby Aug 19 2007 06:55 PM

Dropping my daughter off at Penn State, just 30 miles away, was one of the toughest days of my life. And she came home every weekend! My son, though also accepted at PSU, opted to go to college here in Lock Haven, at least at first, and I am happy to report that for at least a while, he will be living at home. He's saving us thousands of dollars that way and I get to have him around a little longer! I don't think he'll be here long, but I'm cherishing the time while I can. Sounds like you had a nice sendoff with your son, Doc; I am sure he will treasure it forever.