View from here

It was a pretty day:

From Spring2009

Went to the beach...

... and so did everyone else:

At first, I was irritated by the sheer number of people. However, since I can walk to the beach from my apartment in a mere twenty minutes, I decided to allow them to share my beach for today.

Counting down...

... one week to Spring Break! And I need it. My computer at work is not functioning, the pile of grading is growing ever larger, and the students have that look of "please, let me go to the beach." Mmm... beach...

Extra extra!

Even if the word "extra" is part of the title, it does not mean the assignment is "extra credit."

Really...

...this stuff exists out there.

Sand dunes on Mars:

Saturn at its edge:

Motivation

I saw part of an interview with Pat Summitt where she mentioned that the current generation of student athletes seem to be less motivated than her previous players. And her players should be among the most motivated of any college student athlete anywhere. This ties in with a recent discussion amongst the faculty that most of the students who are performing below average are doing so because they simply aren't doing the work. Lab reports? Apparently optional. Regularly turning in homework, if at all? Just busywork. Turning in a paper worth ten percent of the grade? Nah.

Speaking of student athletes, my school's basketball team made it to the State Quarterfinals, their best season ever. Nine out of the thirteen players on the roster have taken astronomy with me.

I do not assign any work that isn't useful. Do I assign a lot of physics homework? Yeah, and if the students do it, they tend to do very well on exams. Do I make my astronomy and physics students write short papers? Yes, I do, because synthesizing and articulating scientific ideas are crucial instructional objectives. I even tell them why I give them the different assignments. I make each assignment worth a decent chunk of their grade in the course, so it is worth their time to do the assignments. Motivation has always come from within for me. I'm most competitive with myself. So I find myself wondering how to motivate students to do work they just don't want to do?

Teaching moments

A few weeks ago, I had to deal with something that had yet to confront me as a teacher - one of my students committed suicide. I was informed by the college administration, and the campus mental health director offered to come speak to my class. It is a lecture class, but I have my students do group work, so several of the students who had worked with this student were quite upset. It was a rough time, but I'm glad the counselor came and talked to the class. At least one student from that class has gone to seek mental health counseling since, so some good came from it.

I'd also like to say that I would never have suspected this student to have been in trouble from his demeanor in class. You know how after every Virginia Tech-type tragedy there is the outcry to somehow identify troubled students? If I had been asked to provide a watch list, he would never have been on it. He was outgoing, participated everyday, had made friends... the class was stunned to find out what had happened. His family and friends have my sympathies.

---

On a lighter note, I used Saturn's annoying tendency to gain more moons as a way to talk about how technology enables more discoveries, how the moon is small because otherwise we'd have seen it before, and how silly it is to memorize facts (how many moons Saturn has) as opposed to understanding processes (most moons are small, captured objects, etc...). Having such an example of a fact that changed since the last class seemed to have an impact.

Saturn 61, Dr. Lisa 0

Before class, Saturn only had 60 moons. Get back to my computer, and now Saturn has 61 moons. Yes, this was directly relevant to the material covered today. No, I don't make my students memorize these sorts of numbers as the universe would simply mock them anyways!

A simple request

Please, let this week be better than last week.

Assessment

This article about student expectations in the NYT combined with my observations of students taking tests today spur me to mention the following:

• Students now expect tests to be open-book/open-note. They seem to think that's the default mode, so that on the day of the test they are surprised that they can't use their notes. When did the default mode change? Should I start calling my tests "closed notes" to prevent this?
• I always tell my students how many questions and what type of questions (multiple choice, problems, essay, etc...) will be on each test. I announce it the week before the test, immediately before handing out the test, and keep the format the same throughout the semester. That withstanding, students still fail to complete the last questions if they are printed on the back side of the last page. I find this odd. Not only have they not completed the stated number of questions, but why NOT flip the page when all of the other pages have been double-sided? Shouldn't they look on the back just to make sure? I now try to remember to announce that questions are printed on the back (when they are), but I forgot in one of my sections today and had to send about 30% of the students back to their desks to finish the test.
• Because of the aforementioned difficulties on the last pages of tests, I have the students turn in the tests face-down. In a couple of cases, when I pointed out that the page was blank, the students told me that they didn't answer the questions because they missed the appropriate days of class. In fact one student, in an almost accusatory tone, responded, "You know I wasn't in class that day." And that excuses the students from learning the material how? I even post my course notes on the website!

Sometimes I feel like I work harder on these tests than they do!

Just thinkin'

Two days a week, as I leave the room in which I teach astronomy, a group of students start trickling in for the next class. It's a math course, but when I asked the students what course it was, the various responses included "Math for Dummies", "Special Ed Math", and "At least it's better than being in Iraq." The students range in age from fresh out of high school to a woman who must at least be in her sixties. From the level of activity before their class starts, it is like taking a step back into high school, into one of the rowdy classrooms full of students who can't settle down after a sugar- and gossip-filled lunch break. Turns out the class has the following description:

Fundamentals of Mathematics serves as an introduction to fundamental concepts of arithmetic. This course covers the arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and exponentiation on whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percents; ratios and proportions, an introduction to the different systems of measurement, and applications of these topics. This course is intended for preparation for Prealgebra.

No college credit is given for this course. Nor for the course that is next in the sequence. These students are enrolled in the most remedial math course that is offered at the school. I can't stop thinking about how I would approach teaching this course. I can tell that they don't want to be there... either they hate math or can't do math or hate that they can't do math. I can see embarrassment on some faces. But all of them have some goal that brings them there, some certificate or degree program. Wouldn't it be more embarrassing to allow oneself to be impeded? Isn't it empowering to address one's deficiencies? Shouldn't the students be proud of themselves? How can a more positive attitude be instilled in the students ? It's giving me plenty to think about.

Nineteen years

Today marks the nineteenth anniversary of my first date with Greg. That means I've been with him for half of my life. Whoa! I'm grateful for the years of fun, friendship, and cuddling and am looking forward to more.

Beauty

There is such wondrous beauty in the universe, is there not? Galaxy NGC 4921 and seemingly countless members of the Coma Cluster of galaxies, from Hubble:

That's just how it is

I noted that the Super Bowl pre-game show started FIVE hours before the game itself. I decided to wait to turn on the TV til about an hour before the game, and what did I see? A live interview with President Obama as part of the pre-game show. This demonstrates the kind of audience that the game typically gets - huge! The commissioners of the other professional leagues must wonder how they can make their playoffs this exciting. Simple answer - fewer games! Nothing is better than a one and done playoff.

Who to pick for this game? My first Super Bowl memory is the Steelers vs the Cowboys in 1970s. I was for the Steelers then because, really, who likes the Cowboys? The Steelers' ownership spawned the Rooney Rule, an action that cannot be downplayed. Also, the Steelers' uniforms have always appealed to me. Normally they'd be my pick, but they're playing the Cardinals. The Cardinals used to play about a five minute walk from my grad student office. They've been terrible for years, but somehow they've ended up in the Super Bowl this year. I'm not a Kurt Warner fan, but Larry Fitzgerald's play has won me over. (Cute, too, gotta say.) Alright, I'm cheering for the Cardinals.

Aiming high?

Overheard while walking across campus: I took 17 units last semester, and I only failed one class!

The view from here

Now that the weather around the country has more or less gotten back to normal, I feel less guilty about posting this image of my neighborhood that I took last weekend:

From Jan 2009

Those islands are in Mexico, by the way.

Pigs are flyin'

Hell has frozen over. The end is nigh... The Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl.



(photo from CNNSI)

Review of Books - 2008

Due to sudoku and Battlestar Galactica obsessions, I only read thirty books in 2008. The quality of the books was good, I'm happy to report.

In terms of non-fiction, two books stand out:

• Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan - This book makes me want to grow all my food. Fascinating insight into the food industry and how much corn we eat with every bite.
  
  
• The Varieties of Scientific Experience - Carl Sagan - This is a collection of lectures that Sagan gave on natural theology, to understand god without invoking the miraculous. A wonderful book, reminding me of all the reasons why astronomers were snapping up these Sagan posters at AAS last week.

  

  The generation of astronomers who belittled Sagan as a "popularizer" is being replaced by those of us astronomers who exist because of him. He is still so missed.

Two of my favorite books of the year are debut novels by good folks I'm happy to know:

• The Magic Thief - Sarah Prineas - Aimed at middle-grade readers, this story is engaging and fun. A warning, though - do not read while hungry, or you'll end up making the biscuit recipe in the back of the book, just like I did. Yum!
  
  
• Superpowers - David Schwartz - College kids develop superpowers and deal with the consequences. This book manages to be both fun and poignant.

I have a few more books to recommend:

• Life As We Knew It - Susan Beth Pfeffer - This book is aimed at a YA audience, and it's all about the end of the world. I appreciated that the author managed to pull off a satisfying ending, well within the scope of the protagonist.

• The Necessary Beggar and Shelter - Susan Palwick - These two unrelated books are engaging and possess deep emotional power. The first is more magical, the second is more science fictional... they've both helped Palwick become a must-read author for me. More books, please!
  
  
• The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves - M.T. Anderson - The language of this book is so luxurious I just wanna roll around naked in it. Not an appropriate response to what is supposedly a YA book, I know, but the word-for-word prose is just stunning. Anderson has crafted an amazing look at the plight of slaves during the Revolutionary War, and there is as much, if not more, there for adults to read, just like all of Anderson's books.

Happy reading in 2009! (Doh, new BSG is on in two hours!)

Space Stuff

I very much enjoyed my time at the AAS meeting last week. I used up my social quota for the year, having conversations with: Judit, Benjamin, David, Victor, Carl, Greg, Ravi, Russell, Seth, Mike, Robert, Ryan, Eli, Steve, Sumner, Rogier, Hwi, Amber, Beatrice, Hu, Paul, Rolf, Matt, Melissa, Joe, Violet, Fred, Eric, Anthony, Jason, other Lisa, other Steve, Scott, Tyler, Kristin, Kaz, Nimish, other folks at the education workshop, among others. Besides hanging out with folks, other highlights included:

• An excellent teaching workshop
• A great talk on the intersection of astronomy with art, history, and literature
• An introduction to WorldWide Telescope, currently just a Windows app.
• A poster on eclipsing binaries that don't eclipse anymore, which makes me wonder how many other objects that we've cataloged as one type have changed over time.
• Concept phase posters for a proposed new telescope that, if it gets the go-ahead, could be as revelatory as Hubble

All in all, not a bad way to start the year!

Interaction

I spent the past two days in an intensive workshop about training teachers. It was a fascinating way to look at our own methods of instruction in our classes. I got a lot out of the experience and enjoyed collaborating with new folks. Now, though, the real conference begins. The Winter meeting of the American Astronomical Society kicked off tonight, and there is a lot on the schedule this week. Given that the meeting is in Long Beach, I'm not so much tempted to play hooky. ;)

RIP Senator Pell

Retired Senator Claiborne Pell died yesterday. I just wanted to pay my respects to this man, who helped me and so many others go to college. My students are usually surprised to hear that I worked my way through college, with help from scholarships, loans, and grants, such as Pell grants. I think students expect their professors to have had it easier than they do. Senator Pell made it easier for a lot of us.

International Year of Astronomy

The International Astronomical Union and UNESCO have designated 2009 to be the International Year of Astronomy. You can find out information about projects celebrating astronomy at the official IYA website: http://www.astronomy2009.org. For those of you who enjoy podcasts, check out the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast, which you can subscribe to via iTunes or RSS feed. If you're feeling social, here are the Facebook group and Twitter feed.

Although every year is a Year of Astronomy for me, I'm trying to think of an event or two that I might get approved for my campus. But most importantly for all of you, take some time in 2009 to look up at the sky and appreciate the universe.

Happy New Year

I hope 2009 will bring you much beauty and joy.

from Hubble

Nice day

My Christmas consisted of yummy meals, lots of books, cozy socks and more. I hope y'all had as nice a day as I did!

Christmas Eve

Fresh-baked cinnamon rolls, rainy weather, an apartment festooned with lights, presents under the tree... I'm ready for Christmas morning.

May you all enjoy the holiday season!

- from Hubble

38

Today is my birthday, number 38. As Greg has noted, I've now known him for half of my life. He gave me a good birthday - made me breakfast, took me to bookstores to buy birthday presents, walked along the ocean with me, took me out to dinner. Afterwards, I opened my wonderful gifts. (I waited til 8 pm this year; that might be a record!) Now I'm about to indulge in birthday cake (with chocolate-amaretto frosting. Mmm....) Thanks to Greg and to all of you for making this a great birthday!

The Soup Master

Chicken noodle soup

Beef Noodle soup

Frankensoup

Navy Bean and Ham Soup

Irish Lamb Stew...

There's been a lot of cooking going on around here by my very talented Soup Master Greg. It's been wonderful. Although I love cooking, it's been nice to have so many meals ready for me to eat during the rushed end of the semester. I'm glad to be the beneficiary. Tonight's chicken noodle soup was especially good; I'm getting over a cold and if ever there was a healing batch of soup, this was it. Mmm... thanks, dude!

Quick Note

If you feel compelled to email me, asking "Did I pass your class?", you should not be surprised when the answer is "no."

Lights

I really don't like Las Vegas. The insulting amount of lights, the men on the streets clicking little "escort service" cards as you walk by, the smoke-filled casinos, the disconnect of walking from Egypt to Medieval Europe with country western music blaring in the background, the $4 sodas for those of us who don't walk around with yards of margaritas or two beers at 10am... it's all so repugnant. So why did we go there this weekend? Because I wanted to see Nine Inch Nails again and Greg was nice enough to accompany me. I knew the seats would be decent, but I didn't realize we were in the third row, just left of center. The third row. Unbelievable. I only got to see two shows on this tour (which was outstanding - Wired did a good article here), and as there are hints that the next round of shows may be the last, I'll be desperately trying to best third row seats next year.

One thousand and seventy

I drove up to Sacramento on Friday and back today. That's 1000 miles total. The long drives were worth it to spend my mother's 70th birthday with her. My sister, brother, nieces, and I conspired and came up with 70 little gifts for Mom, and she didn't know I was coming for the weekend. We managed to pull off the surprise, and we all had a good time. I was thinking of how long it's been since I'd gone home for Mom's birthday, and I'm embarrassed by the large number I came up with. Now that I live closer to home, I need to get up there more often.

My youthful memories of the cold and damp winter of Sacramento are quite accurate. I'm glad to be home, where enjoyed Greg's homemade ham and navy bean soup, which was spectacular. I hope y'all had a good weekend!

Rest easy now?

The semester has been going fairly smoothly. I never got behind on grading. My prep work has been getting done in a timely fashion. In fact, I'm even a bit ahead; I might not have any work that absolutely needs to be done over Thanksgiving Break. Great, right?

No. It's been making me insane. I've been living with a low level of background terror that I've forgotten something important. I've taken on extra responsibility at work, so there is no way I should be on top of things at this point in the semester. What am I forgetting?

Then I figured it out: I only have one job. You see, ever since the last year of my Ph.D. program, I've been working two jobs - full-time at the community college and part-time at the university. Even when we moved to San Diego last year, I was still coordinating six TAs, 16 lab sections, and almost 400 students at the university from afar. That stopped this semester. For the first time since 1999, I only have one job, but I've been working at the same pace as usual.

I can sleep easier now, methinks.

Variations on a theme

As Greg has pointed out, we voted against Proposition 8, but we didn't do anything else. We both feel guilty about not donating, but frankly, in the current economic reality, we were constrained. We donated to Obama's campaign and nothing else. I still think it was the right thing to do, if we had to pick just one. I just wish we'd had more money to spread around. For the immediate future, though, efforts to repeal Prop 8 will be a priority for us.

If you're curious about who donated for or against Prop 8, the SFgate website has a good searchable database: http://www.sfgate.com/webdb/prop8/
Bring up various states, then bring up Utah. There's an interesting tale there. I also, naively, didn't realize that you could contribute donations to a proposition in a state other than the one in which you live. If foreigners are prohibited from donating to presidential races, why can someone from Arkansas donate to an issue affecting another state? (If you'll look at the Arkansas data, you'll know why, among other reasons, we don't go to Wal-mart!)

And there is another reason why I'm choosing Arkansas. I've mentioned before that the people of Arkansas passed an initiative (Act No. 1) which bans people who are co-habitating outside of a valid marriage from fostering or adopting children. This law isn't getting nearly enough attention, so I will note Dan Savage's column in the NYT today. This law has the potential to be much more dangerous than Prop 8, because it sets a precedent that disallows unmarried couples (gay or straight) from having children. Greg and I couldn't adopt there... what if I needed to take in my great-nephew in the case something happened to my niece? We'd be prohibited. But more ominous, what if you've already adopted or fostered a child? Is this the first step in taking children away from gay couples? A horrible, horrible precedent and one that should be discussed, feared, and reviled. As I've always thought, there is nothing more anti-family than the "pro-family" movement, nothing more without values than the "values voters".

I spent sometime today talking to a student of mine who took a few weeks off school to canvas for Obama in Nevada. (And yes, I'd have been fine with it if he were campaigning for McCain.) He spoke to me of experiencing racism... having seen swastikas and the n-word painted on their campaign office, seeing Confederate flags flown in their faces, watching white volunteers being treated differently than African-american volunteers. As a young white male, this was an important lesson for him to learn: the playing field is not level, racism still exists, thrives even in parts of the country. He'll never forget this. He'll also never forget the times where he felt he made a difference, the voter here and there whose vote swung or at least teetered because of his words. He also spoke of being down with how the canvasing was going, but being inspired by an Obama visit. Michelle Obama, to be clear. He said she was absolutely inspiring. So we'll take the lesson here: bigotry still exists, but hope will prevail.

Graphic Views

The L.A. Times has done a great job breaking down the demographics of the election in California. Once again, I am reminded of why how much I love the Central and Northern coast of California.

And this illustration makes me tear up every time I look at it. Via Greg:

Roller coaster ride

I am so upset that bigotry was made constitutional in California. My much beloved Kirsten has expressed the argument against this hateful proposition so eloquently that I'll let her words stand for my own. Just let me get this on the record: if you voted in favor of this proposition or any other banning gay marriage, it is my sincerest wish that you are forever prevented from being with the one you love. Since you think it's fair for you to cast judgment and place limits upon someone else's relationship, I get to do so, too, right? Also, to the people of Arkansas who passed an initiative making unmarried couples unable to adopt children, you have convinced me to never go to your state for any reason if this law goes into effect.

Tuesdays are my long workdays. They start at 8am and end at 10pm. Greg and I arrived at our polling place about 15 minutes before it opened, so we could vote before I had to go to work. Because of the hectic nature of my Tuesdays, I couldn't keep up very easily with the election coverage and as I went into my night-time astronomy lecture the results of the election were just starting to come in. My students were nervous and excited, hoping for change and for tolerance. Around 8 pm, I could see all of my students get distracted as their phones started buzzing with the news that the presidential election had been called. I even picked up my phone and had students say hello to Kirsten who was at an election party. I let class out soon afterward. The students went out into the night overall pleased with the new president-elect and they wanted to see the results of the ballot propositions. As I could tell from discussions I heard today, the students have been on the same roller coaster ride as I've been on, as so many of my friends have been on. How can an election make us so happy and so sad at the same time?

One more comment about the election: the youngsters were really interested this time around. This is the third presidential election while I've been a full-time college instructor and I had never seen this level of interest or inspiration. For example, one of my students has been absent for the past two and a half weeks. Why? He's been in Nevada, on the ground for the Obama campaign. He'd been just spending weekends there, but wanted to give his all to get his candidate elected. And last night we saw the results of his youthful enthusiasm. Even in the bitter news of the propositions, the light of youth shines in the demographic breakdown of the vote. The change we sought last night is not complete, but rather has only just begun.

Balancing Act

In blatant compensation for my election- and semester-related anxieties, I found myself doing a month's worth of grocery shopping this morning. I always feel secure with a well-stocked pantry. I was overwhelmed with the need to cook. With Greg's help, I managed to turn last weekend's apple pickings into apple pie filling. Now four individual serving pies are sending a lovely homey aroma through the apartment. I also made chicken and spinach enchiladas for dinner, with enough leftovers for tomorrow night. I feel soothed. My goal is to keep the positive vibe up over the next few days.

Hope y'all had a good weekend!

Just thinking in print

I think the election has been robbing me of my urge to write blog entries. Not that I don't have opinions, because I certainly do, but rather the tenor of the election on both national and local scales has enraged and saddened me to an unprecedented extent. I have managed to do some positive things. I made a few donations. I told my Tuesday night lecture that voting takes priority over class; most of these students are full-time workers so the evening might be their best time to vote. I reminded my students that, as long as they are in line before the polls close, they have the right to vote so they shouldn't leave. I also reminded them that they don't have to vote for every office and proposition, that leaving some decisions blank would not disqualify their ballot. Many students did not know that, by the way. Another instructor found herself explaining the electoral college to her class, because several students thought that the winner was chosen by popular vote. It makes me wonder what other basics the populace does not understand and perhaps that is why this election feeds on ignorance.

Couldn't help myself

I was a little sluggy getting out of the apartment this morning because I was watching the new Watchmen trailer. So pretty.

All about the Andersons

After a quick morning trip to the bookstore, I just want to stay home from work this week and read.

Long time, no write

I've been busy. I've been sick. I've been just overall kind of blah. I haven't even felt like reading, much less writing. But now I'm at a coffee house we hadn't tried before, and I have some good food and good company. I'm feeling a bit more ready to face the day.

Social... me?

The past two weekends have been rather social. Last weekend, Carl came to visit. He'd never spent much time in California, so I enjoyed introducing him to cheap Mexican seafood and izakaya food. We also designed a history of physics course while eating sandwiches on the beach. Hope you had a good time, dude!

This weekend, Greg was a guest at Conjecture, and I tagged along. Greg does a great job on panels, although I might be a wee bit biased. The people were friendly, and we had a nice lunch with Zak, Sharon, and Dave. All-in-all, it's been a fun two weekends.

Alas, Monday, you come too soon.

A Larger Perspective

As Sean over at Cosmic Variance has pointed out, $700 billion corresponds to a few dollars for each of the stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. I've felt vaguely nauseated ever since I read that.

Visuals

During class, one of my astronomy students asked me about the LHC. As I was responding to the question, I noticed another student in the back corner grinning maniacally and bashing his hands together, mouthing "boom boom". I approve.

I'm fascinated by images showing a road to the Milky Way:

Driving to work today, I saw a lone man waving a flag against the background of skyscrapers. It was quite moving. It's hard to believe seven years have passed.

Ah, that's better

It seems that a good method for soothing my rage is sharing dinner at Tito's Tacos with Greg, followed by a glorious Nine Inch Nails concert. I hadn't been to a NIN concert since 2006 and had forgotten how soul-cleansing it is. My back is no longer tense, my pulse is no longer pounding. I am floppy and content. Hmm, there is a NIN concert in Vegas in December, right before finals. I think I owe it to my students to go, don't you?

Suggestions, please

Between vitriolic speeches and driving in southern California traffic, I'm finding myself to be a little more ragey than usual. I can feel my blood pressure increasing on a daily basis. I'm more easily irked, too. Besides continuously imbibing hot chocolate, what can I do to soothe my rage? Help me!

I'm going to see Nine Inch Nails tomorrow. That should make me happy!

Science-y Stuff

Nothing really coherent to write about today, just a few tidbits for your amusement:

I always enjoy starting the semester with the good ol’ “The Sun wasn’t really IN that constellation on the day you were born so why do you keep looking it up in the newspaper”-discussion. Even a previously quiet class, like my daytime astro lecture, comes to life. Whew.

Jennifer Ouellette at Cocktail Party Physics does a thorough job reviewing the science policies of both major presidential candidates. I recommend y’all read it.

Physics Today is doing election coverage as well. Go read!

I have been remiss in my pretty astronomy image duties, so here are a few.

The Moon transits the Earth, from Deep Impact and Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Gravity works - Tiny moon Prometheus and Saturn’s F ring, from Cassini:

Cruisin'

Greg and I took a free bay cruise, courtesy of the Port of San Diego. These tours were established to give San Diegans a better idea of what is happening along the extensive waterfront. As Greg and I have only been in San Diego a year, this was also a great way for us to get familiar with the Bay and learn more about the history of the city. We also enjoyed being out on the water... I don't understand the people who were sitting inside! Here are a few pics:

The USS Midway and the San Diego skyline

I can see these shipyards from work

Nautical Greg

The bridge to Coronado

Back to port

Energy

I didn't have very good energy on Monday. I was dragging, the students were lethargic... just not a good combo. Last night, after my three-hour astro lecture, a student came up to me and told me that I had amazing amounts of energy. He thanked me and told me how important it was for the evening students to have enthusiastic instructors. With his words, this semester is looking up. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy my evening classes?

One day down

Today was the first day of the Fall semester. Enrollments are high. I even have wait-listed students for my night-time class. My physics lab today was standing room only. It's going to be a busy semester. It's also a semester in which I'm teaching a class (intro astronomy) that I took as a student 20 years ago. Whoa! It's fun to mention that to the students, because a lot has changed in those intervening years. Still makes me feel old, though!

Space policy statements

The Planetary Society has posted documents from the two major presidential candidates outlining their space policy. To see, goto http://www.planetary.org/news/2008/0818_US_Presidential_Candidates_Release.html

No guilt

Tomorrow I head back to work after a very nice summer vacation. Classes start the following week. The summer always goes by quicker than I anticipate. You'd think I'd be used to it by now! Although, technically, this is a shorter summer break than I'm used to, as my new college instead lengthens winter break and, thus, the spring semester runs later. Still, I can't believe it's already time for the school year to start!

I'd feel guilty about whining over the end of my copious vacation time, except that I made up my to-do list for the upcoming week and there are 66 items on it (so far). Yup, I work hard enough during the school year to earn my time off.

Reality Check

While on the road this past Sunday, I marked my fourth anniversary of joining Weight Watchers. I had a lot of success the first two years, but this last year has seen my weight creep up some more. And once again, it's my fault, not the program. Moving to the land of the cheap lobster burrito didn't help! In all seriousness, though, I need to get back on track. I'm not exercising enough and I'm not making good food choices. My genes work against me (I'm the "skinny" one in the family), so I'll have to work harder.

So, for inspiration, I will once again post before and after pics:

August 2004

July 2008

Whoosh

Worldcon always goes by quickly, even more so this year, because we skipped the first few days. It's been a lot of fun, though. I saw a few people I know from my time at UCLA, and Greg's fellow writers are fun and kind people to hang out with.

I went to a panel that was a celebration of the life of Arthur C. Clarke. Two of the panelists were Stephen Baxter and Frederik Pohl. I enjoyed hearing their tales about the first science fiction writer I ever read.

I also attended a reading that was worth the trip to Worldcon all by itself - Lois McMaster Bujold read the first two chapters of a new Miles Vorkosigan novel!!!! Listening to those words and experiencing that character again felt like curling up in a blanket on a cold day - welcoming, comforting... perfect.

Now to convince Greg to go to Montreal next August!

On the road

Full disclosure - I'm allowing this entry to satisfy my 15 minutes/day of writing requirement. Hey, I'm on vacation!

Let’s see, what have I been doing the past few days?

• Drove away from a warm, humid San Diego en route to World Con with Greg.
• Arrived in blazing hot (107 degrees) Tempe.
• Had lunch with my dear Carl at much beloved Four Peaks Brewery! Also hung out with Bob!
• Realized that it’s not the heat, it’s the temperature in the interior of the car. The past week in San Diego has been muggy, and the humidity was really getting to me. I was actually functioning better in the drier 107 degree heat in Tempe, until I had to get into the car. Even guzzling water, I was sweating so much that my fingers were pruning up. San Diego wins.
• Drove up to cool, serene Flagstaff amid a lush green Central Arizona.
• Had dinner with Greg at much beloved Beaver Street Brewery!
• Had granola and blueberries at much beloved Macy’s Coffeehouse!
• Drove across a stunningly beautiful Northern Arizona and New Mexico. Seriously, I’ve done this drive frequently, and the desert has never been so verdant and spectacular. No pics, but the images could not have captured the beauty in any case.
• Spent the evening in Santa Fe eating yummy spicy much missed New Mexican cuisine.

Tomorrow? On to World Con!

Milestones

One year ago today, Greg and I left our apartment in Tempe and took up residence in our new place in San Diego. It's hard to believe it's already been a year, but memories of living in the desert are growing dim. I love the proximity to ocean, friends, family, and northern California that the move gave us. Here's to another good year ahead!

Today also marks my completion of Laurie Halse Anderson's "Write Fifteen Minutes A Day" challenge. Even while road-tripping, I managed to find those fifteen minutes in which to write. I'm really grateful to her for the challenge, which seemed much more manageable and maintainable than something like nanowrimo. Now the trick is to keep up the new habit, even when school starts. During the challenge, I mostly followed her given prompts for what to write for the day. Anybody want to volunteer some fiction prompts for me in the comments? Your contribution would be much appreciated by this aspiring writer.

Nerd Prom!

Thanks to houseguests A and K leaving us their badges when they departed last night, we went to Comic-Con! Just us and about 125,000 of our ilk. We were only there for a few hours, but that allowed us to quickly peruse the dealers room, see Peter Mayhew look very bored, and ogle the Owl ship from Watchmen. We also ran into B & A and their really cute kids and met up for dinner with them later.

Promotion for The Mummy, set up outside the convention center:

About 1/8th of the dealers room:

Ah, Comic-Con... can't wait til next year:

Links on My Mind

The New York Times published a horrifying article this week: Botox for Bridesmaids. Apparently it isn't enough now to get manicures together, but brides now expect perfection of their bridesmaids. In one situation mentioned, the bride wanted her bridesmaids to get matching cleavage enhancements. Hell, you'd be hard-pressed just to get me in a dress... heels are not even negotiable! I don't understand the world.

I understand the universe much better, but that's because I was well trained. You may have seen a news story this week about understanding the trigger for aurora. The scientist in charge of the THEMIS mission, Vassilis Angelopoulos, was a graduate student at UCLA when I was an undergrad there. In fact, I was his student worker for my last two years at UCLA. He taught me how to analyze data, enhanced my programming skills, and inspired me with his dedication and his kindness. What scientific skills I may have were first learned at his side, and I'll always be grateful to him and never surprised to see him do well.

Here's a list of possible names for the new Oklahoma City NBA team - Barons, Bison, Energy, Marshalls, Thunder and Wind. Wow, I'm trying to think of worse options, and I am not coming up with any. Could we please send the team back to Seattle now?!?!?!

And now, two nominees for best blog ever: Cake Wrecks and (huge spoiler alert!) Bear's Battlestar Blog. Cake Wrecks takes a horrifying look at professionally-made cake disasters, and I was in tears after laughing at some of the images. Bear's Battlestar Blog is the creation of Bear McCreary, the composer for Battlestar Galactica. Don't read entries for the episodes you haven't seen! I'm just warning you! Otherwise, if you're as much of an admirer of the musical score for BSG as I am, you'll appreciate the composer's insight on making the music work for the episodes and into the creative process. Some musical cues are provided, too!

I'm back

We saw The Dark Knight today, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I also loved the Watchmen trailer. It looks perfect, but the potential for suckage with such a complicated story is high. It's been a good summer for comic book movies, though. Maybe the trend will continue.

We had a great trip to Northern California. San Francisco, Fort Bragg, the Wine Country... it was hard to leave! Here are a few pics to show you why!

Lovin' Northern California

Spent a few days in San Francisco and one night in Fort Bragg. Spending a couple of days in the Napa Valley before returning home. A few comments:

• I have not needed allergy medication since arriving in San Francisco.
• San Francisco is still my favorite city.
• If everybody in the country could eat the produce from the farmers markets around here, we'd all be much healthier.
• The northern California coast is still as gray and quiet and lovely as ever.
• Even if you don't drink any alcohol, like myself, the Wine Country still has a lot to offer.
• Biking around the valley for six hours yesterday has not left me in pain today. Yay!

If any of my pictures turned out, I'll post them when I get home. Hope y'all have been having a good week!

Two things

First, congratulations to our dear David Moles for being honored with the Sturgeon Award.

Second, because the best thing about living in Southern California is its proximity to Northern California, I head north tomorrow. Behave while I'm away!

Be not ashamed

To the neighbor who hurriedly turned off his music after his shuffle playlist started blasting the theme from Chariots of Fire: You shouldn't have fumbled about playing snippets of two rock songs while regretting your Vangelis choices. We all have guilty pleasures when it comes to music. Heck, I have some Vangelis myself - the theme to Cosmos! ;)

Bits and pieces

Spent a lovely Fourth of July with family and friends. Much yummy food was eaten, fireworks exploded without scorching people or property, good conversations abounded.

Just finished reading Superpowers by the wonderful David Schwartz. I really enjoyed it and recommend it.

If you're like me and you're still worried about the fires near Big Sur, this site is useful: http://surfire2008.wordpress.com/

I'm at that point of the summer where I feel worthless as a human being because I'm not accomplishing much, but don't want to work because I'm still on summer vacation. I have two trips to look forward to before going back to work, but I have a feeling that my physics and astronomy schedules for Fall 2008 will be completed by the end of the week. Y'all know I like my job, but I think having a month or two when I'm not working sixty hours per week is a good thing.

I have been accomplishing something, though. One of my favorite authors, Laurie Halse Anderson, has started the "Write 15 Minutes a Day Challenge". She's given prompts for those who do not have a work-in-progress, and I've been participating each day. It's been fun, and it's reminded me that I like to write and perhaps can take time from writing exams, class notes, etc... to do some other forms of writing. (There is, of course, the "does blogging count?"-debate, but we won't go there!)

Almost time for NFL training camps to start. Twitch, twitch...

And because I haven't harassed you with space pictures recently, here's Saturn, from Cassini:

Thinking of Big Sur

I've been watching the news about the Basin fire in Big Sur with great sadness. I love that area. The region is the most beautiful place I've ever visited, and I sometimes think that my love of nature comes from childhood trips to the sea, particularly this region. When I left Sacramento earlier this month, I took the coastal route back down to San Diego and took a few photos. I hope you enjoy and send positive thoughts to the firefighters, not only in Big Sur, but in all of California, battling a fire season that has started too early and unprecedentedly aggressively.

Nobody's basement

Last month, much beloved Kirsten forwarded an article from The Atlantic Monthly to me to get my opinion, and it has been a recent topic of discussion on Female Science Professor's blog. The title of the article is "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower" and supposedly is about the "destructive myth" that college is for everyone. It is written by an anonymous part-time instructor (Professor X) at a "college of last resort." First of all, I agree with the notion that not everybody needs a college education. I think a good debate about society's attitude towards higher education is in order. I think a discussion of how institutions of higher education continue to take money from students who need remediation without providing them such is warranted. However, that isn't really what this article is about, and it horrifies me that people may read this article and agree with the author. I'm going to highlight some of the comments from the article and address them with my experiences.

By colleges of "last resort", the author means a small private college and a community college that he teaches at. He describes the student population: "Mine are the students whose applications show indifferent grades and have blank spaces where the extracurricular activities would go." Because we all know that university students are NEVER like that. Let's see... in my community college experience, I've had students who volunteer at clinics and emergency rooms, work as tutors, are members of national honors societies, etc... And I'm particularly proud of those with "indifferent grades" who come in and live up to the expectations I place upon them.

Another quote from the article:

"Ms. L. had done everything that American culture asked of her. She had gone back to school to better herself, and she expected to be rewarded for it, not slapped down. She had failed not, as some students do, by being absent too often or by blowing off assignments. She simply was not qualified for college."

Why isn't she qualified? Especially for Professor X's discipline of English, which Ms. L. would have been required to take in high school, it seems to me that Ms. L. was let down by her K-12 education. Is that necessarily all her fault? Perhaps she didn't put in appropriate effort in high school, true, or perhaps she was just funneled along like so many of the students I see with math deficiencies.

And then later: "I knew that Ms. L.’s paper would fail. I knew it that first night in the library. But I couldn’t tell her that she wasn’t ready for an introductory English class. I wouldn’t be saving her from the humiliation of defeat by a class she simply couldn’t handle. I’d be a sexist, ageist, intellectual snob."

So basically Professor X doesn't want to do his job. He could have referred her to a remedial English class, one that doesn't count towards a degree, but would have prepared Ms. L. to then take his introductory English class. I've had this discussion, and it isn't pretty. I've had to tell students, "No, I'm not teaching the class too hard. YOU don't have the math skills necessary for this course. Come back when you have made up your deficiencies." It's an awful confrontation, but I've had a few cases where I've seen these students later, after they have obtained the necessary remediation, and they've thanked me for it.

But for me, this is the statement that demonstrates that this article is NOT about whether college is for all.

"Our presence together in these evening classes is evidence that we all have screwed up."

I think I've made my feelings clear about my evening classes. Being in my night-time classes does not mean any of my students have screwed up. And, I haven't screwed up either. I have often weighted my schedule towards teaching in the evening, even while full-time and tenured. I'm sorry that Professor X is so miserable, but I'm even sorrier that he takes it out on his students. How can he possibly give the students the education that they are asking him for, when he is full of self-loathing and despises them?

I just want to make sure that my students know this: we are in nobody's basement. And, if you feel low, I will do my best to bring you higher and will never resent making the effort.

Already?

I had my first teaching anxiety dream for the Fall semester last night. The anxiety always boils down to lack of preparation, so I guess it's time to buy a new teaching planner and get ready for fall. I do wish my subconscious would have waited til July, though!

Lakers are Losers!

Hee hee hee! I'm so happy! Go away, Kobe!

Congrats to KG for his championship, to Ray Allen hitting all those threes, and to Paul Pierce, who really won me over during this series.

I'd also like to point out that the owner of the Phoenix Suns traded away the rights to Rajon Rondo, and I've never been more upset about that.

Kobe lost, yay!!!!

Don't ask...

And, from Jackie:

Okay, if you must know, I'm the blue one, and K is an absolute genius costumer.

Sacramento moments

Summer gold coastal range to the west, lingering snow dusting the Sierra to the east, old shady trees, large meandering rivers.... Sacramento.

I accompanied my mother to my father's grave on what would have been their 52nd wedding anniversary. He passed away almost nine years ago. She said, "I didn't think I would live more than a year after he was gone." I told her that I was happy she was still around. She said that she was, too.

I had an interesting discussion with my newly-diabetic brother about his, um, qualms about injections. I'm glad he's doing well so far.

My almost-three-year old grand-nephew is acquiring a good vocabulary, but still doesn't string together many long sentences. He did, however, look at my car and then said to my mom, "Her car is dirty." Yup, I inspire educational leaps in my own special way!

Home cooking

Location:
Mom's house

In attendance:
Me
Mom
Sis
Bro
3 nieces
1 toddler grand-nephew

The food:
ribs
baked beans w/ham
baked beans w/o meat
potato salad
macaroni salad
caesar salad
green salad
au gratin potatoes
rosemary potato bread
dinner rolls
peach pie
lemon pie

Conclusion:
This is why I shouldn't go home more than once a year.

No bandwagon

By rooting for the Celtics, I have not jumped on a bandwagon. I have always despised the Lakers and have always had a little lust in my heart for KG. Just so we all have that straight.

Vacation Day

Woke up this morning at a decent hour, around 9 am. Not too bad for vacation. We went to a bookstore, where we spotted SarahP's book in the wild! The Magic Thief was released today. I've read it, loved it, and heartily recommend it for kids and adults alike. Have food nearby while you read it, trust me.

Then we had a nice lunch, eating grilled mahi tacos at a bar by the beach. To walk off the tasty tacos, we ventured out onto Sunset Cliffs. There's a storm front offshore, so the waves were big and billowy.

Greg was enjoying himself.

Me, too.

We ran some errands. I spent the afternoon drinking hot chocolate and doing sudoku. I exchanged a few emails with a student from this past semester who is thinking of becoming an astronomer. (Bwah ha ha!) Later I decided that I needed a few more things for dinner, so I walked to the grocery store. Here's the view on my walk back home:

Can you tell I like living near the water? And I really like vacation.