Confessions of a Community College Dean: Teaching Governance “As an administrator, I’m constantly struck by the unacknowledged contradiction among many faculty between “consult us in all things” and “back off and leave us alone.” It’s not that I don’t understand the impulse; depending on local practice, ‘service’ may or may not count for tenure or… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-25
Tenure: Threat, Menace, or Market Failure?
I’ve been a little too busy to participate, but His Holiness and Eric Weinstein on Twitter have gotten into an interesting exchange about the structure of academia, and the appropriate number of Ph.D.’s in science. As usual, I suspect I’m not fully understanding the majesty of whatever Eric is arguing in favor of, but it’s… Continue reading Tenure: Threat, Menace, or Market Failure?
Book Countdown: T Minus 4 Weeks
The official release date for How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is exactly four weeks from today. So here’s a dramatic reading of Chapter 3 to mark the occasion: I’ve put this up before, but I edited it to remove the URL, which was apparently a deal-breaker for booksellers. And yes, I will post… Continue reading Book Countdown: T Minus 4 Weeks
Congratulations to Lauren Uroff and tcmJOE
During this year’s DonorsChoose fundraiser, I promised books as prizes to people who contributed to my challenge. Now that the finished books are ready, it’s time to congratulate the winners. Lauren Uroff wins one copy for giving the largest individual donation of the people who forwarded me receipts (the largest overall contribution was from Hewlett… Continue reading Congratulations to Lauren Uroff and tcmJOE
Links for 2009-11-24
CHART ATTACK!: 11/20/76 | Popdose “I keep trying to figure out what this song is really trying to say in its subtext — but no, I’m pretty sure it’s actually about two muskrats courting. I know I said this a few songs ago, but WHY? Why did we need a song about two muskrats on… Continue reading Links for 2009-11-24
Dinosaur Baby
I have a whole slew of grading that I need to do, so here’s some baby video to keep you entertained: While it may not sound that way, this is SteelyKid in a very, very good mood. The high-pitched dinosaur shrieks are happy shrieks. And the silly baby running is very cute.
Judging a Book’s Cover
The pictures I posted last night aren’t really the greatest for seeing the cover of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, so here’s a shot of the book jacket spread out on my desk: This isn’t the greatest, either, but it does give you a sense of the key features of the jacket design,… Continue reading Judging a Book’s Cover
Links for 2008-11-23
Seeing Laser Beams : Built on Facts “I have to say it’s a nice job perk that I can see old science fiction tropes come to life pretty much every day.” (tags: science physics optics blogs built-on-facts lasers) blarg? » A Note To Maya “So according to the old joke, a fed-up student asks the… Continue reading Links for 2008-11-23
How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is a Real Book!
Look! How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is a real book: Emmy says, very seriously, “You will buy a copy, won’t you?” Of course, like everything else in this house, SteelyKid had to grab a copy:
November Basketball: SU-Cal, UNC-OSU
Kate and I went to the two games of the “semifinals” of the 2K Sports Classic Supporting Coaches vs. Cancer, Your Name Here for a Prince pre-season “tournament” last night (the scare quotes are because the four teams playing last night were guaranteed to be playing last night, regardless of what happened in the earlier… Continue reading November Basketball: SU-Cal, UNC-OSU