We went to the track tonight to watch the horses run. Me and hubby, long-time friend and the girl who is stalking long-time... kind of interesting group ourselves. Hubby and I sitting close together, guessing about which horses to bet on. Long-time who actually knows a little about betting on horses trying to teach us and stalker-girl trying at every turn to get closer to long-time. It was a king of formal thrust and perry all night lon
Tonight was my first time ever at such a place. It wasn't what I expected --
I expected crowds of gamboling addicts chomping stogies and placing big bets with trampy women on their arms.... I expected crowds of people who new every little detail of the races and how to bet.... and lots of guys in green eyeshades counting the money.
What I saw was a lot more wholesome...
It was a beautiful night. We sat outside and watched the race, the people and the rituals surrounding the racehorses as the sun set over the valley.
As the announcer called the races, I saw girls in their early twenties wearing white shorts and flip-flops, feet up on the railing nursing the same beer all night and not betting while guys in their early twenties seemed to rotate around them.
The early races were watched by families with kids down by the track watching the horses run and running their own races between post times.
As the terrible band mangled bad 80s music between races I saw lots of couples -- the women in halter-tops, capri pants and low heels, the guys freshly shaved in jeans and white polo shirts.
As the night progressed, I saw older couples who would come for a race or two and then leave -- shouting "come on baby, run baby, run!" and when their horse didn't win, they'd say --'that's ok, we'll pick a winner next time'.
We won one of our many bets -- we bet 2.00 on a horse to show -- and he did... we won $4.20. Overall, it was a loss -- but, a fun way to spend the night.
Maybe next time we go hubby and I won't bet money ---
Friday, June 30, 2006
Today I....
-- had a discussion with one of my debaters fresh back from camp in California... he had a great time and said he learned a lot. I hope it will come out in rounds next year... and I did his food receipts for the trip. If you want to know how much it costs to feed a 20 year-old guy in CA for 10 days, I've got the info...
-- resisted sending Moonshadow to camp. Yea me.
-- booked Herbie's trip to camp in Wyoming for next month. He's probably the only one going, so he gets to fly out there -- much better than the 17+ hour trip we took a couple of years ago... with woodchuck and Hermionie in the backseat... (woodchuck wanted to date Hermionie, so we heard a lot of "Hermionie, you can lean on me if you want to sleep").
Tonight we are going to the horseraces with our buddy.... and perhaps the girl who hangs on him, but that he doesn't want to date... could be odd.
Since today didn't include any writing, tomorrow will have to be the day... that is ok -- I'm making progress...
-- resisted sending Moonshadow to camp. Yea me.
-- booked Herbie's trip to camp in Wyoming for next month. He's probably the only one going, so he gets to fly out there -- much better than the 17+ hour trip we took a couple of years ago... with woodchuck and Hermionie in the backseat... (woodchuck wanted to date Hermionie, so we heard a lot of "Hermionie, you can lean on me if you want to sleep").
Tonight we are going to the horseraces with our buddy.... and perhaps the girl who hangs on him, but that he doesn't want to date... could be odd.
Since today didn't include any writing, tomorrow will have to be the day... that is ok -- I'm making progress...
Teaching tip
Go to www.byu.edu, do a search on "Principles of Test Creation" and get the PDF handbook you'll find.
It is divided by kind of test question and has basic guidelines, practice questions to evaluate and a helpful answer key for each section.
Trust me -- if you've wondered if your exams really are fair, you can use this info to revise your tests. The author did an excellent seminar at the touchy feely conference this year.
You can thank me later -- and you will :).
It is divided by kind of test question and has basic guidelines, practice questions to evaluate and a helpful answer key for each section.
Trust me -- if you've wondered if your exams really are fair, you can use this info to revise your tests. The author did an excellent seminar at the touchy feely conference this year.
You can thank me later -- and you will :).
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Writing -- good news
In an attempt to balance my bitching about Moon with some positive stuff...
I spent most of today working on the Metaphysics and Epistemology paper... I've made some progress. I have written down my intuitions and sketched out the possible tests I can use to tell the difference between two people speaking different dialects and two people speaking different languages. I even have a way to map the results for any given language onto a chart --- (which seems WAY too social-science-like for philosophy, but this is a phil language paper so they have a bit of psych and physics envy, so it should fly..).
I'd like to see some stuff about identity conditions and languages -- but most of it doesn't seem to fit what I'm doing. i'm waiting for the ILL stuff to come, but that is only one article -- so I'll have to do the "hmmm, this author says a litte about this that kind of applies, so I'll add a quick quote to plump up the bibliography and make it look like I've done the research I needed to do...". Much of this paper is actually me constructing arguments, which is pretty fun.... but it feels like cheating.
In the end I should have a theory that correctly sorts out the following:
1) two people speaking the same dialect (of a larger language).
2) two people speakng the same language, different dialects,
3) two people speaking different languages
and then I'll use American Sign Language as a hard test -- my intuitions tell me that ASL will be a distinct language from American English, not simply a dialect of it... although, it is close.
I spent most of today working on the Metaphysics and Epistemology paper... I've made some progress. I have written down my intuitions and sketched out the possible tests I can use to tell the difference between two people speaking different dialects and two people speaking different languages. I even have a way to map the results for any given language onto a chart --- (which seems WAY too social-science-like for philosophy, but this is a phil language paper so they have a bit of psych and physics envy, so it should fly..).
I'd like to see some stuff about identity conditions and languages -- but most of it doesn't seem to fit what I'm doing. i'm waiting for the ILL stuff to come, but that is only one article -- so I'll have to do the "hmmm, this author says a litte about this that kind of applies, so I'll add a quick quote to plump up the bibliography and make it look like I've done the research I needed to do...". Much of this paper is actually me constructing arguments, which is pretty fun.... but it feels like cheating.
In the end I should have a theory that correctly sorts out the following:
1) two people speaking the same dialect (of a larger language).
2) two people speakng the same language, different dialects,
3) two people speaking different languages
and then I'll use American Sign Language as a hard test -- my intuitions tell me that ASL will be a distinct language from American English, not simply a dialect of it... although, it is close.
Another moonshadow missive
Got another message from Moon... this time I don't care about BNCC debate, I'm aparently a terrible person because I don't see how hard she tried and it is my fault that she didn't get to watch the Irish National team when they were on campus.
Of course, that isn't true.... I suspect she's either drunk or high and e-mailing me.
When I'm dealing with Moon I need to remember that she doesn't think like most other people. I'm not sure why that is, but I suspect a combination of drugs and the fact that she was raised by two artists who are not at all linear thinkers. That said, it seems bizarre to me that she doesn't understand that paying for someone to attend camp who decided not to compete last year isn't a good use of school money.
Alice suggested I go up to my happy place, which sounds great -- if only because I can't get e-mail up there and thus couldn't get her most recent missive.
I'm vowing now not to respond to her.... she has nothing new to say and anything I say to her only makes her worse. I may have to post my fantasy responses here... which is one purpose of a blog, no?
i just went to look again at my response. It is reasoned and I did not change my mind. In fact, I invited her to be on the team and be in the class next year.... that ought to really set her off.
I need to remember this is the girl who mortally offended both D1 and D2, and they can say some pretty out-there things....
Of course, that isn't true.... I suspect she's either drunk or high and e-mailing me.
When I'm dealing with Moon I need to remember that she doesn't think like most other people. I'm not sure why that is, but I suspect a combination of drugs and the fact that she was raised by two artists who are not at all linear thinkers. That said, it seems bizarre to me that she doesn't understand that paying for someone to attend camp who decided not to compete last year isn't a good use of school money.
Alice suggested I go up to my happy place, which sounds great -- if only because I can't get e-mail up there and thus couldn't get her most recent missive.
I'm vowing now not to respond to her.... she has nothing new to say and anything I say to her only makes her worse. I may have to post my fantasy responses here... which is one purpose of a blog, no?
i just went to look again at my response. It is reasoned and I did not change my mind. In fact, I invited her to be on the team and be in the class next year.... that ought to really set her off.
I need to remember this is the girl who mortally offended both D1 and D2, and they can say some pretty out-there things....
Peaceful Place
After my rant about Moonshadow, I think I need a mental vacation...
Some people dream about the mountains, others about the ocean -- I've been to those places, but my favorite is in northern Minnesota...
In my mental vacation it is July.
July is hot in the Twin Cities but cool up north by the lake. I have with me a great book (not dissertation related) and a camp chair overlooking the lake. A few minutes ago I was wading up to my knees in the clear water. I saw the pebbles on the bottom of the lake and my toes looked just a little green.
On the other side of the lake someone is fishing in a canoe accompanied only by his golden lab. It is a weekday, so nobody else is around. As I sit there with my bare feet proped up to dry on an old stump, I wonder if it will get warm enough this afternoon for a swim. Although a swim would be nice, if we really want to get clean we'll go down the road to Mom's and use a real bathroom. In a few minutes I'm going to start thinking about lunch (BP & J or tuna salad is a hard choice), but for right now I can smell the pine trees, feel the breeze on my knees and watch the small ripples on the water.
Some people dream about the mountains, others about the ocean -- I've been to those places, but my favorite is in northern Minnesota...
In my mental vacation it is July.
July is hot in the Twin Cities but cool up north by the lake. I have with me a great book (not dissertation related) and a camp chair overlooking the lake. A few minutes ago I was wading up to my knees in the clear water. I saw the pebbles on the bottom of the lake and my toes looked just a little green.
On the other side of the lake someone is fishing in a canoe accompanied only by his golden lab. It is a weekday, so nobody else is around. As I sit there with my bare feet proped up to dry on an old stump, I wonder if it will get warm enough this afternoon for a swim. Although a swim would be nice, if we really want to get clean we'll go down the road to Mom's and use a real bathroom. In a few minutes I'm going to start thinking about lunch (BP & J or tuna salad is a hard choice), but for right now I can smell the pine trees, feel the breeze on my knees and watch the small ripples on the water.
To the ----(insert nasty word for a snotty little girl here)
it seems, even though I am not teaching this summer, I can have trouble students anyway.... aargh...
The basics:
Last year I took a group of four students to debate camp.... i.e. I drove them to Missouri and spent an entire week with them. This was an excellent investment of my time for D1, D2 and Rex -- (new readers -- those are my debater's nicknames) -- but my fourth debater -- Moonshadow -- didn't turn out to be such a hot investment.
Moonshadow didn't improve significantly at camp. She had a really good time, but she didn't become a better debater.
By the first tournament, Moonshadow wasn't ready -- so, when her partner ended up having to work I told her she wasn't going. She didn't sign-up for the next tournament, so she didn't go. The last two of the season she told me that she was going horsebackriding instead of going to one and that she would be visiting a friend for the other.
She took Spring Semester off.
Now -- Moonshadow wants me to send her to debate camp -- why should I do this?? It will be between $250 and $500 to send her. She wants to go so she can party. I'm not going to pay for it.
I told her this and she accused me of sexisim.... saying that I didn't send her to tournaments last year because it would have ment another hotel room -- (the rest of the team was male). This is simply false, because she'd have roomed with ME. Additionally, I kept a male/male team home because of a preparation/cost reason in the spring.... she's not being treated differently.... besides, she DECIDED on her own not to attend 3/4 of the fall tournaments and ALL of the spring ones.
This really pisses me off -- she's such a little twat (and I don't use that word lightly) -- I'm sure that if hubby and I weren't at camp she wouldn't go to any lectures at all. She's the last one I would pick to go (I'd pick the former drug addict before her, even though it is a drug rich enviornment at camp). It is very clear to me that she just wants to party and doesn't want to commit to the team.
Damm--- if she comes back one more time I'm going to have to tell the dean about her issues. I'm sure I'll be supported -- but I just don't want to think about it.
My dream reply...
Dear Moon,
I'm not sending you to camp because you are way too fried to remember it, and all you want to do is ho around and not become a better debater. If you were a ho and wanted to improve, I'd probably send you because I don't have anything against girls who like to party and have sex with debate boys -- it is the complete lack of interest in actually GETTING better that bothers me.
You don't even pretend to want to improve... which I find very insulting. Don't you understand that being a coach is more than being your travel agent and funding provider... I actually have a duty to the team to make sure that our resources are spent wisely. If I have to choose between buying a couple of team meals during the season or paying your camp tuition, frankly the food wins -- as it contributes to our competitive success in some way -- and I'm sure that you will not.
Should you choose to actually want to practice and compete, please register for part two of the course in the fall. When I see you actually ready for a competition you are entering -- I'll change my mind.
Sincerely,
The sexist bitch who wants to keep you from having a good time..
ps... it really isn't all that expensive to go -- you could do it on your own if you actually wanted to invest in your own debate abilities.
The basics:
Last year I took a group of four students to debate camp.... i.e. I drove them to Missouri and spent an entire week with them. This was an excellent investment of my time for D1, D2 and Rex -- (new readers -- those are my debater's nicknames) -- but my fourth debater -- Moonshadow -- didn't turn out to be such a hot investment.
Moonshadow didn't improve significantly at camp. She had a really good time, but she didn't become a better debater.
By the first tournament, Moonshadow wasn't ready -- so, when her partner ended up having to work I told her she wasn't going. She didn't sign-up for the next tournament, so she didn't go. The last two of the season she told me that she was going horsebackriding instead of going to one and that she would be visiting a friend for the other.
She took Spring Semester off.
Now -- Moonshadow wants me to send her to debate camp -- why should I do this?? It will be between $250 and $500 to send her. She wants to go so she can party. I'm not going to pay for it.
I told her this and she accused me of sexisim.... saying that I didn't send her to tournaments last year because it would have ment another hotel room -- (the rest of the team was male). This is simply false, because she'd have roomed with ME. Additionally, I kept a male/male team home because of a preparation/cost reason in the spring.... she's not being treated differently.... besides, she DECIDED on her own not to attend 3/4 of the fall tournaments and ALL of the spring ones.
This really pisses me off -- she's such a little twat (and I don't use that word lightly) -- I'm sure that if hubby and I weren't at camp she wouldn't go to any lectures at all. She's the last one I would pick to go (I'd pick the former drug addict before her, even though it is a drug rich enviornment at camp). It is very clear to me that she just wants to party and doesn't want to commit to the team.
Damm--- if she comes back one more time I'm going to have to tell the dean about her issues. I'm sure I'll be supported -- but I just don't want to think about it.
My dream reply...
Dear Moon,
I'm not sending you to camp because you are way too fried to remember it, and all you want to do is ho around and not become a better debater. If you were a ho and wanted to improve, I'd probably send you because I don't have anything against girls who like to party and have sex with debate boys -- it is the complete lack of interest in actually GETTING better that bothers me.
You don't even pretend to want to improve... which I find very insulting. Don't you understand that being a coach is more than being your travel agent and funding provider... I actually have a duty to the team to make sure that our resources are spent wisely. If I have to choose between buying a couple of team meals during the season or paying your camp tuition, frankly the food wins -- as it contributes to our competitive success in some way -- and I'm sure that you will not.
Should you choose to actually want to practice and compete, please register for part two of the course in the fall. When I see you actually ready for a competition you are entering -- I'll change my mind.
Sincerely,
The sexist bitch who wants to keep you from having a good time..
ps... it really isn't all that expensive to go -- you could do it on your own if you actually wanted to invest in your own debate abilities.
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