Steven Harper's Blog, page 59
January 28, 2019
The Great and Awful Winter Cold
I haven't been active here on the blog much lately because I've been sick. The moment I got home on Friday after final exams ended, I was smacked by a cement truck filled with rhinovirus.
"Well, okay," I muttered. "I have a three day weekend, and I'll have time to recover."
Nope. I was awfully, horribly, gut-punched sick for three days. By Monday evening, it was clear I wouldn't be able to work, even though it was the first day of the semester, a very awkward day to miss. Still, I made rudimentary "keep 'em busy" lesson plans and sent them in.
Monday evening, I was still horribly ill. This was getting serious. I used up all my reserved sick days because of repeated hospital visits over the last two years, and I'm trying to bank up a bunch again.
And then--rescue! We had a snow day for Wednesday!
By Wednesday afternoon I was feeling marginally better, and I dragged myself to work on Thursday and Friday, but was still sick. I gave a lot of seat work and sat at my own desk, trying not to die. What made it worse, though, was the Curriculum Fair.
On Curriculum Fair day, the students all visit various presentations from teachers. They're choosing their classes for next year, and the informational sessions tell them what a potential class is like. I was scheduled to present during all four sessions, and they're 20 minutes each. So I did 80 minutes of high-energy public speaking when I was deathly ill.
Saturday morning, I woke up at 4:00 AM, unable to breathe because my nasal passages were completely blocked. I cleared everything as best I could, then hosed myself with nasal spray and took a massive dose of anti-histamines. My nose started running like Niagara Falls after the spring debacle, and I was blowing it about every thirty seconds. I couldn't understand where it was all coming from. I sat on the couch so I wouldn't keep Darwin awake and pounded through two boxes of tissues over the course of 90 minutes, when the meds finally took hold and the problem ended.
Saturday I slept all day. Now it had been more than a week since I got sick, and I was pissed and grouchy at everyone. This would never end.
Sunday afternoon at last I felt close to normal. This felt royally unfair--I'd spent an entire three-day weekend sick and continued being sick at the beginning of the semester, which is one of the more fun parts of the year to teach.
And then--snow day for Monday! And from the looks of it, we'll have one or two other snow or cold days off this week. Well, that's nice at least.
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"Well, okay," I muttered. "I have a three day weekend, and I'll have time to recover."
Nope. I was awfully, horribly, gut-punched sick for three days. By Monday evening, it was clear I wouldn't be able to work, even though it was the first day of the semester, a very awkward day to miss. Still, I made rudimentary "keep 'em busy" lesson plans and sent them in.
Monday evening, I was still horribly ill. This was getting serious. I used up all my reserved sick days because of repeated hospital visits over the last two years, and I'm trying to bank up a bunch again.
And then--rescue! We had a snow day for Wednesday!
By Wednesday afternoon I was feeling marginally better, and I dragged myself to work on Thursday and Friday, but was still sick. I gave a lot of seat work and sat at my own desk, trying not to die. What made it worse, though, was the Curriculum Fair.
On Curriculum Fair day, the students all visit various presentations from teachers. They're choosing their classes for next year, and the informational sessions tell them what a potential class is like. I was scheduled to present during all four sessions, and they're 20 minutes each. So I did 80 minutes of high-energy public speaking when I was deathly ill.
Saturday morning, I woke up at 4:00 AM, unable to breathe because my nasal passages were completely blocked. I cleared everything as best I could, then hosed myself with nasal spray and took a massive dose of anti-histamines. My nose started running like Niagara Falls after the spring debacle, and I was blowing it about every thirty seconds. I couldn't understand where it was all coming from. I sat on the couch so I wouldn't keep Darwin awake and pounded through two boxes of tissues over the course of 90 minutes, when the meds finally took hold and the problem ended.
Saturday I slept all day. Now it had been more than a week since I got sick, and I was pissed and grouchy at everyone. This would never end.
Sunday afternoon at last I felt close to normal. This felt royally unfair--I'd spent an entire three-day weekend sick and continued being sick at the beginning of the semester, which is one of the more fun parts of the year to teach.
And then--snow day for Monday! And from the looks of it, we'll have one or two other snow or cold days off this week. Well, that's nice at least.
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January 18, 2019
Exam Angst and Technology
It's exam week! The smell of fresh fear tangs the air! The begging for extra credit rings through the halls!
It's a stressful time for everyone.
I run a seminar on how to study for final exams to help alleviate some of the fear. I give exactly one chance for extra credit per semester, and it's always at least four weeks before finals, so my response to beggars is, "You had a chance for extra credit last month and you didn't take it. Sorry!"
Technology has granted me an interesting new twist on finals, though.
We have this program for scanning multiple choice tests. You know--those sheets you bubbled in when =you= were in school. I can create a test through the program, which also prints off specially-coded answer sheets. When a student finishes the test and brings it to my desk, I run the answer sheet under my document camera. The computer instantly scans it and gives a score. I can scribble the score at the bottom of the answer sheet and show it to the student. Instant feedback!
The program also lets me scan the same sheet more than once. So a student can take the sheet back, make corrections, and resubmit it.
I do this with exams. The student finishes and brings the sheet to me, I scan it, and report the score. If it's lower than 70%, I hand it back and say, "Do you want to try again?" They don't know which ones they missed; only that they missed a certain number of questions. Almost always when they resubmit, the score is a little higher.
Angst v. technology!
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It's a stressful time for everyone.
I run a seminar on how to study for final exams to help alleviate some of the fear. I give exactly one chance for extra credit per semester, and it's always at least four weeks before finals, so my response to beggars is, "You had a chance for extra credit last month and you didn't take it. Sorry!"
Technology has granted me an interesting new twist on finals, though.
We have this program for scanning multiple choice tests. You know--those sheets you bubbled in when =you= were in school. I can create a test through the program, which also prints off specially-coded answer sheets. When a student finishes the test and brings it to my desk, I run the answer sheet under my document camera. The computer instantly scans it and gives a score. I can scribble the score at the bottom of the answer sheet and show it to the student. Instant feedback!
The program also lets me scan the same sheet more than once. So a student can take the sheet back, make corrections, and resubmit it.
I do this with exams. The student finishes and brings the sheet to me, I scan it, and report the score. If it's lower than 70%, I hand it back and say, "Do you want to try again?" They don't know which ones they missed; only that they missed a certain number of questions. Almost always when they resubmit, the score is a little higher.
Angst v. technology!
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January 6, 2019
The Doorknob Debacle
Just after Christmas, Darwin was in the guest room and he noticed for the first time that the door had a lock on it. He locked the doorknob to see if it truly locked--it did--then without thinking, shut the door from the outside.
The doorknob takes a key, but we've never had one. And while he was in the guest room, Darwin took care to lock the windows (I usually keep them unlocked), which meant he couldn't slide anything open and climb in. Oops.
The door stayed locked and shut. Darwin promised he'd fix it eventually. I wasn't happy about it, but it was his problem to fix. The door continued to stay locked.
Meanwhile, the door between the garage and the laundry room developed problems. The handle wouldn't always catch the tongue when it turned, meaning the door was often effectively locked or stuck. This drove me crazy, and I asked my dear husband to get it fixed (these things are his responsibility), and he kept putting it off, mostly on the grounds that he almost never used that door, though I use it several times a day.
Also meanwhile, I declared yesterday it was time to put the holiday decorations away. We usually do this on New Year's Day, but this year other things happened and we delayed, so we were already late, and I was getting edgy. I wanted my living room back! So the three of us set to work. Everything was boxed up and put away except for the tree. We dismantled it and got it ready to put into the special, giant-sized bag we'd bought for storing it.
"Where's the bag?" Darwin asked.
"Where I put it after we put the tree up," I said. "In the closet in the guest room."
Darwin swore. The tree was lying in pieces on the living room, and couldn't stay there. I got myself a big glass of diet soda and got to work on my computer while Darwin tried again to open the door. He tried the credit card method, the "poke the long thingie in the hole under the doorknob" method, and the "one of these keys must open it" method. None worked. Finally he looked up locksmiths and called one, who said he'd be able to come over in a couple of hours.
"Tell him we need the garage door fixed, too!" I shouted across the room, then kept on working.
When the locksmith at last arrived, Darwin was in the bathroom. I hate dealing with workers like cable installers, electricians, plumbers, and other people who have to come into the house, and this was supposed to be Darwin's problem to solve, but he was in the bathroom, so I had to get the door and deal with the locksmith.
The locksmith was a young man with a shaved head, an eyebrow ring, a lip ring, and the word LOVE tattooed across the knuckles of his right hand and the word HATE tattooed across the knuckles of his left. He smelled strongly of pot. My favorite kind of worker to deal with--a Nazi pothead!.
I showed him the two doors, then ignored him in favor of my work. At last Darwin came out of the bathroom. The locksmith picked open the guest room in short order, then fixed the garage door. He came to me when the job was done, and I pointed him toward Darwin for finishing up. The locksmith left.
"He smelled like pot," Darwin observed.
But the doors are open and the debacle has ended.
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The doorknob takes a key, but we've never had one. And while he was in the guest room, Darwin took care to lock the windows (I usually keep them unlocked), which meant he couldn't slide anything open and climb in. Oops.
The door stayed locked and shut. Darwin promised he'd fix it eventually. I wasn't happy about it, but it was his problem to fix. The door continued to stay locked.
Meanwhile, the door between the garage and the laundry room developed problems. The handle wouldn't always catch the tongue when it turned, meaning the door was often effectively locked or stuck. This drove me crazy, and I asked my dear husband to get it fixed (these things are his responsibility), and he kept putting it off, mostly on the grounds that he almost never used that door, though I use it several times a day.
Also meanwhile, I declared yesterday it was time to put the holiday decorations away. We usually do this on New Year's Day, but this year other things happened and we delayed, so we were already late, and I was getting edgy. I wanted my living room back! So the three of us set to work. Everything was boxed up and put away except for the tree. We dismantled it and got it ready to put into the special, giant-sized bag we'd bought for storing it.
"Where's the bag?" Darwin asked.
"Where I put it after we put the tree up," I said. "In the closet in the guest room."
Darwin swore. The tree was lying in pieces on the living room, and couldn't stay there. I got myself a big glass of diet soda and got to work on my computer while Darwin tried again to open the door. He tried the credit card method, the "poke the long thingie in the hole under the doorknob" method, and the "one of these keys must open it" method. None worked. Finally he looked up locksmiths and called one, who said he'd be able to come over in a couple of hours.
"Tell him we need the garage door fixed, too!" I shouted across the room, then kept on working.
When the locksmith at last arrived, Darwin was in the bathroom. I hate dealing with workers like cable installers, electricians, plumbers, and other people who have to come into the house, and this was supposed to be Darwin's problem to solve, but he was in the bathroom, so I had to get the door and deal with the locksmith.
The locksmith was a young man with a shaved head, an eyebrow ring, a lip ring, and the word LOVE tattooed across the knuckles of his right hand and the word HATE tattooed across the knuckles of his left. He smelled strongly of pot. My favorite kind of worker to deal with--a Nazi pothead!.
I showed him the two doors, then ignored him in favor of my work. At last Darwin came out of the bathroom. The locksmith picked open the guest room in short order, then fixed the garage door. He came to me when the job was done, and I pointed him toward Darwin for finishing up. The locksmith left.
"He smelled like pot," Darwin observed.
But the doors are open and the debacle has ended.
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January 5, 2019
Surfing Tip of the Day
Here's your Internet tip for the day. When you copy and post a URL (web address) from a friend's Facebook feed to your own feed, you'll notice you get a web address like this:
https://medium.com/@vickyalvearshecte...
Now notice about halfway through the post, we have a string of letters "?fbclid". In a URL, anything that comes after a question mark isn't necessary for the URL to work. Everything that comes after the question mark is tracking information that allows FB--and other web sites--to track where you got the story from, who clicked on it from FB, and more, more, more. If you want to make it harder for FB to follow you around on-line, delete everything that comes after a question mark in any URL you post.
From the above example, you would post only this: https://medium.com/@vickyalvearshecte... . The URL will work, and it messes up FB's tracking.
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https://medium.com/@vickyalvearshecte...
Now notice about halfway through the post, we have a string of letters "?fbclid". In a URL, anything that comes after a question mark isn't necessary for the URL to work. Everything that comes after the question mark is tracking information that allows FB--and other web sites--to track where you got the story from, who clicked on it from FB, and more, more, more. If you want to make it harder for FB to follow you around on-line, delete everything that comes after a question mark in any URL you post.
From the above example, you would post only this: https://medium.com/@vickyalvearshecte... . The URL will work, and it messes up FB's tracking.
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December 31, 2018
The Instant Pot
I've been wanting an Instant Pot for quite a while. Then, after much hinting from me, Darwin got me one for Yule!
After Christmas, I set about experimenting with it. It has been officially promoted to my #1 favorite appliance. I'm starting with simple dishes while I get the hang of it. I've made one-pot spaghetti, Teriyaki chicken rice bowls, and clam chowder. They've all come out perfectly and deliciously. It definitely cuts down on the cook time, the number of dishes dirtied, and the cleanup time. I'm officially a convert.
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After Christmas, I set about experimenting with it. It has been officially promoted to my #1 favorite appliance. I'm starting with simple dishes while I get the hang of it. I've made one-pot spaghetti, Teriyaki chicken rice bowls, and clam chowder. They've all come out perfectly and deliciously. It definitely cuts down on the cook time, the number of dishes dirtied, and the cleanup time. I'm officially a convert.
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Holidays 2018
It's been a run-around holiday! Aran brought Sasha up to our house (very handy having the two of them in the same apartment building) We all piled into a single car and zipped up to my mother's for an early Christmas celebration, completely with nice gift exchange. Sasha was more social than he's been in years, which was a delight. Aran got a little overwhelmed after a couple hours, but knew to put on his coat and walk around outside for a while to avoid a meltdown. Cody, my great-nephew, was little sweetie the entire time. It was a great visit.
Then it was Christmas Eve at our house. We had the same crew over as we did for Thanksgiving, including the boys and most of my ex-in-laws. This included Kala's sister Stephanie, who I hadn't seen in years and who hadn't met Darwin. It turned out that this was the Christmas gathering for most of the people concerned, so the presents were piled higher than snowdrifts around the tree.
I, meanwhile, had gone into super-planner-chef mode, with my lists and timetables and Siri reminders to whip up dinner. Ham, stuffed beef roast, potatoes, home made macaroni and cheese, piragis, and more, more, more. We stuffed ourselves and spent considerable time opening presents and played with Baby Noah, who gets more and more adorable every day.
Afterward was the Epic Cleanup. Whoo! When I was a kid, my mother was in charge of family gatherings, and she always left the cleaning to the next day, which meant my siblings and I got up early and ate our way through leftover party food for breakfast, an annual tradition! If I go to bed with the house a mess, though, I can't sleep because I keep thinking, "There's a big mess out there to clean. You're gonna be cleaning that mess soon!" So I'd rather stay up late cleaning up. Darwin feels the same way, so we cleaned up until the wee hours.
Christmas Day was just the three of us--Darwin, Max, and me. We slept way in. I'd kept back a few presents for sharing, which we eventually did. (I've always had a bit of a mutant house. My kids have maybe once in their entire tenure gotten us up early to open presents. Every year, I can usually rise, shower, dress, and even start breakfast before anyone else finally wakes up. I've never done the five AM Christmas morning. Go ahead--envy me!) And then we laid around our nice, tidy house and did nothing!
Tonight we're hosting a New Year's Eve poker party, but the prep for that is lighter--delivery pizza and snack foods. No cooking! I've set up space in the basement for the kids with board games, DVDs, and the costume chest for their entertainment. And now we're ready for New Year!
comments
Then it was Christmas Eve at our house. We had the same crew over as we did for Thanksgiving, including the boys and most of my ex-in-laws. This included Kala's sister Stephanie, who I hadn't seen in years and who hadn't met Darwin. It turned out that this was the Christmas gathering for most of the people concerned, so the presents were piled higher than snowdrifts around the tree.
I, meanwhile, had gone into super-planner-chef mode, with my lists and timetables and Siri reminders to whip up dinner. Ham, stuffed beef roast, potatoes, home made macaroni and cheese, piragis, and more, more, more. We stuffed ourselves and spent considerable time opening presents and played with Baby Noah, who gets more and more adorable every day.
Afterward was the Epic Cleanup. Whoo! When I was a kid, my mother was in charge of family gatherings, and she always left the cleaning to the next day, which meant my siblings and I got up early and ate our way through leftover party food for breakfast, an annual tradition! If I go to bed with the house a mess, though, I can't sleep because I keep thinking, "There's a big mess out there to clean. You're gonna be cleaning that mess soon!" So I'd rather stay up late cleaning up. Darwin feels the same way, so we cleaned up until the wee hours.
Christmas Day was just the three of us--Darwin, Max, and me. We slept way in. I'd kept back a few presents for sharing, which we eventually did. (I've always had a bit of a mutant house. My kids have maybe once in their entire tenure gotten us up early to open presents. Every year, I can usually rise, shower, dress, and even start breakfast before anyone else finally wakes up. I've never done the five AM Christmas morning. Go ahead--envy me!) And then we laid around our nice, tidy house and did nothing!
Tonight we're hosting a New Year's Eve poker party, but the prep for that is lighter--delivery pizza and snack foods. No cooking! I've set up space in the basement for the kids with board games, DVDs, and the costume chest for their entertainment. And now we're ready for New Year!
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December 15, 2018
Big Baking
Today was baking day. Next weekend the family celebrations begins, you see, so I have to get all possible prep done this weekend.
I started off with piragis, which are the most labor intensive. Two batches of those done, even though I accidentally burned the first batch of filling and had to start over. (Argh!) Next up was chocolate/peanut butter no-bake cookies. Then chocolate-coconut macaroons. Then brownies. Then Rice-Krispie treat wreaths. Then raspberry sorbet (to go with the brownies). Then crack. Then haystacks (treasure hunt achieved!). Then chocolate cookies with salted caramel chips.
Now the kitchen is clean and the treats are in the freezer. I'm done!
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I started off with piragis, which are the most labor intensive. Two batches of those done, even though I accidentally burned the first batch of filling and had to start over. (Argh!) Next up was chocolate/peanut butter no-bake cookies. Then chocolate-coconut macaroons. Then brownies. Then Rice-Krispie treat wreaths. Then raspberry sorbet (to go with the brownies). Then crack. Then haystacks (treasure hunt achieved!). Then chocolate cookies with salted caramel chips.
Now the kitchen is clean and the treats are in the freezer. I'm done!
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The Great Butterscotch Shortage
Last night after the movie, Darwin and I stopped at the grocery store. It was very late, so the place was almost deserted. He needed a couple things, I needed a couple things.
Among the things I needed was butterscotch chips for haystack cookies, an annual holiday treat. I had already put them on the pick up list for my regular grocery shopping, but when I picked my order up, the store informed me that they had no butterscotch chips of any brand. So I stopped in after the movie to see if they had any now.
They didn't. Not one package. They didn't even an empty slot on the shelf where they were supposed to go.
The store also didn't have a couple things Darwin needed, including a small present for our family gift exchange. I proposed that, since we were out and since it was late on a Friday when NO ONE went shopping, we head down to the local mega-store (open 24 hours!) and shop there. Even though we were tired, it would be worth it to shop in a store unoccupied by frantic weekend holiday shoppers. Darwin agreed.
The mega-store was, as expected, nearly empty. Cool! We shopped here and there, and found what we needed. Then I remembered--butterscotch chips! We bustled over to the baking section.
No butterscotch chips. They had chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, M&M chips, and toffee chips. But no butterscotch.
We rooted around in disbelief. This is America! There are no shortages in consumer paradise! What was--
Darwin found, stashed behind a case of semi-sweet chocolate, three packages of butterscotch chips. I snatched them with glee and relief. Treasure hunt achieved!
But now we're wondering--is there a butterscotch shortage of some kind?
comments
Among the things I needed was butterscotch chips for haystack cookies, an annual holiday treat. I had already put them on the pick up list for my regular grocery shopping, but when I picked my order up, the store informed me that they had no butterscotch chips of any brand. So I stopped in after the movie to see if they had any now.
They didn't. Not one package. They didn't even an empty slot on the shelf where they were supposed to go.
The store also didn't have a couple things Darwin needed, including a small present for our family gift exchange. I proposed that, since we were out and since it was late on a Friday when NO ONE went shopping, we head down to the local mega-store (open 24 hours!) and shop there. Even though we were tired, it would be worth it to shop in a store unoccupied by frantic weekend holiday shoppers. Darwin agreed.
The mega-store was, as expected, nearly empty. Cool! We shopped here and there, and found what we needed. Then I remembered--butterscotch chips! We bustled over to the baking section.
No butterscotch chips. They had chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, M&M chips, and toffee chips. But no butterscotch.
We rooted around in disbelief. This is America! There are no shortages in consumer paradise! What was--
Darwin found, stashed behind a case of semi-sweet chocolate, three packages of butterscotch chips. I snatched them with glee and relief. Treasure hunt achieved!
But now we're wondering--is there a butterscotch shortage of some kind?
comments
Spiderverse
Last night Darwin and I went to see Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. It lives up to the hype. And it had not one, but TWO major plot twists that I failed to see coming. This, like, NEVER happens. Like many writers, I can see plot twists coming because I CREATE plot twists. It's kind of sucky because you never get to be surprised at movies. But these two--both involving villains--got me good. They startled me, and I was pleased.
Darwin didn't enjoy it much, though.
I liked it very much and look forward to getting it on DVD.
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Darwin didn't enjoy it much, though.
I liked it very much and look forward to getting it on DVD.
comments
December 10, 2018
Tastefully Understated Holidays
It was time to decorate for Yule and Christmas. Darwin and I had decided to do it last Saturday. A couple days beforehand, however, I said to him, "I was thinking we might just put up the tree and a couple other small things instead of the usual explosion of decorations."
While I like a festive house, as the boys have grown up and moved away, I'm finding nowadays I'm happier with fewer decorations. Every year when we take them down, I'm gladder and gladder to get my living room back. So why not scale back.
Darwin said that he had actually been thinking the same thing. Ah ha! Max was also amenable.
So that's what we did. The three of us decorated the tree, hung a couple of wreaths, and hung stockings. That was it! It looks very nice, too.
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While I like a festive house, as the boys have grown up and moved away, I'm finding nowadays I'm happier with fewer decorations. Every year when we take them down, I'm gladder and gladder to get my living room back. So why not scale back.
Darwin said that he had actually been thinking the same thing. Ah ha! Max was also amenable.
So that's what we did. The three of us decorated the tree, hung a couple of wreaths, and hung stockings. That was it! It looks very nice, too.
comments
