Or you’re wondering if you should go because you didn’t like it last time you went? I’ve been to some 6 ASAs now (not a lot, but enough to draw some generalizations, and hopefully make you feel better about your bad experiences or influence your expectations). So here are some general observations about ASA:
So what’s the vote on Jeremy’s suggestion of getting ribbons for ASA? Yeah or Nay? I don’t want to be the only dork wearing one (although I certainly won’t be the only dork). And more importantly, if yeah (YEAH!) what about the design? Our banner. Someone had suggested a multiple-choice question. But I suspect we [...]
Apparently folks from the island of Lesbos are going to court to claim the name “lesbian”. Seriously. I’m not making that up. Gay “lesbians” violate the human rights of the islanders, so the claim goes… If I lived on Lesbos I’d look for a new name. This seems like fighting a battle after it’s been [...]
Dear America -
Happy May Day. In my humble opinion we shouldn’t be working today. Then again I write this from my office. My first post since April 15th! Wow… What’s happened? Well, in January I found out that my corneas are quickly degenerating. And so I can’t see very well. I have limited work time, [...]
The day my students are allowed to bring guns to class is the day I quit.
So the pope is going to be delivering Mass at Yankee Stadium during his visit here to the US. The Catholic Church is expecting some 57,000 visitors. One of the problems is giving communion to 57,000 people. The pope certainly can’t do that. So the archdiocese of NY has put together a video to help [...]
How do I get a job that isn’t in academia? No one in academia seems to know, and the decision seems to be coded as “failing”. But I don’t really want an academic job. And there aren’t really any resources within most programs to figure out how to do other things.
UPDATE: A very good friend [...]
A while ago I read Sven Beckert’s The Monied Metropolis, a historical account of elite new yorkers in the Gilded Age. It’s a great book. And I recently returned to it because I’ve been thinking of the many parallels to today. In part this is because of the increasing wealth gap, particularly here in [...]
Look at the newest ASR. DiMaggio and Bonikowsi show that workers who used the internet increased their earnings faster than those who did not! So get back online. It’s a way to make more money! Reading this right now may be increasing your earnings. You owe me. You can just buy me a drink at [...]
I’ve been wondering recently about investment returns of wealthy colleges. For example, NPR’s most emailed story right now is on advice from Yale’s investment “wiz”. He earned a 28% return on Yale’s investment last year, and has averaged around 17% return. Here’s the thing: aren’t rates of return tied to risk? Am I crazy? I [...]
If I’m ever giving a talk and it’s advertised like this, I won’t be surprised if no one shows up. Perhaps I’m no longer “fun”. And maybe it’s a bad thing that I don’t think good talks should be fun. Then again, this is more capricious than fun. And that’s actually something I object to [...]
fellow blogger Stanley Fish reflects on French theory in America. I wonder if anyone could write a book called, “American Theory in France”. Or for others, do we not really have theory? Come to think about it, [insert nation here] Theory really only seems to work for France and Germany. Maybe I’m wrong on that.
From someone who is ABD. This is a very liberal paraphrase (you will note that the language is strongly shakha’s), but still accurate, I believe.
I have two committee members who don’t get along. They pull me in different directions. They’re not really interested in what the other person suggests, and sometimes even seem to pull [...]
It looks like the Justice Department was waging an all-out war against civil liberties. One of its most highly praised attorneys was apparently driven out because she is was rumored to be a lesbian. Oddly, the attorney in question is not necessarily “openly” gay - she’s described as being “private” about her sexual preference. And [...]
The London Review of Books has an interesting article about the development of profit in science (biomedical science in particular). It’s by Steven Shapin, who studies the history of science. Shapin tracks the changes in the desire for monetary gain in Science. He begin,
Until fairly recently, you did not choose a scientific career with the [...]
That blogger that abarian pointed out to me just got a massive book deal. What do you think our chances are? More importantly, how would we divy up the cash?
I didn’t know about this. But apparently TODAY there is a global movement to turn off your lights for an hour (starting at 8PM). This reminds me of when I was a kid visiting my family in Pakistan. Every night for an hour electricity was shut off to parts of Lahore. There wasn’t enough of [...]
From an esteemed colleague:
What set of issues should be discussed before two (or more) people agree to write a paper together? There are obvious contenders here - order of authorship, timeline, etc. - but what else is important?
Yes you, fellow scatterbrain posters. I know you’re all busy. But so am I. I can’t keep this going by myself. So post, damn it. Post!
Bees might as well be dancing in the dark. Why? No one cares when they do. I feel their pain. They’re also dying off at an alarming rate. Which has me really worried. I seriously have been up at night thinking about it (apparently they are responsible for the reproduction of about 1/3 of the [...]
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