As an instructor, how can I make the most out of limited contact hours with students? A semester seems like a long time... between 28 and 30 hour-and-twenty-minute meetings. But in reality, that time goes quickly, and when the end of the semester rolls around, I often ask myself, "did my students actually learn anything meaningful?"
To make learning experiences meaningful, I struggle with a basic question that most collegiate educators struggle with daily. Do I go broad, and attempt to "cover" lots of material? Or do I choose core concepts, and go into depth, giving students the time and scaffolding to ask deeper questions about the knowledge itself. This deep thinking is the gold-mine that all instructors are trying to find, but sometimes students need some "surface knowledge" before they can start digging deeper.
But I don't want to spend eighty minutes per class delivering surface knowledge through a stale power point. And by the looks on my students' faces when I lecture for only thirty minutes, they can only take so much surface knowledge, which is great for me, because I would rather have more interaction. Still, we need to cover some important topics. This is where Blended Learning in Higher Education (Jossey-Bass) offers direction. By mixing online instruction with face-to-face instruction in so-called "blended learning" environments (or hybrid courses as they are sometimes called), instructors can leave broad knowledge education to the computer, and make use of face-to-face instruction time to explain complicated topics like only an expert can. Authors Randy Garrison and Norman Vaughan present theoretical backing with practical strategies for designing blended learning classes. They also present six case studies of course redesigns for existing face-to-face courses.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
My Information Diet
I've been prompted to examine my "information diet," which includes all of my sources of information throughout the day.
I typically wake up around 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning, to the sound of the Michigan State University college radio station, Impact 89 FM. I love the awkward first-time DJs, and the station seems to have an early 1990s nostalgia -- lots of grunge.
Ever since I got an iPhone, I now read most of my e-mail in the morning while I am lying in bed. There are about 20 minutes where I don't want to be physically awake and out of bed, but I need to do something to wake my mind up. I get e-mail alerts from ScienceDaily website, which keeps me up to date on a range of topics from Social Psychology to Sensory Perception. Occasionally, I will tweet the findings of the study -- I use twitter to catalog and bookmark things that are of interest to me.
I typically wake up around 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning, to the sound of the Michigan State University college radio station, Impact 89 FM. I love the awkward first-time DJs, and the station seems to have an early 1990s nostalgia -- lots of grunge.
Ever since I got an iPhone, I now read most of my e-mail in the morning while I am lying in bed. There are about 20 minutes where I don't want to be physically awake and out of bed, but I need to do something to wake my mind up. I get e-mail alerts from ScienceDaily website, which keeps me up to date on a range of topics from Social Psychology to Sensory Perception. Occasionally, I will tweet the findings of the study -- I use twitter to catalog and bookmark things that are of interest to me.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The debt ceiling debate that we don't hear about
I am really torn about this debt ceiling debate. On one hand, I see a noisy Republican majority in the House who doesn't care if the government shuts down, a reckless attitude that ignores the impact that this will have of millions of people's lives. On the other hand, the Fed's desire to continue raising the debt ceiling has been somewhat callous and ignorant. The sub-text here is that there are two separate debates: one political, one economic. The political debate has been a theater of incompetence; the Daily Show on Monday, July 25th, characterized it with a YouTube video of a skunk with its head stuck in a peanut butter jar. The economic debate has not been very visible at all -- carried on in the pages of the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.
This fits into a long historical narrative in the United States. Economic decisions are not up for discussion in the public sphere, they are to be made by the men who understand business and commerce. Political decisions -- or more accurately, political theater -- is for the masses. Let the masses be swept up by the political posturing... Republican vs. Democrat... Tea Party vs. the Liberal Scurge of Washington. Which side are you on, brother? Which side are you on?
This fits into a long historical narrative in the United States. Economic decisions are not up for discussion in the public sphere, they are to be made by the men who understand business and commerce. Political decisions -- or more accurately, political theater -- is for the masses. Let the masses be swept up by the political posturing... Republican vs. Democrat... Tea Party vs. the Liberal Scurge of Washington. Which side are you on, brother? Which side are you on?
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
CNN is pathetic
Daily Show commentary on CNN, the news channel that has abandoned the news.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| The Biggest Newser | ||||
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"Public Works" on display
On a recent trip to Chicago, I caught the final day of the Public Works exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Photography. This was right up my alley, I love looking at the landscape and what humans do to it. In most cases, “progress” on the landscape involves a typical set of development behaviors; cut down the trees, grade the land, put in drainage, etc. These behaviors are so deeply ingrained into the default construction code that trying to do something different requires too much thought. When we see the cranes and bulldozers, we typically think “progress,” and so we don’t tend to ask too many questions.
Frank Breuer, Untitled, 2004 (1523 Plum Island, MA)
Anyway, the exhibit… among my favorite pictures were two photographs by Daniel Shea that illustrated mountaintop removal mining. Mountaintop removal is exactly what it sounds like: take huge machines and cut the top right off of a mountain to get at coal seams. This has been going on in Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky for decades, and it is controversial for the large amount of landscape destruction that it causes, as well as the water pollution and toxic run-off. In some cases, dams that hold back sludge ponds have broken and sent millions of gallons of sludge cascading down through narrow mountain valleys. The process is enormously controversial and the EPA has tried to avoid the issue, seeing it as a political third rail it does not want to touch. The first two photographs appeared in the exhibit (the third was not part of the exhibit). These appear on Daniel Shea’s website.
Frank Breuer, Untitled, 2004 (1523 Plum Island, MA)
Anyway, the exhibit… among my favorite pictures were two photographs by Daniel Shea that illustrated mountaintop removal mining. Mountaintop removal is exactly what it sounds like: take huge machines and cut the top right off of a mountain to get at coal seams. This has been going on in Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky for decades, and it is controversial for the large amount of landscape destruction that it causes, as well as the water pollution and toxic run-off. In some cases, dams that hold back sludge ponds have broken and sent millions of gallons of sludge cascading down through narrow mountain valleys. The process is enormously controversial and the EPA has tried to avoid the issue, seeing it as a political third rail it does not want to touch. The first two photographs appeared in the exhibit (the third was not part of the exhibit). These appear on Daniel Shea’s website.
Friday, July 15, 2011
NewsCorp: The actions of a few... or the Business Model?
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Horrible Bosses | ||||
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This clip from the Daily Show gives a little more background on the case (humorously).
Rupert Murdoch has his ass in hot water, Jim, and let me tell you, there isn’t one piece of me that’s rooting for him to come out the other end unscathed. Should the bureaucrats for whom he has shown so much contempt decide to grind him into hamburger, so be it. Bureaucrats are old, angry dogs that sleep in the sun all day, generally too tired to fight until they are poked with a sharp stick one too many times. And when they devour you with the full force of government power that they wield, no diatribes about freedom of the press or strong-handed government interfering with the workings of business will rally enough sensible people to stop the carnage. Didn’t your mother warn you about poking old dogs with sharp sticks?
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Thoughts on My Brand
The junk mail I receive seems to speak for my brand. Today, National Geographic told me that I'm a worldly person:
Sunday, June 12, 2011
The Economic Space of a Children's Hospital
We’ve been analyzing spaces as part of a class I’m taking (qualitative research methods), and we’ve been examining how a space fits into one of the three spheres described by Habermas. Habermas talked about the economic sphere, the public sphere, and the private sphere. For example, a Wal-Mart clearly lies in the economic sphere – it’s a place where you consume, and that message is clear from the minute you walk into the store, with prices displayed prominently and the resounding beeps that Wal-Mart registers make. Habermas contested that the economic sphere is gradually encroaching on spaces that were previously meant to be public spaces. This example was laid bare when we examined the lobby of the new DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Parking Lot Movie
I recently watched this Independent Lens feature (available to stream on NetFlix). This movie documents what happens when dudes with a lot of education run a parking lot. The film's strength is how it portrays people's suspension of civil behaviors and rationality when they are driving their cars, and especially when they are trying to find a parking spot for their cars.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Two TED speeches on waste
This week I want to examine two talks on TED. Both seem to deal with the subject of waste. Dan Phillips uses building materials that would otherwise be wasted in landfills and make homes out of them. Jason Fried campaigns against the senseless waste of time created by the company meeting.
Dan Phillips
Dan Phillips has made his living constructing affordable homes from materials that would otherwise be sent to the landfill. The homes have lots of character, "warts" and things that don't look perfect or regular. Phillips counters that our desire to have houses (and most things) look perfect and predictable have led to a stunning amount of landfill waste. For instance, if we see a cracked window pane, it disrupts the pattern.
Some notable quotes:
Jason Fried
"Where do you go when you really need to get something done?"
Where do I go when I really need to get something done? It can be the office, but only later in the evening or on the weekend. Sometimes it helps to be in a coffee shop. The library can be effective. Sometimes at home in the morning, rarely at night however. Fried likens the work process to sleep. Sleep is ineffective when done in 15 minute increments; sleep's effects are useful only when it progresses through stages. I would agree. On days where I can spend 3-4 hours on a project, uninterrupted, that work has been high quality work. At the same time, some work can be monotonous by nature, can be emotionally draining, and requires frequent distraction to numb the pain.
Fried argues for "no talk afternoons" where office managers and fellow employees will agree to keep silent and not disturb each other while working for the entire afternoon. He also tells managers to cancel this afternoon's meeting... and next week's meeting too. He frames meetings not in "hours lost" but "employee hours lost." A one-hour meeting represents one-hour lost. But if ten people attend the meeting, then multiply that hour lost by ten. By conducting the meeting, the employer has lost ten employee hours, which could have been spent on more productive ventures.
Meetings offer a chance for social interaction, the type of which can be rare in an office which requires less and less human interaction to accomplish tasks. At the same time, meetings seem to put employees in a dismal mood, as they rarely seem to offer a chance for true collaboration. The type of scheduled weekly meetings that nearly every company division or department conducts seem necessary because everyone must be present, and we don't have to go through the misery of scheduling just to have a sit down.
What is the future of meetings? As the gen-x and gen-y employees of today move into tomorrow's management positions, is the weekly meeting a thing of the past? Are gen-x employees savvy enough to find other, more efficient ways to meet? My feeling is that better managers will find more effective ways to meet, and less effective managers will continue with the status quo. Maybe managers don't want to cancel meetings because those meetings provide the only chance for interaction at the office.
Finally, Fried has been asking people "where do you work best?" for years, which got me to thinking about types of data that I could collect from people "over time." I have been trying to think of some enduring questions that I would like to get some direction on before I formally construct them into a survey. Maybe this would be an ideal time to drop them into an internet survey, post them on my website, and try to gather some data from passers by.
Dan Phillips
Dan Phillips has made his living constructing affordable homes from materials that would otherwise be sent to the landfill. The homes have lots of character, "warts" and things that don't look perfect or regular. Phillips counters that our desire to have houses (and most things) look perfect and predictable have led to a stunning amount of landfill waste. For instance, if we see a cracked window pane, it disrupts the pattern.
Some notable quotes:
- "Looking up into the turret, there are bulges and pokes and sags... and if that ruins your life, then you probably shouldn't live there."
- "This light is the same light that appears in every middle class foyer in America. Don't put it in the foyer. Put it in the shower."
- "The Apollonian perspective creates an awful lot of waste. If something isn't perfect, if something doesn't line up with that pre-meditated model of perfect... dumpster!"
Jason Fried
"Where do you go when you really need to get something done?"
Where do I go when I really need to get something done? It can be the office, but only later in the evening or on the weekend. Sometimes it helps to be in a coffee shop. The library can be effective. Sometimes at home in the morning, rarely at night however. Fried likens the work process to sleep. Sleep is ineffective when done in 15 minute increments; sleep's effects are useful only when it progresses through stages. I would agree. On days where I can spend 3-4 hours on a project, uninterrupted, that work has been high quality work. At the same time, some work can be monotonous by nature, can be emotionally draining, and requires frequent distraction to numb the pain.
Fried argues for "no talk afternoons" where office managers and fellow employees will agree to keep silent and not disturb each other while working for the entire afternoon. He also tells managers to cancel this afternoon's meeting... and next week's meeting too. He frames meetings not in "hours lost" but "employee hours lost." A one-hour meeting represents one-hour lost. But if ten people attend the meeting, then multiply that hour lost by ten. By conducting the meeting, the employer has lost ten employee hours, which could have been spent on more productive ventures.
Meetings offer a chance for social interaction, the type of which can be rare in an office which requires less and less human interaction to accomplish tasks. At the same time, meetings seem to put employees in a dismal mood, as they rarely seem to offer a chance for true collaboration. The type of scheduled weekly meetings that nearly every company division or department conducts seem necessary because everyone must be present, and we don't have to go through the misery of scheduling just to have a sit down.
What is the future of meetings? As the gen-x and gen-y employees of today move into tomorrow's management positions, is the weekly meeting a thing of the past? Are gen-x employees savvy enough to find other, more efficient ways to meet? My feeling is that better managers will find more effective ways to meet, and less effective managers will continue with the status quo. Maybe managers don't want to cancel meetings because those meetings provide the only chance for interaction at the office.
Finally, Fried has been asking people "where do you work best?" for years, which got me to thinking about types of data that I could collect from people "over time." I have been trying to think of some enduring questions that I would like to get some direction on before I formally construct them into a survey. Maybe this would be an ideal time to drop them into an internet survey, post them on my website, and try to gather some data from passers by.
Friday, March 18, 2011
"You cannot write up intuition and send it to the White House in intelligence reports"
Robert and Dayna Baer, two former CIA agents who married each other, appeared on Fresh Air on March 7, 2011. They discussed life in the CIA, what it's like to fall in love with another agent, but more interestingly, the current crises in the Middle East and North Africa. Mr. Baer's conclusions that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have commandeered precious intelligence resources away from other countries in the Muslim world was striking. Then he said that despite the lack of intelligence in the region, even good intelligence would have struggled to predict the current uprisings. He stated:
Mr. BAER: You can't collect intelligence on ephemera, of a Tunisian vendor lighting himself on fire and sparking a revolt. We were vaguely aware and have been aware for a long time that if food prices continue to go up, demographic problems and the rest of it, it's eventually going to crack. But, you know, the way it did crack and how quickly, you just - it's a matter of intuition and you cannot write up intuition and send it to the White House in intelligence reports. It just doesn't wash.
I love his statement about writing up intuition and selling it as intelligence. It really helps to differentiate between true knowledge, which has been gathered systematically, analyzed and reviewed, and intuition, which is an educated guess to explain a given situation. What passes for news or intelligence these days is simply intuition. How much will true intelligence be valued in the world of the future?
Mr. BAER: You can't collect intelligence on ephemera, of a Tunisian vendor lighting himself on fire and sparking a revolt. We were vaguely aware and have been aware for a long time that if food prices continue to go up, demographic problems and the rest of it, it's eventually going to crack. But, you know, the way it did crack and how quickly, you just - it's a matter of intuition and you cannot write up intuition and send it to the White House in intelligence reports. It just doesn't wash.
I love his statement about writing up intuition and selling it as intelligence. It really helps to differentiate between true knowledge, which has been gathered systematically, analyzed and reviewed, and intuition, which is an educated guess to explain a given situation. What passes for news or intelligence these days is simply intuition. How much will true intelligence be valued in the world of the future?
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Building an Ideal Workspace
I worked on refining the workspace over the weekend, and I documented this with a few photographs... below is my attempt at time-lapse photography. As you can see in the transition, my office also served as a storage room for all of the clutter in my house.
I am an ardent list-maker, and there were lists scattered all over the desk and the floor.
The desk and table were not aligned in such a way that maximized space.
Gradually, I sorted through a lot of old binders and notebooks from my master's program and found a new home for them. I also rearranged some plants; now that the days are getting longer, they will get enough sunlight in their new places. There is a lot of floor space now, which ironically now has five distinct piles of work (one pile consists of research articles I printed out for a study I am currently conducting... they need to find a binder).
Another important feature, to address my list-making habit... I purchased a 4' x 8' piece of masonite dry-erase board from Home Depot for $12. They cut it down to 3' x 6', and I screwed this to the wall. I'll pick up the charge when I lose my security deposit, but until then, it will be worth it. I have already filled it with three lists, and a complex diagram of the website I am currently redesigning. I can take a picture of a list with my iPhone so I have it with me at work, which seems to simplify the list-following process.
I am an ardent list-maker, and there were lists scattered all over the desk and the floor.
The desk and table were not aligned in such a way that maximized space.
Gradually, I sorted through a lot of old binders and notebooks from my master's program and found a new home for them. I also rearranged some plants; now that the days are getting longer, they will get enough sunlight in their new places. There is a lot of floor space now, which ironically now has five distinct piles of work (one pile consists of research articles I printed out for a study I am currently conducting... they need to find a binder).
Another important feature, to address my list-making habit... I purchased a 4' x 8' piece of masonite dry-erase board from Home Depot for $12. They cut it down to 3' x 6', and I screwed this to the wall. I'll pick up the charge when I lose my security deposit, but until then, it will be worth it. I have already filled it with three lists, and a complex diagram of the website I am currently redesigning. I can take a picture of a list with my iPhone so I have it with me at work, which seems to simplify the list-following process.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Michael Steele plays along on the Daily Show
If you haven't followed the Daily Show's running puppet satire of Michael Steele (former chairman of the RNC), this video might not make much sense. Steele's resemblance to the blue Muppet who frequently had something wrong with his soup morphed into Wyatt Cenac's rhyming-version of Steele, whose speech was filled with lots of extra "bibbles."
Once the jokes were over, Steele was pretty candid about his ouster as RNC Chairman... kind of refreshing for the RNC, whose language is usually cloaked in the typical motherhood and apple-pie BS. Among his interesting comments were that the Republican Party has "a bit of a blindspot" when it comes to the legacy of Ronald Reagan, and noting that fiscal responsibility hasn't been that important for many Republican administrations (raising the debt limit, deficit spending).
Steele, in his media appearances, always seemed like a bumbling idiot, making countless gaffes. In this appearance on the Daily Show, he seems pretty free-wheeling and honest, like perhaps he was meant to be a back-room deal-maker, a fixer, not a front-man. The amount of diplomacy that goes into being the face of an organization is remarkable, and a lot of talented individuals just aren't cut out for it.
Once the jokes were over, Steele was pretty candid about his ouster as RNC Chairman... kind of refreshing for the RNC, whose language is usually cloaked in the typical motherhood and apple-pie BS. Among his interesting comments were that the Republican Party has "a bit of a blindspot" when it comes to the legacy of Ronald Reagan, and noting that fiscal responsibility hasn't been that important for many Republican administrations (raising the debt limit, deficit spending).
Steele, in his media appearances, always seemed like a bumbling idiot, making countless gaffes. In this appearance on the Daily Show, he seems pretty free-wheeling and honest, like perhaps he was meant to be a back-room deal-maker, a fixer, not a front-man. The amount of diplomacy that goes into being the face of an organization is remarkable, and a lot of talented individuals just aren't cut out for it.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Abandoned Detroit: "Ruin Porn"
Michigan Radio recently ran a story on The Cost of Creativity, a think piece designed to show the importance of arts funding to a state with a huge budget deficit. The story included a segment that discussed photographers "parachuting in" to Detroit, taking pictures of the numerous architectural landmarks that are now in ruins, then leaving to tell a "cliche" story of urban decay. One Vice Magazine column categorized the obsession with decayed landmarks as "ruin porn," (I found myself thinking, "that's a good point," then questioning the source as I glanced at the widget next to the article that featured pictures from their famous hipster critique, "Do's/Don'ts").
Other websites have attempted the classical objective approach. Buildings of Detroit, a project of author Dan Austin and photographer Sean Doerr, logs hundreds of photographs of formerly grand buildings now in varying states of decay, and provides a comprehensive list of architects of major city landmarks. The composition of Andrew Moore's photographs take me further below the surface than those featured by Buildings of Detroit. Can't Forget the Motor City shows a slightly more upbeat vision of the city, although sometimes the photographs seem a little contrived. My personal favorite? A B+W photo of two hands holding up an LP of Michael Jackson's Thriller against a sunset. A great picture, but it could have been taken anywhere.
I used the word "objective" to describe the Buildings of Detroit website, but it's hard to be objective when you take pictures of ruins -- or pictures of anything for that matter. If you don't address the story of how those ruins came to be, you're missing the point. Detroit is an extreme example of the decay that many American cities, large and small, experienced as the "American Century" came to a close. Cities arose to house the millions of factory workers within walking distance of the factory. As transit, especially cars, allowed people to live miles from the factory, it brought into question the necessity of cities in the first place. And as those factories disappear to the third world due to the free trade movement, what's the point of living in a city? You have to find some other reason, besides gainful employment, to live where you live.
But you know, it's not just cities. What about small towns on the western prairies, whose populations have dwindled since farm consolidation and the rise of monoculture? Or the struggling coal-towns and mill-towns of the Appalachians, whose work dried up as the coal ran out, or the jobs went to Brazil? I guess what I am searching for is the glue that holds these simultaneous (and apparently non-related) events together.
A couple of possibilities. (1) In America, you can always reinvent yourself, and if something doesn't go the way you want it to go in Detroit, just pick up and move to Iowa. And if Iowa sucks, move on to New Mexico. There's no reason to settle. There's no force that can cause you to put down serious roots. (2) Collective thinking in America -- between business interests, government, and public policy experts -- is not capable of thinking ahead more than about six months. Businesses see short-term profits... or they may see long term profits, but are too possessed in where the money is coming from right now to plan for the future. Politicians are only thinking as far as the next election cycle. Few people in positions of influence are saying, "what do we do when the coal runs out?" On farms, "what do we do when the aquifer dries up?" In cities, "What do we do if nobody wants to live here anymore?"
These are tough questions, indeed. Certainly, Roman advisers were telling Emperors that the Empire was getting too big, that it was getting tougher to train good soldiers to fight the barbarians. Certainly, advisers told the British parliamentarians that it was getting expensive to run an Empire upon which the sun never set, and that the willpower of its soldiers was fading, after two world wars, and countless years of keeping their boots on the necks of colonial subjects. The response from those in power has typically been to ignore the advice, like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand, or to reject the advise as patently wrong. Even serious global disturbances don't seem to shake our leaders, and making tough decisions is not something leaders engage in for pleasure, despite the fact that we've appointed or elected them to make those hard decisions.
My god. It's thirty minutes later and I still haven't made my point. But... I can't put a point on that. Not every situation has a clean resolution. Human nature is not bound to change. The Greeks called it Hubris. Res ipsa loquitor... the thing explains itself.
Other websites have attempted the classical objective approach. Buildings of Detroit, a project of author Dan Austin and photographer Sean Doerr, logs hundreds of photographs of formerly grand buildings now in varying states of decay, and provides a comprehensive list of architects of major city landmarks. The composition of Andrew Moore's photographs take me further below the surface than those featured by Buildings of Detroit. Can't Forget the Motor City shows a slightly more upbeat vision of the city, although sometimes the photographs seem a little contrived. My personal favorite? A B+W photo of two hands holding up an LP of Michael Jackson's Thriller against a sunset. A great picture, but it could have been taken anywhere.
I used the word "objective" to describe the Buildings of Detroit website, but it's hard to be objective when you take pictures of ruins -- or pictures of anything for that matter. If you don't address the story of how those ruins came to be, you're missing the point. Detroit is an extreme example of the decay that many American cities, large and small, experienced as the "American Century" came to a close. Cities arose to house the millions of factory workers within walking distance of the factory. As transit, especially cars, allowed people to live miles from the factory, it brought into question the necessity of cities in the first place. And as those factories disappear to the third world due to the free trade movement, what's the point of living in a city? You have to find some other reason, besides gainful employment, to live where you live.
But you know, it's not just cities. What about small towns on the western prairies, whose populations have dwindled since farm consolidation and the rise of monoculture? Or the struggling coal-towns and mill-towns of the Appalachians, whose work dried up as the coal ran out, or the jobs went to Brazil? I guess what I am searching for is the glue that holds these simultaneous (and apparently non-related) events together.
A couple of possibilities. (1) In America, you can always reinvent yourself, and if something doesn't go the way you want it to go in Detroit, just pick up and move to Iowa. And if Iowa sucks, move on to New Mexico. There's no reason to settle. There's no force that can cause you to put down serious roots. (2) Collective thinking in America -- between business interests, government, and public policy experts -- is not capable of thinking ahead more than about six months. Businesses see short-term profits... or they may see long term profits, but are too possessed in where the money is coming from right now to plan for the future. Politicians are only thinking as far as the next election cycle. Few people in positions of influence are saying, "what do we do when the coal runs out?" On farms, "what do we do when the aquifer dries up?" In cities, "What do we do if nobody wants to live here anymore?"
These are tough questions, indeed. Certainly, Roman advisers were telling Emperors that the Empire was getting too big, that it was getting tougher to train good soldiers to fight the barbarians. Certainly, advisers told the British parliamentarians that it was getting expensive to run an Empire upon which the sun never set, and that the willpower of its soldiers was fading, after two world wars, and countless years of keeping their boots on the necks of colonial subjects. The response from those in power has typically been to ignore the advice, like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand, or to reject the advise as patently wrong. Even serious global disturbances don't seem to shake our leaders, and making tough decisions is not something leaders engage in for pleasure, despite the fact that we've appointed or elected them to make those hard decisions.
My god. It's thirty minutes later and I still haven't made my point. But... I can't put a point on that. Not every situation has a clean resolution. Human nature is not bound to change. The Greeks called it Hubris. Res ipsa loquitor... the thing explains itself.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Does where we live make us happy?
I stumbled upon this index of "Happiest American Cities" and it got me to thinking about just what exactly makes me happy to live where I live. East Lansing, Michigan, is not the kind of place I brag about living. It's not "where it's at," but for me, it has what I need: I walk to work each day, I enjoy my job and my education at Michigan State, and I have been satisfied by the relationships I have formed with the many people I have met in the past half-year. It doesn't have the vibrancy and diversity a huge city, but has enough cultural diversity so that it doesn't seem isolated. Despite hard economic times throughout Michigan, there is a friendly resilience to most of the people I have met.
When you examine the list of the happiest cities, the apparent trend is that western cities are happier places. I would have picked Boulder, CO (the happiest city) for my top ten, and would have probably included Fort Collins, Salt Lake City, Santa Cruz/Monterrey, and Boise in the top 20. There are numerous smaller cities that were not included for this survey (only metro areas of 250K qualified), and quite frankly, I would suspect that many smaller cities would eclipse these cities by a significant margin. For instance, Ithaca, NY -- where I spent four years as an undergraduate at Ithaca College -- has an excellent quality of life, despite the dreary and gray winters. Ithaca is home to Cornell University (and IC, don't forget), boasts about 50,000 people, and is lodged in a beautiful natural setting, rife with hills, waterfalls and Cayuga Lake. The people who populate the city are generally enlightened, tolerant, and progressive. There are many small cities throughout the US that offer similar amenities... big city feel without the attitude... and with a closer proximity to nature.
The other point that interests me stems from a recent conversation with a colleague, who elaborated that people in the west "work to play," reflecting a different approach towards the meaning and purpose of employment. It is a somewhat unfamiliar idea to me, having grown up in the Northeast, an area of the country that seems to pride itself on working for the sake of financial and social advancement. The Northeast is an expensive place to live, and there aren't many places in the BosWash corridor where you can simply settle down, live in a bungalow-style home near a bike trail and a farmer's market, and barely scratch out enough income to pay the mortgage. And what would be the point? Subsistence living, to me, only makes sense in areas where there are significant natural features to justify living a meager lifestyle. You move to the Northeast to make money. There are lots of jobs, but the price you pay... the price...
Which brings up another point... if you weren't interested in financial or social advancement, why would you live in the Northeast? My best guess is that people have lived in Northeastern cities for generations. It was the first and only stop for many immigrants to this country, and many of their descendants have put down serious roots. When I left Philly three years ago to pursue a master's degree in Minnesota, many people asked, "why would you leave Philly, everything you need is right here?" The best conclusion I have is that people's primary reason for choosing a place to live is based on two things: jobs and family. Why would you tear up your roots if the job situation is "good enough?"
I am sure the western climate contributes to happiness. However, I also suspect that many people chose such locales because they knew that the place they lived would influence their happiness. For those who have the wherewithal to make that decision, congratulations on finding a great place to live. For those who don't care to make that kind of a move, find a reason to enjoy where you are, and bloom where you are planted.
When you examine the list of the happiest cities, the apparent trend is that western cities are happier places. I would have picked Boulder, CO (the happiest city) for my top ten, and would have probably included Fort Collins, Salt Lake City, Santa Cruz/Monterrey, and Boise in the top 20. There are numerous smaller cities that were not included for this survey (only metro areas of 250K qualified), and quite frankly, I would suspect that many smaller cities would eclipse these cities by a significant margin. For instance, Ithaca, NY -- where I spent four years as an undergraduate at Ithaca College -- has an excellent quality of life, despite the dreary and gray winters. Ithaca is home to Cornell University (and IC, don't forget), boasts about 50,000 people, and is lodged in a beautiful natural setting, rife with hills, waterfalls and Cayuga Lake. The people who populate the city are generally enlightened, tolerant, and progressive. There are many small cities throughout the US that offer similar amenities... big city feel without the attitude... and with a closer proximity to nature.
The other point that interests me stems from a recent conversation with a colleague, who elaborated that people in the west "work to play," reflecting a different approach towards the meaning and purpose of employment. It is a somewhat unfamiliar idea to me, having grown up in the Northeast, an area of the country that seems to pride itself on working for the sake of financial and social advancement. The Northeast is an expensive place to live, and there aren't many places in the BosWash corridor where you can simply settle down, live in a bungalow-style home near a bike trail and a farmer's market, and barely scratch out enough income to pay the mortgage. And what would be the point? Subsistence living, to me, only makes sense in areas where there are significant natural features to justify living a meager lifestyle. You move to the Northeast to make money. There are lots of jobs, but the price you pay... the price...
Which brings up another point... if you weren't interested in financial or social advancement, why would you live in the Northeast? My best guess is that people have lived in Northeastern cities for generations. It was the first and only stop for many immigrants to this country, and many of their descendants have put down serious roots. When I left Philly three years ago to pursue a master's degree in Minnesota, many people asked, "why would you leave Philly, everything you need is right here?" The best conclusion I have is that people's primary reason for choosing a place to live is based on two things: jobs and family. Why would you tear up your roots if the job situation is "good enough?"
I am sure the western climate contributes to happiness. However, I also suspect that many people chose such locales because they knew that the place they lived would influence their happiness. For those who have the wherewithal to make that decision, congratulations on finding a great place to live. For those who don't care to make that kind of a move, find a reason to enjoy where you are, and bloom where you are planted.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia
Just watched this gritty documentary on dancing, fatalism, and pill-popping in coal country W.Va. Best part, hands down... one of the dudes shaking a bottle of pills, "that's the Boone County matin' call." The movie chronicles the White family of Boone County, WV, who seem to be a relic of the Hatfield-McCoy era.
The movie is marked by rampant drug use, mostly snorting prescription pills like Xanax and Vicodin, and lots of casual pot smoking. This goes on during most family gatherings. In the final scene, where they are having a party out at a city park, the little kids are drinking and smoking by nightfall. During the 84th birthday party for Bertie Mae, grandmother of the family, the younger Whites slowly bust out more and more hardcore drugs, and Bertie Mae walks away saying, "drugs and computers is the downfall of mankind."
A few county officials provide some background on the county and the White family, placing them into the context of the fatalistic coal-mining culture of the WV Hill Country. A Deputy Commissioner's comments about West Virginia being owned by external interests, "like an African colony," were spot on, and strangely frank coming from a Law man.
My brother commented that the film lays bare the "terrifying beauty of west virginia," and that is damn right in my mind. "Terrifying Beauty" is such a great way to sum up West Virginia, as if "Wild and Wonderful," the state slogan, was not honest enough. I have felt the terrifying beauty of WV since I was a child, driving to Lost River State Park for a camping trip. On the way in, we drove past a revival of snake-handlers. My recollection of that weekend is that of being brought face to face with a version of humanity that was slightly more raw than the version I knew. Memories like that from childhood really stand out.
As for West VA, I could spend years just driving around that place. I recall all of our family trips to Missouri as a young child, when we took a winding highway through the mountains instead of the interstate. And a few summers ago, when I spent a few nights camping in the Mon Forest, I recall driving up a mountain pass on US-33 in a thunderstorm. WV is stuck in time, somewhat... modernization is wished for, but rarely made to happen.
In a related move, I just ordered a box set of the Wire, which when juxtaposed (Graduate school word) with the "Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia," has a lot of striking similarities... fatalism, honor codes, and an astounding level of drug abuse.
The movie is marked by rampant drug use, mostly snorting prescription pills like Xanax and Vicodin, and lots of casual pot smoking. This goes on during most family gatherings. In the final scene, where they are having a party out at a city park, the little kids are drinking and smoking by nightfall. During the 84th birthday party for Bertie Mae, grandmother of the family, the younger Whites slowly bust out more and more hardcore drugs, and Bertie Mae walks away saying, "drugs and computers is the downfall of mankind."
A few county officials provide some background on the county and the White family, placing them into the context of the fatalistic coal-mining culture of the WV Hill Country. A Deputy Commissioner's comments about West Virginia being owned by external interests, "like an African colony," were spot on, and strangely frank coming from a Law man.
My brother commented that the film lays bare the "terrifying beauty of west virginia," and that is damn right in my mind. "Terrifying Beauty" is such a great way to sum up West Virginia, as if "Wild and Wonderful," the state slogan, was not honest enough. I have felt the terrifying beauty of WV since I was a child, driving to Lost River State Park for a camping trip. On the way in, we drove past a revival of snake-handlers. My recollection of that weekend is that of being brought face to face with a version of humanity that was slightly more raw than the version I knew. Memories like that from childhood really stand out.
As for West VA, I could spend years just driving around that place. I recall all of our family trips to Missouri as a young child, when we took a winding highway through the mountains instead of the interstate. And a few summers ago, when I spent a few nights camping in the Mon Forest, I recall driving up a mountain pass on US-33 in a thunderstorm. WV is stuck in time, somewhat... modernization is wished for, but rarely made to happen.
In a related move, I just ordered a box set of the Wire, which when juxtaposed (Graduate school word) with the "Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia," has a lot of striking similarities... fatalism, honor codes, and an astounding level of drug abuse.
Stats Video
Thanks to my brother Brian for this link. Wonder what America's stats would look like if you broke out regions, populations, etc.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
From the Daily Show - Revenue Crunch for States
| Main St. Anytown U.S.A. | |
Most states (47 of 50) are out of money and looking for ways to generate revenue without increasing taxes or changing tax structures. The fear seems to be that if taxes are increased, businesses and people with higher incomes will leave the state and relocate to other states where taxes are lower. I think this argument is too simple. It's impossible to have low taxes and a high standard of living. A high standard of living means good schools, affordable health care, transportation infrastructure, clean and safe neighborhoods. That has a cost.
It's a dire situation. Guardian Angels to supplement police cutbacks in Camden, NJ? Stewart calls Camden "the place where people from Newark go to feel better about Newark." Pennsylvania governor Ed "Fast Eddy" Rendell (former Philly mayor and ardent Eagles fan) has staked Pennsylvania's revenue future on casinos. Rendell was the governor who complained about the "wussification" of America when an Eagles game was postponed due to an impending snowstorm. Wussification? He didn't have enough guts, even as an outgoing second-term governor, to say, "we need to raise taxes." He's not alone though. Few politicians are willing to admit we need to adjust our tax structure and make some significant cuts. Most just keep passing the buck.
What's ironic is that "low tax" states attracting business will find themselves in this same situation in 20 years, when they are losing businesses to a new surging economy (such as Mexico). Watch Stewart's interview with Governor Rick Perry of Texas. Perry claims that Texas can attract businesses to relocate from the high-tax climate of California, because Texas is a low-tax state. But he's recruiting the employees too, and within ten years, employees from high tech businesses are going to want California-quality schools in Texas, and that costs money. What I mean by "California quality schools" is teaching evolution instead of creationism, schools that provide lots of opportunities for extra-curricular engagement, and every AP course imaginable. But go on, Rick Perry, you can reap the whirlwind of recruiting thousands of highly educated liberal tech-sector workers to your state. I think you'll be looking at a sea-change.
| Rick Perry Pt. 2 | |
If you are in state government, shop around for the types of businesses that are looking to settle down and establish roots, not the business that wants to the immediate tax break. Wait. It's not the job of state governments to recruit businesses. Their job is to govern.
Friday, January 14, 2011
From the Daily Show - Larry Wilmore's Take on Huck Finn
This is such an old argument. Wilmore makes his point humorously. He also pokes fun at the current congress for whitewashing history in their recent edited reading of the Constitution on the floor of the House, which omitted the section about slaves counting as three-fifths of a person.
This clip appeared on the Daily Show with John Stewart (January 11, 2011).
This clip appeared on the Daily Show with John Stewart (January 11, 2011).
A second go-round
This blog represents my attempt to re-romance the web.
Ten years ago, or thereabouts, I spent a lot of time creating websites. It started with a website for the Ithaca College swim team (I'm a 2000 IC alum), which probably provided a little too much information on some of our team's extracurricular activities. The college and sports information weren't savvy enough to notice that there were pictures of athletes drinking beer on a quasi-official team site (I will attribute my indiscretion to the fact that I was a 20 year-old college boy lacking anything that resembled good judgment). That was 1998... a different time, indeed.
I was convinced I could make a living as a web-designer in the summer of 1999. That was the peak of the internet bubble. By the time I graduated in Spring of 2000, the jobs were sparse and only being given to designers with five years of experience or more... not to any college grad with a heartbeat. That was a let-down. I found a temp job in the Philly suburbs instead of a job in SoHo.
In 2001, I made a half-hearted attempt to make money in web-design. This included doing some free-lance work for a friend's mother's non-profit. It was a decent website, had all the basics. But things started getting more difficult, I had to learn new hosting systems that were more complicated than the IC servers. If you wanted to provide a space for user feedback, that involved learning .asp code, or maybe .php code, and I lost interest. The web evolved quickly. I couldn't hack it part-time.
Anyway, cut to 2011. I'm in my early thirties, a decade later, and the web has experienced a few great "shake-outs." The heavy-hitters have been established. The expectation of a web-presence for future faculty is clear. So this is my second foray into the web.
As for the title, "SpartanSpartan." The first "Spartan" is the word in its adjective form: "simple; showing an indifference to luxury," which characterizes my general belief about life. The second "Spartan," in its noun form (or mascot form), refers to my current status at Michigan State U (mascot=Spartans)... also was my high school mascot... so it seems to have some relevance to me.
Ten years ago, or thereabouts, I spent a lot of time creating websites. It started with a website for the Ithaca College swim team (I'm a 2000 IC alum), which probably provided a little too much information on some of our team's extracurricular activities. The college and sports information weren't savvy enough to notice that there were pictures of athletes drinking beer on a quasi-official team site (I will attribute my indiscretion to the fact that I was a 20 year-old college boy lacking anything that resembled good judgment). That was 1998... a different time, indeed.
I was convinced I could make a living as a web-designer in the summer of 1999. That was the peak of the internet bubble. By the time I graduated in Spring of 2000, the jobs were sparse and only being given to designers with five years of experience or more... not to any college grad with a heartbeat. That was a let-down. I found a temp job in the Philly suburbs instead of a job in SoHo.
In 2001, I made a half-hearted attempt to make money in web-design. This included doing some free-lance work for a friend's mother's non-profit. It was a decent website, had all the basics. But things started getting more difficult, I had to learn new hosting systems that were more complicated than the IC servers. If you wanted to provide a space for user feedback, that involved learning .asp code, or maybe .php code, and I lost interest. The web evolved quickly. I couldn't hack it part-time.
Anyway, cut to 2011. I'm in my early thirties, a decade later, and the web has experienced a few great "shake-outs." The heavy-hitters have been established. The expectation of a web-presence for future faculty is clear. So this is my second foray into the web.
As for the title, "SpartanSpartan." The first "Spartan" is the word in its adjective form: "simple; showing an indifference to luxury," which characterizes my general belief about life. The second "Spartan," in its noun form (or mascot form), refers to my current status at Michigan State U (mascot=Spartans)... also was my high school mascot... so it seems to have some relevance to me.
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