I've actually gotten some good work done the past 24-36 hours and am feeling both surprised and a bit righteous.
Ok...that righteous feeling will go away REALLY quickly, especially if I bother to look that the to-do list of projects I should be working on, submissions I should have ready or going, articles to read, conferences to think about, dissertation proposal pieces to work on, etc etc, ad nauseum.
Well...that about did it right there. Wonderful... I'm my own personal joy-kill, or kill-joy.
..sigh...
I WAS feeling good because of seeing some progress on projects and my work. I'm not going to get into details here since I'm a paranoid idiot...but let's just leave it at 'digital library related' and 'teens and web or digital library related'. Gawd, could I be more vague??!!
The second of those 'mentioned' projects is one I'm doing outside of my work at Metro U, on an area of interest and something a bit tangential to my Diss work. But I'm doing it because it's interesting, will give me something publishable while the Big D work is in progress and winding through the Hell of IRB. [THAT is another topic for another blog post... or a whole bunch of 'em sometime!] And perhaps most importantly, I'm doing it because I get to work with Blue on it. Any chance to reconnect and keep things going with my former advisor, and always mentor, is a big plus in my book. So the project will fly on under the radar.
How long it flies under the radar may be limited as I need to make some progress reports to the Powers that Be soon...and because I kind of want access to some data that's now housed at Metro and connected to my 'work' project.
Ok...I admit. That made sense only to my addled little brain, and even then I'm not 100% sure of that. This may be one of those great posts that made sense to me at the time I wrote it, and if I read it again in 3 months I'll go "huh??" particularly becuase of my cryptic nature. I may fool even myself...
Friday, January 26, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Non-required Reading
Formerly known as 'Recommended Reading'.
Ok, that's stretching things a bit since I only had one other post with that title and thus that harldy constitutes a theme or a recuring element. And, especially given the subject of the first link, maybe this semi-regular posting should be called "More damn ways to procrastinate, or only fool yourself into thinking you're working."
The other alternate title should be something along the lines of "Stuff you're interested in but don't bother reading when you find it and think you're going to come back to, but hardly ever do, cause you can't remember you posted it in the first place."
All of which begs the question as to why I'm doing this in the first place?? No, not 'why am I in grad school...again... in the first place' ... that's an ongoing issue for me, my advisor and my therapist. See the last post and the discussion on "imposter syndrome". But for now...'been there, done that' on that argument. No, while that's a great ongoing discussion and frequent blogging topic (ok, practically the ONLY ongoing blog topic I have. sheesh. THAT oughta tell me something...), it is not what I meant. I was talking about why, if it's so damn hard for grad students to stay focused and keep plugging away, do so many of us find the need to post reminders to ourselves or to the Web ether, about things to read, things to distract ourselves... giant, neon-glowing-red tangents.
I don't know.
But here they are for the week. Or for the day. Whatever...
Procrastinaton Central -- semi-academic look at procrastination. Including a survey to measure your procrastination. Wow...that's taking it to a whole new abusrd level.
How to create the perfect password , a compound password.
[Link from LIS News ]
From Salon, a review of Barry Glassner book on our culture's obsession with food. The Gospel of Food
We have lots of 'foodie' related books at my house and something tells me this one will eventually make its way in. I'd lay bets on how long it takes to appear on DH's Amazon wish list...
Procrasdistractions-- amusing new word coined by The Academic Coach
Lessons for dealing with stress -- new article from Time .Including lesson 1: Remember to breathe
Damn. I always have such problems with that one. No wonder I'm not getting anything done...lying around here getting blue lips and bugged out eyes because I was so stressed out I forgot to do that elemental thing.
No, seriously, it's about meditative or focused breathing, a good thing-- and other tips to combat stress. Can always use those right? Even if we've heard 'em before.
Great post about digital libraries, teaching history, visual literacy, images in teaching. (must send this link to Mambo!!) Recommendations for additional reading here, current research and more. This is a personal must-read [all that crap up at the top about how I often forget to finish reading this stuff...well, I'm gonna have to combat it big time on this one!] From some conference called ELI...oh wait... you nincompoop, that's "Educause Learning Initiative". Geez...I'm a moron at times. Of course it has good, relevant stuff!
And finally...
Category of "Who the hell knew?!"
There is a Blog Carnival for the Info Sciences and here . Well d'uh, of course there is. I mean there's a Carnival for everything isn't there??!!
There is this cool interactive map on Frappr (ok, a web bling I was only vaguely aware of, and a 'procrasdistraction' for another day...) of 'blogging librarians'. Hmmm, not such a nerdy looking group-- no librarian stereotypes there!
And this one is just an interesting approach to using a blog to help you along in your dissertation work-- this person uses each post to talk about an article read, giving summaries, etc. I'm only guessing at how that gets used later, for the lit review or something? But an interesting thought. But not necessarily interesting reading...which opens up a whole new point of discussion for another time!
Ok, that's stretching things a bit since I only had one other post with that title and thus that harldy constitutes a theme or a recuring element. And, especially given the subject of the first link, maybe this semi-regular posting should be called "More damn ways to procrastinate, or only fool yourself into thinking you're working."
The other alternate title should be something along the lines of "Stuff you're interested in but don't bother reading when you find it and think you're going to come back to, but hardly ever do, cause you can't remember you posted it in the first place."
All of which begs the question as to why I'm doing this in the first place?? No, not 'why am I in grad school...again... in the first place' ... that's an ongoing issue for me, my advisor and my therapist. See the last post and the discussion on "imposter syndrome". But for now...'been there, done that' on that argument. No, while that's a great ongoing discussion and frequent blogging topic (ok, practically the ONLY ongoing blog topic I have. sheesh. THAT oughta tell me something...), it is not what I meant. I was talking about why, if it's so damn hard for grad students to stay focused and keep plugging away, do so many of us find the need to post reminders to ourselves or to the Web ether, about things to read, things to distract ourselves... giant, neon-glowing-red tangents.
I don't know.
But here they are for the week. Or for the day. Whatever...
Procrastinaton Central -- semi-academic look at procrastination. Including a survey to measure your procrastination. Wow...that's taking it to a whole new abusrd level.
How to create the perfect password , a compound password.
[Link from LIS News ]
From Salon, a review of Barry Glassner book on our culture's obsession with food. The Gospel of Food
"Glassner ... takes on nearly every sacred cow of contemporary food culture. High-end restaurant reviewers, eaters seeking "authentic" ethnic eateries, organic converts, local agriculture proponents, and fast food's detractors all receive a methodical interrogation of the accuracy of their claims... examines nearly every issue populating the food landscape "Gospel" shines brightest when he turns his gaze to two that are frequently absent from it: poverty and class... laundry list of inaccurate spins should not be taken as a humorless diatribe. "Gospel" is also sprinkled with a passionate eater's enthusiasm for cuisines both street and haute."
We have lots of 'foodie' related books at my house and something tells me this one will eventually make its way in. I'd lay bets on how long it takes to appear on DH's Amazon wish list...
Procrasdistractions-- amusing new word coined by The Academic Coach
"You finally sit down to write and suddenly you remember bills unpaid, dogs unfed, thank you notes unwritten, phone calls unmade, dishes dirty. And all of these tasks feel surprisingly pressing. I call these thoughts that charge into your mind, blasting away all thoughts of your task at hand, “procrasdistractions.”
Lessons for dealing with stress -- new article from Time .Including lesson 1: Remember to breathe
Damn. I always have such problems with that one. No wonder I'm not getting anything done...lying around here getting blue lips and bugged out eyes because I was so stressed out I forgot to do that elemental thing.
No, seriously, it's about meditative or focused breathing, a good thing-- and other tips to combat stress. Can always use those right? Even if we've heard 'em before.
Great post about digital libraries, teaching history, visual literacy, images in teaching. (must send this link to Mambo!!) Recommendations for additional reading here, current research and more. This is a personal must-read [all that crap up at the top about how I often forget to finish reading this stuff...well, I'm gonna have to combat it big time on this one!] From some conference called ELI...oh wait... you nincompoop, that's "Educause Learning Initiative". Geez...I'm a moron at times. Of course it has good, relevant stuff!
And finally...
Category of "Who the hell knew?!"
There is a Blog Carnival for the Info Sciences and here . Well d'uh, of course there is. I mean there's a Carnival for everything isn't there??!!
There is this cool interactive map on Frappr (ok, a web bling I was only vaguely aware of, and a 'procrasdistraction' for another day...) of 'blogging librarians'. Hmmm, not such a nerdy looking group-- no librarian stereotypes there!
And this one is just an interesting approach to using a blog to help you along in your dissertation work-- this person uses each post to talk about an article read, giving summaries, etc. I'm only guessing at how that gets used later, for the lit review or something? But an interesting thought. But not necessarily interesting reading...which opens up a whole new point of discussion for another time!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Help from the blogosphere
Saw this post on BlogHer, which I don't often read (but very occasionally look at the education blogroll), but caught this one because of the reference to Bitch PhD. Post is about a talk given at Emory about mentoring grad students. [conference on education was going on at same time...I thought about trying to submit for this one or go to it at some point...may do so someday-- Educause. ]
I really like this part discussing something that many grad students undoubtedly feel at some time, I know I sure as hell have... "imposter syndrome".
Wow. Well, that pretty much sums up a whole lot of complaining, venting, angsting, whining and banging my head against a wall for the past 18 months...literally, figuratively and "blog-ily".
Why can't Metro U or my dept have some of these mentoring tools and tips as mentioned in the Bitch PhD talk, or one the many websites out there for helping grad students? Like this one from U of North TX for Sociology students, or this one from Inside Higher Ed [didn't I blog about this earlier???] ? this site has a long article on mentoring (in a very poorly designed website. ugh. and I have serious concerns about its credibility despite its good intentions because I have no idea who this org is... ahh, an information literacy and web credibility problem within my own little posting...great!) From a more credible site (About.com-- commercial yes, but fairly reliable and credible) there's an article as part of a series on grad studies and relationships with faculty. From the west there's this set of resources from U Washington, including a link to 'helping prepare future faculty'.
I'm not the only one out in the blogosphere looking for help, railing at their university to do more, do something more concrete and logical. Love this quote, "Signing progress reports does not a mentor make. " HA! Hello, Metro U?? Are you listening??!
This started as me wanting to link out to others in the academic blogosphere who are helping others, and to take some of that energy out there and channel it. I don't have a whole lot to offer back in terms of mentoring, but I'll work on it for later.
I really like this part discussing something that many grad students undoubtedly feel at some time, I know I sure as hell have... "imposter syndrome".
One such issue is impostor
syndrome, where, in a grad school context, you feel as if you don't
really belong where you are, that you're a fraud and everyone will eventually
find out. You're not intelligent enough, you haven't read enough, you don't work
as hard as everyone else--and when you do work
hard, you feel as if your labor gets you nowhere.
Wow. Well, that pretty much sums up a whole lot of complaining, venting, angsting, whining and banging my head against a wall for the past 18 months...literally, figuratively and "blog-ily".
Why can't Metro U or my dept have some of these mentoring tools and tips as mentioned in the Bitch PhD talk, or one the many websites out there for helping grad students? Like this one from U of North TX for Sociology students, or this one from Inside Higher Ed [didn't I blog about this earlier???] ? this site has a long article on mentoring (in a very poorly designed website. ugh. and I have serious concerns about its credibility despite its good intentions because I have no idea who this org is... ahh, an information literacy and web credibility problem within my own little posting...great!) From a more credible site (About.com-- commercial yes, but fairly reliable and credible) there's an article as part of a series on grad studies and relationships with faculty. From the west there's this set of resources from U Washington, including a link to 'helping prepare future faculty'.
I'm not the only one out in the blogosphere looking for help, railing at their university to do more, do something more concrete and logical. Love this quote, "Signing progress reports does not a mentor make. " HA! Hello, Metro U?? Are you listening??!
This started as me wanting to link out to others in the academic blogosphere who are helping others, and to take some of that energy out there and channel it. I don't have a whole lot to offer back in terms of mentoring, but I'll work on it for later.
Lesson in brevity
Tag...I'm "it". Elle tagged me with this muse to go out thou and be witty, creative and do it all in only 6 words. Well, now if that doesn't get the writing juices going, gee what will?! hmmm...
Ok, what I have so far...
Dark. Noises. Alone. Mom's home. Safe.
Tied. No time. Throw. Caught? Joy!
Glances. Whispers. Sighs. Kiss. Partners. Endure.
Questions abound. Found book. Answered safely.
No more hate. Peace is love.
Research stalled. Motivation scarce. Need chocolate!
[ or its alternate.... Need sleep! ]
Hmmm... I've even mused on this one overnight and I still don't have anything terribly witty or as good as the ones in Elle's comments.
Hmm... one more maybe....
Competitive. Crazy. Sleepless. Blocked. Typical student?
Ok, what I have so far...
Dark. Noises. Alone. Mom's home. Safe.
Tied. No time. Throw. Caught? Joy!
Glances. Whispers. Sighs. Kiss. Partners. Endure.
Questions abound. Found book. Answered safely.
No more hate. Peace is love.
Research stalled. Motivation scarce. Need chocolate!
[ or its alternate.... Need sleep! ]
Hmmm... I've even mused on this one overnight and I still don't have anything terribly witty or as good as the ones in Elle's comments.
Hmm... one more maybe....
Competitive. Crazy. Sleepless. Blocked. Typical student?
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
State of indifference | Salon.com
State of indifference Salon.com
"Bush views his State of the Union speech as another occasion for declaring what he will do regardless of what anyone thinks (with Cheney's approval). His intention is not to report on the state of the Union. It is to express his state of indifference to the Union. "
Brilliant...just brilliant. Well written, well backed-up, and just scathing enough.
No this piece has nothing whatsoever to do with my graduate studies...only in that Tuesday's numbingly painful to watch, State of Obliviousness from the Dodo in Chief will give me a very good excuse to turn off the darn TV and get some serious reading and work done!
"Bush views his State of the Union speech as another occasion for declaring what he will do regardless of what anyone thinks (with Cheney's approval). His intention is not to report on the state of the Union. It is to express his state of indifference to the Union. "
Brilliant...just brilliant. Well written, well backed-up, and just scathing enough.
No this piece has nothing whatsoever to do with my graduate studies...only in that Tuesday's numbingly painful to watch, State of Obliviousness from the Dodo in Chief will give me a very good excuse to turn off the darn TV and get some serious reading and work done!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Blog Bling
Hmmm... tongue twisters for the 21st century. Say "big blog bling" ten times fast...
Anyway... cool article from NY Times Tech section on 'blog bling', more commonly known as 'widgets' (and not to be confused with the kind of widgets that are desktop apps), and their growing popularity.
Nice quote here on the different types or categories of 'widgets' (you know me, all about the categorization!):
So I guess I'm going to go to that Widgetbox site and check out a little adornment for my humble, and plain, virtual self here. I have always wondered about that map with the red push-pin like dots I've seen on many a blog, and now thanks to this piece I know where it comes from[ Clustr Maps ]-- so maybe something 'useful' like that. Definitely not some of the more asinine ones like "ugly person of the day'" (what the hell are they thinking??! and no, on 2nd thought I am NOT going to outlink to that one!). Or maybe this thing called Sphere It (but it's more a bookmarklet, and the widget isn't available directly for Blogger. Hmmm). Nothing silly or wildly extraneous. Refined, classy. Like the quote from the last page of the Times article, somewhere "between Mr T. and Audrey Hepburn."
Anyway... cool article from NY Times Tech section on 'blog bling', more commonly known as 'widgets' (and not to be confused with the kind of widgets that are desktop apps), and their growing popularity.
Nice quote here on the different types or categories of 'widgets' (you know me, all about the categorization!):
Ed Anuff, a co-founder of Widgetbox.com, divides widgets into three categories. “One is self-expression widgets, like photo galleries, games or YouTube videos that you like,” he said. The second category includes widgets that generate revenue for a blogger, like a box that displays auctions from a particular eBay category, or a blogger’s favorite DVDs from Amazon.com. The third category, Mr. Anuff said, encompasses “site-enhancement widgets, like discussion forums, news feeds or a
guest book, which provide better utility for your Web site.”
So I guess I'm going to go to that Widgetbox site and check out a little adornment for my humble, and plain, virtual self here. I have always wondered about that map with the red push-pin like dots I've seen on many a blog, and now thanks to this piece I know where it comes from[ Clustr Maps ]-- so maybe something 'useful' like that. Definitely not some of the more asinine ones like "ugly person of the day'" (what the hell are they thinking??! and no, on 2nd thought I am NOT going to outlink to that one!). Or maybe this thing called Sphere It (but it's more a bookmarklet, and the widget isn't available directly for Blogger. Hmmm). Nothing silly or wildly extraneous. Refined, classy. Like the quote from the last page of the Times article, somewhere "between Mr T. and Audrey Hepburn."
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Recommended Reading
Yah...like academic, grad student bloggers don't already have enough in their lives to read! Sheesh. Sometimes I think the web and all its Web2.0-ness glory is just one big conspiracy to keep productivity down and keep all those little students out there from ever graduating!!
That said...I'm gonna be distracted, and distracting, anyway. Ha. So there.
H/T to Elle for the links to the new Carnival of Gradual Progress. Now there's one I can get behind.
Hmm...speaking of 'behind' that seems to be the perfect descriptor for the state of my work.
Another potentially relevant one is Carnival of Education, now in its 102nd...ummm...what do ya call it? "format", "iteration", "round" ??? For a doc student in info thingies I'm not as up on this as I perhaps should be. H/T to Education Wonks for the link.
And a great post commenting on Friedman's bestselling "World Is Flat" book (which Golden Child gave to everyone this year with admonishment to read it 'now'. Right...I'll just slip that into my bedtime reading pile, or perhaps a little light travel reading?!!) and about some recent data that may dispute a few major points of Friedman. Hmm. Things to think about.
Oooooh! 'digital media alert!' 'beware of history'
Great new digital collection project called "African American Women in Iowa" from U. of Iowa. Have to come back and explore further. Found it at Research Buzz.
And can someone please tell me how (and why) taking our shoes off, or standing on ridiculuous and malfunctioning scanners, in the name of "improved security" helps us at airports, when it's apparently this easy for a kid to sneak onto not one, but TWO, flights--without a ticket or a guardian??? Hellooooo??!! I think the TSA has it all wrong. Boneheads...
ok, that's more than enough distractions. Oops, look at the time! Darn, another evening of 'hoping to get some work done' wasted....
That said...I'm gonna be distracted, and distracting, anyway. Ha. So there.
H/T to Elle for the links to the new Carnival of Gradual Progress. Now there's one I can get behind.
Hmm...speaking of 'behind' that seems to be the perfect descriptor for the state of my work.
Another potentially relevant one is Carnival of Education, now in its 102nd...ummm...what do ya call it? "format", "iteration", "round" ??? For a doc student in info thingies I'm not as up on this as I perhaps should be. H/T to Education Wonks for the link.
And a great post commenting on Friedman's bestselling "World Is Flat" book (which Golden Child gave to everyone this year with admonishment to read it 'now'. Right...I'll just slip that into my bedtime reading pile, or perhaps a little light travel reading?!!) and about some recent data that may dispute a few major points of Friedman. Hmm. Things to think about.
Oooooh! 'digital media alert!' 'beware of history'
Great new digital collection project called "African American Women in Iowa" from U. of Iowa. Have to come back and explore further. Found it at Research Buzz.
And can someone please tell me how (and why) taking our shoes off, or standing on ridiculuous and malfunctioning scanners, in the name of "improved security" helps us at airports, when it's apparently this easy for a kid to sneak onto not one, but TWO, flights--without a ticket or a guardian??? Hellooooo??!! I think the TSA has it all wrong. Boneheads...
ok, that's more than enough distractions. Oops, look at the time! Darn, another evening of 'hoping to get some work done' wasted....
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Not nearly famous
Well holy s--t!! There are actually people out there reading the drek that spews from my mouth and my addled brain...on occasion at least.
See, after seeing one on some other nifty (dear gawd did I really just say that??) blog, I went and added a stat meter sometime near the end of the year, mostly just for kicks. And I admit that I have paid scant little attention to it. C'mon, I'm not that egotistical...and I really didn't think I was blogging for much more than an audience of 1 to 3. ;-)
Anyway, I looked at the other data it collects today for the first time and I noticed all these hits and weird link-ins and 'page froms' and wondered what on earth USA Today had to do with how or why people linked to my blog.
And then I discovered a link to something I'd posted about a short while ago, the "Unitarian Jihad Name Generator", and saw there was this 'shout-out' to my blog from the Techspace blog at USA Today. Well damn.... who knew!!??!
I am minutely scarcely famous. and apparently not alone out here afterall.
Damn...I mean "darn"...I may have to watch my language more often.
Shoot....
See, after seeing one on some other nifty (dear gawd did I really just say that??) blog, I went and added a stat meter sometime near the end of the year, mostly just for kicks. And I admit that I have paid scant little attention to it. C'mon, I'm not that egotistical...and I really didn't think I was blogging for much more than an audience of 1 to 3. ;-)
Anyway, I looked at the other data it collects today for the first time and I noticed all these hits and weird link-ins and 'page froms' and wondered what on earth USA Today had to do with how or why people linked to my blog.
And then I discovered a link to something I'd posted about a short while ago, the "Unitarian Jihad Name Generator", and saw there was this 'shout-out' to my blog from the Techspace blog at USA Today. Well damn.... who knew!!??!
I am minutely scarcely famous. and apparently not alone out here afterall.
Damn...I mean "darn"...I may have to watch my language more often.
Shoot....
Best of Technology Writing
Best of Technology Writing
-from 2006; assorted writings about tech issues that appeared in places such as Wired, Slate, New Yorker, New York Times, Salon, New Republic & Popular Science.
-free e-copy from new imprint digitalculturebooks from U. of Michigan Press [in fact I linked to the imprint in my last post...buried deep in the 5th paragraph]
-from 2006; assorted writings about tech issues that appeared in places such as Wired, Slate, New Yorker, New York Times, Salon, New Republic & Popular Science.
-free e-copy from new imprint digitalculturebooks from U. of Michigan Press [in fact I linked to the imprint in my last post...buried deep in the 5th paragraph]
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
In absentia...me
So, not only is my "cranium" in absentia lately... I've actually been "in absentia."
Yeah, I know it's only the beginning of the damn term and I've already skipped town...oh that bodes well!! I've got whatever you call 'senior-itis' but for grad studentes who are tired of sitting in classrooms and want to be on doing something else...like, oh maybe, THEIR F---N DISSERTATION work???!!!!
--big sigh, bigger eye roll, seriously melodramatic stance--
Like I believe Elle said a few weeks ago, I've just to get over my damn self now don't I?! Seriously, all I seem to do in this little piece of the blogosphere is whine. Ok, I occasionally post links to items of interest that I've read and have no hope of remembering[ooohh....like this one...how did I miss "national religious freedom day" and how do I celebrate it??!] if I don't link them somewhere, and even then my memory is suspect...but really, all the 'personal' posts seem to have this whingy, pity-me, acid dripping cynical tone. Gawd...is that all that these years of grad school have reduced me to...and me with years of hard-core Diss. work yet to go???!! Oh man...
Hell, I think the first post of this year was even something along the lines of a resolution to QUIT doing that...and I seem to have a really lousy start on that 'resolution'.
Ok...now how on earth did I get from writing about not writing (huh?!) to my whiney ass-self? I swear sometimes I need to get checked for that adult ADD or something.[oooo...pretty shiny blog things...oooo... gotta remember to read this one more, not like I need more books, but still..] Add on top of that the fact that I seem to rival a goldfish for short term memory and it's just a bundle of fun getting older folks! sigh...
Hmmm.. here's another interesting blog post about digital media and research on digi media...didn't I post about this a short while ago, or did I just imagine that I read something, linked to it, and wrote a post about it???
Alright, I think I was going to write about how I've been on the road...again...and that's why no postings for days. Not that I didn't have my laptop...I do. Not that I don't have internet...I do...wireless even. Not that I haven't been checking email and working on the computer...I have. I just have let time get away from me while I'm away on personal business. The computer time i have carved out has been mostly spent on the important, and necessary, bits of school related work that just HAD to be done on a certain time frame, and other than that, little else Net related.
And I haven't even done more of the school related stuff I should be. I had this meeting on Friday before leaving town where I kinda sorta publicly stated I was going to try to submit a proposal, based on my Diss. topic, to a doctoral student consortium at a major conference in Far Away City, this summer.
ummmmm....deadline is this coming Monday. WHAT THE F--K was I thinking??????!!!! Oh holy hell....
something tells me the plane ride home to a wintry, cold, wet, miserable home in the Burbs ain't gonna be nearly as productive as I imagined it might be. oh crud....
Yeah, I know it's only the beginning of the damn term and I've already skipped town...oh that bodes well!! I've got whatever you call 'senior-itis' but for grad studentes who are tired of sitting in classrooms and want to be on doing something else...like, oh maybe, THEIR F---N DISSERTATION work???!!!!
--big sigh, bigger eye roll, seriously melodramatic stance--
Like I believe Elle said a few weeks ago, I've just to get over my damn self now don't I?! Seriously, all I seem to do in this little piece of the blogosphere is whine. Ok, I occasionally post links to items of interest that I've read and have no hope of remembering[ooohh....like this one...how did I miss "national religious freedom day" and how do I celebrate it??!] if I don't link them somewhere, and even then my memory is suspect...but really, all the 'personal' posts seem to have this whingy, pity-me, acid dripping cynical tone. Gawd...is that all that these years of grad school have reduced me to...and me with years of hard-core Diss. work yet to go???!! Oh man...
Hell, I think the first post of this year was even something along the lines of a resolution to QUIT doing that...and I seem to have a really lousy start on that 'resolution'.
Ok...now how on earth did I get from writing about not writing (huh?!) to my whiney ass-self? I swear sometimes I need to get checked for that adult ADD or something.[oooo...pretty shiny blog things...oooo... gotta remember to read this one more, not like I need more books, but still..] Add on top of that the fact that I seem to rival a goldfish for short term memory and it's just a bundle of fun getting older folks! sigh...
Hmmm.. here's another interesting blog post about digital media and research on digi media...didn't I post about this a short while ago, or did I just imagine that I read something, linked to it, and wrote a post about it???
Alright, I think I was going to write about how I've been on the road...again...and that's why no postings for days. Not that I didn't have my laptop...I do. Not that I don't have internet...I do...wireless even. Not that I haven't been checking email and working on the computer...I have. I just have let time get away from me while I'm away on personal business. The computer time i have carved out has been mostly spent on the important, and necessary, bits of school related work that just HAD to be done on a certain time frame, and other than that, little else Net related.
And I haven't even done more of the school related stuff I should be. I had this meeting on Friday before leaving town where I kinda sorta publicly stated I was going to try to submit a proposal, based on my Diss. topic, to a doctoral student consortium at a major conference in Far Away City, this summer.
ummmmm....deadline is this coming Monday. WHAT THE F--K was I thinking??????!!!! Oh holy hell....
something tells me the plane ride home to a wintry, cold, wet, miserable home in the Burbs ain't gonna be nearly as productive as I imagined it might be. oh crud....
Friday, January 12, 2007
Rain stopped
Earlier this week I posted an overly long rant...maybe screed is a better word?!... on the latest and greatest headaches in grad school. Yes! More whining! Aren't you surprised?
No, I didn't think so...
Well, I'm happy to report that Advocate talked me down and gave me a good "there, there" and reassured me that LooseGoose is being...well... "loose". Quacking up the wrong tree...or pond...or cracker...or whatever. The upcoming Pow-Wow may not be so bad afterall, and now I know more, and am better prepared and thus feeling a bit more ready to face the world. And less like I've just been buried under the entire weight of it.
'Course, like everything else, it's all 'subject to change' and I'll review this again after said meeting. Which may not be until next week, I got a shindig to attend this weekend. And there will be copius amounts of food and alchohol involved.
and music.
and sunshine.
Hoooo--ahhh!!
No, I didn't think so...
Well, I'm happy to report that Advocate talked me down and gave me a good "there, there" and reassured me that LooseGoose is being...well... "loose". Quacking up the wrong tree...or pond...or cracker...or whatever. The upcoming Pow-Wow may not be so bad afterall, and now I know more, and am better prepared and thus feeling a bit more ready to face the world. And less like I've just been buried under the entire weight of it.
'Course, like everything else, it's all 'subject to change' and I'll review this again after said meeting. Which may not be until next week, I got a shindig to attend this weekend. And there will be copius amounts of food and alchohol involved.
and music.
and sunshine.
Hoooo--ahhh!!
Aha!!
Ok... instead of waiting and coming back to that list of digital history suggested readings I just posted, I started scanning...just to see if I've read any.
Ha! And now I can righteously feel just the ever so teeniest bit smug...because I have read some.
Ok..."some" is the operative word here. I've read at least 5 of the titles.
[Linked, Sorting Things Out, Social Life of Info, Ambient Findability among them]
But c'mon, does knowing the names of at least 10 more authors count?? And really, where are the other really big players in information retrieval, information science, user studies, to go along with all those information architects, data miners, software geeks, AI lovers and code gurus?!? Can you really talk about 'digital history' without talking more about digital libraries, repositories, digital preservation, or the more 'history' side of things? Interesting to see how so many from different perspectives are playing in the same area, in barely overlapping circles.
Ha! And now I can righteously feel just the ever so teeniest bit smug...because I have read some.
Ok..."some" is the operative word here. I've read at least 5 of the titles.
[Linked, Sorting Things Out, Social Life of Info, Ambient Findability among them]
But c'mon, does knowing the names of at least 10 more authors count?? And really, where are the other really big players in information retrieval, information science, user studies, to go along with all those information architects, data miners, software geeks, AI lovers and code gurus?!? Can you really talk about 'digital history' without talking more about digital libraries, repositories, digital preservation, or the more 'history' side of things? Interesting to see how so many from different perspectives are playing in the same area, in barely overlapping circles.
Digital History Hacks
Digital History Hacks: "for a student interested in pursuing digital history. For graduate students, a more useful exercise is to compile a reading list of a hundred or so books for a general / comprehensive examination. Obviously, there are very few books that are specifically about digital history (never mind a canon) so any list has to cover the space where the field is emerging."
Oh brilliant...simply brilliant!! No, I really do mean that. I could nearly kiss this blogger's virtual feet. A fantastic list of things to read in the area of digital history, a major issue for me, and akin to my research area. So I say "a thousand times thank you".
Of course this is all subject to change once I actually read the whole damn list, and investigate each title more thoroughly. So this could all be jumping the gun....
...or it could be a major time-saver! hee hee!
Oh the timing of this is quite auspicious too, coming right before the Big Ol' Meeting with Majesty, LooseGoose and other Powers That Be tomorrow. Now I actually kinda feel smart... 'yuck, yuck'.
Oh brilliant...simply brilliant!! No, I really do mean that. I could nearly kiss this blogger's virtual feet. A fantastic list of things to read in the area of digital history, a major issue for me, and akin to my research area. So I say "a thousand times thank you".
Of course this is all subject to change once I actually read the whole damn list, and investigate each title more thoroughly. So this could all be jumping the gun....
...or it could be a major time-saver! hee hee!
Oh the timing of this is quite auspicious too, coming right before the Big Ol' Meeting with Majesty, LooseGoose and other Powers That Be tomorrow. Now I actually kinda feel smart... 'yuck, yuck'.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
When it rains it pours
Out here in my part of the country today that applies literally as well as methaphorically.
Today was the official start of the new term and I managed to run at least 5-10 minutes behind all day it seemed. Constantly playing catch-up. Isn't that just the bitch of it?! I have no deadlines and nothing I absolutely have to do for at least two weeks, and then stuff all crashes down in one day.
Interesting candidate presentation at Metro today with someone whose research interests are right up my alley. Very personable too it seemed. But I was a few minutes late, missed my opportunity to talk further at lunch because of another commitment and missed another shot at talking because of class. I think my Metro dept. is going to wind up on the fence here, and for selfish reasons of research connections that would be disappointing.
The class thing was a bit disorganized but I think that's to be expected when you're trying to do it for the first time via video conference. I hope it settles out in the next few weeks. I may have to rework what my proposal was/is for my deliverable for this "class".
And that is connected to my biggest headache of the day. It came at the very end too, when Astro relayed some news of a meeting with LooseGoose as we walked out of our building to go home. Seems LooseGoose is backpedaling now on the whole "yes you're funded" bit that Advocate communicated to us back in November. [here is where I was going to link to a post about that, but apparently I didn't actually write about it. d'oh] We hear one thing, think we may lose our funding support because the Principal Investigator may not get the grant refunded/renewed, then we hear something and we think we do have guaranteed funding, now same-said PI (LooseGoose) is saying "no, no guarantee on $$".
Now, is this because our dept at Metro doesn't have the $$ they thought they did? is it because the dept. doesn't really want to fund us because they don't think we're 'worthy' somehow (this too is now being implied)? Is it because the dept. wants or needs the $$ to go get some more poor naive new PhD students (never mind that we have too many at pre-candidacy stage already)? is it because LooseGoose doesn't think the investigator team did such a great job on the grant renewal proposal and is gonna get shot down...or it gets shot down because 'we' didn't do 'enough' to warrant more $$ from said funding agency? or some other odd combination of money, politics, poor planning? Becuase I think it's a bit late to tell us we have to go find new funding on our own to replace our stipends, particularly when they haven't prepared us in the least to go write a grant proposal like that, and while we're moving along on our dissertation proposals, we wouldn't qualify for any of the funding that goes to those at dissertation stage of the game. DAMN their disorganization!!! I'm so pissed right now...
I know it's not like this in other schools in my discipline. I know it's not like this in all similar PhD programs...and I'm even pretty sure it's not like this in other disciplines (hassles sure, different problems, but better organization from the websites and blogs and books i've read!).
My program is just one big headache.
And it's only the first day of the bloody term!! C'mon!! Who did I piss off in academia in a former life??
...or in this one?!
Today was the official start of the new term and I managed to run at least 5-10 minutes behind all day it seemed. Constantly playing catch-up. Isn't that just the bitch of it?! I have no deadlines and nothing I absolutely have to do for at least two weeks, and then stuff all crashes down in one day.
Interesting candidate presentation at Metro today with someone whose research interests are right up my alley. Very personable too it seemed. But I was a few minutes late, missed my opportunity to talk further at lunch because of another commitment and missed another shot at talking because of class. I think my Metro dept. is going to wind up on the fence here, and for selfish reasons of research connections that would be disappointing.
The class thing was a bit disorganized but I think that's to be expected when you're trying to do it for the first time via video conference. I hope it settles out in the next few weeks. I may have to rework what my proposal was/is for my deliverable for this "class".
And that is connected to my biggest headache of the day. It came at the very end too, when Astro relayed some news of a meeting with LooseGoose as we walked out of our building to go home. Seems LooseGoose is backpedaling now on the whole "yes you're funded" bit that Advocate communicated to us back in November. [here is where I was going to link to a post about that, but apparently I didn't actually write about it. d'oh] We hear one thing, think we may lose our funding support because the Principal Investigator may not get the grant refunded/renewed, then we hear something and we think we do have guaranteed funding, now same-said PI (LooseGoose) is saying "no, no guarantee on $$".
Now, is this because our dept at Metro doesn't have the $$ they thought they did? is it because the dept. doesn't really want to fund us because they don't think we're 'worthy' somehow (this too is now being implied)? Is it because the dept. wants or needs the $$ to go get some more poor naive new PhD students (never mind that we have too many at pre-candidacy stage already)? is it because LooseGoose doesn't think the investigator team did such a great job on the grant renewal proposal and is gonna get shot down...or it gets shot down because 'we' didn't do 'enough' to warrant more $$ from said funding agency? or some other odd combination of money, politics, poor planning? Becuase I think it's a bit late to tell us we have to go find new funding on our own to replace our stipends, particularly when they haven't prepared us in the least to go write a grant proposal like that, and while we're moving along on our dissertation proposals, we wouldn't qualify for any of the funding that goes to those at dissertation stage of the game. DAMN their disorganization!!! I'm so pissed right now...
I know it's not like this in other schools in my discipline. I know it's not like this in all similar PhD programs...and I'm even pretty sure it's not like this in other disciplines (hassles sure, different problems, but better organization from the websites and blogs and books i've read!).
My program is just one big headache.
And it's only the first day of the bloody term!! C'mon!! Who did I piss off in academia in a former life??
...or in this one?!
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Excuse the mess
I finally decided to switch over to the 'new' blogger after getting gawd knows how many prompts and little messages or whatever. I kept waiting for them to finish it and get the glitches out. Particularly the one where the BlogThis bookmarklet was fixed. I use that quite a bit when I'm out doing work, reading, surfing, etc and find something I want to blog, and it was a pain in the butt to not have that feature available. So I didn't switch. Until today, when I read that they fixed the BlogThis feature a few days ago.
I hope it really does work with the 'new' version!
Also there may be some mess as I fix things in the template, fix the blogroll, fix any of the other little add-ons that once were here and figure out if I need to go back to every post individually to add labels, or if I'm just going to start labeling from here on out.
Gee...couldn't I have done this at the START of break and not 36 hours before the END of break?? Sheesh...
Obviously "time management" should've been on that resolution list...
...again...
I hope it really does work with the 'new' version!
Also there may be some mess as I fix things in the template, fix the blogroll, fix any of the other little add-ons that once were here and figure out if I need to go back to every post individually to add labels, or if I'm just going to start labeling from here on out.
Gee...couldn't I have done this at the START of break and not 36 hours before the END of break?? Sheesh...
Obviously "time management" should've been on that resolution list...
...again...
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Unitarian Jihad Name Generator
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Sibling Shotgun of Reasoned Discussion.
Well...that's amusing for sure! I'm late on this meme bandwagon. But that's not out of character here at all.
Let's adjourn for coffee shall we?
[those who understand will know...and smirk along with me]
(had heard of the Unitarian Jihad parody some time ago, and forgotten it, until stumbling across this post in a librarian oriented blog on other memes)
while i'm on a meme thing...
here's one I may get to soon...not that anyone has 'tagged' me with it, b/c that would require someone other than me to read this blog and that's just being a bit presumptious now ain't it?! It's one of those "5 Things" memes. And it's a bit similar to this series of posts from a great academic blogger I've followed off and on for a year or so.
And now the end of this post is in now way shape or form related to its beginning...and that's what ya get at nearly 3am.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
New year...same headaches?
Oops...apparently it's been longer than i thought since my last reflection and post.
Come to think of it though, it about corresponds to the end of the term, and "break". That wonderful artifact of educational calendars when we can supposedly let our minds turn to mush for a few weeks either at the end of a term, or between terms, or whatever. While the winter break is by far the longest, it is by no means the most relaxing, nor do all those days get spent relaxing or recharing one's mental or physical batteries.
Oh nooooo... because winter break includes the stress-filled, angst-riddled, expectation-laden holidays! Wheeeee! But that's an area bit too private to get into out here in the blogosphere, at least it is for me at this time. So let's just leave at this: the holidays were not evil, nor were they awful, neither were they filled with peace, mirth, and goodwill to all. But hey, families are involved here, so how could they?!
New term starts soon, and so the next round of headaches will begin. Will they be the same as the term before, and the whole year before...or different? Hmmm..first indicators after email from LooseGoose are.....
.....
same old same old!! Tada!
Ambiguous expectations, amorphous directions, punitive language, controlling behavior and general cluelessness are expected in the forecast for this coming Winter and Spring. Everyone get out your umbrellas, the shit is about to rain down again. Hope you've got your boots on because it's time to go wading in the puddles of muck that are our beloved Metro U.
But really... one of my resolutions is to get off my @$$ and get more stuff done. Not because THEY want it...Not because it's on THEIR list...but because it's what I want, nay, NEED, to do. Other resolution has to do generally with not letting them get to me, not letting them dictate next steps. I know my research topic, heck I know my research questions and my likely methodology, even a range of potential research sites. So please, just let me go get it done, show me how to achieve what I want to do, what I plan to do, and let's stop playing games. Please stop making me regret ever being at Metro U for my PhD. Help me get done on my terms, with my needs, and my interests. Ok?
See now that's a new year's resolution I can stick with.
Come to think of it though, it about corresponds to the end of the term, and "break". That wonderful artifact of educational calendars when we can supposedly let our minds turn to mush for a few weeks either at the end of a term, or between terms, or whatever. While the winter break is by far the longest, it is by no means the most relaxing, nor do all those days get spent relaxing or recharing one's mental or physical batteries.
Oh nooooo... because winter break includes the stress-filled, angst-riddled, expectation-laden holidays! Wheeeee! But that's an area bit too private to get into out here in the blogosphere, at least it is for me at this time. So let's just leave at this: the holidays were not evil, nor were they awful, neither were they filled with peace, mirth, and goodwill to all. But hey, families are involved here, so how could they?!
New term starts soon, and so the next round of headaches will begin. Will they be the same as the term before, and the whole year before...or different? Hmmm..first indicators after email from LooseGoose are.....
.....
same old same old!! Tada!
Ambiguous expectations, amorphous directions, punitive language, controlling behavior and general cluelessness are expected in the forecast for this coming Winter and Spring. Everyone get out your umbrellas, the shit is about to rain down again. Hope you've got your boots on because it's time to go wading in the puddles of muck that are our beloved Metro U.
But really... one of my resolutions is to get off my @$$ and get more stuff done. Not because THEY want it...Not because it's on THEIR list...but because it's what I want, nay, NEED, to do. Other resolution has to do generally with not letting them get to me, not letting them dictate next steps. I know my research topic, heck I know my research questions and my likely methodology, even a range of potential research sites. So please, just let me go get it done, show me how to achieve what I want to do, what I plan to do, and let's stop playing games. Please stop making me regret ever being at Metro U for my PhD. Help me get done on my terms, with my needs, and my interests. Ok?
See now that's a new year's resolution I can stick with.
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