Mighty morsels of tidbit thoughts

1. Finished grading--yeah!!!  It's about damn time.

2.  Dog (9mos) has tongue warts.  Delightful, isn't it?  Better than cancer, the fear which prompted the vet visit.  We've been assured that the dog didn't get it from licking daughter's feet, which also have warts.  I'm assuming that the dog can't spread it to us that way either.  Let's hope.

3.  Grad student got a job!  Not a bad job at that (and not the one that quoted a much lower salary range to her than another male grad student).   I told her that even if she decides she hates it, the 2/2 courseload will allow her to publish her way out of the place.  But I think she'll like it. Plus, very few new Ph.D.s can afford to be picky!

4. Parkinson's Law is the New Gravity: Worst Professor Ever has mentioned applications for Parkinson's Law for both protecting our professorial time and cleaning.  The definition: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. I had never heard of it, but I've been living it all my adult life (and my teenage life, for that matter) in a less than conscious manner.  I had previously thought of it as either "I work better under pressure" (positive version) or "procrastination" (negative version).  But I like thinking of it as a law of physics--a law that can be harnessed and put to use in my never-ending quest for work-life balance.

I should NOT apply it to my research and especially conference papers--no, I need to STOP doing that.  But I should use it for grading; I'll set myself a 1 week turnover for grading papers & exams, instead of two.  Also good for cleaning.  What else....I know--anything involving service (writing reports, doing reviews....).

5. Is there a name for this law: "Any obligatory meeting is much more tolerable if food is provided."  I can be bought off by a mere cookie. 

6. Female Science Professor has collected entries for the Final Exam Excuse Contest 2010.  Go there and vote! There are 15 entries (some real, some made-up, all funny); I voted for #12 below.  I love the combination of ignorance and privilege and .... something else that is implied in the student's name "John Smythe VII."  I just love that name--the alternate spelling of Smith plus the VII.  I feel like I know that student.

Dear Mr. [misspelled name]
I am in you're 1:00 class what meets in room 201 of the Maine building I rite you on a matter of grave concern I had to miss the final exam what took place at 5PM in Maine 201 last tuesday because of a matter of vital importence; My mom cooked a really important dinner for me monday night and so do to the extreme difficulty of travel during the current season I had to go home during finals week because my mom insisted if you new my mom youd understand
I tryed to find you're office which you're web page says is MAine 202; but dint have any luck cuz the Maine building is to obscure and i couldnt find it so i couldnt find you're office and talk to you about it before i wouldnt bother you about it except as its to important whereas my scholarship require that i keep a perfek 4.0 GPA thruout my intire collige years and so i need to make up the final I dont need you to work extra hard so its ok if you just give me the final that you gived everyone else as my friends said it wasnt to bad when they showed me the answers you passed out at the and
If you need confermation of the importence of the dinner you should contact my mom were in the phone book so were easy to find as our house is across the street from the collidge

you're devoted student John Smythe VII