Venting!

This year is trying to kill my interest in teaching. My work load has basically doubled, since I’m splitting up all my labs into multiple sub-sections to meet the isolation guidelines, and I’m also struggling to provide accommodations to all the students in difficult circumstances (which I need to do, and is part of the job), and my reward is that a) teaching involves trying to engage mute little black squares on a computer screen, and b) the administration occasionally mumbles about trying to find a way to cut my pay, while telling me gosh, what a wonderful job I’m doing. And then telling me we should prepare to continue the pandemic protocols next fall, and that we don’t have any access to a vaccine, and aren’t even remotely in the queue. Right now I’m staring into a growing bleak darkness that is my future. I don’t even have the joy of spidering right now — it’s -35 degrees C out there!

If my first year as a full time teaching professor (1990, but who is counting) had been like this, I’d be working in a software company right now, coding. I coulda been, but I liked students…you know, those entities who are now little black squares on a screen.

At least I can still scream into the glowing pixels of the void before me.

Fly Time was a bust

That was agonizing. My students have projects ongoing, so I leave the lab open so they can get in and work with their flies. I go in early in the morning specifically to unlock it.

Someone locked it back up again after I left!

Students were backed up, trying to get in, and were frantically phoning and messaging me!

While I was trying to teach my other class!

It was agonizing: non-stop ringing and beeping while I’m trying to deliver a lecture, and it wasn’t so much that the noise bothered me, but that I couldn’t just ditch one class to help another, and so I couldn’t answer or do anything about it. I finally broke down and ran into the other room to ask my long-suffering wife to take my keys and unlock it for them. I’ve now posted prominent signs telling people not to lock it during class hours.

I guess I should be grateful for diligent staff who maintain our security, and for eager, ambitious students, but wow was that a stressful class hour.

(For that matter, this pandemic has already pushed my stress levels off the charts.)

I also suspect cartoonists are trying to torture me

This one lured me in with the title “Cave of the Mega-Spider”, and the first shot is of a big toothy dinosaur. OK, this is acceptable. Then said dinosaur tears open a spider silk blob…and there’s a dead, dessicated hominid inside? What the heck? Anachronism! Then the giant fanged mega-spider makes an appearance, and it’s kind of awesome, until it opens it’s mouth, vertebrate-style with mandibles, and starts hosing the dinosaur down with silk from the spinneret — in its throat. I cannot enjoy this anymore. I am offended.

Oh joy, first exam

This week, I gave my first exam of the semester — a take-home, with ten multi-part questions requiring lots of calculations and and statistical tests, and I required that all answers by typed and in a specific format. It was due last night at midnight.

Nobody took the hint. I got 100% on-time submissions, so this morning I’m looking at a big stack of pages of numbers and formulas and explanations and hard work that I have to get evaluated this weekend.

Why didn’t you guys tell me to make it all multiple choice and true/false? I’m blaming you all. You need to come to my house and grade them for me.

Coulda been “Starlords”

I shouldn’t have laughed at the Space Force naming themselves “Guardians”. It turns out they requested submissions and we had a boaty-mcboatface situation. Take a look at the list if you’re looking for a laugh.

They could have been “Galaxians”, or “Celestians”, or “Trekkies”, or “Geeks”, or “Loonies”, or “Homo spaciens”, or “Wookies”, or “Stormtroopers”.

You know what? They were all silly. No matter what they choose, they were going to look ridiculous.

My sister-in-law, Julie Lynn Myers

She was an awesomely nice person.

Obituary
Loving wife, mother, sister, and friend Julie Lynn (Bjornsson) Myers passed away Friday, January 29, 2021 at her home in Hoquiam, WA, she was 59 years old. Julie was born August 31, 1961 to Dwight and Shirley Bjornsson in Ballard, WA
Growing up Julie lived most of her life in Ballard but also spent some time in Tacoma, WA. She graduated from high school then went on to continue her education at University of Washington and Pacific Lutheran University earning her master’s degree. After earning her degree Julie held many jobs in the health care field as a project manager.
Later in life Julie met the love of her life James Myers and they later married, and both moved to Hoquiam in July 2015. Julie was an incredibly involved member of the Peace Corp in Samoa as well as the Pierce County Democrats and would faithfully attend services at the Ocean Shores Lutheran Church. She also has many hobbies such as traveling, hiking, sewing, and volunteering at the North Beach Paws.
Julie is survived by her husband James Myers of Hoquiam, WA; stepsons Charlie Myers of Bellingham, WA and Evan Myers of Rogers, AR; stepdaughter Rachael Hahn of McCleary, WA; brother Doug Bjornsson of Tacoma, WA; sister Margo Bjornsson of Ballard, WA; as well as her grandson Alexander Hahn. She is preceded in death by her parents Dwight and Shirley Bjornsson. All who knew Julie loved her and enjoyed her company.
Arrangements are entrusted to Harrison Family Mortuary of Aberdeen. To share memories or to sign the online guestbook please visit www.harrisonfamilymortuary.com.