To whom it may concern

ipods are stupid

Mon, 18 May 2009 04:47:44 GMT

I just plugged in my old iPod to transfer some music back onto my hard drive, and for some reason iTunes seems reluctant to let me copy anything from the iPod into my library. Is there something fancier to try than just drag-and-drop from the iPod to the main library? That's been working perfectly well when I plug in my newer pod, but doesn't do anything with this older one.

Right, updates

Mon, 04 May 2009 04:47:56 GMT

As the semester is wrapping up, it occurred to me that anyone who sorta-kinda follows what I'm up to might want a few updates:
--Almost done with my second semester as a TA. Students are mostly ok but a little more whiny this semester. I blame the crappy winter/spring weather.
--My Warcraft guild has been clearing through Ulduar. We're only doing a few hours a couple nights a week, but we're up to General Vezax now, and I think that's pretty good considering our moderate time investment. :D
--Applying for stuff next year. If nothing else I'll be a TA again for the Anthro department, but I'm hoping for something in another department so I can save that extra Anthro semester in case I need it later. I'll let you know when I find out what's going to happen. I'll be here in Madison through next year to finish prelims and to apply for grants to do my dissertation research.
--I did find funding for a summer trip to do a language program in Russia. Woohoo! I'll be in Vladimir in June and July, coming back to the States around August 4th. E-mail me an address if you want a postcard. :)
--And I'll be moving to a new apartment in August--HOORAY. Hopefully that will mean no more neighbors from an outer circle of Hell. (My current ones could have been worse....but I would probably have committed some kind of assault on them if they had been. I will not miss them over the summer and I hope they all come down with painful but non-fatal afflictions. Perhaps as a result of having a noisy fucking menagerie living with them, or due to alcohol poisoning from the weekend-long bouts of beer pong.)
--If I get a digital camera someday, I'll put up some pictures of stuff.
--If you're in Madison in mid-August, we're getting some drinks.

Ignorance + enthusiasm = ...

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:56:45 GMT

Torture. The NY Times has a decent overview today, addressing the question of how exactly the US went from prosecuting things like waterboarding as torture, to using them.

It turns out that the real world actually does not function like 24</a>. Torture is not only horrific, not only ineffective, but also counterproductive. We think that it's just common sense--beat the crap out of someone, and they'll have to tell you the truth. (Incidentally, this was the logic behind a common form of paternity test in previous centuries--ask a woman in labor who the father is! Pain was supposed to guarantee truthfulness.) Maybe it's common sense because it does work in movies and on tv. But it works there because writers make it work. It's an easy (even lazy) device to advance the plot. In reality, people who are tortured tend to say anything they think might help them out--might be truthful, might just be what they think their torturers want to hear. And--the ugly truth--sometimes people torture not for information, not for security, but simply to cause pain.

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:57:40 GMT

Discussing the related issues of Obama's release of the torture memos and his decision to prevent prosecution of those involved, Glenn Greenwald had this helpful bit to say:

"Purely as an analytical matter, releasing the OLC memos and advocating against prosecutions are two separate acts. It's perfectly coherent to praise one and condemn the other. There is an unhealthy tendency to want to make categorical, absolute judgments about the persona of politicians generally and Obama especially ("I like him"/"I don't like him"; "I trust him/I don't trust him") rather than case-by-case judgments about his specific acts. "Like" and "trust" are sentiments appropriate for one's friends and loved ones, not political leaders. A politician who does something horrible yesterday can do something praiseworthy tomorrow. Generally bad people can do good things (even if for ignoble reasons) and generally good people can do bad things. " (emphasis added)

This I think is helpful to keep in mind--we can critically evaluate the actions of politicians and other powerful figures without necessarily having to relate to them emotionally or on a personal level. And the converse is particularly important--we gain nothing from letting our emotional reactions to particular figures color our evaluations of what they do. I have issues with Clinton's passage of NAFTA not because he seems like kind of an ass on a personal level, but because of the tremendous and frequently negative impacts it's had on the economies of North American countries. I am pleased that Obama released the details of our torture program not because he seems charming, but because I think transparency on such issues is necessary for us to be able to judge our own government.

Why stay?

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:20:15 GMT

This being a (the most?) common question that seems to come up in discussions of domestic abuse/intimate partner abuse, I wanted to pass around a link to a post I found insightful. And no, the answer isn't 'them bitches are just crazy'--human psychology is more complex than that. From the outside, it's easy for us to say 'she should just leave him!' (or he, leave her). So: here's one person's insight.

Jeans

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:53:35 GMT

Holes in back pockets were comfortable, worn-in.
Frayed hems at the bottom -- personality.
When the side seam started tearing, there was still time to go.
Knees wearing out were just style.
But today I looked down at my poor favorite jeans
As I felt a breath of cool air -- down there --
A hole in the crotch through which skin can be seen.
My favorite jeans are done for. :(

Oops

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 03:57:24 GMT

So normally I don't call on students in class. I figure if they don't really want to talk it's not my job to make them--they're big kids, and they know they're getting graded on participation. If it's not important for them to do well on that, it's their business. Added to that, I know what it's like to be shy and uncomfortable talking in front of people--and what it's like to have been too busy to read the assignment. I sympathize with these things.

Today my students were turning in an essay about a short research assignment they've been working on--a few hours of ethnographic research. I figured everyone would have something to say about it, so we had a class-wide chat about what they found out, how it went, etc. Just about everyone volunteered, so when I noticed I only had 2 names left without checks on my list, I figured what the hey, let's get everyone a participation point today. So I called on one of them.

Poor guy immediately got very flustered, started half a dozen sentences without finishing, trailed off into embarrassed silence with a half-whispered apology about not being able to talk. Clearly the poster child for my previous policy of DON'T CALL ON STUDENTS. I felt really bad about it.

Then this evening I got an e-mail from him apologizing profusely, deeply concerned about his grade, explaining his mild autism and anxiety problems, and hoping desperately that he could find some way not to fail the class. Wow, worst case scenario--let's put the anxiety sufferer on the spot in front of the whole class.

I'm hoping that if I haven't traumatized him too much we'll work out something--I'm ok with him writing up comments for me or some other kind of alternate method. Hopefully my response will reassure him a bit.

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:56:47 GMT

Today was lovely. I went for a brief (slow and doubtless unsightly) jog through the park near my house. Bright sunlight and the necessity of dodging puddles made for a good time. Even the giant sidewalk-encompassing puddle that I tried to avoid by stepping carefully through the solid-looking grass to the side. Two steps along I was startled by a sudden SQUELCH. Surprised, I yelped out a "Shoot!" and luckily nothing more inappropriate; I was just passing an older woman out for a nice stroll, and she burst out laughing at me. I didn't mind terribly, especially since my feet miraculously stayed dry--it's much easier to be laughed at when one's feet are comfortably dry. I'm afraid I'll be needing new sneakers soon though, especially if I insist on squishing through muddy sides of walks.

Saying something makes it true!

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:25:38 GMT

This guy got paid to write a weird rant about how wrong scientists have been about global climate change. His major evidence? Well, 30 years ago a bunch of newspapers published stories about supposed global cooling, which turned out to be false. A scientist failed to predict the decline in price of 5 metals. And global sea ice levels have returned to their 1979 levels.

Hm.

The first two are kind of (by which I mean completely) irrelevant. Media outlets like the New York Times aren't actually involved in research science and are perfectly free to make stuff up based on nothing when it comes to science reporting--and they often do. This page has a brief summary of an actual scientific report from the same time period, in which scientists working on studying climate change essentially concluded that something seemed to be going on, but much more research needed to be done to figure out what. Not exactly the far-fetched and baseless conclusion George Will seems to be reaching for.

And why a scientist's prediction of future market prices for various minerals has anything to do with how we should judge the general consensus on climate change, I have no idea. It's entirely possible for someone to have a very good understanding of his own specialty (say, climate change) without having specialist knowledge of a completely different field (say, market economics).

Will's third point sounds the best. . . but turns out to simply be a lie.

I might write him to find out how I could get hired for making $%*t up.

Actually, screw that. Inspired by Mr. Will's logic, I can now demonstrate that I am Empress of the Universe.

Model:
1. Scientists say that global climate change is happening.
2. One scientist was wrong about something.
3. Climate change is a lie!

1. Some people say I am not the Empress.
2. George Will was wrong about something.
3. I rule the universe!

The sun'll come out. . .

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:12:31 GMT

...this afternoon! How lovely. The light has a strange quality in winter, coming in at such a low angle, like a day-long sunset. I hope your week comes with some light as well.

Weather is smart but devious

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:18:33 GMT

Today the weather forecast suggested rain. Here are my results:
1. Carried umbrella on bus this morning. No rain.
2. Carried umbrella home for lunch. No rain.
3. Carried umbrella to re-park car. No rain.
4. Walked back up to campus sans umbrella. Sunshine!
5. Left class to wait for bus toward home. RAIN.

Tricksy rainclouds!

New semester

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:10:57 GMT

Beginning Tuesday. I'm TAing for the same course under a different professor, which means different readings, assignments, lecture topics, etc. I think it'll be all right--at least I don't have any sections before 8am this time. Aside from that, I'm taking a class about human evolution for a cross-sectional requirement, a poli-sci class about nationalism, and a lower-level lecture on the history of the Soviet Union. (I'm considering just auditing the latter so I don't have to go to the discussion section. . .)

To do:
Funding applications for summer and next year (FLAS, summer travel grant)
Pay for classes at SERF
Reorganize bookshelves to make room for
Buy necessary textbooks for semester

I'm also resolved to eat more vegetables this year. I'm really bad about it for a vegetarian--the trouble is I mostly eat alone, and I don't really eat a whole lot of anything at a time, so when I buy fresh veggies half of them go bad before I get through them. :(

Yesterday: beet greens, tomatoes (whatever, I'm counting them. shut up.)

Huh?

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 23:07:24 GMT

My weather plugin on Firefox reports the current local weather:

Now: N/a, -2 F

Unknown and frigid weather is surely a bad sign.

Official worst TA ever

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 06:28:06 GMT

1) Failed to copy a changed grade into the final spreadsheet. Posted incorrect grade. Didn't notice until AFTER all grades were submitted and finalized. Angry student.

2) Two (2!) mysterious missing final exams. The only two missing out of 800 students, both mine, both in the same section. Have triple-checked EVERYWHERE; no exams. HORRIBLY LAX record-keeping means I can't be absolutely 100% positive that I never received said exams--I'm dumb and didn't think to cross-check my giant exam pile against the student list until after I had carried them across state lines and graded them. I'm pretty darn sure I have all there is to have, but what if I did lose one? omg what if? And I'm out of town for a while so I can't exactly go tear around every place I went in the last week on the off-chance that two exams magically fell out of my bag or something. But I keep imagining that when I get back to my apartment they're going to be sitting there because I AM A HORRIBLE PERSON AND WOULD LOSE EXAMS because I'm disorganized.

If you don't hear from me it's because an angry mob of students and administrators took me out.

cold

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:38:57 GMT

cold

COLD

the end

Writing

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:51:31 GMT

I think this paper is going to be more a direct response to one of the books we read than a research paper in its own right. But here's what I have now for an (basic, serviceable) introduction:

It would not be difficult to make the case that the state is an essential feature of modernity. Are there any people who live wholly untouched by state power or state interventions? Even international organizations such as the UN or IMF, which are nominally outside state power, have policies and practice that are deeply influenced by the states who form their membership and provide financial and human resources to support them. But what is the modern state? What essential features does it possess, and how can we think fruitfully about them in order to better understand the role states play in human life? In Seeing Like a State, James Scott makes several thought-provoking arguments about how the nature of certain kinds of states inevitably leads to the failure of their grandest plans for re-organizing society. But while his descriptions of how states ‘see’ direct us toward some intriguing questions, his basic assumptions regarding what “the state” actually is remain problematic. In this paper, I will begin with a critical discussion of two shortcomings of Scott’s analysis: first, his presentation of the state as a singular, unified entity; and second, his opposition of ‘practical knowledge’ to the formal knowledge of the state. Then I will continue with a discussion of the strengths of his suggestion that movement toward increasing legibility is a hallmark of the modern state, concluding with some suggestions for applying his insights to the contemporary situation.

Get out the shovel

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:07:19 GMT

"A MAJOR WINTER STORM IS EXPECTED TO HAMMER THE AREA THURSDAY EVENING THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY AFTERNOON...SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES ARE LIKELY ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE."

On torture

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:03:58 GMT

In sum I find it reprehensible. But hey, don't listen to me.

Cold?

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:40:16 GMT

Yes, cold. Get back inside before you freeze!

Things I have learned from students

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:25:47 GMT

Here I summarize some of the common arguments from my students' papers, which were based on research they conducted on some part of their own culture:

The farmer's market is exciting because it's a local tradition.
Tailgating parties are popular because they're a local tradition.
Also, tailgating is mainly about drinking.
Students go to parties because they want to drink.
Students play video games because games are fun.
Students go to the library to study, but sometimes they meet people too.

And the best of all...
People smoke pot because they are pot smokers and they share pot with each other and smoke it and there's a whole pot culture and it should totally be legal, man.

I hope you have enjoyed these insights as much as I.

Headlines

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:16:16 GMT

Illinois politician arrested. In other news, pigs still land-based; Hell remains hot.

The big race

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:19:30 GMT

We're talking a bit about the concept of and practices associated with race in Anthro 104 this week, so in honor of that here's a nice New Yorker article which outlines a few of the problems with IQ tests. Spoiler: black people aren't actually biologically dumber than whites, and anyone who says so doesn't have a good grasp of such things as reading articles and evaluating data.

So

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:45:50 GMT

My academic adviser is retiring at the end of the semester. Gasp. I'll talk with him tomorrow about where to go from here (not sure yet if he's still going to be around for me, or whether I need to find a new head adviser). I knew it was coming, but still it feels a little unsettling. Good for him, though--he's earned it for sure.

Important news

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:40:03 GMT

Here!

Grading sucks

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:15:08 GMT

So according to some of my students, my grading of their papers has been harsh. They have compared with students in other sections who wrote almost the same thing and received higher grades. Etc.

According to some students of another TA, her grading has been harsh. They have compared with students in other sections (mine was specifically named) who wrote almost the same thing and received higher grades. Etc.

Apparently I am both unfairly lenient and unfairly harsh. Go figure. Maybe next semester I'll just assign random grades and see how that goes.