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Campus Chatter – February 12, 2013

February 12, 2013

Today's Buzz

Campus Chatter – February 12, 2013

Today in history, greetings, and social banter here. (More)

Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago, Chile today (1541). Also, England’s Convention Parliament declared that King James II abdicated when he fled to France (1689), James Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia and its first city, Savannah (1733), Bernardo O’Higgins formally approved the Chilean Declaration of Independence (1818), the Australian gold rush began when Edward Hargraves announced that he found gold in Bathurst, New South Wales (1851), Michigan State University was established (1855), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded (1909), Puyi abdicated his title as the Xuantong Emperor, the last Emperor of China (1912), the first stone of Washington D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial was placed (1914), U.S. Army Sergeant Isaac Woodard was beaten and blinded by South Carolina police on his way home after his discharge (1946), the Soviet Union launched the Venera 1 probe for Venus (1961), construction began on St. Louis’ Gateway Arch (1963), Western Australia’s Carmen Lawrence became the first female Premier of an Australian state upon the resignation of Peter Dowding (1990), the current Constitution of Mongolia took effect (1992), Edvard Munch’s iconic painting The Scream was stolen from the National Gallery of Norway (1994), the U.S. Senate acquitted President Bill Clinton on all impeachment charges (1999), the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft landed on the asteroid 433 Eros (2001), and former Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milošević went on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague (2002. And San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to LGBTs on a directive by Mayor Gavin Newsom (2004).

Good morning! ::hugggggs::

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37 Responses to “Campus Chatter – February 12, 2013”

  1. NCrissieB Says:
    February 12, 2013 at 6:01 am

    Yesterday on Campus

    Morning Feature – Dangerous Convictions? (Meta Monday)
    Things We Did This Week – Share your stories of offline political activism!
    Midday Matinee – addisnana with The Department of Peace?
    Campus Question – Will an American be the next pope?
    Our Earth – New “Tree of Life” Constructed

    Today on Campus

    Morning Feature – addisnana with King, Queen, or Pope for a Day
    Furthermore! – The Squirrel with All My Children
    Noontime News at noon
    Midday Matinee – Tuesday’s Tale: The Papal Primary Debate
    Campus Question at 6pm ET

  2. addisnana Says:
    February 12, 2013 at 6:47 am

    Good Morning…. more great flip-flop weather here. :smile: I am adjusting quite easily to this kind of winter weather. I haven’t made the switch to iced coffee drinks yet and I doubt that I will. I still drink plain old black coffee. I never made the switch to flavors and creams either. ;-)

    I hope the roofs in the northeast are good for holding up the feet of snow that fell on them. A couple of feet of snow has to be pretty heavy.

    I’m excited for the State of the Union tonight.

    • Norbrook Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 6:50 am

      It’s not just the snow, it’s that it started raining in those areas. The snow on the roofs acts like a sponge, and suddenly it gets very heavy. People always wonder why most of the buildings around here have high peaked roofs, with lots of pitch on them, that’s why. Keeps you from having to do a lot of roof shoveling. ;-)

      • winterbanyan Says:
        February 12, 2013 at 7:05 am

        I had one of those steeply pitched roofs when I lived in the Rockies. The winter we got 200 inches of snow in one month, we shoveled the roof.

        Then came a warming, and we got ice dams, which caused dripping inside our walls. Followed by the fall of a huge (and I do mean huge) chunk of ice that shattered our deck like matchwood.

        So yeah, that rain will make a serious difference. A bad one.

      • LI Mike Says:
        February 12, 2013 at 7:11 am

        So glad I have a high-pitched roof.

    • NCrissieB Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 7:08 am

      I’m excited for the State of the Union tonight also. We had a great local Democratic Party meeting last night, including a visit by a member of Sen. Bill Nelson’s staff to thank us for our hard work last year. I’ll write more about the meeting next Monday in Things We Did This Week. The meeting definitely psyched me up for the State of the Union! :grin:

      Good morning! ::hugggggs::

    • winterbanyan Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 7:20 am

      I’m excited for the SOTU as well, but I’m not planning to listen to the GOP rebuttals…either of them.

      And the fact that there will be two of them puts the division in the GOP on public display. Love it, but I don’t have to watch it.

  3. Norbrook Says:
    February 12, 2013 at 6:48 am

    Good morning! It’s currently 30 degrees and cloudy. We had a dusting of snow overnight, and it looks like it’ll keep doing that off-and-on throughout the day. It’s supposed to get into the mid-30′s every day for the rest of the week.

    I should find out next week what the outlines of my budget will be, as well as an idea of of how many seasonal positions I’m going to get. I’m rather hoping this year will be … smoother … than last year. I keep getting told that we’re getting a new boat, but they’re ducking the questions about the inverter and generator. :cry:

    • addisnana Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 7:03 am

      A new inverter and generator sounds pretty first class. I hope you get it. There should be an Olympic event for ducking the question. Maybe there’d be a category for parents and one for bosses.

      • Norbrook Says:
        February 12, 2013 at 7:30 am

        Well, considering that they should have had an inverter out there years ago, and they had to run a “backup” generator out there for the summer while the main was repaired – and then died 5 minutes after being returned – I think it’s time. :lol:

    • winterbanyan Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 7:09 am

      I certainly hope your transition this year will be smoother than last year. Sending good thoughts your way.

      As for ducking the question…that seems to be becoming a new national pastime.

      • Norbrook Says:
        February 12, 2013 at 7:40 am

        I recognize that some of the ducking has to do with how much money is actually going to be in the budget, as well as what grants come in. While the “boats and engines” question is in-house budgeting, the “inverter & generator” – and possibly solar panels – is grant budgeting. Given the mess that Republicans have made in Congress, that’s probably the holdup. :sad:

    • NCrissieB Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 7:12 am

      Another new boat? Didn’t you get two new boats last year, neither of which fit your existing engine? Or was it two boat engines, neither of which fit your boat? ;-)

      Good morning! ::hugggggs::

      • Norbrook Says:
        February 12, 2013 at 7:35 am

        No, it was engines. The boat I turned in had terminal leakage, and the motor with it was … well, we’re not supposed to use words like that here. The replacement engine and boat they gave us had other issues, and that engine died in the fall. :cry: So,what we’re supposed to get is a decent replacement boat, and working engines. Which is all well and good, but I’m also rather fond of the idea of having reliable electricity for everything else.

        • Jim W Says:
          February 12, 2013 at 7:38 am

          How many years of use will the “new” boat you are expecting have had? Why is it surplus to the old location?

          • Norbrook Says:
            February 12, 2013 at 7:46 am

            It’s about 5 years old right now. Yes, I do know which one they’re talking about. The reason it’s “surplus” is that it really isn’t suitable for the location it’s been at. They have to use it to move themselves and everything else out to their work location, which happens to be 6 miles up a very choppy lake. They’ve decided that making multiple trips each day to get things done is … inefficient. :roll: :lol:

  4. LI Mike Says:
    February 12, 2013 at 7:10 am

    Good morning,

    I can’t wait to read the NYT today, last 2 days they’ve had stories that made me high-five Ms LI Mike.

    Sorry about the length of the following, but got I got excited.
    Unexpectedly, a school system, staying true to its public roots, flourishes in economically poor Union City, NJ

    Ask school officials to explain Union City’s success and they start with prekindergarten, which enrolls almost every 3- and 4-year-old. There’s abundant research showing the lifetime benefits of early education. Here, seeing is believing.

    One December morning the lesson is making latkes, the potato pancakes that are a Hanukkah staple. Everything that transpires during these 90 minutes could be called a “teachable moment” — describing the smell of an onion (“Strong or light? Strong — duro. Will it smell differently when we cook it? We’ll have to find out.”); pronouncing the “p” in pepper and pimento; getting the hang of a food processor (“When I put all the ingredients in, what will happen?”).

    Cognitive and noncognitive, thinking and feeling; here, this line vanishes. The good teacher is always on the lookout for both kinds of lessons, always aiming to reach both head and heart. “My goal is to do for these kids what I do with my own children,” the teacher, Susana Rojas, tells me. “It’s all about exposure to concepts — wide, narrow, long, short. I bring in breads from different countries. ‘Let’s do a pie chart showing which one you liked the best.’ I don’t ask them to memorize 1, 2, 3 — I could teach a monkey to count.”

    The other story had to do with harrassed, neglected, definitely underserved tenants winning a housing rights battle.

    Minarda Pimentel had to keep her clothes in sealed plastic bags because rats gnawed on everything in her closet.
    Her neighbor Dominga Sanchez had to boil water on the stove for showers because there was no hot water — or heat for that matter — for days at a time. Ms. Sanchez’s oldest daughter moved out because the mold on the walls made her sick.
    Their hardship stories are common enough in the low-rent neighborhoods of the Bronx, where dilapidated buildings are often passed from one neglectful landlord to the next. But the tenants of this decrepit apartment complex on College Avenue, many of whom speak little English, finally decided that they had enough.
    Behind their creaky, peeling doors, they embarked on a yearlong campaign against their landlord that attracted the attention of influential supporters and eventually led to a change in ownership.

    These Bronx tenants reached out to a community housing group, got the attention of NYS Public Advocate Bill Blasio and a supportive bank and no-nonsense judge to claim victory.

    As the former Vice-Chair of the NJ Tenants Assoc I can only say: Yes, Yes, Yes!

    The story ot tenant abuse, at least in the NJ/NY area, starts with tenants who are too fearful to stake a claim to their rights. So glad these tenants stood tall.

    • winterbanyan Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 7:22 am

      These are both such great stories, Mike. :) I can see why you wanted to pass them along. Fantastic!

      Teachers like the one above are remembered for life by their students. And people getting together to right a wrong is something we could all learn from.

      We do have the numbers, after all. Love it!

    • addisnana Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 7:23 am

      No apologies for length needed and those are two stories worth clicking on! It would be so great if every pre-schooler had a teacher like Susana Rojas. What a difference early childhood education can make.

      Thanks for both of these. The tenant abuse story is horrible and hopeful. Wow!

    • NCrissieB Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 7:24 am

      Wow, thank you for these encouraging stories, Mike! :grin:

      More good news: On February 4, 2013, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, together with the Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality unveiled Advancing Healthy Housing – A Strategy for Action. The inter-agency program:

      … calls upon federal agencies to develop consensus on the basic concept of a healthy home – building off eight characteristics, including dry, clean, pest free, safe, contaminant free, well ventilated, and well maintained and thermally controlled – and encourage adoption of this consensus across federal agencies, tribal governments, state and local governments, and non-governmental organizations.

      The program’s other goals include workforce development to deliver healthy housing, educating the public about the importance of healthy homes, and funding research to ensure that healthy home programs are cost-effective and minimize unintended consequences.

      Good morning! ::hugggggs::

      • LI Mike Says:
        February 12, 2013 at 7:36 am

        That’s great news, Crissie. We spend so much of our time at home, why not have it be something that at least adds to your well-being.

  5. LI Mike Says:
    February 12, 2013 at 7:28 am

    Swollen foot mystery solved: Gout. I was fooled because there wasn’t a lot of pain, and most of the swelling in the ankle area, not in my big toe area. The doc was suspicious of gout from the beginning but the blood work confirmed.

    I wish I could say I downed a bottle of pinot noir to bring it on, but I haven’t had anything alcoholic in weeks. The doc says the Indomethacin will knock it out. Gotta check those recommended anti-gout diets, too.

    • addisnana Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 7:36 am

      Please read the side effects on the indocin. It gave my aunt a stomach ulcer and landed her in the hospital.

      All I remember about recommended foods is that cherries were a good thing. I happen to love bing and Ranier cherries so that was fun!

      • LI Mike Says:
        February 12, 2013 at 7:47 am

        Yeah, I read the side-effect warning on the notice that came with the pills. Glad I won’t be taking these little Green things for any length of time.

    • winterbanyan Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 7:48 am

      Sorry you have gout again, Mike. I’ve been battling it on and off all winter, and danged if I can figure out what’s triggering it. I’ve been on a low purine diet since my second attack. My doc doubled my allopurinol, but I’ve needed colchicine more than I like.

      As for Indocin, I had to stop taking it after it caused severe bowel pain. There’s warnings on that for persons over sixty. Yeah, imagine my amazement when a drug I had taken in the past turned to poison suddenly after sixty. These days I rely on Advil.

      Hope you feel much better quickly!

    • NCrissieB Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 7:59 am

      I’m glad you have a diagnosis, Mike. Alas, gout is one of those chronic issues that may require you to change your diet. I hope you’re able to get it under control quickly and return to your wonderfully active lifestyle. I’ve no idea what you look like IRL, but my mental picture of you is … well … you’d be flattered. :)

      Good morning! ::hugggggs::

  6. addisnana Says:
    February 12, 2013 at 7:29 am

    Yesterday, the day the Pope announced his resignation, lightning struck the dome of St. Peters. The link of an amazing photo is to an Italian news site. I am posting a link because I can’t tell if it is copyrighted. Please click and enjoy!

    Click here

  7. Gardener Says:
    February 12, 2013 at 8:17 am

    Good morning!

    It’s Shrove Tuesday, right? PW’s father always liked to eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, but we’ve no idea why…… He liked pancakes???

    Clear blue sky and 32 degrees this day. Wood splitter is in place and gassed up. Now the real work begins. Kenny-Wenny stopped by yesterday afternoon on his way home from work to get some green hickory for sausage smoking. Delivery day @ the food pantry went well, the shelves are bulging once again!

    Have a good one.

    Best, G

    • winterbanyan Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 8:25 am

      Pancakes were probably one of those traditions that nobody can explain where it came from. ;) Just a tradition. Or maybe he gave up pancakes for Lent…. Hah!

      Glad to know the food pantry is bulging again. I’m sure there are an awful lot of people who are grateful for your help.

    • Jim W Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 9:48 am

      In “Dutch” Pennsylvania fasnachts were served.
      Closer to a donut then a pancake because they were made with yeast and deep fat fried.

    • addisnana Says:
      February 12, 2013 at 10:31 am

      I love pancakes and maple syrup. I am in favor of any tradition that includes pancakes. :smile: The wood pile sounds like it will be growing soon.

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