Apt. 11D

End of the Week Journal

It's 1:00 and I haven't eaten any food today or taken a shower yet. I need to walk away from this office and go be a normal person for a while. 

This morning, I waited around for the exterminator. Tiny ants are building an ant hill under my dining room carpet. No matter how many times that I vacuum them up and lay out those ant hotels, the little buggers keep coming back. That's Problem Number One.

Problem Number Two. When this house was inspected, the inspector found termite damage in one area of the house. We negotiated with the owners and they replaced the beam that was the breakfast buffet for the termites and they brought in termite poison dudes. 

We called in the Bug Control dude to deal with Problem Number One and to make sure that Problem Number Two hadn't reappeared. He found that there was termite damage that far exceeded what the House Inspector reported to us. It was also not clear that the first Termite Poison Dudes did a good job. He said that if we didn't have a year guarentee from the first Termite Poison Compnay that he would charge us $1,000 to dig a poison trench around the house to kill them for good. 

FYI. When you hire an inspector to look over a home that you're thinking of buying, do not use someone that your real estate agent recommends. She wants you to buy the house and will recommend any Inspector who will give the house a green light. 

After that news, I threw myself into some work. I need to walk away now. I need a jog and some lunch. After that, we move into the weekend.  I'm chaperoning a middle school dance. There's tutoring for Ian, Hunger games, and Palm Sunday. Hope your weekend is filled with lots of silliness, too. 

Two Tracks in Higher Ed

I promised that I was going to stop talking about higher ed, but I can't. I'm in the midst of writing an essay, and I need some input from all you over educated readers. 

Some have suggested creating two tracks of professors: those who specialize in teaching and those who specialize in research. Both tracks would be equally compensated and rewarded. Those who teach would have fewer research expectations. Those who do research would have minimal teaching responsibilities. 

This idea has been kicking around for a long time. Have any colleges actually acted on this? Why hasn't this plan ever been implemented? 

Chubby Boy Can Sing

There's a whole genre of YouTube viral videos of unattractive people who suprise everyone - even Simon Cowell! - by having a good set of lungs. I should know better,  I am a sucker for it. 

Spreadin' Love 578

Drunk Man Sings "Bohemian Rhapsody" 

The Today show is in trouble. Nobody likes Ann Curry. 

Autism rates rise. It's now 1 in 88, according to the CDC. 

Don Draper's new apartment. 

Why the Drop Out Rate?

Jordan Weissmann at the Atlantic reports on the high dropout rate in the US.

Just 56 percent of students who embark on a bachelor's degree program finish within six years, according to a 2011 Harvard study titled Pathway's to Prosperity. Just 29 percent of those who seek an associates degree obtain it within three years. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, just 46 percent of Americans complete college once they start, worst among the 18 countries it tracks.

We're behind Slovakia. Slovakia. 

I was a co-author on a paper many years ago that was commissioned by CUNY to look at why good students dropped out CUNY. They gave us a huge random sample of students who had grades of C and above. We sent them a survey, and did phone interviews and focus groups. So, why did they drop out?

Family matters were a big problem. So was the cost. Some transferred. Also, students dropped out, because they had no support from the school. They needed a class to graduate, but the school wasn't offering it until next  year. Or they had no idea what classes to take. Or they didn't know who their adviser was. Or their adviser was rude. Most of them didn't consider themselves as dropouts. They explained that they were taking a break. 

Yes, I have higher ed on the brain right now. I'll try changing the subject. 

Sorry For My Absence

Where are you, Laura? I've been completely obsessed with a topic for an article. I've been turning it over and over in my head, writing small chunks in my brain, and then mentally crossing it all out. I lost the car in the mall parking lot this afternoon, because I was so distracted. Finally, I decided that I want to take my time on this topic and not race out of the blocks like I usually do, so that relieved a little pressure. 

Have I said how much I really, really love writing these short pieces for the Atlantic and other venues? I do. 

Spammers are Bottom Feeders, But They Are Smart Bottom Feeders

As a blogger, I engage in a daily battle with spammers. They clog up my inbox. Every morning, I have to scrub clean 11D's comment section of their non sequiturs. They send me porn links on Twitter. Some asshole even set up a faux Apt. 11d blog. I loathe them. But I also admire them. The bottom feeders of the Internet age are very smart. 

Alex Madrigal has a great article about one spammer who figured out how to rig Pinterest, so he makes $1,000 per day through Amazon Associates. More at the Daily Dot. Considering that 21% of Pinterest users actually buy shit that see on the site, these spammers have discovered the motherlode. 

Honestly, I spent about 30 minutes last night playing around with the idea of becoming a spammer. 

Spreadin' Love 577

I had a splendid radio chat this morning with Arnie Arnesen of New Hampshire, so I'm just getting around to checking the news and the blogosphere and all the other spheres. Some quick links before Ian's bus pulls up. Maybe something proper later tonight. 

Hanna Rosin v. Erica Jong v. Hanna Rosin. 

Annie's soars after IPO. Got about ten boxes of that Mac N' Cheese in my cabinet. 

I'm closely following the Supreme Court debate about health policy. There are super smart people writing about it, so I'll leave it them. 

Mark Bittman, who has to be my favorite grumpy old man, is ranting about junk food commercials today. Ranting in a good way. 

I love that the New York Times is doing reviews of beer. 

David Sedaris talks about his visits to the doctor in France. 

I am in the midst of reading Louis Menand on the purpose of college. 

Spreadin' Love 576

Tim Burke responds to the Levy article with some good discussion in the comments. 

I'm making a pot roast tonight. Never made one before, but Steve got some cheap meat on sale and this is apparently what one does with cheap meat. Oh, look, Mark Bittman is making a veal stew today. 

Emmy Noether? Every hear of her? Maybe we should. 

ALEC has been involved in the voucher legislation for years now. 

Getting interviewed by a NH radio station tomorrow for my last Atlantic Monthly article. 

Children with autism are more likely to be bullied. 

The Daily Moment of Pain

Dara-Lynn Weiss, the author of the infamous dieting mom article in Vogue, just landed a book deal. The Lesson?  Being a freaky parent is very profitable.