P
We still pay for our "local" newspaper (The Daily Press). I also pay for the NYTimes and Krugman. Like most academics, I'm a bit spoiled by having library access so I don't actually have to pay for lots of news sources (WSJ, for instance).
This is not a random slice of the population, you know. 
Glad you're continuing to play!
You know, I remember a very long thread on PW about that Croatian Rhapsody and all of its variants many moons ago!
@DougG said in The end of an era:
wow, you must be really old.
But congratulations. I have really enjoyed retirement the two or three times I’ve done it.
Yeah, I get it. As an emeritus professor I still plan on doing stuff, just not in the classroom. I might even see if there is any need for an old curmudgeon in consulting!
@jon-nyc said in The end of an era:
Fantastic. Are you done done? Or just done teaching classes? In other words are you returning next semester?
I am not really retired yet. I'm not teaching next semester but I'm still on the payroll. I am writing, mentoring and dong other service work.
I'm also trying to play a little politics here in Virginia, pushing a new plan to change the way four-year public higher education is financed. If I merely get a discussion going, that's a success.
The "ringing the bell" thing is a nice tradition for undergrads. In May, the line to ring the bell during the last week of class is very long! I hope we can establish a tradition for faculty to ring the bell after their last class too.
@jon-nyc said in Happy Thanksgiving - What's your story?:
By the way, I really wish we could retire the phrase 'processed food' and come up with new description(s) of the foods in the category based on the mechanism or degree of harm. 'Processed' is just too neutral and generic (you know those strawberries you're eating? They've been through the picking, washing, and packaging process - really!).
But less flip, it seems to me there's a big difference between organic whole wheat bread and neon-orange cheese dust, yet both are, indeed, processed foods. We need to make a better distinction. ('Ultra' helps, but only so much. It suffers from the same imprecision and lack of any biological reference).
I realize I'm yelling into a void.
You're absolutely right. A term that general is often ignored by the bulk of the population.
Fortunately, I'm an oldster. If I were forced to buy one of these I would use some sharp object to obliterate the image on the right. I suspect national park employees who saw it would smile and wave me through.
Next, I'm sure well be seeing this on US postage.
In imitation of his buddy here:
We're in Santa Fe with the sons, the daugher-in-law, the two step grands and wife's sister.
I'm doing a whole beef tenderloin this time, not a turkey. I'm not responsible for anything else!
Here's sunset last night from the driveway.
Despite all the corporate denials (we use real USDA certified anti-biotic-free meats!) one has to wonder. Is this guy the smoke and there is fire all over the place in the company.
I have no doubt that lower- and middle-income families are their main market. The products are inexpensive, so their ingredients are as well. So? Disparaging your customers isn't in the marketing plan. Disparaging your employees does wonders for morale, and turnover.
https://bsky.app/profile/gtconway.bsky.social/post/3m6hd4zzgcs2j
Why serve if you're treated with utter contempt by the White House and your only role is to act as a potted plant for Trump and his gross, boorish minions to piss on.
We're heading out to Santa Fe for the week. Our sons, daughter-in-law, two step grands are joining us from Las Vegas.
I include this line on my syllabus ...
"Limit the number of people in your group to a maximum of four to ensure that shirking is reduced to a bare minimum. One person doth not a study group make. And five is “right out.” 1
The footnote:
1 Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). Holy Hand Grenade Speech, … oh, just look it up.
@kluurs said in Just my luck…(health update):
Yeah, I work out more than most people - at any age - and yet...I know I have to be much more careful. A good friend who works out 2-3 hours a day - missed a step and broke both legs when he stumbled down a single step.
I work out a fair bit, and hike a lot when I have the chance. Over the summer I was strolling down from Mary's Rock in the Shenandoah when I slightly hyperextended my right knee. Bam, pain. I hobbled down the rest of the way and was very sore and careful but it went away over the course of a week ... until, bam, a slight rotation and I felt it go again.
After about five episodes I sought some help from a sports med doc. It's the same knee that has a broken or minimally functioning ACL ... an injury from almost 20 years ago. She felt around, pushed, prodded, extended, shifted, ... no real pain. But with images she said I probably had a meniscus tear. So, I leave her office and later in the day, bam, it goes again! Karma.
I do not have a big problem, but just the idea that at any moment the damn thing can go again is a real problem. What do I do if I'm four miles into an eight mile hike in the wilderness? Well, I'll try some PT to strengthen the area, and she put me in a Donjoy soft brace to help out. Getting old is not for the faint of heart.
Oi, the world doesn't make sense any more. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rand Paul aren't spouting nonsense 100% of the time ...
I'm sorry you're going through all of this.
I think Roseanne Roseannadanna had a line for this ...
"Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it's always something — if it's not one thing, it's another."
Wondering why the buddy-taping thing was so problematic. That suggests some damage to the joint rather than just a simple break. But yeah, there isn't much they do for a broken pinky toe. Been there, done that.
