Identity and community Sunday, Nov 26 2006 

academia and blogging DrWorse 8:31 am

Oso Raro’s essay at Slaves of Academe develops an interesting perspective on the nature and functions of academic blogging, and it has brought me back to thinking about why I wantyed to start a blog in the first place and what this blog will do for me.

When I began to think about creating a blog, the decisions about the blog’s identity and my own identity had to be made together. The way I looked at it, I could blog under my own name and limit the blog’s content to the same things I’d be happy talking about in a lecture room. I would not discuss my family, problems with co-workers, religion, etc. I think I would have even felt a bit awkward about discussing things like TV shows and hobbies. In short, I think if I was blogging under my own name then my blog’s content and identity would be oriented purely around my professional identity.

On the other hand, adopting a pseudonym – or perhaps, having an anonymous blog (since I realise I haven’t adopted a decent pseudonym yet) allows me to write about things that I would never discuss in any other public forum. Part of this is about avoiding real risks that I can see – the reality is that my workplace has been a difficult one to navigate in recent years, and I could not openly speak about those issues as myself without putting my livelihood in danger. But there is also a level of comfort associated with the anonymity of this form of blogging that does not relate to direct consequences. Even if it did not risk direct consequences for my job or any other aspect of my life, I would still be less comfortable writing openly about many issues if I knew that I was identifiable.

I suspect part of my reason for feeling this way is the same social anxiety that affects my ordinary life. I don’t like to be the focus of attention. When I participate in a discussion, to some extent I always worry about how others are evaluating me based on what I say or don’t say. When I write on a blog, without my personal identity available to the reader, you can only evaluate the content and I feel safer.

Of course, given that I work in a career path where megalomania and self-promotion can be useful tools for success, I am aware that I need to overcome these issues in my everyday life. But I still think blogging, and in particular adopting a “blog identity”, is (and will continute to be) a useful way to develop and share ideas that could not be replaced by other types of communication.

 

Quittin’ Time! Friday, Nov 24 2006 

random DrWorse 2:55 pm

Since I’m going to be working all weekend anyway, I think a leisurely Friday afternoon is in order. In one hour I’ll play golf, after which we’ll adjourn to the clubhouse for drinks and a meal at the restaurant. And I won’t feel the slightest bit guilty.

 

Blogging tools Friday, Nov 24 2006 

tech DrWorse 12:48 pm

Up to this point I have been posting to the blog using the Performancing for Firefox extension. I’ve just installed the beta of Microsoft’s Windows Live Writer and this is my first attempt at using it.

I like that it has (sort of) got the actual styling from my site in the editor, so I have some idea what the end result will look like. However, it doesn’t seem to be working quite right – I’ll have to do some reading to see whether I can make sense of it.

I also noticed that there is a Blog This for Firefox extension, which would seem to help overcome one of the downsides of Live Writer compared to Performancing – PFF is integrated with my browser. The Blog This button is on the Firefox toolbar rather than down in the statusbar, so I’ll have to get used to going in the opposite direction with the mouse to start a blog entry. I’ll keep playing with both tools and try to figure out which one I prefer.

 

The week that (almost) was Friday, Nov 24 2006 

random DrWorse 10:32 am

Okay, so Friday isn’t over yet, but I realise I haven’t blogged all week and I don’t want to fall out of the habit. However, the fact is that this has been a difficult week to find time for anything, due to factors such as:

  • Finishing dealing with the admission applications – which is at done, for the moment. Now there’s just dealing with calls from students who want to know why they did not get a place (which, in more than 95% of cases, is because their grades did not meet the standard specified on our web site).
  • Spent a couple of days dealing with and worrying about an acute crisis with one of our adult kids. I am not able to give any details, but for the moment the concern has eased, although I’m certain we have plenty to still worry about. This also reminds me that I still have a half-finished entry introducing my family – I really am a bad blogger.
  • Had the obligatory couple of meetings that we seem to schedule because we don’t have enough to do – in November we only have the end of semester, final exams, thesis marking, and a few other bits and pieces to deal with.
  • Fought with the photocopier a couple more times before giving up on duplexing, using twice as much paper as I wanted to, and returning all of my overdue books.
  • Organised electronic copies of my readings for next year’s subjects, because apparently it needed to be done urgently (i.e., the person who told me a couple of weeks ago that I wouldn’t need to do it was contacted and told that I should have done it).
  • Had a lovely dinner with good friends a couple of nights ago.
  • Drove kids around to do the things kids need to do.
  • Ate a bit, drank a bit, slept a bit.
  • etc.

So, now the weekend is in sight but the end of the week is nowhere to be seen. I have a pile of stuff left to do, including:

  • Marking the aforementioned theses (1 x PhD, 2 x Honours).
  • Organising students to complete their research projects.
  • Planning a funding application for next year – I have a meeting with a consultant next week, and was supposed to have a draft of the application completed by the end of last week (oops).
  • Trying to finish a couple of manuscripts and get them out to a journal before Christmas arrives.
  • Driving kids around to the things kids need to do.
  • Eating a bit, drinking a bit, and sleeping a bit.
  • etc.

Stay tuned, and life should become normal any minute now.

 

Teaching Carnival 16 Saturday, Nov 18 2006 

teaching DrWorse 6:08 am

Teaching Carnival 16 is up at Ancarett’s Abode – and no, I still haven’t caught up on the last one.

 

Best statement made during four hours of meetings Friday, Nov 17 2006 

random DrWorse 6:18 am

“Wait, computer says ‘yes’?!”

 

Drained Thursday, Nov 16 2006 

random DrWorse 4:02 pm

I feel absolutely exhausted and my brain is going into standby mode. I spent the day in the office going through applications for admission to the postgraduate program I coordinate. Of the ones I have gone through so far, a full 50% don’t meet the academic requirements, which are clearly spelled out on the web site and in our printed brochures. I guess the applicants’ perspective is that they have nothing to lose by applying – maybe we’ll lower our entry standards (except we won’t), and maybe they’ll get lucky (except they won’t). So, the end result is that it takes me twice as long to do this as it might, and the students get nowhere with it anyway. Still, I can look forward to a decent proportion of them contacting me to ask why they missed out on an offer.

Apart from the tedium of going through the applications, the other thing that has sucked the life out of me is that someone close to me appears to be going through the end of a relationship. I feel miserable for her. We spent some time together today and she looks like she’s half a heartbeat away from crying – when she’s not actually crying. I wish there was some way to spare her from the pain she’s going through, but all I can do is listen and try to give whatever comfort and advice I’m able to provide.

I remember thinking that today would be just incredibly dreary. I wish I had been right.

 

Approaching a White Christmas Thursday, Nov 16 2006 

random DrWorse 5:47 am

It’s been snowing in November – not just a few flakes, but legitimate snowfalls. I am very glad we kept the central heating turned on – the thermostat got low enough this morning that it started up. I think it took the chill off the house a little. Maybe when my teeth stop chattering I’ll be able to tell.

Meanwhile, let’s have some bushfires in Australia as well.

 

Jam Session Mk II Wednesday, Nov 15 2006 

random DrWorse 3:09 pm

The photocopying from Monday still is not done. I braved the machinery again today:

  • Selected the paper size and duplexing
  • Copied the chapters I wanted to the copier’s memory
  • Hit “Start”
  • Approximately two seconds later, there was a misfeed
  • Deciphered the cryptic instructions on the copier’s LCD screen to clear out the three jammed pieces of paper
  • Cleared the copier’s memory
  • Left the room

Not spending 45 minutes trying to get multiple machines to work meant that I was capable of telling our secretary that a technician was needed. The other day the infernal contraptions had reduced me to a gibbering wreck. They won’t do that to me again. Never.

So, the library books can get more overdue, and I will wait to hear that the machines are working. Then I’ll test them out.

 

Live to fight another year Wednesday, Nov 15 2006 

academia DrWorse 3:02 pm

My performance review meeting was this morning. While I didn’t expect any problems, I always find it a little unsettling to go into a meeting where the focus is how good (or bad) I am at what I do. This year we have the added joy of dealing with a new set of policies and procedures that has been brought about by the government’s HEWRRs initiative, although TLU has really taken to this “punish the bad, reward the good” framework with gusto. Anyway, I can now spend the next year trying to make sure I can check off everything on my stated list of goals. Does that mean I get to ignore anything that falls outside that list, including all the bits of administedium that are bound to come up? Probably not.

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »