Friday, May 18, 2007

Friday RBOC -- Returning from the 'Zoo edition

Friday RBOC -- Returning from the Zoo edition


  • Cat claws are sacrosanct ... please do not trim them
  • when given a choice between duty (faculty workshops) and something really cool, like a one-of-a-kind international symposium, take the symposium, because most of your colleagues have already left for forn parts and/or the beach
  • There is still a large pile of crap on my desk at home. It includes three ILL books. I've got about 10 of the damned things due back on 25 May. I really need them for longer. My ILL librarian and my department chair are going to hate me, because my ILL books tend to cost money.
  • Also in the pile is are the receipts for two conferences. Got to get those forms in today
  • I bought new running shoes yesterday (we shall not speak of the price) -- I had them fitted at the running shoe store in Dabbaville. Running up and down the mall seems to have loosened my Kalamazoo back, which was all tweaked from walking in heels and sitting for prolonged periods in very uncomfortable seats -- can I just say how much I loved being able to sit in a panel in Fetzer 1005? mmmmm .... comfy!
  • I'm thinking back on some of the papers I heard. Some were very good and very cool. Others were really derivative and honestly nothing new. I actually re-capped one to LDW, where he said ... "Well, I said that in X...oh, that's so-and-so in Y... everybody knows that!" But then, there was a different paper where I sat there thinking, "I just read this article!" At the end of a long section of the paper, the person said that the author of said article had made great contributions on the subject or some such thing. Er, no. The author pretty much said in print (from conference proceedings from a few years ago) what the presenter said. Attribution is kind of important. Misleading attribution worries me. I'm going to assume it was the format of the rushed conference paper, and not anything deliberate.
  • OMG People, Please! I know that Danuta Shanzer's guidelines (I'd link, but I can't find them at the new K'zoo site) are a bit scary, but DAMN! Far too many people tried to fit 25-30 minute papers into 20 minutes. The fact that you can read that quickly, doesn't mean you should. There were so many papers, especially those without handouts, where I just found myself tuning out because I couldn't keep up while trying to weigh the paper's ideas.
  • And speaking of handouts -- bring enough. If you don't, then please do not assume that your audience knows what you are talking about. At least have the decency to check and make sure the handouts are being shared, and make some changes on the fly to let people know what they don't have in front of them. Don't leave big gaps that can only be filled if a person has the handout.
  • I've been having a great time reading other people's Kazoo posts.
  • When a senior Lion said he'd like to send me an article he was working on, I didn't expect it to be in French
  • Also, cat claws may be sacrosanct, but the cats I serve are very forgiving. It's hard to work with a cat on one's lap.

7 comments:

Jane Dark said...

Cat claws *are* sacrosanct, and some cats are very good at hiding the nail clippers.

However, when someone's "thumb" claws are long and curving enough that they tend to get stuck in things, it is a slightly larger problem...

Another Damned Medievalist said...

Well, Girly is a lap massager, and Mr Soppy McPervboy likes to crawl under the covers and massage whatever he can find, so they are quite used to being clipped, thank goodness!

Anonymous said...

Heh, I just clipped Middle Cat's VERY long claws this morning! If I can pounce on her quickly she's pretty decent, actually, because she retreats into "I am not here, this is not happening" mode. Whereas Youngest Cat fights like a mad thing!

Jonathan Dresner said...

The unwillingness of scholars to practice presentations always amazes me: I always do several pre-readthroughs on a paper before presenting, with a clock on hand so I know how much needs to be cut. Then I cut some, and do another readthrough, to make sure it makes sense and fits. And another....

So I am reading, usually, but not in a deadpan manner.

Another Damned Medievalist said...

I don't mind when people read -- what I mind is when they read so quickly that you can't think about what they're saying.

Steve Muhlberger said...

I found my paper a bit squeezed at the end of my session, so I was cutting out modifiers on the run. The reaction to the paper was positive enough that I realized I didn't need those modifiers.

Actually I realized that before any reaction. Must keep that thought.

Another Damned Medievalist said...

Tiruncula and Ancarett made me get rid of all my weasel words, and LDW made me write a ... conclusion!

I'm really sorry I missed your paper. It turned out to be across from three papers in one session I really wanted to hear, except that I had to skip out because next door was New Kid's session, and I'd promised moral support -- plus it was a session run by two of my oldest friends. Somehow in the middle I managed to hear part of the really interesting Bede session across the hall. Yours was not even on the same part of campus, so I couldn't run back and forth. Argh.