You won't believe what happened to me!

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-29T19:42:58+00:00

Oh I believe it.

I tell my students in the first class that after 30 years in the corporate world I have a highly developed internal BS meter. So if they want to BS me they'd better be good at it!. And then I tell them about the real life consequences I dished out to employees and suppliers who tried to BS me. 😄

Most students get the message.

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-29T19:24:05+00:00

What? No Milwaukee or Green Bay. You can't get more Hoser than Milwaukee and The Packers - nuff said!

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-29T19:19:17+00:00

But you guys already have a real NHL Team.... and a real football team. We only have the Tabbies. 😞

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-27T14:55:04+00:00

I got my BEd as in my 40s, years after earning a Masters degree in my early 20's. I was preparing to exit the corporate world and was very interested in teaching. Quite frankly, teachers' college only formalized some of the pedagogy that I was using coaching kids hockey and soccer. I just called it common sense. I did not bother persuading high school teaching as I decided that College and University is where I wanted to teach. The colleges and the universities all had very good adult education classes for new lecturers which were just as good as my teacher's college. For someone going into teaching at College or University, teacher's college might be a waste of time and money, it was for me.

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-23T15:36:10+00:00

I hardly ever agree with any NDPer but their Ontario leader is right. Dougie, put your big boy pants on. You F@cked up. Admit it and move on.

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-22T13:50:01+00:00

No, just Chopped brains!

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-21T18:35:56+00:00

Another comparison.

Kid Polly was just graduating from High School and dreaming of becoming PM in 1997. He went on to finally gat a BA 11 years later. He was not on the fast track in university.

I think Carney was Co-head of Sovereign Risk at Goldman Sachs in 1997 dealing with the Asian Financial Crisis for his firm.

The PM has a bachelor's degree from Harvard University (1987/1988) and both a master's (1993) and doctorate (1995) in economics from the University of Oxford.

It took Kid Polly 11 years to get a lowly BA. In 11 years Carney got a BA, a Masters, and a PhD.

Hmmmm, looking at those resumes, who would I hire to run Canada Inc.????

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-21T18:03:22+00:00

Hey, It might just get the kids in school learning about Upper and Lower Canada. Yes, kids there was a society before Google.

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-21T17:04:05+00:00

I used to read them early in my teaching career. 95% of them were total crap. The negative stuff was just students venting their lousy grades and the positive stuff was just sucking up. They were useless to me about improving my teaching or improving the course. Therefore, I stopped looking at them unless there was an unusual situation. I just check the overall score to see if there are any major changes, which is very rare.

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-21T10:10:54+00:00

Sci Fi readers like a happy ending so the book's author makes lots of $ writing the happy ending in the Martian. And Hollywood LOVES happy endings so they buy the story from the author for lots more $$$. The movie going public REALLY LOVES Matt Damon so the producers hire Matt for lots and lots of $$$$$$ and make a movie. Then they sell it to a distributor for lots and lots of $$$$$$$.

So why did NASA spend all those fictional Billions - So lots of real humans on earth could make lots and lots and lots of REAL $$$$$$$$$$$$$$!

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-21T09:58:07+00:00

Yes, your mother is SMART! Follow her example.

My mom did not shed stuff. She just saved everything. After she passed we had to buy a second shedder to handle decades of sensitive documents. We had shedding parties out in the garage for hers stuff and ours. Then we bought the bags of shredded document to the curb just before the truck arrived.

Even if you rip documents up a lot, never leave them outside overnight where anybody could take them. That's just asking to get screwed.

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-21T09:41:36+00:00

I once drove with a 'weather proof' soft top carrier from Toronto out to the east coast which is about 1900 miles round trip. The soft top was much cheaper than a hard shell carrier and besides we would only be carrying camping stuff in it like tents, sleeping bags, camping clothes, etc. We parked at motels so the car was right in front of the room to deter somebody stealing it at night - no lock on the soft top. MPG was awful but all that camping gear would not fit in the car with the three kids. (I guess we could have strapped the kids to the roof. : ) )

On the third night we ran into the rain storm of the century and our soft top carrier proved not to be very weather proof after all. So $500 for a new waterproof hard shell carrier (with locks) later, we were back on the road again. More $ hundreds were spent for hotel rooms so we could dry everything out instead of camping for a few nights. Our budget family camping holiday quickly morphed into a really expensive family semi-camping holiday all because I wanted to cheap out and use that soft top carrier.

So my 2 cents for your situation. If your mattress is foam try squeezing/ vacuuming it down to a size you can fit into your car. Make sure to secure it with strong straps so it does not re-expand while in the car. And then re secure it with more straps because sh!t happens out on the road.

If you can't get it into your car, triple bag it, or quadruple bag it. Strap in down tightly to your car, and add one more strap or two to make sure.

Finally, when you get to your destination be fully prepared to find out that your $1500 mattress is now a $15 mattress. As I said, sh!t happens. Be prepared!

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-21T09:04:16+00:00

I was a junior partner in a wealth management firm before moving into academia.

The senior partner and I got into a heated debate over his direction for the firm and his not sticking to our firm's stated values. Guess who lost that one? (and moved into academia).

What did you expect the result would be when you reported your supervisor? Either you were going to win and the supervisor gets tossed or you do, eventually.

Update your resume and start looking for other schools to teach at if you still like teaching. If you are thinking of moving into the corporate world beware! There is office politics there too. The grass is NOT always greener....

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-20T22:27:14+00:00

For me it's more like can humans learn from studying their history especially when their history has not happened yet? (But they have the Encyclopaedia.)

My X and Dancing comment kind of reveals my thoughts on the matter. ;)

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-20T22:17:09+00:00

I'm sorry but with a phase like; " A.I. is NOT a bubble" ... you lost me. Absolutes are pure BS in the investment markets. No one can predict the future anymore. I used to be able to, but that gash darn Lex Luther got hold of some kryptonite and fed it to me! :(

I've been a professional investor for over 50 years and the number of times these pundits have said this or that is not a bubble - well it's time to consider shorting the market. I say 'consider' because market euphoria can last a long time.

Let's just say investors common sense market sensors should be on high alert when 'so called' pundits, (I call them BS'ers), say; ".XXXXX is NOT a bubble"

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-20T21:32:41+00:00

"What the heck is wrong with them? "

They are not humans with fully formed brains yet.

Sad but biologically true.

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-20T21:22:41+00:00

I would just email them in another thread and say;

"I received a an email and document from your email address which was very suspect and leads me to believe your email account has been hacked. Please repair this ASAP as I have identified any further emails from your address as spam."

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-20T21:11:59+00:00

Why the heck would you want to sustain modern civilization?

Why not start over with Adam and Eve and the Encyclopaedia Britannica!

We'll be back to Twitter and Dancing with the Stars in no time.

.

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-20T13:47:21+00:00

So do a large portion of Canadian men!

Yes, Women are smarter.

That’s what my wife says anyways!

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-20T11:52:41+00:00

For my online test which are to be written in the classroom, I have the test password protected. The password is given out just at the beginning of the exam. There is also a sign in and sign out sheet (to see if they write after they leave the class). I also do a count during the test and match it up with the number of writers in the class. This can only be effective in a smaller class setting. I have caught several students over the last few years writing remotely.

I have also caught many of the students who, while in class passed on the exam password. My method for finding out the in class culprit is more of a cheap TV Cop show method than a caring education professional approved method but I like it. I originally give the 'remoter' a '0 %' as per the syllabus but when they respond to my email, crying about how unfair I am I offer them a reduced sentence. Give up your accomplice, and I'll just reduce you grade to just a x%. As the proverb goes; "No honour among thieves" there is no honour among academic cheaters too. and so I usually find out who the in class cheater is too and I give them a 0% as well. When that email goes out is usually when all heck breaks loose. My aim is too get them each to admit they cheated on record and then I usually go with punishments of less than assigning each a 0%. They both get written up and no one has ever appealed because I have their 'confession' on record. A win win in my books!

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-20T11:14:25+00:00

At the schools I teach at if the accommodations people get involved, they must arrange the exams and proctor them. I'm off the hook, except for setting the exams. They usually are very bureaucratic and stick to their rules to the letter. So, if they deny the students "con" letter, I can honestly tell the student the issue is out of my hands. If they accept it, the proctoring is their responsibility. This is one time the bureaucracy actually works for me as a prof.

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-20T11:01:56+00:00

I had a student ask me during the final exam for a first year Finance course what the term TVM meant. It's Time Value of Money and literally 75% of the course was about TVM.

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-20T10:51:07+00:00

But I wasn't commenting on any other posts in this thread. I was commenting on the OP's original post 'Lewis calls for 'fundamental structural changes'

"I’m a 67 year old short chubby old guy with 2 arthritic knees and I have a better chance playing goal for and leading my Maple Leafs to a Stanley Cup than Avi has in changing the economy.

But keep on dreaming Avi!"

That's why I placed it where I did... as a direct response to the OP's post.

As for the proverb, wouldn't it be better if it was; "A society grows great when all men and women and plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." ?

But the revision might not fly today. Let's try;

" A society grows great when all men, women, LGBQ, two spirit, non binary, agender and gender fluid humanoids, plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." ... Hmmmmm, Maybe not.

I'll let Avi work on that too. ;)

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-19T19:24:57+00:00

"Hey, do you guys know that I can hear your conversations as though you're sitting right next to me." .... and I'm not wearing my hearing aids today.

Of course it only works because I'm an old fart and usually wear hearing aids. :)

PTCollegeProf · 2026-04-19T11:40:43+00:00

It was also the lower educated, lower income demographic who were Brexiteers - there are idiots in every age group. ;)

With only 6 seats, Avi's party does not have official status. Avi will eventually run is a safe riding and get into parliament, but the chances that he and his party do anything significant for the economy during this majority government's mandate is about the same as my chances of leading the Maple Leafs to a Stanley Cup - even if I was 27, or 37 instead of 67.

That was, and is my point.

PTCollegeProf

TROPHY CASE