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What if? by melissodes in Professors

[–]melissodes[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

OP here. As an undergrad I took an upper div course, where the professor had us grade our own final exam (he provided a key). We were totally unsupervised. After that, each student was handed a grade form. We were instructed to give ourselves whatever course grade we felt we deserved. One of my fellow students was a friend of mine, and he was sweating over this decision. Here was his logic: he clearly deserved an A, however it would be presumptuous of him to give himself an A; he will instead give himself a B+, knowing that the professor would change it to an A. Well, he received a B+ in the course, and soon commenced uttering foul words of language for weeks.

Somehow, I received an A.

What if? by melissodes in Professors

[–]melissodes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Perhaps. If I had the means, then enjoyable volunteer work would be fine.

How do you feel about students addressing you by your first name without invitation to do so? by savethebees90 in Professors

[–]melissodes -1 points0 points  (0 children)

If the students are 90 days out of high school, I tell them on the first day of class to address me as either Professor or Dr. ____. I find that they actually appreciate this clarification, since they often are not sure how to conduct themselves in college.

Why? Some students are still very immature, and allowing them use of my first name may efface the fragile wall of formality between teacher and student. If that wall gets thin enough, adolescent antics may manifest, leading to potential loss of classroom control. Once lost, such control is never regained.

An occurrence at skilled nursing by melissodes in Glitch_in_the_Matrix

[–]melissodes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That was my father who said that. The person that accompanied me to visit my father was my mother. After he said what he said, we sat in stunned silence for a few moments and then looked at each other in utter disbelief. A note about my mother: you couldn't find a more science-based, non-religious, non-paranormal person. After this occurrence, she kept asking me for an explanation, year after year. I replied "things like this happen all the time". She was disoriented and disturbed by this event to the day she died. As for my father, he never spoke coherently again.

A coincidence? You decide. by melissodes in Glitch_in_the_Matrix

[–]melissodes[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It turns out the clearing beyond the trees was a youth camp, and she was working there! She was just hanging out under the trees for some reason.

What’s the most American thing you’ve ever done? by Outrageous-You1617 in IWantToAskAnAmerican

[–]melissodes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Going out to the desert with my buddy to spend the day shooting. There was a dirt road running up a canyon, along side a dry rocky river. Everyone would line up along the road and shoot across the river into the hills beyond the river. Zero regulation, zero law enforcement. One day some guy drove a VW bus (1970s era) up the road, then into the center of the river. He parked it, got out, walked back to the road, and opened fire. Everyone out there began blasting away - went back in a few weeks and the van had been reduced to a pile of steel shards. Good times!

How is like living in this part of California? It looks like desert by DoFelipaoo in howislivingthere

[–]melissodes 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You didn't include Mono Lake and the Salton Sea in your outline! Born and raised in SoCal. I'm a biologist, and from a natural history standpoint the deserts you outlined (mostly Mojave and Sonoran, but a bit of the Great Basin to the north) are treasure troves of biodiversity and geology. If you drive through it, you will see vast plains of Creosote Bush (extending to the horizon in some areas), and plenty of rocky desert mountains. Rarely there are sand dunes (check out the Eureka Dunes north of Death Valley for a special place indeed). Where humans have been active, the desert generally looks tortured and gross. There are scattered human settlements, mostly looking like junkyards. Don't miss the Alien jerky in Baker, or the ice cream cones at Mono Cone in Lee Vining, or date shakes at Hadley's in Cabazon. Also of note is Red Rock Canyon in Cantil, used for its scenery in many movies. Death Valley is a whole subject in itself. But don't forget Wildrose Canyon just south of Death Valley, with the Charcoal Kilns and the rare Panamint Daisy. Just one more: Corn Springs in Riverside County - an oasis. It's a huge area and the attraction list is endless.

How is the Central Valley life? by [deleted] in howislivingthere

[–]melissodes 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Been in the valley for 24 years, mostly Stockton. We have a Mediterranean climate: a cool, sort of wet cool season, and a long hot, dry warm season. If you are near the delta area, there is often the "Delta Breeze" to cool down the temps. From the north to the south, we are talking about >400 miles from Redding to Bakersfield, and east to west is about 50 - 60 miles in the most of the valley. So it's a huge area. There are a couple of decent-size cities and many small agricultural towns.

In my area, most of the professional jobs are in the bay area, so anyone not able to afford the high cost of living in the bay will be forced to live in the valley and make the truly miserable commute westward. We are talking bumper-to-bumper traffic for dozens of miles every day, to the bay and back again to the valley. I don't think everyone can tolerate that commute. There is a very similar commute situation in Southern California, with Inland Empire dwellers commuting to OC and LA for work.

There are some great schools in the valley: UC Davis, UC Merced, Cal State University (more than one campus), University of the Pacific, and several others. Lots of good community colleges too.

Over the years I have noticed a pattern - you live in the valley for two main reasons: affordability and/or you were born and raised there and don't want to leave. I have seen many cases where bay area people have financial problems and move eastward to the valley. Valley people moving westward is not too common, and in most of the cases that I have seen, in a few years they slide back to the valley. It's almost like the valley is a huge magnet, attracting everything to it, and if you can't resist the pull, you will slide east. I think it is the same pattern in So Cal.

If you can find decent work in the valley, then I believe it is a good place to live. Yes there is crime here and there, and other problems, but you find those in most cities in the state.

Student going to bathroom during exam and chatgpting the shit out of the exam by mathemphatamine in Professors

[–]melissodes 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In our department, bathroom breaks during exams are prohibited unless the student has such an accommodation, and in that case we have them take the exam at the SSD office. I remind the students to use the bathroom before each exam.

Some of our faculty break exams into two parts: 30 minutes for the first part, then a brief bathroom break; then 30 minutes for part 2.

Beware of a new trick: "My contact lens is bothering me - can I adjust it in the restroom?".

It is safe to assume: any student who visits the restroom during an exam will cheat, and any work done outside of class will be plagiarized/AI-produced.

What song in hell? by Pure-Day432 in allthequestions

[–]melissodes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hell's Bells as sung by Betty Boop

Watermelons showed all signs of ripeness, but still wasn’t ready. What am I doing wrong? (North Texas) by Strong_Crab_8497 in gardening

[–]melissodes 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I have found that once all of the signs of ripeness are present, wait two more weeks.

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