Quick Check In

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Haven't blogged here in quite a while! I haven't been blogging anywhere, but I do have a tumblr for Geography things and spend a lot of time on Twitter. Maybe I'll get something up here in the near future. Otherwise catch me on the platforms above.

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A plea to the news media

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It's time to stop using the phrase "It can be seen from space!" In an era of sub-meter spatial resolution satellite sensors, it no longer makes sense to point out the vastness of something by saying that "it can be seen from space". You can see cars and trees from space now- just have a look at Google Earth (or Maps ). We can only assume that spy satellites can detect objects much smaller than that, so there are probably few things left on the Earth's surface that can't be seen from space (unless it's cloudy!) I felt compelled to write this blog post after last night's Countdown with Keith Olbermann , where he kept saying that the Gulf Oil Spill is large enough "to be seen from space". But, he is not alone . The recent discovery of a very large beaver dam in Canada drew similar responses . This is just no longer a meaningful phrase unless you qualify it with something like "the space shuttle astronauts can see it without bin...
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Back to classes with almost no concern for COVID

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Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash   Classes start next Monday and I will be there with my KN95 mask on. I might be the only one since Miami University is not requiring masks despite CDC recommendations for our county being to the contrary. I can't see how this will go well. People are still being hospitalized and dying of COVID. Why should we pretend otherwise? I had hoped they would start with masks with all the students returning to campus, but that is not the case. It's very frustrating. I am not immune compromised, but I'm sure there are those on campus on who are. This policy just seems very misguided. I watched the webinar posted on the U website and that was even more worrying to me. It sounds like they want to rely 100% on personal responsibility for keeping COVID numbers down. Yes, there are people who will be careful, but not everyone!  So that's how I'm feeling a week out from classes. I do get to teach Landscape Ecology again- it's only...
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Friday afternoon meetings are the worst*

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Is it ever appropriate for someone to yell at someone else in an academic faculty meeting? I would say no. Especially so if you’re a higher rank than the person you’re yelling at. Especially not during a brainstorming session on a Friday afternoon. Especially not if you’re a man and you’re yelling at a woman. I just had another taste of how people at work don't value me or my opinions. The comment I made was clearly not going to be a major focus of what we were doing, but I thought I had a valid point and should be allowed to make it. If no one felt it was worth pursuing or discussing further, that’s fine. However, my comment was met with anger and aggression from one colleague. Nobody else said anything. I felt uncomfortable for being yelled at so I left the meeting right then. One (female) colleague emailed later to ask if I was okay. Another (female colleague) did on Sunday. The person who yelled emailed to apologize, but apology also pointed out that I was wrong. So that’s ...
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