Mossy, this is a particularly strong example of your links sometimes needing more annotation for us in the back. This is a lot of verbiage about relative risks of various marine spheres, and on skim nothing stands out to me. Panama language being unchanged is good to know - but in that case is something else new that we should be noticing.
I haven't had a chance to seriously look at this, and I'm not a "wisdom of the markets" extremist, but markets are pretty damn smart, and if you want to know where knowledgable people see potential problems on the horizon, this is the sort of place to look.
(I remain puzzled that the stock markets remain buoyant. I get a definite bubble vibe about the current situation -- to the point where I might start making investment decisions based on timing the market, which is ordinarily against my religion.)
Poor Minivet, whose teachers were too lazy to make him(?) sit in the front (:-).What struck me by their presence were Panama (so I checked back), Guyana and Cabo Delgado (not new, but still noteworthy) and Pakistan (IDK). Notable by their absence, S China Sea and Korean waters (not that I had reason to expect otherwise).
I wouldn't have any expectations of this data source, but that's just me!
We should build a new canal through Honduras.
A new canal through the US! Following the original Lewis and Clark route. Or maybe through Canada via Mackenzie's original route.*
*I had a whitewater canoe instructor who spent two summers paddling that route upstream across Canada and performing historical re-enactments in small towns. He was a tough and entertaining man.
If you wear the right clothes and get diarrhea in Oregon, you could be re-enacting the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Didn't a Nobel-prize winning economist do an analysis of the transcontinental railroad that supposed that the Platt was navigable for counterfactual purposes?
The one in Nebraska with an "e" at the end?
Insurance rates along the Platte are going up. Too many storms.
Among the earliest firsthand accounts of navigating the Platte was that of E. Willard Smith. After wintering in the Rockies, he embarked on a journey to St. Louis on April 26, 1840, in the company of South Platte fur trader Andrew Sublette. From Smith's diary we learn:
We started in a mackinaw boat . . . thirty-six feet long and eight feet wide. We had seven hundred buffalo robes on board, and four hundred buffalo tongues. . . . The water was very shallow and we proceeded with great difficulty, getting on sand bars every few minutes. We were obliged to wade and push the boat along most of the way for about three hundred miles, which took us forty-nine days.
"Despite its uselessness as a stream, the Platte has won a permanent place in the history of the West. If boats could not navigate its channel, the 'prairie schooner' could sail along its valley where lay the most practical route across the plains."
I'm surprised that was even possible. My guess is that the water is lower now because of irrigation or that Mr. Smith and I have differing definitions of "great difficulty".
My beans are about not far from where the various trails from the east converged into a single "Platte River Road." The family cemetery is off "Old Military Road", which I think means it was the road from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Laramie. If so, it's clearly been moved so the fields aren't split funny.
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Off-topic question: Suppose you are conducting interviews and you are bringing three candidates to campus. Candidate #3 says they can't come to campus next week because of a child medical situation.
The question is about substituting a campus zoom interview for a campus visit. Colleague A says, "Put the candidate on the backburner for now, since they won't get a fair shake w a zoom campus visit." Colleague B says we have a moral obligation to do our best to deliver a fair zoom visit, because it would not be right to deny someone an opportunity for a job due to a sick kid.
I'm used to thinking that a committee must act in the best interests of the university, and you can't go down the path too far of what's best for candidates, beyond basic fairness and courtesy.
Is colleague B correct? do we have a moral obligation to do our best to deliver a zoom canpus visit? (I may have gently accused him of being Chidi from The Good Place.)
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Could you use a cat filter on the Zoom call and then have the in-person candidates wear a cat mask?
We're not supposed to be motivated by what I personally would like best.
I'm only seeking what's best for the institution.
Speaking of education, the Department of Education still exists. It just emailed me about FAFSA.
18: It's possible that I'm in a querulous mood tonight, but this question seems misguided in almost all of its particulars. Most obviously, we're not 40 comments into this thread and it is thus not acceptable to go off-topic.
More substantively, putting a candidate "on the backburner" means prioritizing other candidates, right? In what way is that giving the backburnered candidate "a fair shake"?
Also, in what way are the bests interests of the university served by not properly considering a candidate with a sick kid?
The valid purpose of DEIA programs is to provide opportunities to people who are unfairly stigmatized for various life circumstances. This seems like that sort of case, unless we're going to say that it is fair to downgrade someone because they have a sick kid. (And hey, there are indeed a lot of people who would endorse that sentiment.)
Chidi was really cool, and the Council erred by assigning him to the Bad Place.
I'm not sure that this situation rises to the level of a "moral obligation," but certainly colleague B is correct that the right thing to do is to make allowances to provide a fair shot to the candidate.
Not feeling querulous myself but I'm with pf, do the zoom.
I would also say do the Zoom, but I think there may be a clash of norms between academia and not-academia here, so opinions from academics are needed.
Is rescheduling and holding the search open for longer not an option? I think it's right to expect that doing the interview on zoom will change the dynamic, but also that it's wrong to drop them out of the search completely.
26: Yes, I am surprised by the one week window for a campus visit. We certainly work with a much wider window.
BTW, I really enjoyed the Lewis & Clarke and Platte river remarks above. I would love to travel that route sometime.
25 more academics you mean, I have a faculty appointment I'll have you know (and I've sat on search committees)
28: Fair enough; I did not in fact know that.
And everyone should be accustomed to using zoom for remote campus visits post-COVID
26/27: the one week window is because the first two candidates have already come and visited. Coming up empty-handed because people accepted other jobs is the worst-case scenario, because then the position doesn't get filled for a whole 'nother year.
Fwiw, I'm not actually on the committee. But I have heard Colleague A respond this way in a similar situation and I didn't question it.
Is the campus visit to let the candidate see the xmapus, or is it really just an interview? In either case I think let them do the zoom call if they're happy with it. And write down, in advance, all the ways in which they might be disadvantaged by doing the zoom, so you can watch out for them. Like if one of the others got on really well with you at lunch, then try to discount that.
It's both - it's definitely an interview, but it's also for them to see if they might like to come here.
The suggestion about writing out disadvantages ahead of time is a good one.
When I watch someone teach, I'm watching for how they connect and relate to students, and whether they're attuned to students. I don't know how this candidate can possibly get a fair shot in a teaching demo over zoom.
Could someone visit this candidate and see them teach in their home environment, if they can't travel?
We have the technology for in person too.
OP, 18: I suggest sending Mossy's War Risks Renewal to the candidate and have them explicate it on a Zoom call. If they do a good job, appoint them department chair.
the one week window is because the first two candidates have already come and visited
I don't know how long your typical search is, but unless you know you're going to make an offer to one of the first two already, a week delay (if a short-ish delay like that is possible) in the academic world doesn't seem too long given how slow academic hiring can be. But it sounds like this is a seasonal hiring period, which is different than my experience with academic staff searches. I've never been involved in a search where all the candidates might be applying to lots of jobs with roughly the same hiring schedules where multiple employers will make offers for similar jobs around the same time of the year. So while there's always a chance someone will take a different job in the searches I've been in, the odds haven't been that high at any given time of the year.
Check with HR because if two candidates get a fly out and the chance to connect and candidate C gets a Zoom because of a sick kid and doesn't get the job, you've treated them unequally.
do whatever you can to get them out in person; I find it hard to believe that even an early-March visit would be too late--unless your first two candidates have already been deemed unviable, you'll be ok
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All those who offer butter-lamps will be freed from the darkness of unknowing.|>
I did light the butter on fire, but I had other reasons.
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Dwelling in wilderness retreats, may I put myself into hiding, Like the dead corpse of a beast, and dwell there free from desire.|>
Check with HR because if two candidates get a fly out and the chance to connect and candidate C gets a Zoom because of a sick kid and doesn't get the job, you've treated them unequally.
Or, at least, you need to be able to show that you have given them all reasonable accommodation, and that the decision not to give them the job was not influenced by their inability to attend in person. Hence the value of writing stuff down in advance - you can show it in evidence. (Having a family emergency that stops you attending an interview isn't a protected characteristic, though; it's not like the interview was at the top of a steep flight of stairs or something.)
Is this the advice thread? I have a question/request. My dad has a yahoo account and a gmail account, and pretty much accesses them only through his phone, which has his passwords saved. He lost his phone. He tried to access his email accounts through his desktop computer, but made too many unsuccessful accounts and got locked out. His phone uses GoogleFi, so is linked to his gmail, and his yahoo and gmail accounts are the backup security for one another.
Is there any way for him to access his emails? He can't reset his passwords, because he has to access his backup email accounts in order to do that. We called the yahoo premier security service and they asked him to send them a photo of his identification card, but then denied his access. (We did this several times, same result each time. I'm guessing it's because the birth date on his driver's license (his official birth day) doesn't match the birth day he used when he set up his account (his real birth day)). Does anyone have experience or expertise or any other ideas? Please and thank you!
NMM to Tom Robbins. I was of the age to read his books as they came out, and I did most of the early ones, but even 14 year old me thought that the attitudes toward the female characters was skeevy.
48: I'm just saying that our HR department would advise us to move everyone to Zoom or to reschedule the final interview so the person could make it in-person.
At least in terms of academic interviewing, the UK cares *way* more about 48-type concerns than the US. Not that the US doesn't care at all, but there's no expectations that different candidates will meet with the same people or be asked the same questions.
Now this particular case might raise to the case where it does become an issue, as Cala says it would be at her school, but I've been kinda surprised at how little of this kind of concern I've seen come up here. On this particular point, I don't remember it coming up with TT faculty, but I vaguely remember something like this happening with a lecturer search?
I think this is a toughie and am glad I don't have to have an opinion on this case.
I think of the Platte as being like the Powder River -- to thick to drink, too thin to plow. Oh, I see that Twain said that about the Missouri which, if that's so, the Platte would only be worse.
L&C came through here, so we'd be on the new canal! Lewiston Idaho has marketed itself as a port for ocean-going vessels. It'd be a tough go getting the Lochsa dug out, but worse on this side.
(You wouldn't want to follow L&C's westbound route, since they learned some good facts about geography, and found a way shorter path eastbound. Rogers Pass rather than Lemhi Pass!)
I don't think I've even been in or close to the Missouri.
55. We'll go marching marching to Omaha with the buckram and the cord!
Is it a place many people go to without family obligations or work commitments?
55. We'll go marching marching to Omaha with the buckram and the cord!
Is it a place many people go to without family obligations or work commitments?
55. We'll go marching marching to Omaha with the buckram and the cord!
Is it a place many people go to without family obligations or work commitments?
55: Sure. But driving I've a bridge doesn't get you a very good feel for the water.
Every time I read "War Risks Renewal" it seems like it should be the start of some cryptic bit of writing.
War Risks Renewal
Peace Risks Cancellation
Save Time and Money
Burma Shave
We did a zoom visit with a candidate who had to cancel due to illness and couldn't be rescheduled for an in-person visit in time. It went fine, honestly.
I've also been on searches that had an extreme time crunch because of the danger that a looming financial crisis might lead the university president to freeze all hiring, even in cases for which a verbal offer had been given and accepted. In fact, that's one of the reasons my department conducted a search in just six weeks, from posting the ad to signing a contract last semester. It was insane, but we knew it was the last line we were likely to get for years.
49: I'm sorry that no one is offering advice, and sorrier that I have none either. That sounds like a massive clusterfuck.
The committee decided to extend an offer to one of the first two candidates, in the interest of time. If this candidate says no, they'll do the zoom interview.
I had fully come around on the zoom interview, but I'm not on the committee.
The one last little detail that makes me slightly uncomfortable with the hypothetical zoom interview is that not all candidates might feel equally comfortable volunteering that they have a personal problem that's keeping them from coming, and so we shouldn't use that info. Like, a different candidate might have a disability that's equally difficult for them to travel with, but they're not going to disclose for fear of poisoning the interview process. Or a woman with a sick kid might worry that explaining about a sick kid will make the committee perceive her as less dedicated to her career. Or whatever. Being able to confidently disclose why you can't travel isn't necessarily universal.
49: Does he have any saved codes? Years ago, google game me ten codes that I can use if locked out. They are probably on a piece of paper I can't find.
If the date on the drivers license is the problem, is there another document from somewhere else that has the date he did use? Including both with an explanation might work, if you can get to a person rather than an automated processs. If he used the home PC previously, there may be a record of the device/ IP used to access the email before locking as a separate support for identity.
Frustrating-- I've had similar experiences with parents vs contemporary technology, though not this bad....
Alternately, edit the birthdate on the drivers license image. You'll need an image of the correct digits somehow...
64: I'm not following quite what you're uncomfortable about. Someone with a personal problem they're comfortable telling you about is better off than someone with a personal problem they can't tell you about, but worse off than someone with no problems. Where's the unfairness?
64: Following what LB said, it's good to embrace a universal design perspective so that people don't have to ask for accommodations in the first place, but at some point someone will need accommodations beyond what's typically provided. Refusing to provide those accommodations because not everyone is comfortable asking for them doesn't make much sense.
The one last little detail that makes me slightly uncomfortable with the hypothetical zoom interview is that not all candidates might feel equally comfortable volunteering that they have a personal problem that's keeping them from coming, and so we shouldn't use that info. Like, a different candidate might have a disability that's equally difficult for them to travel with, but they're not going to disclose for fear of poisoning the interview process. Or a woman with a sick kid might worry that explaining about a sick kid will make the committee perceive her as less dedicated to her career. Or whatever. Being able to confidently disclose why you can't travel isn't necessarily universal.
And I guess in this case the idea would instead be that the universal should be that, indeed, revealing anything of the sort is in fact completely tanking your prospects entirely? That does not seem better.
Further to 70, I don't think you have a duty to guess whether someone has a disability or disadvantage that they don't want to tell you about, and then accommodate them. You have a duty to provide reasonable accommodation to people when they ask for it, and not to discriminate against them. The hypothetical woman who thinks you'll be biased against her because she has a kid is wrong and it is not your job to read her mind. It is your job not to be biased against her, and you've done that bit.
I admit I am not clear on what the worst case is here that heebie is actually trying to avoid: is it "being left with an empty spot because you delay offering a job to anyone", "being sued for discrimination", "being unfair to someone with kids", or "missing out on the best candidate because he can't attend an interview in person"?
If you just need to fill the spot, then hire one of the other two - you know they're both competent. I admit I can't imagine being in a situation where "I can't make the interview in person" would be met with anything other than "oh, well, sorry to hear that, best of luck with your job search in future" but then I don't work in academia.
Wouldn't it just be reasonable to do the zoom rather than need a first-principles debate?
"This is all very well in practice, but will it work in theory?"
They decided to extend the offer because they were worried about the schedule. The last time they filled this position, the offer went out in January. I don't know if that's a grounded fear or not.
Would it be possible to construct a Darmok-like culture based on lines from Firesign Theater?
That's metaphysically absurd, man.
Omg. I just found out that this sad candidate with the sick kid who we must accommodate also submitted their application about two months late. The reason he was being tacked on to the end of the campus interview session is because we only received his initial application in the middle of round 1 phone interviews.
I just learned that basically all of the milo grown in the U.S. is purchased by USAID. So maybe I should tell my cousin not to plant any this year.
Tim showed me that google maps now says "Gulf of America" instead of "Gulf of Mexico". AP is refusing to go along, so it was blocked from an event.
76: I'm pretty sure that has already been accomplished with Monte Python.
When you start wearing glasses, how long does it take for your brain to adjust so that the floor does not to appear to be tilting at crazy angles?
With trifocals, I kind of never did, but I stopped falling down stairs after a week. With regular glass, I don't remember before starting to wear glasses.
OT: I'm careful about listening to my doctor to avoid heart problems, but he never once said don't do poppers and have sex with Britt Ekland.
It's poppers and Viagra at the same time that you want to avoid. Pick a lane.
google maps now says "Gulf of America" instead of "Gulf of Mexico".
There was an article that explained that Google gets maps data from various official providers. If the official provider in the country where you are updates the maps, then those changes are pulled into Google Maps. So presumably the USGS has made the official change and then Google picked it up. Accessed from another country, Google Maps might still show Gulf of Mexico.
Relative to everything else going on, Google maps saying Gulf of America feels surprisingly low on the compliance-with-Trump list.
Where I am it now says "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)" but I really can't complain since Google Maps also calls the Persian Gulf the "Arabian Gulf"
The whole episode smacks of empire in steep decline
92 "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)" here, but only "Persian Gulf". And "Sea of Japan" but if you zoom in enough it becomes "Sea of Japan (East Sea)".
Will they be bringing back "Sea of Cortez" next?
The AP discussion of the issue explicitly refers to "Gulf of California"/"Sea of Cortez" as a comparable case.
I always vaguely assumed that the rule was that the water separating A and B is called after the smaller of the two. It's English Channel, not French Channel. Irish Sea. Sea of Japan. Java Sea, not Borneo Sea.
Thanks for the link - I didn't know the Mexicans still used the old name.
90: Google maps saying Gulf of America feels surprisingly low on the compliance-with-Trump list
It's also part of the Putin playbook: make previously reliable independent media accept his terms and framings as a display of power. "They have no insignia, of course those are not Russian troops in Crimea" is one of the places that technique can lead to.
The fact that people are talking about it at all instead of saying "what the fuck are you kidding and/or brain-damaged" is a display of power. That anyone is acquiescing is a display of dominance.
The Gulf of Mexico never dumped a foot of snow on Pensacola. Gulf of America sucks.
In other geography news, the AP will now be referring to the region between Trump's ears as the Gulf of Stupidity, and the space between his lips as the Fountain of Drivel.
I spent time in Guaymas growing up and everyone including American expats called it Sea of Cortez without exception. People know a good name when they hear one.
Maybe they can just find a different Cortez and retrospectively name it after them instead, like with Fort Bragg, which if you missed it is now Fort Bragg again but this time a different Bragg, a paratrooper from the 17th Airborne. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_L._Bragg
Hopefully they'll now find a new Benning to rename Fort Moore after.
91/93/etc.: Google Maps is totally aware of regional disagreements on the names of things, and all sorts of national rules about what to call things, and uses where it thinks you are (IP-based, mostly, but not entirely) to decide what to show you. Persian/Arabian Gulf, South China Sea, Kashmir.... and now the Gulf of Mexico/America. Even having to cope with this isn't that big of a change in the source database, since it's already set up for "region X requires this variation".