fidlmath

Diana the Spider Wrangler

kitties revisited

I had a thought - a whole one - whooppee! - about the poop in sink - now kitty swimming pool - problem.  What if I put a food dish in there - would the miscreant  poop next to food?  I'll keep the swimming pool going for awhile, but when I have had it with that, maybe try keeping the drain closed and putting food bowl in there.

posted by: mafidl at September 30, 2006 12:22 | link | comments (2) |

Pedagogy + Party + Kitties

This morning I attended a workshop on FIGs.  No, not the luscious fruit, but Freshman Interest Groups.  25 of my College Algebra students are members of a FIG.  Since I've never before had any experience with or knowledge of FIGs, I had not followed through with the request that I get together with the other 2 members of this FIG.  One is a Freshman English teacher, the other teaches a 1 credit required Freshman Experience class.  Since neither of them contacted me, we have pretty much *dropped the ball* for the first 1/4 of this term.  What I learned this morning is that Freshman, at Orientation, are allowed to choose to be in a FIG or not.  The idea is for the instructors teaching the classes to confer and encourage these students take a deep approach to learning, rather than a surface one.  Since my FIG group haven't conferred, there hasn't been an opportunity for students to experience this.  Students are encouraged to question what they are learning, and study to grasp the object of learning, rather than just to pass tests and move on to the next level.  The problem is that most students today aren't interested in learning, just in getting a degree and getting out to earn money.  The only aspect of this that I can see working in College Algebra is that if students can make connections and have more of an understanding of what they are doing, then they can have some fun with it.  This, unfortunately, doesn't usually happen with this class, since it is basically a remedial class, whose purpose is to take students to the next course, Trigonometry, which then leads to Calculus.  A colleague who wasn't able to make the meeting, but teaches one or more courses which lend themselves better to this approach had a couple of suggestions.  One was to see if the English and Freshman Experience teachers could design a project around math - such as how they view the importance of it, or, perhaps, what they think of using calculators in math classes.  One of the classes that my colleague teaches is a College Algebra class where the students use graphing calculators and construct simple mathematical models from data.  They can then proceed to take a Business Calculus class in which they do more of the same, but learning Calculus and employing the techniques of it to practical situations.  I have taught  this latter class and I believe that it is easier for that sort of class to be asked to use the deep approach to the subject matter - or at least to come up with a project that will encourage this.  Anyhow, I need to get together with the other 2 in my FIG - have emailed them about this, so the ball is now in their court.
The second 1/4 of my day was spent at a department party to farewell one of our secretaries, A, whom I describe as the linchpin of the department.  She has been training the young lady, Y, who will take her place, but I don't think there has been enuf time and I think the next few weeks will prove very interesting.
The party was well attended, casual, potluck and fun.  I had rejected an initial suggestion to take her out to lunch - which would have meant that fewer people could have talked to her - and wouldn't have been as much fun.  So that's my day.
BTW I took behindtheblink's suggestion, filled the sink with water - and so far, so good.  If Milo is the culprit, and he is a fishing cat he's not a swimming one.
Here's a pic of A, some of her friends and some of my colleagues at the party.

posted by: mafidl at September 29, 2006 19:46 | link | comments (2) |
kitties

pics

So I hate having this 7:40 AM class.  However, there are occasional compensations.The first thing I noticed was the lovely sky color looking out from the second floor of the parking garage toward PC building.  Then this tall cloud was peeking around the edge of PC as I walked around it - and the sunrise!  Haven't seen many of those recentlylater.  A little later the site of the fountain flanked by the library.

Below is what I've called the garden path.  There are several neat wooden swings with canopies over them, brick paths and various trees and ferns along the path.  This was new before Katrina and Wilma hit last year and have finally been refurbished. And finally, the facade on the back of the PC building - or rather the side that faces the library and the fountain.  There are what appear to be enormous brass leaves.

 

posted by: mafidl at September 28, 2006 23:55 | link | comments (4) |

the scene of the crimes

I put this note to keep me and friends from using the sink - which I've sprayed with the stinky stuff to try and keep cat from pooping.  Then it looked to me like the note was for the cat.  Anyhow, thought you might enjoy seeing these.

posted by: mafidl at September 27, 2006 23:10 | link | comments (7) |

morning etc.

New kitty Milo - waked me first at 3AM, raking my hair and rubbing all over my face.  Other new kitty Nosedive weighed in at 5:30 with same act.  I.Need.My.Sleep. but how can I say no to them?  They had enuf food and someone - not necessarily one of them - had already done the dirty deed in the sink, apparently - according to friend who was up a little past 1AM and checked it out.
Now to see if I can successfully grade the remaining 2/5 of my set of tests [I grade page by page and there are 5 pages, ya see] while watching Judge Judy and then Dr. Phil.  BTW I looked up Dr. Phil and found out that he does have qualifications for what he does.  I wasn't sure, and a friend thought Dr.P didn't have any sort of training or degree.  I still thought he seemed to give pretty good, practical, sensible advice [unlike Dr. Laura, whose advice I usually - not always - find too judgmental and wrongheaded for my sensibilities.] 
On a different note - good news: older daughter J took her dog to the vet this morning, to be told initially that they'd overbooked and couldn't take him today.  That after the multi-postponements last week at the other vet.  Anyhow, since it seemed she wasn't going to have to leave him overnight, they changed their tune - and he has now had his broken tooth taken care of and is evidently feeling OK.   On that note, I bid you, Meine Damen und Herren, Guten Tag.

posted by: mafidl at September 27, 2006 16:27 | link | comments |
kitties

OOPS!!!!

More poop in sink.  SOB AND GRRRRR.  If I catch the miscreant, will grind up him/her and feed to daughter's dog. [NOT]  I, yes I, violated the moratorium on washing hands in that sink - which undoubtedly rinsed away the smelly spray that was supposed to keep the little buggers out of it.  So later, after I finish cleaning my favorite brush which got dumped into the mess, I will, once more, spray smelly stuff in the sink.  This time I'll put a sign up saying DO NOT WASH HANDS HERE!!!  Then we'll see.
To be continued.
I'm 3/5 through grading third set of tests - so should be able to finish and give back at [shudder] 7:40AM tomorrow.  Sigh.
And I bought a new slow cooker yesterday - yeayyy!  My older one - not that old, but didn't save receipt - cooked at too high a temp on low.  [Note to self:  don't buy noname electrical products.] So it will be given to Goodwill - with a note attached about deficiency.  Winn Dixie sells Banquet Crockpot Classics - great for when I'm gone most of the day and don't feel like cooking that night.  Of course, I've made lamb shanks, soup and spaghetti sauce in it, too.  There's a recipe for herb chicken in the booklet that came with this one, so will try that sooner than later.

posted by: mafidl at September 27, 2006 09:09 | link | comments (1) |
ddo

update on kitties

No poop in sink since yesterday morning early - it's now nearly 5PM in not so sunny Florida.  Might be due to combination of extra litterbox, scooping at least 2 times a day, spraying of nasty no-kitty stuff in sink and my happening to talk about 5:30 this AM - possibly freaking out the phantom pooper.  I'm keeping my fingers, toes, legs, etc crossed.
Graded the second set of tests - handed them back and turned out I had not counted the total # of points correctly.  I tried, so help me I tried.  One problem managed to indent itself from the others and not get counted.  Sigh.  So I have to retrieve them and re-tally.  The good news for the students is they'll benefit at least a bit.  I'm just over-tired.  Have to find a way to get more sleep.  Of course I had a good reason for staying up last night - grading. 
I gave in and ordered the first 2 seasons of Grey's Anatomy from Amazon.  No point in my ordering CD's - I don't listen to them.  My glorious little car came without a CD player and if I want to keep my extended warranty in effect, it would cost me $1000+ to have dealership install a 6 CD changer, the only one they have.  I won't bother with the details - just that I bought a used Mercedes from dealer with their extended warranty.  It does have a cassette player - how 'bout that.  No 8 track!  LOL.  I do have some cassettes, but I usually listen to NPR or rock stations.
Tonight I'm going to bed early - will grade tomorrow.  TTFN

posted by: mafidl at September 26, 2006 17:16 | link | comments (4) |
kitties

Grrrrrrrrr!

Grrrrr because I wrote this, then decided to look at something on my last post, so lost this.  Oh well.  Thanks to the wonders of modern medicine, specifically Keflex and Mucinex, as well as the great online greeting from Mitzi, I am feeling a lot better.  Not that I was tooooo sick, but let's just say without going into the details, that I had to go on an antibiotic.  I don't need one often, but ... 
Anyhow, now to the kitties.  Thanks to advice from Mitzi and Limine, I have introduced a 3rd litterbox [smaller and not covered]  which has to join it's larger, covered brother upstairs, since I don't have any place to put a 2nd one downstairs.  The miscreant pooped in the downstairs bathroom sink again this morning - very early.  Friend, N, was awake studying, concentrating hard, and didn't become aware of what was going on soon enuf.  Since he will be awake and studying at the same ungodly [inhumanly?] early hour tomorrow, he will try to catch the culprit.  Exactly what we can do when we know *who done it* I'm not sure - but we'll see.  None of the varmints seems to be sick.  Maybe now that there are 3 litterboxes, the problem will disappear [please let it be so].
What else is new, let me see.  I've given 2 tests, graded one and will give another tomorrow.  So far the results aren't great, but could be worse.  I have yet to finish grading the second, so have my work cut out for me this afternoon and evening.  Otherwise, my older daughter, J's dog who had a broken tooth Friday, was taken to her vet Monday, supposed to be treated on Tuesday, postponed to Wednesday, then to Thursday, then again - so she retrieved him and will take him to my vet Wednesday.  He seems to be managing OK - maybe, I hope, his tooth was just knocked loose and is tightening up.  Younger daughter, L, leaves on her circuitous route to Hobart, Tasmania, Oct 11.  She first flies to Seoul, Korea, then to Auckland, NZ where she'll stay for 2 days.  Then to Melbourne, Australia, and on to Hobart - wow! what a trip.  If I were only younger and .....  I'm still thinking about Antarctica.

posted by: mafidl at September 25, 2006 16:46 | link | comments (5) |

sigh

I seem to have caught the cold - the one that is going around, yanno.  I even had teased friend, N, since he seems to get these things often and I thought this one was psychosomatic - and I don't ever get them - hah - that came back to bite me.  Anyhow, pooping in the sink continues - once a day.  I was going to get another litterbox earlier - but after a doctor's appointment, stopping to get my new glasses and breakfast, and not enuf sleep for the 3rd night - I was too tired.  Decided to come home and take a nap.  That happened, finally, but I also managed to knock over not 1 but 2 glasses of ice water - on my coffee table where there is, as usual, clutter, and my laptop.  Fortunately, the laptop just got a bit wet on the bottom and seems to be no worse for the water.  Now I've been sleeping on and off all afternoon and have to go get a prescription and Mucinex.  So - off I go. 

posted by: mafidl at September 22, 2006 17:40 | link | comments (2) |

SOS

If any of you cat lovers/owners have had experience with my problem, please comment or momail me.  Specifically, one of my 4 cats [maybe Milo, 6 mos old] is pooping in bathroom sinks.  I have 2 litter boxes, which I scoop every day.  I wonder if 2 is not enuf for 4 cats.  We had thought that either Milo or Nosedive, the 2 yunguns, might have worms or ? and be doing this because of being, basically, sick.  But they've now been checked out by vet [ and neutered] and she found no worms.

posted by: mafidl at September 21, 2006 12:17 | link | comments (2) |
kitties

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