Comments on Comments in the Last Week

 

AC stated:

I think that you had an unusually hectic semester. Enjoy what rest you can and hopefully have a slightly reduced load next time around. 

I actually have one extra upper division course next semester.  But, all things considered, I am working/aiming to have a smoother semester.... with hopefully no phone issues at least, and I am striving for calmness and routine by trying to better plan ahead the majority of the semester.

Whether running or otherwise, you do keep up quite a pace.

I guess I have a somewhat heavy pace.... but I keep coming back to the idea that it sure did not feel like such a pace previously.  I am still not really sure why it feels so different.  Of course, electronica is part of it, and a major new wrinkle is that the U has adopted "Workday" which is a management system for paperwork and it is really horrendous.  It makes MORE paperwork for everything sadly, and because no one seems to really know how to use it, it typically requires multiple attempts even for the most seasoned folks in HR and Purchasing... let along how difficult it is for us faculty who get very mixed messages about how navigate this horrible system.

If our brains are developed and settled by 25-28, when does the decline begin for the average person? I realize there are many variables, but can a rough average date be established?

There has been a lot of recently discerned work on this and according to the most current literature, there are four (some say five) distinct stages of neural development:

Prenatal to ~9 years old - young brain - major active growth

~10 - many now say to ~30 - the adolescent brain

~30 - ~60 - the adult brain

~60 - ~80 - the aging brain

80+ the elderly brain

With the above, the development of new connections is in the young brain and to a lesser extent the adolescent brain.  The adult brain is considered a stable/status-quo state, and roughly 60 or so, there is the start of decline.  But, as with all science, it is based upon probabilities... so the ages of onset and transition should really be viewed as ranges.  And, the above is based upon what has been SEEN, not necessarily what CAN be.

DMP stated:

aren't they (filberts) a problem for kidney stones? oxalate content?

I had not thought about the oxalate issue with nuts in quite a while, as I fortunately, have not had issues with kidney stones and hopefully will not.  But, I did some exploring to refresh my understanding.  As you stated.... almonds ARE very high in terms of oxalates and ARE very risky for folks prone to kidney stones.  But, from what I found, it appears that filberts (hazelnuts) are more in a "medium" oxalate level category.  From what I found, filberts have only 1/8th ( ~12.5%) the amount of oxalates per ounce compared to almonds.  Filberts appear to be similar to several other "medium" nuts..... like cashews and pecans.  The "low" oxalate level nuts appear to be macadamia nuts, peanuts, and walnuts.... which roughly have only 1/20th (~5%) the amount of oxalates per ounce compared to almonds.  

Margaret stated:

The expectations of the holidays are something I've fought against, but I usually lose. I want the traditions to be less stressful and joyous, but they often turn into pressure and disappointment. I hope that your holiday isn't too chaotic or upsetting and that you can find some peace and happiness in the midst of the family doings.

What you state above reflects very well my own feelings but is said more eloquently and succinctly than I typically manage.  I am trying to find moments and times of tranquility during this season.  

I didn't realize that filberts were the same as hazelnuts. I like them a lot in things but don't generally eat them by themselves. Unstructured time with pressures on isn't relaxing at all. 

Yes, they are synonyms for each other that are frequently not well known.  Another food item that seems to have similar recognition in both forms is the chickpea that is also known as a garbanzo bean.  I am not sure why.... but it seems that most folks learn and recognize ONE name for either of those two items.... and their alternative synonym is new to many folks.  I think I remembered the filbert/hazelnut synonyms especially... from my childhood as most of my aunts and uncles always called these nuts "acorns" which I sadly figured out when I opened and tried an actual acorn from an oak tree when I was small.  Acorns are very bitter, unlike hazelnuts/filberts that are (IMO) exceptionally delicious.  My many relatives referring to them as "acorns" also was one of several impetuses that had me relish pouring through the large, Merriam-Webster Dictionary I received as a young kid one year.  I always cherished that book:  

Paper does tend to accumulate TOO fast! I'm so happy you've found and bonded with the Cigar Group. I remember how apprehensive you were at first. Like many things, you don't know how it will go until you try!

Yes, paper is such a chore to keep track of.  It is interesting that with the fall of newspapers, I find it challenging that even though I have SO VERY MUCH 8.5 x 11 inch paper in damn near every spot of every U office and lab I have.... plus a whole helluva lot at home too..... besides MISSING reading the actual news in a real "old school" newspaper.... I miss the USEFULNESS and reliable AVAILABILITY of old newsprint for other uses (wrapping, packing, cleaning, etc).  I now HOARD any occasional newsprint I acquire.  The only newspaper available in my region in a real paper format now is the New York Times (other regional papers in my parts are too pitiful, sporadic, and only filled with regurgitated news).  But, with a paper NYT costing $4 weekdays and $6 on Sunday.... it is a guilty pleasure only indulged in perhaps once a month or so.  Reading newspapers on a Tablet/Kindle..... just NOT the same.... even though that IS what I and damn near everyone (who reads newspapers) has to do now.

Pam J stated:

*I was listening to Zadie Smith on the radio this morning, the author of "White Teeth", a book I've never read but have now put on hold at the library. She said, that she was paraphrasing Freud and that she wanted her children to have ordinarily sad lives, to have some work that was meaningful, and to have love. That caught my attention, so I looked up what Freud said, and he did not believe that a life could be lived without ordinary unhappiness. I would have to say I agree with Freud about this.

*Life is full of loss and sadness, intermingled with moments of joy. I suppose it's how we deal with the losses and enjoy the moments of joy that decides how we live our lives.*

Pam.... I agree with your assessment and with Freud and also Smith's interpretation.  But with my penchant for science fiction (not the mumbo-jumbo fantasy genre, which sometimes gets clumped in with science fiction but IMO is polar opposite), I have often imagined a novel with the ability to warp or shuffle time so that we could order and arrange our times of happiness and joy based upon the finite time we would be on Earth.  I had always imagined in that sci-fi mindset I would organize all the horrors and sadnesses first and then have my happy times arranged by degree of happiness within the latter aspect of my time.  

Pat M stated:

I'm sure you remember, Professor, how at the dawn of the computerized office the technology companies regaled us with promises of the "paperless office." Yet somehow we've ended up with as much paper as before... if not more... along with the computers!

Haha!  Yes!  And I would suggest the.... "if not more" that you state is the most accurate!  The number of 8.5 x 11 pieces of paper scattered about every surface is an (annoying) sight to behold in my offices and labs.  It used to be that we had BOOKS we cherished for years/decades, and writings were accomplished in notebooks.  But NOW, damn near everything is computer generated and is printed and distributed as loose paper.... and often times printed MULTIPLE times to correct several times the various typographical errors found.

(referencing my own words).... "ADD is an important word for me to emphasize.... my mind typically thinks of NEW tasks, NEW roles, NEW foci as being ADD-ONS and not replacements or substitutions."

Perhaps the above gives us some insight into one reason why the DELETION of your pipes hasn't given you the solace for which you might have hoped, as making that change didn't ADD to your routine?

Yes,  I can see and understand your idea.  My pipes were deleted.  For reasons..... I thought valid.  I do have to say that I have been ever more consciously considering going back to them as I mentioned a little bit ago.  

More broadly, though, I wonder whether you might be able to think of your activities through a wider-angle lens? If you can think of "professorial duties" as encompassing a wide range of activities, perhaps it's not a "replacement" or "substitution" to focus more on some of those duties (e.g. mentoring) and less on some others (e.g. committee work)?

You are correct that I should do this.  Part of me wishes I had more of a typical workday where after my eight hours, I could traipse out of the building and forget the place at "quitting time" until I have to report back 16 hours later.  But, educators nor scientists rarely if ever get that sort of clear-cut delineation of their work life and non-work life.  Or at least I have never known one who HAS those clear boundaries.  And, the thing is also true.... for me.... right now I am in a state of mind where I just am not wanting to "switch-it-up" to do things differently.... because.... because.... it seems too time consuming and cumbersome to FIGURE OUT the "new paths" to take.  I guess this resistance on my part stems in part from my woefully inadequate attempts to try to "8 hour" things to some degree.  

Somewhat related.... a few years ago there was a phrase coined to describe a work ethos called "quiet quitting".  It typified folks who strived to just "do" their job and no more.  In some ways that concept has appeal.  It seems as if it might be a way to regain time and freedom.  But, I do not really know if that can be done by an educator. 

Similarly, "parenting" looks different when you are parenting a two-year-old vs. parenting a twenty-two-year-old. Some specific activities and priorities are very different at those two different stages, but they are more like '"refocusings" than "replacements" or "substitutions."

I think you are right.  But, at this moment, my mind really is unable to focus much on how to even potentially "fix" those challenges I have been facing.  I have to reason through it more.  

If you can accept that perspective/approach, then maybe you can even look at something like "exercise" in a broad manner, recognizing that it's not so much that you are "replacing" or "substituting" some activities for others, but more that you are continuing your exercise in whatever manner is appropriate at whatever stage you are in. For example, if you are currently running 10 kilometers each morning, and doing so takes about an hour, you might focus on maintaining the "run for an hour" routine rather than the "run 10 kilometers" routine, and by doing so make an adjustment that is entirely appropriate as you age.

Again, true.  But, I hate the feeling of decline.  This last bout with plantar fasciitis has thrown me for a bit of a loop.  I am still down in mileage and still not fully back up to snuff with regard to it.  It disconcerts me.