Ginkgo biloba phenology

I've been taking photos of one of the ginkgo biloba trees on campus as it changes colors this season -- I'll post the set some time next week once the color really pops.  (The leaves are about half green, half yellow right now.)

NCAA FBS "Points Per Yard Allowed"

Maybe Wayne Winston should add this to his second edition of "Mathletics."

This is the number of yards a team must gain for every 7 points they put on the scoreboard.  (That's the inverse of "points per yard allowed," which is in the title.)  The formula:  7 / (total defense/scoring defense).

In other words, teams that score 14 points against Alabama will have an average of 343 yards.  It takes only 280 yards to amass 14 points against BYU.  By the way, #123 in this list is Southern Miss, with 71.5 yards. That 343 yards you manage against Alabama would get you 33-34 points against USM.

Fall 2012: my second semester of teaching

As I said in the intro to my first semester summary, I want to keep some notes here on the successes and failures from my teaching exploits.  Here's a wrap-up of...

Semester #2 - Fall 2012 - 3 classes

* Lower division, 125 students

* Lower division, 10 students

* Upper division + graduates, 12 students

- I switched to Ahrens and Samson for the severe weather course, and that went much better.  The reason?  Our course has no science prerequisites, so a book like RWC that is skimpy on sound introductory material just didn't work for us (even with a ton of great chapters later on).

- Dedicated lab time for that course would've been nice, but save that I incorporated some lab exercises during our class time and they were absolutely a huge hit.  Tornado damage (using photos and the indicators to estimate the EF rating of the damage), hurricane intensity via Dvorak satellite methods, and more.  Must use these again.

- For weather analysis & forecasting, I created a list of course goals and wrote out detailed learning objectives for each unit.  Not a day went by that I didn't check that list to make sure we were on it somewhere--even for the days where we focused on current events instead of canned coursework.  I hardly spent any time on "lecture notes" since they just fell right out once I knew the objectives.

- My large intro course was my first foray into both warmup questions and supervising teaching assistants.  Some small bumps in the road there, but generally successful.

- Some introductory topics are just painful to get through.  The global circulation unit was not well-received.  I'm probably to blame for much of that.

- Google Forms/Docs/whatever it's called now has no easy way to see if any entries match one another (read: cheating).  That's tough to manage without a lot of manual labor.

- Some students frequently mistyped their ID numbers, which meant every class period I had to look them up manually.  (I could've been more dictatorial about it, but that's not my style.)

- Warmup questions must be written so that students have to assimilate the entire reading assignment--not just ask them to repeat a definition or ferret out one fact.  Most of the time, they just read the questions first and then try to find the answers.  Have to make sure the questions don't let that happen.

- The intro course labs (which were written and used for several years before I arrived) were not a good match with my course content.  Students didn't particularly like either.  I'd need to rework them some if I teach the course here more than 1 or 2 times.

- I need make sure my GTAs are to be involved in lecture discussions if they're going to attend class.  Circulating the room, talking to the students, keeping everyone on task, etc.  Didn't do that.

- Just like in a course, it would help if myself and the assistants have some team goals for the semester.

- I frequently walked through the building on lab days, and struck up conversations with students in the hallway while they were waiting.  I hope the GTAs didn't find this intrusive, or think that I was spying on them (I certainly wasn't); I actually don't think I ever asked.  Need to do that next time--and let them know it's just my style.

- Attendance in lower-division, survey courses is quite volatile:  is there a way to ameliorate that?  (Without daily quizzes that require too much grading and too much burden on the students.)

For the most part, it was a great semester with only some minor glitches here and there.  The day I had to teach barefoot, thanks to the rain (that destroyed a pair of shoes and soaked my socks) comes to mind.  Teaching two classes back-to-back on T/R was hectic but I made it work.  Nobody liked the Friday night final exam, but, well, it happens.

Spring 2012: my first semester of teaching

As I finish up preparations for my fourth semester of teaching, I realized I need to journal some of my thoughts about the first three semesters before they're permanently erased from my mental hard drive.  There may be a more organized way, but a post for each semester seems to make sense, so I'm going to run with that.

For the more distant memories of the first couple semesters, I'll probably just leave them as bullet points (but I may come back and flesh these out later if/when other details come back to me.)

My apologies that this is not some well-crafted narrative about my experience.  I'm not a great story teller, and there isn't any big story to be told about the semester.  There are things that worked, and things that didn't, and no need to wax poetically about any of them.  Keep it simple.

Semester #1 - Spring 2012 - 2 classes (enrolled 25 and 12)

- My textbooks didn't work well.  Mainly because I used "the books everyone else has been using."  They didn't fit my teaching style, what I was interested in sharing, or my students.  Lesson learned.

- I was too focused on coverage and content (me), instead of learning (them).  There were several days that were just complete flops because I raced through a topic without really being interested in my audience.

- The upper-division weather analysis course struggled some, because I hadn't structured the course enough to give us much direction on the boring weather days.  The exciting days were easy--but not all of them are always going to be exciting!

- Exams were too long.  (Heck, after three semesters, they still are.)

- "Homework" assignments need to be shorter and more numerous.

- Students really like doing projects, presentations, and event case studies -- even when they know they will be challenged with difficult questions in class.

- Every exam in both classes, except one, was only worth 20%.  This worked really well and students liked it.  Mental note to keep that as the upper limit, even for final exams.  In this way, more emphasis is put on other aspects of the course, and on progressive, gradual learning, rather than a last effort to cram and dump for a huge percentage of points at the final.

two views of collegiality

Two drastically different lines of thought offered here.  View B reminds me of the first dinner scene from American Beauty where Lester, speaking about his teenage daughter, says to his wife: "Oh what, you're mother of the year?  You treat her like an employee."  It is as if, in that view, the mark of collegiality is earned by being subservient to others.  Personally, I don't believe that's the right message to be sending new faculty members--and I believe it runs counter to the very definition of the word collegial.

View A:

1. Whiners are boring.
2. Pay attention to the image you want to project.
3. Get to know your colleagues by asking for advice.
4. Get to know your colleagues by getting to know their work.
5. Spend time with your colleagues at lunch.
6. Don't make enemies with important people.

And 10 more classic suggestions.

View B:

"Remember that many departments and universities are big into this thing called 'being collegial.' It means that you do not ruffle feathers, and you willingly (!) do the assigned jobs."

A: slightly restated from the post on the Tomorrow's Professor mailing list.  Originally by Mary McKinney.

B: from the book Navigating Graduate School and Beyond.

Points on a Stick

"Two points along a straight stick are randomly selected. The stick is then broken at those two points. Find the probability that the three resulting pieces can be arranged to form a triangle."

This is an exercise (#36 on page 151) from Elementary Statistics, 10th Ed., by Mario Triola of Dutchess Community College.  At the end of the exercise is this parenthetical:  "This is possibly the most difficult exercise in this book."

Hmm, this looks fun.  I'll report back when (if!) I make any progress.

Voting Rights Act and the Supreme Court

The scientist in me has some early thoughts on this morning's Supreme Court decision re the Voting Rights Act.  Warning:  this is obviously an issue some will see as political.  Click down only if you're okay with that.

May 2013 tornado links

I've realized that I need to aggregate some of the links for the May tornadoes in Oklahoma and Kansas, just so I don't lose track of them them.  With that in mind, I may as well share that list publicly.  I'll most likely add to it (the first edition consists of blog posts and videos; I need to add NWS and SPC page links, among others).

• Video of the first 10 minutes of the Moore tornado from the 20th

•  Time lapse of the Bennington, KS tornado of May 28th.  Storm motion was roughly zero for nearly an hour.

•  Run or Shelter?  What to do if a tornado threatens?  Blog post and great discussion by Dr. Cliff Mass of UW

• Analysis of the May 31 El Reno tornado by Jeff Masters, with images and video.

Disclaimer:  I don't mind the profanity but I do find some of the video commentary and actions of those chasers to be scientifically repulsive.  Inclusion in this list is not an endorsement of the author, and I've intentionally not included some of the even worse offenders.  More than one of these people, quite frankly, is incredibly lucky to not have suffered the same fate as Tim Samaras for such idiotic behavior.

What "the tests count for too much" really means

All my student evaluations for Spring '13 are in, and in multiple classes I heard variations of this:

"The tests count for too much of the course grade."

Hmmm.  For large (>50) introductory classes with labs, I typically use the following breakdown:
  Exam 1: 20%
  Exam 2: 20%
  Final: 20%
  Warmup Questions: 15%
  Lab Exercises: 25%

A scan of my department's syllabi from this past semester for large-lecture, introductory courses with labs (not discussion-based courses) found exams worth anywhere from 30 to 70%(!!!) of the course grade.  Skimming some online syllabi from other physical science courses gave similar results--typically around 50 or 60 percent.  One sophomore-level course that shall remain nameless was 80% exam and 20% lab...wow.

In thinking about this, I've come to the conclusion that "tests count for too much" is actually not what my students were trying to tell me.  The true sentiment is probably closer one of these:

1. The tests are too hard.

In some of the other open-ended feedback, students flatly stated they thought my tests were hard.  I don't apologize for that:  they are.  I rarely test the ability to recite simple facts, definitions, and formulas.  I want to see your problem solving skills--what can you do with those definitions?  Of course, this presumes you have the basics in your arsenal in the first place.  If you don't, on my exams, well, you're !(@$ed.  I know people don't like that--I know it's painful--I know it's different--and I also know that problem-solving is a more important academic and life skill than simple memory recall.  That's why my tests are written the way they are.

And/Or,
2.  There's no homework!

This sentiment, a lack of homework, is a good point.  And let's be honest about some of the reasons why homework is a rarity in large lecture courses.  In a class of 60+, homework is difficult to manage, time-consuming to grade, and nearly impossible to return, given that class attendance averages about 75% except the day before an exam.  Yeah, I said it--it's time-consuming.  Professors have lives too, y'all.

An alternative is to farm out the grading to the teaching assistants/associate instructors/graduate students, but that goes against my teaching philosophy.  If I'm responsible for writing and assigning the work, I should be the one to assess it.  I'm the one who truly "knows what I'm looking for."

However, warm-up questions were my alternative.  (If you don't know what these are, read up on Just-in-Time-Teaching.  That's the basic premise.)  They require daily reading assignments, daily submission of answers, are occasionally checked for content, and the answers are discussed in class.  In short:  read the textbook, answer questions before class, get 15% of the grade without even showing up.  That's a pretty good deal, right?  But it doesn't feel like a "real" homework assignment...but, "real" homework wouldn't really be suitable since exams in large courses will be almost entirely multiple choice.  There is no way to keep the assessments consistent in format.

So I'm at a loss about homework.  I like the warmup questions, since they link textbook reading to in-class discussions.  They "test" your basic understanding of the reading, which is the first step toward thinking critically and solving problems...the true goals of (my) exams.

Any thoughts from the gallery?

Breathing

I love walking down a busy street that is...not busy.  For those (usually few!) seconds when there are no cars within sight, you can hear the stillness.  It's almost as if the city gets to stop and take a deep breath, preparing for the next surge of traffic.  Love it.

Trip Impressions, I

As I start to process my thoughts about the 21-day journey through Europe, here are some first impressions.

1. Behavior at crosswalks.  Completely different from one city to the next.
- London: every man, woman, and child for themselves.  The "don't walk" sign means nothing.
- Brussels: they don't even have walk/don't walk lights at many intersections--pedestrians have the right of way and cars will stop.
- Berlin: jaywalking is illegal.  With no traffic in sight, at 2 a.m., people will still stand there and wait for the light to turn green.

2. Activities.

To me, travel is not always about "doing things you wouldn't do at home."  Sure, I:
- spent time at the casino;
- tried several different brands of beer (I'm still not really a fan!);
- didn't shave for a week at a time; and even
- struck up conversations with random strangers.

But I also:
- went to the mall;
- took naps;
- went to the grocery store and bought milk, donuts, cereal, etc.; and even
- spent a couple hours doing my laundry at the laundromat.

There's a fine balance between being touristy and feeling like you live somewhere.  I tried to do more of the latter.

3. Customer service.

Even when it's a façade or a formality, I expect a polite greeting from cashiers, waiters, and greeters.  Everywhere I went, I was greeted with "hello", "good morning", or more.  My Southern-ness was only reinforced in Europe.  :-)

In the couple days I've been back, I have noticed how absent that behavior is in some places.  There will be stores that I don't frequent any longer if I find the staff to not at least be minimally polite.

Luring in the Tourists

Convincing the hordes to give you their business should be easy--but the competition is fierce.  In this case, a restaurant advertises one set of prices on the sidewalk (take a look at the photo in white), and a very different set when you are presented a menu at the table (on the reddish light). A nearly 40% markup on some dishes!

For reference, 1 crown, the unit of currency, is about a nickel. So these are $7 dishes that you'll be charged $12 for.

Me, I skipped their printed menu altogether and went with the daily special--a chicken breast with mashed potatoes in a tasty mushroom sauce--for $4.95. You can eat like a medieval king here, for medieval prices, if you're alert!

Flooding in Prague

The flood walls have been erected here in Prague. Although the Vltava river was expected to crest last night, it hasn't quite yet. Hopefully soon. To interpret that page, just go straight to the brightly colored graph, which shows the river height at a gauge just a few miles out of town. The river level is about 400 centimeters (4 meters, or nearly 13 feet) above where it was a few days ago.

All of these pictures were taken upon my arrival last night...after a long walk from the main train station to my hotel, since the subway is closed as a precaution. Most trams are still running though, since there has not been (and isn't expected to be) any street flooding except very close to the river.

Still, it's fascinating to see a minor natural disaster and the local response unfold right before your eyes. More photos to come after breakfast.

Scars from the war

So many buildings have pock marks from bullets during World War 2. This isn't my best photo, but you can see some of the damage. The scars are still very visible.

Another neat thing about this street: buildings that survived, right next to those that didn't and have been replaced with much more modern structures. East Berlin is filled with cranes and construction...remember, the wall only came down around 20-25 years ago. There's still an incredible amount of work to be done.

Checkpoint Charlie

Yes, there is a McDonald's now on the western side. You can't make this stuff up.

The "checkpoint" is very underwhelming...it's merely a small guard shack in the middle of the street. (But crowded like crazy with tourists...mostly American.)

Brandenburg Gate

Hotel-Pension Spree

I'm trying a variety of lodging on this trip--hostels, ordinary hotels, and this B&B here in Berlin. It's run by a lovely Polish lady who was grateful that my English was good. I wanted to say: "I wish Americans thought that!" ;-)

The Euro

All the bills are slightly different sizes, to aid the visually impaired. I knew about this, but until you feel them in your pocket (and can be pretty sure which you've grabbed onto), you don't realize how helpful it is.

(Credit card and driver license for scale.)

Bath time

The water controls in my Koblenz hotel were new to me. The knob on the right controlled the water pressure, and the one on the left controlled the temperature. It maxed out at 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit, a good hot bath) and there was a latch that you had to release to raise it any higher. Very neat idea.

And yes, I'm fully clothed for the taking of this photo. *cough*

Lost my phone today

So there will be no more trip photos, and only 1 or 2 updates. Sorry about that.

Busy Bridge

Atlanta has the busiest airport in the world; Köln has the busiest bridge for train traffic. 30+ trains every hour on three tracks. The bridge has an Industrial Era look, but was bombed during the war (no surprise) and rebuilt to mimic the original.

Marksburg Castle, Braubach

A medieval castle that survived WW2 essentially intact, making it one of the gems of the Rhine Valley.

I have no idea in what order these photos will post, but two fun comments:

- The castle water supply wasn't potable, so soldiers were given a daily allotment of wine...one 10-liter tankard full. Chug!

- Notice the doorway has been shrunk. They did that out of a fear of easier attack, once they relocated the horse stables to another part of the castle complex.

St. Pancras International Station

What a beautiful facility. All aboard the Eurostar!

Through the eyes of a child

Some might think this is offensive in a time of tragedy, but I think this point of view is actually quite comforting.

As it should be, Oklahoma will rebuild, and they will do it bigger and better and stronger than ever before. And the sun will "shine down once again."

M&M World

Makes you just want to open all the spouts, let 'em drain into the floor, and wallow in it.

Bloomington, Indiana, 47403

I want these.

All of them.

On the industrial revolution

My London hotel

Since some of you had asked, here's where I'm staying this year.

The bathroom is down the hall (shared), and so is the shower (shared). Off-camera, there is a sink in the room however, so you can do most of your morning routine in the room.

It seems spartan, but really: what more do you need? You shouldn't be spending your daylight hours in the room anyway!

Meanwhile in the Rocky Mountains...

I've been meaning to post a picture like this for some time. Here is Trail Ridge Road, as of May 14th. Just an incredible sight!

Rocky Mountain National Park's Photos

Semi-skimmed milk

This is the local equivalent of our 2% milk...and of 1% too really, since it is 1.7%. Neat.

The guillotine

They aren't fooling around with this paper cutter.

London Bridge...

...is not this one. This is Tower Bridge. Much more photogenic.

The National Gallery

Maybe on the next trip. Not this time.

Nevermore!

Ravens in residence at the Tower of London. The monarchy has not fallen!

Quintessential London

Fog, construction, and old and new architecture side by side. (This is the northeast corner of the moat, and part of the castle, surrounding the Tower of London. The entire complex is just called the Tower now.)

Seven and Eleven

Last time I was in the UK, I managed my money pretty good: I came home with only 7 pounds in cash left (I used the credit card a lot). But this time, I think I'll take that spare change and go hit the roulette table.  May as well start the budget for the next trip. ;-)

No Shave England

Well, I've not shaved in a week because of the awful, awful haircut I got before leaving. I've gotten past the itchiness, and it has been really nice to not have to go through the ordeal. But it's time to get rid of it all, and here's why.

A few of my whiskers don't come in brown/black, they are blond (yes, I double checked that they weren't gray!!). And at the right length in the right light, they look like crumbs of food or worse all over my face. It's unsightly. The stubble would look good honestly, but not if it's multi-colored.

J.G.F. is the only one who got to see this little experiment, and I intend to keep it that way.  ;-)

Shillings and Pence

There were 20 shillings to the pound. Equivalent: there were no quarters or dimes, the next thing after the dollar would be the nickel.

Manchester

A couple blocks from the Museum of Transport, this abandoned church casts an eerie shadow over a crowded cemetery (graves from the late 1800s, mostly). Glad to see that part of the church is hopefully being restored. Beautiful building.

Forget the Lady...

...there's a new movie out. "Grocery Cart in the Water"

On the Rochdale Canal

Wanted to wait and see it in action, but it was a lazy day on the water.

"Where do you want to go today?"

Departure board inside Paddington Station.

Hyde Park

A near perfect spot for breakfast. The nice cumulus off to the northeast was a bonus.

Cirrrus

On the walk to the bus tonight, several contrails and a nice thin layer of cirrus.

Ugh, the word "cirrus" wasn't in my phone's dictionary.

(By the way, this is probably the venue where I'll be posting numerous Europe travel photos over the next month. Be warned.)

overtly critical

Syllabus:  "...students will be expected to demonstrate the critical thinking and problem-solving skills expected of students in an introductory course at [university]."

Administrator:  "You can't use the phrase critical thinking skills in your syllabus if you don't define what critical thinking is!"

Okay, fair point.  A first stab at it:

In the physical sciences, students demonstrate critical thinking skills by approaching problems and their possible solutions by employing the steps in the scientific method.

Suggestions?  (Aside from the awkward English...)

radar question

There's been a lot of (justified) press on how dual-polarization radar will revolutionize -- no, is revolutionizing -- our conceptual models of convective storm structure, our ability to identify storms that are  producing damaging hail or are tornadic, and more.

But I have a question: will this technology contribute to our understanding of convective initiation?

This isn't a positive/negative question.  It's just a question.  With regards to CI, does dual-pol offer anything, or are its benefits confined to the C instead of the I?  Any thoughts?

smudged up

This beautiful quote is not just true for academic affairs professionals.  It's true for us folks down in the trenches, too.  It's okay to call a classroom audible every now and then, to deviate from the script (or the slides).  Take a chance and explore something you or your students find interesting or even troublesome.  The payoff is usually worth it.

"Never suppose that your plans should be implemented exactly as you envision. You are not a portrait artist. People who lead academic affairs are impressionists. Mary Cassatt and Claude Monet painted people. The lines are all fuzzy, but the picture is worth a lot of money. Your work looks a lot better if it is smudged up."

From Faculty Focus.

She wore...red velvet

I don't remember seeing this before...but it looks just dreamy.

Don't be terrorized by terrorism

Get up tomorrow.  Go to church, go to work, go to school, go to the store.  When you change your plans, when you stop being normal, when you cower to fear, that's when they win.  Don't.  Don't be "terrorized by terrorism."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/17/travel/17london.html

Cost of introductory meteorology textbooks

One of the things that irks me the most in academia is the runaway cost of textbooks.  (A second thing is how we pass these costs on to our students, almost blindly--how many instructors know how much a student pays for books these days??)  Since I teach an introductory course in weather & climate every year, I thought it would be helpful to keep track of the latest editions of several popular titles.

Author(s)	Year	List Price	Amazon Price
Ahrens (10th)	2012	$209	$172
Ahrens "Essentials" 6th	2011	$188	$155
Ahrens "Essentials" 7th	2014	$196	$172
Ahrens "Extreme Weather"	2010	$171	$156
Aguado and Burt 6th	2012	$160	$135
Ackerman and Knox 4th	2013	$167	$152
Lutgens & Tarbuck 12th	2012	$155	$136
Moran (AMS)	2012	$140	n/a
Anderson and Strahler	2008	$123	$108
Nese and Grenci	2012	$103	$98

If you see errors or omissions, let me know.  I'll try to keep this list updated, for me and for everyone else.  (And maybe I'll add some commentary down the road.)

Last updated January 15, 2014

"Find your teacher heroes"

"If I have one piece of advice to give to new teachers, it would be to find your teacher heroes. Not your mentors. Your heroes."

http://www.notinteacherschool.com/post/42029896112/honoring-one-of-the-greats

My three:

• Sherry Crabtree, Mathematics, Northwest-Shoals Community College
• Ken Crawford, Meteorology, University of Oklahoma (now at KMA)
• Roberta "Bobbi" Webster, Geography, University of Alabama (now at Wyoming)

I would not be here today without them!

There is a hierarchy

A recent article in the journal Science, Technology, & Human Values has this gem, a response about teaching at an R-1 university:

"Those who are in chemical education are looked down upon . . . by those who do hard core research. There is a hierarchy. We're beneath them somehow. You could talk to most chemical educators across the country and it's going to be that way. The hard core research faculty see you as something the department needs to train and teach all these undergrads, but 'as long as I I don’t have to go in there and teach and I can do my research, fine.'" [1]

Dr. Chemist, you are not alone.  This is true in meteorology, atmospheric science, geography, geology, physics, mathematics, and probably a blitz-ton of other departments too.

This caste system, however, isn't just perception.  It's institutional.  Those who would prefer their careers to be more balanced--contributions to both education and to the scientific research of our field--struggle to find a comfy home at R-1 universities.  For example, at Indiana University:

"A candidate for promotion [or tenure] should normally excel in at least one of the above  categories (either research or teaching) and be at least satisfactory in the others. In exceptional cases, a candidate may present evidence of balanced strengths that promise excellent overall performance of comparable benefit to the university." [2, my emphasis added]

I find it unfortunate that a balanced career should be considered exceptional, but this is the nature of the beast.  And it happens not just at the professorial ranks, but in graduate school also.  As a graduate student, if you dare utter the words "I like teaching" scorn will rain down like those frogs from the sky in Magnolia.

Whither the teacher-scholar?  Sigh.

References

[1] Article title:  Technological Change and Professional Control in the Professoriate
http://sth.sagepub.com/content/38/1/126.full.pdf+html

[2] http://www.iu.edu/~ufc/docs/policies/BalancedCase.pdf

Bridge washout in Maine

"Scour: When Bridges Fail to Withstand Nature"

Collapse of a bridge in Freeport, Maine, on 8 August 2008.  The power of water.

http://sciencebasedlife.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/scour-when-bridges-fail-to-withstand-nature/