Professor @ MindSay

Prof. Srivathsan, the Director of IIITMK, has decided to quit. He must be having good reasons for such a decision. All the same, this is a sad thing.

This is the inevitable consequence when a great scholar like Srivathsan decides to play the role of a General (and that too in a place which is euphemistically known as "GOD's own country"). Unlike a real General of a real army, this General had to face crooks and politicians every day. His revolutionary ideas on education and freedom to learn, will never be appreciated by those who have no interest in learning or teaching. Thanks to them, our country will continue to be a "developing country" eternally, and will find its position amongst all the mediocre and sub-standard nations of the world. Sir, that is our fate.

Let me wish the Scholar all the very best in his next assignment. I will miss you Sir.

partha

Good Goddess Above!  My brain is fried!  I bailed on exersising again this evening and my moms immeditally got after me for that.  Your going to loose your momentem...blah blah blah.........your starting to loose that water weight...blah blah blah.  I kept my kewl and politly informed her that my school work at this time takes priority over any walking or eliptical machine.  Then my mother who hasn't been in any form of school (I don't count continuing credits to keep her RN License) for 50 some years, said it shouldn't be that hard to do your work during the day.  Mind you my mother didn't go to college college.  She went to a 4 year Catholic Nursing school and only took core courses for nursing! 

 

It took me literally all day minus 20 minutes in the morning to take the kids to school and three and half hours this evening (we had a school function to go to for the kids) to complete all but my final essay for this week.  I read the main chapter for this week and after looking at next weeks assignment, I don't have to read the other two chapters she went over in our notes this week till NEXT WEEK.  I took all my notes, I read everyone's postings, I posted my main posting today and responded over 4 times to other people's main posting (we only have to do 2 for the maxium to recieve a grade), I hunted down two completely different News Editorials to do my assignment.  One on the US's No Child Left Behind Law and one from Jeruslum on Ramadan.  I wrote, typed, and then posted both articles and my take of appeals and submitted them to the prof.  I read 4 different classmates essays and picked one to make suggestions on.  I posted my suggestions and printed off next week's assignments and new topic for the next paper.  I also wrote down about two dozen ideas to "improve" my final draft of the Self Discriptive Essay, the Prof likes my paper but says I am not descriptive enough.  I am going to work in the fact I am actually a very private person til I obtain a comfort level with others:D 

 

I finally got all this done at 10 pm tonight!  During the day and all my homework, I managed to get two loads of laundry done, discuss and be interviewed for my girl Teri for one of her papers and gave her some presidential historic information on Jimmy Carter for another paper and consented in talking to my brother for 45 minutes.  In the afternoon, the kids and I did our Dollar General run (that is my new wally world:P), killd some time at the Buffalo pasture reading the Historical marker and took a few pictures of the buffalo, then we went up to the school for Family Science night!  The kids really enjoyed themselves and now we have to show Randy how to implode soda cans, pull plant DNA, and explode two 2 liters of soda using menthos and life savers!  The program was run by one of the NE Medical Center Genetisist out of Lincoln and I think a Highschool Biology teacher out of Omaha!  I was a big kid and managed to snag a lil vile of strawberry dna that the kids (all school kids present) helped to pull tonight!  I gave it to a lil girl who didn't get any though.  Oh and we have to show Randy how to ease a no shell hard boiled egg into a beaker flask with out breaking it and then show him how to get it out! 

 

I don't think I could handle two or three classes this semester for my first semester back.  Not with everything I do around this house for everyone including people who don't live in my house!  I am doing good if I do say so myself.  And tomorrow my "date" with my girl Bree is actually going off with out a hitch!  My moms is taking the kids to school for me so I can meet Bree in the morning.  We will do her small errands and then Casino HERE WE COME!  Randy set me a 100 buck limit and Arjan set Bree a 50 buck limit not counting lunch or any stops we make.  Those killjoys know that Bree and I can sit at the casino all day if allowed!  As long as we are out of the casino by 2 pm to pick up our respected kids all is good!  I won't even complain about having to drive to the city tomorrow night for TKD and then kill two hours before my Leadership class AFTER our actual TKD class!

Well, it looks like I passed the ADD gene to the kiddo.  She also got it from her father even though he doesn't think he has it. (He is worse than I am!) My poor absent-minded kid.  I saw it coming, but I wanted to wait until she was at least out of first grade to do something about it, however all the signs are there.  She isn't hyper, but she's easily distracted, fails to pay attention to details, disorganized and absent-minded.  She'll go to do a task that you send her on and some how she'll forget or get off track.  

I think I'm going to go the herbal route for now because most of the drugs for Attention Deficit Disorder target the hyper aspect.  She's never had behavioral problems in school and she's always well behaved in public.

What a legacy eh? Now if only I can sneak some of these drops into the husband's food...

*two professors exiting a building*
Professor 1:  "Anyway, I know what you did last night." *dramatic pause* "Watch American Idol."
Professor 2:  *annoyed/defensive*  "No I did not."

O_o  Uh, ok...

I don't get it either, I just thought it was funny for some reason.  :p

~G~

 

By Sgt. James P. Hunter, USA

Special to American Forces Press Service

 

Jan. 25, 2008 - With many streets here cluttered with trash and just as many roads bent out of shape, Baghdad can convey an impression of poverty. But something as simple as the produce available here tells a different tale. An anthropologist is helping soldiers and leaders from the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team better understand the needs and living conditions of Iraqi citizens in northwestern Baghdad.

 

Marcus Griffin is a 40-year-old college professor who is taking a one-year break from teaching to bring his knowledge and experience to the fight. Using anthropology and sociology methods, he tries to determine whether micro-grants coalition officials are providing to Iraqi shopkeepers are having any effect on communities.

 

Before being "thin" or "chiseled" became the rage in Western societies, the results of people's diet conveyed their relative economic standing. People with "thick" builds were perceived to be wealthy. That's the case in Iraq, Griffin said. Wealthier Iraqis eat rice, lamb and fish. Poorer people eat bread, eggs and beans. But all Iraqis have one thing in common: their daily intake of cucumbers and tomatoes. The difference here is the quality of these products.

 

"These are quick indicators of market infrastructure," Griffin said.

 

Economic growth can easily be measured by the quality of produce in Baghdad's inner-city markets, he said.

 

Griffin often looks at the quality of produce and fish available in the local markets and where the merchants are getting their tomatoes to help him assess the growing economy. The better the quality, he said, the more the economy is growing.

 

"His expertise in analyzing the type of food being sold in the markets has been useful," said Shreveport, La. native Capt. Thomas H. Melton, commander of Troop A, 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment. "He was able to explain the markets in my (area of operations) are receiving poor quality fruits and vegetables, indicating the area is fairly poor and malnourished."

 

Recently, Griffin toured the markets in southern Ghazaliyah with soldiers from Troop A, 1-75th Cavalry Regiment. There are four markets in southern Ghazaliyah: 8th Street, Nafla, Afran and Zawia. Melton said all four have shown substantial growth since he arrived in early December.

 

"With the exception of Zawia, the markets are all traditional open-air markets with bakeries, butcher shops, and fruit and vegetable stands," he said. "These markets cater to the residents of Ghazaliyah from within the (neighborhoods). Zawia market is more like a Western-style strip mall, catering to traffic on a main highway."

 

Heavy fighting in the area over the past year damaged much of the market, but with improved security, the economy is seeing much growth.

 

"Store owners are returning every day, but this market is very much in a rebuilding phase," Melton said. "The other markets are each seeing expansion, specifically Nafla and Afran. The presence of new stores, including restaurants, indicates that the economy is improving and the people feel secure."

 

Griffin said he wanted to see the economic boost and help identify the needs of these Iraqis to help the economy grow even more. "A bakery can change a neighborhood with just the basic necessity of bread," he said. "It can cause change, especially to the economy."

 

And that is where Griffin started his day: at the local bakery, talking with some of its workers.

 

Melton said Griffin has taken special interest in this bakery and "will help us facilitate a micro-grant approval for this business in order to study the effects that the micro-grant process has on the community."

 

The smell of freshly baked bread straight out of the kiln filled the afternoon air as they approached the bakery. Three men worked inside under no lighting except for the glow of the fire baking the bread. The bakery sells nearly 10 pieces at a time, at a cost of 1,250 Iraqi dinars. But keeping the business running is a problem. Having the money to purchase flour and fuel can be quite difficult.

 

A micro-grant is just what the bakers need to boost their business and the community as a whole, Melton said.

 

Griffin toured much of the area that day, spending time with an Iraqi family. They sipped on chai tea, ate lamb patties and discussed many of the area's needs, which mostly have to do with the availability of electricity. Lately, the family has been getting only a half hour of electricity a day. Griffin noted all the difficulties they are facing, hoping to fully understand their needs and what it would take to satisfy their desires.

 

"The biggest needs of the Iraqi people are the improvement of essential services," Melton said. "The residents average between one and two hours of electricity per day. The lack of electricity forces them to spend much of their income on black-market fuel to run generators. Additionally, it prevents the sewage pump stations from working, which contributes to the bad standing-water problems in the streets."

 

Griffin also stopped at a fruit stand during his visit, noticing that it had coconut for sale -- a rarity, to his knowledge, in Iraq, he said. Having the ability to bring in an exotic, luxurious food, he said, is a sign of economic growth.

 

"As we move toward tactical overwatch, we need to see visual indicators quickly of how the community and economy is doing -- see the growth within," Griffin said. "It keeps a pulse on the population."

 

(Army Sgt. James P. Hunter serves in public affairs with the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team.)