Digital Analogue

Feeling advisorly

One of the things I've worried about a bit regarding my vocation in academia has been the task of advising. How could I advise people? What if they wanted to know about an area I wasn't really expert in? Would I be able to give them the right amount of direction? I mean, I'd chatted with undergrads before about various projects, but I still had doubts.

Chris came over today to show me his honors proposal and request comment. For all that I was barefoot, wearing yesterday's clothes and gross from packing all day in the heat and humidity, this clearly felt like A Meeting, and I was definitely Advising. I so picked the right job.

Side note: Why in God's name do none of the motel chains (1 2 3 4 5 6) have a freaking map? Motel 6 and Red Roof Inn (which have similar websites---same parent company?) get partial credit for having maps of each state that mark where their motels are, although these maps are not in obvious places. Super 8 seemed initially promising, but when you click on a given state, it just presents you with a list of town names. Comfort Inn seems to have no maps whatsoever. But seriously, wouldn't it be in their best interest to let me find a motel?

"You can certainly ask yourself "How are we different than the Nazis" and come up with plenty of good answers. But when I start asking, "How are we the same as the Nazis", the answers begin to chill the blood. We may not be genocidal, but we're doing plenty of harm, and our nazionaler rhetoric is doing a great job of hiding our misdeeds from most Americans." --Jonathan Prykop