why i <3 the Pacific Sociology Association

48) Sociological Perspectives on the Culture & History of Surfing organizer: Michael Roberts, SDSU
Kristin Lawler, College of Mount Saint Vincent: The American Surfer: Capitalism & the Countercultural Image
Jess Ponting, SDSU: Nirvanification: The Social Construction of a Surfer’s Shangri-La
Patrick Moser, Drury Univ.: Ho’okupu: Origins of the Paddle-Out Ceremony

NIH news

via my institutional funding newsletter tonight:

Submitting NIH proposals via text messaging

NIH has announced that starting April 1, in a collaboration with Twitter, it will begin accepting proposals by text message. To submit a proposal, faculty should

1. Create a screen name on http://www.twitter.com

2. Invite NatInHealth to be your friend.

3. Post a proposal by text message

Proposals are limited to 140 characters including budget and CV. While all health related topics are covered by this announcement, special consideration will be given to proposals that address conditions that affect the Web 2.0 generation such as blackberry thumb. Proposals will be reviewed by the general public on Digg.com and funding decision will be announced within 24 hours of submission. Funds will be distributed by PayPal, eliminating the need for university accounting systems.

NIH spokesperson Dr. April Fulesjoak said that NIH anticipates the pay line to be at 4 stars.

sometimes i <3 new jersey

this story starts way back after world war I, when the navy had a whole bunch of munitions of 4 inch diameter they didn’t need anymore. what to do, what to do?

aha, let’s dump them in the ocean off the new jersey shore.

fast forward 90 years or so to that same shore, where locals & tourists find the beaches getting a bit thin.

aha, let’s put a big ole freighter ship off the shore with a big ole vacuum hose, suck up some sand, and blast it back onto the beach. let’s go ahead and fit that vacuum hose with a 4-inch filter.

fun times ensue.

UPDATE: what could possibly be more appropriate? now they’re storing the rescued munitions next to an elementary school. (i actually don’t think there’s probably any cause for concern here … and what location in nj ISN’T right next to an elementary school … but still.)

census

I followed, a little, the funding fights around the Census. but I had no idea that until today that it’s a function of the Commerce Department. On the one hand – that’s totally bizarre. On the other – it makes so much sense.

update: i didn’t know about the census discussion at scatterplot when i posted this. but anyway – if the census isn’t really about people or populations but about commerce, then i have a new understanding about why we have a broad disagreement about funding it. (or am i misunderstanding what the commerce dept does?)

class trip

this. is. awesome.

transcribing

does anyone have any books to recommend on transcribing best practices? either methods books, or practical advice (like the dissertation writing self-help books).

time suck

i’m not sure how i missed seeing these earlier, but i’m also sure it’s terrible for my work that i know about them now.

“Favorite” conversations with students

“favorite” student emails

excerpt:

Dear Professor Zenprof,
You don’t know me, but I am registered for your [advanced undergrad] course. But my family will still be on vacation for the first two weeks of classes, so all my professors are sending me the lecture notes and assignments so I won’t be behind when I get there after vacation. PLease fedex them to [address]. Sincerely,
Amanda [Lastname]

practical question: fieldnotes

does anyone have practical advice about how to keep fieldnotes in this electronic age? i’m not really talking about security/confidentiality, but more logistics. does each subject get a file? does each day get a file? do they all go in one humongous file? is there a better program than ms word to keep track of them all?

and similarly, at what point does one switch to pseudonyms? seems too overwhelming to try to learn both real names and pseudonyms so early in fieldwork – but when will i need to switch so that i don’t slip up?

asa submissions

if past history is any guide, the submission process to asa this year will not go smoothly.  a couple brief observations, having organized a session for the first time last year and doing so again this year:

- papers go to 1st choice panel first, until feb 22nd, and then are forwarded to 2nd choice. at least, ideally they are forwarded; last year many papers got caught in limbo, rejected from 1st session but never forwarded. and by the time papers are forwarded, many panel decisions are already made.

- which means you ought to submit to a roundtable or some such as your 2nd choice, where acceptance rates are higher (i assume – right?!). especially, if you’re a student, submit to the student forum roundtables as your 2nd choice. last year i did my best to get as many papers as possible on the program, and i imagine the organizers will this year as well.

convenient

the AP reports that texas schools might stop their $6B steroid testing scheme, because they’re getting such low numbers of positives.

the sponsor of the bill says the whole point was to deter use, and therefore it’s been a success.

anyone ever heard that old racist joke about X-ethnicity person taking a thermos to work with hot soup and it stayed hot, and then a cold drink and it stayed cold, and wondering, “how do it know?!” this tagline has become part of my family vocabulary.

well: how do it know?