Hokie Healing

In case you've missed the gazillion mentions of this on other blogs, I just wanted to point you toward Hokie Healing. Mosaic Yarn Shop in Blacksburg, VA (home of VA Tech) is asking for 8x8" squares to be used in memorial blankets for the families of the Tech shooting victims.

The squares need to be knit or crocheted and the shop is asking you to use the softest and nicest yarn you can afford. They suggest using the school colors of Maroon and Burnt Orange, as well as White and Black and you can send any and all squares to the shop at this address:

Mosaic Yarn Shop

880 University City Blvd.

Blacksburg, Va24060

Virginia Tech

For those of you who haven't heard the news, there was a shooting at Virginia Tech this morning. The information we have from friends there is that the total number shot is around 60 with 32 deaths as of a few hours ago. My brother did his undergraduate degree there and we both have friends who stayed on in Blacksburg after they finished college. It's a wonderful community.

All good thoughts, dpns, and prayers would be welcome.

Sheep art

For those who haven't seen it yet:

Woo-hoo!

I've been corresponding with the folks in St. George and the head of the department is not only willing to fund building me a greenhouse but is also quite willing to have my position shift into one with a lighter teaching load so that I can do research once they fill a few more positions.

Utah, here I come!

still quietly freaking out

But I've emailed the folks in Regina to feel them out and asked for a phone conference with the head of the department in St. George.

With the help of the gazillion or so folks I talked to about this yesterday (and the great comments people have left) I've at least figured out what the key issues are for me in making the decision. Now it all depends on the answers I get from various folks.

I'll keep you posted.

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While I was writing this, the guy in Regina wrote back saying he was fine either way. So now it's all down to St. George.

So where will I be next year?

My life is nothing if not interesting.

Early this year I was offered a post-doc (research) position at the University of Regina. This would be a year long position and would give me an opportunity to focus on my research as well as another year to apply for tenure-track faculty positions.

As some of you know, my husband teaches at a college in southern Utah. His department just offered me a faculty position this afternoon. They hadn't gotten funding approved for new faculty but then managed to squeeze it out of the administration due to a faculty member taking an indefinite medical leave of absence. Of course it would start three months after the job in Canada making them mutually exclusive.

We like St. George as a place to live and the job comes with a decent salary and amazing benefits but a teaching load that would restrict research to the summers if then even. Plus I have committed to going to Canada and I'm not sure how the folks there would take this sort of change in plans. I figure I should determine how I feel about the new job offer before I talk to them about this new situation.

So, what do you think?

While I wait for your response, I will just be sitting here quietly freaking out.

Global warming solved!

In an article released April 1, 2007* by RealClimate.org, a website run by climate scientists to address global climate change issues, the authors highlight recent research that shows global warming is due to sheep albedo feedback. The number of sheep in New Zealand has dropped over the past several decades and so the darker color of the land they used to cover with their white wool, is now responsible for absorbing more of the sun's radiation.
So forget about your hybrids and biking to work, just raise more sheep. Soon I expect there to be sheep subsidies to encourage even Americans to cover their land with white wool.




*for those who missed it, the article was published for April Fool's Day