I knew there would be plenty of challenges moving to hybrid teaching but with each extra step, the amount of time for preparing, executing, and grading each lesson has snowballed so I find myself taking a lot more time than I anticipated. My hallway with heavy plastic sheeting to shield students as they shuffle following […]
After extra time to prepare, the school year began in earnest on Thursday. Here’s how the in-class students see the online students. My desk got moved upfront to create more socially distant desk spaces for the students. I have five freshmen classes and it’s interesting as their personalities are starting to take shape. Overall, four […]
I blog rarely about politics but now that the two weeks of conventions are thankfully in the past, we have nine weeks to make some important decisions. Showing the Democrats’ diversity was a strong visual theme throughout their four day convention. Both the Democrats and the Republicans put on their mercifully truncated shows, each speaking […]
An upside to the social distancing has been our sampling lots and lots of television series. As our normal fare ended their runs, we began working through shows across the various streaming platforms. Beecham House was an interesting look at India at the end of the 18th Century. I’m having trouble recalling all the shows […]
Thanks to an adjustment to the academic calendar, teachers were granted three bonus days of summer. Alas, today is the final weekday of my summer break. I report back to school on Monday with the kids arriving a week later. A highlight of the summer was adding Albert to our family. He loves perching here. […]
When I graduated from SUNY-Binghamton, I was fortunate to have a job waiting for it. Although it didn’t start until September, I was grateful to join Starlog Press as Managing Editor of Fangoria. Now, the title sounds impressive, especially for a 22-year-old straight out of college, but the reality was that each publication was a […]
As of today, I have one week left before I report back to school. A very different academic year awaits. In the meantime, Deb has suggested I throttle back and take more time for myself this week, which is most excellent advice. It’s been a very busy summer, all things considered. June was spent writing […]
We’re taking the day to ourselves. A very young Kate and Robbie at Howard Weinstein’s wedding. The dogs are accompanying us on an outing, away from the world for the most part. It’s not that we need the solitude, but it helps. Each year brings us closer to that odd point of equilibrium, as many […]
One of the things I have been doing in the back half of July has been gearing up for the return to the classroom. At the time, it was clear we were trying to open the building, but also knowing a portion of the teaching would remain virtual. I needed to sharpen those digital skills […]
Earlier today, I sent in the completed manuscript for Children of Tomorrow, the final chapter in the This Alien Earth trilogy, created by Paul Antony Jones. I scheduled myself to start on June 1 knowing there needed to be time to revise, time for a beta reader, final drafting, and then deliver by August 15. […]