The Curmudgeon Speaks

Four Seasons

I am a fan of a location that allows you to experience all four seasons. The same temps and same look year round just seems boring. This is not to say that some seasons are not more enjoyable than others. If you have four seasons, you have winter and winter in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin get long, cold, and dark. I do cheat a bit and bug out towards the end of January to spend a couple of months in Hawaii. I see this as the reward for growing old and being able to take such liberties.

Fall is my favorite. The temps are cool and the air seems pure without the higher humidity of summer. These are perfect conditions for me as heat and I are not on good terms. This is the season of harvests and brilliant color. I enjoy taking photos of the leaves even though they likely look about the same as last year. Great colors against blue skies and reflected in still ponds and lakes. Others agree. A friend of ours wanted to schedule a business trip to Duluth/Superior last weekend and was unable to book a motel/hotel room in the area – too many tourists wanting to take in the peak of leaf season.

We are camping this week in order to explore the same area. Campgrounds are full despite most parks shutting off the water to campsites and closing toilets. Camping without hookups would not be my preference, but we are self-contained and can deal with most inconveniences. This will be the last trip of the season and it will be time to get the camper winterized. 

I am cross-posting this to my travel blog [https://grabetravels.blogspot.com) because I am traveling We are camped for a few days at Copper Falls State park which is fairly close to our lake home in Wisconsin. Various leaf photos are likely to follow as well as whatever else we can find. Just sitting around the fire this evening reading Wolfman written by our friend Stan Trollip. 

We had an interesting weekend with our friend Stanley Trollip. Stanley was a colleague of mine at UND and we worked together in getting UND to develop a graduate program in Instructional Design. Stan is one of the most interesting people I know and he seems capable of so many different things having moved through multiple careers. In my own retirement, I continue doing many of the same things I have always done with my hobbies related to my interests in education and educational technology.

In contrast, Stan, who is originally from South Africa, has taken up writing crime fiction. He has a series of books with colleague Michael Sears set in the south of Africa. The pair writes as Michael Stanley.

Like rock musicians, writers evidently have a strong urge to do things on their own. Stan has just finished a solo effort – Wolfman. This book is a crime novel set in Northern Minnesota.

Stan was visiting us at our northern Wisconsin cabin and we decided to visit independent bookstores in the region to see if they would stock his book. The idea came from a Duluth Herald article (you are probably blocked) reviewing works by regional authors.

I don’t write fiction and I had never thought about the strategies of promotion that apply. I have watched Stan do book talks at bookstores, but visiting bookstores was something different. The strategy seemed to work pretty well. One store had read the review and already had books on order. One store bought a couple of books from Stan (signed). The other store was being staffed by someone without the authority to make purchases. Independent book store folks think way different from the mindset of academic publishers.

What is appropriate in teaching history has become controversial and now that I have spent some time listening to politicians discuss the matter confusing. This resource from FutureEd addresses the controversy regarding the teaching of concepts such as racism and sexism as part of the history of the U.S.. The FutureEd resource is helpful in framing the issue, but I think for those interested it is of great value to examine the laws proposed in different states.

I spend my formative years in Iowa and because the bills on these matters from Iowa appear on the FutureEd list I spent some time with one of the Iowa bills.

Iowa legislation – the following wording is taken from the bill, but based on the video of the discussion is vague. You should watch the video (linked from the presentation of the bill) because the back and forth between Democrats and Republicans appear to say you can teach these things, but not in a way according to the Republican speaker that involves scapegoating. The concept of scapegoating is really the key to understanding exactly what is being demanded.

f. Prohibit the use of curriculum that teaches the topics of sexism, slavery, racial oppression, racial segregation, or racial discrimination, including topics relating to the enactment and enforcement of laws resulting in sexism, racial oppression, segregation, and discrimination.

Scapegoating is defined in the following way

^Race or sex scapegoating” means assigning fault, blame,
or bias to a race or sex, or to members of a race or sex
because of their race or sex, or claiming that, consciously or
unconsciously, and by virtue of persons’ race or sex, members
of any race are inherently racist or are inherently inclined to
oppress others, or that members of a sex are inherently sexist
or inclined to oppress others.

So you are a history teacher, what does it mean that you can teach that racism and sexism are historical facts, but you cannot assign fault or blame? The reality of these practices should argue that the practices are evil and happened (or happen) and were the result of human behavior. As a consequence, I would find it difficult not to attribute blame or fault to the individuals perpetrating such behavior.

I came across this ABC news story identifying potential legal exposure stemming from mask mandates and the legal responsibility for providing a safe environment. Schools are in a very difficult situation with some states attempting to legally prevent schools from imposing a mandate. Districts that have decided to oppose antimask positions have been threatened with loss of revenue from the state. Whatever side of this issue citizens take, it seems obvious to me that schools are very vulnerable to suits whether it be the denial or individual rights or the failure to adequately protect students. If this starts happening, I would predict a strong move to distance learning as a remedy.

If it is safe, we hope to take one of those river cruises through part of Europe in a few months. My wife found a list of book recommendations for those taking this trip and I thought I should read one. The book I ordered from Amazon arrived today.

I knew the book was not a recent publication and I did think the price for a hardcover being half the price of the ebook version was kind of weird, but I did not expect a used book.

The book was in good shape and not marked up so I am not really bothered by receiving a book someone else has read. Here is what does bother me (see following image).

Inside the front cover I found this stamp. My daugher has one of those front lawn micro libraries that she purchases books for. I have at least one other relative that does the same thing. Of course, I don’t know how this used book came to be sold through Amazon, but the idea that someone may have taken a free book and then sold it through Amazon I find very disturbing. Those folks who take books for this purpose are similar to those folks who roam the aisles of second-hand stores seeing if there is a profit to be made in reselling goods given for free to such outlets bothers me a great deal. I don’t give used stuff to such outlets for this purpose and hope that those who need inexpensive resources can make use of inexpensive appliances or a free or cheap book.

Our lake place is close to the Forts Folle Avoine Historical Park and we enjoy visiting when the grounds are inhabited by reenactors. These folks reenact the rendezvous during which the Ojibwe and fur trappers would meet to exchange goods and relax at the end of the fur trapping season. The reenactors strive for authenticity and are willing to share the practices of the Native Americans and trappers. I have been to events at the Forts several times and enjoy discussions with the participants as much as whatever I can observe about the historical activities of the period they demonstrate.

These folks are serious about their hobby and attend multiple events during the summer. I imagined these folks to be history teachers and their families, but they are a diverse lot. I have wondered about the kids and their willingness to accompany their parents on the parents unusual way of spending significant chunks of their summers. It seems several have passed this interest on within their families. The candle maker (see later image) found that the life style was part of his relationship with his girlfriend and he found an activity he could portray.

Black powder weapons are always a big draw. I have watched marksperson contests in past years. This year the guy with the guns wanted me to fire his 50 caliber rifle. The bore on this thing is the size of a shotgun’s. The rifle was very heavy and would have been a challenge to carry hunting. I was surprised that it did not kick as much as expected. Perhaps this was also related to the weight of the weapon.

One of the few permanent sites on the rendezvous site is the clay ovens. Baking bread to sell to the trappers was evidently a great business. The demonstrations usually include the opportunity to sample something. The heat in the oven does not come from a live fire. A fire is started and then the coals removed. The heat is trapped by the clay. The baker said they sometimes cheat after the tourists leave. They leave the door open with a fire still going and make pizza.

The candle maker.

Smoking meat (chicken)

You may not recognize the names – Laura Edelson and Damon McCoy, but if you follow the tech news you may know that Facebook recently “unauthorized” researchers trying to understand misinformation circulated through Facebook. This was Edelson and McCoy – academics from New York University. I became interested when I read their frustration with the way they were treated by Facebook in the NYTimes (you may not have access – try some of the links I offer).

When their research. Edelson and McCoy received a short message claiming – Facebook says we used “unauthorized means to access and collect data” and that it shut us out to comply with an order from the Federal Trade Commission to respect the privacy of its users. The researchers claim they focus on the ads Facebook includes in user posts and not the identity of users.

In reading the article, I realized that I have been participating in the researcher’s work that is based on the installation of a browser extension – AD Observer. This extension collects the Facebook ads (and YouTube) you experience, shares this data with the researchers and with you, and shows you why you received the ads that you did. You provide some basic data to the researchers (see red box around settings) to help in the process of trying to understand why you were served the ads you experienced.

One thing I have learned by looking at the ads is that I would not necessarily label some of the ads as ads and it is interesting to know someone paid to target me with this information.

Here are a few additional links to these researches: A podcast with Edelson as a guest, Recode description of Edelson and McCoy situation.

I just finished reading Senator Klobuchar’s book on antitrust. This would not normally be a topic I investigate in-depth, but the topic relates to the constriction of options in journalism, textbook publishing, and social media. These are all areas I believe are important and innovation is being limited and public understanding diminished as a consequence. With so many topics, politicians end up being mocked for the understanding of issues facing the public (e.g., technology). Read the Klobuchar book and you will not hold that opinion about her understanding of this issue.

Getting through the book was a struggle. The topic is dense and there are a lot of legal positions to consider. Klobuchar made a statement (see above) that seems an apt description of so many issues we kind of understand, know the issues are important, but can’t get to the level at which our opinions would be strong enough to push for action. There are so many priorities government might address – why this one or that one? In this age of political weirdness, I think trust is such an important variable.

I discovered an interesting technological capability that might be useful. I highlight and annotate when I read. Diigo (a notetaking service I use) offers me a way to share these annotations. I think I will start doing this when I encourage others to read a given book.

I was thinking about the issue of requiring COVID shots at Universities after reading that a Federal Judge had cleared Indiana University to make this demand of students and faculty. What returned my attention to this issue was the University of North Dakota President making the decision not to require shots before students would be allowed on campus in the fall. Encourage everyone to get a shot – yes. Require a shot – no. UND was the institution where I spent most of my career.

The reluctance to take action to limit the spread and damage of this issue puzzled me. I see this as a failing of logic. I remember that UND had a requirement that incoming students and faculty prove they have had other vaccinations. I checked just to make certain I had not imagined this requirement. Nope the required shots were easy enough to find. Why then would the administration decide to allow those unvaccinated against COVID, a more likely health problem, to endanger themselves and others. The only explanation I could come up with was the Republican bias of the states. Politicians within the state had come under pressure for expecting masks and shots and administrators at a state institution seemed leery of similar criticism.

UND wants to promote the mantra – “Leaders go here”. Here is an opportunity to demonstrate leadership and stand for the facts and science you teach and you wimp out. The state’s Med school and a major nursing pre program are even located at UND. The claim this is a personal choice is bunk. Others should not exposed to danger because of your personal choice. Don’t be wimps.

We are taking a summer trip to visit several state parks in the upper midwest. We have plenty of time to go elsewhere, but the popularity of travel following the pandemic makes getting into National Parks nearly impossible.

We have been documenting our trips for the past several years and you are welcome to take a look at https:/grabetravels.blogspot.com or https://pixelfed.social/grabe. By the way, Pixelfed makes a great alternative to Instagram if you are interested in escaping from the Facebook empire.