Friday, December 30, 2011

Still half-assed

     HALF-ASSED LARIAT. Back on Dec. 5, the Saddleback College Lariat posted an editorial entitled, “What should the new Library be named?", written by “staff.” It said
     Saddleback College has the rare opportunity to start over in recreating one of the most pivotal buildings on campus, the library. ¶ The library at Saddleback has been under construction since spring of 2010…. ¶ The next step to completing the Library is to give it a name. Currently the name is the James B. Utt [Memorial] library which has been given the nickname the "Butt Library."
     (Actually, “Butt” is a pretty good name for a “pivotal” building. Butts are pretty pivotal. Some butts.)
     Well, on the 8th, I submitted a comment to Lariat online, offering various naming suggestions. But it did not appear. Not that day.
     I submitted it again. Again, nothing.
Her butt is "pivotal"
     After a couple of days, I emailed the Lariat editor, pleasantly notifying him of the problem. Never heard back from that guy.
     Once in a while, I’d check, and my comment never appeared.
     —Until recently (it’s now the 30th). Just checked, and, well, there it is. You can read it yourself here, if you’ve a mind to. (I wouldn’t bother.)
     But how come the editor never got back to me? How come it took these people several weeks to post a comment?
     What kind of half-assed operation are they running over there?

* * *
     HALF-ASSED IVC WEBSITE IMPROVEMENTS: Speaking of half-assery, as you know, here at Irvine Valley College, “they” are endlessly working on our college website, trying to improve it. But it never seems to get better, near as I can tell. (Comparison of websites)
     Well, anyway, at about this time of year, I visit the IVC website to download the “Faculty Professional Development Week” ("Flex") schedule. After all, FPD week (pre-semester staff development activities) starts on Tuesday!
     Usually, I have no trouble finding the FPD Week Schedule. It’s just three or four clicks away.
     But not this time. I looked in the usual places, and it wasn’t there.
     (Yes, I know. The college emailed us the FPD Week schedule back on the 7th, but I managed to misplace the email.)
     I tried the Academic Senate website, and that led me to “Curriculum/Academic Affairs.” That opened a menu that included “Prof Fac Development.” That's it! I clicked on that and got—nothing.
     I went to the “Office of Instruction” site. That was no help at all.
     Finally, I used the search engine, searching under “staff development.” That gave me this site: IVC Staff Development and Flex. Great!

Nothing for Fall 2012?
     I went there. It listed two “flex schedules”—one for Fall 2011 (New! it shouted); another for Spring 2011.
     But there was nothing for Spring 2012.
     I gave up. (Since then, I found the lost email. That link actually worked.)

Finding Flex Week schedule at Saddleback website: easy-peasy
* * *
     HALF-ASSED ATEP WEBSITE. While perusing the IVC website, I noticed a link to ATEP, that endlessly gestating (but never arriving) third district campus out on Redhill in Tustin—the one supposedly dedicated to technical instruction and all manner of whiz-bangery. It is listed as “ATEP classes” on what appears to be the main menu of the IVC webpage (see). “Click.”
     That brought me to the ATEP website:


I wanna class
     I wondered: “What if I were a prospective student who was considering taking one of those technical courses over at ATEP? In fact, I got to this website clicking something that said ‘ATEP classes.’ Surely this site will help me to find those classes!”
     But no.
     The site is divided into two halves, with the right half dedicated to the district. The remaining half is for students (see above). It is entitled
ATEP CAMPUS: Classes from Irvine Valley College and Saddleback College
     Classes?! –That sounds promising!
     But no.
     I clicked on “programs.” Naturally, that brought me to a list of programs. I clicked on the first one: “applied technologies.” No classes appeared, just some alienating blather about the program. Ditto for the other programs.
     The second thing on the list looked promising: “Current Schedule - Workforce Training Classes”
     But no. That led to a site about, not classes, but a “free event,” a “comprehensive 5-hour workshop” about “Efficient Energy Use & Audit," whatever that is.
     The next item on the list was “How to Enroll.” But surely that would be helpful only after one has identified the courses that one wishes to take. Right?
     Essentially, "How to Enroll" offers a phone number.
     And so on.

* * *
     I’ve been on sabbatical. Next week’s my return to normal faculty life since the end of Spring 2011 (May)!
     It is, I guess, a return to half-assery.

• Chimpanzees seem to know what's on other chimps' minds (Guardian UK): Study done on IVC’s B-200 faculty. Scientists "stunned."

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...