reedmaniac.com

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“First came the real-estate developments, the rapidly rising tuition and an international program with an explicit mandate to drastically increase enrollment for non-residents who pay higher tuition. Next came tense contract negotiations between administrators and the PSU chapter of the American Association of University Professors, who struggled for months to try and bring their wages up closer to their peers, in spite of the fact that PSU presently has a budget surplus of $54 million. With that, PSU, Inc. officially came of age, and in the spirit of that adolescence is now testing the limits of what it can get away with.”

Sent to me by a full time staff member at PSU.  None of this surprises me.  Portland State University’s approach to education is not to focus on the best possible education but simply to move as many students through their system as possible.  I am not saying PSU does not have many excellent programs and departments.  I met faculty members there that were smart and willing to spend copious amounts of their time helping their students.  But when the professor teaching hundreds of 200-level Biology students does not even get an office? That is a gigantic red flag.

Once my knee surgery is done and I can realistically head back to finish my pre-medicine prerequisites, I want to return to school.  I just cringe at the idea of returning to PSU.

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“Sharing passwords, she noted, feels forbidden because it is generally discouraged by adults and involves vulnerability. And there is pressure in many teenage relationships to share passwords, just as there is to have sex.”

So, have you had the talk with your teenagers?

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“Americans For A Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, an FEC registered Super PAC, today announced the addition of Jon Stewart to its executive board (along with the subtraction of Stephen Colbert).

With this change the group, which had been known colloquially as Colbert Super PAC, can now be referred to as The Definitely Not Coordinating With Stephen Colbert Super PAC. They have already begun updating all of their letterhead with sharpie.”

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Super PACs can raise unlimited sums from corporations, unions and other groups, as well as individuals. Just in case anyone out there still thought the future of our country was not for sale.

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Thanks to the Outdoor Recreation program at Portland Parks & Recreation, I climbed Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Baker for the very first time.  I also joined Dan, Kevin, Bret and Cameron on their own first Mt. Hood summits.  And then, there was that lovely sailing trip in the San Juans on the Schooner Zodiac.  Those trips started me down a path leading to even more adventures and eventually me becoming an outdoor guide.

But now, the Outdoor Education program is on the chopping block in all three budget cut packages suggested for this year.  Cutting the program will end up saving the city a whopping $71,412, according to the Budget Advisory Committee.  What will result from cutting the entire program?

“This cut package would eliminate the Outdoor Recreation Program Coordinator position…[this] individual operates the Outdoor Recreation Program and supervises 7 FTE and 7 seasonal staff working in Environmental Education, Urban Forestry Education, and Stewardship. The supervisor is also responsible for supervising the Youth Conservation Crew program.”

“The Outdoor Recreation program is one of very few that maintains commercial special use permits for US Forest Service, BLM, and Crater Lake. If these permits are not maintained, they will be lost. This program has two areas of focus: Adult Outdoor Adventures and Ultimate TEEN Adventures. The adult program focuses on mountain climbing, backpacking, hiking, and camping as well as water sports (kayaking and whitewater rafting), snow sports, outdoor skills (fly fishing, map & compass/GPS), urban exploration, and extended trips to areas such as Yellowstone and Breitenbush. The teen program provides trips for ages 11-18. The program engages teens in active outdoor programs while infusing knowledge about natural resources, minimum impact considerations, and stewardship.

The loss of the Outdoor Recreation teen program would directly impact the City Nature Environmental Education teen program. Last summer this program engaged 350 at-risk teens in Outdoor Recreation for a total of 2,800 contact hours in nature. Teens experienced physically active adventures such as backpacking, kayaking, hiking, snowboarding, and skiing. The teen program partnered with Outreach Services to offer immigrant and diverse communities a first taste of PP&R programming. These agencies included El Programa Hispano, Hacienda, Ortiz Family Services, Volunteers of America, and the Jeffereson High School MECHA club.”

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If the position is cut, some of these programs will be restructured under different supervisors, which I am sure will turn out well. The final recommendations will be submitted to the mayor after January 13th, so if destroying the entire Portland Park & Recreation Outdoor Recreation program seems like a bad idea to you, it might be a good idea to inform the following people:

Commissioner Nick Fish
1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 240
Portland, OR 97204
503-823-3589
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Parks Director, Mike Abbaté
1120 SW Fifth Ave #1302
Portland, OR 97204
503-823-5379
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

»Link.  Whenever I start dating again, I simply must use this product to improve my online dating site photos!

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Romney:  “I just think it’s most likely that the person who should represent our party running against President Obama is not someone who called him a remarkable leader and went to be his ambassador in China.”

Huntsman:  “This nation is divided, David, because of attitudes like that.”

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And since a criticism of Jon Huntsman has been his support of the Paul Ryan Plan to address the problems with the Federal Budget, I point you towards this handy page, which even includes his opinion piece explaining his position.  While I do not completely agree with his position, at least his views are clear and he has an argument for them.  Not only that, he seems to have a willingness to hear alternatives.

I can respect Huntsman viewpoints and his willing to work with Obama.  He’s definitely a conservative in many respects, but far more importantly he is the best Republican in the field and I would rather have him in the Presidential race than any of the other buffoons running.

»Link.  I am fairy sure I had lunch, but I am now rather hungry.

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“I think we serve our country first by standing for people who believe in conservative principles and doing everything in our power to promote an agenda that does not include President Obama’s agenda,” Romney said.

What a damn idiot that Romney fellow is.  We have a Presidential election coming up where the Republican frontrunner is a moderate and yet pretending he is a far right, anti-Obama, liberal hater.  I like Huntsman’s reply so much that I just donated money to his campaign:

“The American people are tired of the partisan division. They have had enough. There is no trust left among the American people and the institutions of power and among the American people and our elected officials. And I say, we’ve had enough, and we have to change our direction in terms of coming together as Americans first and foremost and finding solutions to our problems.”

If we cannot find a Democratic candidate that is an actual liberal, then we might as well try pushing the Republican party back towards the middle.  Jon Huntsman is the only sensible (sensical?) Republican candidate.  He is unlikely to get the GOP nomination, but if he ran as a third-party candidate I might actually vote for him.

»Link.  I am slightly embarrassed by the fact that until this morning I never knew where Cinnamon came from or how it was cultivated.

The take home message from this entry is that the knee is refusing to heal properly.  Every time we seem to get close, it gets a bit coy and decides to throw a curveball.  There is a scant two weeks of physical therapy left on my docket and then I see the orthopedic surgeon again.  The current problem is that medial tibial/distal aspect of the patella is still causing me a fair amount of pain in certain positions.  Naturally, this pain is causing the upper leg muscles to behave inappropriately in compensation.  All and all, it means we cannot really push the muscles into getting stronger until this particular problem subsides.

Quite wearisome.  I simply know that if this pain would magically go away we would be set.  Golden.  On the way to a new, happier future.  If anything, the pain has seemingly gotten worse over the past two weeks.  There are times when I try to raise my leg straight and the muscles will simply not engage.  That was alarming the first time it happened.  A leg that simply refused to be elevated because the pain is preventing the muscles from acting. When that happens, it takes a few tries and then I can finally get it moving.  It also means that the few hours following physical therapy will not be altogether pleasant.

Not all days are bad though.  And it changes throughout the day too.  Seemingly at random.  Doing nothing but sitting can make it painful.  Going for a long walk may make the leg muscles relax and create a happier knee…or not.  I talk about the knee in the third person because it has moods and I want to punch it in the groin.  Well, figuratively.

The current plan is to try a few new exercises and stretches along with the regular physical therapy.  If it does not get better in these next two weeks, I think the surgeon and I will be deciding on a bit of surgery.  This has been going on simply too long and I am exhausted by it all.  I want my life back.

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A clever friend called on New Year’s Eve and asked me if I was depressed.  Seems my continuing antisocial behavior has raised a red flag somewhere.  Or perhaps it is a green flag.  Hard to tell when you’re colorblind.  Anyhoo…

His question made me laugh.  For the past four months, 80% of what I loved about my life has been gone. Constantly in pain and/or discomfort.  No end in sight still.  Canceled my New Zealand trip. Yeah, I think I might just be a bit depressed.  I would hope that might be permitted.  What further brings me down is that even when the knee is settled, it is going to take me months to return to my previous level of fitness.  Seeing everyone enjoying their winter activities while I can do little more than walk is not exactly raising my spirits either.

And so, I pull back and spend time alone.  Surviving.  Without exercise and the outdoors, I find it incredibly hard to be social and do anything productive.  Any energy and patience that I can muster has to be focused on getting better or work.  The rest of the time I am filling the void the best I can.  It sucks, but there it is.

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And yet, if I change my perspective, this is a reasonably cool experience.  I have the challenge of relearning how to use my knee and leg again (I’m building character!).  Also, it has been rather instructive in helping me understand how the different muscles, tendons, and ligaments have to work together for the human body to attain locomotion.  Kind of fascinating getting a bit of first person experience in this area of medicine.

Not exactly a bad thing that I had to go back to work either.  My savings are slightly replenished and I have finally been able to afford a few things like new clothes, flannel sheets, a book or two for pleasure reading, and a new backup hard drive for my computer.  Things that I was not really able to fit into my full-time student budget.

Will stop being so positive now.  Starting to weird me out.