jstemwedel

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Janet D. Stemwedel

Janet D. Stemwedel (whose nom de blog is Dr. Free-Ride) is an associate professor of philosophy at San Jose State University. Before becoming a philosopher, she earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry.

Posts by this author

January 3, 2010
Two weeks from today, at ScienceOnline '10, Dr. Isis, Sheril Kirshenbaum, and I will be leading a session called "Online Civility and Its (Muppethugging) Discontents". In preparation for this, the three of us had a Skype conference last night, during which it became clear to us that there are many…
January 1, 2010
Dr. Free-Ride: So tell me about that device of yours? How did you make it and what does it do? Elder offspring: There is a cut piece of a drinking straw. You also need two pieces of tin foil and a long string. Dr. Free-Ride: That's really aluminum foil, isn't it? Elder offspring: They call it…
December 31, 2009
If I were not involved in preparing food for Casa Free-Ride's New Year's Eve celebration (after which, I will be joining my family members to celebrate and/or test our endurance in the face of fatigue -- I'll let you know afterward which of those it ends up being), I would totally be writing you a…
December 30, 2009
In the last few days, I've gotten a bunch of emails reminding me that the window for tax-deductible charitable giving for the year is closing. So, as 2009 winds down, I want to make an appeal to those readers lucky enough to have a bit of money for discretionary spending. Last year I wrote: [T]o…
December 28, 2009
While the sprogs were hanging out at the aquarium with the Grandparents Who Lurk But Seldom Comment, my better half and I went to see a 3-D IMAX screening of Avatar. My big concerns going in were that all the 3-D IMAX goodness would make me motion-sick, and that if that didn't get me, then the…
December 26, 2009
... once my fingertips holler "Uncle!" and tell me to take a break from my new ukulele. To help you pass the time, some uke players who are way better than the n00b that I am on day 2 of my musical odyssey:
December 25, 2009
Yeah, sure that plush Borrelia burgdorferi (the bacterium that causes Lyme disease) is playfully cuddling the plush penicillin now. But can their friendship last? (Actually, in light of the fact that penicillin inhibits transpeptidase in gram-positive bacrteria, and of the fact that Borrelia…
December 24, 2009
Well, technically, wrappings for Christmas eve dinner: discos para empanadas. It turns out, peeling them apart requires some patience and dexterity. Luckily, I had sufficient quantities of both. I ended up making four different fillings. One was made with veggie ground beef, cheese, and green…
December 24, 2009
To the young people wandering around Casa Free-Ride singing Christmas songs (not just the refrains but all of the verses): None of the canonical reindeer is named Connor. And Santa does not have a reindeer named Nixon. Love, Dr. Free-Ride P.S. The last batch of cookies will be out of the oven in…
December 23, 2009
I am, as it happens, done grading. But I need to express my concern (OK, bumfuzzlement) about something I saw quite a lot of on the final exams I was grading. You may recall that I let my students prepare a single page of notes (8.5" by 11", front and back) that they can use to help them on their…
December 22, 2009
Possibly related to the last post. The lyrics are original. (For this, you need to imagine the younger Free-Ride offspring humming in the background as the elder sings.) O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, We're sorry that we killed ya. O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, At least we didn't grill…
December 22, 2009
The new piece by Natalie Angier at the New York Times may make things a little more ticklish for people who pick their food on the basis of the characteristics it has or lacks as an organism: [B]efore we cede the entire moral penthouse to "committed vegetarians" and "strong ethical vegans," we…
December 21, 2009
Here in the Northern Hemisphere (of Earth), today marks the Winter Solstice. Most people have some understanding that this means today is the day of minimum sunlight, or the longest night of the year. Fewer people, I think, have a good astronomical sense of why that is the case. So, in honor of…
December 21, 2009
It's time for Dr. Free-Ride to have a chat with the grown-ups. If you're a kid and you're reading this, think how much the adults in your life would appreciate it if you got up from the computer and put away your stuff that needs putting away (or played with your brother or sister nicely, or…
December 20, 2009
Via Kate Clancy on Twitter, a news story about how one Illinois legislator wants to save his state some money. As reported in The News-Gazette State law allows employees who have worked for one of the Illinois' public universities for seven or more years to receive a 50 percent waiver of their…
December 19, 2009
In comments on and earlier post, I mentioned that I no longer take extraordinary measures in anticipation of students taking an exam in an earlier sitting passing on information or answers to students taking the same exam in a later sitting. Commenter Martin wondered if I wasn't being naïve:…
December 18, 2009
The better half and I were trying to decide this morning whether there was a way to follow the progress of "health care reform" in the U.S. Senate without getting really mad or really sad. (Conclusion: It seems logically possible that such a way exists, but we haven't found it yet.) The one…
December 18, 2009
Given the extent and urgency of my current grading responsibilities, the sprogs and I have not had occasion this week for any extended conversations about matters strictly scientific, but there has been some chatter about Santa Claus: Younger offspring: What happens if I stay awake on Christmas eve…
December 16, 2009
An open letter to the handful of students during today's exam asking whether I could "explain" the fourth short-answer test item to them: Dear students, The question you are pointing to is unambiguously phrased. The wording of the item is quite clear in asking you to explain what that particular…
December 15, 2009
If my congested head is upright today, I must be administering final exams. This puts me in mind of a question that has not come up this semester (and, with luck, will not), but that has come up on occasion in the past. I frequently teach multiple sections of the same course in a given semester.…
December 14, 2009
One of the sprogs gave me a cold. There is nothing like being knocked on your butt by a cold to take all of the fun out of a weekend spent not-grading research projects. Also, it seems to have filled my head with phlegm that then got ... phlegmatic. Not quite congealed, but on its way in that…
December 11, 2009
Whereas the commenters on this blog have on numerous occasions proven themselves to be whip-smart and very funny, and whereas this humble blog comes up near the top of Google searches for "three toed sloth sex jokes", I propose that we write some worthy three-toed sloth sex jokes. Indeed, I'd like…
December 11, 2009
Other kids may be convinced that Santa Claus uses some kind of Christmas magic to get the job done. Not the Free-Ride offspring. They have told me that obviously, Santa is putting his trust in science. (And also technology. But the holidays are no time for ugly spats about disciplinary…
December 10, 2009
Uttered by an administrator: "It's not a curricular decision. It's a resources decision." The decision pertained to classes that were being cut. Also, instruction, it turns out, requires resources. We have not yet hit bottom here, and I am really tired of the sensation of plummeting.
December 10, 2009
For those of you who have heard me issue calls for dialogue (not debate) on the subject of research with non-human animals -- especially if you're in the Los Angeles area -- I'm pleased to announce that there's an event coming up in February that's aimed at fostering just such a dialogue, in the…
December 10, 2009
The elder Free-Ride offspring drew this: I'm told it's a cat-mantis-kangaroo-lizard-horned toad robot. I'm pretty sure it's not yet available in stores (although maybe there's a kit?). But I really want one. And not just to set against a Roomba in gladiatorial battle. Speaking of Roomba, my…
December 9, 2009
It's quite likely, if you're reading anything else on the internets besides this blog for the past few weeks, that you've already gotten your fill of ClimateGate. But maybe you've been stuck in your Cave of Grading and missed the news that a bunch of emails from the Climate Research Unit (CRU)…
December 9, 2009
I have a couple of substantive posts percolating, but I need to scrape some ice first. (Plus, you know, attend to some grading and administrative tasks.) In the meantime, I wanted to share a sampling of some of the search queries that have brought people to this blog: "originally designed with…
December 8, 2009
In response to my post yesterday considering some of the difficulties in restaffing a course when its professor falls ill, Leigh commented: Sometimes nothing can be done. Last winter I had to cancel my evolution course, which doubles as a laboratory in the philosophy of science, because of a…
December 7, 2009
In comments on my earlier post about what happens to a college course in progress when the professor teaching it dies, a lot of folks raised interesting questions about what would be the fair policy to adopt with respect to student grades. I think actually implementing whatever we might agree was…