Three things posted instead of grading

Thing one:

I should be grading right now. If I get my grading done early, I will have time to do some activist blogging, the sort of thing that requires a couple hours web research, before I go to my in-laws. I'd like to write a letter calling for the extradition of the Union Carbide guy to India on murder charges. I’d also like to get a list of charities and political groups on my sidebar, and do some blogging about the best places to give. I could do all these things, if I just went back to grading.

Thing two:

Here beginneth the annual wussing out. I’ve stopped riding my bike to work. I made it to mid-December this year, which is better than last year, when I only made it to mid-November. Still, I’m not like these guys. Or this guy. Or these guys. (I had a really good winter riding site bookmarked a while back, but I can’t find it anymore.)

When I lived in Chicago, I bicycled all winter, largely because I didn’t own a car, and winter biking was no more painful than winter standing-on-an-elevated-platform-waiting-for-a-train-in-minus-five-degree-weather-christ-why-does-chicago-have-an-elevated-train-anyway.

The real problem is that once the winter wussing begins, it doesn’t end until Spring, even on days like today, when the weather isn’t bad at all. Wus wus wus.

Thing three.

I’m most of the way done grading my environmental course. I enjoyed teaching the course, and want to teach it again. The papers, though, are not as good as I would have liked. The students were all environmental studies majors, and they didn’t really know how to write a philosophy paper. Next time I will have to use more structured assignments.