Today I found out that when students complain that a professor takes too long to grade tests, it’s their way of saying that he’s black. I have no idea where that leaves white professors who are slow graders. Or black professors who grade fast.

Love you, Americans, but you have lost your ever-loving minds with this crap.

Speaking of heart trouble, is anybody enough of an old-timer on this blog to remember how I got diagnosed with pericarditis right here by one of the readers? I was having a weird chest pain that I attributed to a pulled muscle but the reader who I think was a paramedic said it sounded like the heart and to call an ambulance. I did, and he turned out to be right.

I wish I had thought of mentioning on the blog when I had COVID shakes but had no idea they were a COVID symptom. They were so brief, though, it didn’t make sense to mention.

Who else is on pins and needles over the Rittenhouse verdict? Can’t they rule already because I’m wandering around aimlessly, unable to concentrate on anything. Ideally, they’d acquit during the chairs’ meeting we’ll have later today. Then everybody will be too traumatized to continue with the meeting, and I’ll be able to go celebrate in peace.

Why is nobody commenting on my passworded posts? Have people lost the password?

The most recent one is pretty funny.

I love every aspect of being department chair. The only thing that makes me unwilling to continue doing it for another term is that the Dean obligates us to engage in discussions of “what do you do to be anti-racist?” We have yet another one of those scheduled for later today. Obviously, this is done to distract us from more budget cuts but that’s not even the point. I resent having to participate in this Sovietization. If Americans are stupid enough to take this garbage seriously, it’s their problem. Why should I participate? Watching people make absolute asses out of themselves because they are either subservient or dumb isn’t enjoyable.

For some reason, periodontists now ask if you’ve had “recent heart trouble” during routine cleanings.

It turns out there was going to be a campaign of billboards all around the EU promoting the use of hijab because it brings “freedom and joy.” The French opposed it (and apparently nobody else did), so it was temporarily canned. What I find particularly sad in this story is that people in the EU still remember the word “freedom.” They have no idea what it means anymore but they do have a vague memory that it was something good. Maybe even almost as good as hijabs.

The way I knew I had COVID before getting tested was that I dropped a plastic lid on a hot stove, it started melting, but there was no smell.

Since then my sense of smell came back but every once in a while I can smell that melting plastic lid. It’s as if the smell I missed then got stuck in some part of my brain and now I can’t get rid of it.