Attn. business writing students: Here is a Business Week article that discusses the importance of blogs for businesses.
In regards to my previous post: so far one student has left a comment, which means that mostly likely more than one has seen the post. Since I have linked to the faculty union's take on the contract bargaining status, it's only fair to also link to the CSU administration's perspective.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
bargaining
I am very distressed over the state of the bargaining between the California Faculty Association and the California State University system. After 20 months, there is no agreement over a new contract, and apparently neither side is expecting the next step to lead to an agreement. The union may call for "job action", including strikes (limited, at least initially). This is such a terrible prospect--no faculty member wants to deny instruction to students, but we also need a contract.
The CFA is fighting for faculty benefits and pay raises of course, but it is also fighting against fee hikes for students. The 2006-07 state budget is calling for CSU student fee increases of 10% and a 4% increase for high-level managers [NBC11.com]. I believe so strongly in public education and the civic and economic benefits it brings, that it really upsets me to see all these problems.
The CFA is fighting for faculty benefits and pay raises of course, but it is also fighting against fee hikes for students. The 2006-07 state budget is calling for CSU student fee increases of 10% and a 4% increase for high-level managers [NBC11.com]. I believe so strongly in public education and the civic and economic benefits it brings, that it really upsets me to see all these problems.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
back in the US
Phuong and I arrived back home earlier this afternoon. We are both tired and glad to be back; the trip was good but tough going. I'm happy to be back on American food. Our most exotic meal was in the jungle outside of Tri An. We ate wild boar, fox curry, snake salad, and snake porridge. They brought the snake out to show us before they killed it. The staff drained the blood from the snake and mixed it with rice wine for us to drink. Since I was I suppose the guest of honor, I was "privileged" to get the snake's spleen in a shot of rice wine. Apparently it was to make me feel great the next day, but I didn't. When we later visited Phuong's uncle and cousin in My Tho, we drank more rice wine that had had a poisonous snake soaked in it for about 5 years (Phuong's brother Hieu bought the snake when he last visited). It tasted pretty good, but also didn't sit well with me. I think my snake-consuming days are over.
Now I have to turn my attention to getting ready for classes to start.
Now I have to turn my attention to getting ready for classes to start.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
back in Saigon
A couple corrections from last post: 1. rau moung is a green vegetable; we were eating bun rieu. 2. Independence Hall is not the old US embassy; I don't know where I got that idea.
We are back from Hue. Hoi An and Hue were both great, though we had too little time. Our tour instead spent almost two days going to and from an enormous limestone cavern. It was huge, but not really better than caves I've seen in California and Arizona. It would have been very difficult getting around the sights in Hue without a tour though.
But I'm glad to be back on the street. We ate more snails, mussels, and shrimp (only recently seen swimming around in the front of the restaurant) last night, then we went to a huge outdoor night market. Phuong's friends picked us up on their scooters; I seriously thought I was going to die and I had to pry my hands off the seat grip when we arrived.
The weather in Saigon now is better than on our initial stop--it's still muggy but not as hot. Right now we just finished a feast at Chi Ha's parents' house, where I set a personal early point (11am) for drinking straight hard liquor, in this case grape-infused rice whiskey made by Ha's dad. It was quite tasty, with a flavor similar to cognac.
Today and tomorrow we are going to some points of historical interest. On Wednesday we are going to Vung Tau on the coast for a couple days. That's it for now, these Vietnamese key bindings are giving me a fit.
We are back from Hue. Hoi An and Hue were both great, though we had too little time. Our tour instead spent almost two days going to and from an enormous limestone cavern. It was huge, but not really better than caves I've seen in California and Arizona. It would have been very difficult getting around the sights in Hue without a tour though.
But I'm glad to be back on the street. We ate more snails, mussels, and shrimp (only recently seen swimming around in the front of the restaurant) last night, then we went to a huge outdoor night market. Phuong's friends picked us up on their scooters; I seriously thought I was going to die and I had to pry my hands off the seat grip when we arrived.
The weather in Saigon now is better than on our initial stop--it's still muggy but not as hot. Right now we just finished a feast at Chi Ha's parents' house, where I set a personal early point (11am) for drinking straight hard liquor, in this case grape-infused rice whiskey made by Ha's dad. It was quite tasty, with a flavor similar to cognac.
Today and tomorrow we are going to some points of historical interest. On Wednesday we are going to Vung Tau on the coast for a couple days. That's it for now, these Vietnamese key bindings are giving me a fit.
Monday, January 1, 2007
Happy New Year!
Phuong and I rang in the new year in the streets of Saigon. We went with her cousin Steve and his wife Jenny first to eat rao muong (one of the many varieties of noodle soup) at a sidewalk restaurant, then to a show with traditional and contemporary Vietnamese music. 2007 arrived while we were eating snails, drinking beer, and toasting Steve's birthday at another sidewalk restaurant.
It was interesting landing at Tan Son Nhat airport--I could easily imagine how it looked before 1975. There are still helicopter hangars from the war with American and Russian helicopters in them. The old American embassy is now called Independence Hall, and we plan to visit there later.
Thailand was nice, though being on a tour was a little mixed. Our group was very good--most people were travelling independently to Vietnam, Burma, or elsewhere in Thailand, and were just on tour (as we were) for a few days. Phuong of course quickly made friends with many people. It was nice travelling by air-conditioned bus, though I often felt like clawing my way out to eat on the street rather than in another mediocre hotel restaurant. Our best meal there was right at the beach of Ko Lon, in the bay off Pattaya. We had steamed crab, shrimp, and fish that had been alive 10 minutes before they landed on our table. We also saw a show with traditional Thai dancing and dancing elephants (really!), and had a wonderful 2-hour traditional Thai massage. The weather in Thailand was less hot and humid than in Vietnam. Overall though, we are not that anxious to visit Thailand again.
Today we are flying to Da Nang so we can visit Hue and Hoi An. We'll be back in Saigon in about 5 days. Later on we'll visit the beach at Vung Tau and Phuong's family's hometown of Bien Hoa.
We wish everyone a happy new year!
It was interesting landing at Tan Son Nhat airport--I could easily imagine how it looked before 1975. There are still helicopter hangars from the war with American and Russian helicopters in them. The old American embassy is now called Independence Hall, and we plan to visit there later.
Thailand was nice, though being on a tour was a little mixed. Our group was very good--most people were travelling independently to Vietnam, Burma, or elsewhere in Thailand, and were just on tour (as we were) for a few days. Phuong of course quickly made friends with many people. It was nice travelling by air-conditioned bus, though I often felt like clawing my way out to eat on the street rather than in another mediocre hotel restaurant. Our best meal there was right at the beach of Ko Lon, in the bay off Pattaya. We had steamed crab, shrimp, and fish that had been alive 10 minutes before they landed on our table. We also saw a show with traditional Thai dancing and dancing elephants (really!), and had a wonderful 2-hour traditional Thai massage. The weather in Thailand was less hot and humid than in Vietnam. Overall though, we are not that anxious to visit Thailand again.
Today we are flying to Da Nang so we can visit Hue and Hoi An. We'll be back in Saigon in about 5 days. Later on we'll visit the beach at Vung Tau and Phuong's family's hometown of Bien Hoa.
We wish everyone a happy new year!
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