Observations on being FMIR

We've survived the last trip out of London with the students and last night we attended the last play of the semester. Things are winding down. I hope to have posts with photos for recent events soon. In the mean time, I thought I'd share a few observations about being the FMIR and what's been going on.




We've really been fortunate to have a delightful group of young women in the program this semester. All our trips and outings have been smooth and easy. If you are willing to slightly expand the definition of "on time" a little, 10-15 minutes at worst, every one is always on time. No one has missed a train or not been where they should be. As a result, everyone has had a pretty relaxed and pleasant time. Of course, I have to stress about travel and being on time, but that's just me. It really hasn't been necessary to make it all work, it's just what I do.

Except for January when the weather was pretty dreadful, we've had remarkably little rain. Showers now and then rather than steady downpours are the norm. Lots of clouds with increasing amounts of sun as the year progresses. Wearing short sleeveless now. Umbrellas are handy but limited. The collapsable ones rarely survive very long as there is nearly always wind with the rain. To deal with the weather, you either need to be prepared to buy and carry a serious, fixed length umbrella that can survive being turned inside out or find another solution. I have chosen to use my poncho and this has been a good choice. It packs away for easy carrying and covers much more of you in a windy situation than an umbrella. They aren't common the streets here but I do not find them to attract lots of attention. For me, it has been a good choice.

I have found selecting class outings that have anything to do with science to be a challenge. Some are obvious: the Royal Society, the Royal Institution, the science museum, and a few others. But after that, the options largely disappear. The next closest choices involve technology/engineering. this includes places like the London Canal Museum and the Clockmakers Museum. These pretty quickly get consumed and as a result, we've had outings to Southwark Cathedral and even a zoology museum. Yet, it all good. The students learn and take in this divers collection of ideas and experiences and it gives me a way to begin to knitting science in with the rest of the world to create a well-rounded picture for them.

Keeping up with money and receipts is a point that is really stressed during the preparation for the trip, but I have found it pretty straight forward. The key is simply paying attention and being a little flexible. I normally use my credit card for reimbursable meals since we'd like to have a glass of cider or wine. This way I can buy the alcohol without confusion in the restaurant. Then when I do the bookkeeping, I claim the portion that is food as a cash expense. Once all the expenses are tallied, I simply adjust money between my pocket and the programs to make the total program cash on hand correct. If I fail to get a receipt because I'm tired or forgetful, I simply eat that expense. I plan on dealing with the unreimbursed expenses in my taxes next year anyway, so this doesn't really create a permanent hole in my pocket. Except that I screwed up Euro -> pound for the Paris trip, I've managed to make it work fine.

On a more mundane note, we've found a solution for electrical cords. Since most items nowadays will operate on 120V/Hz or 240V/50Hz equally well, the only issue to address is the shape of the plug. We bough a couple short, easily packed outlet strips that each have three outlets that will accept any sort of plug and are rated for 240V. Thus, with one adapter for the wall outlet, I get three places to plug in computers and phones. This is especially handy for the out-of-town trips. It is easy to pack and get me the outlets I need in hotel rooms where one is often all your get. Also, a quick switch from the English to the European plug style, makes this work equally well in Paris. I can plug in the US computer cord or the English phone plug in the same strip. Easy-peazy. We've found that two of these at East Finchley really cover our needs (one in the parlor and one in the office).

The hard part of the semester is planning the class to fit the allotted time. With only 11 75 minute (more or less) class meetings, it is difficult to present the material required in a science class to make coherent whole - possible, but it requires careful planning. There are couple things that figure into this. The classroom is not what you are used to at JMU. Yes, we have a computer there. It is a (slow) PC connected to a smart board. You can project your powerpoint onto the smart board but it is a bit small for the size of the room. The associated white board does not erase well and is also smaller than you really need for a science class. It is also a pain to erase since you must use the spray board cleaner every time or you just get a smear. However, these are minor hurdles easily dealt with. The aggravation really sets in since I use a Mac. Mac presentations don't always transport to PC's well, so I simply bring my laptop to class. It is easy to connect to the projector and do the lecture. The problem is that there is no wireless or available wired internet access. This means that if I want  video in class, I have to switch back to the PC and navigate to the video. Having embedded links in your presentation become unhelpful. Time is taken from your limited class time to make the switch. This means, for me at least, that using video's in class is too complicated. I have just assigned them to the students to watch out of class. If you are a PC user and using the provided PC works for you, then you're in good shape.

Starting this semester, Elizabeth and I have been provided with an iPhone. This is great but limited. Because it is new, there is some uncertainty about how much data usage we have. The 1 GB is spread over three phones making this uncertain. Experience here will sort this out. As a result, Elizabeth and I have turned off the data  on the program phones and use our personal phones on wifi instead. This allows us to have our email and web bookmarks all set up and ready to use. But it means I'm toting two phones all the time and this gets tedious. Not having a clear understanding of the data limits on the program phone means that we are restricted in setting up apps to help with navigation or finding interesting places or things.

I'm sure there is more I can add but it will have to go in a separate post.