February 04, 2005
Feline Friday
TB took these pictures of Amber last year. She really enjoyed batting her (then) new toy around!
Q1: Ten years from now, how do you think new or emerging technologies will impact the job you have today?
I used to be an interpreter for the Deaf. When I left the field, video interpreting was just being introduced ... in other words, an interpreter at a remote location could sign a meeting which would be televised to the Deaf clients. It works like video conferencing. I can see this kind of interpreting becoming wide spread, especially in hospitals. It might address the interpreting shortage ... or it might burn through a staff of interpreters at the home office--I mean, the interpreter agency. That part is hard to tell.
Q2: The University of Colorado-Boulder is considering whether to dismiss a tenured member of the faculty for remarks made three years ago in a post-9/11 essay in which he likened the people who died in the World Trade Center attacks to Nazi war criminals. From The Boulder Daily Camera's editorial page: "True to form, [Ward] Churchill is unrepentant, refusing to apologize for comparing stockbrokers to genocidal maniacs, refusing even to admit one clear aim of his rant: to suggest that capitalist cogs in the twin towers got what was justifiably coming to them. When his remarks finally detonated a statewide explosion of outrage, Churchill remained as internally inconsistent as ever: He claimed to "mourn the victims" of the Sept. 11 attacks even as he once again likened "technocrats of empire" to Nazi murderers." Based on the information before you, do you think Professor Churchill should be dismissed from his teaching position at the University?
Why wasn't he fired 3 years ago? Frankly, it seems dumb to do it now. The right time would have been when he made the remarks and then wouldn't apologize. Some could argue that the guy has freedom of speech and he does ... but the University could take the position that his views doesn't reflect theirs and are in conflict.
Q3: Weyco, a Michigan-based health benefits administration company, grabbed national headlines this week after it started firing employees who refused to take a smoking test. According to various media reports, seven employees have left the company rather than be tested for smoking tobacco, and the company now says that it will not hire anyone who smokes. Do you think employers should be allowed to fire people who smoke outside of the workplace, or not hire those who do?
That's a hard question for me to answer. I don't like the idea of Big Brother (or Big Boss) dictating what we can and can't do off the job. What's next? Drinking? Extra marital affairs? But ... on the other hand, smokers can cost the company a lot of money in terms of health care. So I'm taking the easy way out and saying, I don't know.
Q4: Which team will you root for in this weekend's Super Bowl? If you could care less about the game, will you at least tune in to watch the commercials? If not, what do you plan on doing while the game's being played?
I will probably be online when the game is on. I'm not watching the commercials! I'm not interested in watching the game although I hope the Eagles win just because they are the local favorite.
1. Would you say you have a good memory?
Most of the time I do. Sometimes I'll try to think of a specific name or an item and it dances around the tip of my tongue. It's very frustrating when I can't remember!
2. Have you ever taken an iq test?
Yes, everyone used to take them when I was a kid in school. Now the IQ tests aren't given to entire classes anymore.
3. Were/are you happy with your grades in school?
Yes, I didn't fail any classes!
Posted by Cassie at February 4, 2005 09:30 PM