Recent Comments

1. about 15 years ago on Calvin and Hobbes

   In response to Dino-1:

   I taught at an ivy league university for a number of years. The reason wild curves and grade inflation exist is a philosophy that giving bad grades hurts students self-esteem, independent of whether they deserve bad grades.

   The problem with this, is that it may be reasonable in kindergarten or first grade or second grade, but it has to stop somewhere. This philosophy already dominates the thinking at most 4-year universities. So, students graduate with an “A” or “B” average and discover they have no skills and no job.

   It is time for the parents and students demand a “C” weighted curve at all schools, so grades mean something. If all the schools change at once, it will be a level playing field. No one wants their school to go back to “C” being average when the other schools have “A-” as average.

   Sorry for the rant, back to the funnies.

2. about 15 years ago on Frog Applause

   The National Zoo (in Washington DC) imported some 18 of the black Canadian squirrels for their grounds in 1902 and 1906 (someone thought they were cool).

   The black squirrels managed to escape the grounds and breed with local squirrels, so the local squirrel population in and around DC has changed - I live about 20 miles north of the zoo and about half the squirrels here are shiny black.