PITA Professor General Reflections

Identity Theft December 31, 2017 I can’t wait for 2017 to end for many reasons.  A very large number of W-2s were stolen in February or March from our University (or the company that handles the W-2s).  The only good thing about it is the University recognized the problem quickly and alerted the IRS (or this is what the IRS told me).  The other item is apparently because I have other income from other sources that have been claimed nearly yearly for over 10 years, this plus the University’s actions flagged my return.  The IRS person who helped me said the thief got pretty close with respect to matching the return to my normal returns in the past.    So we have learned in 2017 that despite trying to be careful with your data as well as passwords and other items, someone else’s failure can completely mess you up.  I do not have any good answers to this.  I am troubled that my entire W-2 was stolen including all the SSN information, my birthdate, my address, etc.  This is usefu

Reading, Part 1 of many.  Started December 17, 2017 Finished December 27, 2017 Years ago I was driving with a friend by the Fayetteville Public Library and cynically remarked that it’s all the library’s fault that I am where I am today.  My mother took us to the library on a regular basis.  That she did this was actually quite interesting as her eldest sister actually died in a car/train accident in a Cincinnati Public Library bookmobile that apparently stalled on an active train track.  My aunt (mother’s sister) is also an avid library supporter who wonders why I buy books for myself rather than going to the library.  Probably the reason I buy these books is that either the library doesn’t have them or I am just a slow reader sometimes.  I am not an expert on reading, but there is no doubt that various aspects of reading are good for one’s health and well-being.  Most people who read a lot are quite successful.  Many studies have shown that young kids do better in sch

A tale of living in two capitals - Stockholm vs. Washington, Part 1, travel.  December 26, 2017 As promised, I am still writing up my thoughts about living and working in Washington, DC.  While living there, I was often thinking about comparisons to another capital city that I lived in - Stockholm, Sweden (fall 1994-spring 1995).  These are of course two very different capital cities.  First, Stockholm has roughly 1 million residents or so in the surrounding area.  Washington, DC has roughly 6 million.  However, they are also somewhat similar with traffic problems.  I remember that while living in Stockholm they wanted to severely tax people when they drove into the city.  Meanwhile, in DC, we just heard a few days ago that the toll on I believe, I-66, went up to $40 per car for a few miles stretch.  DC is the only place that I have ever lived where there is always a traffic report on each day of the weekend.   When I lived in Stockholm, the cars/wagons on the Tunnelbanna

December 25, 2017 A few thoughts about working at the FDA I promised I would write about my experiences at the FDA.   While I am waiting on my gluten free rolls that seem to have a potential to be a failure, I figured now is a good time to write about it.  The FDA is a large organization so I am sure others have different views and experiences.  It reminds me of when I was a co-op at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, NY and people would ask if I knew someone who worked there.  Well, there were 50,000 people who were employed at Kodak in 1989 so the chances that I knew that person were low.  Plus, there are many different divisions at the FDA and they all have very different management and internal missions.  Everyone I directly worked with at FDA was a dedicated/career government employee.  They worked hard.  My supervisor/sponsor, Steve Wood was on site usually 10-11 hrs a day and on weekends.  I worry about him sometimes.  He was encyclopedic with his knowledge of FDA and

It's Christmas and I wanted to make decent rolls for this afternoon's dinner at my house for friends.  While I have several gluten free cookbooks, the rolls just never turn out right.  The bread does fine, but not the rolls.  So, I tried a new recipe that I found on the internet this morning.  I figured oat rolls might work out ok since oat flour is commonly used for pancakes as a substitute for flour.   I also luckily had lots of psyllium husk on hand because you need this for gluten free bread.  So I knew this has a potential for grave failure when the combination of liquid and psyllium powder did not clump up like claimed in the recipe.  The good thing is that I've cooked enough that I know coconut flour can also soak up water.   I'm waiting to see how that is working while I write this.   It takes a bit for it to get wetted (must be a Chapter 13 intermolecular forces problem... not sure).  Anyway, hoping I did not ruin my attempt at rolls this morning.  I refuse to

The 5:2 diet (or how to get rid of pounds gained from being in DC and free food/drinks at hotel at night)  December 16, 2017 I’m writing this while doing some of my favorite things like making some soup for lunches this coming week.  From about Thanksgiving to New Years I think I seem to eat all things “orange.”  I have lots of recipes.  But, we will save the “all things orange” blog for another day. The FDA sits in a spot far away from any hotels.  The nearest ones are in Silver Spring the end of the Red Line (or maybe Glenmont is the end, nevertheless is it way out).  This is about 5 miles away.  I was going to stay at the Hilton Homewood Suites there, but it was more expensive than the one I actually used and they were going to charge me an additional $20/day to park my car.  So, I stayed on the other end of the Red Line at Shady Grove.  An FDA shuttle ran a few times a day to/from Shady Grove Metro directly to the FDA.  I would catch a bus in the morning to the sta