Month: July 2009

Posted on

How some stumbleupon.com Cal Poly

the funniest things one STUMBLEupon.com
the funniest things one can STUMBLEupon.com

Stumbleupon.com is a great site for directing folks to interesting topics and sites that will inform, educate, enlighten or amuse. I think my posting of the apparent dissatisfaction John Madden has for Cal Poly’s President the vacuous Warren Baker is worth a laugh or two. I especially like the story of John Madden sending him a one way ticket to go back where he came from… funny.

Somehow, the ascended beings of the internet found my blog worthy of passing along and directed folks to read the on-going battle between John Madden & Cal Poly’s Warren Baker.

Here’s the original post. (Don’t forget to check out the link in the article by Karen Vale covering some of the reasons why John Madden is so justifiably unhappy.)

By the way, it seems that others have been noticing the growth of college administrations and the mysterious and varied university foundations of which Cal Poly is no stranger. Here are a couple of articles I found amusing…

CSU must pull back shroud of foundations

How to balance the budget without cuts

So what have we learned here? It doesn’t take an ax to reduce the budget… just the ability to look at any problem honestly, ask the hard questions, admit a mistake, change directions firmly…and move on.

Roger Freberg

Posted on

a better snack bar

aaaAbetterSnack

Almost everyone remembers making some sort of snack bars growing up. Either it was a ‘Rice Krispie treats’, Smoores or a more exotic fruit bar that made everyone smile. Remembering those days, we started thinking about making a better bar.

Many folks today enjoy a snack bar of some sort, but be careful to read the label as some contain ingredients which are not always the best for you in the long run. Personally, I like to avoid high fructose corn syrup which is appealing to many in that it is cheaper than regular cane sugar and 70% sweeter…. but it has drawn some serious questions. Now it is only a correlation, but obesity in America took off just about the same time as high fructose corn syrup became the mainstream sugar of choice for manufacturers. However, by making stuff yourself , you can avoid a lot of this ( although — admittedly — some items in this recipe contain questionable ingredients  … but I am working on substitutes for them as well).

Here is our high fiber, Bran and peanut butter snack bar recipe-in-progress!

I also want to keep the eventual snack portions about 130 calories each and add nuts and chocolate when I am done. I am even toying with a sweet Coffee snack… we’ll see where this adventure takes us!

Oh yes, it’s good!

Roger Freberg

Posted on

everyone needs a little corny in their lives

"everyone needs a little corny in their lives"
"everyone needs a little corny in their lives"

That’s a great line from  the movie ‘Holiday’ (2006) with Cameron Dias, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and my favorite funny guy Jack Black. Iris ( Kate Winslet) says,” I am looking for a little corny in my life.”

So as the critics try to tilt our entertainment back to the melancholy 1970’s of double digit inflation and no jobs… it’s fun to see a few movies that bring hope, aspiration, inspiration,and  romance back into our lives… even if it is a little corny at times and in the comics.

As the great American Psychologist & Philosopher William James said,

“Be not afraid of life.
Believe that life is
worth living, and
your belief will help
create the fact.”

Roger Freberg

Posted on

Nutty Apple Pie for my girls

00NuttyApplePie

I thought I’d throw this picture up for my three daughters who all love apple pie ala mode… but then — I guess — who doesn’t? This is actually  my favorite version of apple pie with a topping of glazed nuts ( easy to do yourself) plus sugar,butter, flour and some spices. I like to use Pine nuts and Pecans.

This ice cream is a bit unique in that its butterfat content is very high… which if you didn’t already know makes ice cream yummy… but also a bit challenging to make as it takes much longer to set up! Most French Vanilla Ice Cream recipes call for an extraordinary amount of egg yolks… and we like to make ours fairly traditional. We use  vanilla beans, and some folks like to also add a splash of brandy  …  I couldn’t resist using a few teaspoons of Amarula…. purely for medicinal reasons.

So, Kristin & Karen… this awaits you next time you find your way here. 🙂

Love,

dad

Posted on

is the state of California really serious about saving money?

00TransparencyAtCalPoly

I am sorry if I seem cynical, it isn’t my nature, but I am reading about the budget woes of Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo and from what I can see they have hired two more ‘administrators.’ Doesn’t sound like a problem to me… at least for administrators.

Cal Poly is not alone, the entire State University system has gone crazy in their pursuit of building little administrative empires. Forbes.com just published a fascinating article on what they call  “Bureaucratic U.”

Here are a couple of excerpts:

The ballooning of college administration has resulted in a sharp decline in labor productivity at colleges during a period of technological advancement that has improved productivity in most other industries. It has also occurred at a time when students are getting less for their money: Instruction has shifted from full-time professors to underpaid and overworked adjunct faculty. Three-fourths of new instructor jobs created over the past 20 years have been part-time positions. If the employment trends of the last decade are sustained, then administrative employees will outnumber instructors at four-year colleges by 2014.

Did you know that an academic dean at a doctoral institution receives a median salary of $190,000 (plus generous fringe benefits) or that the median salary of an assistant dean is above $116,000? The College & University Professional Association for Human Resources found that last year senior administrators recorded a third consecutive year of 4% pay increases and a twelfth consecutive year of pay increases above inflation. Nearly 10% of the 425,000 administrative and support staff employees at 272 research institutions earned a salary above $100,000 last year, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

So, did you know that all of the discussion has surrounded cutting faculty and nothing has been offered regarding administration reductions.

Oh yeah, I forgot… they hired more administrators at Cal Poly.

Roger Freberg