Where Is Eastchester?

I often mention Eastchester in posts, referring to a conversation with "a colleague in Eastchester" or showing an example from "a class I teach in Eastchester". But where is Eastchester? You won't find it on any map of the US Pacific Northwest. Eastchester is the home of fictional Cascadia College in Bernard Malamud's novel A New Life, … Continue reading Where Is Eastchester? →

Blog Delurking Week

I found out that this week, the first full week of January, is International Blog Delurking Week. Go ahead, Google it. This is a week where followers of a blog are asked to say "Hello" and comment on what they hope to see from the blog in the new year. Besides a GUI that does … Continue reading Blog Delurking Week →

OpenSees Twitter Bot

Twitter fascinates me. Not only because it's a platform where many academics disseminate the latest additions to their CVs, but also because it has an Application Programming Interface (API) through which you can automate all kinds of stuff. One cool thing I've come across is bots that automatically retweet and/or favorite tweets that contain specific … Continue reading OpenSees Twitter Bot →

Thankful for OpenSees

Thanksgiving is this week, which means campuses across the US will be pretty quiet. Monday through Wednesday should be a boon for faculty seeking "big blocks of time" to write. Let's hope they feel inspired. Come Thursday, we'll reflect on what we're thankful for. Family, friends, and health are perennial list toppers for me. In … Continue reading Thankful for OpenSees →

Gaming ResearchGate

I think ResearchGate is a good resource. It's in the mix with LinkedIn and Twitter on the spectrum of social networks for academics to disseminate their research. As an external reviewer for promotion and tenure cases, I have seen achievements from ResearchGate included in candidate dossiers. I find this dubious because it's quite easy to … Continue reading Gaming ResearchGate →

Coming Soon

Welcome to my blog! I will post on OpenSees and writing. I'm not an expert in these areas, but I know enough to be helpful. If you have any blog ideas, get in touch via the Contact page. If you are interested in receiving notifications, go ahead and follow this site.