Academic Character

We had fun going to university. It was a huge struggle with small children and limited resources, but we were also doing what we wanted to do and studying things we enjoyed. So I can't leave this time without a small tribute to the professors we had.

We had a mutual favorite - a medieval history professor we both took. In Kirk's final semester we both signed up for his class and arranged that only I should actually attend (I take copious notes unlike the illegible three lines of miniscule scratching Kirk produced) just so we could get in as many classes with this guy as possible. He was viewed with a certain awe by the rest of the history department. There was a story going around that soon after he was hired on, a colleague spotted him avidly reading in the library - rapidly turning the pages and completely engrossed. He came up behind to see what book could be so enticing, to find this prof speeding happily through a medieval latin text.

He would show up for class each day in a rumpled collared shirt with the tails coming out, hair everywhich way, and a Mr. Rogers zip-up cardigan. This last he would carefully remove, and neatly fold over the back of his desk chair. Once he looked up and gave us a charming smile 'I have to do this for my wife; she likes me to be tidy.' His finals were a grueling marathon, completely exhausting but exhilarating. I learned enormous amounts from him, and will always admire him. To me he embodies acadmic integrity.

But every campus has a character as well, and ours was the Classical history professor. This is the guy who wore a sumo-wrestler's wrap (for reference see here, but be warned it is not for the faint of heart) to jog in - he weighed about 150lb soaking wet with boots on - and was arrested for indecent exposure. He successfully argued that he was wearing recognized athletic gear, and was actually given a letter of apology from the police chief which he proudly carried around. He had to give up the practice though; he kept getting beaten up.

My favorite story was told by his wife, my latin teacher. They loved to play croquet and had set up a croquet lawn in their front yard. Somewhere they had learned that Leon Trotsky was also an avid croquet player, and the thought of this rabid revolutionist playing a staid, Victorian lawn game tickled them so much they put up a large sign: Leon Trotsky Memorial Croquet Lawn.

On July 4th, because he is this guy, they were flying a large British flag on their porch. A truck came to a screetching halt, disgorged an irate driver who stormed up to the porch, ripped down the flag, and threw it on the lawn. The guy was large, and clearly drunk, so they decided to be discreet and just took down his license plate number. The next day they managed to track the man down and knocked on his apartment door. As soon as he saw who it was, he burst out - 'Oh man, I'm so glad you found me. I'm so sorry about that; I was drunk and it just made me mad you know? I wanted to call you and everything and make it right. I tried to look you up and apologize, but I couldn't find Leon Trotsky in the phone book.'

We Breed 'Em Weird in My Home Town

I suppose everyone has to have a hobby, but this guy seems to have chosen an inconvenient one. He's been identified now, and is a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now, once could be accident, twice looks very like carelessness: Francisco Martin Duran.

Why should I care? Well, I went to school with Frankie Duran who was one of the three most popular kids in the class (Along with James and Nini). I, however, was a glasses wearing, gifted-program attending, violin playing kid who had skipped a grade and was a year younger than everyone else in the class. Frankie informed me daily that I was ugly, fugly really, and I remained convinced of my hideousness for the next 8 years. Yup, I based my self esteem on the opinion of a nine year old who went on to shoot at the outside wall of the White House.

The day the Frankie Duran story hit the news I spent a happy 15 minutes walking in and out of doors because I was not only NOT ugly, I wasn't incarcerated.

Marketing 121

I pass a man on my way to work every morning who makes me think of a basic Marketing project:

Case: A public-spirited, deeply committed man with a moral message has spent two years on the same street corner conducting a protest. His promotion materials consist of a) chalk and b) one poster-board sign. Assume that traffic past his post is 5,000 cars per day, containing an average of 1.5 people, 700 pedestrians.

1. Calculate what percentage of his daily audience pass his corner every day as part of their commute.
a) Subtract the daily commuters from the average daily audience
b) analyze typical traffic patterns to determine how many new consumers will pass after a week, after a month, after three months, after six months, after a year. Graph these results and discuss in no less than one full paragraph. For extra credit, produce a credible analysis of the key audience numbers ie how many consumers already agree with the message, how many disagree and are unlikely to change based on a road-side protest, how many will not notice the protest, how many will change but do nothing, how many will change and become actively involved in the issue.

2. Analyze promotion materials
a) what is his message
i) what is the overt marketing statement
ii) what is his core message, what is he trying to get consumers to do
b) how successful are his materials
i) are the materials clearly and effectively displayed
ii) is the message effectively presented via text and image

3. Estimate and plot the returns on his message over time. Graph should clearly show key consumer response.

4. Produce a complete marketing plan for this client, including branding.

Being cynical, it also inspires a simple word problem:

A man has been protesting by the side of a road for eight hours a day, five days a week, for two years. Assuming that a volunteer at Habitat for Humanity can install a sink in two hours, how many sinks...