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Dear Readers,
Uncle Ezra is on vacation for the Summer. The questions below
were received earlier in the year. See "About Uncle Ezra" on the
main Uncle Ezra menu for details.
Dear Uncle Ezra,
I have a friend at home who is having a lot of problems
academically. She's majoring in Engineering not for love of the
subject, but rather to get a good high paying job when she graduates.
She has a lot of friends back there and is enjoying a relatively good
social life. But I really fear for her post-graduate future. I think
she honestly tries: she goes to her T.A.'s office hours, goes to
therary everyday, and gets together with a lot of her friends to do
homework. Despite all this, she still has been getting a lot of bad
grades. From my experience here at Cornell, I've learned a lot about
how to study, learn the material well, and keep procrastination down
to a minimum--although it took a lot of hard work and pain in doing
so!! She knows that there's some kind of problem (she's even joked
about working "my psychology" on her through e-mail), but I think she
isn't motivated enough to undergo the discomfort and stress that
working out of her rut entails.
I really wish I could help her. Do you have any "tid-bits" on
how to get motivated to study something you really don't like so I can
pass it on to her? I really care for her a lot and wish I could offer
something more than my own jokes (we enjoy a very fun, joking
friendship) and my own advice from my own experiences and limited
psychology backround.
Thanks, Funny from afar
Dear Funny from Afar, Humor and insight from your own experience are a great start,
espcially since it's not clear whether your friend WANTS to change.
Until she does, nothing you say will sway her. The best you can do is
listen to her without judging so that she can let any conflicts in her
own thoughts and feelings come to the surface. As you say, she'll
change only when her discomfort with her current direction outweighs
her reservations about trying a different tack.
If at some point she expresses a need to get out of her rut, you
can begin by helping her sort out the nature of the problem. Your
letter leaves open two possibilities:
1) That she's committed to Engineering and that, through
motivational strategies like setting specific goals and prioritizing
her work, she can improve her grades; or,
2) That her heart isn't in Engineering, and no matter how many
motivation techniques she employs, she'll still flounder until she
finds a field more suited to her.
If your conversations lead you to believe that she simply needs
motivation skills (a la #1), you can look back through past "Dear Uncle Ezra - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Question 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
dear UE,
im not a student at cornell, but i really enjoy your correspondence
with other people in the cornell community...i only wish that we had
something like this in my own university..just a couple of questions
im really curious to know the answer to: are you a faculty member at
cornell and answer letters in your free time, or is this more like a
full time job? also, how long have you been answering letters as
"uncle ezra"? your answer to these questions would be greatly
appreciated--keep up the good work!
*THE BEAST*
THANKS!
Dear The Beast, Somehow calling you "Dear Beast" doesn't sound quite right! ;-)
Thanks for taking the time to let me know you enjoy the column...it's
a pleasure to hear that people from beyond Cornell benefit from it.
Writing "Dear Uncle Ezra" -- which I've been doing for over five years
-- is my full job at Cornell, and it takes roughly 25 hours a week. Uncle Ezra - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Question 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DUE,
This may seem like a silly question, but ever since it popped into
my head it has been driving me and my husband nuts. Why are most
barns red? Or does it just seem that way? And why red - why not
white or blue?
Thanks
Wondering
Dear Wondering, Not silly at all...in fact, your question received a prominent
place in David Feldman's WHEN DO FISH SLEEP: AND OTHER IMPONDERABLES
OF EVERYDAY LIFE (HarperPerennial). Feldman cites several theories,
one of which seem most plausible to him. He quotes an "Imponderables"
reader, Kemper "K.C." Stone in Sacramento, California, as being right
on target: "The fact is that red pigment is cheap and readily
available from natural sources. Iron oxide -- rust -- is what makes
brick clay the color that it is. That's the shade of red that we
westerners are accustomed to -- the rusty red we use to stain our
redwood decks. It's obviously fairly stable too, since rust can't
rust and ain't likely to fade." Kemper also speculates that white
"was unacceptable to farmers because it required constant cleaning and
touching up to retain its charm."
Shari Hiller, a color specialist at the Sherwin-Williams paint
company, embellishes on this red-barn theory: "You may have noticed
that older barns are the true 'barn red.' It is a very earthy
brownish-red color. Unlike some of the more vibrant reds of today
that are chosen for their decorative value, true barn red was selected
for cost and protection. When a barn was built, it was built to
last. The time and expense of it was monumental to a farmer. This
huge wooden structure needed to be protected as economically as
possible. The least expensive paint pigments were those that came
from the earth."
If you want the full scoop, Feldman's books are gold mines of
curiousity questions and answers. And if you can't find an answer to
your question in one of his books, he invites you to write to him at: Imponderables
Box 24815
Los Angeles, CA 90024
So don't go nuts over any more questions. Ask! Uncle Ezra - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Question 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dear Uncle Ezra,
Why do all radio stations in the US have call letters beginning
with either "K" or "W" ?
-Mike
Dear Mike, A friend of mine at a local radio station says that the Federal
Communications Commission simply requires every broadcast license
holder to be identified by a series of letters (and sometimes
numbers). This is true of AM and FM stations, as well as amateur
("ham") operators. The choice of W (east of the Mississipi River) and
K (west of the Mississippi) as the first letters was more or less
arbitrary, as was the choice of N2 as the current ham prefix. Uncle Ezra - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Question 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dear Uncle Ezra,
I will be renting a townhouse with two other students next year. In
order to keep the heating bills down, we will be using the
wood-burning stove that is in the unit. (This is a common practice of
the tenants...the stovepipes are cleaned twice a year. It is safe.)
The question I have for you is where in the Ithaca area would we get
firewood? I presently live outside of Ithaca and I figured that the
easiest way for me to get this info, short of actually going to
Ithaca, would be to contact you over the internet. So, if you could
get me phone numbers of local wood sellers, I would really appreciate
it!
Thanks!
Future Fire Builder
Dear Future Fire Builder, A wood-burning stove is a wonderful way to enjoy a cozy home and
reduce your electric or gas bills at the same time. My friends who
have heated their houses or trailers with wood stoves tell me that the
best approach is to see who's selling wood each winter; you'll find
that individuals, rather than large companies, are in this business.
Most are happy to provide you with whatever quantity of wood you
need.
These woodsfolks typically leave cards or flyers with some of the
chimney-sweep businesses in town, to take advantage of their mutual
"customer base". So when you get to Ithaca you can try stopping by or
calling the business listed under "Chimney Cleaning" or "Fireplaces"
in the Yellow Pages, or you can look in the ITHACA JOURNAL want ads
under "Energy Savers". Enjoy your fireside! Uncle Ezra |
