Tales from the Steppes

2005-02-25

3:38 p.m.
Sunrise, sunrise. Looks like morning in your eyes.

I wish I could say my committee gave me a standing o after I presented my revised research plan. But I can't. Neither of them bothered to show up yesterday afternoon. Or email me. Grrrrr. Inconsiderate baboons.

I have accepted the fact that I am not graduating this spring. While my committee wants me to ignore the IRB requirement, I am not actually capable of doing that. While I am flexible on most things in life, this is certainly not one of them. There is no grey area. It is a simple equation. All research involving interaction with humans must go through the IRB. My research involves children. Children are human beings. Therefore I must go through the IRB. Nothing grey about it.

I find it intensely irritating that my professsors even suggested skirting this requirement. Do they think that I am going to start my career off with a major ethical blunder? Or perhaps they do not see it as such.

So this weekend will be spent making a model and writing up my changes so I can begin the process of applying to the IRB. The model should be fun though tedious. I will have to see if there are any parts that I can delegate out to the EM. She actually colored some squares in on my figure-ground last weekend. It allowed me to take a shower and not lose too much productivity. And she actually enjoyed it.

And this weekend is the MM's birthday so there is much to do to celebrate that. His party is on Sunday at the YMCA as I will not ever have that many little boys in my house. Ever, ever, ever! On Saturday, the SU is surprising him by taking him out to get a new bike. He wants a mountain bike so he can go out riding with me. We will have to see about that. I don't really have a problem with making choices that risk my bones but I am certainly not going to do that with him. Perhaps we will go out on some of the tamer trails.

Yeah, I know. Pretty lame.