WDAM at 6:00: MIDAS - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Jun 28, 2005

WDAM at 6:00: MIDAS

Date: Jun 28, 2005

So, half a million dollars is a sizeable sum? Could have sworn he thought it was pittance when he squandered it on today's other news.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

info wrote:

Thames: "So when, when you can be competitive enough to, uh, to have 8 or 10 people looking for the same dollar that you manage to get, then, then you can say I'm, I'm pretty good at what I do, I work hard at it, and that's why this is a great faculty, that's why we're so proud of them."

What the heck does this mean?? This doesn't make any sense. Anyone speack Gnome and can translate?

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Outside Observer wrote:

What the heck does this mean?? This doesn't make any sense. Anyone speack Gnome and can translate?

I can't translate into Gnome, Outside Observer, but another poster taught us how to translate into other languages through the Computerized Dialectizer. I have taken the liberty of arranging for one such translation for you:

Your Text, Dialectized (redneck)

So when,when yo' kin be competitive inough to, uh, t'have 8 o' 10 varmints lookin' fo' th' same dollar thet yo' manage t'git, then, then yo' kin say ah's, ah's purdy fine at whut ah do, ah wawk hard at it, an' thass whuffo' this hyar is a great faculty, thass whuffo' we is so proud of them, dawgone it.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

It isn't very competitive when the grant is from the military and connected to pork from Senator Lott.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

SATIRE ALERT
Those damn-lazy USM professors have it so good. First, they get paid for 12 months' work and don't actually work in the summer. Second, this group gets a half a million bucks as a bonus? That's $11,666 each, which is one-third of a lot of regular folks' annual pay.
END SATIRE ALERT

When will Thames learn that this is not the kind of thing you want to publicize when the climate is as it is in Hattiesburg?

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Citizen,

You used "Thames" and "learn" in the same sentence. Get real.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Rumor wrote:

It isn't very competitive when the grant is from the military and connected to pork from Senator Lott.

I resemble that remark!

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Citizen Hattiesburg wrote:

this is not the kind of thing you want to publicize when the climate is as it is in Hattiesburg?

A significant number of the citizens seem to believe that USM professors are lazy and slothful. Publicizing the MIDAS distribution could cause us to lose what little respect that remains.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Publicizing this event was never a good idea. Thames has about as much sophistication as a slab of concrete. USM will never recover from his rule.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

info wrote:

Reporter: "45 faculty and staff are being rewarded for their dedication to the university" $525,000 in MIDAS money distributed Thames: "So when, when you can be competitive enough to, uh, to have 8 or 10 people looking for the same dollar that you manage to get, then, then you can say I'm, I'm pretty good at what I do, I work hard at it, and that's why this is a great faculty, that's why we're so proud of them." [Sad-looking ceremony in the Admin. Building conference room. Recipients not smiling, looking embarrassed as they collect their checks. Audience not smiling except for one woman in the dozen pictured. Shelby smiling through it all.]

I was in the crowd and got a check. It was hot, and I keep thinking that I am just too swamped with with things to do (duh, SACS included) to make nice for the press. Half the recipients were elsewhere (smart), and no one appeared thrilled to be there (it would have been just as easy to stick the extra cash in my regular check). The conversation I had with some folks after was how miserable it was becoming trying to balance research and teaching with all the other demands placed on us because of insufficient numbers of faculty and staff, and the admin screw ups that have placed us all in the position of having to put in 200% effort to keep the place afloat. All USM faculty and staff out there deserved a bonus check today, not just the 44.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Just saw the WDAM report at 10pm on the MIDAS ceremony. info's earlier description was perfect, right on.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

So, those of you uncomfortable about getting a check. Think of the people who have helped you the most, grad student, secretary, etc. and give 'em a gift certificate in a meaningful amount to somewhere nice. A hundred bucks could be a godsend to a mom with young kids, a really great dinner could be just what the doctor ordered for a grad student -- you get the picture.

Date: Jun 29, 2005

MIDAS from HA

Date: Jun 29, 2005

Was DT among the recipients?

Date: Jun 29, 2005

DT - i believe she was a MIDAS recipient

Date: Jun 29, 2005

waltersboy wrote:

Publicizing this event was never a good idea.

You're right. It should have been muzzled. Or muffled. Just wait for the public outcry.

Date: Jul 1, 2005

When or how do we get all the names of the people who received them.

From Animal Farm:

"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."