And what a rich tapestry of doggos & puppers it is.
Stupid dogs! This is the puppy my wife bought, right after he decided to eat some of the Jupiter's Beard out of our yard.
I blame LB if my son flunks his finals tomorrow and Friday. Not my fault I sent the link.
Contrary to the beliefs of obsessive dog fanciers, most dogs are thicker than pigshit (which they will roll in given half a chance), but gswift's wife's puppy is extremely cute nevertheless.
Indeed. Like everyone else who's mentioned it, I give gswift three or four months until that's his dog, not just his wife's, and an absolutely indispensable outdoor companion. I could be wrong; maybe gswift can hold out against that kind of cuteness. But I doubt it.
That pup's got "gswift's inseparable canine buddy" written all over it's cute as a button face.
I expected Utah to look much bleaker.
I love this link!
My son and his dog have moved back in with me.
I had forgotten how much I enjoy having a dog. Sharing a dog is even better than having all of the responsibility of a dog. I wouldn't have the time to have a dog by myself.
I can barely remember what life was like before we got our dog. No person will ever love you as completely and unconditionally as your dog will. God knows, your kids won't.
Gswift's dog is practically ensuing K9 hijinks already. Sorry, gswift, you're done with the adventure stage of life and onto family comedies.
I don't know if it's fair based on this case: that is clearly the dog equivalent of a toddler and if we're going to assess people's intelligence based on things they put in their mouths when they were toddlers I.. uh... am a genius and never did something gross, weird or dumb. Also that puppy is not only ridiculously cute, but also clearly going to grow up into a very pretty dog.
Lee's dog stayed with me, though recently she's talked about giving her to a friend instead. I am still not a dog person and definitely am more grateful for the new cats, but the dog is also quite dear to me and much more so now that I don't have to defer to Lee on anything.
Dogs are the worst and I hope never to be burdened with one, but the twitter feed is cute.
AIMHBMYA our dog is the only thing that that 3 humans in my household can ever agree about, and that is more true than ever.
Or you just all agree that the dog is a dog.
You should probably submit a photo just to verify.
Thank god somebody said 17 so I don't have to be the asshole. I always feel a little guilty about expressing my distaste for dogs because lots of people view not loving dogs as a major personality defect. Then they go let some animal that routinely eats excrement lick their face. But I'm the weird one.
Cats rule, dogs drool.
If you've ever watched a dog eat excrement, you know that it can't really be "routine" given how happy the dog is.
You should probably submit a photo just to verify.
But it might disturb Peep's domestic peace if he posts a picture and we all agree it's a wolverine.
I've wanted a dog all my life, and one of the promises I made to the boys to reconcile them to moving to the UK was that we would get a puppy at the first opportunity. But it's been hard enough to find a rented house that will even accept our cat (oh, the number of times I've wondered why on earth we brought him over with us from Japan, particularly when he's peed on the bed *again*).
Dogs are like children: ideally someone else's to manage.
I'm sad that it's clearly unworkable for a single person who works outside the home and lives in an apartment to have a dog (unless I had the money for an exorbitant dog-walking habit, which I don't). Getting divorced really shuts down the chance that I'll get a dog again in the foreseeable future.
I suppose, at whatever future time I manage to get together the initiative to turn this back into a hapless middle-aged dating blog, I could screen prospects on the basis of whether they owned appealing dogs.
28: I'm back on the dating scene again. We could commiserate. I use "must love dogs" as to filter out prospective partners, though.
You guys can't just date each other because that's too Ann Althouse-y.
Mmm. I'm still wobbling back and forth rapidly between "Dating, in so far as it's compatible with being properly attentive to what the kids need over the next three years (until they're both in college) sounds fun! I haven't had a lot of fun lately!" and "Wait a second, I generally hate people. This isn't going to go well."
But Buck hasn't even moved down South yet -- he's still staying in his office in our building. So I'm going to put off seriously contemplating it until he's actually gone.
too Ann Althouse-y.
Them's fighting words. Although what was it Ogged called her? A bitter crone? I kind of like the 'crone' descriptor.
30: Are you paying any attention, Moby? togolosh can't date LB because he hates dogs, and she's seeking a guy with an appealing dog.
I think it's pretty clear I'm not paying attention to much at all.
31: I don't see why hating people means you can't have fun dating. It just means that both you and the other person you are dating can't have fun. That's not the same at all.
34: As long as you're not neglecting the blog for work, I guess you're ok.
35: The fun part is that we get to read about it here, right?
35: I hadn't actually thought of that. This has potential.
I guess it's true that women aren't good a logic.
Men, of course, type and spell badly.
But it might disturb Peep's domestic peace if he posts a picture and we all agree it's a wolverine.
"You people are living in a fool's paradise."
at whatever future time I manage to get together the initiative to turn this back into a hapless middle-aged dating blog, I could screen prospects on the basis of whether they owned appealing dogs.
MARTIN: Anyway, I don't want all the weight of expectations. I just want to find a nice natural low stakes way to meet people.
CAROLYN: I find walking the dog works rather well. ...Oh, hello! I've finally found the flight deck mute button, have I? Any particular reason it should be so surprising that I might be interested in meeting someone too?
MARTIN: No, not at all.
DOUGLAS: No, of course not.
CAROLYN: As I say, I can wholly recommend having a dog around. Anyone with a dog is allowed to talk to anyone else with a dog. It's like a secret loophole for allowing the English to talk to strangers.
39, 40: This is why men will always be the attorneys and women will always be the secretaries.
Cabin Pressure is a rich, fruitful source of relationship advice, definitely. I still have to locate the last episode and listen to it.
If you get two dogs, they run around and tire each other out and have companionship, so you can be more neglectful. With 4+ dogs in the apartment you don't have to do anything at all other than occasionally drop raw meat on the floor.
You never know what will happen when you start talking to another dog-walker. Thant M/yint-U mentions an unassuming young English woman called Mabel who married a nice young foreign student she met while they were both walking their dogs on Parker's Piece in the 1950s, only to find herself being crowned the "great goddess" of the Shan state of Mongmit a few years later when his father died.
You might not care about them pissing on the floor, but New Yorkers are funny that way.
I honestly couldn't give two shits about our two cats. Had them for over a decade and they are just slightly more interactive than throw pillows. Most of that interaction involves trying to walk under nay feet on the stairs. I can't imagine missing them whenever they finally die.
You can just open the apartment door when you get home and the dog 4-pack will happily mark territory in the hallway and take care of their pooping their, and return when they feel like it.*
*pre-increased gentrification, this is for real how my neighbors would walk their pit bull. Just open the door and let the pit bull roam around for a while on the streets until the pit bull walked back in through the open door.
Back on the OP, want to be sure you all see his best work.
Cannot believe that crucial wisdom was marred by a there/their error.
Yeah, I kind of love our cats, but they are less like pets and more like decorative objects that happen to be total assholes.
But it might disturb Peep's domestic peace if he posts a picture and we all agree it's a wolverine.
Well, we know it's not an elephant.
Cats are variable that way. I like cats generally, but some have interactive personalities, and some just sort of don't, or not personalities that are perceptible to humans in the household.
I think I reached my technological limit when I figured out how to do italics in comments here .
57 was me explaining why none of you will ever get to see a picture of our beloved Izzie.
I read that cat shit causes depression, so I'm just going to stay away.
Topically applied, I'm sure it does.
59: You can get toxoplasmosis from cat shit. The cool thing about toxoplasmosis is that it causes behavioral changes. In mice it makes them more adventurous and therefore more likely to get eaten by a cat, infecting the cat, which can then pass the parasite on to whomever. In humans early exposure is correlated with later development of schizophrenia, and there is evidence that it makes men more aggressive and women more promiscuous.
56
Yes. We've had three cats and two (now deceased) fit the "furry throw pillow" description, but the remaining one is very interactive and not at all an asshole, aside from the occasional gift of a used mouse.
22 (belatedly)
You've never actually watched a cat closely when it's licking itself, I take it?
Also everyone in Europe has it and that's why they cross the street in risky ways.
The stray cat situation continues to get more and more out of control. I counted 8 on the deck Saturday morning. I keep hoping a coyote will show up but not yet. Is there some kind of bird of prey that eats cats? The local red tailed hawks are clearly not up for the job but maybe some kind of eagle?
You need to get the kind of red tailed hawks that hunt in packs.
Harris's Hawks hunt in packs and have adapted to southern Arizona, if not L.A.; they're also used in falconry, although I don't know if you can be falconeer for a pack of them, can you, Tigre?
More seriously, any neuter/release option where you are? (Not that I'm "not serious" about the managed hawk army/air force.)
64: I would be VSOOBC to bring it up, and it would just make people sad, but yes, there's evidence that eagles will do the trick.
I may have already said this but I'm under pressure from the girls to date because apparently I seem lonely. Though it was Mara who said that and Nia's immediate response was "How could she be lonely with us around all the time?" They're both right, but it has no impact on my dating prospects.
I am oddly shy feeling about mentioning to the kids that I might start dating sometime. I mean, I can't imagine they'd object, but it seems weird. On the other hand, by the time I get around to it, they'll have had quite a while to adjust to the fact of their father's new relationship, so it's not as if I'll be breaking new ground.
64: I don't know about relationships, but I'm fairly certain that a huge lot of stray cats means either somebody is feeding the cats or you have a huge rodent problem. And, IIRC, you've had a huge rodent problem in the past.
Since mine are for various reasons thinking I should find them a dad (though I did explain the difference between my dating and finding a co-parent, Christ!) they haven't noticed that I'm dating the new female friend they've spent some time with over the last few months. I should still probably break up with her but it wouldn't really change our relationship and so doesn't seem worth it. I made a friend, at least!
Shouldn't the stray cats solve the rodent problem over time?
If the rodents have a source of food, you'll get a stable equilibrium between cats and rats, but you'll have a lot of cats still.
At which point the only solution is Dunderbeck's Machine. (Did everyone else grow up singing that?)
This may not be the version I grew up with -- no speakers on my work computer -- but something like this.
I can see what that would come to mind.
I don't have sound either. I just saw the words.
I mean, I do have sound, but I'd have to stand up to put the headphones into the jack.
I haven't seen any rats since the stray cat explosion but they could be somewhere. Our neighbors were feeding the cats for a while which is how the problem started but unless they're doing secret feedings they've stopped. So who knows where the strays get their food. I have seen a bunch of dead birds.
We've tried trap neuter release (by "we" I mean my wife, I'm not doing that shit) but there are so many cats that you can't get all of them and so it turns out to be pretty useless. I keep thinking about a flamethrower but that's my solution to everything, not just stray cats.
She's spending her own money to cut the balls off wild cats? Just be sure she doesn't come to enjoy it.
The answer to the cat problem is a medium-ish sized terrier. They were bred specifically to keep places clean of vermin, so one large enough for the cats would still go after the rats as well. Pretty soon everything would be better and you'd have a dog to boot.
My dad said the terrier-mixes they had on the farm killed far, far more rats than the cats. The cats were hunting for food and would only kill what they could eat. The dogs killed for sport/approval.
they'll have had quite a while to adjust to the fact of their father's new relationship
You hadn't mentioned that before. What perfidy!
Not telling is things isn't perfidious at all.
The solution to Tigre's problem is to call the #1 enemy of cats, Jonathan Franzen. However, I'm sure that will result in other unfortunate and unforeseeable complications.
Depending on the size of the cats and the relative ferocity of the dog (you would need to ask the shelter*) you could probably get away with dachsund. They look small and adorable but they're also pure killing machines and the stubby legs make them look a lot smaller and less powerful than they actually are. Also when people start to catch on that something is preying on the neighborhood feral cat population they won't suspect you the way they would if you got a pit bull.
*Probably don't bring up feral cats, though. Raccoons or something are similar sized.
There's a big raccoon that keeps scattering our trash.
The small terrier is how the neighbors on the other side (not the cat feeding ones) keep the cats out of their yard and safely contained in ours. I'd love a dog but apparently "don't do the work" and "obviously will never do the work" and "I am not taking care of a dog for you," so there we are.
68 Your kids are adorable, Thorn.
My neighbor loves to feed stray cats, with the result that there are literally dozens of cats hanging around on the block at any one time. I actually kind of like cats, one at a time at least, but in these quantities they're just vermin. Sometimes there are a bunch of them in the street and you have to drive slowly and honk your horn to avoid squishing them under your tires. Also, they're constantly shitting my yard.
I could talk to my neighbor about it, but she's pretty dotty and I doubt she'd take it well. (Shortly after I moved in to the house, she tearfully confronted me about the fact that I had turned on the ventilation fan in the bathroom, which may or may not have crushed the eggs of birds that like to nest in the vent. I don't believe there were any eggs in there, but I taped up the vent to avoid future confrontation. She later expressed disappointment that I had done this rather than ceding ownership of the vent to birds.) She's really nice and all but I doubt that she would agree to stop feeding the cats and also I can't handle that level of emotional confrontation.
If the rodents have a source of food, you'll get a stable equilibrium between cats and rats, but you'll have a lot of cats still.
Otherwise known as the old cat and rat farm.
No person will ever love you as completely and unconditionally as your dog will. God knows, your kids won't.
It's vaguely embarrassing how goddamn excited my dog is to see me when I come home. Every. Single. Day. I try to tell her "relax, I'm not that special..." but she just says (in doggie language) "YES YOU ARE! YES YOU ARE! YES YOU ARE!"
93.2: So how do you vent your bathroom?
I taped a nylon mesh over the vent opening, so the fan is still usable but the (possibly fictional) birds can't get inside. There's also a small window in the bathroom. Maybe the whole thing was a scheme to make me use the window instead of the vent fan so she could peep me in the shower.
95: I have the same conversation with Izzie every day when I come home, expect she tells me, "I know, but I love you anyway."
100: except for expect. See, she's smart.
early exposure is correlated with later development of schizophrenia,
Definitely true. However, seroprevalence of toxo in the US is declining pretty rapidly-- most people in the past had been exposed via farm animals. Incidence of schizophrenia is not declining. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19433092
93 Birds carry bird mites. Get rid of the birds.
FWIW I'm definitely a cat person and not at all a dog person. I would love to have a cat again but I travel too much and I'm also worried about finding it a new home if I had to leave the country.
Aren't dogs like anti-Halal or something anyway?
Also the birds are probably starlings. So it's okay to kill them.
Working dogs are ok to own according to a number of schools of Islamic law but I'm not up on that anymore.
I thought that Jews could have dogs as pets but couldn't eat them and that it was the other way around or neither for Muslims.
I understand that if the terriers get out of hand, the next phase is to bring in elephants to intimidate the dogs. (relevant link in url)
The impurity of dogs is the greatest of animal impurities. The impurity of a dog can only be removed by washing seven times, one of which should be with earth. Even pigs, which the Qur'aan states are haraam and describes as an abomination (rijs) are not naajis (impure) to such an extent
Per the link in 107, as I recall the point of that book was that it was futile to attempt to improve the material conditions of life as you would simply end up making things worse until you had to return to the status quo ante; seems like a sound moral for a children's book.
Now I'm hungry and the Arby's is 20 minutes away.
I guess I could take the bus or get an Uber. I'm not required to walk.
I am oddly shy feeling about mentioning to the kids that I might start dating sometime.
They have probably figured that out already.
I saw a headline in the sports section that they are rounding up all the outdoor couches in Pittsburgh.
108: This was an interesting issue when I looked into it. There's a lot of hadiths that are very hostile to dogs and talk about Muhammad ordering them killed except where used for hunting and farming purposes. But I'm not clear there's much or anything in that vein in the Quran itself. Wonder if it's another example of Arab cultural traditions being insinuated in as religious.
(One verse explicitly says it's not haram to eat food a hunting dog has had in its mouth, which sounds like it's in a context of such traditions being pervasive.)
Because of fears that their only natural predator, the drunken hockey fan, is going to be attracted in too large of numbers.
115: If your hunting dog bring back a bird by shoving it up his butt, you need a different dog.
116: Also drunken college football fans, as I think you should know.
That's an endangered species here.
When the Steelers won the Super Bowl, in addition to the couches, a bus shelter and a bunch of window in the library died.
108, 115 Just because something is found in a hadith, even one in a compilation as well regarded and canonical as that of Bukhari, doesn't make it a definitive ruling in Islamic law. There are a lot of other things that come into play, and the schools differ in both manner of interpretation and actual rulings.
I could never trust an animal that jumped up and said it loved me. Bad judgement and bad impulse control. At least when a cat responds to you, you know it means it. Admittedly, Ume's cat responds to me mostly by going to sleep on me when I am trying to type, but I know this is not done for any motives other than affection.
113: I wouldn't bet on it. The boyfriend was pretty shocked when his mom wanted to introduce her new fiance 2 years after his father's sudden death. This past weekend, I realized it's completely plausible that my father is dating while my mother is lingering in a memory care facility. It's fine, of course, but still a bit jarring even as a theoretical.
Because we have a child, I've taken the usual precaution. My son's room has a hidden holographic projector that will, if a code isn't entered into at least once a year, project an image of myself saying "Avenge Me."
You know, I happen to have a very appealing dog.
The only thing you can do is just dive in and confront your fears. I suggest taking the kids along for the boudoir photography session you'll do to set up your online dating profile.
At one point in a period of marital, uh, tension, our 12-year-old son asked my wife if we got divorced would she marry someone who has kids, so that he could have a brother or sister.
It apparently didn't occur to him to raise the question with me.
125: And you also generally hate people, right?
125: Me too! She's also almost completely silent.
130: Well, I think we have a perfect match.
dating Save yourself the hassle of writing your own tinder profile by crowdsourcing it here.
"Legal mind on the prowl for a partner in crime"
http://www.unfogged.com/archives/comments_4914.html#339327
125: I'm not seeing any photographic evidence of that, am I?
Not even enough evidence to meet the Not-a-T-Rex standard.
No person will ever love you as completely and unconditionally as your dog will
I always say, because I'm repetitive: a cat or dog is the one uncomplicated relationship you ever get to have.
Also gswift's puppy is adorbs. I don't always say that but I might start.
My resistance to the dog is strong. But he at least is quiet, supposedly a common trait in heelers. But I also read the breed origins are as a cross with dingos, so maybe not the dog for a household with a baby.
If the dingo only eats part of your baby, at least you'll probably not have to go to prison.
In re: something else somewhere in the thread, I just read some clickbait about the 22 Drunkest Towns in America and they were almost all in Wisconsin. And New Orleans wasn't on there. And I question their research.
On topic because of utility: Not bathing saves time.
139: Ann Althouse is in Wisconsin. And Scott Walker.
Tatsu, then 12, freaked out completely when he first found out I was looking at online dating sites, to the point of refusing to go to school and threatening to throw himself down the stairs or jump out of the window. From his experience with his father, "parent acquires new partner" was equivalent to "parent leaves and breaks off virtually all contact." It took a lot of slow, careful reassurance before he could come to terms with the idea, let alone an actual man. (He's fine with NW now.)
You're married, apo. Butt out.
Oh, I wasn't trying to cock-block anybody. I just have swirly eyes for my tiny dog.
And I have strong negative opinions about tiny dogs, so it's all good.
That sounds terrible. I'm sure your dog is lovely. But I wouldn't consider a dog an incentive to date someone under thirty pounds or so.
So you're ruling out only the worst degrees of pedophilia.
144: I did as well, and this one arrived over my objections. But she turned out not to fit any of the stereotypes.
146: Yeah, what about a 25-pound guy that showed up riding a Great Dane?
Yappy < quiet < booming so your little dog isn't the worst it could be but isn't optimal either.
Well, booming in a restrained kind of way. I am currently all goofy over an Italian mastiff in my apartment building, who has a very charming booming woof. But it'd be unbearable if he barked much.
142: I'm pretty sure my kids won't be that level of disturbed by it -- they're older, and are very invested in their self-images as cynical, world-weary sophisticates. I'm just feeling a little shy about bringing the topic up. Eh. There's no rush.
142 and others re: dating: I wouldn't bet on it chill acceptance. The boyfriend was pretty shocked when his mom wanted to introduce her new fiance 2 years after his father's sudden death. (Surprise! He's a big jerk!) This past weekend, I realized it's completely plausible that my father is dating while my mother is lingering in a memory care facility. It's fine, of course, but still a bit jarring even as a theoretical.
What just happened with comment 153? I read it well before I posted 152 (I think it was 150) but then it disappeared from above and is now after my comment. It's a glitch in the Matrix!
Oh, wait, now I see that it was repeated further up the thread. Carry on.
Well, that's an awful double-post. Funny, I previewed, walked away, edited, and posted without seeing the original when I scrolled through. Thank god today was just for desk work.
144: I have multiple friends who are examples of "Well, I always thought little dogs were ridiculous/dumb but then I ended up with a miniature poodle named Larry and he is really amazing he pees in the most incredible way I have some photos here ...". I mean, I get the a priori preference, because I think big dogs are more awesome too. But it's pretty clear that small dogs are also dogs in exactly the same way and will end up in your heart in the same way too.
I still want a larger dog at some point, but deep down I know that whatever dog I end up with I'll probably think is the greatest thing ever no matter what the size* so I have to be honest with myself.
*Except for Yorkies or Chihuahuas. At that point I don't think it counts. At least Yorkies are cute and useful, though. I don't know why anyone would want a chihuahua.
74: I learned a version at cub scouts.
Contrary to the beliefs of obsessive dog fanciers, most dogs are thicker than pigshit
I like to think that I'm under no illusions, but yeah, I probably exaggerate my dog's intelligence.
He barks at his own reflection in the mirror; and he's impossibly dumb when it comes to cars and traffic (he would jump into the middle of the road if I did not stop him); and he cannot even open a can of dog food, after all.
But the thing is, I rely on my dog as a guide and a trail companion when I go hiking; and when it comes to navigation and direction, he really is smarter than me. There have been a couple of times when I was basically lost, and my dog put me back on track. There's something about a wordless, non-human companion running up ahead and then circling back to make sure you're on the right trail, that can put you in awe of the creature's non-human version of intelligence (no, he cannot perform advanced equations, or even simple arithmetic, but he can get you back on course when all you see all are a bunch of trees...).
Clever dogs are all right: sheepdogs, huskies, etc. But a Labrador is just a cat reconstructed by a clumsy five year old human
There are plenty of dogs stupider than Labradors. A friend of mine had an English bull terrier which practically had to be reminded to breathe. Incredibly affectionate and sweet natured, but unbelievably dumb.
[The other thing about my friend's bull terrier was that it was so thick skinned that patting it didn't work; the animal didn't even notice. My friend tried escalating gradually, through thumping it as hard as he could- a slight wag of the tail; kicking it (fairly gently)- OK, I'll have a bit of that; and eventually picking it up and throwing it at the wall, which the dog decided was the best thing ever, and came running back and demanding more until its human was exhausted.]
Admittedly, Ume's cat responds to me mostly by going to sleep on me when I am trying to type, but I know this is not done for any motives other than affection.
Er, no, it's doing it to piss you off.
If you get two dogs, they run around and tire each other out and have companionship, so you can be more neglectful. With 4+ dogs in the apartment you don't have to do anything at all other than occasionally drop raw meat on the floor.
This works for kids too.
Agree re Buck's perfidy.
My dog is the only person in the family who still uses the trampoline, but he can't get on it by himself. I'm considering getting rid of it, and getting a smaller one that he can get on and off independently. He really loves it. He already has his own paddling pool.
No, of course I love him. No one else will let me do that to them, so why wouldn't I? It's just a shame he has to be so fucking dumb and needy.
I don't know about needy, but he's written books and all. He can't be that dumb.
People who write book are the dumbest people of all, and that's saying something.
I was going to argue that but then I remembered Donald Trump has more than a dozen books he's "written".
My cat is evil by nature. Why else would he deposit live earthworms on the kitchen floor during the night, so I step on something cold and wriggly and squishy in bare feet before I've even had coffee?
If you get two dogs, they run around and tire each other out and have companionship, so you can be more neglectful.
Uh... Do you think you could explain tbis to our dogs?
Obviously, there's a small chance of failure with any two dogs but that chance decreases with every extra dog. You need like six dogs to be sure of not having to do any work.
||
I foolishly agreed to write a letter of recommendation* for a student I don't really know except for the fact that he was in my class and did pretty well. What are some totally generic compliments that don't sound too obviously generic?
*For an MBA program.
|>
"You will be very lucky if you can get him to work for you."
"He is smarter than a Labrador, and just as eager to please."
"His ethics are something to be marveled at."
"Smart enough not to enter [$myfield] is probably smart enough for an MBA."
I always make anyone who wants a letter give me a list of highlights/points of emphasis.
179 is right. Tell them to send you a draft, then edit it.
"smells a bit, but a heart of gold"
I have submitted ridiculously short letters when I haven't known anything whatsoever about the student besides that they showed up and were competent in my class. In those cases I tell myself that they must have other letters by people who know them better.
I always make anyone who wants a letter give me a list of highlights/points of emphasis.
Do you ask for this is a way that gets them to articulate their top three points for you to emphasize? Or do you get their CV?
"A brilliant (STEM) student, who excelled in my exceedingly demanding hard science classes. Business school would be a waste of his many considerable talents but I'm sure he'll do just fine there."
174: So, I never understood this. When I was in college, they told us to ask our instructors (professors but also teaching fellows) to write letters of recommendation for us if we did well in their classes. These were supposed to go in our file so that our Senior Tutor / Dean could have information when writing a recommendation from our House. I never did it, because I never understood what I would be asking for. I think that the idea was that they wanted the person to remember our work when we asked.
Thanks all. I ended up writing a pretty short and to the point letter that X was engaged with the material, came to office hours to get clarification when needed, and did well in a demanding class, and should therefore do fine in the program.
I was tempted to go the route indicated by Barry Freed in 184 and write "Given that X has done well in a demanding physical sciences curriculum, she will certainly have no problem with your Micky Mouse MBA bullshit." But I resisted the temptation, as I suspect such a letter might be less than helpful.
"He will fill a much-needed gap"
183: If it's a med school app, I ask for copies of their packet and look at their personal statement and grades. That's usually sufficient to pull from. If it's for something else, I phrase it "I'd like to be sure I emphasize qualities or interests that will be important to the people reading your application. Could you please send me a few points that you'd like me to try to include? It doesn't need to be formal, just bullet points or a draft of a personal statement is just fine." They're usually pretty good about this and send back something like (1) a prior experience that's relevant (eg volunteer work) (2) Their motivation for wanting to do the thing and (3) something that isn't super relevant, but makes them sound like a good person.
86: I had picked up that there seemd to be an ... impetus ...but not that he was moving South.
