Whoever had "15 minutes" in the bat-pool won

[sigma7]

At 8:15 this morning the janitor asks to borrow my phone. He calls in that there's a bat in the custodian closet -- in his bucket, no less. (It was not at the bottom of the bucket, and his little schnoz was sticking out, so he might've still been alive.) That's a new record from start-of-semester to bat-incident. We're off to a roaring start. Or squeaking start. Or shivering-from-the-cold start.

Comments

[iamstillthemoon.livejournal.com]

LOL! Have you seen that episode of "The Office" with the bat?

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Yup. Directed by Joss Whedon, of all people, and that was apparently just syncronicity instead of design. Good Karen episode.

[iamstillthemoon.livejournal.com]

Haha, Joss Whedon! That makes so much sense now! I love it! XD

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

I have been forced to add a section on bats to my TA orientation material.

[iamstillthemoon.livejournal.com]

What do you mean by TA orientation?

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

I'm in charge of the teaching assistants in the Physics department here at K-State. We don't get as many bats as Kedzie or Anderson, but we get at least one or two a semester. I have a file of "helpful hints" I hand out at TA orientation in the fall (and email to anyone who joins the staff in January), a combination of teaching tips and "living in Manhattan" stuff. I have added an injunction against trying to deal with bats by oneself.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Here's a cut and paste:

Helpful Hint 18: Don't Touch The Bats.

   Several times every year, bats find their way into Cardwell. These are generally small bats, not aggressive or particularly scary (some may even find them kinda cute). However, roughly 1/6 of wild bats are carriers of rabies. So, if you see a bat, call 2-6446 and report it to maintenance, they'll send someone with the proper training and equipment to deal with the bat.

   Do not try to get rid of the bat yourself. Modern medicine has made great strides when it comes to rabies, but the vaccinations still hurt. A lot.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

I like. Concise and informative. To quote one of the five greatest works of human literature, I'd settle for just a sign with a bat logo that says "DANGER CAUTION, DO NOT LICK."

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

"DO NOT PLACE TONGUE HERE"
"again"

[iamstillthemoon.livejournal.com]

We just have to worry 'bout possums in trash cans mostly.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Hopefully with a directive not to fondle the bats, unlike some of my cow-orkers.

Actually, I think a general non-fondling directive should be in place in all academic buildings. There isn't much in the building that isn't hazardous, contagious, potentially lethal or just profoundly embarrassing if fondled.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Can my TAs fondle your cow-orkers?

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

You'll have to talk to them. Fine by me, though your TAs may learn to tremble at the name "Kedzie," as we do.

[beeform]

Wow. And I thought Anderson had a bat problem... LOL

[beeform]

Awww... :-) I like Bat Country!