Do I take the Dog or not! help help help!

OK, so here's the dealio - this evening we're heading out to our ski condo up in the interior. Its a long drive (>6hours) and it can get pretty cold when we're driving up. We take our a 4 passenger pick up truck, which has no room for the dog crate inside. 

Originally we were supposed to purchase a canopy for the truck, so we woudn't have to worry about our little gal (little for a pure bred german shepherd) getting cold on the drive up. However, because the cost of the canopy is a little high and we have to save for the added cost of the inmate, we haven't put the money into it.  However, I can purchase a blanket to wrap around her crate and then put a tarp over it to prevent the wind from going through. Her crate would be locked up against two walls of the truck bed as well to prevent cold from going through. I think she should be fine in terms of temperature.  She's a german shepherd with the a thick coat who is used to staying outside. My biggest concern is the windchill, but I think the precautions I"m taking should keep the wind chill out.


I really really really want to take her up with us. Monkey can only ski for half the day and it'll give him something to do in the afternoon - playing with her in the snow.  It will force me to get my ass off the couch and go for a walk in the morning prior trying to get some work done.  My concerns are that she is an outside dog and we have no yard in our unit. Therefore, when I'm not outside she would have to be crated. I know lots of people crate their dogs overnight or while they're at work and I have no issues with it. I just feel bad because she normally has a whole yard to play and run around in.  Is it kinder to leave her home by herself or take her with us and have her crated for longer than she normally is???

I'm so torn. I've been taking her with me to the local mountain when monkey is skiing with his daddy and she loves it. I feel like whatever decision I make, I'm going to do wrong by her...help me!

American Science Women - help a girl out!

I just got my first advice email, which I unfortunately can not answer 100%, so I need you readers to provide your opinions!

Here is the letter:

My 16-year-old daughter wants me to help her identify colleges with good science programs, but she is not interested in medical school. It changes day to day, but most recently, she informed me she wanted to be a science professor. Incredibly grateful she is not interested in following into my profession (law), I want to help her as much as I can.

As for her potential admission options, while there are no guarantees, with her current top 1% rank at a competitive suburban public high school, and pretty good SAT scores (including a 740 in math), she should be competitive for most colleges (ok, Cal Tech, would be tough, but Harvey Mudd, yes). I am thinking that the large universities with huge classes, would not be as good for her as smaller schools where she might actually get to know her professors, maybe get involved in their research projects etc.

Most importantly, what I hope to have her avoid is some place so unfriendly to women in the sciences, that she spends all her time and energy just fighting for a place at the table, instead of advancing her knowledge. (Please don't tell me there is no such place, please don't).

So, if you need a handy excuse to procrastinate, any thoughts and suggestions for schools, or just as to the process I should use to help her identify potential schools, would be much appreciated.

Sincerely,
Awesome mom (thats my pseudo for her:)

My thoughts are obviously what an awesome mom for thinking about the pros & cons of a big school vs small, instead of the prestige associated with going to a big school. In regards to the actual school? Well, IMHO you're right on the money about the big name universities having huge classes with little interaction from the profs. I did my undergraduate studies and masters degree at Comprehensive University - which is the Canadian term for a university without professionals schools (ie medicine, law), but that still carries out research. I loved it there, I knew the department really well (I was involved in the departmental association) but also an emphasis is still put on practical learning. Science courses actually have labs associated with them, so students learn not just the theory of science but how to actually do it. This is in contrast to the LargeUniversity where I am doing my PhD. Here biology students NEVER enter a lab unless they are volunteering, doing co-op or an honors thesis.

In terms of female friendly? I think the best way to look at that is to look at the faculty and see how the distributions are. In the past my undergraduate department has had alot of issues with sexist or inappropriate behavior (which I was aware of only after I started working in the labs). Some will say that it was not surprising since most of the faculty were older, white males - which is not to say that just because the faculty is older white males it is unfriendly!
The department that I belonged to as a masters student had a pretty even split between young and old (a good sign that its attracting new scientists) as well as a large percentage of women on the tenure track. At the time I was there, it had not yet reached 50% but most of the faculty were very progressive and wanted as much diversity as possible. They truly worked together. The department head (an old white guy, that reminds me of a bug collector) was truly awesome, probably one of the staunchest advocate for women in science that I have met. As I am not in the states, I couldn't recommend any particular university or college, but I am sure my readers will! Hopefully the profs our there,DrdrA PLS, Isis, PiT and Arlenna are going to pipe up quick!