One Week Early, One Day Late

And here I find the end of the road that was started just this June, waiting now for time and tide to wash everything away.

Thank you, my friends, thank you. You have been with me on a journey you yourself were not aware of, perhaps while on journeys of your own, roads worn only by your tread.

Nonetheless, here lies the end, and the beginning.

Closing In

With UP classes wrapped up, only the checking needs to be done (and uploading specs for the bonuses... due October 23? Only if grades are due on the 30th). However, there are still some things to do for other matters... and all within October...

Inertia

And here we are, the end of the race, the homestretch. So why does it seem to spiral?

Final Examination

... but not a Finals, as my CS 135 students duke it out against ten questions for the last of the three long examinations I will give this semester. And then onto the checking...

Goin' for Broke

Pedal to the metal, and... laze away...

Here We Go

Let the wheels turn, let the cogs gnash. Given up to the end of the next month, let's ride this wave as it crests and till it crashes, crashes on the beaches of bone-bleached sand.

Bellyachin'

Note to self: keep to the puttanesca sauce; meat sauce upsets you.

Tumbling Down, Tumbling Down, Tumbling Down, ...

It's hitting the fan, y'all.

Bringing on the Pain

Here we go, judging for the CS 11 Programming Competition. Since they had only started on arrays, the single problem they will work on is the Base Manual Calculator. This may seem harsh, but I don't think anyone can be fully expected to solve th problem completely: this is to gauge how far they can go. If anyone solves addition completely, I'd be fully impressed.

So far, there had been two UPS givings-up, and no submissions, and it's down to the last thirty minutes, so there's not really a lot to say yet.

11:40 AM (11 minutes left): Nothing still. Just uploaded my solution from last semester to geocities. May move it to my usual account, if ever, later.

Sucks to Be Me

:(

Principal Uncertainty

Well, today's blog's title is a poor play on words regarding my research for a presentation regarding Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Very useful are, of course, Wikipedia and The American Institute of Physics's historical archives. I knew I wanted to do some additional research on the topic, but I didn't expect to be sifting through enough material to cover the state of physics at the time.

Mid-exam Examination

I'm a little surprised to find so many students still slaving over the second long examination for CS 135 when only thirty minutes are remaining of the three-hour duration. I maybe expected them to laugh the examination into submission, but maybe the examination is laughing back at them? I cannot be too sure.

In either way, the examination seems to be making my students examine my use of language...

The Long, Slow Descent

It has been an open secret that I haven't had internet access at the house for almost three weeks now, and today is the day that determines the fate of my home's connectedness. Hopefully everything will resolve in the positive, but only time can tell...

Headache

Urgh. Either I've picked up some head cold that is giving me a hard time or I've got sinusitis. I'm hoping to get some work, so here's to the best of luck here-on-in.

Quickly!

Just a quick howdy to everyone in Net-zone, the Big Web, the waves of the information superhighway. Got a buncha things to do today, so, gone!

How Much Work Needs to be Done Right Now?

I'm in the middle of a whirlpool of work, most of which needs to be done right now? But how much really needs to be done right now?

Being a master of prestidigitation, and ever on the bubble, I am hard-pressed at this very moment to do the segregation. Let them sort themselves out, I have heard.

Downtime, Uptime

So, with my home internet down once again, I am catching up with work at work. Quite a bit of merging and updating, sometimes upgrading technologies, but we learn everyday. Next semester to me is beginning to look like learning Java and LaTeX in addition to the expected.

It's Been Raining, Man

Ugh. Sometimes, you just can't do anything but sigh. I've learned to hate heavy rainy days, but for reasons other than those of my contemporaries not in the field of education: there goes my schedule. Worse yet, the paperwork is at the office, so what work I could do was merely generation of more paperwork.

Day In, Day Out

A bunch of ins and outs for me today. Much moving around, much making ado, not too sure about actual progress, but, heck, it's a start. Back on track, but waiting for the next big thing.

Playing Catch-Up

Not quite caught up with everything for the semester yet, though I've been pushing hard to be ahead of the curve on a bit, I am now flagging behind in the clean-up for my CS 135 classes. Not only have I not checked any of SW #1, 2, PS #1, 2 or LE #1, I haven't uploaded the solutions for SW #1, PS#2 or LE #1. Sigh. Must clear out the backlog.

Wrong Time to Be Lazy

I guess my priorities are a little jumbled. Instead of uploading a soft copy of today's (and yesterday's) discussion on the solutions of the problem sets, I am currently merely uploading, editing, re-editing, and so on, some other solutions.

Sigh...

Moving Around, Getting Nowhere

On my own volition, mostly on a good friend's suggestion, I will be going back to an alma mater that has already taken me in twice before, to suggest the wonders of using such useful and amazing freeware as TeX and Scilab.

Heavy Week

Hmmm... with an examination to give maybe at week's end, I'm looking at submitting a problem set, maybe a second problem set, and then an examination to take in a week's time, not to mention a second presentation within two weeks. Sigh.

Too Much, Too Little

Like the Doppler effect, there seem to be dates in my calendar where I seem to be squeezed into a tight spot by all sorts of deadlines and lack of resources, followed by a general slackening - the most dangerous type of slack, the one that is well-deserved but ill-timed, on account of further Dopplering along the semester. I think that this semester will be slightly more manageable than I had initially surmised; then again, that could just be me blue-shifting into a red zone.

Crunching Down

Time to actually work... knowing full well that I will be devoting myself mostly to my other life, the one this work has paid for. Or would've paid for, had I actually been paid for this cycle of work yet. Sigh.

Long Day

Today will be a full implementation of my TTh schedule, which is basically class at 8:30 to 10, consultation from 10 to 3:30, and class at 4:30. Depending on what happens in the last class of the day, my schedule may yet change anew.

Sympathy Headache

I am familiar with the concept of sympathy pains, but can they be transmitted through phone? What about sleepiness - in reverse?

Walking the Talk

With classes abruptly over for the week (as it will for the rest of the sem) at 10 AM on a Friday, I am laying back with some Sudoku (which is partly to test the program, and partly for my own leisure) and nuggets and dip, before I do some walkin' and talkin'. I have to remember to make new problem sets for my classes, and hopefully upload them over the weekend.

Wakey-Wakey

I'm still a little sleepy as I rummage through the internets. Apparently, I will have only one course of action for the day, and that's to determine if my student will be completed for last semester's class.

Sigh. After brunch, I will hurry on home.

Sudoku Hell

It is entirely TJ's fault that I've been on a Sudoku binge since Friday, straight through the DCS-EEE collaborative workshop at MMLDC (although it is entirely of my own compunction that I left the nice atmosphere of Antipolo a day early), up to now, stalling me from actually being productive. On the plus side, it's helping me algorithmically solve the Sudoku programming problem, though I'm currently at a quandary over a particularly fiendish problem found at the Times Online's Interactive Su Doku Puzzle. When I do get to finish the program, I may discuss it here.

Confound my puzzle-loving nature...

Edit: Due to heavy rains, I wasn't able to leave the office immediately to pursue other pressing matters, I was able to break through the problem with some help from Mario. Now I want some better way to encode a Sudoku puzzle so I can test the program further...

Incomplete Completions

I didn't quite expect to be here today, but, as it stands, I may actually be here tomorrow, but not if I could help it. Completions almost out of mind, but returning to the fore, and now being looked into. Some completions have the effort in them; others do not.

When June comes along, as it does, there will be more incompletes trying to salve their missing pieces.

Almost Full-Revolution: 160

Today is probably the last time I will be at work for the month, which is a shame, because I celebrate one full year of bloggering on the thirty-first.

Anyway, am plodding away alone at the HP lab, wondering if anyone was reading the UVLE announcements, or whether anyone was reading this, or whether or not I was going home early today.

My schedule going into next week on my calendar seems full up to the second week of classes, a full three weeks. However, it seems quite the opposite: this is the cool-off period, the vacation summer rats get in-between sneaking a few units over the two-month break and the beginning of yet another school year.

Soon, though, my own years will start picking up this pace, once more, in earnest, and not just with the opportunity to meet new victims students, but to realize some higher education, and soon, further education, as well.

Well, here's to hope and to hoping.

Another Sneak

Since everyone's out, except for Ate Mila, and TJ, I chose today to leave a copy of my diploma and to print out the last of my summer submissions. Good thing, too, since the toner was already complaining of being out.

Hyper

Hmmm... am trying to be conscious of my dietary habits, since my hyperacidity has not gone down like a beast hunted. Or, rather, just like it. My metaphors are not quite up to snuff today.

Sudden

Hmmm... the summer seems "officially" over, even though I walked under the swelt'ring noon sky. Now, it seems some old (and almost forgotten) affairs are coming back...

ACM Summer Training: Day 1

Finally, after much preparation, we begin summer training. And at 8:30, how many people do we have here? One! And she's actually a new trainee!

Oh well.

9:10 AM (170 minutes remain): We finally begin, with two people. And only four PCs. This will be fun.<\sarcasm>

9:35 AM (145 minutes remain): Four people now. Actually start the blog.

10:13 AM (107 minutes remain): Reading MTG.com, I completely forget to blog. Pio tries Binary.

10:45 AM (75 minutes remain): Jennylyn and Roger try Binary.

I completely botch keeping track of time as I read articles and the guys make a mess of looking for the source of the problems. Both A-teams try again, resolving the leading zeros problem, but eliminating zero itself. Pio solves this problem. Wally tries Kalii, but only gets 75%.

I hope there are more people next week.

Sneaky

Is it considered hit and run if you have a secret you won't share until it's a day late (tomorrow)?

Wasting Time

I haven't felt more out of touch than during the second half of this week, when I had neither a landline nor a net connection. (The lack of landline precluded using dial-up, though now that the phone is back, I can't seem to find the other modem.) I have been speding the morning trying to keep tabs on my usual net haunts for the last four days' information.

Hi, I'm Switch and I'm a netholic.

Paperwork, Legwork and Avoiding Work

So, after some soul searching, and a bit of leisurely walk, my next semester has a little more direction in its step. So, now I am my desk trying to avoid work by actually doing work.

It's a little strange that when my mind is not prepared to do work, my body steps to the fore eagerly to distract it.

Additional information: I do my best work when I am locked in a world of music, usually with earphones when in front of a keyboard and a monitor, and using a special "Checking mix" CD for pen-and-paperwork.

Embarrassment

I am thouroughly underdressed for the dressing down I will subject myself to later today.

Compromises

Many compromises have been made today, that should have equated to less worrisome choices of slight in earlier days and weeks. They say that an old dog cannot learn new tricks, yet a young man cannot seem to turn over a new leaf in time.

Sigh. Life continues, bruised yet intact.

All Done Except for the Crying

... mostly mine, out of the sheer amount of checking that I've left for myself. And the time's not even clear for that yet! Will start the checking as soon as possible, but that may be on the 27th yet. And the conf's on the 31st! Aigh!

Anger

If I say "open notes", you'd better have a good argument that you had at least made the Internet's search engines before you can claim that citing websites can qualify as notes.

Brush Up

More of the feeling of being strung out juuuust a teensy bit. Will try to be productive now.

Closing In

Closing shop early today. With a single long exam left to give, I should be gearing into checking mode soon. Will see when I can actually do the shifting gears, what with the solution of the last CS 11 MP on the bubble with whatever can be done with the fourth module of CS 131, and some of the longest slide-sessions in CS 135 to go.

So, solutions and checking upcoming (plus the final updates to the last two modules).

Edit: Plus the quarterly inventory projection by tomorrow.

Cold... So Unbelievably Cold

This is what happens when everything is left up to the last minute. My CS 11 students did not consult (but they did use the lab), my CS 131 early takers and my CS 135 test takers are all suffering through maxed (minned?) temperature in the lab, as I scurry to make the exams for the main 6-9 event. There's also the deadline for the last CS 11 MP, to which I have not made solutions yet. *sigh*

Are You Ready?

"Mostly ready."

Get ready for it.

Gone and Gain

Where my CS 131 classes are virtually over except for the crying (LE #3, and the discussion of Lagrange's and Newton's Interpolating Polynomials), my CS 11 classes burning out their free days for the last MP due in less than a week, I have uploaded all the lecture notes for, my CS 135 plods along, leaving only the all-points shortest-paths discussions prior to their long exam (which comes after the fourth seatwork on graphs and string-matching and will still be followed up by the seatwork for NP-completeness and approximation algorithms), the semester is winding up rather languidly---a lethal change of pace, as checking will be crashing down over the next four weeks. And there's still the CS 131 modules...

Drain

So early in the morning, with four or five CS 11 students taking the free day. So much left to do, as I am in the final stretch, and the to-do list has no more additions waiting---only subtractions. Of course, I have yet to check anything past the deadline for dropping, but those can be taken in one fell swoop... preferrable after the 22nd.

For today, annotation and encoding.

Off-Steam

A cooling down period implies additional action immediately afterward.

Time Spent

There are plans, and there are plans followed. Today's plan was to make the uploads for the MPs and reports for CS 131 and CS 135---a task I have yet to perform.

Maybe there is time yet to be spent...

Edit: Done with CS 131 MP specs.

Edit: Ditto with CS 135 bonus MP specs.

Edit: Done with the report specs for both CS 131 and CS 135. Mario is here, asserting that he is an EVIL OVERLORD. Hokay.

2nd ACM ICPC Simulation (Judgement Day 2)

Late to start the running blog.

9:16 AM (210 minutes remain): Competition begins.

9:45 AM (181 minutes remain): Waiting...

10:20 AM (146 minutes remain): Finally! Popcorn Defenders try What Time is It? Unfortunately, twenty- will not cut it.

10:26 AM (140 minutes remain): Popcorn Defenders repeat.

10:34 AM (132 minutes remain): Ad Hoc try Unique Sums. Maybe if they rename the file...

10:41 AM (125 minutes remain): Popcorn Defenders get the Time.

11:02 AM (104 minutes remain): Butingting tries What Time? What is one minutes to thirteen?

11:13 AM (93 minutes remain): Barely an hour and a half to go. Will anyone submit two correct solutions? Maybe even three? Will the shuffle go to the ones who could tell time first?

11:16 AM (90 minutes remain): Butingting repeat.

11:22 AM (84 minutes remain): A double-header! Butingting and Ad Hoc both try Time. Ad hoc gets all choppy, and Butingting repeats.

11:38 AM (68 minutes remain): Ad Hoc fires off two in a row, but aside from a repeat compile error for Unique Sums, a slightly cleaner What Time has sliight mistakes.

11:42 AM (64 minutes remain): Staghetti tries Time... and stops after eight. Too bad that there are 720 cases.

11:49 AM (57 minutes remain): Ad Hoc's latest Time trial is much closer, but stiill has some small bugs.

11:52 AM (54 minutes remain): Followed up by the same ProbA in Ad Hoc's Unique Sums.

12:15 PM (31 minutes remain): A flurry of activity! Staghetti repeats (but cleans up) Time, Butingting mistries and tries Maya Calendar, Ad Hoc's Unique Sums finally compiles, but has a lot to nitpick, and their Time stiill has some errors, and has a more noticable bug.

12:30 PM (16 minutes remain): Another flurry. Popcorn Defenders try stamps, almost running out of time... and fall short. Butingting's Maya and Time are both still out of whack.

12:41 PM (5 minutes remain): A short barrage. Staghetti and Butingting try and retry Time, and do the same thing.

12:54 PM (8 minutes after the time): Whoops. Let the time run, let some extensions elapse. (I forgot to mention that Team 19 tried Time, as well.)

Time has come and passed, and the competition produces a new champion! Kudos to the Popcorn Defenders!

In addition, I had promised to upload the test data and some solutions that I had come up with for the competition: (Edit: To clarify, some of the test data were created on the fly, but a clear majority were extracted from the original sources, with some modifications: Central Europe Olympiad in Informatics (1994), USA Computing Olympiad (1994 Clincher Round and 1997 Nationals), Internet Programming Contest sponsored by Duke University (1992), ACM ICPC (1995 Central Europe Regionals), British Olympiad in Informatics (1997). The solutions, however, are my own, and their veracity is open for debate.)

Unique Sums: Input, Output, Solution in C

Subsets: Input, Output, Solution in C

Stamps: Input, Output, Solution in C

Expressions: Input, Output

The Postal Worker Rings Once: Input, Output

Maya Calendar: Input, Output, Solution in C

Closed Fences: Input, Output

What Time is It?: Input, Output, Solution in C

For those who weren't there and are piqued and curious as to why I would link to all of these, try your hand on these, with the relevant corrections incorporated.

Judgement Day

At least the first 2/3s of the tour de juge for the CS Week. Starting off with the CURSOR JavaCup, into the fourth long examination of CS 11 (which I may have underestimated yet again) and into CURSOR's Quizzardry (which, unfortunately, is not sponsored by Microsoft this year, so no sleek jacket).

Tomorrow is UP ACM's ICPC Simulation, and I'm hoping to get a headstart with the test data and maybe solutions. Then again, I need sleep. Seems like sleep is the most sought after resource in the department today...

Why is My Schedule Still So Full?

The deadline for dropping beat me---my backlog is:
CS 11: Some MP1 and MP2 stragglers
CS 131: LE2
CS 135: PS 1-4

Add to that:
CS 11: MP3 solutions
CS 131: MP and report specs, Modules 3 and 4
CS 135: MP and report specs, SW 3 solutions and checking
Javacup problems (10)

So, I'm keeping an eye on my students for CS 11, and I am trying to solve their machine problem, annotate the solution and devise a class-based solution. And my mind wanders to the Javacup problems.

And I wanted to write??

Discombubbled

Woke up a lot later than expected. Felt disoriented in the morning. I think I've properly zombied through the day, so will check in with my better half later.

Decisions on Bad Data

So, arriving today at work, I was greeted by three dropping slips. Two, I know, were in the hands of those that needed it. A third, on the other hand, was in ambiguous territory. So, I enter the "are you sure?" phase of the exit interview, and all three had decided.

So I sign the release forms.

Later, I determine the status of Mr. Ambiguous---only to find that he is well within the territory of the doing fine. (Except for the machine problems, which I have yet to check, but I am doubting that that is too low.) In fact, he may be in line to pass within a decent margin by the next two requirements.

So, is this guilt, or is this merely the mechanism?

Must... Hold... On...

Ugh. Under the weather again. Will get most of the stuff done first. After what I'm currently checking (CS 135 LE 2), only CS 131 LE 2 will be on paper---everything else (assorted CS 11 MPs, majority of CS 135 PSs) will be digital. Then, again, making a program to determine the answers for CS 131 LE 1 helped cut into the time it'd take to check, so I will probably write the general answers down first, encode and program, and use that to speed up the checking process.

T minus 72.5 hours and counting...

Edit: After the department meeting and three hours later, I am done with the CS 135 LE 2, and have not started on the solution (program) for CS 131 LE 2. Will start later, maybe implement, maybe be done maybe tomorrow morning...

Droppin' Like Flies

Hmmm... apparently my sales-pitch for not dropping is not working on the math majors. Although one claims that shifting is the issue, or that either CS 11 or a major would be dropped, is getting an average of 70, 80 or even 86 over the four easiest requirements too difficult? Or have they been too menaced by previous requirements that "easy" would be too relative a term?

Either way, that makes CS 11: 5, CS 131: 0, CS 135: 1. So far. And that doesn't count those that have gone AWOL on me.

T Minus 104 Hours

... until the end of the dropping period, 5 PM on Monday. I still have maybe four class-exams worth of papers to check, but the going is surprisingly fast. Computers can help make life easier.

Am currently in the CS 11 lab, looking busy. So are my students. There's a high likelihood that for every student doing the third machine problem, another one is looking at Friendster. I hope nobody is doing what I wouldn't do at school.

Edit: 104 hours - 32 hours for sleep - 9 hours for food - 4 hours for gym - 8 hours for travel - 12 hours for the weekend events = 49 hours and counting! That's not even removing the inevitable 10+ hours for goofing around! Maybe 38 hours, maybe less, then!

Shotz!

Am way behind my schedule. Thank my sinusitis bout from Monday to this morning for that. I do have LE2 for CS 131 ready, but not the checking. At least I have my "answer key" program at the ready.

Remaining for Monday:
CS 11 - check some MP1 and MP2 solutions, determining new documentation (geom example)
CS 131 - check LE 1 (today!), print/photocopy/give LE2, check LE2 (make LE2 solution)
CS 135 - check PS 1-4, LE 2

Incomplete

On the cusp of ten days before deadline for dropping, I have the following to-do list:

CS 11: check ME 4 & 5, MP 1 & 2 (by today?) prog11 [geom example] (by 15th)
CS 135: check SW 2, PS 1-4, LE 1 & 2 (by weekend?)
CS 131: solve PS 2 and upload (by 13th), make and solve (and upload) LE 2 (by 15th), check LE 1 (by 15th) & LE 2 (by 19th)

Now, I have a schedule. Will I keep to it? (And there's nothing said about days after the 20th, such as the solution for CS 11 MP3 and specs for CS 11 MP4 on the 22nd, solution for CS 135 PS 5, and collecting [and eventually checking] CS 11 MP3 and CS 135 PS 5 over that week.)

Whoops

I seem to have left the grades I meticulously checked yesterday at home. Sigh. At least I am done with that. Now off to other things.

Long Examination and Cursory Assessment

I do have a long-standing habit of brief long examination cycles from conception to evaluation. In essence this is mostly because I believe (and execute) that examinations are the purest form of assessment for students, and although this is not entirely fair for worlds of reasons, and not entirely true, for most practicum and laboratory-based classes. Even in the latter cases, if your practicum is mostly held outside of teacher supervision, the examination is the best individual assessment tool, until probably the time when brain scans will be cheap, concise and won't damage the aforementioned brain (any more than higher education does).

I keep my cycles short (except in the case of inevitable checking backlogs, but only then in the checking and feedback portion) so that there is less chance for the unsavory to occur. I rarely keep copies of the newest exam over for longer than overnight, and rarely reuse them. (The exception, unfortunately, is for the CS 135 examinations, one of which I am currently proctoring, having taken over for the eternally gracious Ate Mila. I was proctoring my CS11 examination, which had ninety minute overlap.)

I do try to make checking short as well, as a contiguous period. It helps me remember to score similar answers similarly, to keep things fair.

Itchy & Scratchy

I currently look like Rudolph on a low night, my nostrils crimson with the agitation from my fingertips. I know today will be slow, as I had already done a wad of work yesterday, yet a wad and more still remain. Have to make two (maybe even three, or four, counting sets) long examinations for tomorrow, and will prepare a problem set for today.

Making Time

Made good time over the weekend vis-a-vis the third module for CS 131. Hoping to get some checking done over the week, to lighten the load. There are, after all, three long examinations arriving, and a problem set to check and another to make. Otherwise, just the geometric example for the CS 11 class, and that's still next week.

I wish it was easy to get into the mood of writing checking. Time to bust out the "Checking Stuff" CD...

Edit: The problem set has been cast, and the solution to the one that will be submitted is on the way. I should make some of the specifications to the machine problems and reports that I will have submit at the end of the semester. Maybe I can get through this dropping season without going mad...

Edit: Two problem sets cast, and a Freudian slip corrected.

Talk is Good

Actions are better. Got the rest of the slides for CS 131. Am slightly ahead with my module schedule, but way behind on my checking sked.

Muggy Mood

Don't ask.

Keeping My Eye on You

Today is the deadline for MP2 for CS11, and barely have any idea how well they are progressing. The few questions I have fielded yield no insight. On the other hand, I have encoded the first ten pages of CS 131 module 3, which is half of what I plan to cover tomorrow and on Friday. I wonder if Prof. Quiwa got my note? Will ask him for the slides later, after the class.

I hope three hours minus lunch will be enough to encode the next ten pages. Looks like it might, since I've spent less than three hours on the first ten, so far. But there are tables to fill in the next half...

And I still want to actually have some leeway, so I may start on the rest in the weekend. Will I have the breathing room I need in February to write?

Cleaning Up the Mess that's About to Arrive

I guess it's so that the new arrivals can settle in among the current rabble. My to-do list is starting to look like the seat plan to a Slipknot concert, and just as scary.

Excited and Not

I'm in a bit of a rush, so I'll make this quick. So many things to do today---not a lot done. But things worth doing will be done, oh yes.

Next week: how to try not to sound like a tabloid horoscope.

D'Bugger

Surprisingly, I went through a quick recall of the encryption technique I've been employing for years now. Unsurprisingly, bugs arose from the nooks and crannies of the re-adaptation of the solution that took a bit of a while to exterminate. Good thing I'm putting in a bit of troubleshooting code, so I could also figure how best to look for the bugs.

Now I'm tempted to put all sorts of encrypted stuff here...

Before the Outage / 120 / Pushing Out the Outbox

Well, my head's in a muddle, so this may or may not be a complete post, but it will surely be a montage of posts.

I'm glad that people can schedule outages. If only the weather can be managed, then we're halfway done, and well on our way to the end of evolution.

One-hundred and twenty posts! Almost once every three days for a year. Which would've been impressive if I hadn't been trying to post everytime I am at work and in front of a computer with an internet connection.

Today marks the end of the machine exercises for CS 11, and the last of the laboratory-intensive meetings. Everything to follow for the rest of the semester can be done solely by lectures (but, of course, would be best supplemented by hands-on work).

Out of Breath

Hmm... today's cold seems to be the clogging, cloying type. At least I was able to provide the solution to Problem Set 3 for CS 135. Also, the reservation of the Eng'g Theater has me moving the largest of my February 8 exams to the next week. Yay?

Start Up

Okay, getting waylaid last Friday allowed me to finalize a schedule... and bring home the point that February 8 is merely sixteen days away.

T-Minus Twenty Days Until...

... Hell erupts once more. Somehow, I have scheduled all of my classes to have examinations on February 8. This bodes ill, indeed.

Wowza

Could it be I'm getting the hang of this teaching thing? Well, still can't cover everything I want to yet, but I'm starting to get a nestegg of confidence. Whether or not this is overconfidence is a matter that takes time to hatch.

Ho-hum

Lethargy's a bitz.

(illegible scribble)

Ugh. This week can only get better.

Halfway Done: Giving, Receiving and then Giving Again

Was fairly busy yesterday: did the CS 135 review, gave the CS 131 exam "Hell" to TFW(X), actually finished the furshlugginer third problem of the problem set during the administration of aforementioned exam. Today, after arriving at 11, started the first batch of the fourth ME for CS 11, with 30 minutes remaining, had CS 135 enter to take their exam, fielded the second batch of CS 11, had them finish, waited an hour before the CS 135 exam was over, in addition to uploading the ME problems and annotated solutions for the ME in UVLE, and extracting the solutions to be checked into a zip file.

I'm starting to get the hang of Fedora. I wonder if that will be the first Linux distro I will attempt to install in a home system, or if it'll be Mandrake or Ubuntu, or I'd not risk anything an use a Live CD distro, like Knoppix.

Long Day

Ugh. Why can't seem to make a math exam that's doable in less than twice the time that I allot for it? Can I stand making things unfair for a minority of the class? What about multiple sets of dubious difficulty? I am off to photocopy things, and pray that my soul is still salvagable. Or worth salvaging.

Week Ends...

... and I'm facing a week with 3 long examinations, 2 machine exercise sets and one machine exercise to make for the first three days, and all their solutions plus the solution to the first machine problem. That's not mentioning all the checking, on top of the backlog of two problem sets and a seatwork for CS 135. And finally finishing the module two notes, starting on the module three notes, and submitting my own problem set.

Oy, vey.

Tightness

So CS 131 MHX already know that there won't be an exam today, and today is when classes really start, and CS 11 took their free day to make their MPs (due on Wed), but not a lot of questions. Is it too intimidating when I'm sitting behind the teacher's PC, making handouts?

Headachy!

Well, other than a somewhat frustrating lecture day, (a little more in CS 131, because I was not as prepared as I should have been), I have yet to have my first day of classes, so I should check the calendar...

Schedule Issues

Now, the postponed exams will both be delayed? Or will I make a relatively easy first exam for the CS 131 classes? And I have yet to pen schedules for both CS 131 and CS 135, or the exams, or check the CS 135 requirements...