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3 questions from rms10:

What’s the best book you’ve read recently?

I actually read a lot of good books in 2006. I think my favorite would have to be either The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy or My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk (I actually just finished Snow, and it was good, but it didn’t grab me the way My Name is Red did).

What is the biggest or most unexpected thing you’ve learned from teaching this semester?

Asking questions is really hard; Exam questions are pretty easy, because I have specific ideas of what they should be learning (gauging the number & difficulty of those questions is a different story!). But, asking questions in class that

  1. elicit an answer from the class
  2. cause them to actually realize something

Are very hard to ask. I’ve tried various forms of multiple choice questions (“so, given these things, what do you think the answer is”) and more basic questions (“in light of what we’re talking about, give me a property of X”), and so far it’s been hit or miss.
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I’ve been reading books & blogs on presenting and education, though, and that’s all proving very helpful.

All-in-all, though, I really like teaching; and the students seem to be learning things, too!

Where would you most like to live?

I’d like to move west eventually; either to california (not LA) or washington state. I also wouldn’t mind somewhere on the east coast (like near boston, DC, etc). Someplace that has multiple seasons and isn’t the middle of the country basically.

If you’d like 3 questions, drop me comment and I promise I’ll respond in less time than it took me to respond to rms10 (sorry!)

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http://www.qwantz.com/index.pl?comic=928

I’m sure I’ve got friends who’s job I know nothing about, so, if you’re interested, let me know what you do (for instance, a large number of you are getting PhDs: what the hell is your thesis about?)

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Well, that’s not true. I can do math (we hope).

cwru schedule screenshot

Late last year, I was asked to teach the university’s discrete mathematics course!

I’m excited. I get a slew of students, a teaching assistant, and pay (mm. more ramen). I picked up a highly recommended book on teaching that I’ve been tearing through.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the the directions this blog should take (considering, well, that I never update it. Part of it will be a teaching blog. There are going to be posts on ideas I’d like to use in my teaching, and how well they worked. I’ve also got some other subjects I’d like to add about. I’m also pondering whether or not I should be using my livejournal for more personal news.

At the very least, you get to expect my rantings and ramblings on teaching (and how good or bad I am at it).

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Yesterday, at work, I was waiting for my computer to install several software packages to install.

While waiting, I was reading several papers, one of which was Intercepting and Instrumenting COM Applications, which was reasonably easy to read, and very useful (bonus!).

The paper had, in my opinion, some of the funniest writing ever seen in an academic paper! To wit:

An Analogy for the Interface Ownership Problem

The following analogy is helpful for understanding the interface ownership problem. A person finds herself in a large multi-dimensional building. The building is divided into many rooms with doors leading from one room to another. The person is assigned the task of identifying all of the rooms in the building and determining which doors lead to which rooms. Unfortunately, all of the walls in the building are invisible. Additionally, from time to time new doors are added to the building and old doors are removed from the building.

Now, in their defense, that was a pretty reasonable description of the problem at hand. On the other hand, it seems silly in the extreme to simplify a problem by introducing multi-dimensional buildings with invisible walls and magically appearing doors. Luckily, I read a lot of Harry Potter, and (most) everything made perfect sense to me.

Now, I’m going back to watching Microsoft Visual Studio install (mmm. thrilling).

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So, what have I been doing? And, further more, what will I be doing? Initially, this was going to be in a Seussian format, but I felt that was a little ambitious.

Where I’m Going

It’s the new year (and, truthfully, it’s actually well into the new year), and, like everyone and there dog (and cat), I have new years resolutions. What, you ask, are my new years resolutions?

  1. anal-retentive dental care. I’ve, admittedly, been a bit lax in the area of flossing and listerining (ok, that’s not a word. But, it should be — especially the citrus listerine, which is awesome). But, no more! Since before the new year, I’ve been brushing/flossing/listerining twice a day, every day! And, regular dentists visits! I’ve had the first one in years, and I’ll have one in six months! Or else!
  2. Like Stanek, I want to get out of bed on a regular (early) basis, and get to campus at a regular time. This has, so far, been a failing proposition. I did well this morning, but yesterday? Yeah… no. Hopefully this will improve now that classes have started up, and I have places to be (things to do, as well).
  3. Get Things Done. I should get something done every day, whether it’s read a paper, work on my dissertation proposal, fix something for work. Something. This, a la Eldan shouldn’t be a chore.
  4. Write some cool software. This definitely isn’t a chore. The problem is, I have a million-and-one ideas, and I rarely follow through on them. Well, this is my resolution to follow through on some of them. I’ve been playing with python and web frameworks and java, and it’s really enjoyable. I should do more of it. Therefore… I will.
  5. Exercise More. ’nuff said.
  6. Update my blog more. I should update my blog at least weekly. Which, hey.. stop laughing! I know I say this every year. This year’s different! Honest! No, really! Hmph.

Where I’ve Been

So, that’s where I’m going. I’m sure you want to know where I’m going. Last semester ended pretty successfully. I feel like I didn’t get quite as much work done as I wanted to, but it ended, and it was good. I spent Christmas and New Years at home (photos are coming!), and that was nice and relaxing. I finished My Name is Red, and I’ve started Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime: From the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism .

I’ve slowly been getting my life organized. I’ve got todo lists that things get crossed off of, I’ve got a calendar that reminds me of stuff, I’ve got source code repositories that store substantial parts of my life. All in all, I think I’m going in roughly the right direction. It could be better, but I suppose I’ve got to start somewhere.

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I found this over at Jennifer Granick’s weblog.

The gist of it is that volunteers at katrinalist, a site that is attempting to gather information on lost Hurricane Katrina victims in one place, have received cease & desist letters from the owners of the “GCN Survivor/Connector Database.”

This is appalling. The C&D tries to spin the situation, as if katrinalist is harming the hurricane victims by allowing wider dissemination of their information. Then, they stop and say “we will enforce our copyright.”

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Last October, George Essef took out a full page ad in the Washington Post detailing exactly what he is. What he is, he tells us, is a Republican. He spent $104, 655.60 to do so. While I don’t have $100,000, I do have a weblog.

Now, knowing what Mr. Essef stands for, I think it’s only fair to answer the same question: What am I?

I am someone who believes that the American Dream is a commitment to knowledge, equality, and morality.

I am someone who believes that God wouldn’t have given us eyes to see, and ears to listen, and minds to reason if not to use those faculties to the best of our abilities. I believe our pursuit of knowledge can only enable our society to do more and be more for its citizens. I am not someone who believes in ignoring science and knowledge simply because I don’t like what I hear.

I am someone who believes that equality means ensuring that everyone has the same chances. I believe in educating them, whether it be in math, civics, or the sexuality of their own bodies. I believe that education allows them to make informed decisions about their lives and communities, and equality, whether it be in marriage or in job opportunities causes people to be invested in those institutions.

I believe everyone has the right to vote, and that the disenfranchised need a voice.

I believe in more than a woman’s right to choose: I believe in her right to manage her own life. I believe she deserves all the rights and chances as a man. I don’t concede the moral high ground to the “pro-life” movement. Instead, I submit that in their rush to legislate less education and a narrowing of choices they increase abortions; they do the very thing they purport to be against. Instead, by providing education and support, I believe we can reduce abortions and strengthen families.

I believe in supporting all our people. While I admire Mr. Essef’s ability to pull himself up by his bootstraps, I also note that there are a multitude of Americans who toil at low wage jobs only to find that they can’t afford rent, or medicine, or school supplies at the end of the month. I believe it is our duty to help our fellow citizens, and an outrage that some people would dismantle the apparatus that would do so.

I am someone who pushes for environmental reform. I do so because I believe that we must be as stewards for our land. That we have dominion over bird and beast, plant and animal is naught but a responsibility to care for that land. I stand against those who dismiss our environment as something to take care of “later,” because our scientists tell us that “later” is actually to late.

While I celebrate the soldiers that defend my rights, I will not tolerate human abuse in the name of defense. I will not tread on the rights of the innocent or the guilty in the name of the Constitution. Our Armed Forces in general conduct themselves honorably; I rely on the press to inform me when they do not. I believe that the exercise of our rights is central to preserving those rights; why should the military defend our rights, if we never use them?

So, Mr. Essef, I know what you are, but, what am I? I am a liberal, a democrat, and someone who believes that we can do better for our families, our fellow citizens, our environment, and our world.