The long voyage to Tokyo starts in 7 hours. That's when I leave for the train station, and begin the succession of busses, trains, and plane transfers that ultimately bring me to Kiyose located on the outskirts of Tokyo over the next 23+ hours. It's too much time to not sleep, and not enough time to sleep before I leave...
Winter break has been short so far, between finals, grading, and Christmas to really have time to reflect on anything. I guess there will be plenty of time for that tomorrow. I'm quite confident that the plane won't crash on a deserted island in the South Pacific en route, and hopeful that some moron won't try to light a cigarette on the plane like last time. This time of year, I have no desire for a forced landing in the Yukon, Alaska, Kamchatka, or any other snow drift between Newark and Tokyo.
Plans for Tokyo? None yet, but I've been handed a number of shopping lists. I'll read my Lonely Planet Tokyo book again on the way to refresh my memory in the meantime. Maybe I'll even get to post a blog from there. But the trips tend not to be about tourism, but about seeing family, and that's the whole point of Holiday travels.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Friday, December 23, 2005
Final Grades out today
Last night, I finally posted the final grades for my class. As did the other profs, because sure enough, my own grades were available in the morning. Oddly, I got the same grade for all my classes, which in one case was a little lower than I wanted or another, higher than I expected, to overall the same net GPA for the semester that I'm comfortable with, given how tough it was and how low my expectations had become.. So does it matter?
Do grades matter? For my class, the point spread was unexpectedly flat. The take-home final turned out to be easier than I thought (higher scores for an exam about equivalent to the one I gave last year). Are they better students than last year? Am I a better instructor this time around? Is the classroom format better than the lab format? I'm debating the last point. When students are in front of a computer the whole time, they tend to check email or generally mess around. But with the 2/3 split between class and lab time, there is more focus. They may be bored stiff for the first 2 hours, but at least they're listening and not checking email or web surfing. Maybe the roundtable format for Web lectures isn't so bad for the first part of class. After all, I'm trying to teach theory, instead of just telling the kids where to click the mouse on Dreamweaver.
To some extent, grades are a necessary evil. Grades create perverse incentives. Students write to what gets higher grades and play it safe, rather than taking chances, getting beat up with criticism, and learning something really important. The biggest eye-opening experience I had was in a creative writing class I took as an undergrad at Union College. I turned in a short story I had written, and-- no lie-- the professor told me that if that was an example of my writing skills, I should take the rest of the semester off and just try to publish.
Before telling me that, he had send my story to a couple of my former profs to make sure that the writing style was consistent with my work to make sure I hadn't plagarized. Plus, I had to explain the story, background, and what motivated it. It was pretty much written around my real life, but in a wildly twisted, distorted way and converted into a really odd SciFi-Detective story.
So with the guaranteed A behind me, I started writing more experimental work. Most of it was complete crap. My rendition of an Irish accent in one story made him cringe. (And me too, if I hadn't used my copy of the story the following summer to start the BBQ. After more than 15 years, I am comfortable to say that not a single copy has survived.) But it was tremendously useful to really go out on a limb and find out what I did that was good, what was plain awful. More was awful than good. But you can't explore your creativity without taking risks, without daring to be bad. Or, you can't dare to be bad if it jeapordizes your academic standing and your chances of getting a job or advancing your academic career.
This is the evil of grades. You have to dare to fail. You have to be ready to be ripped to pieces without lasting consequences, so you get a chance to learn. Computer classes are pretty much the same way. It doesn't sound creative, but you do have to bend your brain in ways you're not familiar, and you're going to be dead wrong. Things aren't going to work, but you need to learn why, without worrying about your grade. Someday, being wrong will matter a lot on the job.
Which is wny in my classes, I don't accept an assignment that's worth less than a B+. My students get a 'resubmit' comment or else a blank in the grade book, because everything is cumulative, and if you don't understand the basics, you won't pass the course. Maybe this conflicts with the views of my colleagues, but I worked in IT for 10 years, and sending anybody out there without understanding the basics of their jobs doesn't do anyone any favors, regardless of their college GPA's.
Do grades matter? For my class, the point spread was unexpectedly flat. The take-home final turned out to be easier than I thought (higher scores for an exam about equivalent to the one I gave last year). Are they better students than last year? Am I a better instructor this time around? Is the classroom format better than the lab format? I'm debating the last point. When students are in front of a computer the whole time, they tend to check email or generally mess around. But with the 2/3 split between class and lab time, there is more focus. They may be bored stiff for the first 2 hours, but at least they're listening and not checking email or web surfing. Maybe the roundtable format for Web lectures isn't so bad for the first part of class. After all, I'm trying to teach theory, instead of just telling the kids where to click the mouse on Dreamweaver.
To some extent, grades are a necessary evil. Grades create perverse incentives. Students write to what gets higher grades and play it safe, rather than taking chances, getting beat up with criticism, and learning something really important. The biggest eye-opening experience I had was in a creative writing class I took as an undergrad at Union College. I turned in a short story I had written, and-- no lie-- the professor told me that if that was an example of my writing skills, I should take the rest of the semester off and just try to publish.
Before telling me that, he had send my story to a couple of my former profs to make sure that the writing style was consistent with my work to make sure I hadn't plagarized. Plus, I had to explain the story, background, and what motivated it. It was pretty much written around my real life, but in a wildly twisted, distorted way and converted into a really odd SciFi-Detective story.
So with the guaranteed A behind me, I started writing more experimental work. Most of it was complete crap. My rendition of an Irish accent in one story made him cringe. (And me too, if I hadn't used my copy of the story the following summer to start the BBQ. After more than 15 years, I am comfortable to say that not a single copy has survived.) But it was tremendously useful to really go out on a limb and find out what I did that was good, what was plain awful. More was awful than good. But you can't explore your creativity without taking risks, without daring to be bad. Or, you can't dare to be bad if it jeapordizes your academic standing and your chances of getting a job or advancing your academic career.
This is the evil of grades. You have to dare to fail. You have to be ready to be ripped to pieces without lasting consequences, so you get a chance to learn. Computer classes are pretty much the same way. It doesn't sound creative, but you do have to bend your brain in ways you're not familiar, and you're going to be dead wrong. Things aren't going to work, but you need to learn why, without worrying about your grade. Someday, being wrong will matter a lot on the job.
Which is wny in my classes, I don't accept an assignment that's worth less than a B+. My students get a 'resubmit' comment or else a blank in the grade book, because everything is cumulative, and if you don't understand the basics, you won't pass the course. Maybe this conflicts with the views of my colleagues, but I worked in IT for 10 years, and sending anybody out there without understanding the basics of their jobs doesn't do anyone any favors, regardless of their college GPA's.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Chili today...
I made a pot of chili con carne today, and only opened one can-- the tomatoes. Just can't skip that one easily, unless you either grow tomatoes yourself, or else just like the month-old, UV-ripened variety in the supermarket. And the corn bread, can't forget the corn bread.
Chili cannot be spur-of-the-moment, unless you're standing in line at Taco Bell and it starts to dawn on you what that ground beef taco might contain. I made it in the crockpot, and had soaked dry beans overnight. (Note: beans swell up a lot in water, so no need to use the whole bag. Now to find a use for half a bag of reconstituted Red Kidneys in the fridge.) But it was nice to smell it simmering away in the house, starting before 7 am, over the next 12 hours. The cold weather left me with a Chili craving, and my last trip to Bombers' Burritos didn't exactly hit the spot-- there's something vaguely disturbing about chili that tastes of Cinnamon.
In the meantime, I went to school, did errands, and even added a couple of bags of blown insulation to the attic. Ideally this would have been done a couple of months ago, but it's almost impossible to do with the kids around, since I don't want them to see the attic or even be fully aware that it exists.
It's funny that the easiest way to spread the stuff around (for a couple of bales, not worth renting a blower for) is to use a garden rake. Really. Have to give my sister credit for that idea. But the smart thing to do is to throw the stuff into the corners and work it back towards you. Rakes aren't very good for pushing stuff-- raking is done by pulling towards yourself. I'll file that tidbit away with all the other lessons I've learned that I get to take advantage of again, like, never. (Can I say 'Snap!' instead?)
So I spent the better part of the afternoon in Muddy Cup, drinking cafe au lait and working out my Spring syllabus. It's a new course for me, an undergrad course about computing and operating systems. Basically, that means Unix, since it's Albany. I'm trying to "load balance" the readings per week and make sure the page count is roughly consistent, balanced with the homeworks, exams, etc. Not to mention the difficulty of the readings.
But I have a basic plan now, to be revised over the next couple of days. Not something I planned to do during Christmas (ok, 'Holiday'), but at least something to fire up the synapses again before my trip.
Tomorrow looks like another day of the same, including burritos with leftover chili, filing the mess of papers accumulated over the semester, and other odd jobs around the house. The past week has gone by much faster than I expected, and still not very far down my project list for the week! But have to make some proposals, file paperwork, and all the other odd stuff that PhD's have to do in addition to the usual classes.
Chili cannot be spur-of-the-moment, unless you're standing in line at Taco Bell and it starts to dawn on you what that ground beef taco might contain. I made it in the crockpot, and had soaked dry beans overnight. (Note: beans swell up a lot in water, so no need to use the whole bag. Now to find a use for half a bag of reconstituted Red Kidneys in the fridge.) But it was nice to smell it simmering away in the house, starting before 7 am, over the next 12 hours. The cold weather left me with a Chili craving, and my last trip to Bombers' Burritos didn't exactly hit the spot-- there's something vaguely disturbing about chili that tastes of Cinnamon.
In the meantime, I went to school, did errands, and even added a couple of bags of blown insulation to the attic. Ideally this would have been done a couple of months ago, but it's almost impossible to do with the kids around, since I don't want them to see the attic or even be fully aware that it exists.
It's funny that the easiest way to spread the stuff around (for a couple of bales, not worth renting a blower for) is to use a garden rake. Really. Have to give my sister credit for that idea. But the smart thing to do is to throw the stuff into the corners and work it back towards you. Rakes aren't very good for pushing stuff-- raking is done by pulling towards yourself. I'll file that tidbit away with all the other lessons I've learned that I get to take advantage of again, like, never. (Can I say 'Snap!' instead?)
So I spent the better part of the afternoon in Muddy Cup, drinking cafe au lait and working out my Spring syllabus. It's a new course for me, an undergrad course about computing and operating systems. Basically, that means Unix, since it's Albany. I'm trying to "load balance" the readings per week and make sure the page count is roughly consistent, balanced with the homeworks, exams, etc. Not to mention the difficulty of the readings.
But I have a basic plan now, to be revised over the next couple of days. Not something I planned to do during Christmas (ok, 'Holiday'), but at least something to fire up the synapses again before my trip.
Tomorrow looks like another day of the same, including burritos with leftover chili, filing the mess of papers accumulated over the semester, and other odd jobs around the house. The past week has gone by much faster than I expected, and still not very far down my project list for the week! But have to make some proposals, file paperwork, and all the other odd stuff that PhD's have to do in addition to the usual classes.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Countdown to Tokyo
I leave for Tokyo in 9 days.
I'm done with exams, mostly done with grading-- I've got a few days to post final grades, and I've got a headache from reading short answers. Not a literal headache that can be resolved with Tylenol or some other kind of over-the-counter med. It's the kind that results from reading 200 short answer questions, twice, and determining how many points to assign to each after reexamining the slides, lectures, and readings. Is simply parroting back what I said in class worth full credit?
To a few profs I've had in the past, the answer would be 'Yes'. I'm not quite that conceited, I think. I'd prefer violent disagreement if the reasoning were sound, to someone who just repeated what was on the overhead. Education isn't about agreement. It's about thinking.
No, I leave for Tokyo in 8 days, 8 hours. That's whent the succession of cabs, busses, trains and planes start. Ok, just one plane. Probably cab to the train station, then the Newark monorail, then the plane to Tokyo, then the bus, then a cab. Door to door: 22 hours, with about 5 or 6 physical transfers.
My last trip to Tokyo-- in 2003-- had one odd incident. Somewhere over Alaska, the guy in the seat behind me tried to light a cigarette. That didn't get very far. He was jumped by a few people quite quickly and dragged into the back of the plane. For a minute, I thought we'd end up landing in Anchorage, but it turned out not to be the case. It was just some dimwit who apparently never flew before. I'm hoping for an uneventful trip next week!
----
I stopped by my summer internship today, and chatted with former co-workers for about half an hour. Question in etiquette: when someone offers you a Christmas (ok, Holiday) cookie and halfway through eating it, you discover a hair baked into it, what do you do?
How about this: Hold the cookie by one corner, and find a way to accidentally drop it? Or just discretely fold it into a napkin to "save for later"? Suddenly remember an appointment and dash out of the room, to dispose of it as you rush out the building? The possibilities are endless. In hindsight. Oh Well.
I'm done with exams, mostly done with grading-- I've got a few days to post final grades, and I've got a headache from reading short answers. Not a literal headache that can be resolved with Tylenol or some other kind of over-the-counter med. It's the kind that results from reading 200 short answer questions, twice, and determining how many points to assign to each after reexamining the slides, lectures, and readings. Is simply parroting back what I said in class worth full credit?
To a few profs I've had in the past, the answer would be 'Yes'. I'm not quite that conceited, I think. I'd prefer violent disagreement if the reasoning were sound, to someone who just repeated what was on the overhead. Education isn't about agreement. It's about thinking.
No, I leave for Tokyo in 8 days, 8 hours. That's whent the succession of cabs, busses, trains and planes start. Ok, just one plane. Probably cab to the train station, then the Newark monorail, then the plane to Tokyo, then the bus, then a cab. Door to door: 22 hours, with about 5 or 6 physical transfers.
My last trip to Tokyo-- in 2003-- had one odd incident. Somewhere over Alaska, the guy in the seat behind me tried to light a cigarette. That didn't get very far. He was jumped by a few people quite quickly and dragged into the back of the plane. For a minute, I thought we'd end up landing in Anchorage, but it turned out not to be the case. It was just some dimwit who apparently never flew before. I'm hoping for an uneventful trip next week!
----
I stopped by my summer internship today, and chatted with former co-workers for about half an hour. Question in etiquette: when someone offers you a Christmas (ok, Holiday) cookie and halfway through eating it, you discover a hair baked into it, what do you do?
How about this: Hold the cookie by one corner, and find a way to accidentally drop it? Or just discretely fold it into a napkin to "save for later"? Suddenly remember an appointment and dash out of the room, to dispose of it as you rush out the building? The possibilities are endless. In hindsight. Oh Well.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Good By
Today is Saturday morning, and all of my coursework is over. The last projects went in on Thursday night. The relief is an understatement. Now I just have to finish grading this week for the class I'm teaching. But I think I'll start tomorrow, when I'm fresh and hopefully no longer fried. It wouldn't be fair to grade before that.
Last Tuesday morning (about 4 am?) we all got up, and by 5 am I started the long drive to Newark Airport some 150 miles away to catch an 11 am flight. That's enough time. My wife and kids are heading to Tokyo for a month. I couldn't go for another week (yes, school), and plane fares skyrocketed between December 15th and the 27th because of Christmas (ok, "Holiday") travels. So I'm delaying my trip until the 28th.
We made good time and hit Newark before 9am, or the tail end of Rush Hour, NYC. But we still arrived at the gate well ahead of requested check-in time, a little tired.
I spent a little time over breakfast talking to the kids, telling them how much fun they'll have with Grandma and their aunts and uncles in Japan. (My wife is Japanese, and most of her family lives in Tokyo.) Ali still remembers the last trip, though it was a little before her third birthday. Scott doesn't remember it at all; he hadn't turned one yet. But before they headed to the gate, Ali gave me a little picture she had made; a drawing of a heart, with the words "Good By" written beneath. She cried when I left them at the security gate, but I watched them from a distance until they had cleared the metal detector and headed towards the departure gate, out of sight.
I drove back to Albany, rambling away into my MP3 player microphone, largely to stay alert while driving. Maybe I'll talk about that later-- if it turns out to be coherent, maybe I'll even post it as my first Podcast... :)
Last Tuesday morning (about 4 am?) we all got up, and by 5 am I started the long drive to Newark Airport some 150 miles away to catch an 11 am flight. That's enough time. My wife and kids are heading to Tokyo for a month. I couldn't go for another week (yes, school), and plane fares skyrocketed between December 15th and the 27th because of Christmas (ok, "Holiday") travels. So I'm delaying my trip until the 28th.
We made good time and hit Newark before 9am, or the tail end of Rush Hour, NYC. But we still arrived at the gate well ahead of requested check-in time, a little tired.
I spent a little time over breakfast talking to the kids, telling them how much fun they'll have with Grandma and their aunts and uncles in Japan. (My wife is Japanese, and most of her family lives in Tokyo.) Ali still remembers the last trip, though it was a little before her third birthday. Scott doesn't remember it at all; he hadn't turned one yet. But before they headed to the gate, Ali gave me a little picture she had made; a drawing of a heart, with the words "Good By" written beneath. She cried when I left them at the security gate, but I watched them from a distance until they had cleared the metal detector and headed towards the departure gate, out of sight.
I drove back to Albany, rambling away into my MP3 player microphone, largely to stay alert while driving. Maybe I'll talk about that later-- if it turns out to be coherent, maybe I'll even post it as my first Podcast... :)
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Sick as a dog
So in the midst of feeling relieved about my extension, I notice my throat is a little scratchy. That, and I'm a little tired, which isn't terribly surprising for not having slept in a while. Then it hits me.
I'm borderline conscious for the next day or so, feverish, barely functional, and can barely swallow. So I pull myself together and head to the Student Clinic. Why not my regular doctor? Because despite living back in Albany for nearly a year and a half, I never bothered to get a primary care doc. But the Student Clinic is much better than what I remembered from 10 years ago, though I'm acutely aware that I'm probably 15 years older than any of the other patients.
It's not my first visit this year-- I had gone in there with an earache a couple of months ago, only to have determined that it was merely a ball of hardened wax the size of a gumball. I had no idea I had that much empty space in my head, but hey, I didn't break 1300 on my SAT's either.
After only a few minutes, I get to see a nurse. And after having an extremely long Q-Tip jammed into my throat for a sample, I waited a few more minutes to find out that it was in fact Strep Throat. Some pills from the pharmacy, strict warnings about finishing the full course of the medication, and a pleasant farewell, and I'm on my way home.
And about another 24 hours later, I'm back to work.
Or with roughly as much working time left as I had originally, had I not received an extension and not gotten Strep Throat. Chalk one up for the zero-sum nature of the universe.
I'm borderline conscious for the next day or so, feverish, barely functional, and can barely swallow. So I pull myself together and head to the Student Clinic. Why not my regular doctor? Because despite living back in Albany for nearly a year and a half, I never bothered to get a primary care doc. But the Student Clinic is much better than what I remembered from 10 years ago, though I'm acutely aware that I'm probably 15 years older than any of the other patients.
It's not my first visit this year-- I had gone in there with an earache a couple of months ago, only to have determined that it was merely a ball of hardened wax the size of a gumball. I had no idea I had that much empty space in my head, but hey, I didn't break 1300 on my SAT's either.
After only a few minutes, I get to see a nurse. And after having an extremely long Q-Tip jammed into my throat for a sample, I waited a few more minutes to find out that it was in fact Strep Throat. Some pills from the pharmacy, strict warnings about finishing the full course of the medication, and a pleasant farewell, and I'm on my way home.
And about another 24 hours later, I'm back to work.
Or with roughly as much working time left as I had originally, had I not received an extension and not gotten Strep Throat. Chalk one up for the zero-sum nature of the universe.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Snap! I got an extension
My daughter came home from school yesterday, wanting a snack. I took out some apple muffins from Price Chopper, to which she replied in her cute, high-pitched 5-year-old voice, "Oh Snap! We got muffins!"
I blinked. "What?"
"Muffins."
I cut one in half, handing it to her on her kid's Ikea plate, a little puzzled about what "Snap!" means.
So today, after teaching, I stopped in the department office and asked the Grad Assistant what "Snap!" means.
She asked Why. I get a little uneasy. "My daughter said it when she got home from school," I reply.
"How old is she?"
"5."
"She heard it in school?" I'm even more vaguely uneasy than before.
"Yup."
"Well, it could mean something either really bad, or something really good, or something in between. It's like saying 'Wow'."
"Thanks," I reply, finish my errand, and head off to the bus stop, a little earlier than usual.
Luckily, class had finished early that afternoon-- I was teaching my last class for the semester, the students had given their final presentations, and there wasn't enough time to really cover anything substantive. So, just to feel like I had something new to give them on their last day, I gave a really short talk about RFID and barcodes. (Someday, I'll talk about the barcode company I once worked for, now that the twitching has largely stopped.) And once I noticed there was less than an hour left, I let everyone go, since I didn't have anything new to say before a final exam, on their last class, that I though would sink in during the last 45 minutes of the semester, after the aforementioned final presentations.
I stumbled back to my office, looked at my dirty coffee pot again, put on my coat and headed home, thinking about the semester. Maybe I didn't cover quite enough ground this time around.. I left the class feeling like there was more that I needed to say, like I was sending 14 Graduate students off into the snow without their mittens. But at least I feel that everyone in the room had a very clear idea of everything I covered, and that nobody was left behind.
And I didn't hand out the take-home final exam as promised; I have a bunch of questions, the range of expected answers, but it somehow doesn't quite look right. I'll sleep on it and send it out by Friday morning.
On the bright side, my PhD seminar class got an extension on two papers, and my GIS class got an extension on the final project, now everything due Monday.
Snap!
I blinked. "What?"
"Muffins."
I cut one in half, handing it to her on her kid's Ikea plate, a little puzzled about what "Snap!" means.
So today, after teaching, I stopped in the department office and asked the Grad Assistant what "Snap!" means.
She asked Why. I get a little uneasy. "My daughter said it when she got home from school," I reply.
"How old is she?"
"5."
"She heard it in school?" I'm even more vaguely uneasy than before.
"Yup."
"Well, it could mean something either really bad, or something really good, or something in between. It's like saying 'Wow'."
"Thanks," I reply, finish my errand, and head off to the bus stop, a little earlier than usual.
Luckily, class had finished early that afternoon-- I was teaching my last class for the semester, the students had given their final presentations, and there wasn't enough time to really cover anything substantive. So, just to feel like I had something new to give them on their last day, I gave a really short talk about RFID and barcodes. (Someday, I'll talk about the barcode company I once worked for, now that the twitching has largely stopped.) And once I noticed there was less than an hour left, I let everyone go, since I didn't have anything new to say before a final exam, on their last class, that I though would sink in during the last 45 minutes of the semester, after the aforementioned final presentations.
I stumbled back to my office, looked at my dirty coffee pot again, put on my coat and headed home, thinking about the semester. Maybe I didn't cover quite enough ground this time around.. I left the class feeling like there was more that I needed to say, like I was sending 14 Graduate students off into the snow without their mittens. But at least I feel that everyone in the room had a very clear idea of everything I covered, and that nobody was left behind.
And I didn't hand out the take-home final exam as promised; I have a bunch of questions, the range of expected answers, but it somehow doesn't quite look right. I'll sleep on it and send it out by Friday morning.
On the bright side, my PhD seminar class got an extension on two papers, and my GIS class got an extension on the final project, now everything due Monday.
Snap!
Monday, December 05, 2005
If I can write just 3 pages an hour for the next few days...
Deadlines closing in rapidly; this is the last week, and have at least 4 projects due in the next 48 hours; all of them are partly-to-mostly done, just time to wrap them all up. Good thing I decided to post another blog instead. :)
Reminds me of my undergrad Senior Thesis, and beginning the chant, "All I have to do is to write half a page a day, and I can coast through the end of the year." Needless to say, that turned into 5 pages per day before long. Then 8. Sold at 10. But it turned out to be 70 pages of game theory, public policy, and economics applied to fighting the War on Drugs and combating the cocaine trade in particular. The nice touch was all the Spanish-language text that I cited and translated into English. Boy, did that prove to be utterly useless in the job market. But I'm quite proud of my accomplishment.
Or at least I was, until I found a copy of it again in old papers last month. I had used the thesis as an exercise in typesetting a book, in 1992 when I was trying to learn desktop publishing. Somehow a couple of these little booklets survived a few dozen moves from California and all over upstate NY and New Jersey. Even the writing sounds a little jittery and overly caffeinated. Oh well, at least I graduated, and learned a few things in the process that ultimately carried over to my Masters in Public Administration a few years later. And a few (different) things that I learned in my MPA program helped me in the job market, got me into the Port Authority (my favorite job in NYC), and brought me back to Albany to pursue my PhD in Information Science.
Back again, in Albany, in school, and about 10 pages left to write before 5 pm tomorrow evening. If I can write just 1.5 pages an hour...
Reminds me of my undergrad Senior Thesis, and beginning the chant, "All I have to do is to write half a page a day, and I can coast through the end of the year." Needless to say, that turned into 5 pages per day before long. Then 8. Sold at 10. But it turned out to be 70 pages of game theory, public policy, and economics applied to fighting the War on Drugs and combating the cocaine trade in particular. The nice touch was all the Spanish-language text that I cited and translated into English. Boy, did that prove to be utterly useless in the job market. But I'm quite proud of my accomplishment.
Or at least I was, until I found a copy of it again in old papers last month. I had used the thesis as an exercise in typesetting a book, in 1992 when I was trying to learn desktop publishing. Somehow a couple of these little booklets survived a few dozen moves from California and all over upstate NY and New Jersey. Even the writing sounds a little jittery and overly caffeinated. Oh well, at least I graduated, and learned a few things in the process that ultimately carried over to my Masters in Public Administration a few years later. And a few (different) things that I learned in my MPA program helped me in the job market, got me into the Port Authority (my favorite job in NYC), and brought me back to Albany to pursue my PhD in Information Science.
Back again, in Albany, in school, and about 10 pages left to write before 5 pm tomorrow evening. If I can write just 1.5 pages an hour...
Friday, December 02, 2005
Coffee boycott
Another late and hopefully last Friday night in front of the computer finishing school projects. This has been the longest semester so far. As part of my protest to this, I've decided to boycott Coffee until roughly 9 am tomorrow morning. The insanity must stop.
I hope this sends a message. To whom, I don't know at present, but I trust it will find a deserving audience and change something in the world. In the meantime, I have Irish Breakfast Tea. I probably need fresh air, too.
I hope this sends a message. To whom, I don't know at present, but I trust it will find a deserving audience and change something in the world. In the meantime, I have Irish Breakfast Tea. I probably need fresh air, too.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
The light at the end of the tunnel
I've come to realize that about 70% of my workload for the rest of the semester is due next Tuesday. The end is in sight, and one way or another, it'll be mostly done with very soon. Last night's episode of Lost is sitting on tape (minus the last 3 minutes apparently, which kind of matter with that show) but I can always get the 30 second recap on WikiPedia.
I'm pretty happy with PBWiki. It's a rapidly developing product, around since only June, and constantly adding new features. That and my Del.icio.us account are a couple of tools that actually get more interesting the more I learn how to use them. I'd almost want to start a PBWiki wiki about how to use PBWiki. I've even lectured about the two services for about half an hour in class yesterday, citing PBWiki as an alternative medium for submitting their last two assignments.
Thanksgiving thanks are a bit late this year. I think it's really important that we have a day to say our thanks about something. I'm thankful about my family, my home, and the life I have now, even as I complain about the hours and the workload. Being a returning student gives me a fresh perspective about opportunities, and I get to enjoy my last chance to pursue research interests and enjoy a little bit of freedom. I can't stay in school very long (not with kids to support), but it's a great chance to spend time with them I never could while working in NYC.
I'm also quite thankful that the semester will be over in a couple of weeks.
I'm pretty happy with PBWiki. It's a rapidly developing product, around since only June, and constantly adding new features. That and my Del.icio.us account are a couple of tools that actually get more interesting the more I learn how to use them. I'd almost want to start a PBWiki wiki about how to use PBWiki. I've even lectured about the two services for about half an hour in class yesterday, citing PBWiki as an alternative medium for submitting their last two assignments.
Thanksgiving thanks are a bit late this year. I think it's really important that we have a day to say our thanks about something. I'm thankful about my family, my home, and the life I have now, even as I complain about the hours and the workload. Being a returning student gives me a fresh perspective about opportunities, and I get to enjoy my last chance to pursue research interests and enjoy a little bit of freedom. I can't stay in school very long (not with kids to support), but it's a great chance to spend time with them I never could while working in NYC.
I'm also quite thankful that the semester will be over in a couple of weeks.
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