Well, it's election day. And since I don't particularly feel like discussing my day (it was pretty standard), I would like to share my stream of ill-informed views on politics with everyone. And by "ill-informed" I really mean "I don't follow every person's personal agendas."
Here's the thing. Like all of the elections that I've been old enough to really follow, there have been two candidates that represent the very far reaches of both sides of the spectrum.
And here I sit in the middle. Neither candidate really had anything super enticing for me. As one who is about to begin a career soon, you know what I want? A job. Not the promise of a job... I don't believe in hoping for anything that a politician promises (I don't like getting my hopes up, you know?). This is my irrational side speaking, but I'd like to instill a fine for each unfulfilled or broken promise from a politician. You want the debt (which will never get fixed, by the by) fixed? Do that. Charge for lies. I should be an economist or something.
You know what else I want? Something to show for my tax dollars. I don't even care how much I pay in taxes (provided I can actually pay for my expenses), but I want to see the fruits of my taxes. I understand that there are things that do not have a direct tangible benefit for me (like prisons or welfare) that have a social benefit. But if you're going to raise taxes for the middle class, I want to get something out of it.
You know what else I want out of a president? Someone who actually explains to me why I should vote for him, not just someone who bashes the other guy. Seriously, we're voting for a bunch of 5-year-olds. PSA to all future presidents: grow up. Give me facts, not made up statistics about how your opponent poaches wild baboons. Or whatever.
And while I'm at it, you know what else I want? Cookies. About two dozen cookies and a big glass of milk. So any future presidents out there reading this (which, quite frankly, they should all do... they would learn a lot), take note: if you want to win people over, use the college method: FREE FOOD. Heck, if some political party sent me a cheesecake on my birthday every year, they'd have a life-long dedicated slave to their regime.
Seriously. President Obama didn't send me a cheesecake on my birthday. What a punk. And neither did President Bush. These guys have no idea what they're doing.
11.07.2012
11.05.2012
Day 532
I spent this morning studying for my test this afternoon. That was pretty much my morning. After I'd studied for a couple hours I made some lunch, then went to class.
My test went well. I think I got 100% on it, but there's always a chance that I missed something. It didn't seem to bad though. After class I went to go talk with Mr. Owens about the project for his class. I have a good start to the project, but I think that it will take another two or three times of sitting down and working on it for a couple hours to finish it up.
After class I came home and started doing my lesson prep for tomorrow. This chapter is on probability... which is kind of my thing. So I'm doing my best to teach it well and not skip any details. It's very easy to do a poor job of teaching things you know well.
Kimmy made lasagna for dinner! It was really good. She's a much better cook than I am... I think it's because she actually follows the directions. That just seems silly to me! Why on earth would I follow the recipe when I can simply fudge it and do my own thing? Preposterous, I say.
After dinner I finished working on my lesson plan. I try to use lots of examples in my classes... specifically ones that actually involve class. I've found that more students pay attention if I use data they give me (e.g. asking 10 people what they're favorite color is and using that information) than if I just make up an example.
So that's my day. And now it's time for some sleep. Good night, my readers.
My test went well. I think I got 100% on it, but there's always a chance that I missed something. It didn't seem to bad though. After class I went to go talk with Mr. Owens about the project for his class. I have a good start to the project, but I think that it will take another two or three times of sitting down and working on it for a couple hours to finish it up.
After class I came home and started doing my lesson prep for tomorrow. This chapter is on probability... which is kind of my thing. So I'm doing my best to teach it well and not skip any details. It's very easy to do a poor job of teaching things you know well.
Kimmy made lasagna for dinner! It was really good. She's a much better cook than I am... I think it's because she actually follows the directions. That just seems silly to me! Why on earth would I follow the recipe when I can simply fudge it and do my own thing? Preposterous, I say.
After dinner I finished working on my lesson plan. I try to use lots of examples in my classes... specifically ones that actually involve class. I've found that more students pay attention if I use data they give me (e.g. asking 10 people what they're favorite color is and using that information) than if I just make up an example.
So that's my day. And now it's time for some sleep. Good night, my readers.
Day 531
It seems that every day I go to bed later and later... but somehow I just don't feel like going to bed. Everything is infinitely (not really, but largely) more interesting than sleeping. If I could still function normally without sleeping, I would absolutely do it. But I need sleep to function and do well in work and school, so I sleep.
Kimmy had to work all day today, so after we got some breakfast she went off to work, then I went to church with Jessie and Richard. Today's sermon was about praying boldly, not just out of desperation ("well, I did everything else so I guess I'll pray now") or without expecting a response. And he was right... there's no reason to pray if you aren't expecting results.
After church we went to lunch. We talked about school and work and the races that Jessie and Richard ran on Saturday. They both did very well, so I was happy for them. They're trying to get me to do a race in December... but we'll see how that goes. If it's after finals then I'll probably do it. I need some exercise besides walking to class.
When I got home I studied for my test tomorrow. Mostly I gathered formulas and worked through the practice exam. Tomorrow I'm going to do the same thing, as well as work through some homework problems.
Kimmy came home for her break around 3. So she got some food and we talked about her first half of the day. After she went back to work I studied some more, then moved on to grading. I finished all of the grading! Well, for this week. There's always more grading to be done.
For dinner I made hamburgers and chips. Kimmy and I have been experimenting with making potato chips, so this time I used two ideas that she suggested: use parchment paper (instead of cooking spray) and use the vegetable peeler to slice the potatoes really thin (instead of a knife).
I'd say they turned out well. And they tasted really good. So I'm sure we'll be trying this again. We've just been sprinkling them with garlic salt and cheese, then putting it in the oven for about 20 minutes. At some point we want to look for some sort of dried cheese powder to put on them, because the cheese tends to melt the chips together. We'll see.
After dinner I put all the grades on Blackboard, then did some statistics on the grades. I decided that I wanted to compare the average in the class versus the average if I exclude everyone who did not turn various assignments. I prefer to do averages that way because I think it gives a truer show of how the class is doing. Of course the class average on an assignment will be much lower if 25% of them didn't do it. They're doing fine in the class, regardless of which average I use. A lot of them struggled on the last test, but they're all still doing fine. Provided that they actually turn in the assignments....
Ok. I have a test tomorrow and might try to get a haircut.. but we'll see about that.
Good night.
Kimmy had to work all day today, so after we got some breakfast she went off to work, then I went to church with Jessie and Richard. Today's sermon was about praying boldly, not just out of desperation ("well, I did everything else so I guess I'll pray now") or without expecting a response. And he was right... there's no reason to pray if you aren't expecting results.
After church we went to lunch. We talked about school and work and the races that Jessie and Richard ran on Saturday. They both did very well, so I was happy for them. They're trying to get me to do a race in December... but we'll see how that goes. If it's after finals then I'll probably do it. I need some exercise besides walking to class.
When I got home I studied for my test tomorrow. Mostly I gathered formulas and worked through the practice exam. Tomorrow I'm going to do the same thing, as well as work through some homework problems.
Kimmy came home for her break around 3. So she got some food and we talked about her first half of the day. After she went back to work I studied some more, then moved on to grading. I finished all of the grading! Well, for this week. There's always more grading to be done.
For dinner I made hamburgers and chips. Kimmy and I have been experimenting with making potato chips, so this time I used two ideas that she suggested: use parchment paper (instead of cooking spray) and use the vegetable peeler to slice the potatoes really thin (instead of a knife).
I'd say they turned out well. And they tasted really good. So I'm sure we'll be trying this again. We've just been sprinkling them with garlic salt and cheese, then putting it in the oven for about 20 minutes. At some point we want to look for some sort of dried cheese powder to put on them, because the cheese tends to melt the chips together. We'll see.
After dinner I put all the grades on Blackboard, then did some statistics on the grades. I decided that I wanted to compare the average in the class versus the average if I exclude everyone who did not turn various assignments. I prefer to do averages that way because I think it gives a truer show of how the class is doing. Of course the class average on an assignment will be much lower if 25% of them didn't do it. They're doing fine in the class, regardless of which average I use. A lot of them struggled on the last test, but they're all still doing fine. Provided that they actually turn in the assignments....
Ok. I have a test tomorrow and might try to get a haircut.. but we'll see about that.
Good night.
11.04.2012
Day 530
Today started a little bit later than usual... and it felt awesome. I didn't get up until 9:30! I was really being a rebel today.
So after some food and things, Kimmy and I went grocery shopping. And we finally got some canisters for flour and sugar and things! I'm pretty excited to not just keep those in the original bags. It was getting pretty annoying. They had a good deal at Aldi, so we figured it would be a good idea.
After we got home and put the groceries away, I started on some grading. Kimmy had to work later in the afternoon, so after she left... I kept grading. After dinner I finished grading and did the dishes. I finished my super exciting evening with homework! Tomorrow will pretty much just be a study day.
Oh also! Here is this picture Kimmy took of Bacon being silly. He does silly things a lot.
I don't really have too much else to say... except that I'm up way too late and will be going to bed very shortly. Cheerio!
So after some food and things, Kimmy and I went grocery shopping. And we finally got some canisters for flour and sugar and things! I'm pretty excited to not just keep those in the original bags. It was getting pretty annoying. They had a good deal at Aldi, so we figured it would be a good idea.
After we got home and put the groceries away, I started on some grading. Kimmy had to work later in the afternoon, so after she left... I kept grading. After dinner I finished grading and did the dishes. I finished my super exciting evening with homework! Tomorrow will pretty much just be a study day.
I don't really have too much else to say... except that I'm up way too late and will be going to bed very shortly. Cheerio!
11.03.2012
Day 529
I don't really feel like updating this today, so it's going to be pretty short.
Yesterday morning largely consisted of studying for my exam. I studied for probably 3 hours before I got some lunch and went to class. I felt pretty good about the material, for the most part.
First I had Dr. Foley's class. We did some review for his test on Monday. Then I went to the atrium and studied for the hour in between classes. Mostly I just read through formulas again. I posed a couple questions for the group regarding one of the formulas, as it seemed inconsistent with the general form, but none of us were able to come up with an answer. So I'll have to ask Mr. Owens on Monday.
Then... the test. Out of the six questions there was only half of one that I didn't know how to do. Well, technically I knew how to do it, but I didn't remember the specific formula we were supposed to use. We were supposed to use an approximation formula to calculate something... so I gave the actual value. Hopefully I'll get at least a little credit.
When I got back our landlord's son came by to fix our window and garage door. I'm pretty happy about that. Then we went to dinner with our friend Sarah. She used to go to dance camp with us and she attends Ball State. That was fun. We were at the restaurant for quite some time, but we were having a good time.
After dinner Kimmy and I had less of a good time... we spent the next few hours grading. It was not fun... but it needed to be done. She was grading tests, I was grading the projects that they turned in on Thursday. We got about half-way done, so I was happy. I'm hoping to get everything back to them on Tuesday.
Yeah, that's about it for yesterday. On to another day of fun-filled grading and studying!
Yesterday morning largely consisted of studying for my exam. I studied for probably 3 hours before I got some lunch and went to class. I felt pretty good about the material, for the most part.
First I had Dr. Foley's class. We did some review for his test on Monday. Then I went to the atrium and studied for the hour in between classes. Mostly I just read through formulas again. I posed a couple questions for the group regarding one of the formulas, as it seemed inconsistent with the general form, but none of us were able to come up with an answer. So I'll have to ask Mr. Owens on Monday.
Then... the test. Out of the six questions there was only half of one that I didn't know how to do. Well, technically I knew how to do it, but I didn't remember the specific formula we were supposed to use. We were supposed to use an approximation formula to calculate something... so I gave the actual value. Hopefully I'll get at least a little credit.
When I got back our landlord's son came by to fix our window and garage door. I'm pretty happy about that. Then we went to dinner with our friend Sarah. She used to go to dance camp with us and she attends Ball State. That was fun. We were at the restaurant for quite some time, but we were having a good time.
After dinner Kimmy and I had less of a good time... we spent the next few hours grading. It was not fun... but it needed to be done. She was grading tests, I was grading the projects that they turned in on Thursday. We got about half-way done, so I was happy. I'm hoping to get everything back to them on Tuesday.
Yeah, that's about it for yesterday. On to another day of fun-filled grading and studying!
11.02.2012
Day 528
I'm still of the opinion that I would enjoy teaching way more if I didn't have my own classes. And I would enjoy my own classes if I didn't also have to teach. But both... it takes a lot out of me. However, seeing that I still have both very strongly present in my life, I continue to do my best.
This morning I began teaching a chapter on probability. One of the disadvantages to teaching in the morning is that even if everyone understands what I'm saying, I get no kind of feedback. I realize that this is not a universal sign to speed up or slow down... but I would like some sort of signal. Even one person to say "hey, we get it... you can move on to the next thing" would be great. But 98% of the time I get silence. It's rough. I enjoy teaching the class, but when so many students are just out of bed it can be pretty challenging.
After class I went up to my office and did some work on the group assignment that I gave them today. Last year when I taught most of my students seemed to enjoy it, so I'm hoping this group likes it as well.
So then I had my own class this afternoon. Today we ended our discussion of regression (a way of fitting data onto a line, like in this picture) and began our discussion on time series (a way of viewing data points over a series of time). The two are very related, but I imagine that the analysis of the two will be significantly different.
When I got home I started studying. My test tomorrow... well, we'll see how it goes. So I studied for a while, had dinner with Kimmy, then studied some more. I took a break to go to a meeting around 7. Some of the other actuarial science students and I are putting on our second seminar for freshman to help them acclimate into the actuarial world. There's a lot to handle. So our next seminar will deal with the exam process (the two governing societies, what the exams cover, what classes you need to take for those exams, when those classes are offered, how to study for the exams, what materials to use), and then have a panel discussion with some of the students as well as professor Owens. I think it will be a good time.
After I got home I studied for a couple more hours, but then my brain was done for the day. So I'm off to bed and shall be back at the studying bright and early tomorrow morning. Night!
This morning I began teaching a chapter on probability. One of the disadvantages to teaching in the morning is that even if everyone understands what I'm saying, I get no kind of feedback. I realize that this is not a universal sign to speed up or slow down... but I would like some sort of signal. Even one person to say "hey, we get it... you can move on to the next thing" would be great. But 98% of the time I get silence. It's rough. I enjoy teaching the class, but when so many students are just out of bed it can be pretty challenging.
After class I went up to my office and did some work on the group assignment that I gave them today. Last year when I taught most of my students seemed to enjoy it, so I'm hoping this group likes it as well.
So then I had my own class this afternoon. Today we ended our discussion of regression (a way of fitting data onto a line, like in this picture) and began our discussion on time series (a way of viewing data points over a series of time). The two are very related, but I imagine that the analysis of the two will be significantly different.
When I got home I started studying. My test tomorrow... well, we'll see how it goes. So I studied for a while, had dinner with Kimmy, then studied some more. I took a break to go to a meeting around 7. Some of the other actuarial science students and I are putting on our second seminar for freshman to help them acclimate into the actuarial world. There's a lot to handle. So our next seminar will deal with the exam process (the two governing societies, what the exams cover, what classes you need to take for those exams, when those classes are offered, how to study for the exams, what materials to use), and then have a panel discussion with some of the students as well as professor Owens. I think it will be a good time.
After I got home I studied for a couple more hours, but then my brain was done for the day. So I'm off to bed and shall be back at the studying bright and early tomorrow morning. Night!
11.01.2012
Day 527
For some reason it's felt like Tuesday all day today, and I'm not sure why. I think that the strange timing of my classes really throws me off. I've always been used to morning classes with work in the afternoons. But this semester has afternoon classes, work in the mornings, and long gaps in between. I've developed a good habit of studying and getting work done Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, (usually starting by 8 or 8:30) but it still seems strange to study first before class or work.
So I studied this morning. For some reason some of the problems I was doing just did not seem to be working out for me. So after studying for a while I switched over to planning my lesson. That went significantly more successfully.
After lunch Kimmy drove me to class because it was pretty gross outside. I think that at some point when I'm feeling motivated (so... not today) I'm going to give a really good explanation about the things we talk about in my class. Because it's pretty interesting, but it would take a lot of explaining before getting to the things I'm actually learning.
So after my classes I came home and had dinner with Kimmy. She had to go to work shortly after dinner. When she'd left I spent the rest of the evening planning my lesson for tomorrow, then studying for my test on Friday. I feel like I'm reasonably ready... I mean I know all the concepts, but I just know that at this point I have to keep working lots of problems.
Well, I have another long day tomorrow, so good night all.
So I studied this morning. For some reason some of the problems I was doing just did not seem to be working out for me. So after studying for a while I switched over to planning my lesson. That went significantly more successfully.
After lunch Kimmy drove me to class because it was pretty gross outside. I think that at some point when I'm feeling motivated (so... not today) I'm going to give a really good explanation about the things we talk about in my class. Because it's pretty interesting, but it would take a lot of explaining before getting to the things I'm actually learning.
So after my classes I came home and had dinner with Kimmy. She had to go to work shortly after dinner. When she'd left I spent the rest of the evening planning my lesson for tomorrow, then studying for my test on Friday. I feel like I'm reasonably ready... I mean I know all the concepts, but I just know that at this point I have to keep working lots of problems.
Well, I have another long day tomorrow, so good night all.
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