Math 210 Section 3 - Second Summer Session - Day 1

Only 17 students!!!!! YES!!!!!!

I didn't realize until I stepped into the classroom how nervous I was that I could potentially be facing a class of 150 students. I guess there isn't as much demand for the summer courses here.
It's nice having a small number of students...because I get to know everyone's name. Everyone looked like they were juniors or seniors who need the course to graduate - so no freshmen who think they are still in high school to contend with. On the downside, it kind of fucks up the curve if there are one or two who have had calculus in hs and then decided to go into philosophy or music, while the rest of them are struggling with reducing fractions and having panic attacks on the tests.

Copied part of my syllabus from a prior instructor who taught this course last year. This line, under attendance: NO ABSENCES WILL BE EXCUSED IN THIS CLASS! I think I made a mistake doing that, because my resolve crumbled after student came up to ask me what to do because she needed to go to family reunion or something next week. I was like - well do hw....just turn it in later when you get back.

I've noticed a trend among older math teachers. If they are primarily teaching and not doing research, they slowly morph into Nazi death camp guards ("Math will make you free!"). If they are into research, they become easily distracted and slightly spacey (or sometimes completely spacey). There has to be a path between the two extremes.

Well actually there is a third type: the professor who is super-introvert (takes Maalox before lecture) and is terrified of his class. They hide behind the podium and clutch it for dear life, venturing out occassionally to write on the board. With their back to the class.

Topic for this week's discussion: How capitalist pig credit card companies make you pay them for the priviledge of using your own money. Oh, and usury and how it is coming back in vogue (those Quickie Loan places that surround military bases like packs of vultures). Compound interest baby! It's a killer!

Another F Dubya license plate removed from circulation

From Wonkette:

" Here's an excerpt from a letter the state of Washington's
Department of Licensing sent to the license plate's seller, explaining
why it was unsafe at any speed:"


The Department of Licensing has received several complaints regarding
your license plate FDUBYA. The personalized license plate committee
reviewed all the documentation and decided to cancel your plate because
the message is offensive to good taste and decency.

And now, behold the obscenity:

It seems in excellent taste to me.

Abquaiq Oil Field in Saudia Arabia

eeeek....scary:

The Abquaiq oil field is one of the largest oil fields in the world. Anyway...blue stuff is water Saudis have been pumping into the reservoir to push the oil up towards the wells. The green stuff is the oil left in the reservoir. And the red stuff is the natural gas. When the reservoir was untapped, it was all red and green.

Anyway, interesting blog covering coming oil crunch. If we are going to find alternative sources of energy, now would be a good time. And wtf are we going to use to replace plastic? I mean it's easy to bitch about plastic and it's bad for the environment and everything, but just think about how badly your life would suck if all the plastic things in your life just vanished.