Thursday, September 25, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
EPIC WIN
Today, I:
1) Got paid
2) Took my black suit coat to get it altered to fit more better
3) Finished my algebra homework (w00!)
4) Finished grading for the one Foundations class
5) Started AND finished my complex variables homework
6) Biked down a huge hill
All of these are in chronological order, except for one. Can you guess which element is out of order, and where it should really go?
1) Got paid
2) Took my black suit coat to get it altered to fit more better
3) Finished my algebra homework (w00!)
4) Finished grading for the one Foundations class
5) Started AND finished my complex variables homework
6) Biked down a huge hill
All of these are in chronological order, except for one. Can you guess which element is out of order, and where it should really go?
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Buyer's Remorse
So today on my way home from the university, I decided to stop by the local music store and pick up a Snow Patrol CD. I like the Snow Patrol CD I have, I reasoned, so I will probably like whichever other Snow Patrol CD I end up buying. So I used about thirteen of my hard-earned tutoring dollars to purchase Songs for Polarbears, which I believe is their third effort (I own their sophomore album, Final Straw, which I hold to be musical genius).
As I was walking back out to my car, trying to free the music from its plastic-wrapped confinement, the thought momentarily crossed my mind that CD's are kinda like cars, inasmuch as the moment you drive them off the lot (or, as it were, open the plastic wrap), they lose unreasonable amounts of value. I shrugged the thought off, though, fully expecting to enjoy the music, and never expecting to want to return it.
Well, as you may have guessed from the title of this post, I was wrong.
I put the CD in the car's CD player and pulled out the liner notes to do my customary glance over the lyrics. I like lyrics, in general. They are often the finest poetry the modern day has to offer. But, speaking as a man of religious and moral convictions, they are often objectionable. I was rather surprised to find that this was the case with Songs for Polarbears - my cursory examination revealed two instances of the "f-bomb", as the kids are saying these days, as well as sexual innuendo out the wazoo. That gives the album an immediate black mark in my book, because I simply don't enjoy listening to people swear at me, no matter how good the music is.
Which brings me neatly to my next point. It's not that good. The music, that is. I'm up to track 11 now (of 23 - you have to give them credit for trying), and I still haven't heard a song I genuinely like. The magic of Final Straw is distressingly absent. I can't put my finger on what's missing, or perhaps what there's too much of, but I am not enjoying the sound. It's like suddenly they revived Nirvana in their more sedate moments, and I keep hearing things that remind me of Death Cab for Cutie, but I'd really rather listen to the Death Cab song the Snow Patrol song reminds me of.
And so, I have buyer's remorse. But the worst part is, because I was kinda dumb and didn't do the proper iTunes-assisted research beforehand, I'm out $13, and I can't get a full refund. I doubt that I can even exchange it straight across for something I might like better. So I'm up a creek, but at least I can warn other people not to direct their watercraft up this particular creek.
(Apparently I'm just not a polarbear)
As I was walking back out to my car, trying to free the music from its plastic-wrapped confinement, the thought momentarily crossed my mind that CD's are kinda like cars, inasmuch as the moment you drive them off the lot (or, as it were, open the plastic wrap), they lose unreasonable amounts of value. I shrugged the thought off, though, fully expecting to enjoy the music, and never expecting to want to return it.
Well, as you may have guessed from the title of this post, I was wrong.
I put the CD in the car's CD player and pulled out the liner notes to do my customary glance over the lyrics. I like lyrics, in general. They are often the finest poetry the modern day has to offer. But, speaking as a man of religious and moral convictions, they are often objectionable. I was rather surprised to find that this was the case with Songs for Polarbears - my cursory examination revealed two instances of the "f-bomb", as the kids are saying these days, as well as sexual innuendo out the wazoo. That gives the album an immediate black mark in my book, because I simply don't enjoy listening to people swear at me, no matter how good the music is.
Which brings me neatly to my next point. It's not that good. The music, that is. I'm up to track 11 now (of 23 - you have to give them credit for trying), and I still haven't heard a song I genuinely like. The magic of Final Straw is distressingly absent. I can't put my finger on what's missing, or perhaps what there's too much of, but I am not enjoying the sound. It's like suddenly they revived Nirvana in their more sedate moments, and I keep hearing things that remind me of Death Cab for Cutie, but I'd really rather listen to the Death Cab song the Snow Patrol song reminds me of.
And so, I have buyer's remorse. But the worst part is, because I was kinda dumb and didn't do the proper iTunes-assisted research beforehand, I'm out $13, and I can't get a full refund. I doubt that I can even exchange it straight across for something I might like better. So I'm up a creek, but at least I can warn other people not to direct their watercraft up this particular creek.
(Apparently I'm just not a polarbear)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
More or less scripture
And when he finisheth his homework, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have finished my analysis homework, which was exceeding hard.
\o/
\o/
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Prophecy and fulfillment
We Saints of latter days are the literal fulfillment of the prophecy recorded in the 122nd section of the Doctrine and Covenants: "The ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name... while the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous, shall seek counsel, and authority, and blessings continually from under thy hand. And thy people shall never be turned against thee by the testimony of traitors."
Do you ever stop and think that you are the fulfillment of prophecy?
Do you ever stop and think that you are the fulfillment of prophecy?
Saturday, September 06, 2008
A mathematical observation.
First of all, any subgroup of index 2 must be normal, so if 2 divides the order of a finite group G and you have an element of order |G|/2, G is not simple.
Secondly, and the *real* point of this post, mathematicians say "let" a lot, as in, "Let x be an element of G." It's entirely possible to read a proof as having a rather bossy tone: "Let x be in G. Don't you DARE not let x be in G. Take H = {e,x,x2,...} - Come on! TAKE IT!! Note that H is cyclic - and if you don't note it, you will be dealt with harshly." I wonder if anyone cowers when they read proofs because the tone interpretation section of their brain is a little bit broken.
Secondly, and the *real* point of this post, mathematicians say "let" a lot, as in, "Let x be an element of G." It's entirely possible to read a proof as having a rather bossy tone: "Let x be in G. Don't you DARE not let x be in G. Take H = {e,x,x2,...} - Come on! TAKE IT!! Note that H is cyclic - and if you don't note it, you will be dealt with harshly." I wonder if anyone cowers when they read proofs because the tone interpretation section of their brain is a little bit broken.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
The inaugural homework grading post
I recently accepted a job as a grader for a math class, Foundations of Analysis I. I will be grading papers on a weekly basis, and will probably post something about it each week. Here's this week's entry.
One guy had some totally bogus answer to a question, but then redeemed some style points by writing: "How did I misunderstand the question so badly?" It is followed by a correct statement of the answer (though without proof), written in a hand that suggests it is a last-minute addition to the previously "solved" problem.
Another guy gets style points for entitling an answer: "[LastName]'s Theorem".
Another guy loses style points (and points points) for writing the following after a completely bogus set-theoretic argument: "Therefore, they have the same sets" (speaking of two sets). ... ??
List of albums listened to while grading (or, I should add, just doing homework earlier):
U2 - Achtung Baby
U2 - Zooropa
U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
Snow Patrol - Final Straw
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (It contains the incredibly apropos track Brain Damage)
Moby - 18
Hours spent grading: 3.5
Brain status after grading: Osterizer'd mush
One guy had some totally bogus answer to a question, but then redeemed some style points by writing: "How did I misunderstand the question so badly?" It is followed by a correct statement of the answer (though without proof), written in a hand that suggests it is a last-minute addition to the previously "solved" problem.
Another guy gets style points for entitling an answer: "[LastName]'s Theorem".
Another guy loses style points (and points points) for writing the following after a completely bogus set-theoretic argument: "Therefore, they have the same sets" (speaking of two sets). ... ??
List of albums listened to while grading (or, I should add, just doing homework earlier):
U2 - Achtung Baby
U2 - Zooropa
U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
Snow Patrol - Final Straw
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (It contains the incredibly apropos track Brain Damage)
Moby - 18
Hours spent grading: 3.5
Brain status after grading: Osterizer'd mush
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