(no subject)
So, my New Year's resolution this year was to get an A in the class with the professor I dislike the most.
This presents a bit of a conundrum this semester...
Candidate 1: Biology. I like this professor already. Everything he talks about is meaningful. We spent all of today analyzing two Anthrax outbreaks - one in the Soviet Union in 1979, and the more recent attacks in Washington DC. He ended the day with some statistics on what's more likely to kill you than Anthrax, including lightning strikes, accidental falls, and getting hit on the head with coconuts. No, I'm not kidding about that last one - they kill nearly a hundred and fifty people a year, more than anthrax (5) and shark attacks (10) combined.
Candidate 2: Automata and finite languages. My last programming class's professor was from India, complete with heavy accent. Professor Zhe Dang is from China, complete with accent. It's programming and World Languages in a single class series! On a more serious note, it's a fascinating class. We spent yesterday and today discussing the concepts of words and languages, and then the idea of a "regular" language - which he then turned around and showed us that we already understood the idea from a different angle, regular expressions. (Which are a very nifty tool.)
Candidate 3: World History. She let us vote on what topics we wanted to cover, and explained exactly why she is going to take attendance, to the point where most of us students were convinced. She's also got a great sense of humor. 'nuff said.
Candidate 4: Linear Algebra. Engaging, brilliant, and gives lots of examples. Looks like she'll be a relatively easy grader, too. And, of course, I'm back-filling an easy class.
So, yes. Hard choice. I guess my only option is to get As in all of them.
Anyways, in other news, I talked with a counselor/psychologist person today. I have winter depression, complete with hypersomnia. Over break, I was regularly sleeping for twelve hours a day, and I could easily do the same now, if not longer. The only problem with it, aside from the fact that I'm sleeping half-again the time I should be, is that it doesn't really help anything. I'm tired in the evenings, I'm tired in the mornings, and I'm never really rested. While the depressive side of the mess hasn't set in yet (and won't, if I have any say in the matter), I'm still tired all the time, which isn't all that fun. So, we talked about various methods both to hold off depression and break out of the hypersomnia.
This presents a bit of a conundrum this semester...
Candidate 1: Biology. I like this professor already. Everything he talks about is meaningful. We spent all of today analyzing two Anthrax outbreaks - one in the Soviet Union in 1979, and the more recent attacks in Washington DC. He ended the day with some statistics on what's more likely to kill you than Anthrax, including lightning strikes, accidental falls, and getting hit on the head with coconuts. No, I'm not kidding about that last one - they kill nearly a hundred and fifty people a year, more than anthrax (5) and shark attacks (10) combined.
Candidate 2: Automata and finite languages. My last programming class's professor was from India, complete with heavy accent. Professor Zhe Dang is from China, complete with accent. It's programming and World Languages in a single class series! On a more serious note, it's a fascinating class. We spent yesterday and today discussing the concepts of words and languages, and then the idea of a "regular" language - which he then turned around and showed us that we already understood the idea from a different angle, regular expressions. (Which are a very nifty tool.)
Candidate 3: World History. She let us vote on what topics we wanted to cover, and explained exactly why she is going to take attendance, to the point where most of us students were convinced. She's also got a great sense of humor. 'nuff said.
Candidate 4: Linear Algebra. Engaging, brilliant, and gives lots of examples. Looks like she'll be a relatively easy grader, too. And, of course, I'm back-filling an easy class.
So, yes. Hard choice. I guess my only option is to get As in all of them.
Anyways, in other news, I talked with a counselor/psychologist person today. I have winter depression, complete with hypersomnia. Over break, I was regularly sleeping for twelve hours a day, and I could easily do the same now, if not longer. The only problem with it, aside from the fact that I'm sleeping half-again the time I should be, is that it doesn't really help anything. I'm tired in the evenings, I'm tired in the mornings, and I'm never really rested. While the depressive side of the mess hasn't set in yet (and won't, if I have any say in the matter), I'm still tired all the time, which isn't all that fun. So, we talked about various methods both to hold off depression and break out of the hypersomnia.