Sorry that lately my blog has become more about my adventures in teaching than my adventures in grad school or Texas, but this is the first semester I’m teaching my own class, so it’s new and somewhat exciting and that’s what I want to talk about. I drafted my first exam this week. I wrote […]
A student fell asleep in class today. After class was over, the rest of the class scurried out while I was packing up my teaching-things. I was the last one out of the room, and the kid was still sprawled on his desk sleeping. This will end in one of two ways: either the kid […]
Ew. Blogger has me using the “new interface.” I do not like it. I’ve been using the old interface for YEARS now, so I’m pretty resistant to change. Also, the new-post page that I’m typing in right now is really bare and it’s creeping me out. My screen is a big white & light gray […]
My summer-long narcissism ended yesterday. The qualifying exam is over, so now I can let myself care about other things. It’s hard to explain the qualifying exam process to non-math-grad people, but I’ll try… It’s a pass/fail exam and you can’t advance in the program without it. Here, they offer 5 or 6 different specialty […]
Later today, football will be in full swing. Some training camps have already started, and teams can sign drafted rookies and rookie free agents. Yesterday teams were allowed to start cutting players. But today they can start signing contracts with free agents, and that’s where the magic happens. I wanted to take the time to […]
(1) The Algebra Qual: I have made some progress studying. Not ENOUGH progress, but progress nonetheless. I am working through past exams’ problems alone and with a study group, and I am also reading 3-4 different abstract & linear algebra books concurrently. The exam date is set for Wednesday, August 17th. So, for better or […]
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