And Here I Thought I'd Have Something to Say

Unfortunately, when interesting things happen, so many interesting things are happening that I don't have time to blog about any of them. And there really is no need to blog about things that are not interesting.

1. The class that I am teaching is awesome. It is pretty much a mash-up of things that I am very interested in, which is the ideal thing to teach about. The only thing that it's missing is knitting/sewing. We're talking about neuroscience, color, Albers, perception, bad PPT slides, cool things with data, R, Tufte, and anything else that catches my fancy.


2. In a similar vein, I am collaborating with an artist and making computer art! It is awesome! He comes up with ideas, and I write Python scripts that carry them out. Not only is it hilarious and fun, but I'm also learning Python in the best way possible: I have a reason to figure out how to do specific things. I should know plenty of Python by the time I teach Python for Artists in October.


3. We're supposed to be running events that get under-represented groups involved with computing. My first draft of my poster advertising Python for Artists took its visual cues from The Matrix. Then I thought that it might not appeal to the right groups. But my next two drafts seemed a bit too sarcastic: One had a pink unicorn and the other had Computer Engineer Barbie. What to try next? Flowers? Pride and Prejudice?


4. Bought some crazy-cheap glasses frames on the Internet. Just ordered plain frames because I'm getting new bifocals, and it's worth it to me to have them measured correctly and in person. They are hilarious glasses because my eyes are too close together, so I have to wear children's glasses. I wear a lens width of about 40mm. Go ahead, look at your glasses and look at the numbers printed on them. See the number to the left of the square? If it's bigger than 40, your glasses are too big for me. Go check your children's glasses. Those are probably closer to my size. Want to see my new frames? Go to Zenni Optical and search for 485521. (I can't figure out how to link.)


5. It is 87 degrees outside, and I am wearing jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and a fleece because my office is freezing. Even after I complained to the Chancellor's office. Even though I have opened the windows. This might have involved my bringing my Torx TR 30 screwdriver in to the office. Based on the number of open windows in this building, I am not the only cold person with a 100-piece screwdriver-bit set.


6. The business class that I am taking is going crazy-slow. If math taught as slowly as business or biology, it would take several years to get through the calculus sequence. More on this later.


7. Other hilarious things going on, too. More on these at some other point, too.