Blog hiatus

Sorry, but I can't find the time to blog--or to post kitty pics--until the end of this term. Teaching four courses, participating in grants, supervising MS students, commuting, and dealing with a sick kitty is just sapping all my time.

Maybe December...

Students, sigh.

One of my favorite exam questions begins "You are given the task to optimize the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow."

I shall have to change that to a more boring example, I guess, since 30% of my class didn't know what a swallow was, and another 10% didn't know the meaning of "unladen." So I estimate probably 99% didn't know the source of the "unladen swallow" reference. Sads. Gone are the times when at least one smartaleck would ask, “An African swallow or a European swallow?”

However, my undergrad data mining class is well aware of the significance of the number 42, and for that I am grateful.

Pictures from the conservatory

Youngest Daughter and I visited a conservatory near her school last week and saw some really pretty flowers, and a panda made of plants!