hey all,
Last week was E3. We got some interesting games coming out this year, but nothing that really grabbed me like last year.
I barely got any sleep at all last week, but that is my fault. I started a new series called The Kingkiller Chronicles, and the first two books were really good. So good, in fact, that I didn't get to bed until 1AM or 2AM most nights. Not sure when the third book is coming out, but I'm looking forward to it.
I'm still plugging away at the teaching books, though my pace is slow. One of my coworkers complained about books all having the same plot, etc, and I recommended she read Gravity's Rainbow and Infinite Jest. I actually started Infinite Jest for my second read through this weekend, as well.
Friday was a brutish day. We had a potential new teacher come in and teach a bit, but he had zero experience and would need a lot of training. My class had to finish early so I could head over to the immigration bureau and pick up my new visa. I applied for the three year visa, and I actually got it, so that was nice. But then both of my afternoon classes severely disappointed me. The younger kids never look up any words, and I yelled at them for not making enough efforts at home (such as looking up words they didn't know). Then my high school class. It starts at 6:10PM, and despite telling them to review the vocabulary because there would be a quiz, they hadn't. The class only meets once a week, and is only 50 minutes long, but it is nothing but a waste of time. The students don't study, they don't seem to retain what is taught, etc. I told them to come back next week with a goal for us to reach. Hopefully, if they can come up with a reason to study, it will go much smoother.
Probably because of the stress and lack of sleep, I've come down with a headcold. One of those, "why did my ancestors need to have evolved sinuses?" headcolds that through off your balance, your hearing, and give you a killer headache. I slept through most of Saturday, and I'll be going to bed early tonight as well.
I have got in a few more hours in Kingdoms of Amalur, too. The combat really makes the game.
Next week we have more potential teachers coming in. We'll see if they work out.
Cheers,
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Course
hey all,
I've gotten the feedback for my final assignment in that curriculum development course. I basically got half points on one part, and almost full points on the other part, so it evened out to 75% percent. The instructor liked my powerpoint presentation, but for some reason did not like the critique I wrote up. I think part of it was the formatting. He wanted a title page, references listed on a separate page, etc. And all I could think about was how much paper that would waste. Of course, he returned the files with digital comments on them, so I know he didn't print them out to grade them. But still.
The other part was citations. Apparently, I was supposed to cite the textbook (or some other source) as a credible source for my judgment of the quality of the presentation, but I didn't.
Oh well. I guess that's what I get for being out of academia for a few years.
Cheers,
I've gotten the feedback for my final assignment in that curriculum development course. I basically got half points on one part, and almost full points on the other part, so it evened out to 75% percent. The instructor liked my powerpoint presentation, but for some reason did not like the critique I wrote up. I think part of it was the formatting. He wanted a title page, references listed on a separate page, etc. And all I could think about was how much paper that would waste. Of course, he returned the files with digital comments on them, so I know he didn't print them out to grade them. But still.
The other part was citations. Apparently, I was supposed to cite the textbook (or some other source) as a credible source for my judgment of the quality of the presentation, but I didn't.
Oh well. I guess that's what I get for being out of academia for a few years.
Cheers,
Monday, June 04, 2012
One More Year
hey all,
Just finished watching the season finale of Game of Thrones. I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with how they have adapted the books so far. I still have my grudges and gripes about that one red haired whore character, and I'm a little tweaked that some characters were introduced and then apparently cut for no reason. But their handling of the battle on Blackwater was very well done, even if yes, it was different from the book. And they did manage to justify, at least partially, a major deviation involving the dragons and Qarth. Of course, down the road, this also means another deviation if they get around to filming A Dance with Dragons, as they have killed off one (at least implicitly) of the characters who comes back in that book.
But they can deal with that problem when they get there. For now, they have apparently already started casting for season three, and probably will be moving into shooting sooner or later. But that means I've got a whole ten months or so to wait for the next season.
And who knows when good old GRRM will get around to publishing the next book in the series. My bet is that I will have my student loans paid off before he finishes his next novel. I mean, he has the TV series to help with, his various conventions to go to, his other projects such as Wild Cards and others to keep going.
Cheers,
Just finished watching the season finale of Game of Thrones. I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with how they have adapted the books so far. I still have my grudges and gripes about that one red haired whore character, and I'm a little tweaked that some characters were introduced and then apparently cut for no reason. But their handling of the battle on Blackwater was very well done, even if yes, it was different from the book. And they did manage to justify, at least partially, a major deviation involving the dragons and Qarth. Of course, down the road, this also means another deviation if they get around to filming A Dance with Dragons, as they have killed off one (at least implicitly) of the characters who comes back in that book.
But they can deal with that problem when they get there. For now, they have apparently already started casting for season three, and probably will be moving into shooting sooner or later. But that means I've got a whole ten months or so to wait for the next season.
And who knows when good old GRRM will get around to publishing the next book in the series. My bet is that I will have my student loans paid off before he finishes his next novel. I mean, he has the TV series to help with, his various conventions to go to, his other projects such as Wild Cards and others to keep going.
Cheers,
Saturday, June 02, 2012
Funny
hey all,
Just a short one here. Yesterday there was an earthquake during one of my PM group lessons. I was quizzing them on pronoun references in one of our reading passages, and then the building started shaking a little. My students kept their hands up so I could call on them, even though their moms, myself and the other classes in session where judging whether or not to get out of the building. I only smiled and said "I love your focus right now."
Cheers,
Just a short one here. Yesterday there was an earthquake during one of my PM group lessons. I was quizzing them on pronoun references in one of our reading passages, and then the building started shaking a little. My students kept their hands up so I could call on them, even though their moms, myself and the other classes in session where judging whether or not to get out of the building. I only smiled and said "I love your focus right now."
Cheers,
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)