Entry 14: In Which They Call Me Dude

So one of my students called me "dude" today.

I was up at the whiteboard (getting carried away as usual with the multicolored markers), and he wanted to know if he could get points for something, so he calls across the room "Hey dude, can I do..." whatever it was.

Then he goes, "Whoa, I just called you dude!"

Yeah, maybe my classroom management is getting a little too casual.

Entry 13: In Which We Return to the Blogosphere

....aaaand we're back.

I hadn't realized how long I'd been away from the internets. Things have been crazy-hectic-impossibly-mind-bogglingly busy the last two weeks, but will hopefully settle down now to only moderately chaotic.

...is that how you spell "mind-bogglingly"??

In any event, I had a thesis committee meeting yesterday, in which I basically said "here's everything I've done, now may I please graduate?" I wanted to wrap up as much work as I could before the meeting so I could be really specific about what I did, how it turned out, and what I have left to do. In the end, it was somewhat unsettling to see two and a half years of my life reduced to three pages of bullet points and four graphs.

The good news is the committee liked it. Provided I finish processing the last little piece of data and write it all up properly, I have their blessing to graduate. Good thing too; I don't think the university gives refunds on the massive "commencement fee" I paid last week..... Ah, they get you coming and going, they really do.....

So I finally finished all my statistics (and this time I'm 98% sure I'm using the right tests), resulting in 59 pages of output from SPSS. (No, I am not kidding.) There's one little segment of data to finish processing, and I have my fingers crossed that it will go smoothly. Aside from that, the only thing left to do is write. That's all I plan to do for the next four weeks: write, write, write.

Well, that plus teach lab, grade papers, hold office hours, proctor exams, go to work, attend lab meetings, and mentor-slash-boss-around my undergraduate, who is currently writing a senior thesis on her part in my project.

Huh. Maybe things aren't going to settle down just yet....

Entry 12: In Which We Celebrate President's Day

I love this picture of a very young Bill Clinton meeting JFK. I think it's a beautiful moment. Kinda makes me nostalgic for the old days, you know, when the president was not the punchline of every other joke.

Who knows, maybe by this time two years from now we will have inaugurated someone worthy of a little respect. We can hope.....

Entry 11: In Which We Visit New York

I recently took my first trip to New York City. I had fun, and found the place both entertaining and exhausting. It's a wonderful place to visit, but I doubt I'd enjoy living there. I like my cities a bit smaller, like San Francisco and Boston. I'm not much of a photographer, but as you can see, an afternoon in Central Park brought out my inner shutterbug.

Entry 10: In Which We Laugh At Bunnies

Just to keep you all entertained until I have time to write something amusing.

Entry 9: In Which I Am Bored To Tears By My Own Blog

Heavens, this is a dull blog. I think it's time to rethink the whole concept.

I will have virtually no time for blogging the rest of the week, but this weekend I'll decide what, if anything, I want to do with it. Griping about my research is not the way to go. It bores me, it bores you, it probably bores the gnomes that live inside the computers and operate the internet.

There are gnomes, right?

Entry 8: In Which I Congratulate Myself

That's right, that's right: today I actually finished processing all the data in the giant database. Wow.

Turns out I was quite a bit closer to the end than I had realized. When I figured that out this morning, I decided I would not leave my desk until they were done. Except for, you know, necessary breaks. And lunch. And that one meeting. Otherwise I sat there coding files until my eyes glazed over, and then some.

Result: I finished.

Of course, now I have to proofread them all. And then there's that one more smaller database left to do. But then: no more coding. Ever. Wheeee.

As ever, the very Monday-ness of today was painful, and all the coding was mind-numbing. But unlike last Monday, or any other day in the last three weeks, I'm ending it with a real sense of accomplishment. Wheeee.

In other news, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that "Lost" is returning this week with all new eps. And again I say: Wheeee.

Entry 7: In Which My Brain Turns to Goo

Lovely title, no? bllarrrgh. I've been working all day (yes, on a Saturday. Shut up.). I feel good about the amount of useful stuff I've gotten done. But really, I think my brain is about to start running out my ears.

There are three big things that have to get done before I can defend my thesis. Of course, there are also a million and one smaller things that need to get done, but these are the main things:

1. Finish processing data.
2. Do statistical analysis of said data.
3. Write the freaking thesis.

I have an undergrad who was supposed to finish most of thing #1 during winter break. I started in on thing #3 last semester, made a bunch of progress, and started to do more in January. Then I discovered my undergrad was majorly slacking and would not be able to finish the large database she was supposed to be doing. So we switched: she is now (hopefully) doing the small database and I'm doing the big one. Which means almost all I have done for the past two weeks is work on that. I've also spent a lot of time working with a fellow grad student to figure out exactly how we need to do the statistics. But I haven't gotten any writing done at all.

Processing data goes like this: I have database full of records that need to be coded. I open up a record and read the information in it. Then I use a spiffy little flowchart to place the information in the right category. The flowchart is a series of yes/no questions, and based on the answers I go on to the next question, and the next, until I reach a score. I write it all down on data sheets (just in case of Computer Disaster). My notes look pretty cryptic: N-N-N-Y-Y-Y-Y-N--->3 N-N-N-N--->1 You get the idea. Then I enter the score in the database, click off some checkboxes to label certain characteristics of the information, and then flip to the next record.

It. Is. So. Boring.

I set a record on Wednesday: 264 records in one day. Today I got through 234. If I stay close to this level every day, I can be done with this batch by the end of the week. Then there's one more smaller batch to do. Then I can move on to statistics, then writing, and never look back.

Good grief, what a boring blog entry. As dull as it is to process all this data, I'll bet it's even worse to read about it. This blog sucks.

On the other hand, I'm really enjoying writing it. It's oddly cathartic to sit here and type for twenty minutes at the end of each day.

Should I keep this up or no? I have no idea..... Why don't I try it for another week and then decide.

Entry 6: In Which Things Become A Bit Clearer (or should that be "More Clear"?)

I've been monstrously busy all day, and so have not had a chance to get all of the facts straight on the whole viral marketing thingy yesterday. I haven't yet seen the press conference people are talking about or read much about the "culprits". But here are my thoughts on what I know so far.

First, now that I actually get it, I think the idea behind this campaign is pretty cool. Put up little L.E.D. outlines of this cartoon character in random places, see if people notice them. And for people who did notice them in innocuous places, it must have been neat, especially if they were familiar with the character. (Which I'm not, excuse me for being lame and old.)

But the placement of the things on girders up under a bridge near a subway station represents some majorly questionable judgement, in my opinion. I don't think it's an overreaction to be a little freaked by something like that, especially since it was apparently hard to tell that the lights were shaped like anything in the daylight.

So what should happen to these guys? Really cool idea, poor excecution. Should they/Turner be responsible for the costs involved in tying up the police, fire department, etc. for all those hours? I'm thinking yes on that one. Should there be additional penalties, such as jail time or lawsuits? I'm thinking no. Not necessary. They evidently weren't trying to freak people out, and it wasn't really a "hoax" as the media keeps calling it. Just a really dumb mistake.

I'd love to ramble on some more about this, but I'm still monstrously busy, and my thesis is due in, let's see here...... 71 days. Yipe!