DoneDoneDone!!

With one in-class exam and two take-home exams turned in today, I'm done for the semester. A swim, some fencing, and a dinner at Bosco's later, I'm a little more sane.

Coming up: Holiday non-sequitur-ness and, in the Spring, PhD Prelims. Everyone smile and wait for the craziness.

Will Attempt Mental Math for Beer

Yes, I should be working on my exams. I got sidetracked by this article that implies that chimps can do mental addition as well as college students. I think this lands well within the duh regime. At this point in my college life, I can't put my shoes on correctly, much less mentally add things quickly.

The test (briefly summarized) was to flash two groups of dots on one screen and the adder had to select the sum of the two groups on another screen displaying two choices. It's not clear in the article (and I don't have the time/inclination to figure out) whether the response was a visual or symbolic answer. The success rate was the same for the primates as well as the college students (Duke, if you must know).

Anyway, it's a vaguely interesting and perhaps applicable article. I may need a pet chimp for Christmas.

Now, it's 9:00 pm, my chili's almost done, I have three hours before I turn into a pumpkin and there's an exam to tackle. Back to it.

NotaFire

The maintenance people came today to investigate my <ahem> electrical problem. It seems that the outlet and cord for my central heating unit had progressed into the melting-non-functional stage.

Why didn't the circuit breaker flip??

I dunno. Neither do the maintenance people. It could be that I caught it early enough that there wasn't enough time for it to flip.

Wait. It was your central heat? Wasn't it cold last night?

Yeah. It was cold. However, it's going to be colder tonight and I still have an apartment. It kinda reminded me of being on the farm. Nice and nostalgic--for a night.

So, everything's okay?

Yes. The guys came in and replaced the cord and the wall outlet for the heating unit. I'm snug as a bug, with only minor concerns about the rest of the wiring in the building.

Big Week

Things have been a little hectic since my last post:

• Jeremy and I competed in the Div. I NAC
• I had a particularly bad neighbor on a flight
• I finished and defended my thesis(!!!)
• An odometer birthday was celebrated
• My apartment nearly caught fire
• I'm still working on a take-home exam

Before I get to (really) rest:

• I have to finish this take-home exam and one more (for the same class)
• Christmas shopping
• Two finals
• Drive to Indiana

Good things from today:

• The wetsuit I ordered was delivered
• Yummy Indian food at the research group pitch-in (first ever, I think)
• Thesis was submitted
• The apartment did not actually catch fire**
• The potential fire was not from my cooking
• Progress was made on the above-mentioned exam

**I expect there will be a post about the non-fire tomorrow after resolution with the maintenance people. In the meantime, all is okay. I was lucky I was home.

Chocolate is Seasonal???

Jeremy went to pick up dinner tonight while I worked on the thesis. I had requested a chocolate shake from Arby's. He came back with tea and explained that, according to Arby's, chocolate is a "seasonal" flavor and this is not chocolate season. Jamocha, on the other hand, is not seasonal. This, evidently, is eggnog and orange cream season.

FOUL!!!

Sounds I Dislike:

Lawn equipment.

All lawn equipment that has any sort of motor, engine, etc.
This includes, but is not limited to, leaf blowers, weed eaters, and lawn mowers.

Today, these things sound like styrofoam being ground to bits by other, larger bits of styrofoam.