Why is Microsoft Word such a useless piece of software?
I'm working on my case study for EDPS 410 just now. I use the term "well-being" (with a hyphen), and the so-called grammar checker (which you should never trust completely; the "guts" of this checker are flawed) underlines it in wavy green. I right-click it and it suggests replacing it with "well being" (with a space). I accept the suggestion. Can you guess what happens afterward? That's right, "well being" (with a space) becomes underlined in wavy green. Right-click it and it suggests replacing it with "well-being" (with a hyphen). Subsequently, this cycle repeats. What a piece of junk!
28.9.04
I am submitting this entry from somewhere other than the privacy of my own home (first time ever). That's right, I'm working in the Mac lab in the Education building, sitting in the furthest row from the front.
Today our latest assignment for the interactive multimedia course is to make a ~30 s video and mix it with music extracted from a CD, a voice over (recorded with a microphone), and snazzy effects in the middle. The video comes from a MiniDV camcorder that we get to use around campus and act crazy.
I can't believe that I'm having trouble keeping up with four courses, I wondered how I managed to do five for the last five years. I believe I'm spending too much time on the ethics and law in teaching course. I signed up for the Study Buddy program, and will be volunteering at Avalon Junior High School this term.
Our EDU 250 professor wanted to shift the final exam date to December 7, which would have made my exam schedule a breeze (one final per week, for three weeks), however, many students objected to this (through a form we filled out recently) because of their various term projects and papers which are due around that time. So we will write the final exam one week before Christmas.
Today our latest assignment for the interactive multimedia course is to make a ~30 s video and mix it with music extracted from a CD, a voice over (recorded with a microphone), and snazzy effects in the middle. The video comes from a MiniDV camcorder that we get to use around campus and act crazy.
I can't believe that I'm having trouble keeping up with four courses, I wondered how I managed to do five for the last five years. I believe I'm spending too much time on the ethics and law in teaching course. I signed up for the Study Buddy program, and will be volunteering at Avalon Junior High School this term.
Our EDU 250 professor wanted to shift the final exam date to December 7, which would have made my exam schedule a breeze (one final per week, for three weeks), however, many students objected to this (through a form we filled out recently) because of their various term projects and papers which are due around that time. So we will write the final exam one week before Christmas.
23.9.04
I went to the bank after class today, because (and I didn't know this), your account is given a status of dormant if you haven't made any transactions for six months. I think it was practically a year since I tried anything with my savings account. So I xferred a few dollars ($3.78, to be exact) into it, and had to show photo ID to prove it was me giving them real money. Remind me when February 23 comes around. What I noticed is that this location (Whyte Ave. @ 109th St.) now has keypad shields for their Green Machines, since this bank appears to be a favourite for ATM scammers.
If there's anybody who likes solving ethical dilemmas (particularly those with respect to classroom situations), please let me know. Maybe you could help me with my case study. I can offer you $3.78 as an honorarium afterwards.
If there's anybody who likes solving ethical dilemmas (particularly those with respect to classroom situations), please let me know. Maybe you could help me with my case study. I can offer you $3.78 as an honorarium afterwards.
21.9.04
There are too many assigned readings for EDPS 410. I've looked at all of them, but by no means read them in thorough detail. There's also a case study due (how am I going to write four to six pages?) in a few weeks.
The Amazing Race 5 is coming to an end tonight ... and ... it finishes up in Banff, according to this CBC news article. It's a two hour finale, so that means staying up until 11 p.m., something that I don't do too often these days.
It's a surprisingly nice day in Edmonton. Sunny. You couldn't tell summer was almost over.
The Amazing Race 5 is coming to an end tonight ... and ... it finishes up in Banff, according to this CBC news article. It's a two hour finale, so that means staying up until 11 p.m., something that I don't do too often these days.
It's a surprisingly nice day in Edmonton. Sunny. You couldn't tell summer was almost over.
14.9.04
If you have Windows on your computer, and you're still using Internet Explorer, then try Mozilla Firefox today. This still applies to users who have upgraded to Windows XP SP2. Version 1.0 Preview Release was released today, but I've been using it as my standard browser since version 0.6. Micro$oft is quite ignorant when it comes to fixing their web browser. Patches take weeks to get released, only to have new ones discovered and exploited in between. With Firefox, annoying downloads and unwanted browser hijacking doesn't occur without your permission. In fact, it never happens. I wholeheartedly recommend this software.
In other news, I spent a total of 110 minutes on the bus today (50 minutes in the morning, one hour in the afternoon). The bus schedule says the trip is supposed to take about 40 minutes each way. There were massive traffic pileups through the 114th Street corridor. It took at 35 minutes to travel from University to Southgate this afternoon. The driver's constant starting-and-stopping movements and yelling at us to go to the very back of the bus didn't help much, either.
In other news, I spent a total of 110 minutes on the bus today (50 minutes in the morning, one hour in the afternoon). The bus schedule says the trip is supposed to take about 40 minutes each way. There were massive traffic pileups through the 114th Street corridor. It took at 35 minutes to travel from University to Southgate this afternoon. The driver's constant starting-and-stopping movements and yelling at us to go to the very back of the bus didn't help much, either.
12.9.04
How I introduced myself in two of my classes this past week.
EDPS 410
"Good afternoon, my name is king, and (hopefully) this is my last year in education; my major is physics, minor is bio. I am a born-and-bred Edmontonian, and yes, I am double-jointed."
EDIT 480
"My name is king, and I'm in my final year of education. My major is physical sciences, minor is biological sciences. I've been using computers since MS-DOS 6.0, mostly self-taught. My experience with computer-assisted instruction has been limited to web-based online tutorials, the asynchronous kind. I like to read for fun, mostly non-fiction, with the exception of maybe Harry Potter, and I like to go for walks, when it's nice outside."
Now the techie in me has led me to purchase one of those USB memory keys that you can snap onto a lanyard and walk around with (if you're so inclined). It's USB 2.0-compatible with a 10x transfer rate (1.5 Mb/s) and holds 245 Mb of data. Coincidentally, I purchased it on the same day that Hurricane Ivan threatened the city of Kingston, Jamaica.
EDPS 410
"Good afternoon, my name is king, and (hopefully) this is my last year in education; my major is physics, minor is bio. I am a born-and-bred Edmontonian, and yes, I am double-jointed."
EDIT 480
"My name is king, and I'm in my final year of education. My major is physical sciences, minor is biological sciences. I've been using computers since MS-DOS 6.0, mostly self-taught. My experience with computer-assisted instruction has been limited to web-based online tutorials, the asynchronous kind. I like to read for fun, mostly non-fiction, with the exception of maybe Harry Potter, and I like to go for walks, when it's nice outside."
Now the techie in me has led me to purchase one of those USB memory keys that you can snap onto a lanyard and walk around with (if you're so inclined). It's USB 2.0-compatible with a 10x transfer rate (1.5 Mb/s) and holds 245 Mb of data. Coincidentally, I purchased it on the same day that Hurricane Ivan threatened the city of Kingston, Jamaica.
8.9.04
I woke up at midnight this morning and couldn't get back to sleep until 5 a.m. The lesson here is King + medium-size Second Cup iced caramel coretto in evening = inadequate sleep. My friend Karl bought it for me for helping him lift and move the stuff he bought for his kitchen renovation. We rode in a Home Depot van that had a built-in cage (to prevent stuff from flying into the front).
My final (?) year of education started for me this morning. I caught up with a lot of EDSE 352/360/364 students from my IPT at lunch, so we just chatted about what we did in the summer, what teaching was like, and where we wanted to live (and teach) once we've graduated.
I am extremely happy with my classes, every one of them! This doesn't come too often. I'm getting by with four courses [*12], but I'm planning to volunteer and work part-time as well. Where to volunteer, I still haven't decided. Maybe a school (study buddy program), maybe a hospital, maybe the ESA ...
My final (?) year of education started for me this morning. I caught up with a lot of EDSE 352/360/364 students from my IPT at lunch, so we just chatted about what we did in the summer, what teaching was like, and where we wanted to live (and teach) once we've graduated.
I am extremely happy with my classes, every one of them! This doesn't come too often. I'm getting by with four courses [*12], but I'm planning to volunteer and work part-time as well. Where to volunteer, I still haven't decided. Maybe a school (study buddy program), maybe a hospital, maybe the ESA ...
7.9.04
I am mysteriously locked out, once again, from my registration. And, when I use the "Forgot your password?" button (which I didn't, but claims I did), I get the following error:
Failed to connect to the SMTP server at 129.128.5.19:25 (80,1)
A connection with the specified SMTP server was not established. The SMTP service on the specified host may not be available.
(Whatever that means.)
Sorry, but I am giving Bear Tracks a grade of D+ (1.3 on four-point scale) for reliability.
Two more sleeps until classes resume. How exciting!
Failed to connect to the SMTP server at 129.128.5.19:25 (80,1)
A connection with the specified SMTP server was not established. The SMTP service on the specified host may not be available.
(Whatever that means.)
Sorry, but I am giving Bear Tracks a grade of D+ (1.3 on four-point scale) for reliability.
Two more sleeps until classes resume. How exciting!
4.9.04
I went to see what was up at the UofA yesterday (my third time this week; the first two were for textbook shopping). As I was searching for one, I found out that CNS upgraded the computers in ED N3-110 [Macintosh lab] to Power Mac G5! Wow, I can feel the 64-bit computing power already. Too bad it wasn't open for service yet, but I am going to spend all my spare time during the academic term in there, you can count on that. (Way better than those Dells with crappy Windows XP they have next door.)
On a different note, researchers at Boston University have developed a suntan lotion that allows you to get burned with minimal side effects! How did they do it? They added oligonucleotides with thymidines at the end, which activates the DNA repair mechanism automatically in skin cells. It reduces aging of the skin and stimulates melatonin production. They've tested this on mice and human skin fragments (ex vivo) with much success (but not yet with real humans). The challenge now is to figure out a way to get the cream, with DNA fragments (which are charged) across the skin barrier. Suntanning without skin cancer? Sounds good to me.
On a different note, researchers at Boston University have developed a suntan lotion that allows you to get burned with minimal side effects! How did they do it? They added oligonucleotides with thymidines at the end, which activates the DNA repair mechanism automatically in skin cells. It reduces aging of the skin and stimulates melatonin production. They've tested this on mice and human skin fragments (ex vivo) with much success (but not yet with real humans). The challenge now is to figure out a way to get the cream, with DNA fragments (which are charged) across the skin barrier. Suntanning without skin cancer? Sounds good to me.
1.9.04
I haven't posted anything recently because I have tried to reduce my exposure to computers. After I shut down my computer at work for the last time on the 27th, I thought it would be fun to see how long I could last without facing a computer monitor (of any sort).
So, I watched the Olympics on CBC. I went out for a walk from Gold Bar Park to Riverdale. I took carefree naps. I read. It was great being out of touch electronically. Until I purchased some textbooks from the UofA bookstore and the guy at the cashier told me I couldn't buy the books AND my September bus pass on credit card. So I had to check my balances on the web when I got home because I was worried that I had overdrawn. Thankfully, I had not. But that stopped my computer-free streak at 75 hours.
One last note about the Olympics: Canada seems to have a charm for finishing fourth. This appears to have severely affected our final medal count (12). As Global National put it, it cost $5.8 M per medal based on the funding the government allocated to the athletes.
Anyway, the World Cup of Hockey is on! Go Canada go! (They won 2-1 over USA last night.)
So, I watched the Olympics on CBC. I went out for a walk from Gold Bar Park to Riverdale. I took carefree naps. I read. It was great being out of touch electronically. Until I purchased some textbooks from the UofA bookstore and the guy at the cashier told me I couldn't buy the books AND my September bus pass on credit card. So I had to check my balances on the web when I got home because I was worried that I had overdrawn. Thankfully, I had not. But that stopped my computer-free streak at 75 hours.
One last note about the Olympics: Canada seems to have a charm for finishing fourth. This appears to have severely affected our final medal count (12). As Global National put it, it cost $5.8 M per medal based on the funding the government allocated to the athletes.
Anyway, the World Cup of Hockey is on! Go Canada go! (They won 2-1 over USA last night.)
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