What a week it has been. I have been busy, mostly with computer work, for my web page and WebCT. I was only polishing them up for the past week. Today I presented my three projects to the class (WebCT, web page, and PowerPoint).
Now, there's only the final project for Authorware left. It's due in approximately two weeks, and I still don't have the bulk of it done. Oh, that's also the same day I have my first final exam; I need a little less than 10% on the final to pass EDPS 410.

A cold day. I wandered over to the polling station at 10 this morning to cast a vote for MLA (Edmonton-Mill Woods) and for the Senate members. I voted for Lloyd Nelson (NDP) for MLA. I was debating between Nelson and Weslyn Mather (Liberal) on the way to the school, passing by large numbers of election signs for the PC candidate. You can tell they have large coffers. The Senate election, I thought was a total waste of time, since ten of the twelve candidates were either affiliated with the PC or Alberta Alliance parties. You are permitted to select up to four people, but I just selected one, and only because he was "Independent". The whole process took less than five minutes.

The Senate thing is a waste of $3 million, because we know Paul Martin is not going to appoint the "elected" members. Why does Alberta always try these ideas that are so conservative-centric?

Carolyn Parrish has been kicked out of caucus. I'll admit, I've laughed after each of her comments: "...hate those bastards", "the coalition of the idiots" and lately, the 22 Minutes skit. But I think it's disrespectful to publicize comments that criticize your own party, let alone insult a head of state. She still holds the balance of power in Parliament as an independent, though.

Anyway, I sprained my foot today; too much walking. It was a pretty nice day, so I walked along the river valley again, from the UofA to the base of McDougall Hill. I needed the fresh air after a lot of exposure to the computer this past week.

In case some of you don't know, I spend a lot of time on the bus (because I don't own a car). Nearly an hour and a half every day. Usually, I pass the time by listening to the radio or doing course readings. Today was ETS day - a little over three hours - around town.

I missed the University bus, so I had to take three buses to get to my 8 a.m. class. A bus to Millgate. Transfer to a bus that was just pulling away, which carried me to 99 St. @ Whyte Ave. Yet another bus to take me to campus. (49 minutes)

We had 50 minutes after our EDU 250 class to hand in that sheet where we had to decide our own fate. I chose the change midterm to 25% and final to 45% option because the final is all multiple-choice, and I felt short-changed after the midterm essay. Most of the class was done after about 10 minutes. So I spent the remaining 40 minutes talking to John.

I ran to the LRT station and took the LRT to Corona. I disembarked with a girl and then we both boarded the trolley bus on Jasper @ 107 St. She paid her $2 fare here. I don't know what the point of not paying the fare before boarding the LRT is, since if you're caught without a fare, the fine's $110. (41 minutes)

At Jasper Place, I transferred to one of those bus/van hybrids where the air inside is always stale, and the seats are filled with crumbs. It took me directly to the place where I had some software training (in some industrial area). (12 minutes)

After training, I took a regular bus to Westmount, transferred to a bus full of (loud) Ross Sheppard kids to Kingsway, and then to a bus which brought me home. (84 minutes)

I experienced every type of vehicle ETS has in operation on the same day (regular bus, low floor bus, trolley, economical low floor, and LRT). When you don't have your own car, you have to be resourceful.

Well, the university decided to schedule the annual fall-term break in November this year, so that a four-day weekend could take place (including Remembrance Day).

I was supposed to catch up on my sleep, finish up all the readings that I was supposed to do, and work on my computer projects. Well ... surprise! I managed to do all of the above.

I went to see my friend John's place in Queen Alexandra yesterday. The purpose of this visit was to show me a picture of the sauna they have at a camp that he's attended many times in his youth. After searching his whole drawer, he couldn't find the picture. That's all right, though, he had plenty of things to keep me entertained. He has a piano (his wife is a pianist, but he's a guitarist). I tried to play for him but my memory was blank. So I sight read my way through a couple of pages of a sonata in F by Mozart.

John's a great improvisation cook. Hash browns with Hungarian sausage and hot sauce (pretty good; ketchup optional). Nachos with cheese heated in the toaster oven and served with salsa and sour cream. Now why haven't I tried these recipes? These are a couple of his staples when his wife's not home.

(I don't have an Xbox, but Halo 2 is out today, in case you were hiding under a rock. It's estimated that this is the fastest-selling game in history. Also of note, Mozilla Firefox 1.0 was released today.)

Today I received a sheet from my EDU 250 class. The midterm was controversial because the essay portion was 25 marks (out of a total of 54) and it focused on a chapter (1) whose reading was displayed on the lecture overhead, (2) mentioned by the teacher aloud and (3) whose content was covered in class but (4) number was omitted from the syllabus (like the chapter number only, not the topic or anything). So the people who were daydreaming when #1, 2 and 3 happened complained, because they only study what's written on the syllabus, and didn't do as well as they hoped. As a result, the multiple choice average was ~75% but essay was ~50%. The solution the instructor came up with (bless his heart!) for the midterm dilemma was to let us decide whether to:

A. have your midterm reduced from 30% weight to 25% but your final increased from 40% to 45%.
B. have your midterm and final weights unchanged.

Each student is supposed to pick the option s/he wants, and sign the sheet. So, option A is the obvious choice if you did poorly, option B if you did well. It's a losing proposition if you did middle-of-the-road (between 65% and 80%). Guess how I did?

So I was sitting on the bus today. Today was particularly annoying, because I was sitting in front of a couple of girls who talked so loud that the whole bus could hear them. Except maybe the driver, because he was chatting merrily on his cell phone. Here is what I unconsciously picked up, while trying to read:

Girl #1. About 22 years old, has two kids, a boy and a girl (one is 6, and the other 7). Had another child, but died in hospital. Married to a guy she met in high school, works as some "co-ordinator" at a travel shop on Jasper (near a Rogers Video). Has been to Mexico; wants to go to Australia, New Zealand, all of Asia, and all of Europe by the time she's 36. Knows a friend who worked on a cruise ship (Carnival) but was fired because she slept with a passenger (a man). Was told to have all of her babies before she turns 25 because of some hereditary disorder, became impotent by age 20. Has an aunt who has diabetes who gave birth to a son, who was also diabetic.

Girl #2. Birthday: January 19, 1987. Will go to Mexico on the 25th (without parents), because she's old enough to drink by then. States that everyone should go to Las Vegas when they're 21 years of age as a "rite of passage". Wants to work on a cruise ship as a musician, claims that all your earnings are "profit" because all other expenses are covered (as long as you're onboard the ship). Really wants to go to New Zealand. Interested in teaching ESL in Asia, asks how hard it could be if you've been an English speaker your entire life. Has Type 1 diabetes.

Maybe I should just post useless information like this from now on.

Four more years of Bush at the helm. Congratulations, USA. (I feel sorry for you all.)

Q: What's the difference between an American and a Canadian?
A: The Canadian knows the difference.

Yes, my EDPS 410 instructor has done it again. She has marked forty midterms in one weekend, again with the hand-drawn bar graph. I was nailed hard for claiming the teacher was promoting Buddhism in a Catholic school on the case study. According to my instructor, he wasn't. Anyway, someone managed to get 20/20 [the first she's ever given out, ever], and the lowest mark was 10/20. Average was 14.5. My mark was nowhere near the top. I'm pretty sure she hands out the tests from highest to lowest (probably because she arranges them in order to make her histogram). Ethics is always a sticky issue, in any case.