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I taught my first lab this morning. I sat in on Steve Feltes’ lab so that I could get a feel for how things would go, and how to present information, etc. I think it helped me take care of my own students better. Honestly I was pretty nervous about the whole thing before class started, but once things got going that dissappeared. The students seemed to listen to me and I think it was clear that I knew what I was talking about and how to go about doing the lab. They seem like good kids.

Ha, I say “kids,” but I was in that lab only a couple years ago. They’re probably all at least 20, and is that really all that young?

The first lab is over, and it went well. Just four more to teach this week.

steve :: Aug.30.2004 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

I am the proud owner of one Bryan. It’s too bad, but I just can’t keep him, so I’m sending him on to Courtney in a few hours.

He is all the way up here in Ames from Austin, TX, and he’s driving to Kansas City this afternoon, and then tomorrow he’s leaving with Alex and Victoria on a trek to the Nevada desert. Now that, my friends, is a real road warrior. I wonder if, when he is finally home, he’ll ever want to drive again.

steve :: Aug.27.2004 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

A few days ago I found out that Björk was about to release a new album, called “Medúlla”:http://unit.bjork.com/specials/albums/medulla/. I’ve had a chance to listen to it a few times, and it’s really good. Medúlla proves again that Björk is an incredibly talented woman. I highly recommend the album, which should go up for sale on Tuesday.

There is also “an interview”:http://unit.bjork.com/specials/albums/medulla/pirate/index. htm with Björk on the web site. She has a delightful attitude on music and the internet, and what it means for musicians and record companies. “I’ll still be there, waving a pirate flag.”

steve :: Aug.26.2004 :: Music :: No Comments »

I headed off to Ross and Sam’s place in Clear Lake this weekend. It was awfully cool for August, but not too cold to go on the water. I “rode” the tube (got whipped around and then fell off), after spending 10 minutes just trying to get on the thing. Ross also let Andy and me take the waverunner out for a while. I’ve never been on one of those before, and it was insane. Ross said it makes 172 horsepower. For comparison, my car makes 140 hp. Other than getting thrown off a couple times it was awesome.

Amazingly, Andy and I got along really well over the weekend. I think as long as we don’t try to talk on the internet we generally get on ok. The internet is a dangerous place.

Thanks to the Miller family for having me up in Clear Lake over the weekend.

steve :: Aug.22.2004 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

It might be time to admit that I’m trying to shoehorn too much functionality into the software I’m using to run this site. The problem is, most of the possible replacements that I have considered are far too complex and inflexible. At the same time my current software is far too limited and inflexible.

steve :: Aug.19.2004 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

I added a search box tonight. Will it be useful? Probably not, but it can’t hurt to have it.

steve :: Aug.19.2004 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

As you can probably see I’ve updated the look of this page to something a little smoother. The changes should now be reflected across the entire site.

I have also fixed the link to “Ben’s Page”:http://umn.edu/~janke024. Good luck in Minnesota, Ben.

steve :: Aug.18.2004 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

Thankfully I was not moving, but yesterday I helped Derek move out of his parents’ house and into an apartment on Hyland. His new place is right across from the church parking lot, and just around the corner from West Street Deli and Thumbs. It’s a nice location, and considering the size of the place I wonder how much he’s paying to live there.

Either way, moving his stuff went incredibly smoothly. We had a dozen people and a U-Haul truck, which is apparently the way to go. We had everything moved in between 9 AM and noon, and by the time I left at around 3 PM it was starting to look like someone actually lived there, rather than just a place someone had stuck a bunch of boxes.

Incidentally, my place still just looks like box storage.

steve :: Aug.17.2004 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

As some of you probably know, I have been intending to lose weight for a very long time now, without much success. Well, I’m trying again. I’m tired of having a gut.

It seems fairly obvious at this point that just “trying to eat less” won’t work. At least, it won’t work for me. Because of that I am now trying to put more exercise in my daily life. I walk to work every morning now, instead of driving. I also try to go biking 3 or 4 times a week. It has made a difference in the way I feel.

Now I am trying to keep track of what I eat, hoping that keeping a log will help me keep the volume and calories down. It has done well so far, but as I know well, the real trick is in sticking with it.

That’s hard, but I’m going to try.

steve :: Aug.09.2004 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

Didn’t get a real lunch. I woke up at 11 and played some video games for a little while. I loaded up on water around 12:30 and when it felt like I had settled down I got ready to go on a bike ride. The original plan was about 30 miles, but the wind from the south was strong enough to convince me to take a shorter, more downhill route home. 27 miles instead.

Loading up on water an hour or so before riding means I drink far less during the ride. I can go a lot longer that way.

Got back around 3:30, showered, and picked up a small order of french fries at McDonalds. That and the Gatorade I drank during the ride was essentially lunch. Have to remember to take a multivitamin in the morning since my diet isn’t getting me all the nutrients I need.

Pizza tonight shouldn’t cut too much into the good done by the ride. Overall I think I come out on top today.

steve :: Aug.08.2004 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »