Another couple weeks have floated by. I feel like I've been slightly adrift over the last month or so as I came off the busy period into a resting period, and the pendulum is starting to swing back towards being busy. Strangely (or perhaps not), I feel better when I'm busier. I just don't like the level of busy to go overboard to the point where I'm fatigued. Hopefully, the rest of the semester will find the right balance.
So I filed a report with the FTC, and we'll see where things go from here. In the meantime, AT&T is sending me another copy of the letter than they sent out over a year ago, and I'm going to forward this (along with the previous two letters from AT&T) to Experian with a letter explaining the situation and the fact that I've filed a complaint with the FTC. I'm not sure if their processes allow them to remove the report (as I believe that they are limited to contact with the collection agency), but it's worth a shot. It's not like things could get "worse" somehow from sending them another letter.
I've got a couple new projects going on at NSC. The first is a student math project. It starts with a simple logic puzzle:
Three different numbers are chosen at random, and one is written on each of three slips of paper. The slips are then placed face down on the table. The objective is to choose the slip upon which is written the largest number. Here are the rules: You can turn over any slip of paper and look at the amount written on it. If for any reason you think this is the largest, you're done; you keep it. Otherwise you discard it and turn over a second slip. Again, if you think this is the one with the biggest number, you keep that one and the game is over. If you don't, you discard that one too. And then you're stuck with the third. The chance of getting the highest number is one in three. Or is it? Is there a strategy by which you can improve the odds?
Once this problem is solved, it opens the door for all sorts of interesting problems. What if you knew that the slips of paper must contain an integer between 1 and 10? Or what if you get four slips of paper instead of three? I've got a few of my students playing around with variations of this, and with a little luck I might be able to get them out to the Joint Meetings in San Diego next year.
Another project that I've got going on right now is the development of a web-based program to encourage students to practice their basic arithmetic. I might have talked about the "Arithmetic Boot Camp" application that I was working on a while ago (as in, two or three years ago). If I didn't, it's basically just a timed test program designed to bring out the competitive nature of students, so that they would race against each other and try to have the best times.
I'm actually not doing any of the programming this time. We actually got some money from Verizon (yes, the phone company) to pay someone to do the programming for us. We actually got a total of $11,000 from them. The money will be split between the programming project and a general expense fund for things related to the math remediation program.
It's still in the development stage, but it's good enough for people to be playing around with it. Here's the link: decasoft.com. If you're so inclined, you can register yourself with just an ID and a password and play around. (Don't use a password that you use for important things! This is internet safety 101. Low level programs get low level passwords.) I know it's poorly organized and a little buggy, so just stick to the addition level 1 program for now. The aim is to get the fastest time possible. Good luck!
My taxes are filed for the year. I'm getting a refund similar to last year's, which is nice. I also got to claim my first royalty checks for the math textbook that I wrote last year. I'm actually in the process of reorganizing the textbook and expanding it so that it fits better with the modules that we've established. Also, I really want to get away from that crazy $175 textbook. The in-house textbook only costs the students about $25-30. I've got a stack of projects to get rolling this summer, and reworking the textbook is one of them.
Lastly, we're hopefully going to get the pastoral search committee's candidate in the next couple weeks. Apparently, he had some sort of health thing he wanted to deal with before deciding if he would come out here, and he got through that. I'm looking forward to things moving forward, as I'm getting quite annoyed with the game of sermon roulette that we play from week to week. The last guy actually scared me a little bit. He ended both sermons with a special message from God. It's the sort of thing that makes me shudder a little bit. Both times, it was awkward, and the second one was long and a little embarrassing. But soon (I hope), this will all be over and maybe the church can get back itself back on track. It's been a long time since I've had what feels like a "normal" church experience. The week to week inconsistencies and the general lack of vision and direction is really taking its toll.
Three different numbers are chosen at random, and one is written on each of three slips of paper. The slips are then placed face down on the table. The objective is to choose the slip upon which is written the largest number. Here are the rules: You can turn over any slip of paper and look at the amount written on it. If for any reason you think this is the largest, you're done; you keep it. Otherwise you discard it and turn over a second slip. Again, if you think this is the one with the biggest number, you keep that one and the game is over. If you don't, you discard that one too. And then you're stuck with the third. The chance of getting the highest number is one in three. Or is it? Is there a strategy by which you can improve the odds?
Once this problem is solved, it opens the door for all sorts of interesting problems. What if you knew that the slips of paper must contain an integer between 1 and 10? Or what if you get four slips of paper instead of three? I've got a few of my students playing around with variations of this, and with a little luck I might be able to get them out to the Joint Meetings in San Diego next year.
Another project that I've got going on right now is the development of a web-based program to encourage students to practice their basic arithmetic. I might have talked about the "Arithmetic Boot Camp" application that I was working on a while ago (as in, two or three years ago). If I didn't, it's basically just a timed test program designed to bring out the competitive nature of students, so that they would race against each other and try to have the best times.
I'm actually not doing any of the programming this time. We actually got some money from Verizon (yes, the phone company) to pay someone to do the programming for us. We actually got a total of $11,000 from them. The money will be split between the programming project and a general expense fund for things related to the math remediation program.
It's still in the development stage, but it's good enough for people to be playing around with it. Here's the link: decasoft.com. If you're so inclined, you can register yourself with just an ID and a password and play around. (Don't use a password that you use for important things! This is internet safety 101. Low level programs get low level passwords.) I know it's poorly organized and a little buggy, so just stick to the addition level 1 program for now. The aim is to get the fastest time possible. Good luck!
My taxes are filed for the year. I'm getting a refund similar to last year's, which is nice. I also got to claim my first royalty checks for the math textbook that I wrote last year. I'm actually in the process of reorganizing the textbook and expanding it so that it fits better with the modules that we've established. Also, I really want to get away from that crazy $175 textbook. The in-house textbook only costs the students about $25-30. I've got a stack of projects to get rolling this summer, and reworking the textbook is one of them.
Lastly, we're hopefully going to get the pastoral search committee's candidate in the next couple weeks. Apparently, he had some sort of health thing he wanted to deal with before deciding if he would come out here, and he got through that. I'm looking forward to things moving forward, as I'm getting quite annoyed with the game of sermon roulette that we play from week to week. The last guy actually scared me a little bit. He ended both sermons with a special message from God. It's the sort of thing that makes me shudder a little bit. Both times, it was awkward, and the second one was long and a little embarrassing. But soon (I hope), this will all be over and maybe the church can get back itself back on track. It's been a long time since I've had what feels like a "normal" church experience. The week to week inconsistencies and the general lack of vision and direction is really taking its toll.
