The Shadow Laughs

Okay, I've just got to do an update here. My fingers are screaming at me to pass on stored information floating around somewhere.....

Let's start with two weeks ago when me and my "team" (note the sarcasm) in Digital Logic, were supposed to give a presentation on Tuesday. The lab was closed Monday and most of Tuesday and my demonstration (I'm doing all of the programming) wasn't quite ready, two of my lab partners came and both fell asleep on the bench while I was working on the program. I stayed until late that night and we had already planned to demo the next day (Wednesday, one of my partners had set up the time) so I can and was ready to go, but not a single one of my partners came. "Uh.... my command crew is ready but I don't have a team for my shuttle......"

So I sent a rather stern e-mail to my partners and everyone did show up on Thursday, when we did the demonstration and were approved. I asked one of my partners (who had said he was going to show up on Wednesday) why he hadn't come and he said he wasn't feel all that well so just decided not to come. Well, a little communication wouldn't hurt. I've sent out about 15 e-mails to each of my partners and had about an average of two replies each. That is a very sad lack of communication.

Since I'm doing the actual project, I asked R if he would do the physical building of the cabinet to put the thing in (like an arcade game) which he said would be no problem. It would be nice if it was no problem but we'll see, I don't think he's started yet. The other two ladies I stuck together on the documentation aspect. I found out later the next week that we were supposed to have a proposal done by the end of the week, so I notified them (though since that's really all their doing, they should have been able to keep tabs on it I believe) and yet by Friday afternoon (the last day to be turned in) it still hadn't been done. That made me a bit exasperated I have to admit. I don't feel like I should have to keep everyone on my team in line and make sure they do their jobs. Nor do I feel as though I should have to assign tasks and then make a backup proposal myself just in case they don't turn it in. The proposal finally was turned in, about 4 paragraphs (all very short) and with not much information so I was a bit disappointed. The TA's know what is going on and so does the instructor, so it shouldn't affect my grade, at least I hope not!

Two Fridays ago I was also introduced to my new team members for Engineering Design, which was also disappointing. We had about an hour in which to work together as a team and get started on the project so what did my partners decide? Ah, we'll just meet at 10:00 Sunday night and work on it then. I protested very loudly but was overruled, a couple of them do have part-time jobs that takes up a lot of time so I can understand it being hard to work out a schedule where we can all meet but still! Again, I've sent out about 18 e-mails so far to them and had 1 response from one of them. I am not meeting on Sunday nights though, if they want to, fine, but I'm doing all the documentation and the report anyway (which is basically everything). Jon did say that he had a lot to do next week because he had 10 hours of community service left to finish by Thursday. All of them have admitted to being drunk from time to time, two of them said (the Thursday we had a meeting) that they had fun at Jon's house throwing beer cans into the ceiling fan, while drunk of course. *cries*

But, through God's grace I think I'll be able to handle it, it's hard to get people motivated to do any kind of work, but even if I did it all myself I think it might be possible, I've come to have a strong dislike for the groups here, everybody is a freeloader that I've gotten stuck with. I wish I could get some good partners who equally wanted to stay ahead of the project instead of waiting until the night before and working until 3:00 in the morning (which I will not do).

Speaking of my lab partners (and then I'll get off of my rant) on April first I sent out an e-mail to two of my partners in the Digital Logic. I said:

"I decided that this final project is just going to be too much for me
to handle, I was puzzling over it in the lab today and I really need
to focus on my other classes. I've spoken with Dr Teague and he agrees
that it's probably best."


And then a ways under that had "April Fools." I think that might be considered a homicide attempt though, heart attacks can be very dangerous! ;) But if I went out, they would all fail because I'm the only one that has been working with the stateCAD program at all for the last 5 weeks (ever since we started). It's not that I'm unwilling to explain or let the others help, but when they can't even handle a proposal in a timely manner, then how much can I expect?

There are good classmates to be sure, but none of them are on my team. I heard they assign teams based on GPA (to not have all the 4.0 students in one group etc.). Such is the difficulties of working in a college team environment. :(

Okay, so on to other things. Let's see. Well, yesterday it was really rather funny. We were riding in the F. Van to the evening Bible Study and I was sitting in the back seat next to Cal, and next to him was Christa and then Jonathan on the opposite side of the back seat. Cal and Christa are both out of their car seats now. After a while it started getting rather noisy so I asked if they would like me to read from some of Hodge's Systematic Theology. Tlepolemus said I should do so and I continued from where I was to finish the section about pantheism. Cal fell asleep in about 10 minutes. About 20 minutes after I started reading, I glanced over and everyone in the back row was asleep, Cal, Christa, AND Jonathan! Sorry Mr Hodge, it must be you I don't think it's me! ;)

I was told I should start selling CD's for insomniacs. Mr Vaknor complimented me later and said that he thought I did have a good "radio reading" voice, I guess everyone was tired, or Hodge was boring, or something. I thought it was very interesting personally.

The class average on the last Physics exam was a 49% I found out today. I had about an 88% (which was okay) but I found out that apparently there is going to be no curve! The instructor simply said she'd wait for a lot of students to drop and then that would bring the average up higher. I guess in one way I can agree with that, but at the same time, I've heard so many students say they did extremely well in highschool physics or in another college physics course, but this one they find to be very difficult and they don't know how anyone could even pass the class if they hadn't had physics before. Well, I had an extremely introductory physics previously so it is like brand new things for me, but I really have to work hard at this. I went to the help sessions every week for the first 8 weeks or so, I see the TA's during their office hours (once or twice a week) I've spoken with the instructor, I do the homework problems multiple times, it's just that the instructor, though very nice, doesn't really discuss any of the concepts. She just works problems on the projector, which in one way is okay but she seems to view it all as formulas and mathematics, when in fact it is a lot of logic and reasoning and deduction and analysis. I end up going to the TA's, and reading the book. I am positive I could have not gone to class at all and done just as well, and I'd almost never say that but in this case it is pretty close to true.

But let's say that 75% of the class does drop and then there is no curve. Am I still going to be looking at a B? That would sure be a disappointment. I'm not a fan of curves generally, I don't want a lot of people who would normally get F's to not try hard because they rely on a curve, but in some cases it is applicable. :)

Well, it's been nice chatting with you but I've got to get back to work. I've dallied too much already. Thinking back over what I've written this evening, a lot of it isn't very encouraging stuff. To be sure there is a lot that has gone on in the past few weeks that I was very thankful for (my family giving a birthday party for me and the P's and N's and J. Nathan coming to it), and different interactions I've had with people etc. Oh it's been very good and I don't want to give the opposite impression. Okay, I'm really going this time. Bye :)

Edit: By the way, if anyone wants to see what one of my TA's in Digital Logic looks like (he's a really nice guy) then you can see the course website here:
http://ecen3233.okstate.edu/
It's run by the other TA ;)


Edit2: One other thing I forgot to mention that I thought was rather amusing today. I went into Walmart for about 10 minutes and while I was there I had two separate people come up to me wanting to ask a question since they apparently thought I looked like an employee. I just had my slacks and blue collared short-sleeve shirt on. I'm not sure if being mistaken for a Walmart employee today was good or bad.... Either I looked professional (with my pencil and red pen in my shirt pocket) or maybe I had a "How may I help you" taped to my back and I didn't know it.....