Finished another round of evaluations, I am keeping pace with the course schedule this time around. I have vowed that I am not going to have a ton of work to do when the course is over, and also I am trying to intervene the first moment I notice a problem with a student. The first goal is working out nicely - the module is not even halfway done, and I can turn my attention to other things. However, a couple of the problem students do not seem to be listening to my suggestions for improving their work. Hmmm.

My old Pentium II computer, which since January has been moved to the livingroom, was top of the line. That was necessary because when I got it in 1998 I was starting on my dissertation and I had a lot of statistics to grind. This time around, I went for a more middle of the road Pentium IV. It's a lot faster on the Internet, which is great, the monitor is better, and otherwise it is OK, but one thing I really miss is the superior sound system. If I have on a fan, I can barely hear the speakers. Also, the drives are SO loud, that when the machine accesses the CD, the whirring sound drives me nuts. I investigated upgrades to fix the problem, and decided that it isn't worth $300+. I should have upgraded at the time of purchase, when it would not have been as pricey.

A lot of the time I don't care that much because I prefer silence, but as I was slogging though all those essays, I really wanted some background music. So I decided to stop being frustrated, and to try something, but the real stereo is downstairs, and I didn't feel like resorting to one of my burnt-out boom boxes. Yesterday, I checked out the radio on AOL, and problem solved! I am playing the "bluegrass" choice, and couldn't be happier! WDST, the Woodstock station, is a choice too.