I've been busy keeping myself from falling behind in grading so that I can spend time on course development for summer and fall. So far, so good. It hasn't been easy to avoid distraction given what's been going on in the news, but on Friday I evaluated all the essays I had pending, and today I managed to create a reader and e-reader for fall.

Speaking of essays, there have been a very large number this semester that aren't very good. I don't notice anything particularly different in student behavior or demeanor this spring, but in all classes, the writing just hasn't been meeting expectations. Why don't students read the guidelines?

We spent a second weekend in a row in Samsonville, something we don't usually do this time of year, but Bob's brother is turning 50 next week, and he had a dinner at Carmine's on Saturday. It was allegedly a surprise party, but he wasn't surprised.

We drove to Poughkeepsie from Samsonville, and took Metro-North to Grand Central.  I used to take the commuter train to NYC from Brewster when we lived there in the 1980s, but I had not been on Metro-North since then. What a sensory experience! It brought back a lot of memories -- most not pleasant ones. When I go to NYC now, I take Amtrak from Rensselaer. Although I prefer Grand Central (Amtrak goes to Penn), Amtrak is way better: nicer, cleaner, faster, smoother ride. Smells better too!

Anyway, it was a nice party and we had a good time, chem toilet "fragrance" on the train or not.