math teachers with an agenda

Calculus Problem Hits Too Close To Home

April 26, 2006 | Issue 42•17

PULLMAN, WA–The analysis of formulae derived from the fundamental theorem of calculus had a profound and seemingly personal impact on Washington State University freshman Barry Feldman on Monday, teaching assistants in Feldman's differential calculus section reported. "There was something about having to consider multiple rates of change and their effect on one another that really struck a nerve with Barry. I've never seen a student flinch so violently at terms like 'increasingly negative curves' or 'derivatives,'" TA Melanie Peppers said. "As uneasy as the unresolved equation seemed to make Barry feel, the prospect of eventually arriving at a solution for it actually appeared to upset him more." Feldman was recently the subject of gossip among the faculty after he interrupted a lecture on increasing-tensor calculus by screaming that "enough is enough" and asking if the professor would "please just change the subject."
--The Onion, April 6, 2006

i hope

Congrats to Ether Hour on a great night at Zoe. I would come to their shows and keep them on the iPod even if they weren't my friends. The more I hear "I Hope," the more I love it.
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I Hope
By: Jeffrey Anderson

My curiosity has earned me a chance to learn the hard way
Life can be so giving in that way
You there standing with your eyes closed (arms out) expecting all you wanted
You never thought about if you never got it
But now you’re getting older
Now you fear your window is closing on your fingers
And the lock is clicking
And the shades are drawn before your eyes

I should have had you walk out there on your own
I should have had you go out there away all alone

Damn my mind for feeling empty
Why couldn’t I be happy working with my hands or selling something
Keep me entertained with small talk and doing nothin’ fancy
A common occupation, and I’m satisfied
But not me. That’s never gonna stop me
Push me to my limits, expand like I’m elastic
But I’ve got no examples, so open up your eyes

I should have had you walk out there on your own
I should have had you go out there away all alone
Now I’ve got to take some steps out there on my own
Now I’m gonna follow some plan that I designed at home

the first!

Ether Hour releases their first album. Check them out at myspace or their website.

what should i read next?

http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/

#$*%P@! motor homes

"Boy, do I hate motor homes! ... they clog the streets and block the views -- and all so that some guy and his dumpy wife can eat lunch and empty their bladders without stopping."
--Bill Bryson, The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America