I guess it was for real
The 309 exam result was a 99. Guess no grade adjustment was needed after all!
On the downside, the gpa now becomes 3.497. Just enough to make you feel like you're at 3.5, but *not* quite....
205 probably comes later Wednesday. That still will be an interesting result.
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Labels: school
Beatin' the poli sci majors....
The grade for the class that is intended for (and almost completely populated by) political science majors, PS 309 (Equality & Justice in US Law--essentially a caselaw course) came back as an A+, which was really nice in an "apparently" difficult class. Then again, it's always nice to pick up the A+ :-).
I won't know of course until 1am what the final exam grade is however. Due to the way the TRACS system operates, the grade appears in the live database lookup via "Past Semester Grades" after they make the semidaily grade processing run at about 6pm, but the static database containing final exam grades and current grades is not updated until the live system goes down for the night (sometime after midnight). Based on the grades of my tests and the assumption that the professor practices standard rounding, I needed a 97 on the exam to get the A+ (98-100 A+, 93-97 A; test 1=98 (30%) test 2=98 (30%) final 40%). It is possible that she bumps grades up a bit, since her grade distributions show a greater concentration of higher grades than test results would show. Unfortunately I'll never know the true distribution because NC State does not post grade distributions of summer session classes, even if they meet the required seat count of 20 or more.
I'm more interested in what I get on the PS 205 (Law & Justice) exam and class grade. I anticipate that that will be posted and available tomorrow. The same grading policy is in effect for that class as was for 309, but somehow in a class that is apparently "easier", I was doing worse (test 1=87; test 2=88). The professor adds 2 points to your final grade if you have 2 or fewer unexcused absences (yes), but even with that, to get the A I would need a 95 on the exam, which may or may not have happened based on the multiple choice. This class had a lower distribution of test scores, so I suspect that she may be tweaking grades somewhat if the class looks like the professor's previous class distributions. If I somehow get the mathematically impossible A+, I'll know.
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Labels: school
Moving up in the world?
Someone else dropped science fiction, so now I am #4 on the waitlist (of 5). Of course, if I make it in that class, it will be a minor miracle, but I'll keep sitting on that waitlist.
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Labels: school
Black Tuesday
I am upset:
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 13:57:23 -0400
From: Dana Lasher
To: scheduling@csc.ncsu.edu
Cc: nelson@eos.ncsu.edu, Carol Miller
Subject: CSC246 section 001 5-week summer 1 class
----------------------------------------
Greetings,
In order to teach an in-class undergraduate summer course,
an enrollment of 12 students is needed.
We currently have a 5-week session and a 10-week session
of CSC246
Both are at about half the required enrollment.
We are canceling the 5-week section.
You still have two options:
- enroll in the 10 week session
- enroll in the Distance Education Section of CSC246
At the end of this week, we will determine whether the
enrollment in the 10 week section is sufficient to
teach that section.
- Why wasn't an email sent out advertising the five week section like there was for the ten week section?
- Why weren't the students contacted earlier to see if they would switch sections?
- Why couldn't they wait till the end of the week to cancel both sections?
- Why was the section with more people cancelled?
METAR KRDU 101651Z 23506KT 10SM FEW200 BKN250 26/11 A3005 RMK SLP174Labels: school
The War on Nelson
As I have said previously, I really want to take 246 this summer from Miller in the first session. Having Miller four days a week for OS would be a lot of fun.
But it's increasingly clear that due to the small number of students, only one of the sections can survive, and it's possible both might not.
Nelson's section has four (now five) students, Miller's has seven. But Nelson decided to do something quite underhanded: he sent out a mass email to everyone taking 236 asking them to take his 246 section.
I told Miller about this, and received this reply. It's a classic (slightly edited to protect emails and removing my name):
Date: Sat, 7 May 2005 12:11:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: Carol Miller (email removed)
To: Weather-Boy (email removed)
Subject: Re: 236 and Operating Systems (fwd)
Grrr. Nelson used his special access to mailing lists to send this. I don't have same access...and I have complained.
He has 5 students and we have 7. Both need 12.
Carol
We must do war upon Nelson and take back what is rightfully our's!
METAR KRDU 072051Z 10SM SCT090 BKN250 24/07 A2995 RMK SLP140Labels: school
How many lines?
We started in at about 66, and now it's gotten down to 59.
Break even point: 55.
Guaranteed point increase point: 50.
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Labels: computing, school
Another Lasher Moment...
Today we heard the story of a code tester:
This guy, who was a tester, totaly despised the software engineers (he also happened to be a big guy, so he could probably shout down any of the pesky engineers). Not to mention the fact that he probably got paid a third of what they got paid, but the software engineers thought they were above testing (and of course hated it).
So each Monday, he'd get some donuts and coffee and invite the managers and software engineers to his office. He would then proceed to show off the week's bugs.
Now of course being confronted with bugs in your pristeen code is unbalancing enough, but having the managers see them at the same time is even worse. So this tester compiled what the six most frequent responses for a software engineer to see a bug in his code:
6. The customer doesn't need that.
5. I fixed that a month ago.
4. It's working as designed.
3. I'll explain it in the Readme file.
2. It works fine in my office.
1. SH*T.
Another great recollection from Dana Lasher....
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Labels: computing, school
Schedule Irritation
It's annoying enough to schedule courses in two majors, but when one department overlaps things from the same department (that could be reasonably taken at the same time) together, it's a big nuisance.
CSC 312 (Comp Organization & Logic) is offered 3:50-5:05 T/H next fall out on Centennial. CSC 333 (Automata, Grammars, Computability) was going to be offered from 8:30-9:20 out on Centennial M/W/F. I actually had a schedule last week that I was satisfied with (shocking). But today when I examined xtracs, the 8:30 section was cancelled, and the class is offered at 3:50-5:05, T/H. This is annoying to say the least.
To make matters worse, this fall is difficult for me to find 5 classes since the main purpose is to build the prereqs for the remaining 3 semesters--namely CSC 312 and MEA 421. So now, I get to find another class to slide in (no idea since I already moved one CHASS course out of the summer and into the fall to fill the fifth slot that I wasn't going to be able to fill anyway), which delays CSC 333 (consuming another slot in another semester, likely in the senior year). I'm not especially fond of consuming slots like that when I don't know what to do with them.
Meteorology has a variation on this same theme. I wanted to take MEA 320 (Fundamentals of Air Pollution) this semester, but the required lab course MEA 314 was scheduled on top of it. In fact, it is impossible to take MEA 320 (air pollution), MEA 467 (marine meteorology), and CE/MEA 479 (air quality) because they all meet in that same slot (and there are only 2 semesters which they can go in due to MEA 314). In fact, with the sole exception of MEA 455 (not available until after MEA 421), every single meteorology elective is offered in the spring, which greatly annoys me.
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Labels: school
It's Done
Esrap is finally finished. Thank goodness.
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Labels: computing, school
Test fallout...
So I get my MEA 200 (oceanography) test back. This class is an intro level class, so it should be fairly easy, right? I got an 82, which probably could have been better, but compared to the rest of the class, might be generous....
This is one of 3 grades in the course--each equally weighted, 50 question multiple choice tests. So, to make it clear how everyone did, here is the distribution. The highest score was a 94, the median was a 70, and the mean was a 65. The rest of the distribution:
Range Frequency
90-100 2
80-90 13
70-80 20
60-70 9
50-60 13
40-50 9
30-40 2
Oh, by the way, there is no curve on this test, or any indication that there will be any curve. I figured out that if I want an A in the class (assuming 93=A, which actually might not be true), I have to miss no more than 2 questions for the remainder of the semester. A bit close.
My assembler grade was much nicer--got it by email tonight, and it had three digits in it, which made me happy. It might be easier to get an A+ in that class than an A- in oceanography, and there's
no way I would've thought that before the semester.
And finally: Naruto fans--I feel your pain. I know that one day something I like dearly will too be licensed.
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Slight edits--fixed distribution; professor wrote in a later email that he adjusts grades at the end of the course (he still won't disclose how he does that though!)
Labels: school
This was fun without a calculator:
Problem: Find the integer n for which this is true.
8n log2n < 4n2
The answer is 5, which is what I deduced (the two terms equal each other when n=2 and n=4), but it was extremely fun trying to figure out if I was right.
Unfortunately, I missed the related problem:
Find the given c and n for which 4n2 is in Ω(8n log2n).
I set c=1, and I had thought the answer would be the same as above. Wrong! If c=1, n=4, since 4n2 ≤ c*8n log2n for Ω.
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Labels: computing, school
It's Usually Not a Good Thing...
...If the University thinks you aren't enrolled in any classes. But the Wolfware Lookup tool thinks I'm not:
Unity ID: [you don't need to know that]
Full Name: [you really don't need to know that]
Enrolled in: Not enrolled in any courses
METAR KRDU 101151Z 31509KT 10SM FEW010 SCT030 BKN070 10/04 A2973 RMK SLP068 1014 2009
Labels: computing, school
Random Things
- Bleach 17 came out (albeit at 5am this morning!), so since Soopy-kun is going to be around again this weekend, I get to watch it this evening.
- starwar445 is coming back around this weekend, so someone's actually going to be in my room besides myself for once.
- Thermo assignment due Tuesday (and the test is next Tuesday the 15th)
- 316 HW 5 due next Wednesday (and the assignment SUCKS); the test is next Friday
- 314 lab needs to be finished
- 236 assignment due Tuesday; KEY is due a week after that
- 200 has a test next Thursday
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Let's be CSC 216 students again!
Dr. Miller should be disappointed. Of the five problems in the assignment:
- One was more or less lifted out of one of her tests (a mathematical regression method).
- Three are simply executing standard methods for stacks. Just as a reminder, Miller had us WRITING those methods on the final exam.
- One is actually unique to this course.
In other news, Okaeri claimed its lead and released Bleach 16 today. Maybe if we're lucky, Lunar will have the English sub out tonight.
And finally, you winter weather fans might have a little fun stuff in store this weekend. I'm keeping my mouth shut. I know what happened when I talked last time.
METAR KRDU 272251Z 04508KT 10SM FEW250 01/M17 A3044 RMK SLP314Labels: school
End of Exams, Day 1
I have somehow made it through the first day of my exams. The good news, that means that I only have one more day, and two more exams. The bad news--I only have one more day to prep for the physics exam.
Book lists for next semester are coming out; hopefully I have enough cash on hand to buy them earlier (and cheaper) in case I need them as a tax writeoff or something like that. It won't be enough of course, but it should help...a little. I didn't have much in the way of fall book purchases, so that won't be much of a writeoff at all. Hopefully, next year I won't have this problem as the summer loans will cause the tuition/fees/book writeoffs to be moved elsewhere.
Tomorrow--8am CSC 216, 1pm PY 208.
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Labels: school
Good news and bad news...
Good news:
- I got the A+ in CSC 253 I had already calculated
- I got an S in PE 243 even though I probably should have gotten a U
- I should have an A in CSC 226 at last check
- My CSC 216 HW 5 grade was adjusted from a 74 to a 96 on regrade
Bad news:
- Thursday 8am: MEA 311 exam
- Thursday 1pm: MEA 313 exam
- Friday 8am: CSC 216 exam
- Friday 1pm: PY 208 exam
METAR KRDU 091151Z 13505KT 10SM SCT110 10/05 A3007 RMK SLP183 1011 2006Labels: school
End of semester nonsense
New End of semester nonsense--
*Unless there's a mad curve, I get a U in bowling. By the grading scale, it is mathematically impossible to pass with less than a 90 average for a male. I had an 86.
*CSC 253 is an A+, since I got all 5 points on the EC program (a makefile).
*I'm exempt from the 226 exam by 0.0042541%! Score!
*And naturally, the 216 TA's botched the HW 5 grades. There's at least 10 points that I should have that were clearly by specs--I'll be having words with Miller on Monday.
Exams:
Thursday--MEA 311, 8am; MEA 313, 1pm
Friday--CSC 216, 8am; PY 208, 1pm
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Labels: school
LA Musings
Just one question: why in the world did Daniels Hall flood?
Daniels Hall Sysnews post.
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Labels: misadventure, school
Well, at least I made it through this much...
The MEA 311 test sucked. What can I say. Hoping for a liberal curve, but it's going to hurt a bit. That test was NOT 45 minutes as thought though!
Now, let's see...I have a bunch of more stuff to do (unfortunately). 2 Physics webasses due at 1125, putting in hours at the internship (end of the biweekly period), and then the program, among other things.
Bleach 7 still not out...unfortunately.
LAX visit on Thanksgiving rapidly approaching; must find something to bring the twit sister (well, she isn't a twit, but since I'm younger, I can get away with it ;-)). Hopefully I get time to go to Crabtree Saturday, but there's no guarantee of that.
And poor Soopy-kun; his CSC 216 program grade was in the toilet. And some of the junk the TA's were taking off for was stupid. I tested with the test cases they were supposedly using (that's what they get for leaving them in a public locker!). And I swore they complied with the twisted implementation of RFC 822 (I'll link the URL to RFC 822 later, but you can just search for it).
And finally, Niyogi is leaving after this semester to go to Purdue. Good news? Bad news? Who knows?
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Labels: school
On deck...MEA 311 Test 2
At 8:05, I get to take the glorious MEA 311 Test 2 (it's really a quiz, but I would be kidding myself if I actually said that much). I don't know how I'll do--I'm missing two major sets of notes that I obviously couldn't have studied from. It comes down to how well I understood the fundamentals, and how much in the way of details there will be...that's an excellent question indeed, that it should be....
This all starts a period where I have to writeup a lab, 2 more tests, a homework due at 11:59 tonight (electronically; 5pm by hand, so we know how this one will go!), the trip, and then two more programs due the Sunday at the end of break. And my internship has a major web content change coming up, so that has to be done soon (as soon as they get their act together and get me all the content, and the correct content!).
Hopefully I survive this period; I might not, but I'm hoping to.
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Labels: meteorology, school
