I should have seen this one coming.

I try to reserve the day before a midterm for review; I show up to class without notes and work problems, made up on the fly, on the board. The kids get to call out the problems. They love it, and they get a lot out of it.

We had a snow day for the last class before the midterm. So, sitting at home with my kid, who also had a snow day, I put together a review sheet for them, similar in format to what we might have done in class on the board. I posted it on WebCT.

The next day I had several dozen messages in my inbox, each asking for the "answer key" to the review sheet. (A small proportion of those messages included some expression of gratitude for the sheet.) I explained that there was no answer key, that these were problems we might have worked out together in class, but that I would be happy to answer any specific questions they might have about the problems.

The email kept coming, even after a general announcement that there was no answer key. The later emails were more belligerent in tone, hinting at the uselessness of such a review sheet in the absence of the answers. Some students suggested that the fair thing to do would be to postpone the exam, even though all the exam material had been presented in lecture.

We had the exam at the scheduled time. Everyone hates me. Next time I will spend those three hours playing Candyland instead of casting my pearls before swine.

Speculate among yourselves.

In response to a general announcement that student IDs would be required to obtain entry to the exam room, the following exchange of messages occurred:

Marcello: I don't have a student ID. Is that a problem?

Professor: No, your driver's license will be fine.

Marcello: Due to an incident on New Year's Eve, I don't have a license either.

Hmm.

I don't care that he's a Scientologist.

My dentist is awesome. This morning he gave me a new filling and replaced an old one. He only gave me a needle for the replacement, and he was so good with the needle that it almost felt good. I was in and out of his office in 30 minutes.

I also got a sexy new bite guard. I'm supposed to wear it at night. This I do not understand. Why should I wear a bite guard at night when I only grind my teeth at work, during the day?

Pancakes for dinner!

Happy Groundhog's Day!

I am loving this book.

"For men to plunge headlong into an undertaking of vast change, they must be intensely discontented yet not destitute, and they must have the feeling that by the possession of some potent doctrine, infallible leader or some new technique they have access to a source of irresistible power. They must also have an extravagant conception of the prospects and potentialities of the future. Finally, they must be wholly ignorant of the difficulties involved in their vast undertaking. Experience is a handicap."