I didn't feel bad about the cheating because I did good analysis...which I felt was the point of the paper.

This exactly.

Years later, I 'shared' an answer with a classmate on our take-home stats exam.

My professors encourage this. They feel you learn better by discussing your thoughts and clarifying your answers.

We had that in high school (Wisconsin) and, actually, it's been one of the more directly useful classes

My beef is that we had the tests without being taught the subject. Because the tests were mandated but the teaching, apparently, was not. So, yeah, bad implementation.

My birthday was yesterday. But I was only on the board in the morning.

A very merry unbirthday to you today, then.

And to us all. Unless it is anyone's birthday. Then happy birthday to him or her.

Pretty Siamese kitties.

Although I am a terrible person, because I think the "show" or "wedge-headed" Siamese cats are much more beautiful than the traditional "apple-head" Siamese. (Some people think the "show" Siamese have been bred to a bad extreme.)

I've heard tell that people who cheat rarely, if ever, win, and that those who win have not been known to cheat.

does a belated-birthday dance for sumi

Yeah, but if you don't buy into the other reasons (which is why, perhaps generously, I assume people don't follow that particular one), what's left other than fear of reprisal?

Well, that's a different problem. If you're trying to encourage a particular behavior, saying, "It's the law" is probably effective. When I say it's not a good reason, I mean logically. But I don't think people fail to wear seatbelts or helmet because they're getting philosophical about it.

I've heard tell that people who cheat rarely, if ever, win, and that those who win have not been known to cheat.

Heh. Those people have never played games with my family.

I'm scared.

I have an e-mail from one of my professors. I need to read it, because I need to make sure I'm going to pass the class if I stay in it.

But, I'm scared.

Also, I have a cold. My head is foggy. My throat hurts. And I'm coughing. Again. At least this isn't asthma coughing. Yet. I paged my doctor, 'cause it's just too close for comfort to the whole asthma thing. She's upping my steroids (again!) and increasing my albuterol use until the cold is over.

That's what I get for starting a conversation in Bitches about cheaters :)

bug, will it help if you virtually hold my hand while you click on the email?

Yes.

I know it's silly, but I don't feel like I deserve to do well in this class. I've done the best I can do this semester, but it's not my best, and that's bothersome. So, I feel like I don't deserve him working with me.