Because singing out loud and outright dancing on the sidewalk are looked down upon. You = craxy.

I haven't let that stop me yet, Aims. Of course, I just assume that random strangers think I'm craxy anyway.

I no longer fear the heat death of the universe.

You may need to fear the solitude and boredom when it becomes apparent you're the only one left.

Stupid Slate magazine has caused me to waste the whole day. They have a special “Slate Goes to College!” section, and included in it is an article about a website where students rate their professors [link] . I made the mistake of going to it and now I can’t stop reading students’ comments about my colleagues and my friends at other universities and my enemies at other universities. And me, of course. I feel a little dirty doing it, but I can’t stop.

It’s clear that students can be vicious. They pounce on any weakness and say the nastiest things you can imagine. At the same time they can be very kind. Anyone who seems to be making a real effort to teach gets credit for that, even if the results are pretty bad.

The main thing I learned is, if you want high student ratings, forget about learning and just be funny. The students are mostly kind to me, but they generally say “He’s so funny!” rather than “I learned so much from him!” It makes me think that I need to change my approach. I do admit to being fond of this comment, which was written as a poem:

Big Brain. Broad Shoulders. Dry Humor. What’s not to Like?

How are you feeling, Jilli?

How are you feeling, Jilli?

Pretty good, actually. Well enough to go out to see the new Harry Potter movie this afternoon, at least. Because yes, I'm a silly silly fan.

Rick, I love RateMyProfessor. I've been to the Canadian site and it's interesting to find that the comments on some of the profs I had almost 15 years ago are the same comments I would have had.

Little tiny snowflakes are falling from the sky and blowing around here. The view from my office window is like a street scene in a snowglobe. This may be charming to some. I am not a lover o' the winter.

Nothing planned this weekend, thank goodness. I was out doing Bitterpalooza with some pals last night, and am tired and dehydrated from the beer consumption, but it was a good night. Tonight, I have dinner plans with friends at one of my favourite restaurants. [link]

My parents return from their semi-annual Myrtle Beach visit on Sunday and are in town for a few days, so some of my time on Saturday will be dedicated to tidying up from my usual slight disarray to Mum-level clean.

Glad to be doing not much else, for a change. Fall has gone in an eyeblink, with the work busyness and all.

But no matter how cold it is, it will be warm in the apartment. I no longer fear the heat death of the universe.

Right there with you. I left the windows open all day yesterday, it dropped below freezing by the time I got home at night, yet inside it was 56°. Thanks for paying me back with free heat, downstairs neighbor that I did not wash out with a flood of sewerage!

Rick, are you sure that student didn't have "I LOVE YOU" written in eyeliner on her eyelids? Watch for the blinkers!

Yeah, Rick, I wouldn't write that about my teacher unless I wanted to boink him.