The best kind of help is the one that's not even needed. Because it demands minimum work from me this way you know that you figured it out all on your own.

bwah! Exactly.

I like it, when I'm TAing, when a student raises their hand to ask something, and when I turn to them, they say that it doesn't matter anymore. Like the very process of phrasing the question helped them find the answer.

Like the very process of phrasing the question helped them find the answer.

I do this all the time. I use IM at work to phrase my programming questions to a friend, and he almost never has to answer.

Thanks, Nilly! She does observe the shabbat, but none of the guests are Jewish. I think as guests, we will be expected to honor the customs of the household, but it will be casual...but I want to hold up my end of the social contract!

I now need to find a detailed list of kosher foods. I was thinking I'd bring a lemon cake, but I will check.

I am SO sleepy. I just want to crawl back into bed. I was coughing all night, which is so frustrating and disrupts the sleep so much.

Best programming advice that I ever got was that if you can state the problem in English, you're halfway to solving it. And this works for non-programming problems sometimes too.

I now need to find a detailed list of kosher foods.

You mean, already-prepared foods that are approved kosher? Because cooking/baking kosher in a non-kosher kitchen is really hard.

vw, I hope you feel better.

Theo, in many cases, I ask my students to find the stop where they stopped to understand. Not phrasing the question, just pointing where the problem began. Sometimes, even that helps.

Interesting thread title. What's the whale reference again?

Bev, we honest to god had a gay whale crosspost the other day. It seemed like it needed commemorating. (We added the dead part, just because.)

if you can state the problem in English, you're halfway to solving it

I must be in a perpetual halfway state and hit the wall there. Being able to state the problem doesn't help--from that point either I can code it without much effort, or I'm back to the diagramming stage.

However, coming to Buffistas and phrasing a question in the posting box, reading it, and then picking out the identifying words for a google search--that's answered more questions for me than it hasn't.

Headache. Up early. Unhappy. Nerve block on Friday. Every day I need it more.

Debet, re Colbert. I LOVED that! Good show, although I went to bed before the guest because it sounded like it was going to be painful.

However, Monday's episode, which I taped instead of watching when TDS turned out to be a re-run (all week it seems), was a keeper, so I'm psyched I taped it. The special Repor T on religion was the best whole show that SC has done yet. I don't think there was a bit that didn't work, and it was easily one of the best interview segments he's done.