'Morning, all.

hello

Hi Mandi,
How are you doing?

I'm alright, you?

I'm doing well. The graduation party season concludes tomorrow (I think). I'll be attending a party for a girl who wasn't my student (but her older brother will be back in town and he was).

Ah, yes, the graduation season. I don't have to do too much of that. But with high school, I can imagine it could get quite busy.

Yes, it is. It's also strange as I grew up in an area where we didn't have all these graduation parties. (Sometimes it feels like a different planet). 8-)

I think now people have more parties than they used to. It seems that way in So. Cal. at least

Well, far be it from me to object. We should take advantage of healthy reasons to celebrate!

I agree

Now if we could just get rid of stupid practices like social promotion so the high school diploma meant a little more .. then I believe the graduation would be a healthier celebration.

Evening, folks :)

Funny, we have the same problem in kindergarten. Whatever happened to earning your diploma, degree, promotion, etc., rather than just being moved on up because everyone else is!

Hi Elara.

Hiya, everyone :)

Hi Bangping

well, we mustn't leave any children behind, right?

Hiya, bangping :)

</sarcasm>

Strange seeing you here, Elara! ;)

(I just finished beating here in literati on yahoo games ;) )

Yeah, yeah, tell the world :P Knocked my rating back under 1700 and everything! :)

Good morning Skizzy,
Ah, the wonderful "Leave No Child Untested" stupidity. It guarantees that every school will be listed as failing. (The bill calls for improvement EVERY YEAR. Once every student has a perfect score on the tests, the next year is a failure since there can be no improvement).

yeah, i unfortunately haven't been following that closely enough, but i've heard enough negative things from teachers to get the general idea of its impact

There is some benefit to NCLB...

It's driving teachers out so fast that we up-and-comers should find it easy to get jobs. :P

well that's a relief!

I teach computer science ... you would think that with the recent push for better math and science, this should be important. Nope. Funding for the training I already received has dried up from the NSF.

because we fund the wrong things

Just the focus on standardized tests to the exclusion of all else is seriously harming education

for the training you received? i don't follow

A standardized test tests how well kids take standardized tests

yeah, sometimes it seems that the main value in state education is socialization

I was fortunate to get into a training program, funded by the National Science Foundation, where I could learn cutting edge pedagogy for teaching C.S. over several summers. This was part of an effort to bridge the high school to college gap. (The NSF funded my studying at Utah, Northeastern, and Brown over three summers. It also funded an on-line textbook and free software for students. The program has been cut.)

interesting. what's a quick summary of how CS is taught at the high school level? I got into a top CS school without any formal training in high school, but that first year sure was tough

C.S. used to be taught as: Here are a bunch of syntactical elements of a computer language and here is a puzzle. Go solve the puzzle on your own.
Today, I am able to teach problem solving and program design using a systematic approach to solving new problems with a low syntax language. (This is college-prep, not vocational-prep).

So you focus on algorithm design rather than syntax?

low syntax? what language do you use?

Yes.
Scheme to start and I later transition to Java before teaching AP C.S.

scheme, hmm, still haven't touched that one. but neat, it sounds like a major improvement

Morning all

morning!

Hiya, sprite :)

If you want to look at the on-line text and free IDE, all the links are available from www.teach-scheme.org

morning? still trying to make myself go to sleep here. :)

Heya sprite :)

Rubbing the sleep out my eyes and telling myself it IS morning... my body doesn't want to know. My kids are convinced.

i'm still disappointed that i never learned about testing before i left college. at least they taught us to use source control

Hello Sprite and Hokie,
Am I correct, Hokie, in guessing that you are associated with Va. Tech?

yep, that's where I gradumated from ;)

mmm, polish notation

I've just recently been learning about Unit Testing. If you are programming, learn about JUnit and get a book like "The Java Extreme Programming Cookbook". A lot to learn!

I once dropped out from VPI. 8-)

I wasn't quite ready for college back then.

i jumped on the test-driven bandwagon when i started using ruby on rails, and it's since spread to all my other programming projects. it's made all the difference in the world

ah, I think out of 6 from my HS class that went there, only 2 of us finished.

now whenever i code something without automated tests, it's like when i code without source control -- it makes me very nervous

Yes. It's nice to be in control!

hmm, maybe i missed something previously -- where did the va tech connection come from?

penguin somehow brilliantly deduced it.

I was just appreciating Hokie's Orange and Maroon Turkey.

hah, i see. out of the loop here

That was a nice medium. It took me longer than usual, but I got a little too involved in chatting ... Yes. There's a good excuse. 8-)

I hate the mediums. they always give me a harder time than anything else. But I am breaking hurshey's #1 rule.

something about not doing this when you are tired.

which is?

Okay, before I'm off to bed, what is Hurshey's rule?

oh :)

yes, I am psychic, elara.

Ah, now I can go off to bed. Good night all!

good night!

Night, Penguin :)

good chatting! scheme is a fun language

Night you guys!
Yeah, a foreign language to me :)

well, 2:04, I better go to bed. have to take the kids to 2 birthday parties tomorrow. aacckk!

looks like it's a functional language (as opposed to imperative or declarative). my first class with a functional language just about destroyed my poor brain

Night, carla :)

too bad people come and go so quickly around here, but i guess it isn't irc

oh well, looks like i'll be going too. good night/day everyone!

It isn't. Would be an idea though, opening a channel on irc.

Night, skizzy :)

/me takes his leave

/me waves goodbye

i think it's past elara6's bedtime!

I think fnurt knows me too well ;)

Like it's not late for fnurts!

doh

hi ppl

me new

has any1 got a hotmail

any1

is any1 there

im loanly

plz talk 2 me

comeon

plz

fine then

us supossed to be friendly

use suposed to be friendly

morning

hi

how r u?

howdy

hello

good - just going through the archives.

ok

so

do u have a email

yep

i do u want it

it's ok :)

cus i dont have any friends

im loanly

will u be my friend

i'm sure you're not.

yes i am

u dont like me

i don't know you.

u hate me

wait u dont no me

sorry

sneeu

will u be my friend

HI SNEEU

can i have help!

Is that a question!

yes

plz

plz!

can i have help plz?

what goes in the very middle box

hello peoples

I think you're supposed to insert numbers in the very middle box; I might be wrong.

o nah i mean what number

or dont u no?

What number? You mean there's more than one? That's preposterous!

ha ha clownny boy

whitch number is it?

come on help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The numbers stir whitchcraft? Burn them!

hi all

grrr

Was it something you ate hurshy? lol

hi hursh : ) I was just thinking about you.

hi babbler! :)

alright? when are you coming over?

hmm, let's see, i'll be in london starting july 12

i'm having tea at the ritz and stuff with atalante on the 13th

flying up to see bex in newcastle the 15th

soon! will you hvae time to have tea with me?

would tea on the 14th work for you then?

tea at the ritz?? blimey, *checks purse* that's proper expensive, you know!

14th is good.... unless I muscle in on the 13th and meet Atalante as well.... if she wants to meet me, that is, lol!

well yes but i mean how often am i in london?

i will have tea with you somewhere normal

well you can't really muscle in on tea at the ritz cause we had to make the reservations well in advance and they are only for 2 people

you're kidding? you have to book a table for tea? wow. I've never been there. I suppose I should, one day. Somewhere normal ok.

yeah we booked it before i even left

where are you now? aren't you home?

no i'm in marseille

we're "doing europe" - i was in italy for a week already

France? wow! I thought I hadn't see you in a little while

yes but happily i got some internet time and have gotten to do yesterday and today's babbles.

how's your trip going? how's the weather? is everyone World Cup mad? I bet France are happy they're still in

i'm doing a sudoku now but of course that doesn't matter if i don't finish cause i can always do them later

yes it was kind of funny last night when they were playing

we could hear roars from a pub a ways away from us when we were eating

and when they won their game i heard the honking even through my earplugs

I bet the atmosphere was fantastic

wow!! LOL

yup :)

Artlady should be in Florence this week. I think.

and jac goes to crete sometime...

oh that's right, she's got her holiday booked soon

how long are you in Europe?

5 weeks altogether

4 more

Lovely! How long will you be in London / UK?

july 12-20

i don't know exactly about london, i know we are taking small trips to bath and the cotswolds and oxford

good plan. Cambridge as well?

i dunno, maybe!

we're staying at the cumberland hotel in london, will you meet me there on the 14th, and what time?

whereabouts is the cumberland? 14th is a Friday... tricky (I'll explain elsewhere). I couldn't meet you till like 5pm on a Friday. And that's a maybe. Thursday is free! And so is Saturday!

lol... well 5 pm is fine with me

the cumberland is...in the west end i think?

you can look it up online and stuff

we're in business then! West End is pretty central.

Marble Arch? I met Artlady there! that's funny!

you should check though cause i could be wrong... wait it is near a park... what is the name of that park... hyde park?

Selfridges, here I come! (again!)

yes, Hyde Park corner

ok then, so can you meet me in the lobby of the cumberland?

everything is very close together in the centre of town. walking distance most of the time

good :)

good day everybody

hi yul :)

Lobby of the Cumberland is an excellent plan. If there's a problem, then I can always ring the hotel desk and catch you.

great, i'll see you then!!

diarised. :D great!

hi yul : )

:) how it's going

hursh, did you see a pic of me and Artlady?

no babbler, where?

I'll upload it into my icon.... hold on...

k - *refresh*

so artlady is the one that looks like her drawings of herself i assume :)

LOL!! yeah! tha'ts how I recognised her

well hopefully i will recognize you now...but just in case i will have a sign ready that says babble or something :)

good thinking. I totally forgot to do for the babble convention.... I still have no idea if anyone came and couldn't find us.... : /

when bex and her mam pick me up in the newcastle airport she is planning to hold up a "hurshy" sign, although i have seen pics of her as well :)

that's nice you're seeing bex. Say hi from me as well. : )

will do :) we are going to shop, because every time she shops i pretend i am going to fly over and go with her

LOL!! awww, that's cute!

where does she live? did you say Newcastle?

yes... i'm paying a fair bit for a special trip to see her, but i thought she'd be pretty disappointed if i came all the way to england and didn't see her. we chat pretty much every day on IM normally.

aww, that's sweet. Yes, she would be disappointed, that's nice of you.

well she's a sweet kid.

what are you doing this evening in Marseilles? (I can't remember if I've been there. Is the palace there? I've been there).

woohoo, one sudoku down. :) my time may run out any moment so if i disappear that's why

ok doke. I've finished too. : )

palace? oh do you mean versailles?

oh that's it!! LOL!

marseille is in the south, it's a port city

easy mistake to make.

ah ok, so you're by the sea? gorgeous

Ok, that was one of the easiest "Medium" puzzles yet

yes,it was easy without greens.

Morning folks :)

morning bang

I swear, I have no idea why this just isn't breaking open for me.

Mental block or something, I guess

i don't think it's easy...

took a little bit to get there, but it did finally open up for me

maybe it took a while because i was eating breakfast at the same time. Corn Pops getting in the way...

done... but it's kind of exhaustive... you can't do it in a fleet

Tough until I found the x-wing.

done

that wasnt hard at all

Where

Where's my little GingerUK snap?

Hmm...March 14 has two solutions. I wonder if that's common

done! had to make one guess, but guessed right so didn't take too long. perhaps it wasn't a guess after all!

Hello

angie - i haven't looked too closely - are you sure about the March 14th puzzle having two solutions? I wonder if the site would accept either...

go

nice

ugh - i don't like this one