Maybe I shouldn't have started this blog now, not with everything that's been going on.

No students showed up for consultation yesterday, although I stayed in the department until 6pm.
Yesterday, also, during my vacant period from 1020am to 1250pm, my thesis student showed up. I immediately gave him the three bound theses marked “A” (for astronomy) in the department shelves, but he said that the two papers he used in his references were not there. So I let him search the shelves himself.

The chairman saw him there, asked him when he was going to defend. In response he asked for a format of the thesis paper guidelines, which he had to photocopy and return to the chairman. He also left his ID with the secretary to bring out the theses that he wanted to borrow, and he returned with them before I had to leave for my next class.

He also asked me about the parts that he should include in his results and analysis. I told him to include all his trials, even the ones that had the largest margins of error, because the sheer volume will tell the panelists about all the work he’s put in. I said that it was just a matter of learning exactly what the sources of the errors were, or at least making intelligent guesses at to their cause.

It was too late that I remembered the recommendations of the other teachers on his software. I’ll give it to him next time, although at least he did remember about the help file that is supposed to go with his software. He asked if it should be put in the appendices and if it has to be part of the paper submitted for the defense or if it can just be included afterwards. I said the panel was going to expect it as part of his program, so he should go with the first option.

This morning I finished the astronomy exam for Monday, and, with an hour left to spare before she was supposed to leave at noon, the secretary was able to have the stencils I printed out mimeographed, collated and stapled.

I forgot to mention that by last Wednesday’s class, I had already read up to Chapter Six of the new Harry Potter book, and was mentioning to one of my classes that at least two more astronomy related names were added to Draco in the book from the stars and constellations we’ve discussed. There are Sirius’ brother Regulus and his uncle Alphard, both named after stars. There were three others that we have not taken up in class, including the origin of Sirius’ name itself. The other two are cousins named Andromeda and Bellatrix.

I bit off more that I could chew though, because just the mention of the new book that has not been out a week was enough to send most of the class into their own little chats about their opinions of the Potter saga. That’s why I didn’t repeat it in my other classes, in the middle of a review at that.

I guess their reactions are something I have to prepare for when we do take up the rest of the nods to the astronomy in the book.