20151123.0625

This should be an easy week of work; I only have to report in for one day, today, and that day will be largely occupied by my students writing their course evaluations. Flawed as such instruments are, and poorly as I tend to do with them, they remain an institutional obligation, and so I do what I can to make them work in my favor. Since I must have them done, and I must meet with my classes today, and several of the students have already headed off for the Thanksgiving holiday to come this week, it seems fitting that today would be the day I give to the activity. Those who miss it will not miss too much, and those who attend have the opportunity to sound off at me--again, since I already allowed them a chance via an anonymous survey earlier in the term. (And I may need to have another one for them, actually; I did an entry survey to canvass for demographic data, and an exit survey to track changes to that data might be in order.)

Amid the few demands of my classrooms this week, I have a freelance piece to handle. There will likely only be the one; the Mrs., Ms. 8, and I also celebrate Thanksgiving, after all, and such celebrations tend to prevent work. (The same is not true of all holidays, to be sure, but I actually like Thanksgiving--which is not true of all holidays.) I am perhaps a third of the way through the book I am assigned to treat, and I expect to finish the reading today. The write-up should go easily; I am already making notes about what to treat in my front- and back-matter, and chapter summaries present no difficulties for me. It will be good to have the money coming in, even if the holiday will complicate delivery thereof. (Banks close for it, and my money goes through banks. Some will assert that I therefore prop up conspiracies to govern the world through manipulation of money. I would ask when those who have control of resources--which is what money represents, in the abstract--have not overdetermined things. That is, when has such a conspiracy--if there, in fact, is one--not run things?) It is good that work continues, for that reason if for no others.

On another topic entirely: I have noticed that my paragraphs seem to have ballooned somewhat. I recall that it has not been terribly long since I was averaging 125 words per paragraph. That number seems to have increased a fair bit recently. I am not certain why. Perhaps I am doing more with explicitly parenthetical insertions. Perhaps I am treating more complicated concepts. I do not know for certain. I am also not worried. It is simply a thing I have noticed recently, and I try to pay attention to my own writing. More people could stand to do it than do, as I have ample reason to attest.