Strings, Rings, and Other Things

I've just made it through a horribly exhausting week. I had an exam to grade for the 55 students in my intro physics classes, and I was also giving a "faculty forum" talk about my highly specialized research to a very much non-specialist audience. The week was made harsher by what Kim too kindly described as me "failing my time management roll": I didn't accomplish much last weekend, and I wasn't entirely on-task during the week, either. (I unwisely spent a significant block of time one night looking into possible hardware and software to upgrade our college's planetarium.)

But I did finally get the exams graded and returned, and I somehow managed to prepare a halfway decent talk. I felt pretty good about it, and I think it was well received, though several people have mentioned that everything I said made perfect sense, but only until the talk was over and they left the room. I guess I need to figure out how to make a more lasting impact. (Well, maybe that's clear: Step 1 is probably "don't try to describe all of modern physics in an hour." Not that I was quite that bad.)

But now, thank goodness, I've got a little chance to rest and recuperate, and this coming week is shortened for fall break. I'm happy about that.