Cheating on exams

I have really been amazed at the audacity of students when it comes to cheating on exams.  Yesterday, I had a programming exam where one student attempted to use an "expert" via a web site.  Two years ago, it was a group of students who started yelling out answers during an exam when I had to step out of the classroom for a minute. Its invariably the worst students that cheat - or at least get caught cheating.  Usually, though, the good students do not need to nor  want to.  They believe grades are earned, not granted.  

I would love to do a research project exploring the relationship between ethical perspectives and propensity to cheat. 

Summer projects

With 3 days of classes left, its about time I start considering my plans for the summer.  I have 2 months off before classes resume, and I would like to complete a few things in the interim.  I'm trying really hard not give myself deadlines and ultimatums as to what I "have" to do.  Rather, this summer, I will create a list of prioritized projects that I can work on in order.  I have not prioritized the list yet, cause I would like to do a bit more reflection and get my wife's input for the projects around the house, so here is the list of projects in no particular order.

For home:

• Paint our bedroom
• Decorate our bedroom
• Stain the deck
• Build a bench for the deck
• Build a head board for our bed
• Build a planter
• Build a shoe organizer
• Build closet organizer for the boy's room
• Clean and re-organize the garage
• Take out the bush on the side of the house
• Organize and conduct a garage sale
• Plant bushes along side of deck
• Plant red maple in front yard
• Organize exercise room in basement
• Update master bathroom

For work

• Finish hierarchy of knowledge article
• Create proposal for hybrid web development class (half online/half in-class) 
• Edit curriculum for Intro to IS class and Systems Analysis and Design class
• Brainstorm research project for measuring conceptual understanding in classes
• Hammer out details for my ethics research project  
• Brainstorm productivity enhancing practices to test in the fall

For self and family

• Create detailed financial plan
• Update blog
• Create wife's birthday present (its a secret, so don't ask)
• Finish re-reading Atlas Shrugged
• Finish reading Harry Potter books
• Develop system for paying bills and handling paperwork
• Fix/Update all computers/printers/etc in our house
• Develop a workout schedule 

I know that there is little chance I'll complete all of these projects this summer.  That's why I taking the GTD approach of focusing on prioritized projects.   My goal is to give myself time blocks to work on particular areas (house work/ research/ teaching/ personal development/ playing with kids/ etc) and strive to complete as much as I can during those blocks.  This approach has generally worked well for me in the past, although I have not been keeping up with this approach recently.

Blog updates

Welcome back to the new and improved design.  For those of you who follow my blog through an aggregater, you may miss the new design - but, my blog is just a link away.  Take a peek and let me know what you think.

I would also like to introduce a new Page to the blog highlighting posts and readings on "Values, Goals, and Productivity".  On this page, I hope to capture meaningful readings in the genre of values, goals, and productivity.  If you have any suggestions of links to include on this page, I would love to hear about them.  They do not have to be explicitly Objectivist, but should certainly not contradict the fundamental principles.

I have also removed some inactive blogs from my "Interesting Blogs" list.  Over the summer, I hope to add more back to the list.

Value dense gardening

This is the first year I've planted a vegetable garden, although last year we started an herb garden which we continue to cultivate.  After subscribing to the oGardeners email list and reflecting on my experiences gardening, I was struck that my effort with a garden should be value-dense.

I have 3 basic reasons for gardening:

1. To eat fresher, better tasting veggies
2. As a learning experience for myself and the kids
3. To save a little money (especially on the herbs)

However, while I enjoy some time gardening, I really do not enjoy spending lots of time weeding and caring for the plants.  With this in mind, I've been thinking about what vegetables I want to grow next year.  This year, we're growing tomatoes, broccoli, sweet peppers, lettuce, and spinach.  Tomatoes do taste much better fresh, rather than off the shelf at the grocery store.  My daughter picked broccoli, which has been growing wonderfully (will she eat it???).  The peppers, lettuce, and spinach are a bit of an experiment.  So far, they are all growing nicely, but I'm not sure how much better they will taste than store bought, or whether the effort is worth it.  We should do a blind taste test with the kids and see.

Next year, I'm considering adding corn, onions, and garlic.  Sweet corn is known to taste significantly better if eaten shortly after it is picked.  The starches in the corn begin to change quickly after its picked, so fresh corn should have a substantial value.  Onions and garlic are supposed to be super easy to grow and can be stored for long periods, giving us something to enjoy throughout the year (not just in the summer).  However, onions and garlic have no advantage in taste over store bought and are mostly hidden from our eyes as they grow, limiting the learning experience and joy for my kids.  We would save a little money from growing them.

I've been staying away from most vine plants because they take up a lot of area considering how little food they produce.  And I always detested picking peas and green beans as kid, so I'm not all that interested in growing those veggies in our garden.

The herbs were mostly selected by my wife.  Because herbs can be pretty expensive and Brenda uses them liberally in her cooking, we do save significantly.  So far we have: cilantro, dill, chives, parsley, mint, sage, oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, and tarragon.  Luckily, they have all been really easy to manage.  The thyme, oregano, and mint have been growing so well, we might start giving it away.  The rosemary does need to be dug up and brought indoors for the winter if you want to keep it alive in Michigan.  But otherwise, I just plant the annuals in the spring and harvest and annuals and perennials as necessary throughout the summer.

With a few more years of this, I should hopefully have a system down to make the effort minimum, but enjoyment maximum, for a value-dense experience.

European financial crises

The current European financial crises seems like a great opportunity for a compilation of facts that demonstrate the futility of the many absurd economic and political notions floating around.

Objectivists could create videos like this one, but with moral backbones.  Factual, yet witty in the demonstration of absurdities.