A Few Quick Notes 239

-Today has been slightly overcast, but nothing particularly bad. I just hope that any rain holds off long enough for me to make it to the library tonight without too much hassle.

-Because our last turkey was so successful we decided to try another, which is cooking right now. While the last turkey was stuffed and accompanied by a rather full spread, this one will be a little more bare bones with just a few vegetables and some mashed potatoes. Hopefully things turn out well, otherwise we will have about 12 pounds of sub-par turkey to get through in the next week.

-A few days ago I was looking around the apartment for something easy to read and I happened to come upon Advanced Calculus of Murder by Erik Rosenthal. After a quick examination I learned that the book was a murder mystery written by a math professor about a crime solving sessional lecturer (and part-time private investigator). What was particularly fun about the book was the way in which the university life was treated. Based on my experiences, many elements included in the book rang true (though as it was written in a time before email and the internet there are a few aspects of university life that don't work quite the same way today). Anyway, if you are interested in books about crime-solving mathematicians written by mathematicians I would recommend that you check this one out.

-I managed to spend a few hours on both Friday and Saturday evening at the library. Amazingly, the place wasn't deserted. I guess Dalhousie student like to study. It is still a bit of a toss up whether or not I will try to head in tonight. Instead of heading in I may just try to stay at home and work on a few things, though I tend to be more focused while in my carrel. The prison like conditions don't give me much to focus on other than school work.

-I have to give my first lectures tomorrow. Hopefully I have spent my time preparing the right content. I guess I will find out how things go tomorrow morning.

Amazingly, much the time I have spent preparing has been focused on content, not the creation of topical jokes. I think I have spent more time thinking about creation of jokes for the lectures than actually working on any such material. If nothing comes effortlessly tonight the students may just have to go without such content for the next few days.