A classic.

This is a question that every professor gets multiple times each semester but it never fails to piss me off and amuse me at the same time.

An e-mail from a student on Wednesday said, "I need to leave for home on Thursday morning if possible, and I would miss class that afternoon. I wanted to make sure I would not miss anything too important during class. I have arranged to get the notes I will miss from a student already. However, if I am going to miss anything major in class, I will have to stay. "

Now, this is phrased slightly more nicely than the typical, but all professors love the "Am I going to miss anything important" question. No, we do nothing important in class ever. You should be fine. Take off the rest of the semester.

Brilliant!

When discussing the number and naming of God(s) in various religions in The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins (2006. pp. 56-57) writes, "More sophisticated theologians proclaim the sexlessness of God, while some feminist theologians seek to redress hisotric injustices by designating her female. But what, after all, is the difference between a non-existent female and a non-existent male?"

Amen and hallelujah!

And he beautifully combines feminism and atheism, two of my loves.

Who's surprised? Part II.

As predicted before the semester started, one of the lazy students who had e-mailed me two months ago, came to today's exam 50 minutes late. (It's a one-hour exam.) I told him that he would have to reschedule to take the exam at another time. After doing so, he asked, "What chapters does the exam cover?"

Useful, considering he thought he was taking the exam today.