So one of my profs was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about a month ago, and the class hasn’t been held very much. The department dean came to talk to all of us and ask for our patience and to promise that they are doing the best they can and assure us that the course will be completed and we won’t need to take it again next semester. They had a substitute take over for a couple weeks but he was falling behind on his research responsibilities so lately it’s been a really nice class to have. No class. The original prof has come back and is teaching the class sitting down (he has a large hole in one foot that won’t heal on account of the diabetes high blood sugar). Last time I attended, he communicated that he would make sure the required material was taught because so much of it is important for laying the foundation for future civil and mechanical engineering courses. Ha! I don’t give a fuck if nothing more is covered, I’m only taking this to satisfy an engineering science elective requirement. No future class I take will relate to this. It is interesting stuff though.
Anyway, this post is supposed to be an appreciation of the substitute that is now back to doing research. He’s asian oriental (which term is best?), as are many of the people in the civil/mechanical departments, and some of the chopped up English phrases he used are just priceless. I jotted down my favorites when they came up during lecture:
“I’m going to exercise another example.”
“That is the lesson you should take home.”
When describing different methods for solving the same problem he called one the “quicker solution process” and in one example, he explained that the reaction forces were an equal distance from the applied force “to make the drawing beautiful”
Also, I’ll have to paraphrase all this, but one day he remarked that everyone looked like they were falling asleep and he resolved that he would wake people up by telling a joke. And it was (paraphrased, unfortunately): I don’t think the parents of a piano playing child at a recital would want the child to drink soda before the concert because they would play too fast and hard and the judges would not give them good marks. That’s it! That’s the joke!! HAHAHAHA!