I have Doug Forcett on my mind, and it’s not even noon on Monday. Looks like it’s going to be an existentially demanding week.

There are a lot of joys in teaching, but there’s something awesome about being able to assign students to watch a scene from 1992’s Sneakers—the world’s finest hacker movie.

I have just learned that “leapfrog” is called “leapsheep” (« saute-mouton ») in French AND that, by extension, a “sheep-leap” (« saut-de-mouton ») is the name for a particular kind of railway junction. Don’t know which delights me more.

I have no doubt that neuroscience is making important contributions, but I will never not be annoyed by its fetishization by individuals, media outlets, or academic disciplines.

Reading or listening to other countries’ coverage of U.S. news has long been helpful for me. For example, I like using what the Swiss deem important enough to report on in American politics to gauge what I should pay extra attention to.

I am generally not a sports person, but one of my favorite memories ever is seeing Geneva celebrate after Switzerland beat Spain in a 2010 World Cup match. Would have loved to be back there last night.

I have twice bought a Francophone book based on the title, and both were winners. « Vers Saint-Gétorix » was as enjoyable as the pun, and « Kiffe kiffe demain » delivered on its promise of a story from la banlieue.

The sudden ubiquity of ad-delivering screens on gas pumps feels like a subtle but firm step toward dystopia.

Dear authors of children’s books: If you want the book to rhyme, please fully commit instead of leaving parents confused about how to read the dang book. Also, rhythm is just as important as rhyme and a big part of the problem.

Turns out a great way to get distracted from a Disney+ show you’re enjoying is to think “this franchise should be in the public domain by now.”

Listening to the 1940s anti-KKK Superman radio serial while cleaning up lunch dishes.

Experiencing the best of being a peer reviewer today. Article is genuinely good, and I really want to see it get published, but I also know specific things that will make it stronger before it gets there.

Won a $25 gift card to local indy bookstore from local library. Went to bookstore and wound up spending an ADDITIONAL $50, so it looks like everybody won this round.

PhD programs can be different from each other, but so many PhD students and their instructors believe that everyone will understand their particular lingo and milestones if they just throw them around.

Just got a phishing email that was subtle and well thought out enough that I almost didn’t recognize it. Those are the scariest kinds.

Today is “change my files and folders scheme and see what software breaks” day. Grateful for here::here() so that I’m not terrified of implications for #rstats.

One of my pettiest of peeves is the conflation of the term “UFO” with “aliens” even though the entire value of the term is in acknowledging the unidentifiable without reading any more into it.

Got stitches in a pinky finger last night, and adjusting my touch typing, while annoying, has gone surprisingly smoothly. May help that I had a thumb in bandages for most of my first semester of college.

Il paraît que j’ai choisi la bonne année de commencer à regarder Eurovision ! 🇫🇷🇨🇭

The New York Times is liveblogging Eurovision, which I find surprising, delightful, and genuinely helpful.

This afternoon, we begin what will hopefully become an annual tradition of watching the Eurovision final.

If dozens of CAPTCHAs are any indication, Google’s working hard on traffic lights, crosswalks, and fire hydrants today. So proud of all I’m contributing to AI without compensation because it’s the only way to access this site.

Just got one of those emails that makes me very glad I gave a student flexibility no matter how inconvenient it was for end of semester. It’s helpful to remember that many students are dealing with way more important things than my class.

I know someone who apparently agreed to review three articles the same week as final grading, and boy does he look dumb staring back from the mirror.

Looking back, I owe a lot to the semester I took both “Intro to CS” and “History of French,” which culminated in writing a Java program to help with a “invent your own Romance language” group final.