Maybe I shouldn't have started this blog now, not with everything that's been going on.

I have some important announcements from the last two days of classes before I return to my discussions from previous term.

First, this is the only time in history as far as I remember that I have four lecture classes equal to six hours in one day – in fact, two days a week. At least they are not consecutive – only three of them are: from 8am to 1250pm, with ten-minute intervals in between. These are Introduction to Robotics, the two mechanics lectures, and, in the afternoon, Advanced Mathematics for Engineers.

Second, another of my lecture classes (Electromagnetic Theory) will be meeting for three hours in one day, divided into an hour and a half segments, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Third, tomorrow there will be a system wide ecology camp preparation for the whole day in the Marine Biology Station in Li**, Batangas. Since it’s at least two hours going there, we will be leaving early in the morning and probably be going home in the early evening.

So if I post anything tomorrow, it will be in the evening, if I’m still awake and not exhausted from the day’s activities. After all, there will be only four faculty members to more than a dozen students from our school. So there may be on update tomorrow.

Now, onto the dregs from the past term: only one student from last term was not accepting of his failure in mechanics lab that he was still asking me for consideration after course card distribution day.

In fact this student was still insisting on submitting a science project even after the deadline, which was the Wednesday of the finals week, despite the fact that he did not even notify me of his intention to join the contest until that day.

His first attempt was a loop of wire attached to batteries connected by electrical tape over magnets. The wire was supposed to rotate “perpetually”, or until the batteries gave out. An engineering faculty recommended some hardware components for him to buy, and based on that, I allowed him an extension on his submission, of one day.

On course card day (a couple of days after his new deadline) he showed not the same project, but a sharp nail wrapped by the same wire as before, still attached to his lump of batteries wrapped by black tape. I guess he didn’t read the instructions about consideration on safe projects with no pointed ends that can be left in the hallway.

But his unacceptable project aside, I asked him how many individual reports he submitted, since according to my records (and files) he passed none.

“Two,” he said, further proof that fish are caught by their mouths, as will be evident later in the story.

I told him since these were computer documents that he could print them out again and give them to me, with his third report and an excuse letter why he did not submit his last requirement, signed by the Dean.

I have to stop here though, and continue next time. For now, class dismissed.