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Archive page 16 of 73

Sep 14, 2019

More Extra Credit for College Algebra

I have written a new extra credit problem for my college algebra students! Hello, everyone. We're getting to that point in the semester when students start asking the question every professor hates:…

Sep 13, 2019

The Divine Wind and Mongolian Invasions

The Mongolian invasions of Japan marked an interesting turning point in the history of the Mongolian Empire. Kublai Khan, the great Mongolian general tried invading in 1274 CE. Kahn's invasion force launched…

Aug 21, 2019

Jomon and Yayoi Culture

I am taking a course on Japanese history for funsies so expect to see a fair bit of Japanese history popping up here over the next few months... The Jomon and Yayoi…

Aug 6, 2019

Welcome to Plymouth Rock

Plymouth Colony offers a counterpoint to the corporate colonization of Jamestown if only because the Mayflower missed its destination. The Mayflower was intended to arrive in Virginia with additional settlers for the…

Aug 4, 2019

Mixing Toxic Chemicals

Nina asked me about Miamisburg, Ohio, recently. In 1986, I lived about 35 miles away from Miamisburg when a CSX train derailed, releasing a toxic cloud over a large part of the…

Jul 30, 2019

Jamestown, Democracy Gone Awry

Colonial Virginia offers a different path toward governance. Jamestown was originally settled in 1607. Jamestown was not the first English colony in North America, but the Lost Colony of Roanoke had disappeared…

Jul 19, 2019

Blowing the Hatch

Something caught my attention. I watched The Right Stuff last night and was looking up something about Gus Grissom. Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 flight has been the subject of great controversy over…

Jul 13, 2019

Cache of Old Syllabi

I recently happened upon a cache of old syllabi for my math courses going to back to the fall of 2014. As these syllabi are centrally developed (more or less) by the…

Jul 1, 2019

This Post Means Nothing of Consequence

Effective today, I received a promotion at the University of Maryland Global Campus, which until yesterday, is what we called "University of Maryland University College." I've been teaching for 9 years at…