Grading and points. Some people have been asking me about the points and grading, so let me refer you again to this Grading Information chart which can help you estimate what kind of grade you are headed for at this time. In short, you need 410 points to get an A, 360 points to get a B, and 320 points to get a C. When you get the number of points you need, you are done! It is fine with me if you decide to stop doing work for the class whenever you have the grade you want to receive (many of you are taking this class for Gen. Ed. requirements, which means you just need a C to get graduation credit). My only request is that you please let me know when you are done so I can record the final grade for you in the Gradebook.
Mix and match points. Now that there are just five weeks of the semester left (Weeks 11-12-13-14-15), you might want to plan to do some "mix and match" in terms of just which assignments you want to complete this semester to get the points you need for the grade you want to get. So, based on the assignments you enjoy most/least in the class, you can certainly skip some assignments, provided that you end up with the points you need at the end. My only recommendation is that you do this cautiously. You don't want to skip so many assignments that you end up not getting the points you need for your desired grade.
Storybook stack. As always on Monday, I will have a huge bunch of assignments in the Storybook stack that were turned in over the weekend or on Monday morning. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I received your assignment. As usual, I will be reading and replying to the assignments in the order they were turned in, starting with the ones that were turned in on Friday afternoon, then the Storybooks from Saturday, and then finally assignments turned in on Sunday and on Monday.
Myth Monday. Since Halloween is coming up this week, I wanted to direct everyone to the EXTENSIVE Horror section at Snopes.com - if you are looking for some scary stories to use to scare yourself and others this Halloween, Snopes has what you need!
Monday Events on Campus. The Student Learning Center is offering a Test-Taking Strategies seminar from 2PM-3PM in the Adams Housing Learning Center, Muldrow Tower 105 (time/location/details). Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.
October 29: Bill Mauldin. Today marks the birthday in the year 1921 of the American cartoonist William Henry "Bill" Mauldin who is best known for his World War II cartoons featuring "Willie and Joe" (Mauldin died in 2003). General George Patton once tried to get Mauldin thrown in jail for his satirical cartoons. Mauldin himself had his own thoughts about Patton: "I always admired Patton. Oh, sure, the stupid bastard was crazy. He was insane. He thought he was living in the Dark Ages. Soldiers were peasants to him. I didn't like that attitude, but I certainly respected his theories and the techniques he used to get his men out of their foxholes." For more on Mauldin, see this Wikipedia article; below is a stamp issued by the U.S. Post Office honoring Mauldin:
