10 analysis probs today, 10 tomorrow, 3 every day. Today I start reading solutions to past exams. Also need to wrap up categorizing candidates for the stats faculty position. (~ half done)

doesn't sound like much, but I would really like to do nothing at all.

OMG OMG! Gilbert Strang is coming to my school to give a talk! I'm so excited! I think I'll bring my copy of his Linear Algebra book for him to sign. eeee!

(at least half of our linear algebra prelim comes from his book - but no class teaches from it. So, if his book was not so good that I could read it and learn from it on my own, I would have failed the prelim and thus been out of the program by now. )

All A's! (and A- is still an A)

The Plan:

3 problems from Rudin everyday
10 problems on Fridays and Saturdays (that's right, I'm _still_ not working Fridays. That's cause I'm awesome.)
Read a prelim solution set each of the last 10 nights until the prelim, in chronological order, because the committee has stabilized in recent years, and the solutions have been better written.

Bonus:

Read those last 2 sections of Trench. (I know, I know) and addl. problem from Fulks.

OH! They've started posting grades, and I got an A- in the class that is dear to my heart (yay math stat!) so hopefully the waiting for the last class won't be too bad. They posted a schedule for when grades would appear and said it wouldn't be til Monday, so I'm really glad to start getting this out of the way. (Because yes, right now, there is a part of me that is pouting about an A- instead of an A. This is clearly a part of me that is irrational and has no memory of my homework grades.)

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Early xmas to myself:

My laptop family is complete! The baby green guy on the right is an XO laptop, an experimental machine for kids in developing countries. I got mine, and some kid off the grid somewhere got one. It runs linux, completing the OS trifecta. I'm hoping that with it's low battery consumption, sunlight friendly screen and small size, it will be the perfect "bring to school to type up homeworks on" machine. So far I can play tetris and check my email.

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Xmas/baking

We are totally behind on xmas stuff - season's greetings cards will probably go out still, but no way are they arriving pre-xmas. We've still got Trading Spaces and Miracle on 34th Street to watch.

I think I want to make another round of gingerbread. I must make a pumpkin pie. I think I want to make little baby apple pies. I have a loaf of pumpkin gingerbread I can thaw out. (Cream cheese frosting covered cupcakes killed the other half of that batch and were.... just amazing. So good. SO GOOD.) Any other seasonal goodies I just gotta have but have somehow slipped my mind?

exactly one month til the analysis prelim

and I went and let myself get behind on reading my old analysis book. dang it. just one week worth, but still!

so

1. Finish reading Trench's Introduction to Real Analysis (4 sections left!)
2. Come up with study plan for the big day.

Econ take home final is due Monday. I'm going to try to have it pretty much wrapped up today, probably sleep on it, reread/polish the writeup tomorrow and send it in. THEN, then! I will be done with this damn semester.

I'm not really feeling the xmas spirit yet. We've even had our annual Die Hard viewing. But yesterday, I dusted off the xmas sculpture and covered it in lights and snoopy ornaments. I think that helped. We'll probably be fine once we start wrapping presents.

I made a double batch of apple cinnamon scones Monday, and just ate the last one. Double batch is the way to go - 8 is not enough and the kitchen is already a mess. (I make them serially, since  the cuisinart is pretty full with just one batch.) The first roll recipe came out good - but more... sturdy than my ideal rolls. I'm really looking for your soft soft cafeteria rolls here. But it was an amazing relief to make rolls that were more than barely edible.

I think it may be time for pumpkin gingerbread - round 2: the cupcakes (and a loaf to freeze, since we didn't quite eat two loaves before the last bit went bad)

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

to do:

1. two control variates at once for simulation
2. econ hw 6

extra:

1. analysis 7.3 and 8.1

and next week there will be an econ take home final and a lecture. Then that's it. And presuming that I passed math stat (probable) then I have a math masters. woo!

then I can concentrate on studying for the analysis prelim.

Baking wise, it's time to attack the backlog of rolls recipes - I'm a little discouraged because it's amazing how many sad substandard rolls I've made in the last two years. These two do look enough different that I should at least ruin them in a new different way. bah.

well heck. no math stat homework.

to do:

1. simulation with control variates!
2. econ hw? always a mystery

to read:

1. econ ch 4

extra:

1. analysis 7.1 and 7.2
2. math prob

This afternoon I've got some kind of work social thingie near school. Since there is no math stat, I figure I should go - part of the working remote social challenge.

I didn't bake anything this week, but we're out of pie and low on gingerbread. N has put in a request for peanut butter cookies, and I saw this recipe, and it's calling to me.

Huh. my camera does have a self timer, so maybe we won't have to bribe someone to come over and take an xmas card picture.

first mexican hot chocolate of the season.

my electric kettle is totally awesome.