A dip into the Revivalized Mailbag brings the following question, direct from Shaker Heights Ohio:

Hey D - Where the eff have you been?!?

That's a good question, and I wish the answer were more exciting. But alas, I have been spending my days drowning in midterm exams to be written and graded, and giving a colloquium talk in addition to all the normal teaching, research, and service that comes with the job title of Assistant Professor. And as much as I admire blogs where mathematicians bitch about their students, that is not a route that I feel like going down. At least not until I get tenure. Or at least until finals week.

But I did want to give you all updates on a couple of quick items:

• While I did not win the Daily Show set (truth be told, I never even bid on it), the people who did are putting it to decent use, touring it across the country and creating a podcast about their adventures. Oh what the 21st century has brought upon us.
• Despite our grand aspirations and the fact that K. spent six straight hours yesterday cooking meals for us to eat over the next month and a half, we still have yet to have a second dinner party. Also, I have yet to remember to turn on NPR in the morning. Instead, while I get ready for school I read our local paper: something which takes approximately 78 seconds, and that's if I actually stop to read the heratbreaking and exciting adventures of the family in For Better Or For Worse -- have I mentioned how crappy our paper is?
  
• I actually used my 90210 trading cards in a clasrsoom activity related to the Harmonic Series. Now they are sitting in my office, so I can flip through the pictures and reminsce about the true love that Brenda and Dylan shared in between lectures.
  
• We are still planning to paint the den this weekend, as I have a four day weekend. That plan assumes I will wake up sometime on Saturday or Sunday, though, and I'm becoming less convinced of this eventuality.