Dman979

May I ask, what is the dog in your profile pictures name?

500 posts...I REQUEST MY FOURTH DOT!

It took a little over 6 years since joining the forum to reach this milestone. Extrapolating linearly means that I should hit 1500 posts and obtain my 5th dot sometime in the year 2033.

Soooo... I've started playing this game again, and... this time, it stuck! I think the thought of "no more major updates" lifted my spirits in regard to it. I think it's safe to say that it's the first time in a little over three years that I like KSP 

I still have a couple beefs, sure. I still think Contract Configurator and Strategia are absolutely essential mods for the enjoyment of this game as it was intended, as are EVE, Scatterer and Chatterer. I still think the mission thingie from the DLC is absolute rubbish and a waste of my money. A couple of mods I really liked broke down a few versions a go and never came back, a shame, but the current state of the game doesn't make me need them as badly. And I absolutely ditched KER, KAS, KIS and a few others and, know what? It's perfectly fine, now! And I (probably) never have to think about any of them every breaking again! Wohoo!

You might even see a bit more of me on the forums again.

So, life updates, again?

I think the main thing is, despite my government's efforts on decimating its own population, I'm still alive. That's already a lot to expect in The Year of Our Lord MMXXI, and I'm so happy to see a lot of familiar faces still active here. 

I've switched jobs a few times since we last spoke, and as of early this year I've landed on a carreer I've been desiring for quite a while, and am now in a senior position working with data science and machine learning. Still happily married, still happily childless (tho slowly changing my mind), at the moment living at my mother's, but with my own house being built (was already slowly due to budget, and then the whole world fell apart...)

And... I guess that's it. The itch to play the game never came back, tho I haven't lost hope. To the two or three of you that I've on my Steam contacts list of Gtalk (seriously, is that still a thing???), I may not chat with you, but my heart still warms to see you online from time to time. To everyone else, if you ever wanna check if I'm alive, twitter is for the time being my platform of choice, where you can catch up on my very, very low sense of humour and leftist excrementsposts. Or just add me on steam. I... guess my handle there is "Monstah"...? Here, it's this one: steamcommunity.com/id/monstrim

Stay alive, everyone. Keep safe. Love!

Thank you.  Thanks to you and the entire moderation team adding the Kerbal Space Program 2 Suggestions and Development.  I tip my hat off to you. Means a lot.   

I found these on the internet, and I will put them here for you to read. I hope you enjoy them! 

Just to clarify, I did not make these comics.

i swear to kraken that QR code

You tricked me!

i swear to kraken that QR code

You tricked me!

i swear to kraken that QR code

You tricked me!

i swear to kraken that QR code

You tricked me!

Life on the university campus:
(Spring 2021 Semester, Fourth posting)

There's a reason online courses don't get snow days:

In the central United States, February 14th brought in really cold temperatures and a lot of winter weather. Right now, along the banks of the Ohio River, there's six inches (15.25 cm) of snow on the ground. Last night, the low was -4° F (-20° C). This is not the typical weather for my area this time of the year. But then again, it's the first year of the second decade of the new millennium, so why should the un-normal things that's happening surprise any of us...

As many of you know, I teach primarily online. Out of the seven courses I am teaching this semester, only two are "traditional" style lectures. The issues with COVID-19 and the cancellation of classes because of the winter weather of this week have had an impact on those classes. But the remaining five classes - all Internet-based classes - should have not had any significant impact at all.

This morning, while taking out the trash at my townhouse complex, I was unfortunate enough to come across one of my online students. She also lives in the townhouse complex, but with her grandparents. She said she saw me outside and wanted to tell me that it is unfair of me to change the due dates for the course because of the traditional courses being cancelled this week (Monday was Presidents' Day, no class. Tuesday and Wednesday classes were cancelled because of the winter weather). I explained to her that the campus being closed has no impact on an online course.

Online courses are the way colleges and universities will be in the short and very near future. The concept of going onto campus will become obsolete within the next decade. Already, there is a push in our tri-state area to  move as many core courses into an online format as possible. It's more economical - no physical limits on class size, no insurance-per-student requirement, no expenses of maintaining temperature in classrooms, no money for large janitorial or grounds maintenance staff, and no expensive libraries with climate control to maintain if the campus experience is moved to an online format. Revenue generated for even a public college will be significantly more than its financial liabilities. Online courses are not dependent upon the weather, time of day, or any other physical happenings that impact a traditional course. From a business model, it makes sense.

There are a lot more positive features from moving to an online delivery format for classes. It means a student can complete the course as rapidly or as slowly as they desire, as long as it fits within the designated time allowed. But there are a bunch of downsides to online courses, too. The most severe issue are students who lack motivation. If you are not a self-starter or cannot manage your time well, online courses will be difficult.

So, what was her complaint? She wanted me to extend all the due dates for one of the course modules by one week. (The module's original due date is Sunday, February 28th). She told me it was unfair of me to expect her to spend this week doing coursework when the college was closed. So, I asked her if she was dependent upon the community college's Internet to complete the course, offering some sort of a benefit of a doubt. Her response was "no, I have Spectrum; I'm not poor and ignorant..." And right there killed any desire for me to offer any sort of help. Yes, she is ignorant. She is ignorant of the fact it's an online course and as long as her ISP (internet service provider) is online, so is her class. And she's also ignorant to the fact she can do more to complete her work by a set deadline than I can help her by extending the deadline. Procrastination is not a friend. It is the enemy of an online class.

Life on the university campus:
(Fall semester 2020, Third posting)

Wisely investing my time, childish behavior from university students, and a cup of hot tea:

For the past two semesters at the community college I teach at, nearly every course has been focused on the introductory world civilizations. There has been two main world civilization courses I have taught at the community college since 2017:

• World Civilization to 1500
• World Civilization since 1500

There are a few things I have noticed about teaching these courses in a mostly Rural American area. Remember, I am not from the area and because of my father's career in the U.S. Army, I grew up in various places around the world. I also spent eight years in the Army and was stationed in various places outside of the continental United States and in various places inside the U.S. I have a perspective on world history not shared by many in this area. See, many of my students have never ventured out of the Nashville-Saint Louis-Louisville-Indianapolis area. They have very limited interactions with anyone not from the U.S. Most of them are very familiar with the Judaeo-Christian set of beliefs and while they will demand tolerance for their views rarely do they act with tolerance for others.

In a recent assignment for the World Civilization to 1500, I assigned a few readings such as Hindu Beginnings: The Rig Veda and the Bhagavad Gita, Buddhist Teachings: noble truths and guidance for daily life, and The Beatitudes from Matthew 5:3-12 and Luke 6:20-23. Unfortunately, the comparison of the three sets of teachings were lost on almost all of the students in the course. From a historical and philosophical view, each of these three religious and philosophy systems have a lot of similar - if not identical - teachings. The assignment was to compare each of them and explain how each was attempting to create an ideal society while acknowledging the failures and difficulties of human society. I've used this assignment for ten years - and this is the first semester where most of the students ignored the comparison elements and focused only on what they thought they knew. A Saturday afternoon grading nearly sixty responses left me disillusioned about how I spend my time.

At 50, there are things I still do not know about this world of ours. I am still a student of life - I enjoy the ability to learn. I have e thirst for understanding the world around me. I often find myself frustrated that as of the past five years, many of the students I encounter do not have that desire. They simply believe all the learning they will ever need takes place in a classroom and have no desire to be the schoolmaster of their mind. Ten years ago, I would encounter ten students out of a hundred who loved learning. Today I would venture to say it is closer to around three students out of a hundred. It is maddening and sad at the same time. And it has me questioning why am I wasting my time teaching at both a community college and a university when most of the students I teach aren't concerned with learning but by getting out of the course with the highest grade possible and with the minimum amount of work.

I don’t like the new forum format.

And how did 4 people just die?

What is the difference between Newbie, member, and Moderator???

I am losing interest in KSP. 

Just wanted to give you a heads up that the best way to nominate a thread for TOTM is by reporting it. Pinging a moderator might not work, since we're not always on, and PMs have the same issue. By reporting the thread and typing "TOTM" (or something similar) in the text box, you can be sure that someone on the Moderator Team will see it.

Just wanted to give you a heads up that the best way to nominate a thread for TOTM is by reporting it. Pinging a moderator might not work, since we're not always on, and PMs have the same issue. By reporting the thread and typing "TOTM" (or something similar) in the text box, you can be sure that someone on the Moderator Team will see it.

Hello Red Iron Crown. I just have one question to ask - where did you get your username from?

Thank you for all the hard moderation work you do.

I am now on twitter!

https://twitter.com/cosmos_void

I am now on twitter!

https://twitter.com/cosmos_void

You ever gonna buy this man KSP 2?

Heres a question i pose to any who wander by and notice: why does the location and interests portion of the profile read as “Array”? I do not have them set to say that yet they say it. Hmm

a whole new world has opened up and its naME IS KERBIN, HAHAHA! That's right it's ya boi GregroxMun back at it again with the Hype Train! Full steam ahead, boiler pressure is clocking in at uh... oh my. 360 gigapascals. Fantastic, we got earth-core energies.

Not a fun day.

Each evening, I spend about thirty minutes planning what things need to be done the next day. Today was going to be a productive day. I had some writing projects to grade, was going to write a chapter on Kerny's Journal, and do some laundry. But then life took a different direction.

Yesterday afternoon, while leaving campus, I was bumped off a set of outside stairs by one of our groundskeepers. He didn't realize I was behind him as he turned around. To avoid being hit with a weed-eater, I took a step backward and ended up slipping off the stairs. I felt something in my ankle pop, but other than that, nothing seemed wrong.

This morning, I woke up, and my ankle was tender to the touch and swollen. Called my doctor and got an appointment for earlier this afternoon. But, not wanting to be slowed down by the ankle, I put on compression socks and kept trucking, doing things on my to-do list. By noontime, my ankle was pretty sore, no discoloration, but swollen. I had to take the rest of the afternoon off.

Well, I am back home after the doctor's office. My "it's nothing to worry about" was wrong. I sprained my ankle. Oh, joy and fun. 

You're back again! \o/