The End-of-semester Slump

Well, it's that time of the semester again. Finals are done, the next term's classes don't start for another week, and I'm sitting here at the computer at a loss for something to do. I was afraid this would happen.

It's funny, because I had so much planned. Among the items on my ongoing to do list:

Build a wah pedal.
Get my plasma speaker working.
Finish reading the Return of the King.
Write a song.
Learn to cook something.
Develop a new method to approximate quantum wave functions.

Okay, so the last one is a little weird as far as things one does in one's spare time, but it's not a joke. Anyway, the point is that I have plenty to do, yet I find myself wasting a half-hour or more on Reddit!

Is it just recuperation from academic burnout after a tough semester? I hope so. However, I suspect that I'll be battling the desire to waste time as long as I have any to waste. Curse my internet addiction. As I've considered in a previous post, it is easy to let electronic entertainment take over and allow my intellectual faculties to atrophy, and this really is a tragedy.

As a student, I should be driven by a consistent desire to learn and improve. While I do hold that desire, it does not always drive me as it should. At least, it does not drive me sufficiently to pull me out of the ruts into which I tend to fall. For example, I started this blog for a class. I was fully convinced that after the class ended, I would go through the effort to keep it going of my own accord. However, when I sat down to write just now, this is the best I could come up with-- a quaint little complaint initially developed because I couldn't think of anything to write. Why not? Because all of the various interesting things about which I could write would require me to do research, find sources, back up claims, and so forth. Somehow now that class is over, I just can't seem to get excited over that research like I did before.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Time will tell if I can regain my will to study for studying's sake.

A Long and Wordy Look Back

What follows is a reflective post looking back at the previous semester, focusing on the work I did in the course for which I started this blog. After this post, the blog will simply consist of my own thoughts and ideas.

Invitation Efforts

Don't worry, just one more class-related post after this one and then my posts will be what I want to say again. This is a post detailing my efforts to invite people to the end-of-semester class-sponsored event, "Digital Citizens Unite!"

Openness: Introduction

In lieu of any actual social commentary or interesting thing that I would love to do if I had the time, here is a brief introduction to the chapter my group is writing on openness.

Openness: An Annotated Bibliography

Note: Unfortunately, this blog is for the moment a necessary vehicle for me to present class assignments. As a result, I have to post this despite the fact that I would not actually post this on a blog were it my decision. Soon enough I'll get back to blogging about things that I care about.

Glasnost: Unpredictable Openness

“My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.”

On the Civic Duty of Voting

Have you ever been told that to vote is your civic duty? What does that even mean? Here is a loosely Platonian approach to see whether or not voting is a civic duty and why.