Information for late enrollees 2-24-02 @ 8:55pm - I'm going to try to email everyone still interested in adding this class who is not yet in, but it will take me a few hours.  The rundown is as follows:  If you want to add this class and have not yet been accepted in, show up either tomorrow (Monday) or Tuesday.  If you do not show up or do not email me in advance with a very good explanation, you will not get in.  (note:  this ONLY applies for those who want the class for units)  Make sure you sign in on one of the two sections.  I will then try to enroll everyone who shows up.  If more people show up than I have seats available I will write a quick program to randomly select who will be enrolled.  I will let everyone know by Wednesday who is still interested in the course.  If you have been accepted into the class and have not yet enrolled in it, please bring your add/drop sheet into class and I will get the Prof. to sign it on Wednesday.  If you have any further questions, please email me or ask me in class.   One other note, I'm not sure if I will have the previous lecture's notes up before the next one, but I am working on it.  Unfortunatly, administration issues have been zapping any and all spare time for the last several weeks.  One last note: please try to be sure you've heard the suggested listening before each lecture.  While I don't require you do so, I reserve the right to ask general questions on what is in the suggested listenings and optional media sections.

Finally good news for lower divisioners 2-21-02 @ 4:30pm - Thanks to Michael-David Sasson in the CS department, I am glad to announce the creation of section #3 of the course, and this one is coded as CS98.  This has been created exclusivley to enroll students under 60 units.  Even though it technically has its own time and room, students enrolled in this section will be expected to show up at one of the normal meeting times (ie: Monday 6-8pm or Tuesday 8-10pm)  Everyone who has been let in to the class and is under 60 units, I will try to email you within the next few hours with instructions on how to enroll in this section.  Please email me if you are in this situation to be safe.  Note:  with the added section the total enrollment allowed for both sections remains the same as lectures will remain in those two sections.  On the plus side, I can anow announce that the optional media lab (ie: the movie showings) will be held on selected Mondays (indicated in the syllabus way below) from 8-10pm in 310 Soda.  

Yet more enrollment information 2-21-02 @ 2pm - For those of you who dropped off add forms before wednesday and need to hand it in before Friday, I will put them in the out-box in front of 779 Soda very soon.  If you have under 60 units, I am still working on getting a section coded as a 98.  (I should have another update on this in a few hours, please check back soon).  If you dropped off the add-form wednesday or after, it will be available in the out-box in front of 779 Soda sometime on Friday.

More enrollment information 2-19-02 @ 12:45am - A few of you who are under 60 units may have noticed a problem with enrolling in a course listed as 198.  For that reason, I am trying very hard to get the 2nd section recoded as a 98 course.  (though it will probably no longer be listed as an EE course).  I'll be working on this for the next several days to try to get this fixed before the deadline for people to be at 13 units for financial aide purposes.  This also means I am freezing enrollment for the time being since I may have to shift a number of people who are lower-division over to the Tuesday section.  If you did not make the first week's courses, I will try to find room for you once I have this problem cleared up and can confirm what room if any is left.  If you made it to the first week's classes, and signed in, you are in one way or another.  Also if you are under 60 units, but cannot make the Tuesday section, do not worry about being coded into it.  I apologize about the backlog of email that has redeveloped.  I was away in Los Angeles for the last several days without access to any SMTP servers save for Omnisky's (on my palm).  

Important enrollment information 2-13-02 @ 2:00pm - I just finished compiling the enrollment information, and everyone who signed in on Monday & Tuesday's section is in.  Monday's section is officially full, and I'm going to have to code a few of you who requested Monday section but could make Tuesday into Tuesday.  Again, as long as the rooms aren't too crowded, you can show up to whichever section each week as long as you show up to at least one.  I will be working on emailing all of you in the next hour or so (maybe a little longer), though as I'm going off of handwritten email addresses, most likely I have a few addresses typed in wrong.  If you don't recieve an email from me by sometime tonight, yet you came to a section and signed in, please email me and I'll send you the neccesary information.   Also a reminder, there is no section next Monday or Tuesday due to President's day.

Quick note 2-11-02 @ later than I should be up - I found out that the max enrollment is 40 people per section, with a total of 80 .  This is higher than I anticipated, but given the number of emails I have recieved, probably just about the correct number.  I do have a strong feeling that with 40 people per section, the rooms will be quite cramped, but we'll have to manage.  Also to clear up some more unclear information below, the first meeting for the first section is Monday, Feburary 11 2002 from 6-8pm in 247 Cory.  The first meeting for the second section is Tuesday, Feburary 12 2002 from 8-10pm in 310 Soda.  

Some quick clarifications 2-11-02 @ midnight  - I should have noted that the group with highest priority are graduating seniors who actually need the units for the class in order to graduate at all.  (that means one is on the degree list, ready to graduate in May, but needs 1 or 2 units to fulfill graduation requirements)  If you are in this category, I will need to see a bearfacts printout (or email), otherwise I do not need it.  I'm fairly confident all or nearly all people who want units will get them, but for safety's sake I can't take that for granted.  If you are worried about taking this class for units to ensure financial aide, you probably will be fine, and in the worst case, I know of several ways to get a unit or two at this stage in a semester and will be glad to direct you to those units worst comes to worst.  
As for sections, my plan is to allow people to show up to whatever section they want to assuming there is room to do so.  The section assignments are in case things get out of hand and one of the two sections is too overcrowded for people to be comfortable.  So please let me know in class if you absolutely cannot make one or the other section.  (I will try not to code people into sections they cannot under any circumstances make)
Also, do not yet bring add forms.  I will let everyone who gets in know by email by sometime on Wednesday if they are in the class for units.  I will make arrangements to be available to get the add forms taken care of.  

Anyways, as soon as I have some time, I will start breaking up this webpage into managable pieces.  I will also put up lecture notes after the Tuesday section,
hopefully on Wednesday, but I have a feeling enrollment issues will dominate my time.  (note that the first week's notes will not be very long)

Also, I think Cory is locked down after 6:30pm.  If you arrive after that, you probably will not be able to get in.  

Some good news, actually very good news 2-8-02 @ 4:15pm - Thanks to Jennifer Hall and the other very helpful people in the EE, EECS and CS departments it appears like we have the needed 2 rooms.  There are still some adminstrative issues that need to be dealt with, but it looks like things are a go.  If I read things correctly, the first section will meet in 247 Cory on Monday from 6-8pm.  The second section will be from 8-10pm in 310 Soda.  You only need to show up to one of them.  Soda is locked down past 6:30pm, so I will try to make sure someone is there to let people into the building until 8:20pm or so.  

Enrollment will have to be via petition at this point (given that telebears is shutting down), but that should not be a problem aside from an annoyance.  It appears as though we have somewhere in the vicinity of 70 spots for people wanting credit (perhaps a little higher: I'm not sure how many people we are allowed for 310 Soda).  The way enrollment will work is that those interested in credit, must show up to either the Monday or the Tuesday section. (if you have an emergency that precludes you from being there, I need to know immediatly)  Everyone interested in the class should let me know on Monday or Tuesday which section they would prefer being in.  I will group the interested students into the following groups: those who must have units to enable them to graduate, those who need units for another specific reason, and those who want units but do not specifically need them.  The first group will be the one I try to get into the class first, but I will require a copy of one's bearfacts transcript (you can print it off of the webpage) to give evidence that indeed one needs those units for the expressed purpose of graduation.  (give it to me on Monday or Tuesday)  The next group must explain the reason they must have units (many of you already have via email, there's no need to repeat if you have already emailed it to me).  The last group does not need to show me anything.  I will let everyone from every group I can let in fully directly in (ie: I will email each person, telling they are in by Thursday with instructions on how to get the forms filled out for the enrollment), but if there are not enough spots available I will take the group(s) that I cannot let fully in and write a computer program to randomly pick who gains enrollment.  I apologize about the byzantine nature of the enrollment policy, but this one should hopefully be fair.  Given the number of emails I have recieved I believe I should be able to deal with just about everyone who wants credit.  For those who simply want to sit in on the class, and do not care if they recieve units or not, you don't need to deal with any of this.  Unless we have a severe problem with not enough room to breathe, you are welcome.

Some potentially good news, and some not so good news 2-5-02 @ 10:30pm - First of all, I still have not heard back about the room.  I will try yet again tomorrow.  The potentially good news is that it looks fairly likely that I can get a 2nd section added to the decal assuming I can get permission from the EECS department and a room.  If there is a 2nd section there may be enough room to enroll just about everyone who wants the class for units.  Tentativley I am planning on having the second section be on Tuesdays from 8pm-10pm (it's one of the few blocks of time free in my schedule)  The Tuesday lectures should be the same as the Monday lectures and follow the same class plan (and also take the same weeks off as the normal lecture).  The optional showing of films will probably remain on Monday after the Monday sections.  As a note: all the films with the exceptions of A Hard Day's Night (which is VERY hard to find on DVD, but easily found on VHS) and Let It Be (which has been out of print since the early 80s in any form) are easy to find and rent.  
Assuming I can get permission (and a room) for the second section, I will be able to handle most enrollment issues by next week.  Right now I still do not even have course control numbers, to say nothing of course entry codes.  There is no need to email me your SID.  (indeed, as a rule, you should never give that out to someone you don't know)
Also, as another note, I have WAY behind in answering email.  I do apologize .

Another Quick Update 2-4-02 @ 7:30pm - To answer some questions I have been recieving a lot, no enrollment decisions one way or another have been made.  That will not happen until after the first real meeting (on Feb 11).  Also, unless told otherwise, barring issues of being able to breathe, having adequate room for the enrolled students to be inside the classroom, people being disruptive, and people shouting the word "fire!", I have no plans to tell anyone to leave the room, meaning even if not immediatly enrolled, do not worry you are still a part of the class.  Indeed if you are not taking the course for credit you have the advantage of being exempt from having to do the essay or the exams.  I will still work hard to get everyone who wants to be a part of this class into it be it via overenrolling (if allowed), waiting for other people to drop the couse once they are exposed to my lectures, adding another section (if that is at all feasable), or getting another room (if possible).

Also the syllabus has been revised to reflect the lost meeting.

Quick Update 2-4-02 @ 5:00pm - This is just a quick note to all who have emailed me recently.  I am working hard to answer as promptly as possible, but with the amount of email I am receiving it may take some time for me to get to reply to each message.  (especially in the middle of the day when I am at work)  Also, please excuse any typos on this page (or other grammatical violations), I often end up having to edit this in plain text.  I also worked a bit on clarifying the syllabus a bit.

Update 2-4-02 @ 2:30pm!! I have been informed by the EECS dept that the room request is still pending and thus the first meeting (Feb 4) cannot happen.  Again, do not worry about not making it to the session as even the coordinators will miss it.  Most likely this will shift all lectures one week back, making the final lecture "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" on the last day of class (the same one as the final exam). I should get both the room we will meet in and the enrollment instructions sometime Tuesday afternoon.  Also as the number of emails of interested students will probably exceed the possible number of slots available for enrollment I will immediately seek out a larger room and/or the option of perhaps adding another section to the course to accommodate everyone I can.  Either way I will do everything I can to help out everyone with interest in this class.

On another note: while plans are already made up for the first half of the sessions, I still would very much entertain suggestions for topics to cover.  There is no way I can cover everything I would like to in this class (the original class plan would have required 5 units!), so I had to make some tough decisions on topics to drop.  However, if there's an area in particular that you want covered, please email me well before the appropriate session so I can try to cover it as well.
 

As of the time of publishing of this webpage, the room request is still pending (it was put in on Friday, but so far no word from the registrar), thus making it difficult to have the first scheduled meeting on Monday, Feb 4.  I will update this page as soon as I have the room information, but either way the first meeting will be a quick one with no lecture as I expect many who want to join the class will be unable to make the first meeting.  What that means is the syllabus in this document is also off, and somehow I will endeavor to catch up by March 18th with the missing lecture or alter it in some other way to make up for the lost lecture.  This also means that I will not be able to handle enrollment issues officially until after Feb 4, so if you don't get the information for the first meeting's room in time, and thus don't make it, you are not in any kind of trouble.

I do not yet have CCNs for this course, as soon as I do I will let everyone who wants to be a part of the class I possibly can into the course.  As soon as I have that information I will put up official course enrollment information.  For now, if you are interested in taking part in the class please email me so I can keep track of the list of people.  Please include in the email whether or not you need to take this course for units or not and if so please explain the circumstances (eg: you are really graduating this semester and you need these 2 units to graduate, and there are no alternatives).  I will do everything I can to get everyone I can into the class officially, but if there are more people than I can accommodate in that way, it really helps me to know who really needs this class for units or not.  I will work to accommodate those who are not in officially one way or another.