^Magic, that man you described sounds like a downright scumbag! You just cannot go about making personal remarks about students! It is just not done! And these people have the nerve to refer to themselves as "professionals". Yeah right! Well, as far as this whole situation regarding my "Microeconometrics" professor is concerned, I have a weapon which I really didn't want to use at first, but now I am left with no choice. My dissertation supervisor happens to be the "Director of Postgraduate Studies". I think I will slowly try and take up the matter with him. He is a highly respected, senior member of that department. I am going to tread very carefully at this point but honestly, something needs to be done.

AHHHH!!! That is so cool! Congratulations!!!

^Strider, your post made me view the entire issue in a new light! Thank you! I am indeed convinced of my professor's guilt especially after reading that email he sent all of us. In terms of concrete proof, that email is unfortunately the only thing I have. But, if a third person who knew nothing about this man was to read that email, he or she would clearly be inclined to dismiss all the allegations against him. That email has been worded in an exceptionally cryptic and crafty fashion. It is just close to impossible to pin the man down for what he did. IMHO, he should be sacked immediately from the University. I truly cannot believe that people like these are actually awarded PhDs and enter the teaching profession! He is a disgrace to the Economics Department and to the University itself, if you ask me. I just hate the man so much now. For one thing, he is famous for making "Microeconometrics" appear more complicated than what it seems and now, looks like he will stop at nothing to help his "fellow country men" achieve the best possible grades! The entire course is a sham if you ask me! Anyway, my conscience is clear. I know for a fact that my friends and I worked exceptionally hard at that assignment and did our very best and actually learnt something!

Hi Julie, I know it is rather late and that I couldn't congratulate you on time (sorry about that!), but anyway, a very big congratulations to you and wishing you a very happy married life!!!

Believe it or not, a University professor of mine made me unhappy and very very angry. You see, I am doing an advanced Applied Econometrics course called "Microeconometrics" which involves extensive usage of software like Matlab, STATA, Gauss and R. We have 3 assignments to turn in and there are no exams for this paper. The majority of people in my class hail from various provinces across China. My professor is Chinese. Now, my friends have alleged that a couple of days before the 2nd assignment was due for submission (it proved to be exceptionally complicated involving Kernel density estimation through the Rule of Thumb bandwidth and the usage of "Cross Validation" techniques"), 5 girls who happen to be from the same province as my professor, went to his office at midnight on the 29th of September, and stayed there till about 2 AM where he was teaching them how to use the Matlab software (which none of us know how, since we use STATA most of the time) and he eventually just gave them the matlab codes which could be very conveniently used to compute the output and hence the ENTIRE answer to the assignment in a matter of minutes!!!! I knew those girls were close to him because I have heard them and my professor conversing in Chinese during the lecture hours and of course, outside the lecture hours. Now, I thought these allegations were very serious and I couldn't believe that he actually could do such a thing (by being so partial to some students while leaving out the others in the cold) and I tried giving my professor the benefit of doubt. But, the very next day after my friends told me about what the guy had done, we all received a very cryptic email from the man, during the weekend before the assignment was due for submission. I am copying and pasting it here : "If you want to turn in your solution to me before the next Monday in class, please put in my mailbox. Also, to be fair to everyone, and don't introduce more trouble to myself, please do not ask me how to write code and I am only available during my office hour". When I saw that email, I honestly got so angry that I was literally trembling with rage. On the same day that man gave away all the answers to that assignment to 5 "elite" students, my friends and I (who were struggling!) went to him just hours before those girls did to clarify some of our queries. And he very cooly replies "Oh, you will find my notes very straight forward. So, you do it by yourself". If this isn't partiality and discrimination of the worst kind, I don't know what the fuck is!!!! If he wants to encourage cheating as far as assignments are concerned, then atleast let him treat ALL students on equal footing, irrespective of their race, roots, colour and all other such trival attributes! It really pains me that I can't report the man to anyone. The thing is, the grades that I get this year are so important on so many different levels that if I know what's good for me, I will just have to shut the fuck up and go on because I am convinced that if anyone dares complain about this man's unscruplous actions, he will take that person to task by failing them! That I am 100% sure! It is just sick and unfair that people like this hold jobs as professors and literally hold the future of so many students in their hands! Sorry for ranting! I couldn't help myself! This was one of those moments in my life when I felt so fuckin' helpless!

Oh my! You poor thing! I have never seen a horse fly before but they sound like downright nasty creatures! I can't stand a mere mosquito bite let alone a bite by a horse-fly! Sheesh! Anyway, don't exert your feet and do remember to keep them elevated at all times! Whenever my feet swell, I tend to keep them elevated atleast for a week and that works wonders! And oh, I googled the phrase "horse fly bite treatment" and I found some helpful advice here : Immediately after the horsefly bite, clean the wound using soap and water. Dry the area with a clean towel.It is advisable to apply a topical hydrocortisone cream or benadryl cream on the area of the bite. This helps reduce itching and swelling. An anti-histamine tablet or piriton tablet can help decrease discomfort.Another effective remedy is to place a tea towel soaked in hot, salty water on the bite area to relieve pain. Application of vinegar or Aloe vera juice helps relieve pain, while application of an ice cube or cool pad helps reduce itchiness.Following this, cover the area with a loose gauze bandage. If you experience allergic reactions or breathing difficulties, then consult a doctor. Hope this helps!

Thank you Julie!

Hmmm...now that I'm back, I thought I'll bring this thread back up again! Came across this one while watching a commercial for a soap opera What a load of crap!

Thank you Missy! It's great being back! And yes, I will be sticking around for quite a while! And I do wish they'll keep record stores here in NZ open till midnight to cater to crazy shoppers like myself!

Thank you Magic! Yes, I did actually contempolate working at "Real Groovy". How on earth did you know that? I mean it seems like such a fun job working at a record store but my mom and dad won't hear of it! And hope you had a lovely birthday! And there is no better feeling than knowing that your gift to an incredibly special friend actually succeeded in putting a smile on that friend's face!

Thank you Strider! I value my health even more now after that stupid flu attack! And awesome to know that you had a great weekend! Cheers to you! Thanks MissMelaine! And good to know you had a nice weekend! I love to going shopping sprees! I actually spent about 8 hours straight at a record store (browsing and I ended up purchasing about 15 CDs that day! Extravagant but fun! ) and one sales person actually told me "Miss, we will be closing in a couple of minutes. So, I'm afraid you need to leave!". LOL! Best weekend I ever had that day!

I went down with the flu about 10 days ago. I couldn't sleep a wink at night because I used to be woken up either by high fever or a nasty cough. I was (literally) living on cough syrup and anti-biotics for the past week or so. My mom nursed me back to health. I visited my doctor yesterday and he gave me a clean bill of health and I now officially feel like my old self again!

Woohoo!! A grandson! How sweet! Congrats you two!

Awww...sweetie! Congratulations!!! Reading your post sure made me happy! Please do let us know whether you have a grandson or a granddaughter!

I know it's a bit late, BUT Happy Birthday, Sir!!! :cheer: Strider, you rock my world with your amazing posts here and I always love hearing your perspectives on things!!!! For goodness sake, do keep up the good work!