What in the hell does pi mean? You better rethink that math course or visit
http://www.athabascau.ca/html/services/counselling/math
Ah math, my old nemesis. Yes you beat me in grades 9, 10,12 and twice in 11, but I can take you now:I think.
Excuse me while I talk to myself (love that Dr. Evil voice). Although I’m far from done, sometimes in my spare moments I peruse my degree requirements and lovingly look through the courses I’ll soon be taking (yes I do need a life, thank you very much). Imagine my shock and horror when a course labeled MATH popped up. I thought at first it was a trick of the eye, a brain hiccup, then I though maybe I had a joke version of the calendar (they should really make those), but no it was there, and not an elective but a REQUIREMENT! I shed a tear that day.
Coming from a family of math and computer whizzes I am the black sheep. I am such a black sheep I’m not invited to family functions, no pictures, nothing. My name is whispered with revulsion, they shudder at the thought of me.. Ok my Mother is rolling her eyes right about now. Seriously, in a family where calculus is “fun” for half of them. I do stand out. But all that will change.
On the AU website I found something that may change my life (or make me feel better). It is the Mathematics Diagnostic Evaluation. I will now find out if I can survive a university level math course. This evaluation is a comprehensive test of your math suitability. You have the option to do part A and B and C which consists of seventy questions, or only part c which has thirty questions. Being the masochist I am, I will attempt the seventy question route. That’s about it for this website, clean and simple. So farewell folks, depending on the results, you may never hear from me again.
Neat Stuff: After the evaluation is complete you can click next which will take you to a page that gives you appropriate courses to take based on your scores. There is also a skip button you can press if you don’t know the answer.
Not so Neat stuff: There is a skip button you can press if you don’t know the answer
Rating ****/5 This site is a great tool if you need to take a university math course, yet aren’t sure what to take or if you’re ready. My score? The word “remedial” kept popping up (AU doesn’t have a course for my level).
What happened to the kid’s (or your own) college fund? Put down those loonies and try
http://www.pogo.com
I may not be good at math, but when it comes to my money I can figure out how much I lose. One weekend my twenty bucks was burning a hole in my pocket so I decided to try my luck with the VLT’s. Well after putting in five bucks, I ended up with $340! Great, so I put in more to get the $46 bonus. Well I put in $80 and I never did get that $46. The lights and neat sounds the VLT’s have when you win fifty cents are great reinforcers. If that kind of stimulus prompts you to spend more money (to quote BNL “you can call me Pavlov’s dog”), maybe you should try pogo.com.
This is a free site where, if you sign up, you can play tons and tons of games. It’s a fairly easy site to navigate, and all the games are categorized. You can try casino, card and board games, sports games, trivia, arcade and word games. For example, I clicked on the game “Poppit” (I like the popping sounds. Bubble wrap anyone?). From there you can click on one of many game “rooms” to play in. In these rooms, there is a chat box beside the game where you can chat with other gamers while you play. Or if you’re all business, just click play now if you don’t care which room you go in.
The premise of pogo.com is that you play for tokens. These tokens can then be used to enter monthly, weekly and daily drawings for cash. Granted, it may not be as exciting to win at pogo’s games when it’s not real money, but you can still waste time without losing your house in the process (On the up side, some of the games do have cash jackpots). So happy playing. Goof off with a clean conscience!
Neat stuff: Sometimes companies put their PC games on this site for a trial period, so you can try out the newest games for free! Also, the game selection is great. I quit counting at sixty.
Not so Neat Stuff: Yes this site is free, but we all know what that means. Yes the corporate devils themselves: ads, ads and more ads.
Rating ***/5 Yes, this site is fun and sure you can ignore the ads. But like anything else with pretty lights and cute sounds, it’s easy to lose track of time when you’re trying not to study. Play in moderation and remember they’re only tokens.