Friday, May 30, 2008
Trip to Vernal
For Memorial Day on Monday we took a day trip to Vernal, UT, a place with a lot of Colton family heritage. We went with my mom & dad, both my sisters, and various other family members.
We first stopped by the Maeser Cemetary, just outside of Vernal. Counting both the the living and the dead, there were six generations of Coltons present.
My kids, nephew, sister, wife, and dad.
My deceased sister (died before I was born).
My grandparents Colton.
My great-grandparents Colton. Sterling was Vernal's first sheriff.
My great-great-grandparents Colton. Polly is the one who had a musical written about her life.
After the cemetary we went to the Dinosaur Museum. Sadly, they have closed the museum/field house where you used to be able visit at Dinosaur National Monument, but they've opened up a new museum in town.
My sister wants Pauline to paint this rock & flower for her. (Pauline does take commissions, if anyone's interested!)
After the museum, we went to a nearby spot where you can see 1000-2000 year old petroglyphs. It was really cool. I was surprised I hadn't ever been there before in all my trips to Vernal.
No petroglyphs here, but Pauline thought the scene was cool.
We first stopped by the Maeser Cemetary, just outside of Vernal. Counting both the the living and the dead, there were six generations of Coltons present.
My kids, nephew, sister, wife, and dad.
My deceased sister (died before I was born).
My grandparents Colton.
My great-grandparents Colton. Sterling was Vernal's first sheriff.
My great-great-grandparents Colton. Polly is the one who had a musical written about her life.
After the cemetary we went to the Dinosaur Museum. Sadly, they have closed the museum/field house where you used to be able visit at Dinosaur National Monument, but they've opened up a new museum in town.
My sister wants Pauline to paint this rock & flower for her. (Pauline does take commissions, if anyone's interested!)
After the museum, we went to a nearby spot where you can see 1000-2000 year old petroglyphs. It was really cool. I was surprised I hadn't ever been there before in all my trips to Vernal.
No petroglyphs here, but Pauline thought the scene was cool.
Grandma's 90th birthday
We had a large family reunion last Saturday in honor of my grandma's 90th birthday (my mom's mom; my dad's mom died several years ago). She had approx. 100 direct descendants come to the party, and perhaps another 100 friends and relatives as well. Here are some pictures:
My dad has an old Ford Model A car in near pristine condition. He likes to show it off, especially to the grandkids!
We decided Leslie and her cousin Erin could pass as twins. They were born only about a week apart.
Here's my grandma with one of her great-grandkids (I think; I'm not actually sure who the baby is)
My dad has an old Ford Model A car in near pristine condition. He likes to show it off, especially to the grandkids!
We decided Leslie and her cousin Erin could pass as twins. They were born only about a week apart.
Here's my grandma with one of her great-grandkids (I think; I'm not actually sure who the baby is)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Bad puns
These are adapted from a list my dad sent me a while back. Got some oldies but goodies here!
JSC
___
I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
The police handcuffed a sleepy three-year-old after they found out he was resisting a rest.
Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
Writing with a broken pencil is pointless.
When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.
A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal.
We'll never run out of math teachers because they always multiply.
The math professor went crazy with the blackboard—he did a real number on it.
The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.
The dead batteries were given out free of charge.
If you take a laptop computer for a run you could jog your memory.
A bicycle can't stand up by itself; it is two tired.
A backward poet writes inverse.
In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.
If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.
Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.
The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.
A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France, resulted in Linoleum Blownapart.
You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
Will calendars be with us forever? I don’t think so; their days are numbered.
A boiled egg is hard to beat.
Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.
Parisians who try to commit suicide by jumping a bridge into the river are in Seine.
When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.
JSC
___
I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
The police handcuffed a sleepy three-year-old after they found out he was resisting a rest.
Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
Writing with a broken pencil is pointless.
When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.
A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal.
We'll never run out of math teachers because they always multiply.
The math professor went crazy with the blackboard—he did a real number on it.
The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.
The dead batteries were given out free of charge.
If you take a laptop computer for a run you could jog your memory.
A bicycle can't stand up by itself; it is two tired.
A backward poet writes inverse.
In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.
If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.
Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.
The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.
A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France, resulted in Linoleum Blownapart.
You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
Will calendars be with us forever? I don’t think so; their days are numbered.
A boiled egg is hard to beat.
Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.
Parisians who try to commit suicide by jumping a bridge into the river are in Seine.
When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
"How can I be" ukelele song
A friend of mine posted this to her blog (thanks, Kara!). I liked it a lot, so I'm posting it here as well. For those of you who don't recognize the references, they are from the Book of Mormon.
Friday, May 23, 2008
another success
*BAM* I just solved another problem with a Windows shortcut key that has bugged me for years. I love Autohotkey.
This particular problem involved the windows calculator program--I had it programmed to open whenever I press control-shift-c. That worked fine if it wasn't already running; however, if it was running but behind other windows, nothing happened.
I used autohotkey to program things such that if it's running, the calculator pops up to the front, and if it is not running, it starts the calculator program. Makes perfect sense now!
This particular problem involved the windows calculator program--I had it programmed to open whenever I press control-shift-c. That worked fine if it wasn't already running; however, if it was running but behind other windows, nothing happened.
I used autohotkey to program things such that if it's running, the calculator pops up to the front, and if it is not running, it starts the calculator program. Makes perfect sense now!
Free "hotkey" program
For those who use keyboard shortcuts as much as I do, this program looks amazing: http://www.autohotkey.com
I just discovered it a couple of days ago, and installed it today.
I've already used it to fix something about a Windows shortcut key that has been bugging me for a while, and to program it so that when I type "fwiw" in any program it substitutes in "for what it's worth". And a few other such things.
It's basically got its own programming language built in, too, so you can program a very complex set of actions and reactions to occur when you press a combination of keys or key sequence.
Plus, it's free!! :-)
I just discovered it a couple of days ago, and installed it today.
I've already used it to fix something about a Windows shortcut key that has been bugging me for a while, and to program it so that when I type "fwiw" in any program it substitutes in "for what it's worth". And a few other such things.
It's basically got its own programming language built in, too, so you can program a very complex set of actions and reactions to occur when you press a combination of keys or key sequence.
Plus, it's free!! :-)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Thank you TweakUI!
I've got a Dell multimedia keyboard, and recently one of the special buttons (start Media Player) stopped doing what it had been doing the past year, which was to open up my Creative Labs mp3 player. It started opening Windows Media Player instead; I've no idea why. Then it started opening the Volume Control instead of WMP! Frustrating.
Anyway, after *way* too much web surfing to solve the problem I came across a discussion where someone with a similar problem was told to try TweakUI. That's one of the "Power Toys".
Works like a charm--you can program any special key that your keyboard might come with by clicking on "Explorer" then "Command Keys". If you don't know what the key is titled, just press the key and it will take you to the appropriate one on the list. Hallelujah!
Anyway, after *way* too much web surfing to solve the problem I came across a discussion where someone with a similar problem was told to try TweakUI. That's one of the "Power Toys".
Works like a charm--you can program any special key that your keyboard might come with by clicking on "Explorer" then "Command Keys". If you don't know what the key is titled, just press the key and it will take you to the appropriate one on the list. Hallelujah!
New Laptop, and Skype
I finally buckled down and picked out a laptop for myself on BYU's dollar (part of my start-up agreement).
This is the one I chose:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=207715
(Gee, price went up $50 since last week.)
I have to admit, I like this HP quite a bit! The determining factor was the keyboard--I tested out 30 or so different laptops last week, and this is the one whose keyboard I liked most. Or the keyboard I disliked least, as the case may be.
I was a bit worried that I would hate Vista, but I've spent the last couple of days getting rid of all of the things I hated the most. Now it's really not too bad at all.
The laptop has a built-in webcam, so I signed up for a Skype account. If any of you out there use Skype, give me a call! My username seems to be "John S. Colton". Obviously you'll only be able to reach me when my laptop is turned on. And connected to the internet. I just did a couple of video calls with my dad and my sister Marci, and they were kind of fun!
This is the one I chose:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=207715
(Gee, price went up $50 since last week.)
I have to admit, I like this HP quite a bit! The determining factor was the keyboard--I tested out 30 or so different laptops last week, and this is the one whose keyboard I liked most. Or the keyboard I disliked least, as the case may be.
I was a bit worried that I would hate Vista, but I've spent the last couple of days getting rid of all of the things I hated the most. Now it's really not too bad at all.
The laptop has a built-in webcam, so I signed up for a Skype account. If any of you out there use Skype, give me a call! My username seems to be "John S. Colton". Obviously you'll only be able to reach me when my laptop is turned on. And connected to the internet. I just did a couple of video calls with my dad and my sister Marci, and they were kind of fun!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
In other news... Rocket man
How cool is this? JSC
___
Swiss man soars above Alps with jet-powered wing
By FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press Writer Wed May 14, 5:28 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514/ap_on_re_eu/switzerland_rocket_man
BEX, Switzerland - A Swiss pilot strapped on a jet-powered wing and leaped from a plane Wednesday for the first public demonstration of the homemade device, turning figure eights and soaring high above the Alps.
Yves Rossy's performance in front of the world press capped five years of training and many more years of dreaming.
"This flight was absolutely excellent," the former fighter pilot and extreme sports enthusiast said after touching down on an airfield near the eastern shore of Lake Geneva.
Rossy, 48, had stepped out of the Swiss-built Pilatus Porter aircraft at 7,500 feet and unfolded the rigid eight-foot wings strapped to his back before jumping.
Passing from free fall to a gentle glide, Rossy then triggered four jet turbines and accelerated to 186 miles per hour, about 65 miles per hour faster than the typical falling skydiver. A plane that flew at some distance beside him measured his speed.
The crowd on the mountaintop below gasped and cheered.
Rossy's mother, who was among the spectators, told journalists she felt no fear.
"He knows what he's doing," Paule Rossy said of her son, who now flies commercial planes for Swiss airlines.
Steering with his body, Rossy dived, turned and soared again, performing what appeared to be effortless loops from one side of the Rhone valley to the other. At times he rose 2,600 feet before descending again.
After one last wave to the crowd the rocket man tipped his wings, flipped onto his back and leveled out again, executing a perfect 360-degree roll.
"That was to impress the girls," he later admitted.
Rossy said after Wednesday's five-minute flight, he is ready now for a bigger challenge: crossing the English Channel this year.
The stunt, which will be shown on live television, will test his flying machine to the limit. Rossy said he plans to practice the 22-mile trip by flying between two hot-air balloons.
"I still haven't used the full potential," he said.
Rossy told The Associated Press that one day he also hopes to fly through the Grand Canyon.
To do this, he will have to fit his wings with bigger, more powerful jets to allow for greater maneuverability. The German-built model aircraft engines he currently uses already provide 200 pounds of thrust, enough to allow Rossy and his 120-pound flying suit to climb through the air.
"Physically, it's absolutely no stress," Rossy said. "It's like being on a motorbike."
But on this ride, even the slightest movement can cause problems. Rossy said he has to focus hard on relaxing in the air, because "if you put tension on your body, you start to swing around."
Should things go wrong — and Rossy says they have more times than not — there's always a yellow handle to jettison the wings and unfold the parachute.
"I've had many 'whoops' moments," he said. "My safety is altitude."
Rossy wears a heat-resistant suit similar to that worn by firefighters and racing drivers, to protect him from the heat of the turbines. The cooling effect of the wind and high altitude also prevent him from getting too hot.
Rossy says his form of human flight will remain the reserve of very few for now. The price and effort involved are simply too enormous, he says.
So far Rossy and his sponsors, including the Swiss watch company Hublot, have poured more than $285,000 and countless hours of labor into building the device. He would not estimate how much his device would cost should it ever be brought to market.
But, he believes similar jet-powered wings will one day be more widely available to experienced parachutists ready for the ultimate flying experience.
That is, if they don't mind missing out on the breathtaking panorama above the Swiss Alps.
"I am so concentrated, I don't really enjoy the view," Rossy said.
___
Swiss man soars above Alps with jet-powered wing
By FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press Writer Wed May 14, 5:28 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514/ap_on_re_eu/switzerland_rocket_man
BEX, Switzerland - A Swiss pilot strapped on a jet-powered wing and leaped from a plane Wednesday for the first public demonstration of the homemade device, turning figure eights and soaring high above the Alps.
Yves Rossy's performance in front of the world press capped five years of training and many more years of dreaming.
"This flight was absolutely excellent," the former fighter pilot and extreme sports enthusiast said after touching down on an airfield near the eastern shore of Lake Geneva.
Rossy, 48, had stepped out of the Swiss-built Pilatus Porter aircraft at 7,500 feet and unfolded the rigid eight-foot wings strapped to his back before jumping.
Passing from free fall to a gentle glide, Rossy then triggered four jet turbines and accelerated to 186 miles per hour, about 65 miles per hour faster than the typical falling skydiver. A plane that flew at some distance beside him measured his speed.
The crowd on the mountaintop below gasped and cheered.
Rossy's mother, who was among the spectators, told journalists she felt no fear.
"He knows what he's doing," Paule Rossy said of her son, who now flies commercial planes for Swiss airlines.
Steering with his body, Rossy dived, turned and soared again, performing what appeared to be effortless loops from one side of the Rhone valley to the other. At times he rose 2,600 feet before descending again.
After one last wave to the crowd the rocket man tipped his wings, flipped onto his back and leveled out again, executing a perfect 360-degree roll.
"That was to impress the girls," he later admitted.
Rossy said after Wednesday's five-minute flight, he is ready now for a bigger challenge: crossing the English Channel this year.
The stunt, which will be shown on live television, will test his flying machine to the limit. Rossy said he plans to practice the 22-mile trip by flying between two hot-air balloons.
"I still haven't used the full potential," he said.
Rossy told The Associated Press that one day he also hopes to fly through the Grand Canyon.
To do this, he will have to fit his wings with bigger, more powerful jets to allow for greater maneuverability. The German-built model aircraft engines he currently uses already provide 200 pounds of thrust, enough to allow Rossy and his 120-pound flying suit to climb through the air.
"Physically, it's absolutely no stress," Rossy said. "It's like being on a motorbike."
But on this ride, even the slightest movement can cause problems. Rossy said he has to focus hard on relaxing in the air, because "if you put tension on your body, you start to swing around."
Should things go wrong — and Rossy says they have more times than not — there's always a yellow handle to jettison the wings and unfold the parachute.
"I've had many 'whoops' moments," he said. "My safety is altitude."
Rossy wears a heat-resistant suit similar to that worn by firefighters and racing drivers, to protect him from the heat of the turbines. The cooling effect of the wind and high altitude also prevent him from getting too hot.
Rossy says his form of human flight will remain the reserve of very few for now. The price and effort involved are simply too enormous, he says.
So far Rossy and his sponsors, including the Swiss watch company Hublot, have poured more than $285,000 and countless hours of labor into building the device. He would not estimate how much his device would cost should it ever be brought to market.
But, he believes similar jet-powered wings will one day be more widely available to experienced parachutists ready for the ultimate flying experience.
That is, if they don't mind missing out on the breathtaking panorama above the Swiss Alps.
"I am so concentrated, I don't really enjoy the view," Rossy said.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Metric Humor
I've seen lists like this various places around the internet. I edited this one slightly from an email sent to me by a student.
___
Ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter: Eskimo Pi
Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement: 1 bananosecond
Weight an evangelist carries with God: 1 billigram
Time it takes to sail 220 yards at 1 nautical mile per hour: Knot-furlong
365.25 days of drinking low-calorie beer because it's less filling: 1 lite year
16.5 feet in the Twilight Zone: 1 Rod Serling
Half of a large intestine: 1 semicolon
1,000,000 aches: 1 megahurtz
Basic unit of laryngitis: 1 hoarsepower
453.6 graham crackers: 1 pound cake
1 million-million microphones: 1 megaphone
1 million bicycles: 2 megacycles
2000 mockingbirds: two kilomockingbirds
10 cards: 1 decacards
1 kilogram of falling figs: 1 Fig Newton
1000 grams of wet socks: 1 literhosen
1 millionth of a fish: 1 microfiche
1 trillion pins: 1 terrapin
10 rations: 1 decoration
100 rations: 1 C-ration
2 monograms: 1 diagram
8 nickels: 2 paradigms
3 statute miles of intravenous surgical tubing at Yale University Hospital: 1
I.V. League
2000 pounds of Chinese soup: Won ton
1 millionth of a mouthwash: 1 microscope
___
Ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter: Eskimo Pi
Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement: 1 bananosecond
Weight an evangelist carries with God: 1 billigram
Time it takes to sail 220 yards at 1 nautical mile per hour: Knot-furlong
365.25 days of drinking low-calorie beer because it's less filling: 1 lite year
16.5 feet in the Twilight Zone: 1 Rod Serling
Half of a large intestine: 1 semicolon
1,000,000 aches: 1 megahurtz
Basic unit of laryngitis: 1 hoarsepower
453.6 graham crackers: 1 pound cake
1 million-million microphones: 1 megaphone
1 million bicycles: 2 megacycles
2000 mockingbirds: two kilomockingbirds
10 cards: 1 decacards
1 kilogram of falling figs: 1 Fig Newton
1000 grams of wet socks: 1 literhosen
1 millionth of a fish: 1 microfiche
1 trillion pins: 1 terrapin
10 rations: 1 decoration
100 rations: 1 C-ration
2 monograms: 1 diagram
8 nickels: 2 paradigms
3 statute miles of intravenous surgical tubing at Yale University Hospital: 1
I.V. League
2000 pounds of Chinese soup: Won ton
1 millionth of a mouthwash: 1 microscope
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Jazz playoff game
I got to go to the Jazz-Laker playoff game yesterday (thanks, Dad!). I brought my camera and took a bunch of pictures. The ones of the game itself mostly didn't turn out too great, but I took a lot of things like the Bear, David Archuleta, and the other non-game entertainment events. Leslie and Emily love both the Bear and David A. In a platonic sort of way, I think.
Click on the pictures to get a larger version.
Here are the Jazz players warming up.
David Archuleta! The arena went wild. He was followed everywhere by about 10 cameras. Poor kid.
Jazz players watching David sing the Star Spangled Banner.
I'm not sure what the dark spot in the center of the Jumbotron is. Probably I snapped the shot right as it was changing pictures.
A nice shot of the Energy Solutions Arena. For those of you who haven't been there, I think you can get a sense of how cavernous the place is. And you can only see a small fraction of the upper bowl seating.
OK, I'll admit it--I had to take some shots of the Jazz Dancers.
The Bear & friends had a fun time doing trampoline dunks.
This guy was completely horizontal as he dunked it. It was really cool.
During one of the timeouts, a tower suddenly grew out of nowhere. The Bear was on top as it grew and grew.
When it got all the way up, the Bear held up an "On Your Feet" sign. Too bad that my zoomed out photo didn't turn out well; you can't really see how amazingly tall that thing was.
The halftime act was a lady on a unicycle that tossed bowls with her leg and caught them on her head. I had seen the act before, but it was still impressive. Here you can see she has already caught a bunch on her head (probably 6) and is about to catch four more that are simultaneously in the air.
During a 3rd quarter time-out, the Bear came out on stilts, climbed a tall stepladder and held up an "On Your Feet!" sign.
This was cool. They shot t-shirts out machine-gun style from a compressed air powered cannon. They started the thing spinning, let loose the compressed air, and had about 12 shirts in the air all at once.
An obnoxious Laker fan a couple of rows ahead of me. He pranced around every time the Lakers did anything good.
Last game I was at, this sign said, "If Your A Jazz Fan Yell!" I was embarrassed for them; glad they got the spelling right this time.
Towards the very end, the Bear came out in Scottish battle garb. That was pretty unexpected and got the crowd going.
Final score--Jazz win!!!
Click on the pictures to get a larger version.
Here are the Jazz players warming up.
David Archuleta! The arena went wild. He was followed everywhere by about 10 cameras. Poor kid.
Jazz players watching David sing the Star Spangled Banner.
I'm not sure what the dark spot in the center of the Jumbotron is. Probably I snapped the shot right as it was changing pictures.
A nice shot of the Energy Solutions Arena. For those of you who haven't been there, I think you can get a sense of how cavernous the place is. And you can only see a small fraction of the upper bowl seating.
OK, I'll admit it--I had to take some shots of the Jazz Dancers.
The Bear & friends had a fun time doing trampoline dunks.
This guy was completely horizontal as he dunked it. It was really cool.
During one of the timeouts, a tower suddenly grew out of nowhere. The Bear was on top as it grew and grew. 
When it got all the way up, the Bear held up an "On Your Feet" sign. Too bad that my zoomed out photo didn't turn out well; you can't really see how amazingly tall that thing was.
The halftime act was a lady on a unicycle that tossed bowls with her leg and caught them on her head. I had seen the act before, but it was still impressive. Here you can see she has already caught a bunch on her head (probably 6) and is about to catch four more that are simultaneously in the air.
During a 3rd quarter time-out, the Bear came out on stilts, climbed a tall stepladder and held up an "On Your Feet!" sign.
This was cool. They shot t-shirts out machine-gun style from a compressed air powered cannon. They started the thing spinning, let loose the compressed air, and had about 12 shirts in the air all at once.
An obnoxious Laker fan a couple of rows ahead of me. He pranced around every time the Lakers did anything good.
Last game I was at, this sign said, "If Your A Jazz Fan Yell!" I was embarrassed for them; glad they got the spelling right this time.
Towards the very end, the Bear came out in Scottish battle garb. That was pretty unexpected and got the crowd going.
Final score--Jazz win!!!Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Some nice student comments
I just read the student comments from my Optics course last semester. Here are some of the nice ones. (Most were nice, some were not.)
* ...overall it seemed good.
* The homework was very fair and reasonable. It didn't take too long, but it wasn't too short and it helped learn the material.
* I thought that the homework was reasonable and challenged us well. I thought that the way that the exams flowed from your discussions and the homework was good. I found the exams a good measure of what we had learned.
* Thank you for all the effort you put into this course, Dr. Colton. It was clear that considerable effort and thought went into your preparation for the course and it was appreciated.
* I thought the course was well administered.
* Great course and I learned a lot!
* Great job, I felt it moved at just the right pace.
* Your office was very conveniently located and you were often available. Thank you.
* This was one of the best physics classes I've had.
* The all-inclusive "Colton diffraction lab" was a lot of fun [but too much work].
* I really enjoyed the class. I was a little nervous as I signed up for Optics becuase of the reputation and my lack of E&M. I found the class reasonable. The availability of TA and of the instructor was great. Thank you for a great semester.
* Thanks Dr. Colton. This is the first 400 level class that I have really been able to understand and enjoy. I really felt like the course was divided into manageable pieces.
* Great course. Dr. Colton did a great job (as his first time here?).
* ...I thought you did a good job. Thanks for the effort you put into the class.
* Dr. Colton was very good at taking questions, even when they were a little tangential to the matter at hand. I appreciated his willingness to back up and get back to the basics when I did not understand. His derivations were clear, for the most part, which was a great help. ... Thank you, Dr. Colton, I know you put a lot of time into preparing for this course. It was very hard for me, and I didn't do nearly as well as I would've liked, but you helped me learn a lot.
* I like this class, though it was unusually hard for me....This probably has more to do with my deficiencies as a student than those of the designers/instructors of this course. Dr. Colton seems very reasonable, though.
* One of the best teachers I've had. He is VERY approachable and always willing to help (which I can't say about some teachers in the department). I felt the homework was fair. It was difficult, but didn't take a ridiculous amount of time. For being the first time he's taught this class here at BYU, I thought it was excellent. I would love to take any class from him.
* Maybe a little less derivations and more examples, but great job all around.
* ...overall it seemed good.
* The homework was very fair and reasonable. It didn't take too long, but it wasn't too short and it helped learn the material.
* I thought that the homework was reasonable and challenged us well. I thought that the way that the exams flowed from your discussions and the homework was good. I found the exams a good measure of what we had learned.
* Thank you for all the effort you put into this course, Dr. Colton. It was clear that considerable effort and thought went into your preparation for the course and it was appreciated.
* I thought the course was well administered.
* Great course and I learned a lot!
* Great job, I felt it moved at just the right pace.
* Your office was very conveniently located and you were often available. Thank you.
* This was one of the best physics classes I've had.
* The all-inclusive "Colton diffraction lab" was a lot of fun [but too much work].
* I really enjoyed the class. I was a little nervous as I signed up for Optics becuase of the reputation and my lack of E&M. I found the class reasonable. The availability of TA and of the instructor was great. Thank you for a great semester.
* Thanks Dr. Colton. This is the first 400 level class that I have really been able to understand and enjoy. I really felt like the course was divided into manageable pieces.
* Great course. Dr. Colton did a great job (as his first time here?).
* ...I thought you did a good job. Thanks for the effort you put into the class.
* Dr. Colton was very good at taking questions, even when they were a little tangential to the matter at hand. I appreciated his willingness to back up and get back to the basics when I did not understand. His derivations were clear, for the most part, which was a great help. ... Thank you, Dr. Colton, I know you put a lot of time into preparing for this course. It was very hard for me, and I didn't do nearly as well as I would've liked, but you helped me learn a lot.
* I like this class, though it was unusually hard for me....This probably has more to do with my deficiencies as a student than those of the designers/instructors of this course. Dr. Colton seems very reasonable, though.
* One of the best teachers I've had. He is VERY approachable and always willing to help (which I can't say about some teachers in the department). I felt the homework was fair. It was difficult, but didn't take a ridiculous amount of time. For being the first time he's taught this class here at BYU, I thought it was excellent. I would love to take any class from him.
* Maybe a little less derivations and more examples, but great job all around.
