I have spent 14 hours over the past two days simply emailing scanned files to maco administration for uploading. That does not include the time it took to scan, write, compose, etc. I don't even want to try and tell you what a chore this has been.
Bill has a huge number of files in his box. I have not yet had the time to go and see what has been posted, where, and what is problematic.
As per requests, we have higher resolution images as jpegs...they are large files, but I wanted you guys to be able to use them and see them. there are also some histology micrographs that are very large files, but they had to be as you will be trying to see mmicroscopic detail and smaller files would be worthless.
I will be going to the various information sites in the morning to see what's up. In the meantime, I know we are falling a little behind, but I don't know what to say or do. I am working till the middle of the night trying to do this, and it is technically not my responsibility to have to both teach and do this type of work. Nonetheless, i refuse to have you guys miss out because James took a well deserved vacation. I will be in touch with maco administration if the problems are not corrected by the time I check everything out, and make sure all is available.
However, it is ok as the class will have some catch up time as you will read below.
Also, I apologize for the delay on the quiz grading this week. One of the reasons I spent 14 hours uploading emails is becuase my DSL was disconnected this weekend. Apparently AT&T bought out Northpoint communications and forced them to immediately cease operations. My provider is working to find a new access company, but in the meantime, I am working at 56K. I am now going to start grading your quizzes, and the answer sheet has been sent in and should have already been posted. If it is not, it may be because Bill is overwhelmed at the amount of material i have sent him in the past 24 hours.
As many of you know from chat and the post on the board, I will be gone from Friday, April 9 through April 22 to the Western Marine Conference and then to Jakarta for a 4 day workshop on developing management and monitoring protocol for the trade in CITES-listed coral reef organisms. I will then be doing some diving in Sulawesi to look at the abundances and sustainability of some of the popular aquarium corals. I will have a laptop with me, and I will try to be available for chats at the required times. However, once I am in Sulawesi (approximately April 13, there is a strong possibility that I will not have internet access. I will also not be available for the chat on Sunday, April 8 as I will be in flight.
Do not despair. This is a great chance, and I will keep you busy. I have uploaded an extra reading on coral competition. This was originally planned to be part of this week's lecture, but it is such an important and big area that it deserves its own section. So, I have provided it for you. Along with the upload, please read the section about competition in Chapter 5 (Secret Lives) of Aquarium Corals from pp. 69-85. There will not be a quiz on this material, but we will talk about it on the boards and in chat. I know you will all find it interesting.
Please use the time to also catch up on any reading you have not done, and hopefully, this time will also allow those of you who have not yet gotten your books to see them arrive. I also want to apologize for the problems in downloading illegible readings. I apologize for the many files and the difficulties in downloading - and I fear it has impinged on my own time in providing proofreading/grading and other issues/typos, etc. It has been my lack of time in dealing with the technical aspects that forced this upon us. Upon return, these issues will have been corrected. We have been trying our best to get the materials to you, and it has had some snafus in the electronic and teechnical aspects. . After I return, James will be back from Fiji and we will be back to normal.
You can also use this time to start on your projects and to do the lab. If anyone has difficulty doing the lab, please wait patiently for help. I will be back soon enough.
Eric