Michael Ball

Lecturer @UCBerkeley, working on #CSEd #a11y #EdTech
I build @Gradescope, @CSPBJC & @SnapCloud
I enjoy☕️ 📷 🥃
#GoBears

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@AryiaDm @rae_wymer You can feel free to email me. (you know how to find it.)

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@SleepwellCap @benthompson Lifetime warranty is back which was a big ding against them.

Though Rimowa bags are also heavy unless you get the essential series.

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@likaigu @benthompson Ugh - same here. My two wheel version is definitely more stable but I can’t fit the same tall items in a clamshell split and want 4 wheels. :/ the Briggs expandy bit has been very helpful too.

[Berkeley Faculty Association @FacultyBerkeley]

The @uaw2865 strike is over but @UCPrezDrake wants to impose the costs of paying workers a living wage on the already strained budgets of campuses and departments. Say no to puntive austerity, sign this letter https://t.co/VMRhvMBgw4 @uc_faculty @UCAFT @AFSCMELocal3299 @CalYDSA

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@crystaljjlee Students like that are amazing...and also stressful in a different way. :)

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@macosken Hearing the intro music is always a trip down memory lane! :D

Podcasts were still so fun when we had the iPod, but I definitely don't mis needing a computer just to listen to morning news. We've come a long way!

[Rebecca Saltzman @RebeccaForEC]

BART Board just approved my proposal to institute 30 min grace period for $6.40 excursion fare! We'll soon stop penalizing riders who enter a station and don't ride BART, especially when it's due to BART delays.

Thanks @JaniceForBART & staff for working with me all year on this!

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@jsnell @robot_or_not Berkeley faculty here — the Kiwibots were remotely controlled and not autonomous. They definitely got stuck - and would wink at passersby. Not confirmed if that was a human, but many found it creepy.

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

This is awesome. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while.

[Jens Mönig @moenig]

I'm excited to fool around with new ways to write code using blocks!
https://t.co/lLMGD1c1dY

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@pconrad @AustinCorgiBart @ShriramKMurthi @michaelhilton @samth @guzdial @Bootstrapworld @KathiFisler @EvanMPeck As a tweet - yes, rhetorical. But you're right!

And yes - reassuring there's no silver bullets in a way, else some folks might get the wrong impression of TAs!

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@AustinCorgiBart @pconrad @ShriramKMurthi @michaelhilton @samth @guzdial @Bootstrapworld @KathiFisler @EvanMPeck Whoa why didn't I know this existed?

By chance @pconrad can you help answer what to do when all the TAs disappear? Asking for...many friends...

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@lxeagle17 I find British cuisine deeply ironic given the expanse of the commonwealth over the past century.

...like at least pick up something good about other cultures?🤣

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@guzdial But I say this as someone who feels too near to many programmers who seem to think only good things can happen from code. (I say this both about Academics and Industry folks)

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@guzdial I don't except we disagree much—and I bet we'd both argue that CS focuses more on the 'micro' level of things going wrong (eg bad function inputs). What I care more about is the context in which programs live—and also empowering folks to empower others by avoiding mistakes

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@lxeagle17 Clearly you're quitting because you secretly put big big bets on that exact number, right? Right?

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@ShriramKMurthi @guzdial @AustinCorgiBart @pconrad @Bootstrapworld I don't think they're necessarily mutually exclusive.
If short-lived code is distinction we do still need to know what is important and why to CoP to make suggestions.
But I do think deeply understanding the 'why' is important. eg. How necessary is correctness? is v interesting

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

This makes me sad - but @UCBerkeley and @Berkeley_EECS need to take notice!

We cannot be driving away smart and capable and empathetic instructors from our classes.

[Lakshya Jain @lxeagle17]

Officially handed in my notice to quit my lecturer position at UC Berkeley after the fall semester finishes. It’s been an amazing 2 years, but I’m exhausted, and given that I actually have a main full time job as an ML engineer for an amazing startup already, I just have no time.

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

I needed to look at the terms of the Amex Purchase Protection / Extended Warranty agreement.... it excludes insurrections. Though the last updated date was 1/1/2020

...can they predict the future or the actuaries just really ahead of the times?

[Michael Ball @_mball_]

@EvanMPeck Yea! I agree there's a lot of value. @davidjmalan had a good convo at GitHub Universe which I haven't listened to.

I think we need to organize a panel/BOF next @SIGCSE_TS