Random bullets of “AAAAARGH!!”

I would like to rejoice that it is Friday. And yet, as the end of the semester draws nigh, the press of Tasks That Cannot Be Deferred Any Longer is sucking a good bit of the Friday-ness out of this Friday.
So, I suppose this post is the cyber-equivalent of an itemized primal scream:

• When the review sheet for a final exam has, at the bottom, in letters that are bolded, a clear statement of the day, date, and time of the final exam, what should I make of the fact that students have been emailing me to ask for the day, date, and time of the final exam? (By the way, this same information is in the syllabus the students were given the first day of class — a syllabus which is prominently linked from the course website.)
• My software seems to have implemented the subroutines that kick in at the end of the semester to make the programs malfunction. As I was trying to update course webpages to post electronic versions of final exam review sheets and case studies, either Dreamweaver wasn’t actually saving the updates I was making, or Fetch wasn’t moving the updates, or both. Seriously, I spent a good chunk of time where, if both programs were telling me the truth, the updates should have been up there — and dagnabbit, they were not. In frustration, I quit both programs, counted to ten, and launched them again … and suddenly everything worked the way it should.
• Of course, it is not at all clear to me that the students whose attendance is so spotty that they have not picked up the review materials and case studies yet will be diligent enough to check the course website for these materials. Maybe I’d let out a Nelson Muntz “Ha ha!”, but this probably means that I’ll have to read at least a few exams where people are responding to the cases cold, rather than having read them, thought about them, and discussed them with their classmates as I have encouraged them to do. Typically, those are not enjoyable exams to read (or grade).
• A striking irony of which I became aware yesterday evening: when you’re trying like mad to wrap things up so you can leave your desk, having a parade of people poke their heads in your door and say, “Wow, you’re here really late!” actually makes it harder for you to wrap things up quickly and go. Henceforth, when I notice that someone else is here later than usual, I will reserve comment on it until the next day.
• Loud construction noises, power-washing, etc., right outside a classroom building with southern exposure (and thus open windows) on a hot day during the last full week of class: who thought that was a good idea? And is that same office scheduling the maintenance activities during exam week?

Hope your Friday has more of its essential Frideality still intact!