David Clark
@dccmath.bsky.social
Mathematician at GVSU, but all views are my own. Author of Grading for Growth, the book and the blog!
Blog: https://gradingforgrowth.com/
Book: https://www.routledge.com/9781642673814
Info: https://sites.google.com/mail.gvsu.edu/clarkdav/
Blog: https://gradingforgrowth.com/
Book: https://www.routledge.com/9781642673814
Info: https://sites.google.com/mail.gvsu.edu/clarkdav/
Shared with permission: It's quarter-zip fleece season here in the north. You can't quite see the khaki pants but they match too. I told him that we could have coordinated on the shirt color.
October 31, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Shared with permission: It's quarter-zip fleece season here in the north. You can't quite see the khaki pants but they match too. I told him that we could have coordinated on the shirt color.
Autumn Meadowhawk, enjoying this hot and extremely dry autumn. The critters in my garden are still bringing me joy.
October 5, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Autumn Meadowhawk, enjoying this hot and extremely dry autumn. The critters in my garden are still bringing me joy.
This beauty, munching on my winter carrots, will apparently become an Eastern Swallowtail.
I did not have the heart to move it. Fewer carrots for me, more for it.
I did not have the heart to move it. Fewer carrots for me, more for it.
October 3, 2025 at 9:12 PM
This beauty, munching on my winter carrots, will apparently become an Eastern Swallowtail.
I did not have the heart to move it. Fewer carrots for me, more for it.
I did not have the heart to move it. Fewer carrots for me, more for it.
Today in delightful student comments (seriously).
October 2, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Today in delightful student comments (seriously).
Tree frog on plastic deck chair. These guys will do ANYTHING to avoid actually living in a tree.
September 26, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Tree frog on plastic deck chair. These guys will do ANYTHING to avoid actually living in a tree.
Something stripey on my New England Asters.
September 20, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Something stripey on my New England Asters.
On the flip side, here's today's requirements (from the same agency, different login!):
September 16, 2025 at 6:05 PM
On the flip side, here's today's requirements (from the same agency, different login!):
Password requirements for a login I had to set up today. It just keeps getting worse the longer you look (yes, EXACTLY 8 characters in length).
September 15, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Password requirements for a login I had to set up today. It just keeps getting worse the longer you look (yes, EXACTLY 8 characters in length).
There's lots to dislike about Blackboard, but here's my most petty complaint of the day:
Blackboard literally doesn't allow dates with 4-digit years. You can ONLY enter 2-digit years.
Blackboard literally doesn't allow dates with 4-digit years. You can ONLY enter 2-digit years.
September 10, 2025 at 3:01 PM
There's lots to dislike about Blackboard, but here's my most petty complaint of the day:
Blackboard literally doesn't allow dates with 4-digit years. You can ONLY enter 2-digit years.
Blackboard literally doesn't allow dates with 4-digit years. You can ONLY enter 2-digit years.
Some kind of swallowtail butterfly on my milkweed... or the Weigela it's growing up through, hard to say.
August 30, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Some kind of swallowtail butterfly on my milkweed... or the Weigela it's growing up through, hard to say.
Grand Rapids's flag, officially showing our famous Calder statue against the river, is almost universally known as the "bloody saber-tooth pac-man".
August 27, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Grand Rapids's flag, officially showing our famous Calder statue against the river, is almost universally known as the "bloody saber-tooth pac-man".
I was weeding the garden and this fella came up and buzzed ME before hanging out on the neighbor's bushes.
Some kind of hummingbird, no clue about the details.
Some kind of hummingbird, no clue about the details.
August 24, 2025 at 11:47 PM
I was weeding the garden and this fella came up and buzzed ME before hanging out on the neighbor's bushes.
Some kind of hummingbird, no clue about the details.
Some kind of hummingbird, no clue about the details.
A whole bunch of pollinators enjoying my goldenrod.
August 18, 2025 at 9:41 PM
A whole bunch of pollinators enjoying my goldenrod.
An "arrow clubtail" (dragonfly?) on my yellow rose. Zoom in to enjoy the wings.
August 15, 2025 at 8:46 PM
An "arrow clubtail" (dragonfly?) on my yellow rose. Zoom in to enjoy the wings.
Silver-spotted Skipper, according to Seek, on my cucumbers. A delightful name for a very flappy butterfly.
August 13, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Silver-spotted Skipper, according to Seek, on my cucumbers. A delightful name for a very flappy butterfly.
Green stink bug. *Shrug*. It's native and unfortunately, but aptly, named.
August 11, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Green stink bug. *Shrug*. It's native and unfortunately, but aptly, named.
Blurry and distant, but: Goldfinches are back and feeding on my coneflowers! Truly a sign of late summer for me. Soon their highly demanding kids will be screeching for food too.
August 11, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Blurry and distant, but: Goldfinches are back and feeding on my coneflowers! Truly a sign of late summer for me. Soon their highly demanding kids will be screeching for food too.
Here's a mysterious (and not very clear) one. My corn tassels are covered in pollinators. Corn is wind, not insect, pollinated. These little guys never make it down to the silk, where the pollen needs to go. Does corn still produce nectar? I don't know.
August 9, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Here's a mysterious (and not very clear) one. My corn tassels are covered in pollinators. Corn is wind, not insect, pollinated. These little guys never make it down to the silk, where the pollen needs to go. Does corn still produce nectar? I don't know.
Bumblebee on a cucumber flower.
August 9, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Bumblebee on a cucumber flower.
Another tree frog, this one on a corn leaf. They are surprisingly willing to live in non-trees.
August 7, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Another tree frog, this one on a corn leaf. They are surprisingly willing to live in non-trees.
Bumblebee on coneflower
August 7, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Bumblebee on coneflower
Monarch butterfly on coneflower
August 7, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Monarch butterfly on coneflower
Tiny tree frog on pepper plant.
August 7, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Tiny tree frog on pepper plant.
I teach at a month-long math summer camp for middle schoolers. Among other things, I teach a coding theory class.
The camp's "yearbook" just came out with a page that was labeled "Dr. Clark should decode this". So I present you with this minor puzzle. Enjoy.
(You can copy from the alt-text)
The camp's "yearbook" just came out with a page that was labeled "Dr. Clark should decode this". So I present you with this minor puzzle. Enjoy.
(You can copy from the alt-text)
July 30, 2025 at 12:55 PM
I teach at a month-long math summer camp for middle schoolers. Among other things, I teach a coding theory class.
The camp's "yearbook" just came out with a page that was labeled "Dr. Clark should decode this". So I present you with this minor puzzle. Enjoy.
(You can copy from the alt-text)
The camp's "yearbook" just came out with a page that was labeled "Dr. Clark should decode this". So I present you with this minor puzzle. Enjoy.
(You can copy from the alt-text)