Sean Fitzpatrick
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Sean Fitzpatrick
@sean-fitz.bsky.social
710 followers 380 following 900 posts
Mathematics instructor, open educational resources and technology enthusiast.
Fan of hockey, rugby, good beer, and active transportation. ∞
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sean-fitz.bsky.social
Evergreen:
Screenshot of old Twitter, circa 2021. Post by Andrew Leach: This is a profound embarrassment, Alberta. Reply by Alberta RN War Room: you'll need to be more specific. Reply by Alberta Curriculum War Room: so much more specific.
October 26, 2025 at 7:15 PM
sean-fitz.bsky.social
University Hall at the University of Lethbridge (an Arthur Erickson building) has entered the chat:
An aerial view of the University of Lethbridge from the Oldman River valley
September 16, 2025 at 10:14 PM
sean-fitz.bsky.social
The exact moment before he decided to dive bomb me:
A bearded dragon clinging to a window screen and planning his leap into an unsuspecting human
September 13, 2025 at 5:16 PM
sean-fitz.bsky.social
Canterbury make good rugby boots, but apparently if you take them out after 12 years in a closet, the plastic on the bottom doesn't hold up so well.
The bottom of a Canterbury of New Zealand forward rugby boot, missing all but one of its front cleats
September 1, 2025 at 1:03 AM
sean-fitz.bsky.social
Our first course is something like chapters 1,2,3,7, and a bit of 8:
Description of our first course: First order ordinary differential equations. Second and higher order ordinary differential equations. Linear systems of ordinary differential equations. Qualitative theory of ordinary differential equations. Applications. Series solutions. Singular point expansions. Elementary linear difference equations.
April 5, 2025 at 6:07 PM
sean-fitz.bsky.social
Does anyone have a differential equations textbook they particularly like? I've got lots of options for our first course in DEs, but the second course is a doozy:
Description of the course Math 3650, Differential Equations II: Adjoints. Oscillation theory. Matrix methods. Matrix exponential functions. Sturm-Liouville theory. Orthonormal systems and Fourier series. Eigenfunction expansions. Laplace, Fourier and Mellin transforms. Convolutions. Convergence theory. Plancherel and Parseval formulae. Distributions. Solving PDEs using integral transforms. Fundamental solutions. Separation of variables. Heat, wave and Poisson equations. Harmonic functions.
April 4, 2025 at 3:15 PM
sean-fitz.bsky.social
Me keeping an eye on #NHL transactions this afternoon:
A generated meme with two panels. In the first panel, a man looks excited, with the text: "The Jets made a trade!" I'm the second panel, the same man looks disappointed, with the text, "It's a minor league goalie swap".
March 7, 2025 at 12:19 AM
sean-fitz.bsky.social
PS my beard isn't getting that grey: it's just collecting frozen fog.
An old man wearing a bike helmet with a frost-covered beard.
December 13, 2024 at 3:19 PM
sean-fitz.bsky.social
I can't imagine choosing to stress out in traffic instead of this morning ride.
(Ok, yesterday morning. Didn't get a chance to post at work.)
A laneway between houses on a foggy morning, lined with frost-covered trees.
December 13, 2024 at 3:17 PM
sean-fitz.bsky.social
Someone did a graffiti on my office door
An office door, covered in photos of me scrubbed from social media pages, along with a note of appreciation written in highlighter.
December 6, 2024 at 4:23 PM
sean-fitz.bsky.social
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Screenshot of Nobel prize post on X, announcing the man who won for work cited in a paper on which his wife was first author.
October 8, 2024 at 3:18 PM
sean-fitz.bsky.social
I was just minding my own business, when shortly after dinner, chaos arrived.
The front walk to our house, covered with six bicycles belonging to pretty much every kid in the neighbourhood who goes to the same school as our kids.
June 26, 2024 at 2:05 AM
sean-fitz.bsky.social
Here's the calendar entry. It's a wild ride. Even if it's not free, I'm not sure what books out there will cover all of this.
List of topics for a "Mathematics 3650" course: Adjoints. Oscillation theory. Matrix methods. Matrix exponential functions. Sturm-Liouville theory. Orthonormal systems and Fourier series. Eigenfunction expansions. Laplace, Fourier and Mellin transforms. Convolutions. Convergence theory. Plancherel and Parseval formulae. Distributions. Solving PDEs using integral transforms. Fundamental solutions. Separation of variables. Heat, wave and Poisson equations. Harmonic functions.
May 23, 2024 at 4:31 AM
sean-fitz.bsky.social
I open Twitter to check a message and stumble upon the news that our provincial government plans to put a stop to federal interference in Alberta universities by putting a stop to... research grants.

They think they need legislation to access information that is already publicly available.
Screenshot of post on X by Alberta government minister Rajan Sawhney, stating "Every year, the federal government sends hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to Alberta post-secondary institutes. Albertans have a right to know exactly what these grants are and what they are funding. If passed, the Provincial Priorities Act will enable us to collect that information. I look forward to engaging with post-secondary institutes across Alberta to make sure our approval process aligns with their priorities."
April 12, 2024 at 4:05 AM