As you may have noticed, my production of lectures has been slowing down. There are a few reasons:

1. I'm trying to finish a bunch of papers. I usually get started writing around noon or 1 pm, and when I get into it it's hard for me switch gears and write a lecture, especially since I've been trying to go to the gym almost every day at 6.

2. It's getting harder to write the lectures as the book proceeds and the 'sketches' get more sketchy, leaving me to fill in more details.

3. I have the feeling that many students have fallen behind the rather quick pace of the lectures, leaving only a small band of energetic followers.

4. My energy is slowly running out.

As for 2, I don't know if I _should_ be filling in so many details. Maybe people would be happier if I gave more of an overview. This will be even more of an issue soon. Fong and Spivak give just a rough definition of 'monoidal category' in Section 4.4.3. The definition is a bit complicated, but it's a fundamental concept in category theory. Should I spend time to fill in the details or not? This is just one example of the decisions we face.

As for 3, it would be great to hear from people who _aren't_ in the small band of energetic students who are leaving lots of comments on the lectures and solving lots of puzzles.

As for 4, that's mainly my problem, but I should warn you: I'm considering finishing at the end of chapter 4, after a good explanation of monoidal categories, compact closed categories, and PERT charts as another application of \$$\mathcal{V}\$$-enriched profunctors. I've put a lot of energy into this course and hate the idea of quitting before its done, but it's also tough to wake up each morning and know I need to spend an hour or two writing lectures along with papers. This will get a bit tougher on Wednesday when I go to Singapore.