I'd like to second the concern about assignment clarification. I, too, was out sick a few days and missed some crucial information (and that may have been the main problem). I had to ask about them after class. After completing them, I found that my understanding of the requirements was different than that of some other students. Of course, one could argue that they were an exercise in emergent theory - how simple instructions lead to diverse, complex, and surprising results! But I have to say that I wasn't completely comfortable with the informality - not because I dislike having a free hand at designing a project, but because I was concerned that I was misunderstanding and not meeting the requirements.