You can join via webchat if you don't have an IRC client yet: http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=udacity
Just started the Crypto course and it's paced really well, I like it.
It struck me how the overwhelmingly positive response to his online Stanford class took him by surprise and really spurred him to want to open up education. I guess even the most accomplished among us can become inspired.
In my experience the most genuinely accomplished people are always getting enthusiastic and inspired about one new thing or another. I think their capacity to be inspired is one of the main reasons they became accomplished in the first place.
This response re the self driving car was particularly interesting-
"While the technology has progressed a lot, it still can't handle all situations we want it to handle. But on the positive end, I have taken the car a number of times to Lake Tahoe (highway only), and every time it drove flawlessly."
