My professor rocks

He took pity on me and changed some stuff around. I have one paper in and am (sort of) diligently working on my final exam. I've given myself until Sunday to finish this and then I'm off to Sedona for a week. That gives me a whole other week to just chill out and do stuff around the house.

My roommates are moving out, one will be gone by the new year and the other by the end of Jan. I may have another roommate soon, I'll talk about it if it really happens, but that means I'll take that week to repaint that room and clean the carpets. I also get to reorganize the kitchen and the garage! I may steal a friend with a pick up and get him to run a bunch of crap to the dumb, it will be the perfect time to do that. I bet with a promise of lunch he'll do it :)

So I can do this, working on the final, want to have min half of it done before I goof off tonight. That gives me two days to do the second half, and since I"m doing the easy stuff first the time frame is actually reasonable.

Recognizing my own limitations

I just sent my professor a big old email telling him that this 30 page paper isn't going to happen. I feel like he's asking me for graduate level work when I first started learning about this stuff three weeks ago, and I really want the two week break I'm supposed to get at the end of the year. I'm frazzled and fried and we do this again in January.

Maybe that makes me not as capable as other students but I really don't want to fail this class and I really really want to learn this stuff, but I can't write a journal level paper in a few weeks on a subject I've never seen before, it's just not going to happen.

We'll see what he says, I'm still not completely finished with the first paper, though all I'm missing is the tic-tac-toe game, which is done except for the AI part. You know, the whole point, but the rest is done and works!

This class is supposed to end a week from today though he seems willing to extend it to the end of the month. The problem with that is that I have been non-stop in school since July and I really need those two weeks. I have him again in Jan for the Advanced AI class, and I shudder to think what that is going to entail if he wants journal level papers for the introduction class, but I'll deal with that next month.

I really want this class to be finished a week from today and then take two weeks to just relax and recharge. That means getting that game working and doing this really huge final, but that is part of what I signed up for. I mean the first question on his final was the big project the last time this class was taught at NU. I don't think that question is going to get an answer to be honest, but it's only 10 points and the rest seems doable.

So maybe this means I can't 'hack' it but I just can't do this, not at this level and not in the time available. Maybe if this wasn't my first course in the subject but yah, not going to happen.

We'll see what he says, but for now I'm going to try to get this program working and start on that final.

Learning to Program Again

I haven't written a real program since February and it's showing. It's something I really need to do pretty much every day. I know what I want to do, it's the actual implementation that is giving me fits. I'm glad I'm doing this before the big senior project though, hopefully I'll be back into the habit again by then.

January's Class

The second AI class is approved for January, same professor. Be prepared for just as much stress but I won't have Physics class to compete with my attention and hopefully will have more of a clue.

Turned in a rough draft for my fist paper and I have my final exam, even though it's not due till the 31st. Looking over it, some I can do right this moment, which is encouraging, and of the rest, all but one looks doable right now and the other one we'll see. I'm going to start on that tonight, doing at least the stuff I know.

Maybe I can do this =)

I'm ok!!

In case anyone is watching the news the F18 hit south of Miramar, I'm North, I didn't even hear it.

The pictures are scary as hell and all over the news, but myself and everyone I know are ok.

On a Brighter Note

I'm done with Physics. Ok not really but I just did my last online problem, the lab on Tuesday doesn't get written up so it's just studying for the final on the 16th left. That is a big release of stress, so that helps :)

Bit Overwhelmed

I extremely dislike the stereotype attention starved, usually a teenager, posting all of their woes on the internet looking for sympathy and drama. However the idea is that I'm supposed to be recording both the ups and downs here I go.

I don't know if I can do this. For the first time I'm really doubting my ability to finish this degree. I've got a 3.3 gpa so National seems to think I'm competent but I don't know if I can write these papers.

I've done all the things you're supposed to do when you're frustrated, I did my other class's homework, I took an evening totally off, hell I'm home on a Friday night, didn't even look to go out because I have to work on this.

I've not understood things before, the hardware circuit class or the Linear Algebra class, but this feels different. I'm reading and I am learning things I just don't know if I can produce what I'm required to produce.

So I take a deep breath and keep plugging along, that is the job, but yah, this one is really getting me down.

Artificial Intelligence Class

So this class isn't what I was expecting. I'm not programming at all, I'm writing papers. This is still a good thing, I'm trying to learn a lot, but it's a different format than I was expecting. Two papers in four weeks is a touch overwhelming and I don't feel like I have the fundamentals down at ALL so we'll see how this goes.

First paper is on Tic Tac Toe, which is more complicated than I would have thought. There are algorithms on how to determine what move the computer makes, and I've found examples etc. I figure my first paper will define what AI actually is and what it isn't. I will get a terminator reference in there =) Then talk about Tic Tac Toe and why it's a beginner type program. Then I think he wants me to find out what people are researching about it currently and I don't see that happening.

The second paper will be more complicated, about something that is more current (I think, I'm still a bit fuzzy). This is useful but I"m really not sure how to go about it.

Then I have a final exam and I have NO idea what would be on that since I'm not doing any programming or assignments. I'll talk to my professor about it after this first paper is done.

So I'm fleshing out my outline and trying to find sources. Still have Physics to do which isn't helping as I have to learn that stuff and get the homework etc done. That final is on the 16th and the final paper is due that weekend. Busy Busy December, but then I've got two weeks with no homework and I'm greatly looking forward to that. Just need to get the next two and a half weeks done and very productive.

Just one more homework assignment

Just one more homework assignment and then the final tomorrow and Networking is in the bag. It's just getting the motivation together to actually finish this homework.

Thanksgiving plans consist of driving out to Sedona on Sunday. Spending a week there and then it's back for the rest of my Physics class. Only a few more weeks of that and then it's done. I'm kind of mixed on that, I really enjoy the professor and the class, but it's a real pita to go downtown twice a week so I won't miss the drive.

My AI book is on it's way to my grandparents place, I'm excited to get up and running on that. It's going to be hard, and very programming intensive, but it's finally something I'm actually interested in, so hopefully that will make the difference. That and the lack of four plus hour classes twice a week may help a lot more.

Ok, back to homework

December's Class

So I've mentioned a few times that I was trying to get the Artificial Intelligence elective for December. It had been unofficially approved for a while now, but today it was finally 'officially' approved! That means that I'm no longer enrolled in Advanced Java!! This is great because even if I don't get the second AI elective that class is Wireless Devices and that would at least be useful, or not a waste of time.

So I don't know who my professor is yet, I have no idea what my book is, but I'm in! That means I have to finish up this week's Networking, final on Saturday and homeworks and such, and then it's off to something that actually interests me. Also hopefully I'll not have to sit in a lecture for four an a half hours twice a week which will make life just that much better.

Huge relief, and possibly learning something that may help me get a job, overall I'm pretty happy =)

Busy, but I've got most of it done

Two papers down, got about 1/3 of the homework finished and still have a whole 24 hours before anything is due. Also read four really thick books but didn't really leave the house all weekend.

Only a week left of networking, and I'm still not officially set for the AI classes, they're still looking for professors for me. If that doesn't come through I'll end up taking Advanced Java next month and I really don't want to do that.

So today it's Physics and Networking homework and possibly some gardening, depending on how the foot holds up.

Dust and Good Will

Found another thing that distinguishes a 'traditional' college student and one like me who has gone back.

Cleaning a house I've lived in for almost 8 years. Most college students are in dorms or small apartments. They don't have a lot of stuff, maybe clothes and shoes but not a lot of ... stuff. Stuff stays at the 'rents house, you only take what you need to school.

Well not so much for me. I'm not a huge fan of cleaning, and while I do tend to give neat freaks panic attacks I'm not usually dirty, it's just that clutter doesn't bother me like it does some people. I'm also very 'out of site out of mind'. So in my bedroom I have a cedar chest my grandmother bought for me when I graduated from High School. It had my collection of stuffed animals on it and ends up being a desk of sorts.

I do all of my school work and most of my household paper work type stuff on my bed in my room. It's more comfortable and with my hip issues it's just easier. Add that to the fact I sleep alone half of my bed is normally covered with school books and papers etc. Well whenever I would change the sheets all of that would get stacked onto the cedar chest, the piles just getting higher and higher.

Today I tackled that project and I am happy to say that the only textbooks on the chest are the ones I am currently using, and it sports a bunch of family photos. All the clothes that were in there had been in there for about 8 years so it all went into bags for Good Will. Lots of papers dealing with old classes and other stuff I don't need, so three bags of trash later, and a LOT of dust later, much less clutter. The stuffies are in the chest and I even conditioned the wood.

Tomorrow is back to schoolwork, but the next break I get I go after the closet. Less dust but more stuff, Good Will loves me.

Living in Extraordinary Times

We life in extraordinary times, we accomplished something yesterday that had never been done and we are better for it. I echo Michelle's comment that she took so much over, for the first time in my adult life, I'm proud to be an American.

I've said this before, but I now can relate just a little bit more to people of my parent's generation being so excited about JFK. I actually have faith in someone in the government. He's not perfect, he's not the second coming of anything, but I honestly respect him, and I have faith that he is going to do the best he can, and that is all I think anyone can ask from anyone else.

There is a State Senator from 'up north' that I believe will do the best thing also. Beyond that I've never believed in a politician.

The Untied States of America whose origins were seeped in the horrors of slavery just elected a black President. The White House was built by African slaves, and now the First Family is African American. Two beautiful little girls will join the very exclusive club as children who grow up in that house, Michelle is going to be a fantastic First Lady, and we have a President of the United States that not only brings out the patriot in me, but one I believe in.

He's moving into this position under the worst economy 'in 100 years', two wars, one of which we have to get out of and the other needs to be fought and won. People don't have jobs, health care, and while gas prices have plummeted they're going to go back up. This country needs another New Deal, we need jobs, our infrastructure is literally collapsing and it needs to be fixed. I truly believe that Obama is the man for the job.

As far as taxes go, there are people I love dearly whose tax burden will raise. Not a lot, and under where it was under Regan, and even under some of Clinton's reign, but it will go up. However I'm ok with less Christmas presents or trips or whatever to have a healthy economy and an infrastructure. We have to pay for this war and while it's a bit snarky everyone I know whose taxes will go up voted for Bush, twice, so they having to sacrifice to help clean up the mess he's leaving behind really doesn't bother me too much.

And you know what, after all of the history that we're living, after the relief that sanity just might come back to Washington, the expectations that I might actually be able to get affordable health insurance eventually, one things stands above.

Biden loves trains almost as much as I do.

So even for me, the white 30 something who still doesn't have her Bachelor's degree, even for me there is something specific for me to get excited about because of this election.

So, President-Elect Obama, thank you for running a level headed magnificent campaign. Thank you for giving me hope and restoring my faith in the possibility that a politician might actually be genuine. Thank you for doing what you're doing during my lifetime so I can witness this amazing accomplishment. And thank you, in advance, for my new trains.

Not ready to experess my thoughts quite yet

Yesterday was something that I will never forget. I still haven't organized my thoughts about what we accomplished last night, what this means for our country and the world.

There was a lady in Atlanta, 106 years old, the child of a slave, who was able to vote for the first African American President. For the first time in my life I"m excited about a President.

All of this is tempered by California. While it's not done yet it's looking like Prop 8 might pass. My state is about to inscribe bigotry into our state constitution. One of the reasons I live in California is the political climate, but this just disappoints me more than I can describe. I can't put into words my anger and disappointment that tempers my joy at the Presidential election.

What makes me the most angry is that this was apparently bankrolled by out of state Mormons. So a religion is trying to dictate our secular laws, and that is abhorrent to me. The fact that so much money came from out of state bothers me even more. The fact that I used to proudly call myself Mormon is a personal thing that I'm going to have to come to terms with, but for the first time I'm actually considering asking that my name is removed from their rolls. It never mattered to me before but I can not, will not, be a part, even if it's a name in a database, of an institution that actively promotes bigotry.

Separate but equal does not work and is not alright. Prejudice should never be tolerated in any form and it's breaking my heart that the day my country finally crosses such an important line dealing with one minority we vote to suppress another.

I guess I am ready to express my detestation and sorrow when dealing with Prop 8. It tempers the joy I felt last night, I cried as Obama was announced as our President, but my tears at Prop 8 are of sorrow.

Presidentail Results

Family Pictures

 

This is my favorite of me and the twins!

Flu Shots

I went in for an orthopedic guy to look at my wrist. I had to go to the Kaiser Hospital so parking sucks, even with my handicap permit. Because of this I went really early, and it turns out I found a spot right away. Having almost 45 mins to spare I saw 'Flu Clinic' and decided to get my shot.

My arm hurts, but I got my flu shot! The doctor took x-rays of my writs to rule out bone issues and wants me to get an MRI which I will schedule next week, and then a follow up with the orthopedic guy. If it is a cyst they can try to stick a needle in it to brust it (eep!!) or do surgery, or just ignore it. As long as it doesn't get bigger or something like that it's completely benine, assuming it is a cyst. I opted for the MRI as if it's not a cyst the MRI will tell us what it is and answer all questions (hopefully).

He did a low energy x-ray today that was kind of cool. It was real time, he said the radiation was a bit above being out in the sun, and he was able to move the wrist around and see how the bones were working together. It's not high resolution and he did get 'normal' x-rays done also, but it was kind of fun to watch my wrist in real time like that. There doesn't appear to be any bone issues, which is good.

I call next week to schedule the MRI, so we'll see what happens from there.

Voting and AI Classes!

I went and voted today. Voted for Obama/Biden, voted for Trains!!! and against the marriage ban and parental notification. Voted against the Republican representative that I'm not happy with for the House and when I wasn't sure I always vote against the incumbent.

And, I heard back from my adviser and my Artificial Intelligence classes were officially approved!! This means I"m not taking the Advanced Java class that really wasn't ever going to help me in my career and I get to spend two months focusing on something that actually interests me. I emailed my lead faculty asking about what happens next and I am very excited.

I had unofficial approval before but it's nice to know that it's completely official and nothing can go wrong at the last min. It's a good day =)

Home Strech for Programming Languages

Finished all the homework, all but one (rather large) question done on the final, sort of doing the last programming assignment. Completely on track for being done before midnight tomorrow. 94% going into the final so as long as I can do this last Squeak Smalltalk assignment and am verbose enough on the final we're good to go.

I'm kind of excited about next month's Computer Networking class. My first real industry job was at Novell a long long time ago but it's interesting stuff. Maybe I'll have a better understanding so when I get the calls to fix people's networks I can do a better job!

Doing dinner tonight with a friend from home who is in town, very excited about that. Kind of a lazy weekend but I'm alright with that too.

Still no official word on my Independent Study. I'm going to email my adviser this weekend asking about it, see if she can find anything out. I really don't want to take Advanced Java.

Hot weather and Wind

It's almost 90 outside and it's really windy. This is the kind of weather we get just before everything burns down. It's kind of making me a bit nervous.

Midterms

Got a 90 on my Programming Languages midterm. Puts me at a 95% in the class with one more programming assignment (easy full credit) a homework and a final to go. I'm not sure how much I'm really learning in this class, the languages we're studying are really outdated and I'll never use them, but learning is good no matter what, especially if I'm getting an A out of it.

No official word yet on my independent study, still waiting to know for certain.

Laundry

I never thought I'd actually say 'I'm happy that I can do laundry again' and actually mean it!

but I can and I am, clean clothes take on a lot more weight after you can't walk for six weeks.

Physics Midterm

Don't have my grade back from the Programming Languages midterm yet and took my Physics one today. Physics was tough, but the professor was open to giving nudges and hints and I think I did alright. She ended up giving me another copy of the test though because my notes had filled the first one up.

Class again tonight with a presentation and then another new language, but no lab this week so that lowers my homework level.

Grades finally in

My September class was Databases and my professor had some personal complications so grades were delayed. So I just got my grade today...

A-!!

I was kind of worried because since the professor was out of touch I didn't know how I'd done on the final.

My GPA is a 3.31 and I think I'm looking at a solid A this semester, depending on how I did on the midterm this last weekend.

I won't graduate Cum Laude but I should graduate with a 3.3 and I'm happy with that.

Now, to pass Physics =)

Lost a Decade

So I get a phone call today, apparently my nephew and his mother were having an argument on how old I am, since I just had a birthday.

My nephew declared that there is no way that I'm 36, I must be 26! And his daddy can't be 32, no way!

So I asked him what age I should be, that I'll be whatever age he wants, and he decided that I'm 26.

Works for me

Steven Hawkin's message to John McCain

McCain's Health Care

We've been hearing some about health care plans between the two candidates, mostly that Obama wants evil socialized healthcare that will cover everyone and cost you less than you're paying now (due to hospitals having to eat the cost of the uninsured) but McCain is starting to piss off even his big business buddies with his plan.

The New York Times today had a piece on it.

Basically McCain wants to have health insurance benefits taxed as income, so now you're paying income tax on something you don't actually get dollars from. This effectivley drops your take home pay.

Then he says he'll give people a tax credit to cover the difference, but

"For some workers, depending on their tax bracket and insurance costs, the new tax credits would exceed the value of the tax exclusion, making the swap profitable. But with the average employer-sponsored family policy costing [b]$12,680[/b] this year, other workers would find the exchange a losing proposition. They would either have to spend more, reduce their coverage or persuade employers to make up the difference."

His cut is 2500 for a single person and 5000 for married couples, I see nothing here or anywhere else about numbers of children.

I have government subsidized insurance (long story that is another rant about this stuff) and mine costs 3600 a year before deductibles and co-pays. This free market won't give me insurance to the point where they were taking an episode of bronchitis in 05 and calling it chronic and used it as on of their excuses to deny me a bare bones insurance policy.

McCain will force people out of the group plans that employers get and send them out into the free market. However the free market can discriminate for pre-existing conditions and typically charge significantly more for an individual than the collective group the companies get to purchase.

So, McCain wants to lower your take home pay or more likely force you buy insurance on the open market. And anyone who says that their employer will pay them more, the same article states,

"A recent survey of 187 corporate executives by the American Benefits Council and Miller & Chevalier, a consulting firm, found that three-fourths felt the repeal of the tax exclusion would have a “strong negative impact” on their workers. Only 4 percent said they would provide additional pay to fill any gaps."

Employers are not going to pass any savings on to you, they're going to use it somewhere else, most likely making it more likely they'll make payroll. In the meantime your net take home pay vs expenses has just radically changed.

Twitter

I'm finally catching up on the trendy stuff and added Twitter. There is a link on the right here and it's all over Facebook. I'm not sure what the point is but far be it for me to not be electronically trendy!

Juggling school and life

I'm different from a lot of other women who 'go back to school' in that I don't have children and or a job while trying to go back to school. That changes things quite a bit compared to the things other women my age have to deal with, and for that I am grateful. Honestly I don't know how they do it, I'm swamped and I just have dogs and a bum foot to deal with.

It's funny how life turns out, and I'm very happy with where mine is, but it's not what I envisioned when I was younger. My timing is wonderful too, I'm going to be graduating in one of the worst economies in my or my parent's lifetimes and trying to get a job that will pay enough to not only life but to pay off the student loans I've acquired. At least I was able to get the student loans, that is something I guess.

I don't regret my choice on going back to school but I do wish I had done this 15 years ago. If I had then I would have a good 15 years experience and be established in my profession, with potentially really good job security vs starting out with little to no experience in my *cough* mid thirties saddled with obnoxious amounts of student loans.

Something needs to be done, I watched the DOW down almost 800 points at one point in time today, though it closed around 350 down. Putting my money in a savings account looks more and more attractive, and that really saddens me. I'm not even going to look at any investment accounts, though this trip this summer may be to Latin America instead of Europe simply due to funds. I'm just hoping things will rebound between now and then and prices on luxuries (like trips) will drop due to demand.

I'm actually tempted to pull my money out of the money market account and just pay down my home equity line of credit as I'm not making more on the money market than I'm paying on the line of credit anymore. I don't want to panic though and it would kill me if things recover before I pay for this trip. I'm not putting any MORE money into it right now, beyond my minimal monthly contributions. Any extra money is going to that line of credit and save me the interested between now and when I need to use it.

I never would have thought that a high interest savings account would be so attractive.

Bloody Hot

It's 88 in my room, and that is with the fan on. Not ready to turn on the air but I'm getting close.

I have the handyman coming on Friday to talk about an attic fan, I"m told that would help. Right now I want to melt. Here is motivation on getting a job, air conditioned office!!

Still don't know about last month's class but this month's seems pretty straightforward. We're just looking at four different languages and learning about their syntax and how they do things. I don't know if I'll ever use them but being exposed to things never hurts. I just have to install NetBeans again and I had just barely uninstalled it =/

Foot is better, not great but better. My referral for PT goes through on Friday so I'll know then when that is going to start.

There is something about getting your hair done that makes everything in life better :)

Birthday present for myself

I splurged a bit and got a new Roomba.

I have an older one downstairs but it really doesn't have the power to do the rugs in my room. Therefore it's sitting in the corner charging and I'll give it a test run tomorrow afternoon. If nothing else this will make me keep my room picked up, though we'll see how hard it is to keep up with the stuff the dogs drag under the bed.

I didn't buy this from iRobot's website though, I payed 60 dollars less shipped. I'm so excited!

Database almost done!

Final, done and completed, got a B before the written extra question but I don't see that coming up much.

Homework done, not perfect but I can revise it so I may next week, we'll see.

Extra credit done and turned in

Project was presented by the class and I'm in charge of putting it in a paper. A potential candidate has been sent to the class for approval. I think there are some errors so it's not done yet, but it's very close and isn't actually due till tomorrow.

Physics, got some homework and a lab to finish writing up, but that isn't due till Tuesday so while it needs to be done there isn't the huge stress.

I really can get a lot done when I put my mind to it!

The House is Clean!

Now, I've never been known for being a neat freak, in fact I tend to give neat freaks panic attacks. However I have certain thresholds of clutter and other thresholds of actual dirt. The dirt and grime threshold would make any neat freak proud, I just don't care much about clutter.

I'm also lazy, so I tend to keep my room just above what pisses me off and then ignore it. Well that all falls apart when I suddenly can't walk or carry anything. Add that to the fact that the dogs sleep with me and you suddenly have a room that is driving me nutty.

So I finally got schedules synced with the place that cleans for me and I'm in heaven. I'm running the roomba all over my room right now. The floors are clean(er) (they need an actual scrubbing but that will be another day), the sheets are changed and my room no longer smells like my dogs. Now I can keep up with the day to day stuff, it was the fact I couldn't do much for a month that had me all creeped out.

On the top of my list of things I want to do when I have an income again, have professionals come in at least once a month (more if I can afford it) and do all the cleaning I don't like doing.

Now it's laundry time, my roommate will carry it all upstairs for me but I can do the 'inbetween' stuff. I study much better when it's not icky in here.

Find out if you're registered

http://my.barackobama.com/vfc

It asks for your email address and I did get an email from them because I didn't actually finish the process and they were making sure everything is alright. It also asks for your address because that is how it checks to see if you're registered. I have no received any mail from the campaign and I believe they don't store the address but I can't swear to it so I wanted to mention it. You can give them a bogus email but it would be a waste to give them a false address.

Here is the email they sent me

Dear Ester,

Make sure your voice will be heard You're receiving this message because you recently visited VoteForChange.com, our one-stop website that lets you check your registration status, register to vote, apply for an absentee ballot, or find your early vote location -- all in just a few minutes.

Our records indicate you didn't complete the process all the way through.

If you got all the information you needed, great. We hope it was helpful.

But if not, and you stopped for some other reason, take three minutes and finish the process today.

Visit VoteForChange.com and make sure your voice will be heard on Election Day, November 4th:

http://my.barackobama.com/vfc

Your friends and family may not know about this easy way to register -- please pass this message along to everyone you know and make sure they're registered!

Taking this step is one of the most important things a voter can do to bring about the change we need.

Thanks for visiting VoteForChange.com, and for all that you do,

Obama for America

And it had a donate button on the bottom, but wasn't actually asking for donations. Anyway it's important for everyone to be registered and they say later on they'll even have the address of where you're supposed to go to vote.

Parking and crankyness due to ankle pain

So I was running a bit late today and got down to campus about 10 mins before class started. Due to the lack of parking I emailed my prof telling her I would most likely be late.

I drove around for half an hour and didn't find a spot. I have a parking placard so I can park anywhere (including timed spaces) except red zones and there was nothing that was close enough. I did get a bit picky and decided to not park half a mile away because damn it, my foot hurts.

So I came home. I've got an ice pack on my foot and I'm about to email my prof and apologize but I'm really not going to hobble half a mile because of the lack of parking. If I was willing to do that I'd take the public transportation down, but the stop is too far away from my class and I'm not up for walking that far yet, even with the crutches.

So I'm going to study a bit from home and then work on Database stuff till class tonight. The parking placard was supposed to make things easier, but it doesn't when not only are all the handicap spaces full but the other ones are too.

Physics and eternal Database setup

Physics test wasn't great, I have to keep reminding myself that I only HAVE to get a C so it will tranfer, but it's a pride point to get a good grade! I also have to remember that this class isn't four weeks, there are other tests and places to earn credit.

I'm working through last week's homework and decided I needed to take the (literally) hours of set up to install the programs I need to do this correctly. Add that to the tutorials to learn more of Microsoft's programs and it looks like I haven't gotten much done today, but I really have!

The goal is to either finish last week's database homework or make huge inroads into it with all of the tools set up and understood. Then I need to (also today) put the framework of the second Physics lab into digital format and get the calculations done.

I need to eat somewhere in there too....

Obama and Pop Culture Collide

One Day More by (well sort of by) the office management of an Obama office

Midterms

I have two midterms in the next few days. Tomorrow is Database Design, CSC 422. This is a senior level class and requires 'senior level' types of study and dedication. I expect the midterm to be hard and even declined a movie invite for this afternoon to study for it.

My other midterm is in Physics, PHYS 125. This is a freshman level class and yet I'm more nervous about this test than I am the Database one. It is the first not open book test I've taken in about a year and a half, so that contributes, but it's a 100 level class! That and it's being transferred over to NU so as long as it's a C I'm good, but I really want to do well. I don't know if I"m trying to impress my professor who is wonderful or if it's just a pride thing, I should do well in a freshman class.

Physics isn't easy, and it's actually a bit harder as it's based on trig instead of calc, amusingly enough. Once I get the equations figured out I'm good to go, hell my calculator does most of it for me, but I'm actually a touch nervous, and that makes me laugh.

Register to Vote!

I've made it clear who I'm voting for. I'm not comfortable telling people who they should vote for though I'll share information if someone asks. I think that the vote is something that is deeply personal and something that was fought for by differnt groups of people throughout this nation's history, and should be treated as such.

What I will tell everyone to do is register to vote and then get your ass to the polls (or sending a ballot or vote early depending on your state)

For California you can go here and here is a Google search for different states to see if you're already registered. Remember that you have to re-register if you move even if it's within the same town. Also it's a good idea for everyone to verify before election day as things get messed up (some say intentionally but that hasn't been proven, things do happen accidentally also) and some people aren't allowed to vote due to clerical errors. This happened to my brother in 06 and the first he knew about the problem was when he was trying to vote.

So I strongly encourage everyone to register, and if you think you're registered to double check. I don't care if you write in Mickey Mouse, go to the polls and vote. Too many people have worked too hard for this right for us to not take advantage of it.

More ankle stuff

I officially have a level 3 sprain and a handicap placard good for three months. The PA I saw said it's most likely worse than a level 2 but not as bad as a full blown level 3 but my application for the placard said level 3. I've got a prescription for an air boot which I'm guessing looks like the one in the link, I'll get it tomorrow. This will allow me to get rid of the crutches and that is a 'happy thing'.

So basically the four inch curb really wrecked my ankle and I'm one of those 'special' people who don't heal very quickly. Joy....

Ankles and Grades

Got a B- in OS and I'm just so annoyed at the professor that I just don't care anymore. If you round I'm back to a 3.3 gpa, won't graduate with a 3.5 but I'll live.

Dr appt tomorrow to recheck my ankle. I want a parking plackard so I can go back to school and actually have a bit of mobility. I'm fine with taking it easy as long as it takes (though my garden misses me) but it's getting really frustrating to not feel comfortable to go anywhere because I need to use the crutches but damn they hurt.

Hopefully I can get a temporary placard and then school and even possibly getting out of the house occasionally might happen. I hobble around the house but I'm really not comfortable going out without the crutches, and that means someone has to drop me off at the door or I walk, and crutches hurt! =)

The bruising is starting to look a bit better but it's still really tender, less swollen but while it doesn't hurt to actually walk it hurts about a min after I sit down. So it's elevation and ice while I try to do homework from my room.

Lazy Weekend

Lazy week actually. I did get out of the house last night, thanks to two dear friends who came and got me. I'm just not comfortable going out without the crutches yet and that limits my own personal mobility. It was nice to get out, and the wine was wonderful :)

Of course I had just started doing Physics homework and got completely distracted, it's a talent. That is actually my plan today, going to take the textbook outside and try to read through the next chapter. The plan is to get the whole next week of homework done as I have a Database midterm this weekend and I'd like to concentrate on that instead. We'll see if I make it to class or not.

Ankle is pissing me off. I can walk on it but then later it hurts. I almost wish it would just hurt to walk on it so I've got a constant reminder. Instead I think I'm alright and pay for it later. I know I'm just delaying healing by doing that so I'm over-compensating on the other side, but that means I'm not doing much and I"m bored.

Physics

I got a note from the doctor allowing me a whole other week, if I need it, before I have to go back to Physics. I just have less than no desire to try to navigate that campus on crutches, especially as I won't have a handicap placard. Hopefully I'll be more optomistic by Monday so I can make up my lab and then be good to go on Tuesday, but as of today, while I can walk, not for long.

So, foot is up, doing my Database homework and I'm just about caught up with Physics, just need to scan in today's homework. My goal is to stay at least a class period, if not a whole week, ahead in that class because my NU courses will get harder a week or two out of each month.

My ankle is still pretty much the same color but, as long as I do it in small doses and have it up most of the day, I can move around the house. I've kind of bunkered in on the couch with all of my school books simply so I don't have to go downstairs each time I want something to drink. I love having the bedrooms upstairs but I'm seeing the attraction of a single level home.

Ankle Pics

I was really good for the first two days and stayed off my foot, but the past two I got bored, and I think I'm paying for it.

Anyway here are beautiful pics of my black, blue and green ankle

From Foot

From Foot

I don't care how you vote

But please watch this before you do...

Not my finest Hour

So today was my second class at City. I got on the coaster, caught the trolley no problem. I was walking, thinking about the shortest way to get to class and apparently I completely missed the curb. Yep I fell off a four inch curb.

I hobbled up to my class and turned in my homework and then hobbled up to the infirmary. They put ice on it and told me that I needed to get it checked out.

So I called my roommate. Oh and it's his birthday, his day off and he'd been out late drinking. So I feel like an ass asking him to drive downtown to come get me (not very close) and then take me to the doctor.

So nothing is broken but I have a beautiful golf ball size lump on my ankle, no 'real' drugs but lots of Advil and ice. I have a note through next Wednesday but I am going to try to go to class on Tuesday.

So yes, I sprained my ankle falling off of a four inch curb. I did feed my roommate and bought him a tank of gas, but he really was above and beyond today.

Tax Plans

I've had a blast this week so far watching the Democratic Convention. Something that comes up a lot is taxes, who is going to raise your taxes and who is going to cut them.

Some people I know have put together a pretty unbiased calculator to see whose proposals will save you what. It's not guaranteed, and says as much, and it put together by Obama supporters, but the source is unbiased.

http://alchemytoday.com/willobamaraisemytaxes.html

There is another one that is a bit more biased and asks for donations

http://alchemytoday.com/obamataxcut/

But it all uses the same information and gives sources. If nothing else it helps show that Obama isn't going to raise everyone's taxes.

Classroom Chairs

I had forgotten how incredibly uncomfortable classroom chairs are. I bought a huge bottle of ibuprofen because I'm going to need it. There are a few flights of stairs, but I go up in the beginning so I can do those. It's sad but going down is when I'm going to need the elevator because sitting on those chairs had me in real pain, and we only met for less than two hours.

I have the paperwork to get on the disabled list, I may need to actually fill it out. By doing so and getting a doctor's approval I can ask for a foot rest or something. I don't know if I can make it through this without something to change the angle of my hips, today didn't work. Thankfully Thursday is only just over two hours, next Tuesday is the five plus hour (including a lab) class. Hopefully the lab will entail moving around a bit, that will help.

Class isn't going to be a problem, I just have to remember how to do trig again. I swear the harder Calc based one might be easier for me, but it doesn't transfer over so I didn't take it.

Donate to the Troops for Free!

http://www.hbo.com/generationkill/

Click on the 'Support the Troops' link and there is a place to have HBO send stuff to the troops. They want your information, so be prepared for that, but it looks like a good cause.

I had my sound off when I went there so I don't know if it's got a loud intro, just be prepared if you're at work or something.

Physics, City College and Bus Passes

So, I have one undergrad GE left that I couldn't get waived, freshman Physics. It's not offered at NU when I can take it so I am taking it at the local Community College. Well at least that was the plan.

Unfortunately the only section offered when I could take it is down at City College. City is downtown which is not close to where I live. To top it off the lab on Tuesday doesn't end till 4:30pm. I have class at NU at 5:30 on Tuesdays and the traffic will be such that there is no way I'd get home in time.

So I figured I'd get a transit pass and take the Coaster/Trolly to school! I can get a discounted pass from the school and then I drive about 20 mins to the coaster station and then the stress of travel is greatly reduced.

It wasn't that easy.

I went down to City College today to get my textbook and orient myself. My first impression was, parking sucks (thus the need for the pass) and the campus is really kind of dirty and downtrod looking. So I find a parking space, and the meter is broken. I get directions to the bookstore and the place where I can get the bus pass. I find the bus pass place first.

The pass is 154 for the semester, and they wouldn't take a credit card or check. They actually wanted me to bring them 154 dollars in cash. Yah not so much. So, already annoyed, I walk over and get my textbooks. 150 dollars later (whole other rant) I find out where I can get a parking permit. Again, no cards are accepted, but that one I can get online. Ok fine, I just want to go home.

After I get home I called Miramar, the college just down the road. They said they'd absolutely sell me a pass with a credit card, just come on down. I drive the less than five mins to the college and am struck how much nicer it is than City. The buildings are newer, everything is cleaner, and it's a much friendlier place. When I told them the trouble I had at City they were amazed. The difference was, they wouldn't take a credit card for a parking permit either but they had computers for student's use right there so they could buy the parking permit online right there.

It was just night and day, and I'm really kind of sad that I have to deal with City College for the next four months, but I'll live.

So this pass. It cost me 154 and is good till the end of December. It gives me free bus and trolley travel and gives me a 2 dollar discount on the Coaster. If I take the bus over the Coaster I go for free, but coming home on Tuesdays the bus won't get home any more quickly than I would, so it's definitely the Coaster then. Since I have to drive to the Coaster station I might as well cough up the 6 dollars round trip twice a week and ride in comfort. I figure I have to leave at 9:15am to catch the 9:45 coaster (traffic is going to suck) and hopefully I'll be home by 5:30pm. Tuesdays are going to suck.

No wifi on campus, well nothing obvious. I'll find out tomorrow but I'm guessing I'll be limiting myself to notebooks and my iPhone. It would be nice to have wifi but I'm 'old school' and can't take notes on my laptop anyway. I have to write it out, Luddite that I am.

The bright side of all of this is that I have free trolley and bus travel all semester. Free trips to the airport!

One of those days

Usually when I think about having 'one of those days' it's when everything goes wrong. Had one not too long ago with exploding feather beds and dead car batteries.

Well today is one of those days, but it's completely opposite. Everything is going right, to the point where I"m kind of hesitant to make plans or anything so nothing goes wrong later to ruin a pretty much perfect day.

Finally got a few hours of sleep, so still not enough but I don't feel like my head is full of cotton. I got on the scale this morning and I am now lighter than I've been in literally a decade. Not by much and I'm not sure it will stuck, but it was awesome to see a new lower number on that scale.

I made lunch plans with a friend, was nice to get out of the house. On the way I got the mail and there was a check. I expected it but not this soon, and when you're living on student loans any checks are very happy news, so my credit card is paid and there is a bit of cushion for next month.

I come home and my University is considering (no guarantees of course) of switching around the electives as no one wants to take them and asked for suggestions on new classes. I may not have to petition for Independent Study after all. Also my tuition was paid for September, I got confirmation that that cleared, and my textbook for October is here.

To top that off I ordered very cheap (less than six dollars shipped) wine glasses from Amazon.com, they were having a sale. When I got them last week two were completely smashed. I called and they offered to send me a whole other set (of four) and I didn't have to return the not broken ones! Those came today so I now have a set of six wine glasses for less than a dollar each. They're not crystal or anything, but they're dishwasher safe (a vital thing around here) and they've got the wide opening suitable for red wine.

I don't want to push my luck so I may just hole up on the computer for the rest of the day, but damn, good days really do happen!

Not much going on really

My lack of blogging is more due to my totally boring class this month, more than anything else. It's pretty much independent study as it's really superficial top level type stuff and we're going through it very very slowly. Being a total insomniac isn't helping much either. I can't sleep but I'm wiped during the day so not much gets done, and I can't nap. I got a good night's sleep the other night but it was Advil PM and that isn't something I want to do every day, gets expensive if nothing else.

Olympics have been entertaining me, the US Women's Water Polo team got a silver medal today! Three Olympic medals is an amazing accomplishment, I'm so impressed just watching them, I can barely swim and these women are literally jumping out of the water and they're not touching the bottom. It's completely amazing.

Anyway all is good, I'm just in a blah time as school isn't keeping my interest. It's been beautiful out so that is nice, I'm enjoying the perfect weather and playing in the garden, but you can only prune the rose bushes for so long each day.

Oh, so far so good on the indoor composter, I'm still getting used to what I can and can't put in it so I'll let you all know after my next 'batch'.

Fanatic Clinton 'supporters' get a smackdown

David Schuster was hosting Hardball on MSNBC yesterday and they had two people who represent groups that are freaking out because Clinton won't be the nominee. Clinton has even mentioned one of these groups by name telling them to chill out and stop.

Schuster gives them a HUGE smackdown making them look like morons, it's a beautiful thing.

Class is moving on....

Midterm this weekend, it's apparently right from the book but the professor said 'just looking things up won't work, you have to actually know what the material is'. Fair enough, the book is pretty straightforward. It's actually refreshing to have a textbook that makes sense. Now it's giving an overview of a lot of information, it will get in detail in the second half, but still it's nice.

Fan Faire this weekend in Vegas. I'm not going (obviously) but I hope for drunken text messages and reports of debauchery and revilery.

Money situation is actually alright, next set of student loans comes in this month and I redid things so I'm not freaking out quite so much about money. I figured at this point the extra debt isn't going to change anything in the long run and me having significantly less stress in my life will.

Water Polo is 1-0-1 so far!

Found an advantage to Water Polo not being in 'prime time'

I get to actually watch it live! The women are playing at 2am Pacific tonight (tomorrow) and you can watch it online. I do hope it gets more popular coverage but I'm happy being able to watch it as it happens. Can't really do that with a lot of these things, even if it is live on the east coast it's all tape delayed over here.

And that is really annoying, if anything should be broadcasted live, even at weird times, it should be the Olympics. I'm all for the condensed versions in prime time, but don't make me wait and watch it three hours late, chances are I'm going to know what happened before I get to actually see it.

I want to officially apologize

.... to anyone that I've annoyed by having 'all the answers' in class.

This is going to be a LONG month.

Why would you piss off the Hiltons?

McCain made a poor taste commercial talking about Obama is a celebrity and had Britney Spears and Paris Hilton appearing, without their permission apparently.

Well Spears is useless but Hilton's family is a huge McCain donor and are pissed. First of duh, you don't piss of huge donors, I don't care how easy it is with their kids' behavior.

Anyway Paris did a response, and even though I'm sure she's reading from a teleprompter she does it better than a lot of politicians I've seen.

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Water Polo Schedule

Go Heather!

Olympic Medal winners at NBC Olympics.com!

Being Computer Savy Important to being the President?

There is an article in the New York Times about McCain's self admitted lack of computer savvy and if that matters in his ability to potentially be president.

It got me thinking, does it really? I'm kind of torn to be honest, and I'm very much not a McCain supporter. The fact that someone using the net is more 'in touch' with how people live today, which I agree with, but I also don't want my president surfing the net while at work. I mean, and I freely admit that my understanding of how the White House works is solely from Aaron Sorkin, but the president is given information, he doesn't go looking for it. I have a HUGE issue with Bush who doesn't read the papers or watch the news, and relies solely on what his people give him, but I also don't expect him to be spending hours a day reading blogs.

There is also the factor that digital information isn't as secure as a folder that is kept in someone's possession, so a lot of what the president sees probably shouldn't be digitized.

All that being said, the Bush administration has shown (giving them the benefit of the doubt, which I am hesitant to do) completely incompetence when it comes to digital communication and back ups. For the record I don't believe that the IT guy for the White House was that incompetent, but it's not worth stressing over. Also McCain has shown a great ignorance about the 'You Tube Generation' where things he said are all available to everyone and will come back to haunt him. He can't say 'I never said that' when it takes a few clicks to show everyone that he did. This is relatively new for politicians and I think it will take some getting used to, but also only benefits the public, well the public that are on the net.

I see computers and the internet as tools, important tools, and as time goes on I would absolutely expect all of my public officials to be familiar with these tools. However I don't think McCain's ignorance about the capabilities of the internet automatically disqualifies him for the job of President. However the next President will have no excuse.

Pets are expensive

Well blind dog just cost me a bundle and may not be done. I need to
bring the diabetic cat in as well. Oh and teeth were mentioned. Omg
there goes any extra money this month. They're worth it but damn

From my iPhone

Ester

GPA progress

Ethics brought me up a bit more than I realized, I'm at an official 3.33

3.5 might be doable!

Now off to the vet, cuz blind dog is having issues with his foot. This is going to be expensive I'm sure.


edit: ok I did the math and I can get a 3.50 if I get A's (not A-'s) in the next six classes. Yah I'm not getting a job this fall. I have exactly enough 'room' to do this, but one A- and I'll only be able to claim a 3.5 if I round up.

Rounding isn't horrible :)

Here goes nothing

And it's another A

Yeah! Just heard back from my Ethic professor, apparently even when checking myself I can't spell, but I got a 90 on the final and an 'A' in the class! Hello bringing up the GPA a bit.

I only have six classes left that effect my GPA and I really want to try to get it back to a 3.5. To do this though I can't even get B's, and that isn't going to be easy. But, as long as I don't crash and burn I'll be a 3.0 or better (I'm at a 3.3 before this A) which is nothing to be upset about.

Very happy with the grade though, those hardware classes were hard, it's nice to have something better to go into the final stretch with.

Another class done... and garlic

Ethics is history. Took the final and turned in the last homework assignment. Our professor was planning on doing grades kind of quickly so I should know soon.

I have always said that you can never have too much garlic. I think today I proved myself wrong. I made a wonderful pizza, totally from scratch (including the sauce) that had garlic in the crust. But then I chopped up a clove and put it on the pizza. Now this wouldn't normally be an issue but it wasn't a very large pizza. I may have actually had too much garlic... who knew!!

So now I"m completely 'off' till Tuesday and at that point I expect things to get hard again. Today I did some cleaning and gardening, tomorrow is my first ever trip to Ruth Chris!! Just kind of chilling, the 'calm before the storm' so to speak.

Things are a bit quiet lately, the weather is beyond beautiful and my roses are doing well. The dogs are dogs, they sleep a lot. Banshee is fat and lazy and currently on the couch downstairs. Just kind of calm, which I am savoring while I can.

I want

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/posters/a76a/

Earthquakes!

One of the joys of living in Southern California is the occasional earthquake. I felt (what I thought was) a minor one go through a few mins ago. IM'd others, they all felt it too.

Turns out it's a 5.4 up on Long Beach. Cousin at Disneyland emailed back immediately saying it was strong up there, but since he emailed back I'm assuming he's alright.

Apparently the SF earthquake in the 80's did damage here so feeling it isn't that unusual.

But we're all good, still waiting to hear back again from my cousin but like I said he got right back to me the first time so I"m not too worried.

High Finances.... again

Here is the deal. I had worked out a budget so that I could stretch out the money I"ve already got in student loans almost until I graduate. Well the budget apparently isn't as realistic as I've tried to make it and it's just stressing me out. The plan was to not get any more student loans, though I am eligable for the 80/09 ones, trying to minimize the amount of debt I have coming out of college.

Well I"m reconsidering. Apparently I greatly underestimated my budget, and I'm doing things to cut back, eating at home, not going out much at all, but it's just not making it. With my home equity line of credit being drastically cut back due to my house being worth about 20% less than it did in January, my really low interest cushion is gone and the alternatives are credit cards.

Honestly I figure, at this point I either get the extra loans and stop stressing so much about every penny, or I could have to carry a balance on my credit card. The interest on the loan is hugely less and tax deductible, so it makes sense to just take it out, and honestly if you counted up all of my debt, while none of it is on credit cards, I'm not sure it really matters anymore.

The thing is I have to make this decision now as the next check is issued in about three weeks. I think I'm going to take it and then after graduation instead of X debt it will be X + 10 grand debt. I'm not eligible for any subsidized or free money, it's all costing interest, which I pay each month, and I've got most of it in a high interest savings account, just transferring X a month into my checking account.

I could sell my house and be free and clear, with none of my equity back and no where to live. I think the plan is my last class ends on May 2nd, baby cousin walks sometime that month and then my brother's wedding is Memorial Day weekend. That eliminates most of May for anything really serious. I'll send out resumes and maybe do an interview (maybe!!) or two but I won't take a job before the wedding, too much hassle. Then baby cousin and I are looking to go to Mexico, or Hawaii, or somewhere, and that would work after the wedding. Then a month after we'd get back I walk down here in San Diego, so if I do take a job somewhere else it will have to be after that date.

That puts me at August for a first paycheck assuming I have something lined up for after I walk, which realistically could happen. Taking out this next set of loans gets me just barely there, but with much less stress. I was just raised to abhor debt, a good attitude to have and why I'm agonizing over the decision. Ok not agonizing but writing out a huge blog post to put my thoughts in order. My mother is a saint and is paying for my health insurance, which actually allows me to do this. It's just adding X amount of time on to the time it will take me to pay all of this crap off.

And, tying this into the theme of the blog, I have 10 to 15 years less of time at work to pay this all of than someone who did this traditionally. I don't think that will be a problem but most people have their student loans paid off by their mid thirties, I'm getting more.

And before anyone says 'well duh get a job stupid' my internship isn't being picked up this fall due to no fault of my own, and I didn't know this until it was too late to pick up a random part time job for the summer. Damn kids took them all :) I'll start calling around near the end of next month to see what is available once everyone goes back to school. That internship last year made all the difference, I won't find a part time job that pays nearly as much as that internship did, but maybe something small will help alleviate the stress a bit. What I don't want to do is work full time as I'm about to start the real hard core classes and even if I have to eat peanut butter to make ends meet I want to rock those classes.

So my epic, and I'm sure most people have stopped reading by now, decision is to take out the damn loan, deal with the debt and have significantly less stress every time I go grocery shopping.

Homemade pizza

.... totally worked

Thank heavens for my iPhone's backup

Well, the less than a year old laptop had a catastrophic failure Saturday night. I tried running the internal tools that HP includes with the laptop overnight on Saturday to no avail. Called tech support on Sunday and after a very frustrating time talking to someone telling them that I've already done all of this, they said to escalate the problem someone would have to call me back.

Not cool

So I called them back today and got a slightly more helpful person that was having me run different diagnostics (I do learn something at least when I call these people) but I had to go to go have lunch.

While I was gone someone from the higher level tech support called me, and when I called her back she was MUCH more helpful. The diagnostic on both the hard drive and RAM passed, which were my first guesses on what was wrong so she's sending me the packaging so I can send them the laptop. After they get it it should be "7 to 10 business days" to get it fixed, which actually isn't completely obnoxious.

This is why I have everything important on my desktop, and I"m going to back it up again on my external hard drive in a moment. Thankfully all of my contacts etc are on my iPhone, installing iTunes on this desktop right now actually. It would have sucked to have lost everything there.

So I'm suddenly not portable for a bit, which means most likely not going to make it to AZ again this month. It's kind of scary sometimes how much we depend on our portability, at least I do.

I need to hang out here anyway, this is my one month 'off' and it's just going to get hard as hell from here on out. Nice break =)

U.S. edges Australia in Olympic water polo tuneup - San Jose Mercury News

U.S. edges Australia in Olympic water polo tuneup - San Jose Mercury News

Heather is quoted in the article.

Testing out Microsoft Word Blogging

They have a 'blog this' feature in Word 2007 and I'm just playing with it a bit. I bought Office 07 (the student version doesn't have Access which is annoying) because I could get the student version rather cheaply. It's got some cool features, this being one of them.

The thing I like the best so far however is oneNote. It helps me to organize in ways I didn't think was possible. Origionlly I thought it was only for a tablet, you take notes and it helps keep them in place, but it's so much more than that.

The best part is that I can input a document by dragging the icon over and then make notes on that document. I can then copy it back out into wherever. I did this for my presentation yesterday, we had eight questions to answer and I answered them on the document and then just put them in power point.

It also makes it easier to keep track of things beyond the myriad of folders I have all over my home network. My next project is to organize code snippets from all of my various classes and get them labeled according to language and function. That should make looking things up a TON easier.

So yah this is me playing with the new features.

Naturalism and Computer Viruses (Virii)

Still not sure what the plural is....

Anyway I had a presentation tonight in my Computer Ethics course where I had to choose from a list of cases and analyze it using specific criteria from the class. Long story short I chose a situation where a University was teaching about computer viruses in an attempt to educate people so they can combat them. The counter argument was that now more people can make them.

I don't buy that btw, if someone is going to make a malicious computer program, going to school is not how they're going to learn how to do it. But anyway I was comparing the situation to different schools of thought and the one that I'm the most proud of is the Naturalistic one.

Just for reference:


3.2. Naturalistic Ethics:

For the Naturalist, the baseline of value is that which is natural - that is, that which is in conformity with nature. Nature is good. One need not look beyond nature to some immaterial ideal for a standard of right and wrong. Rather, goodness will be found by living in harmony with nature. Evil, for the Naturalist, is a departure from this natural norm either in the direction of excess or defect (i.e., having, or doing, too much or too little of something which is naturally good). It is a breaking of the natural law.


My solution to the dilemma was to teach the course but have regulations guiding what is to be taught and how things are run. Here is the part I'm the most proud of:

5. Is this solution in accord with what is natural (not excessive or deficient) [Naturalism/Realism]? Explain.

This solution can be in accord with what is natural to a point if you consider the concept of survival of the fittest. In nature the strong survive, the weak culled. Computer viruses can eliminate those who are 'weak', those who do not protect themselves or can not overcome the attack. However with the regulations some of this is circumvented and some of the weaker or more foolish are able to survive.
 

I now have to take this, and the rest of the outline, and write a paper. I'm definitely going to expound on that point as it was a big hit in class.

If I can rock the midterm this weekend I'm pretty confident in an 'A' which will (hopefully) bring me back up to a solid 3.3 and give me a good jumping off point for the last part of this program.

Olympics

I have a second cousin (I think that is the correct term) on my father's side who is an Olympic Athelete. Her name is Heather Petri and she's on the Women's Water Polo team. This is her third Olympics, they won the silver in 00 and the bronze in 04 and they're number 1 in the world this year and favored to win the gold.

I've never actually met her but I'm still incredibly proud. In 04 they played her matches at weird times so I missed them. Hopefully as they're favored to win this year I can watch them at a relatively normal time.

It's something that I've never been even close to doing and I have such great respect for these athletes. It's just that much cooler that she and I share the same great grandparents and we dearly loved the same great aunt, who passed away not too long before the last Olympics.

So I send all of my good thoughts and confidence to Heather and the whole team and I'll be cheering back here for you!

My yard is fixed!

Almost completely!

I had the Handyman people come today and the very nice guy redid my drip system. It now waters all of the plants (minus the ones in pots and the one rose plant that isn't connected to anything else) which is better than the daily watering I was having to do.

I still have to water the ones in pots but that is much easier than the soaking of the trees etc that had to go on. Replaced the dead again flowers, and with dedicated water maybe they won't die this time quite as quickly. And the whole afternoon only cost me 300, and for what he did I'm very happy. If I had known how cheap it was going to be I would have done this a long time ago. Oh and I got out of the nursery for only 40 dollars, a record for me.

Not everything is done but all the stuff I couldn't do is finished. He also cut back the neighbor's apple tree that was blocking my lemon tree' sun and hauled away all the yard trash. My new spiffy composter will be in next week so that shouldn't be a problem again.

I'll take pictures when it all drys out and I'm happy with it. I had to cut the lavender WAY back and actually had him pull one of the lavender plants as I had too many and it was just out of control. Does anyone want dried lavender? I have bunches all around my house....

Break From School... and Grades!

Had just over a week off, it was great. Stayed at my grandparent's place where my biggest worry (which actually wasn't trivial) was trying to keep my dog from digging up the grass and harassing the skunk.

I failed on both counts....

Though Grandma, I forgot to grab garlic before I left!!

Got my grade for the last hardware class, got a B!! It keeps me at a 3.3 and hopefully this Ethics class will be another A to bring that up a touch. I'm running out of classes to get good grades in to bring my gpa up! If I can I really want to graduate with a 3.5.

I'll write a whole bunch on Ethics after I finish my homework. I don't blog much with computer courses because there really isn't a lot to talk about, but this one I should have stuff to spout off into the ether.

As far as house stuff goes I have a 'handyman' coming Friday afternoon to clean up the back yard and give me an estimate on finally getting the irrigation system to where I want it. Less dead plants that way hopefully. I want everything that is either in the ground or attached to a fence (or a trellis) to have automatic watering leaving just the potted stuff for manual. That way I can move the potted stuff around. The thing is my system has more than a few 'zones' and I'd like to use all of them, one for the trees (long but only three times a week), one for the roses (not as long but every other day or so) and one for 'everything else' (short daily). I want everything on drippers also, which may solve a lot of the issues, just give some things bigger drippers than others, and it will save water.

This project may be more than I'm ready to pay for right now but even if we can get everything on automatic and I just do the trees extra manually it will solve a lot of stress.

Old Friends, again!

Got in touch with another old friend from BYU. I love reconnecting with people, seeing how they are and what they're doing in their lives. Apparently they're all married with multiple kids. While that is absolutely wonderful I don't really have much in common with people in that situation anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I love finding people who I have lost contact with, I love hearing about their lives and their kids, kids are great, even other people's kids are cool occasionally. It's just strange to have had my life go such a different direction than theirs. Not a bad thing, just strange.

You know you don't want to do your homework when....

.... you reorganize not only your bathroom but go through all makeup and face products and throw stuff away, splitting things into not only 'home' and 'travel' but by color scheme also....

Google's Street View

I can't embed the picture without giving away the address, but if you know the address from where I grew up go to Google Maps and type it in. Then click the 'Street View' link. That is a better picture of my father's house than I currently have. I'm not sure if that is a 'good for Google' thing or a 'shame on me for not having good pics of my dad's house' thing.

I'm now looking up all of my friends and realitives, this will keep me busy for hours.

Weight Loss -- and my Weight Watchers commercial

This is something I never had to deal with the first time around in college, weight loss.

Up until 2000 I had never been more than 123 lbs, and that was high for me. I had been as low as 103, and while I looked awesome it just wasn't healthy. My 'average' was about 110 or so, and while I wasn't model looking it worked for me.

As a note, I'm 5'2" so 103 isn't obnoxious.

So a combination of a new medication, new job, new lifestyle and who knows what else, suddenly I was 163. This was nuts, I had no idea how to even begin to deal with it. I hated myself in the mirror, it wasn't me, I didn't recognize myself. Nothing fit, I was a size 12! I had never been over a 7 in my life, and suddenly nothing fit. I went from a 7 to a 12, nothing inbetween, seemingly overnight.

At first work was so busy I really didn't care. I was still the center of attention of the males whose attention I wanted and there was just too much going on to really pay attention. I had stopped gaining weight so I just carried on.

So after a picture of me holding one of my twins where it looked like *I* was the one that had the kid, and my 12's were getting tight, I decided to fix this.

First off I have never in my life had to diet, nothing had ever worked when I had tried. I had previously done six months at the gym with a trainer 3 times a week and I had lost a pound. My body just doesn't like to change it's weight. So I did Atkins with a friend. I felt like shit but damn it it worked. I went down, over the next year, to about 135 or so. I stopped there, a lose size 10, to make sure I wasn't going to yo-yo. Having extra weight is less unhealthy than going up and down and that scared me.

So comes Christmas 2006 and I got a stomach flu. In the process of the week of sheer misery I went down to about 131 or so. I felt good! By the summer I had put a little of it back on, which is normal when weight is lost due to illness but I liked the idea of finally getting rid of the last of it. I was speaking to a friend and he told me how he and his wife had dropped a ton of weight doing Weight Watchers.

Now I'm not going to go to a meeting. I had tried NutriSystems and the food sucked (I hear they've redone a lot of it since but it's too expensive anyway). Weight Watchers had an online program, where you eat what you want and enter it into their system and they keep track. You can enter recipes or just the 'fat, calories and fiber' amounts and again, they figure things out. They assign points with a system taking those three into account and depending on your age, weight and a few other things they allow you X points a day, with a bunch 'extra' for the week.

This worked. Who knew? I could even 'cheat' occasionally and stay within my point limits, though I wouldn't lose a lot of weight that week. It was slow, but slow is important to keep it off for good. I took Thanksgiving to Christmas off cuz that just wasn't going to work for me.

Well I just canceled my subscription, I'm a size 6, and they're a touch big on me, and I'm down to 123. It's not my ideal, I'd like to be 110 again but my body proportions have changed so that most likely isn't going to happen. Anything left isn't weight as much as it is tone and muscle, so the scale isn't a great measurement anymore.

Ok I think I have the chart uploaded:

Equal Rights take a step closer to reality tonight

At 5:01pm Pacific time California becomes the second state in the Union to allow same sex marriages. I have great hopes for this as Mass hasn't exploded in the fiery wrath of a vengeful god nor have opposite sex couples in Mass have had their marriages cheapened or invalidated because others can get married. I'm proud of Mass for doing this first and I think it's about time CA follows.

Many cities are keeping their offices open late tonight to issue licenses, there will be a lot of June weddings this year. Apparently even if the proposed amendment against this is put on the ballot this fall, and IF it gets passed, the marriages performed between now and then are still valid as it's sanctioned by the state this time instead of a city.

My greatest hope is that, in time, rational people will see that this not only doesn't cause any harm but doesn't 'diminish' their own marriages (an argument that makes no sense to me at all). If we can show those who have sense that this isn't the horror that the fanatics have painted it to be I think acceptance and eventually true equality actually has a chance.

It is disappointing, as someone on tv just pointed out, that Obama isn't for gay marriage. To be brutally honest any politician that was couldn't get elected President so it's something I'm willing to forgive, at least for now. When both parties' candidates say the same thing it becomes a moot point at this point in an election.

Hopefully, maybe even by the time Obama runs for reelection, it won't be the sure loss that it is now.

One of the 'talking heads' on tv today said something else that really hit home to me today, about Roe v Wade and McCain's desire to get it overturned and that effect on women's votes. She said that since Wade was passed in 73 most people who are of child bearing age never experienced a world where abortion was illegal. We can't comprehend that being a reality so it's not a huge deal for us, as a whole.

I think that is absolutely correct, I can't comprehend a world where women are forced to go to butchers to get the abortions they're going to get, and where doctors are made criminals for helping desperate women. A world where the woman has all of the responsibility of an unintended pregnancy, basically making women second class citizens again. Would this mean Plan B would be illegal? What about endotopic pregnancies? There is a proposal in Denver to declare that life begins at conception, and those balls of cells have the same rights as any other person. Now that is an extreme by far but it's frightening that I might not be able to take a 'morning after pill' if I feel it's needed, no matter what the situation.

I hope the fact that McCain wants to nominate Supreme Court Justices who would overturn Roe and the cases that have been decided since is brought to the forefront in this race. I want those who were entranced with the Maverik McCain in 2000 (and I was one of them) to see that this man, McCain in 2008, as the man he's become. He is courting the bat shit insane side of the Republican Party and has changed to a man who would ban the right for a woman to make a decision about her body and declare that someone else can dictate what is right and wrong when it comes to my morality.

I pray the excitement about Obama translates into votes, which it doesn't always do, and the apathy of the far right over McCain, for he does piss them off by being rational about climate change and immigration, leads them to stay home and it's a huge wave across the country.

It's going to take a lot to overturn the abuses of the past administration, and it's going to take people who won't just take advantage of those abuses and entrench them even further. McCain declared that giving human beings habeas corpus was the wrong decision. Couple this with his desire to overturn Roe, thinks that some people should be able to get married and others shouldn't, and I see no other choice. Even if I wasn't completely charmed by Obama I would never vote for someone who is against basic human rights.

A Journalism Giant leaves us....

I spend my days with MSNBC on in the background. I enjoy their reporting and get a kick out of their sense of humor and their political perspectives. I spent the day doing other things but I just, a little while ago, turned on the TV and that headline greets me.

NBC’s Tim Russert dead at 58




He collapsed while doing voice overs for this week's Meet the Press, they rushed him to the hospital and couldn't revive him. They don't know yet what happened, his wife and son are in Italy, where he just returned from, and are on their way home. Watching the shock and grief on the face of all of these people is very moving.

Here is the announcement

Happy Birthday Grandma!

I didn't forget!!

Grades

Got a C in the main class and a B+ in the lab. Not awesome but I"m find with it.

This month I"m doing assembly. This is why I dropped out of BYU's CS program, I'm really really really not a fan. We don't have compilers so I have no idea if I"m even close to doing this correctly. Kind of not caring so much anymore.

Need to write another paper, since I got full credit on the last one I"m not stressed about it but I want to get it done early. We don't have class tomorrow to give us extra time on the paper so once I get my homework done that is my next priority.

After this class I get a whole week off, hoping to go up to Sedona btw (hi grandma!) and just read and chill and hopefully play with twins. July is ethics so while I see a lot of writing I don't see a lot of killing myself hating life programming without compilers, should be good.

Still don't know what I'm going to do about my second elective. Now that I'm no longer with Sun I really don't have much desire to take Advanced Java. I"m going to file that under 'we'll see' for now and try to learn everything I need to from this current class.

Oh Dear God I'm Old...

When talking about Obama's nomination someone said 'it's been 24 years since Ferraro was on the ticket'

kill me now

Obama's Nomination

No matter what your politics last night was a huge night for all Americans when Obama became the 'Presumptive' Democratic Nominee for President. He talks about it on MSNBC's First Read

Talking to reporters before getting in his motorcade to leave Capitol Hill, Obama reflected on what it means to be the first African-American nominee of a major political party. "It's an enormous honor... It's very humbling," he told reporters amassed between his Secret Service detail.

"When you think about all the people who had knocked down barriers for me to walk through this one; and the challenges they went through were so much more difficult, so much more severe; and the risk they took were so much greater."

And then, the candidate touted as a great orator, seemed almost at a loss to express his feelings. "Last night standing in the auditorium," Obama said slowly searching for just the right words, "it struck me that it was a testimony to them."

"I've heard from a number of people already, both black and white, that their kids -- 7, 8, 9 years old -- take for granted now that of course a black can run for president. Of course a woman can run for president. There's a matter of factness to it that I think bodes well for the future."

I love that the twins will grow up in a world where they wouldn't think twice about the race or gender of the person running for President, that they won't understand what the big deal was.

I almost feel bad for McCain, like I did for Hilliary Clinton. Both of them are qualified and I think wouldn't do an awful job, though I'd pick Clinton over McCain. But the timing just sucked for them because I think Obama is leading a movement that isn't going to be stopped. He has people excited about politics that have never even cared before. Hilliary brought in the upper middle aged women who fought for equal rights, the even older women who desperately want to see a woman President in their lifetimes. While I respect the hell out of (most) of those people they were going to vote anyway, one way or another. Obama is bringing in people who under normal circumstances wouldn't vote.

I'm very excited about the elections this fall and the potential turn out. Getting the younger generation excited and if we can get them to actually vote amazing things could happen. Too many people don't vote and because of that aren't represented in our government, showing them that they really can make a difference, and that is a wonderful thing.

No More Internship

Well I just heard from Sun that National got dropped from their Campus Ambassador program so I don't have an internship for this fall. I'm fine with that, I'm not sure I actually accomplished what they wanted me to, but the extra money was very nice.

However as time goes by school is going to be more and more difficult maybe having one less bit of pressure is a good thing, but like I said, money is good.

That and apparently I don't get the 'please love us' hand out from the government this year as my 'earned income' wasn't high enough, even though I had enough taxable income. This means that for 08 I need to make at least 3k in earned income (which I'm pretty sure I've done, I'll check my pay slip) so I can get the money next year. No new monitor =(

I guess I'll look around for internships or something. This last one kind of fell into my lap, which was nice. If nothing else I'll just get programming books and learn as much as I can.

Oh got a C in my logic class, and since I'm not going to be a hardware person I'm ok with that. Kills my GPA a bit but we'll see how I do in June.

And..... we're done

Paper in, it's not great but it's in and that is really all that matters anymore.

So happy, nothing to do until 5:30pm on Tuesday. Of course all those things I should be doing most likely aren't going to happen, but it's nice to not have stress.

I'm going to go uninstall all that crap now and archive my assignments. Not unhappy to see this stuff go.

Rocked the Final

Turned in my final early and rocked it. That is the most confident I've felt about anything in this class for the last two months.

Ready to present my lab project, just need to write that up (easy after I put it together for the presentation) and the lab class is done.

All that is left is to finish up and polish the paper. That isn't completely trivial but I'm so ready for this to be done. Never doing this kind of stuff again, and I'm happy about that in a BIG way.

I'm looking forward to having a few days off after I finish this up. Next month is supposed to be hard also but at least it's new material. Same professor and I'm glad, I really like her.

So ready to be done.

Gas

I just spent 40.06 for 9.869 gallons of gas......

From my iPhone

Ester

Cleaning

As anyone who knows me knows very well I'm not a big fan of cleaning. I like things clean, dirt and grime drive me batty, but I just have a hard time getting into actually doing the cleaning myself. I tend to just not look at the clutter and ignore it until it gets to the point where it just pisses me off. It doesn't hurt if I have something else to procrastinate, it seems like I clean the most when I have homework to do.

So a while ago I bought a Roomba on sale a few years ago and it's been living downstairs. It does an amazing job on the laminate floor down there, I just hit a button and it goes to town keeping things rather clean, it's kind of surprising what it will pick up.

So today I finally got tired of the den that the dogs had built under my bed. My excuse before was that it's actually really hard to get stuff out from under there as there isn't a lot of room (for a broom) and my arms are short! Today I bit the bullet so to speak and between lots of stretching and creative broom angles I got most of everything out from under there. I won't get into what I found lets just say that the next time I go out of town without the dogs I'm shutting the door to my room.

So now my trusty Roomba is going to down under my bed. It's a comforting sound though I'm kind of frightened on what I'll be dumping out of the unit when it's done. I love my little robot, though if anyone ever wants to get me something expensive the higher models let you program them!

Grocery Shopping Online

I found that I spend significantly less money when I do my grocery shopping online. As long as I can find a coupon for free delivery of course.

I had to go out and get the cat's needles (here is something that I didn't have to deal with in college the first time, and aging cat with diabetes) so I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a 'few' things and spent more than I did when I did my real shopping last week.

Amazon.com does a lot of household stuff with free shipping, you sign up for a subscription and they send it at a regular interval for less than you're going to find it at a local store.

Not that my grocery store is far away but it's nice to not have to drive also. Cheap gas is 3.89 as of yesterday so the more time I spend not driving the happier I am. I even got stamps yesterday so I don't have to go out to mail stuff.

Part of being 'old'....

.... is reconnecting with old friends. I got a message on MySpace today from someone I went to college with, someone from my Freshman year who I had lost contact with and had given up on trying to find.

There was a group of four guys who hung out together and were people I loved dearly. It's part of that bonding experience that comes with going away from home for the first time. One of these four had totally cyber stalked me at SOE back Thanksgiving of 01 but when I left that job I totally blanked getting his email. It was kind of an insane time in my life and I've regretted it dearly since. Every once in a while I try out my google-fu to find people and with these guys I'd been failing.

I can't even express how happy I am that Austin found me. My life is really different than it was back then and I'm not sure how much we actually have in common anymore, but reconnecting with people who hold dear places in my heart is something I treasure.

Why I'm not for Hilliary

I'm watching The Daily Show and they're talking about Bloggers and how blogging is much more mainstream etc. Got me thinking that there is so much more than just school that interests me and that I have feelings about, and while this is primarily a blog about going back to school it wouldn't be inappropriate to talk about this Democratic race and what I think about the first viable woman presidential candidate.

I didn't vote for her and I don't like her. This goes against every instinct I have about the concept of a woman in the Oval Office but I can't bring myself to support her bid.

I want there to be a woman president, not just in my lifetime but my grandmother's lifetime. It really struck me when I was watching President Ford's funeral, it was all old white men. I get the old part but it was ALL white men and I don't want my generation's political legacy to be represented by all of that... sameness.

We are a country of diversity and that should be represented in our government. I think our generation and that if my parents' have accomplished this in our elected representatives, but there are things we haven't reached yet, and someone who isn't a white man in the highest office is the biggest 'glass ceiling' in existence.

So why am I not for Hilliary? Her policies, well her policies before she went bat shit crazy pandering for votes, are pretty much in line with what I believe, she'd nominate left leaning judges for the Supreme Court which is very important to me, she's a successful and powerful woman making a viable bid for that ultimate glass ceiling, yet I want nothing to do with it.

There are two factors that when combined with the fact she's a woman prevent me from being able to support her candidacy. First is that she is where she is because of her husband. That offends me as a woman and a feminist, she didn't do this on her own merits but is running on her husband's accomplishments. I'm not saying she couldn't have accomplished everything she has all by herself, but she chose not to and for that reason alone I can't do the 'women power rah rah rah' thing.

The other issue is that she allowed her husband to publically humiliate her and then stayed with him. The only reason that I can fathom that she stayed was so she could run for president someday, and that is wrong. She said to every woman whose husband was unfaithful to them that they should just suck it up and smile. Hell I can't count the number of political wives that have stood next to their husbands in the press conferences as these husbands admit to cheating on them. What the hell??? This is not the way to show that women are equal to men, it shows that these women shut up and take what the man gives them, screw that noise.

There are women politicians whom I respect even if I don't agree with their politics simply because they are accomplishing things that a woman before hadn't. Nancy Pelosi, Condi Rice, Madelin Albright to name the ones in my most recent memory. All of these women have accomplished these very high positions without having to ride their husband's coattails. I wouldn't know Pelosi or Albright's husbands if I ran into them on the street and I don't believe Rice is married.

Now don't misunderstand me, I think a spouse can be a huge pivotal part of someone's success and deserves credit for their contributions. I also think that a spouse of someone successful can be successful in their own right. However Hilliary Clinton runs, in part, on the 'I am a woman look at me' and opes that up for scrutiny, and she doesn't pass mine.

Now, if we didn't have another option that I am completely enamored with I would be supporting Clinton like I did Kerry, lesser of two evils. It is very exciting to be able to vote for someone that I actually WANT to vote for, I've never been in that situation before.

I'm sure I've said this before on this blog, but I've always been a bit jealous of my parent's generation who had JFK, a politician that people were actually excited about. A politician who inspired them and the whole nation to go to the moon! I have finally found that kind of politician in Barack Obama.

The man isn't perfect, hell part of what he's campaign on is the fact he's not a Washington insider, and it shows with some of this 'newbie' mistakes. He's had misteps, as has his wife, and I'm sure there will be more. Oh as an aside I feel the same way Michelle does, it is the first time I've been proud of my country. I've been proud of people in my country before but never of my country as a whole.

Anyway Obama will learn how to express the fact that people in rural areas have turned to things they know they can win politically instead of what would really help them without actually accusing them of clinging to their 'guns and god' like it was a bad thing. Maybe he'll even learn to bowl, who knows, but he's run a fantastic campaign that isn't in debt and has invigorated people who usually don't pay attention to the political process. That alone could become one of his biggest accomplishments if he can make it stick, inspiring a whole generation of people to get involved would be a big accomplishment.

Something specific brought this on tonight. I was watching MSNBC, as I do pretty much every day, and the wonderful Rachel Maddow brought up the spouse issue. It got me thinking and I agree completely. Basically, I want the first woman president to be someone who got their on her own accomplishments and not her husband's.