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.