Dropped the AI Class

I just can't do all of it and instead of letting my grades suffer (and this hardware class they just might suffer anyway) I just dropped the AI class. I'm sad about it and I hope I can take it some other time. I added back the class in July (I currently have it both places) in case they can schedule another AI class next January. I'll email my professor again this week asking about an independent study option also.

Driving home back to San Diego today. The twins had a great birthday weekend and are five now! We went to see Sesame Street Live and while it was good it went on a bit long for their (and my) attention spans. They had a good time though which was what really mattered.

So much less stress this month than I was anticipating, now I have no excuse to not rock these hardware classes. I haven't figured out my actual grade yet but since this is all new material I'm not upset about not getting an A.

Need to see Iron Man =)

Hardware

This month's class consists of designing logic circuits. It's actually more interesting than I thought it would be, and much more difficult. I"m getting the hang of it though so that is good.

Next weekend the twins turn five!! The idea is to leave on Wed for Phoenix and be back on Monday which is the beginning of my AI class. Oh and the hardware class doesn't actually end until the end of May. May is going to be really really busy but I can do it.

The trick will be to get a big portion of my paper for the hardware class done next weekend, one less thing to worry about in May. I'm doing it on solid state hard drives, the kinds you have in the iPhone etc. They're great, small with no moving parts so less heat etc but they're also really really expensive. That is one of the reasons my iPhone cost as much as it did, the hard drive.

If I can get that to a rough draft status this next weekend (inbetween Twin's stuff) that puts me ahead for May giving me a bit more breathing room.

I have a midterm on Tuesday and I want to get my next lab in by that day also. That way I have lots of time to do the next week's assignments without stress over getting things in on time.

No word yet on any internships this summer. I'm so torn over that, I want the experience, I'd love to be working in an office again with people! But the idea of having the whole month of July off is so appealing. So to compromise I've only applied for two internships and am only actively perusing one. If I don't get that one then I"ll just be poor =) The experience would be invaluable so I am actively trying to get it, but the silver lining would be a whole month off to work on the garden and stuff around the house... and to play WoW!!!

It's all about who you know

I may have mentioned this but I'm applying for an internship for this summer. I applied, among other places, my old company of Sony Online Entertainment. I am on very good terms with the CEO, he's a great guy and despite the fact I quit quite a few years ago we've been friendly every since.

So I emailed him tonight telling him that I applied for an internship, I figured it could only help my chances of getting the job. I heard back from him and apparently his father got his degree from my University. He isn't in charge of the actual hiring but he's going to 'put in a good word for me' with someone else who I was also friendly with all those years ago.

I feel my chances are good. No guarantees of course, for all I know they have multiple applications with much better resumes, but I feel pretty good about it.

Made my night!

Wrists and such

Well my wrist has been hurting for about.... 7 years. I've pretty much ignored it when I can, just careful not to use it too often and look like a complete wuss as I can't lift much of anything. When I couldn't empty out the cast iron pan last night I decided to do something about it and went to the doctor today.

I'm in a brace. I'm supposed to 'take it easy typing'. I can't type with the brace on (I took it off to type this). This isn't going to work with work and school. I do haver some nice pain killer/anti inflammatory drugs that I'm on for a month or so but I'd have an easier time not walking then I do not typing. I guess I'll just wear the brace when I can and see what happens.

On the good side these pain killers should help my hips too.

Anyway it's not carpel tunnel and it's not a cyst though I am going in for an x-ray tomorrow. I'm supposed to go to physical therapy also but I can't call them till Thursday. I may be getting a new keyboard though, and I really like mine!

Going to be a long month

Woot! Did well again

Got an A- in Algorithm Design!! That brings my gpa back up to a 3.4, I want a 3.5 but this is in the right direction. I was a bit concerned as I really had no idea what my grade was in that class, but I'm very happy with an A-!

Trying to remember to update more often

Week one of classes so far so good. I have 2/3 of my homework due Tuesday done with an email into the professor with questions and the item I need to do Thursday's homework will be here on Wednesday. So far it's just doing math in other bases besides 10, not very exciting but ehhh it works.

As it turns out I do have another class in May, and as long as I can take her final a day early I can do all three of them. I really really want to keep this AI class so hopefully I can get it worked out. Going to go hermit again in May but it's all good.

It's HOT here all of a sudden. I miss my '70 with a breeze' weather, almost 90 really isn't doing it for me. Bleck

Time off of School

I moved a class around and I'm taking July off from school. I've been going non stop since last March and will from Aug to next March so I figure a break will be helpful. Don't know what, if anything, I'm going to do but it will be nice to let my brain just kind of be empty.

So from June 28th to Aug 5th I have no classes. Can't afford a trip overseas really but I am not looking to just stay home and play WoW. It's kind of funny as I live where most people go for vacation, makes it a bit harder to plan one of my own!

Might be a moot point if I get an internship over the summer but then it will be a month of much less stress either way. Then it's Aug to Christmas break straight through and then three months left!

I still have to take Physics in there but I'm not doing it this summer since I'm taking July off, if I'm going to take a month off I want it OFF. Hopefully there will be a five week version offered next January so I can be really done by the end of March 09. Yeah me!

Schedule Conflicts

Ok this sucks.

I'm currently enrolled in AI for May and I've been really looking forward to that class. Now apparently it seems the class I'm in right now runs for two months so if I stay in AI I get to double up again. So really don't want to do that thanks.

I emailed the Faculty Lead to see what's up and if they'll offer AI again. I even have the textbook!

I'll double up in May but that is also the last month on my Sun Internship so that will be kind of nuts. Bleck!

Price of Food

I know I'm a bit behind the curve here, and I also know that there are others who are in much more dire straights than I am, but today the price of groceries really hit me hard. I spent 150, after 'saving' about 25 by not buying almost anything that wasn't on sale, and I didn't splurge or buy a bunch of stupid stuff.

A gallon of milk was almost 5 dollars, eggs were just as bad. Juice was five bucks for a quart or whatever it was. I don't cook much so there were frozen foods involved and my diet coke addiction got a bit pricey, but I didn't buy any alcohol, ice cream or chips. I got one chicken breast and one lb of hamburger. My junk food consists of bagels, my extravagances beyond the diet coke are the weight watchers frozen dinners. I can't imagine buying groceries for a family of four, let alone bigger.

Gas prices are insane, which is what the food prices are being attributed to, and I don't really go anywhere and it effects even me. I saw 4.05 for Premium in Bakersfield this weekend. Yes that is a tourist trap but it's the first time I've seen it break that four dollar threshold. The only plus lately is that my home equity loan's interest rate is dropping dramatically. Unfortunately my student loan is in a fixed rate a full two points above the home equity loan.

Home prices are dropping and gas prices are rising. I understand the whole supply and demand concept and what a bubble is and what happens when it breaks, consumer confidence oh and that little war driving up prices, but knowing these things intellectually and actually seeing the results are two different things.

What happens when wages drop and yet the price of a gallon of milk is still five dollars? I don't have children depending on me, I have resources the 'average' person doesn't have and it's kind of freaking me out, what happens to that family that can't afford to feed their kids and drive to work and pay the heating bill all at the same time?

I read an article today that basically talked about how mortgage companies are just abandoning foreclosed houses to avoid paying the taxes on these empty houses as they can't sell them. This is causing whole neighborhoods with scores of empty houses where crime and drugs just move in further lowering housing prices and causing a viscous cycle.

Honestly I don't know what to do, I don't have very much sympathy for people who got 'teaser' rate loans counted on equity to bail them out. They bought homes they couldn't afford and are now paying the price, but that price is effecting the whole country. There are people who were duped, lied to and taken advantage of, and those people deserve help a hell of a lot more than some bank does, and honestly how do we tell the two apart? How do we know if this person bought more than they could afford banking on equity to pay it off later and how many people thought they were getting this amazing deal and could live in a home they never thought they could afford.

It's hard to say no when the 'American Dream' is dangled in front of you especially when there is a fast talking banker saying 'oh don't worry the rates won't REALLY go up, just sign here!' Those people I do feel sorry for and this administration is just watching it happen.

Spring Break Done

Vegas was great. School starts again tomorrow which I'm kind of of two minds about, but it should be good, I hope =)

The dog is still digging, apparently he didn't do it when I was gone just when I left today. I'm kind of at a loss there.

Beyond that I'm back to 'normal', the weather is amazing as usual and I'm just kind of hanging out, playing video games and trying to learn stuff at school. It's all good!

Done!!!

Done with my final, all homework assignments are in even if they're not all correct, and I now have a week off!!

I'll have a chance to redo and correct assignments so I'm not stressed about them, the important part was getting them submitted with a really good faith effort. No more school till April 8th!!!!!

Leaving in the morning for Vegas, now I have to find a way to keep myself busy between now and then. Must.... resist... the ... need ... to .... buy... more ... plants!!!

So looking forward to this trip, four days in Vegas just doing stupid shit, such a needed break.

Oh and the size six jeans fit well today thank you! Assuming I didn't totally fail the final I'm doing well today =)

Countdown to Spring Break

It's really hard to stay focused when I'm counting the days until Spring Break. I have a ton to do between now and then but the motivation factor is really low. I'm leaving on Friday morning for Easter but I have a ton of work to do that weekend so it's not really a vacation. Then it's one week and then Vegas!

Arthur C. Clark

Here is something that someone else wrote that sums out my feelings pretty well:


Arthur C. Clarke, RIP

For me, Arthur C. Clarke was never defined by hard science; he was defined by the unknowable. Whatever lay on the other side of the monolith. The agenda of the aliens in Childhood’s End. And of course, what was for me his most resonant work, Rendezvous with Rama. These are not stories that offer understanding — they offer, instead, mysteries a bit too big to fit into one book, one story.

Sure, he may have invented the communications satellite, but what he may be best remembered for in the end is an aphorism: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. As we live in an increasingly magic world, it’s good to remember that there are always horizons — that any sufficiently familiar magic is merely technology — and that there are always new magic just over the horizon, barreling towards us and presenting new mysteries to attempt to resolve.


Thanks Raph for expressing what I was thinking, and thank you Arthur C. Clark for some wonderful stories that helped kindle my love for Science Fiction and Fantasy.

My Dog

Needs to go on a diet.....

Oh and I got a 90 on the midterm. Not bad but it means I don't have the padding going into the final that I like to have.

Midterm Done

Turned in the midterm, not sure how I did, which is unusual. Usually I can research and figure everything out but I'm kind of waffling on this one. This is way important stuff too so I may need to go over things again.

Still have tons of work and work work to do but I think I'm taking tonight off, let my head decompress a bit. Tomorrow is homework and project stuff, I have a bunch of research done but I need to put things together and write a 5 page paper, and then another one =) But if it helps me understand these algorithms then it's way worth it, just harder.

Midterm tomorrow and money issues

One of the biggest issues with going back to school is money. Time can be found, things can be learned but being able to pay for it is the real challenge. I've been blessed with dead relatives who believed very strongly in education so I have some help, but I'm still taking out student loans. Because of said dead relatives I can't get any grants and the only student loans I can get are the 'unsubsidized' ones which pretty much suck.

Tuition is high but books, textbooks are a huge racket. Thankfully I have choices on where to get them, Barns and Noble has consistently been the best so far, but these books are relating directly to what my chosen profession so I want them new and I'm going to keep them. Not only that but then I have supplemental books that will only help me, but these things get expensive. I spend around 100 a class and that is lower than a lot of Universitiy's requirements.

I read somewhere once something that I agree with wholeheartedly. By the government giving out loans it allows the schools to raise their tuition and fees because it's all paid for anyway, and all it accomplishes is saddling students with huge debts. The best part is the govenment only gives so much and that doesn't even cover tuition at most places. Then you have to get a 'private loan' which has variable (and high) interest rates which aren't regulated by the government and you need a co-signer on.

I own a house, I have dead relatives money and I still needed a co-signer because I don't work 40 hours a week. Few students work 40 hours a week (though sadly it's becoming more and more common) so now it's saddling other people with the astounding debt. I finally transfered my student loans to my home equity account giving me a significantly lower interest rate and to get my mother off of a loan, freeing up her credit. Most students don't have a house and they're just stuck with obnoxious levels of debt.

My government guaranteed unsubsidized loan is coming through this month, adding another 10.5 k to my debt but allowing me to go to school with only my internship to support me. This is insane and only deters people from going to the better schools. Hell even the California State Schools which are 'tuition free' aren't as they charge fees larger than my tuition. As a taxpayer in California I pay to subsidize boards of trustee's salaries instead of student's educations. I'd much rather pay for someone to go to school than to to pay some professional to sit on a board and decide to raise their own salaries.

So here I am, in a better position than most students and my situation still sucks.

I remember when I dreaded getting my grades...

... but not now! I got an A in Data Structures and Algorithms in February.

My GPA is up to a 3.378 so I'm on track to getting it back up to a 3.5. Just have to study and work hard, yadda yadda yadda but it feels good.

This month is Algorithm Design which is much more indepth and actually kind of interesting. I've been told that these two classes are very uber important for my chosen career which makes me even happier about all of this.

I talked to my Lead Faculty the other day and it appears most of the rest of my courses are theory and not really programming, with a few exceptions. Because of this I ordered some books on Ruby and I'm going to get some on other scripting languages next month. He recommended just getting the books and working through the projects they have and learning as many as I can on my own. Amazon.com is going to love me.

Lots of work to do both at work and for school, midterm this weekend and then next weekend is Easter. Then home for the last week, project due and final, and then off to Vegas!! I plan on taking full advantage of Spring Break and ignoring school completely.

Passive MMO Game

Kind of a fun site

http://pmog.com/

Got sent there by a friend's blog. It lets you leave things around the net for others to pick up. Possibly a bit intrusive but I'm entertained.

Days Off

There is something nice about a beautiful day where I have absolutely no school work pending. I was going to do work stuff but that got postponed so today I just got stuff done, down to and including picking up an xbox 360 for a friend of mine.

I missed one errand, kitty's got no food, but got groceries, car's oil changed and washed, mailed stuff out (though of course there is always more) and made a real dent in the laundry/room situation.

Looking at where I live, just in my room not the 'public places', I would give neat freaks anxiety attacks. My goal is to, by the beginning of class tomorrow, have this room to the point I can run the roomba. I have an issue with the nest the dogs have made out of my reach under the bed, but one thing at a time :)

Final done!

Finished my final, still have some homework to do. I feel good about it, we'll see how I do. I'd like a full A to bring up my gpa but we'll see.

Time to relax a bit =)