Two posts in one day. Well, it is thanksgiving and I really am not feeling the urge to do homework. Went to Jeramy's with Dex and had Thanksgiving with his family... it was a blast. Dex ate like a starved lion, seemed to enjoy the food quite a bit. It was very good, the green beans were particularly tasty. They were made the same way that my great aunt used to make then, with the pieces of bacon mixed in. I had thirds on those. Someone even brought a lemon merangue pie. It was wonderful. After dinner we stuck around and played some games. when back to the dorms for a few hours, and then went back over to watch a The Chronicals of Riddick. Pretty good movie, but there were definitely a few scenes that were Dex unfriendly. And the camera did tend to linger on one of the charecters.... that sort of stuff. It's a shame, otherwise it is a good action movie. Since that was over before midnight we decided taht we just had to watch another move, which turned out to be Jet Li's The One. I'd seen it before, but it was still pretty good. That and Dex had not seen it before. Anyway, homework calls. Be seeing you.
Friday, November 26, 2004
Figured I take the following off the sidebar, so I figured that I would put it in a post. It's a useful reminder of the sacrifices made by those that have gone before us. Many times I find myself lost in my own little academic world, and it is good to be reminded of what it took to build our nation. Helps me remeber to be grateful.
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who died here that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have hallowed it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is rather for us the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who died here that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have hallowed it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is rather for us the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."
President Abraham Lincoln
Address at Gettysburg
Nov. 19, 1863
I replaced it with Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade," which was written as a tribute to the bravery of an English light cavalry brigade durring the Crimean War . I memorized it as a kid, and have always thought it a touching poem. Thanks to the following site for the text of the poem.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Thanksgiving Break
In true nerd/geek/(what is a life anyway?) fashion, I have decided to stay in the dorms over Thanksgiving. I was going to go to Houston and stay with some friends from Haiti, but the three letter task master intervined. Jeramy invited Dex and I over for thanksgiving dinner, so that should be fun. I figure that if I blow off most of Thursday, put in an hour or so in the evening, and spend six hours a day studying on all the rest of the days, I should be okay. Have to figure out exactly what classes I need to work on yet, and what needs studying. I know that I am due for a Circuits test, a Physics test and a Statics test in the next week or so.... lots of fun. plus I am hoping to get a jump on studying for finals, as I need to do well on them this year.
In other news, my sister ran a PB on her PT test last week, a sixteen something two mile. Not bad for someone with an avulsion fracture in her ankle. She did 53 pushups and eightysome situps.... more than I can do. I'll have to be carefull not to mention that to her, I'd get no end to grief. She's ranked 5th senior nursing cadet in the nation too. Little brother is proud. Can't you tell? I shoud see her at Christmas, that will be nice.
John's doing pretty well too, considering. Of course one never really knows, but he seems to have adjusted well to the fact that he can't wrestle anymore (injured his neck last year during wrestling season). He's aiding for Mr. Leach, who has him setting up software to keep track of the stats. Looks like he will be a data entry monkey once the year starts. Maybe he will wind up managing this year if Andrew doesn't.
Wonder whatever happened to Sarah (manager my jr & sr years)? I think her brother still goes to DC, not sure though. Maybe if I can catch a wrestling meet over Christmas I'll run into her. It'd be nice to catch up. See how Dan (Sarah's older brother ) is doing. He was one of the more awesome wrestlers that our program produced in recent history... think he was in the Navy for a while, last I heard he was applying to be a cop. I knoe he used to show up sporatically at practices when he was home, wonder if he still does.
Anyway, I have more to write, but It really is 4:30 am and I need to be up by noon, so I will post later. Be seeing you.
In other news, my sister ran a PB on her PT test last week, a sixteen something two mile. Not bad for someone with an avulsion fracture in her ankle. She did 53 pushups and eightysome situps.... more than I can do. I'll have to be carefull not to mention that to her, I'd get no end to grief. She's ranked 5th senior nursing cadet in the nation too. Little brother is proud. Can't you tell? I shoud see her at Christmas, that will be nice.
John's doing pretty well too, considering. Of course one never really knows, but he seems to have adjusted well to the fact that he can't wrestle anymore (injured his neck last year during wrestling season). He's aiding for Mr. Leach, who has him setting up software to keep track of the stats. Looks like he will be a data entry monkey once the year starts. Maybe he will wind up managing this year if Andrew doesn't.
Wonder whatever happened to Sarah (manager my jr & sr years)? I think her brother still goes to DC, not sure though. Maybe if I can catch a wrestling meet over Christmas I'll run into her. It'd be nice to catch up. See how Dan (Sarah's older brother ) is doing. He was one of the more awesome wrestlers that our program produced in recent history... think he was in the Navy for a while, last I heard he was applying to be a cop. I knoe he used to show up sporatically at practices when he was home, wonder if he still does.
Anyway, I have more to write, but It really is 4:30 am and I need to be up by noon, so I will post later. Be seeing you.
Monday, November 22, 2004
On Another Monday
Shock of shocks, it's monday again. It cometh all to fast. Life's like that I guess. I can remeber being in the third grade and thinking about how long it would be until I got to sixth grade. It seemed like it would be forever. But then, third grade seems like forever ago. So maybe it works out. Come to think of it, it seems like last fall was an eterninty ago.
Ludwig showed me how to crop pictures in MS Photo editor... that was interesting. I was trying to crop one of Shake's pictures of a G2 football game last year so that I could use it in an intramurals schedule for this year. It was nice, Stack (captain for football) wrote up the 41 schedule all of his own accord. Saved me some time. It was nice of him.
Had a Stats test this morning. It was thrilling, as always. I think I actually might have done okay, depending on how one of the problems gets scored. There's always the chance that I just completely missed the mark, as the last test demonstrated. The nice thing is that I don't need to worry about it anymore, as what has been done has been done.
Other exciting things in the life of Pebble.... let's see... not sure that there are any at this particular moment. Anyway, one of my roomates just left to do the physics handwritten thta is due tommorow. Wisdom dictates that I join him. Be seeing you.
Ludwig showed me how to crop pictures in MS Photo editor... that was interesting. I was trying to crop one of Shake's pictures of a G2 football game last year so that I could use it in an intramurals schedule for this year. It was nice, Stack (captain for football) wrote up the 41 schedule all of his own accord. Saved me some time. It was nice of him.
Had a Stats test this morning. It was thrilling, as always. I think I actually might have done okay, depending on how one of the problems gets scored. There's always the chance that I just completely missed the mark, as the last test demonstrated. The nice thing is that I don't need to worry about it anymore, as what has been done has been done.
Other exciting things in the life of Pebble.... let's see... not sure that there are any at this particular moment. Anyway, one of my roomates just left to do the physics handwritten thta is due tommorow. Wisdom dictates that I join him. Be seeing you.
Monday, November 15, 2004
On a Monday
Hard to believe that it is almost the end of the semester. Only two or three full weeks left. It will be nice to go home for a few weeks. Back where they have a real winter. None of this 50 degree east texas stuff. Maybe we'll get some snow. Couple of feet would be nice, maybe eight inches a couple of times. Not that it will happen, we're to close to the Atlantic to get that much snow this early. One can dream though.
Speaking of dreams, grades this semester are going to be ugly. Think that I might need to drop something. not sure yet. I had a D in Physics at midterms, for reasons that are beyond me. Best I can figure, Dr. Forringer didn't weigth the homework against the one test that was on the books and didn't average in the CAPA. I know I was missing three writtens, which came out to about 15 points. I've been to enough of the seminares now that I should have made that up. CAPA is still good, and my first test was pretty solid. Think that it was an A, might have been a high B. Then there was that second test. I came out with a 76, hopefully I can score strong on the next test and the final. Might be able to pull out an A in the class. Then there is Stat, which I had a high B in until this last test, which came out as a 63. I have to talk to Erickstad, see if there is anything that I can do to get some more credit. That and study like heck for this next test on Friday. If I can pull a strong A on it and do well on the final I might be okay. I'm not sure if I want to be relieved or worried about this upcoming test. I'm worried that I will bomb it, which would cement my position at the bottom of a very deep hole. On the other hand it gives me an opportunity to make up for the last test.
Got that Roman numeral program working for CS I. That was a relief. Got most of Lab Five done too, just have a couple of errors to debug. Maybe tommorow night. Programming is actually pretty fun, when I can get it to work. The frustrating part is that all you need to do is have one single charecter missing and you can get huge and horrendous error messages that ask you to cut off your head and cook it in your next pot of ramen. Depends on the charecter of coures, but when you can't follow the error message and the program won't compile.... yeah, it's a lot of fun.
Speaking of dreams, grades this semester are going to be ugly. Think that I might need to drop something. not sure yet. I had a D in Physics at midterms, for reasons that are beyond me. Best I can figure, Dr. Forringer didn't weigth the homework against the one test that was on the books and didn't average in the CAPA. I know I was missing three writtens, which came out to about 15 points. I've been to enough of the seminares now that I should have made that up. CAPA is still good, and my first test was pretty solid. Think that it was an A, might have been a high B. Then there was that second test. I came out with a 76, hopefully I can score strong on the next test and the final. Might be able to pull out an A in the class. Then there is Stat, which I had a high B in until this last test, which came out as a 63. I have to talk to Erickstad, see if there is anything that I can do to get some more credit. That and study like heck for this next test on Friday. If I can pull a strong A on it and do well on the final I might be okay. I'm not sure if I want to be relieved or worried about this upcoming test. I'm worried that I will bomb it, which would cement my position at the bottom of a very deep hole. On the other hand it gives me an opportunity to make up for the last test.
Got that Roman numeral program working for CS I. That was a relief. Got most of Lab Five done too, just have a couple of errors to debug. Maybe tommorow night. Programming is actually pretty fun, when I can get it to work. The frustrating part is that all you need to do is have one single charecter missing and you can get huge and horrendous error messages that ask you to cut off your head and cook it in your next pot of ramen. Depends on the charecter of coures, but when you can't follow the error message and the program won't compile.... yeah, it's a lot of fun.
Friday, November 12, 2004
Whatever
I got my CS and Stat tests back.... both were pretty bloody. CS I got a 72, that's recoverable considering that I have Varnell. The extra credit in that class grows on trees. It's nice.... but I will still need alot of it. I'm doing pretty well on the programs thus far, so that should be a help. Plus there is that Codelab web exercise stuff. Stat on the other hand, God only knows. I got a 63, which is still passing, but far short of the A that I need. I had a high B at midterms, so maybe I am still within striking distance.
Took the Circuits test this morning, seemed a little too easy. Hope I did okay. Studying with Zerg, Mortimer, Fjord, and Fargo really seems to have help. Course I won't know until I get the test back. It should prove interesting. We haven't gotten our design reports back yet either, Dr Graff said that it took him five or so hours to grade the eight that he has done so far. I;m thinking that it will be a while untill I get mine back. Hope that I did well.
It's pretty pathetic when you think about it. I go to sleep at night knowing that I will miss breakfast because I overslept and wondering if how I will do on my design project. A thousand miles away in a thached hut there's probably a Haitian about my age who goes to sleep knowing that he won't eat breakfast because there is no food to eat and wondering if he will be able to find anything to eat all day. How shallow can we be? Sometimes I think that there is no justice. The irony of it is, it matters nothing in the final equation. The years that we spend on earth are not even an eyeblink in the scale of eternity. Our short lives here matter only so much as they serve to spread the Gospel. A mildly sobering thought, isn't it. Makes that circuits test seem awfully insignificant, doesn't it?
Then there's that passage about the servant who buried his talent. Wouldn't want to be in his shoes. Now that I think about it, maybe I have been apraoching that passage wrong. Maybe the servant's failure was not that he failed to generate a return on that which was given him by the master, but in his refusal to use what the master had given him to further his master's cause. Maybe it was because it he recognized that he had a master who would reap where he did not sow and the servant didn't want to put in work for someone else's benifit. An interesting thought. Well, it's almost three am and this little geek needs his beauty rest. (Did I tell mention that I installed Firefox the other day? I can almost feel my geek factor rising.) Be seeing you.
Took the Circuits test this morning, seemed a little too easy. Hope I did okay. Studying with Zerg, Mortimer, Fjord, and Fargo really seems to have help. Course I won't know until I get the test back. It should prove interesting. We haven't gotten our design reports back yet either, Dr Graff said that it took him five or so hours to grade the eight that he has done so far. I;m thinking that it will be a while untill I get mine back. Hope that I did well.
It's pretty pathetic when you think about it. I go to sleep at night knowing that I will miss breakfast because I overslept and wondering if how I will do on my design project. A thousand miles away in a thached hut there's probably a Haitian about my age who goes to sleep knowing that he won't eat breakfast because there is no food to eat and wondering if he will be able to find anything to eat all day. How shallow can we be? Sometimes I think that there is no justice. The irony of it is, it matters nothing in the final equation. The years that we spend on earth are not even an eyeblink in the scale of eternity. Our short lives here matter only so much as they serve to spread the Gospel. A mildly sobering thought, isn't it. Makes that circuits test seem awfully insignificant, doesn't it?
Then there's that passage about the servant who buried his talent. Wouldn't want to be in his shoes. Now that I think about it, maybe I have been apraoching that passage wrong. Maybe the servant's failure was not that he failed to generate a return on that which was given him by the master, but in his refusal to use what the master had given him to further his master's cause. Maybe it was because it he recognized that he had a master who would reap where he did not sow and the servant didn't want to put in work for someone else's benifit. An interesting thought. Well, it's almost three am and this little geek needs his beauty rest. (Did I tell mention that I installed Firefox the other day? I can almost feel my geek factor rising.) Be seeing you.
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Sunday morning
I fell alseep last night around 8pm, slept until 9am... it felt wonderful. Made up for some of the sleep that I lost last week. Plus, I got to wake up in time for church and be totally awake. That doesn't happen to often. The being awake part... I usually get to church, just not Sunday school. I guess I really should start getting up in time for SS more often. Anyway.
I had a friend from up north stay over this weekend. He's looking at coming here next fall, being a flight major. I tried to explain to him that all good Christians at LU were ME's but he didn't really grasp the connection.... young people these days. Spent saturday sleeping, eating, and playing soccer. It was nice. Did most of my CAPA too.
I other news, I have a program due on Tuesday and a Circuits test on Wenesday, and that's the highlights of the week. Get my Statics test back, which will prove interesting. I think that I did okay, but you never really know. Get Statistics and CS I tests back too... Stat is going to be bloody. CS I should be pretty good if my code has all the right jots and tiddles.
Well, I need to get dressed for church. Be seeeing you.
I had a friend from up north stay over this weekend. He's looking at coming here next fall, being a flight major. I tried to explain to him that all good Christians at LU were ME's but he didn't really grasp the connection.... young people these days. Spent saturday sleeping, eating, and playing soccer. It was nice. Did most of my CAPA too.
I other news, I have a program due on Tuesday and a Circuits test on Wenesday, and that's the highlights of the week. Get my Statics test back, which will prove interesting. I think that I did okay, but you never really know. Get Statistics and CS I tests back too... Stat is going to be bloody. CS I should be pretty good if my code has all the right jots and tiddles.
Well, I need to get dressed for church. Be seeeing you.
Monday, November 01, 2004
Life on a Monday
This cominig week will prove interesting... I have a Statistics test on Friday at 11 am, and a CS I test @ 1:30, and I probably have a Statics test on Thursday. Add to that the fact Student Foundation has to go mix and mingle with the bigwigs on Thursday nite, two 41 soccer games and at least one G2 game. So much crap, so little time. Well, let me amend that last statement - I thuroughly enjoy pretty much all things intramural, so having intramurals on a busy week is n effective destraction. At least there is no CAPA this week, and I got most of the Statics homework done over the weekend. That's kinda nice. I also have an friend from my home church coming down on Friday night. That will be nice.
My mom's going to send a package down with them... I'm thinking that I will ask her send down some classical music. I find that I can study better with classicalmusic playing. I can rip it to my hard drive overnight and send it back with Aaron. Don't really use anything else... except maybe for 8-12 hrs of sleep.
My mom's going to send a package down with them... I'm thinking that I will ask her send down some classical music. I find that I can study better with classicalmusic playing. I can rip it to my hard drive overnight and send it back with Aaron. Don't really use anything else... except maybe for 8-12 hrs of sleep.
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