Fear the Crab

Spent much of the day in school, as is the usual for a Thursday. I managed to debug my Java program, so now it completely works and fulfills the requirements stated in the assignment. There are probably a million ways I could have made the program better, but now is not the time to think of them. I’d say I don’t even know half of Java’s capabilities.

Ate at Kyoya for dinner, with the family. I had the sashimi teishoku with an appetizer of hamachi sashimi, and a bottle of hot sake. I actually ate the hamachi for “dessert,” saving it for last because it’s my favorite.

I talked to Maile tonight and we gossiped about our day in school and the various events that took place. Maile knows some interesting people in her classes, more than myself, though it’s likely because she is taking core requirements that apply to everyone, rather than what I am taking; specialized fields. In my classes, everyone seems pretty “normal” to me, that is to say, they don’t seem too much crazier than I could hope to be.

If none of this makes any sense, I apologize. The mind does not function properly after it’s been awake for 22 hours.

Did some touch-up work on my homework assignment, fixing up some code and generally trying to make it look decent and organized. I still can’t figure out that bug, though.

Took Titan to the school at night, while it was cool. He ran around again and seemed to have a jolly ol’ time, though as with all fun it had to end too soon. I have to wake up early the next day, after all.

It’s odd how the day works. I went to bed last night at 2130 hours, hoping to get at least 7 hours of sleep before 0400. Yet it was at 0330 that I awoke, and since I was already up (and leery of challenging the alarm clock) I got out of bed and made a pot of coffee. I spent the next hour trying to figure out some of the Java code that’s due for homework, then got ready and left for school.

It only took me 20 minutes to get to campus and find a parking stall. That just gave me more time to work on that code. Unfortunately, the progress I had made earlier in the morning did little to further my efforts. I went to my math class, and spent that hour teetering on the edge of understanding and confusion. Probability seems very easy to grasp, but something in the back of my head is shorting out as it tries to comprehend other problems involving probability.

I ate breakfast at Paradise Palms; the usual fare of fried rice, scrambled eggs, portuguese sausage, and spam. Since I was eating, I didn’t want to work on my code, and since it’s not due until next Monday, I figured I had plenty of time. That time certainly came into play early, as I browsed onto Microsoft’s Windows Update page, and found a service pack for XP. That bloke took me nearly an hour to download, then another 15 minutes to install. I just hope it was worth it.

I managed to talk to one of my classmates, and together we looked at the code we programmed for ICS 211. Much kudos to him, because he was able to help me get past a few hurdles I couldn’t get around. Thanks to his help, I can now say that I’m finished with the assignment, and I have already turned it in. The big question is whether or not the program will run on a UNIX machine, since that’s what the TAs and professor will be testing it on. I FTPd the assignment into my UHUnix account, and did some test runs, and did not come across anything different or explosive. Instead of being satisfied, I’m worried that something else will happen that I was unable to foresee and ruin my grade. My goal over the next several days is to log on and try as many test cases as I can think of to “break” the code and discover any bugs. Perhaps a fresh night’s sleep will help clear the mind.

I must also remember to begin work on my math assignments. It’s not due for another two weeks, but it’s best to get an early start, especially with my brain’s inability to function properly in times of crises.

On a side note: A bottle of whiskey is $10. The whiskey itself is $9 more than the bottle. How much is the bottle?

Today was a normal day at school, except for the fact that I found out the Legislature has cut the budget for the ICS department, meaning that there will be less professors and less classes for me to take. Considering the amount of students already in the program (and likely entering the program in the future), the chances aren’t looking good for me to get into a class. Compound that with the fact that I register last, and there’s a problem. I won’t know the full extent of this problem until next semester, though.

Feeling particularly tired, likely due to the constant early rises I’ve had to endure these past two weeks. Four to six hours of sleep aren’t enough to someone used to a full eight. At least today I cut back on the coffee and instead loaded up on energy via orange juice and breakfast food from the school cafeteria. Their scrambled eggs were very fluffy and delicious, and of course a breakfast meal can’t be complete without fried rice, portuguese sausage and spam.

Narrowed my choices down to either the Toyota Tacoma or the Nissan Frontier. Both are comparable in terms of quality and maintenance, with some differences in power and handling. I think it will eventually boil down to how much all those extra options will raise the price. Now the research turns to finding out those facts.

Today I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything I could have hoped it would be. Actually, I did putter around online for a good bunch of hours, but was idle time since my homework for the day was done. Took a nap, spent a little time with Titan, ate some steak for lunch and some pizza for dinner, and that was about it.

Maile, on the other hand, had a lot of homework. Most of what she had to do was all from her history class. I remember one of the self-test questions being “Why slavery in Mesopotamia is enlightened?” I have no idea what that question is asking. Is it saying that the concept of slavery is enlightened, or the slaves are enlightened? Without any understanding of the question, perhaps the only hope is that the rest of the class doesn’t get it, forcing the professor to remove it.

Must try and sleep tonight; tomorrow’s another early riser.

Today was a busy day for the store. There were a lot of customers, and a lot of purchases, making the night quite a productive one. Add in the fact that Mondays are run nights and it’s easy to imagine how busy everybody was. The rush didn’t die down until 2200, so I took that opportunity to take a break.

Spoke with a few people about my interest in the Tacoma, and so far everyone agrees that it’s a worthwhile purchase. It’s making me feel better about my choice.

Maile is having a few problems in submitting her assignment online. It seems there aren’t any step-by-step instructions on how to do it, and there’s no way of knowing (so far as we can tell) whether or not the assignment was received. It’s not due until the 11th, so Maile has a lot of time to email the professor and ask for instructions. Perhaps there’s a page we’ve missed, or something that helps describe the submission process, but if it’s hard to find, then that’s merely more evidence to our request that it be easy to understand. There’s nothing worse than completing the assignment and turning it in, only to find out the professor never got it.

I’m pretty sure there are other people in the class who are having similar problems. If enough students complain, perhaps the professor will upgrade the submission process.

I’m feeling awake right now. That is not good, since I have to be up in 4 hours to get ready for school.

Maile is doing well with her homework, especially for her psychology class. Her paper/proposal assignment is progressing well, and all she has left to do is find the right set of words to properly describe her agenda. She came up with a great topic for a survey, that of what those in the medical profession think about euthanasia. This assignment is not due until Tuesday, giving her plenty of time to “touch up” her words for greater efficiency. I only wish my math homework could be like that.

Speaking of math homework, I must rewrite my assignment so that it’s legible and organized. Right now it’s a jumble of notes and scribbles as I wracked my brain to try and figure stuff out. I have arrows pointing to whatever free space there was, where I wrote additional notes or solutions. I don’t even know if any of them are correct.

Irene found out today that she has been selected for jury duty. Normally one would think it a golden opportunity to play god with another person’s life, but in this case Irene does not want to go. The selection process is scheduled for Monday the 23rd of September, and Irene has a full day of classes. As I am also a student at the UH, I can sympathize with her plight. It is difficult to miss even one day’s worth of classes when the material is quite important to one’s impending graduation. I’m not even sure if the professor’s would understand. Still, I told her to talk to her profs and see if they can either suggest how she can get out of jury duty, or find some way to give her the materials beforehand. There is, of course, the chance that she may not be selected to serve on the actual panel, but she would still have to go that first day, which loops us back to the main problem.

Today’s Invader Zim episode(s):
Invasion of the Idiot Dog Brain
Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy

Work was interesting, but only because of the conversations I was able to have. There was a little toddler boy who really really wanted a mini-recorder keychain, so badly in fact that he tried to break the glass door with his tiny fist when his mom finally dragged him out crying.

I got my first homework assignment for ICS 211. I had to make a web page, which will be the starting point for all those Java applets we are planning to make. The simplicity of this assignment is lulling me into a false sense of security; I’m trying to force myself to believe that it’s not going to be a cakewalk, just so I can take it seriously.

As far as ICS 241 goes, I finally managed to complete the first assignment. I don’t think it’s 100% correct, but at least I did what I could to the best of my understanding.

I helped Maile try and figure out why her printer isn’t displaying its status window. At first I thought it was because XP was installed over the printer drivers, but after I removed and reinstalled the drivers, that darn status window still didn’t show up. The printer still works, though.

Tonight’s UH football game:
Eastern Illinois – 36
Hawaii – 61

I have discovered that a half hour can make a whole lot of difference in regards to the morning rush hour. On Tuesday I left the house at 0615 hours and it took me about an hour to get to campus. Today I left at 0530 and showed up within 20 minutes. From now on, I plan to wake up at 0400 on school nights so I don’t have to sit in traffic. Now I really have to consider changing my hours on Mondays.

If I’ve never said it before, I’ll say it now; I hate math. Linear algebra, geometry, those I’m fine with. Stuff like what I’m getting into makes my head full. I can actually feel my brain pulse and get all fuzzy when I’m trying to comprehend stuff like mathematical induction. My head is so unhinged I can’t even describe induction here.

I officially made a fool of myself in 211. The prof is a big stickler for audience participation, going so far as to give points for it. We were reviewing basic Java concepts, and we came to the subject of while-loops and for-loops. She asked, “How many times will a for-loop initialize?” I know about for-loops, so I raised my hand, and was called to answer. Unfortunately, I misheard the question to be, “How many time will a for-loop run?” so I answered, “At least once.” I was corrected with the answer that it is just once. Not at least. Only once.

Well, my answer was “sorta” correct. And at least I’ve made myself known to the professor. The question remains whether or not I got a point for “effort,” or a neutral, which doesn’t affect my participation at all.

George left a message on my cell phone, at around 1920 hours according to the time stamp. He was hanging out with some old friends, Chanelle and Kandi (from what I understood of the message). Unfortunately, I got the message perhaps 2 hours later, and considering that I had been up since 0400 I was feeling quite beat. It’s too bad; I would’ve like to have gone. Haven’t seen those two girls in ages.

Today was the first day of instruction for me, and it went as how I had expected. The math class (ICS 241 – Discrete Mathematics) is as fast-paced as 141, but at least this time the professor takes some time to explain just exactly how we’re supposed to solve things. It’ll take a while to see how well I’ll actually do in the class, however.

ICS 211 seems the same as 111 last semester; highly instructional and step-by-step. They don’t expect us to know everything, which is a big relief, and they’ll concentrate on actually teaching us something we’ll use later. The professor has a semi-thick Spanish accent, but is still understandable, and looks to be a lot of fun. The odds are looking good that I’ll do well in this one, provided I concentrate on working.

I also figured out how to work my wireless internet card, thanks to the helpful staff at the IT department. I downloaded some updated drivers and configured the card as per the University network. It seems my firewall then became the root cause of the problem, as it was blocking the signals for some strange reason. I told Maile that it seemed as though I had to do a little ritual each time I wanted the card to work; disable the firewall, disable the LAN, disable the wireless network connection, enable the wireless network connection, dance the “macarena,” and attempt to log on. I still don’t know if those are the right steps to do, but perhaps if I dance to the Bee Gee’s song “You Could Be Dancing” things might work better.

I may have to get a new car. My engine’s making strange noises, and this time around I’m not sure if it’s still the air conditioner, or some other problem. Regardless, the cost of repairs is starting to add up, and perhaps it’s time to move on. I can’t believe I even have to consider this, though, as Toyotas are generally known to be low-maintenance. I wonder if it’s because I have to drive into town, in heavy traffic, practically every single day. If I do get a new car, I am faced with the dilemma of what to actually get. Do I want another sedan? Should I go for something more “manly” and get a truck? Or something in-between, like an SUV? I also don’t know if I should stick with Toyotas, which tend to be among the more pricey of imports, or switch to Nissan, whose cars seem to have a good track record in regards to maintenance (from what I’ve seen and heard; many of my relatives own Nissans). The only thing I know for a fact is that I’m not going to buy American, as I have had bad experiences with American-made cars. European is definitely out of the question, too.

Well, for now, that’s just something to consider. I still have more important things to concern myself with, such as the homework that’s due next week.