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Putting in overtime in the computer labs
For most of my life, school and classes have come relatively easy for me. Even in college, once I put a bit more work and concentration into what I was doing I succeded in many of my classes. But that's not always the case - sometimes one class will have your number and it will take you longer than you could ever get used to to learn the subject matter. Well, that class for me is CS 139, Algorithm Development. Yesterday I spent quite a while in the computer lab working on one particular lab that I needed to hand in. What's incredible to me is that this class is not so much about learning the computer language and the processes with which a computer calculates, but more about your thought process on how you approach a problem you are forced to solve. For me this was the big problem yesterday.
Our computer assignment was to simulate our own account statement. We would input how much money we had on our previous balance and then input any added charges. Our program had to simulate what the interest and minimum payment would be for our simulated balances. This assignment literally took me about 6 hours to complete. Normally I wouldn't complain about that because I've worked MUCH longer than 6 hours on a number of assignments. The thing that was frutrating though was that many students in the class who are CS majors finished it in an hour or so. This boggled my mind, but I must admire how well they work in their field - it's honestly something to be envious of. Well thanks to my Professor Dr. Archer Harris, I was able to figure out how to construct a program. The way that I was attacking the algorithm wasn't the best way for me to solve the program it turned out, and with his help I was able to make a much easier solution in only 20 min! It was amazing how I felt like if I looked at the problem in a different light I would've been one of the students who finished the lab in an hour or so!
Well I'm actually starting on another lab right now so I have to go!
Talk to you all again real soon.
Posted by Simeon on September 29, 2005 01:44 PM | Link | Email Simeon
Wedding Weekend
This weekend I traveled close to 1000 miles, went through 5 states, and got to see my entire family. This weekend I went to my Uncle's wedding. I went with my friend Gwendolyn and we had the best time. The wedding took place in Saugerties, NY which is a small town in upstate New York, about 10 miles from the town of Woodstock, where THE Woodstock was held in 1969. My uncle got married on Saturday, and at the reception we celebrated well into the night. It was a great time. The most annoying part was all the driving, but even that was a lot of fun, especially when you have company. It makes the time fly when you're not driving by yourself staring monotonously at the black asphalt.
I also stayed on track with a lot of my work. It helped that I didn't have a whole lot of work to do in the first place, but I did have some reading which I was able to do, and am still doing before the class so it's working out very well.
In computer science we just got our first programming assignment. I have to create a program that simulates a vending machine. There will be a list of items you can select from the vending machine, it will give you the cost, and then you have to input that much "money" via the keyboard. I'm kind of intimidated about it honestly, but I'm already starting the project so hopefully I'll work on it and ask a lot of questions. The ultimate goal is to have it done by Friday, even though it's not due until Monday. Projects like this tend to loom overhead and put a damper on the weekend so my goal is to get it done ASAP so I won't have to worry about it when I'm trying to enjoy my days off.
Well that's all for now, talk to you later!
My uncle and my new aunt. Click to enlarge.
Gwendolyn and I in front of the chapel. Click to enlarge.
Posted by Simeon on September 27, 2005 11:32 AM | Link | Email Simeon
I'm going to a wedding this weekend!
My uncle is getting married Saturday so I get to go to a wedding this weekend. It's being held in upstate New York, kind of a long drive but I have company so it shouldn't be too bad. Right now I'm just getting ready trying to find the quickest way there, and also do research on where to buy gas. In Harrisonburg it's $2.59 but I know in the rest of the country it's probably a lot higher, and I'm still a poor college student. I'm really excited about getting to see my family. School is my life for 9 months out of the year and I immerse myself in it completely, but it's really nice to take a break and really appreciate my amazing family. So I've been looking forward to this weekend for a while. I think I may bring my clubs and go golfing, to practice what I learn in my golf class!
On another subject, in my computer science class I am writing more programs. At first I was really lost in the class, but after working with the JAVA programming language a bit I think I'm really getting the hang of it. Also, I'm sure that catching up on my reading helped a lot as well. On the risk of sounding nerdy I really look forward to my lab classes in CS 139, because I know I get to develop something and execute it. There's really no cooler feeling than watching something you made run, especially something as technical as a computer program.
Another class I'm really working in is my Leadership class. We're doing a presentation next week on Humor in the Workplace to all our classmates. When I signed up for the presentation I didn't fully realize the pressure we had put on ourselves to be funny during our presentation. I'm not too worried though, my group is really great, and we've been working on this for over a week now so we are pretty prepared. And when you're prepared it all falls into place and works out great in the end.
Well that's all for now, talk to you all later!
Posted by Simeon on September 22, 2005 01:30 PM | Link | Email Simeon
All classes aren't lectures and labs!
I know I mention a lot about the core classes that I take for my GIS major or my Environmental Information Systems minor, but there are classes that I take that don't pertain to either of my fields. These classes I call my electives, and are most of the time some of my more relaxed, more recreational classes I take. This year my elective is Basic Golf. The class is a block class which means it meets for only the first 8 weeks of the semester. Every Tuesday and Thursday at 9:30 we meet at the local public golf course only 2 miles from campus. Every class we learn a new facet about the game. So far in our 8 or so lessons we have gone over how to hit with our irons and woods, how to chip from the rough and fringe around the green, and we have learned about course ettiquete when we actually get to play 18 holes. The class is so much fun - it is not very brain intensive, but I think what I learn from this class I will retain more than I will with a lot of the classes I have already taken here at JMU. It helps that the subject matter is so much fun, and I don't mind doing my homework (Just kidding Mom, I love doing all my work for all my classes all the time). Later on in the class we're going to learn about putting, pitching, bunkers and eventually we'll get to play a round with the class.
All my other classes are coming along really well too. For my Sustainable Housing class, the group which I am working in is doing a presentation on Water quality in a month. Dr. Tacy got us in contact with a gentlemen who works with water distillation systems, so we're going to set one up here in ISAT and test it out to see how efficient it will be. Should be very interesting to see the feasibility of setting up a distiller on our own, because it's one thing to say we're going to build one, but a totally different story to actually build it. The experience is something I'm looking forward to. With the practice of this set up one hopefully I'll be able to help build one on the island of La Gonave, if I get the chance to go down there.
Well that's all for now, have a great day!
Posted by Simeon on September 20, 2005 01:24 PM | Link | Email Simeon
What a week!
Well I got off to a great start writing a blog, but then I just got completely swamped with this week. I can't remember the last time I had a week that I had been this busy in a loooong time. Classes are finally starting to pick up the pace for me. Now I'm starting to get a lot more work and a whole lot more reading assignments, which I don't really mind because most of the reading is done for my leadership class with Dr. Warner and it's all really interesting. But, it still takes up a lot of time which I don't seem to have much of anymore. Besides classes, rush is starting for my Honors Fraternity Phi Sigma Pi. The way rush works for us is that we hold events for the next 2 weeks. These events allow all the rushees to come out and meet the brotherhood and just have a fun time all around. The events last for a couple of hours, and although they are a lot of fun, it makes it hard to balance with my time with my other activities, especially Water Polo. But despite how busy I was this week I still feel that I got a lot accomplished. I guess organizing my time is a lot easier to do when there is so little to waste! However, I am not complaining in the least. Like I said in my last blog I am having the time of my life right now. I'm enjoying everything this University has to offer and I plan on relishing it this last year.
On another matter, one of my classes I'm taking is CS 139, Computer Science: Algorithm Development. In this class we are learning the programming language Java. I've always been good with computers, but never have I ever done something so technical as learning to write out the language. This week I wrote my first computer program. I knew process of writing a program was very technical, but until I did it I had no idea how hard it was, and the program I made was relatively simple. I wrote a program to calculate the radius of a circle. All in all, I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with myself - 3 weeks ago I couldn't tell you what Java even was. I feel like I'm going to learn a lot from this class, and be able to impress future employers when I tell them my computer science experience, which is what I really look forward to.
Well that's all for this week. There's a home game against Delaware St. tomorrow which I know we'll win. GO DUKES!
Posted by Simeon on September 16, 2005 03:53 PM | Link | Email Simeon
I Love Being a Senior
There is no doubt about it, I have had the time of my life the last 3 years here at JMU, but this senior year so far has taken the cake. This being my last year, I have developed an even greater appreciation for this incredible institution. And lately I have honestly gotten a little sentimental about it. There is very little that I don't love at this school. I enjoy my working relationship with professors - in fact, in the Geography program there was a scheduled happy hour with the professors at one of the more popular local restaurants this past Friday - and I enjoy the classes I attend, but most of all I love the people here.
I love how I can walk down any sidewalk and smile at any person that walks right by me and know that they will smile back. The people that I have met are absolutely incredible. I've been taking the opportunities to spend as much time as possible with these people. It just kills me to think that I will no longer have the opportunity to live within a 5 mile radius of my peers and have the chances to hang out with them at any time. My favorite thing to do in the town of Harrisonburg, JMU campus included, is not to go out, but to be on campus and run into many of the people that make JMU so great. Just hanging out talking, catching up since the last time we met, those are the moments that I like the best. It's easy to forget too, with so much to do - classes, work, studying, sleeping, homework, clubs and activities - that sometimes it just occurs to me how great it is to have so many friends here at JMU.
This place is special, and everyday I'm just going to try to appreciate it more. Sorry for the short entry today, but there is plenty of time to talk about classes. Well a year at least, that I'm not going to take for granted.
Posted by Simeon on September 12, 2005 02:20 PM | Link | Email Simeon
Slowly but surely I'm getting back into the groove
Well, it's been nearly 2 weeks since Orientation has been over and like I said before the transition has been rough, but I think I'm finally getting my life back into some sort of schedule. It's always hard the first couple of weeks, but it's especially hard when you have no time to organize before the school year begins. Besides classes, I had to start my other job as an Information Ambassador at University Information in Wilson. Also, I am the Alumni Committee Chair in my fraternity Phi Sigma Pi. Not to mention on top of all of that I have Water Polo practice 4 days a week I still have to keep up with. Getting back into swimming shape has proven harder than I first thought. But all in all, life has been great and everything is starting to fall in line.
Besides my Capstone class I talked about earlier, my classes this semester are not too GIS intensive. In fact the only other class I am taking that is geography related is a class called GEOG 450, Sustainable Housing in Developing Countries. For the last week and a half, we have been brainstorming in groups we formed the first day of classes about what kind of features we would like to see in a house that would be easy and cheap to build in a developing country. We're concentrating our efforts on the country of Haiti, and more specifically on the island of La Gonave which is about a 3 hour sail west from Port-au-Prince in Haiti. After hearing about the conditions that these Haitians must live through, it truly makes me feel blessed to live in VA and be able to go to school so easily. The people of La Gonave are desperately poor. Our Professor Dr. Tacy goes there once or twice a year and tells us about what life is like. I've heard of places so impoverished that they can't afford food, but it is different when you really talk to someone who has lived with these people, and watched them suffer like they do. Sometimes I feel so bad when I spend money on something when I realize how much this could buy in La Gonave. Well anyway, our goal is to be able to build an easily replicated model home for all the citizens of La Gonave to copy and use on their own. We're hoping that we can also help them in other areas, such as making more fresh water accessible to the citizens. On Wednesday morning a priest who lives on La Gonave, who is a Haitian citizen, came in and helped explain to us more about what it is like to be a native on the island. He told us what they need the most are things that I unfortunately take for granted, like food and an education. After meeting the priest this morning I have a real desire to go to La Gonave now and try to help. The more I think about this class, the more grateful I am that I go to JMU because otherwise I would have never had the opportunity to learn about La Gonave.
If anyone has any ideas on ways to help the citizens of La Gonave please e-mail me. I hope to go sometime soon, and would appreciate any support on how to help.
Talk to you all later!
Posted by Simeon on September 8, 2005 11:36 AM | Link | Email Simeon
It's been a week but I've been working at JMU for a month
Hello everyone - here is what is going to be a solid string of blogs from this guy for the rest of the semester.
I apologize on being so tardy on reporting about my first week back to school but my life has been non-stop since I wrote my last blog almost a month ago. Last week was the first day of classes, but I've been working at JMU for the two weeks prior. I may have mentioned it before, but as an Orientation Program Assistant we train the 240 First yeaR Orientation Guides, also known as FROGs. Well, I just want to congratulate the Orientation program because working with 240 of JMU's most energetic and spirited people gave me even more enthusiasm for this school than even I knew I had. My OPA partner Margaret, who's in a couple of the pictures here, and I helped to train specifically a group of 20 FROGs known as our own FROG group. We spent a lot of time together - almost 13 hours a day for 3 days straight - going through training. We prepared them for all the events that were happening during 1787 Orientation, and helping them adjust to their role as a leader and friend to all the freshman that would be in their group. Honestly though, I feel I learned just as much from my FROG group as they say they did from me. They were some incredible people, that I know I will never forget or fail to appreciate for the rest of my time here at JMU.
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Training was all in good fun, but the rest of the week is what really counted: The arrival of the freshman class. 3,700 students moved in on Wednesday, August 24, and it was a sight to see! When the freshman class arrived, the FROGs got to put everything they learned into full gear to help make the best transition for all of the incoming students. From Wednesday until Sunday there were activity filled days that included game shows, hypnotist Michael C. Anthony, comedian Vic Henley, and a quad fest where there were games for all the students and even cotton candy - Margaret and I helped as much as we could with that.
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My personal favorite was the Pep Rally where I got to get my picture taken with Coach Mickey Matthews, the Head Coach for our National Championship football team.
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Having that much fun really tired me out though - getting up at 7am and going to bed around 2am just to get up at 7am again will really do that to you. And to make things even more hectic, my cousin got married that weekend so I had to go to Wintergreen Resort for her wedding, which was luckily only an hour away.
As you can see there was very little time for myself, so when the first week of classes came it was almost like a vacation for me. When classes started I could finally clean my room, organize my things, and get situated. The first week of classes has been incredible. I'm excited about all of the classes I'm taking. One class I am particularly excited about now is my Senior Project Capstone class. After talking with my senior advisor, Professor Dan Shaffer, I now have a project that Dan started that I am helping execute for him. We were able to get a set of data files about the topography, aquifers, placements of wells to the contributing aquifers, and layout of Interstate 81 in Shenandoah County from the state. With that data we are going to analyze the effect any runoff water from I-81 will have on the aquifers that it runs through, and how much of it will effect the wells that feed off those aquifers. To do this we have to study the direction of the water runoff, and we have a new program called ArcHydro to help us do that. Part of my study with Dan is to figure out how ArcHydro works and what it can tell us about the properties of the streams according to the topography of the land. So right now I am contacting ESRI, the company that makes the ArcHydro software, to learn as much as I can about the program, and then trying it out for the next couple days trying to figure out how it works. The study seems very interesting, combining my interest in GIS with my other interest in Environmental Science. I am really grateful for finding a project that reaches the subject of my two interests.
Well, that's all I'll write about for now. Tonight is Student Org Night, where all the clubs come out and showcase their club to any interested students. Since I'm in so many clubs I'm going to be busy showcasing all my interests.
Talk to you all real soon...
Posted by Simeon on September 5, 2005 03:16 PM | Link | Email Simeon
