| Obligatory Schedule Post |
[Nov. 18th, 2009|01:52 am] |
So, I had initially planned out a very nice,beautiful schedule:
15-312 TR 10:30-12
15-386 TR 3:00-4:30
15-451 TR 12:00-1:30
(15-712 MWF 3:00-4:30 OR Research)
basically a 4 day weekend, especially if I didn't take 712. However after talking with bblum and sully, it would appear the smarter course to fill that last slot would be 15-610, given the apparent winds of change that may be coming to the 5th year masters program. So I'll be getting up at 9am 3 days a week. Nothing I haven't done before. |
|
|
| Fill in the blanks |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|04:10 pm] |
On a whim, I had an ad-lib/fill in the blanks on the whiteboard in the cluster today.
For the phrase:
410 Loves You _____ ______ _____!
Suggestions were:
1. With a sword
2. In the butt
3. Like a pufferfish
4. No it doesn't
5. In Soviet Russia
6. And Your Mom
7. Kill them All
8. Haha I lied
What else can you guys come up with? |
|
|
| General Angst |
[Oct. 29th, 2009|02:03 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  anxious | ] |
Before I start whining/complaining/moping, let me say that so far this semester has gone fantastically. I'm really enjoying OS and it hasn't been totally eating my life. Its also helped me figure out what I really want to do after school (yes, its turning me into a systems person, at least in part) and I couldnt be happier about that. But it seems that the past few days have left me in a bit of a funk.
We hit checkpoint 2 last week and haven't gotten a lot of 'substantial' progress done since then. I mean, we re-wrote our frame allocator and have designed/started readline along with a few other important things, but I get the feeling that we could have done more last weekend. Combine this with realizing the kernel is due in a little over 2 weeks and I'm getting a bit nervous about my happiness/sanity over that time period. Hunter and I plan to do a lot of work starting tomorrow and carrying through the weekend and hopefully that will help settle my internal panic-meter, but Im just afraid that we're going to go from "fine" to "panic-mode" in a short period of time.
The schedule was released (Sun|Mon)day and had my meeting with Mark on tuesday. my schedule is shaping up to be something like:
15-312
15-451
15-386 (Neural Computation)
***
Where *** is defined to be:
a) Research -
I went and talked to de0u about where I should be looking and he gave me some good advice: find some faculty who are doing systems research, then read their 3 most recent papers and see if anything really jumps out at me. Unfortunately this requires time+effort that I don't quite have (except for writing on lj, c.c)
b) 712 (advanced OS + distributed systems)
- More paper and research oriented than 410, according to eckhardt a good jumping off point for a lot of the fundamental issues faced in systems research today. Dave Andersen is teaching it and I've heard great things about him.
c) 746 (storage systems)
de0u tossed this out as a "good idea" even though it isnt quite my specific area of interest. Garth Gibson and Greg Ganger are teaching it (double alliteration ftw) next semester and Garths a good lecturer and Ganger is at least decent.
d) 610 (Satya's course)
Mark reccomended I take a serious look at it, and Mark, Kesden, and de0u all said that the course has changed since its inception and that I would be wise to listen to people who have taken the course recently as opposed to those who took it further in the past.
e) Independent Study
Would require me coming up with something to study independently, so I'm not sure how viable this idea would be. Also would require a teacher to do it with, although that is clearly a secondary concern
f) Networks
Another de0u reccomendation, although given what I've heard about Goldstein and the fact that I've been told that I won't learn much from it that I can't get from wikipedia, I highly doubt I'll take it.
Talking to Eckhardt was really awesome, by the way. I mean, he took a rather large amount of time (~30 mins) to sit down with me and go over a bunch of stuff like research, professors, classes, and what I wanted to do after school, which leads me to my next point....
The reason research is up at the top there is that I am strongly considering a 5th year masters here at CMU. In order to do this, I need to cozy up to a professor so that I can work with them during that 5th year. While I could start working with someone senior year, better to start earlier than later. Of course I'm not sure if thats actually what I want to do (it will probably end up depending on what my other options are at the time ) and speaking of work...
I have two on-campus interviews with Google next week. While their email was a bit pompous, I am really happy about getting the interview, as I would really like to work at google for the summer. Of course this has started me worrying about work next summer and how I will perform during the interviews. I've always kinda told myself that if I get the chance to interview I'll do well (which has thus far held up for the most part, excepting my Palantir phone interview from last year) and this is one of the more important times for me to do well.
Combine all of the above with a recent case of the not-sleeping-well and you get an angsty somewhat-insecure Jack. I know everything will work out in the end, but for right now it just seems like theres so much going and and so many things I have to think about that its stretching my brain just a bit too much
|
|
|
| Because it seems like fun |
[Sep. 13th, 2009|01:29 am] |
|
I want you to ask me a question. It can be absolutely anything you want - something random, serious, whatever - and I'll reply with an answer and my own question for you. Then you reply with an answer and another question for me. The catch is, I'll always reply. This won't stop until YOU stop replying. Go crazy.
|
|
|
| Food musings |
[Sep. 7th, 2009|10:14 pm] |
So, we just had a fairly big labor day bbq at my house. I think the headcount was ~19 people? We had ribs, kebabs, tabbouleh (sp?) and it was a lot of fun. That said, I am dead tired.
It was my first time cooking ribs, but its something that I've wanted to do for a long time so I put some nontrivial thought+effort into it. Since I imagine this is somethin I'll be refining and perfecting for sometime, I think it's in my best interest to transcribe the recipes and my thoughts on the results here for next time.
Rub Recipe:
1/2c Paprika
2 TB Chili Powder
2 TB Ancho Chili Powder
2 TB Chipotle Chili Powder
1 TB Red Pepper Flakes
1 TB Cumin
2 TB Salt
Some Pepper
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
Yield: 1.25 cups of rub
Sauce Recipe:
1c Ketchup
1/4c Apple Juice
1/4c Cranberry Juice
1/2c+ Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4c Balsamic Vinegar
1/4c White Vinegar
3/8c Brown Sugar
2spoons Dijon Mustard
1 Tsp Garlic
1 Jalapeno Pepper
1 Red Chili Pepper
1/3c diced/minced onion
1-2TB Paprika
Salt&Pepper
sprinkle of Oregano
1 TB molasses
So now that the recipes are written, herein lie my reflections (up)on them:
I really liked the sauce. I synthesized it from a few recipes online, with its heritage lying somewhere between St. Louis, Memphis, and North Carolina (less of this than the other two). Initially it was very tangy but missing some seasoning, so 8 suggested paprika, pepper, and a bit of oregano which seemed to help out a lot. If anything. I'd say it was too sweet/fruity. There are a few possible reasons for this. First was my oddball use of balsamic, which may have added more sweetness than I'd intended. Alternatively, I could cut down on the fruit juice and/or tweak my ratio of vinegars to rely less on the apple cider, although i'd be very hesitant about the last option because apple cider vinegar is a strange beast. I say that because while I find its smell bizarre and unsettling, whenever I use it things turn out really tasty.
And while the rub turned out alright, I think it needs more work than the sauce. Just looking at the ingredients, you can tell it uses paprika as its base. That gave it a good amount of back heat, which (I think) overpowered the sauce a bit. This is so far the one issue that I haven't come up with a good solution to, since I can't think of another spice to split the base with that won't add its own spice. I didn't really want the ribs to be spicy, just to have a well-seasoned taste. Towards this end, cutting down on the chili powders and increasing the cumin may help.
The other area which I did not succeed so fully in was texture. While I smoked the meat well enough (I didn't hear anyone complaining, but if you ate them and did let me know) I put too much rub on. This resulted in two things: in some places you could taste the grains of spice, which was a terrible thing. Perhaps related to this, the ribs were not as saucy as I may have liked, as the crust seemed to soak up a bit too much of the sauce.
So those are my thoughts. If you have any ideas/suggestions/comments/problems, I'd love to hear them.
|
|
|
| Next Semester |
[Jul. 8th, 2009|09:35 pm] |
I'm not entirely sure that I ever posted my schedule for the fall up here, but after some sanity checking:
15-410 OS
15-493(?) Robobits: (project based course playing with NAO robots)
15-381 AI
36-309 Stats
85-310 Experimental Research Methods
It should be a fun semester. But I intend to make it more interesting. My approach to school has been this: I have ~4 years here and its my last chance to dedicate a part of my life to learning. I want to learn as much as I can in these few years, and if that meant not having the best GPA, so be it. This holds as long as my grades are 'acceptable' (above 3). After having GPA's of 3.01 and 3.03, its getting a little close for comfort. So here's my challenge for the semester:
4.0
That may sound silly, just to declare that thats my goal (in fact, if it wasnt my goal at the beginning of every semester then I'd argue I was doing it wrong). But I'm very good at achieving things I set my mind to. When something matters enough, I get it done. And I'm taking the 4.0 seriously. And announcing it here is kind of an extra incentive I guess.
|
|
|
| I Saw a city |
[Jun. 22nd, 2009|06:16 pm] |
So I spent the past few days in Chicago visiting Meggie. And while its only the second time I've visited the city (and only ~7 days total spent there) its certainly growing on me.
I'm not sure if I mentioned it on here, but the last time I visited there, her parents got rather cross when I said that I enjoyed Chicago quite a bit-- but still preferred my hometown haunt New York. And I found this to be rather ridiculous, especially as their reasoning was suspect ("The 'New York Vibe' doesn't exist! Chicago is a cleaner, better city!"). This time around, Meggies parents told her she had to show me the best of Chicago and convince me it was the superior city. And certainly she tried. I had a hot dog that rivaled Papaya King (and it wasn't just one place, its the brand: Vienna Beef!), a rapid transit system that has sensible hours (I'm looking at you, DC and Boston), and a beach on a freshwater lake (that concept strikes me as so wrong on a few levels). Its a kindred spirit of New York, if that makes any sense. I think it might have something to do with the fact that they were both "planned" cities, although Chicago is much moreso than New York. Thats a part of it, at least. I don't think I'd ever love it as much as New York, but right now its a close second. |
|
|
| Graduation |
[Jun. 6th, 2009|12:10 am] |
Tonight was my sisters highschool graduation. Not the funny-hat ceremony, because her school makes them wear white dresses and gloves to graduate (kinda funky, I know). Like every graduation, they had a speaker come up and say some rather uninteresting words. Which kind of reminded me of my graduation, where an alumnus got up and said some rather uninteresting words. So I started thinking. If I were the speaker at my highschools graduation this or next year, what would I say? But asking that is a little unfair, because most speakers are easily 20+ years removed from the halls of highschool, so their memory is fuzzy and their perspective is not what it once was. But here's a rough idea of what I came up with:
Congratulations! You just finished off the toughest 4 years of your academic career thus far. That means something. It meant enough for you to get into the college you'll be attending in the fall. Now forget about it. Not the memories. Not the friendships. But don't carry the pride of graduation into college. Because everyone else there is graduating too. And they all got about the same marks you did, and some of them will be smarter than you. Some of you found highschool to be more difficult than others. Unsurprisingly, this will happen again in college, but don't expect that because you had it easy here you'll find the same in the Fall. So take this summer and rest up. You've completed a long journey, but another awaits a short while from now.
I might come back and edit this tomorrow morning, but there it is for now. What would you guys say to a bunch of people graduating from your highschool? or just some group of highschool graduates, if that helps. |
|
|
| Happy? |
[May. 25th, 2009|11:39 pm] |
I'd like to think that I'm lucky in the fact that I love what I plan on doing after college. I know plenty of people who graduate with degrees they dont care about or dislike, or who can't work with their passion. And for the longest time, I've always thought "I'll be happy with my job". And I hope its true, but I've come to realize that being happy isn't quite the right sentiment.
I have great respect for craftsmen. Mechanics, carpenters, builders, etc. They have skills and abilities that they put to good use. No they aren't always the cleanest or best paying of jobs, but they create things or do good. And even they aren't happy, they do something that they can be proud of. Something... respectable. I wouldn't mind being a car mechanic, provided I had a talent for it. So what if I take this concept of proud and apply it to a CS job. Do you have to be proud to be happy? happy to be proud? Personally, I think they can exist independently, although being happy is easier if you're proud of your work.
For some reason, this thinking lead me to the concept of marriage. Pre-20th century, marriages were based on need and convenience, not on love or happiness. It was understood that the more 'serious' issues took precedence over peoples fickle feelings. Obviously there was a lot more going on in the differences between marriages of today and yesteryear, but thats just one aspect.
I think its more important to be proud of what you're doing than be happy with what you're doing. Because Happiness, like love, is something that can change very quickly, but that source of pride will probably stick around for longer. I hope this all makes sense, does anyone have any thoughts? |
|
|
| Home |
[May. 16th, 2009|09:47 pm] |
The sheer stress & torque that my family applies to my mind is insane. I can't wait to start my job so I'll be in pittsburgh.
Whats worse is my mom called me on it. Called me a coward for running away. A part of me knows shes right, and that just makes it worse. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[May. 1st, 2009|02:45 pm] |
Posting a lot lately, but its good for me to write this stuff down.
After emailing tech support, apparently they're flexible in terms of me taking vacation, but not so much when it comes to fitting in classes and/or research. This leads me to my current idea:
HCI/ML research for entire summer. ~May 26-Aug 7 ~11 weeks ~$2500
First Half: work on Snackbot ~10 hours/week
Second Half: Exp. Phys and 36-309.
Pros:
- Work on snackbot
-Get Paid
-take summer courses
Cons:
-might not get to work on snackbot
Discus. |
|
|
| /me needs a TLD |
[Apr. 30th, 2009|11:26 pm] |
One I've found thats available:
feisland.com (although typing that it reads like Fe Island (Iron island... wtf?) (pronounced Fice land)
Any good ideas including either handle (feis), name, or some twist on the two? |
|
|
| The comittee on tough decisions reports... |
[Apr. 30th, 2009|10:03 am] |
Continued success.
So, last week I mentioned I had a job offer from computing services. Yesterday I had a chat with some people in the HCI department for what I thought/think was a Machine Learning research opportunity. After talking with them, I'm less convinced it has to do with ML and more to do with an uninteresting problem. They're trying to predict which target a user is guiding his/her mouse to. I did manage to learn 2 interesting things in the course of this conversation:
1) for all human motion where the initial and final velocities are 0, we use a motion that minimizes Jerk (this being a bell curve when you plot velocity vs time)
2) This problem is the same as tracking missile's using sparse radar data.
While I can see +/- usefulness to this kind of work ( ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) joshua_ had some idea of trying to do this wrt the sugar interface on the OLPC, if i remember correctly) Its not something I'm particularly interesting. So to compare the two:
| Hours | 20 | 37.5 | | Rate | 12 | 10 | | Net | 240 | 375 | | Excitement | Low | Lower | Free time
| High-ish | Unsure |
I say unsure because although im listed as full time, the lady made it sound like theres lots of downtime. At this point, I'd be fine with the tech support job if it has some free time that I could work on something interesting. For me theres a continuum between pay and interesting. If it was something I'd love doing, I wouldnt have a problem not getting paid for it. On the other hand this stuff would be work work so the comparison becomes a lot muddier. I'm going to email the tech support job and get more details on what i'd actually be doing and how much free time I would have. Anyone know of any campus projects (esp. robotics) that would benefit from unpaid help? Thoughts on which job I should take?
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Apr. 26th, 2009|06:22 pm] |
|
Sometimes I forget I'm in college. It feels like I'm surrounded by 5 year olds. Between last night and today, I seriously wonder about some people. |
|
|
| Gainful Employment |
[Apr. 24th, 2009|09:56 am] |
As per the title, I have found paying work for the summer. Its full time. The pay is... less than desirable ($10/hour). That could be forgiven. What can't is the fact that its Tech Support.That means its not even something I can add to my resume (I already have 1.5 Tech support jobs on there, and I have a deathly fear of getting pegged as Tech Support 4 Life. I really hope that I get one of the other 2 jobs I've interviewed for, but at the least I'll be getting money (and that I'll be in pgh for the summer).
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Apr. 21st, 2009|10:15 pm] |
I has a house! its 1318 Wightman and it seems like a pretty cool place. Name suggestions are welcome, but we're looking for duality names (seeing as Kempy & co are living @ 1340 Wightman)
I've had 2 interviews! one for re-imaging systems for computing services full time, one for a research programmer position, we'll see what happens.
I made chili! but vegetarian chili. I'd been thinking about it for a while; specifically, how to create a good consistency without meat. And the answer is wheat bulgur. I think it came out pretty awesome, but I think given another chance or two I can make it even better. |
|
|
| Housing Dilemma |
[Apr. 3rd, 2009|11:54 am] |
So, I've been trying to find a place to live next year. And In the past few days we've come across 2 places that fall on opposite ends of the spectrum of quality. I'm hoping some of you could/would offer some insight/advice:
Place 1: 5285 Forbes Ave 5BR/1850/mo --> $450/month after utilities, abouts
Pros: - Cheap
- Everything is reasonably sized
- Parking in back
Cons:- Agent seemed a bit off. Old guy showed up in rumpled suit and relatively new muscle car
- Older place
- Appliances appear to be ~10-15 yrs old
- Smoking household
- Bugs. As in probably cockroaches.
- discourages subletting
Place 2: 5307 Beeler. 4BR/2500/mo --> $720/month/person after utilities, abouts
Pros:- Nice place
- Everything well sized
- Newer appliances
- Central Air, Gas Heat
- Newer (<3yrs, my guess) Water Heater/Washing machines
- Marginally closer to campus
- Know the Landlord
- Okay with subletting
Cons: - God Damn Expensive
- Real carpet (kind of both pro and con, but whatever)
So when I say I know the landlord, I have friends who lived in his other properties and he takes care of both the properties and the tenants. One of my friends had her car keys and wallet stolen he was over the next morning to replace the locks. I guess what it comes down to is Place 2 has "peace of mind" I feel like if we lived there we wouldnt have to worry about things breaking or having major issues with the property. And I don't get that feeling with the forbes ave place, seeing as it already has problems out of the gate. The bugs are a big issue, and it wasn't an unclean house, which makes it worse. Its a big step mentally for me, going from campus housing/home where I know things will get taken care of (eventually) vs. hoping the landlord will fix it. So how much is peace of mind worth? Do I risk taking a buggy house? Its kind of late in the house hunt to be too picky, but there are standards, both of life & price, that I'd like to maintain. Other fact to put things in perspective, I will be charged ~7500 for staying in my room in shady oak for next year. Cost of forbes for a year: 5400. Cost of beeler: 8400. I could also sublet the beeler property.
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Apr. 1st, 2009|03:10 pm] |
|
Partnering with hpitelka for os. Is this a good idea? |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
