Alex's Blog

Updates and End of the Semester Stuff

2008-04-21T03:04:00Z

Wow, I've been busy the past two weeks. I've had several tests even though it's nearly time for finals. I've been working on some big projects, both in and out of school. I've also been going to a lot of events on campus. Ballroom dancing is over now, so that frees up my Monday nights a bit. They were a lot of fun, and I heard that sometimes an intermediate level ballroom dancing class is offered, so I'm going to have to keep an eye out for that and sign up for it. I had tests in my econ, chemistry,...(read more)

Cardinal Preview Days

2008-04-06T18:16:00Z

Early last week, I was asked to go to a question-and-answer session at Cardinal Preview Days to answer questions about my department (Computer Science) for prospective students. I decided to do it, despite the fact that I would have to go late because I had class right before I was to be there. It wasn't quite what I expected, and I didn't get to say as much as I would have liked to. I was at the front of a large room with several other students answering questions from an audience of parents and...(read more)

Still Busy!

2008-04-02T00:07:00Z

Wow, the last couple weeks have been a whole lot busier than I thought they would be. I had a test and homework due today, chemistry lab yesterday, Honors thesis work on Sunday, programming project work Saturday, and sometime I need to make my schedule for next fall. I hate messing with schedule stuff, but it's nice to get it done and know what I'll be taking. I don't think the deadline is until April 8th, so I have some more time to procrastinate. I have another test Thursday, and a couple of non-class-related...(read more)

Busy Week Back

2008-03-22T16:59:00Z

My first week back from break was a whole lot busier than I expected. I missed one of my midterms the week before break, and had to make that up on Tuesday. My professor was very helpful and cooperative. I think most are, if you give notice that you'll be out of class and act willing to make it up as soon as possible. I also had a paper due Tuesday, and an "executable release" due for my game programming class. I don't have a link to it yet, as we are having trouble getting it to launch successfully...(read more)

Spring Break

2008-03-05T22:56:00Z

Next week is spring break. I'm glad I'll be out of class for a week, but I won't exactly have a "break." I'll be working 40 hours at First DataBank in Indianapolis. I work there pretty much whenever I'm not in class (I think I've mentioned that on this blog before.) The extra money is definitely nice, as is the change of environment. This will be my fourth spring break there, meaning I've worked there approximately three years. I have a chemistry exam on Friday, and I had an Operating Systems midterm...(read more)

An Awesome Weekend

2008-03-04T03:56:00Z

This weekend was really long, but really fun. Friday night, I went to see "Bee Movie" at Pruis with a friend. I had heard that the movie was really good, and I wasn't disappointed. I've seen a lot of movies there that I probably wouldn't see otherwise. I didn't stay out late, though, because of what was planned for Saturday. Saturday morning, I drove to campus to pick up four friends, and we drove to Columbus, Ohio to see a showing of "Jesus Christ Superstar." I saw the same production about two...(read more)

Guns and Universities (Update)

2008-02-28T21:12:00Z

I just read this article on Lew Rockwell's site. It was posted today and is very similar to mine, but is shorter and has more details of previous shootings. http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/larosa4.html...(read more)

Guns and Universities

2008-02-27T01:45:00Z

Campus shootings have been in the news a lot recently. Virginia Tech happened almost a year ago, and a couple of weeks ago there was a shooting at NIU. These events are tragic, but fortunately they are very rare. What I find interesting, though, is that despite the strict no-firearms policy that most universities (including Ball State) employ, shootings such as those named above still happen. Theoretically, banning guns on campus makes gun violence on campus go away. In reality, it doesn't. Besides...(read more)

Weight Lifting

2008-02-18T04:19:00Z

When I was in high school, I was in a varsity sport every season for four years. I was constantly working out and exercising. But, like many people, that ended when I graduated. In the last three years, I have been out running a grand total of maybe 30 times. I hadn't lifted weights, either, until last week. A friend and I decided we should start working out. We started Thursday at Ball Gym. It's a very nice facility, but seemed kind of small. We lifted again Saturday, and because Ball Gym was closed...(read more)

Lots of stuff....

2008-02-10T00:38:00Z

I don't have a specific topic for this post. It's sort of an amalgam of many things that I've got going on. First of all, I finally uploaded the copper pouring videos from last fall to youtube. http://youtube.com/watch?v=X_DY7njZtQE http://youtube.com/watch?v=ewwA_9Bg2gQ http://youtube.com/watch?v=AcAU6sxtfes And some videos from last spring. The second one is a steam explosion and video evidence of why it's a bad idea to pour molten metal on volatile liquids. http://youtube.com/watch?v=crVMykAkGfg...(read more)

Ballroom Dancing

2008-02-06T02:00:00Z

Ball State often offers dancing classes. I don't know if they are offered every semester, but it seems like it. I know I've been getting emails advertising it since freshman year. The classes aren't for credit. They are sort of extra-curricular and also cost extra money, though student fees are discounted. Last night was the beginning of a ten-week ballroom dancing class, and I signed up for it. I had sort of considered signing up in past semesters, but never really committed to finding someone to...(read more)

Billy Joel and The Beatles

2008-01-27T01:47:00Z

There were two shows this week at Ball State. Thursday at Emens Auditorium was the musical "Movin' Out," based entirely on Billy Joel songs. Friday night, at Pruis, was a showing of "Across the Universe," a musical based entirely on music by The Beatles. I went to both with the same group of friends, and had a pretty good time. I expected Very Good Things from the Billy Joel musical. Unfortunately, it did not deliver. Instead of writing the songs into the actors' lines, the Billy Joel music is used...(read more)

Past Projects: The Crossbow

2008-01-21T00:48:00Z

My first year at Ball State, I took a special Honors symposium. It was a sort of combined humanities/history class, and spanned two semesters. It was a total of four classes, two each semester. The first semester was Honors 199/201 and the second was Honors 201/202. The same group of 23 students took all four classes together. We had Dr. Ruebel and Dr. Mr. Edmonds the first semester, and Dr. Mr. Edmonds and Dr. Mrs. Edmonds the second semester. While it was a lot of work, consisting mostly of reading...(read more)

The Nerdkit

2008-01-16T18:59:00Z

One day over break, I was browsing Slashdot and saw a link in a comment to nerdkits.com . I did a bit of reading on the site, and it turns out that a "Nerdkit" is a set of all the components needed to make simple integrated devices. It's aimed at people who want to get involved in circuit design and programming but don't know how. I didn't buy one right away. I waited a few days, to see if I was still interested. I was. I ordered a Nerdkit last Monday, and got it last Thursday. I spent the rest of...(read more)

Test Animation - Dr. Frankenstein's Lab

2008-01-12T03:28:00Z

The test animation I posted about last week has a long and interesting history. Some classes in the Honors College require a final creative project rather than a test. A friend of mine, Josh, was in such a class in the Fall semester of 2006. For his creative project, he did a computer animation of Dr. Frankenstein's lab. (He chose the lab because his class had read Frankenstein and the creative project had to tie in with the class somehow.) During the winter break that followed, he and I discussed...(read more)