Biology in a Half Shell

Homework questions like this is the reason why I love my Biology Professor:

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, green shells are dominant over brown shells. Leonardo, who is heterozygous for a green shell, marries the lovely Mona Lisa, who has a brown shell. What are the genotypic and phenotypic ratios of all potential offspring?

At least Leo didn’t get to April Oneil, we all know that was Mikey’s girl.

Holding that A

Finally, two weeks have passed since my trig final. After working like crazy all semester to keep an A, I honestly didn’t not know if I would be able hold it after the final. 25% of my total grade was at stake on the final exam alone. On top of that, another 5% of my overall grade was on homework turned in on the last day, and an additional 5% on the last exam of the semester (which was a difficult take-home exam) all to be turned in on the day of the final. Yesterday, I got my email with my final grades… It took me a few seconds to build up the nerve to open the email… However all the anxiety turned into a great sigh of relief when I saw my 4.0 GPA staring back at me.  My A is official, Thank God. Now onto the fall semester…

Time to kick back for a couple weeks and play some Eden.

I’m mad that xbox players got a new version of Geometry Wars. Although I love eden and I think the mellow pace feels much more compelling to me right now. I still crave some hard-core shooter action that only Geometry Wars can fill.

Final Projects Due…

Things have been a bit crazy for me the last couple of weeks. Where do I begin?

Well this week has been busy to say the least. After recovering from an insanely hard section of Trig, and finding out today I managed to pull off a 91% on the test, I’d say this week is looking up. Today my programming final is due, and I know I killed it. Not only do I think that I got an A, but after seeing what I’ve made I am rather amazed at myself.

The project were made in a 3D engine and it is basically a rudimentary version of Starfox based in corneria. All CG unfortunately. I couldnt iron out controls in the 10 days we had to do the project.

Ramping up

Okay, not that I am 3 weeks into Trig, we are finally starting to see the Algebra side. Forget all the graphing and such, this is starting to get hard. But I find myself not wanting to push the work away but instead craving it, and wanting to be able to do this type of math in my sleep. That seems strange when I think about it. Doing math usually means numbers, but none of the problems in this section have numbers, or graphs or pretty pictures to go with them. These are just all identities. All trying to make one side of an equation match the other side in a very indirect manor. Insanely hard… but I like it.

Math Rant

Knowing math like I do, and understanding that Math is, at its core, seeing a problem and coming up with its solution. The application to your knowledge to a problem and solving that problem. Not the memorization of what the name of a certain identity is, or what variables should be labeled what. Ticky tack nonsense that has nothing to do with generating the answer to a problem. Unfortunately my Trig professor doesn’t seem to agree. Our first test was full of such examples. Many questions focusing on what label to make this identity used rather than using that identity to solve a problem. Four letters come to mind.

L-A-M-E

Im sorry, but I studied from the book’s study guide, and pre-test questions and there were all about solving problems, not what to call the identity used to solve them. So needless to say I bombed a couple of easy questions because I wasn’t aware that I needed to memorize each step’s name. Put a problem set of 100 questions in front of me, and you’ll likely find 100 correct answers. Nope didn’t happen. So I’m looking at a B if I’m lucky.

B-S if you ask me.

Also, this professor has a lot of nerve. The class has had to correct his work all the time on the board, and his notes have glaring errors at times. He generically ridicules the class for not everyone signing the role during the test, when he knows that he gives the class the roll sheet and allows them to pass it around to each other, often not knowing which direction the roll has been passed, students will pass it at will and it skips a lot of us. To single any one person out for a poor system of roll taking is not the student’s fault. I got such a remark today during the test. The professor asking about today’s roll if everyone had signed it, when I said I hadn’t he came back with a look a disbelief. “How is that possible?”, then making a snide comment in my direction “maybe I need to start bringing it to each of each of you”. I chuckled it off not knowing if he has a terribly poor sense of humor, or if he was singling me out for what he believes is my incompetence. Meanwhile I wanted to strangle him for it.

Sigh. </rant>

Media Computer wish list

I have spent years trying to really understand what a media computer is. I have taken it upon myself to build some prototypes of PCs that are nothing more than file servers aimed to allow my media to be accessed by the television without having to string cables all about the house to link my main PC up to my TV. Well Im finally beginning to understand that my efforts have been in vein. The act if building a system is almost unnecessary with devices such as the apple TV available to bring your media from the internet to stream directly to your home entertainment system. However to bring in my own content, a computer might be a better alternative. Again I turn to an apple product the Mac mini. This is almost an ideal solution. Tiny, quiet, capable and cheap… too bad Im on a college student’s budget or I would already have one. Meanwhile Im fighting a losing battle with an old beast of a beige box hiding behind my Samsung Plasma screen to try to do the same job… and failing miserably mind you.

So again, I sit at my desk watching the lastest video podcasts and anime that I should be watching in my living room. Oh well. Maybe soon I’ll have enough money to set my dreams in motion again.

Flock

Testing the new flock 2.0 browser. Based on the Firefox 3 engine. Its still in beta, but seems to be worth a look. Go see for yourself.

Flock 2.0 Beta

Math cancelled

So waking up at 6am everyday of the week now is really taking its tole on my body. Daytime naps come to be the norm, and homework into the night to cap off my evening. Today will be a bit different though, I came to my 8am class for math and the professor who had an injury a few days prior isnt here. So I am spending some extra time in the computer lab to finish up on my math homework and prepare for the test coming tomorrow.

Also I hope my friend Vicki will be available to hang out today. She just got into town a couple days ago, and I’ve been too busy to call her. I really hope I get to spend at least a little time with her. Shes a good friend. Lived with her as a roommate for the better part of two years, and became more like family. I could say the same about my other roomates at the time, but back then, they ‘were’ family… heck they still are, just not in the legal sense.

Oh, I saw the Hulk a couple of days ago when I got time between class and work. Awesome movie! Loved it, wouldnt mind seeing it again. Now if i could get some time to see Iron man too!

Pokemon love

Its really time to get some summer clothes…

This looks likes fun for pokefans.
Pokemon 151 Shirts
i really want the Articuno one.
 

Links Bonanza!?

So I find all types of lovable things at random on the webs…

Random sounds are extremely amusing to me, and I was listening to the net@night podcast and kept hearing the hosts playing around with sounds they were finding online. Who could live without the Instant RimShot?
Or, maybe the Sad Trombone? Good Times.

A great friend sent this to me.

I think I have seen the light, and I am now saved.