Imported From Livejournal

There is no way that my Research project will be done in time… *sigh*

We decided on and ordered a PDA today. We’re getting the Palm Zire 21. It’s rather low-end for a PDA, but we think it’ll meet our needs. If I find that I really wish it did really cool things (have a microphone, play movies, have a 802.11b connection, have a USB port to plug my keyboard into, etc…), then we’ll get a fancy one for me and can have this one. But for now, this calendar-in-a-pocket will suffice.

While it doesn’t apply to me, I wanted to wish everyone (particularly those involved) a happy Project Presentation Day. While other schools get days like Martin Luther King Day and Patriot’s Day off, WPI undergrads get off exactly 5: Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas/New-Year/Holiday break, Project Presentation Day, and Academic Advising Day.

I found a good summary of my work’s company goals initiative. (Note: this is an exaggeration. How much so is up to the reader.)

So hasn’t held back and has given me 20 questions so far…

1) how long have you actually known your wife?

Since she was in her junior year and I was in my senior year at Mass. Academy… So, it’ll be 5 years in the fall.

2) how did you two meet?

Playing chess at lunchtime. The beginning of our romantic relationship is hard to define, but our first dance was March 24, 2000. has described that dance as “when everyone knew except us”.

3) what is your favorite game (table top)?

Hmmm… Most of the games I play on top of a table are also card games (looking to the next question)… I’ll say Zendo, although there are many others I like as well.

4) ” (card game)

If you mean non-traditional cards, then Magic. If you mean using standard playing cards, I’ll say Canasta, although I like Pitch, May I, and others as well. I would have hyperlinked those to rules, but a quick Googling shows that my family doesn’t play them like anyone else does.

5) ” (rpg)

Video game RPG would be Final Fantasy VI (called III in the U.S.), although I’ve never found enough time to finish it. A close second would be Secret of Mana, as I have finished it (plus, it was better multi-player with my brother). Table-top RPG would be Dungeons & Dragons. I have not played any of those games in a long, long, time.

6) how IS married life anyway?

Absolutely wonderful!

7) what is that game with the pyramids?

It is Zendo.

8) what is your favorite color?

Orange, although that may just be because it’s my favorite fruit flavor.

9) why arent i just talking to you on aim at this point?

Presumably, because you haven’t opened up an AIM session with me yet. Plus, LJ provides a permanent record of our conversations this way.

10) what can you hear RIGHT NOW?

The hum of the computers. PCPC is loudest, Jaq is quieter, and Edgar is quietest. I can barely tell when Edgar is on

1) do you have siblings? if so, how many? ben is one…right?

I have one sibling. He is Ben. Right.

2) given that you are ready and willing, how many kids would you like to have?

Between 2 & 4. and I discussed this quite a bit before getting married.

3) do you like sports at all?

Not particularly. I was not interested at all before, but a few years ago lent me a book called something to the effect of A Spectator’s Guide to Football (not sure on the exact title), which presented football as a strategy game, with very different pieces on each side. It gave me a new appreciation for sports, so I can at least somewhat understand the appeal and watch the Superbowl if that’s what people are doing that day.

4) what kind of geek do you consider yourself?

-----BEGIN <a href="http://www.geekcode.com/geek.html">GEEK CODE</a> BLOCK-----<br /> Version: 3.12<br /> GCS d(-) s:+ a-- C++$ UB P L+ E++ W+++$ N++ o+ K w$ !O M@ V? PS-- PE++ Y+ PGP+ t+(*) 5? !X R tv-- b DI++(+) D- G e++>+++ h r+++ y+++ <br /> ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
(Decoder)

5) if you had a million dollars tomoro, waht would you buy?

A house. With a kitchen for Jessi. And a really fast internet connection.

6) how are things at checkerboard lately?

Fairly good as far as I can tell. I’m still enjoying working there.

7) are they hiring for customer servicey type phone gals… wait dont answer that..

I don’t know, so I don’t have to answer that. They are looking for a full-time entry-level programmer, however.

8) answer honestly, am i annoying?

Not really, although I feel I barely know you and yet you have so many questions about me

9) what kind of pet do you have/want?

We currently have a Guinea Pig. When we get a house, we will get at least one cat.

10) last one! do you prefer warm or cool weather?

Cool weather, definitely

Today I went to work & class with nothing particularly exciting. Checkerboard is starting a “company-wide goals initiative”, which seems well-intentioned but has what looks to me to be some suboptimal implementations.

After class, we had over for a supper of delicious calzones. I unfortunately wasn’t very hungry, but I expect to have my leftovers for lunch tomorrow. We went to the Campus Center for some games and hanging out.

Hopefully, I will make a lot of progress on my research project tomorrow. But now, I am tired, so I’m going to do the logical thing and go to bed.

My wife took me up on my offer and asked me 11 questions (some with multiple parts). Apparently she’s trying to get back at me for asking her what she thought were some tough questions. So, here we go.

a) If you had to live on your own, how would you survive? What would you do when you ran out of clean clothes?

Well, I can manage to make myself meals, although they wouldn’t be nearly as good as what you create. I think I could manage to do laundry, although I would probably procrastinate it even more than you do.

b) What Star Trek character do you most identify with, and why?

That’s a hard question… I think I’ll have to say Wesley Crusher, although there’s probably more differences than similarities. We’re both fairly intelligent and like playing with computers. However, I luckily have not had to deal with the death of a parent, being in an Academy scandal, or journeying to other planes of existence. There’s probably a character that’s a better match, but I can’t think of one right now. Perhaps Reginald Barclay? Anyone out there have another suggestion?

c) You used to play blue magic decks, but now you seem to favor red. What magic color do you think best fits your personality?

Well, I think that White is closest to my personality. It is the color of rules, order, cooperation, and purity (Source). I vary the colors that I play as they each have different strategies, and part of the fun of Magic is the zillions of strategies and possibilities.

d) What is your favorite book of the bible?

I think I’ll have to say Daniel. Daniel is a very good role model. Plus, the stories are quite interesting and engaging to read.

e) Why don’t you wear fuzzy clothing?

Because I don’t own any, and I don’t see much of a purpose in purchasing some. Do you think I should?

f) How can I convince you to do housework? Would it be worth it?

I have no idea.

Well, and I have started to realize that we may need a PDA or something to keep track of all the various things that we’re doing. We’re very busy people, and it’s difficult to keep our calendar updated, and our calendar is home when we are not. Plus, a PDA can beep to tell us to go somewhere.

So, does anyone have any particular suggestions for brands or models? I’m not quite sure exactly what our requirements are yet, but any and all information & resources that people might have would be useful.

So, it seems like some other people have posted asking the audience for questions to answer. Perhaps this is how people deal with what I perceive to be another of the suboptimal features in LJ—there’s no way for a visitor to start a conversation topic on “my” page… Visitors can only comment on what I’ve started.

Or maybe it’s just a way to have something to do when bored or procrastinating.

I’ve just discovered part of why my research hasn’t been working well: If I pass the “-debug” flag to the simulator I’m using, I get drastically different waveforms than when I don’t.

Yes, trying to get more information from the simulator breaks things. Heisenberg at work, I suppose.

After lunch, I took a nap for a few hours instead of doing my homework.

Naps are good. I needed that.

is now on a quest for hamburger buns so we can have Salmon-burgers for supper.

Maybe I’ll be able to get some homework done after supper…

After posting several times yesterday while learning about this thing, I find I have little to talk about today.

Went to Costa Rica Team meeting. We’ll be working at the PIP Shelter on May 8 as a team-building activity.

QOTD:
~@pcpc$ fortune<br /> Why bother building any more nuclear warheads until we use the ones we have?

The plan for today is to do muchness of homeworkness. But first, it is time for lunch.