So you might have figured out that I've kinda neglected my blog (since it's been over a month since I've posted...whoops...). One of the primary reasons for getting this blog wasn't to express my thoughts (as my Xanga blog was back during my latter years in high school and early college life...), but rather to post my photos.
So as would be expected, I've moved to a photo-hosting service: Flickr. Yes, I've gone there. I've actually joined a few groups that help to motivate me and give me ideas of stuff to do for photography (if you're ever on, look up the groups Mission24 and Mission24:Diesel).
So I guess this is my official "I'm outta here" until further notice. Peace out, and check out my photography on Flickr (my screen name is njimse, but it's easier to get to my page through my Facebook profile).
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Stealing a Very Good Idea
So I was talking to my suitemate here at my internship, and he's into photography. He said that a while ago, he noticed that he didn't take too many pictures, so he instituted a personal regimen of taking at least one consciously good photo a day. He said that in no time at all, his photography improved markedly. I figure it couldn't hurt to give it a try. Here's a picture from tonight. I didn't have much time before going to bed, but I think it's pretty darn good.
So I was talking to my suitemate here at my internship, and he's into photography. He said that a while ago, he noticed that he didn't take too many pictures, so he instituted a personal regimen of taking at least one consciously good photo a day. He said that in no time at all, his photography improved markedly. I figure it couldn't hurt to give it a try. Here's a picture from tonight. I didn't have much time before going to bed, but I think it's pretty darn good.
So I was talking to my suitemate here at my internship, and he's into photography. He said that a while ago, he noticed that he didn't take too many pictures, so he instituted a personal regimen of taking at least one consciously good photo a day. He said that in no time at all, his photography improved markedly. I figure it couldn't hurt to give it a try. Here's a picture from tonight. I didn't have much time before going to bed, but I think it's pretty darn good.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Another Year in the Books...
So here I am, summer vacation after yet another school year. I'd be lying if I said that this year was an easy one. Or even a moderately difficult one. In fact, it was pretty damn hard.
Classes kept me busy. First semester it was Physics. That course (or rather, the professor) destroyed every bit of enjoyment I had in Physics prior to taking that course (sorry Mr. Keifer). Spring semester was more a combination of several classes. Cyberethics kept be busy with a whole lot of reading (at least by CS standards). Despite the workload, I truly enjoyed that class. Then there were my other two CS classes. Computer Systems Architecture & Organization (A&O) was such a waste of time. Pretty much everyone in the class thought the same. At the beginning of the semester, we thought that the class was essentially telling us to stay out of hardware design, because we weren't learning anything. But later in the semester, we all speculated that since Truman's CS program is software-oriented (very little hardware at all), the professor figured that we would have to go well beyond his course in order to do anything with hardware. And having figured that, the professor then didn't care much at all about the course. The other CS class was Object Oriented Programming with Java. I didn't learn much from that class either. Oh, except how to be bitter about Java and give up from the get-go. After midterms, my friend Mark and I started skipping so frequently that the two of us were never both present at the same time for at least a month. Mark skipped enough that people had assumed he had dropped. The sad thing is that those who went to class didn't learn anything more than those of us that skipped.
This was also an interesting year for Sweet Nothings. We had 15 members this year, which made a huge difference in our sound. We even got some recordings done (although that is a story in and of itself), and had a kickass concert (much better than last year's disappointing flop). I've been elated to see Sweet Nothings grow from the beginning; it makes me proud. Proud to have created something. Proud to have given something to the other members. Unfortunately there has been a certain amount of drama within the group this year. I won't go into details, except to say that I extremely dislike drama. It sucks.
ResLife was also an interesting experience this year. I did not have a co-SA this year, so I was alone in my house (although the house was about half the size of most other houses). I was so bogged down with classwork and Sweet Nothings that I often felt that I was seriously slacking off in the ResLife department this year. The feedback I got from others suggests otherwise, but I still feel guilty for not having put more into my house this year. I had some other disappointments, but I'd rather not go into that now. I am, however, very much looking forward to being an Apartment Manager next year. I think it's gonna be an excellent staff, too.
As for this summer, I'm going to be working at Cerner (Kansas City), doing a software engineering internship. I'm excited and extremely nervous at the same time. I'm excited because it'll be my first real-world programming experience. I'm extremely nervous that I don't know enough going into the program to do a good job. Only time will tell, I guess.
The past couple days have been pretty uneventful. I've just been killing time on my computer, for the most part. One of the things I've been spending my time on is building a website for Sweet Nothings. Right now, I'm trying to design the banner for the top of the website. Once I get that, the rest will follow suit (hopefully). Here's what I've got so far:
Classes kept me busy. First semester it was Physics. That course (or rather, the professor) destroyed every bit of enjoyment I had in Physics prior to taking that course (sorry Mr. Keifer). Spring semester was more a combination of several classes. Cyberethics kept be busy with a whole lot of reading (at least by CS standards). Despite the workload, I truly enjoyed that class. Then there were my other two CS classes. Computer Systems Architecture & Organization (A&O) was such a waste of time. Pretty much everyone in the class thought the same. At the beginning of the semester, we thought that the class was essentially telling us to stay out of hardware design, because we weren't learning anything. But later in the semester, we all speculated that since Truman's CS program is software-oriented (very little hardware at all), the professor figured that we would have to go well beyond his course in order to do anything with hardware. And having figured that, the professor then didn't care much at all about the course. The other CS class was Object Oriented Programming with Java. I didn't learn much from that class either. Oh, except how to be bitter about Java and give up from the get-go. After midterms, my friend Mark and I started skipping so frequently that the two of us were never both present at the same time for at least a month. Mark skipped enough that people had assumed he had dropped. The sad thing is that those who went to class didn't learn anything more than those of us that skipped.
This was also an interesting year for Sweet Nothings. We had 15 members this year, which made a huge difference in our sound. We even got some recordings done (although that is a story in and of itself), and had a kickass concert (much better than last year's disappointing flop). I've been elated to see Sweet Nothings grow from the beginning; it makes me proud. Proud to have created something. Proud to have given something to the other members. Unfortunately there has been a certain amount of drama within the group this year. I won't go into details, except to say that I extremely dislike drama. It sucks.
ResLife was also an interesting experience this year. I did not have a co-SA this year, so I was alone in my house (although the house was about half the size of most other houses). I was so bogged down with classwork and Sweet Nothings that I often felt that I was seriously slacking off in the ResLife department this year. The feedback I got from others suggests otherwise, but I still feel guilty for not having put more into my house this year. I had some other disappointments, but I'd rather not go into that now. I am, however, very much looking forward to being an Apartment Manager next year. I think it's gonna be an excellent staff, too.
As for this summer, I'm going to be working at Cerner (Kansas City), doing a software engineering internship. I'm excited and extremely nervous at the same time. I'm excited because it'll be my first real-world programming experience. I'm extremely nervous that I don't know enough going into the program to do a good job. Only time will tell, I guess.
The past couple days have been pretty uneventful. I've just been killing time on my computer, for the most part. One of the things I've been spending my time on is building a website for Sweet Nothings. Right now, I'm trying to design the banner for the top of the website. Once I get that, the rest will follow suit (hopefully). Here's what I've got so far:
Monday, May 5, 2008
No Pooping For You
I went down to St. Louis last Friday to get a bike from someone down there. It was nice being back down there; it always makes me reminisce about the old times. I ended up coming back with two bikes, instead of just one. I picked up a bike for free from Meredith's cousin. That bike actually fits me perfectly, so I'm gonna sell the other bike.
It's finals week now. I had Cyber Ethics this morning, and I rocked it like none other. I needed a 60% to keep an A, and I think I got about 98% on the test. Tomorrow, I've got Architecture & Organization (I'm gonna study a little bit, since I only need a 30%), Matrix Algebra (I'll study well for that one), and Military Science (not gonna study that one). Wednesday is recording for Sweet Nothings. Hopefully that'll go well. Recording has been the source of quite a bit of stress this semester. Thursday is my final for Object Oriented Programming (open book, so zero studying). Friday is Chinese (a WHOLE LOT of studying for that one). Right now, though, I'm going to go put some stuff in my storage unit for the summer.
a sign I saw in St. Louis
a picture of my old house
It's finals week now. I had Cyber Ethics this morning, and I rocked it like none other. I needed a 60% to keep an A, and I think I got about 98% on the test. Tomorrow, I've got Architecture & Organization (I'm gonna study a little bit, since I only need a 30%), Matrix Algebra (I'll study well for that one), and Military Science (not gonna study that one). Wednesday is recording for Sweet Nothings. Hopefully that'll go well. Recording has been the source of quite a bit of stress this semester. Thursday is my final for Object Oriented Programming (open book, so zero studying). Friday is Chinese (a WHOLE LOT of studying for that one). Right now, though, I'm going to go put some stuff in my storage unit for the summer.
a sign I saw in St. Louis
a picture of my old houseMonday, April 28, 2008
Brains!
So I know, I haven't posted since my first post, and it's been a while. I've been pretty darn busy with classes, especially lately. I was up pretty late last night working on a program for CS 260. I just checked on my finals schedule for next week, and I've got 5 finals, plus the Military Science final this Thursday (not that it's gonna be a tough test).
Despite my busy study schedule, I managed to steal away from the books for an hour here or there to take some pictures for this semester's game of Humans vs. Zombies. For the uninitiated, here's the rundown: humans wear a bandanna around their arm, and zombies wear a bandanna around their head. Zombies can only survive 48 hours without "feeding" on a human. Once they feed, they remain in the game for another 48 hours (rinse and repeat). To feed on a human, a zombie must tag them (just like the childhood game). Once a human has been fed upon, they then become a zombie. Now, to defend themselves from the zombies, humans are armed with socks and Nerf guns. If they successfully hit a zombie, the zombie is stunned for a period of time before they can attack again. In order to make the game even more interesting, several moderators (who run the game) create missions that plays out a storyline and provides for large confrontations of dozens and dozens of humans and zombies.
Sound like a weird game for a bunch of nerds? Well, maybe. But it's a whole lot of fun. I didn't play this semester because I didn't have the time to commit, but I wanted to document the game for posterity. If I remember correctly, there are only 5 or so universities in the nation that play the game (it's really new). This semester, we had about 140-150 people playing.
Think that's impressive? Well, we do things right, and we've got websites to back up the game and keep public record of who is a human and who is a zombie at any given point. The time and location of kills are all recorded for all to see. Don't believe me? Check out the following hyperlink:
http://truman.hvzsource.com/index/
I posted a whole bunch of photos of the game on Facebook, so that all of the players could enjoy them (everyone was excited to see them). However, I've selected a few of my favorite pictures for posting on this blog.
A pack of humans in the middle of a mission
Joe, trying to fend off some zombies during the final stand
Josh running and giving directions. Having been the last human survivor in last semester's game, he received a lot of respect from all of the other players.
Truman's infamous Max, being attacked with a sock by Michael.
Joe charging up a hillside.
Ben, ready for the final stand. He was actually one of my residents last year.
Despite my busy study schedule, I managed to steal away from the books for an hour here or there to take some pictures for this semester's game of Humans vs. Zombies. For the uninitiated, here's the rundown: humans wear a bandanna around their arm, and zombies wear a bandanna around their head. Zombies can only survive 48 hours without "feeding" on a human. Once they feed, they remain in the game for another 48 hours (rinse and repeat). To feed on a human, a zombie must tag them (just like the childhood game). Once a human has been fed upon, they then become a zombie. Now, to defend themselves from the zombies, humans are armed with socks and Nerf guns. If they successfully hit a zombie, the zombie is stunned for a period of time before they can attack again. In order to make the game even more interesting, several moderators (who run the game) create missions that plays out a storyline and provides for large confrontations of dozens and dozens of humans and zombies.
Sound like a weird game for a bunch of nerds? Well, maybe. But it's a whole lot of fun. I didn't play this semester because I didn't have the time to commit, but I wanted to document the game for posterity. If I remember correctly, there are only 5 or so universities in the nation that play the game (it's really new). This semester, we had about 140-150 people playing.
Think that's impressive? Well, we do things right, and we've got websites to back up the game and keep public record of who is a human and who is a zombie at any given point. The time and location of kills are all recorded for all to see. Don't believe me? Check out the following hyperlink:
http://truman.hvzsource.com/index/
I posted a whole bunch of photos of the game on Facebook, so that all of the players could enjoy them (everyone was excited to see them). However, I've selected a few of my favorite pictures for posting on this blog.
A pack of humans in the middle of a mission
Joe, trying to fend off some zombies during the final stand
Josh running and giving directions. Having been the last human survivor in last semester's game, he received a lot of respect from all of the other players.
Truman's infamous Max, being attacked with a sock by Michael.
Joe charging up a hillside.
Ben, ready for the final stand. He was actually one of my residents last year.Monday, April 14, 2008
Let's Get It Started
So I created the account for this blog a little bit ago, and I still haven't posted anything. Sorry about that. I figure I'll start the blog with some pictures that I've actually printed off for framing.
This Old House - this is actually an old house out by the train bridge
Basking In The Sun - one of my dogs, Tess, taking a nap in the sun
Day Jobs - chalk graffiti above a bench in the pit
Enjoy.
This Old House - this is actually an old house out by the train bridge
Basking In The Sun - one of my dogs, Tess, taking a nap in the sun
Day Jobs - chalk graffiti above a bench in the pit
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)