First Snow

It happened finally! It is actually pretty rare in northern New York to have to wait until November 30th to get the first snow. Regardless of the fact that it was only a small sprinkling and I doubt it will last long, It puts me in the festive mood. It's not even a christmas mood. It's more like a "I'm three weeks away from almost a whole month off from school" mood. But I know that those three weeks will be frought with difficulties like finals.

In any case, It looks fantastic outside. When everything has just a light dusting of snow you can still see the true color underneath. I know that soon I will tire of nothing but whitness. However, for the mean time I welcome the snow and all of it's snowy goodness.

Betrayal!

I'll never blog at your place again! Justice will be mine! more or less.

Hi Matthew.

It's Ashli. I love you, but you should probably remember to sign out of your blog when you are done with it on my computer.
This is how things get messed with.

You can delete this later if you want. Or not, it's cool. I love you!

Most Interesting Image

I wonder what the most interesting image on the internet is. It has to be really funny and not pornographic in any way. It may be racist, it may be cruel, it may be many things but it still must be in good taste. Below are some examples of really interesting images. I still wonder what the most interesting one out there is though.

**If they get cut off just click on them to view them**

I need this vacation

Thanksgiving vacation will be arriving soon and it really could not have come at a better time. I'm stressing these days for a lot of reasons. And, because I'm lame and don't feel like blogging about something interesting I list them. Maybe it will be therapeutic.

1. I am a commuter and a full time student and I work
2. A mechanic told me over the phone that my car may be completely shot
3. I barely have any money to fix my car if it is salvageable
4. I woke up this morning at 645ish am after going to bed at 2am for work
5. I have a test on Monday
6. I have to start applying to grad school and I want to punch my gpa in the face
7. I don't know if I can afford grad school
8. The market sucks so hard that I probably won't get a job
9. I am in the double digits for thousands of dollars in debt
10. My PC needs to be reformatted


Please believe me when I say that I am not a complainer. I hate complainers and how they tend to dominate every conversation they are in. I just need to vent.

Hypertext

Almost every otherword in this blog post is hypertext. Some individuals who are not adept at Web2.0 might ask, what is hypertext? Well, gentle user, hypertext is text that appears underlined when in fact it can be clicked on to guide you to another website. Just like when you search for a site using a web browser, hypertext in blogs or other sites are wonderful little links that help the user understand more fully what the author of the post intended.

However, be warned. Hypertext can take you to bad or malicious sites that may harm your computer or innocent eyes. So only click on hypertext links for websites that you trust; like this blog. Many links expire with time, because the linked site may change addresses or delete the file it originally posted. In any case, I wonder how long it will take until only 50% of these links work.

Idea!

I have an idea for an online business that will utilize my four years of being at university. Like many others have probably already thought, I should open up a website where students can go to get homework help. And, by homework help I mean that they can submit their homework to me and I will do it for them. Logistically speaking, there are a few problems and barriers to entry with this plan.

Problems:
1. I would have to figure out how to sell a .pdf file using paypal
2. I would open myself up to even greater viral attacks on the internet
3. There are probably a myriad number of other identical sites
4. I would have to create a money-back system or free credit system in case there were errors of any kind.
5. I would have to invest in advertising or no one would know my site exists
6. If I already had a job I would have to create a limiting system for the amount of assignments I could do.
7. There would have to be a limit on how many questions they could submit
8. There would have to be a fee scale for how difficult the work is/

Barriers to Entry:
1. My lack of website building skills
2. This is has questionable legality

If you can think of any other issues that I havent please comment on them.

Focus

They installed this promotional setup at Kinney Drugs right across from me. They are playing Ice Age 3 and they still expect me to work! How can I focus when that is going on? It's too awesome to not focus on!

Turkey Day is almost here!

I am so excited that thanksgiving is almost here! Of my all time favorite holidays thanksgiving comes in at an extremely close second to Christmas, and for good reason. What could be better than sitting around with almost a week off from school just eating really good food and feeling no guilt about it? Almost nothing, that's what.

Just thinking about that food is making me salivate. The mashed potatoes and gravy, the turkey cooked to buttery perfection, the candied yams, the delicious green beans, the cranberries, the pumpkin pie, the apple pie, the ice cream. It's almost enough to make me pass out in a diabetic comma.


Long story short, I'm exited about thanksgiving for three reasons. The first reason is the time off from school. The second reason is the food. The third reason is that my girlfriend will probably be with us for the holiday. This is great not only because I love spending time with her but also because my sister will be gone and Ashli will fill the empty spot at our table.

Digital Control Project

Below is my digital controls design project. Like the title suggest we have to design a digital controller for the below system. Fun fun fun...

Holiday Spirit vs. Time

=)

I was bored in class this morning so I decided to doodle. I found myself drawing random things and one of them was a set of axis. Then I decided to put time on the independent axis and mood on the dependent axis. I found myself making a plot of how excited I get about holidays with respect to time. I have an hour in between classes, So I thought I would be a huge nerd and plot it as a piecewise function, in MATLAB. The code is below if you are interested. It's very simple, I just needed to find the right eqautions.

Enjoy!

BORED!

I'M BORED! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I HAVE FREE TIME AND WANT TO DO SOMETHING EXCITING! BUT, THERE ISN'T ANYTHING EXCITING TO DO! WHY ME? WHY NOW?

Whatever... here are some pictures of me being bored.

This is me bored on her bed:


This is me being bored on her couch:


This is me being bored in the hall:


This is me being bored in the stairwell:


This is her ignoring my terminal boredom:

Caught Unaware

Last night at approxiametly ten p.m., I learned that not only do I have a digital controls test to do badly on today but I also have a Power systems utilization and distribution test to do badly on today. The only reason I know this is because I went to study with a friend and ask him questions. He then pulled out another notebook and began studying that... ipsofacto I learned that I actually have two tests today...

... and had a small heart attack.

God must really be looking out for me because I was contemplating skipping that class today to study for my other test. The ramifications could have been dire. You must be wondering, "how did you not know you were going to have a test today?" Well gentle stranger, it was my professor's great wisdom that told him to announce a test only one class before it was going to occur. And, I just so happend to miss that class because I was doing what? Yes, I was studying for another test.



Well let's see. It's 9:32a.m. so that means I will be testing roughly 20 mins after I finish this blog. And then again roughly 3 hours after I finish this blog.

It's not all bad though, the power test is open notebook and the digital test is open book. This usually means that they will be harder, but I have a somewhat good grasp on the material so fingers crossed for pulling C's on both tests. I got A's on the previous two tests, so my test average will be a B. If I get A's on the finals my test averages will hopefully be in the B+ range. However, my digital control professor is notorious for curving. A 50% on the last test curved to a C, so here's shooting for at least a C+!

Sippin' on Coffee

Right now, for the first time in a long time, I'm just sitting down in front of a computer having a nice cup of coffee. I'm not stressing school. I'm not planning anything. I'm just having some quiet time. Also, I'm trying not to get freaked out about what Clarkson University calls art. I think it's staring at me.

Kinney's Fail

Urine Gone!, The new product only Kinney Drugs that helps you get those annoying urine stains out of many of your household products. I don't know why Kinney's would feature this product or why anyone would want to keep something that was at one point soaked in urine. What I do know is that it sounds as similar and useful as Chipotlaway.

Up

Ashli loves the movie Up. Apparently it's her new favorite. So, she wanted me to take her to Walmart today to get it since it's released on the tenth. However, I have no free time today to do it. So, we went to get it at midnight this morning. This would have been fine, I don't go to bed until like 1a.m. anyway. The only problem was that everyone was there to get the newely released video game modern warfare; which was released on the same day.



After talking to two associates we finally got someone to run back and just snag a copy for us. We had to wait a half an hour for it, and they were going to make us wait longer. The only reason we got it that soon was because one of the underlings took it upon himself to use logic and run back and grab it. Unlike the managers, it seems some people who work their actually understand how to help a customer. Who would have thought?

The end is near, I hope.

I swear if armageddon does not come in the next month or two, I don't want to be around when it does. The economy is still in the crapper with the only sign of recovery being, wait for it, jobless!; swine flu has kicked into high gear and is ravaging school districts, universities, and work places; Senators can't agree on how to(or if they should) fix a health care system that not only overlooks those who need it most but will soon absorb the majority of the federal budget; Afghanistan is in worse shape than it ever has been in terms of violence; and America is not too much better off considering the recent events of Fort Hood.

I love when the crappiest parts of the economy and recent health scares affect me personally!

Swine Flu Cases Confirmed at SUNY Potsdam

It has been confirmed that the deadly H1N1 virus has now spread to upstate New York and has begun infecting individuals at SUNY Potsdam. Reports have confirmed at least twenty cases of swine flu infecting students. In one case, the flu has progressed to a point where a student was required to leave the university. Health officials are doing everything in their power to contain and limit exposure to the general student population, acting in accordance with standard practices.


While local health officials are doing everything they can to combat the spread of H1N1, it appears that some students have taken it upon themselves to continue interacting with others even after they have contracted the virus. An unnamed source has told us that a female student was heard talking on her cell phone, in a dorm common room, telling the person on the other end of the line that she was "getting away with swine flu." She went on to state that she has been going to class and neglecting to wear a face mask, regardless of the fact that she has been coughing regularly.

It is for this reason that health officials warn the general population to guard themselves whenever possible. This includes frequently washing hands, avoiding those known to be ill, eating health foods, drinking plenty of fluids and above all else know that if you do contract any form of illness ,wither it be influenza or a common cold, you must seek medical attention. The Center for Disease Control has reported that H1N1 as well as other types of influenza cases are still on the rise, prompting the individual to become far more vigilant about his/her health than they have been in recent years.

Sometimes I'm Retarded

Last night I discovered that today, this morning in fact, I have an exam. The exam is in a course I'm retaking called microeconomics. While this course is easy for some, I have found it more difficult than differential calculus. Why?, I have no idea and probaby never will. But in any case, I have become a more robust student since I entered here four years ago. And I pulled, what we in "the biz" like to call, an all nighter. Well, not a complete all nigher but it was after 2am when I went to bed and before 7am when I woke up. Do I feel prepared, yes. Do I think I am going to excel on this particular exam?, the answer is clearely no. I believe I'll do o.k. but not great. Which is more than a lot of Clarkson students hope for.

Lovely Power Homework

Two Years

So this November third Ashli and I will be celebrating our 2nd year together as a couple. And, how could I forget since I've been hearing about it's upcomming arrival for almost six months now. Girls have funny memories like that. Oh well, it just must mean she loves me. In any case, it will be a big day to behold I assure you. There will be flowers, a candle lit dinner, fine wine, and all that jazz.

I just hope my poketbook can handle it...