Monthly Archives: January 2005

Warranties are useful

Computer Stuff

Sweet, I finally have 512MB of memory in my laptop again. It’s actually been about half a year since my computer decided it didn’t want a memory chip in the 2nd slot, limiting me to a slow 256MB running Windows XP pro… not too fun, but actually, the computer was running pretty well for the most part. The slowness finally got to me this spring when it started taking a minute to load word or any other useful application I need to use during the day. So I finally checked into the problem and found out I had a bad system board. A friend of mine (who works for AIT service) ordered me a new mainboard on my warranty, and just finished putting it in.

Wow, there is a lot of pieces that come integrated into a new mainboard. I have new fans, new ports on the back (nice because I was missing some screw mounts), and it seems like I have new latches for my expansion ports (tighter lever now). The best part is I think I had at least one blown speaker…. and the new board comes with new ones. I feel like I have a new machine. And with another 256 coming from Nick, it’ll be even speedier later this week.

Thus ends my computer rambling for the week.

The semi-annual class (p)review entry

School

With 18 credits including 3 labs, senior design (not one of those three), and choir, this semester is promising to be pretty hectic. But I think it may actually be manageable… especially if I won’t be driving for CyRide. It seems like only one course will have a final exam, and as far as it looks right now, I don’t have to spend any money on textbooks!

CprE 308 – I hear this is a toughie, but if I read the book, sit near the front, and pay attention, I should be good for a semester
CprE 483 – My 4-credit elective: the only test is a midterm, the rest of the grades come from a project that is very similar to the one we did in the pre-req course. Should be manageable.
CprE 485 – Java – Instructor’s fun, material looks pretty simple. Quizzes, but no aparent exams. Plus I hear this is a typically easy course. I could use one of those this semester.

532, portfolio, and senior design are coming up later this week, but I have a small inkling about what each are going to be like. The added time from not working should help me pull off halfway-decent grades to graduate with. We’ll see!

Consistent living!

Life Musings

Well, it’s somewhat official. It’s been one year since I moved into this new apartment. For the first time since I came to college, I have lived in the same location for twelve months. It’s been great! I’ve expanded to three desks, I have a 5.1 surround system with a perfect layout for projected movies, my keyboard is permanently set-up, and there is still enough open space in the middle of the room to pull in a couch (believe me, I’ve done it!)

I spent the last week gradually cleaning up my room, sorting and putting things away, theoretically preparing for the spring semester. Though I’m sure that within a couple weeks it’ll go back to having papers and random junk thrown everywhere, at least on the desktops. I did, however, completely clean off my main desk and slid it forward a few inches. Now I actually have room to open a textbook or notebook in front of the monitors. Immagine that! I can do homework here now!

Wow… only four months of school left. I haven’t even started this last semester, and it already seems short! I just hope I survive!

No more 12-hr marathons

Leisure

… with non-stop snacking. Yesterday 4pm – 4am was my roommate’s long-awaited Lord of the Rings extended edition marathon. And I made it through the whole thing. Well, I think I may have snoozed for 10 or 15 minutes at the beginning of Return of the King, but I didn’t miss much.

Ugh. We had SO much food on the counter and in the fridge though (6 others came and lasted through all three movies). Though I did mostly have animal crackers and water… so there’s a small plus in favor of my health. It was probably all the bread I ate, though, that did me in. I’m not really sick or anything, but I plan to take it easy for the rest of the day. And thanks to ISU’s “highly-connected-campus,” we lost a section of the Internet again. Tom says the only thing left to do is sleep. But maybe I can get some things done around my room. Or at least finish the Left Behind series (had to wait a week on book 11).

Two more weeks

Bus Ramblings

Well, I made the official call this morning. January 22 will be my last day as a CyRide bus driver. I should really go in and try to get as many pictures as I can…. since I still (theoretically) want to work on that Buss-Stuff page of Scrambled.

Earlier this week, I had talked to Karen about cutting down hours this Spring, since there was no way I’d be able to take 18 credits, drive 20 hours a week, and still do a decent job search as well as plan a wedding. There was talk about dropping half my shifts and only working 9 hours a week. That would be the only way for me to continue to be an employee. After some number punching in Excel last night, I figured, with all the times I’ll have to be off for choir or other related things, along with the lower pay rate and using up vacation time that I’d get as a bonus if I quit now, I would only make about $300 more working all Spring than I would retiring now. Not really worth it with everything else going on this spring.

So in two weeks, I’ll be joining the ranks of ex-CyRide drivers. I will sort-of miss it; driving a bus was always fun. But I won’t miss fearing a malfunctioning alarm clock, scraping my car at 7am, and lots of other fun politics that have made other drivers quit. Well… I still have my CDL for the next 6 years. Might as well hang on to it in case I need it later!