One Down

I just got out of my Physics II final, and I feel pretty good about it. I'm happy to know that I will never have to take another general physics course. I may take Modern Physics to attain a minor in Physics, but that depends on the time I have available. I already have enough credits for the minor in Math, so I might be more interested in seeing how much I need to double major in Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering.
The rest of the class sessions today and tomorrow are all review for finals, so I'm basically done. The mental marathon is essentially over, so I can take a little rest. I'll have a week after the holidays to start preparing for the Spring, but I never really stop thinking about school.
I'm looking forward to spending a couple weeks with friends and family even if it means driving all over the southeast. A change of scenery and a change of pace is always welcome.

Things for which I'm Thankful

My family managed to keep a houseful of people (including two beautiful children) quiet while I worked on Dynamics homework. My wife puts up with the absurd amount of time I put in to school on a daily basis, and I hope she knows how grateful I am. This thanksgiving weekend, I'm sure everybody would have preferred I not work on Dynamics, but everyone understood the necessity. Thank you to all family and friends that make my success at school a probability.

Making Progress

I took a Linear Algebra class over the summer because the most recent curriculum at that time at VCU showed it as required. When I got to VCU, Linear Algebra was replaced by Numerical Methods, so it looked like my Linear Algebra class was going to be a waste. Last week I was talking to a guy in one of my other classes, and he said that Linear Algebra used to count as a technical elective. Today I found out he was right! That means I'll have a very easy Senior Year. Fall 2010, I'll be taking 10 credits instead of 16. Spring 2011, I'll be taking 12 credits instead of 15. If my AA from Miami-Dade College does nothing else for me, at least it is lightening my load!

I also registered for the Spring today. ...17 credits worth of pain. MWF-8:00AM-Electrical Circuits; MWF-9:00AM-Thermodynamics; TR-9:30AM-Deformables; MW-2:00 PM-Engineering Computation; TR-3:30PM-Multivariate Calculus; and a couple of labs as well.

Geesh.

The train speeds up before it stops!

I'm nearing the home stretch this semester, and the pace is exhausting. I have at least one test per week right up through finals. This weekend I will be working take-home test #3 for Dynamics and studying for thursday's Physics test #2. Next week I'll be taking Materials Science test #3, registering for the spring, and paying for parking. The following week I have a test in Differential Equations, and then we head to Atlanta for Thanksgiving. The week after that I'll have Dynamics test #4 and my Physics final exam. Finally, finals week begins. They actually spread finals over a two week period, so Dec. 10 at 8:00 a.m., I have my Materials Science final. Dec. 11 at 1:00 p.m., I have my Differential Equations final. I get that weekend to prepare for my Dynamics final on Dec. 16. Gasp!! You have got to be joking! Then we head to Miami for a "relaxing" Christmas break. I should have about a week at home before classes start up again. I plan on doing nothing.

My state went blue, but my county went red.

I don't get it. We have William & Mary, we have mixed races, I thought we had logic. How did James City County go red? Don't get me wrong; I'm ecstatic with the overall results. I drive through Charles City County everyday, and that county has the look of the typical rural red county. Nope! They voted overwhelmingly for Obama. I take back everything I ever said about Charles City County. Now I know why I always see giant bucks running around. The redneck deer hunters don't live there!! I can't believe I was actually a little nervous driving through with my Barack Obama sticker. What's more, my favorite professor of all time lives in Charles City County. I definately appreciate the great historic irony of the former confederate capital voting in the first African American President, but I'm even more appreciative of Charles City County. I drive past plantations everyday where countless african slaves toiled endlessly. Most of the plantations are surrounded by actively-worked land, but my good buddy John Deere can handle all the work by himself. No need to force entire generations to work tobacco or cotton. Now, they can vote. Now all we have to do is convince everyone that Debra Dickerson is evil so the eons-long road to national reconciliation can be complete. Listen Debra, don't try to take Barack's blackness away from him. It means too much to the rest of us!

I don't like John McCain; he's not elitist enough.

Sorry for boring blogs.

I've been taking some heat for blogging about my boring school stuff, but I really did intend this blog to be about school in the first place. Sonya's blog is our place for the more entertaining stuff. Still, I will try to keep this blog a little lighter, so let's discuss Differential Equations. Ha ha, no. Actually, I did get a 97 on my last Diff. EQ test, so I'm going to go ahead and break my arm patting myself on the back. Materials Science has been a bit of a drag. I'm scooting by with Bees, but that will have to do. Materials Science seems to be less about science and more about the names people give to things they observe. Now that's boring!! Physics is just plain cool, but its is very complicated. If you didn't know, physicists are smart, but don't ask them for advice on picking up chicks. It's just not their thing. We've been studying AC circuits, and now we're getting into Maxwell's Equations. I've learned how to calculate the speed of light and that light travels in waves. The craziest thing we learned was about energy transmission. Try to picture two waves traveling perpendicular to eachother. Actually, do not do that. It will cause you pain. Lastly, Dynamics has to be my favorite class. It's pretty dram tricky, too, but its much easier to conceptualize and solve. Of course, I posted some old homework the other day, and that's where most of the complaints of boredome came from. I still think it's neato.