Summer, Fall, Spring, Summer

I finished up my second summer semester at TNCC, so that means I've officially been there a year. I'm a community college veteran. I'm finally free of classes that involve knuckleheads, and everybody that has made it this far is in it for the long haul. That's not to say the classes are getting any easier, or that everyone gets an A or even passes, but everybody needs the classes they take. I have been a little surprised that students still don't seem confident enough to contribute. Professors are like performers, and they appreciate a response. They also seem to reward students for actively participating in the class discussions. That must be how I got my B in Linear Algebra. A B is a weird grade to receive because it implies that I worked hard enough to get an A, but I simply never got the material well enough to receive an A. Linear Algebra is the first class I've ever taken where I can do every exercise in the book but not get an A on a test. This is a very important lesson. I can understand pretty complicated stuff when it's phrased in a way in which I'm comfortable, but this professor made the tests straight from his own notes which didn't really relate to the text. Luckily, a high theoretical mathematical ability isn't really necessary in order to be quite capable of applying the techniques. I've already gone back to my Statics text to use the techniques I learned in Linear Algebra, and my new skills are paying off in spades.


Also, I got an A in Microeconomics, but who cares.

There's a sucker born every minute.

I've been getting phone calls everyday from some recorded voice telling me Macy's has some "important personal business" to discuss. Since I'm not retarded, I hang up. I sent Macy's an email stating that if they do not cease from using this tactic that I would personally start boycotting their store and encourage everyone I know to do so as well. They are just dying to get me to use their useless credit card. Sonya and I use our Master Cards exclusively to purchase everything and pay our bills because they give us money. I don't need airline miles, points towards a purchase, or any other hair brained scheme. I got an email from them this morning telling me I can call the number on the message and ask them to stop calling. Wouldn't it be nicer if they asked me the last time I was at Macy's if it would be okay if they called me for promotions. I could simply chuckle and say, "of course not," and that would be the end of it! I wouldn't be getting solicitations on my dang cell phone, and I wouldn't be ranting like Andy Rooney! The whole thing made me think of the new American Express commercials with Tina Fey and Martin Scorsese. Scorsese entices Fey into the first class lounge with an "important opportunity." She gets excited thinking it's a script or something, but he's just trying to pawn off a time share. The commercial cracks me up because I picture Amex hearing the ad pitch and not even realizing the irony that their credit card offer is just as lame as a time share. Hmmm, Amex charges a fee, and Master Card gives back cash. I'll take the Amex and a punch in the balls, please

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One Down...

I finished Microeconomics today, and I'm happy to say I got another A! That leaves me nothing to think about other than Linear Algebra until tomorrow night. The 94 I got on the last test took a lot of the pressure off, so now I at least don't have to worry about getting anything less than a C. Linear Transformations, Linear Combinations, Eigen Vectors, Eigen Values, and Eigen Spaces are all I'll have to concern myself with for 24 more hours! Wish me luck!

Holy Crap! I got a 94!!!!!

I thought Physics took work; it did. This is like taking Physics over the abbreviated summer semester. Tonight, I think I might actually get a good night's sleep. I've got a solid nine days until the final, so I should be able to sufficiently prepare. My Miami family will be here this weekend, so that will cut down on the study time a little. I'm sure I'll still squeeze in some studying in the mornings. Its amazing what this good grade did for my confidence. I felt right on top of the material we covered today. I always contribute in the classroom, but this time my stupid embarrassing blurted wrong answers were replaced by astute observations.
In other news, Coldplay released a new CD. They keep releasing the same CD with different song names, but it's cool because I like that CD.

Glory Days

I decided to add links to my page, and I needed to find the web addresses. I just Googled my old band to find the URL since I couldn't remember it. This is what I found: Just Joshing You. Josh made the astute observation that The Agency's first CD will most likely never be repressed, so he went ahead and posted all the songs on his blog. I suppose some folks might be mad about their work being published without permission, but I was just flattered. This CD is now 11 years old, and it's nice to see some occasional interest still pops up. He also says some pretty fantastic stuff about our other releases; however, I do have to take exception to his claim that Mike sang most of the songs! As I recall, we had been splitting the singing duties down the middle since about 1998, so that's about 10 of the 12 years of our existence! Come on!

The Physicist Who Snubbed Me

One of the really fun things about taking Linear Algebra is the illusion it presents me with the slightest ability to understand String Theory. Dr. Derise had just let us out for a ten minute break, and I decided to read on to the next chapter. The chapters always begin with a brief biography of famous mathematicians, and this chapter began with Emmy Noether. She was a highly important figure from the 1930s who fled to the US from Germany to escape Hitler.

Her bio reminded me of a famous physicist I recently learned about named Lisa Randall. She is doing amazing work with String Theory, and the NY Times article about her describes some pretty fascinating stuff. I was attempting to talk to my brother about some of her work over our dinner at the Butcher Block Buffet in Stephens City, VA. To my astonishment, I discovered that topics like these are best discussed in locations without children, children's magicians, or buffets. Anyway, my Linear Algebra professor has an incomprehensible depth of knowledge about mathematics and the people who practice it, so I asked him if he knew of Lisa Randall. Of course, he had, and better than that, she snubbed him! He saw her at Princeton, and attempted to ask her a question about mathematics, or physics, or something crazy of the like. Thinking he might just be a weirdo, she ignored him.

He then began to tell me of another important physicist who also gave him the cold shoulder. He asked me if I'd heard of Edward Witten. I actually had!! I've seen him in Brian Greene's NOVA documentary The Elegant Universe. Also, my good friends Christopher Aubin and Corbett Bazler have met Dr. Witten. He is almost more famous for his strangely falsetto speaking voice. Dr. Derise wanted to ask Dr. Witten what E8 means. E8 is one of those terms that string theorists throw around. It describes the dimensionality of the mathematics of string theory. Dr. Derise was brazen enough to simply ask Dr. Witten, "What is E8?". Dr. Witten answered with a series of terms that would produce spontaneous combustion of the average person's brain. Dr. Derise, being very cavalier, pressed Dr. Witten for further explanation. Dr. Witten turned and walked away. Ouch.

Doesn't he just look like a big teddy bear?

I have test #3 in Linear Algebra on Monday. Wish me luck!

Also, sorry I went so link-crazy, but do check out the links!

I'm a Big Baby

I got my grade back on test two, and I don't feel too good about it. I was telling myself, that if I didn't score at least ten points more on this test than the last test, I would drop the class. I got a 72 on the first test and a 71 on this test. I approached the professor to let him know I enjoy the class, but I need to drop it. I long ago met my quota for college screw-ups. He then spent twenty minutes telling me not to drop, he hasn't yet applied the curve to test #2, and that I probably have at least an 82 on the test. He also told me that there is certainly nobody better than me in the class, and he would go home depressed if I dropped. He also assured me, as long as I keep up with my studies the way that I have been, I would receive no worse than a B in the class. I still don't feel great about an 82, but I feel fantastic having that kind of support from my professor. This is my first exposure to truly abstract applications of mathematics, and I find it exceedingly interesting and excruciatingly difficult, but I am confident that completing this 300 level math course will be infinitely rewarding.