Messages

I just got accepted into the MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering program at Texas A&M  8)

Gross! You're going to be a dirty, dirty Aggie!  :P Actually, I'm told they have a great program. Alas, I'm not sure if there's going to be much of a rivalry anymore with UT and Texas A&M not playing in the same football conference anymore. My blind hatred will have to find another outlet.

Do you need someone to ensure the highest quality of beer is stocked and nonpoisonous for the company fridge? I only ask because I'll do it for a small fortune.

so?

If you bought a potted flower and put it on your kitchen table, but it turns out you are extremely allergic to it, you wouldn't solve the problem by selling the house and moving, you'd get rid of the flower.

Yes, but what if getting rid of the flower would kill you?

[Tablets Suck]

Tablets Suck
Soup the tablet up as much as you want. Give it more cores, more RAM, better video and it will still suck. Why? As novel as the input interfaces are, either touch screen or dictation, they suck for anything more complicated than clicking links and reading e-mail. There is a growing myth that Ma and Pa who click links and read news articles make up the vast majority of computer users. Mean while, students, power users, gamers, and corporate users are programming, gaming, writing reports, making power point presentations, making spread sheets, doing their taxes, editing photos, managing collections of files, what else? And the computer industry actually thinks touch screens and dictation can do this well? Alright, you try doing this efficiently with touch screen, see how fast you tire. Ever play Wii? Try talking to your computer for 8 hours straight (and I know a deaf guy who programs in C++ with dictation). Give me a break. Tablets suck. Don't be fooled by friends and advertisers ... they're a novelty item at best, but more like a lightbulb (look Ma, it lights the room for 9 hours straight! How power efficient!).

I'll continue to enjoy efficient input and visualization with my keyboard/mouse and dual 28 inch screen setup. If I want portability, I'll use my slightly bulkier laptop which still beats the iPad's 7 or 10inch touch screen.

I thought tablets were silly, too, but then I was given an iPad as a gift. Suddenly, I didn't have to carry around a binder full of academic papers. I didn't need to print out sections of dissertations to have easy access to them. It was convenient for me to pull something out at a bus stop or on the bus and actually use my time for something productive. Do I think my iPad will ever replace a my PC for programming, spreadsheets, Powerpoint, gaming, etc? No, I don't. Do I think the iPad is a great way to carry around a library full of relevant textbooks, dissertations, and academic articles? Yes, and it does it very well. It goes from sleeping to full speed in the blink of an eye, and it's a lot less bulky than my laptop. It's easier for me to hold the tablet comfortably and read it, regardless of my location.

In short: Could I live without my PC? Absolutely not; I need one to do all of my work. Could I live without my iPad? Absolutely, but it's certainly nice to have one.

[fuck subtleties and niceties.]

srsly, though:  fuck subtleties and niceties.  be clear and concise in your directions.  she _should_ do a lit review, but does she know that?  does she know how - she should...but does she really know how?  also, in regard to "asking questions" can I assume you've told her that if she has a question and cant find the answer, then to ask for help?

I don't expect a literature review. I do expect her to read the papers and chapters I've told her are worthwhile. If she's interested, she's welcome to look at more papers. I've told her if she is stuck to ask me questions, but she won't explore the literature for answers or ask questions at all. Usually, I show up to our weekly meeting thinking the work was done only to find out she was stuck for most of the week doing nothing.

Unless you're lucky enough to have been mentored from an early age, chances are you don't know how to do research and probably don't have a work ethic. This doesn't mean she's not genuinely interested though. This student just needs to be spoonfed initially.

How do I know? I started out this way! I was very lucky to have changed my ways prior to graduate school.

You need to provide feedback and go out of your way to make sure she's working (e.g. punctuality, reading papers, etc... start with punctuality) for a little while. Then she'll establish a habit which will reinforce motivation and interest ... assuming she is genuinely interested in research. Feedback is especially helpful.

The work is done remotely for the most part; I'm not real sure how to monitor that. I'll tell her to spend a little time writing down what was accomplished every week, and I'll try giving her more direct feedback.

Anyone here ever have the pleasure/displeasure of mentoring one? This semester, I actually have two. The one doing experimental work is great. He'll read the literature, ask questions, and do excellent work in general. Also, I can give him a general assignment, and he'll figure out how to do it without me having to be in the same room. I look forward to working with him because I know something will get done.

The other one is the complete opposite, and she's doing data analysis. She refuses to read the literature, doesn't ask questions, and requires unbelievably detailed directions (e.g. more detailed than a gen. chem. lab). Even then, the work doesn't get done unless I send emails twice a week (on top of our weekly meetings) asking what's been done. I really don't know what to do about her; I feel that in some way I've let her down. I've written up detailed notes explaining the theoretical basis of the analysis. I've given her code samples and been available basically 24/7 to answer questions. None of this seems to be of any use. I can't help but think the time I've spent trying to break the project into infinitesimal parts, creating code samples, and making the detailed notes would have been better spent doing the data analysis myself. 

Do any of you have any recommendations for how to deal with this? I've already tried to subtly let her know I expect more, but it didn't really change anything. I'd really hate to ask my adviser to light a fire under her ass, but that might be the only way to go at this point.

But then hackers don't have anything juicy to get to when they infiltrate your mainframez. :(

Aha! So that was your plan all along. Never trust a Hawaiian!

Not kill anyone at the overly crowded gym for the next month and a half. Then, it'll be back to normal.

rabbit, that sucks. I'm sorry to hear it.

Most people don't know the people who have impacted us in huge ways; for example: Dennis Ritchie

Really, the problem was he didn't have a turtleneck. C is just C... but a turtleneck, that's awesome!

I think I'm the only one in the world who has never read or heard of Hitchens.

Funny (and almost relevant) story: When I told my wife Steve Jobs was dead, she asked, "Who's that?"

OMG Thank you guys ~~~~~! My birthday festivities included not sleeping and studying for finals.

We love you, buddy!  8)

Happy Birthday!

Lucky guess, or can you explain why? :)

Fibonacci sequence . 1 (1 white square), 1 (1 white square), 2 (2 white squares), 3 (3 white squares), 5 (3 white squares and 2 black squares with the black squares overlaying two of the white ones), 8 (3 white squares, 3 black squares on top of those, and 2 white squares on top of 2 of the black squares).

13 would come next.

On a related note, this is from last week's Pathfinder session. You find a locked door with the following configuration of tiles:
https://yfrog.com/odnyrpbj

and 20 buttons labeled 1 - 20. Which do you press?

I would either push all of them, or the last one.

That'd both be wrong.

FWIW, I'm the one who figured out which button to press during the game, and I was right. :)

13?