Cold
Hotlanta is finally starting to cool down and I’m starting to feel it too. By the end of the week, I was well on my way into my first cold of the new season.
On College
Just over one month left; the end of the semester—and possibly my college experience—is closing in at alarming speed. I handled various Japanese tests and my second make-or-break thermodynamics exam as best I could. I’m cautiously optimistic about thermodynamics as I feel like I understand things better now than I have all semester. On the other hand, I thought I had done pretty well on my first exam until I got it back.
As I alluded to above, I’m feeling a bit unsettled as I realize that is the home stretch of my final semester. Suzuki-sensei recently polled our Japanese class to see who would be continuing on to the intermediate level; nearly everyone raised their hands. I would like to count myself among that group too, but I’m out of time; they won’t let me take any more classes once I’ve graduated. Looking back, I would have preferred to split this final semester over a couple semesters and possibly take some more Japanese and other electives. Looking further still, I would have liked to have persued a minor or a certificate in one of these areas. Maybe some of these options will show up on the table again if do go down the graduate school path at some point.
I just started playing with Miranda IM this Saturday. It is (another) multi-protocol IM client for Windows and it is released under the GPL license. The key features that the web site pushes are low resource overhead and customization through modularity. I have been happily using Gaim for a while now, but I thought I would give Miranda a shot; I’m always looking for the next thing.
New Wallpapers
Cowboy Mouth
I took Titus with me to see Cowboy Mouth perform live at the Roxy Theatre here in Atlanta on Halloween Eve. I was first introduced to the Mouth at ASMS as the band was somewhat of a local band–they’re from New Orleans, as Fred LeBlanc is quick to let you know. Cowboy Mouth has a unique brand of upbeat Southern rock and the live experience is all about raw energy; I’ve only been to a couple other concerts, but nothing I’ve experienced quite compares. By the end of the show I was thoroughly exhausted, but I was quite glad I decided to come.
Electronic Voting
We began discussing electronic voting and electronic democracy in my Computing & Society class this Thursday. Each member of the class was asked to find an article on one of the topics and share it with the class. I found an interesting article by Jason Kitcat that appeared in Communications of the ACM in this month’s issue. Kitcat formerly developed GNU.FREE, an open source electronic voting system. In his article “Source Availability and E-Voting” he explores both sides of the source availability debate surrounding electronic voting systems while adding reflections on his own personal experience with GNU.FREE.
Neat New Software
Wallpaper Master
This neat utility allows you to rate and categorize wallpapers and switch between them at specified intervals; and it does it better than any similar utility I’ve found.
Free Launch Bar
I found this gem through the gfxOasis customization community. This utility builds on the convenience of the Quick Launch toolbar in Windows by adding submenus, titles, separators, and a host of other customization options that greatly enhance the toolbar’s utility.
New Wallpapers
I had an enjoyable lunch at the Brick Oven Pizza Co. with Aunt Kathy and Uncle Tinker; Vance declined to join us. We all had a bit of fun performing remote desktop support for MeMe in Virginia when her e-mail went on the fritz. The problem was ultimately attributed to too many different people messing with her computer. Aunt Kathy prepared some delicious home-made tacos for dinner while Vance and I played various video games including Disgaea, Star Wars Battlefront, and Battlefield Vietnam. At this point, I’m thoroughly addicted to Disgaea. Even little things like the Geo Panel puzzles seem endlessly entertaining. The game just feels remarkably fresh compared to anything else I’ve played recently.
I had informed Mom of my Fall Break plans, so she brought Grammy and Granddad with her for a visit. The ladies all went shopping at the new Tiger Town shopping center and the rest of us met them at the Longhorn Steakhouse for a nice lunch. Afterward, we separated again to make the obligatory stop at Hastings, Auburn’s best media shop. I didn’t find anything I couldn’t live without, but it is fun to just browse every now and then. By the evening, Vance had me thoroughly addicted to Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. It shows immense promise as a time-stealer.
Fall Break 2004 officially began with the close of classes this Friday afternoon. With no pressing tasks and a little bit of breathing room before my Computing & Society term paper outline is due, I plan to make it a true break. I began by leaving the city for my Aunt Kathy’s house in Auburn, where I’ll spend the next few days recharging and spending quality time with family.
I can’t spend the whole Break on break, so I’ll have to return early and get to work on that term paper outline.
