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Thursday, March 29, 2007
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Not like it really matters.
A few billion years ago, when the earth was still molten, a rogue planet collided with it. Orpheus, as this planet is called, hit the earth at an incredible speed. This event caused the cooling earth's surface to once more boil. Much debris was flung into the surrounding space. Over the millennia, this debris collected to become the moon. When man first laid eyes on it in the plains of Africa millennia ago, it would have appeared much larger in the sky. Due to the circumstances of its birth, the moon is slowly moving away from the earth. Our gravity is acting like a slingshot and eventually the moon will leave us. I cannot imagine what the sky would look like without the moon. I also cannot imagine what live on Earth would be like without it. The moon's presence very well could have contributed to the emergence of life on our planet. I wish I could have seen the moon in all its majesty in the sky when it was much closer... Speaking of the universe, I don't see why some people think that after the Big Bang there has to come a Big Crunch... Why would everything in the universe stop expanding and then come back towards the center? The Big Bang sent everything accelerating away from the center. In the void of space, the only force that can counteract this acceleration is gravity, but with everything so spread out I don't see how any part of the universe could pull another against its outward acceleration. Gravitational forces could alter the trajectory of others, but I don't think there is enough mass in the center of the universe to stop and bring everything back. Science shows that the universe's expansion is actually accelerating still and I believe it will continue to do so. Of course, no one really knows what'll happen for sure, and we are talking trillions upon trillions of years, so it's not like it really matters.
posted by Rick at 7:22 PM
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Monday, March 26, 2007
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We'll see...
First day down, 48 more to go... and then finals... Today wasn't too bad. I'm so glad I'm done with calculus for awhile! No math this quarter! I didn't do too bad last quarter though. I got a B! Thank you curved final grading scale! Other than that I got A's. Here's the break down of my classes this quarter: Spanish 202: This seems to be a class that a lot of people take to fulfill major requirements... The professor doesn't appear to be a native speaker. Most likely this'll be a lot like the high school classes. Oh well. Greek and Roman Culture: The professor of this class is AWESOME! He's from New York and occasionally slips in to that accent and vulgar language. There will most likely be a lot of work in this class, but that's OK if it gets me out of American history. I may need to take another history class later, but I'm sure there's something else that'll keep me away from American history... Computer Science III: I have the good professor again for this class. It's great compared to last quarter. We're learning C++ finally and after the first day I already like it better than Java. Due to the lab for this class, my Wednesdays will be packed with just enough time for lunch and classes from 8:30 - 5:30. Digital Computer Hardware/Switching Circuitry: Sigh... Another foreign professor that's hard to understand. This class has a long lab on Thursdays... I'm not sure if I'll like it though. It sounds interesting... Introduction to UNIX: The professor just talked the whole time. Usually Wednesday's class will be a lab where we just play around with Linux... Psychology: I haven't had this yet... 22 credit hours is a lot, but I don't think it'll be too bad. Guess I'll just have to go along with it and see how I feel in a week or so. This weekend is sibs weekend. That should be interesting. I need to stop being so shy and get to know some people. I made some friends in Engineering last quarter, maybe this quarter I can be a little more outgoing and meet some more... We'll see...
posted by Rick at 6:43 PM
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Friday, March 09, 2007
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One more week
Is this quarter over yet?...
This has not been a very good ten weeks for me. I've done horribly in Calculus 3, procrastinated like hell in English 102, and just couldn't do some stuff in Computer Science 241.
Last quarter, my Calc 2 professor was incredibly boring, but I learned the material and did well on the tests. He collected and graded homework which helped me because I had to do it. This quarter the class was bigger. We were in a lecture hall with those crappy fold-up "desks" instead of a room with real desks like last quarter. And the teacher doesn't collect homework. His style of teaching just isn't very conducive for me to learn and the entire class would agree that there is just something about his tests... You know? I'll most likely get a C... At least it's passing... I'm hoping I might be able to get a B. The test today was easy on most of the questions, but I just couldn't remember how to do two or three of them. Add to that stupid mistakes and I'll probably get a C on it. I can't believe the final is next FRIDAY! Damn you Slilaty! If it was just at the normal Mathematics Common Exam time I'd get Spring Break next Wednesday, but NOOOO!
English was harder than last quarter, but I'm confidant I got an A (Although a B would not surprise me...).
Computer Science was hard this time around. My professor was a new girl from China and it was hard to understand everything she said. Also, she didn't teach the same way Rizki did last quarter. I found myself falling asleep in class and not taking notes. The projects grew increasingly harder. The last one was due today. I could have sworn my code was flawless, but it didn't work right... The due time came quickly though, so I had to submit it as is... My TA graded the one other project I didn't get working (There were 4 projects total) rather leaniently, so I'm hoping for the same on this one. The final next Wednesday shouldn't be too bad because we get to bring three pages of notes.
EGR 190 was a joke. My group just threw together our final project last night. We had started earlier, but the pieces didn't work, so we had to improvise. Given the nature of the class though, we should be fine. That final is on Tuesday and should be a breeze. It's all high school physics stuff.
Next quarter I'll be busy, but I just can't wait for this quarter to be over.
One more week.
posted by Rick at 5:01 PM
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