I spoke to my grandfather today about how many boxes could fit into his motor home – about twenty he thinks. At 60 pounds a piece he’s shooting for a max weight of 1200 pounds. Of course, I like to be precise… For those of you who don’t know already – inside every book I own there is a barcode. This barcode is linked to a system I am currently developing for keeping track of my personal library....
This morning, at around 12:37 am, I set up my University of Chicago e-mail address: AndrewDAnderson at uchicago dot edu How exciting is that? Of course, it is written like any other e-mail address, but to avoid spam I’ve spelled it out. (An explanation for my less than technically savvy readers.) On to other news… I’ve been studying a bit of cryptography, listening to A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, doing plenty of computer work, packing, and polishing my SQL skills....
I have to admit, I was skeptical. “Free” usually carries some sort of catch. Not here. Really. Skype is voice chat client. Talking to other Skype members is free… and instead of having to remember phone numbers, you can simply remember their username instead. Call quality is crisp. No one I talked to could tell the difference between regular phone quality. Wait, it gets even better. Until the end of the year (at the very minimum) Skype allows you to make free calls to any landline phone in the U....
Not bad coming from a language deficient person… Well, the titles says it all. Today was my last day wandering the halls of Salmen High School. I will never again be working on those computers, printers, networks, televisions, …. you get the idea. I’m a bit sad about it, but more challenge awaits me somewhere else very soon. Today I start closing some of my open boxes and stacking them in preparation for my venture to Chicago....
I’ve been saying I wanted to do it… and finally it is done. I’ve expanded my domain to include photos. To check it out, head on over to http://photos.andrewdanderson.com. I’ll be integrating my weblog and my photo album over the summer. I’ll also be working on something to deploy my writings and something to manage and share what I learn over the next few years… as well as an online tool to track my finances very openly… and a branch to manage software I write and release under the GPL (and maybe other licenses....
I am a fan of Firefox… I have good reason. Of course, it now has commercials – so I have more reason… My favorites: In that order. Let me know what you think.
I was notified today that I was the recipient of the Lane Smith Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship had very demanding qualifications and carries a monetary award of $1,000.00. I am very grateful for the award, but more so for the selection. This scholarship was personally important to me because of the story behind it. In a nutshell, unfortunate things can happen to anyone – at any time. The importance of life – no matter what it may bring – is something many take for granted....
Well, after thousands of dollars from a NASA grant, hundreds of hours from student and mentors, and a few days of competition – Salmen’s (and my own) FIRST experience is finished. The competition was grueling, our robot erred quite a bit, but our team feels good about the whole ordeal. Our voices have been to the cheers for OBSIDIAN (our robot), our minds are thinking of next year’s competition, and our moral as a team is amazing....
Well, the decisions are all final and I’m packing my bags… I’ll be headed to the University of Chicago for the next four years of learning. I’m actually very excited. Chicago is a wonderful school and my family is fairly close. I can’t wait to get to know the city and experience life in a new place. I’ve already picked the classes I want to take. I’ll be double-majoring in Computer Science with an emphasis on Artificial Intelligence and Economics....
There are plenty of people out there who could tell you that the kindness of others is something to bask in. Why catch the tab if your friends is glad to do it for you, why work if the government will give you food and cash, why do anything when there are those that will come to your rescue? I am not one of those people, but they are out there....