Saturday, April 23, 2005
Early weekend update. Cool stuff has happened!
1) IT'S OVER! IT'S ALL OVER! NOEL WINS!
The unlikely has happened, I'm done with my two-class stretch. This wednesday I presented the results of my cochlear implant improvement study to my professor and the class in what he called 'adversarial review'. Which basically means that either he or a couple of his buddies could interrupt us at any time and ask us questions. He absolutely tore into the first guy. He did have some problems, though, too many slides, not a well-put-together presentation, he went too long, etc. It also may have been that the teacher was just getting the rest of us scared. :) Either way, I really expected him to do pretty much the same to me. I mean, I knew I had the time thing down, because I had timed myself, but my slides, I thought, were lacking the focus he really wanted from us.
Well, I needn’t have worried, the presentation went great. He interrupted a few times, of course, but I was able to handle each interruption in stride and make my way through all my material. There was a question session at the end with all the students, and I was able to field all those questions quite well, too.
But what’s most important is that I’M DONE! THE CLASS IS OVER! IN YOUR FACE, USC!
My Prof did manage to make a good point, though, that perhaps it’s not in my best interests to just drop this thing. At the very least, I owe it to my expert, Dr. ‘S’, for helping me out (and giving me the thing in the first place) to at least show him what I have. And there’s a good chance that with some work, I could make the algorithm successful. That would be awesome. I could write a paper or some such. According to the Prof, I could probably patent something of this nature, but I think we can all agree it’s in my best interests, long term, to publish something like in…whatever you publish papers in, because then you get recognition, and such. And you can put that on your resume. Bam.
Well, either way, I’m keeping away from that stuff for now. I’m bloody tired of it. I’ll worry about it later.
2) Weekend Volleyball
During the summer, a bunch of fellow Raytheites gather on Manhattan beach every Friday and play some amateur volleyball. It’s amateur because most of us are really pretty bad. But it’s fun, we get to get some exercise and some sun and run around on the beach and, generally speaking, have a huge amount of fun. And since school as tuned down, I get to go now! Weehee!
3) The other project
I’ve started work on my other project, due May 3rd. It’s a project for my pattern recognition class, and it’s really looking to be a lot easier than the Adaptive project was. For serious. I’ve already started on it too, and so once that’s done, it’s just a final and then another semester has been slam dunked.
I’m considering buying myself a PSP in celebration, I’m also considering not buying myself a PSP in celebration. Also perhaps going shopping for clothes, because I haven’t been in a year-plus.
You know, every time I think about buying stuff, I keep thing I need to get rid of some of the stuff I own. I just have a lot of stuff I probably don’t need. (Once again: happy with less, happy with none, just happy.) That’s probably a good project to take up after the semester. I can reward myself if I clean up :)
4) Kung Fu Hustle.
Here’s my review of this movie. Go see it. Now. It’s fantastic. Easily the best movie I’ve seen since…mmm…I’m gonna say ‘The Matrix’. And that was a good movie (and quite a while ago, too.) I was also smart enough not to read anything about the movie, so *everything* was a pleasant surprise. I liked that.
5) Running
Mom made a prediction last week. I had been off running for a few weeks as my project whipped me into shape, and I went running for the first time last week. Something like a 35:50 three-mile time. Down from my previous best of 32:20, I set that record probably about a month ago, and that was before I slightly extended my path a tad (making it more like an actual three mile track), adding approximately 40 seconds to total run time. Which makes my previous best 33:00, equivalently. Mom predicted that I would beat that time this week.
Mom was right (go mom!) I ran 32:30. I’m making mom my personal trainer from now on. She’s spot on.
6) Neat stuff that I've seen on the internet:
High Speed Movies. I love stuff like this.
Keith Schoefield music videos. My favorites were '3 ft Deep' (rap) and 'Loud and Clear' (RnB). Definitely check them out if the music is your thing (even just a little, good music, too), the're really creative music videos.
The greatest mating dance in all of nature. Heck, I wish *I* could move like that.
So, with that, I’m going to sign off. I think my simulation should be done running by now.
-N
1) IT'S OVER! IT'S ALL OVER! NOEL WINS!
The unlikely has happened, I'm done with my two-class stretch. This wednesday I presented the results of my cochlear implant improvement study to my professor and the class in what he called 'adversarial review'. Which basically means that either he or a couple of his buddies could interrupt us at any time and ask us questions. He absolutely tore into the first guy. He did have some problems, though, too many slides, not a well-put-together presentation, he went too long, etc. It also may have been that the teacher was just getting the rest of us scared. :) Either way, I really expected him to do pretty much the same to me. I mean, I knew I had the time thing down, because I had timed myself, but my slides, I thought, were lacking the focus he really wanted from us.
Well, I needn’t have worried, the presentation went great. He interrupted a few times, of course, but I was able to handle each interruption in stride and make my way through all my material. There was a question session at the end with all the students, and I was able to field all those questions quite well, too.
But what’s most important is that I’M DONE! THE CLASS IS OVER! IN YOUR FACE, USC!
My Prof did manage to make a good point, though, that perhaps it’s not in my best interests to just drop this thing. At the very least, I owe it to my expert, Dr. ‘S’, for helping me out (and giving me the thing in the first place) to at least show him what I have. And there’s a good chance that with some work, I could make the algorithm successful. That would be awesome. I could write a paper or some such. According to the Prof, I could probably patent something of this nature, but I think we can all agree it’s in my best interests, long term, to publish something like in…whatever you publish papers in, because then you get recognition, and such. And you can put that on your resume. Bam.
Well, either way, I’m keeping away from that stuff for now. I’m bloody tired of it. I’ll worry about it later.
2) Weekend Volleyball
During the summer, a bunch of fellow Raytheites gather on Manhattan beach every Friday and play some amateur volleyball. It’s amateur because most of us are really pretty bad. But it’s fun, we get to get some exercise and some sun and run around on the beach and, generally speaking, have a huge amount of fun. And since school as tuned down, I get to go now! Weehee!
3) The other project
I’ve started work on my other project, due May 3rd. It’s a project for my pattern recognition class, and it’s really looking to be a lot easier than the Adaptive project was. For serious. I’ve already started on it too, and so once that’s done, it’s just a final and then another semester has been slam dunked.
I’m considering buying myself a PSP in celebration, I’m also considering not buying myself a PSP in celebration. Also perhaps going shopping for clothes, because I haven’t been in a year-plus.
You know, every time I think about buying stuff, I keep thing I need to get rid of some of the stuff I own. I just have a lot of stuff I probably don’t need. (Once again: happy with less, happy with none, just happy.) That’s probably a good project to take up after the semester. I can reward myself if I clean up :)
4) Kung Fu Hustle.
Here’s my review of this movie. Go see it. Now. It’s fantastic. Easily the best movie I’ve seen since…mmm…I’m gonna say ‘The Matrix’. And that was a good movie (and quite a while ago, too.) I was also smart enough not to read anything about the movie, so *everything* was a pleasant surprise. I liked that.
5) Running
Mom made a prediction last week. I had been off running for a few weeks as my project whipped me into shape, and I went running for the first time last week. Something like a 35:50 three-mile time. Down from my previous best of 32:20, I set that record probably about a month ago, and that was before I slightly extended my path a tad (making it more like an actual three mile track), adding approximately 40 seconds to total run time. Which makes my previous best 33:00, equivalently. Mom predicted that I would beat that time this week.
Mom was right (go mom!) I ran 32:30. I’m making mom my personal trainer from now on. She’s spot on.
6) Neat stuff that I've seen on the internet:
High Speed Movies. I love stuff like this.
Keith Schoefield music videos. My favorites were '3 ft Deep' (rap) and 'Loud and Clear' (RnB). Definitely check them out if the music is your thing (even just a little, good music, too), the're really creative music videos.
The greatest mating dance in all of nature. Heck, I wish *I* could move like that.
So, with that, I’m going to sign off. I think my simulation should be done running by now.
-N
Comments:
Well, about that "keeping in touch with the prof" thing. It has been my bubble era fantasy for all my children to do something stunningly original that puts them on easy street for the rest of their born days, like say, design a tuning scheme for the Baby boomer hearing aid market. You know, something that gets integrated into the entire industry and gives $3 payments for every device to the originator, hereafter know as Noel Of Maui. Something like that. I doubt the cochlear implant market is that huge but the hearing aid market sure is. Of course, the medical market is a good career area to fall back to when this blowing terrorists up from space gets old or worse, unfunded.
Old "ears of a fox" himself, Dad
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Old "ears of a fox" himself, Dad
# posted by 
: April 24, 2005 at 9:55 AM
: April 24, 2005 at 9:55 AM