百点花丸花丸

So I finally managed to get a perfect score on my quiz tonight. I probably should write down the important things that I learned in linear algebra, but after two hours, I'm done. Maybe tomorrow. I need to wind down.

Weighing In

Today, I am 173.4! Woot

Alone

White and fluffy falling down

Slowly without sound

Silent winter days are here

For a long time in a long while, Tyler is not here. (He usually is on the weekends.)  There's a kind of strange peaceful silence. Not even the sound of cars. Even now, the sound of my keys being pressed down is the only noise to break the silence. That, and the slight hum of the fan blowing hot air from my heater. I wonder how silent the world can get at near 10 am. I'm trapped withing the snow of silence.

Yesterday, the weather made a noise which made my house protest. The house would creek loudly as if it were freezing and cracking. I couldn't tell if there was just bits of hail, or if the windows were really freezing. At least this winter, I am warmer.

Cleaned, Cooked, Cured

Today I cleaned out the kitchen. There's still stuff to organize, but the main thing was that the fridge was cleaned out. I even rearranged the shelf. I decided to leave the bottom two drawers out. They just got in the way. Instead I'm using them elsewhere in the house. (On top of the refrigerator for plastics, and in the cabinet for random crap.)

I salted some pork. I am trying to preserve them. I put a paper towel on top to wick away the moisture. I'll check it tomorrow, and change the paper. I know it's going to be salty, but I'm thinking of a way to get around that. I suspect that it might be really good in soups.

I made some curry, so I will have to wait until I'm done with that before making something else. The next thing I want to try is taro, pork, and mushroom soup. I have a vision and a taste in my head. I also want to fry some of the potatoes I got. I should have salted them tonight, but I'm really tired now. Anamary wants to go to the chocolate party tomorrow (Sat.) but the weather is still pretty bad. If the event is canceled, then we'll just make chocolates ourselves! I might make something sweet with coconut, tapioca pearls, and sweetened beans. I'll have to take care not to go overboard. I'm down to 175 right now.

If I get the courage to go outside, I'll go dig up my bag of dirt. I've got a potato that would really to be in a pot, and probably some onions too!

I hope the mail comes in tomorrow. Things from Hong Kong take a while to arrive!

Ah, but enough of that. I have a ton of things to read...and a quiz...and a test...and maybe another test. I don't remember. I need to sleep so I can wake up and study!

Alert

(1/2) Fwd: From: 89361 Sent: Fri, Feb 5 5:41am Msg: S: VT Alerts
1/2:Weather Advisory: University closed today. Classes are canceled. See V T homepage or
(2/2) call 231-6668 for details. To confirm: reply with

I have the desk top alert, which woke me up around 5:30 am. I was awake, but happy.

Null hypothesis and statistical significance

Super Influence Sunday finish up to ch 3 of S&M

Agh... Running.

I was running today for some reason. I cant really remember why, but I guess I was excited to go home. Somehow, I feel really tired today.

Morning Blood

126/88 mmHg 97 BPM

Last night I took one pill at around 11 pm, followed by another pill around 3am. (Yeah, I went to bed late.)

I decided to start keeping track of my blood pressure, but my numbers might be off because I had to get up and look for my blood pressure machine. I will try and measure my blood pressure and heart rate later on.

Oh while I'm at it, I may as well weight myself...

176.2 lbs

Yeah, I'm a fatty right now. Hopefully once I start losing weight, my blood pressure will go down. My heart rate is also a bit high, and I will carefully monitor that. (Target resting HR < 100 BPM)

System

Hm...I had some kind of idea for what I wanted to do with my blog...or at least the note taking aspect, but it's completely left my mind!

Tired

I decided to try getting through this day without taking my thyroid pills. I'm so tired, and it's barely even six. It's hard teasing out what is actually causing what. However, I am really, really, really tired right now. Caffeine isn't even helping. So, okay. I give up. I'll take my meds. I wish I had bought the tablets because those are easier to dose. Well, 3ish seems to be the magic number. I think 2.5 would be good, but the powder is hard to cut.

Polar cordinates

Today, Professor Greenburg had a magic wand to help him draw equations on the polar coordinate system. While he was graphing, there was a slight problem of deciding how to figure out where r = 0 (because we need to know when r < 0 occurs). I felt kind of silly when I said, "set the equation equal to zero and solve." Ah! There was really a more elegant solution, and that comes with realizing that I am SKETCHING a graph, I don't care about being precise. (Polar graphs are kind of weird because it really doesn't matter what r is... scale is a funny thing.) All I needed to do was look at places where r goes from negative to positive or vice versa. Other than that tricky part, I think the lecture was fairly straight forward.

I learned how to:
convert points        (x, y) << >> [r, theta]
convert equations   y = ax + b << >>  r(theta) = []
graph inequalities    a < r < b

Plant Pathology: Late Blight & Wheat Rust

Wheat comes from the middle east! Fertile crescent


When I texted those lines, I was fairly excited. I had no idea that's where wheat came from. Now, I know that most people wouldn't get excited over knowing that, but I really like bread. I can appreciate wheat, especially after learning that wheat is the only plant that can make gluten, the stuff that makes breads, very tasty breads, possible. (Yes, I am a fan of a good crust and chewy texture.)

Lately, I don't know how to feel in class. The things we're studying is cool, but kind of scary at the same time. Which makes me feel sort of surreal.

Anyways, it's getting really late (even though I know the post says otherwise). I'll have to continue this later!

Strategies of research

Mornings...

I missed my bus again. It was all full. Oh well!


I ended up having to take the next bus, but luckily it wasn't full. I was only a few minutes late.

Adjustment

I really need to find my batteries for my scale. So I feel good right now. A little too good. Maybe a little borderline manic. I don't know.

So, I don't have the shakes, and my heart isn't beating too quickly. (I'll have to dig up my heart monitor my brother gave me.) I don't know if it's the caffeine (I had tea AND coke today) or if it's my thyroid pills, but my head is reeling. Even though I'm by myself, I feel like talking. It's strange because I don't get that urge when I'm by myself. Freaky! I feel like how I did when I was in middle school. Not necessarily a bad feeling though.

I might be a bit freaked out by what Deborah said, I wonder if I can just say Dr. D. I really like the sound of it. Anyways, she was telling me about heart complications associated with abnormal thyroid levels. I feel like I'm about to burst though, like I want to run! Another strange thing coming from my mouth, er, mind. I guess I'll just have to gather data on myself. 

Dan In Real Life

Freakified.net

This is Dan's website where we can find all sort of musical madness, including his remix of Lady Gaga's Pokerface.

Seven Laps

I am at the empo. I will try and do seven laps before the meeting.


I ended up doing up seven and a half laps with Ash. Feeling good!

Socialziation to college life and research methods

Bennington College Study overview
Bennington College and Betrayal 
Bennington College 25 years later

Today in class, Danny talked about the idea of situations structuring people.

Look up corispondence bias. Relate the power of the situation.

Research as a search for validity

Internal validity: making sure that nothing besides the independent variable can affect the dependent variable within a study.

Obtained by controlling extraneous variables, especially, by random assignment of participants to experimental conditions. Also control by exclusion.

"X causes Y" claim

if something else, say "Z," causes Y, then internal validity is weak.



EXTERNAL VALIDITY = PORTABILITY OF RESULTS

Does X cause Y generalizable to other people/situations/times?

The extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people.

Accomplished by replication ESPECIALLY by theory >> generalize the theory, not the results

Frame external validity in theoretical framework: pick on the theory

Kurt Lewin -- there is nothing so practical as a good theory

Reference Inductive Reasoning

Bus Stop Blues

This snow-rain thing sucks. I am all wet!


I ended up being a little late for class. I should have gotten notes from Heather, but she likes to bolt right after class lets out!

Snow

Today is snowing. I really don't want to go outside, but we'll probably have class today. I can hear the cars running back and forth.

I finished editing the photos that I took of my bugs. They're pretty cute! They seem to like being on this damp cotton wad. I wonder why! I want a tripod. It's hard to take clear pictures of the bugs up close.

I have two more hours until class, and then a meeting at 7. I hope Bethany got my email. I printed out the reading questions on 3 x 5's for Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds. I've got 23 questions to get through, not including Chapter 4. I'll have a few hours after class today.

I also need to make some study cards for the test coming up on Monday. 頑張ります

Etymology...or not?

-ate

Evening bus

I missed the bus. I'm freezing. When I get home, I will read. 

When I actually got home, I found that two more books were delivered to me from indoo. Which completes their shipment. I still haven't received anything from another seller, but I'll give it one more week.

Somehow, I lost an hour or two at home. I can't really remember what I was doing, only that I was tired enough to sleep from 9 to 12. The cold really takes a lot out of me. My right leg is still bothering me. Someone talked of snow throughout the week.

When I woke up, I ate some chicken and rice. I ended up reading some things that Dr. Schmale wrote, although a lot of the more interesting articles seemed to be inaccessible. (My browser doesn't seem to like the Canadian Journal's cookies.) It's interesting to see all of the things that I like connected. I always worry about things happening to wheat...mainly because that's the only thing I know that makes gluten, which leads me to believe that's the only thing that can make decent bread. (Sorry, gluten-free really sucks.)

Well, I suppose I should study now. It's almost three! I need to write an email to Bethany. I forgot I had a meeting from 7 pm Tuesday, so I won't be able to watch her as she does the layout for the paper. It might be difficult to go on the field trip on Thursday as well...I'd like to go though!

Notes on Theory

Construct: abstract variable
Falsifiable: "Oh good! We weren't wrong!" (This time...)

Today, I used SMS to reach blogger and take some notes! I've got photos of slides as well. Even though the slides are available, I tend to like taking photos better because I can see the rest of the classroom...which somehow helps me remember what I was doing at that time. Each day melts into the last, so I need all the clues I can get. Unfortunately, it's really difficult to get my picture mail to work with blogger, so I'm waiting for my adapter from Hong Kong. (It was less than a dollar, with free shipping too!)

I tried texting phrases or ideas that sort of popped out at me. Let's see how this goes! Last year, I was trying mind maps, but I found accessibility to be an issue. I should try bringing my laptop to class, but I left my electronics at the Woodbridge, which includes my wireless keyboard. I don't enjoy typing on my EEE. Maybe I should do a combination of written notes and SMS! For example, SMS could be used to reserve the approximate time, and topic, and written notes could be used to further elaborate what I learned in class at a later time.

My teacher said something a long the lines that notes should be reviewed, but not immediately after class, to gauge comprehension. Hmm... I'd like to formally test these ideas that I have. Would this method of note taking/studying be only beneficial to me, or would other people benefit? Mystery! I find it somewhat odd materializing my questions. I always think it's wonderful how people have the gumption to pursue the questions they have in their mind to the point of writing a whole paper, and subsequently getting it published. I think I will try posting any questions that come to my mind. I'll do this with any question at all for about a week. I wonder if the weirdness will disappear by then.

Falsifiable "Oh good! We weren't wrong!"

So crowded today on the bus...

Bright

(I need to start getting in the habit of submitting my posts once I get a title figured out!)

Miu was hungry this morning, so I managed to wake up on time. I think she's starting to wake me up earlier and earlier because I've been ignoring her....

I was naughty and stayed up too late, so now I'm a bit tired. I woke up at 8, took my meds, then went back to sleep until 10, then took the last of my morning meds. Still I don't feel quite as crappy as I could, which is always interesting to me.

Now it's time to get ready for school!

Finished!

I found my resources! Woot. I'm glad I came to class on Friday. I learned about the ISI Web of Knowledge from College Librarian, Allison Scripa, 540-231-7980, ajscripa@vt.edu. (I'll have to pay her a visit some time. She said she knows some random stuff about birds too!) Now I can rest easy. I just have to remember to turn on my printer before I leave!

...疲れた

I'm trying to stay awake right now, but it's a real struggle to. I have some homework due for class tomorrow. Ah! I'm so tired, but I need to find two references for my paper. I'm not sure what I want to write about just yet. Oh well!

I probably should have thought about the paper before cleaning, but I couldn't really concentrate with my house in disarray. It's a bit cleaner now, so I feel better. (At least my bed is made, and most of the dishes have been watched.) Ash came over to get some mirin. She didn't like hers, but I don't blame her. Although she couldn't tell the difference between hers and mine. It's kind of funny.

Anyways! I've got to make sure to bring some food tomorrow. I need to read my book too. I have so many books to read...I just want to drop of the face of the world for a little bit so I can just read.

There's a real big difference between two and three pills. With three pills, I can stay awake with no problem, but it's really difficult with two. Especially when I have a lot of physical work to do. I think I'll try and stay with three...

Okay! Enough talk. I've got to figure out my sources!

T-shirts

Today I found a promising site: https://secure.instashirt.com/onlinedesigner.htm#

Instashirt! If we go with the cheapest shirts and the least amount of color, we can get our shirts for way under our budget. I wonder if everyone can be convinced on black and white...If that's so, then we'd be way under budget, which would be great! More money for activities and food! Sherley seems enthusiastic about the price too. We'll see how the rest take it on Tuesday.

Math Woes

Linear algebra is causing me some grief. I'm kind of disappointed at the class some how. I just can't get past that Comic Sans font they use at the Empo (the lesson pages). I really hate that font. Not only are the pages ugly, but the navigation is goofy. The way subjects are organized (Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3, etc.) doesn't really help me master the concepts. How the hell am I supposed to find the exact thing I'm looking for?! It would have been better to just have the menu on the left side, instead of on the top AND bottom. (I wonder if frames are still supported...) The names of the modules should be descriptive and have a number reference.


I'm supposed to interact with this awkward adolescent of a site...this is the main replacement for a teacher...this is depressing. One of these days, I'll make a mock up of what I hoped for the website. I know I might sound severe, but I've been dealing with the empo for various classes for almost two years. Can you imagine if someone had to actually look at the pages everyday? I wonder if I could do that. That's why I like my vector geometry class a lot more. I get to watch a teacher, come to class, do some work. It's exciting! All the neat math stuff that would have went past me unfolds before my eyes like some sort of drama. Even though I go to class once a week, and recitation once a week, that is enough to keep me motivated.

Anyways, I'm glad they drop the lowest two quiz scores. I'm going to be in trouble this semester. I keep missing simple stuff, that I probably wouldn't miss with the proper guidance. Oh well!