For I do indeed have a plethora, a plethora of topics to touch upon! I will start off with the humdrum and from there slowly build a torrent of awesome so at the very end your mind will explode, spraying forth a mass of what was once your brain. So pop on Tribute by the D and listen to my tale.
Classes
I finally got all my classes figured out for the Fall. A major problem that sucks is the current error with Enrollment Services (go advisor for not telling me my paperwork for admission into the major program was never done) will prevent me from taking any upper-level classes this semester. Frustration! My academic career keeps getting extended....
However, I get to pack my schedule with the last bit of lower-level classes that are left! My current schedule is pretty good, with a lot of room to work 20 hours a week which is needed. Hopefully I'll be with the University still or moved onto the Transportation Security Administration positions they got open.
Monday: 5:30pm-6:45pm Introduction to Statistics for Business and Economics
Tuesday: 8:30am-9:45am Trigonometry
2:30pm-3:45pm Computer Concepts in Business
4:00pm-5:40pm Elementary Spanish II
Wednesday: 5:30pm-6:45pm Introduction to Statistics for Business and Economics
Thursday: 8:30am-9:45am Trigonometry
2:30pm-3:45pm Computer Concepts in Business
4:00pm-5:40pm Elementary Spanish II
7:00pm-8:40pm Fingerstyle Guitar I
I'm pretty pumped about learning guitar. I've wanted to do that for a long time and it'll be nice to finally learn it. I've also decided to re-pursue a Spanish minor to add to my attractiveness in the Law Enforcement fields. Once these classes are done, all I have left is the Intermediate Micro and Macro sequence, Calculus, six upper-level Economics classes, and three upper-level Spanish classes. Also packed into that is my Honors classes (assuming I decide to enter the Honors College). I probably won't graduate until '10 or even '11. Not too bad, really.
I'm also thinking about taking next semester off and only doing Calculus (which will be a lot like this), Spanish and one Economics course while I do an EMT I and Wilderness First Responder certification courses. Plus, next year I can start doing Reserve Police Officer stuff, which will be very nice.
College Republicans
Jaren Hoffman, the Chair of the Alaska College Republicans, asked me to be his Vice-Chair of the entire state. I'm pretty excited about working with the Statewide organization and we've got a lot of stuff planned. UAA's Chapter, of which I am the Chair, is plugging along, with Erik Swanson agreeing to be our Chapter Vice-Chair. I've formed a rough agenda for the Fall Semester and have a few club officers picked out. We are going to be pretty active! It's turning out to be a solid group of guys and gals that have signed up so far. I think it'll be great.
We just now got a MySpace profile up at www.myspace.com/uaacollegerepublicans. Feel free to add us or shoot us an email at [email protected]. I am really enjoying the opportunities the College Republicans present and I think I can work to present Republicans in a different light then they are right now (yes, we actually DO believe in smaller government!). Hopefully my Economics professor Larry Ross will agree to be our faculty advisor.
I need to get business cards and a vinyl banner made up for our chapter still. So much work to do, so little time!
I'm also going to try and run for USUAA Senator, to help the guys out in student government. With Roberson as the USUAA President I think it'd be a blast to start working with everyone in there. I'm going to pass around the petition packet over the summer and hopefully get the 120 signatures I need to get on the Senate.
Microsoft's Surface
Ok, by now everyone should have seen this. Popular Mechanics has been talking about Surface, the new multi-touch technology from Microsoft.
Gattis took out a digital camera and placed it on the Surface. Instantly, digital pictures spilled out onto the tabletop. As Gattis touched and dragged each picture, it followed his fingers around the screen. Using two fingers, he pulled the corners of a photo and stretched it to a new size. Then, Gattis put a cellphone on the surface and dragged several photos to it — just like that, the pictures uploaded to the phone.
This is pretty neat. I've been waiting for something like this for awhile. This is really the advancement in technology, seamless integration. It's the future of computing. However, it is unrefined and as is, not really all that incredible as it seems. While everyone is going nuts over this, there are a few things to point out:
- As a table, your ability to use it is limited. It's basically quick interaction device and will not replace any form of computing we currently have. Drop a camera on there, play with your pics or check out a video and that's it.
- Only super fancy clubs or restaurants will have these and really, how will it impact your outing experience in it's current form?
- Don't expect to see this everywhere in your house like everyone's been saying for at least another thirty years.
Look at television. That started out in the 50s and it wasn't really until the late 90s that pretty much everything had television built into it. While Surface might be the shape of things to come, that shape is still in the early process of molding.
That being said, it sure is damn sexy.
I've got more I wanted to cover but it's late and I need to press on. I'll try and get some more writing done tomorrow about all kinds of stuff. For right now, I want to point you to a really good site ran by a friend of mine. http://www.socialstrategist.com/ is a great site focusing on innovation in communication. I highly recommend subscribing and checking it out, it's a fascinating read. In fact, it is so highly regarded that corporations are now hiring him merely to write words packed with the power of incredibleness for their corporate needs.
That's pretty cool.
Victory!
