Sunday, January 30, 2005
Huge news: my cousin (to a close approximation) Kelley Harris was selected as one of forty Intel Science Talent Search Finalists. She's interviewed in an article here. To use the oft-heard description, "the Intel competition is commonly called the 'junior Nobel Prize.'" (Every newspaper article on the subject contains that exact sentence.)
Of course, my alma mater, Montgomery Blair High School, had a ridiculously strong showing, with four finalists.
Of course, my alma mater, Montgomery Blair High School, had a ridiculously strong showing, with four finalists.
Back from Roble's skip trip.
I only got to ski for a few hours, partially due to a broken bus. (We contract a bus to drive us to a ski lodge, and the bus doesn't work because it's too cold on the mountain? Somebody owes Roble a partial refund.) Anyway, skiing was lots of fun, but really scary at first. Turning and stopping are really hard when you don't know what you're doing. On the beginner course, there were novice snowboarders everywhere, sitting on the ground after falling, and I collided into them often.
QotD
From my aunt Jane, whose daughter Rachel was just admitted to Smith College. (Congratulations Rachel! Be thrilled that the whole college deal is finally over and done with.)
I only got to ski for a few hours, partially due to a broken bus. (We contract a bus to drive us to a ski lodge, and the bus doesn't work because it's too cold on the mountain? Somebody owes Roble a partial refund.) Anyway, skiing was lots of fun, but really scary at first. Turning and stopping are really hard when you don't know what you're doing. On the beginner course, there were novice snowboarders everywhere, sitting on the ground after falling, and I collided into them often.
QotD
On a Smith College bulletin board, among the posters and messages, someone has tacked a bumper sticker saying "Question Authority." Underneath it is scrawled, "Why should I?"
From my aunt Jane, whose daughter Rachel was just admitted to Smith College. (Congratulations Rachel! Be thrilled that the whole college deal is finally over and done with.)
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
QotD, from Catch-22 by Joseph Heller:
Psychiatrist: "Hasn't it ever occured to you that in your promiscuous pursuit of women you are merely trying to assuage your subconscious fears of sexual impotence?"
Yossarian: "Yes, sir, it has."
Psychiatrist: "Then why do you do it?"
Yossarian: "To assuage my fears of sexual impotence."
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Ironic Times - January 24, 2005:
Alberto Gonzales to Remove Covering From Breast of Statue In Dept. of Justice
Orders all statues stripped, piled on top of each other in lobby.
Hahahahahaha.
Edit: Target doesn't get it, so I'll spell it out. John Ashcroft, the previous Attorney General, ordered that a statue in the Justice Department with a naked woman's breast be covered with a decorative drape, because the breast offended his Christian sensibilities. Alberto Gonzales, Bush's new Attorney General, was the one who sent the "torture memo" to the White House, stating that the current War on Terror rendered some parts of the Geneva Convention "quaint" and that the President has considerable freedom to use coercive methods on prisoners. Thus, Gonzales was partially responsible for the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse disaster. (You think the Arab world has moved on just because Americans have moved on to Michael Jackson's child molestation case?)
In sum: Irony. Funny.
Alberto Gonzales to Remove Covering From Breast of Statue In Dept. of Justice
Orders all statues stripped, piled on top of each other in lobby.
Hahahahahaha.
Edit: Target doesn't get it, so I'll spell it out. John Ashcroft, the previous Attorney General, ordered that a statue in the Justice Department with a naked woman's breast be covered with a decorative drape, because the breast offended his Christian sensibilities. Alberto Gonzales, Bush's new Attorney General, was the one who sent the "torture memo" to the White House, stating that the current War on Terror rendered some parts of the Geneva Convention "quaint" and that the President has considerable freedom to use coercive methods on prisoners. Thus, Gonzales was partially responsible for the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse disaster. (You think the Arab world has moved on just because Americans have moved on to Michael Jackson's child molestation case?)
In sum: Irony. Funny.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
So I was listening to some old Offspring, and I am just starting to realize what an awesome song "Nitro (Youth Energy)" is. It's actually one of the best fast loud songs around.
Ah, The Offspring... how many hours of my childhood were spent laughing about "He's pretty fly for a white guy" and "My friend's got a girlfriend and he hates that bitch"... such good clean adolescent fun.
Ah, The Offspring... how many hours of my childhood were spent laughing about "He's pretty fly for a white guy" and "My friend's got a girlfriend and he hates that bitch"... such good clean adolescent fun.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Welcome to the Working Week
I have realized that I only mind going to class if it's in the morning. I don't mind afternoon classes at all. Illustrating this point is the fact that this is the first quarter I've had at Stanford with no classes on Friday morning. I have Econ section on Friday afternoon, 1:15-2:05. Yet it feels to me that I have a four day week, because I have no classes Friday morning.
Oh, for the world to revolve around my personal preferences...
News Flash: Jeremy Still Likes CS
In EE108B, I'm reading and writing code in Assembly, the low-level language somewhere between the C++ we all know and love and the machine code of 1's and 0's that machines actually read. It's fascinating to see how computer software was built from the ground up like this... 32 registers and some memory. (It's a good thing I find this fascinating, because it means I chose the right field to major in.)
QotD
"I like the word 'appears.' It makes things... true."
--Anatoly Preygel, Blair graduate, Intel Finalist, Harvard student, and Math Genius Extraordinaire
(borrowed from Kevin Chang)
I have realized that I only mind going to class if it's in the morning. I don't mind afternoon classes at all. Illustrating this point is the fact that this is the first quarter I've had at Stanford with no classes on Friday morning. I have Econ section on Friday afternoon, 1:15-2:05. Yet it feels to me that I have a four day week, because I have no classes Friday morning.
Oh, for the world to revolve around my personal preferences...
News Flash: Jeremy Still Likes CS
In EE108B, I'm reading and writing code in Assembly, the low-level language somewhere between the C++ we all know and love and the machine code of 1's and 0's that machines actually read. It's fascinating to see how computer software was built from the ground up like this... 32 registers and some memory. (It's a good thing I find this fascinating, because it means I chose the right field to major in.)
QotD
"I like the word 'appears.' It makes things... true."
--Anatoly Preygel, Blair graduate, Intel Finalist, Harvard student, and Math Genius Extraordinaire
(borrowed from Kevin Chang)
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Last night, Brian and I decided to wander the halls of Roble and see what random freshmen we could meet. It was quite lucrative. I'm gonna try to keep this up. Freshmen are so sociable, it's great. :-)
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
QotD:
"As soon as we started programming, we found to our surprise that it wasn't as easy to get programs right as we had thought. We had to discover debugging. I can remember the exact instant when I realized that a large part of life from then on was going to be spent in finding mistakes in my own programs."
--Maurice Wilkes, 1949
"As soon as we started programming, we found to our surprise that it wasn't as easy to get programs right as we had thought. We had to discover debugging. I can remember the exact instant when I realized that a large part of life from then on was going to be spent in finding mistakes in my own programs."
--Maurice Wilkes, 1949
Monday, January 10, 2005
QotD, from Fox's 24, season 4, episode 1:
"Oh, spare me your sixth-grade Michael Moore logic."
-Secretary of Defense Heller, to his son
"Oh, spare me your sixth-grade Michael Moore logic."
-Secretary of Defense Heller, to his son
My dad delivers this exciting bit of news: Life Imitates Jon Stewart
"Did you see the news last week, that CNN is cancelling Crossfire! The President of CNN was quoted as saying 'I think he [Stewart] made a good point about the noise level of these types of shows, which does nothing to illuminate the issues of the day .... a bunch of guys screaming at each other doesn't accomplish that.'"
Crossfire was an entertaining show to watch, but it was only that: entertainment. Not news, not debate. If we had had more of that in this country, there might have been more extensive pre-war planning for post-war Iraq, and we might not be cringing at the thought of explosion-wracked elections occuring at the end of this month.
"Did you see the news last week, that CNN is cancelling Crossfire! The President of CNN was quoted as saying 'I think he [Stewart] made a good point about the noise level of these types of shows, which does nothing to illuminate the issues of the day .... a bunch of guys screaming at each other doesn't accomplish that.'"
Crossfire was an entertaining show to watch, but it was only that: entertainment. Not news, not debate. If we had had more of that in this country, there might have been more extensive pre-war planning for post-war Iraq, and we might not be cringing at the thought of explosion-wracked elections occuring at the end of this month.
Taking to my friend on the east coast just after midnight PST...
JeremyHoffman03: still up?
Majoris27: yeah
JeremyHoffman03: oh wait
JeremyHoffman03: i forgot
JeremyHoffman03: i'm in school, not you
Majoris27: well i should be up at 3am anyways
JeremyHoffman03: right right
Majoris27: *shouldn't
JeremyHoffman03: oh
JeremyHoffman03: :-P
Majoris27: =P
JeremyHoffman03: still up?
Majoris27: yeah
JeremyHoffman03: oh wait
JeremyHoffman03: i forgot
JeremyHoffman03: i'm in school, not you
Majoris27: well i should be up at 3am anyways
JeremyHoffman03: right right
Majoris27: *shouldn't
JeremyHoffman03: oh
JeremyHoffman03: :-P
Majoris27: =P
Sunday, January 09, 2005
I went to a meeting today of a new robotics team being formed. They're looking at entering the RoboMagellan Competition (website, opens in new window). I've never actually done a Robotics Team thing in HS or college yet, although I've been in similar academic circles. It's about time, I think... learn more robotics, get some hands-on experience, make some lucrative personal contacts, boost the resume, and get more insight into possible careers.
On a less encouraging note, I am now positive that I need a new eyeglass prescription. I just got these new ones last March or April, and already my vision has worsened noticably. :-(
On a less encouraging note, I am now positive that I need a new eyeglass prescription. I just got these new ones last March or April, and already my vision has worsened noticably. :-(
Do to my bad judgement, I did not go to the Stanford-Arizona basketball game today. I had just watched Stanford get creamed by Arizona State, and I need to sleep in on Saturday morning to recuperate from the stressful week. But then Stanford Shocks No. 13 Arizona, 87-76. Oh well.
One more thing in my defense: I donated blood yesterday, and I'm probably supposed to get a full night's sleep after doing that.
On that subject...
Me: "I'm not supposed to do anything strenuous for 24 hours."
Brian: "What do you do that's strenuous?"
Me: "I do pushups sometimes."
(The best answer is tennis, but I've hardly played this year. With all the rain this week, I don't think there's been a dry court available, but eventually the sun will shine. If you're at Stanford and up for a game, IM or email me.)
One more thing in my defense: I donated blood yesterday, and I'm probably supposed to get a full night's sleep after doing that.
On that subject...
Me: "I'm not supposed to do anything strenuous for 24 hours."
Brian: "What do you do that's strenuous?"
Me: "I do pushups sometimes."
(The best answer is tennis, but I've hardly played this year. With all the rain this week, I don't think there's been a dry court available, but eventually the sun will shine. If you're at Stanford and up for a game, IM or email me.)
Posted by Target as a comment to the post below:
"Hoff, what's the Roble dorm theme this year? Please tell me they went with Robleat. It's simply brilliant."
The Roble theme is "Follow the Yellow Brick Roble" -- a Wizard of Oz theme. Examples of halls are the Poppy Field (the penthouse), Kansas (1A), and Glin3a (3A). I believe Satoko in 3-center has some winged monkeys at her disposal.
I'm not sure what "Robleat" even means. Like, a sheep's bleating? Fill me in here.
"Hoff, what's the Roble dorm theme this year? Please tell me they went with Robleat. It's simply brilliant."
The Roble theme is "Follow the Yellow Brick Roble" -- a Wizard of Oz theme. Examples of halls are the Poppy Field (the penthouse), Kansas (1A), and Glin3a (3A). I believe Satoko in 3-center has some winged monkeys at her disposal.
I'm not sure what "Robleat" even means. Like, a sheep's bleating? Fill me in here.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
I went to my first Stanford basketball game tonight. Unfortunately, Arizona State creamed the Cardinal. But it was lots of fun anyways.
I have my schedule narrowed down as follows:
EE 108B -- Digital Systems II -- TTh 9:30-10:45 -- 4 units
ECON 1 -- Elementary Econ -- MTWTh 11:00-11:50 -- 5 units
HIST 172A -- US History Since 1945 -- MTWTh 1:15-2:05 -- 4-5 units (depending on whether I join an optional section)
The undecided part is between two classes that both satisfy the Science and Technology in Society requirement for an engineering degree:
POLISCI 144S -- International Security in a Changing World -- MTW 10:00-10:50 -- 5 units
STS 145 -- History of Computer Game Design -- TTh 2:15-3:30 -- 4 units
I could take POLISCI 144S even though it conflicts with EE 108B on Tuesdays because POLISCI 144S is videotaped (the lectures are available online). So far I'm not that impressed with the POLISCI 144S professor, and the class sounds like a lot of work.
Overall, I have a very fuzzy-heavy, techie-light schedule this quarter. Reading hundreds of pages and writing essays... I thought I had left this behind in freshman year :-).
I have my schedule narrowed down as follows:
EE 108B -- Digital Systems II -- TTh 9:30-10:45 -- 4 units
ECON 1 -- Elementary Econ -- MTWTh 11:00-11:50 -- 5 units
HIST 172A -- US History Since 1945 -- MTWTh 1:15-2:05 -- 4-5 units (depending on whether I join an optional section)
The undecided part is between two classes that both satisfy the Science and Technology in Society requirement for an engineering degree:
POLISCI 144S -- International Security in a Changing World -- MTW 10:00-10:50 -- 5 units
STS 145 -- History of Computer Game Design -- TTh 2:15-3:30 -- 4 units
I could take POLISCI 144S even though it conflicts with EE 108B on Tuesdays because POLISCI 144S is videotaped (the lectures are available online). So far I'm not that impressed with the POLISCI 144S professor, and the class sounds like a lot of work.
Overall, I have a very fuzzy-heavy, techie-light schedule this quarter. Reading hundreds of pages and writing essays... I thought I had left this behind in freshman year :-).
Monday, January 03, 2005
It feels so good to be back at Stanford.
The excitement of being back in the dorm, combined with jet lag and a lack of sufficient sleep since New Year's Eve, left me in a delirious, giddy state until 3am.
To my friends in Maryland, it was great to see you again. I'm sorry that most of us only had two overlapping weeks of winter break. I spent less than half as much time with half of you than you deserve. Keep the state warm until spring break for me. (Note: my spring break plans are currently unknown.)
To my friends at Stanford, woooooooo!!! Let's enjoy the quarter before the midterms start.
Over the break, I jotted down an idea for a philosophical blog post or two. I'll try to write one post of that type a week this quarter.
I'd better going if I want to make it to lunch. Mmm... Stanford dining.
The excitement of being back in the dorm, combined with jet lag and a lack of sufficient sleep since New Year's Eve, left me in a delirious, giddy state until 3am.
To my friends in Maryland, it was great to see you again. I'm sorry that most of us only had two overlapping weeks of winter break. I spent less than half as much time with half of you than you deserve. Keep the state warm until spring break for me. (Note: my spring break plans are currently unknown.)
To my friends at Stanford, woooooooo!!! Let's enjoy the quarter before the midterms start.
Over the break, I jotted down an idea for a philosophical blog post or two. I'll try to write one post of that type a week this quarter.
I'd better going if I want to make it to lunch. Mmm... Stanford dining.
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