Chris' Updates

Alright, this week seems to have been a return to my passions as a computer science geek and electronics nerd. To begin, my work planning for college has rekindled an old flame of sorts. I've had the urge to design a class scheduling program. This would take a list of the classes I want to take, and then use the class times for that semester to build the perfect schedule. Of course, that's a very general description. One of the most immediate problems that comes to mind is: what is a perfect schedule? It's a fuzzy, arbitrary goal. I have several ideas to make it more concrete, and if I get that far I'll probably incorporate them all. Another technical issue to be solved is getting the actual class times. I'll have to start by hand-entering the ones I'm interested in, but I wonder if there are better solutions. Perhaps the Computer Science department can hook me up with read-only access to parts of the school's database. Or maybe I can find a way to scrape t...

Is it me, or are there a lot of birthdays around this time of year? Many, many of the people I know seem to have birthdays in January and February. Perhaps it lends creedence to all of that astrology crap, and I just tend to hang around Aquariuses. Or maybe it reveals preferred times of the year to make babies. Who knows. The last couple of weeks of work have been relatively quiet. Sgt. Rhino is back from leave. He had an excellent time while he was home, but coming back was painful, both with the emotional parting and the difficult process of making his way back to Iraq. I get that report quite often, actually. Traveling with the military is less than glamorous. Sgt. Rhino has decided to step back a bit from day-to-day office management, allowing Sgt. Antonio to make project decisions and keep track of scheduling. Also, Sgt. Rhino has blessed off on the days off scheme. I'm very happy, because I'm still enjoying my reset days. Over the past couple of days, I've been plotti...

W00t! I'm happy to report that after a couple months of casually playing on and off, I've beaten Mass Effect on PC! I bought it back in September, and I scared my roommate when I cursed loudly while trying to install the game. The SecuROM DRM prevented me from launching the game until I could activate with the internet. It wasn't until a month later that I actually got personal internet and was able to start playing. (Does EA really expect me to have an internet connection in the middle of the desert?) I'll also say that it's a system hog; my new laptop, built specifically to play modern games decently, is barely able to handle the game. Having voiced those gripes, I'm very happy with the game. It's an original IP and storyline, and the backstory and plot are excellent! I was drawn into a galaxy of interesting alien races, clashing politics, and intense combat. Commander Shepard is a great lead character. The plot forces the player to make some tough dec...

I've just finished watching the inauguration of our 44th president. So much has already been said about the significance of this moment in history. Even though I can't lay claim to any African American cultural heritage, I was still deeply moved by the idea that we are closer to equality than perhaps ever before. This is one of the moments in history that I can tell my children and grandchildren about: those moments when you'll never forget where you were when you learned it happened. For other generations, those moments were the attack on Pearl Harbor and the assassination of JFK. I don't quite remember what I was doing when the Berlin Wall fell, and my recollections of the Gulf War are fuzzy at best. But I do remember a fateful morning in my sophomore year of high school. In Spanish, my first class, there were rumors of news from New York. A small plane, perhaps a single-prop, had accidentally glanced off of a building. Anyway, no matter, class had to continue. But in...

Now that the flurry of the holidays is over, we've been settling back into the routine. I've been finding myself less pleased about my situation. I'm still trying to stay positive and use my time and stay involved, but it seems harder somehow. Although I know I have a long ways to go, I'm definitely ready to go home. I've seen my share of this base. I'll keep plodding along, and keep doing my online courses and helping out at church, but that doesn't mean I'm enjoying my time. Why didn't I go Air Force? I'd be done by now! I've recently been reflecting on another issue: reenlistment. I told myself that I wouldn't be able to decide until I had a taste of deployment. And now that I'm here? Well, the time away sucks, in a big way. I see the same people every day, nonstop, no days off. I try not to think about it often, but I do miss everything about home. But another issue is the copious amount of BS that the military brings to the pictu...

Our furry friend has become an internet meme! moar funny pictures

Happy New Year, everyone! It's been an exciting one for me, with many big events. I got married, got called to active duty and deployed, and was received into the Catholic church. (I finally have pictures up in the Iraq gallery .) I've made new friends, learned new points of view, and loved every God-given day! Not to say I wouldn't rather be home; I miss everything about home, and I'm looking forward to being there again. However, there are so many opportunities here, if one opens their eyes. As for New Year's resolutions... Well, I resolve to make it back home, for starters. I don't think that one should be hard to fulfill! As much as the army likes having me here, they don't want to keep paying us silly Reservists full time. Also, I want to spend more time with my wife and my family. Once again, shouldn't be hard, as I'm spending no time with them currently. There goes the C-RAM , sounding off for the new year! Let's hope it's a good one, ...