The End of a Semester

So, class has ended for this semester. No more Java, no more analysis of eCommunities, no more models of information processing, and no more history of computers and the Internet. (At least as classes.)

I've learned quite a bit this semester. The Java was really the best part. I have a greater understanding of object-oriented programming now, and I'm ready to use it!

An earlier post mentioned this card game, Tunk, I wanted to code. However, I didn't think about the 2-player aspect, and I am clueless with regard to AI rt now.

So, my new ideas are:
I've been into classic game shows lately

• 2-, 4-, 6-player Newlywed Game
• Blackjack
• Hangman/Wheel of Fortune
• Card Sharks
• A To-Do List

More ideas to come...

Also, my web design skills seem to be improving. (I should really get an outside judge for that.) I can design quicker and have a better understanding of some things! More to come with that, too, but until then...

Check out my own personal website!

Programming Prose

When the night is long,
I don't cling to a cup of Java.
Rather I hit the subway rails
Draped in the finest Rubys and Perls.
This is my
High-Level Life.

I am not just object-oriented.
I travel to the darkest jungles
to play with pythons.
I sing with the greatest symphonies in C
Sharp.
Now to do get the Basic Visual?
This is my
High-Level Life.

I may be a PYT,
But I'm more proud to be a PHP:
Pretty Hot Programmer.
My efficiency is Big-Oh of Amazing.
For our founding fathers and their COBOL and FORTRAN:
I stand for transcendental programs.
And even my pure, small, basic, idealistic thinking...
Can one day change the world.

This is my High-Level Life.

Code Attack!: My 'Tunk' Capstone Idea

So, I'm taking EECS 282 this semester (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 282, that is) where we're learning Java. After being taught the popular (i guess) card game, Tunk.

Rules of Tunk (as my genius boyfriend told me):

• Each player starts with 5 cards: Face cards = 10; Aces = 1; and the other cards have their printed value
• If a player begins with a value of 49 or 50, they win automatically!
• If a player chooses they can "drop", compare their total value with their opponents' and the lowest value wins
• A player can also win by losing all their cards
• Players can lose cards by forming (what I am going to call) "sets":
  
  • A sequence of consecutive of the same suit. Ex. 3Hearts, 4Hearts, 5Hearts
  • A sequence of the same value of different suits. Ex. 5Diamonds, 5Hearts, 5Spades
• Players can also add to existing sets

So thus was born my Capstone Project Idea. It will be a one-player game where the user will play the computer, and the number of wins and losses will be counted.

Spring Break is coming up soon, and while my contemporaries will be in tanning in Cancun, I'll be here on campus being a geek! (I have big plans for those Head First books) Hopefully, I can get this application working somewhat...

Web Design Practice Ideas

I have NO idea why I haven't been doing this, but I plan to use W3 Schools to brush up (and enhance) my web design and development skills.

I am super excited!

This is mostly because I plan to make this learning experience fun. (Every learning experience should be fun.) Here are a few of my ideas for good web design/development practice:

All of these are based off of my interests, by the way.

• Website for Moe's Tavern
• Website for Bob's Burgers
• A wedding budget application
• An online diary/scrapbook
• MadLibs and Match Game
• A social network for programmers/designers

These are just a few things I thought would be cool. A goal I have for this year is to do something cool with regard to web design and development, and I think this experience will accomplish this.

In the meantime, check out my personal website!

A Very Geeky Semester

This semester I have three classes in the School of Information and a fourth in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and I recently got a job at the Art, Architecture, and Engineering Library. I'll be learning about Information Processing, eCommunities, History of Computers and the Internet, and the Java Programming Language.

It's going to be a very geeky semester!

Working at the library, I came across the section about web design, programming, and information science. I plan on spending some time in there.

In short, it's going to be a very geeky semester. However, being a very geeky girl, I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. :)

My Christmas Present From Google

Today, I was watching Human Target on Hulu when a commercial for Google's Epic Demos caught my eye. These girls successfully ordered Indian food in Hindi using Google Translator. I had to check it out for myself.

After misusing this fine piece of technology (saying dirty words and all my crazy thoughts), I fell in love with this thing! Unlike other translators that translate each. word. separately., the improved Google translator understands the context. I put in "The Hangover" and it gave me the Spanish name for the movie, not the word for a literal hangover.

The thing has audio for the translations (for some languages, not all). It gives off the Steven Hawking vibe, but it conveys the message clear.

In short, I'm going to have fun giving my boyfriend the silent treatment this weekend. Thanks, Google!

The Internet Lacks Depth

The internet, of course, is our gateway to knowing anything about nearly everything. However, I find an area of information the internet does lack: The answers to life's deeper questions...or at least deeper than "What's on TV tonight?"

Old friends and I keep tabs on each other through Facebook. So, the age-old saying "You probably won't think about them in ten years" has been proven wrong. I pretty much know how the people I knew ten years ago are doing now, and it's pretty profound how are lives have changed in this seemingly small amount of time.

Thinking about this lead me to search Google for 'self-fulfillment'. It suggested a book on Amazon.

Now, it's not Google's fault it couldn't lead me to feeling like less of a failure because I haven't accomplished anything notable yet. However, it made me realize: There are problems that cannot be solved with a Google Search. (Perhaps Bing?)

It's profound to think that the internet holds the opinions of all the world, yet no one knows how to achieve self-fulfillment or has the perfect cure for boredom or knows how to improve a relationship.

Perhaps I should be the geek who creates the website to solve all of these problems. Though, the fact I'm looking for them probably means I don't have a clue about the answer. This project would require a lot of time and thought.

Either that or surrender to the notion that the internet will never have all the answers.