Check That Off My List

So Far, So Good

Another week has come and gone. I got my score back for my first exam. Although an 89% is a respectable score, there's still room for improvement. Actually, I do believe that Raphael is going to grant me one more point on Monday, because I believe that one of the questions was incorrectly graded. The real importance of the test was finding out how he writes the tests. I did put in some good quality study time- I read each chapter twice and reviewed the class notes and lecture slides three times for the test. I just need to do a better job of focusing on what the instructor sees is more important.

We're behind on the class syllabus. That's going to make things more difficult, being that we've got the same amount of quizzes and tests to take, but less lecture time to go over the chapters. I've got another exam coming up this Wednesday. I've got six chapters to read over the weekend, so that I won't be reading the material for the first time, while preparing for the test.

Cram Time!!

Well, the first exam is upon us tomorrow. It came so quickly. As always, I'm doing my last day cramming with my 101 point to do list This is actually an easy survey class, so I don't even think the test is going to be that hard. Sometimes I think I just make more work for myself. But I'd rather be over-prepared than under-prepared.

I spent part of my 4th of July weekend studying my notes and re-reading some of the chapters. Today, we got our first quizzes back. I received a 7/10. Not too bad, not too good. One of the questions I just circled the false instead of true, even though I knew the answer! This sleep deprivation thing is going to bite me in the ass! But now I know the types of questions the instructor (Raphael, the Program Director) is capable of asking. At least I have a slight feel for his style.

Today after class, I met up with a few classmates to do a crash study session before tomorrow's exam. One of the guys, Brian, has actually already finished his first year of the program, but is just now circling back to take this class. (Most rad tech students take this class first, before starting the meat & potatoes of the program, but last Summer, a couple of the program candidates flunked this class, so it was over for them before they even got started!! Bummer! But a wake-up call for me- DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS LIGHTLY!) He was instrumental in our study pow-wow, since he has so much more knowledge of how the physics and equipment work. We claimed a study room in the library. It was great to have a whiteboard, so we could draw pictures and formulas, so everyone could more easily understand. I'm glad I was there.

I'm just finishing re-reading the chapters. Next is glossaries, then lecture notes again. I hope I can get to bed at a decent hour, so I can feel rested before the test! Wish me luck!

Time to Rest

Well, I've officially survived my first week of school. Every morning, I've had to wake up just after 5am, since my commute is almost an hour long. The motorcycle is a godsend. I can't even imagine having to face the morning traffic in a car! I filled up the motorcycle today and checked the gas mileage. Even with the luggage rack flying high on the back of the bike, I'm still getting over 50 MPG. To me, that actually blows my mind, since I've tricked out that motor so much for racing performance.

Yesterday morning, we had a quiz. I've been reading 3-4 chapters per day, since class started. That's pretty much par for the course, taking a Summer class- still brutal nonetheless. We've got our first exam scheduled for Wednesday. I'll be ready. I can't wait!

For now, it's time to take a few days off to slow down and enjoy the 4th of July weekend :)

One Step Closer

A few days ago I finally purchased the beer ingredients. The local store I usually frequent in Livermore had a nice IPA that I wanted to try. When I had visited them a few days beforehand, they were out of some of the hops, so I had to make another trip. Also the recipe kit they had was in extract form, so they were going to convert the recipe to all-grain for me. Unfortunately, when I showed up to make the purchase, the store owner, who I had been working with, was out at the Giants game! Luckily, his "helper" had a solution for me. He had developed his own secret IPA recipe and he was willing to share it with me! He also taught me a few more techniques and terms I wasn't yet familiar with, so it was a win-win-win for me! He told me that it was his "Old Rad Lab Maris Otter IPA", his label named because he was one of the old timers at the Lawrence Liver Lab- he worked in the "old rad lab", as they all called it. He has since retired, but he's working part time at the beer store to share his love of brewing. Just my luck! Hopefully, we'll be brewing on Sunday.

Behind the 8-Ball

Wow! Just had my first day of lecture and I'm already four chapters behind!! Need to get some reading done TONIGHT!!!

Free HDTV!!

Well, it's been tested and confirmed. If you already pay for a Comcast Cable internet connection, you can get HDTV on your flat screen TV for FREE!! I just called Dish Network and canceled my contract with them. Of course, they're going to make me pay the $15 to send back the DVR. Bastards!

I've been wondering about it for a couple of months now. For the past week, I've been crawling under the house, hooking up my LCD to see what kinds of channels it can actually "see". The verdict- I can get a over 100 digital channels, but most of them are just the same channels in various formats. But I did get all the major TV networks, including NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox in high definition in a full screen (and not stretched) format. The pictures are crystal clear. Of course, your selection isn't going to have all the bells and whistles compared to if you are paying a provider. But you can get all the basic channels, plus a bunch of Chinese, Latin and Korean channels. I'm also able to get PBS, HSN and a bunch of other stations. I'm still figuring things out- it's still a work in progress for me. Yes, I am going to miss the free movie channels, ESPN, Food Network and the Travel Channels on Dish, but if I'm going to save $43 a month, I think I can deal with it. With my "new" life about to get moving in high gear, I doubt that I will have much time to watch TV anyway.

The next step is to build a DVR out of a Vista/Win7 box. I was shopping around the Web earlier and it looks like it's going to cost me about $60 to put in a card. Media Center is built into all the latest editions of Windows, so it should just be a drop-in operation!

I'm so happy!!