Autumn is here!
Every now and then, I take a look at Abe's blog and see how he's doing. It's so remarkable to me how he just vanished into another foreign country and living life the best that he can. Check out his pictures on Facebook; Alexandria is so breathtaking, it's amazing. Miss you man!
But we're all just doing our own thing. I am taking this course called CMPSCI320: Introduction to Software Engineering, and it's demanding to say the least, not because of the workload, but because I'm on a team with nine or ten other guys working together to create software for a real audience.
Here's the deal: The class is broken down into three teams, Team A, B, and T. While Team A and B are both development teams, software development theory in textbooks strongly claim that more than 50% of total man hours and resources are allocated to Testing, so Team T (Testing team) is divided into two groups, one that works with Team A and the other with B.
We are under a HUGE semester-long project to design and develop Medical History Solicitation software for a Pharmacist from Franklin and Bay State Medical Centers and a Nurse from the UMass Nursing school. This is a pretty big deal! Or, at least it seems that way, doesn't it? The class is meant to teach you by doing, not just by learning software theory from assigned reading. Professor Osterweil leads by example when he tells stories about his days in consulting huge software companies and the problems that they encounter during the development process. He's an awesome professor, by the way.
Anyway, I'm the Database Team Manager for Company A, and I'm working with three guys to make sure we're on track with our portion of the project, but it's stressful because you have to communicate to be heard (Thank you Mrs. Harbridge) and work with other people to meet deadlines and expectations. It's not easy, not one bit.
Last Sunday (the 27th of September), Viada and company headed out into Boston, got lost, and soaked up the deliciousness of Porcupine Tree Live at the House of Blues!! I kick myself for not taking any pictures that night, but the band appreciated our cooperation with not taking any form of media during the concert, which I do respect. Still, the concert was just drop-dead amazing and the best I have ever seen them perform. However, the original plan had changed on us; we were determined to meet and greet them in Newbury Comics in the afternoon, but because we were late and had no sense of direction (save Myrelle's GPS on her phone!) and given that one of the band members wasn't feeling so good, we just missed them. Damn! We hung around Newbury Comics, I had my small pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks, traveled and lingered around the Hemp store for a while, and then enjoyed awesome square pizza at a local pizza pub (Can't remember the name). It was a great day because we had Mikey, Alex, Myrelle, and Alex Andreosantos with us, and we all hung around Newbury street until the final hour before the concert started.
But yes, life moves on, and we're all back at work. Dan and I are going home this upcoming weekend to take care of Missy girl while the parents leave for business trips around the world. Call us up! We'll be jamming in the basement.
Haha.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Longtime / Gearing Up
It has certainly been a long time!
Back in august, when I was playing Halo 3 with Cameron Allen and Abe Katz on the Xbox 360, they were talking about blogs, which I guess had made me think about my own. And there are so many things that I would like to put on it, but at the same time, there are so many thoughts and feelings I'd like to keep my own.
This summer has been full of progress. I can best describe it as a bittersweet moment in my life. I take a look back at things I've done, and I chuckle a little. I'm so frickin young! What's the point on getting so serious about thoughts and feelings all the time? I really like those realizations. They make me feel grounded and at home. And embarrassed. When I arrived home from UMass last semester, I felt grounded. My family was here beside me. Learning all that you can from college and returning back home gives me a satisfaction of looking back at my accomplishments from a distance and being proud of them.
On the other hand, being at home from college for three months was a time to look forward. I saw three months of working hard, diligence, and (above all) patience. I worked for a massive company called BAE Systems under the Sensor Systems Engineering team working with simulation applications. That was exciting! INROADS sought to grab me from a couple of weekends during the summer for professional development, so I drove to Boston at times when I felt most vulnerable, and I enjoyed the warmth of my friends there; that made me feel reassuring. What was even more reassuring was the enjoyment I got out of singing with nine other guys and raising nearly three thousand dollars with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society! Viva la BoroughTones! Of course, the warmth from your closest friends, no matter how far or near they may be, is always a reassuring feeling when trouble runs through my mind.
What a summer!
At BAE Systems, I learned a lot about following through with work, the idea of Innovation and how important it is, and the value of hard work. Still, there's so much to do! I want to learn so much more that's out there because I know there are so many opportunities that I want to leverage. This upcoming semester at UMass is going to be ROCK SOLID. Here's the schedule:
1) CMPSCI 320: Introduction to Software Engineering (4)
2) Honors Colloquium 320H: Supplement to CMPSCI 320 (1)
3) CMPSCI 377: Introduction to Operating Systems (4)
4) CMPSCI 305: Social Issues in Computing (3)
5) CMPSCI 197U: Hands-On with UNIX (1)
6) CMPSCI 397PC: Problem Solving and the ACM Programming Contest (1)
7) Research with Ben Ransford and Kevin Fu! (3)
Total = 17 credits. Perfect.
What Research? I'll try to explain what I know so far.
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags are ubiquitous to the information age society we all live in. From credit cards containing sensitive information to embedded devices like toll-paying transponders (Fast-Lane) in your car, these devices can be interrogated from a nearby RFID reader to acquire serial numbers for identifying people or products. Take, for example, the laptop shelves at the local Best Buy. There's been a lot of talk going around about embedding EPC (Electronic Product Code - a spinoff of RFID technology) devices into electronic products so that retail stores can readily keep track of inventory stock.
Professor Fu and company (the PRISMS lab @ UMass CS) have released much academic work on these RFID tags that can do more than just simply "identify" things; they are able to actually perform computation. What does that mean? A computational RIFD tag (known as "CRFID" tags) can actually do something useful or additional instead of simply providing a serial number which recognizes an HP laptop at Best Buy. That's all I know so far, so I have a lot to catch up on.
Back in august, when I was playing Halo 3 with Cameron Allen and Abe Katz on the Xbox 360, they were talking about blogs, which I guess had made me think about my own. And there are so many things that I would like to put on it, but at the same time, there are so many thoughts and feelings I'd like to keep my own.
This summer has been full of progress. I can best describe it as a bittersweet moment in my life. I take a look back at things I've done, and I chuckle a little. I'm so frickin young! What's the point on getting so serious about thoughts and feelings all the time? I really like those realizations. They make me feel grounded and at home. And embarrassed. When I arrived home from UMass last semester, I felt grounded. My family was here beside me. Learning all that you can from college and returning back home gives me a satisfaction of looking back at my accomplishments from a distance and being proud of them.
On the other hand, being at home from college for three months was a time to look forward. I saw three months of working hard, diligence, and (above all) patience. I worked for a massive company called BAE Systems under the Sensor Systems Engineering team working with simulation applications. That was exciting! INROADS sought to grab me from a couple of weekends during the summer for professional development, so I drove to Boston at times when I felt most vulnerable, and I enjoyed the warmth of my friends there; that made me feel reassuring. What was even more reassuring was the enjoyment I got out of singing with nine other guys and raising nearly three thousand dollars with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society! Viva la BoroughTones! Of course, the warmth from your closest friends, no matter how far or near they may be, is always a reassuring feeling when trouble runs through my mind.
What a summer!
At BAE Systems, I learned a lot about following through with work, the idea of Innovation and how important it is, and the value of hard work. Still, there's so much to do! I want to learn so much more that's out there because I know there are so many opportunities that I want to leverage. This upcoming semester at UMass is going to be ROCK SOLID. Here's the schedule:
1) CMPSCI 320: Introduction to Software Engineering (4)
2) Honors Colloquium 320H: Supplement to CMPSCI 320 (1)
3) CMPSCI 377: Introduction to Operating Systems (4)
4) CMPSCI 305: Social Issues in Computing (3)
5) CMPSCI 197U: Hands-On with UNIX (1)
6) CMPSCI 397PC: Problem Solving and the ACM Programming Contest (1)
7) Research with Ben Ransford and Kevin Fu! (3)
Total = 17 credits. Perfect.
What Research? I'll try to explain what I know so far.
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags are ubiquitous to the information age society we all live in. From credit cards containing sensitive information to embedded devices like toll-paying transponders (Fast-Lane) in your car, these devices can be interrogated from a nearby RFID reader to acquire serial numbers for identifying people or products. Take, for example, the laptop shelves at the local Best Buy. There's been a lot of talk going around about embedding EPC (Electronic Product Code - a spinoff of RFID technology) devices into electronic products so that retail stores can readily keep track of inventory stock.
Professor Fu and company (the PRISMS lab @ UMass CS) have released much academic work on these RFID tags that can do more than just simply "identify" things; they are able to actually perform computation. What does that mean? A computational RIFD tag (known as "CRFID" tags) can actually do something useful or additional instead of simply providing a serial number which recognizes an HP laptop at Best Buy. That's all I know so far, so I have a lot to catch up on.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
In the Ache of Winter
Rejection is just as natural as Success. The only difference between them is that you need rejection to appreciate success.
Already, this spring semester has opened up a lot of opportunity for me to challenge myself mentally, socially, emotionally, and physically. Mentally, I'm always increasing my capacity to learn, breaking layers and layers of shells that are beyond my level of comfort. Having classes that engage me and entice me only motivate me to learn and work hard. The level of opportunity you can find in the Computer Science building on 141 Governor's drive is astounding; everyone wants to get their hands on some research.
Socially, I'm learning to "deal" with people, as the saying goes. I'm dealing with people I love, I'm dealing with people I know, and I'm dealing with people I meet and are acquainted with. It's no surprise to mention that people are all different and come from different places in your life, and the whereabouts and (whenabouts) with which you come together at a specific point in time is just another page in our lives, and another character to share. Fortifying friendships, building relationships, and revisiting relations all come into play in my social shell. The trick is to balance them all on your head.
Emotionally, the climb is worth the prize. Being a partner in a relationship means more responsibility. Although much of loving someone can be so natural (because it's one of our closest, native feelings), it requires thinking, working hard at building lines of communication with your partner. It's a long process. A lot of the time, frustration and anger can swell and burst, but we know that resolution follows. That's what I've been working on here. Emotionally, I have been trying to show my partner that she matters, that she is my friend, and that she makes me a better person. Emotionally, I have been breaking shells.
Physically, I'm a toss-up. I'm trying to get my time into the gym, but work prevails, and irrevocably, that's more important than lifting or running. It's okay, though. I just got to remember to ignore the peanut butter chocolate cake at the DC :)
So, we all carry on with our own lives, noting that we're changing from time to time. We can describe our revelations as infrequent, occasional, and sometimes unusual. It doesn't really matter in the end. That we can become aware and understand how our body and mind are changing as we go on with our routines tells us that we're traveling in the right direction.
And trust me, I know I'm traveling in the right direction.
Already, this spring semester has opened up a lot of opportunity for me to challenge myself mentally, socially, emotionally, and physically. Mentally, I'm always increasing my capacity to learn, breaking layers and layers of shells that are beyond my level of comfort. Having classes that engage me and entice me only motivate me to learn and work hard. The level of opportunity you can find in the Computer Science building on 141 Governor's drive is astounding; everyone wants to get their hands on some research.
Socially, I'm learning to "deal" with people, as the saying goes. I'm dealing with people I love, I'm dealing with people I know, and I'm dealing with people I meet and are acquainted with. It's no surprise to mention that people are all different and come from different places in your life, and the whereabouts and (whenabouts) with which you come together at a specific point in time is just another page in our lives, and another character to share. Fortifying friendships, building relationships, and revisiting relations all come into play in my social shell. The trick is to balance them all on your head.
Emotionally, the climb is worth the prize. Being a partner in a relationship means more responsibility. Although much of loving someone can be so natural (because it's one of our closest, native feelings), it requires thinking, working hard at building lines of communication with your partner. It's a long process. A lot of the time, frustration and anger can swell and burst, but we know that resolution follows. That's what I've been working on here. Emotionally, I have been trying to show my partner that she matters, that she is my friend, and that she makes me a better person. Emotionally, I have been breaking shells.
Physically, I'm a toss-up. I'm trying to get my time into the gym, but work prevails, and irrevocably, that's more important than lifting or running. It's okay, though. I just got to remember to ignore the peanut butter chocolate cake at the DC :)
So, we all carry on with our own lives, noting that we're changing from time to time. We can describe our revelations as infrequent, occasional, and sometimes unusual. It doesn't really matter in the end. That we can become aware and understand how our body and mind are changing as we go on with our routines tells us that we're traveling in the right direction.
And trust me, I know I'm traveling in the right direction.
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