Its a weird feeling. I celebrated it by coming back to my apartment and packing for about six hours. And now I’m celebrating with a nice rum and tonic. Still strange though. I had to run some errands around Oakland and I was assaulted by visions of “college life”. Students sitting on porches with acoustic guitars and beers on a Monday night. I’ll miss college.

Well, here’s to what’s next!

Have you ever had one of those days when you realize that there are forces in the world that refuse to make things easy for you?

… Well I just had one.

I was called in earlier tonight to help get some work I did for Red Team earlier this term as we get ready to deploy and test our part of the system. I had my laptop sitting on the hood of the vehicle (a robotic Humvee) while I worked and I stepped away for a moment.

Just about then one of my teammates ran by to hop up on the robot to fix something and inadvertently knocked my laptop from off the hood about 5 feet to the hard concrete floor.

I have less than a week before my practicum project (effectively my masters thesis) must be completed.

The screen, as you can see, is absolutely destroyed. The lid is actually bent enough that it does not close without being forced.

But the machine boots and the disk checks cleanly. If that’s not a testament to the quality of IBM Thinkpads, I don’t know what is.

I’m not angry at the teammate who knocked it off. We all make mistakes. Insurance should cover its replacement (hopefully I’ll get a Powerbook out of the deal). Its just an extremely inopportune time to lose full use of my laptop.

Well, as usual, I’ve managed to find way too many things to fill my plate. Summer semester was supposed to be a breeze but I’ve taken up some “extra-curricular activities” that have kept me really busy.

For one, I’ve joined Red Team, Carnegie Mellon’s entry in the DARPA Grand Challenge. Along with hacking C for the computer-controlled gimbal upon which the machine’s primary LIDAR sensor is mounted, I’ve also been recruited for lots of other little tasks like taking photos, administering Linux servers, and mucking around with carbon fiber.

I’ve also managed to squeeze in some sailing this summer. Last weekend I did Detroit NOODs, and I’ll also be doing the Lake Huron Doublehanded Challenge with my father and the Port Huron - Mackinac race with some friends.

All that along with my practicum project (think of it as a “thesis project” for my masters program), my independent study, and a miscellaneous class has kept me pretty busy.

No rest for the weary…

I found an old concrete racing canoe in the bushes near campus.

I had planned to post a whole bunch of things over break but it appears I took a vacation from my blog as well… I’ve got lots of ideas for new content so I should have plenty I can post over the next week or so.

In other news, I graduate on Sunday. I gradaute, but I’m not done yet. Carnegie Mellon’s kind of funny like that. I get to walk but I don’t get my diploma until August after I finish the rest of my classes.

Its a small album, but at least one photo is cool.

Food from trucks:

Sure, in Silicon Valley they have the taco truck. And at every beach you’ll find the elephant-ear truck or the burger van. But we’re talking like rolling food court here. Every day the trucks park near the Pitt and CMU campuses and set up shop. They all serve great ethnic foods: Indian, Thai, Korean, Chineese, Greek. None of them would probably ever pass a health department inspection, but its a great place to get cheap, good food.

However, there is the process of elimination as you figure out which ones dish out food poisoning and which don’t…

Well, as of about 20 minutes ago I’m 23 years old. Well, I guess technically I’m not 23 until about 8:00am, but right now I really don’t care.

I’m finally all settled in at Carnegie Mellon, and we started class Monday. The crush has already hit. After spending about 7 hours in the “cave” (more on that later) doing other homeworks, I’ve headed home to clear my head before starting a one-page writeup on a case study thats due tomorrow morning.

I’ve never been much of a coffee drinker. Too much of it does strange things to my head. But now I’m realizing just how important it will be for my survival in this program.

Update: This post should be read in more of a cynical tone… I’m not as angry or depressed as it may have sounded. I was pretty damn tired and stressed at the time. I’m not (nearly) as tired or stressed now…

Sorry guys, I’ve got the proof now, you can’t take it back now…

Includes:

• More shots from Ann Arbor.
• For the stalkers, shots from my graduation.
• Cross-country from Detroit to San Jose.

Since I’m settling in in San Jose now, I should be able to post more soon.