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 Displaying latest 5 entries from Blogger
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Posted: 8/25/2008 9:40:00 AM
Vic Firth Drummer Headphones
This is the best thing I have ever done for my drumming (and my ears for that matter). The Vic Firth drummer headphones cancel out all of the overhead, high frequency noise from your drums and allow you to plug into your iPOD, metronome, or monitor. The best part is that it REALLY DOES WORK! When I play drums I hit pretty hard. The faster I play, the harder and louder everything becomes. Plus, my drums are enclosed by a Plexiglas shield, so the noise gets trapped and exaggerated in there with me. The first night I sat down behind the kit with these headphones on I was completely blown away by how much the noise was eliminated. Even better: I plugged into my iPOD and had to turn it only halfway up to get a perfect blend of the recorded music and my live drums. This has been something I've attempted to achieve for years. I've done everything from MiniDisk players (eliminate skipping), to home theatre receivers and so on. I've NEVER been able to get that blend. Always I've struggled with my drumming overpowering the music and have had to stop and get back on track with the music. The worst part was the constant rattling of my ear drums, leaving me half deaf after each gig or practice. Now when I practice I leave without my ears ringing and I feel that I've actually had a solid practice! In fact, I didn't have my headphones yesterday and the volume from my drums was unbearable. I can't believe I use to torture my ears like that all this time!
Posted: 8/13/2008 3:33:00 PM
I Have Graduated!!!
As of July 28th, I am officially finished with school and have achieved my Bachelor's degree in Computer Science! It has been a strenuous journey that began in January of 2006 and continued through relentlessly until now. When I look back on everything that has happened during this time, I can't believe I actually made it through. Much of that is due to Jamie's support and motivation to just keep on pressing through to the end. There were more than a few times when I was completely prepared to throw in the towel, but Jamie helped me hang in there. I'll never be able to thank her enough for the countless nights of being alone while I've been at class, and then countless weekends spent out and about while I sit at home hunched over a textbook. Thank you so much babe! I love you!
I want to thank all of my friends, family, and colleagues as well. You have all seen me through this journey and motivated me so much. Your support and encouragement has meant more to me than I could ever say in writing. To my family: I look forward to making up for all of the time I could not spend with you all. To my friends: Thank you for putting up with me having to opt out of hanging out in order to do schoolwork and study. To my colleagues: Thank you all for putting up with my tired mornings after long nights of studying.
And here begins my retrospective...
The first year of school was pretty much a breeze. After transferring in my Associate's degree, I took a look at all that was left and it split down the middle between Computer Science courses and general courses. So, I decided to ease into this thing by taking all of the general courses first. The year of 2006 was a blast with Sociology, Literature, French, History, and Biology. The teachers were great and I was having a blast learning new things and reinforcing old knowledge.
The second year was met with a huge surprise that would prove to challenge me in a way I had never been challenged before. I received a call from the EDP (Evening Degree Program) office telling me that they were closing down the Computer Science program. Therefore, I would need to start taking all of my Computer Science and math courses immediately and back-to-back. I was in for the surprise of my life!
Beginning in January of 2007, I was placed directly into Assembly Programming. From there it was Computer Architecture and Design, then Data Structures, Advanced Programming, Programming Languages, Calculus I, Calculus II, and Linear Algebra. The Computer Science courses, condensed into 8-weeks a piece, meeting on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 6PM - 9:30PM proved to be very challenging. I spent most of this time stressed out, frustrated, and feeling helpless for some breathing room. It seemed like no matter how much time I put into an assignment, it wasn't enough time. And if I focused too much on one class, my performance in the other class suffered. In retrospect, I realize that I was learning HUGE lessons in time and stress management. Honestly, there were nights when I would come home from class, cloaked in heavy despair, and tell Jamie that I was simply done. There were other nights when I would get so stressed that I would pull into the parking lot at HPU, sit for a moment, and then blow off class to read books at B&N down the street.
The math classes took my stress and frustration to a whole new level. I had a professor, who will remain nameless, who was from south of Earth. It was an absolutely terrible experience. The professor simply wanted to put zero effort into teaching us the material and leave everything up to us. In addition to minimal direction, the professor piled on the assignments greedily and handed out tests that were mental brainbusters! Towards the end of the math courses (each of which were headed by said professor) we had to have an intervention involving the Dean and the department Chair to veto the way this particular professor wanted to run things in Linear Algebra. The math courses got to the point where nothing was ever good enough for the professor and the professor graded based on nothing more than what he felt like given each student. No grades were ever recorded in a book and each night the professor would walk in bleary-eyed and complain about being tired. I found out the hard way that it is endlessly frustrating when you're giving 100% of what you've got and the professor is giving 0%.
The start of 2008 brought with it a fresh energy and motivation to take on school. My Senior Seminar proved to be quite fair and enjoyable, thought I can't say that I didn't spend a few hours pulling my hair out! My last months this year were great. In May I went to Sweden and missed the first part of my Theatre class, which proved to be both enjoyable and educational (and easy). In June I went to Vegas and missed the first part of my last semester, which included Stats and Global Political Economy. To my surprise, both professors ended up exempting me from the final and letting me take my current average as the final grade. I was more than happy to oblige!
Now, I look forward to reclaiming my weeknights and weekends! Here's to another chapter in my book finished and a new one beginning.
//Chris
Posted: 12/25/2007 10:35:00 PM
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
 Few writers have the ability to capture the spirit of the drug generation. Hunter S. Thompson definitely stands out among those few and delivers an addictive, psychotic journey into the lives of a drug-addicted journalist and his lawyer.
The pace of this book is steady and takes the reader on a roller coaster ride through Las Vegas with the two aforementioned main characters. The copy of the book I own is 'laced' with artwork that gives the reader a true sense of the insanity that is unfolding within each page.
Thompson knits a great storyline and gives us conflicts and ironic moments/scenes that are a joy to read. It took me a while to finish this book due to time constraints between work and school, but each time I picked it up it was like spending time with old, crazy friends, and listening to their story with awe.
Posted: 12/20/2007 11:35:00 AM
One Mississippi
 Merry Christmas! I just finished this book and am blown away by Mark Childress. This is a prime example of good story telling. Told from the point of view of a high school boy forced to relocate from Indiana to Mississippi, the story is a mixture of emotions. From comedy to tragedy, the twists and turns and brilliantly developed characters will find their place in your life.
The critics say that this is a hilarious comedy, and I agree in the parts about the South, but after finishing it, I'd have to say that this is an observation of the desperate attempt to find happiness in a cruel world. Many issues are stirred in this book and give us different points of view and thoughts to ponder.
The dynamic between the main character, Daniel, and Arnita Beecham (Mississippi's first black Prom Queen), is powerful, at least to me. This relationship drove me through the book more than the main relationship of the main character and his best friend. Daniel is a Yankee, trying to fit in among the culture of the Deep South, and finds solace in his only friend. Things begin to spiral out of control, beginning on their first Prom Night with girls whom they take only out of pity. Pretty soon, the conflicts in the book are completely out of control and in the end we are left with a dark twist.
Posted: 12/20/2007 11:17:00 AM
The Martian Chronicles
 Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors. This book is up there with Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes. In this book, men of Earth successfully land on and inhabit Mars to get away from an Earth that is on the edge of war and mass destruction. Bradbury jumps around in a linear fashion and gives us short glimpses into the discoveries and experiences of both Earthlings and Martians.
This book shows us how the American way of life can lead to destruction and loneliness, even in search of a better life. We are shown how science and the arts collide. We are shown how much Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is true. Man will do crazy things to chase his dreams and to conquer loneliness. In the end, we are shown that sometimes we have to truly start over.
Aside from being another short book that delivers an anti-war message (much like Slaughterhouse-Five), Bradbury writes with heart and disdain for bureaucracy. The opening chapter and the ending chapter will leave you with a story that embeds itself deep into your heart and mind, causing you to question what we are really after in this life, and what is really important.
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