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grahamiam
04-07-2005, 03:39
[spam]

akots
04-07-2005, 03:47
Sure, lets spam a little around here.
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Matrix
04-07-2005, 04:18
A virgin! Everybody, guy's...

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barbu1977
04-07-2005, 05:13
Gross according to his profile he's 13[tongue]

grahamiam
04-07-2005, 05:38
Yep, and I'm only 3 [lol]

Ginger_Ale
04-07-2005, 05:59
you really only 13 bedhead?

bed_head7
04-07-2005, 09:34
I can't count so good, but I am pretty sure I am most of a foot older. Still gross though. Profile now updated, with correct age.

bed_head7
04-07-2005, 09:54
Kind of sad that this thread has more views and posts than both my spoilers combined.

Matrix
04-07-2005, 10:04
Well, that's CDZ. [mischief]

Seriously, that balance will improve as you stay here longer. ;)

By the way, you're still 13 in your profile.

Darkness
04-07-2005, 10:27
quote:Originally posted by Matrix



By the way, you're still 13 in your profile.


Who cares?





It took me almost half a year to figure out how/where to change that... [blush2]

bed_head7
04-07-2005, 10:40
Hmm, I remember setting correctly the first time, and then I thought I changed it, but I think it is right now.

akots
04-07-2005, 11:08
What about an avatar. You need an avatar. Go get yourself some avatar somewhere or ask Mistfit for one.

bed_head7
04-07-2005, 11:19
Are avatars really that important for identification purposes? Or is it something else entirely? I have never really understood the whole desire for avatars. Besides, I have no idea what I would use for mine. If you want to give me suggestions to shoot down, feel free.

Matrix
04-07-2005, 13:38
Avatars! (http://www.straland.com/junk/avatars/)

It really helps me to identify people. Furthermore, some are actually funny. And for my avatar I still occationally get reactions at CFC. :D

Banzai
04-07-2005, 13:59
size 1 spam
size 2 spam
size 3 spam
size 4 spam
size 5 spam
size 6 spam

bed_head7
04-07-2005, 21:45
Some of you certainly do put a lot of effort into spamming.

akots
04-07-2005, 22:55
Still it is you who gets the most posts in this thread. [lol]

bed_head7
04-07-2005, 23:01
Yes, well that is because it is my forum, and I want each of my guests to feel that their posts are appreciated.

Pastorius
05-07-2005, 18:57
woohoo. nice use of smileys up there akots. other than that I am dissappointed noone has come up with anything new...

bed_head7
08-07-2005, 02:48
akots has suggested that I need more posts here. So I guess I need to post more pointless stuff like everyone else here. And what better place to start than right here.

akots
08-07-2005, 03:04
Well, we can do it the right way. Create a thread and ask people to help. So to make sure you are not posting alone.

bed_head7
08-07-2005, 03:08
Why create one, when we already have one! And as long as you are here, you can help. Splendid.

akots
08-07-2005, 03:19
Shit, posted in the wrong thread. Never mind. OK, then how do we start?

bed_head7
08-07-2005, 03:21
That will take some doing akots, but I have faith in your ability to do it.

akots
08-07-2005, 03:23
Let's discuss something. Hmm ... how's about something neutral like weather? It is a thiunderstorm here in Houston and I was just ordered to "shut the damn lights down and go fucking home NOW" by a local security police officer. BTW, thuderstorm is really bad. They say Houston is the thunderstorm capital of the world. And all this shit around here just to make people in England and Northern Europe comfortable. I feel underappreciated.

akots
08-07-2005, 03:25
Why we have to endure that horrendous heat and humidity here in the Gulf while they can enjoy nice mild weather? That is unfair!!!!

akots
08-07-2005, 03:27
Ok, moving to parking garage now before this officer has kicked me hard. The building is being evacuated. There is fire on the roof.

The roof is on fire!!! [lol]

bed_head7
08-07-2005, 03:29
Shame about the weird goings on with the weather. I live in a nice fairly unexciting Mediterranean climate, where it is generally not too hot or too cold. It has been 90s for awhile, nothing too bad at all for the summer. I just wish I had a nice place to swim nearby. I used to swim all the time in the river, but there is a bunch of controversy about low flow and dams not opening and such, and the river is not its usual self for this time of year. It almost doesn't feel like summer.

bed_head7
08-07-2005, 03:30
quote:Originally posted by akots

Ok, moving to parking garage now before this officer has kicked me hard. The building is being evacuated. There is fire on the roof.

The roof is on fire!!! [lol]


Assuming no one is in danger, that is hilarious.

bed_head7
08-07-2005, 03:44
akots, you have stopped spamming, forcing me to post three times in a row, and you haven't played our save. You better have a good excuse.

akots
08-07-2005, 05:04
Sorry about that, had to get home and grab something to eat. Playing our game now and DeathMatch IV. Inspecting the damage to invincible Roman military there.

Whomp
08-07-2005, 07:16
Hi just thought I'd pop in to say the weather was absolutely magnificient in Chicago today. 77F, a nice breeze, blue skies and the Cubs lost their 8th in a row. Perfect.
OK I need to go to sleep now.

bed_head7
08-07-2005, 07:21
Well that is nice. And why do you need to go to bed so soon? akots has to get up very early it seems but he often stays up later than this.

akots
08-07-2005, 08:08
Well, I often sleep through the whole weekend 12 hours both Saturday and Sunday.

grahamiam
08-07-2005, 15:05
quote:Originally posted by akots

Well, I often sleep through the whole weekend 12 hours both Saturday and Sunday.

no young kids? if I can get 7 solid hrs than I'm living in luxury. for instance, on Wednesday, I'm fighting a sinus infection, trying to put my 22 month old to bed. However, Wednesday is the day he decides to learn how to climb out of his crib. fuck [aargh] try to put him back three times (after patting him to sleepiness) with no luck. So, I end up having to lay him down on our guest bed, which he won't stay in unless I stay with him. So, three hrs later it's about 11:30PM and I'm finally able to get out of there, play our pbem turn and then get to bed a little after midnight. However, the little fucker wakes up at 5AM and starts cruising around our bedroom (no crib to hold him in now ;) ). So much for a decent nights rest [cry] (I usually wake up at 6AM and 6hrs is good enough). Felt like I was back to the time when he was 1 month old. On weekends, I have a 4yr old alarm that goes off around 7AM :) So now I'm starting to get like my old man, taking naps on Saturday and Sunday afternoon [lol]

Whomp
08-07-2005, 17:01
Gman--As a friend of mine said when I asked him how he sleeps, he said "I sleep like a baby"...sleep 3 hours, wake up and cry, sleep 3 hours wake up and crap, sleep 3 hours....

I went to bed around 11:30 pm and in the office by 7 am so a good 6 1/2 for me.

So anyone doing anything fun this weekend?

My boss is having a party at his house in the 'burbs Saturday, my cousin invited us to a block party on Sunday, 2 SG's and some boating.

Speaking of SG's since I have the utmost in respect for you all as players. Would you do this?
We are the Iroquois and 6-7 turns from republic. The Mongols declared on us 4 turns ago and have landed on our island with a warrior and spear. Rather than activate our GA I was thinking it would be better to let them do whatever pillage damage they can but use archers (no iron) rather than our MW's. Does this make sense to avoid the GA?

grahamiam
08-07-2005, 17:10
tomorrow is our 6th wedding anniversary, so, hopefully, we get to go out for dinner without the brats :)

re: your game. without seeing the sitrep... If you can avoid tripping your GA till revolting to republic, then go for it. its not like an AI warrior and spear can do much damage. If there's a chance of them razing a core town though you may want to rethink.

Whomp
08-07-2005, 17:23
Congrats Gman!! You have to have a date night! Is it too hard to get a babysitter? Did you get her something for #6?


As far as the SG, I haven't looked at the save but I think I can cover with enough non MW's and worse case have a MW underneath. It's a deity noob game (Com2) and we didn't have the greatest starting position (lots of jungle around) so this will be a good challenge. BTW Feel free to comment Bede and DocT have been throwing in their .02.

akots
08-07-2005, 18:52
quote:Originally posted by grahamiam
no young kids? ....

Nope, pass that stage. But I've had my share sleeping standing in a subway train while going to work. :)

akots
08-07-2005, 18:54
quote:Originally posted by Whomp
... BTW Feel free to comment Bede and DocT have been throwing in their .02.


I do hereby comment. Do the opposite of what these two suggest and you are doomed to be doing way better than if you do what they suggest.

romeothemonk
08-07-2005, 19:07
Actually Akots, I think Rapid City, Sturgis and Spearfish SD have worse weather than Houston. We get thunderstorms, ridiculus temperature swings, hail (seemingly on a weekly basis this year). At least in Houston it never gets extra kidneys cold. It doesn't do that too often up here, but it is nothing to have a 50 degree temp swing in 24 hours.
Glad I don't have kidlets yet G-man, still waiting on that one. Tonight (Friday) is our date night, which means no civ. But that is ok as we end up doing stuff that is more fun than civ anyway.

On advice from DocT and Bede, realize that they are sid level players, but their thinking and strategizing is wholly inflexible. The key to civ is do what the situation calls for, not make the situation fit what you can do. Both Bede and DocT like to make the situation fit.
That being said, I have held off deity assualts with archers and spears, and suggest you do the same. Republic G.A. coupled with Libraries will allow some 4 turn research. I got it going really nicely in Fab4 before some nasty people decided to burn my civ while I was about 3 turns from being prepared for them.

akots
08-07-2005, 19:39
quote:Originally posted by romeothemonk
... ridiculus temperature swings ...
... At least in Houston it never gets extra kidneys cold. ...


Same here, same here. But only in winter. Easily can jump from 35F to 80F in 24 hours.

Extra cold it never gets. But when it is cold here (35-45F), it is also very humid and very unpleasant.

akots
08-07-2005, 19:42
quote:Originally posted by romeothemonk
... they are sid level players ...


Anyone, even very weak player, with sincere committment can win on any level including Sid. Just need to know how and have some experience. With that kind of map some people are playing, one can win Sid OCC AW easily.

bed_head7
08-07-2005, 23:31
If we are going to talk of completely inflexible players, I think the first person that should come to mind is LKendter. He does what he does very well, but he can't really do anything else. After playing in a couple of SGs, I realized why in general it is the same people always playing in his games, with the exception of newer players impressed by how many games he has hosted. He doesn't allow any deviation really from his plan, and he expects that since he is the one who started the SG he will have final say on everything. Now, saying that, I should say that he is certainly well above average as a player. It seems to me that most players will get one strategy after awhile and stick with it, which is the principle weakness of Civ3 as a game, in my opinion, and at least LK gets the most out of that one strategy.

While I agree with akots that performance outside of SGs should also be considered, I think that despite DocT's poor performance in GOTM he deserves more credit than he was given by akots. He has done some interesting stuff in SGs, and does not play entirely by conventions, at the least. He does of course have a playing style that he generally sticks with, but we all do, and he seems to me more willing than others to go with something else. Of course, in SGOTM7 while I was saying we needed to start off growth we ended up playing it safer unless we shared the island with someone. And it is obvious in the standings that we did play the safe game.

Bede I have not played much with. Probably two games, both stupid no artillery variants I hosted trying to find any reason at all in Civ3 to build a navy, and found that there apparently isn't. I did follow Sid Vicious, and of the participants he seemed least "Magnificent," but I can't really make any solid judgment here.

All of that said, I should probably try to give an evaluation of myself, to be fair. Sort of. In general, I do think I am slightly more flexible based on what I am doing, as I apparently do pass akots' GOTM performance test (we discussed this a bit while passing turns). Of course, I am getting blown out of the water in my PBEM against akots, and I got taken by grahamiam when I had every advantage save for the gap between myself and my UU. So obviously there are some problems there. In SGs, I first went through a phase when I played lower level games and generally didn't say much because I was shy, then next some higher level games where I was very talkative but became disappointed when my ideas were shot down (and in some cases I still think my way was right) and then mostly just playing my turns. In some games, like Mark1031's games where we did OCC AW, it was because there wasn't too much to discuss. Just play smart for the most part. Then others I just didn't really participate much. I would say overall my main weakness is that I would just rather play than plan. And a lot of times it shows. I am occasionally capable of doing some planning, but in general no.

I am curious who it is that akots considers to be great. Generally before CDZ, I was most impressed with players who tried things that were completely new and then found strategies with which to win. The fact that they had been innovative and now other players copied their styles was impressive. And I still sort of feel that way, though it is slightly unfair to players who came along later. Now that I am here and have read spoilers, I don't know what to think as much. Originally it seemed like it would be human vs. human, and seeing in the end who can manage an empire better. But most games seem to be human vs. AI, and the human that wins that fight first then wins the game. The way to get around that is 1 vs. 1 with no AI like me and akots are playing, and where I am seeing just how lacking my empire building is, even though that was where I generally thought myself strongest. We haven't even gotten to the actual fighting yet, which is where I figured I would lose it, but I am already in quite a bit of trouble. Still, I am impressed a lot by Kemal (who hasn't lost, right?) and Kingreno who both seem to win in style despite the circumstances. It doesn't hurt though that both of them had long readable spoilers, while others around here had less to offer.

That was a lot of typing for spam!

Whomp
08-07-2005, 23:52
I was disappointed you didn't participate much in SGOTM7 BH. I think we needed a contradictory voice in the mix.

A good SG is with good story tellers. LK's games are a bit too uniform for me. Sirian is a really good storyteller.

As far as PBEM's my first is the Russian PBEM akots set up.
I am so excited to see what eventually happens in a locked alliance 3x3. There seem to be so many things that can go awry without coordination between the teammates.

Ville
09-07-2005, 00:11
Almost missed this thread [mischief]

bed_head7
09-07-2005, 00:18
I was somewhat disappointed with missing SGOTM7 as well, but I wasn't entirely sure that after missing a few weeks that you even needed me back.

LK's games are not only just turn logs (of course, most are, but the excpetions like Sirian really shine) but it is the same turn log in every game. I guess that is the weakness of SGs at this point, and is why I stopped. I really wish that I had been around for the RBC games and some other great games. It seemed to slowly come to a stop, and in the time I played SGs it seemed the last good players all sort of left, and now the SG forum over there is rather pathetic in my opinion.

romeothemonk
09-07-2005, 00:19
I have to concur with Bedhead. LK is a very inflexible player. Bezhukov was also (shortlived RaR burnout). I am probably playing my last LK series game now in LK101. I am really a fan of the Grumpy old Man series of games. I am quite happy to have contributed a handy toy to the series with my Romeo Removal. I really like playing with Greebley as we both take some wierd manuevers and risks.
I think in PBEM, the ability to focus and think long term is the key. Age and maturity helps more than brilliance or MM. Grahamiam showed that when he whipped me solid in our 1v1, using long term planning over momentary advantage.
I like to think that I can beatdown an AI better than the next guy, especially once I have anykind of setup. I really enjoy going after a vastly superior foe and ripping him a new one.
I have actually played several Deity or better RaR games where I used exactly no artillary, and ships ruled.
I think that any list of best players should have a caveat attached, with specializing in what they are good at.
Sirian is amazing at squeezing the most out of seemingly nothing.
Arathorn is amazing at preparing military campaingns.
Charis was really good at fighting with dang near nothing.
Akots is very good at the big picture approach. (It makes him very challenging in PBEM's, but also fairly predictable. IF there was just a way to disrupt his pattern)
I consider myself a very solid deity level player that can win with dang near any start, but doesn't have the patience required for Sid.

akots
09-07-2005, 00:22
quote:Originally posted by bed_head7
...
I am curious who it is that akots considers to be great. ...


There are a lot of very strong players around here at CDZ who do the things right way imho. Also, there are a few very strong GOTM players at CFC as well. Some of GOTM'ers can achieve spectacular results but I'm not very impressed with their performance however. It is too exploitative to my taste. But for single-player, SirPleb has both my deepest respect and admiration. As player and poster.

I've also played a number of SGs at CFC, overall over 10 iirc, mostly finished. It was fun sometimes (in most cases). But SGs are different. There are many mistakes there usually and in the end one is able to win it over at virtually any level despite these mistakes. RBC players are a very nice company to hang out with. Regarding the performance issues, the best game was Defiant Sid hosted by Mark with Anarres and Aggie.

Another fire alarm here, need to get to the stairwell. Shit.

bed_head7
09-07-2005, 00:28
Well, I can't really disagree with any of the players who have been called great now. It is just a shame that I wasn't around early enough to see a lot of them play all that much.

romeothemonk
09-07-2005, 00:57
It just means that when civ4 comes out, we will have to set the pace for everyone else, and be remembered as some of the greatest of all time. I love that acronym (G.O.A.T.) someone didn't think that through very much.
As it is, I think I am a well respected member of the SG community, someone people want to play with, but not a jackhole. I have yet to acheive legendary status and probably never will. The good news is that no one will ever shut me out of a game anymore. I also see JD in this catergory.

akots
09-07-2005, 04:28
quote:Originally posted by romeothemonk
It just means that when civ4 comes out, we will have to set the pace for everyone else, and be remembered as some of the greatest of all time. ...


Unfortunately, this would mean playing essentially unpatched version of the game. And as an option, to be a beta-tester. Considering how the ready-to-use-civ looks like the Firaxis way, the former is not enjoyable. And considering the beta-tester selection process, the latter is barely feasible.

So, I would suggest to abandon the idea.

bed_head7
09-07-2005, 08:29
quote:Originally posted by romeothemonk The good news is that no one will ever shut me out of a game anymore. I also see JD in this catergory.


I am not sure I understand what you mean by shut me out of a game.

bed_head7
09-07-2005, 11:12
Oh, I missed all of the sleeping habit discussion. Well, as the annoyance instead of the annoyee, maybe chiming in myself isn't necessary. During the last school year, I generally slept about five hours a night, as generally my civ addiction or any general reading I did came at the expense of sleep. Plus, I generally am more of a night person as it is.

Next year, I am not so sure what I will be able to handle. I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing until going to orientation, where we got a parade of professors, all saying things like "Berkeley has the best math department in the country, and we have our own way of doing things here. So even if you took the AP tests to get out of Math 1A and 1B (which I did) you will probably still want to take at least Math 1B. Here are some practice problems so you can get an idea." And looking at the problems, I felt okay, but I also hadn't done much math in months, so it is tough to figure out where to go. It also seems like as a ChemEng major or even a Chem major (I am still bouncing back and forth between the two to be honest, as ChemEng is more rigorous, meaning Chem better lends itself to a possible double major), the time to take general classes is very limited. I love history, actually prefer it to science in most respects though I greatly value the finding answers and problem solving aspects of science. Looking through the catalog, there were a number of History and Philosophy classes that seemed like they would be fun. I also hoped to continue Spanish and get to the point where I feel comfortable talking (I generally know how to say something but I am a bit shy about saying it to Spanish speakers), continue German which I half started at the junior college nearby, and reading Les Miserables recently kind of inspired me to learn more about French culture, which possibly included taking French. As I already learned a second language, at least to some degree, and there are lots of crossover words in English/French/Spanish/German, it shouldn't be too tough, but it will be tough to find the time to take all of these classes and also do the other stuff I wanted to do, not to mention having some sort of social life and supporting my civ addiction.

Actually, I am thinking about trying out for the CalBand. It is a very cool band, but the committment is huge, and I am pretty sure that I would be overcommitting myself. I almost wish the school wasn't so good in so many areas, as it looks like getting into certain things will be tough. I hoped to play on the Ultimate Frisbee team there, but the team is great, so it looks like if I actually do it it would be four years on the B-team for me. Which is fine, as long as I am still playing at all, but travelling the country and playing a sport representing a college would just be so amazing. Maybe I'll get much better and the team will get worse (it wasn't that great a few years back, but last year they finished second in whatever the big tourney is called). But as it is I am of slow to average speed and medium height, so it doesn't look great. I guess if I stop being lazy, it might be possible. We'll see about that.

I have no idea what this started as, but I guess it is my forum, so it doesn't matter.

akots
09-07-2005, 12:03
Well, going to tough school is not that bad. I've been through that. It is not that tough as it seems. Professors are just bullshitting you into doing at least something. Otherwise you pretty much end playing Civ, drinking at the bars (if you are 21) or at home (less than 21), making buddies with local girls, cruising around with a team while trying to find some time to play the band and learn whatever language you might like. To put it short, doing anything but math. I'm not sure of the curriculum, but math in Chemistry (if it is your major) is not that tough. Quantum chemistry is steep indeed, I was barely able to make it through to A back 20 years ago.

IMHO, ChemEng is a dull science. Technology is complicated and all this particulars of various things are extremely boring. Whereas chemistry is a great thing. But that is all Russian experience. However we had a graduate student in the lab with BS in ChemEng. He ended up going to Medical School instead of some refinery. Did not really know why he did switch because actually the salaries at the refinery are very decent while Med School means about 5+5=10 years of hard labour before getting into practice for him since he went to MD/PhD program. He always complained that ChemEng was boring and that surgery is fun. But it surely depends. Some would say it is the opposite.

bed_head7
09-07-2005, 12:14
I didn't think that it would be that bad, but I don't know what I am getting into exactly and I didn't want to go in their too overconfident and then find out that I overestimated myself. And it seems that the math that you have to do for Chem major for the first two years is the same math for Math majors for the first two years.

I have actually been tossing around the idea of shooting for Astrophysics major and Chem minor, which should be feasible. Or perhaps vice versa. Ideally it would be a double major, but that might be a tougher one to swing. One is more practical and will at least insure a job somewhere, but I have always had the more impractical dream to do something with the stars. As far as I know (I don't know much, so feel free to say I am stupid) they would make a decent combo, as there is a lot of chemistry needed in certain analyses. Probably not so much that a major is necessary, but it won't hurt. I don't really know.

But I do like hearing that I won't go crazy if I try doing all that I want in college.

romeothemonk
09-07-2005, 17:40
Here is my 2 cents. I got a double major in 4 years in Chemical engineering and physics. I also participated in Drama Club, pepband, church groups, and spend 20 hours a week playing computer games. I later added in football at the collegiate level, which was very time consuming, but was well worth it. Being a college athlete is probably the best thing that I have done in college period. People treat you differently, you feel better, and the chicks dig it. It really helped me with my wife.
My professors did the same BS about stuff being hard and me geing dumb, but I did just fine. I took it as a challenge to get an A in classes that people said were unpassable. The professors said that I wouldn't be the smartest guy, that I would fail etc. There was a professor or 2 that tried to crush my balls, but I survived. I really hated Organic Chem so I cannot reccomend Chemistry.
With a chemE degree I am now doing nanotechnology research and enjoying it immensly. ChemE's with just a B.S. have a high probability to work in food processing, i.e. cargill or ADM. They pay well and the job is steady.

Whomp
09-07-2005, 21:40
I played baseball in college and it was a fantastic experience.

Though it was extremely time consuming I would really, really consider Cal's band (what a riot) or the Ultimate Frisbee Team would be a good idea IMO. I won't give you any advice on majors since I'm not nearly as smart as this crew. I'm just a b'ness guy.

akots
09-07-2005, 21:48
quote:Originally posted by romeothemonk
... I really hated Organic Chem so I cannot reccomend Chemistry. ...


That was and still is one of my favorite hobbies of all times. The trick is that theory at the beginning is indeed a bit boring, need to memorize stuff. But once you get into basics, it is just plain entertaining. And one must closely couple it with practice. Do some synthesis in the lab, it is very challenging to make it work rather often. Don't know how it is in US in a college, may be no practical things, just theory. Once you try to cook some even very simple product and it blows up on you, I mean literally blows, you can become addicted.

I often set up some synthesis even if I don't actually need it, just for fun. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not.

bed_head7
09-07-2005, 22:46
Well, I appreciate the comments, and though I probably would have figured this all out in due time, now I won't be making any decisions at the start of the year based on timidity.

I rather pulled this away from its random non serious course with all fo this though, haven't I?

Oh, romeo, you still haven't said what you meant by being "shut out of a game." The only thing I can think of is that it means not allowed to play in a game, but when have you ever been told that you aren't of high enough skill to play? The only person who even checks about that is LK, who often requests a Deity win or some garbage. I remember the first time I played in one of his games, he asked whether I met qualifications. At the time, we were playing together in gozpel's Squeeze variant at Deity, a game much more difficult than Deity. And he didn't even know who I was. I guess that could be the whole avatar thing again, though. More recognizabillity.

romeothemonk
10-07-2005, 01:11
I have been asked not to play in a couple of games as I do not have the experience. That is the blocked out of games, or being shut out.
I am going to recommend that you really ignore timidity. The problem will be after the first year it gets really really hard to join something new. I would really recommend one of the groups.
I didn't get organic chem synthesis. At our University, synthesis and blowing stuff up is really forbidden. The only explosions, synthesis and/or fire is due only to a massive FUBAR. The Chemistry program at SDSM&T is a feeder program for med schools and for lab work. The Chemists just become lab technicians for crime labs, product testing, etc.
Organic chem was taught by an eccentric genious, but graded based on talent and application. I got a C+ in O-chem 1, and a A- in o-chem 2, and really ddin't want to take some more abuse. Rather than devote 10+ hours a week to that class, I was quite happy to give 4-6 hours per class. The C+ was my lowest score ever, and I just don't like too many drags on my gpa, I got them anyway by pooching 1 class a semester to a B somehow someway.

bed_head7
10-07-2005, 01:29
Oh, I only ever didn't play in games because I knew I didn't have the experience. At least, I can't ever remember that. As for the rest, you are certainly right, my "name" will never come to anyone's mind when they think of great players, but I did play with all of the best left in the SG community and certainly carried my own weight. I can't imagine ever having the problem in the future of being told I am not good enough to play in a game.

bed_head7
12-07-2005, 12:13
What happened here?

Okay, anyone reading anything good at the moment? I just started The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy. A sucker for the works from the Romanticism era. I need to head to a used bookstore in the next few days though for some new reading material, and recommendations would be welcome. In almost any genre.

romeothemonk
12-07-2005, 18:02
Classic Reading.
Robert Jordans Eye of the World Series.
I am a sucker for ancient Greek and Roman plays, philosophy and such. (It is fun to poke fun at "cultured" folks who try to put me down as being a barbarian scientist).
2 Years before the Mast was a good book.
Milton is my favorite author, and I highly recommend his works. (paradise lost, samson Agonistes)
I read Terry Brooks, and all the Star Wars books for fun, but it is best to pick them up from a library.
Harry Turtledove writes alternative history books that are entertaining, but the literary equivalent of Jerry Bruckheimer.

Whomp
12-07-2005, 19:20
I usually have a few going at the same time depending on mood. Maybe we can change this up to what you're reading, just read and what you'd recommend everyone read. Personally, I need to get back to some classics. I'm pretty boring and factual right now.

"Theodore Rex" by Edmond Morris. It's a pretty dry book about Teddy Roosevelt. My favorite US president.

"Mister China" by Tim Clissold. A very interesting book about the potential and risks of doing business in China. Did you know Chongqing is China's biggest city?


Books I recently finished or recommend include:

Devil in the White City by Eric Larson. The book is about how Chicago (the 2nd city) outbidded New York and St. Louis to build the World's Fair in 1893. One part of the story is about about the architects, people like Thomas Edison and Buffalo Bill and of course the politics. The other part of the story is about the first captured serial killer H.H. Holmes (Jack the Ripper was never captured) who posed as a doctor and killed between 27-200 people. There were so many interesting things about this time. For instance, AC/DC power was first used. The Ferris Wheel was invented as the big engineering marvel to outdo Paris which held the previous Fair. Paris had built the Eiffel Tower and the US needed something spectacular to match that marvel. Not sure that was the case but it was a pretty big deal at the time. Walt Disney's father was a carpenter who worked on the buildings and said "Isn't this a magical kingdom we are building". Sad thing is only one building exists from that "white city" that was built.

"Bringing Down the House" was a fun read on how 6 MIT students took Vegas for millions. Legally.

A book I think everyone should read because it translates throughout history is

"Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" which was written in 1841 by Charles MacKay. The book details such manias as the Dutch "tulip mania" in 1624 when tulips were more expensive than gold. This mania should have given everyone a clue how the "internet bubble" would turn out. Also things like why beards went out of style, "holy war" and witches.

akots
12-07-2005, 19:33
I second Romeo both on Jordan and Greek/Roman classical dramas.

If you're a fantasy fan, there is lot out there to read, not bad at all. But classics is unsurpassed.

Socrates
12-07-2005, 19:57
Missed this thread too. ;)

Mmmmh... American CDZers chatting on their own, what are they up to ? If their goal is to conquer CDZ, I'd be better off saving food and water in my anti-nuclear cave (and LOL @ those who suffered the Y2K syndrom).

akots
12-07-2005, 20:00
Well, you are allways wellcome to join the discussion. ;)

And it is a spam thread after all.

romeothemonk
12-07-2005, 20:13
Well Krys, you will also need weapons in your cave. Without them, you just saved a nice supply of food and water for someone with weapons and no scruples.
Yes we are plotting to take over CDZ with our crazy book choices, bitching about the weather etc.

Whomp
12-07-2005, 20:42
It's CFC's fault Krys. If they would've given us a forum for our PBEM vs. the Russian forum I may not have found CDZ. Now you can't get rid of me. I find talking to the family of CDZ europeans enthralling. OT doesn't appeal to me. Too many snotty nosed kids and unreasonable strange characters on both ends of the spectrum at OT. You guys are more interesting.

bed_head7
12-07-2005, 22:06
I appreciate the recommendations, though I hope it not stop here. I must admit though that I started The Eye of the World at one point, and some other time a random Terry Brooks book whose title I have forgotten, and in both cases I opted after the first few pages to read another book instead. I also read some Turtledove books, and I couldn't agree more on the classification, romeo.

Were there any Greek/Roman plays in particular? I have read a few, and some were quite entertaining and some quite dry. This actually reminds me of another point. I was browsing through some old OT and came across Paalikes thread on giving the finger, and the site he linked to said something about Aristophanes being the Greek equivalent of Adam Sandler. Was this comparison in any way appropriate? I have only read Lysistrata on the recommendation of a friend, and it was certainly very funny, but not at all in the way Adam Sandler is.

As for Whomp, two of the books you mentioned (Chicago and MIT related ones) are both on my informal list of books to look for. Like, if I see them somewhere I'll pick them up, but it won't be a formal search for it as I will be doing for some other books. But now those two have distinguished themself from the herd, and are much more likely to get themselves into my home by some means.

kryszcztov, funny you mentioned that it is the American CDZers. I hadn't even noticed that we make up the majority of CDZers in America and that no one living outside the country was participating. But you are very much welcome to be the first.

romeothemonk
12-07-2005, 23:25
The Eye of the world starts really slowly, and takes ~100 pages to build. Same with The Sword of Shannara, Brooks first book.
For Drama, try the Libation Bearers Trilogy. Let some secularist read that and say we should seperate religion and the arts like the Greeks did. Arisophanes is really good, and his comedy is very similar to early Sandler SNL.
I am a sucker for the Aeneid, not so much for the Illiad or the Odyssey.
With Robert Jordan's book's you almost get the feeling that he either didn't get to hang out with women when he was younger or he wants to be one, as some of the tone appears to be a guy writing a womens point of view. It is a little creepy, and is one of the main reason's my buddy claim that RJ is dead and his wife/mistress/editor is writing the books in his name. It happens in select chapters of the first 4-6 books, then gets really pronounced in books 8-9-10.
Perhaps Akots can share some theories there, as I saw an Alexander from Moscow get his Robert Jordan E-mail question answered on the TOR homepage, and I couldn't help but think of Akots.
All in All I rank the Robert Jordan series as slightly lower than Tolkien but above Brooks and C.S. Lewis's Narnia. I realize Narnia is a kids setting, but it is still one of the more complete sci/fi worlds out there.
Other interesting stuff would be anything by Dumas, but his books take a long time to get into. The are invariably worth it, as are most works by Hugo.
For short and funny, I reccomend breakfast of champions by Vonnegurt, also slaughterhouse 5. BoC is a hilarious book, but the movie sucked hardcore.

akots
12-07-2005, 23:39
quote:Originally posted by romeothemonk
... Perhaps Akots can share some theories there, as I saw an Alexander from Moscow get his Robert Jordan E-mail question answered on the TOR homepage, and I couldn't help but think of Akots. ...


Not me. Wheel of Time is extremely popular in Russia. They published the last book almost simltaneously with English edition. That might be partially due to an excellent translation by a really good writers. When I read my first books in English I was actually surprised here since the style was somewhat better in Russian translations. There is nothing particular in writing from a woman's point of view by a man. There's nothing criminal in it. And it is good albeit a bit too long. But Jordan is apparently paid by the word....

Do read also Dan Simmons. Everyone has to read it imho, not only sci-fi or fantasy fans.

I'm not a big Shannara or Discworld or Krondor fan. I've played Betrayal at Krondor though extensively and it is one of my all-time favorites in computer games.

bed_head7
12-07-2005, 23:45
Thanks for the added details. I am still not sure that I want to pick up Robert Jordan any time soon, as there are other books in that realm that come first for me, but I will possibly reconsider. Re Narnia, it is certainly disguised as a children's series but it really is so much more, I was actually thinking of reading through them one more time. I believe that after E.B. White's Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, and The Trumpet of the Swan, The Chronicles of Narnia were the first books that I read.

This may come as a surprise to you, but Alexander isn't a terribly uncommon name in Russia.

The Vonnegut reminder is good. I loved Slaughterhouse 5. And I was considering going for The Hunchback of Notre Dame (which I actually own) but opted for a break from Hugo for the time being as Les Miserables took me over a month to read. Every time he broke into one of his descriptions of some aspect of Parisian life or the unique spirit of France it slowed me down a lot. I still enjoyed the passages very much, but they definitely slowed me down. But I have no problem with books starting slowly as long as I know they will be worth it. The problem with some science fiction I have found is that quite often it isn't worth it, though there are of course numerous exceptions.

romeothemonk
13-07-2005, 01:42
quote:Originally posted by akots


Not me. Wheel of Time is extremely popular in Russia. They published the last book almost simltaneously with English edition. That might be partially due to an excellent translation by a really good writers. When I read my first books in English I was actually surprised here since the style was somewhat better in Russian translations. There is nothing particular in writing from a woman's point of view by a man. There's nothing criminal in it. And it is good albeit a bit too long. But Jordan is apparently paid by the word....


Crossroads of Napping with the long bath sequences really got old fast, and the time for some of the mental images to clear my head, and for me to get back into the book took some time. So it may be criminal after all.

Another author I really enjoy is Douglas Adams. "Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy" and the other ones. Although the first one was awesome, the next 2 were really good, the fourth interesting only through knowing the backstory, and the fifth could be titled contractually obligated finale.

bed_head7
13-07-2005, 03:37
I don't think I ever actually read the fifth book for some reason. I just got the complete Hitchhiker's Guide in one hardcover volume, and may just go through all of those again before school starts.

bed_head7
14-07-2005, 08:17
Today I got The Brothers Karamozov (it was recently a featured article on Wikipedia and sounded very interesting), The Crucible (which most high school juniors read but I somehow missed, so I decided now to read it), The Tragedies of Sophocles and The Eleven Comedies which is eleven of Aristophanes' comedies.

akots
14-07-2005, 08:35
Seems like the great choice. It is supposed to be The Karamazov Brothers. [confused] That is a very complicated book. Probably best one written by Dostoevsky apart from Idiot. Sophocles and Aristophanes are great as well and have no idea about Crucible.

bed_head7
14-07-2005, 10:29
Interesting that it was translated in that fashion. I had no idea, and I don't think I have ever heard it referenced as The Karamazov Brothers in the English language. Funny how things like that go. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller about the Salem witch trials.

romeothemonk
14-07-2005, 17:51
The tragedies of sophocles are good. I have yet to finish a Dostoevsky or a Tolstoy, and I probably should read either Crime and Punishment or War and Peace. The Crucible is more of a political book than a good book. I would rate it as slightly above average, but not really worth my time and effort. The Crucible is "Good" as it allowed the left to fight against the "Man" during the McCarthy era. It is more of a counterculture Icon than a good book, similar to Catcher in the Rye.
If you are looking for a political statement book, try "Cry the Beloved Country," by Payton I believe. Awesome book that deals with race and class.
I forgot to include in my list of good stuff anything by Goethe. His Faust is amazing, and his other works are very good as well. The amount of history and mythology that you learn and/or need to knowwhile reading is amazing.

bed_head7
14-07-2005, 20:08
I think it was Alan Patton who wrote Cry, the Beloved Country. I suppose I could check, but that would take the fun out of guessing. I don't actually remember the details of that book very well beyond the prodigal son aspect. I do remember that I tore through it in a few days though, so I imagine I liked it pretty well.

As for The Crucible, I recently found I enjoyed plays, and I feel like I should read at least some Arthur Miller. Plus, I really liked The Catcher in the Rye so comparing the two won't deter me.

romeothemonk
14-07-2005, 20:20
Wow, you are extremely well read for a young pup then. I thought I was pretty well read for a 24 year old guy, but you have read most of the stuff I have, barring the Sci Fi. This might have to motivate my lazy butt to read some more classics.
I think I will fire up some Scott and Dickens after I finish the weird Italian one I am on. I cannot remember the name of it, but it is about a marriage that is busted up by others. Needless to say, I am not that far into it yet.

bed_head7
14-07-2005, 20:32
No, not so well read as it would see at the moment. It instead seems that you keep on happening to mention the books I have read. There are numerous classics that I missed. Dickens, for instance. I haven't ever managed to get into anything written by him for some reason.

romeothemonk
20-07-2005, 17:49
I just found that our School library here has the complete Vicomte de Bragelone series by Dumas. I checked out the first portion, "10 years Later." I have already read that portion but it was 7 years ago and I forget things. Needless to say I will be doing some reading instead of civving this weekend. Free books are good.

Whomp
20-07-2005, 20:52
Not to get off the classics but I went on the 1893 World's Fair (Devil in the White City) with the Chicago Historical Society Saturday. Pretty neat stuff. I'd elaborate if you'd like but I'm not sure you guys are into that kind of thing.

akots
25-07-2005, 08:48
Come on, play the game bedhead.... I need a turn from you to get myself to bed finally. Sitting and waiting like an idiot.

bed_head7
26-07-2005, 01:53
What was that, last night at midnight for you? Sorry I haven't been playing as much lately. I have a three week job doing over 40hrs a week there, plus my regular job for the last year bussing a couple times a week. So working between 50-60hrs a week. Not as much time or energy for PBEMs then, and having to get up before 6am means I don't stay up until 4am as often.

romeothemonk
26-07-2005, 02:01
Ah Work, the curse of the leisure class.

akots
26-07-2005, 03:00
Lame excuse. I'm working more. Civ is a good rest, makes you feel better after killing somebody. Or losing, does not matter for me in terms of rest.

Also, why don't you sign up for SGOTM. We can use an extra head.

bed_head7
26-07-2005, 03:26
Hey, we are still doing 2/day on average, at least. And I play them when I get them. It is just that my sleeping schedule changed and we aren't online at the same time as much anymore.

bed_head7
26-07-2005, 05:13
Oh, I forgot, I think my first allegiance in SGOTM has to be to Team jeffelammar. As it is, I am not sure if I am interested. I want to get a feel for my schedule in the coming months before making that sort of commitment. PBEMs at least can be played in 5-10 minutes.

bed_head7
26-07-2005, 07:17
Good news about the job though is that I just got switched to graveyard for the next week. Meaning no one is around, not much to do in terms of work. I should be able to get a few hours a night of reading, and I am thinking I will read The Plague. Existentialism is fascinating, though my reading in that area is rather limited.

barbu1977
27-07-2005, 05:41
Ha "La Peste", it probably wasn't the best timming for me to read it (16 yrs old and a mandatory reading in french class), but I cannot say I enjoyed it. I should probably read it again, with a little more life experience, it should make more sense.

akots
30-07-2005, 08:10
Well, must admit, I'm a bit surprised. I have not yet met an American who actually read anything written by Camus. Despite being among rather educated bunch of people here, mostly faculty and postdocs and good students at the Medical School and even Rice University. I've met a few who knew about existentialism and about Camus and that Camus belongs to existentialism.

The plague is one of my all-time favorites. I've read it probably 5 or 6 times. Might be somewhat due to excellent Russian translation however.

Socrates
30-07-2005, 12:35
quote:Originally posted by barbu1977

Ha "La Peste", it probably wasn't the best timming for me to read it (16 yrs old and a mandatory reading in french class), but I cannot say I enjoyed it. I should probably read it again, with a little more life experience, it should make more sense.

Hehe, same for me, but it was "L'Etranger" ("The Stranger") by Camus, a mandatory read when I was 13. [blush2] Before you ask, I was younger than most of my classmates at that time. So I was really not prepared for that, and I ended up asking my young aunt to write the paper about it instead of me, so that I just had to copy it word for word. I got an excellent mark (she studied literature...) and a peculiar remark by the teacher like "next time do it yourself", or maybe something less direct, can't remember... [lol] Nonetheless, I think I read it a 2nd time afterwards, so it hadn't been a bad dream for me. Now I immediately relate this book to the Cure's song called "Killing An Arab". [thumbsup] Oh BTW, I almost never read... [blush2] My culture is stalling.

bed_head7
31-07-2005, 00:38
I read The Stranger in my English class when I was a sophomore, and found it interesting even if I didn't entirely understand it all. I managed to read The Plague in just two nights at work, though I feel I missed out on some things due to the fact that focusing on reading became somewhat difficult at times in the middle of the night. But still, I thought it was brilliant while simple, and it has given me quite a bit to think about. But akots, could you maybe shed some light for me on the purpose of Cottard's character? He didn't seem as simple as one who was completely heartless and willing to take advantage of the problems in society, but what more there would be to him is unclear to me. What exactly was Camus trying to say with him?

bed_head7
21-08-2005, 11:04
Moving in to the dorms tomorrow. Don't know what else to say, but thought that I should say that. It is rather strange to be leaving, and I am quite anxious, but I think it is more excitement than anything else. I suppose I will find out tomorrow.

romeothemonk
22-08-2005, 16:48
My advice on dorm life is make sure your roomie isn't into drugs. That can really make dorm life suck. If they are into coming in drunk, I have a few tricks to help cure that really quick. Otherwise dorm life can/does rock.

barbu1977
22-08-2005, 17:33
Dorm life is realy where it happens. It's the best to meet new people in a big enviroment.

What I remember is that no mather the time of day/night you'd always find someone in the kitchen pretending to study, but in fact just wanting to have a nice chat.

Living close to the classrooms is WAY better than having to comute an hour or 2 each day.

bed_head7
26-10-2005, 09:49
I have been here for two months now, so it is high time for an update. My roommate is rather eccentric, but we get along rather well. Neither of us do any drinking/drugs, so we match up well there too. He also happens to be a Civ player, though as a Mac user, he will be missing out on Civ IV. It is too bad, as playing against each other would be great fun. From the sound of it, though, he never made it above warlord, and his attention span for games is rather short in most cases. But all is well in that area.

I have definitely noticed that what barbu said is true, though we do not have a kitchen all that close. It is on ground floor, and I live on the sixth. Instead, the laundry room is generally the place to be in the late hours of the night (or early hours of the morning). If no one is there, usually there is at least an open door somewhere, so it is not difficult to find company.

Another little thing that pleases me is that I have three other people on my floor who seem like they could really turn into Diplomacy fanatics like myself. I have gotten three games going thus far, and unfortunately all have been plagued with the usual problems of organizing a Diplomacy game with new people. Explaining the rules is almost enough to drive most people away, and then some of them don't really get into the spirit of it. With people also sometimes communting home on weekends, and the general slow start with new players, I have not yet managed to get a game go to completion. But having the other three people who would actually be willing to plan out a time to play and stick with it, instead of just trying to get people on the spur of the moment on a quiet Friday night, is really nice. Or will potentially be.

Which actually brings me to a question. Anyone else go to a school where Thursday and Saturday were party nights, but Friday was quiet? It doesn't make too much sense to me, though it also doesn't matter all that much. Just seems kind of strange, and I was wondering if there was a decent explanation.

I guess finally I should mention classes. I seem to have taken a rather inadvisable schedule, and plan to continue along the exact same course next semester. It seems that the lower level prereqs for science majors pile on the work with the hope of discouraging less than serious students. Though counterintuitive, the lowest level classes seem to be the hardest, in the sense that fail rate is highest. Three of my four classes (Math 1B, Chem 4A, Physics 7A) are like this, and the other class (Astro 7A) is not like this probably only because it has Physics 7A and Physics 7B as prereqs. As far as I can see, I have probably one of the hardest schedules, if not hardest, of any other freshman I know (though probably only because no one else was stupid enough to take a class without taking the prerequisites).

I am still not quite sure what to think of it all, as it is difficult to go from being smartest kid in the school (albeit a small school) to wherever I rank as far as intelligence at Berkeley. I am proud of really challenging myself and doing fine in all of my classes, while at the same time feeling somewhat mediocre since I at this point have Bs in three of my classes and an A in Math 1B (which is just second semester Calc), when I feel like I should have an A in all of them for the level of effort I am putting in. But at the same time, I can't really imagine myself doing a lot of the stuff I am doing in class with the ease with which the GSIs are able to do it. I guess it will not be until I get past these classes designed to weed people out that I can get an idea of how well equipped I am for entering any of these fields of study I am considering. I just wish that was not a year away.

I was not expecting that rambling mess at the outset, but I guess that is the result of not really having talked in depth to much about it. But what better and more intimate place is there for sharing ones concerns than the internet?

bed_head7
26-10-2005, 09:52
Oh, forgot the one thing with which I am most disappointed. With keeping up with classwork, socializing, and also my oh so important online obligations like checking CDZ every hour or so in addition to checking Hattrick obsessively even when nothing has changed, I have not read a bit in the last month or so. The only time I have read during the school year was on the bus, while headed off to my job. Which I promptly quit because I found out when I got my schedule that they didn't really want a college student, as I had work on days when I told them I had midterms. Oh well. Still haven't found another job, actually, and that is something I need to fix. Next semeseter.

akots
26-10-2005, 18:05
quote:Originally posted by bed_head7
... Anyone else go to a school where Thursday and Saturday were party nights, but Friday was quiet? ...

[lol] That is weird.

barbu1977
26-10-2005, 18:39
quote:Originally posted by bed_head7
... Anyone else go to a school where Thursday and Saturday were party nights, but Friday was quiet? ...

We had that. University was 1.5 hour drive from Montreal (where 60% of the students came from) since many where going back to their parents on weekends, thursday was realy the big night. Picking up the schedule was scary knowing friday morning classes would not be the one you were the most awake (or present).

I remember after a REALY big party that 11 showed up for the friday morning class (out of 50). We had to comfort the teacher who tought we did not like the class.

romeothemonk
26-10-2005, 18:54
Hey Bed_Head, I can relate to your experience's. I went from the unquestioned brains of my H.S. to college, (A slightly less competitive one than UC-Hippietown) where I never could string together a 4.0 semester no matter how hard I tried. I took on average 6 classes a semester and enjoyed them, but the A was very elusive in some of them (Most notably upper level physics classes. I busted my butt, but there were 2 guys that just knew physics that got all the A's)
Here, Mondays and Wednesdays are the party days as Tuesdays and Thursdays are lab days, and most lab T.A.'s won't bust your balls if you are late/hungover. (Guess who was the exception, and guess why he isn't teaching lab anymore).
The most important thing in college to help you along is to get a physical fitness routine, and stick to it. You will need less sleep and be in better shape for the Ladies. Both of those are beneficial in my book. (Although I already found mine).
I still fondly remember playing Starcraft 5-8 hours a day during my first year and a half though. That really destroyed me for real college, although I am starting to get better.
Quick notes: Druggie roommates are bad. One of my student employees is facing felony possesion for his roomies stash. Don't let that happen to you.
Drunk roomies are bad. They pee in the trashcan, are loud and obnoxious, and generally mooch of you like crazy.
Nerd Roommates are great, especially if you are bigger. You can convince them that they need to shower and do their laundry every now and again.
College is primarily for learning and developing discernment, not the regurgitation of facts. If that was all that science or engineering was, everyone would be doing it. But don't forget to have some fun too.

Just my $.0213005 (inflation sucks)

grahamiam
26-10-2005, 19:01
the "weeding out" classes for Engineering for my school were Physics, Chemistry, and Calc as well. I think, in my Freshman class, we had about 250-300 Mechanical Engineers. By the 2nd year, we were down to about 100 or slightly less. But that's when the really tough and interesting classes started. By graduation, we were down to about 50-60. Some just decided to take 5yrs to get thier degree, but most just dropped eng for something easier. This was fine with me as everyone who stuck to it were serious but also enjoyed the challeges, unlike the 1st year were it seemed most were bitching and moaning about the difficulty.

romeothemonk
26-10-2005, 22:53
The same classes were weedouts at my school as well. My class of ChemE's started out with between 49-56 ChemE's and my graduating class had 13. Of the 13, only 8 finished in 4 years. Of those 8, I only trust 4 around chemicals, which is really bad. Coincidently the trusted ones all went on to Grad School, while the others all got Jobs.
In conclusion, I would suggest avoiding guys with a Bachelor's in ChE for a while, or at least until the blow themselves up.
Biggest Weedout classes (General)
Calc 2
Physics 2 (Basic E&M)
Chemistry 1
Specific weedout courses (One's everybody bitch's about and says that no one can get an A in)
MetE 232 (I got a B, (took as a grad student to stay full time, skipped class a lot and really didn't care about vocab, which was my downfall))
ChE 217 (98% and an A)
EE 211 (96% and an A)
CSC 150 (84% and a B+, it did weed me out of comp sci. I have resisted programming ever since)
If you were an IE or ME or CE, once you got past Calc and physics you were never tested again.
Note that I took a lot of different classes, and these are only my experiences at a state school in SD.
Now that I am in a position to hire people, I look more for their ability to finish in 4 than the number of A's.

bed_head7
27-10-2005, 10:50
Thanks for all of the responses. I assumed my experiences were rather typical, and I am glad to learn that as people realize they shouldn't be taking science classes, some of the associated problems with them will go away. Of course it is nice to have those people to lower the curve and boost my score by comparison. But if all college was was these 300-400 people classes (which all by Astro 7A are) then college would kind of suck. Astro 7B is easily my favorite at this point. Only about 60-70 in lecture, and there are these extra homework things twice a week called TALC (the astronomy learning center) so I actually know the names of a good quarter of the people in my class. And play ultimate frisbee on Saturday afternoons with a few of them even. That class is also the one giving me the most trouble and most satisfaction (which figures, as those two often go hand in hand). Before the first midterm, I felt like I knew the material well. In TALC that week, we just did midterm review, and I was one of the two or three people who could explain it all well conceptually to other people. And then on the midterm, not knowing how to do physics meant a score just under the mean, so a C+. Most disappointing test I have ever taken, as I easily could have gotten a low A on it.

Having been in the class now for two months, I am seriously considering doing Astrophysics, though I don't really want to leave the College of Chem. It is the best chemistry program in country after all, and I did rather like chemistry when it wasn't a weed people out situation. I guess that figuring all of this stuff out is what the first year or two of college is all about, though, so I need not worry too much at this point.

killercane
04-11-2005, 08:36
quote:Originally posted by bed_head7
Which actually brings me to a question. Anyone else go to a school where Thursday and Saturday were party nights, but Friday was quiet? It doesn't make too much sense to me, though it also doesn't matter all that much. Just seems kind of strange, and I was wondering if there was a decent explanation.

Thats a trend at most unis in the south, the only thing I can figure is Fridays are date/relax nights, and Saturdays are post football game partying. Thursdays are just an excuse to drink some beers.

On the academic side, classes do get better once you get into your major. The busy work is cut down, you like the material better since its your field and not some survey course, and you know the profs a bit better. You'll do well at Cal Im sure.

Since you like to read, check out the upper level English & History courses at the campus bookstore. I used to find a lot of good suggestions for books looking through what was required in those classes. I stumbled upon Call Me Ishmael by Daniel Quinn and a few other good reads that way.

bed_head7
05-01-2006, 12:13
A friend of mine recommended Call me Ishmael and I was trying to think of where I had heard of it. Now that I have gotten two recommendations, I suppose I have to read it now. I had actually managed to get to reading some over this break, but then it rained for a week, my house flooded, and so since the 28th of December of so I have just been doing flood related activies like (pre flood) sticking everything I own into boxes and moving them upstairs and (post flood) power washing everything in site. It was really great getting a room downstairs in the corner of the house away from everyone else who were upstairs (out of the range which it can conceivably flood), but now I am sleeping on the couch which I have never liked while everyone else is sleeping in their beds. Or trying to sleep. With the stuff going on and being on the couch, it tends to take me a minimum of 2-3 hours of lying there before I finally drift off to sleep, even when my body is desperate for sleep. Well, I didn't mean to start complaining.

Anyway, anyone ever read Tropic of Cancer? I was just browsing the shelves of a used bookstore and read the back cover and decided to buy it (at $2-3 each, used books are one of the few things I both can afford and want). I don't really know what I was expecting, but it was not at all like anything I had read before.

Also, I think that I might be able to pull a 4.0 at some point in my time at Berkeley. I came closer than I expected last semester, getting only a B in Astro 7A, and I see no reason why I cannot improve upon that while doing about the same as I did in the other classes. Though I am going to look for a comparative literature or history class I can take and just read and write a paper here and there. I don't really need to take anything like that, but I don't want to go another semester reading only science textbooks. Of course, there is a 19.5 unit limit in the College of Chem, and taking a fifth course would put me at 20 units, so I would need to get some sort of waiver and I don't know if the advisor will sign it. I tried to take a history class last semester and they wouldn't let me. Hopefully getting decent grades this last semester will make the difference there.

bed_head7
30-01-2006, 12:20
I ended up not being able to find that non science class this semester. Mostly due to laziness and apathy, but with my classes it was also exceedingly difficult to even find something that would fit my schedule. I also made half assed attempts at finding some sort of music group on campus to play in (I play trombone) and when that failed I looked to add a jazz theory class, which would have worked out if I had been able to switch math sections but for some reason I was not allowed. So I guess I just need to practice my trombone this semester and hopefully be qualified for a more advanced jazz combo than any of the ones I was looking to join this semester. As all of that failed, I am now just taking the next class in each introductory series, in addition to a DeCal (democratic education at cal, I think is what it is, and is basically just student taught classes) about IDL, which is apparently something I need to learn if I want to do an optical astronomy lab next semester, or research in astronomy in the future.

grahamiam
30-01-2006, 15:28
What about the marching band?

bed_head7
04-02-2006, 02:45
The Cal Band is a once per year sort of thing, as opposed to most other groups where it is done on a semester by semester basis.

killercane
05-02-2006, 10:34
The official band would be a hell of a commitment time wise I would think too. Though I am kind of talking out of my ass with my only experience with it watching Tommy Lee try to make the Nebraska band ;).

bed_head7
05-02-2006, 11:32
It is a huge time commitment, you are correct. In a way, they are like a fraternity, with all of the hazing and initiation stuff, but then there is also the actual practice. It seems like it would be a lot of fun, but come time this spring I will have to consider what sort of classes I will be taking before I try out. In all likelihood, I will have my hands full with other stuff, meaning the Cal Band is out of the picture.

bed_head7
06-06-2006, 05:49
Because I am bored and without a whole lot to do, a quick update of the past four months.

I wound up going a somewhat different direction in my outside class activities than initially planned. One of my friends whom I met through playing Ultimate Frisbee convinced me to go with him to a meeting for the on campus humor magazine. Initially, knowing I cannot really write "funny" very well, I was hesitant, but ended up going. It was definitely an interesting group, and though I have still never even tried my hand at writing, I did wind up becoming involved in other ways. I first accepted one of the co-editors pleas for someone to step up and maintain their website, which basically just consists of putting copying the text from the pdf of the issues into notepad, doing really basic html formatting so it looks pretty, and uploading it. Not too exciting.

Then I somehow ended up running for student office with the (officially) unrelated political party that goes by a rather similar name of the magazine, which basically just fights to keep funding for student publications. For some reason, our student government uses Single Transferable Vote (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transferable_vote), which means I was basically just trying to get my friends to vote for the party with which I ran so we would at least get one senate seat. As it turned out, I was about a dozen votes from being the top vote getter in my party, and had I been the top I would have wound up getting enough votes to win one of the twenty senate seats. This might not make much sense though, as it didn't really make sense to me until after I had taken part in it all.

With regards to classes, my early semester prediction of a 4.0 turned out to be right, to my surprise. Part of that may be that I actually dropped Chemistry right after my last post in this thread. I had kind of already decided over break that I did not really want to do Chemistry or Chemical Engineering (I realize they are rather distinct, and that in most places the classes for the two are very different, but at Berkeley they are alone in the College of Chemistry and for the first three semesters or so their planned class schedules are nearly the same) for the rest of my life, but that I still wanted to be taking Chemistry. But the teacher was just awful - talked as though we were second graders, and the complexity of the lectures was about at that lectures as well. I did not feel as though I was learning anything. So I wound up taking a Japanese history class instead, which is part of what prompted all of the unpopular questions in my quiz thread. Anyway, that class was much less of drain on time than a science class, so I focused a lot more on physics and math this last semester than the one before. As a result, I actually got one of the top few grades on both physics midterms, which was a very pleasant surprise after barely getting my A first semester.

My astrophysics class was really cool this semester as well, and cemented my decision to major in astrophysics. My professor was Marc Davis, a fairly big name in cosmology, and the subject of the class was mainly cosmology, so for the first time I got to be lectured by someone about the subject about which they are really passionate. It really does create quite a change in a professor when they care what they are talking about it, and makes me look forward to the time when all of my classes will be like that. The unfortunate thing was that he suffered a stroke a few years ago, and the clarity of the lectures sometimes suffered. But it was the first time for him teaching predominantly astrophysics majors for at least a few years, and it was clear he was happy to be teaching people who cared. He gave us the opportunity to take a look at his data from DEEP2 and look at 2-d spectra for signs of binary AGN. It was only a small taste of what research would be like, as a lot of it was spoon fed to us as we didn't know what we were doing for the most part, but I am really starting to feel like this is the right path for me. One of my main plans for the summer is to start sending out letters/e-mails begging for a research position so I can get a better idea if this is what i want to do, but at the moment I am really excited.

Okay, a gold medal for anyone who read all of that. I know if someone else posted so much, I probably wouldn't make it, but this is my nice little occasional venting thread.

akots
06-06-2006, 06:49
Well, too bad about Chemistry and CE. ;)

Good that you've got a decent Astrophysics course. I always hated Astronomy and liked Chemistry. [:P]

romeothemonk
06-06-2006, 18:30
Congrats on choosing the dark side. (Physics) You will find that it is a really nice place to be, once a basic understanding of 3d curvilinear vectors is had. Me, I never really got that so my physics is basically a solid state/thermodynamics degree, which ain't bad.

The amount to which physics is enjoyable is really limited to the amount of math and the area of math that you enjoy.

Really huge Kudos for not being afraid to drop a class. I never dropped a class, and I probably should have for the sake of my GPA, but I still pulled out a 3.5 undergrad and a 3.85 grad.

BCLG100
06-06-2006, 18:55
could someone explain to me the whole numbers GPA like a 4.0gpa or 3.5 gpa or whatever? what do they mean?

Whomp
06-06-2006, 19:12
BCLG a GPA of 4.0 is the best you can have...that's 4.0 out of 4.0 or straight A's. On top of that Bed Head did it at one of the finest universities in the U.S (I think unquestionably THE best public uni). This is an enormous accomplishment. BH that is fantastic!! Congrats.

My question is how does astrophysics relate to astronomy. I know the Univ. of Arizona has the best, from what I understand, astronomy departments in the country. Would there be a possibility to work there? It is mighty hot in Tucson during the summer but Kitt's Peak is pretty incredible.

BTW I was in the area two weeks ago for a wedding. Saw Bonds hit is 715th too.

Tubby Rower
06-06-2006, 19:16
Bonds is a cheater. but it still is amazing how he does it. even if he strikes out a good bit more than he should.

Congrats on the GPA bed head. I only had a 3.82. Which is fine with me as Magna Cum Laude sounds better to the average dolt than Summa Cum Laude. :D

bed_head7
06-06-2006, 21:01
romeo, why would I be afraid to drop a class? Especially one that looked as though it would be very pointless to be, as it neither fulfilled any requirement or my expectations of what I should be learning. So I just picked up a history class to fulfill that breadth, and learn about an area of history that I did not know much about. As for enjoying physics, I really hope that the math does not get me in the end. But thus far I have not taken a math class that I thought was uninteresting, so I am hoping that trend continues.

Whomp, to be honest, I cannot really give any good distinction between astronomy and astrophysics. I guess essentially astronomy encompasses the study of everything outside of the Earth's astmosphere, and astrophysics is more specific as it deals specifically with the physics of it all. But most schools seem to have astronomy departments, and inside that department just the astrophysics major. As for UoA, you are completely right. I almost applied for a summer research position at Kitt's Peak. But I did not really have any connection with professors at that point, so I had no one to write letters of recommendation. If all goes to plan, I will get a position with a member of the Berkeley faculty (there is a lot of interesting stuff going on here that would be great to take part in) and then be able to apply for an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) where I would get to go somewhere and actually get paid to do research in astrophysics.

And Tubby, if I actually manage to keep my GPA through college as high as that, I will be very very pleased with myself. And that 3.82 doing what, nuclear engineering? I have looked at some of the classes for that major at Berkeley and I can't even imagine getting through that with a 3.82.

Anyway, thank you all for not minding my little bit of bragging, and even coming by to say congratulations.

romeothemonk
06-06-2006, 21:49
Astronomy is the study of the stars and their positions.

Astrophysics is the study of the motion of astral bodies and factors that effect these motions.

Astronomy is really easy comparitive to astrophysics.

Rule #1) Never play pool against astronomers. There are several astronomies with pool tables in them, and you have advanced degree guys playing pool for 8-10 hours a night when the sky is cloudy. This is a common engineer/physicist mistake at conventions. Don't fall into it.

Tubby Rower
07-06-2006, 03:30
I got a 3.82 in Electrical Engineering. I skipped quite a few classes though. I prolly could have made it higher if I thought it mattered. I understood the material sometimes better than the professors and actually tutored several students for free as personal pennance for sleeping in my bed through 8 am classes I thought were too early.

In hind sight I should have skipped more classes. Although it could be argued that I should have worked for a 4.0. Since my company's starting salary for new hires out of college is directly related to GPA, I was pleased when they offered me more than I asked for when starting :D

BCLG100
07-06-2006, 03:53
well congrats, im still not entirely sure how it works though :)

romeothemonk
07-06-2006, 16:37
Here is the aggregate grading system.

All of your classes are assigned a number of credits. They usually range from 1 (easy classes and labs) to 4 (frickin evil quantum physics and advanced math classes).
Each grade is assigned a numerical value:
A = 4.0
A- = 3.66
B+ = 3.33
B = 3.0
and so on and so forth

The number associated with the letter grade is multiplied by the number of credits, and all the credits that you have taken are averaged, thus giving the elusive GPA.

Tubby Rower
07-06-2006, 16:50
hmmmm.. ours wasn't graduated. it was strictly A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1 F=0.... btw, what ever happened to E?

barbu1977
07-06-2006, 17:13
In Quebec we have the E for "échec" instead of F for "failiure"

Out here, we still have many universities giving A+ thus making the GPA out of 4.3. However the tendancy is to go back to 4.0 to boost the general GPA since, that way, the maximum value is given for A and A+, making the best students more likely to get perfect GPA.