i know it's the shortest month and all, but sheesh! did that go by fast, or what?
i'd apologize, but a) i'd sound like a broken record and b) it's nothing new. in my defense, however, i *did* face a layoff and the subsequent job search over the past two months. which makes it *twice* in the past year that i had to do the layoff/job search/job find fiasco. all while in grad school. so, yanno, there's that.
i know i know -- *waaaah*.
suffice it to say, i did find a job and am gainfully employed once more. while i no longer am able to walk to work (alas! what other burdens and hardships await our hero?), i do enjoy a short, highway-free commute and it really makes all the difference. never again will i commute 30+ minutes one way for work. damnit.
ANYHOW, this is a school-related blog and i suppose i should mention it at least once. in short, i'm really digging this semester. both classes are lecture classes (as opposed to discussion classes) and i can safely state that i enjoy lecture over discussion. discussion is great and it allows for interaction and, well, discussion, but i find them to be less structured and, honestly, less informative and educational. it's great to get a feel for what's topical in academic literature, but i'm more interested in being exposed to more concrete disciplines, with something more tangible to take from class.
networks from the ground up and formal methods of distributing computing -- comin' right up!! i'm having to use the ol' noggin' to come up with algorithms for formal methods and it's freakin' great. it's a challenge, but great nonetheless.
the networks class doesn't have any homework, which at first glance is welcomed, but i find that homework is usually the best tool to help learn/retain material over the break between classes. so there's a hit against it for that. however, it makes up for it via the optional programming project. it basically amounts to implementing TCP in C, using the x-kernel libraries. yes, implementing TCP in C.
coooooooooooool
