New Music

I generally listen to music when working on math or computer science, and because of this habit, I have listened to almost everything on my iPod multiple times, to the point where I really was getting tired of some of it.  The only solution to a problem like this, is to get new music of course.

Today after classes, I walked into Claremont to locate the music store.  It was a great place, with a lot of used stuff for cheaper.  I bought myself four new CD's which will hopefully help with the amount of stuff available to listen to, but of course, I am always open to suggestions.  And there is always new music to be found.

A Pleasant Surprise

Every Monday, I have a Physics Lab from 3:15 to 5:15 in the afternoon.  The point of this class is basically to learn about Physics through hands-on experimentation.  Part way through the class, I received an email saying that I had a package that I could pick up until six o'clock.  I was thrilled, I love getting presents.  So after the lab, I walked over to the mail room to find it closed.  I believe that in general, it closes at five o'clock every day, which was very disappointing.  So, I walked away, package-less.

This morning, I went back to the mail room to pick it up.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a box from Aunt Sherry, filled with all sorts of yummy goodies!

Mmm!  Now, if only it would drop twenty or thirty degrees and I could actually have tea.

Everything looks absolutely wonderful and I cannot wait to try it all!  Thank you Aunt Sherry, it was lovely getting the treats and your nice note.  I will enjoy everything immensely!

At this point, I am getting quite the collection of delicious snacks, and therefore I am planning on picking up another plastic storage container to keep it all safe.  That is something I hope to get done this weekend, but it all depends on how much work I have to do, and there is certainly a lot of that.  Only time will tell.

Recursion

I know, it has been a while since I have posted, but I have been busy and there has not been anything besides classes going on - nothing post-worthy.  Until now.  I have been working on some recursion projects for my Computer Science class which explores the idea of recursion while using turtle (a part of python for drawing).

It has been a good deal of work, but it was also a lot of fun to come up with the successful and enjoyable images.  First, we were supposed to make a recursive tree.  This tree would create forks at the end of each branch until the levels of conversion were complete.  The finished project looked like this:

This image was created by calling svTree(200,4) where 200 is the length of the first trunk and 4 is the number of recursive steps.  The "turtle" is the triangle at the location where it started.

For extra credit, we could take this part of the project a step further, by creating a recursive tree that we chose to "spruce up" and "fir"nish with clear and useful instructions (the puns are those of my teacher, but they were not lost on me).  While my time was completely abundant, I was intrigued by the idea of creating something a little more fun, and in the short amount of time I spent working/thinking about it, I came up with this:

Called using the same parameters: svTreeExtra(200,4,pink) - where pink is choosing a color for the flowers.  Again, you can see the "turtle" at the base of the tree, right where it belongs.

The final recursive turtle project was also one that was pretty interesting.  We were asked to write the code to create a Koch Snowflake, which - depending on the number of recursive calls - has a point for the center third of each side as seen here:

The format for these calls is snowflake(sideLength,levels).  The upper left is snowflake(100,0), the upper right is snowflake(100,1), the lower left is snowflake(100,2), and the lower right is snowflake(100,3) with the "turtle" in the center.

It was a lot of work to get each function running properly, but in the end, the results were very cool and I enjoyed working on all of them.  The unfortunate news is that I spent a good deal of time playing with the extra credit, and still have homework to do.  So, I should maybe do some of it now.  Or tomorrow, we'll see.

Finished Early

I had a good deal of homework this weekend, and when it took me about six hours to figure out a problem for Computer Science yesterday, I worried that I was significantly behind in my weekend plan, and that today would be long and busy.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to finish up the remainder of my work by 2 o'clock, therefore leaving me with an almost full day with which to play.

As usual, the weather looks absolutely beautiful from the comfort of my air conditioned room, so I decided to take a nice walk around some of the various campuses (Pitzer, Scripps, and Mudd) with my camera.  While there was not a whole lot going on of particular interest, I did manage to get some fun pictures.

I started out in Pitzer - this was kind of funny because I felt like an impostor, wandering around with my camera on the arts campus.  Pitzer is really interesting because of the art that has been painted all over the campus.  The general graffiti style seems to be encouraged, since every wall has some piece of art decorating it.

Located somewhere on Pitzer's campus of the Claremont Colleges

As I was wondering around, I found a cute little lizard.  These guys are running around all over Claremont, and they are absolutely adorable, and very skittish.  I see and hear all the time, but had not really paid a whole lot of attention to them.  As I was standing and watching this guy on the steps, it was fascinating how he could easily just hop up and down the steps, way to fast to see.  Every time I would try and get him, he would disappear from my lens in an instant.

A small lizard on Pitzer's campus.

I continued wandering around Pitzer for a while, just enjoying the art and (for a while) the sun.  Pitzer has a really fun fountain in the middle of the campus, which is just like a simple little geyser in a stone patio.  The mist felt wonderful, since it is so completely hot outside when in the sun.  I had a lot of fun taking pictures of this one - the water looked wonderful in the sun.

A fountain on Pitzer's campus.

The same fountain on Pitzer.

Next, I decided to visit Scripps because it is a gorgeous campus, with a lot of trees and comfortable shade.  I have probably spent the most time on Scripps since I had to go there for my language test and we spent a lot of time taking pictures there for a Orientation activity.  Everyone says that Scripps has the prettiest campus, and after walking around there for a while, they all seem to be right.  The architecture is attractive and the general landscaping is beautiful.  Not to mention the fact that Scripps has a lot of different statues and sculptures, adding to the overall feel.

One of my favorite sculptures on Scripps.

This sculptures is located by the "Wood Steps" on Scripps campus, which is where I went to meet with everyone for the language exam.  At the time I thought that this sculpture was very appealing, and I still think that it is a visually pleasing piece.  Scripps has so much art, that I spent a lot of time wandering around and photographing whatever seemed interesting.

This statue was located in a really cute little patio area, but I saw it first from the other side of a wall.

Besides the overwhelming heat that is ever present here in California, the foliage is also completely different, which really adds to the feeling that it is not only a different state, but also a different portion of the country.  It is kind of fun seeing tall palm trees everywhere along with the wide array of cacti.

The shadows seemed so cool and feathery.

As I was leaving Scripps campus to head back towards Mudd, I saw something that I have been looking for for a long time - a bunny!  It was really cute!  It hopped up the steps to exit through the archway, creating a great picture.  (It did return to the garden after spending a little bit of time under cars in the parking lot).  Unfortunately, I was never able to get particularly close for a better picture.

I think that this image has a great feel to it.

Finally, I returned to Mudd to take a few pictures of the various things of interest around my campus.  The main sculpture which I see every day is outside the Platt building, and seems fit for a science and engineering school.

This sculpture knows exactly where it belongs.

Now, to conclude this entry so that I can get ready for dinner.  I would like to point to a couple signs that I found on my walk: one from Mudd and one from Scripps.  It is easy to tell a lot about the school from the differences in conveying the same message.  Enjoy!  I sure did.

Remember, click to enlarge if necessary.

A Relaxing Day

Because of the Jewish New Year, my first class of the day, computer science at 1:15pm, was canceled.  So I spent the morning doing some laundry and washing dishes, which was incredibly productive.  At three o'clock, I had my Spanish class, which was the usual: talking in a group and receiving the homework assignment.

After that class, I had some time to work on homework (an assignment for my writing class) before dinner.

It was after dinner that the fun began.  First, I went to the first meeting of the Muddracker - the Harvey Mudd newspaper.  The meeting was fairly introductory, introducing the various people and compiling a list of the jobs that people were interested in.  I ducked out of the meeting a bit early (at 7:35) and returned to Atwood.  A new frozen yogurt places is opening up near campus (a mile walk) and they invited the school for some free frozen yogurt to help drum up future business.  So, a short walk led to an extremely large serving of frozen yogurt - with various sweet toppings.   Of course, this was my second trip to get free frozen yogurt since college started a couple weeks ago.

A weeping angel from Dr. Who - Season three

After enjoying our lovely dessert, we walked back to campus.  I had about half an hour to relax, and then I attended the first Dr. Who showing in Atwood - something that will become a weekly occurrence.  It was a lot of fun, and a great episode!  (It was called 'Blink' - the one about the creepy weeping angels, for those that have seen that show).  I enjoyed the episode, and have every intention of going every week that I can make it.

It was a creepy episode...

Now, I will spend a little more time relaxing, before retiring for the night.  I have eight am classes tomorrow, what fun.

Study Abroad Meeting

Today there was a meeting for students interested in studying abroad, so I chose to attend, of course.  The meeting started at 11:00 and was scheduled to last until 12:30, but the meeting ended a little bit early due to a lack of questions from the audience.

The meeting began with some a free lunch, some sandwiches, an apple, a bottle of water, and a small dessert.  While everyone started working, the Study Abroad coordinator began the presentation.  She talked about some of the experience of past students, with quotes about how the experience affected their lives.  She then went into some detail about the various study options available: University Study (where the student attends universities in the local language), Immersion (with classes in the language), and an English based system (students could take English classes with other American students, while in the foreign country).  The next topic, or one sort of interwoven, was about the various programs which led these study options.  The adviser also discussed the general/overall benefits of study abroad, such as the opportunity to experience a new culture, a new style of learning, and an expanded world view.

At one point, there was also discussion of some of the academic requirements of the program.  These included the extensive planning for study abroad, starting almost a year before the actual semester abroad.  Another important fact is the need to have a pre-approved schedule which will ensure that the credits taken abroad can be transferred and applied to the credits needed to graduate.  While it may be a bit more complicated for some majors, engineering as the example, any major is able to study abroad during the four years at Mudd.  Yet, it is necessary to rearrange the schedule so that all of the per-requisites for the classes abroad are obtained before the semester abroad, and also that the classes taken will align with the return home.  One of the scariest portions of the academic section, is the need to obtain a certain grade abroad for the credits to transfer, which could be a distinct source of stress at one point or another.

Towards the end of the meeting, Prof. Orrison and Prof. Ran spoke about a study abroad opportunity for CS or math majors in Budapest.

Finally, the meeting ended with the introduction of some study abroad alumni who discussed their experience and gave some advice or insight into the programs.

The Study Abroad coordinator also provided a table full of various pamphlets on the requirements for each major and the different countries which could be visited.  Immediately after the meeting, I went over to the Study Abroad office to grab a couple more pamphlets, and it was here that I saw the study abroad board.

Notice the statistics for Scotland and Ireland in particular.

A couple other places, mainly New Zealand, which I will consider.

Looking at the board was very interesting, because it became clear that I would be able to choose a country that is interesting or appealing to me, in which I will be able to study whichever major I ultimately decided to pursue.

It was a great meeting, and I am very excited about the opportunity to study abroad for a semester!  Now, I just need to look into organizing my schedule to accommodate the time abroad.  But at least I have plenty of time to get everything ready.

The Freshman Fifteen

Yes, you have of course heard of the "Freshman Fifteen" which was maybe known as the "Freshman Ten" in past years.  Of course, "Freshman Fifteen" just sounds better based on the rules of writing, it has nice alliteration and sounds better together.  Now, I always sort of thought that the idea of gaining fifteen pounds freshman year seemed kind of strange, how could it even be possible?

Well, I have figured out how.  The only free food offered in college is cookies, and ice cream, and pizza.  And how do you make teenagers go to something they would otherwise avoid like the plague?  Offer food of course, especially to starving college students who may not have enough money for meals every day.

Not to mention the fact that all of these are readily available at every meal that we pay for too.  There is just constant temptation to eat these wonderfully delicious foods that are in no way healthy or good for preventing the rumor.  The thing about the paid food, is that the dessert bar is much bigger: brownies, jello, cake, and various flavors of ice cream (soft serve or not).  It is all serve yourself, of course.  And there is no limit on what you can take.  Think, cookies to go.

And last but not least: every single person of importance on campus - professors, dorm proctors, other members of the faculty - will bribe a visit with free candy.  At dorm events, a bag of candy.  Sitting on desks, candy.  Prizes for asking a question during orientation, candy.  Candy, candy, candy.

There is no wonder that the "Freshman Fifteen" exists.  It is such a huge part of the campus culture, almost completely built in, that it must be hard to avoid.

The only good news, is the constant need to walk across campus.  The academic buildings, the dining hall, and the mail room are all a good walk away from the dorms (the outer dorms at the very least).  With classes at varying times, meals throughout the day, and various activities in Platt (where the mail room is also located), there is always a need to walk somewhere.  It is also normal to walk to the village for whatever reason or to the Claremont College bookstore, which is located past Scripps and CMC (I think) which is about a ten minute walk away.

I would normally avoid ranting to such a degree - the only reason I thought of it was because of the various events we have had in the past few days.  On Monday, our dorm mentors organized a group activity where there was a open bowl of candy, and later a walk to get some frozen yogurt (which the mentors generously paid for).  Then, on Wednesday there was an Improv Show in Platt, where the campus kindly offered free donuts.  Today, we had a Convocation ceremony to promote the beginning of the academic year.  And what did the offer?  Free cookies and brownies.  And as I was eating my third cookie, I had this distinct revelation made clear, a revelation that had been kindly lingering in the back of my mind, out of the way of my cookie enjoyment.

I personally, have been trying very hard to eat a balanced meal, generally with a main course and a good sized salad.  But the fact of the matter is that these junk foods are made available for easy consumption - and I do not believe that it is Mudd alone.  The benefit of offering carrots, while much more healthy, would probably not have the same effect on attendance.  So while I understand their overwhelming presence, it is something that I thought necessary to share.