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blackberry:
Hello! is about to leave my new set, hope you like how it turned over.

a kiss.

Nicolle <3
estrada:
Hey, man, how's life been treating you?
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Meh.
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mrcrisp:
Thanks! I'm struggling through the product/quotient derivative rules right now, not because the concept is difficult to grasp, but because it's really easy to lose track of everything. Any recommendations for keeping track during derivations?
mrcrisp:
I've been doing reasonably well, but all that writing, jeeeeze. Also, I hadn't realized until today that the derivative of e^(2x) is 2e^(2x). Whoops. Why is that?
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I know I'm a few years late on this, but

HOLY SHIT BATTLESTAR GALACTICA IS SO GOOD.

Things are still really mathy over here, if you were wondering. Taking three high level statistics courses at once was a really good idea because I get to see three different iterations of the same concepts over and over again. Makes it easier to digest. Number theory is...
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devilsreject:
no.

You basically have a grid on the bottom side of the keyboard (if you took it apart) like this:


(ignore the red circles, this is just for example, stolen from the web)

The key matrix is a complete circuit. So the circuit itself is always closed, so there is voltage (tiny amounts) constantly running through your keyboard.

When you press a key, you reduce the capacitance of the circuit under that key and the processor in the keyboard detects the change in capacitance and identifies the key and/or keys.

Old school keyboards used to use the close/open a circuit identifier, but they went the way of the Yugo years ago.
kestrel:
kiss
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I went to the American Economics Association convention in Denver a few weekends ago and had an awesome time. It was really interesting to get a taste of what people in the economics profession actually do for a living. The entire trip strengthened my resolve to pursue a PhD in economics once I finish my undergraduate degree.

I have another story about why you shouldn't...
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atomicant:
Fuck you, asshole
dunx:
You know, pure math for the rest of my life just started to seem like it would kill me. Medicine was always my other favorite interest, so ...I just went for it I guess.
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This semester in brief:

My International Economics course has been the biggest waste of time in my college career. It's not the subject that annoys me, it's the professor. For the past month we've been doing group presentations so she doesn't have to lecture. She doesn't assign grades for them, and has no system for tracking who has actually done their presentations, so it's obvious...
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atomicant:
Unknown to me. Stiles is in charge of the route. But I will do my best to convince him to go near you.
atomicant:
again, i am unaware of the trip. i'm just along for the ride. but we are taking 4 days for a 23 hour drive. that gives us a lot of leeway.
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I can't hear this song without thinking about this commercial:



DAMN YOU VAN HAGAR!
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mrcrisp:
Your beard is fake.
lemonkid:
D&D puns get no respect anymore I guess, haha.
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So I visited Chicago a few weeks ago. It was a really fun time. I especially enjoyed how the subway goes pretty much everywhere. Downtown kinda smells like poop, though. That wasn't very cool. I might consider going to Northwestern or UChicago for grad school as well, but my heart is still set on the west coast somewheres.

Someday I'm going to post a blog...
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signalnoise:
Hey, no worries on the response! To answer your subsequent questions:

1. The housing probably has gone up some. I think every year we were there, the rent went up some incremental amount - maybe one year it didn't? But they do take good care of the housing. While we were there they redid the brick outside, put in new windows, added new carpet in public areas, painted public areas, put in a new entryway/mailroom, updated the freight elevator, added a really gorgeous awning out front, and were in the process of fixing up the kitchens as people moved out. Plus, maintenance was pretty topnotch: they were fast and thorough. Also: all utilities were included in our rent (outside phone/internet/cable).

2. The Metra is the commuter rail - so it's like the train you would take in from the suburbs. It's around two bucks a ride. The advantage is that it's reliable (you know right when it's coming, b/c it is pretty well schedule), it's clean, and the seats are comfy. The disadvantage is that it runs about once an hour during non-rush hour times. BUT, if you plan well, it's a GREAT way to get downtown from Hyde Park. There are a few places were it links with the El, but you're right - they are basically separate systems. I would note that the Green Line stop you mention is kinda far from Hyde Park proper, and things that way do get a bit dicey. It's do-able, but you need to be more careful, especially at night. The #6 bus will be your friend if you end up there.

3. "Professional development" is a pretty awful phrase right? I will say, it's one you should inquire about *anyplace* you consider for grad school. If there's one thing I could do over, it would be having a better sense of what professional development is - and pursuing it more vigorously. Professional development, for me anyway, includes things like the availability of funds for grad students to travel regularly to conferences. Professional development also includes faculty taking the time out to really talk to you about your dissertation project in terms of both its academic and its *marketable* qualities (re: Is the thing you're doing something people are being hired to teach/research?). Professional development includes faculty co-authoring with students. It also includes faculty pushing students to take their papers to conferences, and showing them how to turn early dissertation chapters into stand-alone articles. Professional development also includes a chance to teach, and maybe some guidance in how to be a good teacher (Teaching is important even if you want to do the research university thing - there are just so few jobs at that level. But, there are good jobs at selective liberal arts schools and regional state schools - where there is more of a teaching/research balance. Having a class in the can, and a few good teaching evaluations can be key to getting on at these lower tier places.). Professional development might also include faculty presenting papers with you at conferences, or coming to see you present your work, or even introducing you around to their friends at conferences. Basically, professional development is the next step beyond learning how to do research - it's about learning how to *market* the research you've done into a set of accomplishments and skills that are actually rewarded in the field. Workshops will be a part of that - you'll learn how to craft and present work. But there's more to it than that. It's a bit amorphous. But things I would try to nail down about schools you are interested in is co-authoring and placement rate. Those are probably the biggies.

Thanks for the good wishes! I'm not really sure where I'd like to end up. I'm at a teaching school right now (how that happened is *another* story - I'm always glad to tell it, but I don't want to bore you unnecessarily). I'd like to move someplace like a selective liberal arts school, or even a regional state school. Maybe a lower ranked research school? Mostly, I want to be someplace I can write more. I don't mind teaching. I have a good time, I think I even have some potential at it. But I do a lot of it here. Plus, my wife can't find work here. So someplace a bit more urban, or near an urban place. Dream places right now include Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon, Wisconsin-Madison, and Maryland-College Park. But we shall see.
mrcrisp:
Right? I'm kind of worried about how into it I am right now.
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Spent the last week in DC with my mom. Holy crap that was stressful.

DC was cool though. I really enjoyed riding the Metro everywhere. Makes me wish I lived in a city with a subway. Just not DC.

Makes me wish I could hurry up and get the hell out of here. It's going to be worth it, I think.

Speaking of things that...
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devilsreject:
i like discussing things with you. You're smart.

I am also jealous that you are going to Grad School.....what are you pursuing?
estrada:
What are you looking to study? More math?
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milloux:
birthday!
juicika:
Haha, I love typing things into google to see what pops up!


I need you to be my math tutor! biggrin
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Hey, I renewed.

Wooo.
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mistersatan:
THANKS BITCH YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
lemonkid:
Lift your chest. Imagine a string just kind of pulling it up. Back straight.

If your postures really terrible pick up a book or have a consultation with a practitioner of the Alexander Technique or Feldenkrais.

Depends what kind of posture you mean too, like just general walking around or picking up girls or whatever.
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Maybe the last blog was a little extreme. I guess I do enjoy participating in the community here when I get the chance. I've just been so damned busy lately, and I find it necessary to consolidate myself so I don't feel so spread out. It helps with stress.

I practically live in the library now, this is the first semester since I started college...
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mrcrisp:
You need to seek professional help.
mrcrisp:
Nope!

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I'm cancelling my account. I never talk to anyone on here anymore, and the people I do talk to, I also talk to through facebook. It's sort of redundant.

I have til the end of March though, so it's not like I'm going anywhere right away.

Also, I find it funny that mere minutes after posting this, I got a random friend request from some...
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mistersatan:
Yeah, I tried doubling it the other day, but it was Friday afternoon and I was already up for like, 15 hours, so I didn't really notice anything. I have a phone call with the doc tomorrow, so hopefully we'll figure something else out.
mrcrisp:
You can keep your chinstrap, dude. I want a real beard.