Jeff

coding frenzy

So I have been in a coding frenzy and will continue to be in one for probably the next three weeks. I have gotten a large amount done on the senior design software (all of the software has been mine) and hopefully we will have something to show by the end of the week. I am pretty excited about it and have been spending more time than I should working on it. I will probably finish the client this weekend and make it look nice. I also am getting started with the Django for our CS project and along with that will be working some with this website as a basis (since it gives me some of a learning curve). Along with my job, I should basically be coding around the clock until graduation (or until everything is done). I have been carrying the software load in our senior design project and at this point don’t trust the other software guy to code his way out of a paper bag. I think he is just going to be along for the ride at this point and we are going to carry him across the line. I know that I will be throwing all the documentation stuff at him without much guilt. I hope to be invited to the bonus presentation, I think that would be one of the most redeeming things to end my time in this major, being good enough at what I have learned to be invited to tell further undergrads about it.

It’s down to 30 some days. That’s it, all that is left between me and the end of school. I have a lot to do, but its still just that small. I have been a student for over 15 straight years and a week into May I will be done with it all. I don’t know how it will feel, but it will be different. I just hope that I will have a job and be off to somewhere else and not stuck idling around waiting for my 16 years of education go to waste.

Oh, I also got a beta for Trillian Astra (I have used Trillian as my all-in-one IM client for a long time) and it is amazing. I am seriously thinking of paying for a professional license (which I never do, since I get the basic for free) just to support the fantastic product that they have made. It really is an awesome IM client and I really do hope they put it out for Linux so that I can find one to stay with.

breaks over

Spring Break ended yesterday (today). I have my first post-break class tomorrow and am ready to make this final push through my school career. I am still in the job market, even though I think have a promising prospect with one of the companies I am talking to. We shall see. I have been slacking on my job (more like I have had school and stuff in the way) and I have and still need to do a lot of work this week to catch up. I got to spend 3 days in Chicago with Kim, that was a very nice vacation. Nothing special happened, we just enjoyed the city and relaxed. It was a great escape, I wouldn’t mind doing it again sometime (after I have a stable income at least). I need to begin working on the software design for our senior design project. That is the major part left, so I should probably begin putting in the hours. I think I will get around to finishing up the overhaul of this site during senior week (the week after I finish finals and before I graduate) along with the moving out and finishing school. I had my (hopefully) final back surgery this past week. It was the first where they only took stuff out (not put stuff in) so I should be more comfortable whenever I finally get these stitches removed (until then I get to have beautiful stitches up my back, just to look cool). I have a ton of things on my to-do list and just really need to get my work ethic in gear (I don’t have it in gear). I also need to put the trip photos up sometime, that will first require I upload them which is a task for me. Well, back to work or possibly just sleep.

ages

Yeah, I know its been a while since I last posted an entry. I have been busy. I am in the midst of senior design (we made a nice step last night: VIDEO ), a part-time job writing software, two work heavy classes, and the job search (still).
I get to stay pretty busy from all this and yet I enjoy what I do (for the most part). It is interesting, exciting, and fun. I am looking forward to the projects coming to completion, they are really neat. I still need to work more on the software that runs everything. Right now I have a rudimentary control on the motors (I need to clean it up and move it to the final code I am building), I am going to hopefully get working with the sensors this week and have them mapped out before break. Then I can get to the real work after I am back from break.

Speaking of break, we leave this Friday. I am going to have a “minor” surgery on Monday (a week from today) that should have me out for a day. Then on Wednesday I am going to Chicago with Kim for a few days. It will be a nice break (even though I will probably do some work while there, she will hate me for that too). Then I come back and begin the last weeks of my educational career.

I am supposed to hear back from two companies that I interviewed with in the next week or so. Hopefully I can start making some moves towards a career upon graduation (versus the current unemployment I am in) and put my degree to use. So fingers crossed that I have good news in the next few days.

Well, I need to go and head to lab to work on OS.