Set a personal distance record today of ~10 miles @ 9 min/mi.  Not fast by any means, but I am happy with the result.  Its about week 9/10 of my training; I started at run/walk a single mile while enduring miserable calf/shin pain.  Still working on tightening up my form, adding miles, and chopping minutes.  The Half-Marathon is in 7 weeks and at ( Read more... )

I accidentally unplugged my laptop while I was adjusting my desk and without the battery inside it shut off.  This has happened many times before without a problem.  However, when I plugged it back in it wouldn't boot.  I used one of my Ubuntu LiveCDs to boot into an OS so I could complain on the internet and verify that this was a boot record ( Read more... )

In the end grades turned out fine, thanks to a favorable curve in Systems Neuroscience.

Have I mentioned that I was taking a course in LabVIEW?  It was so easy that I almost never thought about it.  For my final project I worked with their image processing toolkit to develop an eye tracking system.  For whatever reason thats a really popular first ( Read more... )

In the end grades turned out fine, thanks to a favorable curve in Systems Neuroscience.

Have I mentioned that I was taking a course in LabVIEW?  It was so easy that I almost never thought about it.  For my final project I worked with their image processing toolkit to develop an eye tracking system.  For whatever reason thats a really popular first ( Read more... )

Failed another exam.  This term is going swell.

Originally posted on jeepershcrackers.vox.com

Today marks the start of "Spring Break", which for me means a) no classes, and more importantly b) no new papers to grade.  Which isn't to say that I don't have a stack of papers to grade, because I do.  I had a Systems Neurobiology exam on Friday that I might have passed, which is fairly important considering I'm not doing so hot in that class.

But ( Read more... )

First report card is in, I did well.  But it's grad school whoops :[

Originally posted on jeepershcrackers.vox.com

The last week and a half since Thanksgiving has not been pleasant to say the least.  I worked a lot ( I want to say 60 - 80 hours over 7 days ) on some silly project for Comp. Neuro. that didn't work out at all and this afternoon I need to give a presentation on it.  It's only 10 minutes, and compared to my last presentation ( to a Rear Admiral of ( Read more... )

Behind my building there is maybe 30ft of wilderness before the next row of houses. Yet in spite of this seemingly minuscule patch of land I routinely ( as I do now ) see herds of deer making their way to and fro.  One weekend our parking lot was invaded by wild turkeys.  On Friday night I frightened a stag and it galloped into the dark and out of ( Read more... )

Finally got up the nerve and energy to ride Frick Park.  It's the largest park in Pittsburgh, and the only one with single track.  It's the little bro of the Middlesex Fells, with its lack of technical sections compensated for by its elevation.  Beautiful weather and foliage today, glad I got out.  I need some nobby tires!

Originally posted on ( Read more... )