Day 1
Today was the first day attending class in the COSMOS program. I learned many things from our new professor, some of it was knowledge I had already learned before, while some was entirely new to me. Computers looked simple on the outside but during the lecture many new, internal features of computers and personal computers. One thing that was interesting to me was that computers from some time ago not only had a small 16 Kb of storage, but also costed $10,000 dollars. This computer was called Lisa and it was developed by Apple.
I thought that the class today would have been extremely challenging and I would have already gotten lost in the world of computer programming. But today was, more or less, just an introductory day, though I'm sure the courses will pick up and I will have to work harder and harder.
Day 2
Today in class, we tested out our robots more and made them perform different actions. I had a very difficult time with trying to make the robot go in a square. Every run I tested would end up with a different result. Sometimes the angle would be off, but sometimes the robot performed his task well. Overall however, I found the entire class more fun than frusturating.
In Biophysics we learned some basic programming tools and commands for the language C. I have learned how to make files, list them, and run programs. Some challenges given to us were difficult but I managed to figure some out as well as get help from my resourceful peers.
Later in the evening, many of my friends and I biked to Good Scoop, an ice cream shop that sold a variety of quirky ice cream flavors. I had an avocado scoop, a gerbanium scoop, and a cilantro scoop. I enjoyed both the gerbanium and cilantro scoop, but the avocado one tasted too much like an avocado and left a unappealing aftertaste in my mouth. Afterwards I biked back with others but we got lost along the way, so after a quick search on google maps, we found our way to our dorms again.
Day 3
After a quick breakfast at the dining hall, I rode my bike to class. Along the way, I learned new tricks with my bike, such as pedaling without any hands on the bike. I finally felt comfortable using the bike I had kept locked up long ago in my garage. Class was interesting today. We were given code and had to explain parts of it. Also, my group and I presented our presentation on Apple. Everything went smoothly and according to plan.
Biophysics was harder today. We had to figure out errors in code given to us and also fill in the missing parts of the program. I completed almost all of them with the help of my friends but I hope I can be more independent when figuring out my problems. All the clusters attended a lecture in the ARC center. My roommate said he understood most of the lecture and even found it enjoyable. I was also very interested in the lecture but found some parts to be harder to understand.
Day 4
I had a fairly normal day, besides going to class, I played ultimate frisbee with my friends. My team won by a landslide, ask Kevin for details. I want to form a ultimate frisbee team for the ultimate frisbee event later next next week. I'm geting along with my cluster and I'm getting to know them much better.
Day 5
I couldn't find my bike keys today so I had to walk to the Dining Hall and classes. I walked with Ahir and Jerry and they showed me which building they went through to get to class faster. I learned the basics of python today and spent a lot of time in class with python programs.
Day 6
My RA found my keys today, she said somebody found them on my floor and I was overjoyed when I could use my bike again. I went to the farmers market today and bought strawberries, apple juice, and a persimon shaped candle. I wanted to give the candle to my sister as a gift since she has a persimon tree in her backyard.
Later in the evening all the clusters went to the Rec. Center pool and hanged out there. After I got in the water and swam out, our entire cluster started playing monkey in the middle frisbee, where there were two people in the middle. It was fun andwe bonded more.
Day 7
I decided to sleep till 9 today and thus missed breakfast. Then, most of the guys went to In n Out for lunch and we all ate there. Afterwards, we went to a movie and saw "The Secret Life of Pets". I didn't think it would be that good going in, but I actually liked it a lot coming out. Then, in the evening, the cluster got together and played board games.
Day 8
My morning was the usual, I woke up at 7:30 am and went downstairs to meet friends to bike to breakfast. I had an injury yesterday when I fell off my bike, so today my arm hurt a lot and it was hard feeling like my usual self. I put bandages on the scrape and hoped that the wound would heal in a few days. During robotics class, I was feeling extremely frustrated, since I could not get my robot to pass the obstacle course. It didn't help how the lines were so long so the wait to try my robot would take a long time. I didn't even manage to pass today, but I am getting closer and closer. I really hope I do not have to spend another hour next time on this course.
Day 9
Today our cluster, along with some other ones, went to the Exploratorium in San Fransisco. The bus ride was extremely long and so I took a nap to pass the time. At the Exploratorium, we took a group photo and then ventured inside the museum. We saw many interesting exhibits, such as self-creating tornadoes, a four player snake game, a mirror that made objects appear closer, and a cannonball-shaped machine that held a beach ball in place.
We had lunch in the Seaglasses Restaurant, and then after browsing around the museum some more, we all got back on the bus and headed back home. There was so much traffic on the way back that I finished reading chapters 1-4 of the book, Imagine How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer. In the evening, I played chess with my roommate and then went and played poker with the cluster. The day was overall extremely fun and I can't wait for Thursday where we go on another field trip.
Day 10
The robotics class today has us working on making our codes easier to understand. To be honest, I'm still a bit lost and the shortcut commands are jumbled around in my brain. All the clusters attended the lecture about sharks in the afternoon. The presentation was very interesting, I learned many new things ab0ut sharks and their behavior.
In the computer lab class, we practiced more python and went through more pieces of code. I was stuck many times but I got through by looking at Kevin's coding. He was very helpful and led me through the steps.
Day 11
Cluster 5 went to Intel for a field trip today. We left early in the morning, ate a quick breakfast at the Dining Hall, and grabbed our packed lunches for later. The bus rides were two hours long, but we played mafia along the way.
At Intel, we were taken on a tour around the campus. The company used to be called Altera, but then Intel bought them in December. There were four buildings with white walls and many windows inside. They also offered free beverages, so I got a soda.
We were guided to a classroom and given a lab to complete. To be honest, the lab was more boring since the steps we followed were not explained and results were not shown. As we came back from Intel, there was a lot of traffic on the road, thus, we got back late and ordered pizza for dinner. In the evening, most of the cluster played ultimate frisbee.
Day 11
It is finally Friday, we worked on our final projects in robotic, and Jerry showed us more Ignite presentations so that we would get a clearer understanding on how to make our own presentations. Then, in the computer lab, we played with the random computer program and calculated "pi" with a program.
Robotics class was slower today, I drew a picture of our design of the guitar-playing robot as well as made the initial strumming part of the robot. I also finished the obstacle course today, it only took a couple tries and refining and the robot executed every part perfectly.
Day 12
All the clusters went to Sunsplash water park to have fun today. My friends and I went on many of the rides and attractions at the park. There was a green water slide that had many crazy turns and drops that I liked. There was a ride called the "Double Dare" where the passenger would stand on a platform, the platform would give away and the person would fall down a tube. My favorite ride was called "Stealth" and it had a incredibly steep drop that felt exhilarating. After the whole trip, I was very sleepy and took a long nap.
Day 16
I woke up a bit later than usual today, but there was still enough time for breakfast. I had the usual, an omelet and chocolate milk. Robotics class was fun today, Kevin and I progressed even farther on our projects today, we now have a plan for making the fretting mechanism of the robot. Computer lab was very long, we were in here for four or so hours. We did a lot of random walk programming.
Today was the first day attending class in the COSMOS program. I learned many things from our new professor, some of it was knowledge I had already learned before, while some was entirely new to me. Computers looked simple on the outside but during the lecture many new, internal features of computers and personal computers. One thing that was interesting to me was that computers from some time ago not only had a small 16 Kb of storage, but also costed $10,000 dollars. This computer was called Lisa and it was developed by Apple.
I thought that the class today would have been extremely challenging and I would have already gotten lost in the world of computer programming. But today was, more or less, just an introductory day, though I'm sure the courses will pick up and I will have to work harder and harder.
Day 2
Today in class, we tested out our robots more and made them perform different actions. I had a very difficult time with trying to make the robot go in a square. Every run I tested would end up with a different result. Sometimes the angle would be off, but sometimes the robot performed his task well. Overall however, I found the entire class more fun than frusturating.
In Biophysics we learned some basic programming tools and commands for the language C. I have learned how to make files, list them, and run programs. Some challenges given to us were difficult but I managed to figure some out as well as get help from my resourceful peers.
Later in the evening, many of my friends and I biked to Good Scoop, an ice cream shop that sold a variety of quirky ice cream flavors. I had an avocado scoop, a gerbanium scoop, and a cilantro scoop. I enjoyed both the gerbanium and cilantro scoop, but the avocado one tasted too much like an avocado and left a unappealing aftertaste in my mouth. Afterwards I biked back with others but we got lost along the way, so after a quick search on google maps, we found our way to our dorms again.
Day 3
After a quick breakfast at the dining hall, I rode my bike to class. Along the way, I learned new tricks with my bike, such as pedaling without any hands on the bike. I finally felt comfortable using the bike I had kept locked up long ago in my garage. Class was interesting today. We were given code and had to explain parts of it. Also, my group and I presented our presentation on Apple. Everything went smoothly and according to plan.
Biophysics was harder today. We had to figure out errors in code given to us and also fill in the missing parts of the program. I completed almost all of them with the help of my friends but I hope I can be more independent when figuring out my problems. All the clusters attended a lecture in the ARC center. My roommate said he understood most of the lecture and even found it enjoyable. I was also very interested in the lecture but found some parts to be harder to understand.
Day 4
I had a fairly normal day, besides going to class, I played ultimate frisbee with my friends. My team won by a landslide, ask Kevin for details. I want to form a ultimate frisbee team for the ultimate frisbee event later next next week. I'm geting along with my cluster and I'm getting to know them much better.
Day 5
I couldn't find my bike keys today so I had to walk to the Dining Hall and classes. I walked with Ahir and Jerry and they showed me which building they went through to get to class faster. I learned the basics of python today and spent a lot of time in class with python programs.
Day 6
My RA found my keys today, she said somebody found them on my floor and I was overjoyed when I could use my bike again. I went to the farmers market today and bought strawberries, apple juice, and a persimon shaped candle. I wanted to give the candle to my sister as a gift since she has a persimon tree in her backyard.
Later in the evening all the clusters went to the Rec. Center pool and hanged out there. After I got in the water and swam out, our entire cluster started playing monkey in the middle frisbee, where there were two people in the middle. It was fun andwe bonded more.
Day 7
I decided to sleep till 9 today and thus missed breakfast. Then, most of the guys went to In n Out for lunch and we all ate there. Afterwards, we went to a movie and saw "The Secret Life of Pets". I didn't think it would be that good going in, but I actually liked it a lot coming out. Then, in the evening, the cluster got together and played board games.
Day 8
My morning was the usual, I woke up at 7:30 am and went downstairs to meet friends to bike to breakfast. I had an injury yesterday when I fell off my bike, so today my arm hurt a lot and it was hard feeling like my usual self. I put bandages on the scrape and hoped that the wound would heal in a few days. During robotics class, I was feeling extremely frustrated, since I could not get my robot to pass the obstacle course. It didn't help how the lines were so long so the wait to try my robot would take a long time. I didn't even manage to pass today, but I am getting closer and closer. I really hope I do not have to spend another hour next time on this course.
Day 9
Today our cluster, along with some other ones, went to the Exploratorium in San Fransisco. The bus ride was extremely long and so I took a nap to pass the time. At the Exploratorium, we took a group photo and then ventured inside the museum. We saw many interesting exhibits, such as self-creating tornadoes, a four player snake game, a mirror that made objects appear closer, and a cannonball-shaped machine that held a beach ball in place.
We had lunch in the Seaglasses Restaurant, and then after browsing around the museum some more, we all got back on the bus and headed back home. There was so much traffic on the way back that I finished reading chapters 1-4 of the book, Imagine How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer. In the evening, I played chess with my roommate and then went and played poker with the cluster. The day was overall extremely fun and I can't wait for Thursday where we go on another field trip.
Day 10
The robotics class today has us working on making our codes easier to understand. To be honest, I'm still a bit lost and the shortcut commands are jumbled around in my brain. All the clusters attended the lecture about sharks in the afternoon. The presentation was very interesting, I learned many new things ab0ut sharks and their behavior.
In the computer lab class, we practiced more python and went through more pieces of code. I was stuck many times but I got through by looking at Kevin's coding. He was very helpful and led me through the steps.
Day 11
Cluster 5 went to Intel for a field trip today. We left early in the morning, ate a quick breakfast at the Dining Hall, and grabbed our packed lunches for later. The bus rides were two hours long, but we played mafia along the way.
At Intel, we were taken on a tour around the campus. The company used to be called Altera, but then Intel bought them in December. There were four buildings with white walls and many windows inside. They also offered free beverages, so I got a soda.
We were guided to a classroom and given a lab to complete. To be honest, the lab was more boring since the steps we followed were not explained and results were not shown. As we came back from Intel, there was a lot of traffic on the road, thus, we got back late and ordered pizza for dinner. In the evening, most of the cluster played ultimate frisbee.
Day 11
It is finally Friday, we worked on our final projects in robotic, and Jerry showed us more Ignite presentations so that we would get a clearer understanding on how to make our own presentations. Then, in the computer lab, we played with the random computer program and calculated "pi" with a program.
Robotics class was slower today, I drew a picture of our design of the guitar-playing robot as well as made the initial strumming part of the robot. I also finished the obstacle course today, it only took a couple tries and refining and the robot executed every part perfectly.
Day 12
All the clusters went to Sunsplash water park to have fun today. My friends and I went on many of the rides and attractions at the park. There was a green water slide that had many crazy turns and drops that I liked. There was a ride called the "Double Dare" where the passenger would stand on a platform, the platform would give away and the person would fall down a tube. My favorite ride was called "Stealth" and it had a incredibly steep drop that felt exhilarating. After the whole trip, I was very sleepy and took a long nap.
Day 16
I woke up a bit later than usual today, but there was still enough time for breakfast. I had the usual, an omelet and chocolate milk. Robotics class was fun today, Kevin and I progressed even farther on our projects today, we now have a plan for making the fretting mechanism of the robot. Computer lab was very long, we were in here for four or so hours. We did a lot of random walk programming.