X-Git-Url: https://codewiz.org/gitweb?p=wiki.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=blog%2F2009%2F09;h=ca685041e1e5e2ab6767e89411e493bbad620e75;hp=915e015ce522468dc18298abeeec5ead559e8bd5;hb=946293bb6cd5eebf54231f26923531b51372a6e8;hpb=a6867dbda7e09c5e1dd67fedfd3fd6816734e337

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 == Bernie's brain dump as of September 2009 ==
 
+=== Sep 9th: XO 1.5 unveiling ===
+
+I joind the XO 1.5 unveiling cerimony in DC... and got the opportunity to rip one of
+the prototypes apart.  Wayan of [[http://oplcnews.com | OLPCNews]] was next to me,
+so this enjoyable exercise made the news!
+
+ * [[http://www.olpcnews.com/laptops/xo15/olpc_news_exclusive_xo-15_laptop.html | OLPCNews article ]]
+ * [[http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcmetroblogger/sets/72157594232448993/ | Filckr photo stream]]
+
+{{http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2542/3919811479_fd68350f71.jpg | "I void warranties" | class=thumbright}}
+
+
+=== Sep 7th: Class Acts ===
+
+I'm in DC for a sprint called [[http://wiki.laptop.org/go/ClassActs | Class Acts]]
+([[http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouslee/sets/72157622056452421/ | Flickr coverage]]).
+
+{{http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2619/3893514667_26655c8908.jpg|First day meeting}}
+{{http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2447/3895420980_f53a4ebc4c.jpg|Dinner event}}
+
+=== Sep 5th: Goodbye Aids ===
+
+Our housemate [[Adelaida]] (aka Aids for reasons we don't care to know) is
+going back to Hampshire college tomorrow so we organized a great party at
+the [[Acetarium]].
+
+{{pictures/party/Goodbye_Adelaida_2009/00043.jpg|maxwidth=800|The usual bunch of weirdos}}
+
+Photos here: [[pictures/party/Goodbye_Adelaida_2009]]
+
+=== Sep 3rd: Calculus ===
+
+{{HarvardHannenbergHall.jpg|maxwidth=640|Hannenberg Hall @ Harvard}}
+
+Ok, today it was precalculus.   I arrived on time, but I still had no paper with me, so I had to
+ask to someone next to me for a bunch of sheets.   Quickly filling up a dozen of pages with
+notes after so many years of little hand-writing practice has been a bit challenging.  My
+calligraphy still sucks the same way it did back when I was enrolled in Florence.
+
+I'm starting to build some confidence that this crazy idea of going to school is actually
+feasible.  This Calculus A may even be too easy, but I'm still afraid I'd be unable to
+keep up with Calculus B considering my many little handicaps which include lack of practice
+for many years and being unable to keep my concentration for long spans of time.
+
+The dilemma is: should I take it easy and aim for the rewarding satisfaction of being
+good at maths for a change?  Or would Calculus B be a better use of my time and money,
+even if there's a high risk of failing the tests?
+
+I have one week left to change my course plan without loosing any money.
+
+
 === Sep 1st: Back to school ===
 
+{{HarvardYard.jpg|maxwidth=800|The Harvard Yard}}
+
+Today I attended my first class of **discrete matematics** (E-104).  I was too optimistic in estimating the
+time it takes to bike from the FSF to the Harvard Science Center, and as a result I arrived 5 minutes
+too late.  Next, I entered the wrong classroom, and it took me another 5 minutes to figure out
+that kinetic laws had nothing to do with my course.
+
+When I finally got seated in the correct classroom, I realized I had no paper!  So I started
+taking notes on my laptop, but I was really the only one doing so.  Not much because it's
+not customary for Harvard, but mostly because ASCII is not very well suited for writing math.
+Luckily, the first class was about logic operations, whose notation is very easy to transcribe
+on computers.  To make things worse, the battery ran out near the end of the class, producing
+an embarrassing alarm sound that everybody could hear.
+
+My #1 fear, being unable to follow the professor in English, dispelled almost immediately.
+Besides, this first lesson wasn't very hard in itself.   I noticed that the professor accompanies
+the explanations with several small questions directed at the audience.  These days this is
+one of the few reasons left to prefer a real university over a set of videos on You Tube.