The End of the Fall '06 Semester

First things first. I would like to take this time to apologize to any of you that I may have "pissed off" in the last few days. Even though I am saying sorry don't think for a second that I am going to take back what I said. I still stand be my belief that I was not at liberty to share that kind of information with others. If you still do not agree well then I suppose we have no other choice but to agree to disagree (I hate the way that sounds).
Well this post isn't going to be the most interesting thing you have ever read. Basically I am just going to list my classes and what I thought about each one.

Physics with Calculus 1: A class taught by two different professors really isn't a good idea. Especially when it is clearly obvious that one is a much better teacher. The material was not hard but it was difficult to pay attention because most of the days we had lecture with the shitty teacher. If it were not for the graduate student that was in charge of our discussion sessions I don't think that I would have ever had much desire to do all of the homework. In any case I am pretty sure that I got an A in the class, or a B+ if I didn't.

Calculus 3 and Analytic Geometry: The professor was pretty cool. I liked that he would take the effort to provide us with proofs, different from those in the book, of almost everything we used. This was a good thing for me because I didn't ever open the book except when I had to help someone else on their homework. The quizzes came from homework questions so it was in your best interest to actually do the homework even though it was not count towards your final grade. So not doing any homework I still managed to get an A average for the quizzes. The test were pretty easy also, of the three test I didn't miss an entire question. I am not saying I got perfect scores on them all. This is because I would occasionally lose point for not showing all the steps or for a small mental math mistake, which is understandable. Overall I got an A in the class.

Physics Lab: Sucks ass. That is all I need to say. Grade: B+.

Microeconomics: Most of the material seemed to be very trivial if you ever sat down and thought about it. I didn't ever open the textbook, but did use the study guide that the professor wrote. This was an online class with an amazing professor so really the book was not over need. Both test I got A's on and I am pretty sure that I got an A on the final. In any case I am 98% confident that I will get an A.

The Grandeur That was Rome: Awesome professor. I'm not the kind of person that is really interested in learning about the history, culture, or literature of of ancient civilizations, but I have to admit that this class was very worth while. If it were not for all the reading that would be required for any higher level classes in this concentration, I would love to take another class taught by the same person. I am pretty sure that my final grade will come out as a B.

Grade recap. (grade:number of classes with this grade)
A: 3
B+: 1
B: 1
C-E: 0

Video time.
Song: Heart of a Champion by Nelly

National Events Are Just More Exciting

I know that I have not updated in a while but that was mostly due to the fact that I have been studying and that nothing worth mentioning has happened until now. As many of you know I took the Putnam last Saturday. The test was not as impossible as people hype it out to be. In each section there were either two or three questions that I was able to attack and make progress. On the A section I was able to do A1, but unfortunately I made one crucial mistake thus causing my answer to be light years away from the actual answer. The A2 problem was not that difficult, most likely the easiest problem on the whole exam, however, since it had to deal with a topic that I personally don't like (game theory) I chose to skip it and move on. There was a problem about permutations about the elements of a list. This seemed some what simple. I planned to prove it by induction but was unable to find a formula to go with, thus my plan was failed. The first question I tried was A5. This was a trigonometry question. I knew i would have to use either complex numbers or some slick trigonometric reductions. I chose to try the latter since when I work with complex numbers things tend to get a little (well more like really) messy. Overall the problems were quite difficult to do in the alloted three hours, but looking back on them they really were not all that difficult. If I remember correctly you didn't need anything beyond Calculus 2 and some skills with logic.
The B section was actually easier than I expected. At first when I read through all the problems my first thought was, "Damn this is going to be impossible." However, once I settled down I realized that they weren't so bad. The trick to B1 was to notice that

x^3 + 3xy + y^3 =1 is the same as

(x+y-1)(x^2 + 2xy + y^2 + x + y + 1)=3xy(x+y-1)

*It helps to know that (x+1)(y+1) = x + y + xy + 1.
This is know as Simon's Favorite Factoring Trick, to us math-leets.

One solution is the line x+y=1 and the other is the point (-1,-1). During the exam I was able to find the point but for some reason the line was just out of my reach. This was not the whole problem but only a crucial part. Question B5 was surprisingly easy for a number 5 question. I was almost just the fundamental theorem of calculus. I however, did not do this problem because I thought I would have more success doing number B3 instead. Luckily I was able to provide an ok proof for B3 so I don't feel so bad about making this decision.
Overall I am expecting to get around a three, but I will not be shocked if I get a zero.

Just thought I would mention this, even though it is not related. Tony has an amazing apartment.

I am sure that this is the first Sunday of the year that I did not watch a single NFL game. At noon I met with Gillian so she could help me with my studying for my Grandeur That was Rome test. After this I went back to my dorm and did some independent studying and finished the economics that I had started before I met with her. Just a note to those of you that plan to take phy2048, the review sessions for the test really suck, don't waste your time with going you would be better of studying on your own or just asking a friend to teach it to you.
Before I forget. I can not wait for January 8th. Ohio State vs. Florida. Yeah that's right, we are playing in the championship game.

Because this was such an unforgettable weekend, this post will have 2 videos.

"Camping"

Friday November 15th, a day that few will ever forget. If you had seen the news in the last two weeks you are sure to have heard about it. This is such an important moment in history, people were killed in its honor. At this point you should be wondering what I am talking about. Well for those of you that did not know, the Playstation 3 (PS3) hit American stores on the previously stated date. For the past two week there have been stories all over the news about people camping outside of stores, some had been there for weeks. Sony only sent 400,000 PS3s to the US. As you can imagine the demand if far beyond this. On the day of its arrival there were reports of shootings and muggings at stores that were about to open their doors to those who were dedicated to wait outside for so long. Now some of you might be thinking that a video game console is not worth dying for, but you must remember that it cost anywhere between $499 and $600. This system is supposed to redefine the way that we perceive entertainment. Now I wouldn't know about this first hand, it is just what all the online articles are telling me.
Now this is where I am affected. Should I get the PS3, get the Xbox360, or wait for the Nintendo Wii. I have my reasons for wanting all three, too bad there is no way I will ever be able to afford that, I can barely afford to get one of them. Right now I have an Xbox so I am leaning more towards getting an Xbox360 if for no reason other than I will not have to go and "restock" on games. The Wii has me curoious to see just how the new control will be for games such as Madden and SuperSmash Brothers. Nintendo as of now has the advantage when it comes to new games that I desire since there is the new Zelda game and SuperSmash. The only new Xbox game that I want is Halo3 and this is mainly for the reason that Halo2 left me wanting closure to the story line. The Wii will be the cheapest by far but still it won't cheap by any stretch of the imagination.
What I think I will end up doing is waiting and reading all the positive and negative reports about each system. Basically about how they overheat, start to lag, have unbelievable graphics, and so on.
Really I don't know why I am even making a post about this.
Well I dedicate this post's video to those brave persons that gave their lives fighting, just so that we may be able to one day have our very own PS3s.

...I Can't Stand General Education.

There are a few things that I would like to make clear before I continue. First, for those of you that will be viewing this on Facebook please do not leave any comments that can potentially be reworded to, "What video are you talking about?" or "Where is the video?" I will make it say this for the last time, YOU HAVE TO GO AND VIEW THE ORIGINAL POST! Second, before I say anything worthwhile I will take this time me talk about just he pointless general education requirements are. Sure I can understand the university wanting to have "well rounded" students, but if you were to even think about this for more than five minuets you realize that this is not the way to go about it. Really if you are forced to choose a class to take in order to meet some requirement most people will choose to take the easiest class that is available. Why put yourself through hell for a subject you don't give a flying fuck about? Another problem I have with this is that when you think of all the "professionals" that you know, how many of them are well versed in more than three areas. If you can even name one then you have been more fortunate that I have been these last eighteen years. Well I just had to get that out of the way.
Well registration for the spring semester starts this week. My registration date is set for November 9th. What I find confusing is that almost everyone else that I know is set to register for the 10th. I know that National Merit students get to register first and the seniors and down the line, but what makes me different from the other freshman? The world might never know. The classes I want to take are; Elementary Differential Equations, Numbers and Polynomials, Age of the Dinosaurs, History of Jazz, and Financial Accounting. Age of the Dinosaurs is one of those classes that I am taking because I need to meet gay (that's right I said gay) general education requirements, as you can imagine I have been told that it is an easy A. History of Jazz will also fulfill some general education requirements but I have been told that the teacher is sensational and that it will be one of those classes that I never forget. The remaining classes are for my major, so naturally I find them to be interesting, or to help me prepare for an Actuarial exam. This semester has thought me that I should never take a class before 9:00 in the morning because I will either sleep through it or just not care about it. My grades aren't that bad, actually I quite happy with them. I am expecting an A in Calculus,Microeconomics, Physics, and maybe Physics Lab. If I don't get an A in Physics Lab then I will have a B+. As for the Grandeur That was Rome I am sure that my final grade will range somewhere from a B+ to a C, and really I could care less.
It is almost Putnam time and I feel as if I have not improved enough to get a positive score. Sure the median score is a zero, but I would like to get full credit for one question or at least partial credit for two. Since my last update I have been looking mostly at calculus problems since there usually tend to be around two analysis questions on the whole exam. Despite all of my preparation the one thing that I lack is the most important skill of all. The ability to write a well thought out proof. I have some experience from doing USAMTS (United States of America Math Talent Search) which was a proof based contest (I didn't perform that well because of my lack of geometry knowledge but other than that I was fine) and reading other people's proofs. Hopefully this will be enough in order to get partial credit if I am able to even attack one problem.
If anyone out there needs any good luck while playing poker, just call me. Jameson and I have just discovered that I am good luck. I'm serious, the last week he won $100 with my help. This was after he lost about $30 because of Wade. I have started to become interested in playing poker. Right now I am playing on yahoo so as to get a better feel for the game. Later I will probably start playing online for real money, playing with real people however, is something that I will almost certainly never attempt.
Some of you, actually just a little over 50% will find this offensive. This is what I have learned this week. When a girl just starts bitching about something that is completely irrelevant all a guy need to do is say, "You don't know what you are talking about, your penis envy is clouding your judgment." I hope that I have not caused anyone to want to find and kill me, if I have all I can say is...

This video is the best waste of five minuets and ten seconds that you will ever find on the internet.

Too Many Options...

So I have started to worry about stuff that I know I should not even be thinking about at this point in time. To begin with I started thinking about where I would apply to graduate school if I decide to get a PhD. This of course leads to other issues such as what classes should I take, what kind of nonacademic activities should I participate in, etc. Then there is the, "What do I really want to do for a living?" So far I have narrowed it down to two choices, but the paths for each are vastly different. For one I will almost certainly need a PhD from a prestigious institution, while for the other I need to pass a series of test so my degree will have little if any impact. For some reason I have also thought about what I would like to minor in since I do not really feel like double majoring in any of the other fields that interest me. At this point I am thinking that I will most likely pick two of the following; physics, economics, actuarial sciences, or statistics. I am leaning towards economics and actuarial sciences mostly because they are more directly related to my desired career choices. I do find the other choices interesting it's just that I am not sure I would gain as much from them.
As previously stated, I should not be worrying about most of these things. I should really be thinking about actually learning physics and passing the grandeur that was Rome. Try not
to misinterpret learning physic as, I don't know physics, because I actually do, I would just like a deeper understanding that I currently have. My classes this semester have not in the least kept me "entertained", by that I mean I have no strong desire to learn the material. Hopefully this will change next semester or next year when I get to take upper level math and economics classes.
Well I have been dwelling on my problems for too long, I feel it is time for a change of subject. So I have started downloading music once again. This might seem like no big deal but I haven't done this since the end of high school. Most of the music has been coming from albumbase or googletalk. The music I've been listening to has made me just how important orchestra was to me back in the day. Surprisingly I really miss being able to play my violin or guitar. Hopefully my parents have kept the violin and Roland hasn't lost my guitar. I would really love to go to a concert. Live performances are altogether on a different plane than recordings. If you were wondering what kind of concert I will make it less ambiguous, CLASSICAL MUSIC!!! There now there should be no confusion as to what I expect.
I have been rambling on for a while now, if you are still reading then I must congratulate you for making it this far. As you reward here is the video that comes with every post.

Why Math...?

So as you have already guessed the first thing that pisses me off is when people ask me "What is there to do with a math degree other than teach?" Now this is somewhat understandable because the image that we seem to get from others is that your college major defines what you will do with your life. I would know about this since my mom majored in an agricultural field while in college and now she is working for the government and her work has NOTHING to do with agriculture. Well here is why I want to major in mathematics. First off you can do just about anything, since employers will see that you majored in math and realize that you have strong analytical skills. Now what kind of company doesn't want an employee with analytical skills? Personally I want to pursue a career that will in some way be tied to the financial world. Honestly all you need to do is take finance and economics classes to show that you have some understanding of the topics.
As for the careers that interest me you are almost required to take a large series of mathematics and non-mathematics classes. One choice I am considering is becoming an acuter (to learn more about this profession visit www.beanactuary.com). In order to be an acknowledged acuter there are a series of rigorous test that one must pass. Most of these test have a passing rate that is no higher than 30%. Another option is trying to become an Quantitative Analyst. (This is comparable to a trader in many ways) For this it is very beneficial to have "some understanding" of economics and computer programming.
If for some reason I change my mind about what to do there is always the ability to use knowledge gained from my other non-math classes. Sure I could be a math teacher but really I do not have the kind of patience to teach kids, and as for being a professor I would have to teach an upper level class so that I am teaching only people who actually want to be in the class or can at least pretend to find it interesting.
So I guess the next time someone ask me "What can you do with a math degree other than teach?" I think I will answer with "What ever the fuck I want...now that I think about it I think I will take the job that you want."


Now for the video:

Typical Weekend

Well it was another typical weekend, the usual home football game I didn't go to because I didn't feel like buying a ticket and in my opinion it wasn't a game with going to. So I just watched it on TV. As you have guessed I am talking about Saturday so it means that I had an economics lecture to watch, nothing I wasn't able to handle. I am really hoping that Alli was right about microeconomics and macroeconomics being completely different. I thought about doing some math but decided not to because there is ALWAYS something worth watching on TV, and there weren't any classes that I needed to study for.
Sunday I woke up, turned the TV to FOX, watched the Bucs game, and it was at the moment the game was over that I knew just how horrible the preceding day was going to turn out. Once the game was over I somehow managed to summon the will power to get up and get lunch, it was only about 4 o'clock and I had not eaten breakfast. Once I was in the dorm again I talked to Bethany for a while and then watched the second economics lecture that I had left, I normally leave the lectures from Wednesday and Friday for Saturday and Sunday. The part of the day that I had been most looking forward to, the season premier of Desperate Housewives, was to some degree a major disappointment.
Well tomorrow I will be heading back to Tallahassee after classes are over. However, I will not be able to spend time with any my friends there because I will be getting there a little late. The reason I am there is for a dentist appointment, typical adjustment of the braces, at about 9 o'clock in the morning. After this I head back to Gainesville in oreder to attend my 5 o'clock class.

This video is thanks to Elias: