Perfect Project

Ugh, not another group project. I'm usually not a big fan on group projects for a couple reasons. One, you normally cant get everyone together at the same time. Either somebody has work or another person has class. Another reason is because most of the time, it ends up not being a "group" project and ends up being an "individual" project for the group. Maybe it's just me but most of the time, only one person ends up doing the whole project for the group. What sucks even more is that in the end, everyone gets to take credit for the project that you made and nobody will know that it was your idea and your innovation that made the project succeed.

Well, this very scenario happened just this semester. We were given a group Visual Basic (Programming) project that was very open. There was not many restrictions and we can choose any DSS system that we wanted to do. Well, it started out good. Everyone stayed for the first class period and we got about half the "prototype" done. The problem was that a day before it was due, we were still at that same point. You could say that it was our fault for leaving it for the last second but as college students, we leave everything for the last moment. Anyway, I tried contacting everyone and nobody would answer. Long story short, I ended up completing the project by myself. I would say that it went pretty good through because the teacher pointed out that "our" project was the best he's seen in a while.

Well, I'm still waiting on our grade. I'm sure "we" did fine but i learned a valuable lesson from this experience. if given the choice, never opt for a group project ever again.

Crazy Parent

In the news today, there was an article on a mother who is suing the private school her daughter attended. The mother pays nineteen thousand dollars a year for her daughter to attend the pre-school. Her daughter is 4 years old, and apparently, the school was teaching her daughter shapes and color with 2 year olds. She is suing the school because she believed the school hurt her daughter’s chances of attending and Ivy League school like Harvard in the future.
In my opinion, this mother is crazy because she is willing to fork out nineteen thousand dollars for her daughter to attend a preschool, you would think she would spend it when her daughter actually gets into a higher level of education. I think for her to sue the school is just wrong, how would she knows that if her daughter attended that school, her daughter would definitely be able to get into the Ivy League? Also, I don’t understand why would she think her child being in preschool means that she should not be learning her shapes and colors.
What happened to children being children? Parents are putting to much pressure on their child to get into Ivy Leagues. Children should just be able to have fun during their school years and discover what they enjoy and really want to do in the future, and where they want to go.

The Odd One Out

I've always been the odd one out of my family. My parents always knew that I was special growing up. That's right, me, youngest of three children, only one of three siblings to be born right-handed, despise math, love art, and NOT attend Stuyvesant High School nor a private university. However, I've always embraced these aspects that separated me from my siblings. Yet, in some rare instances, I do wish I could fit in.

To this day, engineering and applied sciences are still male-dominated majors. During my two years at Stony Brook, any Computer Science class with %10 or more female enrollment is rare to come by. This wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact that at times the atmosphere is very competitive/intimidating. Perhaps it's just me, but I have a gut feeling that to a certain extent, men have bias (whether it be conscious or subconscious) against women programmers/developers/engineers. Maybe it ties into our society's gender roles whereas men are stereotyped to be good at technical stuff like math/science, while women are better suited for humanities such as arts/english and now it's just been so ingrained into our craniums that it's difficult to think differently.

I cannot help but feel that I don't belong in this exclusive "Boy's Club" and am standing outside their boundary lines, just wandering -- watching, but not getting involved. Being consistently self-conscious, afraid to ask the wrong questions and appear as another "stupid" girl. It's times like this that I wish I could be just another guy.

Intelligence and Education Blog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDzcs_95B3M

Routine Resting

There is an unwarming fact that says we spend one third of our lives asleep. Having 24 hours in a day, we are expected to get 7-9 hours of sleep each day to maintain a healthly sleeping pattern. The scary thing is that doctors and scientists do not know exactly what causes this feeling of being tired and what determines the amount of sleep we need based on our age. For example, young children need more sleep than a senior citizen. What is it about a child that makes them need to rest more than a person who has been alive for a longer period of time?

I personally believe in getting 7-9 hours of sleep every night (or more). If i stay up all night studying for a test or doing homework, the whole next day i feel groggy or just miserable. I know many people who will pull an all nighter durrring finals week however it is proven that this doesnt work. You retain more information if you study before you go to bed and sleep an average amount of hours. However, the same goes for oversleeping. if you sleep over 12 hours, you will simply feel tired the next day and the extra sleep will be worth nothing.

All in all, its just better to have a routine that you follow every night. I tend to go to bed at 12 and wake up for school at 7:30. This leaves me plenty of time to sleep and just enough time to get my work done at night. As long as you stay way from the terrible habit of procrastination, you will never have to pull the all nighter and will be feeling refreshed each and every day.

Here is the link to a recent article on sleeping patterns: http://whoknew.news.yahoo.com/?nc&vid=24322867

Matthew Gelman Post #1 Its all way too real

Is anyone else feeling overwhelmed? I know i am! Im comming into the home stretch here at Stony Brook with one year left under my belt and thank god! I know 16 years of school is plenty for me so im getting excited to finally hold that diploma in my hand. Theres one thing that im nervous about though...what happens after that? My parents are moving away across the country, i only have part time jobs, the economy sucks, and ill still be in a long distance relationship. But on top of that i have this pressure to live up to in my family.

I am the first child finishing college in my family and more importantly setting REALISTIC goals. No mom, there was no way you were going to become a veterinarian without any schooling and dad you were not going to launch space ships in NASA hardly knowing any math. I took on computer science here at Stony Brook because i have a deep understanding and more importantly a passion for innovation. I hope that i will excede everyones expectations.

So freshman year is over; the house parties and keg stands all seem so yesterday and more importantly and new chapter in my life is about to begin. So even with hesitation, im ready to dive in and take it all. Im ready to take on the working world with the hints and inspirations i have come across in the past. Im ready!