Missing Out on Shoebills

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My views and opinions can change, and those that are expressed in this post may not necessarily reflect the ones I hold today.
 

 

Quote of the Day

During computer science lecture today, we learned about pointers in C. Because pointers are present in other programming languages as well, and a lot of the people in the class already knew other programming languages, the instructor said:

“So if you already know this, you can amuse yourself in some other way for a while. … No, not in that way.”

 

Auto-Correct Fail of the Day

Auto-Correct Fail of the Day

 

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Topic #25: What is your favorite sound? What is a sound you’ve never heard, that you hope to hear someday?

My favorite sound is the sound of a fast typer typing on a keyboard with tall keys. The newer reduced-sound keyboards and the flat keyboards that come on laptops don’t make as satisfying of a sound as the old, classic keyboards that came included with machines that have MS-DOS installed on them.

I can’t really think of a generic sound that I’ve never heard before that I hope to hear someday, so I took it a step further in analysis and thought of an event that I haven’t yet experienced but one day wish to, and thought about what it would sound like. After a little bit of thought, I decided that a sound I’ve never heard but want to hear someday is the sound of the workplace of a job in my future that I will be able to keep and depend on for the remainder of my life. That’s probably the biggest thing that I’m looking forward to.

 

So Far in 2011…

Number of Taco Bell tacos eaten: 10

Number of times I did my own laundry: 0

 

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Laughing, Truth, and Ignorance

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Topic #22: Describe what your laugh sounds like. Who in your family is your laugh most similiar to, and most different from?

Before this, I don’t think I have ever particularly paid attention to the sound of my laugh and analyzed it.

From what I remember, I think my laugh can be described as hiccup-like and rare. When I laugh, the air comes out in semi-powerful and distinct bursts, making my laugh sound like soft hiccups occuring in very short intervals.

I would consider my laugh rare because I generally do not fake smiles or laughs like many other people do; I usually reserve my smiles or laughs for things that are truly pleasing or funny. A lot of people think this makes me seem more antisocial and disappointed all the time, but I think avoiding unnecessary smiling or laughing gives those around me an honest and accurate interpretation of my emotions. In addition, they will know when I truly am pleased or having a good time.

I’m not quite sure who in my family my laugh is most similar or most different from. I can remember circumstances when my family members have laughed and can more or less replay those instances in my head, but I can’t seem to be able to single out the sound of their laugh. I never had an interest in analyzing how people laughed, but instead, how often they laugh in what circumstances.

 

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Topic #23: Is it always better to know the truth, even when it hurts? Or is ignorance bliss? Or are they both true some of the time? How does your opinion on truth jive with your opinion of WikiLeaks?

I think it is always better to know the truth, regardless of if it hurts or not; I believe that neither lying about nor ignoring the problem will have any long-term positive effects. Considering short-tern consequences, learning the truth immediately after something bad happens will only cause temporary emotional pain, while ignoring the truth will not cause any pain. However, if an individual hears lies or hears nothing at all as a result of ignorance, it will most likely cause additional problems that will occur in addition to the emotional pain that will occur when the truth is revealed.

It’s difficult to compare this to my opinions about WikiLeaks because I have very little strong opinions about WikiLeaks. I have visited the site a few times before, but I never figured out how to actually use the website or how to access the contoversial information that has apparently been released on the website.

One may argue that WikiLeaks is an example of an instance where the government hiding particular information from their people is a good thing, because the public knowing about that information would result in unnecessary outrage. The government may justify this by saying that they are confident that the result will receive positive reactions, but during the process, it may seem like the plan will become a failure. However, I think it is important the public still keeps up with accurate and updated information in case the plan goes wrong and the expected success never comes. The earlier the public is informed, the better they are able to react accordingly.

 

So Far in 2011…

Number of Taco Bell tacos eaten: 10 (+2 today)

Number of times I did my own laundry: 0

 

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Dell Support Chat Fail, Part III

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Part 3 of my quest to get my laptop fixed is here.

The same technician that came last time to replace my motherboard, screen connectors, and display came again. He recognized me and my laptop from the previous repair session, and was slightly surprised that the laptop was malfunctioning again.

He replaced my LCD, and nothing happened.

My laptop is still broken.

What I thought was a problem with the LCD was apparently actually not at all related to the LCD, and might either be a partially damaged cable, or a partially damaged motherboard. I say partially damaged cable because the webcam still works fine, and the webcam uses the same cable as the LCD to connect to the base of the computer. I say partially damaged motherboard because everything else seems to be working fine.

So now I have to go through the dreaded Dell support chat again to schedule another appointment to get a new motherboard…

 

So Far in 2011…

Number of Taco Bell tacos eaten: 8

Number of times I did my own laundry: 0

 

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Great Accomplishments

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Topic #21: What’s the single most important thing you accomplished in 2010? And how do you plan to top it in 2011 (perhaps by completing your blogging challenge!)

I think that the single most important thing I accomplished in 2010, although its preparation spanned over many years, is getting into a sufficiently successful university. Although not as high-ranked of a university as I was hoping for, it is still of an acceptable level from my viewpoints.

Of course, getting into university did not just happen in 2010. All throughout my four years of high school, I have always had the thoughts of preparing for university in the back of my mind. Although I wasn’t exactly a top student grade-wise, I still got good-enough grades to get me into the university that I’m in now. I participated in enough extracurriculars and achieved high-enough positions in these activities to receive recognition for my work.

The main reason I thought this was still something that applied under an important thing I did in 2010 is because I did all of my application work in 2010. I looked through the Common Application used by many universities across the nation before 2010, but it was in 2010 that I actually started filling them out and writing the essays. And of course, it was in 2010 when I actually submitted them and got the responses from the universities I applied to.

I think this is the single most important thing I did in 2010 because of how important university will be to me in the future. It’s necessary to have a degree at a credible college or university to even get a job these days, let alone get one that pays well and will allow me to live a better life in the future. Not only that, in addition to a degree, hopefully I’ll get useful, applicable information that I can use later on in my life to be adept and capable at a wider range of tasks.

I don’t think I’ll be able to top the act of getting into university in 2011, seeing as these massive turning points of my life only come along once every handful of years. However, I can contribute to a future turning point in my life by performing well in my classes at university. I guess completing my blogging challenge will also be an important accomplishment, as it’ll help me develop writing skills (seeing as these prompts require more than just the comical writing I normally do) and get me used to following a daily schedule.

UPDATE: I got a handful of people asking me what university I go to, and I realized that I forgot to include it in my blog post, so I decided to edit this post and add it in. As of right now, I go to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and am studying to get a Bachelor of Science degree.

 

So Far in 2011…

Number of Taco Bell tacos eaten: 8

Number of times I did my own laundry: 0

 

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Dell Support Chat Fail, Part II

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My views and opinions can change, and those that are expressed in this post may not necessarily reflect the ones I hold today.
 

For those of you keeping up with my quest in attempt to get my laptop fixed, I have an update.

I used the Dell chat support on the Dell website to request warranty repair for my website last week. If you read the blog post from January 15, 2011, you know that I had issues with the technician dialing the wrong number and not being able to reach me. At the end of that blog post, I explained that I had to reconnect to chat again just to make sure that the proper number was entered into their system.

I ended that chat with “I will be very disappointed if the technician dials my home number again.”

Guess what they did?

They called my home number again.

The technician, who is not directly employed by Dell but is paid by Dell to fix Dell computers that are under warranty, apparently did not even receive my cell phone number. After telling Dell chat support multiple times to forward my cell phone number and not my home phone number to the technician, Dell chat support did absolutely nothing.

So the technician called my home phone, and like usual, nobody was available to answer the phone. He left an incomplete message, did not leave a call back number, and now I have to contact Dell support again to rearrange the technician to come fix my laptop.

Again.

 

So Far in 2011…

Number of Taco Bell tacos eaten: 8

Number of times I did my own laundry: 0

 

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LEGAL ST 131: Criminal Justice in America – Notes for Jan. 18-20, 2011

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LEGAL ST 131: Criminal Justice in America; Spring 2010, University of Wisconsin-Madison

January 18, 2011

  • Criminal justice integrates: law, sociology, history, psychology, political science, economics, journalism, literature(?)
  • Four Key Themes
    • Individual Rights vs. Public Safety
      • Functions of Criminal Justice
      • Feuds were conflicts among families. At first, feuds were settled by the families. Soon, the state got involved and regulated the conflict.
      • Control of dangerous behavior, but what’s dangerous? What is a crime?
      • Set out and enforce a moral code (victimless crime, i.e. prostitution)
      • Order and Discipline
    • Public Expectations vs. How System Operates
      • Myths and stereotypes. Crime = trial? Crime = jail?
      • Plea bargaining: confession for lower punishment and no trial. 98% of crimes resolved by bargaining.
    • Role of Actors, their discretion, effects of this discretion
      • Police, prosecution, judge, jury, parole boards can exercise discretion.
      • Alternative punishments
      • Gate keeping function: limiting the number of cases that reach the system.
    • Factual Guilt vs. Legal Guilt
      • Actually being guilty of something vs. being charged as guilty of something.
  • Good to be Tough?
    • Sometimes less is more – tougher interventions can cause more harm than good.
    • Not necessarily soft or tough, but what works?
    • Drug treatment
    • Individualization is better than general sentencing laws.
    • Proportionality and Three Strikes

January 20, 2011

  • The civil law is a form of private law because it governs the relationships between individuals in society (ie. contract/company law, tort/money).
  • The criminal law is a form of public law, the state is involved.
  • State of mind is intent. It can be proved in criminal law by proving negligence. Strict liability (ie. statutory rape): proving state of mind not needed.
  • The prohibition against double jeopardy applies only to criminal trials. Corresponding concept in civil litigation is res judicata: one can have only one trial for claims arising from one transaction or occurrence.
  • Federalism: system of government in which power is divided between a central (national) government and regional (state) government.
  • The constitution does not put the responsibility of crime control on the federal government. The state is responsible for that.
  • Jurisdiction: what court has authority to decide a case? Type of law violated? What if both?
  • Dual court system: state and U.S. district courts
  • Sources of law: constitutions, statues, case law
  • Punishment: nature and purpose. Historically, four objectives: incapacitation (to keep someone from harming others, to set an example), retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence.
  • Goals of criminal justice: enforce standards.
  • Doing justice. Three principles: hold accountable, protection of rights, fairness/impartiality.
  • What is justice? A concept of moral rightness.

 

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