Moved to Texas

Yup, I'm in Texas! O_O

I can legally drink.

I am now 21.

Family's house in VA sold.

woohoo! sold the house for $299,500!

Busy summer '05

Oi, so busy. Working full time, keeping the house in tip top condition so that the realtors can show it to people, taking care of the dog who just got surgery...

::dies::

Work vs. school

Ah, working is so much better than school. Even though I come home tired, at least I get to relax without having to worry about a project or homework.

Semester's end spring '05

Alright, now that I'm home, I can write a bit more. Yeah, I spent two days cleaning my apartment. Half of Wednesday and about 12 straight hours on Thursday. I did some dishes, washed the counters and sink, cleaned the nasty microwave, emptied the fridge and freezer, cleaned the kitchen table, swept, vacuumed the floors (including the kitchen and bathroom floors and the edges of the walls), vacuumed under the couch cusions, picked up the living room, dusted the living room table, made the couches look all pretty again, removed the mildew stains from the shower curtain, unclogged the bathroom sink (ew!), cleaned the bathroom sink, cleaned the toilet, cleaned the shower, cleaned the bathroom floor, picked up my room... Am I forgetting anything? Well, it took a long time and the apartment is sparkly clean now. I'm happy with myself.

I just hope that I didn't forget anything there. >.<

So what are my plans for the weekend? Go deposit a check or something in the Bank of America account, organize my clothes and belongings into my room. Eventually I've got to install Suse onto this computer. Maybe when I'm back here I can buy new case fans, a new hard drive, and replace those damaged CD's of mine. I've also got to try to set up my school schedule once I find out my grades. And I've gotta finish up the DarkFang website since I'm no longer a part of that linkshell.

I start work on Monday back at MCS Computers! I actually like that job. Maybe I will only work 5 days a week this summer instead of 6 like last summer. That exhausted me.

Now, I've gotta try to become a level 37 Thief... Excuse me while I go poke at Crawler caterpillars with my daggers.

Whew!  After two long days of cleaning, I'm finally finished.  The apartment looks like it did when I just moved in!  =D  It looks really good, and it's a relief that I'll be able to come to a clean apartment at the end of the summer.  I'm leaving to go home this morning.  Right now, though, I am going to bed.  I'll post more later.  I'm too tired to write.  (._. )

MMORPG RMT

Alright! I just met with my professor. There were a few mistakes in my actual work leading up to the equations, but that wasn't anything that couldn't be debugged if I could have gotten my simulation working, and they were just oversights. The good news is that he showed me what was wrong with my Logic Works circuits. Evidently, when I move a wire from one pin to another, this crappy software keeps the name of the wire on both pins. When I hook another wire up to the old pin, the wire then acquires the name of the previous wire, creating duplicates of many inputs and outputs that I had in the circuit, which screwed things aaaaallllllll up. Now I know what to look for, though, and I don't think I'll have trouble with building the circuits any more.

In other news, SOE has created something called the Station Exchange. Here's what Allakhazam posted:

I received a phone call from SOE tonight to give me some pretty amazing -- and unsettling -- news. SOE’s Station Exchange is now live. Station Exchange you ask? Oh no, is that what I think it is? Yes, Sony is now going to start allowing players to officially auction items and cash for real live money. Initially, it will be limited to two new servers they are creating for Everquest 2, with existing players being given the right to transfer to those servers where they can buy and sell with officially sanctioned impunity. However, this is just the experimental stage. It is clear from the FAQ that if this proves to be financially successful, there is no reason not to think that this experiment will eventually be expanded to all of EQ2 as well as SOE’s other games, which include Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies and even possibly, given their large ownership share of Square-Enix, Final Fantasy XI. IGE, meet SOE.

Is this the end of online gaming as we know it? Or is it just a natural and inevitable development? I know I personally feel a need for a strong adult beverage right about now. Feel free to post your feedback and opinions.

Update. After I posted this, SOE posted a letter from John Smedley about it on their site. Here's the letter.

There was quite a debate going on about this at Allakhazam. The majority of the posters on Allakhazam are against RMT (real-money trading), but I know for a fact that there is a large population of players that actually like to buy in-game currency or are not opposed to RMT in any way. It seems that different people have different predictions about whether this new Server Exchange. Some think it will encourage RMT and act as a catalyst, letting it infect every server of the game to the point of unplayability to the honest gamer. Others think it will help solve the current RMT issue.

My personal opinion? I have mixed feelings. On one hand, this is a step toward an economy like Diablo II, where everything has to be bought with real-life money in order for your character to be competent. The economy on that game was absolutely hell, which is the whole reason I quit that game and started playing an MMORPG in the first place. Implementing something like this adds real-life stress to a video game, which should never be the case. The people that buy Gil or currency in any game frustrate me. I despise this crowd. They are the people who grind their way to the maximum level for no reason other than to increase their "e-peen", show off, and otherwise be the completely egotistical arses that they truly are. I completely disagree with the MMORPGer whose idea of "fun" is to obtain as many experience points and as much money as possible regardless of the means.

This also leads to the online items and currency obtaining a real-life money value. If this happens, the idea that everything on the server belongs to the company begins to fade, and bannings might then lead to lawsuits.

We all know what the implications of RMT are: unnecessary competition for NM's, mobs, crafting items, etc., contribution to artificial inflation, and lazy, good-for-nothing players getting high levels and good gear without earning it. It's already bad enough as it is. Ultimately, if this were implemented on all servers of FFXI, I would quit. The game would lose its fun-factor and yet again a game would become a real-life burden. If any game were to implement this on all servers, I would not play it.

However, there is a flip-side to this. If this actually works, and the players that participate in RMT or have an interest in doing so migrate to the RMT-enabled servers, then those of us who do not RMT are left in a world that is much "cleaner". Why would gil-sellers farm in a server that has no gil-buyers? Why would gil-buyers be in a server where it's illegal, when there is one where it is legitimate? IGE and all the other RMT companies will lose their business and their influence in the economy of the games. Prices would be under the control of SE (SoE in EQ's case), so the economy would probably not be inadvertently be screwed by third parties. The RMT players are happy, and the non-RMT players are happy.

As long as the RMT is, in fact, restricted to certain servers, and the RMT players actually stay on only those servers, I'm all for this change migrating to FFXI. To me, RMT is not a huge deal right now (third-party cheat programs are more important, but neither of these are making me consider quitting), but I can't deny that it's an annoyance that I'd like to be rid of.

Disclaimer: What I have just written may not be readable by those of you whodo not play Final Fantasy XI. I'm sorry.

Well, that's all for now. Gotta get to work! (`·ω·´)

Not doing so great in Digital Design

Alright, I just wrote an E-mail to my professor asking for some help in his class. I think that the E-mail is the best thing to sum up what I've been going through for the past week (and sort of the whole semester), so I'll just paste parts the E-mail here...

For every single project that I have done in this class, I end up spending huge amounts of time staring at my circuit simulation, trying to debug it. For this most recent project, I finished my paperwork on Sunday night. All of my equations were derived, my init logic was ready, I had determined what chips I was going to use, and I had even created a C++ program to make sure that my equations were correct. On Tuesday, I start working on my Logic Works simulation. Tuesday night, I completed the diagram...or so I thought.

It just won't work! Here's my init logic... When yp is a preset state of y, and yn is the next, yn = init' * yp. This equates to yn = init NOR yp', which is what I implimented in my circuit. My equations should be stable at state 000/00... You would think that when init = 1, yn would be set to 0 because 0*x=0, but it doesn't! For some off-the-wall reason, my variables jump straight to 1 right after the initialization. I checked and double checked my diagram, and nothing appeared to be wrong... everything is two-level, I've checked for hazards in my equations, I've checked to make sure the right wires are connected to the right equations, I've double checked to make sure that I didn't somehow make my equation 3 levels instead of 2 (not counting init)... I've tried EVERYTHING!

Alright, so this at about midnight this morning I decide to start from scratch. I create a whole new logic works diagram, and this time I use normal logic gates instead of the 7400 Actual library. I set the delays of the gates to 22, and no dice. I set it to 1, no dice. I set it to 0 just to make sure that it's not a hazard that's screwing me up, and no dice! At this point, shouldn't my circuit replicate the C++ program that I made? Well, it doesn't.

All the while that I'm staring at these Logic Works diagrams, I am tempted to just wire it and see what happens, but I'm afraid that it will just end up being a waste of 4 hours or so, so I don't do it.

Professor Thweatt, the problem is that it's not just this project that I have had trouble with. Every single project that I have done, the same thing happens. The past two projects that I have not turned in, I have "complete" Logic Works diagrams for, but I did not finish the project. The point is that I need your help. I need to meet with you, I need to show you exactly what I've done on my project, and I need you to show me exactly what the heck I did wrong. I cannot figure it out by myself, and none of the graded reports that I have been handed back help me figure it out, either. I hope that you can help me.

Would you please be willing to take a little extra time to help me with my problem? I am afraid that this will take a little longer than a normal office-hours visit, so I do not want to interfere if other people want to see you as well. Can we set up an appointment? I would so greatly appreciate it! I look forward to hearing your reply. Thanks in advance.


Sincerely,
Adam Russell

PS. I forgot to mention...I've already turned the project in. It is not validated, it is not wired, and the simulation is incorrect. However, a bad grade is better than none, and I know that I will not be able to fix it on my own. I'm not looking for an "easy" (haha) A on the project. I just want to know what I did wrong.

Working on Digital Design

( º∀º)

I got most of my Digital Design project that's due Thursday finished Sunday night, even though it cost me most of the night. The rest of the night was spent doing my final Electronics prelab of the year and going to Wal-Mart to pick up a birthday card for my dad.

I found out that my brother has a myspace the other day. Hehe, right now there's a Japanese Flash video, and it's about a Beastmaster in Final Fantasy XI that ends up MPKing (monster player killing) some other players. It's pretty funny if you play FFXI.

Well, that's all for now! Back to working on putting this circuit into the dreaded software that is LogicWorks...

Darkfang website

Hurray! I'm mostly finished with the website that I made for my Linkshell.

The only stuff I have left is the stuff that I'll have to continuously maintain anyway.

<3 D2 breakfast

D2 has the best breakfast. Evar.

Asleep 17 hours

Um... I am actually rather surprised at myself, here. I stayed up all night Monday night reading up on Electronics so that I can finish a take-home quiz that we were given (I'm behind in that class) and doing an Electronics prelab. After I turn in the quiz and prelab and eat some brunch, I get home at like 11:30 AM and go to sleep. I wake up at 10 PM, put on my PJ's, brush my teeth, and go right back to sleep. I just woke up at 5:30! Has anyone else slept for like 17 hours? This is not normal!

Learning via the Internet

The Internet is a wonderful thing. Why is it that I can go through a whole semester in a class and not understand a darn thing that the teacher is saying, and then a year and a half later I can look up the same thing on the Internet and gain a full understanding of the concept in two hours?

An Introduction to Differential Equations
Paul's Online Math Notes - Differential Equations

I mean, I seriously hated differential equations, but they seem so easy now!

::fumes::

Well, at least I'm learning, even though my grades don't show it. I'm still in a nonstop studying frenzy of Electronics and Signals & Systems! Interesting stuff, but I don't think I am doing so well in the classes...

And on a completely different topic, I finally found a Linkshell to call home (I think) in Final Fantasy XI! Man, I'm such a geek. Talking about MMORPG friendships on an Internet journal after ranting about computer engineering and advanced calculus...

Signals & Systems test

Well, I don't think I did so well on the test.. X_x I'm glad that there's a good grading policy in that class. I still have a pretty good chance if I do well on the final.

Lazy day

Hoorah! I did absolutely nothing yesterday. ::feels guilty::
¬.¬

Study study

Signals & Systems test and Electronics quiz on Friday. Must study study study. Digital Design project and Computer Science projects due soon. Head going to explode.

Horrible semester so far

I'm not dead, I swear! I just have been having a horrible semester. Tons of projects and tests, and I can't keep up with it all... I keep getting deeper and deeper into trouble, and no matter how hard I try to catch up, I just fall farther behind. Heh...

Well, the good news is nothing much has happened since I last updated. The biggest and bestest news is that my dad finally got a job (hurray!). He was offered two jobs at once -- one job was in Roanoke, about an hour away from where I am right now, and the other was in Texas. The family decided that the job in Texas would probably be best, so my Dad is now over there all by himself until the rest of the family moves during the summer.

I'll be staying here in Virginia to finish school, so I'll be halfway across the country from my family at any given time. Man, and I thought 6 hours was a long way home... This is gonna be insane. I will hardly ever get to see them. I will hopefully be able to at least get there during Christmas and Summer Breaks.

I always get homesick around Easter time. =( Easter has always been a good time with the family. My parents did send me more chocolate, though. That made me happy. =D

I got chocolates

Hmmm... my dad got offered a job in Texas and in Roanoke right nearby... He's supposed to make up his mind which job he's going to accept by today. Can't wait to hear from him or Mom!

I love my parents. They sent me chocolate for Valentine's Day. =D =D

A description of my first name

I stumbled upon a website that attempted to tell me who I am by knowing my first name, and here are the results:

Description of Your First Name of: Adam

The following brief summary describes only a few qualities of your first name. There are many additional factors (legal name, nicknames, family surname, combined names, previous names, business signature, and, very importantly, your inner potential or birthpath as determined from your date of birth) that create and mold your entire personality - and your entire life.

The name Adam creates the desire for harmony with others, but we point out that it causes a blunt expression that alienates others. This name, when combined with the last name, can frustrate happiness, contentment, and success, as well as cause health weaknesses in the fluid systems, and tension or accidents to the head.

The name of Adam gives you the desire to meet and mix socially and to create congenial circumstances for everyone. However, all too often, you express yourself in a matter-of-fact or awkward way that results in your good intentions being misunderstood. If you are in sales work, you could do well because of your friendly personality, interest in people, and desire to please. You prefer situations that allow a degree of independence, but are not too demanding in work-load or responsibility.

Ummm...
I'm definitely antisocial. I have no desire to "meet and mix". I probably wouldn't do so well in sales work. At least they were correct about the situations I prefer to be in, but that's not hard to guess. That's like me reading your mind right here across the internet and saying that you sometimes enjoy sitting down, taking a break from everything work-related that you're doing, and relaxing.

American Society

Hello again. Today I was doing some thinkin'.... Man, Valentine's Day can be a really depressing day for those of us singles. Heh, I need a girlfiend.

Anyways, I was tryin' to think of why I don't have one. Not only do I not know where to meet any girls, I don't know what to say or how to approach them. Being shy sucks. Then I was thinking maybe I'm just really boring, too. I really don't do much. But I had watched this show on really late night TV the other night where John Travolta was being interviewed by this acting professor in front of an acting class or something. John Travolta had said that every single person is interesting to some degree, it's just a matter of finding out what's interesting. I think that maybe it's not usually the things that I've done that are interesting, but perhaps it's my personality and the ideas that I come up with...

On a completely different note, today was my sister's birthday. I was tryin' to think of what she might be when she got older. What might her major be? Would it be computer engineering, like mine? Or would it be something totally different, like teaching?

Then my thought process went off on some wild tangent. What the heck is there to do in this world for work? As human beings, we need food and sleep to survive. Shelter is nice, too. Now, society has said for a long time that if you don't work, you don't eat. When this philosophy originated, if not everyone helped, not enough food would be produced, and people would starve to death. Nowadays, though, food harvesting is so advanced that not very much manpower is required.

So now we're all stuck trying to find some work to do, and a lot of us have to do stupid, meanlingless, mundane jobs. The point of people's jobs is no longer to contribute to the survival of the community, but it's to make progress for the sake of progress. We're gaining new useless technology every day. The point of this new technology is to save people time and effort so that they can do more useless work in a more time-efficient manner. People's lives are becoming increasingly more and more busy for absolutely no reason!

Also, so many people are influenced by this emphasis on business that the sole reason that some people live is to make money. What the hell is the point of this? If a person grows old and has spent his whole life earning a fortune, does he plan on spending it all before he dies? No, it's so he can live in a nice house and have a nice car while he's working his butt off. In my opinion, this is stupid! He's not increasing the quality of his life...I can almost guarantee that he's too busy to be any more happy than the average guy a few blocks away.

So why am I a computer engineer? Well, partly because I can't "sit on my ass" for a living (like the Office Space guy). Another reason is because I love computers, and yet another reason is because I like critical thinking.... However, I think my ideal job would be just to simply learn. If I could read books and self-teach myself things and teach others what I've taught myself, that'd rule. Yup, I'd be an old-school philosopher. Too bad those don't exist anymore... Who needs them when there is systemized, specialized education...education that teaches people how to play their part in this hellish cycle of life...

Meh. Good night.

These projects bite.

Ugh, I hate projects.  I have two C++ projects due this week.  Lemme tell ya, that ain't happenin'.  I also have a Digital Design project due next week, which I'm working on now.  On top of those, I have to catch up on a lot of Electronics reading.  (-.-;)

Basically tonight I'm not sleeping.

Summer and fall '04

Well, I haven't updated this thing in ages.  So I guess I'll breeze through my life since I last updated.

My sophomore year here at Virginia Tech ended.  I went home and found a job as a computer technician, since I definitely wasn't going back to that hellish theatre or back to the doctor's office to alphabetize files.  Now, this place worked me 46 hours a week, which was pretty nice.  However, I only made 6.15 an hour, which blows.  No computer technician should be getting a salary that compares to a Burger King employees.  However, I would rather work as a computer technician than at Burger King, so whatever.

I also started playing Final Fantasy XI that summer.  Let me tell you what, this game is addicting.  Since I started playing this game I stopped playing Warcraft III and haven't even looked back.  Even now, I play this game every chance I get.  Spare time on the weekends?  Ooooh, FFXI time!  No, I don't go out anymore...

I went over to my grandma's house in Oklahoma over the summer, too.  I have one of the coolest grandmas of all time.  She spoiled Aaron and me.  Also while I was there, I talked to them about the trouble I was having at school, and they suggested that I might have ADD.

Over the summer, I found out that my old ex-girlfriend, Elaine, moved back in town.  Neato...  It was my mom who told me that she moved back in town, so naturally I finally told my mom what happened between us.  Hmmm... and I saw her once at Olive Garden before I left back for school.

Now, this year I got an apartment to live in!  Woohoo!  Anthony Graham is my roomate.  He's pretty cool.

Halfway into the semester I finally get my parents to get me a prescription for my ADD.  It helped, but since I was already in such deep crap in one class, I couldn't pull myself out.  So, I ended up doing not so well in Digital Design, but I got my first A since I've been here in Prob and Stat!  Hurray!

Over the winter, I worked some more.

Yup, that's about it.  Now maybe I can start updating this thing again without there being a huge friggin hole in the middle.