Tuesday, April 21, 2009

101 Things... 1001 Days

I'm not a big fan of lists, or planning things ahead, yet when I read Ben's (a fellow OCC staff member) blog, his 101 list really stood out to me. I decided that I wanted to do my own and started thinking of specific goals that I would like to obtain in the no-so-near future. After several days worth of thought, the list below is the one I eventually settled on.

One thousand and one is a weird length for something to go on for, and I was curious how long that was in terms I would better understand. It turns out that 1001 days is roughly equal to 2 years, 8 months, and 27 days... almost 3 years. If my life continues as I hope it does, I should be gone from college and into the American work force, a scary realization. As such, some of these goals are academic, some work related, some social, and some for my general well being. I hope to achieve everything listed here, but the reality is that I probably won't. Some of them are almost entirely out of my control, or are prohibitively expensive. Others are pretty easy, and some I won't be able to even start until I am older.

I plan on keeping this list as up to date as possible, as well as blog about my experiences as I knock items off the list. Encouragement is always welcome, and I hope I see some of my friends start similar lists that I will be able to encourage them on (after all, I need three to complete goal 49).

Start Date: April 21, 2009
End Date: January 16, 2012
  1. 1. Graduate from the engineering college at Ohio Northern University
  2. 2. Learn at least four new programming languages [0/4]
  3. 3. Learn at least one new human language [0/1]
  4. 4. Contribute to at least five open source projects on my own time [0/5]
  5. 5. Make a bug patch that gets accepted
  6. 6. Score par on an 18 hole round of golf
  7. 7. Attend the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, World Series, or other championship game
  8. 8. Write a web interface to keep track of this list
  9. 9. Write a new blog post at least once a month
  10. 10. Photograph at least five celestial objects [0/5]
  11. 11. Own an 'L' series lens from Canon
  12. 12. Do a photo shoot at least once a month
  13. 13. Hit an out of the park home run in softball
  14. 14. Drink a beer with my dad
  15. 15. Get a girlfriend
  16. 16. Get a full time job (upon graduation)
  17. 17. Visit every state [43/50]
  18. 18. Visit Europe
  19. 19. Go on a mission trip outside of the United States
  20. 20. Attend church at least twice a month
  21. 21. Save at least 10% of the money I earn
  22. 22. Begin tithing
  23. 23. Try a new beer at least once a month
  24. 24. Rally for something I believe in
  25. 25. Watch at least 50% of the IMDB top 100 [21/50]
  26. 26. Watch a new film once a month
  27. 27. Organize my music collection
  28. 28. Organize my movie collection
  29. 29. Organize my photo collection
  30. 30. Organize my email
  31. 31. Beat fifteen video games [0/15]
  32. 32. Hold an EC position
  33. 33. Have another 4.0 GPA quarter
  34. 34. Learn to mix / DJ
  35. 35. Get a little
  36. 36. Increase my vertical leap at least six inches [0/6]
  37. 37. Make a workout plan and follow it for at least six months
  38. 38. Get an original blog post on the front page of Digg or Reddit
  39. 39. Win a serious award
  40. 40. Go camping at least four times [0/4]
  41. 41. Go golfing on at least ten new courses [0/10]
  42. 42. Get my pilot's license
  43. 43. Drive on a race track
  44. 44. Participate in a fantasy sport
  45. 45. Learn to drive stick
  46. 46. Volunteer to be an EMT / Firefighter
  47. 47. Run at least five 5k races [0/5]
  48. 48. Bungie jump or go sky diving
  49. 49. Get three people to make a 101 in 1001 [0/3]
  50. 50. Vote in every election
  51. 51. Walk or ride my bike to work at least 50 times [0/50]
  52. 52. Cook once a week (when I'm home)
  53. 53. Cook a new recipe once a month
  54. 54. Make my own recipe
  55. 55. Hide a geocache with something valuable in it
  56. 56. Watch a sunrise with someone I love
  57. 57. Spend an entire night in Jolly Pirate with a friend
  58. 58. Help people I don't know solve five problems on IRC [0/5]
  59. 59. Visit two friends that are not brothers each summer [0/2] [0/2] [0/2]
  60. 60. Visit two friends that are brothers each summer [0/2] [0/2] [0/2]
  61. 61. See a tornado
  62. 62. Keep in touch with my friends that graduate
  63. 63. Stay off Facebook for a week
  64. 64. Help someone who's car has broken down on the side of the road
  65. 65. Attend every class for a quarter
  66. 66. Randomly go to Vegas for a weekend
  67. 67. Party with another SigEp chapter
  68. 68. Make a major improvement to the SigEp house
  69. 69. Grow a beard
  70. 70. Reach level 80
  71. 71. Spend no money on my credit card one month
  72. 72. Pay for the person behind me at a toll booth
  73. 73. Read the Bible cover to cover
  74. 74. Invest in a company I don't already have stock in, and follow it
  75. 75. Feed a bum
  76. 76. Buy all my friends shots when they turn 21
  77. 77. Exclusively use a Unix based operating system for everything except gaming
  78. 78. Go to ten Reds games [0/10]
  79. 79. Go to four Bengals games [0/4]
  80. 80. Buy something from Woot!
  81. 81. Sell ten items online [0/10]
  82. 82. Keep a clean room for three months
  83. 83. Video tape myself on a party night
  84. 84. Grow my own peppers
  85. 85. Make my blog good enough that I get 100 people to follow it [1/100]
  86. 86. Go on a spring break trip
  87. 87. Get into the habit of reading the newspaper in the mornings
  88. 88. Renew an old friendship
  89. 89. Visit my sister at the college she chooses to attend
  90. 90. Visit a friend out of state
  91. 91. Go trick or treating with a friend
  92. 92. Watch an entire series of two TV shows [0/2]
  93. 93. Collect a full deck of cards from Pabst tops
  94. 94. Own a Blackberry
  95. 95. Go on a random road trip
  96. 96. Get rid of a subscription I don't really need
  97. 97. Play ultimate in the rain
  98. 98. Solve fifty Project Euler problems [1/50]
  99. 99. Do something suggested by somebody else
  100. 100. Do another thing suggested by somebody else
  101. 101. Make another 101 in 1001 list for the next 1001 days
Progress: 0/101 (0%)

Sunday, April 12, 2009

It's Sunday at The Masters!

Over the past several days I've been very fortunate to get to attend my fourth Masters tournament in Augusta. This year has been a little different though, with the new entrance being set up, breakfast being served on the course, and different golfers. However, the biggest difference that has happened this year is who I came down with. This year I came down with several of my friends from school, instead of how it has been in past years (going with family). It has been a lot of fun being the one "in the know" this year and sharing the traditions of Augusta National with our guests.

Overall this has been a really fun year. We left at 8 AM on Thursday from Ada and drove to Middletown where we switched cars and headed out towards South Carolina. We stopped in Spartanburg for the night, getting back on the road towards Augusta around 9 the next day. On Friday, we met Aunt Vickie and Uncle Mark at the church we always meet at a little after noon and Baird and I headed onto the course. We walked the front 9, watching the golfers as we went. It was neat that we got to see Gary Player, the black knight, play part of his last round at Augusta. On Saturday, Baird and I had the morning shift while Frazer and Rob took the afternoon... we woke up at 5:30 AM to get to the course in time to place chairs at the number 12 tee, right in Amen Corner. We then walked the back 9, getting to see the entire course, and sat in the hole 4 grandstands until it was time to switch the badges.

Today, we got up early again in order to get our chairs set up, this time on the number 7 green, a beautiful spot that allows you to watch the players come up 7, and putt there, as well as watch them tee off on number 3, come in on number 2, and watch their second shot on number 8, a lot of action for not having to move at all. We are switching the badges in about an hour, and will be sitting in that spot all day, I'm pretty excited as it is a place that I haven't really gotten to enjoy much of in the past years. There are also some awesome pairings that will be coming through, including Tiger and Phil, two of my favorite golfers.

All in all, this has been a great year at Augusta National for me. We have gotten three days of gorgeous weather, gotten to see some great golf, and gotten to spend time with some good friends. I'm so thankful that my grandparents have given me the opportunity to attend the Masters, and hope I have the opportunity again in the future. I also am really thankful for my Uncle Mark who last year taught me a lot about the course the two days we were here.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Review: LaTosta Lightweight Laptop Stand

Link to article (Overclockersclub.com)

All laptops generate heat, much like every other computer. However, adding additional cooling to a laptop is a lot harder than to a desktop computer. To help cool laptops, companies have begun to produce laptop coolers. Typically they are large plastic devices with fans in them to help actively cool the underside of a laptop. The LaTosta is different, however. Instead of a plastic bed to place the laptop on, the Laptop Stand is made out of two metal clips that help elevate the back side of the laptop in a very minimalist fashion, as I will show you later in the review.