Category Archives: School & Education

Suboptimal cap and gown

Posted on May 13, 2008 by Eric

I just bought a cap and gown, so I guess I will go to commencement after all. Herff Jones apparently must make them from some ridiculously cheap fabric, since they say not to wash or dry clean them.  I presume … Continue reading →

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Confirmation of graduation requirements

Posted on April 27, 2008 by Eric

I’ve finally received in the mail a letter from Mission College confirming that I’ve met the requirements for my Associate of Arts in Mathematics degree, that the degree will appear on my transcript after the end of the semester, and … Continue reading →

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Dealing with the college Admissions and Records bureacracy

Posted on March 20, 2008 by Eric

On March 6, I went to the Admissions and Records office at Mission College, and turned in two separate things: An “Application for Degree” form, with math course substitutions from other institutions signed off by the chairman of the math … Continue reading →

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Lecture on phasors in circuit analysis class

Posted on March 19, 2008 by Eric

The lecture on phasors went on for about an hour, and I was surprised that no one cracked a single Star Trek joke.

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Application for Associate’s Degree

Posted on March 7, 2008 by Eric

On Thursday I submitted my Application for Degree to Mission College.  It’s for an Associate of Arts in Mathematics degree.  This is my second attempt; after I submitted one a year ago, I ended up dropping English Composition I due … Continue reading →

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Suboptimal Christmas: how to not get a Lectron electronic kit

Posted on March 3, 2008 by Eric

In the 1970s I got to visit my grandparents every summer. They had a big house, and sometimes I liked to play in the large basement. My grandfather’s wood shop was down there, though I didn’t spend much time in … Continue reading →

Posted in Electrical Engineering, Family, The Suboptimal Way | 4 Comments

Turing Machine in Bare Bones

Posted on March 3, 2008 by Eric

The most recent release of my Bare Bones interpreter made identifiers case-insensitive, and added an optional peephole optimizer that recognizes a common idiom: while N not 0 do;   decr N;   incr X; end; Such a loop adds N … Continue reading →

Posted in Bare Bones, Computer Science | 3 Comments

Bare Bones interpreter

Posted on February 11, 2008 by Eric

Over the weekend I finished the homework assignment for the “Theory of Computation” chapter of Computer Science: An Overview, Ninth Edition, by J. Glenn Brookshear. Brookshear defines a very minimal programming language called Bare Bones, in which variables may contain … Continue reading →

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B+ in Composition

Posted on December 20, 2007 by Eric

I was a little disappointed to learn that I’ve earned only a B+ in my English composition class at De Anza College, bringing down my GPA slightly. While De Anza counts a B+ as 3.3 points, most universities use only the letter … Continue reading →

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Academic Integrity Week

Posted on September 28, 2007 by Eric

When I walk to an Electrical Engineering class at San Jose State University, I usually pass by Boyce Gate at Ninth Street and San Fernando Street. Usually there is a banner for the Spartans. Last week, however, the banner was … Continue reading →

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