Let's see, Network Programming - might be hard. Seems unstructured. The hard part is that I may be more unexperienced in the networking stuff than the other people, so the projects may be more overwhelming. But after talking to some people, maybe not as bad as I was imagining. At least we seem to get a lot of choice in what we want to do.
Distributed Software Development - well, I had the professor last semester, so probably around the same, which shouldn't be too bad. Just the P2P project at the end, which should be interesting.
----------------
Frank called me for dinner today, but my class lasted late, so we decided we should do it some other time. Hope I didn't sound aloof. I think I tend to sound like that on the phone (some people have said that I sound like I just woke up)
----------------
Oh yes, in yesterday's Security class, the professor said something interesting. In most fields, kids who spend all their time doing something, and become an expert at it, are praised. Like learning an instrument, or playing sports. If you become an expert at it when you're 10, you're considered a genius and praised by everyone around you.
With computers, nuh-uh. You spend all your time in front of the computer, parents get mad at you for wasting your time. Play a shooter game and they think you're the next Columbine waiting to happen. Remember, SPORTS are GAMES as well. Yet people waste billions of dollars on those people. So anyway, society considers you a menace, especially in regards to hacking (which is what he mentioned here). He also didn't mention this next part, but to extrapolate it further, instead of giving you a scholarship and then paving your way into a security firm upon graduation, you get to spend several years in jail, fined some large amount of money, and you're probably barred from computer access for several years.
Well, ok. While it is a double standard, it doesn't quite work that way. You can't exactly get into classified information learning music or playing sports, but it did remind me of the Catch Me If You Can movie, where the guy did end up getting a job in anti-counterfeiting. Why doesn't it happen more often for hackers?
Finally, I've mentioned to my parents a while back how there was some dissatisfaction about the current president of
BST. In regards to what I said to my parents, it was an issue of the practice of acting. You know, the whole acting polite, pomp and circumstance, and various other little formalities you do in front of people. The kind of stuff I really don't like because they're usually just fake and shallow. They tell me it's a good skill to learn, and good for pleasing people (like your boss) because some people like that. Well, what I found out during the mostly
BST gathering last weekend was that no one showed up for the election. Why? While the president may have been good at putting up a face in front of people, he wasn't actually committed to the organization himself. No organizing get-togethers with the members. The whole personal touch is lost, and that, is where I feel true loyalty is formed. Instead of standing up when the former
BST president arrives and pouring her a cup of tea and asking her to sit down in a formal manner, it's about remembering people's birthdays, and organizing dinners for them, or even just hanging out every once in a while just because we want to. Instead of doing something because it's your role, you do it because of your relation with the people.
And I really need more usericons. Over half the icons are like happy faces. Only one face is more neutral. One face is for bad stuff. And one face is more of a hesitant face. It makes for little variety if I want to show my actual mood through them.
