As a fan of cats for many reasons, I was searching the internet these past few weeks wondering how I could (once I’m settled into a graduate program) get a cat that’s bigger than average. That’s because I’ve only seen three kinds of cats: standard sized, fat, and Scout. Scout, one of the two cats back home, is about 18-22 lbs in weight and just all around big instead of fat, but that’s just so rare. Most cat owners are stuck with cats that are about 11 lbs and that’s it. Meanwhile, dog lovers can get a dog ranging from a dustbunny chihuahua to a massive irish wolfhound and bigger. It just didn’t seem fair, seeing as how if a person had a tamed 50 lb wildcat authorities would be called and children would be kept away.
Then I found the Savannah breed. They’re hybrids between an African Serval and a domesticated cat, resulting in a large domestic cat that is more playful than normal. I’m determined to get one at some point in my life, but until then I’ll just have to enjoy youtube videos of Savannahs jumping 7+ feet into the air and going for walks on leashes.
Hard to believe that I’m already 3 weeks into my last semester as an undergraduate.
As predicted, I’m not enjoying Contemporary Art History, because I just don’t understand how such things can be considered art. Rothko’s work with color fields in particular does not seem like the “simple expression of complex thought” as I would interpret such a claim. Rather, I feel that a simple expression should successfully convey the complex thought in order to be valid. If I stand at a chalkboard to teach a complex computer science topic, and make a squiggly line on the board, and then have to stand next to it and explain it, the squiggle was worthless. Similarly, if an artist such as Barnett Newman paints a solid color with a straight thin stripe of a different color, but has to write what amounts to an essay to explain it, has the art really succeeded?
In Boinformatics, my interest in algorithms is being fueled at last. One of our textbooks focuses on various types of algorithms and when they are or aren’t a good idea. I’m looking forward to an algorithms course in grad school, since I’ve been unable to take one at Hiram College. Thus far the biology aspect of the course hasn’t been too tough, and I’ve enjoyed explaining computer science aspects to, and having discussions with, the biology professor. It’s also fun helping my girlfriend understand the material.
I’m also taking Programming Languages, which is interesting. The theory of a programming language is fascinating and as you can read one of the other pages on this site, one of my many research areas. One of the assignments is to thoroughly learn a new programming language, and I’ve chosen to learn Lua. This means I might have some Lua programs available at the end of the semester, if they’re good enough for something like that.
