On March 29 I officially quit running the hiramvillage.org website. I did that for three years, and in anticipation of graduating decided to let go of that job so I can focus on all the more pressing matters at hand. In light of all the complaints I received back when the Village Council told me to shut down the forums on the site, I have opened a new site called www.hiramforums.org which is completely unaffiliated with the village’s site.
Whether or not these new forums continue to exist is based largely on whether or not there’s actual activity on it, since the cost of registering the domain and hosting the site is coming out of my own pocket now.
It’s official, and has been for about a week, but I will be moving to Philadelphia as a UPenn doctoral student in August. I’ve got a brand spankin’ new e-mail address, and I am pretty excited.
Filed Under:
Misc. by Cory
Mar.17, 2008
I’ve uploaded some pictures from my stay in Philadelphia: click here
I’ll probably get around to titling the pictures or giving little descriptions for each one someday.
Here’s a summary for my past week. Last Saturday I was touring Philadelphia with the other doctoral admits at the University of Pennsylvania. We went to a trendy place for dinner (the Continental) and it was a good time. Then Sunday I was flying back to Cleveland, and hurrying to finish a project for a class. Monday I was still rushing around trying to finish things and get caught back up. Tuesday I presented the project and that night it seemed like the world was ending. Hiram lost power, we got what had to be almost a half inch or more of ice from the freezing rain, and the college closed for break.
Now I’m in Columbus for the break. On Monday I’ll be visiting OSU’s computer science department. Friday I’ll be visiting Purdue, and from the way things are looking I’ll be able to make a final decision about grad school soon. Since I actually have evidence of grad school professors looking at this site, I’ll hold off on passing judgement publicly until I’ve made my decision.
In other news, I looked at the site visitation statistics and there was apparently a visit from a Commodore 64. Fascinating!
Part of the syllabus for my art history class is a term paper covering some form of ethical issue. After searching for something to write about, figuring “controversial” is my ticket to a B or better, I’ve decided on censorship. My paper might be more aimed on whether or not those who call themselves artists should be exempt from depicting what would be a felony for anyone else. As an example, and the focus of my paper are the works of Jock Sturges, whose work is primarily photos of nude children. For him to do it, it’s art. If I did it, I would be committing a felony and being labeled a sex predator. I wouldn’t do it anyhow, I personally disagree with the notion that it’s not wrong.
In other news, Kent State and Purdue both accepted me into their doctorate programs as well, so my record as of today is 4 for 4, with 5 not yet heard from.
Ohio State University has just accepted me into their program as well, and will be considering me for a fellowship. I’m 2 for 2 on acceptance to graduate schools that I’ve heard from.
Yesterday, I received an e-mail titled “CIS UPenn.” I hadn’t expected to hear from UPenn (or anywhere, really) before early March, so I thought for sure it was a rejection letter. I was wrong! I’ve been accepted to UPenn with the offer of a 4 year fellowship. I’ve looked into housing prices both on- and off-campus, and I think I can do fairly well on the stipend they’re offering. Now I just have to wait and see about the other 8 places I applied to!
Filed Under:
Misc. by Cory
Feb.01, 2008
The junk mail I get is apparently evolving into a more personal experience. Not that I’m a fan of this stuff, but I felt like the irony in this particular offer had to be shared. I was first a little surprised to find that my name was so big on the envelope.
I was absolutely shocked to see my name in the insert, ESPECIALLY the top right corner’s picture having my name rotated and placed accurately.
But then they went and did something stupid, and failed to address me by name on the letter. I just felt it was a little amusing, that’s all.
Filed Under:
Life by Cory
Jan.23, 2008
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.
