Smacked Philosophy Test 1

Just a warning to any of you who don't care about my academic life: skip this paragraph. Excuse the non-PCness of the title, but I feel really happy right now. I've been worried the past week about this Philosophy 313K (Logic, Sets, and Recursion) test and I'm so glad to be relieved of it. So far all we've done is Sentential Calculus derivations, set theory proofs, relations, and syntax. If you just add true/false questions to that you have our test. It feels like when you're having a day where everything goes right, but on a test. I figured out the derivation in seconds and the proof was just flowing from my hand and everything just came together with only like a minute to spare at the end of it all. Plus, he's going to have a curve! I can't see any way I didn't ace it and I'm proud because I really studied painfully for that test and this stuff is just so hard for most people to grasp. Not that I'm above other people, I'm just satisifed that I'm getting it because it reinforces my choice of doing CS. This post is going up so early because I'm gonna see Team America and Supersize Me tonight so I'll put up some impressions tomorrow.

A few techie articles today. I've been frequently mentioning my opinions on legally downloading tv shows and I just thought I'd point out this discussion on the topic. I still think that it would be a good idea, especially if they offered them free if it made you watch ads. Just to show that I'm not biased I thought I'd reference this article that points out that eight security bugs have been discovered in the latest version of Firefox. So it's not infallible, but I still think it's a step up from IE. I actually have a techie rumor as well: there's been a lot of speculation about a possible Google Calendar, which could be very interesting. It would be especially marketable if integrated with Gmail, but this is all hearsay for now. I have a non-rumor that's pretty sweet: Sony is releasing it's first Walkman phone, and what's neat is that it can live for up to 30 hours and it has a camera in the back. I just have to display it:

 

If you're a fan of privacy violations then you'll love this new robot that can watch your kids or could be used to monitor employees in the workplace. Sound a little like 1984? I really think it's starting to push the limits of privacy. I saved the biggest piece of news for last. One of the key Windows architects defected to Google today. Could this mean a Google OS? It's too early to tell, but we do know that he left because he doubted Microsoft's ability to ship software properly. Given the great ideas floating around at Google, it's not surprising that he decided to leave a company stuck in old paradigms of the way the computer world was 15 years ago.

In movie news today, it seems like today is the day of interviews. Or at least of interviews I found out about. If you want to hear the plans of a mindless, buff guy, take a look at Vin Diesel's interview. If you'd prefer a brawny guy with potential, I think the interview with The Rock may actually interest you. And because I love Outkast, I have to plug this interview with Andre 3000. He shows that he's being modest as a new actor at least. It's unfortunate that JoBlo wasn't a fan of Be Cool though. I mentioned Fever Pitch the other day and it looks like it actually has a favorable review from Quint. Maybe that's because he's a Redsox fan or something though? I still have my reservations about the quality of that movie. From the creators of 21 Grams, brace yourself for Babel starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Since I've historically enjoyed Pitt's movies (especially Fight Club), I hope it turns out well. Meanwhile, his ex, Jennifer Aniston is starring in a female prison movie called Wanted and I'm already excited by the plot! Of course if there aren't any enticing scenes I'll shun it for false advertising.

Since I love talking about the economy I feel obligated to mention that Alan Greenspan is still pushing for lower budget deficits, which I've mentioned before as causing issues with interest rates if left to run rampant. Mainly because it lessens the integrity of the dollar and foreign investments in turn. Greenspan also had something contraversial to support: a consumption tax to replace the income tax. I'm pretty sure that the Democrats hate it because it's a regressive tax since it would penalize the lower classes who spend more of their income on goods, and I can't see how it can get passed. It's not politically feasible for one, and it would piss off the lower classes majorly.

Now for the 3x Thursday:

1. Do you have many friends? Why/Why not?
I have many friends who I'm still building relationships with through NSC and ACM, and plus my old Bellaire friends. I also have a small group of friends who I keep close and know well though.

2. Could you use more friends? What makes a friend a friend?
Probably because it's fun to know people and be able to do stuff with different people and learn from them and what-not. A friend is someone you can truly trust and who would stand with you through anything.

3. What happens when you get into a fight/argument with your friends? Does it usually work out? What happens if it doesn't?
It seems like no matter how mad I get at them, we always settle things and it's all back to normal again. They know that when I get mad that they really did something wrong. I have lost a couple of friends because I wasn't able to look at them the same again.

Bonus Question for Comments: Is it better to have lots and lots of friends, or just a few select people you know you can count on? Why/Why not?
Definitely a select few. It's important to form stronger bonds than several thinner bonds.