UT received my High School transcript and my file is under review finally! There were a few interesting tidbits of information I forgot. My HS GPA was 3.65 and I scored 1110 on the SAT that I took in December of 1990. Now I just wait for confirmation. I really hope it doesn't take too long or I might wear a hole in the carpet in front of Todd's cube pacing back and forth. Worrying about college admissions after all this time is a very odd sensation. When I went to WT for the first time, I don't think I had any real concerns. I guess it just means quite a bit more to me now than it did back then. All I was concerned with then was getting away from home and spreading my wings.
I wonder at times if we don't have our paradigms for academics wrong in the US. If the norm was not an immediate progression from High School to college and instead we were expected to first work at some unskilled manual labor job for 3 or 4 years after we graduated, would the college retention rate be better? I know I would have most likely cleared the partying and freedom bugs from my system. And yes the situation is different for each person but I just wonder if the general expectation that kids should progress straight from high school to college is a helpful one. Throw in the problems of introducing alcohol for the first time and the problems are just magnified. I know I will keep all of this in mind with my own kids when they are nearing the college experience.
But yeah, hurry up UT! I'm ready to have the admissions junk behind me and step into class!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Graphing calculator shopping
So as I've been reviewing the various pre-calc subjects so I can be ready for Calc I my first semester, I realized I will need a graphing calculator. It looks like the best options are the Ti-89 and the Ti-nspire. Either one should cover what I need. I tried a few iPhone apps on the Touch. I tried an app called GraphCalc. You can define up to 4 equations and it's relatively simple to use. The graph view can be dynamically scaled by using the 2 finger gestures that work in other iPhone apps. But it doesn't provide the table functions that the TI calculators support and it's not possible to do easy degree to radian conversions and a number of other missing features. I also tried iCalc3D with similar results. So the $0.99 iPhone apps can't take the place of a $160 calculator. I suppose I'll have to bite the bullet and ebay one. If anyone has any suggestions on which model would be better for the aspiring physics student, let me know. I haven't used one in about 17 years.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Status and first visit to the Nielsen building
OK first status report. The University has my application and my transcripts from WT. I hope they don't look at that 2nd semester.....
Anyway, that was 17 years ago so I think they will appreciate that I have come quite a way since be young, dumb and....well you can fill in the rest. I called the administration of the AISD yesterday to confirm that they receive the faxed transcript request and talked to a lovely woman named BJ who instantly recognized my name and promised to send off my high school transcripts. So hopefully I will get my acceptance soon and learn which of my credits will transfer to UT (if any).
I met with Dr. James Parks who is the Director of the Undergraduate Labs for the physics department. There was a slight miscommunication so I ended up waiting for about 30 minutes and missed Dr. Levin who apparently had been appointed to talk to me. But Dr. Parks was nice enough to escort me on a quick tour through the labs which are his his area of expertise and responsibility. We saw the electronics lab, the newly renovated and supplied optics lab and the modern physics lab. He explained a number of experiments that were underway in all of the labs. Although I didn't fully understand everything he said, I did get at least a rough outline of the types of things they are working on. It seems most of the focus is on energy as lasers are prominent throughout and not so much on classical mechanics. But perhaps most of that is covered in the first year physics classes.
He explained a little about the history of the building which was constructed in the early 60s. When they first built it, they needed very large canisters to hold the gasses needed to complete the spectroscopy experiments which were cutting edge at the time. Each tank was about the size of 12 refrigerators and they required 2 of them. Now the same experiments can be completed with a device the size of a shoebox. So the building is an awkward labyrinth or weird halls and elevators that have 2 sides. It certainly has quite a bit of character. On either a positive or negative note, the building is on what is known as "The Hill" on campus. There are no parking spaces on this hill and there's some substantial construction going on. So you have to walk up the hill which is a bit of a workout. Maybe I'll lose a little weight at the same time.
All in all it was a good visit although I wish I would have been able to me Dr. Levin at the same time.
Anyway, that was 17 years ago so I think they will appreciate that I have come quite a way since be young, dumb and....well you can fill in the rest. I called the administration of the AISD yesterday to confirm that they receive the faxed transcript request and talked to a lovely woman named BJ who instantly recognized my name and promised to send off my high school transcripts. So hopefully I will get my acceptance soon and learn which of my credits will transfer to UT (if any).
I met with Dr. James Parks who is the Director of the Undergraduate Labs for the physics department. There was a slight miscommunication so I ended up waiting for about 30 minutes and missed Dr. Levin who apparently had been appointed to talk to me. But Dr. Parks was nice enough to escort me on a quick tour through the labs which are his his area of expertise and responsibility. We saw the electronics lab, the newly renovated and supplied optics lab and the modern physics lab. He explained a number of experiments that were underway in all of the labs. Although I didn't fully understand everything he said, I did get at least a rough outline of the types of things they are working on. It seems most of the focus is on energy as lasers are prominent throughout and not so much on classical mechanics. But perhaps most of that is covered in the first year physics classes.
He explained a little about the history of the building which was constructed in the early 60s. When they first built it, they needed very large canisters to hold the gasses needed to complete the spectroscopy experiments which were cutting edge at the time. Each tank was about the size of 12 refrigerators and they required 2 of them. Now the same experiments can be completed with a device the size of a shoebox. So the building is an awkward labyrinth or weird halls and elevators that have 2 sides. It certainly has quite a bit of character. On either a positive or negative note, the building is on what is known as "The Hill" on campus. There are no parking spaces on this hill and there's some substantial construction going on. So you have to walk up the hill which is a bit of a workout. Maybe I'll lose a little weight at the same time.
All in all it was a good visit although I wish I would have been able to me Dr. Levin at the same time.
Obligatory first explanatory post
So what's this all about and why did I create this blog? Well to begin with, I am a 35 year old father of 3 who spends his days supporting a bunch of Macs at your typical corporate headquaters™. Over the past 5 years, I have steadily gained more than a passing interest in science and philosophy. I finally came to the realization that I am simply not built to climb a corporate ladder and have no desire to do so even if I were. So I decided a change was necessary to achieve that fulfillment. Aristotle called this "eudaimonia" which goes beyond simply the idea of happiness.
So I decided I would go back to college. The last experience I had with a University was 17 years ago where I unceremoniously flamed out in the 2nd semester of my Freshman year. But I had promised myself years ago that if I was ever going to return, it would be in an area that I wanted to study and not necessarily what might provide me the highest earning potential. I wanted to explore the science that was best equipped to explain the nature of things. That field is physics. So this blog will chronicle my journey. Why the name? Well it comes from a Mark Twain quote:
That sums up my philosophy quite nicely and I thought the name was appropriate. So off I go!
So I decided I would go back to college. The last experience I had with a University was 17 years ago where I unceremoniously flamed out in the 2nd semester of my Freshman year. But I had promised myself years ago that if I was ever going to return, it would be in an area that I wanted to study and not necessarily what might provide me the highest earning potential. I wanted to explore the science that was best equipped to explain the nature of things. That field is physics. So this blog will chronicle my journey. Why the name? Well it comes from a Mark Twain quote:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
That sums up my philosophy quite nicely and I thought the name was appropriate. So off I go!
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