Coal and Boiler Steam

Cold Line Improvement Intro

2011-10-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

Here at Purdue, I work in one of the dining courts. My job varies by day and Over the last year I've become one of the most experienced of the tan shirts (low level student workers). One of the best things that comes with experience is knowing how to work efficiently. Interestingly, working efficiently is rewarded in Purdue's dining courts by giving that worker 'points.' This series of guides details some of my experiences working at Purdue and how you can be a better worker too.

Today, I'm going to give a quick overview of how to work Cold Line solo.

First, a bit about Cold Line. The station serves Ice cream from 3 machines, ice cream toppings, soda from 3 machines, Juice from two machines (4 different juice packs each), Milk from 2 machines (3 types in one, 2 in the other), Organic Milk from 1 refrigerator (3 types), Tea from a machine, lemons, limes, condiments from 2 dispensers (4 condiment packs each). Also, it has a microwave, provides cups from 2 dispensers and 8 stacks, and a working counter twice that of any other station.

This monstrous item list seems daunting at first, but it is not as harsh as it seems. All of these items are packaged is large quantities and are in easily replaced containers. The exceptions are the limes, lemons, and cups. Of these, only the cups need to be watched and replaced regularly; the rest are filled only as needed.

Now, normally Cold Line has two tan shirts (student workers) assigned to it, with one black shirt as oversight. These two have it fairly easy, as they can leave much of the longer term replacements to the black shirt, and ignore many of the rarer empties by pleading ignorance. Basically, their work load is obnoxiously light. This is the normal state of things, where two newly trained tan shirts force a black shirt to ignore the rest of their route to help.

However, if you swap one of those two with an experienced worker, things change slightly. The experienced worker can get the more complicated items while the less experienced keeps the cups and counter-top in order. This configuration has a fairly uneven distribution of work and is difficult for the experienced worker, but boring for the other.

The epitome of Cold Line is the solo worker, someone has extensive experience with Cold Line, cleanup, and general consumer densities for their shift. It is difficult to do, and it is VERY hard for a student who hasn't spent multiple months in the two man style. Even with that experience, the change in style can be difficult.

Still, it is necessary for the staff to assign only one person to Cold Line at times, sometimes even during high traffic shifts. This guide (over the next few posts of similar title) will give general hints, tips, and knowledge necessary to pull off a solo Cold Line Shift during high traffic and make it look easy.

Sorry I'm late

2011-10-31T00:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've was so inactive last week. As I said Elsewhere, I was sick and, after 'recovery' I had a real problem sleeping. On top of that, I've started writing a fan fiction that has taken up a good portion of my writing time. I'll be posting less often because of that.

American Freedom

2011-10-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

Freedom is a rather common word in the USA. We constantly praise our current freedom, rejoice when freedom are limited (only where necessary), and bicker when freedoms are infringed upon (which is always). Freedom comes in multiple types and levels, however, and I thought it would be nice to take a closer look at the concept.

The philosophers argue, but the majority seem to hold that the soul of man is absolutely free. It is unrestricted in every way. However, it is tied to the body, which is very limited in the variety of acts it can perform. The body limits the soul by tying it to the physical. This is the first lose of freedom a man suffers.

The second stems from the behavioral requirements of living. While this is less restrictive than the last, it is of utmost importance to nature. While one is free to make the choice to not eat for a certain period of time, they cannot continue to exist while doing so. Thus, while behavior doesn't place such a hard limit as the physical, it builds on it and introduces the consequence. While previous to this consideration all options are equally free, now some choices are less 'free' than others. What I mean is that by making certain choices one faces more severe consequences and thus has less inclination to pick that choice. This shift in priority is not controlled by the person him/herself, but rather by the environment.

While the realities of nature provide one limit to free domain, the choices of others can reduce it further. Social constants of all types hold us to standards which do not include the full variety of choices which we might otherwise have available. Many social institutions help us to live longer, happier lives, but only by further restricting us. Social constraints vary from the expectations of a friend to the requirements of a government. Even more than the previous two, social constraints can be stretched and broken. At this level we can begin to deceive others as a method of maintaining higher freedoms, in addition to simply ignoring others wishes until the consequences become sufficiently grave.

Finally, there is a fourth barrier to human freedom. We ourselves limit our freedom in various ways, for reason outside the influence of others. We can choose to simple act on the beliefs of others, or we can choose for ourselves where our limits lie. It is this level, I would argue, which best defines the difference a person of good and one of evil. It is not whether one follows the law, nor whether one lives healthily, but rather what one is unwilling to do despite having the ability and right to that truly represents character.

But above I have spoken of freedom as if it were a given thing. As if freedom is nothing more than the number of things from which one can choose. But what of the person who chooses to do only as other suggests of them. While they might possess an equal measure of freedom to their peers, no one would call them free! This is a second important point about freedom; only those who 'will themselves to freedom' are free. If you do not choose to act on your own initiative, instead acting only on exterior impetus, then you are no more free than a rock. This is the way by which the person of purpose can be separated from the laggard.

Keeping all of the above in mind, it is quite funny that the USA is so interested in freedom. A country which prides itself on restricting choice whenever convenient and living in accord with dictated laws of higher powers (in God we trust) rather than choosing for oneself should not be so interested in the image of freedom. Why even purvey such a hypocrisy? What does America gain?

Sickness and Exams

2011-10-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

My usual response to getting sick is to shrug and initiate anti sickness protocols. and usually, that works well enough that I can ignore it. But my recent additions to my schedule and sleeping times have made it more difficult to keep everything working 100%. And unfortunately, once I missed my first meeting, my body decided some down time wouldn't be bad at all.

I slept 18 hours last night. I've slept an average of 12 hours each day previous. I've missed nearly every engagement I was signed up for and it has been terrible. Now I'm in catch-up mode and I really hate it. I hate being behind for no reason good reason. i can't even blame myself for it. EMOTIONS, DAMN YOU ALL!

In other news, my ECE 201 exam was canceled about 35 minutes in when it became apparent that their was a natural gas leak nearby. It is to be rescheduled for sometime soon. What this means for me? Time to make up all the studying I slept through. god damn it, and I was so close to having free time to write this week...

Pha Word Types

2011-10-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

With yesterday's discovery came the ability to really begin work on the foundational concepts of Pha (an artificial language I am creating). The first step was to begin designating word classes. In natural languages, these designations are somewhat difficult to make, since the language tends to be too complex to allow such simplification. By creating classes first and adding words later, I can ensure that words are only added where they fit.

here is an example list of English word classes (this is just one systematization):
Noun, Verb, Participle, Adjective, Adverb, Conjunction, Preposition, Pronoun, Interjection.

Now, my plan for this language is that it should be broken up into multiple dictionaries by specific purpose and use. These libraries can add new types of words as a way to expand the language. This also allows for libraries which hold a shape similar to natural languages. Therefore, my basic word types are INTENTIONALLY too simple for many types of thought and speech. They represent the bare minimum that one can work with, and all other libraries expand on them, never the other way around.

The four main word classes are (understand that the names I use are only an English equivalent):
Mode - a way by which we can understand any Thing.
Thing - something which exists as a State in one or more Modes.
State - the sum of all Things in a Mode.
Act - the change of a Mode's State.

Examples (since my explanations are woefully inadequate):

of Modes: Time, Blue-ness, Courage, Brightness. (similar to the noun)
of Things: Chair, London, (similar to the noun, but this does not contain ideas)
of State: Now, Blue, Courageous (similar to adjective. Degree will not be in the common library.)
of Act: Move, become Blue, Brighten (very similar to verbs)

There will be a Mode Library. If the Mode Libraries a Thing requires are in use, then the Thing itself can be used. By considering both the Mode and the Thing, one can recognize States and Acts that are possible.

Languistic motivations

2011-10-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

So, today I started examining my motives for creating a new language. What I found is that my motives were not exactly as I had thought. Recently, I have been assuming that the reason I wanted a new language was that I wanted to improve on all current languages in some way. But that isn't true. While I have had plenty of ideas, none of them felt right.

My real reason is much simpler. When I think in English, I'm limited to thoughts that can be expressed in English vocabulary. But I've often attempted thoughts that would extend that limit, only to be disappointed. Having my own language would extend those boundaries by allowing me to structure a language in the same way I already structure my thoughts.

Some people who know me well might ask whether I really want my own language so that I can have a set of words whose meanings they cannot question. There have been a number of times when I have disagreed with another about the definition of a word. Usually we compromise by adopting a working definition, which may or may not fit the definition we personally use. While it is true that I would gain that right, I think this is an unjust approximation of my intentions.

Also, I've realized that it is somewhat annoying to compare 'My Language' and 'English', so I have decided that my language is called Pha, until such a time as I choose to rename it. This will also help me keep my tags for language in general and for Pha separate, so that you don't have to view one when you intended the other.

Cheers!

I act, therefore I am

2011-10-18T21:54:00.000-07:00

"I act, therefore I am."

PHIL 224 (intro to existentialism) has a way of making me reconsider myself. Today I looked at yesterday's post and decided to take another step back. I'll have to start moving forward at some point, to begin really working on the problem, but I think that this time it really needs to stick. This time, I want to get it right. So another step back is not a bad thing.

I don't have many fears. At no point have I ever been in danger of starving. I've never slept without a roof or tent over my head. I've never been isolated from human interaction. Truthfully, all of my fears are fleeting or abstract, and for the most part I ignore them. This was especially true when I was a child.

Having nothing to fear, I spent a good portion of my time ignoring the world. Escapism is wonderful for those who have the freedom. I've buried myself, at one time or another, in books, video games, and daydreams. Sadly, escapism is my one defining and most practiced skill. I can now hit a point during meditation where I can see moving pictures more real than reality, dreams in which I can choose my actions, imagery which exceeds to bounds of human existence.

But what has my most established skill given me? It has robbed me of the will to work; why work on projects limited by this reality my body is trapped in, when the allowances of my mind are so different and novel? It has robbed me of my feelings; why feel when you can choose not to? It has robbed me of my caring for others, my will to maintain a public image, my trust in humanity. In short, it has taken as its cost my will to act. It nearly robbed me of my will to live. But if I was anything before I became so skillful, I was cautious.

That skill sticks with me too. When I was young, I chose to develop my ability to imagine. But the cost, I knew, was memory. And with memory went all possibility of continued character advancement, much of my identity, and a whole host of other things I could not guess at the time. So I built a second portion to watch the first. It kept growing, but it was limited to what wasn't already needed. Its memories were pushed below consciousness where ever possible. It thoughts were kept there to, so that they could not corrupt the process of imagination. In time, their hidden place was made more important, for were they to surface they would be corrupted. The space they used to think would be eaten by my imagination, which used all the space it could find and filled my mind with its presence, should they reappear.

I gave many functions to this second mind over the years, things that I didn't need in my dreamlands, but which were necessary to keep the pretense of humanity. Speech, mathematics, discussion skills, all of these were handed over. And when my mind slipped too far into toward the deep end, my subconscious (for that is how I think of it) would exert enough control to keep me from tenuous balance that had been established.

Over the years, I've been stuck with the consequences of my choices, but I never questioned my choice from so many years ago. I had chosen to be good at imagining things, because that was something that adults were never good at. That was a skill I could be proud of. And the consequences were never too bad.

I've lost ability to remember peoples faces, but I can still recognize them (since that is subconscious).
I can't pay attention to work of any type, unless I totally shut off my mind, a skill which I've mastered to the point of having coworkers asking about my mental disability.
I can't really be punished any more, since my own mind is refuge and company enough.
I can change certain habits on a whim, but my subconscious keeps my actions over time centered on an average of my past actions, since they have seemed to work so far.
I can lie very effectively without it hurting my conscience, by forgetting the truth and imagining a viable alternative to take its place.

and more. so many effects that I have spent my last 10 years just quantifying them. But above all, that untouchable subconscious which holds me from long-term deviation. It is a relic of a time before my imagination's birth and while I have often tried to take it on, I usually aim only at some aspect or effect and miss the mass.

I would like to choose to change. The thing is, I can't right now. By ability to choose is held by the subconscious itself, and no being can choose to kill itself. I have ways around that too, but to start them would require the choice to be made.

I could change at any time. But I have isolated myself so well from the world, that it can no longer force me to change. Without the force of nature I have stagnated. To reestablish my connection I need merely choose. But I cannot choose without killing who I am inside, and I can't as a human make that choice. And as much as I've desperately struggled to give that power away to someone else, in the end it is my choice. If they choose for me, even if I follow their instructions, I would cease to be Sammy and become some version of what they wanted.

That is my tragedy. I exist in a cage of my own making. I could break the cage, but it would kill the occupant. I could leave it, but who knows what the world would make me into. And the third option is inaction.

"I no longer act, therefore I have ceased to exist."

Reform 2011

2011-10-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

So, I've been thinking about all of the different changes in my personal philosophy, my lifestyle, my learning habits, my interests, organization style, etc. that have happened recently, but have yet to be included in how I structure my time. What I really need is take about five steps back and reexamine what habits need to removed and what new habits need to be introduced now. Toward that end, here is a list of things that need to be taken into account as far as my life is concerned.

I learn and work best when I stick to one topic for multiple hours at a time.
I cannot stay focused for the first 20 minutes after changing what I'm doing.
Video games should NEVER be a planned activity.
No matter the consequences, I must have two alarms and get up by the second one!
Under no circumstance should someone else be the one waking me up.
If I don't have time planned for an assignment, to will get done at the last second.
Any time that doesn't have a specific plan had better be free time (not General Homework time).
No caffeine for dinner.
Spending time with a girlfriend is no longer a planed activity, it is free time.
It is possible to work when around friends IF THE PLAN BEFOREHAND REQUIRED IT.
All plans must be finalized BEFORE sitting in front of a computer.
Emotions must be taken into account from now on.
If my teeth have been brushed for over an hour, get in bed.
Studying outside or places other than my room is great, IF I plan ahead enough to bring everything.
going to different teachers' sections of the same class if a great way to start understanding the material.

Intentional Deafness Experiment

2011-10-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

So, I've always been interested in self-improvement. I feel that intentional adaptation is one of mankind's best abilities and try to make use of it often. Today I came up with the following idea.

I've wanted to learn to lip read for quite a while. The problem is that it is nearly impossible to teach oneself lip reading. You need another person to be talking nearby who doesn't care whether you understand or not (since you won't for the first few weeks). Eavesdropping is one simple method, but it doesn't allow you to double check your understanding. on the other hand, friends are rarely willing to spend hours talking at you when they know you won't understand most of what they say.

Being in class, I then had a great idea: why not try to lip read the teacher during class. Usually during a course, you have enough information about the subject to guess the nature of the lecture. Also, the widespread use of visual aids can help keep you on track. not to mention, the teacher expects you to pay full attention to them, and won't notice if you don't understand (I am talking about large lectures here). I have two large lectures that fit the criteria, both of which I am certain enough of my note taking that I would risk trying it.

There are still a few things that make such an experiment difficult though. ensuring that I can't hear the teacher is the main difficulty. While loud music works in some situations, large lecture are often of volume levels that i wouldn't want to attempt it.

Thus, I've begun looking into way to reduce ambient noise to sub-audible levels. My quick research has provided 3 easy methods to produce the intended effects.

First, combine earplugs with noise canceling headphones. This combination can produce reduce sound by 80+ dB (nearby motorcycles are barely audible). However, good noise canceling headphones cost $200 to $500, so I've thrown that idea out.

Second, combine earplugs with a construction headset. This produces a constant -65 dB, which enough to bring most conversations below whispers. However, in a loud lecture hall, this will not be enough.

The third option combines music earplugs with a construction headset. This reduces sound by a mere 55 dB. However, by playing a constant static on the earphones this can be reduced even farther. The volume of the static directly subtracts from the ambient noise, so a 50dB static would boost the noise reduction to 105dB! This combination is least like real deafness though.

I'm still working through the budget on this one, so i'll be updating more if this ever gets off the ground.

Language Creation

2011-10-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

So, despite being a dual major Computer Engineering and Philosophy, I've always wanted to create my own language. This has been true since the time I realized that there was more than one language. I never really knew what kind, how it would work, any of the details. I just knew that I wanted to make one.

For the last 6+ years I've been writing down ideas, exploring concepts, and generally trying to figure out what I could add to the already massive set of languages in existence. I've narrowed it down a good bit, and my current goal is to create a language which incorporates the best aspects of both natural and predicate languages. Given the scope of such a project, I doubt I'll ever finish, but I have every intention of continuing regardless.

I'll postpone an overview of my ideas to some later date. For today, I wanted to post an absolutely great article I found online. In it, Lojban speakers debate the need for a 4th tense.

Currently, most languages have 3 tenses: the past, the present, and the future. This corresponds to the Newtonian concept of time, which is that either A happened before B and could have caused it, or vice versa, or they happened simultaneously. It is this third possibility, the idea of present, which is incomplete in light of newer physical models. Due to light speed, there is a certain correlation between time and distance such that some event at time X and location Y could not possibly effect an event at time X+x and location Y+y.

here is an example from the article:
"Suppose you are wondering who murdered Ishtar. If you are told that one month prior to the murder, Thshpck broadcast an offer of three megacredits to anyone who'd kill Ishtar, you might decide to check out the local guns for hire. But if you were also told that the broadcast took place a light-year away from the murder, you could immediately dismiss the broadcast as causally irrelevant to the murder."

To create a very specific language, you can either add this tense, or you can separate the ideas of time and causality. Personally, I'm looking into the second option, since it seems more comprehensive.

Here is the webpage:
http://www.lojban.org/files/papers/4thtense

Proactive Facebooking

2011-10-12T23:22:00.000-07:00

(No, this is not a substitute for facepalming, facedesking or the like)

I have a fairly terrible teacher for ECE 264. Dr. Pomeranz is a great researcher (so I am told), but her teaching style has been worse than awful. At the start of the semester, she gave us each a 30+ page packet containing all of the lecture material for the rest of the semester. It contain some beautifully written code. and nothing else...

Yes, our entire class is nothing more than super-compressed, UN-COMMENTED code which she explains one line at a time in class. It doesn't matter if one line has been covered 50 times previously or never before, she gives it the same monotonous attention as every other line. Nor does she show how to write similar code based on that code; it is simply assumed that you can modify the preexisting code perfectly for all assignments that might need it. Other annoyances include not given us homework grades back except during office hours (with the TA), and using a non-standard gcc compiler which we must accommodate.

Well, while sitting in another class with other students from Purdue Computer Engineering, I finally brought up the topic. My neighbor, also a student of Pomeranz, agreed that something should be done, but neither of us had at that point any conviction in getting it done. But then our teacher (a scheduling advisor) apologized to the class for Dr. Pomeranz poor teaching, and suggested that we individually find a pattern to work with.

Nick, my neighboring classmate, and I resolved to get it done. Before class was over, we called all students of Pomeranz class to come to the front to plan. We, as a group, decided to create a Facebook group to keep in touch. Any group meeting would be announced to all members, anyone could attend them, plans and homework tips could be shared, etc.

That was last week. Within that week, we plan and executed a study session of 15 students (from a class of ~60) an hour previous to the exam. Seeing the success, Nick and I have begun plans for a greater project. We figure, if it works for 264, why not expand our operations to other classes?

Our current vision is a bit grandiose, but it is possible. We plan to start a forums and wiki combo. On the forums, we can post homework tips and schedule meetings for specific classes. On the wiki, past homework solutions, equation explanations, teacher descriptions, and other information can be kept and passed on to future Purdue Computer Engineers.

Should this become successful (and I dearly hope it will), we would have set the foundations for a complex learning source for all future computer engineers, not to mention collected the members and purpose needed to create a Computer Engineering Club. I will keep you updated on our progress!

The Return

2011-10-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

So I obviously haven't kept this site up at all. Truthfully, life happens, writing takes time, blah blah blah...

But guess what, i quit playing ALL Singleplayer video games 2 weeks back. And BAM, lots of free time. So I thought, why not restart this? After all, I do enjoy writing. I helps me work through my thoughts and such.

As I'm sure you can tell by now though, I'm not the same person that started this blog. Not by far. It's one of my favorite traits, being able to change over time. Heck, it is the one reason humanity is so dominant as a species!

So, with any luck, you'll start hearing from me a bit more often from now on. And I'm going to start posting with a bit less focus; if I'm feeling like it's a Nerf day, then Nerf talk will ensue.

Anyway, I'm happy to be back.

2010-08-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

Today, i took a test for ENGR 131. It was to determine how you should be grouped into teams for class purposes. I have received reminders to take the test for about a week, but hadn't had time. I was eagerly anticipating the chance to try to fit my life experiences and skills into cookie-cutter molds. But when I logged on, I was faced by...

4 questions:
1. What is your gender
2. What is your ethnicity
3. What is your GPA
4. What times are you available to work.

Thank you for taking the time to fill out our survey. We would love to have your comments or feedback in the box below.

(My response)
"I had thought the survey would pertain to making balanced groups, ones in which multiple skills sets were represented. Instead, I see only gender, race, and schedule matter for grouping assignments. I now welcome myself to the real world, where businesses care only about the diversity of their employees and how often they can work."

ENGR 131 is a strange class, but one that is exetremily socially conscience. Today, we: 1) watched Veggie tales (before class started), 2) Did an in class project to solve a part of hondurus' discarded office supply overfill by turning into furniture, 3) listened to a collection of Irish music during break, and 4) talked about the applications of and need for engineering in third world countries. All of which is cool. So I thought they might have put a bit more thought into the survey. Oh well.

Introducing Coal and Boiler Steam

2010-08-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

Well, a blog starts with a single post. That doesn't make it any easier for us on the writing end though. Especially if they have little to no writing skill. But despite possibly disappointing written SAT scores (2 out of 12 on essay), I GOT TO COLLEGE! (read, PURDUE!) So, no more complaining about that.

The Main reason I'm starting this blog is because I was told to. Yep, less than two days into Purdue life, a speaker came in and said, "If you want to improve your internet image, you need a blog. People looking you up will find your blog before hey find your Facebook page, so it will give you some protection..." I don't particularly need "protection" (check my facebook-no matter what year), but starting a blog seemed like a good idea. In my mind, it is like having a public diary, personal in content but simultaneously public. For me, just typing or writing thoughts helps me think through things. And i really enjoy analyzing my own motives...

I may ramble a bit at times (see above), but I hope to keep this blog near a few central topics.
1. My college life @ Purdue
1a. Classes and Work
1b. Social life (maybe I will include this, maybe not. I will probably no more than mention it in passing)
2. My views on Life, the Universe, and Everything.
2a. Evolution and Adaption in everyday life.
2b. Religion, the Nature of Good and Evil
2c. Visualizing the Processes of the Mind
More TBA

Overall, I'm going to try to stay away from topics which only apply to me. I WILL talk about how I apply the stuff to my life. And I may talk about random crap. But I'll label/tag stuff that is more personal. Once I figure out how all of that works at least.

I hope to post at least once a week. I will probably post a LOT more in this first Month, simply because I have a backup of 10 years of ideas that need to be shared. Depending on how good my memory is, I may not run out of that stuff for a good long while.

Well, for now at least, Good bye. I leave with a toast to the 3 year, 8 month life of this blog. May the following years be good to us.