I have had a week of contrasts: insane amounts of work broken up by stretches of free time. Unfortunately, all of that free time is late at night, and generally exists at the detriment of my sleep schedule.

Classes are going well, and it looks like SWIL membership is off to an excellent start this year. We shall see at our first real meeting, today at noon. I look forward to meeting the fresh blood… I mean new members :oD.

The guys from Workbox finally came by with the extra parts necessary to loft my bed, so our room now has even more space. I also mounted my sound system under my bed, so now I can produce some loud to fight back against the crappy bands playing across the way in Olde Club. I’ll post pictures of our wonderful room once I stop being lazy.

We debuted the room, complete with Emery’s projector, to a number of people last night, specifically Jacqui, Julia, Lauren, Adem, and Ethan, and of course Emery and I. After they left, we watched a couple of Star Trek episodes. The screen is beautifully huge, and will be much improved when we build a proper screen (i.e. not the wall) and a futon.

Poll: How many times will I hit my head on my metal bed frame today?

Full Story (1242 words in story)

There’s nothing quite like the first day of classes. I am sure you are wondering why I had classes on Labor Day. The explanation is simple: Swarthmore recognizes no holidays. Breaks are for those wimpy Ivy League schools, anyway. We’re hardcore.

I had my first two classes today, and one lab. E72 (Electronic Circuit Applications) and E15 (Digital Logic) look like they are going to be very, very interesting… and very, very hard. The emphasis for both courses is on lab work, which means more week in a given week, and more time spent in Hicks playing with circuitry. Wheee!!!

Poll: What is your favorite analog circuit element?

Full Story (794 words in story)

I got all packed up before going to bed on Friday, which made Saturday a little easier as far as getting to the airport on time is concerned. My flight to Philly was uneventful, although we were delayed slightly be the storms in the area. I got all of my stuff from Hicks and moved it into my new room with Emery in Wharton. I even got everything unpacked and put in its place. Pictures of the room will come soon.

Today I slept in, showered, grabbed food in Sharples with Daren, An, Emily, Sarah, et al. and then ran a few errands. I got my dorm room key from Key Central, requested a bed lofting kit from Workbox, and bought four engineering text books for about $420. I win.

Poll: Which book sounds like the most interesting one?

Full Story (599 words in story)

It was surprisingly cold when I woke up this morning. I think my mom opened up the windows a bit early, letting in wave after wave of cool, allergen-filled air. I sneezed a lot. I made hot cocoa.

There was also much ass-sittery, as well as game playing and Simpsons watching at Jeff’s house. My family then went to see a St. Paul Saints baseball game, but we left after the fifth inning because my mom didn’t want to stay any longer.

Now that I’m back at the house, I think I’d rather nap than pack. Unfortunately, I must pack, since I return to Swarthmore tomorrow.

Poll: Wrong Beverage?

Full Story (716 words in story)

You’ve probably noticed a distinct lack of journal entries here in The Vacuum of Nurdage. This is because I actually use my diary at http://www.kuro5hin.org/ instead of my LiveJournal. After all, I had a diary going at K5 long before I joined LiveJournal In fact, I only got an LJ account so that I could obnoxiously comment in all of my friends’ journals :o). Unfortunately for my laziness factor, it seems that my friends actually want to hear what’s going on, without having to check if I’ve posted an update at K5.

From now on, expect the fresh copying and pasting of the title and intro to my kuro5hin diary entries, along with a link to the full story, posted right here in the Vacuum for your convenience. I sacrifice my own laziness for the protection of the laziness of others.