Category Archives: Uncategorized

Website Updated

Spent some time updating the website today.  Got it to post up calendars’ for Liz and I so that, maybe, our parents can stop asking what we are doing all the time.  Decided to go ahead and link the Picassa web albums in with this too since I don’t like to take the time to upload all my pictures to Facebook.

I want to, eventually, get a brief writeup on all my research and hobby projects up on the research wiki.  I think it would go a long way towards keeping everyone up to date with what I am working on.  I am under no delusions that anyone actually reads this site. But, given its complete lack of content I understand why no one does.  Hopefully if I get some content up, like pictures and the projects that I am working on, someone besides my advisor might actually read it.

Back in the Bluegrass

Heading home for the annual Beaux-Arts Ball this coming week!! Yeah!

There is also the site visit for TESS here at Ames.  I have been busting my ass on an embedded system for this damn site visit for a month and a half.  Its looking like we are going to have to show a bit less functionality than I would like to have had but hey, considering we only got the hardware on site today I think what we have is pretty good!

Its been interesting working on this project at NASA and looking back to some of the projects Mom administered at LSC.  Two very different styles and the people working for the contracts seem to have very different motivations in why they are working.  Its been an interesting learning experience and I think I am going to come away with a lot from this.

Got a patent and a paper submitted last month (WOOO!).  I still haven’t heard if either one has been accepted but I should know soon enough.  Hopefully I get them because its going to help me brag about myself later on when I need to!

Dinner time!

Ten Years After…

So I can tell its been a while since I have posted anything and for that I only feel somewhat bad.  I have, in the interim, moved to California, got engaged, enrolled in a Ph.D program and a few other things that are not coming to mind at the moment.  The important part is that things are moving along at a herky jerky pace and that is the way that I like it!

I am going to attempt to keep a better record of what I am doing on this page from now on.  I think that writing on a regular basis about things that I care about will help me with the impending writing that I have to do for work and school.  It’s been an intresting transition and an intresting 7 months.  Its had its ups and downs and more than once I think I made some bad decisions.

I am finally starting to settle into the 9-5 work life with about 8-10 hours a week extra doing research for Dr. G.  Got and aparptment and moved in.  Got a routine.  I will try to make posting a part of that routine.

–Nick

Work and Life.

I have been trying to decide the last week or so what I should do with the next few year of my life.  I ran an unofficial survey on facebook and it seem like people are telling me that I should start my cult and just see where it goes from there.

Currently I am looking into getting a job.  I think I might be the best off on this path, for now.  I want to try my hand at actually working for a while.  People tell me I am good at this grad school shit but thats not really a statement of what I should do with the rest of my life.  I am good at a lot of things, not all of them are worthwhile.

I am still working on my paper and the netflix prize entry.  As to the netflix prize entry its crazy how good just the movie average predictor I cobbled together in 20 mins was.  I suppose at some point that I will have to start “actually” working on an algorithm but I have this whole decision thing on my plate right now so I think its going to get shelved for a while.

The paper is coming along well.  I should have another draft out soon.  We pushed the submission back to March and another conference but seeing as how if I get a job, I won’t be the one going, it doesn’t really matter outside of ego boost to me at this point.

I guess I will start submitting apps for jobs.  Going to try and focus on more applied areas… I don’t know if I want to do research or more engineering right now but we’ll see whats out there an make the decision later.  Going to focus on the southeast area mostly… need to move to a warmer climate.  I always have the job at NASA if I want to go out west.

Need to get a little more work done before the smashing at soccer commences this evening.   Hope all is well with everyone an anyone who still reads this.

A Promise

I am going to promise, right here, to write more in this blog.  It may be the fever talking but there is no way that anyone can be sure of that shit!

I recently got the e-mails telling me that I had gotten offers from UT-Austin and UW-Madison to get my Ph.D.  Both offers are funded (meaning I will probably have to go back to being a TA for some period of time) but they could be worth it.  I am struggling to decide if I want to spend another 3-4 years in school just so people can call me Dr. Nick.

For anyone with a technical leaning here is what I am working on now:

NetFlix : Currently working on a submission for the Netflix prize.  Its a million dollars (hahaha!) if I can get some where.  I am pretty sure I am not versed enough at stats to be doing this correctly but its worth a shot.

Lobbying: Got a paper with some German guys about algorithms and formal models for lobbying.  Yes, you read that right, I have been making up mathematical models to describe how people get bribed.  Its been a lot of fun so far, hopefully I can get the paper out before the end of the month and not get yelled at by my advisor anymore.

Other than that, I am sick as a dog… trying to work from home never goes very well.  I usually end up sitting around, drinking too much coffee and smoking too many cigs.  Hope all is well and I am going to try to post here more often than I have been.