Over My Head

I swear discrete math is easier than computer architecture. It's one of those things where you need to know a bunch of things to fully appreciate what you're learning but the only way to learn those things is to have already finished the course or similar subject matter.

Things haven't quite come together yet. I joined BSCS to learn how to program but most of the courses seem to assume I already know that somehow. Even books in assembly programming expect me to already know C ... Maybe I should just learn C before coming back to this course.

I am thankful that I live in a time when the sources required to fill in knowledge gaps are readily available and affordable (if not free). Thanks, YouTube!

Spring

'Tis the season for spring internship applications! I just applied for one that fits my academic background really well. But that's the crux of living in my area; I'm surrounded with a lot of talent and diverse backgrounds that easily dwarf my accomplishments. This was my first application; here's to many more!

I am thankful for having fulfilled all the prerequisites for one of those internships.

C959 Discrete Math I

I had a rough start with this one. The first unit was just so daunting I ended up pursuing easier courses until I felt I had a few extra weeks banked to devote to this. Of course once I completed the first unit, I flew through the rest, go figure. I'll have to remember that in the future.

Trefor Bazet was my hero. He got me through that first unit though I'm glad I spent extra time on it. I'm also glad I took the pressure off of attempting to push through this one in the same amount of time I was completing other courses. It constantly reminds students how important the concepts are in Computer Science so I embraced the process and passed with flying colors.

Useful lectures:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHXZ9OQGMqxersk8fUxiUMSIx0DBqsKZS - Tefor Bazet DM1 lectures

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYxzq_O18Mg - sum infinite series

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA0uxIaMtMs - sum of a sequence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcKY4hjDrxk - difference between BFS and DFS paths

I am grateful for being able to run again. I'm on Week 2 of the Freeway to 10k program though I am spending two weeks on each interval. This is my second week on Week 2 so it should take me 17 weeks to finish the program. 

C867 Scripting and Programming Applications

This one didn't quite take as long as I expected and I passed it about a week ago while I was out of town.

I'm a fan of Bucky's programming tutorials and plan to use them again for Java. His C++ lectures can be found here -https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAE85DE8440AA6B8

Instead of Zybooks, I used SoloLearn for learning the code because I appreciated the variety of coding exercises and it made me think about it in different ways. https://www.sololearn.com/Play/CPlusPlus ... Again, really great and I plan to use it again to learn Java (Software 1/2). 

My main source was a sample project that the mentors pass out when you ask for them; I don't know why they aren't in chatter or otherwise easily accessible. You need to be able to navigate it to interpret and edit it to your needs but much of the bulk work was in there and I was able to utilize it after my youtube and SoloLearn lessons ... I started off by identifying the main, class, and subclass files. I pasted those files into the file names I needed, editing each one to conform to the project specs. Then I went back and forth debugging my errors and going through the rubric to make sure it did everything it needed to do. 

Based on this course and how quickly I was able to get through Discrete Math 1, my goal from here on will be to pass 3 course per month. That will take me through November to have everything but capstone. I'm also considering switching to the Math program to flesh out my math background before going back to finish up BSCS. Of course, life happens when you're busy making plans so we'll see where I am when I get there.

I am grateful for my grandparents, without whom I wouldn't have known kindness and comfort growing up.