Daily Stuff--9/14/2012

Languages--Chinese:

I watched episode 58 of Travel in Chinese. This episode was about the lakes around Houhai and the origins of their names.

Articles:

There was an interesting article in the LA Times about the UC Regents possible solutions if proposition 30 doesn't pass. If the proposition passes, there won't be a tuition hike until next year but otherwise, UC students would most likely be facing tuition hikes midyear. To counteract this, one solution would be to increase the number of out-of-state and international students. While this is an easy solution, some argue that it ultimately defeats the purpose of the UC system--to educate Californians. It would be very bad news for Californians hoping to get into UC schools. Even though more out-of-state students is an easy solution, I really hope it's not one the UC Regents takes.

Philosophy:

I read about the various programming languages that have been created for educational purposes, to support the constructionist approach to learning. One of these is Logo, which Papert used to teach math to children. He used it to introduce turtle graphics to children in elementary school.

To-Do (9/14/2012):

• Finish Unit 4 of Differential Equations
• This unit was about using logistic growth to determine the highest number of fish that can be raised and then sold, in order to make the most money. To do this one needs to find the optimal time to harvest the fish. They grow at an exponential rate and eventually there's a point when no more fish can grow. The harvesting needs to take place around that maximum point so when the harvesting begins, more fish can grow and one hopefully never has to wait for more fish to grow. One needs to use logistic growth to determine what the maximum growth rate is so one can then figure out what the harvesting time should be. 

• Do Unit 4 of Artificial Intelligence
• Will do tomorrow
• Check bank account to see if money got taken out (for housing)
• Money hasn't been taken out of my account yet
• Fill out forms to get financial aid
• Went to follow the steps but was unable to get to IRS retrieval
• Figure out who to call or contact about health insurance
• Found the health fee waiver. Have to see if insurance meets the requirements to waive the health insurance fee
• Log-in page for app
• Will write the code for a registration page tomorrow
• Find internships with Boston Dynamics
• I still can't find any internship or co-op programs with Boston Dynamics. They have several engineering jobs in various fields. Some require a Masters or Ph.D but most of them just require in-depth knowledge of whatever the job involves.