...is a funny segment on SNL. You should check it out sometime.
I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. As the semester rolls on, the work piles up and much of my time during the week is spent mentally checking off boxes of what needs to be done and what is done. So I thought I would just post what I've actually learnt/doing so it doesn't seem like time wasted plus maybe one or two random things that have happened in the meantime. I'll try to find a mid point of dumbing down the tech speak for people that don't understand and actually saying the tech speak for people that do understand.
CS 1315 - Media Computation
This is my blowoff class. It's an introduction to CS(Computer Science) for non-CS kids. So I'm learning Python, a language I learnt in my first year of uni and concepts that I learnt in year 10 at high school. Yay! Fun! The only interesting thing about the class is we do some media manipulation. All we've done so far is basic picture manipulation so posterizing pictures, grayscaling, sepia tones, etc. Basic effects that any photo editing software can do pretty much.
CS 1332 - Data Structures and Algorithms
Basically learning all different sorts of data structures and ways to store data but with a focus on how fast that structure is. Is it faster to find something in a list or a tree structure? Stuff like that. So far the data structures we've covered are arrays (and matrices of them), lists (array, linked, circular,etc), trees (general trees, binary search trees, AVL trees), some basic collections (sets, bags, maps) and just started on hash tables. Not too difficult so far and kinda interesting manipulating data in the structures.
CS 3251 - Computer Networks I
This is probably my favourite class so far. The professor is one of the best I've had. Yes, he's teaching pretty much from the textbook and yes we have to read 2,3 sections before each lecture but I feel like I actually understand it pretty well, and it's not boring me to pieces which is always a good sign. We pretty much study each layer of the network stack so we've done the application, transport and starting the network layer now. We've done some cool little tricks like doing a trace to random ISPs around the world and seeing the path the trace took (ie, Atlanta, Nashville, Chicago, LA, Sydney and then Brisbane to a Telstra server located in Brisbane), learn how to send spam (our professor sent himself an email pretending to be obama@whitehouse.gov) and actually looks at each packet of data sent from our machine. Our current project is pretty much making a scaled down version of dropbox which is pretty cool actually.
CS 3451 - Computer Graphics
This course has it's ups and downs. Sometimes the material just clicks and other times it takes a while. Plenty of geometry, manipulating vectors, points and frames with some physics and tangent stuff thrown in. The results definitely look the coolest. Like the last project I just did was to make a ball bounce around inside a shape with a user defined start point and velocity. One of the extra credit suggestions for that project was to extend it to a mini-golf game which I think would be doable if I had the time. That's pretty cool, making a mini-golf game! We're almost finished 2D stuff so 3D stuff we look even cooler I'm sure. The professor isn't too bad but clearly super smart. I know he's good when you learn some curve that was named after him.... Unfortunately what seems trivial to him, isn't always so trivial. Sometime he'll say about the next project "It's simple, my solution is only 5 lines or 12 characters"....Hah! 12 characters, I wish I could do it in 12 characters.
CS 4235 - Introduction to Information Security
Probably will be the hardest class I think. The material isn't overly hard but because half the class are post-grad students, the level of teaching is aimed much higher than I'm used to so you really have to tune in to keep up sometimes. Some of the material is pretty dry (woo....memory management) and some is interesting because it comes from a more philosophical perspective in saying "well if a system has value, then it is open to attack" and asking questions like "Who are the attackers? What are their motivations? What are their resources?", stuff like that. It's something you don't always think about when you think information security. In our first project we took advantage of a buffer overflow exploit.
Dumb down version: Giving the computer too much information than it can handle so that it gives control to us.
Teched version: Functions like strcpy(src,dest) are unbounded so if src is char src[10] and dest is char[5], you'll overflow the buffer and get a seg fault. We take advantage of the overflow to make the overflow overwrite the return address of the function call in the stack to the address of a system call to generate a shell in unix.
So in a way, it's a basic "hack" if you will which is pretty cool. The downside? All modern operating systems have functions in place to detect this and stop it. We had to compile the code with special flags to turn this protection off....
So as you can see, busy busy stuff.
But I have managed to do some other stuff apart from just school work.
Two weeks ago, I went white water rafting with other exchange students on the Ocoee River which is where they did it for the 96 Olympic Games. For photos, check out my facebook page, they're are some stellar ones. In fact, most likely you got here from my facebook page and my display picture is from rafting so you've probably already seen them. The rafting itself was awesome fun and would love to do it again. We only went up to class 4 rapids but would be keen to do some more adventurous ones :D
One random thing that does stand out that I remember was a place I saw on the bus trip. It was a fast food type place. I forget the name, for some reason the word "Handies" or something spring to mind but it may not be it. The thing which made go "what now?" was their tag line.
"Charboiled Thick Burgers"
Just think about that. Charboiled....Thick...Burgers. If you're not salivating at the thought, you're most likely human. Let's get the easy bit out of the way. "Thick burgers". In the land of the USA where a normal burger is double patty and a little burger is a single patty, how big is a "thick" burger? A couple of inches? One, maybe two, coronary attacks? I don't want to find out!
Now the more baffling part....Charboiled. How do you charboil a burger? Wouldn't that make it really soggy? And how does char boiling it make it any different to just boiling? These are all questions that need answering. Although when we did stop to have something to eat, I did not risk my life in order to find out. I'd prefer to keep my heart and taste buds relatively in tact this trip...
Another thing which has happened recently. I feel pretty American, I've wasted an hour waiting at both the Social Security Office and at the DMV. Yep, can't get any more American than that, right? Sitting there watching random numbers get called seemingly for no reason and when you think your number should be due up next, the people go on break and 10 desks go down to 5 desks and extends your waiting period by another 20 minutes. All this just to get a Georgia State ID card (think 18+ card back home). Worth it? Definitely, not only did I get a truly American experience, I no longer have to carry my passport for proof of age/id which means more potential spontaneous fun :D
This weekend coming up is TomorrowWorld. TomorrowLand is a Belgian music festival that has been running for 9 years is known as one the most high production/ridiculous lineup festivals around the world. The fact that the TomorrowLand after movie racks up 20million+ views on youtube in mere weeks shows it's popularity. This year, they are expanding to outside Belgium for the first time and the site just happens to be 30 mins outside Atlanta. So naturally I got on board. I've got tickets for 2 of the 3 days and I am so keen. My intended set list is Dyro, YVES V, NERVO, Mord Fustang, Jorris Voorn, Maya Jane Cole, Pete Tong, A-Trak on Saturday and on Sunday Moar Levi, Norin & Rad, Jaytech, Late Night Alumni (Kaskade), Hardwell, BT, Armin Van Buuren! Very packed full and for an avid dance music fan/amateur DJ, very tasty indeed. I've got my Australian Flag cape ready to go and I am set for some intense dancing marathons. Bring it on!
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Look to the drive thru!
Now I'm not sure if I'm made comments on a lazy stereotype of Americans. I know I've reference the "BIG" stereotype and I guess some part of that is linked to laziness or at least a connotation to. So I guess this adds to that idea but when you think about it, is actually a really good idea.
Does anyone else hate when you need to go draw out some cash from the ATM but you gotta pull the car up, park it, jump out, get your money and then jump back in, pull out and on your way? We have drive-thru service for fast food, car washes and alcohol? Introducing the drive-thru ATM.
In essence, parking and getting out of your car isn't that much of a hassle. It's a little annoying but really not that bad. The only time it's really bad is if where your ATM is there's no where to park easily and that usually ends up with you going "Oh screw it, I'll get money some other time". So the whole concept of a drive thru ATM is pretty lazy in a way. When you break it down -
"What is this parking business? You mean I have to line up my car in a between two lines? And then I have to turn the engine off? You know that turns off my music and AC as well right? And then what?? I have to get out of my car and physically walk the short distance to the ATM? What is this walking business? Who walks these days? We invented cars for a reason, duh!"
But think about it, how much faster and less hassle would it be with drive thru ATMs? You could be in and out in no time. Do you not want to leave the comfort of your AC-ed car? No problem, just use the drive thru ATM. Having trouble finding a car park? No problem, just use the drive thru ATM. Listening to a really interesting (read funny) segment on Hamish & Andy? No problem, just use the drive thru ATM. Worried about someone hanging around the ATM late at night? No problem, just use the drive thru, you have a couple of ton of metal as a defense!
And really, it's not that much of a hassle from the bank's perspective, if look at the picture, it's been built into the bank's property pretty well. It's just a regular ATM so no added cost there, the only added cost is the cost of the actual road but surely that would be paid off with bringing in no customers?
So Commonwealth, Suncorp, NAB or ANZ, if you want fresh ideas? Look to the drive thru!
Lest We Forget
Yesterday was the twelfth anniversary of 9/11 and this was a memorial that sprouted up on campus. I thought it was particularly effective visually. I don't know much about the pop up memorial like does the number of flags correspond to the number of deaths,etc but either way, it's a timely reminder of the brutal attacks twelve years ago.
This was a message in either the World Trade Center Museum or Visitor Center or Tribute Center or whatever it's called just near the actual memorial in New York. I remember at the time when I saw this it moving me. Because it's something we can easily relate to, love. It's hard to fathom what could be possibly be going through the mind of someone in that situation or even hearing the message on your answering machine. Either way, just reading this and reflecting really made you realise the terror that was actually inflicted.
So on this anniversary, Lest We Forget.
This was a message in either the World Trade Center Museum or Visitor Center or Tribute Center or whatever it's called just near the actual memorial in New York. I remember at the time when I saw this it moving me. Because it's something we can easily relate to, love. It's hard to fathom what could be possibly be going through the mind of someone in that situation or even hearing the message on your answering machine. Either way, just reading this and reflecting really made you realise the terror that was actually inflicted.
So on this anniversary, Lest We Forget.
"If you're wanting to go on and make some money, you're in the right field"
As sure as I am that it's a big there at UQ, Career's Fair here at Tech is apparently a big thing and why shouldn't it be? Although I believe Tech's Career Fair (or fest as one professor called it because of all the free stuff as anyone who has been to one of these things would sure agree) is quite larger than UQ's. From a software engineering perspective, we get a few big companies at UQ but we don't get reps from Google AND Microsoft AND Apple AND other big names such as EA and Intel and Symantic (Norton Anti-virus) as well as a huge slew of companies that professors on campus helped start up or co-founded.
A further indication of the scale of it is that half of campus actually dresses in their best business interview attire (suit/tie,etc) to just go to this fair. Indeed dress the part, show your intent and treat all the conversations as real interviews but from what I've seen at UQ, half the time people just slot it in between classes as if it was any other day. Maybe it's the laid back nature of Straya vs 'Merica...
An interesting remark one professor said about it was that while you may look at unemployment figures, they generally don't tell you the percentage of those that have a college degree, or even further those in the field of computer science. Apparently the unemployment in the field of computer science is near 1%. In the words of the professor "If you're wanting to go on and make some money, you're in the right field".
Although not getting the chance to check out this Career Fair (I was strangely given no information about it from the university, although I do delete on site those "Georgia Tech Daily Digest" news update emails, but everyone seemed to be talking about it...), I am unable to comment on how companies attracted students to their stand. What I can comment on is General Motors attempt to attract engineering students. Put your rep with his info on the main path outside the student center. That's bound to increase the number of people noticing you, granted. Have a some free stuff to give out, sure that helps. How about have a brand new Chevrolet Corvette just chilling next to you? Oh yeah, that certainly caught my attention! Boy, does this thing look nice. The guy said it's not modded in anyway, this is standard people. As in you could walk into a showroom and get exactly this straight off the bat. Damn, did it sound nice when he gave it a rev....
One day perhaps....although it may help if I actually go to these Career Fairs.
A further indication of the scale of it is that half of campus actually dresses in their best business interview attire (suit/tie,etc) to just go to this fair. Indeed dress the part, show your intent and treat all the conversations as real interviews but from what I've seen at UQ, half the time people just slot it in between classes as if it was any other day. Maybe it's the laid back nature of Straya vs 'Merica...
An interesting remark one professor said about it was that while you may look at unemployment figures, they generally don't tell you the percentage of those that have a college degree, or even further those in the field of computer science. Apparently the unemployment in the field of computer science is near 1%. In the words of the professor "If you're wanting to go on and make some money, you're in the right field".
Although not getting the chance to check out this Career Fair (I was strangely given no information about it from the university, although I do delete on site those "Georgia Tech Daily Digest" news update emails, but everyone seemed to be talking about it...), I am unable to comment on how companies attracted students to their stand. What I can comment on is General Motors attempt to attract engineering students. Put your rep with his info on the main path outside the student center. That's bound to increase the number of people noticing you, granted. Have a some free stuff to give out, sure that helps. How about have a brand new Chevrolet Corvette just chilling next to you? Oh yeah, that certainly caught my attention! Boy, does this thing look nice. The guy said it's not modded in anyway, this is standard people. As in you could walk into a showroom and get exactly this straight off the bat. Damn, did it sound nice when he gave it a rev....
One day perhaps....although it may help if I actually go to these Career Fairs.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
The Great Vegetable Battle of '13
I am merely posting this here so it is etched in history so people will believe me. On sunday night just gone...I can't believe I'm admitting to this....ok here goes.....I had a dinner with no meat. There I said it! It's done. Don't judge me, every now and again people are pushed to extreme limits and are forced to do things that they thought never seemed possible.
Perhaps let's back it up a little. I was at the grocery store getting a few things for dinners and I remembered that when I was living byself at home for a couple of weeks while my parents were on holiday, my mum had brought me those microwave packets of steamed vegies in an attempt to get me to eat somewhat healthy over the time. And I did eat a reasonable amount of that out of guilt...by the end I had figured out that putting seasoning on them made a world of difference!
So as I was walking through the frozen food section, I thought maybe I should get a few of those to try to be a touch healthier. Microwave meals can only do so much. I found a few ones that sounded ok. I think one was potatoes, snowpeas and something else in a garlic butter and another was carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and something else in a cheese sauce. Ok I admit, that potato in garlic butter one sounds nice but the others were bearable. So that night for dinner I decided to do one up with some garlic toast as dinner. That day for lunch I had had a chicken caesar salad so I was particularly proud of myself for having such a healthy day.
Side note incoming...The place that does this chicken caesar has an African influence so the chicken is grilled in a peri peri type sauce. Best idea ever! The spice of the chicken mixed with the creaminess of the caesar salad makes for an brilliant combination! Definitely worth trying at home.
Back to the narrative, it wasn't until I had finished cooking the vegies and poured them onto my plate that I realised my worst nightmare. It wasn't just one serve of vegies....it looked like a lot for one person. Starting to freak out, I grabbed the packaging that was resting on top of the garbage bag and frantically scanned the packet for a serving size. A few panic stricken seconds later...there it was. "Suggested serving size : 100g"(ok, I can't remember exactly what it was or even if 100g a serve is a lot but just go with me) "Serving's per package: 3". The number 3 starred at me, taunting me, laughing hysterically at me saying "You're going to have to eat triple the amount of vegetables than you wanted"...My arms fall by my side, the packaging still loosely hanging on in between my fingertips. I was in disbelief for what had started as a guilt driven experiment had turned into a challenge that no man should face. My flight or fight instincts kicked in and in a whirlwind, I grabbed and holster my two trusty weapons, salt & pepper. With a POW! and WHAM! I had assaulted (no pun intended) the vegetables with my weaponary. I picked up my fork, staring back at the vegetables which were seemingly eyeing me down and I uttered my final words..."Meet your maker!"
Vegetables were flying left and right, some even making their way into my mouth. I was in a zone, a zone I had never been before. I could hardly believe what I was doing demolishing these vegetables. I had no control, it was like I was a merely a spectator to my body. Continuing on at frenzied pace, I was soon making a meal of these vegetables (again, no pun intended). Slowly I was winning the battle, the remaining vegetables slowly become more fearful for their existence the further I went. Soon my pace slowed, I could feel my intent weakening. I could feel the despair of defeat closing in on me. But my intent remained...I took one final look at the vegetables, seeing how far I had come.
I was not going to be defeated. I was going to be victorious. I was going to finish my vegetables. I.will.win.
Closing my eyes, I powered on until the vegetables were no more. The empty plate in front of me, merely a reminder of what I had accomplished. As soon as the final piece had slid down my throat, I slumped back into my chair. The war was over. It was done. I had lived to fight another day, feeling stronger by what I had done. I will return and I fight the good fight once more.
P.S So I so intended those puns!! How good were they!!
Perhaps let's back it up a little. I was at the grocery store getting a few things for dinners and I remembered that when I was living byself at home for a couple of weeks while my parents were on holiday, my mum had brought me those microwave packets of steamed vegies in an attempt to get me to eat somewhat healthy over the time. And I did eat a reasonable amount of that out of guilt...by the end I had figured out that putting seasoning on them made a world of difference!
So as I was walking through the frozen food section, I thought maybe I should get a few of those to try to be a touch healthier. Microwave meals can only do so much. I found a few ones that sounded ok. I think one was potatoes, snowpeas and something else in a garlic butter and another was carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and something else in a cheese sauce. Ok I admit, that potato in garlic butter one sounds nice but the others were bearable. So that night for dinner I decided to do one up with some garlic toast as dinner. That day for lunch I had had a chicken caesar salad so I was particularly proud of myself for having such a healthy day.
Side note incoming...The place that does this chicken caesar has an African influence so the chicken is grilled in a peri peri type sauce. Best idea ever! The spice of the chicken mixed with the creaminess of the caesar salad makes for an brilliant combination! Definitely worth trying at home.
Back to the narrative, it wasn't until I had finished cooking the vegies and poured them onto my plate that I realised my worst nightmare. It wasn't just one serve of vegies....it looked like a lot for one person. Starting to freak out, I grabbed the packaging that was resting on top of the garbage bag and frantically scanned the packet for a serving size. A few panic stricken seconds later...there it was. "Suggested serving size : 100g"(ok, I can't remember exactly what it was or even if 100g a serve is a lot but just go with me) "Serving's per package: 3". The number 3 starred at me, taunting me, laughing hysterically at me saying "You're going to have to eat triple the amount of vegetables than you wanted"...My arms fall by my side, the packaging still loosely hanging on in between my fingertips. I was in disbelief for what had started as a guilt driven experiment had turned into a challenge that no man should face. My flight or fight instincts kicked in and in a whirlwind, I grabbed and holster my two trusty weapons, salt & pepper. With a POW! and WHAM! I had assaulted (no pun intended) the vegetables with my weaponary. I picked up my fork, staring back at the vegetables which were seemingly eyeing me down and I uttered my final words..."Meet your maker!"
Vegetables were flying left and right, some even making their way into my mouth. I was in a zone, a zone I had never been before. I could hardly believe what I was doing demolishing these vegetables. I had no control, it was like I was a merely a spectator to my body. Continuing on at frenzied pace, I was soon making a meal of these vegetables (again, no pun intended). Slowly I was winning the battle, the remaining vegetables slowly become more fearful for their existence the further I went. Soon my pace slowed, I could feel my intent weakening. I could feel the despair of defeat closing in on me. But my intent remained...I took one final look at the vegetables, seeing how far I had come.
I was not going to be defeated. I was going to be victorious. I was going to finish my vegetables. I.will.win.
Closing my eyes, I powered on until the vegetables were no more. The empty plate in front of me, merely a reminder of what I had accomplished. As soon as the final piece had slid down my throat, I slumped back into my chair. The war was over. It was done. I had lived to fight another day, feeling stronger by what I had done. I will return and I fight the good fight once more.
P.S So I so intended those puns!! How good were they!!
Sunday, September 8, 2013
#THWG
Georgia Tech (GT) has a huge rivalry with University of Georgia (UGA) that spans over a hundred years. This was the story were we told at orientation so my memory may be a little off on exact details but you'll get the idea. GT in the late 1800s were a technical school (woodwork, metalwork, stuff like that) and UGA was the more established school. GT had a bunch of guys that liked to play football (NFL/Gridiron that is) but were pretty much terrible while UGA was actually quite good. But one day, some coach saw the Tech man practicing and decided to start coaching them (you can see the fairytale starting right?).
So eventually GT went to UGA which is about an hour away and played them. By the end of the third quarter, GT were up by like 20 points. The UGA fans didn't appreciate this and starting to throw rocks and stuff at the GT team. Scared for their safety, they jumped on their bus and headed straight back to Atlanta without even finishing the game. The GT men were outrage with UGA and one player decided to write a message on the top of his house "The hell with Georgia". The phrase caught on and is now a healthy part of GT tradition. Thus a rivalry between the two schools has erupted and lasted the years.
These days, it seems that GT is the much better academic school and for the last few years, UGA has been the better football team. But that doesn't stop people making fun of UGA. In my Data Structures and Algorithms class, my professor when asking for disadvantages of a particular data structure or algorithm will say something to the effect of "Imagine your boss comes to you and says here's this software that a UGA graduate made and it's not working anymore, why?" or when explaining a queue using the metaphor of "Imagine you're in a queue at McDonalds and the UGA graduate says they can serve the next person, so the person at the front of the queue gets served" (that's FIFO for those comp sci people at there) and every time it gets a nice little chuckle.
Before I left for Atlanta, I was told by a Tech exchange student to UQ, if anyone asks you "what's the good word?" to always reply with "The hell with Georgia!". Also as an indication of the intensity of the rivalry, I was told that in the lead up to the Georgia, Georgia Tech game, they put the UGA mascot on the male urinals. Even when I was at my first college football game and I was saying to the people next to me that I really want to be at that Georgia game and joked "you know, the hell with Georgia and all that", a couple of people walking past us chanted out "The hell with Georgia".
Being a Queenslander, this sort of rivalry I can easily get behind. Growing up with State of Origin and Queensland's 8 straight titles (the last four years, it winning be $10 a series! :p), I am keen to get behind this sporting rivalry.
Despite all this, I was still surprised the other day. The Student Alumni Association (SAA) had a number of stalls around campus promoting people to join. I walked past one of these stalls slowly and looking curious (on purpose because it looked like they were giving out free stuff) when all of a sudden a man asked me "What the good word?", to which obviously I replied "The hell with Georgia....?" somewhat reluctantly. The result? I "won" a free pair of GT sunnies. The bit I love the most is the hashtag #THWG on one side which was also splattered on a few of their signs. So by just reinforcing the rivalry between the two schools, I got a free pair of sunnies and a can of coke. Any rivalry that gives me free stuff is always welcome.
Check me out sporting the lovely sunnies below (they don't suit me at all...haha) :)
#THWG
So eventually GT went to UGA which is about an hour away and played them. By the end of the third quarter, GT were up by like 20 points. The UGA fans didn't appreciate this and starting to throw rocks and stuff at the GT team. Scared for their safety, they jumped on their bus and headed straight back to Atlanta without even finishing the game. The GT men were outrage with UGA and one player decided to write a message on the top of his house "The hell with Georgia". The phrase caught on and is now a healthy part of GT tradition. Thus a rivalry between the two schools has erupted and lasted the years.
These days, it seems that GT is the much better academic school and for the last few years, UGA has been the better football team. But that doesn't stop people making fun of UGA. In my Data Structures and Algorithms class, my professor when asking for disadvantages of a particular data structure or algorithm will say something to the effect of "Imagine your boss comes to you and says here's this software that a UGA graduate made and it's not working anymore, why?" or when explaining a queue using the metaphor of "Imagine you're in a queue at McDonalds and the UGA graduate says they can serve the next person, so the person at the front of the queue gets served" (that's FIFO for those comp sci people at there) and every time it gets a nice little chuckle.
Before I left for Atlanta, I was told by a Tech exchange student to UQ, if anyone asks you "what's the good word?" to always reply with "The hell with Georgia!". Also as an indication of the intensity of the rivalry, I was told that in the lead up to the Georgia, Georgia Tech game, they put the UGA mascot on the male urinals. Even when I was at my first college football game and I was saying to the people next to me that I really want to be at that Georgia game and joked "you know, the hell with Georgia and all that", a couple of people walking past us chanted out "The hell with Georgia".
Being a Queenslander, this sort of rivalry I can easily get behind. Growing up with State of Origin and Queensland's 8 straight titles (the last four years, it winning be $10 a series! :p), I am keen to get behind this sporting rivalry.
Despite all this, I was still surprised the other day. The Student Alumni Association (SAA) had a number of stalls around campus promoting people to join. I walked past one of these stalls slowly and looking curious (on purpose because it looked like they were giving out free stuff) when all of a sudden a man asked me "What the good word?", to which obviously I replied "The hell with Georgia....?" somewhat reluctantly. The result? I "won" a free pair of GT sunnies. The bit I love the most is the hashtag #THWG on one side which was also splattered on a few of their signs. So by just reinforcing the rivalry between the two schools, I got a free pair of sunnies and a can of coke. Any rivalry that gives me free stuff is always welcome.
Check me out sporting the lovely sunnies below (they don't suit me at all...haha) :)
#THWG
Friday, September 6, 2013
Who is this Chuck guy?
Today for lunch I tried out a place in Tech Square. To put it in perspective how annoying it is to go to Tech Square generally, a huge highway goes through the middle of Atlanta. Georgia Tech campus goes right up to the left side of the highway. Tech Square is on the other side of the highway. See my annotated map below:
So you can imagine how rarely I go to Tech Square. The student center has Subway, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Chick-fil-a and the refec containing Asian, Indian, Mexican, Wraps, Mediterranean, a Sandwich/salad bar, etc. How good does that sound? Admittedly I do have to walk through Tech Square in the afternoon to get my bus home but you don't want to stop in the arvo. You just want to get home.
But today I wanted to speak to a TA (teaching assistant, aka tutor) about a homework that I had due Tuesday whose office was up in Tech Square and his office hours where from 12-1:30. So I figure, why not make a lunch out of it.
Now Tech square does have it's fair share of good eating options, granted. It has Subway, Mexican, Mediterranean/Wraps, Asian, Waffle House, (are you sensing a theme here for fast food type options...?), Frozen Yogurt (apparently fat free) and two sort of diners (one Italian, the other just generic sports bar). But one place had caught my eye in my travels. Chuck's famous sandwich bar. Famous? I'll be the judge of that...
There are two points I'd like to make about this place. Scratch that, three. Firstly, it is not famous. I have never heard of Chuck's sandwiches and I've had better sandwiches in my lifetime. Next. Secondly, when you see on the menu a chicken or tuna salad club sandwich, what do you expect? I expected chicken fillets on a club sandwich (namely bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo toasted on wheat which was advertised as the club section). I naturally assumed the salad part was either referring to the lettuce/tomato combo or the tuna comes in that mush kinda format. BTW ewww tuna..... But no chicken fillets were in sight. It was literally tuna salad but with chicken. WHY WOULD YOU WANT THAT?!?! You just ruined a perfectly good chance of a tasty sandwich and made it this weird texture. It had a vague smell and taste of chicken but in all honesty, it kinda reminded me of peanut butter which completely baffled my mind...
Admittedly, their so called famous sandwich was a roast sandwich but it had coleslaw and pickles and stuff on it and I just stopped reading when I saw those words. Maybe I'll try a burger next time instead of a sandwich.
The third thing is something that definitely blew my mind. It's something so simple yet so ingenious that it made me re-evaluate my complete notion of what this thing is. It was their lids on their cups. More specifically, the position of the straw relative to the lid. Now on most lids, the hole for the straw is in the middle, makes sense. But when you get to the end, you have to tip the cup on an angle and push the straw so that you can get the last little bit. Chuck though, has a brilliant idea. Move the hole for the straw to one side.
See my diagram for further explanation (MS Paint FTW :p):
So when you have to tip the cup on an angle, you don't have to change the position of the straw at all!! It's already in the little reservoir that you've created. How amazing is this idea?!?! Why has no one else thought of this? Is it copyrighted to Chuck? Is this why Chuck is so famous? Someone needs to answer these questions!!
So as you can see, I'm really answering life's big questions while I'm over here....
One straw at a time.
Monday, September 2, 2013
College Football on Saturday
So much like the previous entry on the Baseball. I'm going to just write what comes to me about the College Football game. I apologize in advance.
I also realise from typing these posts that I reuse a lot of sentence beginners,etc. I'm typing this in natural speak as if I was saying it as opposed to a proper written piece. Again I do apologize, I'm lazy and I'm not going to edit/proofread these posts.
The trouble with letting my mind wander on these posts and that things pop up and delay the thing I actually had in mind to type about and it takes a while to actually get to the real content. A perfect example is what I'm doing right here....how ironic.
I like irony.
So on Saturday was the first home match of the College Football season. I knew college football was a big deal here but I never realised the scale a city will get on board. Walking from the Midtown MARTA station (train/bus interchange) to campus, you could feel the atmosphere slowly building the closer you got to campus. The thing that surprised me was that it's not just students that get involved. I saw everything from families with young kids through to older couples in Georgia Tech's White & Gold colours heading towards campus. I knew the students/frats would be tailgating but I didn't expect people to be doing it in the campus carparks as well. Even if it was just two people with their camping chairs and an esky, they were doing tailgating.
The game itself was a whitewash. By the time we actually entered in the gates, it was 21-0 and it finished 70-0 to Georgia Tech. Which was great for me to watch, I love seeing touchdowns. But a large proportion, about 50% of the crowd left at half time when the score was 42-0 because as I was told "The result was clear, so why stay?" At half time, the marching band came out and did there little thing as did the cheerleaders. It was uneventful in the sense not much can be written about it. It was fairly stereotypical and was fun to witness.
I'm afraid, I don't have that many anecdotes to tell about the game. I feel like compared to the baseball post which I just finished that this looks lackluster. I did really enjoy the game and the atmosphere.
I guess one other thing of noteworthy chuckle level would be the selling off of dominos pizzas at the end of the game. They would walk through the stand with a heap of pizzas. Originally with just the personal pizza size. At the beginning of the day, the personal size pizzas were $8. The guy walking around was saying $5. We joked to the guy walking past us, that we'd give him a $1 for one (knowing they were trying to give them away). He paused and thought about it, given the right pushing, he definitely would have given to us for a $1 I reckon but we told him we were joking and he moved on. The next guy to walk past was selling the personal pizzas for $4. The price drop to get rid of them had began....
Then the full large size pizzas came around for $10. So I said to the guy, that someone had just walked past saying the large ones for $7 rather than $10. He doubted this and I insisted that he had just walked past me onto the next section saying $7. This guy looked and me and asked if I had $7...I didn't nor did I want a pizza but it was amazing how easily the people could be swayed to get rid of these pizzas. About two minutes later the guy sitting next to me paid $5 for a full large one. He told me he almost paid $4 for it but only had a fiver. When I was walking back to the bus to go home after the game, I could hear people inside the stadium, giving out free pizzas.
Not to self...hold out for the pizza right to the very end.
I also realise from typing these posts that I reuse a lot of sentence beginners,etc. I'm typing this in natural speak as if I was saying it as opposed to a proper written piece. Again I do apologize, I'm lazy and I'm not going to edit/proofread these posts.
The trouble with letting my mind wander on these posts and that things pop up and delay the thing I actually had in mind to type about and it takes a while to actually get to the real content. A perfect example is what I'm doing right here....how ironic.
I like irony.
So on Saturday was the first home match of the College Football season. I knew college football was a big deal here but I never realised the scale a city will get on board. Walking from the Midtown MARTA station (train/bus interchange) to campus, you could feel the atmosphere slowly building the closer you got to campus. The thing that surprised me was that it's not just students that get involved. I saw everything from families with young kids through to older couples in Georgia Tech's White & Gold colours heading towards campus. I knew the students/frats would be tailgating but I didn't expect people to be doing it in the campus carparks as well. Even if it was just two people with their camping chairs and an esky, they were doing tailgating.
The game itself was a whitewash. By the time we actually entered in the gates, it was 21-0 and it finished 70-0 to Georgia Tech. Which was great for me to watch, I love seeing touchdowns. But a large proportion, about 50% of the crowd left at half time when the score was 42-0 because as I was told "The result was clear, so why stay?" At half time, the marching band came out and did there little thing as did the cheerleaders. It was uneventful in the sense not much can be written about it. It was fairly stereotypical and was fun to witness.
I'm afraid, I don't have that many anecdotes to tell about the game. I feel like compared to the baseball post which I just finished that this looks lackluster. I did really enjoy the game and the atmosphere.
I guess one other thing of noteworthy chuckle level would be the selling off of dominos pizzas at the end of the game. They would walk through the stand with a heap of pizzas. Originally with just the personal pizza size. At the beginning of the day, the personal size pizzas were $8. The guy walking around was saying $5. We joked to the guy walking past us, that we'd give him a $1 for one (knowing they were trying to give them away). He paused and thought about it, given the right pushing, he definitely would have given to us for a $1 I reckon but we told him we were joking and he moved on. The next guy to walk past was selling the personal pizzas for $4. The price drop to get rid of them had began....
Then the full large size pizzas came around for $10. So I said to the guy, that someone had just walked past saying the large ones for $7 rather than $10. He doubted this and I insisted that he had just walked past me onto the next section saying $7. This guy looked and me and asked if I had $7...I didn't nor did I want a pizza but it was amazing how easily the people could be swayed to get rid of these pizzas. About two minutes later the guy sitting next to me paid $5 for a full large one. He told me he almost paid $4 for it but only had a fiver. When I was walking back to the bus to go home after the game, I could hear people inside the stadium, giving out free pizzas.
Not to self...hold out for the pizza right to the very end.
A Wandering Mind who has probably read too much Karl Pilkington recounts a Friday night at the Baseball and other things.....
On Friday night I went to my first Atlanta Braves game (that's baseball to you and me). It was a great game, we (we being the Braves) beat the Miami Marlins 2 runs to 1. But that is mostly beside the fact for the coming anecdotes....
These stories do appear in any order beside the order that I can remember them. Usually as I type these blog entries, I just let my mind wander and let whatever pops in weave it's way into my narrative, and not look back. As Karl Pilkington says "If you keep on talking, the mouth will eventually come out with something" but Karl has also said stuff like "Am I in control of my brain or is my brain in control of me?" so meh, that's Karl.
And so on with the story,
The first minor thing that comes to mind is that there is a player for the Braves called Jason Heyward. That's pretty damn close to my last name. Most of the time when it's spelled differently, it's generally Haywood so in a way, it's refreshing to see it misspelled different for a change. But in a social context, I am claiming it. And it helps that he is one of the better players in the team, well naturally, he's a He(a)yward! So for all intensive purposes, he's my brother from another mother as they say and hence, the funny. Jason Heyward, is of African American descent. So when I said to someone, he's "my brother from another mother" because I'm that gangsta (read white), they just laughed and replied "Yes...definitely another mother I would believe". Not overly amusing but at the time when a few beers had been consumed, chuckle worthy at least. I'll have to get a Heyward shirt/jersey soon in case I see another Braves game, or as just a good souvenir.
Anyhow, onwards with my memory bank. The circumstances that put me at the baseball game came to me via one of the friends I have made here. Some time ago, I received an email asking if I'd like to join the "Mates @ Tech" program. Essentially they pair you up with someone to help you settle in to college and just be a contact for you. The person I was paired up with actually just returned from an exchange stint at UNSW in sydney last semester so it was good to have someone that understood a bit of Australian culture. More to the point, is he is apart and involved in the running of one of the fraternities (frat because I'm lazy typing) on campus to which he has invited me to come along and join in for some of their events throughout the semester. Their frat organised the baseball trip.
From this preface, a natural occurrence at these sort of events, or it seems at every sports event is tailgating. Let me give you the google definition of the word tailgating.
Clearly in this context, I am referring to the latter. Tailgating is a lot of fun, a whole group of friends, having a BBQ sharing a few beers before the game. And the best thing, is you're right there at the field already so when you're ready you just head over. Now I knew what tailgating was and I assumed that everyone knew the two definitions of the word. So when my mother messages me asking how the game is and I reply that we're "tailgating atm!", I had no reason to know why this would be a problem. I put my phone away and went back to socialising with everyone. Several minutes later and a missed call later, I answer my ringing phone to my mother asking me in a worried and urgent voice, "should I be worried?!" In hindsight, apparently none of my family knew the latter meaning of tailgating and automatically assumed the worst. Classic family, right?
One thing that I didn't realise is commonplace is that it wasn't just the frat going to the game. It's common for the guys to invite "dates" along as well to the game and so a bus of about 70 odd containing the frat and a whole heap of sorority girls head off to the game. Everyone that I spoke to was very friendly, usually more so once you mention "Oh I'm actually from Australia"
"Oh wow really?" ("No, I'm an actor and just practicing my accents.")
"Yeah, just here for the semester on exchange".
"Whereabouts in Australia?"
"Brisbane.....it's about 600 miles north of Sydney" (Yes, I had to learn that conversion, it's closer to 620 miles I think). This is where the conversation becomes a choose your own adventure story:
Option A: "I've always wanted to go to Australia. Lots of people want to go to Europe and stuff but no, I want to go to Australia. It's definitely up there!"
Option B: "Oh, yeah I know Sydney. I went there for 2,3 weeks. I went to Mel-born and Sydney. I really enjoyed there. I'd love to go back."
Option C: "Oh yeah, I know <insert relative, friend, someone they met once 5 years ago> who's <working, been to, has family> in <Sydney, Melbourne, Perth>. Is that <close to you?>or<have you heard/met them?>"
Despite meeting a lot of people, I spoke to my mate@tech partner and the girl that with him the most. As the night went on, she made it a special effort to highlight whenever I said or did something that is uniquely Australian. So here is the list on things I now know to be uniquely Australian:
These stories do appear in any order beside the order that I can remember them. Usually as I type these blog entries, I just let my mind wander and let whatever pops in weave it's way into my narrative, and not look back. As Karl Pilkington says "If you keep on talking, the mouth will eventually come out with something" but Karl has also said stuff like "Am I in control of my brain or is my brain in control of me?" so meh, that's Karl.
And so on with the story,
The first minor thing that comes to mind is that there is a player for the Braves called Jason Heyward. That's pretty damn close to my last name. Most of the time when it's spelled differently, it's generally Haywood so in a way, it's refreshing to see it misspelled different for a change. But in a social context, I am claiming it. And it helps that he is one of the better players in the team, well naturally, he's a He(a)yward! So for all intensive purposes, he's my brother from another mother as they say and hence, the funny. Jason Heyward, is of African American descent. So when I said to someone, he's "my brother from another mother" because I'm that gangsta (read white), they just laughed and replied "Yes...definitely another mother I would believe". Not overly amusing but at the time when a few beers had been consumed, chuckle worthy at least. I'll have to get a Heyward shirt/jersey soon in case I see another Braves game, or as just a good souvenir.
Anyhow, onwards with my memory bank. The circumstances that put me at the baseball game came to me via one of the friends I have made here. Some time ago, I received an email asking if I'd like to join the "Mates @ Tech" program. Essentially they pair you up with someone to help you settle in to college and just be a contact for you. The person I was paired up with actually just returned from an exchange stint at UNSW in sydney last semester so it was good to have someone that understood a bit of Australian culture. More to the point, is he is apart and involved in the running of one of the fraternities (frat because I'm lazy typing) on campus to which he has invited me to come along and join in for some of their events throughout the semester. Their frat organised the baseball trip.
From this preface, a natural occurrence at these sort of events, or it seems at every sports event is tailgating. Let me give you the google definition of the word tailgating.
tail·gate
ˈtālˌgāt/
verb
informal
gerund or present participle: tailgating
- 1.drive too closely behind another vehicle."he started tailgating the car in front"
- 2.eat an informal meal served from the back of a parked vehicle."Lot 16E is reserved for alumni who wish to tailgate before the game"
Clearly in this context, I am referring to the latter. Tailgating is a lot of fun, a whole group of friends, having a BBQ sharing a few beers before the game. And the best thing, is you're right there at the field already so when you're ready you just head over. Now I knew what tailgating was and I assumed that everyone knew the two definitions of the word. So when my mother messages me asking how the game is and I reply that we're "tailgating atm!", I had no reason to know why this would be a problem. I put my phone away and went back to socialising with everyone. Several minutes later and a missed call later, I answer my ringing phone to my mother asking me in a worried and urgent voice, "should I be worried?!" In hindsight, apparently none of my family knew the latter meaning of tailgating and automatically assumed the worst. Classic family, right?
One thing that I didn't realise is commonplace is that it wasn't just the frat going to the game. It's common for the guys to invite "dates" along as well to the game and so a bus of about 70 odd containing the frat and a whole heap of sorority girls head off to the game. Everyone that I spoke to was very friendly, usually more so once you mention "Oh I'm actually from Australia"
"Oh wow really?" ("No, I'm an actor and just practicing my accents.")
"Yeah, just here for the semester on exchange".
"Whereabouts in Australia?"
"Brisbane.....it's about 600 miles north of Sydney" (Yes, I had to learn that conversion, it's closer to 620 miles I think). This is where the conversation becomes a choose your own adventure story:
Option A: "I've always wanted to go to Australia. Lots of people want to go to Europe and stuff but no, I want to go to Australia. It's definitely up there!"
Option B: "Oh, yeah I know Sydney. I went there for 2,3 weeks. I went to Mel-born and Sydney. I really enjoyed there. I'd love to go back."
Option C: "Oh yeah, I know <insert relative, friend, someone they met once 5 years ago> who's <working, been to, has family> in <Sydney, Melbourne, Perth>. Is that <close to you?>or<have you heard/met them?>"
Despite meeting a lot of people, I spoke to my mate@tech partner and the girl that with him the most. As the night went on, she made it a special effort to highlight whenever I said or did something that is uniquely Australian. So here is the list on things I now know to be uniquely Australian:
- Heaps. As in something is heaps good. The american equivalent is loads I am told.
- Parking Lot = Garage
- The Village People. Apparently no one around me knew they were gay and they all proudly sung YMCA.
- The Navy. In Australia, there are jokes about homosexuality in the Navy, particularly when you bring up the song "In the Navy" by the Village people (read above). This is a no no. The American Navy is the most "badass" section of the military and are the best division compared to the Air Force, Army or Marines.
- "How you doing?" = "How you going?"
- American Beer is commonly "Light" beer....egh taste like water flavoured beer. But you can get a 24 oz can (709 ml) for $10 at a sports event which is pretty cheap for a sports event.
- Expensive alcohol in general. I brought a six pack of Stellas for $10. They're easily $20,25 in Australia. Guess that makes up for the light beer rubbish.
The final thing I remember that amused me, is that most Americans, don't believe/know of the Boxing Kangaroo. I love to say to Americans the fact that I can go 3 blocks (slight exaggeration, depends if I'm going towards the river or towards wacol, either way it's pretty close) from my house and see kangaroos. This is usually followed up by having to say "Yeah, you gotta be careful at night time so you don't drive into them" to confirm the fact that the're close. A common reply to this is "oh that's like deer here". No I'm sorry. I've never heard of a deer punching you in the face. Yes deers with the huge antlers can do some damage but deer generally retreat rather than fight. Kangaroos are known to fight when annoyed and can do some serious damage. Their face when you bring this up is always hilarious. Which I realise after typing this paragraph doesn't transfer to the written form at all. But I remember it being amusing and it's staying...in honor of Karl.
The final highlight that I'll shed light on is a personal victory. After the game, a few of us went back to one of the guys house and kept the night going. One of the guys was choosing the music and I noticed that he was keen for the "drop". For those who don't know, in dance music the drop is when it builds up and the bass drops in and usually mayhem ensues on the dfloor. The south is generally known for Hip Hop and so hearing the guy's choice in Dubstep/Trap/Bass music wasn't unexpected as all these sub genres of dance music borrow elements from Hip Hop. Plus the american dance scene, or as they affectionately dub it, EDM (electronic dance music) is known be "noisier" than it's UK/European cousin where smoother house lines are appreciated as well. Anyhow, after one or two of his songs and hearing him say to a friend "oh wait for the drop", the Australian loving dance fan came out and told him to put Holdin' On by Flume. Oh Flume, pride of Australian dance music, better than NERVO, Tommy Trash or anyone else internationally currently. Holdin' On came in at 4th in the 2012 Triple J Hottest 100. If you haven't heard it, seriously go listen to it.
It's one 2 and half minutes so at least get a vibe.
As soon as the bass line kicked into the chorus of Holdin' On, the universal sign of approval, the head nod in time with the music with sounds of "Oh yeah" was seen from everyone that was listening. They loved Flume. Repping Australia always :D
Well this ends my Friday night recount. It was much longer than I expected. I had expected to do one post about the Baseball on Friday and College Football on Saturday but my mind wandered a fair bit on this one so if you're still reading, I do apologize. I'll try to do a post about the football game asap.
Oh one more thing I just remembered. Apparently Turner Field, where the Braves play, has the biggest TV in the whole world. It's pretty big but I'm not sure if it's really the biggest in the world....Oh and the during the ball game, the crowd loves to do the "Braves Tommerhawk" which is just the chop but pretty cool rename given the context and it looks awesome when a whole crowd does it!
Ok, I'll actually stop now. Fin
Ok, I'll actually stop now. Fin
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