I have finished all my finals. Now I get to enjoy less than 2 weeks of summer vacation before my coop job starts. I should make a list of all the things I want to do or else I don’t think I’ll get anything done. Maybe I’ll finally have some time to play Xbox360. It seems that with school I haven’t had much time at all the be able to play. I have been playing with my server some more. I upgraded the BIOS and set the “strap N/B” to FSB1066. One webpage said this allows me to up the FSB and not affect the PCIe frequency. Well it seems to have worked. I’m not sure if it was the BIOS update or the changing of that setting but I’m idling a lot cooler now, around 25 degrees. I also upped the clockspeed to 3.0ghz by setting the external clock to 150mhz. So far so good.
New Server Installed
I put together all the components and the new server is in place. The computer itself seems very responsive, I am thinking that is due to the dual core. I didn’t go crazy with overclocking and just put it at 2.8ghz. Overall, no problems so far and hope that continues.
Positive Results
I have finally gotten back some of my marks and I have to say that I did good on the early finals. I am a little disapointed that my Chinese mark wasn’t above 90% but that is just wishful thinking. I am surprised with my mark on the CS340 final. I actually got 80% on it, and here going into it I was getting all worried about failing it. I haven’t gotten back anything else yet. I only have one more final left; wednesday I write Economics 202. This one could be interesting since my marks so far this semester in this class seem to be on the low side. I didn’t do well on the midterm and my assignments are below perfection. This can all be attributed to not having enough time to designate to this class. So now, with only 1 complete studying day before the final I have to make up for an entire semester of falling behind. I figure it should be manageable since the class is “Introduction to Macroeconomics”
New Server Ordered
Last night I ordered up a new server. I went with:
Overall I think this will be a fine replacement machine for what I’m currently using. With a little bit of an overclock it will be the fastest machine in my house. The funny part of the whole thing is, that the mobo doesn’t come with any onboard video card. I am going to have to take the PCI card out of the Pentium 166 and put it into this new machine. Good thing I don’t plan on playing games on it!
3 Down – 2 to go
I have finished Chinese 100, CS340, and CS290AF. Now all I have left to do is CS306, and Econ202. Those two shouldn’t be too difficult and I’ll have plenty of time to study. I still haven’t gotten back any marks yet, but that is to be expected. In other news, I am thinking about upgrading my apache/mysql server. I have been looking at the Intel Pentium D 805, it seems like a really cheap dual core processor with good overclocking capabilities. If I order that I’ll probably get a decent mobo with 1gb of ram. I think that this would stabilize this webpage because as of late things just seemed to be getting flaky. For some reason the Pentium 166 keeps losing its IP address and disconnecting itself from the network. This isn’t that hard to fix but it requires rebooting. With the Pentium 3 – 500mhz machine, it will occassionally blue screen. I could probably fix this by reinstalling windows or installing linux but it is also used by my parents to check emails. They won’t let me touch their emails or let me switch them from outlook :( Time to get the credit card ready because I’m ordering a new computer!
Finals Moving Along
I have only finished my Chinese 100 final so far. I think I did really well in that class and I am looking forward to doing Chinese 101 in the fall. Next up, CS340 tonight and CS290 tomorrow night. These two finals will be terrible and I am not looking forward to doing them. I am hoping that I will somehow get a surge of knowledge and somehow answer all the questions correctly. After these finals are done, I’m going to make sure I buy a new game like Oblivion. I haven’t had much time at all to play any games recently so I suppose I could go back and play some of the games I already own. Summer is almost here and I am highly anticipating it.
Freeware Heaven
If you have ever spent more than five minutes searching for some good freeware, than have I got a site for you. eConsultant has a giant list of more freeware programs than you can shake a stick at, and did I mention they are all free?
I am often asked to recommend certain software and I found that this list includes many of the same programs that I would tell others to use. This list is handy for any person who likes to use freeware, wants something that is easily readable and wants direct links to the programs mainpages.
Direct Link to the list
Trailer Park Boys Season 6
Trailer Park Boys Season 6 will be starting on Sunday, April 16. The first episode is titled “The Way of the Road”. Even though I have already seen the first couple episodes (re: leaked episodes) I am still anticipating the new season. Season 5 will be coming out to DVD on May 9, so it isn’t really that far off. I will be making sure to pick that one up. I had to watch the entire fifth season by downloading the episodes over the internet since I was in China. I wonder what kind of special features they will throw in there. Additionally, the Trailer Park Boys Movie, “The Big Dirty” is going to be coming out in 142 days, so that should be in September or so. It might seem like a long way ahead but I’m sure it will be here in no time at all. The waiting will be worth it.
Chinese Oral Exam
I start off what I consider to be my first final today. I have a Chinese oral one-on-one exam. The interview is going to consist of me answering 10 questions, and then asking 5. After this, I will have to read a paragraph writen in pinyin. I do not think it will be too difficult but I would really really like to do well. I guess I will try. . “do or do not, there is no try”…
Happy Birthday
Today is my 21st birthday. Last night I had a birthday party and invited over Arthur, Nick, Chris, and Derek to play games, drink, and celebrate my birthday. It was a really great time. I supplied some of the alcohol (Smirnoff Vodka, Jagermeister, and the oh so favorite Chinese Baijiu). For games, we played Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, and then some Top Spin 2. Then, I made some pizzas and some mini bagel bites. I think it would be safe to assume that everyone in attendance had a good time.