Finals

The stress of finals are finally bearing down on me and I feel it.. Three exams tomorrow from 10:45-6:45pm.. It will be a long day tomorrow. I am going to have a mad power session tonight.. I know it. Luckily, I got a little bit of a break just now to do some more studying and was reminded, "Life is short, don't kill yourself." I needed that. Just like I needed a "you can do it" and received it last night from a friend. These are all true. I can do it, and I know that I will succeed, but at the same time I shouldn't kill myself studying either. Life is short. There is an equilibrium to everything, it's just a matter of finding it..

Last Thursday of the Semester

Yup. This is it and I finally made it... Well at least almost. Many days of late nights preparing for exams or wrapping up hw due the next day followed by exhaustion and a failing immune system due to the lack of sleep will be over next week. I know that I feel like this at the moment because thatis exactly what I did last night. It's funny how at the beginning of the semester one says that this might be a long one and at the end of the semester one talks about how fast it went by. Did it really go by quick? Or was it long? Everyone has a different opinion. It could be that time really is going by faster than we want it to or it's going the same pace it always has. Maybe we are just looking at it from the wrong perspective just trying to rush through it. This is my third year at Chapman and it feels as if it went by quick. Sometimes we just have to take a second to sit down and smell the roses. Education is a college students life but there are still other values that need appreciation. Life goes by quick. Enjoy the moment.

IS Career?

Does being good at something or having the ability to do something well necessarily mean that you should pursue that as a career? Even though you might not like it with a passion! I feel like that is what makes me wishy/washy when it comes to finalizing my major and its exact focus. I've had the opportunity to try different types of courses and the outcome has always been: I like it, but don't receive an awesome grade or I'm not fascinated with the criteria but I do tend to perform fairly well in the course. In other words, what is stopping me from following a IS career or an accounting career? And why am I pursuing a career in economics? Oh buddy.. Decisions, decisions..

InfoSystems Midterm#4

WOOP-D-WOOP! So I didn't end up doing all too bad on the last midterm. I got a 94 on that exam and a 100 on the first excel assignment. This is great. The excel assignment caught me by surprise because I struggled so much figuring everything out at first Thursday night. I'm a bit of a procrastinator. Can you tell?? But now I just have to focus on the next excel sheet which I'm going to try to finish by Wednesday night, which is probable but unlikely. The reason being might be due to the Real Estate Midterm I have Thursday. I think my bad habit of procrastination comes from my concept of prioritizing. I tend to put much more attention on what is due first and set the rest aside. The problem with that is that the next item on my list of priorities happens to be due either the next day or with a short time frame between the previous prioritized item and the next. Not enough time! I think it's time to change my tactic. We shall see for finals!

Another Week Gone By

Well, the week is over. Mondays through Wednesdays are always power sessions for me. Not until Thursday afternoons is it over for me. I had a midterm which I believed was fair in difficulty level and a macroeconomics exam the same day which I thought was brutal. I am enjoying a sense of relief at the moment and I felt it even more after I submitted my excel hw before I went to work yesterday morning. One more week of the usual routine and then finals. I will take this weekend to vent and relax for a bit because I know that starting next week, it wont be over until I submit my last final exam.

Break and Yesterday's Sobering "Back To School"

It's been a while since the last time I blogged on here. I've gotten lazy and it was because of the Thanksgiving break. That break can be deadly for some, just because it is right before finals and it's an opportunity for anyone to "check out" for the semester. Even though it really is only about half a week long. I enjoyed my Thanksgiving. I didn't go anywhere in particular, but why would you if you are already home. I practically did nothing but enjoyed my time off with my family. Was it worth it? YES! I havnt been that relaxed in a looong time. Now that I came back to school this week, I am trying to play catch up. But it's ok because it forces me to get back in to rythm for finals in about a week and a half.

Yesterday's class session covered Excel Demo #2 and I must say that I didn't know so much was possible with excel. I've taken my accounting classes already and I struggled to even do the most basic assignment on excel. I was doing everything the long way and I must say, I learned many shortcuts that would've been useful for that class. Now it's just a matter of remembering it all. Midterm#4 this Thursday, or tomorrow actually, yikes. But I am glad I've actually made some effort to do some studying ahead of time. Tonight's studying shouldnt be too heavy of a load.. Actually, I just might be up really late due to the fact that today is my younger brothers birthday so that depends on when the family leaves my house tonight. O'well.. I will make that sacrifice for him. Happy Birthday Julian!! I love that kid.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence. It reminds me of two of my all-time favorite movies: A.I. by Steven Spielberg and Terminator featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It really makes me wonder how soon, and if we are already there, will all the fields of sciences combine to create this one identical human-like robot that will pass as one of us. Artificial intelligence that will be able to walk, talk, think, and feel just like any one of us. Another curiosity of mine is whether the results of creating these products be the same as either one of the movies I mentioned. This topic is always a question of morality..

Midterm#3 (Results)

I checked my results yesterday and I am very satisfied with the outcome. I was really sweating bullets the night before. I did find it a little more difficult than the other two midterms but still, I am happy. I stressed and worked really hard all last week and am glad it payed off. I've had a great weekend so far. I had a chance to vent and am feeling quite at ease at the moment. I am going to enjoy these next couple weeks, at least until finals week grows even closer.

Midterm#3

Midterm#3 is here already. It came so quick! For some reason I feel unsettled for but at the same time at ease. NOT A GOOD SIGN! I know i did fairly well on the last exam, but I dont want to feel relaxed walking into the class thinking I will ace it easily. I will definitely have to do some crunching for this one. The most difficult part for me this time is the fact that I have another midterm, that same day! Right before class as well. As I am walking out of my Real Estate midterm, I will walking into the belly of the beast across the hall. All I can do is prepare and hope for the best because at that point, it is what it is. CRUNCH TIME!

Robot Video

You hear about robots and how they are used in many manufacturing companies and you remain indifferent. At least that is the case with me. I am pretty sure that these robots have been in the back of many companies for many years now and they still aren't acknowledged for how much work they put towards a company. Even more, the intelligence it took to create such a masterpiece. That video we saw on Tuesday was definitely astonishing to me because I've never paid much attention to how agile and life-like they are now. Robotics are bound to make their way out of the backshop of manufacturing companies and into our social and personal lives sometime soon.

Droid vs iPhone

Last week I found out that the iPhone would be released through Verizon, which I think is fantastic because I have my service through Verizon. And better, it is time for me to renew my phone contract with them in December. It was about time because I currently have the Verizon Voyager, which I've had for the past two years and it is literally falling apart. The screen that flips open is attached by two hinges (i think they're called) and one of them is completely broken. I just hope that if it completely breaks off, they could still probably transfer the memory over to my new phone. But for the meantime, I am just trying to be careful with it. But anyways, like I was saying. It will be coming down to the Droid X or iPhone for me. I definitely will be doing some research on this decision because I originally wanted the Droid, but the iPhone has such a high rep. And I'm sure it'll be even better with Verizon as a service. We shall see...

3-D Maps

Since I didnt manage to make it to class on Tuesday, I as might as well blog about the report I intended on presenting. This article is based on 3-D maps. Interesting right? At Washington University, Austin Abrams developed an application, along with a faculty adviser and a graduate student, that could project a 3 dimensional map using Webcams and Google Earth scenes to forge a correspondence between 3-D and 2-D images. This internet application can be accessed through www.projectlive3d.com, where webcams are accessed and contributed towards the expansion of the 3-D map. This makes looking at maps a lot more fun, and it kind of reminds me of the maps projected in Star Wars. Like in some of the scenes where they are observing the Death Star or the planet of Endor. I cant wait until you could actually touch and feel the projections of 3D maps.

Acces#1

I finally managed to finish my first Access assignment on Thursday. It wasnt as terrible as I expected it to be without Tuggle's assistance. There a few sections where I really had to think back to when we were in class but luckily I managed to figure it out. Maybe for the next time we work on something a little more complex, I'll manage to take notes on exactly what to click and type in. Step by Step. Because otherwise I am just playing with the software for a few hours.

Workshop #2

I am glad that I'm getting some hands on experience in creating these types of files on Access, but I find it really frustrating when I miss a specific direction because then the entire project goes down the drain. It is really tedious for me because I have to be paying attention and at the same time performing all the intructions (which tend to take me a good while). It takes me back to my computer class in grade school when I was learning how to use the most basic programs such as Word, Excel, etc.. I remember always falling behind in directions and having to ask my neighbor "how do we do that?", "how did you get there?", "what did you push?", "what did she say?".. That was always the most frustrating part. And on top of that, when I would get home, I didnt remember how to perform any of the given instructions because I just couldn't remember. I'm going to get going on these assignments right away because I dont want to be caught in that same situation and not be able to complete it due to my lack of memory..

Today's Exam

Finally, the midterm is over with.. YES!! This exam has been anticipated all week and really has been stressing me out. I felt like I did pretty well on it, at least I felt that way because I went throught it really quick. But then again, that could go both ways.. Im just going to be optimistic about it and hope for the best results.
On tuesday I actually got my hands dirty and put something together on the computer. I am glad I got the chance to do this because I had never used Microsoft Access before. Surprisingly, my computer has the software as well! That is good, I might have been in a little bit of a situation if I had not.

Thursday Oct. 7

I wasn't able to make to class on Thursday since I was feeling under the weather.. So I guess I'll talk about one of the articles I had prepared to present that day. I had pulled out this article called "Vigilant Camera Eye" from technews which is based on a new camera system that would enhance security in public areas and buildings. It would record data in real time and when it notices something out of the unusual it locks on and zooms in to scope out the scenario. "The automatic camera system is designed to replicate human-like capabilities in identifying and processing moving images." Overall, it is supposed to replace the job of someone who is supposed to keep watch of large areas. The article uses a soccer stadium as an example where security can't necessarily keep track of everything going on within the crowd of fans, which is why this new innovative camera system was invented. It is easier view the entire image of all the fans, record the data, and when a brawl breaks out it flags it immediately. In other words, if you happen to working as security at large events like these, you might want to consider a different career path because you will be replaced by a machine!

Tues Oct. 5, 2010

"Flat File Databases are easy to set up and don't require expert knowledge." Hmmm.. I think I may have created these type of files in the past, perhaps I just wasn't aware of it. Just from the way the guy on the video was explaining it, it doesn't seem too complex in comparison to many other things in our class of information systems. I guess we're finally going to have a chance to do some "hands on work" in creating something in class on the computer, aside from this blog; which by the way is the first time I ever create a blog for myself. I have never created a website, URL, blog, etc until today. Besides facebook and all those other online networks. So this should be interesting..

Thursday 09/30/10

That video that we saw in class today kind of made me want to be a little bit of a nerd.. If I had known that so many of the programs that I use today were easily attainable and probably downloadable for free, I would have done that and saved a few hundred bucks. It sucks not being up to date with everything that is available over the web because it shuts out opportunities available to me. O'well not being too computer savi has its ups and downs.

Tuesday 9/28/10

I never paid much attention to how much software changes.. Especially now that Tuggle was explaining in class how microsoft has changed from vista to XP to the current windows7. Its funny because I've actually owned all of those softwares on my PC throughout the years and never really cared. I didnt make much of a difference to me until now that I notice the differences on windows7 and its performance. I also found it amusing when I went home tuesday used my computer and when I was shutting it down, it began to update everything right before it powered off. Quite interesting.. Tuggle wasnt kidding about that.

Thursday 9/23/10

I enjoy getting the results back from an exam back, whether it is positive or negative, just because I anticipate it so much. The results from this first exam were pretty good for me. I'm glad I got the score given because I felt it was well-deserved due to excessive amount of studying I did this past weekend. So far so good. The material covered today is easier for me to comprehend, in comparison to everything covered in the previous chapters ending in "systems". It was a bit overwhelming, but it seems to be falling into place now. I actually recognized a lot of the terms covered and familiarized them with a computer class I took in junior high, so that's good. I can finally see the use of this class in everyday life.

Thur Sep 16 Lecture

Alex Bernstein versus the IBM 704... That IBM 704 totally had Mr. Bernstein sweating up a storm in that game of chess. Watching that video was definitely a blast from the past. It's amazing to see how far computers have come along since then. A computer literally went from a room filled with refrigerator sized machines to a handheld device in a few decades. Who ever would have guessed that a computer would be able to communicate with a human being in a game of chess and be able to point out when the player makes an illegal move! Today it really isn't that big of a deal because I am sure we all have chess on our phones or computers and have a visual on there as well. The only thing I wasn't sure about was how they punched in the positions of all the chess pieces into the computer. Quite astonishing to be honest...

Tues Sep 14 Lecture

Today I was lucky enough too go up and present my article on a pressure sensitive device developed to imitate human skin. I thought it was definitely a breakthrough in technology, especially for people with prosthetic limbs. It creates the potential for someone who utilizes these prosthetic parts to have the advantage of being able to feel with it as well. It isn't for sure, but it is a step closer towards this new innovation.

We also watched some Canadian video with a pretty sweet theme song in the background. It focused on the relationship between the management of knowledge and technology. It used this Canadian company as an example to prove the success of great management between these two factors. It never really occurred to me the difference between data and information, or at least I had never had the chance to distinguish the both. Data is raw, and information is processed. This is what makes the data useful for managers to collaborate with their knowledge and make business decisions.

Thursday Sept 9 Lecture

Today was the first time I present one of the technews articles and it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. It was a little nerve-wracking waiting to see if I got called up but it was all downhill once I was up there. My best strategy would probably to get up there as often as I can, just to get into the habit of it and get those participation points up!
As much as the idea of information systems and information technology may seem dry and insiginificant at first, it really does serve as an efficient tool for managers. I'm a business major with an emphasis in entrepreneur ship and now that I am looking at the BIG picture of a business, I know that IS and IT will make my job a lot easier. Especially having a CIO around to handle that messy part of the business. I am pretty sure I will stick to management.

Tuesday Sept. 7 Lecture

Going into this Info Systems class, I thought I knew what a system was but as I learn more and more throughout the lectures, the more I realize that I hardly know anything at all in this class. I always had an idea or at least a picture in my mind of what a system was, but could never pinpoint the definition and tell someone else what it was. Now, I am struggling to grasp the idea of a system because of the complexity of it. Although I do struggle to understand some concepts, I find it very interesting how there are differentiating subsystems within systems. It is remarkable how a cybernetic system has broken down roles within itself to be able to function on its own and provide feedback and control (room temperature example). These types of systems makes our daily lives a lot easier and we don't even realize that. At least I never did.

Thursday's Lecture (9/2/10)

Today's lecture was quite enlightening in the sense of learning what tools are used in the business environment. It never really occurred to me that managers/entrepreneurs based their decisions on information that had been processed by systems. Information systems are kind of like the back shop. All the information is sent there, where it is processed, organized, and made available to people who have to make these business decisions. I also found it interesting how often technology is advancing. With the technology daily news reports, it made me aware how quick technology is growing in the business world and in our everyday lives.