an Essay on my experience at a Place I worked for October 25, 2009
Posted by Josh Stroud in collge essays.add a comment
Wrote this for a 200-250 word MIT essay prompt. It actually comes to more like 901 words. Go figure.
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I walked into the converted warehouse, skittish and sweaty. I paused, my mere 15 years marking me like florescence. I walked among the cubicles, filled with professional people doing professional things with professional-looking computers. And here I was in a light yellow t-shirt and some faded jeans. I shoved my heart back down into my rib cage, and found someone less busy to ask “where Brent was.” They pointed back, and I walked to my new boss’ desk.
Belief in God October 24, 2009
Posted by Josh Stroud in Uncategorized.add a comment
Reprinted here with permission of its author is an essay on belief in God. Specifically the belief of Josh Stroud, author. This essay was written for a philosophy class focused on the ideals of Dostovesky’s The Brothers Karamazov. There are several references to the characters of said book in the essay. A quick Google search should give a summary of each character, if needed.
–Josh Stroud
I’m Working on a Physics Engine June 4, 2009
Posted by Josh Stroud in Uncategorized.Tags: as3, flash game, flex 3, physics engine
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Even though there are already dozens of physics engines available online for Adobe’s Flash Player, last summer I decided to make one of my own. I largely abandoned it after about a month, but a couple weeks ago I took it up again and built a cool little physics toy with it (programmed entirely using AS3 and Flex 3). I built it as an exercise in object-oriented programming. Remember, it’s a toy, not a game.
Here’s the link (if only wordpress would let me host swfs on their pages):
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/498134
Zune 3.0 is Awesome September 16, 2008
Posted by Josh Stroud in Uncategorized.3 comments
Just wanted to say, that, owning a 2G Zune (80gb), I downloaded the new Zune 3.0 software, and it is good. Especially the subscription options. More later. Out.
4chan, Rorta, dizzy.ws, Hacker Labs BBS, etc. Cause Me to Lose Faith in Humanity September 13, 2008
Posted by Josh Stroud in Musings.Tags: 4chan, dizzy.ws, rorta
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For those nubs who read my blog and don’t know what 4chan.org, rorta.net, dizzy.ws, Hacker Labs BBS, etc. are (just several of the millions of sites out there which aren’t exactly savoury), (also, fuck grammer, I think) this isn’t for you. Go google it or something. But, browsing through these fourms, sites, etc., I think I lost faith in humanity. No long tirade here, but, then again, I’m a cynic anyway. (my thoughts on my political views according to my Facebook profile: “We’re fucked either way”) I’m probably overly pessimistic. But, hey, the world ends in 8 weeks, right? So doesn’t matter much.
UPDATE: Actually, we have a couple months extension thanks to a leak. Also, typing in the dark is hard.
Picks for a Sub-$1100 Gaming Desktop August 18, 2008
Posted by Josh Stroud in lists, technology.Tags: build, build list, computer, computer build list, computer parts, gaming, gaming computer
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Skip to the Components List, or read on for the overview.
Overview:
I need a new computer. I’ve needed one for a long while. You see, four years ago next January my dad bought me a new HP Pavilion 17” laptop, running a dual-core AMD Turion at 1.6 Ghz, with 2 gigs of RAM, and an 80GB hard drive. A year and a half later, my dad dropped it, open, screen side down, unto a glass table, at which point the shoddily-made table collapsed, bringing the innocent laptop down another 3 feet at a punishing 9.80665 meters/s2. This led to the demise of the said HP Pavilion a month later (the screen’s hinges were broken, and evantually snapped off, creating what is known as a “ghost,” or headless, laptop). This led to my father’s generous donation of a 2002 Dell Inspiron, on which I am writing this post, with a 15” screen, 1.50 Ghz single-core Intel Pentium M, 512MB of RAM, and a whopping 40GB of space, already half full (or half empty) with Windows XP Professional and a couple other vital programs (Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, crapware). So, I’ve been using this computer until now, when I, having come by approximately $1100, have decided to build (not buy) a powerful, yet budget-friendly, gaming computer. I won’t explain my reasons, but, obviously, I want to play games on a high resolution. So, without further ado, the list.
Update: As of August 25th, I’m revising this list (again). This reflects the price drops, changes in my thinking, etc. No, I have not yet actually bought the components, but whatever. I’ll get around to it (eventually). Things I changed: CPU (dual-core) from E8400 to E8500, because it’s $20 for an extra .16GHz; why not right? Sound card- I don’t know about this one yet. I love me some good sound, but I’m not sure whether I need a sound card. If I have the money, I’ll buy it (or maybe just get some nice headphones).
Components List*:
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz (Dual-core) – $170 – link
- (Updated) CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz (Dual-core) – $190 – link
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz – $190 – link (preferred b/c can be overclocked to past 3.2 GHz)
- Motherboard: MSI P7N SLI Platinum $149 – $20 rebate - link
- Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Pro – $149 – link
- RAM: w/e u can get, <$80, low cas latency, low timings (a-data, g-skill, cosair, etc)
- HDD: Any of the drives listed here. A RAID 0 or RAID 1 config, maybe with two 500 or 750s. Comes to about $170 (whitebox includes warranty, but make sure to CHECK)
- Case: NZXT Tempest, $120 -$10 mail-in rebate – link
- Case: Antec Nine Hundred, $120 – $40 mail-in rebate – link
- PSU (if needed): Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W, $65 – $30 mail-in rebate – link
- PSU: FSP Group FX600-GLN , $110 – link
- Optical Drive: Just use one from old computer/buy at Fry’s for $10
- (Updated, dropped $10) GFX Card: Radeon 4850, ~$180 $170- link
- Additional Cooling System: Buy ONLY if necessary, perhaps cpu fan, heat sink, fan controller?
- (Updated) Optional Component: Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer Sound Card – link
- Total Range (adding $50 as a margin, rounding up, including rebates if listed): $950 – 1089
Note: This list may be subject to extreme change, including the money instead being used for a new car, new clothes, new girlfriend, etc. At this point, however, all are unlikely, so the list stays.
UPDATE: 08-18-2008 – Tweaked a couple of urls, added descriptors, etc. Keep in mind, this list was copied from a simple to-do list in notepad++, the only advantage of which is that, keyed to a Windows-N using AutoHotkey, it starts in a second, tops. Compare that to Word’s comparatively slower time. Thus, I keep all lists, logs, etc. in .txt format. Also, since I forgot to mention it earlier, I added little anchors, not unlike Wikipedia has. Makes it easier to navigate, I think. Obviously, there isn’t enough to really help, but it’s a trial. Tell me what you think in the comments.
Profuse thanks goes to Tom’s Hardware and Extremetech for their excellent resources for computer components. Also, I used Amazon, Newegg, and Google Search to help find reviews, prices, etc.
Back to components list.
Calculus? OMGWTFBBQROFL… July 30, 2008
Posted by Josh Stroud in Personal, education.Tags: calculus, education, learning, math, opencourseware, self-taught
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Being bored at work today, mostly because I finished my project, and was waiting for my boss to give me my next project, I began to lurk some forums. In browsing the programming section, I realized how limited my programming knowledge was. I also realized that my mathematics knowledge is limited. I don’t know how I connected the two in the head, but for some reason I googled “calculus” and opened this MIT OpenCourseWare textbook (OCW is explained here) titled Calculus. So, I’m am/going to start reading/learning this. Mostly because this person, enrolled as he is in college, is taking Calculus. So, I need to teach myself so I can keep up. Otherwise, I have to wait like two years. So, wish me luck.
AND, lest I fall off, I will post progress on a weekly basis, detailing what I learned, and what chapter I’m on. In addition, I’ll post the answers to some of the practice problems posted in the textbook pdf.
Here’s to 1.1.
Also, if anyone know what the scientific word for self-taught is, please post it in the comments. It’s really annoying me. Thanks.
EDIT: The redcode review story is coming, kind of. I’ve been really busy because I’ve had work and football practice, but since practice ends today, I’ll have an additional three hours daily to spend on redcode (or sleeping). In other news, I stopped writing my blog posts in HTML, because, well, I’m just really lazy. My HTML knowledge will just become worse than it was; is it possible to have negative knowledge?
Comfort for a Ravaged Economy July 16, 2008
Posted by Josh Stroud in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
For those of you reading the news (like anyone reads anymore), or watching CNN, or following the stock market, I’ve found a bit of comfort: (or link) (note: it’s a bit cut off; click on it for the right tenth)
What does the above mean? The S&P 500 is an index of 500 different US companies; the index can be taken as a rough estimate of the US economy as a whole. As seen above, our economy isn’t actually as bad as it was in 2003-2004.
The comfort is hopeless, because we’re facing a sharper drop than before, and we’ll probably continue to decline, but, from this graph, we aren’t that bad yet. Although actually we are. So, for those of you who don’t care, we’re fine. For those of you who do, we are fucked.
Success!! June 29, 2008
Posted by Josh Stroud in Personal, josh stroud.Tags: josh stroud, Personal
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I just bought josh-stroud.com. As you can see, nothing is happening, but I’ll get it to forward to my blog (this site) ASAP. Hopefully, I will finally be NUMBAH 1 when you google josh stroud. Right now, I’m like 8. The asswipe holding joshstroud.com, as you can see, is making great use of it, so I performed a whois on the site and saw that the registration expires the seventh of october, 2008. I’m there that day, baby. Until then, here’s to the birth of the Josh Stroud google entity. (not “Workout Wednesday With Josh Stroud” here)
UPDATE: On yahoo, I’m already number 1. Sweeeeet. On MSN, though, I’m not even on the first page. *tear*
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