Jonathan's Journal

12:22pm: I'm trying to finish these stupid web designs for my school job. I'm not having much luck, but then again I'm also not putting too much effort into it.

If I can finish one design with content today, I'll be happy.

7:39pm: The starter on my car went out today. I bought a new starter, but need someone to put it in; I'm going to call the technical college and see if any students want practice. :P

I went to Office Depot today to buy a typewriter ink cassette. I told the clerk I wanted a Smith Corona H-series cassette. He stared blankly at me for a moment. I had to wonder how many requests for typewriter ink cassettes they receive on any given day.

(I dug my typewriter out of the attic to use in filling out forms where handwriting seems unprofessional/tacky. Yes, I know I could scan the form into my computer and type in Photoshop or Acrobat Professional, but I'd rather use the computer as little as possible :P)

10:36am: Quiz
At work, bored.

( Quiz: Which color of death is yours? )

11:40am: A new quarter began, so my classes are:

Biology 102 (finally taking this--I've been putting it off!!)
Computer Science 122 - Advanced Object-Oriented Programming in Java
English 464 - Occupational Technical Writing

I'm so close to graduating with a B.A. in Technical Writing and a Minor in Computer Science, yet it seems so far... :P

8:15pm: Argh. Got a speeding ticket on I-20 West in Bienville Parish. 85 mph in a 70 mph zone. $190, argh.

My fault, however.

10:51am: ( Quiz underneath )

Wow, a busy semester. The big project is a manual specific to my university for Adobe GoLive. I think it's kind of like reinventing the wheel, but okay, it's 50% of my entire grade. I'll do it. :)

10:36pm: Two six packs and a few illegal drugs later....

I have found the solution.

It was as simple as taking the inverse tangent of the destination lat/long point. (remember the earth is to be considered flat for this assignment, no curves), and then adding 90, -90, 180, or 270, depending on whether the ending point is located in NE, SE, NW, or SW quad.

In Java:

Math.toDegrees(Math.atan(opposite/adjacent)) + 90;

or whatever, depending on the destination direction

Yes, I know this is basic trig. I'm stupid ;)

I'm excited because I did this without any help from the professor, fellow students, or anyone online.

Just Google :)

4:05pm: Whew!
Figured out part of the problem.

( The Java code so far )

All day, and still not done.

11:02am: Wow, so i've gotten into a class over my head. I've never had trig, except a brief introduction in high school.

If anyone on my friends list would be willing to help me with the following problem, I'd be forever grateful. No need to help me with the Java code, I can write that quite easily. Ironically, I have no idea what math formulas to use. I know Java quite well.

--- Problem below ---

We just discovered a new planet we call Flat Earth. Similar in size to our planet (with a 24,000 mile circumference), Flat Earth is 24,000 miles from left edge to right edge and 12,000 miles from top edge to bottom edge. Also similar to our planet, the Flat Earthers use lines of latitude and longitude to identify positions on the surface of Flat Earth. You will write a program to compute the distance between any two locations on Flat Earth and the bearing that a flight would have to take to get from the starting location to the ending location. This program will also continue asking for coordinates and providing distances until the option to quit is selected. You will be graded on correctness, coding practices, and how close your output looks like the sample provided.

Specifics
1. There is no restriction on starting and ending locations. They can even be the same location (yielding a 0 mile distance at a bearing of 0°).
2. All points are specified in latitude (horizontal lines) and longitude (vertical lines). On Flat Earth, all latitude lines are parallel and all longitude lines are parallel.
3. Lines of longitude go from 180° E (180.0) to 180° W (-180.0).
4. Lines of latitude go from 90° N (90.0) to 90° S (-90.0).
5. You will have to give your answer for distance in miles.
6. Bearings are in degrees with N being 0°, E being 90°, S being 180°, and W being 270°.
7. As an obvious hint: you will use the Pythagorean Theorem and basic trigonometry. As a second hint: use the double data type to ensure accuracy in computations. We will discuss the printf function to format your output so it looks right (someone remind me in class!).
8. The output should list the two locations, the distance in miles, and the bearing in degrees relative to the starting location. Adopt (latitude, longitude) as the output format for locations, you can round the mileage value to the nearest integer, and you can round the bearing value to the first decimal place. Note that small roundoff errors will not be counted off, but you should use the double data type for all floating-point values to minimize loss.
9. You should use JOptionPane input and output dialog boxes (showInputDialog, showMessageDialog).

Sample Test Data and Example Output
If we select a starting location of (28.6, -127.3°) and an ending location of (-17.4, 2.5), the distance would be computed as 9,180 miles at a bearing of 109.5°. The output would look like the following:

Starting Location: (28.6 N, 127.3 W)
Ending Location: (17.4 S, 2.5 E)
Distance: 9180 miles
Bearing from Starting Location: 109.5 degrees

6:11pm: Wow
I feel sorry for those at my old university. Check this out.

Probably, the entire PHP/MySQL search engine I wrote for them--including the copy on a backup tape--was destroyed. :(

9:55pm: Bleh

10:22pm: Update
A really brief update.

School started. I am busy again. I've been working when I can through temp agencies and some online work, it is paying the necessary bills right now, which is excellent.

I am still very satisfied with my car. I am continually impressed at how well it was taken care of by the previous owner (my neighbor). I got the front tires replaced 2 weeks ago, and it's riding even more smoothly than before.

Saturday I have a job through a temp agency: valet parking at Louisiana Downs Casino & Horse Racing, a one-day job for Winner's Circle day. $8/hr plus tips (tips will be really good, most likely).

10:30am: My car
So the car I bought is working out really good so far ... and I finally got a picture of it.

10:50pm: Found a car
Keeping the advice from neteng in mind, I went out looking for a used car again, this time without any extreme expectations. I knew more of what I needed and wanted this time.

Turns out, I didn't have to go far. After one day spent at various used car dealerships, I came home to see my neighbor selling a 1993 Mitsubishi Eclipse, identical to a car I'd seen earlier in the week at a used car lot in town, but in much better condition.

I took it for a test drive, the original asking price was $3200. I came home, checked kbb.com, found that a private party sale for that year model car should be somewhere around $2500.

I had two mechanics look at it, both agreed the car has no mechanical issues. It does, however, need two new front tires. My neighbor has been the sole owner, which is a plus, and I know he has taken care of the car, I've seen it at his house for a very long time. So... I told him $2200 maximum, due to kbb.com and the need for new front tires. He agreed, barely, to that price.

So here are the specs for it:

1993 Mitsubishi Eclipse 2D Coupe
70,000 miles
air conditioning
power steering
power windows
power door locks
tilt wheel
am/fm stereo, cassette, and single cd
front side air bags
manual transmission

Additionally, it has a new clutch, new speakers, and a new fuel pump. Also, the exterior and interior are both in excellent condition.

My motivation in going for an older, cheaper car is to prevent myself from taking on a loan in the midst of my last year of college, ever how small the loan may be. I paid cash for this car, and will pay cash for the TTL on it in a few days, and will still have money left for school.

5:56pm: Found out the bank approved my auto loan without a co-signer, which is rare considering I have absolutely no credit history (not even a cellphone). The loan was for a very, very small amount, which probably explains it. I plan to pay cash for over 90% of the cost of the car.

Found a 2001 Ford Focus with 30,000 miles on it. Contacted the owner and we agreed on $6,000. Called back, and he sold it for $500 more to someone else. Bummer. I'll likely not find another car in that shape for such a good price.

Back to looking.

5:47pm: Drove my brother to Arkansas this past week, to a godforsaken town a few miles from Memphis, TN. The drive was gorgeous, but the destination was far from it. He went to stay with my grandparents for the week.

My summer job was temporary and ended this past week. I put in applications around town at everything from McDonald's (overqualified) to The Times (underqualified). No calls yet.

Orientation for my new school is Aug 23.

Realized the other day I am severly lacking Microsoft administration skills (i.e. the concept of MS "domains," etc.) I'm toying with the idea of putting XP Pro on the machines in the house and using Samba as PDC just to get up to speed.

10:12pm: Trip to N.O.
My friend's 21st was this past weekend. We went on a little N.O. excursion, staying at a hostel and the whole bit.

Short description: what I remember of it was awesome!



Me, looking very unshaven and drunk.

( More below )

9:16pm: Missing Hawai`i bad

10:07pm: ...
I've been having vivid dreams involving situations and people from Hawaii. I wake up swearing I am back in Hawaii, and it's extremely unnerving. I enjoy the dreams, but they are extremely realistic.

Well, here's to hoping for another one tonight.

12:38pm: Aloha
Last post from the dorms. :) Aloha.

11:07am: My unique drink recipe
I should share my wonderful drink recipe. I started out calling it "French Choker," but that sounds too much like an article of jewelry, so I've settled on calling it "Rite of Spring," after the ballet of the same name. The ballet--performed by Les Ballets Russe, a Russian ballet company--caused a riot in Paris at its premier. I think that is a fitting name for this drink, given its ingredients and their areas of origin.

rubix540 suggests calling it "Blind Dorm Rat." That is the official slang name for it.

So here's what you need:

Peach Chardonnay
Smirnoff citrus-flavored vodka

Make sure the wine and vodka are cold. Fill a regular size drinking cup 1/3 - 1/2 full of the vodka, fill the remainder with wine. Drink quickly, and have a few glasses. Always results in a good night. :)

10:05am: ...
Closed my bank account, got traveller's cheques for the remaining sum. Ordered an academic transcript to be sent when this semester's grades are posted. Packed a few more things. I hope to take the boxes to the post office by tomorrow afternoon. Anything else? Ahh, did I mention I need sleep? hehe

I awoke at 3:30am and finished up some long-needed email correspondence.

Now I need to study math. I am slightly worried about the final for that class... it's the only one I'm concerned about.

8:33am: !!!
Twenty-one days until I return to the mainland forever!

I'm excited!

10:15pm: The day the elevators stood still
-------------------------------
Brush my shoulder, it's okay
Only one more floor to go
I've fallen for you since we left 'one'
I'll be over you by the time we hit 'six'
And you--continue to the top, to 'twelve'
Just to leave your scent for the next one at 'one'
-------------------------------

I'd rather not sign my name to the above piece of shit. We had to write a poem for our classmates to edit in my professional editing class. At a loss for ideas, I wrote the above garbage. I figure it might start to look good after a good night's sleep.

Ever been in an elevator and smelled the previous passenger's perfume or laundry detergent? That is what the poem is about.

Here's to hoping it sounds better tomorrow.

9:23am: Stolen from geeks
The world's longest domain provides email service for free. A funny, but stupid idea.

http://www.abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijk.com