Warning: Large amounts of thinking-out-loud contained in this post (haha, the title is a pun!).

This summer I determined that I am not cut out for engineering. I do not have a strong mathematics background and I don’t enjoy math or any of the lab sciences I’ve taken thus far. They’re generally interesting, but the work just eats me alive.

Having decided to do something new, I considered my options. My first choice was Building Construction: I’m interested in the construction industry and I could see myself working as a project manager. Civil Engineering can obviously feed into this career but I was more interested in the design and management parts of it than I was the engineering. Unfortunately, School of Architecture prerequisites would put me on a three year course starting in fall 2010 in order to get a Bachelors in BC. Graduating in 2013 is not an appealing option.

This then led me to look into Management. I could get a Bachelors in Management and, if I still want to do project management, get a Masters in Building Construction or similar. Besides that, it’s the classic cop-out (no offense to Management majors, I think this is fairly obvious). Problem is, the only management-esque class I’ve taken is an economics course which I did decently in but absolutely loathed. The graphs and statistics give me nightmares. I feel I am generally gifted in terms of leadership and organization, but that’s not enough for success in business.

So what classes have I legitimately enjoyed? The list is slim but easy: CEE1770 - Introduction to Engineering Graphics and Visualization (Drafting, AutoCAD, and 3D/Inventor), CS1371 – Computing for Engineers (Matlab is meh, but I get a freaky satisfaction out of well-written code), and ENGL1102 – English Composition II (largely attributable to my professor and the subject matter: science fiction) all come to mind quickly.

Next up, what sorts of things have I done as hobbies over the last few years? Among other things, I’ve played far too many video games, tried making games a couple of times with different engines, spent a lot of time participating in social media online, I’ve dabbled in graphic design work (primarily forum signatures, but also yearbook covers and brochures for my church), that work in Photoshop (and earlier, The Gimp) led to some 3D modelling and animation, I’ve tried my hand at web design (I made $150 off of it once!), and I’ve begun to try my hand at digital photography.

On top of these things, I’ve become rather interested in the dynamics of social interactions online. My time spent participating in and running message boards; on Xanga, Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter; and in online games has given me a variety of perspectives on the many ways that people present themselves and treat others while sitting at their computer. I think it’s fascinating and it’s something I’d like to continue to study and perhaps capitalize on.

Having considered all of this, my potential class schedule for the spring, and my potential graduation date, I’m very strongly considering switching into Georgia Tech’s Computational Media program. It’s only a few years old and one of the first of its kind in the nation. It’s a collaborative program between the College of Computing and the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture which incorporates game design, interactive media, and programming all into a single degree.

I’ve been giddy over this possibility for a few days now. The classes I would take in the spring are exciting, the student projects I’ve found online are things I’d just love to do for a class, I’ve even found more than one student currently in the program whose work I knew about already! It’s as if I’ve had a painfully obvious career path all along, it just took me a couple of years to find it.

Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

I have so, so much to be thankful for.

Nathan

Don’t be disappointed when I don’t definitively choose between the options in the title, this is a case of using the old ‘blog as a medium for organizing my own thoughts on a subject and opening them up for discussion. This particular subject came up when Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach banned the use of Twitter by his players about a week ago. Leach’s words:

I think that a guy who plays college football gets enough attention…. It’s a bunch of narcissists that want to sit and type stuff about themselves all the time. We’ll put mirrors in some of their lockers if that’s necessary but they don’t have to Twitter.

It is particularly easy to write this statement off as silly given the context: Leach instated the ban after a player Tweeted about Leach’s tardiness to a team meeting: “the head coach can’t even be on time.”  While I find the situation rather funny I tend to disagree with the ban for a more principled reason: a good coach should enable his players to make good decisions, not make decisions for them. That said, the statement did make me ask myself “Why do I use Twitter or Facebook?”

Are these devices (specifically the “status” convention) merely a means of self-affirmation? People love to talk about themselves, that’s a given. It’s gratifying to know that we’ve gotten someone’s attention and captured their interest. Leach misses a key element to these networks, however. Twitter (or similar) is not a one-way convention. I enjoy hearing about other people’s lives at least as much as I enjoy the cathartic expression of myself through Twitter or Facebook. In Twitter’s case, nobody is forced to read anything they don’t want to read. I choose exactly who I follow and I can remove them at any time. I follow people because I’m legitimately interested in what’s going on in their lives, not so that they’ll follow me as well and perpetuate my narcissistic tendencies.

I think this is a good reminder both to consider why we spend our time the way we do and that things on the internet are public. It’s a great medium for some things and a terrible medium for others. Any thoughts?

Nathan

Before this year the only examples of Japanese Anime I had seen were Pokémon, Digimon, and Yu-Gi-Oh! A fairly typical lineup for a kid who watched TV in the late ’90s and early ’00s. This summer I watched Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away for the first time. Before I knew it I’d also watched Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke, and Howl’s Moving Castle, all of which I enjoyed immensely. The stories and the art style are captivating.

Recently, a friend convinced me to watch Neon Genesis: Evangelion. NGE is a rather large step away from the likes of Miyazaki and Saturday morning cartoons. The art style remains enjoyable but the story is ridiculously more in-depth than anything I’d seen from an anime before. I’ll quote wikipedia for a summary:

Evangelion is an apocalyptic mecha action series which revolves around the efforts by the paramilitary organization Nerv to fight monstrous beings called Angels, primarily using giant mecha called Evangelions which are piloted by select teenagers, one of whom is the primary protagonist.

Events in the series refer to Judeo-Christian symbols from the Book of Genesis and Biblical apocrypha among others. Later episodes shift focus to psychoanalysis of the main characters, who display various emotional problems and mental illnesses; the nature of existence and reality are questioned in a way that lets Evangelion be characterized as “postmodern fantasy.”

As a Christian knowing the amount of Biblical symbolism in the series, I started watching with low expectations. It has become clear to me that the show does not have an agenda against Christianity or any of the religions from which it borrows symbolism. It is much more interested in exploring as Wikipedia put it, “the nature of existence and reality.” While these major questions are answered in the Bible, I still find NGE to be a captivating and enjoyable adventure. Note that if NGE were subject to the same rating system as in the U.S., it would likely be rated R and not at all recommended for children. It’s on an entirely different plane from the likes of Pokémon.

Next up, I’m planning to watch Full Metal Alchemist on multiple recommendations. Obviously I can’t comment on it just yet, but I’m looking forward to it. Any thoughts on anime in general or recommendations for series or films to look into?

Nathan

Before this year the only examples of Japanese Anime I had seen were Pokémon, Digimon, and Yu-Gi-Oh! A fairly typical lineup for a kid who watched TV in the late ’90s and early ’00s. This summer I watched Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away for the first time. Before I knew it I’d also watched Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke, and Howl’s Moving Castle, all of which I enjoyed immensely. The stories and the art style are captivating.

Recently, a friend convinced me to watch Neon Genesis: Evangelion. NGE is a rather large step away from the likes of Miyazaki and Saturday morning cartoons. The art style remains enjoyable but the story is ridiculously more in-depth than anything I’d seen from an anime before. I’ll quote wikipedia for a summary:

Evangelion is an apocalyptic mecha action series which revolves around the efforts by the paramilitary organization Nerv to fight monstrous beings called Angels, primarily using giant mecha called Evangelions which are piloted by select teenagers, one of whom is the primary protagonist.

Events in the series refer to Judeo-Christian symbols from the Book of Genesis and Biblical apocrypha among others. Later episodes shift focus to psychoanalysis of the main characters, who display various emotional problems and mental illnesses; the nature of existence and reality are questioned in a way that lets Evangelion be characterized as “postmodern fantasy.”

As a Christian knowing the amount of Biblical symbolism in the series, I started watching with low expectations. It has become clear to me that the show does not have an agenda against Christianity or any of the religions from which it borrows symbolism. It is much more interested in exploring as Wikipedia put it, “the nature of existence and reality.” While these major questions are answered in the Bible, I still find NGE to be a captivating and enjoyable adventure. Note that if NGE were subject to the same rating system as in the U.S., it would likely definitely be rated R and not at all recommended for children. It’s on an entirely different plane from the likes of Pokémon.

Next up, I’m planning to watch Full Metal Alchemist on multiple recommendations. Obviously I can’t comment on it just yet, but I’m looking forward to it. Any thoughts on anime in general or recommendations for series or films to look into?

Nathan

I continually find myself conjuring up ideas and sentences and outlines for a blog post detailing my current political frustrations. Let’s give it a go.

I’m by no means an activist. I’m not a member of the College Republicans or any similar groups. The most outspoken things I’ve done politically were to attend the Right To Life march in Atlanta several years ago and, of course, vote in last year’s election. That said, I do feel pretty strongly about some major facets of our government and about recent events.

While certainly conservative in most if not all areas, I’m increasingly hesitant to align myself with the GOP; the two parties (well, politicians in general) seem to be more concerned for themselves than for the American people or even the country as a whole. I pray to continue to see growth among “third” parties so that we can escape the “lesser of two evils” mentality that always seems to come up on election years. It’s wrong that many people are afraid to vote for the candidate they agree with most because they don’t believe that person could actually win an election. It’s equally wrong that many more people vote without having investigated the candidates for themselves, but that’s not something that will be solved constitutionally with policy change.

As a conservative, I very much oppose public healthcare. I’m a proponent of a free market and I don’t hesitate to call Obama’s system socialist; it has requirements which will eventually stifle out the private healthcare sector and leave the public option as the only one. Everyone who supports the plan seems to think it will greatly improve their quality of life, particularly some with major health issues. Step back, realize this is a fallen world and that socialist policies fail for the same reasons that communism fails. Ideal outcomes are impossible. Healthcare is a business and putting it into the hands of a government approaching an outstanding public debt of $12 trillion will lead to rationing of care and/or major tax increases. Not only do I not want my government to be able to decide whether I live or die, but as a consumer I want there to be competition between providers which both lowers costs and improves service. As a type 1 diabetic my healthcare costs will be higher than a healthy person’s but I’ll gladly pay more in order to have the freedom to get the healthcare that I need, not the healthcare that the government thinks I need or that the government is able to pay for at the time.

The real issue in the U.S. continues to be the state of the economy. Since the healthcare debate has begun more people have lost their jobs (and their healthcare) because the economy is not being addressed. This only inflates the numbers that the Obamacare system’s proponents cite on Capitol Hill. Similarly, the House spent all day yesterday debating and then voting on an “official reprimand” of Joe Wilson. I agree that his outburst was rude and that his apology to the President (which was accepted) was appropriate. I vehemently disagree with Congress spending a day, being paid by taxpayer dollars, considering whether to “officially reprimand” Wilson; particularly at a time when we have men and women overseas dying for us and citizens domestically losing their jobs and homes. It sets a disturbing precedent for the House as its own moral police force.

I’ll just… leave all of that there.

Nathan

I beg all of my loyal readers to patiently wait for my first blog post. Please do not call me or visit my home to convince me to post faster.

Nathan