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SEPTEMBER 4, 2002 {FIRST DAY OF CLASS}
We introduced ourselves and learned about Mr. Latimer and the requirements for this class. We received information pertaining to grading, due dates, and workload. In addition, we became familiar with the machines, tools, and possible project ideas. SEPTEMBER 6, 2002 I began learning html in order to program this webpage. I consulted online tutorials and asked for the help of fellow students to better understand how to use this programming language. Furthermore, I began experimenting with different html commands and programming techniques. SEPTEMBER 9, 2002 I began working on my webpage and experimented with different menu types found on various sites on the internet. I was able to finish the homepage and I determined the links I would have from my page. I also began thought about ways to make my page more user-friendly, however because of my limited programming experience, I was not able to produce the same styling effects more experienced programmers are able to produce. SEPTEMBER 11, 2002 I continued working on my webpage and completed the home section of the page. In addition, I made my DAILY LOGS PAGE, which is still under construction. I filled in the daily logs for the days I hadn't written about and I consulted other students on different html styling effects. SEPTEMBER 13, 2002 I took time off from programming my website and spent a great deal of time researching different project ideas because a project proposal is due for the next class period. I am interested in making an "smart" game, which will be able to compete with users more than the average cpu is able to. I haven't investigated this concept much so that is what I did today. SEPTEMBER 16, 2002 Today our preliminary project proposals were due and as such, I continued my research into artificial intelligence and the role it plays in various interactive games. So far, I have only thought of checkers as a fairly simple project idea, however as I research more, I will have more ideas. I finished my progress report, which discusses what I have accomplished thus far and it can be read by clicking on the PROJECT PROPOSAL LINK. SEPTEMBER 18, 2002 Today I continued my research into the vast topic of artificial intelligence. Mr. Latimer suggested researching a specific topic of ai known as minmax trees, which are used by the cpu to determine possible moves and their outcomes. Essentially, minmax trees run over a number of iterations and calculate the outcome of all series of moves. Then the cpu selects the branch of the tree that yields the most points. I need to further investigate this topic in order to implement them in my ai game. SEPTEMBER 20, 2002 Today I decided to take a break from research and focus on my webpage, which is still incomplete. I visited htmlgoodies.com to get a few tips on formatting and I also looked at sample websites that employ visually appealing styling effects. In additon, I added a WEEKLY ITERATION link to my homepage, which Mr. Lattimer has made an additional requirement for the website. SEPTEMBER 23, 2002 Today I explored the possibility of a new research topic in the field of networking. Mr. Latimer and I discussed a course taught at George Mason University based on an instructional book written by Mr. Pullman. In order to gather additonal information we searched for his website as well as sent him an e-mail regarding general information about the subject. SEPTEMBER 25, 2002 Mr. Lattimer received a reply to the e-mail we sent on Monday regarding the Network Bench Project and the GMU course. He said that it was an excellent idea for a techlab project so I began researching the program. I visted the home site for the program and downloaded Chapter 1 of Mr. Pullman's book. I read this chapter to gain additional insight about networking. SEPTEMBER 27, 2002 Today, we began our work with the NetworkBench interface and chapter 2 of the networking guide. Because of the complicated nature of the code, I spent a great deal of time understanding the header and cpp files and studying how they interact. Ivan and I also began coding the create_topology function in topo.cpp, which essentially takes the links matrix and creates the exit_interfaces matrix. SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 Today our first project iteration was due and thus, I spent the entire class working on this progress report. This iteration can be viewed under the ITERATION Link and by clicking on ITERATION-9/30/02 OCTOBER 2, 2002 Today I concentrated my efforts on updating my webpage because interim grades are being calculated based on our progress thus far. I added some links to my LINKS page as well as added my iteration to the ITERATION page. I also fixed various flaws in my webpage coding to make it more visually-appealing. OCTOBER 4, 2002 Today, I continued working on the assignments in Chapter 2. I am still trying to understand how the code interacts with other files and what each data element represents. I made little progress in the actual coding, but I gained understanding of how the program works. OCTOBER 8, 2002 I continued working on creating the interfaces matrix as part of the chapter 2 assignments. My partner and I have reached a road block as we cannot figure out how to fill in the last row of the matrix, and thus we spent all class brainstorming ways to overcoming this problem. OCTOBER 10, 2002 Ivan and I are still dealing with the problem of creating the interfaces matrix. We finished the first part to fill in the first three rows, however we don't understand the algorithm provided by the book to fill in the fourth and final row of the matrix. OCTOBER 16, 2002 I still have not tackled the problem I had last week, and thus today, I mainly focused on accomplishing this task. We turned to Mr. Latimer for help and he devised his own algorithm to accomplish the task yet his didn't function properly either. OCTOBER 18, 2002 Today Ivan and I worked diligently to get past the roadblock we encountered almost two weeks ago. During the last five minutes of class, we finally realized what had been our problem. The problem was that our counters were off and thus our algorithm was failing to enter the inner loop that assigned the last row of the matrix. OCTOBER 21, 2002 I was not present in class on Monday because I had a college interview. OCTOBER 23, 2002 Today I focused on filling in vacancies on my website as the quarter ends next week. The majority of the time I worked on ITERATION #3, which can be viewed on the ITERATIONS link on the left. I also worked on filling in my weekly goals and daily logs from days I had missed or been absent. OCTOBER 25, 2002 Today Ivan and I prepared for our oral presentation and also started learning how to use Latex. Also, we were sidetracked because we had to listen to other people's presentations about their projects. OCTOBER 28, 2002 Today my partner and I planned for our oral presentation which is scheduled for Friday, and we also continued working on our latex project proposal. We finished the Abstract part of this project. OCTOBER 30, 2002 We continued working on the latex document, but before completing the Introduction and the Background it was necessary for us to conduct further research into the 5-layer OSI protocol. We learned a great deal about how this works and how it relates to the internet. We ultimately finished the Introduction and half of the background during class. NOVEMBER 1, 2002 Today, my partner Ivan and I presented our project to the class and we also finished our latex document. Furthermore, I had to finish little things on my website as it is the last day of the quarter and Mr. Latimer will be grading my website over the weekend. NOVEMBER 6, 2002 Today I started reading up on Chapter 3, which starts off discussing the hardware necessary in the transport of data between two nodes on a network. I will start working on the chapter 3 assignments on Friday. NOVEMBER 8, 2002 Today, Mr. Latimer informed Ivan and I that our project would not be adequate for our techlab project because we are working too closely together and it violates his principles of independent work. Thus, I am looking for a new project idea to pursue. I spent the day researching vision projects such as image recogntion. I also investigated jpeg image compression and decompression. NOVEMBER 11, 2002 Today, my task is to find a new project idea because I have been forced to change my idea. I spent my day investigating vision on a number of websites outlined on the artificial intelligence curriculum from last year. Unfortunately, I still have not decided whether I want to do vision for sure or continue with my networking project. NOVEMBER 13, 2002 Today I decided that I would continue with my networking project as Ivan, my partner has found a new project idea and does not object to me finishing our original project. My modified project idea will involve a graphic display that will be able to recreate a network given the number of nodes by the user. For this, I will have to learn OpenGL NOVEMBER 15, 2002 Today I began working on the Chapter 3 assignment. I read the chapter and began analyzing the code to figure out how to accomplish the assignment. NOVEMBER 18, 2002 I am continuing my work with stuff.cpp to add a function that successfully stuffs a bit frame for transport from one node to the next. NOVEMBER 20, 2002 I finished my code with chapter 3, however there are some bugs with my code and thus I must work those problems out on Friday. The problem is that it adds some extra bits when not needed to the output series of binary digits to be transmitted to the next computer. In a network this would cause discrepancies in data transfer, thus flawing the project. NOVEMBER 22, 2002 I spent to day debugging my code. I had initially thought it was successful, however the code does not work properly and thus today I am finishing the chapter 3 assignment. NOVEMBER 25, 2002 This week is a short week because of Thanksgiving so this is the only work day I have. I kept debugging my code, but I can't figure out why my code is creating a new vector that is incorrect and is adding it to the initial code. DECEMBER 2, 2002 Today I continued working on my chapter 3 code. The problem is that my code is adding to the vector a series of zeroes. To fix this, I am going line by line and debugging everything to find out where my errors are occurring. DECEMBER 4, 2002 Today I kept working on my chapter 3 assignments. I have tried putting random prints within the function and it seems as if I am implementing the algorithm correctly but for some reason they won't display. There is a good chance of snow tonight so we probably wont have school on Friday. DECEMBER 6, 2002 SNOW DAY!!!!!. DECEMBER 9, 2002 Today I got caught up with my website because of the recent snow day. I really had trouble focusing on my chapter assignment because it is becoming very frustrating trying to debug a simple function. I am starting to think that my algorithm is correct but it is displaying the output incorrectly. DECEMBER 11, 2002 SNOW DAY!!!! DECEMBER 13, 2002 Today I had to work on my UVA application so I spent my time consulting Mr. Lattimer on possible majors. I really spent no time working on my project. DECEMBER 15, 2002 Today I collaborated with Chris Doyle as he helped me debug my code. However, we failed to see any problems. DECEMBER 17, 2002 Mr. Latimer gave us a list of incomplete assignments today so I have to work on those things that are incomplete. However, it is the last day before break and it is pretty hard to accomplish anything so these incompletions will be taken care of after the holidays. JANUARY 6, 2003 Today is the first day back from break and I need to update my website as I haven't looked at it in a while. I also need to refresh myself with the assignment because I haven't looked at that for a long time. Today I will just update my daily logs. JANUARY 8, 2003 Today I am focusing on getting my poster material up on my website because Mr. Latimer wants it by the end of this week. I will try to focus on learning more about networks and conveying what I learned in my website. I need to write an abstract, introduction and some background information. JANUARY 10, 2003 Today I am working on finishing an iteration because I haven't done one for a couple of months now since I have been focusing most of my attention on coding. Thus, I am doing an iteration to document my project and Mr. Latimer also told me that I need to do one. JANUARY 13, 2003 Today I finally figured out the error in my code and thus I finished the first part of my assignment. Now, I have to focus on the second part which should be much easier now that I have accomplished the first part of the program. JANUARY 15, 2003 ABSENT. JANUARY 17, 2003 Today I worked on updating my website, but primarily focused on working on the second part of the chapter 3 assignment, which involves unstuffing bits. I wrote the code, but of course there are errors which I will have to fix next week. JANUARY 22, 2003 Today I worked on another iteration because Mr. Latimer wants us to have three by the end of the quarter. This iteration does not focus on code, but rather deals with research that I have been doing about the internet and the 7-layer OSI protocol. Another reason I am putting this together is because I want to put it on my poster to help further explain my project. JANUARY 24, 2003 Today I finished my iteration pertaining to the 7 layer OSI Protocol and also began my poster. I basically did formatting things such as picking a color, cutting it the right sizes, and printing a title. JANUARY 27, 2003 I finished my poster today. It included the title, an abstract, an introduction, a description of the 7 layers of OSI protocol, and various pictures pertaining to the project. This took the majority of my time. JANUARY 29, 2003 Today I worked on general housekeeping things because it is the last day of the semester. I updated my DAILY LOGS, my WEEKLY GOALS, my ITERATIONS, and the rest of my website. I spent the majority of my time working on a third iteration for the quarter. FEBRUARY 3, 2003 Today we got our grades and reviewed grading policies and a syllabus for third quarter. Mr. Latimer told me to change my poster so I started to work on that today as well. FEBRUARY 5, 2003 Today I resumed working on my unstuffing assignment but I hit another road block. I can't figure out why the program says that it is working but doesn't actually implement my algorithm. FEBRUARY 7, 2003 SNOW DAY!!!! FEBRUARY 10, 2003 Today I started reading about the scientific method because Mr. Latimer wants us to make our projects more scientfific. This assignment is due next week so I will work on this throughout the week. FEBRUARY 12, 2003 Today I began reading about the scientific method, but Mr. Latimer informed us that the project has changed from writing about the scientific method to drafting a submission for technos so that some of our projects might be published. I read this assignment and also viewed samples of technos submissions during class. FEBRUARY 14, 2003 Today I began working on my submission to Teknos now that Mr. Latimer has changed the assignment. I actually didn't get much done except for creating the link so that Mr. Latimer can link it to his website. FEBRUARY 24, 2003 Since we have not had school for a week now, today I have to catch up with what I was doing two weeks ago. Mr. Latimer wants a draft of our Teknos submission so I should work on that this week. MARCH 3, 2003 Today I worked on my Teknos submission because Mr. Latimer will be making grades soon and since we haven't had school for two weeks now, I have gotten off track. I will try to finish the submission by wednesday and then begin working on chapter 4 assignments. MARCH 5, 2003 Today I finished my Teknos submission because Mr. Latimer gave out interim requirements and I haven't met any of them. My submission can be found on the teknos submission link on the left of the page. MARCH 7, 2003 Today I worked on updating my website and the various links pertaining to my project. I also put the finishing touches on my teknos submission, which I will turn into Mr. Latimer today. MARCH 10, 2003 LEFT EARLY FOR A DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT MARCH 12, 2003 I read Mr. Latimer's rubric for the scientific method assignment and I began to draft the paper. I also updated my weekly goals because I need to get back on track with my project. MARCH 14, 2003 Today I got off task and really didn't get much accomplished in the way of coding or writing my scientific method assignment, however I will finish these next week. MARCH 17, 2003 Today I updated my DAILY LOGS and my WEEKLY GOALS, but I didn't write any code. Mr. Latimer handed out a new assignment involving our final project reports, which will be due at the end of the year. MARCH 19, 2003 Today Mr. Latimer passed out new handouts regarding an end-of-they-year assignment, which we should be starting shortly. However, I still haven't started my scientific method project. MARCH 21, 2003 Today I finally got around to starting my scientific method assignment. I started the first section and plan to finish next week. I also must start my quarter project draft but i will save that for later. MARCH 24, 2003 Today was a Monday so I didn't get much accomplished. I mainly looked at the scientific method assignment and started writing the prelimary parts. MARCH 26, 2003 Today I had to leave early for a doctor's appointment. I looked at the requirements for the quarter and realized that I have to start working. MARCH 31, 2003 This week is the last week of the quarter so I have a great deal of work to do to make sure I get an "A". Today I concentrated on updating logs and goals, which I haven't filled in for a while. APRIL 2, 2003 Today I finally finished my scientific method project and I began working on the latex document which has to be done by friday. Also, I made a link for my third quarter progress so that all my work is there for Mr. Latimer to see. APRIL 4, 2003 Today I had to work a lot because it is the last day of the quarter and my project proposal is due. Thus, I finished that up as well as finished the other assignments due for the quarter. APRIL 7, 2003 Today I was sick. APRIL 9, 2003 Today I had to leave early for a doctor's appointment. APRIL 11, 2003 Today I was out of school for a vacation. APRIL 21, 2003 Today was the first day back from Spring Break so I got back to speed by updating my daily logs and weekly goals which I have missed out on for the past two weeks because I was sick for a while. APRIL 23, 2003 Today I got back to work on my project, which I haven't worked on for a while. I am still working on the Chapter 4 assignment, and I need to get working. APRIL 25, 2003 Today Mr. Latimer informed us of an oral report, which is due by the end of the year. I started planning my report today and I signed up for a presentation day which is May 30th. APRIL 28, 2003 Today is a Monday so I didn't get much accomplished except for filling in some Weekly Goals, which I haven't updated for a while. APRIL 30, 2003 Today I continued to research for my oral report and we found out about a technical paper which is also due at the end of the year. This paper has to summarize all our progress throughout the year as well as be more in-depth than the presentation. MAY 2, 2003 Today I left school early. MAY 6, 2003 Today I was not in school because of a sinus infection. MAY 8, 2003 Today I had the BC Calculus AP Test. MAY 12, 2003 Today I was not in school because of a sinus infection. MAY 14, 2003 Today I had the Government AP Test. MAY 16, 2003 Today I was not in school because I was sick. MAY 19, 2003 Today I was finally back from being sick and my AP tests and I updated my logs and weekly goals and tended to other parts of my website. This week I plan on continuing research for my project. MAY 21, 2003 Today I continued work on my latex technical paper and I converted it to an Adobe pdf file and updated my website with that link. I also read over my old information for my paper and began researching things. |