Picture a Perfect Picture

Books to Read

ISTJ — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 16:37:26 +0000

Author: Robert Anton Wilson
Titles: No specific
Info:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgsG-nQwZWM&feature=player_embedded

The Reason for Cancer, Diabetes, and Most Other Diseases…

ISTJ — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:57:32 +0000

For women: the speaker discuss P.M.S. and how its root causes.

“A Brief History of Human Enslavement”

ISTJ — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:23:25 +0000

The Future of Transport: Maglev Trains

ISTJ — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:41:27 +0000

As any revolutionary technology that vastly improves and disrupts current systems, Maglev has been around for awhile but has not utilized. It has some amazing potential and could completely change the way we do travel – allowing for extremely fast travel all around the world. Plus, the energy is renewable and efficient.

Though, because we keep asking what the price is rather than asking if we have the resources, we will probably not see it reach its full potential.

CS106A: How to Set Up “Karel the Robot” on Ubuntu 9.10, Linux

ISTJ — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:43:46 +0000

If you’re like me, and want everything as similar as the original set up as possible, you might be looking for a way to run “Karel the Robot” on Ubuntu 9.10. Well here’s how you do it.

First, it should be mentioned that you won’t be running Stanford’s edition of Eclipse. The Stanford version was made in order to make it easier for first-time users. While I would prefer that, they didn’t make a version for Linux, but only for Mac and Windows. That means that you will be running normal eclipse. While there is enough buttons in Eclipse to freak out and leave the whole thing for another day, it’s quite easy to manage once you know what you are looking for; and that’s why this post is here.

I will tell you how to run Karel the Robot by downloading Eclipse from eclipse.org. If you are familiar with Ubuntu you know you can run the software center and type in Eclipse and download/install it through there. But a lot of my initial frustrations trying to run Karel was because I installed Eclipse through Ubuntu’s software center. It basically lacked all the plugins and packages required to run Java, and thus Karel (I have no idea how to add the stuff needed to it). It is much easier to just download Eclipse, already built with the stuff you need than to install everything separately. But if you know how to add the java plugins/packages to the Eclipse shell, please let me know by commenting!

Preparation

Things you need to run Karel on Ubuntu:

Open JDK
Eclipse for Java EE Developers
“Assignment 1″ bundle from Stanford

Open JDK

This is the open source version of Java runtime environment. To install it you can either install through Ubuntu’s Software Center or through the shell. To install through the Software Center:

Under the Applications menu on the desktop, pick Ubuntu Software Center
Search “OpenJDK”
Select and install “OpenJDK Java 6 Runtime”

To install through the shell:

Under the Applications menu on the desktop, go to Accessories and pick the Terminal.
On the command line, write: $ sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jre

Eclipse IDE

To install Eclipse IDE:

Download Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers (188 MB) from www.eclipse.org
Unpack Eclipse somewhere, like your documents folder for example

Assignment 1
To download the assignment from the CS106A website:

Download the Zip file from their website by clicking here
Unpack it to somewhere you’ll remember

Starting Karel the Robot
Now that we got everything we need we are going to get Karel up and running!

First, open the Eclipse program. It will prompt you for a “workstation”, just accept it’s proposal. Then you are going to create a new project. Click “File”→”New Project”. Select “Java Project”, then click the “Next” button.

[Because I want people trying to put Karel up on Ubuntu be able to do so, please use the following guide until I get time to create everything on this one page. Guide to Karel on Ubuntu. Further help if needed can be found on course forums.]

A Rulebook For Arguments

ISTJ — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:07:50 +0000

I read a very good book on how to form arguments and how to spot illogical ones. Anthony Weston is the author and the books is called A Rulebook For Arguments. It was well written and so easy to understand and to follow.

It talks about some common fallacies (errors in logic) used by people when arguing. It talks about how to spot such fallacies and how to structure an essay in the best way, logically and coherently. Talk about a book I needed to read! Now, all I need to do is practice.

A great read.

Farms of the Future: Permaculture

ISTJ — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:14:38 +0000

Most are unaware of the state of our agricultural system. Those who know says it’s in a dire state, and are we to survive much longer we need to change the way we produce food. A solution has been found, called Permaculture.

“The World is my Country..”

ISTJ — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 13:01:05 +0000

“The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.“
- Thomas Paine

This quote by Tom Paine encompasses everything that I want to be, but seldom is. I recently found out about the fact that you can become a world citizen; and even receive a world passport! The passport is accepted by most progressive countries; the few that refuse to recognize it are Canada, United States of America, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

I plan to get a passport, just to see what happens if I try to use it.

Introduction to Computer Science: Programming Methodology (CS106A)

ISTJ — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:51:49 +0000

Programming Methodology: CS106A
Professor Mehran Sahami
Lectures: 28

Syllabus – Download
Software – Download
Complete Course Material – Download
Course Forum – Click

How to install Karel and Eclipse on Ubuntu (linux) – Click!

Course Literature:

Karel the Robot Learns Java – Download
The Art and Science of Java by Eric Roberts – Download (Prelimenary Draft, not latest edition)

I will update this post if I can find the ebook version of Eric Roberts book. If anyone else finds it, please share by submitting a comment!

Lecture 1

Transcript – Download HTML | PDF
Handouts:

01: General Information – Download
02: Syllabus – Download
03: Course Placement – Download
04: Honor Code – Download

Download Video (torrent) | Download Audio (torrent)

Lecture 2

Transcript – Download HTML | PDF
Programming Assignment 1 – Download
Handouts:

05: Downloading Eclipse – Download
06: Karel in Eclipse – Download
07: Assignment 1 Karel – Download
08: Submitting Work – Download

Download Video (torrent) | Download Audio (torrent)

Lecture 3

Transcript – Download HTML | PDF
Handouts:

09: Karel Examples – Download

Download Video (torrent) | Download Audio (torrent)

Lecture 4
…

Free Introduction to Computer Science Program Courses

ISTJ — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:04:45 +0000

After becoming increasingly interested in computer programming I decided to start looking for good introductions to computer science. I quickly found my way to Stanford University and their free courses. In the introduction to computer science they have three courses. They are

After watching the first video lecture of the Programming Methodology course, I become increasingly interested in the subject as well as impressed by Professor Mehran Sahami for his teaching style. I will put the course contents here as I go through it, to spread awareness of this great contribution by Standford to our world of free knowledge.

I will also update this post with more Computer Science Program courses from other universities if I happen to stumble across them, or they are mentioned to me. If you know any others, do share!