Week of 7/26/2015 - 8/1/2015 Daily Learning Diary
8/1
Planning on diving into Head First Design Patterns. Will do so tomorrow hopefully.
7/31
Found a useful Chrome extension called Yawas Web Highlighter which saves highlights onto Google Bookmarks so I can review them at a later date. Good use for when researching facts on a web page.
Finished reading The Martian. I did not like the ending which seemed too abrupt. And I felt the jokes were too over the top and Mark Watney’s corny character did not exactly resonate with me. Though overall I got to say the plot was well thought out and you can tell the author spent a lot of time getting the scientific details right. On the other hand, those scientific tidbits were implemented in expense of character development, which really made the story fell flat at times. From a rating of 1 to 5, I’d say it was a 3.5. I know there are many who absolutely loved the book but I can’t say I’m in that group. Sorry, just didn’t feel the vibe.
7/30
It was a busy day today. Taking a break. Be back tomorrow.
7/29
Watched the new PBS documentary “Uranium, Twisting the Dragon’s Tail”. It was very interesting and gave me a whole new perspective on the power of uranium, how it can pack so much energy that it can possibly destroy the world. I learned the scary effects and the good uses that uranium has brought upon the world today.
Also continued on with The Martian. Nearing the end of it. Looks likely that Mark will be saved.
7/28
Book: The Martian - Andy Weir (256/332 - 77% complete)
The trip to Schiaparelli is on but one problem lies ahead. A large sandstorm is projected to interfere on the path. This will limit the amount of sunllight the solar panels absorb on the rover. That’s a big, big problem.
7/27
Website: Future Timeline
This is a very cool website I stumbled upon that takes a look into future events. The predictions there are pretty wild but I believe all of them are backed by what’s going on in today’s world. It’s amazing how we’ve advanced so far in the 21st century. It makes me wonder what life is going to be like in 2030 or 2050. The way technology has been progressing, it’s probably a completely different lifestyle from what it is today. Crazy to think about.
I haven’t read The Martian today but will do so later tonight or tomorrow. Kind of spent the day pondering about college which is only about a month away! Ugh…
7/26
Book: The Martian - Andy Weir (238/332 - 72% complete)
Mark lost communication with Earth when he broke a circuit while drilling holes. Now he’s all alone making preparations for the hike to Schiaparelli crater. Kind of a lull right now but expecting the action to pick up nearing the end of the book.