CS373 Spring 2022: Cole Weinman — Week 2
What did you do this week?
This week I began working on the Collatz project as well as work for my other classes. With Collatz I worked on a lot of optimization which was challenging but rewarding. I also just got back in Austin last weekend so I spent a lot of the week moving things from my car and shopping for items I needed for the semester.
What’s in your way?
I think I could go on for a while with this question. However, the biggest thing in my way at the moment is a lack of motivation. I’m currently still trying to transition back into a school setting from break. My schedule last week was thrown off by unexpected challenges, so I’m hoping to be more prepared next week since I know more about what to expect. Also, lack of sleep has been a problem for me recently, so I’m hoping to get better sleep this week.
What will you do next week?
Next week I will finish the Collatz project and get ahead in my other classes so that I have some extra time at the end of the week. I have passed the three HackerRank tests for Collatz so I hope I can finish that project up soon. I have some personal projects I want to have time to work on at the end of the week.
What do you think of Paper #1 Syllabus?
The syllabus was pretty clear to me so I did not have too many questions which made it difficult to complete the assignment. However, I answered some other people's questions which made it a little easier to hit the quota. I did like being able to comment on specific lines in the syllabus, I think this will be much more helpful on future papers.
What was your experience of assertions and Collatz?
I have used assertions before in other programming languages, most recently with C in Operating Systems. I don’t like them because they cause the whole app to shut down, so I’ve always typically used exceptions to deal with preconditions and postconditions. I had not heard of Collatz before this class, but it was very interesting to learn about how it still has not been proven. It’s cool how it just works on any number.
What made you happy this week?
To be honest, this week was pretty bleak. However, the best thing that happened was that I avoided getting COVID (so far). I was exposed to COVID from 3 different people last week and I still am feeling good and healthy. I also made a couple of new friends which was nice.
What is your pick-of-the-week?
Recently I signed up for a daily email newsletter covering tech news called TLDR. It is described as “Byte sized news for busy techies.” I’ve been reading it almost every day and it contains news related to programming, data science, tech companies, and more. It’s a great way to stay up to date on all things tech, including computer science and software development. You can sign up here.
