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Blog 8

Well, it's been a wild ride (kinda). I learned a lot, probably not enough to go on to a higher level class, but a lot nonetheless. I started the year out feeling fairly confident in my field. I was driven, I was excited, and I was fascinated. However, throughout the semester, I learned that the class just wasn’t for me. The major itself just isn’t for me. I will be switching to criminology at semester, but I will keep the knowledge with me for the rest of my career. My eyes were opened to a different world, a different language. I just wasn’t ready for it.

What would your dream job in Computing Science be?

Growing up, I was and still am a huge gamer. I play all games from action to puzzle. I have always been fascinated on how they work. However, I do not think that I would find a future in game design. Personally, I think that my dream computer science would be within the cyber corps of the United States Army. Within the cyber corps, there are many numerous jobs ranging from communications to cyber security to international espionage. While I am not sure what exactly I would like to do, I am sure the Army would put me where I belong.

What topic would you like to learn more about?

Personally, I would like to learn more about network interfaces and how they work, are created, and the extent of their roles. The idea of computers talking to one another and transferring data between one and the other fascinates me. I would love to learn more about that. In addition, I would like to learn more of the basics of Javascript. I do not really know a massive amount about the way Javascript works, is written, or is interpreted by computers. In extension, I would like to learn the basics of game design and how Java works with it, or any other code associated.

What Classes will you be looking forward to taking?

While I will not be taking any other computer science courses, I look forward to taking some differing philosophy classes as well as basic law enforcement classes. My career path, if everything with my officer branch goes according to plan, will consist of a small amount of math, being that I wish to branch Field Artillery, but overall it is not exactly an intellectual's field. I will need to know basic radial conversions, radio and antenna theory, and weight/distance calibrations. After the Army, I wish to be apart of some sort of law enforcement, so I will be required to take basic law and government courses as well.

While the year and/or semester was interesting, full of new people, a new way of life, and a new course load, I am glad to be moving on. I was very fond of Introduction to Computer Science, but I feel that it requires a way of thinking that I am not yet accustomed to. I was able to understand almost all the content over bolean logic gates, but once we started getting into coding, I just got lost. I was unable to keep all the commands straight. I feel it would have been better if I were to have a dictionary with the commands, their functions, their purposes, and how they interacted with other commands.

[leclercthomas-blog]

TUBES: A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE INTERNET

Let’s get something straight. The internet is a big place. Like, a REALLY REALLY big place. On one corner, you have everything you need to know on how to bake a cake, in another, you have a conspiracy theory on how the pentagon has created handheld plasma guns, in another you have all the glorious memes, and so on. Needless to say, there is TOO much information on the internet. However, the book “Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet” takes on the impossible task of explaining exactly how the internet was created, how it works, and how it is categorized. Although it could potentially take years to completely understand the internet, this book strives to give us a baseline on it.

How did you feel reading this book? Engaged? Bored? Interested?

Personally, I was not very interested in this book due to the fact that this is a topic that I am just not interested in. I understand the value in knowing how to most used thing in history works, but I simply find the content to be something that is excessive information, only valuable for those who are pursuing a career in said topic. The book itself was not particularly hard to read, being significantly easier to read than “Patterns on the Stone”, but overall it is just difficult to be engaged in something you have no drive to be engaged in.

What was the most interesting thing you learned?

Overall, I found that the most interesting part of the book was not in the internet itself, but in the capacity for the internet. Specifically, the topic talking about power and electricity. The book can be quoted on saying, “2 percent of the world’s electricity usage can now be traced to data centers, and that usage is growing at a rate of 12 percent a year”. This is very interesting to me because to think about that number is just something that can blow your mind. I am a huge fan on trying to comprehend incredibly large sums, calculations, and possibilities.

Were there any parts of the book you didn’t like?

Personally, my biggest dislike for the book was not the subject matter, but in essence, the way this book was presented. Don’t get me wrong, this book takes on an impossible task, as well as an idea that is technical beyond belief, but I found it incredibly hard to learn in the way the book was written. I have never read a textbook where the book is written in first person. It caught me so off guard that I was so caught up in trying to figure out his story that I lost track of the content, and I had a hard time retaining the information given to me from the stories he told.

Did this book help explain things you didn’t know about the internet?

Like I posed in my previous paragraph, I found it very hard to learn new concepts, technical aspects, and the only really things I found useful were the random facts spouted out that I’d write down. Overall, I think this book could have done a better job at explaining the technical aspect of the internet.

Did this book leave you with any questions unanswered?

Would you recommend this book to a friend that wanted to know more about the internet?

I feel that I can sum up both these question with the argument I posed above being that I did not enjoy the book due to not being able to confidently adjust to the style of writing present to me. Being able to be comfortable reading a book is something that is important to comprehension. I the reader does not know when and where they are getting information, and where they are getting exposition, I becomes a task of having to pick the two apart. For this reason, I would not recommend this book to a friend. However, if someone is able to get past the writing style, I suppose the reader might be able to have an enjoyable and educational time reading “Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet”

[leclercthomas-blog]

What’s the deal with Filter Bubbles?

“A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your interests right now than people dying in Africa.” is a quote used by Eli Pariser in his speech about Filter Bubbles. What exactly is a filter bubble? Well imagine your youtube recommendation box. For the most part, it is filled with content you regularly watch, however, have you ever been trying to watch videos outside of your everyday viewing and it seems like you’re trapped and the bubbles are just pulling you back in? Well these are filter bubble, a feat of civil engineering whereas an algorithm takes content related to your preference, and supplies you with more and more of that same content.

So looking at my roommate, he is a white male with 18 years of age, however, politically we share very different views. I am a crazy “rootin’-tootin’” conservative who is a fan of the current presidency and grew up on a chicken farm. He is a city-going liberal who strives to judge as little as possible. I am a computer science major debating a switch to criminology, while he is a creative writing major who is incredibly content with writing novels for the foreseeable future.

While looking at even how we spend our free time, we are quite different. He goes to astronomy club, while I attend Pershing Rifles practice. I’m a computer games, he’s a card gamer. So while looking at our YouTube recommended videos, we can see a drastic variety

For example: My top 5 videos are videos about the Military, Olympic Swimming, and a gaming video.

His top 5 consist of 3 batman videos, a Yu-gi-oh! Video, and a video regarding an analytical breakdown of Stephen King’s writing style

When you look at our amazon recommendation,

My recommendation consists of a Men’s Clothing Advertisement, a Nintendo Switch, and electrical outlets.

His consist of Echo Plus (a siri wanable, or alexa wanable, or cortana wanable, can technology just stop?), an advertisement for Star Wars Halloween costumes, and the steaming service brought to us by amazon, Amazon Prime.

When you look at our Netflix recommendations you find something kind of silly.

His consists of a documentary on the origin of the Taliban (he assures me he has no clue why that is there), DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (“Marvel is BANNED from our dorm), and some horror movie called Contracted.

My Netflix is about as basic as it gets. First is Blue Mountain State: Rise of Thad-Land, Stranger Things, and Dexter (nothing beats Dexter).

Overall, filter bubbles are a system that should only thrive in a an entertainment setting. When researching information on current issues, filter bubbles should, well, be filtered. In the words of Eli Pariser in his book The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You, “Your computer monitor is a kind a one-way mirror, reflecting your own interests while algorithmic observers watch what you click.”, meaning that the rules of the internet, the silicon valley land lords, will data mine all of your content and make is impossible for you to leave.

[leclercthomas-blog]

Patterns on the Stone

Showing up to my first day of CIS 115, I was a little overwhelmed when I was told that this course required a total of 3 (some what pricey but not ridiculous) textbooks in order to succeed in the class and maintain consistent upkeep of class content. However, I was slightly relieved when I started to break into the book Patterns on the Stone due to the books formatting. The way Patterns on the Stone is constructed is in such a way that the information in the chapters is easy to find and identify. For example, if I want to learn about neural networks, there is a very defined passage that tells me that a neural networks is a “ simulated network of artificial neurons.” (Hillis, W. Daniel. The Pattern On The Stone: The Simple Ideas That Make Computers Work (Science Masters) (p. 127). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.). However, my main issue with this text book is either the wording, or the lack of simplification of terminology. There were many times in which I found myself doing external research on topics I felt the text just rushed through. Granted it might just be the way that I think, or the way I learn, but I found it very difficult to comprehend what I was reading (at least to a level at which I would be quizzable”.

In absence of my complaints, this book accomplishes it’s mission. After reading Patterns on the Stone, I feel confident in my abilities regarding basic computer functions and the language and math shared by computers. In addition, if I am ever uncertain about how to do something, or why it is necessary, The topics, headings, and chapter titles of this book are not something that I need to decode. The table of contexts proved itself helpful quite frequently in aiding me on my assignments. 

For me, the most interesting parts of Patterns on the Stone were the early chapters because it introduced me to a new way of thinking. For example, I liked how Patterns on the Stone explained Binary and Boolean Logic. I think the reason I was fond of them is because they were not exactly complicated topics, but it introduced a concept that takes a certain way of thinking to understand, and I think the diagrams used by the text aided significantly in easing the reader into these topics. To go into further detail, the charts and diagrams displayed on page 23 of Patterns on the Stone do a very good job of relating and showing the similarities between Binary code, what binary actually is, Boolean Logic, and how Boolean Logic actually works.

In conclusion, for being an intro level text book I feel that it wants to rush it’s way through like a runaway train. I would’ve appreciated the textbook to use perhaps simpler terminology, as well as spend more time on the basic concepts before diving in to applications. I feel that this book is intended for those who already have a fair level of base knowledge on the topic of computer science, as well as those who are just naturally talented in comprehending complex material at a rapid rate. I would recommend this book to a friend, however all of my friends are super-geniuses, so I might be a tad biased. 

[leclercthomas-blog]

What’s the deal with Page Replacement Algorithms?

First of all, what the heck is the page replacement algorithm? Well to relate it to something in the commonplace, you have two pieces of trash. One of the pieces smells really REALLY bad, and the other is a half-full tin of Pringles. The page replacement algorithm basically decides which one is more important, and gets rid of the trash. To put it into simple computer terms, when a disc gets full, or close to full, the page replacement algorithm kicks in and makes the decision that in case of a storage conflict, X can be overwritten in order to make space for Y.

The algorithm itself was a topic thought of in the 1960’s era of computing. At that time, it was simply an approximation of which operations were “Least Commonly Used” (LRU), and then that information was processed to figure out which was needed and which wasn’t.

In the real world, it is possible to conduct the page replacement algorithm, however with larger sample sizes, it gets increasingly more difficult. To execute this algorithm, you take the LCU unit of your sample, and disregard it. In real life, if you order a basketball team on who gets the most play time to who gets the least, the page replacement algorithm would get rid of the players at the bottom of list to make room for new players.

Another type of page replacement algorithm is called the “First-in, first-out” algorithm. In this case, as long as it is not in use, the oldest unit will be overridden for the newest unit.

In relation to the textbook, this can be related as early as “Patterns in the stone: Chapter 1; Nuts and Bolts”. Boolean logic can be related to this algorithm. For example, you can only X or Y, but Y is very rarely used, so page replacement algorithm will disregard Y and choose to work with X instead.

In modern computing, there are exceptions that someone can set for the page replacement algorithm, as well as exceptions that the algorithm sets for itself. For example, the page replacement algorithm would not disregard a program if it was the least used in a system for no reason. It would only replace it if there was another conflict or if it was taking up space which was needed for something else or something new. Restriction that a person could place on a system that would dictate the procedure and behavior of the page replacement algorithm are, for example, someone could lock a program. They might not use the program now, but they know they are going to use it in the future, so they prematurely override the algorithm in order to preserve the program. In addition, an alert could be set up, as is the case in most common operating systems, to warn the user in a situation where a program would be deleted instead of deleting or overwriting it right away. This way, the user can decide if the not recently used method is effective, or if another program could be trashed instead.

Overall, this algorithm, while very complex when working with computers and large data systems, is something most people who value efficiency look at. It is something that bosses assess when looking at their company. “Why on earth would we keep our least valuable employee when we could fire the employee in the presence of a more valuable, effective, or productive employee.

[leclercthomas-blog]

A day in the life...

So what is it like to be me? Well let’s at the beginning....

I was born in Overland Park, Kansas to a family of 6 including my parents, older brother and sister, and my twin sister Grace. My father is a doctor, my mother helps my father at his office, and all my siblings are involved in some form of military service. This leads me into my next point. Why am I here at Kansas State University? For starters, I have been offered and have accepted a 3-year Advanced Designee Army ROTC Scholarship for Kansas State University. However, besides having the Army pay for my school, this is the place I feel that I belong. The people are great, the programs and instructors are fantastic, and I guess I just click here. With regards to my major, I am still on the ropes. I really enjoy computers, and I like to think I understand how they work, However, I can’t help but feel a little inferior to my peers. When I think about the future, I can’t help but think that I’ll struggle much more than my peers to find reliable internships and establish good networking. For this reason, I have started an internal debate between continuing on this field, or switching over to criminology field.

I attended high school at Leavenworth Senior High, where I truly realized how much the military had done for me, my way of life, and my success thus far. For this reason, it is my goal (and obligation) upon graduation of Kansas State University to commission into the United States Army into some type of Combat Arms Branch. I am unsure of how long I wish to spend in the Army, but currently my mindset is to stay in as long as my rank permits me to interact with my subordinates. I have not thought a lot about this, but the idea of going into some type of law enforcement upon leaving the Army has started to appeal to me.

Let’s talk information. Overall, there are probably a million and a half different computer and technology magazines and internet blogs, but I prefer MIT Technology Review (due to it’s “cutting edge” nature) or WIRED (due to it’s easier material). Within the 3 textbooks currently assigned to this class, my favorite is “Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet”. Within this book, based solely on chapter names alone, “Where Data Sleeps” sounds very interesting due to the thought of “Where is the internet stored?”. Also, I find “The Whole Internet” intriguing because of the connotations referencing the Dark Web as well as other “underground” sections of the internet.  

Overall, I am a lean mean corn-fed freedom machine, whose past times include working out, rock climbing, and biking. I’m about as American as it gets, and I am glad that I attend a university where there are so many students who share similar ideas, policies, and politics as I do. I am proud to live in the heart of America in the most American university in the United States, and I plan to work as hard as I canto make my family, my peers, and my country proud. 

Stay friendly and Let’s Go Cats, 

Thomas LeClerc