Matthew's Personal Blog
My little place on the web
Away to College
Aug 29th
Howdy All! I am now attending college as the loudest and proudest member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie class of 2014! AAAAAAA! I will continue to update my blog… probably more so than what I have done in the past, which is saying a lot (well, maybe not) considering I haven’t said much prior to this entry. That was confusing, but it perfectly describes how I feel right now. I have so much going on and so much to get used to before classes begin. I feel just like a fish should: swimming somewhat aimlessly in a big ocean.
The Ultimate Hypocrisy
Aug 2nd
Remember that post in which I described my absolute despise for Apple and all Apple products (particularly the Safari web browser)? Well, God has a sense of humor: Not only has Safari become my favorite browser, but I have also adopted a MacBook Pro for my mobile computing needs. I was even using an iPhone at the time I posted that article.
I guess I owe Apple an apolology… I learned that Chrome is based on the WebKit framework, which is an Apple project that is open standard to all developers. Chrome actually removed some of the extra cool effects that Apple included so that it would be a more lightweight web browser. Safari was the slowest browser on my old computer which had a 32-bit Windows (Vista) operating system running on a 1.2 GHz CPU with only 2 GB of RAM. Now, I have a 64-bit Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system running on a 2.4 GHz CPU with 4 GB of RAM. Safari opens to my “Top Sites” well within 2 seconds… and that’s from a cold start!
Another thing I’d just like to throw out there: I’ve been using iPhone 4 for a while now, and I have not had any problems whatsoever with reception or “Antennagap” (or whatever the sue-happy people are calling it). I actually get better reception now than I did with my iPhone 3G. Bottom-line, the iPhone 4 is a vastly superior smartphone in my opinion.
I must say that I am very pleased with what Apple has been doing recently: the iPad, iPhone 4, Unibody MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, etc. My friends tell me that it would be extremely ironic if I start working for Apple once I graduate. To be honest, I’m actually considering it…
A Diamond in the Rough, or was it a Ruby on Rails
Jun 5th
I have made my decision from when I asked the question in Thursday’s post: I will try to learn as much as I can about Ruby and C++ over the next two months.
After watching and following along with this video about the amazing power of Ruby on Rails (“Rails” for short), I realized how similar Rails and CakePHP are: the frameworks are identical in every way; only the languages differ. In other words, I only have to learn the (seemingly simple) Ruby language before I can start using Rails like a pro.
Learning C++ would give me a jumpstart into many of the other languages I would like to learn (like Cocoa and Android) since they are based on the concepts of C++. I also have the opportunity to learn this language from its inventor, Bjarne Stroustrup: I will be following the guidelines set forth in his book, Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++. C++ will also be the primary language that I will use during my college education. I have studied C++ in the past for Robotics, but I do not know enough to make an application for a computer… yet.
Since Ruby and C++ should be fairly easy to learn, I might have enough time to start learning one more language this summer. I’m still open for suggestions, so please let me know what you think.
Language Learning Time!
Jun 3rd
Now that summer has arrived and I am no longer burdened by assignments and homework, I would like to expand my programming horizons by learning some new languages.
I try to learn at least one new language/framework each summer. Last summer, I learned how to use CakePHP (PHP), jQuery (JavaScript), Prototype (JavaScript), and CSS3. I attempted to learn JSP with much frustration due to its complexity. However, I would be willing to try again.
As I’ve learned more about CakePHP, I have come to love the MVC setup, which makes Ruby on Rails look very appealing. That also means that I will have to learn Ruby. Being a web developer, the server-side languages seem more useful, but I would also like to be able to make desktop applications that can be compiled to run on any machine. I have also made the commitment to make at least one mobile app that interfaces with an online database by the end of this year.
I have more languages that I would like to learn more about, but I don’t know where to start. This is where you (the reader) can help. Out of the following languages, which would be the best, easiest, or most useful to know?
- Python
- Ruby
- Ruby on Rails (by extension of Ruby)MVC
- JSP
- Bash scripting
- C++ (which I will learn in College anyway, but would like to get a head start)
- Cocoa (Mac OS X; based on Objective-C)MVC
- Cocoa Touch (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad by extension of Cocoa)MVC
- Android (by extension of C++)
You are welcome to suggest other languages or frameworks. Please comment below to cast your vote. I will post the results later.
The People’s Republic of America
Mar 21st
Today marks a very tragic day in the history of the United States: our government has just proven itself to be a tyrannical giant rather than a representative democracy. The US government has just outright completely violated the Constitution, and all of the founding fathers are rolling over in their graves.
The Obama Care Health Plan has been passed with a 219-212 House vote. Aren’t bills supposed to be passed with a 2/3 vote from both houses rather than a simple majority? And one other thing: UNDER WHAT ARTICLE OF THE CONSTITUTION DOES THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAVE THE ABILITY TO REGULATE HEALTH CARE?!?
The only things that the federal government can constitutionally regulate are interstate commerce and taxes. In the original mindset of the founding fathers, this means that the government is supposed to ensure that trade between states stays regular. An example of an irregularity would be if Maine decided that Kansas could no longer buy its goods. In this case, the federal government would have to restore regular interstate trade.
To regulate anything except for interstate commerce would be UNCONSTITUTIONAL on the federal government’s behalf.
Hopefully America will retaliate and move to repeal the Obama Care Plan before it has any major impact on our already dying country. Obama has been the president for a little over a year now, and he’s done a surprisingly great job at running our country into the ground so far. I don’t even want to guess at what he’s going to do next.
Rally for Life
Jan 23rd
I spent the day in Austin, TX, with a great crowd of pro-lifers to send a message to the politicians in our government. We do not want abortion to be legal in this country any longer.
In our declaration of independence from the tyranny of the time, we profoundly stated that every human being is endowed with three unalienable rights — rights that cannot be touched or changed in any way: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Abortion most obviously disregards the unborn child’s unalienable right to life, and, as a result, denies that child his or her liberty and his or her chance to obtain happiness. Scientific evidence proves that an unborn child is 100% purely human from its start as a zygote, to its development into an embryo, or at its fetal stage prior to birth; the DNA of that child is already present and set in stone at the moment of conception. Since when did America, the greatest country in the world, allow its citizens to legally murder their own children? Why can’t we show the same shock for aborted babies that we do when newborn babies are discovered in trash cans?
While watching the news after the event, they claimed that police officers had to form a buffer between the pro-life crowd, the pro-choice crowd, and the capitol building. This statement is completely false. Police officers were present at the event, but they were on bicycles and only served to stop traffic for us as we marched through the streets. We were not rowdy or violent at all; we did not have any buffer between us and the capitol even as Governor Rick Perry gave his speech about how he and the senators are working to pass pro-life bills. I did see a small amount of pro-choice people, but they were scattered around throughout the pro-life crowd, not in a separate location. We coexisted peacefully and were even talking with them! We were not a mob as the news says we were. Rather, we were a group of peaceful protesters wishing to make our motives known by following the examples of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi.
Challenges: Defined in (Not so) Plain English
Jan 22nd
I enjoy a good challenge every once in a while. In my case, English class is always a challenge because it is not my best subject. At times, I have the outward appearance that I despise English. To prove my point, I pose the question: Who in their right mind likes to write essays or interpretations? I can understand writing blog entries or writing in a journal every once in a while, but for assignments? Who came up with the idea of essay assignments anyway? And how can I say that I enjoy challenges but despise a challenging English class?
As a faithful Catholic, I do my best and let God handle the rest: We should embrace the challenges we face and use them as opportunities to grow in patience, humility, and faith. I take pleasure in making myself a better person (which, in turn, makes the world a better place) because I know that I am becoming who I was meant to be–the best person I can become. Therefore, I can proudly say that I enjoy English class because I enjoy making myself a better person, challenges give us the ability to better ourselves, and English is challenging to me.
I also like English because I never know what profound sermon Mr. Beeler is going to give.
Merry Christmas!
Dec 24th
Today we celebrate the giving and receiving of gifts to remind us that God has given us the greatest gift of all: a Savior who can bridge the gap between God and Man and bring us to share in Eternal Life. Amidst the celebration and noise, we should take a moment to thank God for His gift and wish Him a happy birthday.
Merry Christmas to all!
Movies to Keep Away from Mr. Beeler
Nov 25th
If Mr. Beeler were to see this list, he would surely assign multiple-page essays in response to them.
I recently watched the following two movies and found them quite intriguing:
Both movies are extremely good stories that describe humanity and its tendencies to stray from what God originally intended for Creation and his plans to make good come from the evil that we have twisted. I do not wish to give an in-depth analysis on the four layers of meaning (literal, figurative, tropological, and anagogical), but they are easy to interpret for one’s self.
I must warn you that Knowing offers a very skewed, but thought-provoking, view of the eschaton/apocalypse as foreseen by a young girl in 1959. Recall that Jesus tells us to, “stay awake, for [we] know neither the day nor the hour” (Mt 25:13, NAB). In the movie, a few chosen children are removed from the earth before it is destroyed and are taken to a different planet. This act of “rescue” from the tribulation is commonly referred to as the Rapture. However, the Rapture is never mentioned anywhere in the Bible, nor is it alluded to by any of the prophets, by Jesus, or in the Pauline letters. The answer to why there will not be a Rapture can be found in reason: Human suffering is redemptive by nature if united with the sufferings of Christ as an offering. This is why euthanasia is wrong: it provides an “easy death” (from the Greek eu + thanatos) without any suffering and no chance at redemption. To suffer through the tribulation would be the ultimate sacrifice and the ultimate redemption. Would God really deprive us of that opportunity by taking us from it? The only human person who did not need redemption is Jesus: He came to be our redemption through is life, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension and established His Kingdom on earth to guard the seed of faith and pass it down to all generations. Jesus’ dually human and divine nature (hypostatic union) explains that He was, in fact, God. His name literally means “God saves” and thus he is our savior; he does not need to be saved.
I believe I have written enough to provide plenty of fuel for thought: it seems that I have written an essay while trying to avoid writing an essay. Watch for how grace is at work in the movies, and I hope you will get as much out of them as I did.
BEST Robotics 2009
Oct 24th
I will be participating in the 2009 BEST Robotics Competition today. The SJS Robotics Team has really pulled together this last week to go from a base robot design that barely moves to a fully functional robot. Please come out to Texas A&M Consolidated High School sometime between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM to show your support.
Please pray that our robot performs to the best of it’s ability (pun not intended).