You guys are the smartest people that I know! :)

[gone-ot]

Originally Posted by Xist

Normal people must be an invention of very boring people.

...in statistics, "normal" is just the mid-point between the high(bright) end and low(dumb) ends of a bell-curve continuum. However, if you visualize that bell-curve continuum as being a circle, then the high end and low end are actually the same point--on the other (back) side of the circle--and that makes bright=dumb, so normal really is the 'norm' of the normal, in a mathematical sense (wink,wink)!

[user removed]

Come back when you can. I still play the 1987 version of Pirates which requires me to use DOS to play the game.
Sid Meier and Grant Irani, Microprose game from 26 years ago. I think I first played it on a Commodore 64.

regards
Mech

[Xist]

I have played some good games by Sid Meier. In 1995 I received a free copy of a magazine that came with a CD, which was the premise for the magazine. It included demos of the programs mentioned in the issue, including Ascendancy, by Logic Factory. There was a minor hack to play after the trial number of turns, but you still could not do other things. Once I finally had a CD-ROM, I started trying to find the full version, and then happened to see it at my supermarket.

I do not know how many games I played, but I went back time and again. There were two problems: The game required micromanagement and if you could have three hundred planets and one hundred ships, keeping track of them was overwhelming. You could automate the planets, but then you run into the second problem: The AI was stupid!

Right now I am playing Tradewars 2002. Most of the game involves telling it which script to run, so it does not involve much user interaction.

In other news, I found a room for rent five blocks from my classrooms for a couple hundred less than I pay for my furnished, month-to-month apartment, so I am going to try to move.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

Come back when you can. I still play the 1987 version of Pirates which requires me to use DOS to play the game.
Sid Meier and Grant Irani, Microprose game from 26 years ago. I think I first played it on a Commodore 64.

regards
Mech

Dosbox is your friend. It even allows you to slow the modern PC down to 1980s-90s speeds.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Dosbox is your friend. It even allows you to slow the modern PC down to 1980s-90s speeds.

Can I use it to slow down someone else's computer or just the one window?

I remember being able to customize the CPU timing in the BIOS. You could not speed up your processor, just make it slower, like the old Turbo XTs, I guess.

Well, I guess that this is the extent of my weekend festivities. My best friend left the state and I do not have any pressing schoolwork. I kind of just want to go to the movies with a buddy and talk--or not talk.

I guess that I will study for some future test. There are always those.

[Xist]

My parents kept asking me to drive up and help around the house after annual training. I was frustrated that I was away from home for a few weeks and my parents wanted me to immediately leave again, but I enjoyed helping them. I tried to take care of things, I finally returned to the VA, although I did not have any idea where I had left off, so I could not really pick up. I was told to get my blood drawn in the ER to see if I had diabetes. The Physician's Assistant told me that my blood sugar was right where we wanted it after a twelve-hour fast.

Of course, I had not been told to fast. I told her that I had eaten breakfast, lunch, and drank a couple of quarts of Gatorade. She did an about-face, came back, and told me to go to the lab the next day, where they drew more blood, and when I was back in-town, I picked several pages of codes and numbers.

Ah, okay. Thanks!

One of my friends, who was a medic, and currently works in a clinic, looked at the paperwork, and told me that I was in excellent health.

Thanks! A lot of help you are!

So, allegedly not diabetic or hypoglycemic, which the PA had suggested.

I talked to a psychiatrist and an MD. The latter gave me some prescriptions, one for "mood," which is supposed to help my focus and\or memory in 4-6 weeks, and the other is for "itchiness," which is supposed to help me sleep.

Of course, I have not seen any results from the first medication yet. I tried the second one once and just went back to melatonin and Zzzquil.

School is not starting out well. I missed the first two days and I simply feel lost, but that might have something to do with one class having another as a pre-requisite, and a third class having the course in which I earned a "D" as a pre-requisite. Now that I have my computer situation mostly figured out, I take my 18" brand-new laptop to class, because it is the world's largest audio recorder.

Hmm...

I do not take notes, I try to listen to the professor and hope to remember. I do not know how much good it has ever done me, but this is the first time that I cannot find study material for these classes, not that those were good students, or what worked for them would work for me.

It does not take me that long to do six sets of push-ups (and five sets of sit-ups) or run, but it takes me so long to cool down, stop sweating, and feel like my brain is somewhat useful again, and I keep discussing how to improve my run.

I feel like I am more focused on that than on school!

I do not know how much good it will do, but I need to type up my recordings. I have only done one reading. I quickly wondered whether my summer was too long or too short--I was completely out of practice reading a textbook, but had not necessarily had a sufficient break!

My college (Speech and Hearing Sciences) asked students to participate in a study, which was worth 3% of my semester grade in extra credit. They are comparing the memory of Veterans to civilians and honestly, I think that I did fairly well, but the lady is going to request approval to bring me back for further testing, and try to get assistance through ASU.

When some of my professors announced that notetakers were needed, I asked each of them if I could access the notes, but since I do not have an official diagnosis, it seems like I am at an impasse until I can get one. I planned on contacting both my university and the VA to see about ADHD testing (for the third time!).

However... talking with the extra credit lady (a research scientist), she said that in order for the VA to give me a prescription, I need a diagnosis!

I do admit that much of it comes down to time management and while I can easily waste all day surfing the web, the Internet does not intentionally and maliciously attempt to ruin my life.

Girls, however, well, how in the world would I know what they are doing or what they want?! All that I know is that several times, one of them has persuaded me to allow them to visit "quickly" the night before a test. I enjoy their company, so I have difficulty asking them to leave after fifteen minutes, but the only thing that seems to matter to them is whatever they feel a relationship is, while I have a completely different idea, which includes intelligent conversation, and I just feel that they are selfish.

Meanwhile, I allow them to distract me from school.

I do not know how much better this is, but I have all but ignored the girls who want to talk to me forever, then come over and do whatever stupid cute couple stuff forever, etc.

To be honest, I really feel that I should have broken up with each of them months ago.

Well, I have almost finished my oat bag--muesli! I need to get to school and learn something or whatever.

Please enjoy your days!

[Xist]

Originally Posted by euromodder

Type less.
Train / study more.

Just a hint.
well, 3 actually.

I had my first test this semester a couple of hours ago. It was... exciting.

During summer school, I had a very difficult time taking notes during lecture, so once again, I tried to pay attention and hoped to remember.

Summer school went poorly.

Thinking that I would still have difficulty taking notes, I continued to try to pay attention and hoped to remember, but I recorded lectures on my laptop.

Apparently, my laptop does that as well as I pay attention.

Also, when the professors asked for notetakers, I asked if I could have access to those, but that ended when they realized that I had not gone through the Disability Department. I cannot, I do not have an actual diagnosis, although the VA gave me a prescription, so hopefully I can use whatever diagnosis they gave me.

The study guide for today's test was based on the notes that I did not take. I asked my friend about it, they just shrugged, so I started finding stuff through the Internet. After a little while, I found a large set of flashcard made by a girl who had attended my school, so I used that for the rest of my study guide, sent it to my friends, and they used it, providing a few corrections.

I made my own on-line flashcards and spent several hours today studying, but it seemed fruitless, so I rewrote my notes a couple of time.

I only felt that I knew the answers to a fraction of the questions.

People tell me all kinds of things, but I put a lot of time into studying. I mostly ignored girls. They have been a huge distraction in the past.

This really does not seem to be working for me.

[Xist]

I scored a 58.5 on that test. Six days later, I had a test in another class, and instead of providing a study guide, the professor gave us a full review. Professors often post incomplete notes, requiring us to fill in key portions, but this one posts everything. I opened up the review and made flash cards. A hundred and twenty-seven of them.

The previous test only had seventy.

I studied for a few days, did not feel like I was getting anywhere, so I removed key words from the review and made 212 flashcards.

I scored 82% on the questions that I answered, but 0% on those that I did not. People always insist that I need to try, I need to write something.

For the final for my Anatomy lab, I wrote "I love you" when I did not have any idea of the answer.

Apparently, that was not a valid response.

I just hope that a woman graded it...

Anyway, I scored a 64% on that test. On the other one, I was the only student to fail, out of more than seventy. On this one, only one student failed, but it wasn't me!

I had another test. The professor does not really provide notes or a study guide, just an outline of the notes. I have only spoken to two girls in that class and both are retaking it. One told me to learn the outlines. I made fill-in-the-blank flashcards for those--233. We do not have any idea when those grades will be posted.

I was told that I should benefit from my medicine after 4-6 weeks. It has been seven. I will ask my sister, a nurse, how long I should wait before asking for a stronger dosage. However, I was able to get special accommodations. They kept offering extended test times, but I am always the first to finish. They did sign me up for notetakers. So far, I have two, and their notes are beautiful. Hopefully I can get the other two.

It is frustrating, for my second class today, all that I brought was my audio recorder, and I made sure that this girl could not sit in front of me:
She only interrupted her car shopping for text messaging. Also, she never pushes in her chair, so I need to, in order to leave.

With nothing to distract me, I could not tell you what she covered in class, but I have the recording!

Studying is a very slow process. I wish that I knew why I cannot commit things to memory faster. I earned a B in Anatomy! Why can't I memorize things one year later?

I hope that everything is going well for you guys. Take care!

[freebeard]

That's four post in a row, man. But you're closing in on 2K views so there's that.

What kinds of cars was she shopping for?

[Xist]

She bought a Chevy Traverse, the same oversized waste that my sister drives, just newer.

Four posts in a row because nobody cares!

I just had two tests following a three-day drill. I doubt that I did especially well, but I should do okay. That girl hardly attends that class anymore, which suits me.

Somehow I am having the most difficulty with that class--probably because it is the only one where I do not have a notetaker. I do not have any more tests until finals, the ninth through twelfth, and since I have four in four days, immediately following drill, I am going to start studying now!

I just do not have any idea what to do for this class. The professor told those of us that earned Ds and Fs on the first test to come to her office to go over the test. She just asked me how I expected to get through grad school, but said that reading the textbook would be critical for the second test.

Having taken it, I really do not know how much good it did me to read the three chapters twice each, but it sure took a while!

So, I do not know how relevant the remaining chapters would be. At least for the class for which I just took a test I know how to study. The professor gives section outlines and his tests very closely resemble those, so I just need to memorize each one as he posts them.

I failed the first test of the semester. The professor recommended that I started studying for it immediately, but I procrastinated until I had completed the tests for other classes. She asked me to send her my study materials, but each time that I finished one and started going over it, I did not feel that it would help me, so I started something else, and did not finish until a few hours before the test. However, each one was the same material presented differently, so she could have corrected errors on the first one. Also, her TA gave a study session, and I thought that I would be better off continuing to study my materials, but I had some holes, which she could have filled.