The Dream House

How to know if you’re a Senior

Tags

college, college life, college sweatpants, Friendzone, senior, senior friendzone, senior nap, senior pressure, senior year, yolo senior

Here at the Quilleran it’s sad that some of our colleagues will be moving on to new paths in their lives. So we thought about what it’s like to be in their shoes. Senior year is what you make of it. But there’s always some thing to think about.

Being a new senior you thought you would have it all figured out by now. In some aspects it’s true. It becomes more about quality than quantity. How?

Well for one, you party much less than you used to. Those comfy evenings with netflix (Shout out to OITNB and HOC, y’all the real MVPs) and yummy snacks on the couch with fluffy bed covers sounds way more attractive than getting all dolled up for a crazy “OMG YOLO” night out downtown for FOMO. You’d rather go out with a few close good friends than an ever changing gang of people who are like friends of you-know-who, who’s brother’sister was someone’s ex who goes to that school near where what’s her name lived in.

 

You like sleeping in. Sleeping in is good. Hit snooze. 5 min. Hit snooze…repeat. Naps are pretty awesome. Your bed is like this comfy friend whose hugs are never too long and the world out there is just too cold to let go. You actually like the idea of a bedtime, not that you follow it but you still like it.

Hello old friend

You realize that you don’t necessarily have it all together but for some reason….you’re not afraid. It’s like you have that confidence thing or something.

You dress down a lot more because hello, comfortable. Sweatpants>Jeans. T-shirt>Collared shirt. Moccasins>> sneakers. Besides who’re you trying to impress? Your crush? that’s for Junior year.

Why does it feel like this is still too much?

You don’t add any classes before checking professors on RateMyProfessor and asking friends about them because as long as you’re a STEM major or really care about your GPA, it’s all about the grades if you wan to enjoy break.

You mentally calculate how much time you can sleep in and still make it into class relatively on time….relatively.

You’re getting real tired of people asking “so what do want to do after you graduate?” as though gazillions of employers are just biting at the bit trying to get you to work with them.

Some of your friends have gotten married. Some are older than you. Some are younger than you. Now your parents are constantly calling, reminding you about so-and-so from [insert family traditional gathering/childhood/community event] and asking “hey you should oh maybe I don’t know talk to him or her about his or her life, how they’re doing, and their goals and aspira…DATING, OK? THEY WANT YOU TO START DATING SERIOUSLY. THEY’RE AFRAID OF THE IDEA OF YOU BEING ALONE TOO LONG. got it? good.

It’s funny when you’re a kid, you say I wanna be filthy rich. Then in teens I wanna be a millionaire. Then early twenties, hey six figures is great. Then it’s Lord, give me a job, please!

True Story

You find the friend zone funny. No not in a reluctant ha-ha way but more like well that’s life

Giving hope to men everywhere. Doing the Lord’s work son

 

But in the end, you realize that it was all a great adventure and it’ll all work out in the end.

AAAAWWWW YEAH!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matlab Numerical Methods: Root Methods

Here at The Quilleran we’ve noticed more young adults being accepted as Engineering majors and we applaud their arrival. One of our writers is a Chemical Engineering major who is usually nowhere to be found due to the demand of her curriculum. After a brief survey the majority of pupils claim that there is little if any help when it comes to the programming side of required studies. Due to a recent consensus we have decided to run a rudimentary miniseries of lectures on MATLAB programming for chemical engineering. Please remember that this is not a substitute for actual class notes, lectures, etc. But if you’re an engineering major I’m sure you already know that.

Shall We Begin?

First we will briefly speak about finding roots of functions using the Matlab program.

There is the Open method which is more efficient and uses initial guess. Of the Open method is Fixed-point iteration, which includes successive substitution and Wegstein method, as well as the Newton-Raphson Method and Secant method.

There is also the Bracking Method which uses an interval containing the root and thus shrinking it till said root is found.This includes the bisection method, false position method and NR Synthetic division method. There is also the fzero function which finds the zero near a specified number.

Successive Substitution Program

Take equation f(x)=0 –> change to x on one side=g(x). x is the fixed point of g(x). X(i+1)=g(Xi). Xo=given guess=X1. X1=initial guess. X2=g(X1). Keep iterating X(n+1) till tolerance [X(n+1)-Xn] is < E is met. It converges if [X(n+1)-Xn]<[Xn-X(n-1)]. This program has a function and a script. Remember every time you see a ; it’s best you enter the next line for clean programming purposes.

Function[x_new]=g(x_old)

x_new=……x in the original function is replaced by x_old here; end

Script

err=inf; x0=0; x_new=x0; tolerance=1e-6 or input(Please enter tolerance’);

i=0; while abs(err)>tolerance; x_old=x_new; [x_new]=g(x_old);                       err=x_new-x_old;i=i+1; disp([num2str(i),”,num2str(x_new)]);end

Newton Raphson Program

f(x)–>f'(x)–> initial guess Xo for root–> X(n+1)=Xn- (F(Xn)/F'(Xn))–>Find X(n+1) again using X(n+1) as Xn.

Function x=newton(f,dfdx,x0, tolerance)

err=Inf; x0=input(‘Please enter initial guess for root’); x=X0;

while abs(err)>tolerance             % make new root estimates as error > tolerance

xPrev=x; x=xPrev- f(xPrev)./dfdx(xPrev);  % this is the iterative part

err=f(x);                                                %   stops when change in x <tolerance

end                                                        % err=x-xPrev

end

Script

x0=0; f=@(x)…..; %function

dfdx=@………..; %function’s derivative

tol=input(‘please enter tolerance’)  % Set tolerance

xroot=newton(f,dfdx,x0,tolerance)

Secant Method

Choose 2 initial points Xi and X(n-1). Make new root estimate

Xi+1=Xi – f(Xi)*((Xi-X(i-1))/(f(Xi)-f(X(i-1))

Successive method Program 

function[x_new]=g(x_old)

x_new=……put x_old in each x part

end

Script

err=inf;   %initialize error

x0=0;

x_new=x0;

tolerance=1e-6; or =input(enter tolerance’);

i=0;  %initialize counter

while abs(err)>tolerance

x_old=x_new; [x_new]=g(x_old); err= x_new-x_old; i=i+1; disp([num2str(i),”,num2str(x_new)]);

end

Fzero function for roots

function y=f(x)

y=……….

clear all

clc

fun=@f;

x0=1;

z=fzero(fun,x0)

roots([coefficients])

y= fzero (x,[left end,interval right end])

It’s ok we all had to start somewhere. Now tell others who had problems with things like this to come check out the site

The Great Gatsby: Glorified Friend zone?

Tags

Animal Farm, Carey Mulligan Friendzone, Daisy Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan love, Ethan Frome, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Friendzone, gastby love, Gatsby friend, gatsby friend zone, gatsby friendzone, Gatsby love, Great Gatsby, great gatsby friendzone, great gatsby love, high school novels, High school summer reads, House on Mango Street, Jay Gatsby love, Leonardo DiCaprio Great Gatsby, Lord of the Flies, required read gatsby, required summer reads, The Great Gatsby, The great Gatsby friend zone, The Great Gatsby love, The Quilleran, United States

At The Quilleran, we conversed about our favorite summer high school novel reads. Good novels came up such as To Kill a Mockingbird (go Scout!), Lord of the Flies (ah yes we all loved Piggy), Catcher in the Rye (first required book that sparked our editor’s love of novels), Animal Farm, Huckleberry Finn,The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (my C.S. Lewis fave), Ethan Frome (hmm…), Perks of being a wallflower, A Separate Peace (surprisingly a fave among most), The Stranger, The Odyssey(it’s OK  the suggester was an intern), The House on Mango Street, 1984, The Metamorphosis, The Jungle, and of course Grapes of Wrath and the Shakespeare classics. But I digress, the Quilleran finally came to the polarizing book The Great Gatsby.

It resembled a tense Mac vs PC debate. Just as many as those who love it, likewise hated it. “…story of the American dream”,”Boring book about some guy who can’t let go” “the basis of self entrepreneurship” “glorified display of overindulgence of the 1920s”… just a glorified friend zone story. I felt like giving a raise to the last comment but it’s only her third week and a ridiculous notion.

That stood out to us. It is agreed that Gatsby had almost an abnormal love for Daisy Buchanan. The man practically made a fortune and had lavish parties but yet it was all for her? There were wild stag celebrations of the possibilities of new American wealth in his mansion that would make Hefner have slow eyebrow raises and head nods. The never ending supply of rare wine, mint julep, and pink murder cocktails despite the Prohibition wink wink, the gorgeous women in the beaded dresses, long pearl necklaces, and encrusted headbands begging you to do the fox trot and jive, the movers and shakers with their  crisp feathered fedoras doing the Charleston,  the emergent loud boisterous jazz music of the ragtime bands (it was the roaring 20’s )

and yet he keeps asking for that long lost love, Daisy Buchanan.

He even still longed for her despite knowledge of her marriage. It’s almost obscenely beautiful.

It is like the novel Twilight. No please wait come back. Seriously let me explain. The Quilleran allows for a bit of free reign over our analogies. Bear with me. It resembles the concept of a successful man who, despite all the distractions and success of his accomplishments, means nothing without the reciprocated love of his one true love. The idea of wanting someone so badly that she’s no longer human but an ephemeral enigma, a savory idea whose flaws become aesthetic from the sweet touch of nostalgia. Obsession becomes mistaken for passion and  essentiality for love.

I think that’s where most unrequited young individuals make the mistake of simply not being able to let go. The object of affection simply becomes that. An object that has no flaws of his or her own. A being without complex desires that have no simple explanation. “Why would she go for that guy? He doesn’t know her like I do! When will he realize that I’m right here standing and waiting for him? How can he keep going for these type of women when what he needs is a woman like me? A woman who wants to be there for him and be his best friend and shoulder to cry on behind closed doors” He or she is put on an unrealistic pedestal. Eventually unrequited love becomes bitter hardness that is not easily absolved. Absence does make the heart grow fonder. But Gatsby needed to let her be. He practically convinces himself and declares to her own husband that she truly loves him.

Of course after finally getting her affection, realize my word she’s only human.

Anyway please feel free to leave comments about fave summer reads or comments on the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The Silver Empire’s Fate: How Apple stopped being Great

Tags

Android, Apple, iPod, iTunes, Kanye West, Ronald Wayne, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Tiki Barber, Tim Cook

Apple. We all know the story of its creator, Steve Jobs. It’s been spoken of in Forbes articles, tech magazines, gadget site posts and almost all forms of media. It’s the chronicle of Steve Jobs, the 21 year old college dropout from Los Altos, California who started Apple with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Although Ronald Wayne seems to have accepted the same fate as Tiki Barber on the Giants.

Sigh. If only he stayed for just one more year. sigh.

For heaven’s sake people have walked with the man in the desert for elaborate interviews that all eventually come down to “Wow, how did you miss that?” Just holding the stock and not doing anything he would have about $40 billion…easy. Of course no one holds stock like that without a buyout. But still…

This should have one of those annoying Facebook World Venture posts “You should be here” signs. But the Quilleran digresses.

Apple is like a silver behemoth in the tech industry. They stood out from the beginning of the game. Their computers were and still are visual candy. They knew how to take something and make it all together another entity. We all knew about smart phones before Apple. But when Apple made their own take on it, it was beautiful. Not cluttered, clunky, and solely function-oriented but smooth, interactive, and inclusive. It’s a phone with everything you might digitally need. They did the same thing with their music store/library iTunes. They did the same with the iPod. We all knew of digital music players. But iPod made it simple with the click wheel which is probably covered with patents that could reach the clouds. It was cool to have these gadgets. They made life easier especially with apps. They also had great marketing by the way. You know the ads.

Ah but the question is how can such a company keep meeting, if not exceeding people/shareholders expectations? Answer: Steve Jobs, himself. The man WAS Apple and Apple was him. Look, he was a hard line visionary like no other. He was the game changer. He was uncompromising and would not take no for answer. This “flaw” pushed him out of Apple but he was brought back. Why? Because he MADE Apple work. Sure there were many brilliant engineers, exceptionally creative minds, and concept innovators but he knew how to pick on an aspect of an idea and cultivate it till it was essential. He was the Kanye West of the industry. Sure many did not like the personality/ behavior but we all respect that work was done and dues were paid to get to that level of execution.

Competitors wanted to hack this guy’s mind frame. “What are his methods? Why are they winning so many times? Is it the nice ideas?…we have ideas too. Is it money?…we definitely have money.  High paced level of hard work and execution?…uh, yeah we totally have that too.” The competitors chipped his mindset but in his prime, no one could really rival Apple. Profoundly long lines were in wait each year for the “Next Big Thing”. The company is doing really excellent for themselves. But there’s a massive elephant in the room. It was and always will be Apple’s Achilles heel.

I’ll say it. Steve Jobs is dead. Dead. But Apple…is alive. Therein lies the dilemma. Writers here at the Quilleran say “Without the vision, innovation lacks motivation.” For Jobs’ sake would you look at the “improvements”? They’re actually the latest. There’s no actual new phone. There’s no actual new library or stores. They’re just minute improvements. If they were Honda or Toyota adhering to the concept of Kaizen then fine, no one would complain. But they’re not. Their premise is based on, you guessed it, The next big thing. Not the it’s a little better than last year thing or the camera has more pixels thing or the screen is kind of bigger/brighter thing. But the Next Big Thing. And consumer enthusiasm is glimmering just a bit.

And the competitors are watching. They know. You see, the free market is like nature. There’s no good or evil. It just is. The decider is consumer appeal. Survival is key. Apple’s Achilles heel safeguarding it from the descent from Great into “pretty good” territory has just been blown out with a cannon. It wasn’t a vacation or a CEO’s Jay-Z-like retirement. Steve Jobs is no more. Unless a true innovator can come and change the game, the descent is inevitable. You have to understand that Apple has never been mediocre since day uno. It’s the classic story of a self made man and his business.  After he dies we all wonder if it will ever be the same again.

It can’t. It won’t. And Google sees that. Samsung sees that. Android knows that. People are starting to see that Tim Cook is a good/great CEO but he’s not Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs is Steve Jobs. It’s one thing to be good at implementing ideas. It’s another to inspire others to follow you with a vision that they believe in.They’ll keep hanging on to the profitable laurels but they’re still hanging.Imagine Tim Cook trying to fill the shoes of a visionary. It’s like Jeffrey Immelt and Jack Welsh.It’s like Thomas Edison vs Nikola Tesla. It’s like a highly world renowned academician v. a German physicist known as Albert Einstein. It’s unfair and a shame. Listen we would never downplay Tim Cook’s achievements  When you are the person picked to replace Steve Jobs, you obviously did not one, but many things right. But it’s to bad. Maybe Apple will keep on top always but I seriously doubt it. They are surrounded by people who have unrealistically high expectations. Will they keep meeting the demands to always beat out the competitors? Who knows? But time will tell.

Ace Redden

Contributor to The Quilleran.

Although Quilleran may not approve here’s some funny

And so it was, The Quilleran began

The picture was by cartoonist Walt Kelly. It was part of an American comic strip known as “Pogo”. I chose it because it showed a symbiosis of my love of Calvin & Hobbes and my eagerness to put my thoughts to “work”