tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62719162011-07-08T04:31:15.848-05:00Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.comBlogger1561100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-64167822236630421372010-03-05T13:34:00.000-06:002010-03-05T13:34:51.698-06:00

The following is based on a comment I wrote on Facebook. I'm placing it here so it is more visible and more publicly archived for the benefit of society. I disagree that legalizing illegal drugs condones an activity. Something being legal is the default state with regard to a any given activity. It is more or less a neutral state. When a new activity comes along, the default assumption is that

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-78322936980753299532009-11-20T01:58:00.001-06:002009-11-20T02:03:03.349-06:00

I thought I'd list the audio podcasts I'm following currently, in case anyone is interested to have some good audio to listen to. My selections are basically comprised of Linux-related shows and Public Radio shows. FLOSS Weekly I only recently started listening to this podcast. One of the hosts is Randal Schwartz, who is a legendary writer of Perl programming books. Each episode of this show is

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-9648651250509560062009-04-21T14:37:00.003-05:002009-04-21T14:48:47.818-05:00

Nearing the end of the OpenCamp event, we discussed the future of OpenEverything and related events. I suggest(ed) that we must first appeal to the most common attitude of most people in order to bring awareness of the benefits of openness in our society. For example, most people are oriented toward consuming media and acquiring 'things'. If one would like to promote openness in media, create an

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-23115524735464326132009-04-21T13:43:00.010-05:002009-04-21T14:42:35.054-05:00

Last weekend Rachel and I went up to Madison, WI to attend the OpenCamp, which was on the 18th of April. It was quite an enjoyable weekend. You can take a look at our pics if you'd like.Our travel experience itself was rather interesting, in mode if not saliency. We first took a train from Champaign up to Chicago. There is no train from Chicago to Madison, so we rented a Zipcar(a blue Nissan

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-45827253063472476802008-11-07T15:46:00.004-06:002008-11-07T15:51:55.549-06:00

This post is in response to a Slashdot post on the election of Barack Obama.The fact is that there is still a very real discriminatory element in our society toward under-priveleged races. There are certainly many cases in which black people are demonstrably on equal footing with the more priveleged social groups, but it is also demonstrable that blacks continue to be underserved because of their

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-65409650481589571352008-08-12T17:29:00.006-05:002008-08-12T17:44:21.887-05:00

If you're a fan of Joss Whedon, you'll love Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Video Blog.It's a story about a dorky evil mad scientist(Neil Patrick Harris, of Doogie Houser fame) who publishes a public video blog. The story spends little time with that, however. It mostly centers around his crush on a girl he sees at the laundromat that he's too shy to talk to. It's also about his neverending battle

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-21429073755351094462008-02-28T01:20:00.005-06:002008-02-28T01:38:36.430-06:00

So, do you see the computer that is being used in the video below?  It's this one:This is one of the best tablet pc's in production at the moment: the HP tx2000z. I want to be able to take notes with this machine. And play Crayon Physics Deluxe.Why do I want a tablet pc? I believe that interface is where the real benefit of computers comes from, and it's the future of the best innovation.  tablet

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-62300754301929424512008-02-28T01:16:00.001-06:002008-02-28T01:16:53.784-06:00

This is such an inspiring game. Pure intuition.

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-73592475371179148972008-02-28T00:30:00.004-06:002008-02-28T01:32:16.655-06:00

I don't write down notes too often, really.  I do it when I feel it's expected of me, and sometimes not even then.  There are some things that need to be noted, though.  My thoughts about my research, for instance. It's really really hard to hold all the good ideas you have in your head indefinitely.  Since I really really want to graduate with a PhD, I need to hold those good ideas in a more

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-17702890018896292422007-10-27T17:01:00.000-05:002008-02-28T00:52:20.962-06:00

Remember, Remember, The Fifth of NovemberI've noticed a clever fund-raising campaign by the republican presidential candidate, Ron Paul. Referencing the movie V for Vendetta, the Ron Paul campaign has fairly explicitly compared their candidate to the character "V" from the movie, who compares himself to a historical British revolutionary named Guy Fawkes, about whom the following rhyme is

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-83186774548108381702007-10-23T01:55:00.000-05:002008-02-28T00:52:20.974-06:00

Gutsy GibbonI recently installed Ubuntu 7.10, which just came out on the 18th of October. I'm quite impressed with it. I'm writing from a blog posting applet integrated into Ubuntu. :-)

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-59408206420825860942007-07-09T23:56:00.000-05:002007-07-10T00:11:34.727-05:00

I have found that I lack the will/courage/nerve to confront practically anything in my life. It's very interesting. This trend goes to the extent that I have trouble even forming opinions about things. Or rather, I find most anything for which one could have an opinion to be agreeable to my liking and generally have to be shown otherwise.Most of my opinions that I do form seem to center on the

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-43800632305096979652007-05-24T18:57:00.000-05:002007-05-24T19:45:17.066-05:00

Today, Dell released their first line of computers preloaded with the Ubuntu operating system. This most promising alternative to Windows is used by Michael Dell himself on his primary computer. The importance of the release goes beyond the benefit of having a choice of operating system when you shop at Dell. The importance lies in the fact that Dell has a mighty influence over hardware

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-86777239634431388692007-05-03T01:50:00.001-05:002007-05-03T01:54:56.856-05:00

Just doing my part to stick it to "the man".

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-8574008964611392162007-04-15T16:22:00.000-05:002007-04-15T16:57:07.746-05:00

A week ago, my computer's hard drive stopped booting. I ran out to Best Buy immediately and bought a new Western Digital Scorpio Hard Drive with 120 GB capacity(double the capacity of my ailing 60GB Hitachi Travelstar) and I loaded a fresh install of Ubuntu Edgy Eft on it. I happened to have backed up my data about 6 months ago, so I got my old stuff back immediately. But, as I have some mission

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-17155948970780811622007-04-12T11:16:00.000-05:002007-04-12T11:18:05.839-05:00

So it goes.

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-83429277163563904042007-04-11T21:23:00.000-05:002007-04-11T21:31:18.679-05:00

Actually, I'm not sure how we won, but we did...we've been getting a lot of congratulations from professors in our department and such, but I still don't know how we had the best system. It seemed so last minute and ad hoc. We had 1 1/2 months to code our system, and there were 13 other teams from around the country(and in the UK).Also, I am excited about Feisty Fawn, the next version of Ubuntu,

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1625056596054583582007-03-30T21:27:00.000-05:002007-03-30T23:24:39.833-05:00

Picture: Christmas 2005, Rachel's Aunt Amy's house in northwestern Ohio.From left: Erin Drum(Rachel's sister), me, Rachel Drum(my fiance), Kevin Drum(Rachel's brother), Pam Drum(Rachel's Mom), Bruce Drum(Rachel's Dad)I thought you might be interested to hear about a project I've been working on :-)This semester I'm taking a seminar in which we are competing in a sort of academic task called

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-21856229820132521862007-03-17T22:41:00.000-05:002007-03-17T23:36:35.360-05:00

My love Rachel is an artist of a particular sort where she is encouraged to pursue her art explicitly and even formally. She works to make her art a truer expression of herself, ever expanding her modes of expression in order to come to a closer understanding of herself and her world around her.But what is the importance of this pursuit? Why would someone choose art as an intellectual life

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-82625615916476312052007-03-08T21:11:00.000-06:002007-03-08T21:51:30.019-06:00

This evening I had the pleasure of attending a lecture by the creator of the web comic known as Piled Higher and Deeper. This comic, if you haven't read it, is a very inspiring/depressing/comedic take on the life of a graduate student(that is, my life). What I enjoy about these comics is that I can relate precisely to many of them. Jorge Cham has indeed been through grad school at Stanford,

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-18467804713486393232007-02-24T09:42:00.000-06:002007-03-09T03:56:23.294-06:00

A week ago I served as my friend Drew Foerster's best man at his wedding in DC. Drew is the friend I've known the longest, since about 3rd grade.  Our birthdays are 4 days apart.We never went to the same school, though we both participated in day camps during the summer through the rec & parks system in Howard County, MD.  In high school, Drew got me interested in Linguistics, in which I'm

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-49164431294793425072007-02-23T14:47:00.001-06:002007-03-09T03:55:55.847-06:00

Rachel and I have put together a wiki page for our wedding plans.  What this means is, if you're involved in the planning of our wedding, or otherwise have something constructive to add, then you can freely edit our site :-)We'll be working on it continuously until the wedding day, and probably afterwards, sobookmark the page and make sure to check back regularly :-)

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-63158424238426631612007-01-24T22:17:00.000-06:002007-03-09T03:55:36.411-06:00

I've been watching a nice Japanese cartoon series called Gilgamesh. It's about some kids who were born with a paranormal power(highly flexible telekinesis, telepathy) and a catastrophe that happened in which the whole lower atmosphere was covered with a mirror-like magnetic field, so no one could see the blue sky. The magnetic field also has the effect of disrupting all electronics equipment, so

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-32623257791056593202007-01-17T20:49:00.000-06:002007-03-09T03:54:02.676-06:00

Rachel sent me some way cool pics of her latest art project!Let me show you guys:  So this piece is a pair of shows into which Rachel etched the words "I can't even look at that!", echoing the words of her least-favorite teacher in her art department during her most recent review. She then stamped the shoes with black paint all over her studio and a little bit outside her studio.  Supposedly it

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-79793574820732579582007-01-11T02:29:00.000-06:002007-03-09T03:53:36.420-06:00

Ingredients:6-inch sourdough roll1 yellow onion1/2 portabella mushroom3 slices muenster cheese4 tbsp butter1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil2 tbsp olive oilDice an onion.  Heat the butter and vegetable oil in a skillet.  Put the onion into the skillet and sautee until brown. Heat olive oil in a skillet.  Cook the portabella mushroom in the skillet until cooked on all sides.  Put mushroom and cheese into

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-55687699659018084952007-01-10T09:24:00.000-06:002007-03-09T03:55:01.959-06:00

Rachel and I put together a documentary of our engagement.  Hope you enjoy it! My favorite band right now is Page France.  They have a great innocence to their sound, and the lyrical composition of Michael Nau is genius.  They love to use objects from nature as symbols and occasionally personify them.  They love to use circus analogies. They love to talk about playing instruments, clapping hands,

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-23522348837080099032007-01-03T08:57:00.001-06:002007-03-09T03:54:46.697-06:00

On Christmas Eve, I got engaged to a lovely girl named Rachel Drum.  She writes about it in her blog. I took Rachel to Natural Bridge State Park in Kentucky, while we were visiting my Dad's side of the family in Lexington.  I gave to her a Gelin Abaci tension ring holding a white sapphire stone.We will get married in late July or early August, likely somewhere on the east coast.  i{content:

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-74436214876081653182006-12-18T16:58:00.000-06:002007-03-09T03:54:24.582-06:00

I'm halfway done with my PhD program! Yay!  A week ago I deposited my qualifying papers. Now, I just have to defend my papers next semester, and if I pass, I get a Master's degree in Linguistics. Whew. I just graded my last HW set, so I'm completely done with the semester.I'm going to Lexington, Kentucky, where I will spend Christmas with my girl Rachel and my Dad's side of the family. We stay at

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-10128455588530114412006-11-19T16:09:00.000-06:002007-03-09T03:52:07.749-06:00

Two things bring out the worst in a man. Inordinate power. Inordinate desperation. More than 100 Iraqis per day die in their streets.Genocide occurs in Sudan.The mob-like Russian and Eastern bloc governments assassinate dissenters.These people in the world do what they wish not to do. Peace is far from the mind and conflict suffocates.What power is held must be used, and weakness never shown or

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-56443936583783741512006-11-15T21:49:00.000-06:002007-03-09T03:51:47.903-06:00

I just made an excellent sandwich ^_^Ingredients:whole wheat bread, 2 slicesportabella mushroom, 1cheddar cheese, 2 slices from a blockhummus, 2 tbspcapers, 2 tspspinach, a few leavesSo what I do is take the head of a portabella mushroom.  Then I lightly oil and salt a frying pan and fry the mushroom. I spread some hummus on a slice of bread, and put some capers on the hummus.  Then I take the

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1160021950601226482006-10-04T23:09:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:45:54.641-06:00

Sorry for the hiatus ^_^;Hmm.So I recently bought a couple pairs of boxers from City Boxers. I've worn each a few times and I do enjoy them quite a bit. Being a poor grad student, I bought from their bargain section, which really gets you some great prices that beat most store prices even with shipping. Here is a photo of one of the pairs I got. The flannel is really soft and the material is

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1150908027728554182006-06-21T10:44:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:30.088-06:00

Last week I was deciding what to do for my Dad for Father's Day. I was looking at sending down some high quality beer(where he lives is in a "dry" county). The shipping was so expensive, though, that the idea came into my head that I could just go take something down to him myself, and pay him a visit over the weekend. And so I did. On Friday I stopped at the Walnut Street Tea Company and got him

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1149907964376239282006-06-09T21:18:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:29.999-06:00

Everyday I wear a very old pair of Giorgio Brutini boat shoes(docksides, loafers, etc.). They've held up very well(maybe 10 years?), so I recommend this brand if you're looking for some nice shoes. The downside to this company's shoes is that they are made in China(or at least mine are). In fact, most shoes and clothes that people buy were made across seas. I think every piece of clothing I'm

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1149139964255358022006-06-01T00:23:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:29.904-06:00

Try Woot Wine.

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1148611970213011852006-05-25T21:50:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:29.830-06:00

I found this quote to be hilarious =DCredit goes to a comment on Slashdot by the user spun."There it is again. Some clueless fool talking about the "Information Superhighway". They don't know didley about the Net. It's nothing like a superhighway. That's a rotten metaphor.Suppose the metaphor ran in the other direction. Suppose the highways were like the net...A highway hundreds of lanes wide.

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1148443616660928232006-05-23T22:51:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:29.759-06:00

I have been listening extensively to a couple martial arts podcasts recently, and they have been very helpful and informative for me. The Applied Karate Show is hosted by Des Paroz, a very experienced and insightful karateka of the Shorinjiryu school, in Sydney, Australia. This show focuses primarily on master karate practitioners.The second podcast is West Seattle Karate's Martial Secrets,

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1145561730901887232006-04-20T14:07:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:29.681-06:00

On Tuesday night I saw Switchfoot in concert at Foellinger Auditorium, which is right in the middle of campus. I've listened to this band since 1999, but I hadn't seen them in concert yet. It was a very fun concert. A particularly memorable moment was when an audience member proclaimed his request for a song, "Only Hope". John, the lead singer, brought him and his friend on stage. He proceeded to

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1144697712794806982006-04-10T13:58:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:29.605-06:00

A big issue discussed in the computer software world is the current patent system, and how they apply to software. The issue arises from the fact that large software companies are bombarding the US PTO(Patent and Trademark Office) with patent requests. As a result, they get a large number of patents made on everything they develop. By doing this, they can effectively push out competitors from

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1143798940721052732006-03-31T03:27:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:29.526-06:00

So, last week I had a phone interview with Google for a summer internship position. Turns out I didn't get the position, but they seemed to like me even so. I've never gotten a job straight from an interview before, so it didn't surprise me very much. I always have gotten my jobs through contacts, and without having to compete for the position. I was really hoping to get this job, but I will

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1143093289182597692006-03-22T23:23:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:29.429-06:00

Not only have I had beer twice within the space of a week(unheard of), but both times I've had someone buy for me(quite common, however), and both times I've had Blue Moon. The first time, it was ordered for me. The second time, I ordered it specifically. So, I like it. I like this beer because it's light(as in white, not as in low calorie), smooth and has a citrus flavor to it. I can actually

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1142975747558287902006-03-21T14:56:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:29.346-06:00

Thara Thai is a restaurant on Bloomington Road in Champaign, just west of Prospect Ave. I went there on Sunday with some graduate students, most of whom were in Linguistics, and I was likely the youngest one among the group, and the only native English speaker. The food there is quite good and very spicy, even if you order something to be mild. I could handle it, but my American-oriented sinuses

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1142230601077503792006-03-13T00:15:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:29.260-06:00

On Thursday I went to Krannert Uncorked, which is a free wine tasting at the performing arts center here at the U of IL. They didn't give much wine, but it was enough to know what I liked. I liked the Cabernet Sauvignon the best, because its fruity flavor poured over my tongue in a way that I've rarely experienced. They also had a table full of snack foods including cheese and various kinds of

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1141933413694532242006-03-09T13:12:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:29.169-06:00

One of my pet peeves is the pop-up dialog box messages that programs often give you. To me, this is one of the worst UI decisions to make when writing a program. Since many programs that I run are actively internet dependent, and I travel with my computer most of the time, whenever I leave the range of a Wi-Fi hotspot all my programs give me dialog box error messages for want of an internet

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1141695706090818262006-03-06T18:10:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:29.080-06:00

Hey folks! Just had a nice weekend in Cincinnati visiting my girl Rachel :-) So I thought I'd go over a few of the places I went and give them a proper review. Cincinnati is a very simple place to get to from where I live. You see, the highway 74 runs straight through Champaign-Urbana, and hey, it also runs straight through Cincinnati! Actually, I think 74 begins in Cincinnati. So that's good

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1139889356745060592006-02-13T21:07:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:28.993-06:00

Have you ever been treated for a couple days by a Taiwanese mother? On Friday and Saturday, I was. Geoffrey Herman's Mommy is a super sweet woman with a mix of New Yorker and Mandarin accents. JT and I went to the Herman household and had a wonderfully prepared traditional Chinese meal(better than anything you'll get in most restaurants). As I remember, there was the staple white rice, beef and

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1138177680637203122006-01-25T02:02:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:28.859-06:00

I went to a lecture tonight in Newman Hall in which Monsignor Swetland of St. John's Catholic Chapel and Todd Daly of Urbana Theological Seminary spoke on promoting a culture of life in America. This was a finale to the week of prayer for Christian Unity. I enjoyed it very much.Todd Daly spoke on Baconian philosophy of the body. Francis Bacon was one of the fathers of the scientific method, and

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1137722841553909422006-01-19T20:05:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:28.777-06:00

On January 12, 1982 you were born at 102 Lawton Ave. in Brookline, MA.Your mother had a hard time getting you out of the womb because of yourbig head. Your head was so big compared to your long thin body thatsitting up was a comical task. Your center of gravity was in your headinstead of you belly until you were about 12 months old. One of yourfavorite activities as an infant/toddler was stacking

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1136949504275036452006-01-10T21:04:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:28.693-06:00

I've started a new routine this past week in which I go to the gym in the late afternoon, around 5:30, and I run for a couple miles around the indoor track, and perhaps do some free weight exercise or two. After that I get in the hot tub for about 10 minutes. Then I get in the pool for another 10 minutes. I then get out of the water, towel off, sit down, and read a book for 15-30 minutes. Then I

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1136054212228701802005-12-31T12:06:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:28.615-06:00

Living life is about perspective. No two people can sense exactly the same realities around them. If you limit yourself to your own perspective, you will miss the beauty of the world. Just a thought...For Christmas I went to Cincinnati first and then Rachel and I drove up to her Grandma's house in the northwestern most county in Ohio. It's cold and flat and there's nothing there. But there is

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1135014735586884862005-12-19T11:30:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:28.540-06:00

On Saturday at 6AM I finished my paper, thus finishing out my semester. I at least did alright in my classes. Can't say I did as well as I like, but then I have high standards for myself.There's a nice service called del.icio.us that is a social networking site for sharing web links. They have buttons I can put right in my Opera web browser and post links to things that interest me. I can send

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1134377853885433332005-12-12T02:55:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:28.461-06:00

I let Peggy Loo put my hair in pig tails. Looks pretty good I must say, although Chris my roommate strongly objects. So right after she braided my hair I did some one-armed pushups to reinforce the concept of my manliness despite my hair being in an apparently unacceptable state. Chris said it didn't matter. Oh well, I like it :-P

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1133376737424809582005-11-30T12:48:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:28.376-06:00

I just made this very nice dressing for salad. You may want to try it:lots of vinegara bit less olive oil than vinegarlots of garlic powderlots of peppera good amount of italian seasoninga good amount of salta little bit of tabasco saucea little bit of honeySorry, I don't formulate exact amounts.Anyway, it's great. So are those bagged salads in the grocery store :-)

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1133337900399865312005-11-30T02:01:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:28.289-06:00

I went over the girls' apartment to study, and I come out and my car's not there. Turns out I misread the sign. Most of the signs there are white with red text that reads "No parking here to corner" but this one said "No parking this side". Christine drove me to the police station to get the release form, but I didn't get my car back yet. I just have to go to the tow company tomorrow, pay the

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1132037794916845492005-11-15T00:39:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:28.214-06:00

This Wired article is about Sony and their invasive copy protection software that is on 20 of their new CD releases. Being aware of information rights is important, and putting your trust in anything a technology company gives you is not a good idea(even if it is Sony). Another important point this should make one aware of is to always know everything that is installed on your computer.I first

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1131689309981347452005-11-11T00:07:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:28.139-06:00

The reason you go to grad school is because you care about what you're studying in an academic sense. That is, you want to gain knowledge of your field for knowledge's sake.My interests are in the study of pragmatics, semantics, and computational linguistics. Actually, my pragmatics class gets me excited sometimes. In pragmatics you study how the outside world affects language in terms of context

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1131610239155257122005-11-10T02:07:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:27.957-06:00

A short biography about the founder of my style of martial arts, Gichin Funakoshi.From the article:'Whenever the name of Gichin Funakoshi is mentioned, it brings to mind the parable of "A Man of Tao (Do) and a Little Man". As it is told, a student once asked, "What is the difference between a man of Tao and a little man?" The sensei replies, "It is simple. When the little man receives his first

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1128878503890129012005-10-09T12:08:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:27.619-06:00

This past weekend Rachel my girl visited for the weekend and we had a great time spending time together. She got to spend some time with my roommates. We went to a couple parks and watched Wings of Desire, a German film about guardian angels. Quite good.This past week(Monday through Friday), my roommate JT and I participated in a puzzle competition based at the University of Illinois campus.It

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1127711944599181202005-09-26T00:13:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:27.497-06:00

Let's see...Saturdays have been interesting. The Saturday before last I was a scorer for a mud volleyball tournament for an all-girls' dorm. An RA I know in Navs invited JT and I to volunteer, and we were much obliged ;-) There was even a good amount of mud wrestling :-PThis past Saturday I went with some Navs to do "hawking" at the football game. This consists of selling concessions in the

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1127711581740508542005-09-26T00:06:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:27.366-06:00

The Indianapolis Zoo is cool. Rachel visited Indianapolis with Kathy and Greg last weekend and I decided to make the 2 hour drive to meet them, on very short notice. I even blew off a meeting for a class to go see her :-) Anyway, it wasn't an important meeting, and there was no reason for me specifically to be there.There was a Polar Bear that did backflips all day cuz it was bored. We ate at the

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1125959904073953612005-09-05T17:24:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:27.241-06:00

For our fun activity on Labor Day, JT and I went to the Arthur, IL Cheese Festival. It was a good time spent with a good friend.Arthur, IL is home to what seems like about half amish people, and is thus self-titled the home of the Amish. In order to get to downtown Arthur, you have to drive through miles and miles of corn and soybean fields. This made me a bit uncomfortable because I'm so not

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1125338458991238812005-08-29T12:43:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:27.138-06:00

So starts another year of school at University of Illinois. Here are my classes this semester:Computational LinguisticsPragmaticsElementary Japanese 1Now, I don't know about you, but this is exactly what I want in a grad school semester. The first is a programming class with a linguistics bent(morphology learning is this semester's topic). The second is a philosophical/theoretical linguistics

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1123255147858289102005-08-05T10:08:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:27.032-06:00

My favorite album, which has yet been out of print as long as I've known about it, has just been re-released by the indie label it was originally released under :-)It's called World Renown For Romance by Denison Marrs.Needless to say, I've bought the album already. You should too. I'll be friends with you. All your worries will disappear. Really. ^_^An interesting happening at my undergrad school

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1122857790139508192005-07-31T19:11:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:26.943-06:00

Tonight Rachel and I went to see Cirque du Soleil's Varekai show. This was in celebration of our one year anniversary of being together ^_^ I have always wanted to see a Cirque du Soleil show and now we've seen one together! The show was magnificent and fascinating. It was a mix of acrobats, musicians, and comedic performers, all dressed in the finest costumes of their fantasial world. There

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1122438499176200012005-07-26T23:16:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:26.846-06:00

Tonight Matt and I went to Fatburger which is a burger joint from CA. I had been craving a Fatburger for a long time ever since I had one at ASU with Toschi last year. So Matt and I took a drive 25 miles northwest to the town of Rockaway. It was a pretty good town with somewhat historic-looking houses but a generally good atmosphere(as much as you could feel one at 10PM.So why is Fatburger

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1121575340723912062005-07-16T23:28:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:26.768-06:00

Went to NYC with Rachel and Matt and Si(Matt's friend) today. Unfortunately we didn't get to see a Shakespeare play, but oh well. We went to the Natural History Museum. Saw the dinosaurs :-) We went through Central Park and enjoyed that. We spent a lot of time in the Metropolitan Art Museum as it's one quite excellent museum to visit, and Rachel had never been there before. We saw a movie

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1121395896948885432005-07-14T21:48:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:26.678-06:00

I'm excited to have Rachel visit me in New Jersey this weekend for the first time :-) She's going to have lunch with me at work, and then we'll see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory after I get off of work.On Saturday we're gonna go to NYC and see a Shakespeare play (don't know which one yet). We also plan on going to Central Park and the Metropolitan Art Museum :-) I'm very excited to show

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1121224011309429542005-07-12T21:29:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:26.598-06:00

My time at AT&T so far has been enjoyable. I have a program that has been running continuously for a few days, collecting data from news websites like CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and ABC News. What it does basically is downloads a list of RSS(Really Simple Syndication) feeds from these news sources, and stores them in a database. The program then downloads the articles linked from each RSS feed.An

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1118435315878126232005-06-10T15:02:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:26.520-06:00

I've concluded that I have poor ability at empathy. In particular, some people cannot handle how I act when I have to depend on them. I treat someone the way I would expect to be treated in a similar situation, and many times not how they want to be treated. And this is not good for many people. How I act when I have to depend on someone is to politely use their resources and attention, basically

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1118083245812277502005-06-06T13:13:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:26.443-06:00

So the road trip ended, my roommate went back to Champaign, and I'm in New Jersey sitting in my AT&T office with nothing to do :-)I think the highlights of the trip were going to Cheers in Boston, going to the Public Garden in Boston, going to the Botanic Gardens in DC, and going to the Orioles baseball game.The trip was very good, and Wookkyun got to see many of our country's finest places, and

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1116640997459677522005-05-20T20:59:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:26.361-06:00

So, the semester is over, and I wrote 3 papers @ 10 pages each in about 10 days, research included. But immediately after I finished my last paper on Monday, I headed out with my roommate Wookkyun on a roadtrip.The roadtrip started in Champaign, IL and will end in Baltimore, MD/Washington, DC. We have visited Niagara Falls; Boston, MA; Manchester, NH(thanks Jamie and Nathan!), and we're now in

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1113977728499983222005-04-20T01:03:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:26.275-06:00

From the heavens,and the heights above,all the angelsshow your love.The sun and moon,and the shining stars,deepest waters,skies so far...We can love forever,never pass away.All the lightning,clouds and wind,moving mountains,and trees that bend,the wild creaturesand the mighty birdsshow your loveall across the Earth...We can love forever,never pass away.We can love forever,through the night and

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1112574989283961542005-04-03T19:31:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:26.187-06:00

Being a Catholic Christian, I believe that marriage is only valid between a man and a woman, and that only married couples should have sex.Having said that, I don't think that having the homosexual tendency in your thoughts and feelings is any worse than heterosexual thoughts and feelings. Indeed, having lustful thoughts toward anyone who is not your spouse is sinful.There is no discriminatory

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1112562635853535612005-04-03T16:09:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:26.100-06:00

Everyone likes having power(aka getting what we want when we want it), and we all also like it if there is an easy way to get what we want, and this includes power. Women in society see that men(almost half the population) have a strong weakness for lustful thoughts and actions.Men in society see that they are stronger than more than half the population (i.e. women).These are possible routes of

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1112334966871406332005-03-31T23:54:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:25.966-06:00

If you are interested in the recently fallen Terri Schiavo and the controversy over the case, I highly recommend these two articles:Whose Life Is Worth Living?, by Orson Scott CardTerri Schiavo: Judicial Murder, by Nat HentoffThey are very well informed and very powerful.

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1112075100071493292005-03-28T23:32:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:25.891-06:00

Spring Break is over and classes have started again.Over Spring Break, I went to Glasgow, KY to visit my Dad. He owns a 20 acre property that has a creek running through it, and it's verrrry nice there. I spent a night in Lexington, KY where my Dad's family is from, at my Uncle Gerry's house. I had a good time just being with my Dad, and I appreciate that I can spend time with him that's fairly

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1111221300906440622005-03-19T02:22:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:25.771-06:00

Today, the morning did not go so well...I woke up at 8:30, decided to sleep 15 minutes more, so I set my alarm for 8:45. I get up and my clock says 8:45 so I take a shower. When I come back to look at my clock, it says 9:51!!! Still time to catch the bus if I hurry really really quick. So I rush out of the house and...I don't have my keys! So after a while of thinking, I find a paper clip in my

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1110934362194734052005-03-15T17:54:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:25.692-06:00

I love to move my body. If you observe me in person, I'm always thinking of interesting ways to move my body and a lot of times I do them right in front of people and I don't care. :-) I get this from inspiration from my martial arts training. The body, when it's fine-tuned and strong in certain ways, can do amazing things.I have a philosophy that the way to exercize your body should be to train

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1109751058986671392005-03-02T02:07:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:25.611-06:00

So I went to Meijer and for the second week in a row I resolved to spend under $25 for my food for two weeks. I don't use a calculator, I just sort of estimate as I go, accounting for tax and such. And amazingly, both time I've gotten within 20 cents of $25!!! The first time I spent $24.83, and this time it was $24.94! :-D It makes me happy when I succeed in something like that.I learned to

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1109533735451506422005-02-27T13:48:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:25.526-06:00

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1109212737776896602005-02-23T20:30:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:25.446-06:00

Well, I just got back from another good karate workout :-) got practice on my kicks and punches and breathing and moving. The teacher today didn't even wear a uniform, which I thought was interesting.I went to see a specialist this morning for my chronic back problems. I had to wait more than a half hour before he could see me. He did an exam on my body for reflex and flexibility and such, but he

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1108854318882458352005-02-19T15:56:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:25.350-06:00

I've finally found it! It is exactly the kind of park that I want. It's Meadowbrook Park in Urbana, and it's really close to where I live :-) It has multiple paths, with a long nearly two mile circuit on the border. It's a prairie restoration park, so the whole thing is covered in tall grasses and sprinkled with nice deciduous trees. One of the paths is a sculpture path, and there's also a

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1108163836395440742005-02-11T17:10:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:25.244-06:00

So, yesterday I went to a really good talk given by Chung-chieh Shan from Harvard University Computer Science. He's a good guy and according to one professor gave one of the best Linguistics talks she'd ever seen.Whoever fills this position for a Computational Semantics professor will probably end up being my advisor, so it's in my interest to see the candidates. If you wanna see the project I'm

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1107158047466120302005-01-31T01:53:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:25.173-06:00

Thanks to Mack's away message! An optimist goes to the window every morning and says "Good Morning, God". A pessimist goes to the window and says "Good God! Morning".

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1106530101884755012005-01-23T19:22:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:25.102-06:00

at thirty five thousand feet, I would like to step out, and glide into the middle of a cloud it'll catch us, you know and right after that pull some atmosphere over our shoulders and settle in for the night -Denison Marrs

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1104794901048001852005-01-03T16:53:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:25.015-06:00

The death toll for the Indian Ocean tsunami is over 150,000 now. Everyone should consider how much you have, how blessed you are, and give from your heart to help the people over there. I recommend these three organizations: Catholic Relief Services World Vision The American Red Cross I can't even imagine what it must be like over there, and many people I know have expressed the same disbelief

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1104281281160611282004-12-28T18:41:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:24.919-06:00

I recently returned from Kentucky to visit my relatives, as well as to spend time with my lovely Rachel :-) We had a great time, and seeing my family(on my Dad's side) was very cool. We stayed with my Uncle Norb. I found a couple cool websites. First, this is a cool website putting a Christian faith in current context: Godspy. The other site is a pretty innovative investing site that will even

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1103010156274049802004-12-14T00:38:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:24.830-06:00

I've recently been watching an anime series called Full Metal Alchemist... In this series(I've seen 29 of 50 episodes), a strong theme is that if you create something, do something, change something, whatever, you must give back anything you take away. This is the Principle of Equivalent Trade. The main bent of this series is that there are alchemists with amazing abilities to "transmutate"

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1102838000735788382004-12-12T00:44:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:24.744-06:00

Well my last class of the semester was on Friday, and now I'm doing my final assignments for my classes, due to be over on Saturday the 18th. I expect it will take all that time to finish them. Please pray that my studies go well this next week. Tonight I went to an awesome Navs Christmas party! We got to talk, and then we had a White Elephant gift exchance and I'm very happy with what I

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1100124976814644132004-11-10T16:15:00.000-06:002006-11-15T21:42:24.642-06:00

For all of you in MD who have been dying to see me, I will be visiting MD for 10 days, from November 19th to the 29th :-) I hope to see you all then. It'll be a blast!

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1098553354084918652004-10-23T12:32:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:24.566-06:00

I'm in a suburb of Phoenix right now, and I'm enjoying it a lot =D My hosts are awesome, and they are being very generous, driving me places and such. The wedding I'm here for is today, so I hope that'll go well. I went to ASU last night, saw I Heart Huckabees, went to Fatburger and ate a Fatburger, and went back to my friend's apartment until my ride came. I go back to IL tomorrow. Good times.

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1097982375572975672004-10-16T21:54:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:24.491-06:00

I recently got confirmation that I'm being offered a research assistantship at University of Illinois. It's a project being headed by Professor Richard Sproat in my Department of Linguistics. The project I'll be working on is to automate the task of locating "named entities", i.e. things like proper nouns, within text of different languages. Should be interesting. I must take no credit for

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1096864287162781152004-10-04T00:22:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:24.411-06:00

I came across this article on Slashdot where I learned that Kodak has won a lawsuit against Sun Microsystems for violating an obscure patent that Kodak holds. The suit involved Sun's Java language, which has served programmers and users in extraordinary ways for many years now. Kodak isn't even using this patent, and I'm sure Sun didn't know they were violating it. But regardless, Kodak is

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1095467464319375752004-09-17T19:09:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:24.326-06:00

In Illinois there are many beautiful days, at least in the summer. There generally aren't storm systems that give you a week of no sun and drizzly rain like in MD. There's lots of sun like today. We had a great game of ultimate frisbee at 4 today on the South Quad. I've also started going to the Shotokan Karate class at the university(Monday and Wednesday nights at 7PM). The first class

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1093901397782742542004-08-30T16:28:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:24.241-06:00

I have posted 14 pictures here for all to see where I'm living and going to school. Click here to see all the pictures at once.

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1093900892421656562004-08-30T16:21:00.001-05:002006-11-15T21:42:24.171-06:00

More sun and people studying outside on the main quad 

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1093900874409914182004-08-30T16:21:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:24.092-06:00

A sunny day on campus 

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1093900858651924772004-08-30T16:20:00.001-05:002006-11-15T21:42:24.016-06:00

Some Navs at Matt Hudson's house. Matt is in the foreground on the right in the black shirt. 

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1093900804592982112004-08-30T16:20:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:23.941-06:00

Some of the Navs here playing Halo on XBox :D From left: Christine, Forrest, Wookkyun, Ben 

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1093900757600020112004-08-30T16:19:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:23.866-06:00

The Foreign Languages Building where the Linguistics department is located. 

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6271916.post-1093900729938308252004-08-30T16:18:00.000-05:002006-11-15T21:42:23.783-06:00

Some linguists getting a tour of the library from a kooky tour guide. Notice his arm expression! 

Andrew Fister 3rdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277160935137119835noreply@blogger.com0