hows everyone doing 2night?

great

you?

pretty good!

wow mandi, i think we are it for the night

no you're not... I'm lurking ; )

yarrgh

me too

there we go, finally got some more people

Oh, there are a few more of us .. or at least me. I'm running a bit tired. (Something about a rather full school day).

oh my

penguin where do u go to school?

people DO exist

Well, I don't exactly go to school ... I teach high school. Today was the annual programming competition for my students. 8-)

gotcha

thats pretty cool, what languages do you teach?

Currently I'm teaching Scheme and Java. (What I've taught previously is a long list ... the field changes fairly frequently. In some senses, I am as much as student as my students are).

I am a college student and I am taking Java in the fall, any suggestions on good books to know what you are doing before going into the class(didnt fare all too well in my last CS Class - Matlab)

Well, RaggedyAndy, first a question. Other than Matlab, what languages have you played with?

actually doing myself, none, but my roommate last year knows PLENTY of languages, so i am somewhat familiar with languages and their purposes

i have also tried online java tutorials, but they are beyond me, i have yet to get the whole objects, classes, methods, concept/syntax in java

Not to be rude, but there's a bit difference between learning about languages and using them. That aside, my favorite intro text to Java at the moment is Objects First by Barnes and Kolling. It is a bit pricey, but worth it in my opinion. I also like starting with BlueJ, a free IDE they developed.

Ah, you definitely should get a copy of Objects First.

ur not being rude, just stating fact

and done...

Getting the object model down is crucial to understanding Java. BlueJ gives you a graphical representation of classes and objects (you can download it from www.bluej.org) and their text puts the concepts in a reasonable order.

visual aids are always good for me, awesome, thanks for the tips, trying to get a head start so i can keep my GPA up, I need it as high as possible, especially at my school

where do you go, raggedy?

I go to Georgia Tech

ah, yup, GPA is a good thing

You are attending a fine school. I've enjoyed listening to Barb Ericson (sp?) a few times at SIGCSE. She knows her stuff (although we disagree about the value of Alice).

haha, ya, and here in the state of GA if you keep a 3.00 the state of GA Gov pays your tuition! Thank you penguin, and hate to keep bugging ya about programming languages, but what languages are the easiest to learn?

I don't know and I'm not sure that the easiest to learn would be a good idea in the long run.

I start my students with Scheme. That's not because it is the easiest, but because it sets up the best foundation that I have seen for using more popular languages later.

If you want to see the program I use, the text and IDE are free online. The text is www.htdp.org and the IDE is at www.drscheme.org

wow, you have definitely been the most helpful of the people i have talked to, thank you!

I learned BASIC in the 80s, but picked up real programming in Pascal, C and then C++. I am finding VB.NET and C# quite an improvement from a professional angle, but I think you need the discipline of something lower level like C or Pascal before understanding the point of objects as a design philosophy.

ugh, I had made progress, then for some reason the window closed. firefox is awesome*

done

Don't thank me quite yet, Raggedy. The online text that I've suggested is challenging. It is math-heavy and requires lots of thinking. Of course, for the price, it seems like a reasonable summer challenge. 8-)

i get math, i have credit for 3 levels of calculus and 2 sciences(1 of them being physics) so i can get the math, but im always up to the challenge, otherwise i would be at the wrong school

Caderoux's comments are well taken. Scheme is a better language for learning design than Java. htdp stands for "How to Design Programs". While I love the idea of .NET or Eclipse for the professional programmer, I don't believe that they are the right tools for beginners.

done!, aight, i will definitely keep that in mind, but something is better than nothing, and as you can see, i dont have even a basic understanding of programming

And the problem with OO (and every other) design philosophy is that they are solving problems that people with 20 years of programming experience understand. Exposing someone to that is like giving them the encyclopedia and telling them to open a university. Most people do not tend to start at the same point anymore, and thus it is harder for them to fully comprehend the subtleties of how we've arrived here.

I, too, have just finished. Time to fall over. Good night, all.

ra - the point of programming is telling a microprocessor what to do - moving bits in and out of registers. Everything else is just making it easier for a programmer.

ya, thats definitely what they did with my class for MatLab, all i have to say is im all ears when it comes to programming cuz of how much there is to know, and the fact that i know none of it

but im out, gonna try to do some babble real quick and then head off to bed

Cade, new topic: did you write the "green" script that is circulating on this website?

Morning all

darn it, I missed him! I'll never find out who wrote that script.
Hi Sprite!

Hi Krys! Too bad I can't remember.

How's it going?

Just started with the grid, bottom right corner looks promising. For the rest in life... don't talk to me about life ;)

uh oh - everything ok?

Nothing I cannot sort out anyway. But I am glad it's a hard one today. I need something to sink my teeth in that will not press charges if I do so ;)

sorry to hear things are tough right now. nothing like a good puzzle to distract!

So very true :)

Always helps me get my mind in the 'solving' mode in stead of the 'mad as hell reacting' mode.

yeah, turn on your left brain for a while.

interesting, I just caught the "green script" making a mistake - put a five in the upper right box in a spot that already has a 5 in the row, column, and box

That's certainly interesting. I used it twice, but since it doesn't do anything else but excluding already entered options, I prefer the manual method. If greens are necessary at all, because most of all I love to reason it out step by step without greens.

I don't like the tedium of putting all the green numbers in - it's much faster for me to do that on paper than clicking so much with the trackpad, so for harder ones where I need to use pencil marks, I had been not even bothering to work them online until you gave me that script. I wish Dr._God would program the board so it were possible to enter possibilities through text typing rather than point and click on the grid, one number at a time. My hands can't take it.

I have this other sudoku puzzle game, that let's you rightclick a tile and then you can type in all possibles you like. Perhaps that would be better for your hands.

Yeah, I have a game called sudoku susser that lets me input values pretty quickly - sometimes I use that. But by the time I transfer the puzzle to SSusser, I may as well have done it on paper.

Oh, this game doesn't even permit you to enter your own puzzle, it just creates them for you. I though perhaps the method would be worth considering - but then again I'd better not suggest anything to the good dr.

why? did you have a spat?

Was told off for suggesting to change the cursor behaviour on the babble site, make it jump back automatically to the Add Word box after posting a message in the log. Because lots of people, including me, put words in the log without wanting to. He said it was very untrue that I claimed most of us did that. It was less than 1% of the babblers, he answered. So I don't feel like suggesting things anymore.

ah. I suggested the same thing to him a day after you first mentioned it to me, and he seemed more responsive - hope by now he sees that we are *all* having that problem, that it wasn't just a matter of "getting used to it". But I'm sorry that you were first in the line of fire.

Finished! Not that hard after all. Babble's too big for me today - tomorrow's a big work day!

I don't mind getting a 'no', I do mind being treated like someone who always complains and says stupid things. That's what set me off. A friend of mine who is a pro website builder agreed it was a small change, a very logical one. And he also said that to make a website better, you need to listen to your users. If lots of users have problem with how a script works, you should consider you created it in a less than perfect way.

WTG Krys! I have been busy chatting and pondering, not enough puzzling, so I better get to it. Am almost halfway, so it will work out fast enough.

Thanks for the chat :)

Stupid question: it tells you when you've gotten one wrong?

Only when there is a double. Then you get a pink warning.

Mistakes that are not yet a double will go unnoticed until you get stuck :)

it's a little alarming when it happens...

:)

Especially when you think you are almost done...

That whole chain-of-errors thing sucks, haha

I don't mind errors if I am guessing. But I hate them when I think I am being perfectly logical :)

starting

Nnnngh - been up for the last hour with sick baby

hi all

hi

hurrah, done

hi

is it really a hard one? i don't think i've ever managed to do a hard one.

It's being quite straightforward for me -- at the moment. Give it a go, you never know if this will be your first!

i'm afraid it didn't work! might come back to it later. good luck everyone

oh man, theres one block that won't let me click anywhere in it!

You can solve it with Basic Strategies.

http://www.scanraid.com/BasicStrategies.htm

done!

Done... It's not that hard...

That was a breeze!

yeah... the second time around... : /

not too difficult at all - done

hello bubby x

go

done

back again for a second go!

easy

why do you have to say it's easy when i'm still struggling!

its a lil hard..

yay for me, yay for me, yay for me

helen, are you here?

go

Hi Y'all

hey everyone

hey chrissie

how is everyone today?

hi ppl

asl every1?

hi

ne 1 talkin in here like?

I'm stumped on this one.

thats all I needed to say and it opend up for me. :D

anyone wanna help... is row5 col2 higher or lower than 5?

got it

Can anyone tell me how to get that small flag beside your name?

angie you have to be a pro user (i.e. pay a one time fee of $15)

hi

hi

....

OMG someone talked!!! :0

lol

i was wondering where evryone was...

I think they're trying to finish the puzzle. If they talk, they lose their concentration.... like me...... but I'm stuck

i figure i don't have a chance, so im not much for concentrating today.

lol

how many numbers do you have filled in?

i have 8

quite a bit........ first column from the left is filled... the 3 boxes only need 2 numbers left..... the rest of the board is pretty green

you have 8 numbers? ok, let me count

21 numbers

oooh nice

im putting in the green now. st. patty's day! :)

it hasn't gotten any easier though.... took me half an hour to get this far

I haven't finished a "hard" one yet.... I'm determined

i finished an expert with the help of none other than scribble's mom.

:)

hehe other than that they've all been easies and a medium.

same here

*cue neverending silence*

the average conversation lasts 7 minutes

the average silent period lasts 45834594702 minutes

lol........ how many hours is that?

seriously

hang on...

race

763909911.7 hours?

my calculatol wont work...

*calculator

lol

i think we're the only ones in here anyway

nah, some of us don't talkk

lol

yes but you can type.

hi

OMG its like the dead have awakened!!!

oh yeah.... hi

now where are the other 48 people???

i know youre out there...

anyone seen DaVinci Code?

nope

have you?

not yet

i dont believe its true anyways

no, it's not... but the book was good

havent read it...might though

I recommend the movie first

how can you recommend the movie first if you havent seen it?

well.... they can't possibly fit everything in the book into a movie that people will sit through.... so they cut things out

sometimes they cut out your favorite parts of the book......

oh

like in the series of unfortunate events movie

plus your imagination just goes wild ready all the descriptions, and movies don't always live up to those expectations that you've conjured up in your head

reading... not ready

i love ready

hehe

lol

i think reading fits better though

probly :)

that conversation lasted almost 7 minutes

theres a cardinal sitting at the birdfeeder by my window

*starting new conversation*

neat

is there food in the birdfeeder?

ummm....yes?

oh

do any other animals eat from the birdfeeder?

squirrels and other birds

and some platipi :P

so... should you really only call it a birdfeeder?

what's platipi?

well some people say platipuses

its like a beaver/duck looking thing

whoops it spelled with a Y.... platypi

ahhh...... sorry we don't have those here

they arent here either

they live in lakes and rivers in australia

lol

i'm confused.... but they eat from your birdfeeder?

LMAO i was joking

ALRIGHTY THEN!!!!! dang it!!

hence the joking face: :P

sarcasm just doesn't work in a chat room

sorry

Outside of the chat rooms, I ONLY use sarcasm... I can't tell online........ don't be sorry

its ok im the same way

i was enjoying it trying to figure out how a platypus was eating from a birdfeeder.

I was like "I guess those things eat whatever they can find"!!!!!!!

roflmao what kind of mental images were you having?

I was also trying to figure out how a platypus would get up to eat out of a birdfeeder

gah this is funny

dangggggggg!!!!!!!!!

I was picturing birds eating along side of a platypus, and I thought that was a bit off... but who am I to second guess...... LOL!!!!!!!

and NO... I'm not blonde!!!

OMG LOL

what did you think a platypus looked like??

highlight of your day...... glad I could be a part of it!!!!!! lol.

yes most definately!

oh btw your roots are showing :P

I guess the artificial intelligence is wearing off

that one lasted for 11 minutes

yup

average conversation lasts 7 minutes....... we were above average on that one

thats cuz we had an interesting subject

I didn't realize birdfeeders were so fascinating

its amazing what you will see at one

today it was a very easy hard. good nigt

today it was a very easy hard. good nigt

huh?

I hear an echo

good night

night yul

night yul

i hear one too...

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol

I'm signing out too...... I messed up..... my determination got eaten by the platypus.......

hehe that echo was more enthusiastic

nice chatting with you!!

don't starve the platypus

oh im sorry i messed you up...

wasn't you...... I was rushing

see ya

i'll try to find out what it eats

c-ya later! :)

Hmm

I wanted to do this without marking possibilities

I'm kinda... stuck.

hi everybody!

well.... hello to anybody who's here...

hi

ah, good. I hate suffering alone.

well, there's a lot of suffering here. I'm very stuck.

I just started, so I'm sure I'll be joiing the stuck bunch soon

Well, I finally made it. Good luck.

WTG & ty

this is the third time i've started... i know i just need to focus on it, but at times i get lazy and i miss things.

I'm just brain slogged tonight

ditto, UD

i hate having to fill in all the 4's and 8's and get lazy, then later i miss something

BTDT!

strange there are so many problems with this one. just flew through it in 15 mins.

I am PUI (playing under the influence)

lol

I think I need more Dew

Or some other controlled substance.

I'll share my benedryl...

HIT ME!

0 0

done... now on to close out my archives...

finally! (had to keep the hubby and daughter from bugging me long enough to finish it :-)

WTG!

I love twinkies!

WTG

Benedryl kicking in, g'nite all

Nailed that puppy!

Rank me, baby!

Nailed another one!

Got another one.