Four point ohhh.
Woo-hoo, grades came out today, and I've managed to get through all my Masters coursework with an untarnished 4.0 GPA. Ah, it feels good, even though it really doesn't amount to that much in the larger scheme of things - and in any case, I'll also be taking an additional course next sem on Computer Vision, which promises to be rather interesting. But yes, it's definitely a good feeling - especially after all the craziness of this past semester.
In other electronics related disasters, my trusty headphones stopped working - I think the fact that (ahem) I accidentally sat on them might have had something to do with it. In any case, I guess it was time to get a new pair - and more so since there's no way in hell I'm going to sit through the winter break without my trusty iPod. So, after some scouting around, and based on a friends recco, I picked up the Sennheiser HD 201, and I'm reasonably impressed. It's really rather good, especially keeping in mind its sub $20 price. I was extremely tempted to splurge on a drool-worthy pair of Grados, but my good sense decided to spring up from its year-long slumber, and for now, it'll just have to sit unhappily on my wish-list. The HD 201 is actually rather audiophile-worthy, but it definitely does lack a punchy lower end. But apparently, these headphones have to be 'broken in' - a concept that was completely new to me - so there's a chance all the bottom-heavy music I listen to will sound the way it's really meant to. Honestly, though - there is a very discernible difference between this pair and my previous Sony headphones, the music sounds somehow 'brighter', and though the bass isn't as defined as I'd like, the mids are nice and pleasant. I'd definitely recco this to anyone who's looking for a good and cheap pair of headphones.
And in other arbit news, of late, I've also become interested in (of all things) magic. I'm not sure how it happened, but well, over the past week, I've come up with a bunch of rather nifty card tricks, which I'm rather proud of. I've been trying them out on everyone around, and they're actually beginning to get a little freaked out, heh. I also sat and watched one of those David Blaine videos, and after repeated viewings, I've actually managed to figure out how he does many of those tricks - even the very impressive looking levitation trick. It's really surprising how simple some of those tricks are - but the effect is stunning. Ah well, another strange hobby. Now, if only I could get those bugs in my JPEG2000 code to vanish...
And oh yes,
An experiment, to try and get one of those nice 'splashy' photos. The lighting proved to be extremely tricky, since all we have at home are really lousy dim lamps - and even though I tried some rather elaborate setups, it wasn't quite right. Still, I like this photo, and with some work on the lighting, I think it could actually be quite nice. And anyway, the whole process served to demonstrate what lousy aim my roommate has - how someone can repeatedly miss dropping a grape into a glass from a foot above it, I'll never know.
In other electronics related disasters, my trusty headphones stopped working - I think the fact that (ahem) I accidentally sat on them might have had something to do with it. In any case, I guess it was time to get a new pair - and more so since there's no way in hell I'm going to sit through the winter break without my trusty iPod. So, after some scouting around, and based on a friends recco, I picked up the Sennheiser HD 201, and I'm reasonably impressed. It's really rather good, especially keeping in mind its sub $20 price. I was extremely tempted to splurge on a drool-worthy pair of Grados, but my good sense decided to spring up from its year-long slumber, and for now, it'll just have to sit unhappily on my wish-list. The HD 201 is actually rather audiophile-worthy, but it definitely does lack a punchy lower end. But apparently, these headphones have to be 'broken in' - a concept that was completely new to me - so there's a chance all the bottom-heavy music I listen to will sound the way it's really meant to. Honestly, though - there is a very discernible difference between this pair and my previous Sony headphones, the music sounds somehow 'brighter', and though the bass isn't as defined as I'd like, the mids are nice and pleasant. I'd definitely recco this to anyone who's looking for a good and cheap pair of headphones.
And in other arbit news, of late, I've also become interested in (of all things) magic. I'm not sure how it happened, but well, over the past week, I've come up with a bunch of rather nifty card tricks, which I'm rather proud of. I've been trying them out on everyone around, and they're actually beginning to get a little freaked out, heh. I also sat and watched one of those David Blaine videos, and after repeated viewings, I've actually managed to figure out how he does many of those tricks - even the very impressive looking levitation trick. It's really surprising how simple some of those tricks are - but the effect is stunning. Ah well, another strange hobby. Now, if only I could get those bugs in my JPEG2000 code to vanish...
And oh yes,
An experiment, to try and get one of those nice 'splashy' photos. The lighting proved to be extremely tricky, since all we have at home are really lousy dim lamps - and even though I tried some rather elaborate setups, it wasn't quite right. Still, I like this photo, and with some work on the lighting, I think it could actually be quite nice. And anyway, the whole process served to demonstrate what lousy aim my roommate has - how someone can repeatedly miss dropping a grape into a glass from a foot above it, I'll never know.