I’ve been doing this first day of school thing for a while now. Today was a bit different, though, since my class is sandwiched by my day at SEL. This morning I went to work for about an hour before jumping on the bus and heading to campus. I needed to take care of a few things at the EECS office. Usually I’ll be able to get a ride from Nick, since he’s taking the same class as me and has access to a good parking spot on College Hill.

The class itself seems like it will be interesting. It’s all about giving computers the ability to learn from past experiences, adapt to present situations, and plan for the future. The material should be relatively challenging for me, since I haven’t taken any artificial intelligence classes before. As a final project, we will be working on the Netflix Prize; trying to improve the prediction accuracy of the Netflix movie rating system. Check it out, it’s very interesting.

I’m a little overwhelmed by the prospect of balancing everything in my life right now. With Kristen starting school on Wednesday, we’ll certainly be a busy couple for the next few months. It’s comforting, though, to know that we have each other to lean on and that God is in control of it all.

I just checked the unofficial election results on the Pierce County Auditor’s website, and here’s what they say-

Jaron Robinson: 93 votes, 49.21%

James E. Oliver, Jr.: 84 votes, 44.44%

Write-In: 12 votes, 6.35%

Kristen and I really enjoyed the National Lentil Festival this year. On Friday night we got lentil chili and saw a lot of people we know downtown. At one point there was a line of people waiting to talk to us! The next day was the parade, which was really pretty long this year. There were ninety entries in all, including Governor Christine Gregoire, Jaron (with the marching band), and Kristen (with the staff from Sunnyside).

The float driver was having a great time.

Governer Chris(tine) Gregoire graced us with her presence.

Jaron, another politician, was there too.

I’ve never seen people meditating on the parade route.

One float used CDs for decorations.

These kids forgot their sunglasses.

More pictures from the Lentil Festival.

On Saturday I had a chance to check out part of a fall camp practice for the WSU football team. It was a really hot day, so I didn’t stay for long. From what I saw, the team looked alright. It’s hard for me to tell, of course, because they were just practicing the same play over and over. I’m started to get excited for football season, especially since Kristen and I have season tickets this year.

More pictures of the Cougar fall camp.

Today I got a chance to visit the renovated Compton Union Building (CUB) on campus at WSU. Overall, I was relatively pleased. Everything is very polished and modern, which helps the general image of the university. Even though the Bookie is less accessible (I think they tried to pick the only place possible with less parking than Thatuna), it looks more professional and customer friendly than it was before.

I think that the new CUB is a great building for alumni and visitors, but I have my doubts as to whether it can serve current students as well as it used to. No bowling alley? No pool tables? No arcade? From what I saw, it appears that there are fewer areas for students to meet and hang out with each other. That’s really unfortunate because the CUB was the hub of social activity during my first few years at WSU. True, the whole top floor has been devoted to various student groups. However, since each group is given their own little office and meeting area, students may begin to suffer from limited social diversity. It’s disappointing that the designers couldn’t have done a better job in this regard.

More pictures of the new CUB.