Mina Choi - 28 July 2009

Got feedback from Rob with the paper already. Meeting with him tomorrow with Curtis to discuss a conference we may attend in Phoenix, Arizona. Almost done with the video... (=( not my proudest work...)

Mina Choi

UgonnaOhiri - 29 Jul 2009 - 00:58

Oooooooh Phoenix! Is that the UMBC conference I might ask?

Mina Choi - 27 July 2009

BUSY BUSY day today... just finished the draft of the final and sent that back to Kira and Rob for final edits. It's nearing the end of the day now, so I may have to work on the video tomorrow.

Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 24 July 2009

Today was the PWSE presentation. I was nervous at first so I practiced in the conference room in VRAC and hour before. When I finished practicing, I walked out and all the girls were gone!! I was panicking until I saw all the posters were still here. Linh thought the girls left for the poster presentations and forgot all the posters (because they were girls). LOL... thanks to people like Linh, we have programs like PWSE and Society of Women Engineers. Thanks LINH! >:O The girls had just gone to lunch because they weren't providing us with lunch at the session. I was hungry during our presentations because I had missed lunch practicing =(.

At the PWSE poster session, it was really fun. I think I presented my poster to 6-8 unlucky passing walkers. I was lucky enough to grab their attention for about 5 minutes each though. I really appreciated how Dr. Rob West, Kira, and Wutthigrai came by to show support. The poster session was not fun until all the other HCI REU students came. I feel like after 9 weeks we've become a sort of professional family. We've been through many boring weekends together... I'm going to miss all of you guys when I go home next week. ='(

Well... here comes another dreaded weekend of boredom and hulu watching. At least tonight I'm going to eat PHO at a Vietnamese restaurant. Happy Birthday Tuka and Andrew, if you guys are doing anything let me know!! (I'm also 21! =D)

Mina Choi

JoshuaSituka - 27 Jul 2009 - 13:19

You did a good job presenting the poster when I stopped by. And I'll miss my late buddy. : .. (

Mina Choi - 23 July 2009

DES MOINES TRIP!!! YAY! It was a really nice day to go to Des Moines. The Principle Financial tour was interesting how they used the usability lab to test get user feedback on how things worked. The "Last Breath" exhibit was.... confusing. I think it was a waste of space in the building. They could've easily turned that into an office and made some sort of profit out of it.

Lunch was at some Deli in a mall area which was delicious. I had no idea that it would fill me up but it did.
I liked how Des Moines had skywalks connecting a lot of the buildings. There was no need to walk outside. I've never seen that in a city before.

At the Science and Tech museum, it was interesting hearing from the museum's side how they want to cater an audience. I never really had an appreciation for museums as I do now. I've always just gone for the entertainment factor and it usually failed. I think from now on, I'll try and learn new things and actually try reading the labels (Smithsonian).

We also watched Transformers on IMAX. It was awesome!!!! It made me miss home everytime Washington D.C. was shown. I was really excited when they showed the Air and Space museum since I live like 10 minutes from there. I watched BATMAN on IMAX there. I bet it felt really weird for those people who watched Transformers on IMAX at that museum. It would be like walking out into the set.

Hickory Park was also DELICIOUS! SO MUCH FOOD!! I have leftovers to last me the weekend... yummy. I left most of my ribs and a large portion of my chicken. I'm so excited =D

Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 22 July 2009

Still need the group pictures... The video could be done now if I wanted to finish it off. I'm still thinking if I want narration in it or not. If there will be, then I may ask Conner to do it =P

Mina Choi

HamadiMcIntosh - 22 Jul 2009 - 15:00

Connor has a good voice and he's well spoken. Much better than the voice of Hamadi...in my opinion.

MinaChoi - 22 Jul 2009 - 14:40

LOL!

LinhPham - 22 Jul 2009 - 13:13

Yea I agree.... the voice of a man would be better than yours... =P just kidding

Mina Choi - 21 July 2009

I really liked the luncheon lecture. It made me really think about grad school. Initially, I wanted to work in industry or government for a little before returning to grad/med school. I'm excited, and I think I'm going to research some schools and study the GRE too.

Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 20 July 2009

UGH! Another dreary Monday... Hamadi is nearly done with the paper. Poster is finished... the Video... still need the pictures... but is nearly done.

Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 17 July 2009

Yay! it is friday! We're trying out the Vietnamese restaurant that is off the Red line West. I hope the pho is good! We turned in the poster to Kira and Rob for another final edit.

Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 16 July 2009

We are almost done with our whole research project. Hamadi is working on the results section and Curtis and I finished the poster. We will be meeting with Kira again at 1:00PM to discuss it one more time. It is nice to relax. YAY for time management! =)

Mina Choi

Does anyone know where we can get a copy of the group pictures? (the pictures we took inside Howe of each group) I'd like to have it for the long overdue C++ and OpenGL project video.

ZayiraJordan - 20 Jul 2009 - 09:47

Mina, we'll get back to you soon on the pics.

Mina Choi - 15 July 2009

Man!! While I was at the PWSE luncheon, Curtis and Hamadi met with our faculty and mentors to show them the poster I was working on all morning. It wasn't finished because we were supposed to meet with them at 1:30 PM. I feel uncomfortable turning in work that is not my very best. There were too many time changes in when we were meeting today so I guess it changed one more time after I left for the luncheon.

Apparently there were many problems with it and Rob was not happy. Now he's going to make some changes to it and send it back to us. I have no clue when that will be, but we really have nothing else to work on until then. Oh joy...

The PWSE luncheon was really helpful. It was the etiquette lunch where we learn proper techniques of dining in case we have lunch/dinner interviews. I was so stressed while eating because I had to make sure I wasn't doing anything rude or improper. I learned a lot at this lunch and I intend to practice all the skills learned today continuously.

Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 14 July 2009

CHILI'S! the highlight of today. John Deere tour was interesting as well. The ride was so peaceful with my earbuds in. If I had a coat, it would've been a little too peaceful and I would of fallen asleep. The van ride was also awesome!! I got to catch up on some sleep. If only it were a little longer.

Mina Choi

JoshuaSituka - 15 Jul 2009 - 13:01

I think everyone wanted more sleep after Chili's

MichaelCurtis - 15 Jul 2009 - 09:31

You mean Deere was the highlight of the day...right?

Mina Choi - 13 July 2009

Analyzed the results and got graphs and pretty maps for the poster now. By tomorrow we should be able to start writing the results section. I can't believe we're almost done!

Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 10 July 2009

I was at the Science 1 building almost the whole day. I just came over at 3:15 PM ish. We ran three more people today. I analyzed some more EEG data and there were complications with three of the test subjects for the FPS which is a real shame. We originally went for 10 test subjects, but as of now, we only have 7 tested or scheduled to be tested. 2 of the ones we've already recorded data for are too messy to analyze so now we are down to potentially 5-6 subjects. =[ We do not have enough time to get 10 subjects in. Luckily we have a lot of trials per person.

Still worried to death that we won't find any patterns in our data and that our research will be a flop.
Thanks Ugonna, Joshua for getting tested today. =D

Mina Choi

MichaelCurtis - 10 Jul 2009 - 16:11

Woot!

Mina Choi - 9 July 2009

Today, Linh was tested. He put eyedrops in his eyes before the test because he wasn't supposed to blink as much, but the eyedrops made him move his face even more. The data was really messy at first, but the IIR filters and the ocular movement filter cleaned it up. I analyzed 3-4 people's data either from the blackjack testing or the FPS. That took a while thus, I was late to the luncheon lecture. I will be going over right now with Andrew to get him tested.
BEWARE, there will be electrode gel in your hair. =0 I hope you all are comfortable with it. We do allow you to wash your hair in the sink afterwards.

Mina Choi

BellaManoim - 09 Jul 2009 - 15:25

please look at the email Pam sent and sign up for our study

HamadiMcIntosh - 09 Jul 2009 - 13:09

Its too bad we have no say. I've even thought of how it applies to HCI: we show no mercy for those who do not think about usability when designing interfaces. See, its perfect.

LinhPham - 09 Jul 2009 - 13:08

He should beware of the toothpicks... those hurt!

Mina Choi - 8 July 2009

This morning, Richard and I went to the Science 1 building again to get Richard tested with the EEG on our game. Hopefully we got good data. Richard did a pretty good job of keeping his head and getting set up. Meanwhile, I analyzed some EEG data. Tomorrow, Linh will be getting tested at 9 AM. We are really racing time to get all our subject in so we have data to analyze.

For the PWSE Brown Bag Lunch, we had a financial adviser speak with us. She was very helpful and the lecture was informative. I don't know if I will be able to retain all that information, but at least I was exposed to it at some point.

I wish we could vote for the t-shirt design. I really like the one with the quote in the front really large.

Mina Choi

MinaChoi - 08 Jul 2009 - 23:49

the NOMERCY T-shirt! Vote for it!! if we have the option

IvanOjeda - 08 Jul 2009 - 16:24

I think we should vote too.

TaylorBergquist - 08 Jul 2009 - 16:19

I'd like to vote too :/

LinhPham - 08 Jul 2009 - 13:22

Which shirt is that?

Mina Choi - 7 July 2009

This morning I went over straight to the Science 1 building to learn how to analyze the EEG data using a software called EMSE. Later we will use MATLAB to average all the data that we have. It was pretty interesting since all this stuff I'm learning will probably be very useful in my own school senior design project which incorporates an EEG.
Right now, I am taking names of those interested in getting tested with our game and the EEG. I already got 6 participants from the REU~ Hooray! Thanks guys! You guys are a big help!

Mina Choi

BellaManoim - 07 Jul 2009 - 14:19

yay!! I'd totally do it if it wasn't for the goo in hair thing

Mina Choi - 6 July 2009

It's nice to be back after a long weekend! July 4th was great! Now, I'm all rested and motivated to get this project done and go back home. I got to see what Curtis did to the FPS game and it looks pretty great! GJ Curtis! Tomorrow morning at 9:30AM I'm going to be at the Science 1 building to learn how to analyze EEG data with Kira. (YAY Finally I can learn something BME related!) Excited! We need volunteers to be tested for the FPS and blackjack game hooked to an EEG. Anyone in the REU interested?

Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 30 June 2009

YAY! I finished the map/environment of the FPS game~ After much toil, I was able to place everything where I wanted it. Now it's time to pass the baton to Curtis to install the AI to the game. I was stressed about getting the environment done before I leave for home tomorrow (which I am uber excited about).

Mina Choi

MinaChoi - 06 Jul 2009 - 15:37

awwww missed you too tuka~ =)

JoshuaSituka - 01 Jul 2009 - 12:46

We miss you already : .. (

Mina Choi - 29 June 2009

Right now, I'm frustrated with the Torque Engine. After 45 minutes of work on sidewalks, they all disappeared after hitting one button. I tried to ctrl-z but it did not work. I decided to scrap the sidewalk idea since the more items are on the map, the more laggy it gets. Right now, even without the sidewalk on the perimeter of the city, it is super laggy. There are only four city objects. I don't know why it's acting like this.

Mina Choi

ConnorSchenck - 30 Jun 2009 - 00:43

memory overflow? did you check to make sure you deallocate all your pointers? It may be accessing the page file which would really slow it down

Mina Choi - 26 June 2009

It's getting a lot busier with the research project now that we are nearing the date in which the poster is due. We have to finish our FPS game by the end of next week and then we have a week or two to test people, analyze data, and stick it in the poster. I hope we reach all our deadlines and milestones for the remainder of this internship.
I really liked the Craft of Research class today on Qual/Quan methods of research. It was interesting and kept me engaged.

Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 25 June 2009

as curtis says... GRINDING!!!
Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 24 June 2009

Today was very uneventful, however we made some progress on our project using Torque. We were able to familiarize ourselves with creating an environment for the game. I'm excited to rock climb. I hope I can make it to the top.
Mina Choi

BellaManoim - 25 Jun 2009 - 10:26

did you make it to the top?

Mina Choi - 23 June 2009

This morning we spent the entire time preparing for our presentation. It was a little slow in the beginning, we were all doing different things while everyone else was practicing. At 11:30 Kira and Wutthigrai came by to watch our practice presentation. We were all so scattered because we didn't practice at all. We presented one more time before the Luncheon lecture and then that was it. We all separately studied the material and thought of what to talk about. In the end, I feel pretty confident about our presentation. There were some things we could've fixed, but I'm still happy about it. Now that the presentations are over, I feel a little exhausted.

Rainy days again... Sigh...
Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 22 June 2009

It was busy today with the ethics course, the how to give a talk lecture, and the time afterwards used for preparing for the presentation tomorrow. Our project is going very slowly, just because we have to familiarize with the engine Torque, and also we have to figure out how to test readings from the parallel port using a voltmeter. We have the code for the parallel port, but it seems to not be working correctly because the parallel port is always "on" (on meaning... 5 V reading from pin D0 to Ground A). Right now, we have help from the "hardware specialist" in how to get it to work. I think it has to do with the code and the addressing.

Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 19 June 2009

Today is a good day. I have read the journal article for the journal club. I am looking forward to discussing it. We have a voltmeter on our desk because we are to use it to test the parallel port and see if they are triggered at the same time. We need a parallel port in order to test the code though. I wonder if HCI happens to have a parallel port around.
Great weather today! Anyone down for tanning this weekend?

Mina Choi

MichaelOren - 19 Jun 2009 - 15:01

Did you e-mail REU help? Glen or Kevin might have one.

HamadiMcIntosh - 19 Jun 2009 - 13:26

Once you get to your senior year of college you will have a high retention rate for information too. You have no idea how much useless information is rattling around in here. Lol. Tanning this weekend? You think weather in Iowa can stay consistent for three days? We'll see...

Mina Choi - 18 June 2009

We will be going to the Science Building after lunch today so that Hamadi and Curtis can get "capped up" into the EEG system. =) It would be hard for me, because I have long hair but I will enjoy watching this =).
We will finally be finished with the blackjack program by the end of today. This is nice because we can demo the program for Rob, Kira, and Wutthigrai.
Mina Choi

BellaManoim - 19 Jun 2009 - 11:51

vote fight club!

KiraBailey - 18 Jun 2009 - 22:43

I hope you enjoyed it today. Sorry it took so long! That was the first time we've ever tried capping two people at once.

PJ Campbell - 18 Jun 2009 - 15:35

This sounds interesting. Can the REU interns volunteer to be "capped up"? If so, I volunteer! LOL

BellaManoim - 18 Jun 2009 - 14:23

fun!

Mina Choi - 17 June 2009

I just got back from the PWSE luncheon with a panel of women who have careers. It was nice to hear their stories and also ask questions. Two of the women were industrial engineers and were both married. The last woman was a field biologist. It is inspiring to hear their success stories and also hear advice on doing what you love to do. One woman who also used to review resumes said that one should do things that they enjoy instead of doing it just for the resume because it won't make that big of a difference when applying to jobs. I think back to my experience volunteering at a hospital. I'm glad I quit volunteering. Although it looked good for medical school, the experience was not really an experience. All I did was walk around stocking up latex gloves in all the stations. They didn't really let me do or see much more.

One lady said at her first engineering job, she felt like she had to work from the ground up to gain respect as an engineer because she was a woman. This was mainly the case because all the people she was working with were older males. I can resonate with that experience just in the engineering school. When we have group projects, it always seems like women engineers start off at an uneven foot in gaining an important role. On top of that, there were some male engineers that talked very condescendingly to the female engineers. "You get that?" "Do you understand this?" "That's a stupid idea..." etc.

One way that I have learned to combat this is by using the "power of suggestion." When I put my suggestions in question form, my colleagues are much more willing to accept it and use it because they feel as if they were part of the decision process for that suggestion. Right Curtis? jp... LOL
One of the ladies of the panel suggested we find another outside-work commonality with the men which would help gain respect through another route. I think both will be very helpful.

Anyways... It's a really nice day here in Iowa. Are there any outdoor pools in ISU?

Right now, as a team, we are working on finishing up the BlackJack program. We decided not to do multi-threading which could be time-costly in learning how to do it in C++. (Currently, only Curtis knows how to do it in Java) Hamadi's gambling chip was finally uploaded to the game as well.
It was harder than I thought to work as a team on a single programming project just because all the separate parts are supposed to integrally work together. I feel like this experience in programming so far has helped me so much. I believe I have come so far from having barely to no programming experience to building things in OpenGL and contributing a portion of the BlackJack program. I have a lot of respect for the other interns who came here with no programming experience and were able to complete their programming projects as well. We have accomplished a lot in two weeks! =)

Torquescript looks difficult. Just finding which parts do what... and how it is structured... I took a look at it today since it is what we will be working with for the game.

I must say, when I first was assigned the topic, I didn't know we would be designing the games ourselves. I had thought we would be doing a little more EEG analysis and drawing conclusions from those. I never knew how programming heavy our subject would be. I think back to the quote Dr. Haggray recited yesterday at the symposium from Elenor Roosevelt "Find what you think you can not do, and do it." Hopefully, I can contribute to the "coding" aspect of our actual research project.

I am excited, though, that we will finally be able to see the EEG machine tomorrow for the first time.

Mina Choi

MichaelOren - 17 Jun 2009 - 18:35

Cecilia Ridgeway has a nice piece on "Gender, Status, and the Social Psychology of Expectation", it has a clear model of how the work can be be biased against females AND how the system can be changed in order to fix the problem (not just complaining about the problem but creating a solution to it). It also has the bonus that unlike a lot of feminist scholarship, it is based on quantitative findings (some qualitative methods were used, but the end results are quantitative) and being in the engineering area that fits my bias toward quantitative findings nicely. If you're interested in the piece then let me know.

Regarding outdoor pools, this page has some info.: http://www.cityofames.org/parksrecweb/Aquatics/default.htm There are two other outdoor pools in Ames but I don't know where that info. went...

MichaelOren - 17 Jun 2009 - 13:44

Despite my picking up sociology as a secondary major, I am not much of a qualitative researcher (historically, sociology is one of the more quantitative social sciences--not as die hard quantitative as economics though--but qualitative has and is gaining momentum). Personally, I find qualitative research as best suited for supplementing quantitative findings (which are too impersonal and too focused--you miss the big picture), and I think there's a lot of value in qualitative research in terms of exploratory research where you're not sure what you'll be seeing.

Mina Choi - 16 June 2009

I am at the symposium right now. In session II STEM Fields. I am enjoying this one a lot more because it is interesting to my field of study. I find Kristina Lord's talk on semiconductors and transistors really interesting. I never knew how transistors were made. How are people able to get it so small? This presentation explains different materials that can used for the junctions, the process in which the transistors were made, and the performance of the transistors ("Did it turn on/off when we wanted it to?").

Although this program drilled into our heads Moore's Law, in terms of exponential progress on artificial intelligence and such, I knew Moore's Law as the doubling in density of transistors every two years (which relates to the speed of computers, which then relates to the power in computing behind AI) maybe because of the EE background. It was nice how she mentioned it that way it in her presentation.

By going to both the social science sessions and the STEM session, I am realizing how much of an engineer I am and how I appreciate straight-forward, unemotional, research with at least some quantitative findings. There were still some aspects I appreciate about the social science session. The presentations were entertaining and kept me engaged. The studies that were presented were very interesting, and will no doubt help the way we do things socially and as a society. Cheers Zayira!! Great Job!

I didn't like how some presentations were so emotional and there were some opinions expressed on controversial subjects. I noticed that there are strong views of feminism and racism here. If I were a white male, I would feel very uncomfortable. In both sessions, at least one person had research with some roots in her feminist views. I guess it's good they are doing research on something they are passionate about, but I would be mindful of the audience and present my research so as to not make a particular group feel uncomfortable.

Right now Maria L. Joseph is presenting. I have no clue about anything to do with nutrition and diets. I turned from the premed path after last semester's Orgo II... what a killer! I didn't do horribly in that class, however I would not want to go through that ever again. (ahem... Biochem...) Props to you Maria in your research~

Brittini Brown is good at presenting her material while explaining certain jargon of agricultural scientists that we may not know. I never knew how interesting and important this subject was. (side note: I wonder what those big ominous towers on campus do)

It is possible my laptop will run out of battery in the last presentation... so I will update later =)
Mina Choi

HamadiMcIntosh - 17 Jun 2009 - 13:28

I noticed you blogging during the presentations yesterday. Smart. I've already forgotten parts of the symposium. I remember the talk about semiconductors though. I was so excited since it was the first time this summer something I already know about was being discussed instead of having to do catch-up reading. Although I recognized everything she was talking about, I wasn't really sure what the point of her talk was. I guess I don't understand fermi energy and conductance via valence electrons and holes in electron shells as well as I thought I did. I'm pretty sure that ominous tower on campus is Saruman's. Maybe Sauron's. It's hard to tell.

IvanOjeda - 17 Jun 2009 - 00:27

I can't agree more with you when you say the "quantitative findings" part of the research is what makes us like STEM fields.

MichaelCurtis - 16 Jun 2009 - 16:13

dictionary.

MinaChoi - 16 Jun 2009 - 15:58

word.

MichaelCurtis - 16 Jun 2009 - 15:56

Yeah the socSci presentations were very passionate, but it's a good thing that people are trying to be experts in engineering and in the social sciences. That's what grad school is about. PRO!

BellaManoim - 16 Jun 2009 - 14:42

I know what you mean about emotional presentations, there were definitely some strong biases presented. However, for me, my attention was more captured by the social science presentations. At the STEM ones, the specific-to-the-field terminology lost me.

Mina Choi - 15 June 2009

Wow, Mayo is a powerful program. I drew grass and daisies all over the x/y axis so it was pretty. =)

Hamadi is in a very good mood today... I wonder why.. XP

AHH OPEN GL IS DUE TOMORROW!! ... sigh it's an all- nighter for me...
Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 12 June 2009

YAY! It's a Friday!!! WALL-E!!! =)
Mina Choi

Mina Choi - 11 June 2009

Thank you for cancelling HCI today! I really needed that time to finish my openGL hw and get started on the blackjack openGL project. I need to learn Programming quick because I feel like I can't contribute to this internship unless I know either C++ or OpenGL . If I don't learn quick, Curtis will end up doing this entire project on his own. I wonder why this internship didn't just recruit computer science majors.
I took a look at the Torque game engine today. There are a lot of glitches in the demo. I hope we can scale down the complexity for our project purposes. According to the GarageGames website, torque is scripted using Torquescript which is supposedly very similar to C++.
We will be writing the research question and the literature review right now though.
Mina Choi

IvanOjeda - 12 Jun 2009 - 00:12

This is the mofongo

PamShill - 11 Jun 2009 - 19:44

We think that interns outside of computer science have a lot to contribute to the projects. Not all HCI people are expert programmers. We are glad you are here!

BellaManoim - 11 Jun 2009 - 16:48

I'm glad they canceled it too, we got our lit review done in that time

Mina Choi - 10 June 2009

Happy Birthday Hamadi! Sorry for your losses yesterday...

Mina Choi

IvanOjeda - 10 Jun 2009 - 19:16

Hi mina

HamadiMcIntosh - 10 Jun 2009 - 13:45

Thanks. The Lakers will rise again. How's it feel to be the only person in our group that understands EEG data?

Mina Choi - 9 June 2009

The OpenGL course was cool today! =) we learned transformations and rotations and what not. I was able to get started on making the planetary motion of our solar system. I still don't really know how we're going to use OpenGL to create our game, but hopefully Vijay will teach us soon. I am pretty bad at Statistics so I am dreading that class tomorrow.. =(. Our group won the majority of the votes for the C++ project. I'm pretty psyched about that... I hope our gift is good...

I feel like the work is piling on and on. The OpenGL hw, Stat homework, finishing the blackjack code for use with the EEG machine, reading the articles, and the OpenGL final project.... these are things I constantly think about back and forth. They really do keep us busy! I hope it cools down after next week.

Mina Choi

ZayiraJordan - 10 Jun 2009 - 09:21

Let's talk about workload. Maybe we can devise a way of spreading some things out. Still, time is short for all you guys are involved in!!!

Mina Choi - 8 June 2009

Today was the first OpenGL course. It looks pretty cool so far being able to actually draw things and have it displayed in the program. Our group will probably try to improve upon our blackjack code and make graphics for it.
Kira and Wutthigrai came by to check up on our process earlier. We are going at a good pace right now. Hopefully we'll have the text-based blackjack file ready by Wednesday to be tested with the EEG. All we got to do now is get our program to create log files of what happens in the decision making areas.
I also got the IRB training done... That'll make Mike, Zayira, and Stephen happy~ =)

Mina Choi

ZayiraJordan - 09 Jun 2009 - 09:20

Yes!!! Good job, Mina.

MichaelOren - 08 Jun 2009 - 23:24

Congrats on getting that done

JoshuaSituka - 08 Jun 2009 - 13:14

I want to play your black jack game on the EEG. That would be cool.

BellaManoim - 08 Jun 2009 - 12:57

it's nice that you'll be able to test the EEG with your blackjack file.

Mina Choi - 5 June 2009

AHHH C++ course is done!! I'm not really sure how to use classes still, but Curtis seems to know. Maybe I'll learn from just reading what he did.

It's really nice outside today... When there is good weather, I lose motivation for working... =( {don't worry!! i'll still do my work! though} My mom always says that for me, it is better to go to school in the east coast because weather sucks so much that I would stay inside and study. She has weird theories...

Hamadi got this song stuck in my head now... I like this band... if they are a band (a singer and drummer) The Ting Tings - That's not my name
Too bad they disabled the embed feature.
Anyone who's into rock should listen to Paramore~ My favorite!!


I think I'm going to check out that bar "Headliners." Last time I walked by there on the weekend, I heard some amateur bands playing. I want to go and listen to them.
Apparently, I also saw a shady Korean Restaurant. I miss Korean food =( anyone want to go and check it out with me? Korean BBQ? hahaha probably not though since this program pays for food already...

Mina Choi

MichaelOren - 05 Jun 2009 - 13:29

The Ting Tings are a real band (and they are good). Also, The Scallion (Korean restaurant) is pretty good. If you decide to head over there, let me know--not many people around here seem to be fans of Korean (they prefer Thai or Indian), but I'm always up for Korean.

Mina Choi - 4 June 2009

Today's C++ class was very helpful although the material was pretty difficult with pointers and all. The file input/output was extremely helpful since our project will be keeping logs of the game. We need to be able to write out text files from the program. C++ is pretty fun in my opinion. I envy the compsci majors. I'm excited to start learning OpenGL next week. I'm kind of happy we don't have anything really planned for the rest of the day because I wanted to get a major portion of the blackjack program done. Right now, I'm simply working on getting a nice user-friendly menu going in which the actual blackjack program can sit in.

We had our first meeting with the mentors and professor at the Science building today. I thought we'd be getting a tour of the place, but we just had a meeting in one of the rooms and checked out the game a previous grad student had made. Even though the game was a modified version of "Unreal Tournament," it looked pretty boring. The concept behind it is interesting though... I'm still unsure how they are able to analyze the EEG data to that kind of accuracy where they can find out if you wanted to move your hand, but didn't. I'm also unsure on how the parallel port works. For now, all we can do is keep working on our blackjack program and then we'll make a few modifications when the EEG amplifier gets in.

On the way back from the Science building, we stopped by Caribou Coffee and I got a Iced Chai Tea Latte. I recently discovered my love for Chai Tea last semester. People say that Caribou is cheaper than Starbucks and prefer it for that reason, but I still paid 4 bucks for a large Chai Tea Latte. I still find that pretty expensive. I'm not sure, but I think Starbucks Venti cups are larger than Caribou's Large size as well. In terms of taste, I think they are comparable.

HamadiMcIntosh - 05 Jun 2009 - 12:56

You think I could get some time on one of the two computers allocated for games sometime? You know, since its for research. Strictly for research purposes of course.

MichaelOren - 05 Jun 2009 - 12:39

Chai Tea is redundant. Chai is the Hindi word for tea, so all you're really saying is 'tea tea'. That's my language/culture lesson for today. Great way to use up your $75 in meal plan money though. I have never heard that Caribou was really cheaper than Starbucks--I prefer it because I like their coffee better (slightly less acidic/bitter); although my favorite place in town is Café Mïlo out on the far west side of Ames. Nice, non-chain coffee shop with really good teas and good coffee. Pretty good (but expensive) sandwiches as well.

Mina Choi - 3 June 2009

I woke up extremely tired this morning, but still forced myself up and even went to breakfast before coming in.
The topic in C++ today was really tough and we learned several concepts that probably would have taken a lot longer to teach. Hopefully though practice in the assignments and other assignments through the research, I can grasp it more.

I do wish this program gave us a little more time to do our research work. The homework for the courses take a good portion of the 2-3 hours we get to work on the research portion. I am grateful though, that this program cares enough to teach us the material we will be working with. Already, I have gained so much from this HCI program just by relearning how to program in C++.

I am getting a little too ambitious with the black jack program I think... I want it to be as pretty as possible.
(I'm sure curtis and hamadi wouldn't like it if I called the program "pretty")

-Mina


AHH! I'm excited!! I'm an L4D fan... this game is so fun. I can't believe they're coming out with a sequel in less than a year of the first release!

btw: Listening to Ipod while working helps me a lot in terms of being productive~ You guys should try it!

MichaelOren - 03 Jun 2009 - 13:40

My programming music was always 'Code Monkey' (it's legally free: http://www.jonathancoulton.com/2006/04/14/thing-a-week-29-code-monkey/). I can't write well while listening to music, but for some reason writing code goes better while listening to music...

MinaChoi - 03 Jun 2009 - 13:09

lol for that, I will put 'hearts' (\3) all over the menu page...

MichaelCurtis - 03 Jun 2009 - 13:05

I don't mind a pretty program. The perfect indentation, combinations of comments, keywords and braces are great on the eyes. You are talking about the source code being pretty, right...?

BellaManoim - 03 Jun 2009 - 13:04

it's okay to want things to be 'pretty', especially if you want the user to have a pleasant experience.

Mina Choi - 2 June 2009

Today was a pretty smooth day so far. I learned a lot in the C++ class today. I spent a good hour working on the assignment and making it nice~ (if you want to see, check out assignment 2 on the submission site)

I guess I didn't have to waste time like that, but I did learn a lot from debugging.

It was raining this morning, which was pretty miserable for me.

Overall, I feel pretty productive and ready to make that blackjack program! =)


-Mina

MichaelCurtis - 03 Jun 2009 - 12:53

SWEET! And there is no boss. At least, I'm not the boss.

Mina Choi - HCI Course HW 1
Bad Interfaces or Bad Usability

The user wants to iron his clothes, but the iron looks like it's being held backwards but it really isn't. I guess it is confusing in a way. I think it's easier to stick with the conventional way irons are made, or have a double pointed iron where both sides can be the "front."
The product is not very "engaging" in my opinion. The design is not that pretty which makes me wonder why tilt the handle in the opposite direction of the iron head. Also, it is probably hard to remember that which way to use the iron because of previous conceptions of an iron.

The elevator design is very user unfriendly. This is an elevator used for a parking garage that is color coded. The colors are a bit redundant because it has it written out in english and in brail, the block where it is written is color coded, then there is a square to the left of the actual button that is also colored. I would have designed this so that the information is written on the buttons itself instead of on signs next to the button. Also I would have aligned all the buttons. Another way is to get rid of the color coding altogether and just use the number system because the elevator is only going up and down.
This design is not very "efficient".

The door sign can be confusing. The DO NOT ENTER sign is on the same door as the ENTER sign.
The sign is "ineffective" because the ENTER sign is in negated by the DO NOT ENTER sign. It is confusing to the user. I think the design could be better by either taking one of the two signs down, or blacking the door completely and making it into a wall. I guess that depends on the job of that door.

LinhPham - 02 Jun 2009 - 13:35

WOW THAS CRAYZZZZZZZZZ

BellaManoim - 02 Jun 2009 - 00:30

wow, that's a pretty crazy looking elevator control

Mina Choi - 1 June 2009

Today was the first programming class for C++. It was really great to get a refresher on it since I forgot a lot of it. We started on the assignments early during the weekend and got started on the project as well. We are making a blackjack game using C++. This game is the first milestone for our research project since we will be incorporating it as a tester for the EEG pairing.
This morning also, the 4 other girls in this program and I attended the first PWSE (Program for Women in Science and Engineering) meeting. Lora Leigh is really nice, but I feel like that meeting was really awkward. There was an ice breaker game where we were to meet new people, but a lot of the people there were Iowa Students and already knew each other. (maybe this is just from where I was standing)
One highlight of that meeting was that I met someone from Fairfax, VA who actually went to my highschool. I didn't really know her because our HS is huge and I graduated a year before she did, but it was really nice meeting someone here from home.

It kind of feels weird on campus now that all the Odyssey of the Mind kids are gone. The cafeteria was so dead and there was less selection of food. Also, the bus no longer stands in front of Freddy Community Center. =(

o well, that's enough blogging for today~
Mina

MichaelOren - 01 Jun 2009 - 14:24

The bus you should take now is at the CyRide bus stop (if you haven't found it then let me know). I'm pretty sure it's the blue bus you want, but it might be the green bus (or either).

BellaManoim - 01 Jun 2009 - 13:40

Yeah it was awkward.. but I think some of the panels will be interesting

AmyGreen - 01 Jun 2009 - 13:18

I felt that the ice breaker was really awkward too. No one really moved from their spot and once they were talking to someone they didn't leave to talk to anyone else so it was hard to meet people.

Mina Choi - 29 May 2009

Wow. What a long seminar on Research Groups... I'm pretty exhausted but looking forward to the C6 tour. I thought it was nice that these people flew all the way from El Paso Texas to give us a lecture on how to work better as a research team. Although it was rough to sit through, I am sure we all benefited in some way, even if the benefits are not seen yet. The sandwiches were good.

Food here is a lot better than my school's food. Maybe because all the produce is fresh... probably from ISU's backyard. I want to try some corn. I bet that would be super fresh.

I'm glad we had that meeting with our research mentors because I feel a lot more comfortable now knowing exactly what we're expected to do. It's nice to know we have a lot of freedom in choosing exactly what we want to do with our project.
I hope the EEG machine works though, because if it doesn't, the project is probably a flop.


=) I bought a cheap skateboard at Walmart to travel around campus... too bad I'm horrible at it.

This is the EEG ISU has. It has over 60 electrodes (72?).


BYE!