Preface 1.1
Hello everyone :)
If you are receiving this, it's probably because I just wanted to have a way to keep in touch with my friends and family, and writing letters and whatnot seemed like the best way to do so. This is mostly because I do not have any social media.
I would like to add, that none of this would be possible without Shelley, the person who brought up the idea in the first place. She was, and I'm sure still is, a great person to work with and an amazing person in general. She even gave me a really cool fountain pen, for those in the know, it's the same one that MacIntire uses.
This whole thing will likely be entirely typed out, with few exceptions. My handwriting is pretty terrible, and writing things over and over and over again would be really annoying -_-. I am also able to embed images easily, which will make other parts of this a lot easier. The formatting does get a little funky, but oh well.
also just as a side note, this is actually the second draft of this newsletter with like literal months in between, so some parts of it might not make the most sense
additionally, this is just an online thing now
Updates 1.2
For those of you who may not know, I am now studying Computer Engineering at Cal Poly Pomona :O. I am very glad to have this opportunity, and I am doing my best to make the most of it.
Coming into it as a transfer student has been incredibly annoying, and for those of you who are planning to transfer soon, I would make sure to check what credits transfer, and for those that don't petition for them asap.
Anyways, there's a pretty cool gym on campus with a rock wall, so I've been rock climbing nearly every single day. It's a ton of fun, and honestly if any of you ever get the opportunity to rock climb, you absolutely should.
That being said, I have been either sick or injured almost the entire semester. Even now, I am currently sick, likely something I caught at the climbing gym. While transferring has been nice, staying in my stupid room for days on end is not.
In terms of the classes that I'm taking, I have finally gotten all of the ones that I want, and those are...
- Data Structures and Algorithms
- Conspiracy Theories (yes, it is a real class, and it is really cool)
- Circuit Analysis #2
- Intro to American Government
- Ethics in Engineering
My schedule is honestly a bit weird, as I only have class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This is less than ideal, but at least I got the classes I needed.
Now that about half of the semester is over, I can confidently say that there is no spike in difficulty when transferring, at least in my personal experience. Since I have been out for so much of the semester, it has definitely been a bit difficult to keep up at times, but for the most part, I can say with confidence that College of the Desert really prepared me for transfer.
In terms of the classes themselves, here is a little ranking.
Good
Data Structures and Algorithms - This class is a lot of fun purely because I enjoy the topics. The professor is genuinely abysmal, and I cannot stand his lectures. Programming has always been something that I've enjoyed, and getting to learn some of the lower level concepts is really nice.
Conspiracy Theories - I love conspiracy theories. This class goes over a lot of case studies and even the psychology of conspiratorial thinking, which is something I really enjoy. We are currently going through the CSA and the NOI, which is really illuminating, opposite sides of the spectrum and yet so incredibly similar. (The Covenant, The Sword, and The Arm of the Lord : The Nation of Islam)
Ethics in Engineering (Philosophy) - This class is divided into two sections, Philosophy and Tech Applied Ethics. The Philosophy section has a great professor, who is pretty funny and really engages you with the topics. Additionally, the subject matter is really interesting. The Professor always assigns texts to read, so reading stuff from early philosophers is always nice, especially debating their ideas and whatnot. In all honesty, I don't think I have ever written this much in terms of notes. My favorite philosopher right now is probably Kant or Epictetus, but that could also be because we haven't covered very many.
Circuit Analysis #2 - This one gets a pass just because I really like circuit analysis. The lectures aren't very good, and the professor can be a bit rude at times. I mostly learn through lectures that I find on YouTube, and this can be said for most of my classes.
Bad
Intro to American Government - This one sucks. The work that the professor assigns is either mindnumbingly boring, or genuinely pointless. He has had multiple assignments in which the usage of generative AI is mandatory, which I do not understand.
Ethics in Engineering (Tech) - Terrible professor, terrible lectures, way too much reading. I do enjoy the writing for the class, but everything else sucks.
Opinions 1.3
In the first draft of this newsletter, I had a completely different paper for the "opinions" part of the newsletter. I don't really feel that it fits anymore, so instead, I'm putting a recommendation.
THE INDIE WEB
The Indie Web is pretty cool. In short, it's a step back from modern websites and social media, with an emphasis on individuality and expression. For the most part, the websites are made with just HTML and CSS, mimicking the designs of older websites, and in my opinion, it always looks much nicer this way.
In terms of an actual opinion, I think everyone should make their own website. HTML and CSS aren't too hard to learn, and there are plenty of resources out there to learn it. In fact, these newsletters will eventually be archived on my website. (Which at the time of writing does not exist...)
If you want to create and host your website for free, you can do so using Neocities, which is an awesome place. Or if you would rather have your own custom domain, you can use GitHub pages to host it for free. You would just have to pay for your domain, which isn't too expensive.
Here are some cool websites that I like, though I cannot vouch for what is actually on them or what they stand for. (I haven't looked through these in a while...) Most of them are art focused, but some are just for fun and whatnot.
https://dospuntostr.es/en/
https://masonarmand.com/
https://vinizinho.net/
https://teppyslayouts.neocities.org/
https://fabled.day/
https://espy.world/
https://saddleblasters.com/
https://odditycommoddity.neocities.org/
https://heyitsrksmith.com/
https://lainzine.org/
https://nanom.neocities.org/
https://someplace-else.neocities.org/
Frizzle Fry 1.4
One thing I wanted to do with this newsletter / penpal / magazine thingy was to share music. (And other things of course) So for the first installment, I have two albums to share. The first of which is titled Frizzle Fry, and it was made by Primus.
For those who do not know Primus, you probably do. If you have ever seen ANY episode of Southpark, you have heard Primus. (They made the intro and outro song.) Personally, I really like Primus, but I would understand if you don't, as it is a bit on the experimental side at times.
In terms of this album in particular, I would say my favorite parts are the Bass and Drums, they are just so perfectly performed. Also, fun fact, the bassist uses a six-stringed fretless bass, which is pretty unique.
I won't say much about the album, other than, if you like the sound of bass, you will like this album. My favorite song from this album is probably "Groundhog's Day", which is appropriate seeing that at the time of writing, Groundhog Day is almost here.
This is also a concept album, which is something I always appreciate when listening to albums. Another opinion, I believe that you should listen FIRST, by artist, and THEN, by album. I really feel that each album has a narrative, and is best listened to in the environment it was intended to be listened in. (The same album) I don't really understand why people enjoy shuffling through a particular genre, not that there is anything wrong with it, I just prefer to listen by album.
notes from the revision
I have no idea why I mention that this is a concept album. There is literally nothing about this album that would point to it being a concept album. That being said, this is still a really good album.
Load My Revolver, Baby 1.5
The second album I would like to recommend is Load My Revolver, Baby by Her Words Kill. Unfortunately, a couple years after this album was made, they disbanded, making this album the ONLY album they made.That being said, I really really like it. It would be hard to count the number of times that I have played it these past couple of weeks.
I would place this music somewhere in between hardcore and midwest emo. My favorite song from this album is either Watch Out Vegas Im a Show Stopper or Jenifer, Hit the Lights. We're Taking Over This Joint.
It is actually fairly likely that some of you have actually heard a song from these guys, and it's from this album too. It was a popular song on social media, and the title is Sir, This Is Cut Throat Fashion. (The part you would recognize is near the end.)
My favorite part about this album is probably the two vocalists. They have a really nice dichotomy, which I feel sets this band apart from others in the genre. The only downside, is that they pronounce things in a way that is really hard to understand most of the time. (Like they're from England, but they sing with an American accent, but only sometimes.)
notes from the revision
They do actually have SOME other music, though not very much. I didn't spend very much time looking when I originally wrote this.
I have No Mouth, and I Must Scream 1.7
Since I have been stuck in my room recovering, I have been reading a bit more. (Mostly really short stories)
This book is actually really good, and wasn't what I thought it was at all. (That being said, Eddie and Sammy, you are a bit too young to read this) In short, I really like it because of the "main villain", which is an all powerful AI. Stories that feature these characters are always really interesting, especially as AI becomes more and more capable. (GLaDOS from Portal, Caine from TADC)
Despite the stories brevity, I do really think that there is a lot that you can get from it, especially in terms of each character's view on humanity, as well as their own humanity. Outside of that, I won't say anything else, and I would strongly recommend that you check it out for yourself. As a slower reader, it took me around an hour to finish. (Keeping in mind that I only read the ONE short story out of the anthology.)
All Tomorrows 1.8
If you like Sci-Fi Horror, then you would probably also like this. This one is hard to recommend, mostly because while it does have a story, at times it feels like you're just reading an encyclopedia. (Personally, I loved this aspect of the book, but I would understand if you didn't.)
As to not spoil too much, the short story follows the human race and its evolution throughout time, though through the lens of the cosmos and body horror. I felt that the horror was really effective, making me feel sad and even grossed out at times.
I am really bad at reviewing things it seems, but I really liked it, and I think that some of you might like it as well. There even a lot of accompanying illustrations not unlike that on the cover of the book. The art in this book is genuinely disgusting, and for that reason I love it. The ability for art to genuinely unnerve is really awesome.
Ending 1.9
And that concludes this newsletter
Goodbye everyone
Until next time...
I hope you liked reading this as much as I liked writing it.
I am not sure how often I will send these out, and it will very likely depend on how much work I have to do in terms of school and whatnot. In the meantime, feel free to write back :)!
I await your responses...
(I am not including my address for obvious reasons.)