Comments for Evan Cordell http://evancordell.wordpress.com Computer Science, Math, and Physics Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:39:05 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Grades and GPA and Next Year’s Schedule by Victor Bankston http://evancordell.wordpress.com/2008/06/14/grades-and-gpa-and-next-years-schedule/#comment-45 Victor Bankston Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:39:05 +0000 http://evancordell.wordpress.com/?p=17#comment-45 They don't seem to have enough non-calculus classes. I'm sick of deriving already. They don’t seem to have enough non-calculus classes. I’m sick of deriving already.

]]> Comment on About by evancordell http://evancordell.wordpress.com/about/#comment-44 evancordell Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:44:44 +0000 #comment-44 I'm pretty far along in my LSMSA career (just a few more weeks 'till I graduate), so you shouldn't expect the academics I write about to reflect an incoming sophomore or junior. My plan is to post some examples of early papers, with teacher's comments, just to show the level they expect - eventually. Getting a D on a paper isn't something most people coming into LSMSA are comfortable with, but it happens to all of us, and you learn to improve. You can, for example, take a paper to a teacher multiple times before (and often after) a due date to get it revised, and for incoming comp/lit classes the comments they provide often reference writing style guides that are standard issue here. It really depends on the person as to how they react to coming to LSMSA. There used to be a program called Excel that would help students from "bad" highschools catch up academically with everyone else; unfortunately that no longer exists thanks to a 17% budget cut. That's probably as "take you by the hand" as it gets here, but the teachers are always willing to help if you're willing to take the initiative to see them. There's also "New Student Orientation" which helps develop the study and time management skills necessary to succeed here, if the student doesn't have them already. Any advice I have to give depends a lot on the age of the incoming student. If he or she still has a year or two at their old school, I would reccomend taking as many required classes as possible to give more scheduling freedom here. In general, though, I would say that being ready to apply oneself academically and being willing not only to meet other people but to ask for help when necessary is probably some of the best advice I can give. So in short, if your child isn't prepared for life at LSMSA, everyone here will do their best to make sure that s/he is. It's the people that don't try and don't want to succeed that have problems. Don't be intimidated by my technical posts - they're not representative of the majority of the student body. Feel free to contact me with more questions, if you like. Evan Cordell UPDATE: LSMSA has funding again, everything that was cut has been uncut, you may breathe normally again. I’m pretty far along in my LSMSA career (just a few more weeks ’till I graduate), so you shouldn’t expect the academics I write about to reflect an incoming sophomore or junior. My plan is to post some examples of early papers, with teacher’s comments, just to show the level they expect – eventually. Getting a D on a paper isn’t something most people coming into LSMSA are comfortable with, but it happens to all of us, and you learn to improve. You can, for example, take a paper to a teacher multiple times before (and often after) a due date to get it revised, and for incoming comp/lit classes the comments they provide often reference writing style guides that are standard issue here.

It really depends on the person as to how they react to coming to LSMSA. There used to be a program called Excel that would help students from “bad” highschools catch up academically with everyone else; unfortunately that no longer exists thanks to a 17% budget cut. That’s probably as “take you by the hand” as it gets here, but the teachers are always willing to help if you’re willing to take the initiative to see them. There’s also “New Student Orientation” which helps develop the study and time management skills necessary to succeed here, if the student doesn’t have them already.

Any advice I have to give depends a lot on the age of the incoming student. If he or she still has a year or two at their old school, I would reccomend taking as many required classes as possible to give more scheduling freedom here. In general, though, I would say that being ready to apply oneself academically and being willing not only to meet other people but to ask for help when necessary is probably some of the best advice I can give.

So in short, if your child isn’t prepared for life at LSMSA, everyone here will do their best to make sure that s/he is. It’s the people that don’t try and don’t want to succeed that have problems. Don’t be intimidated by my technical posts – they’re not representative of the majority of the student body.

Feel free to contact me with more questions, if you like.
Evan Cordell

UPDATE: LSMSA has funding again, everything that was cut has been uncut, you may breathe normally again.

]]> Comment on About by Karen Blanchard http://evancordell.wordpress.com/about/#comment-43 Karen Blanchard Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:40:58 +0000 #comment-43 No real comment here, just a mom looking up information about LSMSA. I have not even heard of the things you were talking about, and I am not sure my son has either. Can LSMSA take a gifted child by the hand and walk them through the basics or is the child expected to know? In other words, what does a student need to know before entering LSMSA? What advice would you give a student who is about to be admitted to the school? No real comment here, just a mom looking up information about LSMSA. I have not even heard of the things you were talking about, and I am not sure my son has either. Can LSMSA take a gifted child by the hand and walk them through the basics or is the child expected to know? In other words, what does a student need to know before entering LSMSA? What advice would you give a student who is about to be admitted to the school?

]]> Comment on About by Courtney Brandabur http://evancordell.wordpress.com/about/#comment-42 Courtney Brandabur Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:43:57 +0000 #comment-42 Woah, Evan has a blog! :D Woah, Evan has a blog! :D

]]> Comment on Mandelbrot Deep Zoom by Dylan Staley http://evancordell.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/mandelbrot-deep-zoom/#comment-36 Dylan Staley Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:42:12 +0000 http://evancordell.wordpress.com/?p=25#comment-36 It's pretty amazing, double-tap to zoom in, or you can use the two finger pinch. But, it's pretty slow when you're zoomed in a lot. I did manage to crash it XD. But it just shows the basic set, and allows you to zoom in and out. That's all it can do >> It’s pretty amazing, double-tap to zoom in, or you can use the two finger pinch. But, it’s pretty slow when you’re zoomed in a lot.

I did manage to crash it XD. But it just shows the basic set, and allows you to zoom in and out. That’s all it can do >>

]]> Comment on Mandelbrot Deep Zoom by evancordell http://evancordell.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/mandelbrot-deep-zoom/#comment-35 evancordell Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:49:44 +0000 http://evancordell.wordpress.com/?p=25#comment-35 Haha, awesome. Truly awesome. I'm betting it has an excellent interface for zooming/panning, what with the touch-iness of iphones. A guy I work with (well, for) has the iphone sdk. Random bit of information. Haha, awesome. Truly awesome. I’m betting it has an excellent interface for zooming/panning, what with the touch-iness of iphones.

A guy I work with (well, for) has the iphone sdk. Random bit of information.

]]> Comment on Mandelbrot Deep Zoom by Dylan Staley http://evancordell.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/mandelbrot-deep-zoom/#comment-34 Dylan Staley Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:54:20 +0000 http://evancordell.wordpress.com/?p=25#comment-34 <a href="http://img.skitch.com/20080723-rfy3j6ip61qn2guxnapgrtyn4f.jpg" rel="nofollow">Click Here to see image.</a> Click Here to see image.

]]> Comment on Mandelbrot Deep Zoom by Dylan Staley http://evancordell.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/mandelbrot-deep-zoom/#comment-33 Dylan Staley Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:53:51 +0000 http://evancordell.wordpress.com/?p=25#comment-33 Mandelbrot on my iPhone! Mandelbrot on my iPhone!

]]> Comment on A Better Addition by Elias Zwillenberg http://evancordell.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/a-better-addition/#comment-26 Elias Zwillenberg Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:24:07 +0000 http://evancordell.wordpress.com/?p=19#comment-26 I completely understand the need for coffee - 4 hours of sleep is WAY too many. ;-) I completely understand the need for coffee – 4 hours of sleep is WAY too many. ;-)

]]> Comment on char* Constructor, Take Two by Elias Zwillenberg http://evancordell.wordpress.com/2008/06/04/char-constructor-take-two/#comment-21 Elias Zwillenberg Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:19:09 +0000 http://evancordell.wordpress.com/?p=13#comment-21 Hey thanks for linking to my blog post on Mokka and enjoying the mix. Right on! I had a good time writing that one. Good to be appreciated, even if it's by accident ;-) Hey thanks for linking to my blog post on Mokka and enjoying the mix. Right on! I had a good time writing that one.

Good to be appreciated, even if it’s by accident ;-)

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