Interesting Article

I saw this article ("Sorry, Boys, This Is Our Domain"). Very, very interesting. 27% of women in computer and math industry?!? Well, that explains a lot. Interesting article overall. I am not sure I agree with everything in it, but interesting article anyway.

I only have one question, why was it in the "Fashion & Style" section of the The New York Times? Oh, wait that must have been related to that "it is difficult to shake existing stereotypes" part....

Wow! Cool!

“Machines take me by surprise with great frequency.” - Alan Turing

I was excited (and happy) to see this headline on Google News: "Turing Award goes to female for first time: IBM'S Frances Allen Wins Computing Honor". All I have to say is: "Wow! :-D"

There is an interesting part of the article that I want to especially point out:

"According to the Computing Research Association, only 17 percent of college graduates getting computer science and engineering degrees in the United States and Canada were women during the 2003-2004 academic year, the most recent year for which data is available."

OK, so I knew the numbers were surprisingly low. I am surprised every time I see them. I really shouldn't be, but I am. It is one of those statistics that I just don't understand. Why don't more women go into computer or engineering? I love computer science and I can hardly imagine not being in CS. Of course, I can't tell you why women don't go into computers or engineering since I did :-) However, I can make guesses from my experiences. But that would be a whole 'nother blog...

Some additional reading on the issue:
"Solving the gender equation: Study shows stereotypes hurt women's math"

"Studies show female engineers needed"

Movie of the Day: Bridget Jones's Diary

"We have blue soup to start, orange pudding to end, and, well, for a main course you have, uh, congealed green gunge." - Mark Darcy (Bridget Jones's Diary)

I actually saw the second movie first. So I decided to watch the first one when it was run on Bravo. As minor characters there is the person from the Harry Potter movie and the guy from the new version of Battlestar. Anyway, the whole thing is just funny. It is also nifty to see the everyday girl get the guy.

Link Worthy:

"Tree Rings Offer Insights to Hurricanes"

"Report finds gender bias in university R&D"

"Universities see sharp drop in computer science majors"

Well, I better get back to working on homework. I got water in my ear over the weekend. Therefore, I have partial hear in my left ear. Which makes it quiet interesting. When I talk there is a slight echo. Anyway, I found that putting light pressure and having my head sideways appears to help and clear up my hearing. Therefore, I have been doing everything sideways :-)

Sunday News Bulletin

"The primary purpose of the DATA statement is to give names to constants; instead of referring to pi as 3.141592653589793 at every appearance, the variable PI can be given that value with a DATA statement and used instead of the longer form of the constant. This also simplifies modifying the program, should the value of pi change." - FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers

Happy weekend! Of course, I feel bad for all of you who start school on Monday/Tuesday. OK, let me be honest - I don't feel that bad ;-) Sorry. Of course, I might be around later in the week to drop off a rough draft of my paper (yep, still working on it - mostly because I am obsessive and insane). However, it is really wacky not taking classes. I sort of miss it actually. (Again, yes I am insane). I like taking new things and having new problems to work on. OK, so I think I will stop rambling about it before you all get mad at me for enjoying grad school. Here are the links I know you really came for:

"Spacewalkers Retrieve Radiation Monitor"

"Fine Fabric: New, fast way to make sheets of nanotubes"

Watch out for the squirrel because "the claws are very sharp"

I wanted to point of out this article specifically: "US women still face bias in science-report". I understand this is a problem - heck I was in engineering. The only problem I have with their suggestions - I have to hear "you are only in this area because you are female" comments. These comments arise because there are special "conscious efforts to recruit women" and then you are right back were you started. I don't know the solution. Actually, I am beginning to think there is no solution other then the passage of time. One day there will not be a need for these kinds of programs. Until then, women need to go into these fields and stay in these fields. Never give in - because that's how the "other people" win.

Meet Me in St. Louis

"It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself." - Eleanor Roosevelt

I am "blogging on the road" - well hotel room. I am near St. Charles, MO. My mother wanted to go to this book sale. Therefore, I am claim that I am on a "business trip". Currently, it is raining and an hour earlier than I am use to. Anyway, the hotel has free wireless high-speed internet and of course I have my laptop with me (like I would leave it behind). I am suppose to be writting my abstract for my project, but I decided to take a short break and type this blog up really quick.

Deep Impact mission on July 4th will help us study the "very birth of solar system". The comet is believed to be from this time. Speaking of space it appears that Cassiopeia A is not quiet dead yet. Recently, an echo was detected for the star which has been "dead" for 325 years. The Cassiopeia A went supernova in 1570s.

Since I was in an engineering program and female I can tell you that this is a bit of a strech, but pretty true. Oh and this comic is pretty fun and I felt that I should blog it (Star War fans will find it amusing).

OK, well I should get back to "real" work.

Ohio Celebration of Women In Computing

I got notification via CSAM (which is a cool group at University of Michigan that runs these great dinners) about this event - Ohio Celebration of Women in Computing. Registration for going ends March 25, 2005. However, I thought the idea was pretty cool - I didn't know something like this existed. One of the many co-sponsors is BGSU.

Well, this is a quick blog. Hopefully later this week I will actually have time to post up a real blog with like cool links and stuff. Until then, you will have to live off of these half blogs. I spent a good chunk of my free time trying to get this project working (an old project a professor wanted to use for a class exercise about user interfaces). It is quiet large zipped file (6+ MB). If you are interested in taking a look at the Horse Race System feel free (hrs.zip). The project developed using extreme programming practices as the software design process. The software was written in C# using Visual Studio .NET (so you will need the framework installed to run the exe). Sadly, it is Windows only software. It was written for a charity group to use at a fundrasier. You will need to change the resolution of your screen before running the software (the program was designed to look good on large screens).

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog!

The Age of Computer Science

Today I had lunch with two other CS graduate students and we had a lively conversation regarding computer science. As one person pointed out that computer science is a relatively new field (in comparison to many others that is). It has made amazing leaps and bounds in the last 10 years alone and is continuing todo so. The Internet itself has permently changed the way people use computers.

So I decided to post a few links relating to the history of computer science. It is a well know fact: to know where you are going - you need to understand where you came from.

Biography of Grace Hopper
IEEE Computer Society: History of Computing
Computer History Museum
Biographies of Computer Pioneers
Past Notable Women of Computting
The Machine That Changed the World

(I would like to thank those graduate students who I had lunch with that gave me such a wonderful blog idea - I was starting to get writers block).