A few days a go I was messing around with the Miku RPG engine and noticed that the CPU usage spikes to 95% when zooming out on the map editor. That’s a problem, which I haven’t been able to rectify since. It’s not that I don’t know how to, it’s just I haven’t had any time with my first exam for this semester in 2 days. Saying this, Marta and I have watched 6 episodes of Prison Break back to back today, so maybe my priorities aren’t quite right at the minute.
Actually, you know what, I think they are.
The exam coming up is called “Computers & Programming II”, which I’m sure you would expect to be about programming. Well it isn’t. If it was, working on the game would be considered revision. Rather, it’s a course divided into two subsections. The first section is about storing and sorting various data types, and measuring the efficiency of algorithms implemented to do this. In practise (in my experience), this is basically useless as you can almost guarantee someone else has spent more time, and as a result written better code to do the same job. Personally, I program in C++ 95% of the time, and if you were to look through the header <algorithm.h> (which is part of the C++ standard library) you’d find almost everything they’ve supposedly taught us ready to use straight away.
The best bit is we’re expected to write (not type) pseudo code during the exam – an exercise I believe is essentially pointless. If you’re unaware, pseudo code is the equivalent of a child playing the game “Operation”, where C is a surgeon performing a heart bypass. This annoys me, as I would expect at second year university level we would at least be experimenting with a cadaver. Personally, I believe if you want to write a program, write a program.
The second part of the course is labelled “Microprocessor Design”. What it should actually be called is “Memorise the MIPS Architecture using Inadequate Lecture Material”. They didn’t even properly define what the basic components in a processor are, and the past exam questions just ask for meaningless numerical answers to theoretical CPUs running at arbitrary clock rates. To be fair, I did at least learn about how cache works thanks to a nice chap on a youtube video.
In essence, the exam I have to take shortly has nothing to do with real world software development, or even fundamental CPU design. Fantastic.
The past few days haven’t been that great to be honest. I feel like I should be revising, but the material I need to revise is too vague. In some cases, there is important detail missing that we’re expected to know, with no references or even acknowledgment of that content. This primarily has put my life on hold in many ways. My productivity is through the floor and both myself and Marta have had moments of severe unhappiness as a result.
In saying this, I’ve recently noticed a change in my thought processes. Since I started learning guitar, I have had a very annoying habit. I have a tendency to subconsciously tap or play songs with my hands on hard surfaces as if I were actually playing an instrument, which is usually a piano. If I don’t know the chords, I make them up as I go along in the right key (probably).
As the exam nears, the urge to play music has become stronger and the times I find myself “playing” has increased a lot. I don’t know how Marta puts up with it to be honest. If it happens when I’m actually listening to music, the tapping is much louder yet she remains as lovely as ever. She’s so great.
I feel very musically creative at the moment, and I have lots of ideas I would like to try out. Unfortunately, I don’t have any access to a piano at the minute, but I do have a acoustic guitar nearby. Playing this would be even louder than the tapping though, so for now I’m restraining myself. I call this condition “Creative Blue Balls”, and the only cure that I know of is to let all of the music in my head out through my fingers.
As for the exam … well I guess preparation can only take you so far. I’ll just have to have a bit of faith.
-Matt
Dragon Egg Games 