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the site for all things Michael Plasmeier (ThePlaz)

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7/23/2012 Summer Personal Update

Disneyland June 2012

Disney

I am now 8 weeks into my internship at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online. WDPRO builds the websites and mobile apps for the Disney parks and other travel operations. I’ve been having a great time here at Disney. I'm working on a mobile project for Cruise Line and a project to improve reference material here at WDPRO. I'm a product management intern, working for the VP of the division. I'm getting great exposure to what it is like to be a PDM intern here. As at Deutsche Bahn, I have a lot of freedom to use my time where I think is most effective.

One change from last summer is that Disney cares about quality. In fact, quality is the number one concern here. This makes the work environment 180 degrees different. It means a lot of concern over issues that on the surface look trivial. But when you consider the millions of people that pour though our parks every year, it starts making sense. A Disney parks experience means quality. If you think about the newly opened Cars Land, every little detail from the type of grass to the building architecture has been obsessed over for years by teams of people. Disney has a lot of people, who are managing every detail. This means there are a lot of people involved in any project. It’s very different from the small team mentality of other firms – but those companies don’t have anywhere near the integration that Disney has.

Plus it's my job as a PDM is to manage this. Somewhat jokingly, my job is meetings and emails. A PDM is responsible to build the relationships with the business to be able to specify requirements and act as the “product owner” in Scrum/Agile terminology. Though it’s been somewhat awkward working as a PDM intern. You won’t be around after the summer, so it’s hard to take over a project full time. But I’m doing what I expected. I can envision what things would be like if I was doing this full time here.

Opportunities

I’ve taken advantage of a number of great opportunities here at Disney. Every Disney employee goes through a training program called Traditions, where you learn the basics of working in the park and see “backstage”. They also offer a program called Cross-U where office workers can help out in the park during very busy periods. I was assigned to measure wait times at the Cozy Cone Motel on opening day of Cars Land. I ended up giving out more help than collecting wait times, but it was fun to be part of Cars Land’s opening day. Plus I helped beta-test a new game at Imagineering R&D. They are working on some interesting questions! Imagineering also has a big library with lots of books about the topics Disney works on and archives of the behind the scenes on the Disney attractions. This was fun to pour over. We can also over to the studio lot any time we want for lunch.

I also flew out to Orlando to meet with colleagues. This was my first business trip by myself. I stayed at the Yacht Club. During the day I had set up back-to-back meetings with WDPRO and DCL colleagues in the Disney Celebration offices. On Saturday, I drove out to the Disney Fantasy to take a tour and meet with shipboard colleagues. After work, I visited Walt Disney World – my first time there since elementary school. I even go to walk around the Utilidors – it looks exactly like the MIT tunnel system.

Issues

Disney has its typical big company issues as well. There are so many managers for this and that everywhere that most of every project is simply coordination between different departments. I realize that as a temporary intern, I might be cluttering up things further. This is what I am trying to balance.

I knew this coming in, but my base salary is quite a fair bit less than last summer and the only thing free in the office is free soda and breakfast one day a week. We were also promised park passes, but those are still stuck in the Disney bureaucracy. Also my work address is wrong in the internal company directory. I think I’ve talked to 10 people about getting this fixed, and while one person was able to fix my work phone number, the address is still wrong. Disney is very good at being very specific with its polices to the public, but backstage it’s a mess. It’s certainly not Steve Jobs’ philosophy that good craftsmanship means doing a good job on even the parts not readily visible to the customer.

Culture

That being said there are a lot of very smart people here. Stuff still manages to get done with relatively little problems. But I think having a stable operational platform would allow things to get done more efficiently and would be less costly. I’m writing about this not to criticize, but to wonder if its possible to do better. Disney is also a very relational company. I've recognized this and on the advice of others, I’ve set up what seems like 50 informational/getting to know you meetings.

The culture is also fun here. Many of the people in other Disney units have worked their way up from the parks so they are always happy and perky. At certain business units, though not really at PRO, everyone wears their Disney name tags around the office. It’s a way of showing that you are helping out the parks. WDPRO Glendale doesn’t require it, but many people still dress according to the fairly strict “Disney Look” – basically be clean-cut and wear business casual.

Outside of Work This Summer

I'm really happy how this summer is turning out from a friendship point of view. I'm being a lot more aggressive this summer to reach out and organize weekends with friends.

Travel

At the start of the summer, I went to Atlantic City with my dad. I went to Universal Studios Hollywood, Warner Brothers Studio, and Venice Beach with Eddie and Jeremy. On my own, I walked around the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Beverly Hills and the X-Games at LA Live and Downtown LA.

One week I drove up to Silicon Valley to meet with many of my friends in the area. On the Fourth of July, I walked around San Francisco with Jon, I stayed with Jeremy in Palo Alto, saw the Computer History Museum, and Stanford with one of my friends from high school, Dave Groff.

Cell Phone

While I was in San Francisco, my Nexus S cell phone broke. It would not boot up past the “Google” screen. I had to go most of my Silicon Valley trip and all of my Orlando trip without a cell phone! Luckily I had my LTE iPad which kept me connected. I could make outgoing calls on Skype, but not receive calls. This made me realize how much I depend on my phone. My phone has been fixed for a week now, but I still feel like I am without it and disconnected from the world. Battery life is also a great deal improved.

Books

I’m also getting to do a lot more driving than I ever have. I think in my first week here I’ve driven more than I have my entire life. It has also given me the opportunity to listen to some audio books. I’ve listened to Working Poor, the Steve Jobs bio, Art of Deception by Kevin Mitnick. I also read a book on the History of Software Development, and I am reading a book on Project Management.

This Past Semester

My junior spring semester was a solid semester. I finished 7 classes with a 4.3 GPA average. This breaks my streak of having my GPA climb semester over semester, but I still think I learned a lot. My undergraduate cumulative GPA appears to be fixed at 4.3; this is the third semester in a row where it has not changed. It's not a particular stunning GPA, but since I chose to focus on breath and leadership opportunities at MIT, I'm by-in-large happy with how this semester ended up.

6.033 Computer Systems Engineering covered designing complex computer systems. Most of my classmates hated this class; I didn't find it half bad. The class is not well designed - the very thing it is trying to teach! It seems that too many unrelated components have been slapped in. In addition, I wish it focused more on the human side of building a system (more of a project point of view). Anyway, I got an A in that class. 6.813 UI Design was right up my alley. I think most people in the class couldn't care less (it's the easiest AUS and department lab). Plus the professor was trying hard - too hard - to be objective. I was not that happy with my final project, RScanVP. 6.006 Intro to Algorithms was challenging for me. I think I easily grasped the basic concepts, but the problems seemed to come out of no where with the TA unable to offer robust strategies to solve them. I ended up with a C because I did not do well on the final. Your grade basically dependent on if you "figured out" the problem. I don't like making excuses, but I really don't know how I end up with a C in every math related class I take at MIT.

15.565 Management/Web 3.0 was a class I required to take. I didn’t like the class, so I didn’t spend much time on it. I even got in a big disagreement with the TA since I thought my approach was way better than his. I ended up with an A-. 15.571 Business IT Strategy is perhaps my most favorite Sloan class ever. I really like the work Jeanne Ross and the Center for Information Systems Research is doing at Sloan. I ended up with a B+ because the group project (which I really enjoyed) was graded lower than other students and Sloan has grade quotas. 15.301 Management Psychology was fun, although I don’t think the other students cared that much, but I really enjoyed the topic. I ended up with an A. 18.06 Linear Algebra was a challenge for me. Unlike other course 18 classes, this one was more about theory than calculations, though I am not very good at that either!

I think at some point I had 6 group projects active! This was a bit much, because there is a lot of overhead in scheduling group projects. I think I also did much more group P-Setting this semester versus before. I was much more conscious to take the time to cultivate relationships and set up times to work on homework. Overall, I'm glad I'm being more social. This is one of the life/soft skills where I am 180 degrees different from how I was when I entered MIT.

Outside of Classes

Baker House

Also I was elected as the President of Baker House, my dorm at MIT. I was unsure about doing this role initially, but it has turned out to be a great experience. I have a budget of about $50,000 per year and about 20 people are involved in house government. It really is a fantastic leadership opportunity because you have to recruit really busy people to help out, train them, and then throw great events. You also have the autonomy to try things out and make mistakes. Our Piano Drop was a huge success with syndication on over 300 world-wide news outlets. Here is the big one from the Boston Globe. In addition, we had over 500 people at our annual CPW party. My term runs one more semester until IAP 2013.

MITCET

This semester I continued to be involved in MITCET [1], the MIT Council on Educational Technology. I can't believe I forgot to mention it in my last update, but MITCET was one of the groups advising then-Provost Reif on setting up MITx and EdX. I was on the inside on the announcement of MITx and EdX and I met with then-Provost Reif to discuss the issue. I think MITx and EdX has the potential to revolutionize education. I think education has economies of scale which, if taken advantage of, could radically change the course of the industry. Why does every school need a different school curriculum? Instead of having each teacher re-invent the wheel - invest in a few good solutions. Then you are able to justify the extra work to refine the technology to be able to adopt to people's needs.

ThePlaz.com

I made some small adjustments to the nav bar on ThePlaz.com. Gone are the separate TI-83 and Video categories and instead I've added an engineering and business header entries, as well as getting all of the classes up to date in the header.

Content from the spring is up. I have scanned a fair bit of old content that I still need to work though. Hopefully I get a few moments later this summer.

Travel

My brother is currently looking for schools. Over Spring Break I was in Pittsburgh with my family.

Semesters Ahead

For planning ahead, I have 10 classes left in order to graduate with a double major in 15 and 6-3. I had originally thought I needed 11 more, but I realized I had actually satisfied a requirement without realizing it! This means I only need a normal 5 classes per semester! Plus, one of these classes is a PE class, which I have not historically counted in the number of classes I am taking, so we are down to 5 and 4 classes.

I am planning on taking 7.012 Intro to Biology. I've tried taking this GIR class every semester, but it always conflicted with my schedule. Well I am finally going to take it! It will be mostly freshmen - I've come so far in terms of my study skills from those years… (See Working out a System) I'm planning on taking STS.085 Ethics Online. I think I am going to really like this class; I enjoy working on the topic. It also wraps up my concentration in STS: Science, Technology, and Society. I will have to take 6.046 Advanced Algorithms. I'm not looking forward to this class at all! Plus my extremely smart 6.006 partner, Shri, dropped out of MIT (is technically on-hold) to do a start up. What am I going to do?

For my AUS class, I picked 6.858 Computer Systems Security. I heard that in the first lab with write a buffer overflow attack. I hope to pick up low-level programming skills (i.e. C) and learn how to actually write attacks. I heard that the labs are long and hard, but it seemed like the best choice as to what I was interested in. For my HASS D class, I picked 14.72 Capitalism and its Critics. This seems like an interesting class about different economic systems - I picked it partially because it is from the econ department, something I want more exposure to. My top choice was 17.30 Making Public Policy, but this has a time conflict with 6.046. As alternate choices, I put down 17.40 American Foreign Policy and STS.003 The Rise of Modern Science. I liked the book Legacy of Ashes, but I prefer econ more; and I think I've heard enough about the start of science with STS.050 and STS.011.

So with my 6 classes this semester I might be bored. I'm considering picking 2.009, the famous product design lab. I've always liked the idea of the class, so when I got an email from the professor announcing that the class was looking for non-course 2's I was intrigued. I do want to spend more time on self exploration on other topics and greater depth on in-class topics, but I'm skeptical how much that will happen once the rubber meets the road.

So in the spring semester I still have to take 15.053 or 15.058 as well as 15.075, both Sloan math classes. I probably should not be taking those so late, but that's when they fit in. Plus I need to do a third HASS D class, as well as my course 6 project 6.UAP. I also need to take 1 more PE class at some point. I also want to take advantage of cross registration with Harvard for some class to say that I've done it...

After MIT

So what am I going to do after MIT? I don’t think I am going to do grad school immediately. I don’t feel like spending more time in school. If I were to go to grad school, and if at MIT, I would do either Sloan for research, or the Media Lab at MIT. I feel like I’ve already seen what a Sloan MBA would be like. I don’t quite have the grades for M-Eng and since I don’t see myself doing that sort of work, I don’t think another year of access to course 6 classes at MIT is a good investment of time. Looking at the class list, nothing really stands out.

So what do I want in a job? I want to be busy – at MIT taking 7 classes at a time forces me to get stuff done. Without that pressure, I tend to be a lot less productive. I want to work on hard problems. I want to continue to have new experiences. I don’t want to master a job – though I might master and formalize the process of working (as I’ve done at MIT). I might do business consulting, PDM at Disney, or product management somewhere in Silicon Valley. I might even do my own thing.

I think my 5 internships have given me good perspective on the good and the bad. For some of the other interns at Disney this is their first internship. Between my internships, school classes, and MIT leadership opportunities, I think I’m much more aware of the differences between places, the reasons those differences exist, and attempting to answer which is better. As to another major change I've noticed, I think I've become much more Establishment.--ThePlaz 21:57, 23 July 2012 (EDT) Leave Plaz a (public) message or send me a (private) e-mail., Subscribe via RSS feed, Subscribe via email, Detailed feed, See past updates

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[[Resume]]

Welcome to '''{{SITENAME}}'''

the site for all things '''[[User:ThePlaz|Michael Plasmeier]]''' ([[My Nicknames|ThePlaz]])

This site is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki wiki]. That means that anybody (including YOU) can edit and change the information found here. ([[Help:Wiki Markup Cheatsheet|Editing help]])

My site contains mostly my homework and projects as well as various stuff from my life. ([[Mission Statement|Site Mission Statement]])

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[[Image:Nuvola apps important.png|25px|left]] 2/5/2012 IAP Personal Update

Classes start in only a few days. Let me give you an update about the semester past, my break, IAP, and the semester ahead.

====Last Semester==== [[File:Papers Fall 2012.JPG|thumb|Fall 2012 Paper. 22.5 in. 12.5 reams.]] Last semester was my best semester yet. I ended up with a 4.6/5.0 term GPA, despite taking the most units ever - 81 vs 79 last term. I got an A in [[6.005]], [[15.387]], [[15.665]], and [[STS.011]]. I got a A- in [[6.034]] and a B in [[6.004]] (just barely). I continued to struggle in math, squeaking by [[18.03]] with a C-. I went through 12.5 reams of paper - producing a 22.5 in stack, versus 19 inches Spring 2011 and 16 inches in Fall 2010. The typed and scanned notes from these class are now online.

====Working out a System==== Last term I recorded all of the policy and procedures that I have created to allow me to be as productive as I can be. I wrote down my time management, paper shuffling, studying, sleep, and food tips in [[Working out a System]]. I also [[Kanban Proposal|proposed a "kanban" system]] which would help me and other students stay organized.

====High School Papers==== Over break I scanned many papers from [[Haverford High School|high school]]. I scanned the papers I has remaining from [[10th Grade|10th]] and [[11th Grade|11th grade]]. These were the papers that had gotten wet in the flood. About 40% of each year got soaked. Luckily these were the years I had already scanned. I also scanned [[9th Grade|9th grade]] files. Previously, I had added computer files, but no scanned files from 9th grade. 10th and 11th Grade had scanned papers - but most were scanned at pretty bad quality. The old files continue to be spread across image files. The new files continue to be large PDFs from my [[ScanSnap S1500]]. Unfortunately Scribd does not process files over 100MB, so you have to download the entire PDF. Look for the link under the Scribd preview.

I believe I forgot to mention in my last update that I added files from middle school. [[7th Grade|7th]] and [[8th Grade|8th grade]] now have typed assignments. I still need to scan my notes from then. Hopefully my basement does not flood again before that!

====Chicago==== I went to Chicago with Melanie the first week in January. Check out my photos from [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/collections/72157628771000133/ the trip]. I went to [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770534935/ the Planetarium], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770579135/ the Aquarium], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770599837/ the Field Museum], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770706285/ the Chicago Theater], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770737093/ the Willis Tower], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770843063/ a Bus tour], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770919349/ the Museum of Science], and [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770952311/ the University of Chicago].

====AltVil==== Over IAP, I worked at [[Altman Vilandrie & Company]] as an analyst extern. I worked for 3 weeks on a data center due diligence. The last week I worked on the hospitality strategy for a major cable/satellite provider. I enjoyed the second project much more.

I am already noticing changes of how I look at a situation. For example at a [[HDC]] meeting last Wednesday, I felt like I was thinking more objectively about how to solve a problem. I thought about building an Excel model to solve a particular problem. I am also more confident with best practices. This was my first job truly in the "big leagues." I also feel like I am thinking more clearly. For example, I am noticing that I often start with a topic sentence that overviews the detail points and then I dive deeper into each of the points. Perhaps I always did that, but I seem to be more aware of it now.

My favorite part of the job was piecing the parts of the puzzle together. You're like a detective - always learning more information. And with consulting the whole puzzle starts fresh every month or two. I liked conducting the interviews and discussing the case with my coworkers. On the flip side, consultants are very aware about little issues - like how much to contact someone or phrase things. After seeing it, I think it does help in appearing professional and getting work done, but it is just something to learn. I think I certainly learned and got better at that as the job went on, but it irked me. It's just not my current personality.

I'm not sure what job I want to do after school. I still need to figure out where my competitive advantage is. So far I have tried coding, consulting, and next summer I will try product management again.

====Disney==== As I talked about in my last update, I have accepted a position at [[Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online]] next summer. Parks and Resorts Online is the internet sales and marketing channel for the Disney parks, cruise ships, and guided tour businesses. I'm excited to get to work as a product manager. This has historically (ie. before [[MIT]]) been my dream job - so I will see what it is actually like. I ended up doing something similar at [[Deutsche Bahn]] on [[Touch&Travel]].

I'm particular exited to get to work so close with [[Imagineering]] - which is the high temple of theme park design. As a kid I used to think a lot about experience design, floorplans, branding, etc to create an immersive experience. Disney is known worldwide as the pinnacle of branding/experience design. In [[Haverford Middle School|middle school]], I was involved in [[theater]]. After going to MIT and doing management consulting, I want to reinvigorate that creative spirit. Now, this is still a pretty much a "business job," but I hope to get to work with creative people.

====ThePlaz.com==== Speaking of what I have done before, I have written or tuned up many pages on [http://theplaz.com ThePlaz.com] about things that I have done in the past. I added pages or added content to pages about [[:Category:Place|places I have lived]], [[:Category:MIT_Committee|MIT committees]], [[theater]], and [[:Category:Sites|my websites]].

====Next Semester==== [[File:Spring 2012 Schedule.png|thumb|My Spring 2012 Schedule]] I have planned out [[:File:Spring 2012 Schedule.png|a draft schedule for next semester]]. I have [[Classes to Graduate Spring 2012|18 classes left to graduate]]. I have I have to take [[18.06|18.06 Linear Algebra]] (it's about matrices); I'll probably do poorly on that. Next I'm taking [[6.006|6.006 Introduction to Algorithms]]. I am particularly interested in this class because most of the computer programmer interviews ask these sorts of questions. I am also taking the required [[6.033|6.033 Computer System Engineering]]. I have no idea what that is about - but it's required. I am also taking an AUS [[6.813|6.813 User Interface Design and Implementation]] because it fit into my schedule and it sound the most interesting. On the management side I am taking [[15.571|15.571 Business Strategy and the Role of IT]], one of the classes for the Sloan IT concentration. In addition, I've been interested in how IT can help big companies streamline while providing better service. I am also hoping to take [[15.053|15.053 Optimization Methods in Management Science]]. I can't make the recitation, so this would be the first class I drop. I am taking [[15.301|15.301 Managerial Psychology Laboratory]], a required, basic course 15 class that I have not managed to take yet. Rounding it out, I am hoping to get into [[17.50|17.50 Introduction to Comparative Politics]] a HASS-D #4 class to fill the second of my 3 HASS D slots.

I am concerned that my schedule this semester is too heavy on math, which I have traditionally spent more time on.

That's all for now. It's time to get geared up for the next semester. --[[User:ThePlaz|ThePlaz]] 16:57, 5 February 2012 (EST) ''[http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:ThePlaz&action=edit&section=new Leave Plaz a (public) message] [[Image:File_icon.gif]] or [[User:ThePlaz:E-mail me|send me a (private) e-mail.]][[Image:Mail_icon.gif]]'', ''[http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThePlazPersonalUpdates Subscribe via RSS feed], ''[http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=786542 Subscribe via email]'', ''[http://friendfeed.com/theplaz Detailed feed]'', ''[[Old Updates|See past updates]]''

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[[MIT Junior]] [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:MIT_Junior&action=edit edit]

[[MIT Sophomore]] [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:MIT_Sophomore&action=edit edit]

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[[Image:Nuvola apps kpovmodeler.png|30px]] [[AP Physics]] ''[[Science|(Science)]]''

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN48G1COdBI Rube Goldberg Machine on YouTube]

[[Image:Nuvola USA flag.png|30px]] [[AP US Government]] ''[[History|(History)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola_apps_package_wordprocessing.png|30px]] [[English 12]] ''[[English|(English)]]''

[[:Image:Literature in Review Dorian Gray.mp3|Dorian Gray Book Discussion Podcast]]
[[:Image:Macbeth Podcast Michael Dan Greg.mp3|Macbeth Scene Performance Podcast]]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKf9scuX1j8 Peter Paul Rubens Photo Story] (on YouTube)
[[:Image:Senior_Project.doc|Senior Project: Electronic Voting Machine Insecurity]]

[[Image:Mr Mullen ThePlaz Shirt.JPG|270px]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps kbrunch.png|30px]] [[Calculus]] ''[[Math|(Math)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps edu languages.png|30px]] [[AP Psychology]] ''[[Psychology|(Psychology)]]''

[http://siggyappsy.pbwiki.com/ Teacher's Site] with review questions and notes
[[LoveSick Erica Character Analysis]] Summer Reading
[[AP Psychology Practice Question: Chapter 1: Experiments]]
[[AP Psychology Chapter 4 Review]]
Scholarly Papers Review
- [[Fitts' Law]]
- [[Union Steward's Self Confidence]]
- [[September 11th's Self Perceived Benefits]]
[[Chapter 11 Assessment]]
[[Snow White and the 7 Psychological Disorders]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps package editors.png|30px]] [[AP Micro Econ]] ''[[Economics|(Economics)]]''

'''[[Micro Economics|See Notes]]'''

[[Image:Nuvola apps bug.png|30px]] [[Biology]] ''[[Science|(Science)]]''

[http://www.havsd.net/~vpollard/ Teacher's Website]
[[Biology Key Concepts]]
[[Properties of Water: Penny Lab]]
[[Antony van Leeuwenhoek]]
[[Islands of Adventure is like a Cell]]
[[Chapter 11: Intro to Genetics Study Guide]]
[[:Image:Biology 12.1 Study Guide.doc|12.1 DNA]], [[:Image:Biology 12.2 and 12.3 Study Guide.doc|12.2 DNA Replication and 12.3 RNA Study Guides]]
[[Chap 15 Darwin and Evolution Study Guide]]
[[Chromosome 14 - Alzheimer Disease]]
[[:Image:Meiosis Web Worksheet.pdf|Meiosis Web Worksheet]]
[[:Image:Biology Evolution Notes.jpg|Evolution Notes]]
[[:Image:Biology Classification Notes.png|Classification Notes]]
[[:Image:Animals Found During Creek Exploration.pdf|Animals found During Creek Exploration]]
[[:Image:Biology Final Review.jpg|Final Review (highlights from all chapters)]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps kmplot.png|30px]] [[PreCalc]] ''[[Math|(Math)]]''

[[:Image:PreCalc_Syllabus_Page_1.JPG|Syllabus]], [[:Image:PreCalc_Syllabus_Page_2.JPG|Page 2]]
[[:Image:PreCalc IS4 Identitiy Sheet Page 1.JPG|Identity Sheet]], [[:Image:PreCalc_Identity_Sheet_Page_2.JPG|Page 2]]
[[:Image:PreCalc_Unit_Circle.JPG|Unit Circle]]
[[:Image:PreCalc_Forumals_Sheet_Page_1.JPG|Forumals Sheet]], [[:Image:PreCalc_Forumals_Sheet_Page_2.JPG|Page 2]]

'''[[:Category:PreCalc Chap 1|Chap 1: Functions]]'''
'''[[:Category:PreCalc Chap 2 Part 1|Chap 2 Part 1: Polynomials]]'''
'''[[:Category:PreCalc Chap 2 Part 2|Chap 2 Part 2: Rational Functions]]'''
'''[[:Category:PreCalc Chap 3|Chap 3: Exponential and Log Functions]]'''
'''[[:Category:PreCalc Chap 6|Chap 6: Vectors]]'''
'''[[:Category:PreCalc Chap 7|Chap 7: Multivariable Systems]]'''
'''[[:Category:PreCalc Chap 8|Chap 8: Sequences and Series]]'''
'''[[:Category:PreCalc Chap 9|Chap 9: Analytical Geometry]]'''
'''[[:Category:PreCalc Final Review|Final Review]]'''

=====Chap 4===== ''(independent study)''

[[:Image:Chapter_4_Test_Topics.JPG|Test Topics]]
[[:Image:Chapter_4_Review_Page_1.JPG|Review]], [[:Image:Chapter_4_Review_Page_2.JPG|Page 2]], [[:Image:Chapter_4_Review_Page_3.JPG|Page 2]]
[[:Image:Chapter_4_Review_2_Page_1.JPG|Review 2]], [[:Image:Chapter_4_Review_2_Page_2.JPG|Page 2]]
Independent Study Withheld
[[:Image:PreCalc_Chap_4_Part_2_More_Pratice_Page_1.JPG|Part 2 More Practice]], [[:Image:PreCalc_Chap_4_Part_2_More_Pratice_Page_2.JPG|Page 2]]
[[:Image:PreCalc_Chap_4_Part_2_More_Pratice_After_Test_Page_1.JPG|Part 2 After Test]], [[:Image:PreCalc_Chap_4_Part_2_More_Pratice_After_Test_Page_2.JPG|Page 2]]

=====Chap 5===== ''(independent study)''

Independent Study Withheld

=====Chap 5/6===== ''(independent study)''

Independent Study Withheld

[[Image:Nuvola USA flag.png|30px]] [[American Studies]] ''[[History|(History)]]''

'''[[American Studies/Projects|Projects]]'''
'''[[American Studies/Projects|Notes]]''' from Out of Many Textbook
'''[http://www.teachingsolutions.org/ftce.html FTCE test]''' : FTCE test failure reveals how to rip through the FTCE test.

''developed [[Headline Notetaking Format]]

[[Image:Nuvola USA flag pen.png|30px]] [[English 11]] ''[[English|(English)]]''

[[Puritans in a New World: The Setting of The Scarlet Letter]]
[[The Forest in The Scarlet Letter]]
[[Pearl: A Byproduct of Sin]]
[[Religion: Then and Now Group Project]]
[[Grapes of Wrath Chapter 13]]
[[Uncertainty in The Grapes of Wrath]]
[[Think for Yourself: The Fallacy of Organized Religion in Huck Finn]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps edu mathematics.png|30px]] [[IAG 4H]] ''[[Math|(Math)]]''

''See [[:Category:IAG 4H]]

'''[[IAG 4H All Work by Date]]'''
[[:Category:High Dive|High Dive]]
[[:Category:Rational Functions|Rational Functions]]
[[:Category:World of Functions|World of Functions]]
[[:Category:Small World Revived|Small World Revived]]
[[:Category:IAG 4 Power Worksheets|Power Worksheets]]
[[:Category:IAG 4 Independent Study|Independent Studies]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps edu science.png|30px]] [[Chemistry]] ''[[Science|(Science)]]''

''See [[Chemistry]] for a list of all work

[[Chemistry#Matter and its Properties|Matter and its Properties]]
[[Chemistry#Gas Laws|Gas Laws]]
[[Chemistry#Atoms, Bonding, and the Periodic Table|Atoms, Bonding, and the Periodic Table]]
[[Chemistry#Combinations and Reactions|Combinations and Reactions]]
[[Chemistry#Acids and Bases|Acids and Bases]]
[[Chemistry#Review|Final Review]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps package network.png|30px]] [[World Cultures]] ''[[History|(History)]]''

'''[[World Cultures Daily Questions]]''' ====Units====

[[:Category:World Cultures Latin America|Latin America]]

====Portfolio==== '''''See [[:Category:World Cultures Portfolio]]'''''

Africa: [[HDI Graph Reflections]] - [[World Cultures Portfolio/Africa|Decolonization Report]]
Middle East: [[World Cultures Portfolio/Middle East|Population Density Report]] - [[Middle East Essay|Essay: A Peaceful Vacation]]
South Asia: [[World Cultures Portfolio/South Asia|Rainfall Report]] - [[:Image:South Asia Graph.JPG|South Asia Comparisons Graph]] - [[World Cultures Portfolio/Postcards|Postcards]]
China: [[World Cultures Portfolio/China|Sphere of Influences Report]] - [[World Cultures Portfolio/Mao Button Journal|Mao Button Journal]]
Japan: [[World Cultures Portfolio/Japan|Natural Resources Report]] - [[World Cultures Portfolio/Japanese Violence Journal|Japanese Violence Journal]]
Korea: [[World Cultures Portfolio/Korea|Physical Map Report]]
Latin America: [[World Cultures Portfolio/Latin America|Landforms Report]]
Worldwide: [[World Cultures Portfolio/T-Shirt Trade|T-Shirt Trade Report]]

====Projects==== '''[[:Category:World Cultures Comparison Project|Comparisons (Final) Project on Globalization]] ([[World Cultures Comparison Project/Paper|Paper]], [[Globalization Video|Video]])'''

[[:Category:Pitts Article|Pitts Article]]
[[World Cultures News Articles|Category News Articles Project]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps korganizer.png|30px]] AP [[Macro Economics]] ''[[Economics|(Economics)]]''

'''[[Macro Economics Complete List|Complete List]]'''
- [[:Category:ME Notes|Notes]]
- [[:Category:ME Study Questions|Study Questions]]
- [[:Category:ME Morton|Morton Activities]]
- [[:Category:ME Econ Live|Econ Live Activities]]
- [[:Category:ME Articles|Articles]]
- [[:Category:ME Other|Other]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps file-manager.png|30px]] [[English 10]] ''[[English|(English)]]''

[[:Image:English 10 Syllabus Page 1.JPG|Syllabus]], [[:Image:English 10 Syllabus Page 2.JPG|Page 2]]
'''[[English 10 by Date|English 10 Work by Date]]'''
[[:Category:English 10 Vocab|Vocabulary]]
[[:Category:English 10 Grammer|Grammar and Literary Elements]]
[[:Category:English 10 Middle East Poetry|Middle East Poetry]]

====Projects/Papers====

[[Red Scarf Girl SSR Project]]
[[:Category:English 10 Response to Quote|Response to Quote Essay]]
[[:Category:Cultures Project|Cultures Project/Paper on Religiously Motivated Laws]]
[[Literary Criticisms Project]]
[[Nectar in a Sieve|Nectar in a Sieve SSR Project]]

====Books====

[[:Image:2006 Summer Reading List.pdf|The 2006 HHS Summer Reading List]]
[[:Category:Power of One|The Power of One Book Center]]
[[:Category:English 10 In Beautiful Disguises|In Beautiful Disguises Book]]
[[:Category:Chinese Seamstress|Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Book]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps kig.png|30px]] [[IAG 3H]] ''[[Math|(Math)]]''

''See all at [[:Category:IAG 3H]]''

[[:Image:IAG 3H Syllabus Page 1.JPG|Syllabus]], [[:Image:IAG 3H Syllabus Page 2.JPG|Page 2]]
[[:Category:Fireworks Unit|Fireworks Unit]]
[[:Category:Orchards Unit|Orchards Unit]]
[[:Category:Small World Unit|Small World Unit]]
[[:Category:Meadows or Malls Unit|Meadows or Malls Unit]]
[[:Category:IAG 3H Final Review|IAG 3H Final Review]]
[[:Category:Logic Puzzles|Logic Puzzles]]
[[:Category:IAG Power|IAG Power Worksheets]]
[[:Category:IAG 3H PSSA Practice|IAG 3H PSSA Practice]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps bookcase.png|30px]] [[English 9]] ''[[English|(English)]]''

[[Hazing Paper|Bullying/Hazing Research Paper]]
[[:Image:“The Many Benefits of the Industrial Revolution” Brochure Copy.doc|“The Many Benefits of the Industrial Revolution” Brochure Copy]]
[[Romeo_and_Juliet_Book_Center#Essay|Is Romeo and Juliet still Relevant Today?]]
[[Antigone_Book_Center#Essay|Is Antigone is more stubborn then Creon?]]

---- =====Projects and Lessons=====

[[String|''Piece of String'' Short Story Project]]
[[Comma Rules]] Lesson

---- =====Book Centers=====

The ''[[Chocolate War]]'' Book Center
[[The Chosen Book Center]]
[[Romeo and Juliet Book Center]]
[[Short Stories]] Unit
[[Antigone Book Center]]

---- =====Homeworks=====

[[:Image:Parody – The Spy Apprentice.doc|Parody – The Spy Apprentice]]
[[:Image:Allegory and The Shepherd's Boy and the Wolf.doc|Allegory and The Shepherd's Boy and the Wolf]]
[[:Image:Aries A Sonnet.doc|Aries: A Sonnet]]
[[English Language Joke]]
[[:Image:Bildungroman Notes.JPG|Bildungroman Notes]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps kverbos.png|30px]] [[Western Civ|Western Civ]] ''[[History|(History)]]''

=====Projects=====

[[Philosophes]] Compare/Contrast Slideshow and Essay
[[French Revolution Timeline]]
[[Germany Unification]] Timeline
[[Russian Revolution Lesson Group Project]]

---- =====Outlines=====

[[:Image:Chapter 6.1 - The Scientific Revolution Outline.doc|Chapter 6.1 - The Scientific Revolution]]
[[:Image:Chapter 6.3 – Spread of Enlightenment Ideas Web Outline.doc|Chapter 6.3 – Spread of Enlightenment Ideas]]
[[:Image:Chap 9.1 Beginnings of Industrialization Outline.doc|Chap 9.1 Beginnings of Industrialization]]
[[Chap 11.2 – Imperialism and Nigerian Case Study Notes and Outline]]
[[:Image:Chap 13.3 Outline – The World At War.doc|Chap 13.3 – The World At War]]

---- =====Maps and Creative===== [[Image:French Revolution Napoleon-peque.jpg|120px|right]]

[[Ottoman Empire Acrostic]]
Fictional [[German Troop Journal]]
[[:Image:Despot Flyer.doc|Despot Flyer]]
[[:Image:Political Cartoon.png|Louis-Phillipe Political Cartoon]]
[[:Image:African Colonies Map.png|African Colonies Map I Made]]
[[:Image:Group 1 – Napoleon’s Rise to Power Script.doc|Napoleon’s Rise to Power Script]]
[[:Image:Letter from the Editor - Industrialization and Imperialism.doc|Letter from the Editor Re. Industrialization and Imperialism]]

---- =====Essays and Reports=====

[[:Image:History Government Quiz.doc|Types of Government Quiz]] [[:Image:History Government Quiz Answers.doc|(answers)]]
[[:Image:Europe – Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna.doc|Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna]]
[[Chap 9-2 Group Project|Industrialization Group Project]]
[[World War I without the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand]] - What would happen?
[[:Image:Legacies- French Revolution and Congress of Vienna.ppt|Legacies of the French Revolution and Congress of Vienna SlideShow]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps edu phi.png|30px]] [[IPS]] ''[[Science|(Science)]]''

[[Obstacle Course]] Unit 1 - Motion Obstacle Course design
[[Sports Video]] Unit 2 - Forces NASCAR Video
[[Electricty Handbook]] Unit 3 - HFE Home

[[Image:Nuvola_apps_kcalc.png|30px]] [[IAG 2H]] and [[IAG 1H]] ''[[Math|(Math)]]''

[[:Image:Solve It - Prompt -1.doc|Solve It Prompt 1]]
[[Bee's POW - You Must Be Wrong]]
[[Math Will Rock My World - Extra Credit]]

[[Image:Nuvola_apps_kate.png|30px]] [[Latin]]

===[[Latin 3]]=== =====Projects=====

[[Achilles Video]]
[[Commodus Report]]
[[Hyperbole]]
[[Latin Fable|Latin Fable: Rana et Musca]]

=====Notes=====

[[Scansion Notes]]

=====Journals===== Double Entry Journals have 2 components: What I Learned (a summery), and Personal Response (a reflection)

[[English: The Miracle of Language]]
[[Early Roman History]]
[[Rome: Year One]]
[[Rome: The Decline]]
[[Subjugating Ancient Women]]
[[Roles of Ancient Women]]
[[Empowering Ancient Women]]
[[The Fall of the Roman Empire]]
[[Odyssey Part 1]]
[[Odyssey Part 2]]
[[Odyssey Part 3]]
[[Dateline Troy Part 1]]
[[Dateline Troy Part 2]]
[[The Rage of Achilles]]
[[The Olympian Gods: Another Perspective]] Extra Credit

===[[Latin 2]]=== =====Projects=====

[[Roman Travel Project]]
[[Sejanus]]
[[Echo and Narcissus Myth]]
[[The Journey of the Hero]]

=====Journals=====

[[Origins of Latin and English]]
[[Rome FAQ]]
[[Roman History]]
[[Augustus]]
[[Roman Women]]
[[Tiberius]]
[[Caligula]]
[[Claudius]]
[[Nero]]
[[Perseus Myth]]
[[Hercules Myth]] Extra Credit

===[[Latin 1]]===

Very Basic [[Latin Grammer Notes]]
[[:Image:Roman Family - Double Entry Journal.pdf|Roman Family Note Sheet Project (PDF)]], [[:Image:Roman Family - Double Entry Journal.doc|(Word)]]
[[:Image:Latin Nurse Poster.pdf|Latin in Nursing Interview Poster (PDF)]], [[:Image:Latin Nurse Poster.doc|(Word)]]
Basic [[Latin Timeline]]

[[Image:Money-256x256.png|30px]] [[Entrepreneurship]] ''[[Business|(Business)]]''

[[:Image:InstantClinic Business Plan.pdf|Business Plan]] (and [[:Image:InstantClinic Presentation.pptx|Presentation]]) for InstantClinic - a convenience health care clinic
[[:Image:Mark Zuckerberg.ppt|Mark Zuckerberg Presentation]]
[[:Image:Build'A Pizza.pptx|Build A Pizza - Pizza Chain Business]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps personal.png|30px]] [[Business Law]] ''[[Business|(Business)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps amarok.png|30px]] [[Pop Music]] ''[[Music Classes|(Music)]]''

'''[[:File:Pop Music Binder.pdf|Binder]]'''
[[Pop Music#Unit 0: Intro|Unit 0: Intro]]
[[Pop Music#Unit 1: Elements|Unit 1: Elements]]
[[Pop Music#Unit 2: Roots of Rock|Unit 2: Roots of Rock]]
[[Pop Music#Unit 3: Vocal Harmony and the Producer|Unit 3: Vocal Harmony and the Producer]]
[[Pop Music#Unit 4: British Invasion; Folk and Rock|Unit 4: British Invasion; Folk and Rock]]
[[Pop Music#Unit 5: Counterculture and the Present|Unit 5: Counterculture and the Present]]

[[Image:Nuvola filesystems folder blue open.png|30px]] [[Template:Main_Page:OtherSchool|Other]] [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:OtherSchool&action=edit edit]

[[Image:Nuvola filesystems folder blue open.png|30px]] [[8th Grade]]

[[IAG 1]]
[[Latin 1]]
[[English 8]]
[[Geography]]
[[8th Grade Health]]
[[8th Grade History]]
[[8th Grade Science]]
[[8th Grade Seminar]]
[[8th Grade Tech Ed]]

[[Image:Nuvola filesystems folder blue open.png|30px]] [[7th Grade]]

[[7th Grade History|History]]
[[Info Tech 7]]
[[7th Grade LA|Language Arts]]
[[7th Grade Math|Math]]
[[7th Grade Science|Science]]
[[7th Grade Spanish|Spanish]]
[[7th Grade Music|Music]]
[[7th Grade Sci-Sem|Sci-Sem]]

|width="45%" class="MainPageBG" style="-moz-border-radius: 1em; background:#f6ffff;border:1px solid #6495ed;vertical-align:top;"|

[[Image:Nuvola apps kuser.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:About|About Me]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:About&action=edit edit]

[[File:Theweeklyspin.png|30px]] ''[http://theweeklyspin.com The Weekly Spin]''

The Weekly Spin is a weekly rant about technology and tech policy with Michael Gdovin. We often cover the cell phone industry, the FCC, DRM, and Michael likes to throw in some Apple rumors.

Download the latest episodes: [http://theweeklyspin.com TheWeeklySpin.com] Audio Podcast

[[Image:Nuvola apps laptop pcmcia.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:Student_Tools|Student Tools]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:Student_Tools&action=edit edit]

[[Image:Nuvola apps knewsticker.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:News|News]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:News&action=edit edit]

[[Image:Nuvola apps multimedia.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:Video|Video]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:Video&action=edit edit]

[[Image:Tecker 911 Logo.png|110px]] ''[http://911.tecker.net Tecker 911]''

''[http://911.tecker.net Website]''
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=370 100: Troubleshooting Tips and A Look Back (Final Episode)]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=367 99: Picnik]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=364 98: Maps Roundup]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=363 97: OpenID]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=361 96: Basecamp]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=359 95: eBooks]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=357 94: Netflix]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=355 93: Learning to Program]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=353 92: Live Sync]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=351 91: Mint]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=349 90: Power Saving Tips]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=347 89: Reusing Old Computers]
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[http://911.tecker.net/?p=318 86: Watching TV Online]
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[http://911.tecker.net/?p=306 80: Digital Video Workflow]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=303 79: Tablet PC]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=283 78: Wordpress Getting Started]
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[http://911.tecker.net/?p=278 76: iLife]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=276 75: What We Use]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=258 74: U3]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=256 73: Twitter]
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[http://911.tecker.net/?p=251 71: Digital TV Transition]
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[http://911.tecker.net/?p=159 54: eBay]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=157 53: Speeding up Startup]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=154 52: Net Neutrality]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=127 51: Podcasting]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=125 50: Taking a Break]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=120 49: TiVo]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=117 48: OLPC]
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[http://911.tecker.net/?p=96 38: Mac]
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[http://911.tecker.net/?p=88 36: Facebook]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=87 35: Wii]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=86 34: File Zipping]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=85 33: Portable Apps]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=84 32: Web Hosting]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=83 31: Flickr]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=82 30: Haverford Township Day 2008]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=81 29: File and Printer Sharing]
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[http://911.tecker.net/?p=79 27: Notebook Cards]
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[http://911.tecker.net/?p=77 25: Behind the Scenes]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=76 24: Windows Movie Maker]
[http://911.tecker.net/?p=75 23: Wikipedia Reliability]
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[http://911.tecker.net/?p=69 19: Wifi]
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[http://911.tecker.net/?p=49 13: Google Docs and Spreadsheets]
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[http://911.tecker.net/?p=54 Mac, PC, Linux Ad]
''[[Tecker 911|Article]]''

[[Image:Nuvola filesystems camera.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:Photos|Photos]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:Photos&action=edit edit]

[[Image:TI-83--rotated.png|65px]] ''[[:Category:TI|TI-83+ Stuff]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:TI&action=edit edit]

[[Image:Nuvola apps kcmprocessor.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:Tech|Tech Stuff]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:Tech&action=edit edit]

I am a lot into technology. Here are links to some of my web sites as well as modifications and how-to articles about other software. {{Main_Page:Tech}}

[[Image:Nuvola apps gaim.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:Misc|Miscellaneous]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:Misc&action=edit edit]

These are things I wrote for this site, but not required school work or are not tech things. {{Main_Page:Misc}}

[[Image:Nuvola apps remote.png|30px]] ''[[Special:Statistics|Site Statistics]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:Statistics&action=edit edit]

|}

MIT Junior edit

Fall

6.004 Computation Structures
6.005 Elements of Software Construction
6.034 Artificial Intelligence
STS.011 Ethics and Politics in Science and Technology
15.387 Technology Sales and Sales Management
15.665 Power and Negotiation
18.03 Differential Equations
Working out a System - How I take 7 classes at MIT and thrive

Spring

Spring Schedule
6.033 Computer System Engineering
6.813 User Interface Design and Implementation
6.006 Introduction to Algorithms
15.571 Business Strategy and the Role of IT
15.565 Digital Evolution: Managing Web 3.0
15.301 Managerial Psychology Laboratory
18.06 Linear Algebra

MIT Sophomore edit

Fall

6.01 Intro to EECS (Potpourri Introduction)
6.041 Probabilistic Systems Analysis
14.01 Principles of Microeconomics
15.501 Corporate Financial Accounting
15.567 Econ of Information
16.71 Airline Industry

Spring

4.211 The Present and Future City
6.02 Intro to EECS 2 (Communications)
6.042 Math for Computer Science (Potpourri Introduction)
14.02 Microeconomics
15.279 Intro to Managerial Communications
15.401 Intro to Finance
15.761 Operations Research
ESD.051 Engineering, Innovation, and Design (Listener)

Politics

MIT Freshman edit

Fall

8.01 Physics: Mechanics - Prof. Greytak
3.091 Intro to Solid State Chemistry - Prof. Sadoway
18.01 Single Variable Calculus - Prof. Brubaker
MAS.110 Fundamentals of Computational Media Design - Prof. Bove
6.A53 Entrepreneurship and China Advising Seminar - Dr. Eng
SocialSaver UROP at the MIT Media Lab
Learning to Learn at MIT - My "near fail" experience that caused me to pull it together

Spring

8.02 Physics: Electricity and Magnetism - Prof. Hudson
18.02 Multiple Variable Calculus - Prof. Mattuck
STS.050 The History of MIT - Prof. Mindell and Smith
21W.732 Explorations in Scientific and Technical Communication - Dr. Melvold
21F.402 German 2 - Frau Jaeger (Listener)
MAS.111 Introduction to Doing Research in the Media Lab - Prof. Bove
SocialSaver UROP at the MIT Media Lab
Baker VPFS
Athena Committee

Other Stuff

AP Physics (Science)

Open OneNote Notebook

Note: Works only in Internet Explorer and Opera. Firefox refuses to support MHT. More info

Rube Goldberg Machine on YouTube

AP US Government (History)

Open OneNote Notebook

Note: Works only in Internet Explorer and Opera. Firefox refuses to support MHT. More info

English 12 (English)

Open OneNote Notebook

Note: Works only in Internet Explorer and Opera. Firefox refuses to support MHT. More info

Calculus (Math)

Open OneNote Notebook

Note: Works only in Internet Explorer and Opera. Firefox refuses to support MHT. More info

AP Psychology (Psychology)

Teacher's Site with review questions and notes
LoveSick Erica Character Analysis Summer Reading
AP Psychology Practice Question: Chapter 1: Experiments
AP Psychology Chapter 4 Review
Scholarly Papers Review
Chapter 11 Assessment
Snow White and the 7 Psychological Disorders

AP Micro Econ (Economics)

See Notes

Biology (Science)

PreCalc (Math)

Chap 1: Functions
Chap 2 Part 1: Polynomials
Chap 2 Part 2: Rational Functions
Chap 3: Exponential and Log Functions
Chap 6: Vectors
Chap 7: Multivariable Systems
Chap 8: Sequences and Series
Chap 9: Analytical Geometry
Final Review

Chap 4

(independent study)

Chap 5

(independent study)

Independent Study Withheld

Chap 5/6

(independent study)

Independent Study Withheld

American Studies (History)

Projects
Notes from Out of Many Textbook
FTCE test : FTCE test failure reveals how to rip through the FTCE test.

developed Headline Notetaking Format

English 11 (English)

IAG 4H (Math)

See Category:IAG 4H

Chemistry (Science)

See Chemistry for a list of all work

World Cultures (History)

World Cultures Daily Questions

Units

Basics/Introduction
Africa
Middle East
South Asia
China
Japan
Korea

Latin America

English 10 (English)

Projects/Papers

Books

IAG 3H (Math)

See all at Category:IAG 3H

English 9 (English)

Reserach Papers/Essays

Projects and Lessons

Book Centers

Homeworks

Western Civ (History)

Projects

Philosophes Compare/Contrast Slideshow and Essay
French Revolution Timeline
Germany Unification Timeline
Russian Revolution Lesson Group Project

Outlines

Maps and Creative

Essays and Reports

IPS (Science)

Obstacle Course Unit 1 - Motion Obstacle Course design
Sports Video Unit 2 - Forces NASCAR Video
Electricty Handbook Unit 3 - HFE Home

IAG 2H and IAG 1H (Math)

Notebook

POWs

Programs for the TI-83+

Homework

Latin

Latin 3

Projects

Notes

Scansion Notes

Journals

Double Entry Journals have 2 components: What I Learned (a summery), and Personal Response (a reflection)

Latin 2

Projects

Journals

Latin 1

Very Basic Latin Grammer Notes
Roman Family Note Sheet Project (PDF), (Word)
Latin in Nursing Interview Poster (PDF), (Word)
Basic Latin Timeline

Entrepreneurship (Business)

Open OneNote Notebook

Note: Works only in Internet Explorer and Opera. Firefox refuses to support MHT. More info

Business Plan (and Presentation) for InstantClinic - a convenience health care clinic
Mark Zuckerberg Presentation
Build A Pizza - Pizza Chain Business

Business Law (Business)

Open OneNote Notebook

Note: Works only in Internet Explorer and Opera. Firefox refuses to support MHT. More info

Pop Music (Music)

Other edit

Broadcasting (English)

Open OneNote Notebook

Note: Works only in Internet Explorer and Opera. Firefox refuses to support MHT. More info

Digital Recording (Music)

Digital Recording 1 Minisite

Health 9 (Health)

Binder
Inhalant Dangers Poster
Alcohol Ad - Spoof Alcohol Ad

Intro to Theater (English)

Left Pocket
Right Pocket
Theater News Article A fictional news article to be acted out by another group.

Manufacturing (Tech Ed)

Image:Plaz Scamatic.doc T-Shirt Idea

Songwriting (Music)

Music

8th Grade

7th Grade

About Me edit

Michael Plasmeier

"ThePlaz"

Yahoo APM: Membership and Geo Platforms

MIT '13 Management and Computer Science

My name is Michael Plasmeier, but almost everyone calls me Plaz. I am a Associate Product Manager at Yahoo - working on the Membership and Geo-related platforms teams. I graduated from MIT in 2013 in Computer Science and Management. I am halfway between the tech and the business world, doing both web development and product development. My interest in doing both started while I was working on GridView, an app I built after 10th Grade that reached 1.3 million users on Facebook.

Internships

Last IAP, I was a Software Development Extern doing testing in Ruby on the back end at CardSpring. Last summer, I was Product Manager at Disney Parks and Resorts Online where I worked on a project for Disney Cruise Line. Last January, I worked in management/strategy consulting at Altman Vilandrie & Company. The previous summer, I was a web developer at NextJump, an online affiliate advertising firm in New York. Prior to that, I was an extern in the Office of the Chief Scientist at State Street. My freshman summer I worked at Deutsche Bahn, the German national railroad, where I designed the smartphone version Touch&Travel, an app that lets you pay for the train with your phone.

MIT

At MIT I was heavily involved in classes, usually taking 7 classes a term, while being involved in student government. (I wrote about how I do it in Working out a System.) senior was dedicated to wrapping up requirements. Junior year at MIT I focused on EECS classes, as well as being elected president of Baker House. My second year at MIT focused on management classes. I was also involved in the vendor selection and implementation of the new dining plan. Freshman year, I took core classes and served on the Athena and Printing Committee. (I wrote about just hanging on freshmen year in Learning to Learn.)

Websites

I built a lot of web projects in high school. My most popular project, was GridView [2], an app for Facebook which lets you add the profile pics of all of you're friends to your Facebook profile. GridView had over 1.3 million users and made me some money.

I hosted and produced the video podcast Tecker 911 [3] along with some of my friends. Tecker 911 was a series of 100 5-15 minute shows each which covers a technology topic in a way which is relevant for ordinary people, with a focus towards students and our community. Tecker 911 was also shown on our local public access channel Channel 11.

I started SeniorQuoter, [4] an open-source web application for senior quotes collections for high school yearbooks. In 11th Grade, I lead a Dynamic Website Building Instruction and Practical Experience Group Study at my high school. I helped 4 other students learn PHP and MySQL and then I project managed version 2 of SeniorQuoter, the administration interface.

Tecker and Conflicter were question and answer services I built in 10th Grade. They never really caught on, but they were the perfect way to learn PHP. Dictionary Robot is something I tarted last year, but abandoned later. In 10th Grade, I was a member of Team 484 and in 11th Grade I was their webmaster.

In 8th and 9th Grades I wrote bunch of programs for the TI-83+.

Tech

My first two years at MIT, I was a regular on The Weekly Spin, a weekly take on tech stories and tech policy.

On my Tech page I have had a few pages about Devices I own and other small things that I have built. For example, I also made some improvements for MediaWiki, the software that runs ThePlaz.com and Wikipedia. I made a new skin for MediaWiki and a few MediaWiki extensions

Other Accounts

I also tag a lot of stories on Delicious. I also have over 70,000 photos on Flickr. I Tweet kinda regularly. I also post things to YouTube. And of course I have a Facebook. It all comes together on my FriendFeed.

Website Content

On my site you will find:

Updates on what I am involved in
Links to my other projects
My comments on the world
Photos and videos I have taken
School work and notes I have made

School Work

I hope that this knowledge will help people less-fortunate than me persevere and succeed. All of my work is under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 license, meaning that you may use it and re-post it anywhere as long as you post my name/nickname, provide a link back to my site, and don't make money off my work. Many people visit my site from overseas where the school system is not as good. See Site Mission Statement for more

- For 9th Grade I have posted projects I did on the computer
- For 10th Grade I have posted not only my work I made on a computer but laboriously scanned all of my handwritten notes and worksheets
- For 11th Grade I am only posting my own notes (no worksheets) from very structured classes; I am scaling back
- For 12th Grade I used a tablet PC, so I have posted my OneNote notebooks from the class
- For MIT Freshman year, I used a tablet PC for the first semester; realized this was a bad idea; so I used paper which I scanned and released as large PDFs the second semester. Note MIT actually does the same thing I do with MIT OCW.
- For MIT Sophomore I will continue to post large, comprehensive PDFs.
- See also my Notes Key

Tech

Various Tech Articles
Programs for TI calculators
MediaWiki extensions
The Weekly Spin - Commentary on Tech Policy.

The Weekly Spin

The Weekly Spin is a weekly rant about technology and tech policy with Michael Gdovin. We often cover the cell phone industry, the FCC, DRM, and Michael likes to throw in some Apple rumors.

Download the latest episodes: TheWeeklySpin.com Audio Podcast

Student Tools edit

A Collection of Tools I created to help students.

Templates

Skills

News edit

ThePlaz in often mentioned or interviewed in the news

MIT

What's it like to study at MIT?, Interview

MIT Dining

MITx/EdX

Baker Piano Drop

Tecker 911

GridView

GridView: Top 10 Media Facebook apps!
GridView: A Cool Way To Show Off Your Friends
Too late to start a new FB app post?
Interview with me on SJTechZone's OnTheNet #18
Recognition of Design
"I love GridView, it is just like photographers and modeling agencies do. It is very neat! I just think it is the neatest looking app in Facebook." -Ramon Maldonado
"I use it because it has two things that I love to find together: Beauty and Functionality. I love the way it looks on my profile, an it´s sooo helpful when visiting different friends' profiles!" -Ximena Riquelme

ThePlaz.com Praise

Sam's Praise about my site
Baron Harkonnen's Thanks
Thanks for uploading Flickr photos
Uses Many ThePlaz.com Wiki features
A Drexel professor told me on the first day of class that I take very good notes and I would graduate suma cum laude from Harvard due to the quality of my notes at Gov School
Hi I saw your page about that download for the ferris wheel unit for IMP4, I didn't download it but even the info you had on the page helped me out. I have no idea what I'm doing and just started this year- i really get stuck on my homework EVERY night. Right now im working on HW 2 "As the ferris wheel turns" and i have no idea what I'm doing. But i just wanted to say thanks cause I'm gonna download that once I'm farther into the unit!--A Facebook user (J. S.)
Just wanted to let you know: I stole your headline method of note taking from your website and it is completely saving my life in American Studies. -Rebecca C.
Hey, you do have one of the best designed websites I have seen lately. Good job. A little flashy, but still functional. --Email comment 8/18/2010

Videos

Shambhu used my Motorola C261 unboxing video

Video edit

Spoofs/School/Short Films

Tech/Reviews

Highlights

Tecker 911

Photos edit

Over 80,000 photos on Flickr (by date, on a map, on a Geoov map, most popular, tags)

Trips/Vacations

Universities

MIT

Haverford High School

Places/Events/Daytrips

(need to update)

Tech/Unboxing/Products

Pictures on the Wikimedia Commons

TI-83+ Stuff edit

Articles

How-to Create a TI-83 Plus ROM Image

Free Apps

Ferris for High Dive unit in IAG/IMP 4

Free Programs

Libraries:

Trial Enforcer/Loading Bar

Minor/Useless Programs:

Tech Stuff edit

I am a lot into technology. Here are links to some of my web sites as well as modifications and how-to articles about other software.

My Websites

Devices

MediaWiki Tweaks

Essays/Thoughts

Laptops for Students Article
The Quest for the Perfect Notetaking Medium - Summer of 2008 Pro-tablet
Learning to Learn at MIT - December 2009 Turning Anti-tablet
Various Tech Blog Comments

Other

Miscellaneous edit

These are things I wrote for this site, but not required school work or are not tech things.

Site Statistics edit

For up-to-date info see Special:Statistics

There are 6,499 total pages in the database, including 1,578 pages in the main namespace and 5,000 files uploaded. These counts do not include OneNote notebooks on minisites or SkyDrive, and count multi-page files (PDF and Word) as one page.

There have been a total of 5,163,449 page views, and 16,470 page edits since ThePlaz.com was setup. That comes to 2.53 average edits per page, and 313.51 views per edit.

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-[[Image:Nuvola apps important.png|25px|left]] 2/5/2012 IAP Personal Update
+[[Image:Nuvola apps important.png|25px|left]] 7/23/2012 Summer Personal Update
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-Classes start in only a few days.  Let me give you an update about the semester past, my break, IAP, and the semester ahead.
+[[Category:Site]]
-====Last Semester====
+[[File:Disneyland.JPG|thumb|200px|Disneyland June 2012]]
-[[File:Papers Fall 2012.JPG|thumb|Fall 2012 Paper.  22.5 in.  12.5 reams.]]
+====Disney====
-Last semester was my best semester yet.  I ended up with a 4.6/5.0 term GPA, despite taking the most units ever - 81 vs 79 last term.  I got an A in [[6.005]], [[15.387]], [[15.665]], and [[STS.011]].  I got a A- in [[6.034]] and a B in [[6.004]] (just barely).  I continued to struggle in math, squeaking by [[18.03]] with a C-.  I went through 12.5 reams of paper - producing a 22.5 in stack, versus 19 inches Spring 2011 and 16 inches in Fall 2010.  The typed and scanned notes from these class are now online.
+I am now 8 weeks into my internship at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online.  WDPRO builds the websites and mobile apps for the Disney parks and other travel operations.  I’ve been having a great time here at Disney.  I'm working on a mobile project for Cruise Line and a project to improve reference material here at WDPRO.  I'm a product management intern, working for the VP of the division.  I'm getting great exposure to what it is like to be a PDM intern here.  As at [[Deutsche Bahn]], I have a lot of freedom to use my time where I think is most effective.
-====Working out a System====
+One change from [[NextJump|last summer]] is that Disney cares about quality.  In fact, quality is the number one concern here.  This makes the work environment 180 degrees different.  It means a lot of concern over issues that on the surface look trivial.  But when you consider the millions of people that pour though our parks every year, it starts making sense.  A Disney parks experience means quality.  If you think about the newly opened [http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneys-california-adventure/cars-land/ Cars Land], every little detail from the type of grass to the building architecture has been obsessed over for years by teams of people. Disney has a lot of people, who are managing every detail.  This means there are a lot of people involved in any project.  It’s very different from the small team mentality of other firms – but those companies don’t have anywhere near the integration that Disney has.
-Last term I recorded all of the policy and procedures that I have created to allow me to be as productive as I can be.  I wrote down my time management, paper shuffling, studying, sleep, and food tips in [[Working out a System]].  I also [[Kanban Proposal|proposed a "kanban" system]] which would help me and other students stay organized.
-====High School Papers====
+Plus it's my job as a PDM is to manage this.  Somewhat jokingly, my job is meetings and emails.  A PDM is responsible to build the relationships with the business to be able to specify requirements and act as the “product owner” in Scrum/Agile terminology.  Though it’s been somewhat awkward working as a PDM intern.  You won’t be around after the summer, so it’s hard to take over a project full time.  But I’m doing what I expected.  I can envision what things would be like if I was doing this full time here.
-Over break I scanned many papers from [[Haverford High School|high school]].  I scanned the papers I has remaining from [[10th Grade|10th]] and [[11th Grade|11th grade]].  These were the papers that had gotten wet in the flood.  About 40% of each year got soaked.  Luckily these were the years I had already scanned.  I also scanned [[9th Grade|9th grade]] files.  Previously, I had added computer files, but no scanned files from 9th grade.  10th and 11th Grade had scanned papers - but most were scanned at pretty bad quality.  The old files continue to be spread across image files.  The new files continue to be large PDFs from my [[ScanSnap S1500]].  Unfortunately Scribd does not process files over 100MB, so you have to download the entire PDF.  Look for the link under the Scribd preview.
-I believe I forgot to mention in my last update that I added files from middle school.  [[7th Grade|7th]] and [[8th Grade|8th grade]] now have typed assignments.  I still need to scan my notes from then.  Hopefully my basement does not flood again before that!
+=====Opportunities=====
+I’ve taken advantage of a number of great opportunities here at Disney.  Every Disney employee goes through a training program called Traditions, where you learn the basics of working in the park and see “backstage”.  They also offer a program called Cross-U where office workers can help out in the park during very busy periods.  I was assigned to measure wait times at the Cozy Cone Motel on opening day of Cars Land.  I ended up giving out more help than collecting wait times, but it was fun to be part of Cars Land’s opening day.  Plus I helped beta-test a new game at Imagineering R&D.  They are working on some interesting questions!  Imagineering also has a big library with lots of books about the topics Disney works on and archives of the behind the scenes on the Disney attractions.  This was fun to pour over.  We can also over to the studio lot any time we want for lunch.
-====Chicago====
+I also flew out to [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/collections/72157630614756080/ Orlando] to meet with colleagues.  This was my first business trip by myself.  I stayed at the [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157630614802316/ Yacht Club].  During the day I had set up back-to-back meetings with WDPRO and DCL colleagues in the Disney Celebration offices.  On Saturday, I drove out to the [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157630614854722/ Disney Fantasy] to take a tour and meet with shipboard colleagues.  After work, I visited [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/collections/72157630614756080/ Walt Disney World] – my first time there since elementary school.  I even go to walk around the [http://www.google.com/search?q=Utilidors Utilidors] – it looks exactly like the MIT tunnel system.
-I went to Chicago with Melanie the first week in January.  Check out my photos from [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/collections/72157628771000133/ the trip].  I went to [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770534935/ the Planetarium], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770579135/ the Aquarium], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770599837/ the Field Museum], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770706285/ the Chicago Theater], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770737093/ the Willis Tower], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770843063/ a Bus tour], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770919349/ the Museum of Science], and [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157628770952311/ the University of Chicago].
-====AltVil====
+=====Issues=====
-Over IAP, I worked at [[Altman Vilandrie & Company]] as an analyst extern.  I worked for 3 weeks on a data center due diligence.  The last week I worked on the hospitality strategy for a major cable/satellite provider.  I enjoyed the second project much more.
+Disney has its typical big company issues as well.  There are so many managers for this and that everywhere that most of every project is simply coordination between different departments.  I realize that as a temporary intern, I might be cluttering up things further.  This is what I am trying to balance.
-I am already noticing changes of how I look at a situation.  For example at a [[HDC]] meeting last Wednesday, I felt like I was thinking more objectively about how to solve a problem.  I thought about building an Excel model to solve a particular problem.  I am also more confident with best practices.  This was my first job truly in the "big leagues."  I also feel like I am thinking more clearly.  For example, I am noticing that I often start with a topic sentence that overviews the detail points and then I dive deeper into each of the points.  Perhaps I always did that, but I seem to be more aware of it now.
+I knew this coming in, but my base salary is quite a fair bit less than last summer and the only thing free in the office is free soda and breakfast one day a week.  We were also promised park passes, but those are still stuck in the Disney bureaucracy.  Also my work address is wrong in the internal company directory.  I think I’ve talked to 10 people about getting this fixed, and while one person was able to fix my work phone number, the address is still wrong.  Disney is very good at being very specific with its polices to the public, but backstage it’s a mess.  It’s certainly not Steve Jobs’ philosophy that good craftsmanship means doing a good job on even the parts not readily visible to the customer.
-My favorite part of the job was piecing the parts of the puzzle together.  You're like a detective - always learning more information.  And with consulting the whole puzzle starts fresh every month or two.  I liked conducting the interviews and discussing the case with my coworkers.  On the flip side, consultants are very aware about little issues - like how much to contact someone or phrase things. After seeing it, I think it does help in appearing professional and getting work done, but it is just something to learn.  I think I certainly learned and got better at that as the job went on, but it irked me.  It's just not my current personality.
+=====Culture=====
+That being said there are a lot of very smart people here.  Stuff still manages to get done with relatively little problems.  But I think having a stable operational platform would allow things to get done more efficiently and would be less costly.   I’m writing about this not to criticize, but to wonder if its possible to do better.  Disney is also a very relational company.  I've recognized this and on the advice of others, I’ve set up what seems like 50 informational/getting to know you meetings.
-I'm not sure what job I want to do after school.  I still need to figure out where my competitive advantage is.  So far I have tried coding, consulting, and next summer I will try product management again.
+The culture is also fun here.  Many of the people in other Disney units have worked their way up from the parks so they are always happy and perky.  At certain business units, though not really at PRO, everyone wears their Disney name tags around the office.  It’s a way of showing that you are helping out the parks.  WDPRO Glendale doesn’t require it, but many people still dress according to the fairly strict “Disney Look” – basically be clean-cut and wear business casual.
-====Disney====
+====Outside of Work This Summer====
-As I talked about in my last update, I have accepted a position at [[Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online]] next summer.  Parks and Resorts Online is the internet sales and marketing channel for the Disney parks, cruise ships, and guided tour businesses.  I'm excited to get to work as a product manager.  This has historically (ie. before [[MIT]]) been my dream job - so I will see what it is actually like.  I ended up doing something similar at [[Deutsche Bahn]] on [[Touch&Travel]].
+I'm really happy how this summer is turning out from a friendship point of view.  I'm being a lot more aggressive this summer to reach out and organize weekends with friends.
+=====Travel=====
+At the start of the summer, I went to [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157630614359682/ Atlantic City] with my dad.
+I went to [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157630614507044/ Universal Studios Hollywood], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157630614526666/ Warner Brothers Studio], and [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157630614539170/ Venice Beach] with Eddie and Jeremy.  On my own, I walked around the [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157630614554252/ Hollywood Walk of Fame],  [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157630614580024/ Beverly Hills]  and the [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157630614606776/  X-Games at LA Live and Downtown LA].
+One week I drove up to [[Silicon Valley]] to meet with many of my friends in the area.  On the Fourth of July, I walked around [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157630614647334/ San Francisco with Jon], I stayed with [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157630614662258/ Jeremy in Palo Alto], saw the [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157630614678352/ Computer History Museum], and [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157630614696768/ Stanford] with one of my friends from high school, Dave Groff.
+=====Cell Phone=====
+While I was in San Francisco, my Nexus S cell phone broke.  It would not boot up past the “Google” screen.  I had to go most of my Silicon Valley trip and all of my Orlando trip without a cell phone!  Luckily I had my LTE iPad which kept me connected.  I could make outgoing calls on Skype, but not receive calls.  This made me realize how much I depend on my phone.  My phone has been fixed for a week now, but I still feel like I am without it and disconnected from the world.  Battery life is also a great deal improved.
+=====Books=====
+I’m also getting to do a lot more driving than I ever have.  I think in my first week here I’ve driven more than I have my entire life.  It has also given me the opportunity to listen to some audio books.  I’ve listened to [http://www.amazon.com/The-Working-Poor-Invisible-America/dp/0375408908 Working Poor], the [http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1451648537/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0 Steve Jobs bio], [http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Deception-Controlling-Security/dp/076454280X Art of Deception by Kevin Mitnick].  I also read a book on the [http://www.amazon.com/Airline-Reservations-Sonic-Hedgehog-Software/dp/1422391760 History of Software Development], and I am reading a book on [http://www.amazon.com/Project-Management-Handbook-David-Cleland/dp/0442221142/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343084222&sr=1-1&keywords=0442221142 Project Management].
+====This Past Semester====
+My [[MIT Junior|junior]] spring semester was a solid semester. I finished 7 classes with a 4.3 GPA average.  This breaks my streak of having my GPA climb semester over semester,  but I still think I learned a lot.  My undergraduate cumulative GPA appears to be fixed at 4.3; this is the third semester in a row where it has not changed.  It's not a particular stunning GPA, but since I chose to focus on breath and leadership opportunities at MIT, I'm by-in-large happy with how this semester ended up.
+[[6.033|6.033 Computer Systems Engineering]] covered designing complex computer systems.  Most of my classmates hated this class; I didn't find it half bad.  The class is not well designed - the very thing it is trying to teach!  It seems that too many unrelated components have been slapped in.  In addition, I wish it focused more on the human side of building a system (more of a project point of view).  Anyway, I got an A in that class.  [[6.813|6.813 UI Design]] was right up my alley.  I think most people in the class couldn't care less (it's the easiest AUS and department lab).  Plus the professor was trying hard - too hard - to be objective.  I was not that happy with my final project, [[RScanVP]].  [[6.006|6.006 Intro to Algorithms]] was challenging for me.  I think I easily grasped the basic concepts, but the problems seemed to come out of no where with the TA unable to offer robust strategies to solve them.  I ended up with a C because I did not do well on the final.  Your grade basically dependent on if you "figured out" the problem.  I don't like making excuses, but I really don't know how I end up with a C in every math related class I take at MIT.
+[[15.565|15.565 Management/Web 3.0]] was a class I required to take.  I didn’t like the class, so I didn’t spend much time on it.  I even got in a big disagreement with the TA since I thought my approach was way better than his.  I ended up with an A-.  [[15.571|15.571 Business IT Strategy]] is perhaps my most favorite Sloan class ever.  I really like the work Jeanne Ross and the [http://cisr.mit.edu/ Center for Information Systems Research] is doing at Sloan.  I ended up with a B+ because the group project (which I really enjoyed) was graded lower than other students and Sloan has grade quotas.  [[15.301|15.301 Management Psychology]] was fun, although I don’t think the other students cared that much, but I really enjoyed the topic.  I ended up with an A.  [[18.06|18.06 Linear Algebra]] was a challenge for me.  Unlike other course 18 classes, this one was more about theory than calculations, though I am not very good at that either!
+I think at some point I had 6 group projects active!  This was a bit much, because there is a lot of overhead in scheduling group projects.  I think I also did much more group P-Setting this semester versus before.  I was much more conscious to take the time to cultivate relationships and set up times to work on homework.  Overall, I'm glad I'm being more social.  This is one of the life/soft skills where I am 180 degrees different from how I was when I entered MIT.
+====Outside of Classes====
+=====Baker House=====
+Also I was elected as the President of [[Baker House]], my dorm at MIT.  I was unsure about doing this role initially, but it has turned out to be a great experience.  I have a budget of about $50,000 per year and about 20 people are involved in house government.  It really is a fantastic leadership opportunity because you have to recruit really busy people to help out, train them, and then throw great events.  You also have the autonomy to try things out and make mistakes.  Our Piano Drop was a huge success with syndication on over 300 world-wide news outlets. Here is the big one from the [http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/04/24/years-after-quirky-ritual-began-piano-drop-still-strikes-chord-mit/rYJW5zNd356WTSswbwAusJ/story.html Boston Globe]. In addition, we had over 500 people at our annual CPW party.  My term runs one more semester until IAP 2013.
+=====MITCET=====
+This semester I continued to be involved in [[MITCET]] [http://mitcet.mit.edu/], the MIT Council on Educational Technology.  I can't believe I forgot to mention it in my last update, but MITCET was one of the groups advising then-Provost Reif on setting up MITx and EdX.  I was on the inside on the announcement of MITx and [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157629993249096/ EdX] and I met with then-Provost Reif to discuss the issue.  I think MITx and EdX has the potential to revolutionize education.  I think education has economies of scale which, if taken advantage of, could radically change the course of the industry.  Why does every school need a different school curriculum?  Instead of having each teacher re-invent the wheel - invest in a few good solutions.  Then you are able to justify the extra work to refine the technology to be able to adopt to people's needs.
-I'm particular exited to get to work so close with [[Imagineering]] - which is the high temple of theme park design. As a kid I used to think a lot about experience design, floorplans,  branding, etc to create an immersive experience.  Disney is known worldwide as the pinnacle of branding/experience design.  In [[Haverford Middle School|middle school]], I was involved in [[theater]].  After going to MIT and doing management consulting, I want to reinvigorate that creative spirit.  Now, this is still a pretty much a "business job," but I hope to get to work with creative people.
+=====ThePlaz.com=====
+I made some small adjustments to the nav bar on ThePlaz.com.  Gone are the separate TI-83 and Video categories and instead I've added an engineering and business header entries, as well as getting all of the classes up to date in the header.
-====ThePlaz.com====
+Content from the spring is up.  I have scanned a fair bit of old content that I still need to work though.  Hopefully I get a few moments later this summer.
-Speaking of what I have done before, I have written or tuned up many pages on [http://theplaz.com ThePlaz.com] about things that I have done in the past.  I added pages or added content to pages about [[:Category:Place|places I have lived]], [[:Category:MIT_Committee|MIT committees]], [[theater]], and [[:Category:Sites|my websites]].
+=====Travel=====
+My brother is currently looking for schools.  Over Spring Break I was in [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157629993026940/  Pittsburgh with my family].
-====Next Semester====
+====Semesters Ahead====
-[[File:Spring 2012 Schedule.png|thumb|My Spring 2012 Schedule]]
+For planning ahead, I have 10 classes left in order to graduate with a double major in 15 and 6-3.  I had originally thought I needed 11 more, but I realized I had actually satisfied a requirement without realizing it!  This means I only need a normal 5 classes per semester!  Plus, one of these classes is a PE class, which I have not historically counted in the number of classes I am taking, so we are down to 5 and 4 classes.
-I have planned out [[:File:Spring 2012 Schedule.png|a draft schedule for next semester]].  I have [[Classes to Graduate Spring 2012|18 classes left to graduate]].  I have I have to take [[18.06|18.06 Linear Algebra]] (it's about matrices); I'll probably do poorly on that.  Next I'm taking [[6.006|6.006 Introduction to Algorithms]].  I am particularly interested in this class because most of the computer programmer interviews ask these sorts of questions.  I am also taking the required [[6.033|6.033 Computer System Engineering]].  I have no idea what that is about - but it's required.  I am also taking an AUS [[6.813|6.813 User Interface Design and Implementation]] because it fit into my schedule and it sound the most interesting.  On the management side I am taking [[15.571|15.571 Business Strategy and the Role of IT]], one of the classes for the Sloan IT concentration.  In addition, I've been interested in how IT can help big companies streamline while providing better service.  I am also hoping to take [[15.053|15.053 Optimization Methods in Management Science]].  I can't make the recitation, so this would be the first class I drop.  I am taking [[15.301|15.301 Managerial Psychology Laboratory]], a required, basic course 15 class that I have not managed to take yet.  Rounding it out, I am hoping to get into [[17.50|17.50 Introduction to Comparative Politics]] a HASS-D #4 class to fill the second of my 3 HASS D slots.
+I am planning on taking [[7.012|7.012 Intro to Biology]].  I've tried taking this GIR class every semester, but it always conflicted with my schedule.  Well I am finally going to take it!  It will be mostly freshmen - I've come so far in terms of my study skills from those years…  (See [[Working out a System]])   I'm planning on taking [[STS.085|STS.085 Ethics Online]].  I think I am going to really like this class; I enjoy working on the topic. It also wraps up my concentration in [[STS|STS: Science, Technology, and Society]].  I will have to take [[6.046|6.046 Advanced Algorithms]].  I'm not looking forward to this class at all!  Plus my extremely smart [[6.006]] partner, Shri, dropped out of MIT (is technically on-hold) to do a start up.  What am I going to do?
+For my AUS class, I picked [[6.858|6.858 Computer Systems Security]].  I heard that in the first lab with write a buffer overflow attack.  I hope to pick up low-level programming skills (i.e. C)  and learn how to actually write attacks.  I heard that the labs are long and hard, but it seemed like the best choice as to what I was interested in.  For my HASS D class, I picked [[14.72|14.72 Capitalism and its Critics]].  This seems like an interesting class about different economic systems - I picked it partially because it is from the econ department, something I want more exposure to.   My top choice was [[17.30|17.30 Making Public Policy]], but this has a time conflict with [[6.046]].  As alternate choices, I put down [[17.40|17.40 American Foreign Policy]] and [[STS.003|STS.003 The Rise of Modern Science]].  I liked the book [http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-The-History-CIA/dp/038551445X Legacy of Ashes], but I prefer econ more; and I think I've heard enough about the start of science with [[STS.050]] and [[STS.011]].
+So with my 6 classes this semester I might be bored.  I'm considering picking [[2.009]], the famous product design lab.  I've always liked the idea of the class, so when I got an email from the professor announcing that the class was looking for non-course 2's I was intrigued.  I do want to spend more time on self exploration on other topics and greater depth on in-class topics, but I'm skeptical how much that will happen once the rubber meets the road.
+So in the spring semester I still have to take [[15.053]] or [[15.058]] as well as [[15.075]], both Sloan math classes.  I probably should not be taking those so late, but that's when they fit in.  Plus I need to do a third HASS D class, as well as my course 6 project 6.UAP.  I also need to take 1 more PE class at some point.  I also want to take advantage of cross registration with Harvard for some class to say that I've done it...
-I am concerned that my schedule this semester is too heavy on math, which I have traditionally spent more time on.
+====After MIT====
+So what am I going to do after MIT?  I don’t think I am going to do grad school immediately.  I don’t feel like spending more time in school.  If I were to go to grad school, and if at MIT, I would do either Sloan for research, or the Media Lab at MIT.  I feel like I’ve already seen what a Sloan MBA would be like.  I don’t quite have the grades for M-Eng and since I don’t see myself doing that sort of work, I don’t think another year of access to course 6 classes at MIT is a good investment of time.  Looking at the class list, nothing really stands out.
+So what do I want in a job?  I want to be busy – at MIT taking 7 classes at a time forces me to get stuff done.  Without that pressure, I tend to be a lot less productive.  I want to work on hard problems.  I want to continue to have new experiences.  I don’t want to master a job – though I might master and formalize the process of working (as I’ve done at MIT).  I might do business consulting, PDM at Disney, or product management somewhere in Silicon Valley.  I might even do my own thing.
-That's all for now.  It's time to get geared up for the next semester.  --[[User:ThePlaz|ThePlaz]] 16:57, 5 February 2012 (EST)
+I think my 5 internships have given me good perspective on the good and the bad.  For some of the other interns at Disney this is their first internship.  Between my internships, school classes, and MIT leadership opportunities, I think I’m much more aware of the differences between places, the reasons those differences exist, and attempting to answer which is better.  As to another major change I've noticed, I think I've become much more Establishment.--[[User:ThePlaz|ThePlaz]] 21:57, 23 July 2012 (EDT)
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Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

From ThePlaz.com

Revision as of 01:57, 24 July 2012

Welcome to ThePlaz.com

7/23/2012 Summer Personal Update

Disney

Opportunities

Issues

Culture

Outside of Work This Summer

Travel

Cell Phone

Books

This Past Semester

Outside of Classes

Baker House

MITCET

ThePlaz.com

Travel

Semesters Ahead

After MIT

Recent Activity from around the Web

Welcome to '''{{SITENAME}}'''

[[Image:Nuvola apps important.png|25px|left]] 2/5/2012 IAP Personal Update

Recent Activity from around the Web

[[MIT Junior]] [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:MIT_Junior&action=edit edit]

[[MIT Sophomore]] [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:MIT_Sophomore&action=edit edit]

[[MIT Freshman]] [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:MIT_Freshman&action=edit edit]

[[Image:Nuvola apps kpovmodeler.png|30px]] [[AP Physics]] ''[[Science|(Science)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola USA flag.png|30px]] [[AP US Government]] ''[[History|(History)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola_apps_package_wordprocessing.png|30px]] [[English 12]] ''[[English|(English)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps kbrunch.png|30px]] [[Calculus]] ''[[Math|(Math)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps edu languages.png|30px]] [[AP Psychology]] ''[[Psychology|(Psychology)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps package editors.png|30px]] [[AP Micro Econ]] ''[[Economics|(Economics)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps bug.png|30px]] [[Biology]] ''[[Science|(Science)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps kmplot.png|30px]] [[PreCalc]] ''[[Math|(Math)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola USA flag.png|30px]] [[American Studies]] ''[[History|(History)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola USA flag pen.png|30px]] [[English 11]] ''[[English|(English)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps edu mathematics.png|30px]] [[IAG 4H]] ''[[Math|(Math)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps edu science.png|30px]] [[Chemistry]] ''[[Science|(Science)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps package network.png|30px]] [[World Cultures]] ''[[History|(History)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps korganizer.png|30px]] AP [[Macro Economics]] ''[[Economics|(Economics)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps file-manager.png|30px]] [[English 10]] ''[[English|(English)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps kig.png|30px]] [[IAG 3H]] ''[[Math|(Math)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps bookcase.png|30px]] [[English 9]] ''[[English|(English)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps kverbos.png|30px]] [[Western Civ|Western Civ]] ''[[History|(History)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps edu phi.png|30px]] [[IPS]] ''[[Science|(Science)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola_apps_kcalc.png|30px]] [[IAG 2H]] and [[IAG 1H]] ''[[Math|(Math)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola_apps_kate.png|30px]] [[Latin]]

[[Image:Money-256x256.png|30px]] [[Entrepreneurship]] ''[[Business|(Business)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps personal.png|30px]] [[Business Law]] ''[[Business|(Business)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps amarok.png|30px]] [[Pop Music]] ''[[Music Classes|(Music)]]''

[[Image:Nuvola filesystems folder blue open.png|30px]] [[Template:Main_Page:OtherSchool|Other]] [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:OtherSchool&action=edit edit]

[[Image:Nuvola filesystems folder blue open.png|30px]] [[8th Grade]]

[[Image:Nuvola filesystems folder blue open.png|30px]] [[7th Grade]]

[[Image:Nuvola apps kuser.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:About|About Me]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:About&action=edit edit]

[[File:Theweeklyspin.png|30px]] ''[http://theweeklyspin.com The Weekly Spin]''

[[Image:Nuvola apps laptop pcmcia.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:Student_Tools|Student Tools]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:Student_Tools&action=edit edit]

[[Image:Nuvola apps knewsticker.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:News|News]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:News&action=edit edit]

[[Image:Nuvola apps multimedia.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:Video|Video]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:Video&action=edit edit]

[[Image:Tecker 911 Logo.png|110px]] ''[http://911.tecker.net Tecker 911]''

[[Image:Nuvola filesystems camera.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:Photos|Photos]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:Photos&action=edit edit]

[[Image:TI-83--rotated.png|65px]] ''[[:Category:TI|TI-83+ Stuff]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:TI&action=edit edit]

[[Image:Nuvola apps kcmprocessor.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:Tech|Tech Stuff]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:Tech&action=edit edit]

[[Image:Nuvola apps gaim.png|30px]] ''[[Template:Main_Page:Misc|Miscellaneous]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:Misc&action=edit edit]

[[Image:Nuvola apps remote.png|30px]] ''[[Special:Statistics|Site Statistics]]'' [http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Main_Page:Statistics&action=edit edit]

Fall

Spring

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Fall

Spring

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Chap 4

Chap 5

Chap 5/6

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