Not a whole lot happening lately. Got an English paper due on Tuesday that I really have to write today -- I'm not really into the class that much and I'm pretty bored with my idea (nothing revolutionary -- history and importance of lasers and their uses in research). The only class I really think I'm learning anything in is calc, but I suppose that's because progress there is something you can actually pin down. I'm taking calc II next semester I think, even though I don't have to -- I enjoy it and I kinda dislike not having the ability to really understand why I'm doing what I'm doing . . .

I haven't mentioned OSCAR (kinda redundant acronym for Operating Systems group Computing Archive Resource) before. I work in Customer Support at my current job, but since I'm the resident Linux geek on my floor I was assigned the task of setting up an Linux-based intranet server as a central point of reference for the OS Group (of which I am the newest member). Ordinarily we just email interesting tidbits to everyone and then delete them . . . not too efficient. First I tried PostNuke, which I had used before, but it was way more complex than I wanted it to be and I could set something up way more tailored to our needs by coding scratch PHP. So far I've put about 18 hours into it, and it's coming along nicely -- just added file attachment capability to the submission form the other day. Got quite a bit left to do, like input validation, automagic maintenance, administrative interface, interface cleanup. It's definitely going to be an ongoing project -- I hardly get time to work on it unless it's a Saturday -- it's hard to get out of the mindset that the client is an interruption!

Under a lot of pressure to make this thing to work perfectly -- people keep reminding me that I (an intern) won't be there forever, and since I'm the only one in my group who does PHP, this thing had better be completely self-contained . . .

Funny, I remember how boring I thought database programming would be before I tried it. Now it's one of the most fun things I can think of. :-D

Currently standing at 0.27 KLOC of PHP, HTML, and Javascript. Way more fun than ghosting over the phone anyway. Wish me luck.