Summer Check-In

Hey! It’s been a minute since my last post. I’ve been busy over the last two months, having completed three climbs (Middle Sister, Baker, and Jefferson), gone to Orlando twice (once for a friend’s wedding, once for a last-minute work trip), and spent two week-long vacations with the family (one camping in Yosemite and one at the beach). I’m happy to report that I’ve also met all my New Year’s resolutions. I’m halfway through the Mazamas Leadership development program, a third of the way through my master’s program, and have read 26 books for 2026.

For my Master’s program, I just completed CS573: Digital Forensics. Unbeknownst to me Oregon State University summer academic quarters are abbreviated, with only 8 weeks to cover the same amount of material that we’d normally cover in 10 weeks. I was initially saddened to have to rush through one of the courses I had been most looking forward to, but was ultimately glad to just be done with it.

I’ve noticed a trend amongst the weaker college courses where they rely inordinately on students reading research papers and writing reports on them to fill out the coursework. The research papers are invariably twenty to thirty years old. To drive engagement, we’re also required to respond to 2-3 of our classmates’ reports. The two courses where this was the format, Human Computer Interfaces and Digital Forensics, have been my least favorite. My favorite courses so far have been Programming Languages and Computer Architecture because they both focused heavily on hands-on exercises. Considering how much I like to read and research, I’ve been surprised at my apparent preference for practical coursework. After contemplating it for a while, I think the main difference has been how transparent it is that our readings are just busy-work. More (outdated) theory than useful application. My hope is that Algorithms in the Fall will constitute a return to hands-on exercises.

The next few weeks should be much more relaxed as we slip from Summer to Fall. I have one more climb scheduled but other than that, the calendar is remarkably free compared to the last few months. How about you? How have your summer’s been shaping up? Feel free to respond in the comments.