Summary

This week, we talked about school supplies, I got an unexpected present (plus free food), and it rained. Also, Justine took all of us interns out to lunch, where we ate pierogis and toasted s'mores.

Things I Learned

index cards are not used in France
protractor is (apparently) a funny word (and also they're triangular in Germany?)
there's a movie being filmed in the comp sci building
what zmq stands for and how it works
Breton shirts are a thing
how international paper sizes work
Malayalam is a palindrome

Research

Fixed up new incremental code and did some testing. I can't make heads or tails of some of the phone code, which is not great (but hopefully I'm getting there).

Also, towards the end of the week, I got to do some user study thinking (i.e. on how to construct and execute such an experiment).

Meetings

ArticuLab Presentations

Important people came to the lab this week! I got to sit in on the demos for ALEX, SCIPR, and SARA, which was pretty neat. (And we got free leftovers from their luncheon, too.)

SARA Demo

On Wednesday, a group of middle-schoolers stopped by the ArticuLab, so I gave them a small demo of Sara (she recommended The BFG based on "fantasy," "Steven Spielberg," and "Johnny Depp," which was pretty good, and Lincoln based on all that plus "Tom Cruise," which was not pretty good).

Reading Group

This week, we talked more CVs and resumes (also websites!)

Lab Meeting

Since Pranav's internship ends next week, he presented his work and findings at the lab meeting today.

Daily Logs

These are more or less lifted from Bitbucket, where I keep a README of these things.

Mon 7/10

Finished (temp) Python, Java alterations.

Tues 7/11

ArticuLab demos/presentations; Java/Python alterations; manually tested new incremental system.

Wed 7/12

Gave demo; cleaned up code and made small fixes; manually tested new incremental system; worked on test client; website.

Thurs 7/13

Dug through phone code; intern luncheon; small code changes; rdg group; unit testing.

Fri 7/14

Unit testing; lab meeting; website; user study brainstorming.

Not Work

Out to the Ball Game

As per annual tradition, the ArticuLab went to a baseball game! We didn't buy peanuts and Cracker Jack, but we did grab hot dogs and French fries, and our seats were fantastic: top level, overlooking third base. Not sure if that's technically the best spot to sit, but we had an incredible view of the field and, past that, a bridge over the Allegheny River.

It was fun to hang out with everyone outside of the lab (we got to chat about non-lab things, like podcasts and left fielders), and it was fun for me to get into the baseball swing of things again (I've not watched a game in years). We even won in one of those spectacular bases-loaded-home-run situation (fireworks literally went off)!

Also, on the way home, I saw a West Virginia license plate, which was actually the most exciting thing ever (if you're interested in why, you can read about it here).

Miscellaneous

received three book recommendations (each a different genre!)
literally woke up next to a puzzle piece that has been missing for weeks
started another run of Lord of the Rings (as in, the film trilogy)