andy reagan only the interesting stuff

NIMBioS Conference

This past weekend I traveled to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville for an undergraduate conference at the interface of mathematics and biology. Paul, Emily, Jim, and myself were afforded the opportunity to present our research from the summer, and it was a fun trip. The other speakers and poster presenters had interesting things to say, and it's great being a part of the community that will be pursuing the future of scientific research.

Chrissy’s Birthday (and more) pictures!

here are all the pix off my camera!

Blacksburg Court

I was obliged to spend 3.5 hours today in Blacksburg's lovely municipal building, and it was quite a frustrating experience. My court date was for 8:30AM, and I was not out before noon.  In the meantime, I missed my two most important classes and got nothing done.

Arriving what I thought was none-too-early, at 8:20, I was suprised to see a small crowd gathered outside the court, with tickets in hand, who had apparently all been scheduled for 8:30 when the court opens. I had let Dr. Brown know that I was going to be late to class, but didn't think I was going to miss that, and my Real Analysis class, entirely. We all sat in the courtroom for an HOUR until the judge came in, at which point each case was heard one by one.  There were at least 20 cases of people not present, where a lawyer would take many cases. We kept hearing cases getting dismissed as "defective equipment" and $150 fines, and all these people were getting off.  A lot of the cases weren't related to traffic incidents even.

Well, I don't really even want to waste more time writing about it. I got off with a "defective equipment," given the choice between that ($25, no points on my license) and a $10 fine but with points on my license, after I explained that I didn't see how it could be justified that I receive points on my driving record for something that didn't involve a motor vehicle. I took the defective equipment and was on my way.

Was getting the points off of my license worth three hours of my time, and my classes? I don't think so. At least not considering what I'm paying per hour of class time, and how important the instruction is to my performance in the class (and then to grad school, etc). Conclusion, just follow the laws. Such a waste of time and money not to.