Oh, hello!
Hello!
It's so nice to see a real person. How long've you been here?
Not very long. How long have you been waiting?
Maybe . . . ten minutes or something? I kinda lost track. I was, admittedly, browsing through XKCD comics. Do you have any idea what the point threshold this round is?
I have no idea I just got an email saying there were prizes so here I am!
Oh, hey! Not a bad reason to come. I competed back in winter. I didn't know they did this multiple times, but apparently they do. I won myself some nice Bose headphones, so I think it's nice.
Yeah, I didn't know this was a thing before. Nice prize.
Right? Last round, the one that started at the beginning of October, I won an iPad, too.
Wow. So are you on here a lot?
Not any more. I kinda tired myself out last round. I came for the prizes, like you, and I left once I had them.
How often did you chat then?
OOF. Um, a lot. Like, shameful amounts of hours.
What rank were you?
I was first. Rank 0. etc. Top dog.
Wow so that's why you won
Yup. Not sure I recommend, though. Unless you have insane amounts of free time and don't mind sitting all day on here.
Yeah I don't think I'll be doing this that much haha
Me neither. I'd like to get another raffle in the macbook thing and that's it. Problem is, I have no idea where that point threshold is. First round it was . . . 300k, I think?
Hmm. I don't know. I thought it was just that more points gave you a higher chance of winning.
You know, that might be true, too. I'm not super solid on how this works. I know that various prizes have different requirements.
Good to know
Like, for example, the iPads go out to top chatters. The macbook, though? Dunno.
Yeah I don't really know
That's all right, though. It's kinda fun to stop by and chat for a bit, too.
True
Okay okay, I wanna guess. AM are initials, yes?
Yeah
First and last name? Or, like, a first and middle name? Or randomly a middle and last name? I guess it could be a maiden and last name, but I'm betting it's the first option.
I don't want to give that out
Ah. Well, that's all right. I completely forgot that we're not supposed to give personal data here.
Well, the whole thing is kind of based on anonymity
You'd be surprised how well you can get to know someone here. I think the fact that it's anonymous is what lets people talk so freely here.
Huh. Yeah that would probably make people open up more.
It really does!
What kind of things have you heard?
You know? Some, oddly, really personal stories, from how their abusive first relationship to how they've finally quit the rat race to pursue their own dreams. I've heard about the music major from multiple people here--both from people who were admitted and people who weren't. Some really nice philosophical talks, too, depending on the person.
That's a lot of different things. So are you a music major?
Haha, no, not me.
So people just like to talk about it then?
Believe it or not? Yeah. Granted, I may have asked them one or two dozen questions.
Do people say good or bad things about the music major?
Mostly good things. Definitely lots of reference to how difficult it is to get in.
Yeah, I like music but there is no way I could do that major
Same! My goodness, it sounds stressful.
Seriously.
No, like, really, I'm not sure I could stand it.
Have you ever explored around the HFAC?
Not much beyond university chorale. I know it's really artsy. Certainly a lot more, ah, aesthetic than the Talmage.
Haha yeah
I dunno, though. Music is . . . I love it, but I don't think I'd be happy if I spent my life in it.
Yeah, I'd much rather just enjoy it without learning how to make it
What do you do, then? You don't sound like a music major.
I'm a bio major
Ooooh. Is that hard? It sounds hard.
Sometimes. But overall I'd say it's not bad
Biology is the hard part of science to me. Physics and mathematics? Easy enough.
Physics is hard for me. I'm glad I have my physics classes over haha
What? Noooo. Physics is the best!
Math is pretty easy though for me so you'd think physics wouldn't be so bad...
Oh, really? You can do math fine but no so much in physics? You're the first person I've met who's said that.
Haha yep. Maybe my professor just wasn't the best at explaining things? Or maybe I'm not as good at math as I think I am?
Well I don't know about THAT. Most people readily admit that they're not fond of math. How many math classes have you taken, then? And I guess physics, too, for that matter.
Well no math classes here at BYU, but I've taken up to AP Calc in high school
Oh! That's so fun. I did, too.
I've taken physics 105, 106, 107, 108? I think?
Whoa. That's four more physics than I have.
Well 2 of them were labs that went with the lecture part of class
Ah. Still.
What physics classes have you taken?
None thus far.
Are you planning to?
Definitely! They sound so fun! I just finished my freshman year, see. I don't have THAT much experience yet.
What's your major?
Computer science. The nursery for code monkeys.
What kinds of stuff do you do in computer science?
Thus far, nothing too crazy. Just learning the basics of C++ and how to make basics programs. It's both really simple and overly complex.
Sounds cool. I have no idea what C++ is but I assume it has to do with coding
Oh, really? C++ is a computer language. It's how we communicate with computers.
like the 1s and 0s?
That's it, yes! The 1's and 0's are called binary, if you didn't already know, and that's the only thing the computer understands.
It doesn't make sense to me how communication can happen with just two numbers, it's so mind boggling!
Right? That's what makes it so amazing! The computers are programmed to recognize certain patterns.
Ah
Three 1's and a 0 could mean to add two numbers together. And 1 0 1 0 could mean to read data from memory. I don't know the specific patterns, but I do know it's programmed into the computers.
Neat stuff What kind of things do you want to program?
I'm . . . not sure, actually. I like the feel of programming itself. It feels very much like solving logic puzzles.
I used to have a book of logic puzzles when I was a kid. They're pretty fun and interesting
Imagine that, but doing a job off of it. And then the puzzles getting super complex.
Sounds like it would keep you busy!
Ooof. You have no idea. The thing about computers is, they take things super literally. When we talk with other people and miss a word or two, we're good at picking up the gaps in things. "She SAID this, but she probably meant THIS."
Ah yes, I was getting mad at my printer today for not doing what I wanted it to.
Yup. Computer problems. You know, it's funny. There are thousands of computer languages. You know why?
why?
Because, as programmers, we don't write in 1's and 0's. That'd require memorizing certain patterns of inputs that are kinda pointless. What we do is write in pseudo-computer language, and then we use a translator to take our English-like code and convert it to binary.
so the languages basically write the 1's and 0's for you?
Exactly!
Still sounds complicated enough! I only programmed once in middle school...don't remember much of it
Yup. Sounds like me, too. I don't remember anything from that class I took. Or . . . classes? I can't even remember. I love the introductory course here. It's very nice.
Me in every class I take honestly
How far are you into college?
3 semesters in
Ah. And you're liking it, then?
Yeah it's pretty cool This semester is probably my favorite so far
Doing lots of fun stuff, eh? Any recommendations thus far?
Well, from my perspective the animal diversity class is fun since we get to do a bunch of dissections, but that is gross to a lot of people.
Yeahhhh, I might shy away from the dissections. I took a computer class that basically dissected a computer, though! Does that coutn? *count
But I'm never taking the human anatomy class. Too creepy. And dissections stink so you gotta deal with that Haha I guess so!
You have to dissect humans? Oooooh. I, uh, dunno how I'd respond to that.
Naw, just a bunch of animals like jellyfish, grasshoppers, a squid. We're going to do a bird and a fetal pig eventually.
I didn't even know those were animals you could dissect.
Not looking forward to the bird cause I've had a lot of pet birds in my family well the jellyfish was clear so we just kind of looked through it
Closest I've ever done to dissecting a jellyfish was accidentally stepping on one on the beach. I didn't know they were so clear. I thought it was a weird patch of water.
I've never seen a jellyfish in nature, just aquariums and lab. Did it sting?
No. Are they supposed to? Mine was small. About the size of my hand.
Yeah they're tentacles sting. The tops don't. Like in Finding Nemo. Some can even kill you like box jellies
Mine didn't have tentacles. You know, now that I'm thinking about it, it may not have been a jellyfish.
weird...
But they're clear, right?
Maybe a sea cucumber? I dunno
Sea cucumber?
Yeah they're definitely clear
I'm assuming we're not talking about underwater pickles. But, yeah, mine was clear. Like jello, actually. Very see-through jello.
Haha, Sea cucumbers are just these squishy  slug things in the ocean Maybe it was jello haha I don't think all jellyfish stings are strong enough to be felt though...
That could've been what happened, then. I remember it felt so weird. The top was a little slimy, but it was hard underneath. Meaning if you pushed through the slime, you hit a hard surface.
Some have very thin and wispy tentacles and so may have fallen off by the time you picked it up?
That's very possible. It was just whatever the tide had washed up.
Was it kind of rubbery?
A little, yeah. Not stretchy, but it felt rubbery.
Did it have 4 little circle or horseshoe shaped structures inside it?
Not that I can recall.
I'm thinking maybe it was an Aurelia jellyfish also known as a moon jelly
Are those common? We were in . . . Washington, I think.
I don't really know, but they must be common enough since that's the jellyfish we saw in lab
Fair enough. I need to start heading out soon, unfortunately. Time to rake some leaves. TONS of fallen. *have
Ah okay. Been nice talking to you!
You, too! Honestly, this was so fun. Thanks so much.
Yeah, thanks! Adios!