Hector Alejandro's Blog

Georgia Tech 41 - South Carolina State 10

2010-09-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

The B-Back Brigade pushes me up as I celebrate our 27 points on the board.

Thank you photographer Josh D Weiss for this awesome photo.

(Click on the photo for larger version)

B-Back Brigade

2010-07-29T00:32:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Go Jackets!
Football season is just around the corner! The Yellow Jackets are hungry for more than just an ACC championship. After watching those 25+ hours of practice in the spring, I can assure you:
(3-4) + (Al Groh) x (3ple Option) + (Paul Johnson) = Georgia Tech + Boise State in the BCS National Championship game in Glendale, AZ on JAN 10, 2011.
As most of you know, I'm graduating next week and will have to resort to winning this competition for my season tickets. (Let me know if you want to help me win this) The rest of you lucky enough to have 6 or 12 semesters left before graduation have the opportunity to join the B-Back Brigade for our PREMIUM FOOTBALL SEASON TICKETS starting with the second row, just like last year.
What's New
Reagan Eggert will be leading the group this year. He'll be sending you all an e-mail sometime soon with more info. A few things have changed this year, but I assure you its simpler than last year.
What's Next?
We're shooting for 200 people this year (we had 100 last year).

Invite YOUR friends and THEIR friends to join the best football block in the ACC.
Join the Facebook group, invite your friends.
Follow us on Twitter.
Take a look at the photos on Flickr from last year's games.

Questions?
Let me know if you have any questions.

Twitter - @hectorir

Construction Update

2010-06-21T06:54:00.001-07:00

The new dining options in the Georgia Tech Student Center appear to be about 70% ready.

3 new food court style restaurants will be opening soon: Taco Bell, Chick-Fil-a, and Subway.

In addition, a new sitting/eating area and a few counters have been installed in the area formerly used by Pandini’s.

The old Jacket’s restaurant has also been improved with a larger, more visible, entrance.

According to the Spring 2010 issue of The Buzz, the 4 restaurants are scheduled to open in the fall of 2010 and might be open late and on weekends.

The Task at Hand [POTD]

2010-04-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

Picture of the day

Midshipman 2/c Deric McNealy listening to the Marine platoon chain of command pass word at the end of physical training (PT).

As a third year Marine Option student in NROTC, McNealy is only a few weeks away from going to Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS). There he will be screened, trained, and evaluated for his ability to lead as a Marine officer.

McNealy is very focused at the task at hand, successfully completing OCS. In many ways, OCS is like a co-op, internship, job interview, and on the job training all at the same time.

View the rest of the PT set here

Today I…

Participated in one of last PT sessions of the school year.
- Marine options still have a few military evolutions left like our physical fitness test (PFT) on Friday, our SULE I evolution on Saturday, and our 9-mile hike on Monday.
Went to the GT residence life staff yearly banquet.
- This banquet recognizes all the hard work of both the student staff (Peer Leaders, Resident Assistants) and the professional staff (Hall Directors, Area Managers, etc)
- Each staff consists of 12 to 20 PLs/RAs and 1 HD. During one of our recent weekly staff meetings we provided our input for Student Staff Member of the year. Hefty-Fit ‘n’ Strong’s (my area) chose Eli Beeker as SSM of the year.

Eli & Hall Director Victoria Martin

The Hefty-Fit ‘n’ Strong staff after the banquet.

Watch Out for that Wall! [POTD]

2010-04-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

Clemson junior left fielder Jeff Schaus crashes into the wall on a deep hit by Georgia Tech’s Tony Plagman during the Saturday game at “the Rusty C”.

Saturday I…

Watched GT clinch the series against Clemson in baseball
- Came in after they had run out of the free whiteout T-shirts.This was their design:
- It was another close one with a handful of lead changes.
Watched the football team scrimmage at Bobby Dodd Stadium
- I Took down a play-by-play of the whole thing.
- Later I compiled the information to make a box score. It’s all in my practice report here.
Dropped by Tech Beautification Day for a few minutes

Ate at my favorite restaurant: Papi’s Cuban Grill.
- After eating here fairly often for nearly four years, they FINALLY took my order without having to ask for “the usual”.
Spent some time at Under The Couch.
- My friends T.K., W.L., and Matt played during “open mic” night.

Sunday I…

Didn’t get to do too much interesting stuff. Sunday is a focus on school day.

Penguin Piñata Birthday Party [POTD]

2010-04-16T14:56:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

The candy in Spencer’s piñata is batted out the penguin.

Today I…

Spent part of my evening with the people of Hefty-Fit ‘n’ Strong. We:
- Played kickball at the Burger Bowl.
- Ate huge burgers at a cookout in our courtyard.
- Started a game of tug-of-war.
Went to the Beesball game
- Georgia Tech v Clemson
- For the 3rd time this year a Clemson team led by Kyle Parker (Right fielder, Quarterback) lost to Georgia Tech.
- The game was as exciting as GT/Clemson baseball games always are. We won in the 10th inning with a Chase Burnette homerun. I was standing right behind home plate when he did it.
Watched Football practice and wrote up a short practice report.

Motivation [POTD]

2010-04-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

MIDN 1/c Pham, soon to be 2LT Pham, demonstrates his motivation during our “pass in review” practice. See the rest of the set here.

Today (Thursday) I…

Played one of the most fun games of pickup football I’ve ever played
Rehearsed for the pass in review
- Pass in review is a military ceremony where a reviewing officer reviews the unit.
- Our ceremony will incorporate the change of command from one midshipman battalion commander to another.
Shipped a textbook I sold via Half.com.

The line at the post office was ridiculous since many people were sending tax related mail.

Had lunch at Pizza Hut in the student center.

I used all of my GT dining rewards funds.

3-0 in 4-on-4 [POTD]

2010-04-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

Kaylen intercepts a pass during our 32-20 victory of Hefty-Fit ‘n’ Strong.

Today I...

Listened to the Georgia Tech @ UGA baseball game on WREK online.

Final score Tech 25 – Bad Guys 6.
Tech scored its most runs ever against UGA game.
25 runs is also the most runs ever allowed by UGA against ANY opponent.
Georgia Tech’s record for runs scored is 41 runs against Earlham in 1975.
To Hell with Georgia
I’m really looking forward to the series against Clemson this weekend. Not only our biggest ACC rival, but they’re also really good at baseball.

Watched spring football practice.

Today was the 9th practice.
The spring game will be next Saturday, April 24th (ITS FREE):
I wrote my practice report on the North Avenue Bulletin.

Played intramural 4-on-4 football.

My team won 55-20.
We are 3-0 and play for the #1 seed in the playoffs next week.

Did my laundry since I needed to get my camoflauge uniform trousers clean from crawling in the dirt during Monday morning PT.

Also had to roll my sleeves for the first time since OCS.

Watched the EPIC 200th episode of South Park.

Did anyone catch that? I bet they don’t even make a continuation to it.

Found my phone (see yesterday)

PNS Inspection Today [POTD]

2010-04-13T17:27:00.001-07:00

Picture of the Day

Captain Stephen Kirby, GT NROTC Commanding Officer.

Captain Kirby, the Professor of Naval Science, inspects the midshipmen of the Georgia Tech NROTC unit. The PNS inspection is an event that occurs each semester. MIDN Blankenbeker, the Battalion (midshipman) CO, trails the captain taking note of any deficiencies in the midshipmen’s uniforms.
Checkout the rest of the set here.

Today I…

Discovered the interesting stores on 11th street like PPR where I found a replacement lens cap.
Started working on Fore ‘n’ Aft, the Georgia Tech NROTC yearbook.
Found a old DVD from 2003, did they have DVDs back then? The video was a video version of the 2002-2003 GTNROTC unit yearbook. I only knew about half a dozen of the people in it.
- Will try to upload the videos to YouTube later.
Lost my phone. Have you seen it?
Made some spaghetti for lunch.
Received a Bit.ly Pro invite. Exciting! Will set it up later.

Today I will…

Watch LOST at 9 PM. Only a 5 more episodes until the series finale.
Drop by Woodie’s for Dinner.
Go to the CRC, only a few more days until our semiannual PFT (Physical Fitness Test).

#GTNROTC, #POTD

OCS: POTD

2010-03-30T20:43:00.001-07:00

Picture of the day

It took me a while to get this scanned, but here is my platoon photo from OCS.
This was taken a few days prior to graduation. Our platoon was 5th platoon, or as we called it, the Forgotten Fifth. We called it that because they staff members at OCS weren’t used to having five platoons so we were often forgotten.
The 4 Marines in desert MARPAT uniforms are our platoon staff. From left to right they are: GySgt Rowland (Sergeant Instructor), Capt Throughton (Platoon Commander), GySgt Tsang (Sergeant Instructor), GySgt Washington (Platoon Sergeant). To the right of the 4 Marines is a Navy Corpsman, Doc Watts.
Did you find me in the photo?

Best GT Schedule Makers

2010-03-30T18:18:00.001-07:00

Registration Season

It’s that time of the semester when people’s hopes get raised by making awesome schedules for next semester, only to get hit with a registration error, a major restriction, and a hold on top of it all.
With just a few more weeks of school left, it usually helps to think about starting fresh with a new set of courses. Lucky for you there are some website that can make registration super easy:

GT EasyReg

Background	Started out as a group project for a Spring 2007 LCC 3401 class.
Pros	Easy to use No Registration required Class Locations Map (w/ walking times) Easy to print schedule Professor GPA comparison
Cons	Class Locations Map isn’t very reliable No saving your registration No class capacity Struggles with summer schedules
Final Verdict	3 Paul Johnsons Easiest to Use- Comes in handy for quick and simple searches.

GT Schedule Creator

Background	Developed by shtylman
Pros	Ability to save/load and import/export your schedule Projected GPA for the semester (based on avg GPAs of your classes) Professor GPA comparison No Registration required Easier to add/remove classes REMAINING Class Capacity info Link to catalog entry
Cons	No class location map Search by looking through lists instead of a search box No class conflict warning
Final Verdict	4 Paul Johnsons Best on Gameday- When its your time to register, this application helps you make educated decisions with its class vacancy information.

Background	The term “koofer” is to Virginia Polytech as the term “word” is to Georgia Tech. This website includes many other useful studying features.
Pros	Best looking website Color by GPA Projected semester GPA Ability to save Integration with textbook search Its own professor rating system
Cons	Registration required Doesn’t show you your compiled schedule right away Too cluttered Lacks ability to export schedule for offline use Koofers hasn’t been fully assimilated with GT students, so many of its features come out empty
Final Verdict	3 Paul Johnsons Most Versatile- The many other study tools such as flashcards, professor ratings, and course materials make this a very useful tool.

Bonus Entry: SGA’s

Course Critique has become rather obsolete due to the added value of the schedulers listed above.
Still useful for detailed GPA reports and the results of course (CIOS) surveys.

UPDATED

New Bonus Entry:

OIRP Grade Distribution App

Thanks to Raymond Chan for letting me know about this excellent app. Give it a try.

Did I miss any other good schedule makers? Let me know in the comments box

Spring Football Starts Today!

2010-03-29T11:11:00.001-07:00

Picture of the Day

This is what I do when I see UGA ads on Facebook:

Football

At 3:45 Georgia Tech’s spring football season officially begins.
Practices are Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays (in the morning). They’re OPEN to the public so all you have to do is walk over to Rose Bowl field and watch the Jackets as they begin preparation for a national championship.

Can’t make it to practice?

No worries, just checkout the North Avenue Bulletin’s practice report.
Should be done shortly after practice is over.

Don’t forget the Spring game

Note: Spring game time has been set to 1:00 PM

No Cameras Allowed at Practice!

Campus HDRs Set Two

2010-03-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

What Happened to Set One?

Earlier in the semester I went around campus taking HDR photos of mostly Bobby Dodd Stadium, Tech Tower, and the surrounding areas. That set is found here.

So What is Set Two About?

This time I started out at the North Avenue Apartments.

Then crossed the street to Smith for photos of my first on campus residence hall

I found all types of things to photograph on east campus


Like this rarely observed sign on the connector facing side of Perry Residence Hall.	Or the everyday view down the Techwood side walk.

Scattered throughout were these cool spray painted Buzzes

I haven’t been back to Brittain since probably my sophomore year.

The fourth floor of Harris gave me a good view of some of east campus landmarks.

The FE area had some other good street scenes:

Downtown Atlanta

Bobby Dodd Way

Pretty soon the sun set

But I still had some time to find some interesting things on East Campus

Moving on to Central campus:

The tranquility of spring break kept the reflection perfect

The CULC is coming along nicely

This is actually NOT an HDR, you can see the HDR here.

This building gave off a purple light that did strange things to my image

The Student Center area at night

There are more photos than I could fit on this post (120+ including hte non HDR version)

View the rest of the set here.

Or watch a slide show of the set

Other photos:

Feel free to use any of my pictures however you’d like, as long as you attribute them.

Can You Tell Me Where This Photo Was Taken? 2.0

2010-03-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Background

I went around campus yesterday taking a handful of HDRs.
Earlier I posted a photo of the Supply Room at the armory.

The Photo

This photo was taken somewhere on Georgia Tech’s campus.

The Challenge

If you’re the first person to leave a comment, or tweet, below telling me where I took this photo you’ll get a prize.

The Incorrect Answers

These are some of the answers I've received so far that were wrong:

~~Howey~~
~~Student Center~~
~~Right next to Junior's~~
~~Library~~
~~Skiles~~
~~O'Keefe Gym (Volleyball court area)~~
~~Alexander Memorial Area sign~~
~~Institute of Paper Science and Technology~~
~~Boggs~~
~~HR Building~~
~~AE Building~~
~~Old CE Building~~
~~Howell~~
~~Harris~~
~~Brittain Rec~~
~~OMED building~~
~~Woodruff Dining Hall~~
~~Savant Building~~
~~Wall alongside Tech Tower lawn next to Steam Engine~~

The rest of the 60+ HDRs will be uploaded soon and can be seen here.

The Answer

@TheBuzzFan figured it out first! It is the east side of Perry facing the interstate.

Lookout for more contests like these in the future.

Can You Tell Me Where This Photo Was Taken?

2010-03-24T11:20:00.001-07:00

Background

I went around campus yesterday taking a handful of HDRs.

The Photo

This photo was taken somewhere on Georgia Tech’s campus.

The Challenge

If you’re the first person to leave a comment below telling me where I took this photo you’ll get a prize.

The rest of the 60+ HDRs will be uploaded soon and can be seen here.

The Answer

@Chanvin figured it out first! It is the old armory building behind the Army office.

He's won a free lunch @ the Student Center!

Lookout for an even better photo location trivia question

Winter wonderland (In HD-R)

2010-02-12T22:13:00.001-08:00

Notice: These pictures are best viewed in full-screen. Click on an image to view a larger version.View a slideshow comparing the HDRs with non-HDRs here.

Second 2010 Snowstorm If you live in the United (50) States chances are you’ve seen some snow by now. The AP reports Hawaii as the only state without snow so far. Unless you live in downtown Atlanta, you probably haven’t seen the beautiful white powder as it covers Georgia Tech’s campus:

GT Logo at Crecine Apartments

The view of the Burger Bowl from my window as the snow came down.

GT Logo on a snowed up van

Close-up of the snow on the leaves

Students building a snowman on the Burger Bowl

The view from outside Armstrong Hall

A Georgia Tech Bookstore van covered in snow View the entire gallery of 57 photos here.

All images are licensed under a creative commons attribution license. Feel free to use them as you please as long as you attribute them to me (Hector Alejandro).

#ATLSnow

70 on Campus HDRs

2010-01-31T09:54:00.001-08:00

Background

I spent about an hour on Friday walking around mostly east campus taking some HDR shots.

Most of these shots were taken from the west stands of Bobby Dodd Stadium and the surrounding area.

The pictures

All these photographs are licensed under a creative commons attribution 2.0 license.

You can view the entire set (70 HDRs), and the non-HDR image on my flickr page.

Leave me a comment with suggestions or recommendations for future HDRs.

Pen Tool

2010-01-03T14:38:00.001-08:00

Orange Bowl Wallpapers

I’ve been working with Photoshop and a little on Illustrator recently learning how to make graphics. You can see some of my latest wallpapers, all Orange Bowl themed, in the North Avenue Bulletin.

The Pen Tool

So far the hardest thing for me to grasp had been the magnificent pen tool.

I had heard of its power but it wasn’t until I recognized the importance of the “convert point tool” that the light bulb came on.

The tutorial that helped me understand can be found by clicking on the penguin.

Next Challenge

I’m looking for the next challenge to tackle on this Photoshop/Design game. If you have any projects you’d like me to try let me know. I’ll make wallpapers, posters, logos, etc.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T13:54:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas
Originally uploaded by hectorir

Feliz Navidad

Picking the 2009 Bowl Game Winners [College Football]

2009-12-19T12:58:00.001-08:00

Ordered by confidence:

Chronological Order:
Printable, chronological version.

Today’s Games (Saturday 19)

The season kicks off with Fresno State vs. Wyoming, followed by Rutgers vs. UCF.

The first game should be an easy win for Fresno State with the help of a strong effort by the nation’s leading running back Ryan Matthews (151.3 ypg).

The second game will be much more competitive. I think UCF will have the lead for part of this contest, but Rutgers comes out victorious at the end.

More bowl game predictions to come…

Update on Ice Machine Water

2009-10-10T08:11:00.001-07:00

I received this message from maintenance:

“Checked water and ice machine there is know visible signs of any thing that would cause problems.the water is coming out clear and it has a aerator to restrict any thing from coming into the tap.Refering this to mechanical shop for to also look at.9-30-9 1-01-09 services call from bernard washington,to check ice machine,removed cover with the assistan from M2,ice machine was service and clean,inspected the water filter,filter in good condition install 8-09,and carry a 12 months exp.”

Feel free to keep drinking the water in the kitchen.

If you do experience any type of facility related problem, please make a maintenance request here.

7x7 (Part 2)

2009-09-28T11:56:00.001-07:00

Originally Posted on the “Knowing Changes Everything” Blog

for Georgia Tech Admissions

7 Lists x7 Days

My first seven blog posts will be lists of 7 ranking some of my favorite things at Tech. Each day I will post a new list. I have some topics in mind, but if there is a specific list you’d like to see, let me know on the comments box.

1. My top 7 classes at Tech so far

3. 7 things I always carry with me on campus

3-7. TBA

7 things I always carry with me on campus

7- Pen & PaperYou never know when you’ll get a great idea, but if you have a pen and a notebook, you’ll have somewhere to save that thought until you need it again.

6- Something to read

Whether I’m waiting for a Stinger bus, my class to start, or just waiting in line, I always have something to do by reading one of the magazines I keep on me in my sack pack (see 5). On Fridays, when the Technique comes out, I’ll pick that up to stay up to date on campus news.

5- My Sack PackThis Under Armor brand sack pack has come in handy and proved quite durable. I carry it with me whenever I don’t have my laptop book bag with me. I need somewhere to put all that reading material, and textbooks of course.

4- A CameraThe notebook helps me remember ideas, but the camera lets me capture moments (on video or photo) that occur spontaneously on campus. I also use it in places like the library where I can take a picture of the call # of the book I’m looking for, then view the photo when I’m actually in front of the book rack. 99% of the time, taking a picture of the call # is faster than writing it down.

3- My Cell PhoneI’d estimate about 90% of students on campus have a cell phone. Out of that 90%, 60% has either unlimited or a high number of pre-paid text messages. Texting is a popular way of communicating with class group members and friends on campus.

2- My Room Keys

A few buildings (Hefner & Armstrong for the Freshman Experience) already have RFID Buzz Card entry systems installed in their residence halls which allow their residents to enter the building without using a key. That isn’t the case for me in Fitten. I learned early on that you can’t afford to lose your keys. The fee for having your key replaced is somewhere in the $75 range!

Most rooms on campus require the resident to open 2 locked doors before reaching your own room door. Fitten has 3 locked doors before reaching my room door, so if I do forget my key that would be lots of waiting around for someone to let me in.

1- My Buzz Card

You don’t need your Buzz Card, unless you plan on:

Eating at a dining hall
Taking an exam
Entering the library
Getting back into your residence hall (for the North Avenue apartments as well as Hefner-Armstrong)
Paying for your broken chemistry lab materials
Paying for a variety of things on campus (from vending machines to your books @ Barnes & Noble)
Attending a Freshman Experience area-wide program
Paying for your laundry
Paying for things like Six Flags night (scheduled for last Friday before the flood changed our plans) or World of Coke night (scheduled for this Thursday)
Entering the Student Center after-hours
Playing intramural sports (Buzz Card checks you in each game)