Stefanie's Shoes

Well, I was up to 3am studying last night. I should have managed my time better this past weekend. I underestimated just how much work it would take to figure out how to program in R (statistical software). I learned this software in undergrad, but that was almost 5 years ago. I thought it would just come back to me, but it took a little while to catch the hang of it again. Now that I am catching on agaiin, I really think I will enjoy programming in this language. SAS is great, but R can do somethings more efficiently. I guess SAS and R both have there ups and downs as programming languages.

I didn't mention this yet, but my computer wasn't even functioning last week starting Wednesday morning. I was so frustrated after having it sent back to the manufacturer and the store where I purchased the laptop and getting it back from them both still broken. I brought it into this store (Compar Inc) last Wednesday, and Friday I got the call that my laptop was fixed. Turns out that it was a broken main board (I guess that means mother board in computer lingo). I had them bill the manufacturer of my laptop since it is under manufacturer warranty and the actual manufacturer coulnd't fix it. Now, my laptop is perfect again. Oh thank you Compar!

Posted by Stefanie Schussler at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am still trying to finalize my schedule for this semester but I am sure of most of the courses. They are

• Clinical Trials


• Data Mining/Statistical Learning


• Stat Theory II


• Computational Methods in Genetic Analysis (auditing this one)

I am still contemplating auditing Real Analysis II, because as much as I don't want to take it, I don't want to find out the hard way that it would have been beneficial. Now, if I do end up taking this one, I will only be auditing it. Maybe this would be too much (???). There is some talk about the math department offering Real Analysis I & II at different level - for biostatistics/statistics students. There is a need for this class because we definitely need to understand the material covered but not at such depth as the math students. There is talk that this class will be offered as soon as next year, but this is NOT definite. If this does happen, then I think it would be best if I take this class as a companion with my core Ph.D. classes. I will need to concentrate on my Ph.D. core classes, so I would probably have to audit it. I sure am happy that I got Real Analysis I down though because I do see some of the material in my classes already. I think I will sit in a Real Analysis II class today and then make my mind up if I will be auditing it. I previously didn't want to audit this class because it's hard to learn as much as actually taking the class for a grade, but still maybe I would get some benefit from it.

Data Mining/Statistical Learning overlaps (by 35 minutes) with Computational Methods in Genetic Analysis , so I will only be auditing this one (the second one). There is still 1 hour and 20 minutes of this class that I will not be missing, so I still think I can follow along. This class looks fun! It is held in the computer lab so you can follow along with the professor. Many students in the class do not know UNIX or LINUX, so I will be ahead of many of them because I am familar with UNIX. Knowing UNIX or LINUX is not required, so some of the class time will simply be learning it.

This semester seems much better than the previous. I know many more students now and am familar with more of the faculty. I know my way around campus and know where I can find the nearest coffee . I have the bus figured out, and know where to park on campus if I miss the bus or decide to drive myself. I am aware of my work responsibilities. I am still trying to figure out where I fit in among the students. I don't have any study groups. Last semester it was near impossible to schedule time with one, so hopefully I can get one started up now.

I haven't figured out the rec center. It is free to students paying the full-time student fees. So I should really be taking advantage of it, but haven't yet. I am thinking about going to the rec center on Tuesday/Thursdays, and running at home after school on MWF. My husband has agreed to start running with me. He said we may have to walk/run, but that's fine with me. I really appreciate him wanting to do this with me. I have figured out many running techniques...what not to do and what to concentrate on while running. I may write a future blog about this.

Until next time,
Stefanie :-)

Posted by Stefanie Schussler at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This blog is a just a bunch of photos from my winter break. Enjoy!

Christmas at my house - chaos but tons of fun!




Jeremy and I at another Christmas party.




My friends Alysa and Vidya from highschool and myself. Go Osseo Orioles! I have known Vidya since 3rd grade, and Alysa since 7th grade.




My friend Kathy and myself. She just styled my hair! I have known Kathy since 3rd grade.




Vidya and myself having fun in Uptown!




I gave my parents a tour of campus. They took some fun pictures. Here I am next to Goldy!




Here I am next to Lucy from Charlie Brown, located by the pharmacological school.




I went to a baptism of my newest neice.




That's all folks!

Posted by Stefanie Schussler at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

...A fool is born everyday.

That is how I feel today. I could not get my laptop to even boot up this morning. I called the manufacturer again and asked if I could just take my laptop into the store my brother recommended. They said yup, but told me of another store that is a little closer to me. I called this store to see when I could take my laptop in to be fixed. No appointment is necessary, just drop it off.

I told the techie at the store the issues my laptop is having. He said sometimes the battery goes dead and if the laptop doesn't start with the battery in the machine even with it plugged in, then it would cause the machine not to boot up. So I removed the battery and plugged my laptop in and it booted right up! Then I put the battery back in the machine so it would charge up. I hope this was the cure to my machine. I still have to take the laptop in so that the fan can be repaired.

I told that techie that the fan was broken. He said "what do you mean broken?". I told him that is what the store (where I purchased my laptop) told me. I went on to tell him that they store said to buy a chill mat for the broken fan. The techie said "So the store told you to buy a chill mat for a brand new laptop?". I told him yup. Then the phone went silent. I could just imagine what this guy was thinking...I am fool. They suckered me into buying more unnecessary stuff from them besides this garabage warranty that they don't honor. They guy implied that I should not have bought a chill mat, especially if the machine is new. A fool is born everyday...and I am unfortunately this fool.

Posted by Stefanie Schussler at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It looks like my laptop is still having issues, although overall it is functioning much better. The computer doesn't appear to be magically shutting down anymore but it does have its issues with booting up. It must still be something with the operating system as my laptop's "on" light comes on but the screen remains black. My brother, JJ, found a place that fixes only computers by the same manufacturer. Since its under manufacturer warranty, I will take it in there and hopefully they will fix it for free as my machine is only a baby (not quite 5 months old).

This is the second time that they (the maufacturer and now the place where I bought the laptop) have given back my computer broke. Well, if I take it to this place JJ recommends then at least they can fix the fan.

Posted by Stefanie Schussler at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I started today on the wrong foot, so to speak. I managed to lock myself outside of my house this morning with soaking wet hair. It was very cold and my hair turned into icicles. Luckily I had my cell phone on me, so I called my husband who was already at work. He came to my rescue but it took about 20 minutes of standing out in the cold. My dog was wimpering at the door watching me stand outside. The dog was inside though.

I managed to miss my bus this morning because of all of this. I caught the next one, and came late to campus. I didn't miss any classes though. On top of all this, I also managed to get sick again with yet another cold. I feel horrible today. If I didn't have class this afternoon, I would go home, but I can't miss the first day of this class (Stat Theory II).

In other news, I forgot to mention in my blog yesterday that one of my classes, Clinical Trials, was held on satellite feed yesterday. Our professor couldn't make it yesterday but held the class live through satellite. It was interesting because guess who else was watching the satellite feed? Mayo Clinic employees! We could see my professor and also the employees at Mayo Clinic who are also taking the class. I am not sure what other classes, if any, that have this satellite feed going for the Mayo Clinic employees. It appears to me that they have worked out making U of MN classes available to Mayo Clinic employees, as the discussed the idea of last semester.

Posted by Stefanie Schussler at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, I passed my Real Analysis math class! I finally got my final grade this weekend. So I was nervous all break for nothing. As you may recall, I took this class S-N (satisfactory-nonsatisfactory). I wonder what my grade would have been as a letter grade. Oh well, maybe I wouldn't want to know...it's at least a C or higher.

Also, I got my laptop back on Sunday and it's all fixed, except for the fan which they the manufacturer will have to fix. I have yet to download the software and programs that were whipped off of it. The U of MN gives us discounted rates on software, and even gives us Windows for free. I will have to download all of that stuff again, which wasn't so straight-forward to me if I remember correctly from this past fall, but at least it's free. I have yet to hook up my wireless modem at home again to my laptop, which I forgot how to do, and am having some difficulties because I previously had my modem encrypted. Well, I just need to spend a few hours with it getting it back to speed.

I have been waiting for my laptop to get all the pictures off my digital camera. I had no where to put them until now. That may take a while to go throw those pix. Hopefully when that is all taken care of I can get some new pix up on here. My goal is to have that taken care of by this weekend...we shall see if I follow through.

Our spring semester started today. I am optimistic about my courses this semester. I found out that one course will not have any exams. Yay! We will have a large project though. I am great when I have time to spend on things, so I am quite happy with this class. I am taking three classes this semester, all of which should be thought-provoking and really just helping me prepare for my core Ph.D. classes next year.

Until next time,
Stefanie

Posted by Stefanie Schussler at 2:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My newly purchased laptop is in the shop. I bought my laptop at the end of August and it already is broken! Just prior to finals week I started having computer issues. My laptop was shutting off and on by itself and had issues even starting up too. The computer light would be on, but it would not boot up. I would shut it off and on over and over until I could get it to work. I managed to do this repeatedly during finals week to get my work done.

I bought a two-year warranty with my laptop. I called up the computer company whom I bought the computer from and they said that the first year is under manufacturer warranty and they would not fix it. Isn't this false advertising? I mean, really, it's a one-year warranty for the second year of the product, not a two-year warranty. Grrrr.... So I called up the manufacturer who said to take it into the place where I bought the laptop from and get it diagnosed and then tell them the diagnosis and they would fix it. I told the manufacturer that the company where I bought the computer from would not do this without a charge and that it was quite ridiculous that they would not diagnosis it themselves. So then they said I could UPS in my laptop to them (the manufacturer).

I sent it in to the manufacturer and got it back earlier this week. Guess what? It's still broken with the same issues! I called up the manufacturer and they said to turn on the computer and I told them it wouldn't even start, so that was impossible. Then I questioned them why they didn't fix the issue. Their representative wasn't sure what the deal was, and wanted me to keep trying to get the computer started and call them back once it's started. I was very frustrated at this point.

I brought my laptop into the store where I purchased it, and explained to them all of these issues. They said they could fix it for a charge (of course!). I tried to convey how frustrated I was with this go-around and how I shouldn't have to pay because I bought a two-year warranty through them. They then agreed to fix it for free, but only fix the software. It turn's out that one of the fans is broken and Windows is broken. They called me last night and told me that they have fixed Windows for me (yay!). They still have to install some drivers but they need the CD/DVD that I got when I purchased the laptop. I found it last night, and called them back. They will install the drivers for me on Saturday.

I bought a chill mat for the functioning fans (apparently there are multiple fans and only one is broken). They said I could get by using the chill mat for one semester and then after the semester they said I should send in my laptop to the manufacturer again for them to fix the fan. I am thinking I will send it in next week to the manufacturer because I don't want the broken fan to cause the laptop to overheat and start melting internal parts. They said the chill mat would prevent that from happening, but I am skeptical.

So many computer woes! I just want the dang thing to work, not get charged for it since I have a warranty, and not get the go-around. Is that too much to ask? I don't think so. I will never buy a computer from this company again or anything from this well-known manufacturer. I will not give the details as to who the company is or who the manufacturer is on this blog but if you ask me in person I will tell you.

Posted by Stefanie Schussler at 8:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)