Christmas is over....YAY!!!

Another christmas has come and gone, which is great. I hate holidays because I am a very routined individual. I went home on the 23rd and after 5 hours of driving arrived at my parents house with Emily in tow. She met my parents and my dad was his normal deranged self. Then I took her to her parents house on Christmas Eve and met her mom. On the way to her parents place we almost died on I-94 near the Little Mack exit. All I will say is hydroplaning and semi's do not mix. Somehow I managed to keep my truck in one lane and not get us killed. Then I spent Christmas day at home until 3 pm and took off to avoid the weather and traffic the next day. Good thing I did because it rained all day the next day. Now I have been back in Kalamazoo for a few days and riding has been progressing. I did my first workout today just to hurt a little bit. It wasn't extravagant but it was something to get the legs burning again. That is my update for now, I hope to keep this up at least once a week for the remainder of the year and cycling season. Peace!

Grades and Life

So I got my grades on Tuesday for the fall semester and I was sure I was not going to get a 4.0. I did however end up with a 3.87 with three A's and one BA, which is like a B+/A-. That is WMU's ridiculous way of giving grades. Considering all the bullshit I had to deal with during the semester things turned out rather well. It is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you are immersed in school work, but many people helped me through the semester in different ways. Emily helped me take my mind away from everything by just being her and I find myself thinking what if this one could be "the one".....Yeah big revelation. My friend from my education classes Justin helped me stay ignorant through classes and never take anything too seriously. Next semester I am taking Mathematical Proofs, Statistics and Probability, US Monuments and Landmarks, and Special Education diversity. After this spring I will have completed my history minor and my education classes and will only have 7 math classes left to take. It is going by much fater than I thought. Finally, I am back on the bike, albeit not too seriously yet. I am just going to enjoy non-structured riding for the next 6-7 weeks and then do a little before the spring training series races. I talked with a pro cycling friend last night and realized that while cycling may be a big part of some of our lives, it is not what life should be about. That is unless you are a pro that only has that to look forward too in life. Be well and enjoy the holidays!

Done and Very Little Fun

So the semester is over and I am happy that it is done, but my one final was kinda a bitch to say the least. There were 10 problems total involving nullspaces and column spaces and eigenvalues and eigenvectors and all that good shit that no one really likes, unless you are a math dork like me. I was gonna put some of the questions on here and may below, so if u can solve them then feel free. So Tuesday I decided to hop back on the bike for the first time in 9 days and I felt like shit for an hour and then felt good the last hour. Problem is the reason I felt bad was I have an upper respiratory infection and maybe strep. My girlfriend has been sick and I have been around her a lot, but it is by no means her fault. Maybe I will just swing my way through it. Anyhow I think I ended the semester with three A's and one B. That final in math really fuct me in that department. Thats why I go to school though now, this degree I am there to actually learn and not just sit and hope for the best. Anyhow here are a few math questions to sink ur teeth into.

1. For what values of Y1 and Y2 would this system be consistent?
a)
{1 2 3} = Y1
{-2 -4 -5} = Y2

b) Find all the solutions to the set that make Y1 and Y2 consistent

2. Find the determinant of the following matrix

o o o 2
5 4 2 0
0 3 0 0
8 7 6 0

3. calculate the dimension of span (X1, X2, X3, X4)

2 6 4 8
6 -1 1 -1
4 4 3 11
-8 2 -1 3

4. Consider the following matrix and determine the following.
1 2 1 0 2 7
1 2 2 -1 3 12
1 2 2 -1 4 15

a) Row reduced echelon form

b) The basis for the row space and its dimension

c) The basis for the nullspace and its dimension

d) The basis for the column space and its dimension

5. Can the following be linearly independent in R4?
3 2 1
-1 1 1
4 3 1
2 -1 1

6. L: v->w is a linear transformation
Prove that the Kernel of (L) is in the subspace of V

7. L is on R2 which rotates 45 degrees counterclockwise and reflects the result about the x-axis. Give a matrix for the resulting solution based upon the standard basis e1 and e2.

8. If L is a linear operator that maps R2->R2 then solve for B if
A= 2 -8 and V= 4 2
1 -4 1 1

my hint to you is use V-1 A V. (This hint was not on the test though)

9. Find the eigen values and eigen vectors for the associated matrix.

-2 2 2
0 1 -3
0 1 5

10. Let @ be an eigenvalue of A and let x be an eigenvector belonging to @. Show that @^3 is an eigenvalue of A^3 and x is an eigenvector of A^3 belonging to @^3.

I used @ in #10 because I have no lamda on my computer here. If u have answers post them up, if not then have fun trying to solve.

Less Than a Week

Here I sit, sick as a dog with less than a week to go in school. Things have been super hectic the past 14 weeks, but its nearly over. I never thought it would be this hard being full time at school, doing a preinternship 10-15 hours a week, riding 10-15 hours a week, and working 15-20 hours. Not to mention doing all of this while holding a 3.87 GPA going into finals. I actually only have one final that I am concerned about. In my Native American culture class I need a 20% to lock an A up, and in my education classes, I have 100% thus far for both. Math is a different story when you get to this level. I have experienced my first semester where I will not get a solid A in a math class, but with all that is going on I am rather at ease with that fact. In riding terms, I have decided a week to ten days off is needed and I got sick at the right time. This is my first break since March really and it feels weird to not be out riding everyday. The weather has not been cooperating so I am pleased with my decision. One final note to those who still read this thing. I met a wonderful woman and am very pleased with her. I do not know how she can stand a crazy asshole like me, but she is a great girl and I hope things progress accordingly. Who knows what will happen over the next few months with school and the like, but right now other than the vomiting today I am feeling pretty well. I am off to finish off my education classes for the semester today so I bid u adieu.