Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Senior Design Showcase

The Senior Design Showcase today was pretty cool. There were many projects today and it was evident that most Penn State seniors are ready for the real world.

As entertaining and informative as today was, I also think it was just as exhausting. Having to set up my poster presentation, stand in front of my project, and answer questions for three hours has sucked the life right out of me. Giving the same speech thirty times today has shifted my extreme excitement about my project to extreme relief for finally being through with senior design.

I give all the respect in the world to the people that have to attend trade shows and showcases to peddle their goods everyday. As much as we are quick to make fun of Vince the Shamwow! guy for constantly acting like a tool and having a fo-hawk, he has a talent that I could never obtain. Having that level of excitement about a product for hours on end is amazing.

I guess the takeaway that I can gather from this experience is that I am not cut out for demonstrative sales. I am extremely happy I don't have to peddle my invention more than once a year. I'm not bad at it, I just think it's something I will leave to Vince and Billy Mays.

B.K.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Senior Design and Lack of Patents

After watching all of my fellow seniors give their final presentations during class this morning, I was appalled at the lack of groups that decided to pursue some form of intellectual property protection.

In an effort of fairness, not all groups are allowed to pursue intellectual property protection as they are under non-disclosure agreements with project sponsors. However, some of the projects were sponsored by entities that did not require them to sign non disclosure agreements. A simple review of the Penn State Student IP Rights can be seen below. Basically, it states that any undergraduate retains the rights to any project, thesis, homework work that presents a novel, patentable concept.

After seeing the work put into the senior design projects and the brilliance that some of my fellow classmates have shown, it dissapoints me that many of them will never be able to capitalize upon their ideas. Their ideas have been presented to an industry panel with judges. Therefore, they can never reap the benefits of having protection of their idea.

Penn State Student IP Rights

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Credit Saturation

I just realized why Penn State sets their credit limit at 18. Anything more takes away your life.

This semester, I am taking 20.5 credits. Although it was in an attempt to graduate on time with a major and a minor, it may not have been worth it. In order to maintain my GPA, I have spent the most time on coursework this year than I have at any point in my undergraduate career. My social life and health have suffered. My grades are on the verge of suffering.

This brings to mind a question that has been bothering me lately: How much is too much for one's plate? It seems that every day I take on another task and more responsibilities. This either comes from my refusal to say "No" or the value I place upon getting that extra task accomplished.

Would this type of mindset have been possible 30 years ago? I'm sure it would, but my time lines would be much more drawn out. Virtually everyone raves at the advent of new technologies and how they will make our lives easier. I think this statement is complete bull shit. Sure, new technology is great at making certain aspect of our lives easier. E-mail gave us the ability to communicate with written communication at lightning speeds; however, it also gave us SPAM, quicker deadlines, and longer electronic task lists. The technology does not make our lives easier, it just allows us to get certain things done more quickly. This allows us to pile more things on our plate that we need to get done in a more immediate manner.

I think I have information gluttony.

B.K.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The Fantasy with Fantasy Sports

I just finished up my fantasy baseball draft. I am fairly happy because I got Hanley Ramirez, Ryan Howard, and Tim Lincecum.

Don't know what I'm talking about? It's ok, I will briefly explain. Fantasy sports are similar to real sports where normal Joes like my friends and I act like general managers. Professional atheletes are aquired by fantasy owners and they are placed onto rosters that covet them only for their statistical abilities. Fantasy owners are responsible for drafting players, negotiating trades, and picking up free agents. The goal is to acquire better overall statistics than your opponent. The team with the best statistics (usually) wins the fantasy league.

For a better description please consult the all knowing wikipedia : Fantasy Sports

More important than grasping the concept of fantasy sports is grasping the explosive popularity of fantasy sports. According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, nearly 30 million people in the United States and Canada played fantasy sports. 30 million. In addition, 22 percent of males age 18 to 49 currently partake in fantasy sports.

What began as nerds trading professional athelets in their basements in the 80s has morphed into a worldwide phenomenon. Owners no longer have to check the newspaper to see what their fantasy shortstop did the night before. They can just have the stats texted to their iPhone instantly, or they can just watch his at bat live.

In addition to the sites that offer fantasy management (ESPN, sportsline.com, yahoo.com), fantasy advice sites are also multi-billion dollar markets. For just 19.95 a month, you can pay rotowire.com to tell you which of your fantasy players to play the next week. Doesn't that take the thinking (and the fun) out of it?

B.K.