Project Programming – Day 1 – Learning C++

Hey People.

So I decided with the influence of one of my developer friends to learn C++. I am going to be following along with the site http://www.learncpp.com/. These posts will describe the sections I’ve covered and also what little mini side projects I’ve been working on. I’m hoping as time progresses I get involved into a much larger project and hopefully GUI based programs, then a simple video game, and then finally a real video game.

Today I covered sections 1.1 to 1.3 at work, which covered the basic structures of a program. The side project I did was a simple console app that presented the user with a simple menu, that they would choose whether they wanted to do Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, or Division. Once they selected which one they wanted, they then could do an unlimited amount of numbers, and when they decided to stop adding numbers by entering 0, the program would report their answer. Here are some screen grabs from the .EXE

So that’s the update on that. If you want the code I used to do it, feel free to leave a comment.

Project Fitness – Day 2 – Legs

So today I did a quick work out of my lower body. It was quick because I either need to really practice my squat form or find an exercise to replace them, because I always am worried about hurting myself when I do squats. Anyways here’s the summary of the five exercises I did today

Squats

Reps	Weight
10	115 lbs
10	115 lbs
9	115 lbs
8	135 lbs
3	135 lbs

On the last set I got too nervous about hurting myself so I stopped.

Calf Raises

Reps	Weight
30	18
25	21 (Machine Max)
25	21
25	21
20	21
34	15

Leg Presses

Reps	Weight
10	15
10	15
10	15
10	13
10	10
20	10

I then attempted to do leg raises but my hip flexors started to feel weird so I stopped. I just finished 8 Minute abs.

Short workout. Once I get more of a routine set for legs it’ll be longer.

Projects

I’ve come up with a schedule or projects that I am going to stick with in order to continue bettering myself. I feel that this is a pretty aggressive schedule but each of them I’ll love doing so I’ll stick with it. Plus each project will give me the motivation to keep writing in this blog.  The updates won’t be so much life updates, more like project updates and each project should be separate entities even though most of them will collide with one another.

So let’s get started. This will be organized by days of the week.

Monday – Guitar

In senior year of high school I took a class called “Intro to Acoustic Guitar.” I loved playing guitar in that class and the songs were primarily lead pieces and very simple rhythm pieces. I fully expected to have the time to continue progressing in my guitar playing throughout college but unfortunately due to sheer fear of being judged by my guitar wielding friends and lack of time to dedicate to practice, I never much improved. However now that I live on my own, I can dedicate a couple hours at least one day a week, maybe more on other days. But the thing is, I’ll be writing a summary of what I have been practicing, what theory I’ve been learning, what songs I’ve been learning and HOPEFULLY a video of me playing a song. The song is going to force me out of my comfort zone because well, I don’t like performing in front of people when I’m nervous. That summary will come out on Monday Night’s.

Tuesday – Let’s Plays

Let’s be honest, I love video games. And I have not one but two computers which are strong enough to play some decent video games. So what I’m going to be doing is restarting my Let’s Play Channel, in which I play a game and give commentary similar to Helloween4545 on YouTube. These videos will be posted on this blog, but will be uploaded to my second YouTube channel (of which you can see the remenants of the first Let’s Play Trial) – http://www.youtube.com/Roymond35

I fully expect that I may do more than one game at a time. I might do a let’s play of Minecraft in addition to a Let’s Play of Skyrim, and I also fully expect that when I get into a game, the videos will come out more often but at the very least it will be once a week.

Wednesday – Work Out Progress

The current plan for this project is to upload a blog post after EVERY workout I do. But on Wednesdays in addition to the normal work out, I’ll post pictures of my progress. The format of the posts will be similar to the one you saw yesterday.

Thursdays – Programming

I’ve always been a sucker for programming. Several times throughout my college career I debated changing majors to computer science just so I could learn programming more. The first language I’m going to learn is C++. I’m going to post weekly updates of the struggles I’m having as well as ZIP files of the little programs I have been working on so that way people can see the progression of my coding confidence.

Saturdays – Foreign Language

I’ve always wanted to learn a foreign language and I’ve decided that I’m going to dedicate at least 2 hours on Saturday to learn and practice it. I know that dedicating such a small amount of time to it will hinder the progress of it, but again, I expect to practice and do little exercises in between. This will start up NEXT Saturday (Feb 25th) because I haven’t completely decided on a language I want to learn yet.

Sundays – Website Design

As you can see from the relative inactivity of Total Recoil, my dad has abandoned that idea. The truth is he’s abandoned the name and instead of Total Recoil, he’s purchased the domain name Blackhawk13.com and tasked me to design the entire website from scratch. So I will be doing most of this on Sundays.

Other Stuff

There is one more thing that I have yet to talk about, but it is going to play a significant role in nearly all my projects. Video Editing. I will still be making videos of my dad and I shooting guns, as well as the videos of me playing guitar, the Let’s Play Videos, and if I decide to do some other videos along the way then I will be posting them here or in the very least on one of my two channels.

Project My Body

My friend Josh said that I need a project to distract myself from the fact that my ex chose someone else over me and that it would help with the healing process so I’m going to make myself a project. I’ve never been absolutely happy with my body so I am going to use this blog as motivation to get more in shape. I’m going to post my entire workout for the day (which generally I work out Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays but I am going to add at least one more day dedicated to legs/lower body) and most importantly I’m going to do something that I am normally very bashful of. Post pictures of my progress.

Weigh in today: 206 lbs

Work out:

Bench Press (Today was on the LifeFitness bench machine because I couldn’t get anything else)

Reps	Weight
15	14
10	21 (Machine Max)
7	21
6	19
6	19
8	13

Incline Bench Press (First set on same Machine as Bench Press, last 4 on Smith Machine)

Reps	Weight
10	13
5	185 lbs
5	185 lbs
7	155 lbs
6	155 lbs

Lat Pull Down – Back on LifeFitness Machine

Reps	Weight
15	10
10	12
10	14
9	14
10	12

Shrugs – First, Second and Last Set done with dumbbells, Had to move to the machine for the other two for the heavier weight.

Reps	Weight
35	50 lbs each hand
25	50 lbs
20	57.5 lbs
15	77.5 lbs
20	50 lbs

Crunches on a Workout Ball
50
20 (very slow)
20 (very slow)
20 (very slow)
20 (very slow)

Crunches with Legs on Workout Ball
40
35 (very slow)
30 (very slow)
25 (very slow)

Bicep Curls – Standing unsupported.

Reps	Weight
15	40 lbs each hand
10	45 lbs each hand
5	50 lbs each hand (plus 5 hammer curls)
9 (all hammer curls)	50 lbs each hand
9	40 lbs each hand
10	25 lbs each hand
15	25 lbs each hand

Tricep Pull Down using Rope

Reps	Weight
20	62.5 lbs
15	87.5 lbs
13	87.5 lbs
5	97.5 lbs
11	77.5 lbs
15	57.5 lbs
20	37.5 lbs

What I want to add for the next workout. Skull Crushers, 21′s. The reason I didn’t have them this time is because honestly, I am very hungry.

Now for the Part I hate the most… Pictures. These are from my phone because I could not find my camera, so kind of low quality.

What do I want out of this project:

Honestly, What I want to do is get it so I can look at myself from the front and not feel kind of chubby. It’s always been a problem of mine and it’s my goal to just get rid  of it.

Sometimes

Sometimes you can just try with all your might and still lose. I think the last couple days have shown me that I’m going to just lose.

I just wish I could have her back. But no matter what I do it isn’t good enough.

For those who believe in Dream Interpretations

So last night and a couple random nights in my past I’ve had a dream that was eerily similar to this one. So to cut to the chase, here’s what happened in it

It’s the first day of university, or the first day of classes, I couldn’t quite tell all I know is that there were a ton of people that I didn’t know around me. I was walking up to a class or my dorm room in a really tall building with a huge staircase. I start climbing the staircase with all the other people but then it starts getting more and more painful. It feels as if my left leg is being frozen and it makes climbing the stairs increasingly difficult until I get to the next floor where I find a cane. My progress is still dreadfully slow but I remain kind and help people with disabilities by holding a door open and letting them go first. My dream ends with me still climbing at a dreadfully slow pace, with a lot of pain, and using the cane to muster the strength to continue.

Now for those of you who believe in Dream interpretations, here’s what I could find:

College

To dream that you are in college indicates that you are going through some social or cultural changes. You want to expand your knowledge and awareness. It also suggests that now is a good time for you to experiment and try new things. If you had gone to college in your past, then also consider your personal experiences and memories of your college days.

Climbing stairs

To dream that you are walking up a flight of stairs indicate that you are achieving a higher level of understanding. You are making progress into your spiritual, emotional or material journey. The dream is also analogous to material and thoughts that are coming to the surface.

really slowly

To dream that you are moving in slow motion suggests that you are feeling powerless, anxious or frustrated. You are currently going through a hard time in your waking life and experiencing tremendous stress, which is almost immobilizing you.

as if in pain (muscles locking up)

To dream that you are in pain suggests that you are being too hard on yourself, especially if a situation was out of your control. The dream may also be a true reflection of actual pain that exists somewhere in your body. Dreams can reveal and warn about health problems. Consider where the pain is for additional significance. If the pain is in your neck, then the dream may be a metaphor that you are literally being a “pain in the neck”.

lots of people

To see people you don’t know in your dream denotes hidden aspects of yourself that you need to confront or acknowledge.

have a cane

To see or use a cane in your dream suggests that you are in need of some support and advice. The cane may also represent someone you trust and can rely on.

Helping People

To dream that you are helping someone indicates your willingness to compromise your beliefs toward a greater accomplishment. It also represents your efforts to combine your talents or energies to achieve a mutual goal.

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Looking at all these interpretations and my life I kind of feel that it’s right. That the combination of these pieces kind of point out things in my life. Thoughts?