A Promise

I am going to promise, right here, to write more in this blog.  It may be the fever talking but there is no way that anyone can be sure of that shit!

I recently got the e-mails telling me that I had gotten offers from UT-Austin and UW-Madison to get my Ph.D.  Both offers are funded (meaning I will probably have to go back to being a TA for some period of time) but they could be worth it.  I am struggling to decide if I want to spend another 3-4 years in school just so people can call me Dr. Nick.

For anyone with a technical leaning here is what I am working on now:

NetFlix : Currently working on a submission for the Netflix prize.  Its a million dollars (hahaha!) if I can get some where.  I am pretty sure I am not versed enough at stats to be doing this correctly but its worth a shot.

Lobbying: Got a paper with some German guys about algorithms and formal models for lobbying.  Yes, you read that right, I have been making up mathematical models to describe how people get bribed.  Its been a lot of fun so far, hopefully I can get the paper out before the end of the month and not get yelled at by my advisor anymore.

Other than that, I am sick as a dog… trying to work from home never goes very well.  I usually end up sitting around, drinking too much coffee and smoking too many cigs.  Hope all is well and I am going to try to post here more often than I have been.