I woke up early and left for Digital Design Lab as usual. Today, the students had to modify their simple computer to support the Harvard architecture, a dual memory design that separates data and instruction memory. I went to the public library and checked out a book - The Politics of Law Enforcement, by Alan Edward Bent. It’s an academic work.

I quickly took my Computer Architecture quiz, and I think I did well on it. I had to leave early to go to the City Court of Atlanta. Being summoned to appear in court is a very hectic, but interesting experience. It’s certainly worth discussing in more detail.

I arrived in the City Court of Atlanta on Trinity St. at approximately 1:30 PM, an hour before my trial. I paid three dollars for parking at a local parking lot. Before entering the main area, I placed the contents of my pockets in a small blue basket, so that I could safely pass through the metal detector ahead. Inside the main hall, there were four courtrooms, and a large waiting room in the center. I asked one of the attendents in the hall if it was okay to sit in during other trials. It was - and I soon entered one of the nearby courtrooms.

The setup is straightforward. The bench, occupied by the Judge and Clerk of the Court, faces the court. The Defendent’s Box is on the right of the room, and the Prosecutor’s Box is on the left. The rear side of the room contains rows of benches for the attendants. The defendent stands in the center in front of the bench, with the prosecutor (usually the District Attorney) to the left, and the current witness (if present), to the right.

I managed to hunt down the prosecutor before my trial in a vain attempt to plea bargain for a reduced sentence. Of course, he wouldn’t budge, for reasons that are easy to guess. One of them is that I’m not a lawyer. Eventually I went to the judge. Since the penalty for my offense is a suspended license, I was given three options: plead guilty and have my license suspended, plead not guilty and defend myself on the spot (a lose-lose situation), or hire a lawyer and reschedule the court date for November 20. Being a poor college student, and qualifying as an indigent, I filled out necessary paperwork which allowed me to obtain a public defender.

The day was hardly over, however. I returned to Georgia Tech to teach CS1322 recitation for the evening. I had a lot of fun, mainly because I was finally able to use the on-screen overhead projector and the computer on the podium for a live demonstration on graphical user interfaces in Java.

What to write about? Nothing out of the ordinary; went to classes as usual, and took my Circuit Analysis make-up test at 4:30. Stopped by the gas station on the way back home. I finalized plans for Christmas Break. It rained today, and I definitely need to manage my time better.

My neck is sore. I think I pulled a muscle. Adam and I took out the trash. I spent the afternoon studying for Circuit Analysis and grading CS1322 tests. In an effort to not procrastinate, I started on my Computer Architecture paging simulation assignment. I learned a few more nifty EMACS tricks along the way. And I learned how to use crontab. Nicky’s car broke down, so I had to drive and pick him up from work.

Spent the morning driving around Atlanta. No destination in mind, just trying to discover new places and get a feel for the layout of the city. I found the City Court of Atlanta, where I have to go on Wednesday. It’s relatively easy to get lost in Atlanta. Luckily, Interstate on-ramps are numerous and closely spaced so that it is also easy to find the way back home. In the afternoon I went over to Josh’s apartment, and we took a trip to the Guitar Center to look at various electric and acoustic guitars. We then had a short meal at Waffle House before heading off to his apartment to learn guitar. By the end of the session, I was able to play two chords - G and D, and not very well at that. And the tips of my fingers are now hurting and sore. But I definitely want a guitar now.

It’s Friday! Alan ran by around six and we left for Nuevo Laredo Cantina, a Mexican restaurant near my apartment. I had two chicken tacos and a beef enchilada. Next, Alan pointed me to a place on Highland called Jake’s, an ideal ice cream shop where one can take their date, if I am ever so fortunate. The shop is an old renovated house - one can buy ice cream at the counter and then explore the house, filled with couches and tables, and find a quiet place to sit and pass the time. Here I had a quick chocolate shake. I’ll definitely have to remember this place. Attempting to kill time, Alan and I headed back to his apartment and played Metal Gear Solid on his Playstation for an hour or so, before finally deciding to head off to Nick and Marilyn’s apartment for her 21st birthday. I got back home safely at about 2 AM.

Another 8 AM Thursday morning, with a very comfortable and relaxing drive to Georgia Tech. The students in Digital Design Lab worked on input/output in their simple computer and learned the basics of assembly translation. I tried not to procrastinate today, and studied a good bit of Statistics in the afternoon. I also made french fries for dinner, which is a first. They turned out to be sufficiently tasty. And of course, who can forget about Boston Public, the season premiere! Very exciting to watch. Finally, Nicky and I had our usual Thursday night Smallville (2×05 Nocturne) session - with generous amounts of chocolate ice cream for all. And Tracy really wants me to go to Germany with her.

Michael also almost burned our apartment down. He left the oven on.

Left for school early today to work in the ECE lab on my Computer Architecture project - adding branch prediction to the MIPS processor. I successfully finished it with a good deal of effort and debugging, and unfortunately I had to skip Health class to do it. I’m quite relieved and excited that it is finally finished, however. I need to be more careful from now on and not do projects at the last minute - it’s a very stressful experience. After proctoring a test in recitation, the TAs and I went to La Fonda, a Cuban restaurant, where I enjoyed a quesadilla con chorizo. It drizzled a bit on the way home, and I arrived back at the apartment promptly at ten.

Had a test in Economics. Other than that, today was pretty relaxing. I took a long nap as soon as I got home. I spent the night studying for tomorrow’s Computer Architecture quiz, which is on virtual memory. I intend to do well on it. It’s a shame that I wasn’t able to be more productive today. Tracy wants me to go to Germany.

I took my Health test this morning, which basically involved a lot of educated guessing. My Statistics test didn’t go much better. Adam and I went to Publix to get some essential food items. For dinner, I made Hamburger Helper. It turned out to be a little bit too runny and was reminiscent of materials that one might consume at ASMS. I’ve also decided to drop out of college and start a band. I’ll play the guitar.