Clinton Blackburn

I live! I have been quite busy and I'm here to tell you all about my wonderful experiences.

Graduation

Last week proved to be quite exciting. I attended my first Red Sox game! On Wednesday a friend called with an extra ticket; and, having nothing else to do, I went on a whim. I had a fun time hanging out with folks from MIT. I was surprised to see how small Fenway Park is. The Ballpark at Arlington (home of the Texas Rangers) absolutely dwarfs Fenway.

Tonight I was walking to the grocery store when I noticed a young woman crossing the street toward me. There was a large amount of snowfall on Monday, so the sidewalks were bordered by snow banks. Anticipating that she was going to hop over a snow bank, I instinctively held out my hand to help her.

I am back from Ghana. You can find pictures on Flickr. I had a great time and especially enjoyed meeting the D-Lab community partners and working in the villages. Once again I was pointed out as the IT guru and helped out with a few computer issues.

This has been an amazing semester. I have enjoyed my selection of classes, worked on some amazing projects, and had a wonderful time doing it all. A few months ago, I never thought I would make the following statement: I am going to miss this place. I will miss the great residents of Sidney Pacific and my fellow officers in the house government. I will miss chatting with the 50+ people associated with D-Lab. I will miss simply being surrounded by such a great group of faculty, staff, and students that comprise the MIT population.

It's time for my annual injury update.

Today I was hit by a car. I'm okay, although my my right leg hurts. Most importantly, my laptop and cell phone survived. The only casualty was the yogurt in my backpack and the windshield of the Saturn that hit me.

Besides being hit by a car, I am doing well. Things at school are winding down and I am currently deciding where to start work next year.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Update: I hate crutches.

I just realized that no one knows what I am doing these days. Before the pumpkin carving post, my last writing was toward the end of last semester. Many months have passed with no updates. Well, let's fix that.

This summer I returned to DLP at Texas Instruments where I worked on firmware. I once again took the opportunity to meet some great people and gain new knowledge and experiences. I even ended up being offered a full-time position.

Yesterday, I carved pumpkins with folks from my dorm (Sidney-Pacific). Here are the results...

I went, I saw, I left. That pretty much describes my experience at Senior Ball. Basically it was just a bunch of my classmates standing around dancing, drinking, and talking. I can't believe I paid $30 for that (on top of the $120 tuxedo rental). Perhaps I am an anomaly in my generation: drinking (you'll recall my last experience with a drunk) and clubbing simply don't appeal to me. I would much rather sit around and play a video game or watch a movie.

I am back in my dorm room recovering after completing the IronNerd for a second consecutive year. The event was similar to last year; although, my performance was a bit worse: I was nearly 2 minutes slower this year than last. To be fair, it was much colder and raining this year, while last year the weather was a bit more favorable. Either way I had a great time.

Here are my results for both years: