A place to describe all my experiences at Queen's.

August 3, 2007: Week 14.

The never ending SQL Query. This week was spent mainly writing super long SQL queries (about 150 characters long or so) to upload the information from the User Interface into the DB2 database. I am using Matlab to view the results of the upload as well as using it for testing queries before I put them into the code. Sometimes it is frustrating debugging the errors as they are usually involving a missed apostrophe or missed letter in a column name. I also spent time trying to determine which subjects we are going to look at. It turns out there are nine subjects that had strokes and have had 3 or 4 sessions.

August 10, 2007: Vacation!!!

I decided to move my trip to Maine up by two weeks and go while everyone else is on holiday! So I have packed my bags and am on a road trip. I rented a car to go first to Cornish, Maine where I get to meet 4th Cousin from my father's side. I then traveling to Lisbon Falls, Maine where my great-great grandparents came from after emigrating from Bavaria in 1884. While I am at it, I get to see some of the east coast of both the US and Canada. It was a really great trip, I found the house my grandmother was born in and met a really great cousin who I had only corresponded through the internet.

August 17, 2007: Week 15.

This week, was a week of finishing off the last bits of functionality. Now is the time for debugging and fixes. I have found some problems with uploading records to DB2. It seems to have problems uploading strokes sometime. Don't you just love bugs?

At the end of this week, I realized that there was only 1 week left before going home to Vancouver. I can't believe how fast time had flown

August 24, 2007: Week 16.

Ahhhhh... Debugging is so frustrating. So far it seems that nothing is strictly wrong as if you just wait and try again, everything works fine even if the first time, it threw a fit. I guess the message is if all else fails, take a break and try again later works. I just wish I could figure out what is causing these problems. Well by the end of the week, it seems like everything is working as it should. I added a new feature so that you can retrieve records from the database and bring them into the local list for editing. There are still more things that could be done with the system but my time is up and I will have to leave that to others. All that is left is my report which will be finished after I return home.

For the last weekend, I rented a car to see the last bits of Kingston. I went to Fort Henry on Saturday which turned out to be a good day as they had an awards ceremony for their staff and were going to perform an evening performance during the day. I got worried when it started to rain. They moved the award ceremony inside and held off deciding whether or not to perform. While I was hoping they would perform, I went through most of the rooms again. It was nice to see the officer's quarters when it wasn't a tour as you had time and space to gawk. I also sat in on some other tours, it is interesting as the tours are not all identical. Finally at 2:30, the rain stopped and the clouds started to clear. Wonderfully, they went ahead with the performance. They were all excellent, especially the drum solo (though my Sea Cadet Band from many years ago were better). I then looked in the gift store and I found two postcards of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The original portraits were painted by Sir. William Charles Ross who was a distant cousin. I then went to Murney Tower to see the historical society's display and finally Bellevue House which was a home rented by Sir. John A. MacDonald, Canada's First Prime Minister.

The next day, One of my housemates, Adam, and I went to see some of the area north of Kingston. We visited Westport which is a picturesque village on the shores of a lake and then Perth, a larger town on the banks of the Tay River (in Ontario that is, not Scotland). It has a canal that connects to the larger Rideau Canal. Both places were beautiful and peaceful. We ended by having dinner out at a nice restaurant, Sizzle. The salmon was wonderful and the serving size was quite large. I also ran into one of the people from the lab, Allen, so it was nice to be able to say goodbye as well. It was a nice end to my last full day in Kingston.

August 27, 2007: Flying home to Vancouver

My bags are all packed, I managed to fit almost everything in my suitcases (plus send two boxes of books and clothes home). The weather is beautiful and sunny and I know I will miss this place. Only two things left to do... Finish adding some pictures to this site and my final report....