Programming Contest

I've had Mac-envy ever since I started my undergraduate research program last summer. That's where I learned that Macbooks are what the real computer geeks are all carrying now; all the cool kids have one.

They are, unfortunately, out of my meager price range; so when one of my favorite websites announced a programming contest, the offerred grand prize really made me take notice: A shiny new Mac Book Pro!

I looked at the contest rules and thought, "I can do that!" Given that the site is very popular, I'm sure that I'll be competing against a large number of other contestants. But the contest is in C++, and I'm at the top of my game right now, having just wrapped up a very challenging C++ program for NASA last month. My brain is still in "C++ mode," so I dived in with both feet (well, both hands really; it's hard to type with your feet). I've been coding like a madman all week, pulling out all the stops, exploiting every C++ trick I know up to the hilt. I finished the submission just a few minutes ago, and had to blow on my hands because my fingers were smoking. We're talking serious hacking here, three cups of espresso and a bottle of aspirin and go! go! go! Yeah baby.

So... I submitted it. All there is to do now is wait and see if they like it. I hope so; I don't need any validation as a programmer but I really, really want that MacBook. Wish me luck!