Monthly Archives: September 2010

A Day with the Presidents

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Saturday, I was finally able to get away form Harrisonburg for the day and visit some historic sites.  I will describe where I went, give a little history, and share some of my photographs from the day.

1.  James Madison’s Montpelier

Being a student at James Madison University, it almost seems like a requirement to visit his home.  Montpelier is about a hour from Harrisonburg which made for a nice drive over the Blueridge Mountains.  Montpelier was built by James Madison Sr. in the early 18th century.  After James Madison Jr. married Dolley, the house was expanded and converted into a duplex.  James Madison’s parents lived on the South end of the house and Madison, Dolley and Dolley’s young son lived on the North end.  After the death of his father, Madison expanded the house again and made it a single residence home.  Madison’s mother would continue to live in the house in 1826.  Madison died in 1836 and Dolley lived in the house until her death.  The house changed hands several times after Dolley’s death before the duPont family bought it.  The duPont’s added on to the house and nearly tripled the square footage.  The home remained in the duPont family until 1983 when it was turned over The Montpelier Foundation.

Today, the house has been restored to it appearance at Dolley’s death.  The duPont’s additions were torn off and the house project was completed in 2008.  Today, the foundation is working on purchasing the original furnishings of Montpelier.  In addition, they are working on wallpapering the home.  Dolley only wallpapered three rooms and one has been restored.  The dining room was re-wallpapered two weeks ago and they are palling on wallpapering the drawing room in a few weeks.  There are also several archaeological digs taking place and many items have been uncovered that belonged to the Madison family and their slaves.  As the work continues, Montpelier will only become a more popular stop for tourists.

2.  Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello

What is there to say about Monticello?  Everyone knows something about it.  Weather it is the distinct architectural styling or Jefferson’s collections and inventions, Monticello is an extremely popular tourist destination.  Monticello is located atop a 867 feet peak overlooking Charlottesville.  What is not well known is that Jefferson was given an option when his father died.  He was given a choice between land in the valley and the mountain, and he chose the Montpelier.  The views from Monticello are spectacular!

3. James Monroe’s Ash Lawn-Highland

Most people, myself included, do not realize that Jefferson and Monroe were neighbors.   Monroe purchased the land adjacent to Monticello at the request of Jefferson.  Monroe purchased the land as a second home.  Monroe’s primary residence was Oak Hill which was closer to D.C.  Ash Lawn was used as a source of income and operated as a farm with several slaves, however, Monroe left the White House $75,000 in debt.  He placed Ash Lawn-Highland and Oak Hill on the market.  Ash Lawn sold two days after the death of Jefferson.  Ash Lawn is a modest home when compared to Montpelier and Monticello, but Monroe lived in opulence at Oak Hill.

I went to all three homes in one day and learned a lot about each president.  I found it interesting that presidents 3, 4, and 5 lived within 30 miles of each other and their connections go beyond being former Presidents of the United States.  Prior to becoming president, Madison was Jefferson’s Secretary of State and Monroe was Secretaries of State and War for Madison.  In addition, Monroe was tutored by Jefferson and encouraged by him to become a lawyer.

After visiting all three homes I discovered a few things about each president.  Madison was modest, Jefferson had to have the newest and greatest, and Monroe strived to keep up with both of them.  As a result, Monroe was in deep debt at one point of his life.  Of the three homes, I would prefer Montpelier.  To be fair, Monticello is very impressive, but I could not picture myself living there.  It was more like a laboratory than a home.  It also does not help that there were 100s of people at Monticello and a new tour starts every 5 minutes.  There were only about 40 people at Montpelier which made it feel more comfortable.

I really look forward to visiting Mt. Vernon and other sites in Virginia and will discuss them as I do.  I apologize for not posting anything last week and will start describing my courses next week.  Until then…

-Eric

One week down…

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When I decided to attend grad school, I was told it would be completely different from undergraduate coursework.  While this is true, I have discovered that I am more prepared for grad school than I thought.

This week I experienced what it is like to be a TA.  Truth be told, it can be pretty boring.  I am an extra set of eyes in the classroom for Dr. Davis, but do not get to lecture.  I will have the opportunity in the future, but, having done the readings for the course, I have the urge to answer his questions.  I realize the students must answer these questions, but I still have that urge as a student.  I look forward to lecturing to a class of 110 (although only about 98 show up on a given day!) because it will be a new challenge and that is the purpose of graduate school, to further challenge the student.  Several times this week, we have been told the beginning of grad school is the entry into the profession as a historian.  While it is true, JMU views me as faculty, I do not feel like a professional historian yet.  Perhaps writing a thesis will change that.  Nevertheless, I still feel like a student, albeit and student with more responsibility!

My first week as a grad student went smoothly and without a hitch.  I am going to have a good time in the seminar discussions with my fellow historians as well as my one course with undergrads.  HIST 592 (American Material Culture) is a mix of grad and undergrad students.  There are three grad students enrolled in the course and we have to attend class with the undergrads, but we have completely separate assignments, reading list, and meet with the professor for an extra hour a week.

My other two courses are in the evening.  That is a new experience, but the seminar discussions are not.  I feel I have had an advantage by attending a smaller university for my undergrad degree.  The smaller class sizes at MSSU enable seminar discussions at the undergrad level.  This goes against the German model of eduction in which undergraduates are lectured and graduate students attend seminars.  I consider myself fortunate to have experienced seminar discussion in many of my upper division undergraduate courses.

The one major difference between undergrad and grad courses is the amount of reading and writing.  For example, for my class on Monday, I have a week to read a 496 page book.  I have finished the book, but only because I used a reading technique designed to help students find the main points quickly and move on.  In order to find the author’s thesis, it is not necessary to read the book word for word and there is just not the time.  That 496 page book would not be bad if it were the only assigned reading, but I do have other courses.  Remember HIST 592?  I do have to read a few journal articles for the undergraduate portion of that course in addition to the six assigned journal articles for the graduate portion.  I consider HIST 592 to be two courses, the undergrad and the grad portions.  I also have to keep up with the reading for my TA course.  They had to read a book for Monday as well, which I have completed.  And I have HIST 653 and HIST 671.  I am enrolled in three courses, but theoretically have five.  This is typical for a graduate student, however.  The TA is necessary to pay the bills and the course work is necessary to complete the degree in the desired two years.

That being said, graduate school is not a bad place, in fact, is a great place to expand the mind, meet others with similar interests, and work with professionals in their fields.  I am going to make the best of the short two years I will have at JMU and use this experience to prepare me for achieving my Ph.D. much like MSSU has prepared me for my Master’s.  I had a great first week and am looking forward to the next thirteen (yes, JMU only has a fourteen week semester!!).

I will try to update my blog weekly and I think I will start to describe my courses individually next week.  Until then…

Eric

My week with the iPhone 4

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I decided to step away from grad school for a moment to give my take on Apple’s iPhone 4.  There has been a lot of press surrounding the phone (good and bad), but how does it function during daily use?  I will tell you!

Design

The first thing you notice with the iPhone 4 is its new design.  The glass on the front and rear with the stainless steel band, give the phone a very sleek look.  When pictured next to my iPhone 3G, the 3G looks cheap and fat.  The iPhone 4 is 25% thinner than the iPhone 3G and 3Gs, but the weight is the same.  The phone just feels more solid, but I would not recommend dropping it!

iPhone 4 and iPhone 3G

The design is where the most criticism of the iPhone 4 has stemmed.  The new “revolutionary” antenna design makes the phone more capable, but if touched in the right way will lose signal.  Therefore, there have been countless videos on YouTube and sites such as Gizmodo that show the effect of touching the seam on the left side of the phone.  I have been able to replicate this, but only if I hold the phone tightly with my left hand.  In normal conversations and usage, the phone has yet to drop a call.  So yes, touching the seam on the left side makes the bars drop, but it always stops at one.  Apple will surly address this issue soon, as the free case program ends September 30. By the way, I got a free black bumper for mine, but do not use it!  My iPhone is naked except for an invisiableSHIELD by Zagg.

iPhone 4 and iPhone 3G

The other issue I have experienced is the proximity sensor.  This is what makes the screen go black during a phone call as you move the phone closer to your ear.  The sensor is too sensitive and if you are multitasking (as many grad students do!!) and holding the phone up with your shoulder, the screen does come back on.  I have experienced this twice.  Once my cheek disconnected the call and the other time it turned on speaker phone.  This will be an easy fix for Apple and it will be addressed next week with iOS 4.1.

iPhone 4 and iPhone 3G

Hardware

Now for the stuff that makes the iPhone 4 one of the best phones on the market.  The iPhone 4 sports a new front facing camera with Facetime.  I have yet to use Facetime, but I have taken images with the front facing camera and they are not bad.  The camera on the back of the phone, however, is what made headlines.  The 5 megapixel still camera works great and the 720p HD video mode is also very well done.  Apple has used a very advanced sensor for the iPhone 4 and it shows!  I also paid the $4.99 for iMovie, but I feel that should come with the phone.  I have taken a video of the Quad at JMU with the iPhone 4 and edited it with iMovie.  Meaning the video was shot and edited on the iPhone.  The quality is amazing!

Taken with the iPhone 4 – Blueridge Mountains from JMU

The other headliner as far as new hardware is the Retina Display.  Many have dismissed this as a major advancement, but looking at the screen in person makes the difference.  The quality is amazing!  The pixels are simply not visible, unless I look at it with a magnifying glass.  The Retina display makes a huge difference with this phone and gives it a real HD feel.

Retina Display on iPhone 4

There are a few other hardware features that make give the phone an edge.  Apple’s A4 processor delivers powerful speed which saving energy.  I still have 60% charge and have not charged the phone in two days!  I have made several phone calls, checked email, played some new games, and surfed the web.  The battery life is amazing for a phone!

Software

Of course, hardware is only as good as the software that runs on it.  Apple, again, has made an operating system for a phone that does not overwhelm the user, but creates a ease of use.  iOS 4 adds several features that the iPhone has needed for some time.  Apple’s version of multitasking is actually very efficient.  I switch from one app to another and back again without ever having to reload the app.  It makes using the phone much simplier.  Speaking of simple, the addition of folders has cut down on having to scroll between 7 screens of apps.  Now, all my apps are organized into folders and fit on 2 screens!!  There are many minor changes in iOS 4, but they are not as noticeable as others.  Unified mailbox in Mail is much easier.

Issues

Besides the proximity sensor and the dropping of bars, I have experienced one other problem with the phone.  I received a phone call last Tuesday (the phone was a day old!) and I was unable to answer it because the phone said it was overheating and needed to cool.  In fact, I was unable to use the phone for five minutes.  Now, the phone was not hot.  It was actually cool to the touch and had been sitting on my desk for about an hour in sleep mode.  I feared there may have been an issue with the temperature sensor so I called AppleCare to find out if it was a wide spread issue.  They said it was not a big problem.  They took the information about what happened.  Had me do a hard restart of the phone and it has not happened since.  They assured me that if it happened again, however, I was to call back and they would replace the phone.  But that was over a week ago and no issue, so I think it was just a brief software glitch and it may very well be one of the “bugs” being fixed by iOS 4.1 next week.

Overall

Before I give the iPhone 4 a glowing review, let me just clarify one point.  Many of you know that I own several Apple products and am what many may descirbe as a “fanboy.”  However, before purchasing the iPhone 4 I did check out other phones.  The BlackBerry Torch and HTC Aria were two that AT&T offered that I looked into.  The issue I had with both phones was their construction.  They are bulky, and are made from cheap feeling plastic.  The iPhone’s glass and stainless steel feel much more sturdy.  That being said, the iPhone 4 is an awesome upgrade from Apple and is well worth the money.  The negative press is regarding the signal issue has been overblown and the iPhone has worked great for me.  There is one negative aspect surrounding the iPhone that seems to never go away and that is AT&T.  Their coverage is weak, their plans are too expensive, and their customer service leaves something to be desired.  It took the AT&T store an hour to activate my iPhone 4.  They had six employees and two did not do a damn thing the whole time I was in there.  I had to wait for the one person who knew how to activate a phone.  And there was a line behind me!  So, if there is any negitive press to be thrown at Apple, it should be regarding AT&T and not issues that are far and wide between.  That being said, Apple stands behind its products and is allowing customers to return the iPhone 4 at anytime within 30 days for a full refund or exchange.  If you do not like it, take it back.  It is that simple.

This weekend I will write about my first week of classes!  Until then…

-Eric