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Numerical Analysis is the second most awful class ever.

Last Friday started off with Warren Buffet and Bill Gates speaking at the Lied Center. All of CBA and the JDE program were invited. Additionally, some of the CBA students were invited on stage. We were first shown some amusing video clips of Bill and Warren. Gates and Buffet then came to their chairs, and the students on stage began asking them questions. Buffet was, as always, incredibly witty. In addition to making fun of himself, he also poked fun of Gates numerous times. They are both quite amazing people.

As the Gates and Buffet event went over time, we were all late getting back to Kauffman for the corporate board event. As the official student photographer, I had to run up to my room to get my camera, which meant I was even later. Anne Sweet directed me to a chair in the front. When I went to sit down, I saw that Anne Sweet had given me Jeff Raikes's chair. Anyway, I sat down and listened to Raikes speak about the corporate board and what they have been doing for the program. This was followed by a Q&A session.

During the short break, I commandeered a chair in the front row on the other side of the room. A few short minutes later, Bill Gates himself came in. His speech was about his vision of the future of technology. Afterwards, there was another Q&A session. Finally, David Graff, Matt Mueller and John Wirtz presented Gates and Raikes with a few gifts: a signed football, some framed photos of the Huskers, and authentic Husker jerseys. Gates received number 1, and Raikes received 1.1. After Dr. Keck's closing thank-you, Gates was escorted out of the building, and some minutes later the rest of the people in the great hall were permitted to leave.

All in all, the day was awesome. Definitely worth skipping class! I am very glad I was here for it, and I hope that the program will be able to attract such people on a regular basis.

Yesterday we got our Design Studio teams. Of course, the faculty waited until the very end of class to do so; most of us could barely stay in our seats. The anticipation could be seen in every face as the PowerPoint slides slowly advanced. The seniors had heard it all before, and the juniors wished they didn't have to. But at last, the time came. The first team went up. Then the second. Finally, my team was announced.

I will be working on the America First project. Unfortunately, we are all under non-disclosures, so I cannot go into any details of the project, but I can at least provide some clarification on our client - America First is some sort of conglogmeration of real estate companies, and together they own quite a bit of property in the Omaha area, and maybe elsewhere. I am very optimistic about the project, and also my team. The seniors on the project include myself and Matthew Brand, with Bob Kubicek as the team lead. The juniors are Christine Troshynski and Luke Wilson.