Info
| Office: | 6410 SENSQ |
| Phone: | (412) 624-8442 |
| Email: | pdillon AT cs DOT pitt DOT edu |
Welcome
Hi. Welcome to the page. The following distills the contents and substance of my life as a grad student into text, picture, and little bit of style.
I've made dozens of attempts at writing an introductory paragraph to concisely describe who I am only to find the process of condensing and confining my experience into a short blurb moves me to physical discomfort with each attempt. Who I am and what I do are too complex of subjects to adequately describe. All I can say is that I'm trying to figure it out too. Should I come to any kind of palpable definition, I'll be sure to let you know.
Teaching
Courses
- CS401: Intermediate Programming using Java, Summer 2006
- CS110: Introduction to Computers and the Internet, Spring 2006
Teaching Assistant Positions
- CS1655: Secure Data Management & Web Applications, Spring 2008
- CS1520: Programming Languages for Web Applications, Fall 2007
- CS1520: Programming Languages for Web Applications, Spring 2007 Recitation Webpage
- CS1555: Database Management Systems, Fall 2006
- CS401: Intermediate Programming using Java, Fall 2005
Interests
Travel
Have you ever seen the Matterhorn? Something is entirely different about the the little town of Zermat, Switzerland. It's quiet, peaceful streets breathe the crisp, misty air of swiss alps. The slopes rising up the valley walls glow bright green giving way to the dark charcoal of the mountain rock and the icy glaciers of the snow capped peaks. Between them, off in the distance, the cornered spire rises to the south engulfed in mist and fog. Its airy, surreal natural beauty will part your lips in awe.
Intellectual Property Law
A few years ago, some friends and I, bored one night, decided to go to Media Play and purchase the cheapest DVD we could find. The winner: a 1936 educational film called Reefer Madness that "teaches" kids the dangers of smoking marijuana (and was parodied on That 70's Show). After watching the thing, I understood why it only cost us $3.99.
I flip open the October, 2006 Wired magazine to find that this classic production of American cinema has finally made it into the Public Domain after 70 years, the going rate for movies these days at least until we once again have a civic duty to keep Mickey Mouse from appearing in pornography.
The creativity of our culture suffers when so much control is held over IP such that the only art people can freely get their hands on is crap like Reefer Madness. The worst offender of all time is Disney and it's "vault."
Pittsburgh Night Life
I work extremely hard trying not to let the academic demands on my time consume the entirety of my life. At times, it seems like a losing battle, but somehow I manage to have a good time.
Graduate Student Organization
I'm the 2006-2007 president of the department of computer science Graduate Student Organization. It's going to be a good year.