Captain's Log: Week 4, Semester 2, Stardate 2015.3.22

   I'm beginning to see a pattern... every week, I say I'll accomplish more than the previous week; and every week, this turns out to be false. It seems that fate has dealt me a cruel hand: several exams, several large projects, more computer trouble, the nine of clubs, and the bloody two of spades. "Excuses, excuses", I know... and I feel terrible about not accomplishing as much as I should have. I only managed to have time to progress halfway through the current "chapter" of CodeAcademy's lessons, a far cry from the "Two lessons a week" I had claimed I would begin to finish.
   This week, I learned about "functions" in JavaScript. Functions are essentially variables filled with other variables and complex equations. Variables allow one to assign a name to a number or command so that one doesn't have to retype lots of code in order to copy it; functions are... well, "functionally" identical (see what I did there?) except that I can replace the simple number or command with an equation or even other variables. Instead of constantly typing the long string of code for "Divide the result of x by four", for example, I can assign that long string of code a name such as "DivideByFour". From now on, I will only have to type "DivideByFour" to use the equation, which will simplify the code and make coding much less tedious. Use of functions will make reading my code much easier (a useful trait when finding bugs) and greatly expedite the process of coding as a whole.
   As previously stated, I feel that I did not do very well this week in terms of progress; the constant string of excuses shouldn't be an... excuse (backed myself against a wall there... again) for a lack of progress. In the coming weeks, I should plan 20% time more aptly into my schedule and spend much more time on learning JavaScript. Spring Break is soon to be upon us, and I will not let the opportunity and time it presents slip by. With most of my major projects out of the way, I will be able to focus much more on my project and continue with my CodeAcademy lessons.