Nerdsville: population you

2007-08-25T20:44:00.000-04:00

Well, it's officially happened. After over 4000 pictures, a couple thousand miles of roads traveled, being dropped (more than a few times) and factory repaired, and being whored out to many many people - my camera has died. For no apparent reason, when turned on - it simply turns itself back off. I think it wants to go into retirement. So lets have a moment of peace for the little camera that could - my Nikon Coolpix 2100.

Of course, this leaves me wanting a newer, better camera. Especially since for her birthday, Mandy's parents sent her a beautiful new Nikon SLR. Nice. I'm very jealous. But I'm thinking of blowing my spending money on a Wii or XBox 360 to help entertain my new Little Brother - so I'll wait for Christmas before thinking about cameras. Until then, I'm absolving myself of any photographic responsibility - you people can take your own pictures!

2007-08-23T23:19:00.000-04:00

Sweet. I know I have a lot on my plate right now - but I'm thinking about volunteering or something this election. I feel like the nation had a collective "well duh, we're going to win this year" feeling in 2004; and look where that got us. So, this year I say bah to complacency - it's time for action, damn it.

Also, if you're in the mood for some salacious reading, check out this article on wired news. It reminds me heavily of the MC Lars song: "Internet Relationship". Except in this version, someone gets shot.

As always, the whole Danger Room crew has been posting awesome and weird defense stories. Love it. Radar array network supported by a hive of UAVs tracking every vehicle on the ground and rewinding the tape to find out where terrorists hide? Genius.

2007-08-21T13:21:00.000-04:00

Work has been getting really interesting lately. Interesting and hectic. For those of you interested in where my project is located, check out this neat thing I figured out how to use:

View Larger Map

Also, I got started on my clock project (I hope it turns out this well). Using that scroll saw is both fun and a little frightening. It's very quiet (relative to any other power tool), so I'm not afraid of disturbing the neighbors. But man, watching it tear through plywood just gives me visions of it tearing through my fingers. Some of the mechanical parts are kinda small, so I'm taking my time to cut them slowly and keep the fingers away..... I took a cool picture but my camera suddenly forgot how to talk to my computer. So maybe I'll post that later.

In other news: I just finished reading The Fountainhead. The book as a whole is good (not great), except for the last 5 chapters, which are mind-blowingly good. Aspiring Engineers: if you want a great read, just plow through the last tenth of this (!700 page!) book. It provides a neat summary of her interesting philosophy.

2007-08-05T20:12:00.000-04:00

Updates. Wow. A ton has happened in the past month or so since I've successfully landed in KC. I'll just start with some sweet pics:

Firstly, here's Stace & I in scenic Spokane, WA at the Glover Mansion (no, not the Glover pictured...). Notice the bide & groom in the background... almost as happy as the two of us. Sarah did look stunning and we had a great time there!

Next: check out my Dad's new wheels. That's right, Professor Gerondale is now running a course for the University of Houston's College of Optometry where he drives this sweet RV to correctional facilities around the Houston area to let students test their chops. He is officially a full-time employee, and no longer working in the private sector! Go Dad! Ask him about ocular parasites sometime...

I was bored one evening here in KC, so I decided to try my hand at my graduation present: a handmade Stave puzzle. Titled: "School's Out", it took me about 2 hours to finish - it's roughly 6" X 6", beautifully hand painted and hand cut. Notice the gaps in between the pieces, and random color changes.... very tricky and interesting to figure out. Thanks, Mom & Dad:

Friday night I went out with Mandy & Nate to hit Westport - to see the Pitch's Music Extravaganza! We started out by having dinner at this Japanese restaurant - and I got my sashimi fix. Wow - their salmon was out of this world. We started out at this Irish bar, then made our way to the Hurricane. Mandy was DD, so Nate & I traded rounds of Newcastle. Mmm. My two favorite bands of the evening: the Rich Boys and the Republic Tigers. I'll keep my eyes peeled for any upcoming local shows featuring either of the two. I spent Saturday morning nursing a hangover - but wow we had a great time!

I spent last night with from guys guys from work doing a "poker night" event. I actually suck ass at Texas 'Hold'em, but out of 8 players in the tourney, I got third place... which means I didn't get any of my damn money back, but I did knock out two people over the course of the evening - a first for Joey. Gambling is way more fun when you actually win once in a while. Also, I beat Sherm at guitar hero on my first time playing the game. It was fun!

Also: I'm making some progress on one of my long-term goals. I applied to BBBS of KC; the chief caseworker is visiting my apartment next Monday to make sure it's a suitable environment for children. Also: I'm sure many of my friends, family members, and co-workers will be getting phone calls soon to make sure I'm a generally swell guy. Wish me luck! I'm excited to see the sights of KC with a new friend!

Finally: work is really getting interesting! I'm being given a lot of new and challenging opportunities - so I really need to t.c.b. these next few weeks to finish of the first bit, and show them I'm ready for whatever they want to throw my way!

2007-07-10T13:06:00.000-04:00

For all the big summer blockbusters coming out - I figure it's high time for a little movie review. Last Saturday I saw Ratatouille in Spokane with Stacey.

Animation: 4 out of 5
Stunning. I was blown out of the water with Cars, which represented a huge leap forward in Pixar's abilities to me. So, to get a full 5 this film would have to push the envelope even further. Unfortunately, it doesn't. Unlike Cars, this movie doesnt' have a lot of opportunities to show off its awesome visual stunnery. However - to the film's credit, the blend of stylism and realism is very well done. Villans look like villans and heroes look like heroes; and the surface shading is great. Don't get me wrong - Disney would be sunk in the animation department were it not for these people. I just feel like the next Pexar film had better make that "jump" again.

Plot: 5 out of 5
Cute. Cute cute cute. Honestly, I wasn't suspecting a love interest in this film; but it turned out to be well-woven into the main plot and tastefully done (unlike other Disney movies where the love interest IS the plot). I'd like to tell you that this film was totally original and so craftily written that you have no idea what lies around the next bend; but the truth is that I was too swept up in enjoying myself to try to think ahead. This movie has all your standard Disney themes: importance of family, respecting your friends, and rising to conquer a great challenge. Thankfully, in this film you don't feel like it's a morality tale; you just kind of realize, five minutes from the end what you've been watching.

Voice Acting: 4 out of 5
Peter O'toole, Jeneane Garofolo, and Patton Oswalt all give honest and stunning performances in this movie. O'toole does such a good job at being a villan that I didn't even recognize his voice until I heard him being kind and gentle in the end. He was so grand and moving I was conjuring up mental images of the Lion in Winter. Garofolo does a great french accent, plus she's both cynical and sensitive enough at the same time for the part. Oswalt's timing is good, it's just no different from his regular voice; just listen to any stand-up special of his and the intonations are the same. It's not bad - I just wasn't surprised.

Humor/Embellishments: 5 out of 5
Let's be honest - the real reason it's a joy to watch modern Pixar films is the fact that an army of writers and animators work really hard for years and years to make the final product. The only possible result after so much effort is a rich and lusutrous setting and ambiance for the film. The use of humor is sometimes subtle and somewhat overt.
EX1: In the middle of a press conference, the lead and his gal exit early :"I'm sorry to be
rude....but we're French".
EX2: After the antagonist finally figures out that rats are running the kitchen, they gag ang hog-tie him. Also they throw him in the meat locker.

So overall, I give it 4.5 out of 5. We both had to leave at least once during the film to use the facilities; but that was from drinking earlier. If I could have held it, I know I would have. It was very pleasant, and I'll be looking for it on DVD when it comes out.

2007-07-01T16:39:00.000-04:00

Wow. I've been finding it exceptionally difficult to get motivated about anything lately. I have successfully switched from PM workouts to AM workouts; that's cool because I don't feel pressured to do anything important when I get home from work (even when I actually do..). I've been spending the day with DVDs playing the background while I continue to settle in... handing picture frames and stuff, slowly putting everything away. Man I have way too much crap. I've been making a box of stuff to give to Goodwill, but I'm still having a hard time letting go of all my useless stuff.

The clock project is starting to look more difficult than I thought; I'm going to need a drill press, and a lot of time. A TON of the pieces are uncut, so the most important first step is to make many copies of the plans so that when I screw up the first few times - I still have one or two leftover to get it right. But the instructions are easy to follow, and it looks like about the simplest clock one could have - so I think it'll be a cool project. The apartment is starting to look like home; cross your fingers and I might actually finish tonight.

Work is going better and better; I'm slowly getting a grasp on what the job is all about. This should be a nice easy week. Firstly, I get Wednesday off for Independence Day, and I'll be taking Friday off to get to Spokane on time. Unfortunately - I need to make up the 8 hours this week in 3 days. That means a long haul for the few days I'll be there this week. Good news: I'm finally getting paid at the end of this week. First paycheck, here I come :) Also, Sage Francis is playing Tuesday night in Columbia, MO. It's a ways away - so I may or may not go. We'll see.

2007-06-24T23:31:00.000-04:00

Gotta be fast, I'm exhausted. I had a really awesome Sunday today. Had a good walk on the treadmill; I made progress on my work benefits information (it should be easy to finish tomorrow); I went grocery shopping; pressed a shirt; and I watched the Great Muppet Caper while I made/ate a sweet breakfast of eggs and pancakes. Finally, I decided to nuke Windows off the face of my hard-drive - and I'm officially using Linux. I tried the dual installation, but it was acting unfriendly, so by making Linux the only available OS I'm forcing myself to get it right. Work is going really well so far; my coworkers are all very relaxed and friendly. I'm working in my mentor's group, so I should get a lot of help on all this work I don't know how to do. Fortunately, the volume of information to learn is so "insurmountable" (according to a 8 year mech engr veteran...) to nobody really "knows" what they're doing. It looks like self-help and learning whenever possible are going to be cornerstones of my work there. For the mean time, I'm working on pollution-removing equipment, so that's cool. Anyway, I'm beat and I need to get up early for work. More updates later.

2007-06-07T18:19:00.000-04:00

Coolest ties *ever*? I think so. Tie shopping is about to become a very tangible reality... maybe a graduation present from me to me? Maybe. Anyway, looks like a cool product.

One more thing. Remember my previous post about "Urgent Tactical Strike", where the military wants to be able to hit any target anywhere on the earth within 20 minutes with "smart bomb" precision? Well it looks like they're one step closer now; the experimental scramjet engine for the X-51 successfully fired on the ground, and it achieved a steady-state cooling temperature (which is important because at that speed it should be melting itself to pieces). This is important because this option, unlike putting conventional heads on current SLBMs, doesn't scare every other nuclear power on the planet so much. I don't quite understand why; this thing should be able to carry nuclear weapons just as easily as a ballistic missile. Oh well.

2007-06-03T16:40:00.000-04:00

Other things on my *long term* to do list:

i) Working out a lot/dieting. This is the most I've ever weighed; I think school-stress almost killed me. I need to get back on the cholesterol-lowering-train. Bigtime.

ii) Fixing my bike. It needs a lot of work. It's a nice bike, but riding it in snow and rain for a few years kinda junked a lotta parts (gears, chain, suspension). I flew over a curb doing about 30 and I need new wheels since mine are now bent outta whack. But my favorite is this one: on two separate occasions, I've crashed the bike and flown over the handlebars so that the bike landed upside down, cracking the gear-shift knobs: so I need a whole new shift set (up till now they've been blobs of epoxy and metal - Jethro, anyone?). But the straw that broke the camel's back is a tiny pin within the rear axle that broke inexplicably while I was riding normally; so now you can't even walk the thing because the wheel is locked up. Long story short - the bike's getting a complete overhaul, and it's gunna do a body good to do the work myself.

*insert joke about $110K mechanical engineering degree and bicycle repair*

iii) Also, turning into a Linux God. Well, maybe just a Linux ninja. We'll see how far I get. What's for sure is that I'm sick and tired of Windows security flaws. I don't use my machine for gaming much; I just want to websurf, write computer codes/do nerd stuff, use office software, and edit the pictures I take with my digital camera (which is done with mozilla, scilab, OpenOffice, and GIMP, respectively, in Linux... for FREE!); and I don't want to feel like my computer has technological VD when I'm done. Is that so much to ask for from a $400 piece of software, Bill Gates? I guess so. Linux just seems like a great option; it's incomparably stable and secure, completely customizable (by definition), there's limitless technical support (via online forums, and an army of nerds just waiting to insult your h4cking skylz), and say goodbye to software piracy (the GNU license actually grants you permissions to edit and redistribute any piece of software as you see fit). Plus, Macs are too trendy for me (sorry Stacey and Mandy - I just feel that way). Wish me luck. Seems like quite an adventure.

"Tux", beloved Linux mascot.

iv) Volunteering at Big Brothers Big Sisters. Tom Shaw, you are a badass - what a great idea! I'm terrible with kids, and I've been given a lot of very important advantages in life. Actually, almost every important advantage in life; it's hard to be oppressed when you're a young white upper-middle-class male. Anyway, seems like "killing two birds with one stone" to me; there are a ton of worse ways to spend a few hours a week. Hopefully I can pick it up soon after I get to KC.

P.S. - Yes, blog, I realize that these three things are all waaayyy bigger than the other stuff I mentioned before. So these are all going to be much larger commitments. Feel free to chime in with support on any of the above...You have to realize I'm at a cross-roads in life and I'm thinking about long-term stuff again.

2007-05-31T10:35:00.000-04:00

Spencer and I got home 2 days ago from our road trip! We drove about 4600 miles total in 8 days. Our major landmarks included:

i) wind farms of west Texas
ii) the grave of Billy the Kid
iii) Red Rocks of NM
iv) 4 Corners
v) Rocky Mountains of Colorado
vi) Mt. Rushmore
vii) Budweiser Factory
viii) Pike's Peak
iix) Great Sand Dunes National Park

And I got a ton of pictures; but I think I'll drop a few in just for good measure:

somewhere in west Texas.

4 corners monument.

"Avalanche" Campsite in CO.

where are we?

Yup. We had a great time, and we didn't kill each other by the week's end! The remainder of my vacation's going to be much rougher: moving to KC. My parents are really serious about my getting everything of mine out of the house tout de suite. Thankfully, Spencer's coming with me to move my stuff in. So I guess I'll post another update later.

I'm not ashamed to admit my mind's been wandering lately on what I'm going to do with my free time. On the trip, I finished reading an introduction book to the Linux OS, so I'm planning on switching my computer soon. I'm really dissatisfied with the level of security Windows has, and I'm certainly not paying for Vista anytime soon. Other than that, there are a ton of crafty projects I've got lined up:

i) building the clock kit that Stacey got me.
ii) Make: Ornithopter project
iii) Make: Digital Dice
iv) Make: $5 Cracker box amp

So yeah, wish me luck getting motivated, and wish me luck getting all moved in.

2007-05-15T20:40:00.000-04:00

New MC Lars podcast. Ok, actually it's really old I just didn't see it because I was so busy at the end of school this semester.

So here's the medium new-one...it's more boring. I need some fresh material: you're killing me, Lars.

Ok and there's one more, but I'll warn you it's just as sucky as the second one. Here's the REAL new podcast:

Chillin' with Spencer is going really well. I can't wait to post some pictures... of stuff we haven't done yet. Tomorrow's the big productivity day - still a lot of things on my "to do" list have to get done. Not the least of which is taking my uber-crappy couch to Goodwill so it can give a disease to someone.

Graduation went fine. I got a ton of really nice cards; I owe a lot of people very in-depth thank yous.

2007-04-30T16:24:00.000-04:00

Quick note on recent happenings:

1) Senior Design is done. We all get A's, I'm sure. Prof. Harwood and the class were very pleased.

2) Automatic Controls Project Done. We got 2nd place in the competition and an automatic 10 points added onto our final grade in the course.

3) Machine Design Project Done. Wes did most of the work - so he deserves most of the credit; but I contributed to the CAD work...woo. Wes does awesome work so that's A country.

4) Professor Cipra crashed the Solo-CruizR project over the weekend. Hilarious. I love hearing them yell "brake! brake! brake!" at the end. Too bad their nice toy got smashed :(

5) My girlfriend loves me. For all the "oohing and aahing" I do on the subject of horology - she buys me what? A CLOCK KIT! Awesome. It will be a thing of beauty for years to come.... after I built it, that is. Side note: I think I'm going to need to buy some tools to make it, which is, of course, a double-bonus.

6) Only 2 exams stand between me, and my $100,000 plus piece of paper. All I have to do is cram like a madman for 5 days and I'm gold.... if only I had some motivation. Man, I've really pissed today away. I better get to it :(

2007-04-02T19:49:00.000-04:00

Testing this weekend on the turbine was awesome! I'm frankly a little scared of the thing. Hopefully, these 2 videos will help convince you....

In this first one, we're powering a small air compressor with the generator output. You can really hear the thing spool up as the wind picks up speed. We're pumped.

The next video shows the rotor accelerating from zero to full speed in a heartbeat. Then, when we start to get a little worried, we "put on the brakes" and watch how it slows down!! The propeller has amazing dynamic response, those carbon fiber blades are super lightweight. I'm going to send those nice people at Hydrogen Appliances a very polite note for helping get me an "A". :)

Otherwise, this is a really busy time. Exam Wednesday. Bummer. Hopefully more pics and stuff soon. Finale of "I Love New York" tonight... I'm not sure how I feel. It's been a wild and trashy ride, VH1.

2007-03-25T20:18:00.000-04:00

Today was a beautiful day. Absolutely perfect.... for some WIND TURBINE TESTING! The Weather Channel said by 1PM the winds would be a steady 20 MPH, which is pretty darn fast (according to my earlier research, that's about DOUBLE average wind speed). We had a group meeting at 11AM (so the winds were still a tad less than 15 or so) and went out to Ross Ade parking lot to see how fast she spins w/o a gearbox at ground level.

I know it's a still photo - so it's hard to see how fast it's spinning. But trust me, it's fast:
A) Look at Kevin's face (the guy in blue) - he's scared shitless he's going to get a mouthful of propeller.
B) I tried to take Quicktime videos of it in action, but the blade was spinning so fast that the video frames were aliasing. Which, I guess is also partly due to the fact that my poor little Nikon is a few years old...
C) The DMM Wes (guy in black) used to measure the generator output said 11-12 volts, which (from experimental data on the generator) means it was spinning 300 to 400 RPM. Wow.

We were all anxious to let it go full speed, but right now the only thing holding the propeller blades on is an auto hose clamp...not exactly a bulletproof temporary solution (in fact, Kevin made an AMAZING catch when the thing flew off and almost hit the ground. whew.). So, I guess we'll have to wait until more of the superstructure is finished in the machine shop for more complete testing.

Anyway, that was cool. That's all, I guess. Just wanted to share. The cookout last night was a success, I have a ton of tasty leftover food, and plenty of cold beer for later. No complaints, here.

2007-03-24T12:42:00.000-04:00

The worms are out. At least they were yesterday. That's how you know it's been raining like hell, when the worms come out that is. When it really rains, the ground gets so saturated with water that those poor little air-breathers from below, the lowly earthworms, come up for some air. I walked to class on Friday 'cuz it was supposed to rain even more (and when you ride your bike in the rain - you get even wetter than if you'd walked w/o an umbrella), and the whole way all I could see was the huge outpouring of earthworms into the gutters. It was erie, really.

(from right in front of my house!)

Otherwise, Friday was a pretty good day. I aced my Naval History Exam, which included bonus points for knowledge about Chuck "Carlos Ray" Norris. woot. I spent about 5 hours in the machine shop working on parts for the Wind Turbine. It's been a while since I've spent such time on my feet, so it was a real bummer that I had to walk home in addition, so I was prettymuch only in the mood to sit since I was on my feet for about 7 hours total. I think I'll take some pictures today during the group meeting to show the progress, they'll probably think I'm crazy - but whatever.

I have a huge to-do list. I always do. If I were a smart bear, I'd spend all day tomorrow getting some of it done.... we'll see how that works out. Hopefully we'll be cooking out w/ James and the gang tonight. The grill has been getting a workout lately, and that excites me!

2007-02-28T15:14:00.000-05:00

P.P.S. MC Lars is awesome. These are highly amusing:

yeah! He's right in the midwest touring right now (he'll be in chicago this weekend), but I don't have time to go...too bad. He does a lot of this stuff on his own, so I'm not at all surprised he's already cooking up some new material. Sweetness.

2007-02-28T10:29:00.000-05:00

Minor cool stuff to show off.

For the Wind Turbine project, we need to design it such that it will actually operate, right? It needs to be designed around a windspeed which is reasonable for the area it's going to be operated. If we pick a design speed which is too high, then the ambient wind won't be enough to actually turn the generator over - and the whole thing will be useless. On the other hand, if we design it for a wind speed which is too low, then a huge amount of available energy will go untapped and we'll probably lose the competition. Long story short - we need to know what kind of wind we can expect in the WL area.

So I contacted the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), a subdivision of the NOAA, for some data. Apparently, at every operating airport in the United States, they take hourly weather data measurements which are stored. This is AWESOME because the intramural playing fields, which is where the turbine competition will be held, is less than 1/10th of a mile from the Purdue Airport. So, I got hourly measurements on windspeed and direction at the site for the past 30 years. Pretty cool, huh? Well, it turns out that's way too large a data file for EXCEL or MATLAB to handle all at once, so I chopped it down and only looked at the past 6 years (January 2000 to December 2005 still represents about 65000 data points). Naturally, I wrote a code that does some statistics and makes some sweet graphs which reveal the results:

1) Polar Plot. This shows data for one year, windspeed and direction. It's a little difficult to read because there are many data points on top of each other so you don't really know the frequency that one windspeed may occur in one direction.

2) Statistics Plot. This shows the average (mean) windspeed and standard deviation of the windspeed value as a function of direction. Now you can start to see that there are definitely some directions where wind is more likely to come from.

3) Mass Data Summary. This one is really cool. This surface plot shows the information that was used to calculate the numbers in the statistics. This is raw data and it's awesome:

Keep in mind this is especially cool because of how accurate this information is for our group. These graphs are based on public information and basic statistic analysis, but the code to make this stuff took a while to get right. Basically, I'm guessing the other team doesn't have this. So, if you know anybody in the other group, don't tell them about this, k? I'm just really pleased with how clear the trends came out and wanted to show off......

2007-02-26T14:59:00.000-05:00

After an inspiring post from Bre Pettis, I decided to write my own rasterbator program in Matlab a few months ago. I'm sure after reading that first sentence, you're going to be angry and clueless about what I just said, so I'll wait for you to click on those links and then come back. Go on, I'll be waiting.....

And we're back! So it turned out great. It's a really simple code (although mine is a little inflexible, it works.... so whatever), so fellow matlab users, feel free to rasterbate your way into the history books:

% Joey Gerondale 1/22/07 Photo Splitter a.k.a. RASTERBATOR!
% The purpose of this simple program is to take a
% large JPEG file, split it into 16 equal sized
% pieces, and output those files as JPEGs.

% INITIALIZE

clc
clear all
IM=imread('your_pic.jpg','jpg');
[H W Z]=size(IM);
h=floor(H/4);
w=floor(W/4);

% COMPUTE

for k=1:4; %hblock
for r=1:4; %wblock
v(:,:,1)=IM(((k-1)*h+1):(k*h),((r-1)*w+1):(r*w),1); %assign red
v(:,:,2)=IM(((k-1)*h+1):(k*h),((r-1)*w+1):(r*w),2); %assign green
v(:,:,3)=IM(((k-1)*h+1):(k*h),((r-1)*w+1):(r*w),3); %assign blue
eval(['pic_out_' int2str(k) int2str(r) '=v;']);
end
end

% OUTPUT

imwrite(pic_out_11,'pic_out_11.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_12,'pic_out_12.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_13,'pic_out_13.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_14,'pic_out_14.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_21,'pic_out_21.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_22,'pic_out_22.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_23,'pic_out_23.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_24,'pic_out_24.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_31,'pic_out_31.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_32,'pic_out_32.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_33,'pic_out_33.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_34,'pic_out_34.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_41,'pic_out_41.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_42,'pic_out_42.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_43,'pic_out_43.jpeg','jpeg');
imwrite(pic_out_44,'pic_out_44.jpeg','jpeg');

I tried it out on this picture of a fish:

And (after I glued the 16 pieces back into one single picture) it turned out like this:

So, it works. In the very short-term, I think I have convinced Mike to scan his hairy ass...then we can use this to make an enormous-hairy-ass-poster and hang it somewhere on campus. A bit juvenile, I know, but I'm tempted nonetheless.

School is still stressful. This is a time of flux - I'll explain more later.

2007-02-25T10:57:00.000-05:00

Stressed Out. Bigtime. This week is supposed to be CDR, or "Complete Design Review" for Senior Design. I'm still behind on the turbine blade analysis. A couple of days ago, I thought I'd found the solution, but I was wrong. The damn thing is just so hard to de-bug. The solutions to the equations are so damn non-linear, it's impossible to reason your way out of it. Check this out:

And you might say "yeah, I guess that looks right", but damn! The solver function just seems to converge on two COMPLETELY SEPARATE SOLUTIONS for most of the regime we're interested in. It's so frustrating. I'm really happy I've been getting some help from Wes on the project - he's been very patient and helpful, plus he's a good matlab coder.

The only good thing I have going for me in Senior Design right now is that we've basically already decided on what to do about the turbine design. Some hippies already make some really cheap, really perfect blades for a turbine just like our application. Plus it comes with a pre-manufactured central hub. Perfect. The only thing is that the blade pitch angle isn't adjustable, but I would assume it's already nearly prefect... so that's ok.

I'm really falling behind in my other classes because of this. I barely finished the 452 project on time (I turned it in 10 minutes before it was due, and I definitely am NOT going to get a 100 on it...), plus frankly I'm clueless on the lecture material for 475. I go to class EVERY time and I just feel like he gets up there and gives his lecture in sanskrit. I have HW and a Prelab due on Tuesday I haven't even started yet. Yay.

I'm really stoked for spring break because of how crazy this semester is. The time is REALLY flying by. It's 2 weeks until spring break, and then the semester ends just 6 weeks after that. Gah. Madness. I really need to call up some of the apartment complexes recommended so I can make some appointments to check it out. I'm not worried.

I've also really been enjoying my subscription to Make Magazine. There are some really cool projects in there. I only wish I had more time to tinker and fool around. Ah well, I guess that will just have to wait until after graduation.

Long term goals for after graduation:
i) stop slowly killing myself with food.
ii) get a workshop/workroom full of cool tools.
iii) use it/them.
iv) join Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
v) learn more about electronics.

2007-02-13T14:31:00.000-05:00

SNOW DAY! I was in a computer lab at 11:30 this morning when the official email was sent out:

"NEWS RELEASE

February 13, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University has declared a 24-hour snow recess
beginning at noon Tuesday (Feb. 13) and ending at noon Wednesday (Feb. 14).
All classes are canceled for the remainder of Tuesday and for the morning
on Wednesday. Most employees have been requested to leave the university..."

Hell. Yes. So I got a ride home from Kevin back up the hill.... where he got stuck. As he slowed down to drop me off, his front-wheel-drive Jetta got in too deep and he couldn't move - so I spent the next half out helping him back to the road (Go Lola Go!). I feel REALLY guilty for taking up so much of his time - but I'm also a little proud that the car did so well. But, seriously - it's pretty snowy out.

Ok maybe it doesn't LOOK like "the Day After Tomorrow", but the snow is obviously deep enough to drift so that cars get stuck and school is canceled (first time in 10 years?).

The snow day is a blessing. I have a TON to do right now. The first ME452 project is due on Monday - and I haven't really started. It's pretty in-depth. People tell me that compared to project 2, the first one is a breeze - so hopefully it won't be that bad. I need to call home to talk to my family. I need to call Spencer back to talk about my graduation trip plans (he's been calling for over a week... I feel terrible). I need to go to the bank to make a deposit for Stacey (after the roads clear). I need to do my taxes. Ok maybe all that won't happen today - but you get the idea. Maybe I should start by making a run to Ace Hardware for a snow shovel to clear the drive so that the guys can get out later this week.

On Friday, my Senior Design group gave the first major presentation of the semester: Preliminary Design Review (or PDR). Basically, we had to do every major piece of engineering analysis for every subsystem in the entire thing in a week - and prove that our design is feasible (ok, so not only will it work... how well do you expect it to work?). The portable Wind Turbine is proving to be a very interesting challenge. We have specialists for everything: a structures specialist, a gearbox specialist, an electronics/generator specialist, and an aerodynamics specialist (yours truly). Beyond the tit-for-tat question and answer during the thing, it went very well. So far it looks like it's really going to work! My idea for a cost-effective propeller is to use the main-rotor blades from RC helicopters. I'm not going to lie - last week was very stressful for me. I was on campus for 12+ hours a day starting on Saturday of last week - which culminated in a all-nighter Thursday night to be ready. Whew. We've still got a long way to go - but I'm confident in the group. Check out my initial rotor design:

Not perfect or elegant - but it's an interesting first idea. We've got about 3 weeks to make the final design (and I mean FINAL). I've been reading a lot about Wind Turbines, meeting with professors & grad students to point me in the right direction... you get the idea. Working hard. But I'm really proud of my group's effort - none of them had to pull an all-nighter to get their work done, and it was probably a lot less intensive than the stuff I'm doing. So I'm very happy and lucky to be working with them.

The first weekend of school I exclaimed: " I have SOOOOO much freee tiiime.... what am I going to do??? ". Yeah. It's changed since then. So that Friday night I started up one of my old hobbies - building model airplanes. I picked up a balsa Guillows model from Hobby Lobby for $10 - a Piper Super Cub. I spent the whole first weekend working on it and made a ton of progress - but since then it's been sitting on my living room table taking up space. Until today - when I put the finishing touches on it. Of course, it's way too cold & windy to go fly it now - but hell I can at least hang it up in my room for a while. Check it out:

Ok. That's long enough. Sorry it's been so long without an update. Spring break is just a few weeks away and I haven't worked on my plan for that at all. Right now I think I'll be going to K.C. with Stacey to figure out living arrangements and stuff. Also we plan visiting Mandy & Nate. Fun. Apparently, James & Jenni might be driving down on their own. Cool. Well - wish me luck! Tons to do!

2007-01-29T22:51:00.000-05:00

Talk about eating your words - quote my facebook page: "I have a feeling I'll be really busy in a week". Yeah. I Am. I got home today after being on campus for 14 hours straight today - and I have a lot of work yet to do tonight. So this is not a happy-happy-joy-joy posting. Long story short: while all my activities are really interesting and on-track - I am up to my neck in stuff to do. Memo to self: stop volunteering for things.

However, in bizzaro world, where people still do things for fun - there's going to be a giant banana orbiting Texas. Check out these official photo-shopped pics:

Basically, they're going to put a realistic, banana shaped blimp nearly 1000 ft in length 20 miles over Texas. It has internal gyroscopic stabilization to keep it oriented horizontally (which is apparently aided by the boomerang-like wobbling), and some type of navigation to keep it over Texas (GPS?). So far as I can tell - they're serious. They have a considerable number of very smart people working on this. Apparently, the Canadian "artists" think this is a funny way of simultaneously insulting and exalting the beautiful absurdity that is Texas.

That conjures up a rousing mental symphonic performance of Also sprach Zarathustra. Nice. Well, back to the real world. Enjoy your sleep, everyone - tonight I shall have none.

2007-01-17T16:56:00.000-05:00

Everything's off to a great start! I'm setting myself up for a ton of responsibility this semester, but so far I'm still really optimistic about it.

The "Hand's On" course I teach is going really well. I think we have a bang-up group of instructors, and we've had a good chance to get the weekly lab projects into a fun-size. I'm the webmaster for the WebCT site, so I'm enjoying myself by making it look nice and keeping it up to date. I hope the students appreciate it.

My senior design is also going really well. I'm very familiar with three of the other members - we're in PMEA together. The other two I know from having them in my classes constantly. I think it looks like an interesting and hard-working group. In addition, I got elected to be "Project Engineer" or P.E. for the entire class; basically I'm going to be running the class meetings in about a week. It's going to be a huge time-sink, but I have a ton of help to back me up. Also, it should help give my group some clout with resources. Yay.

Automatic Control Systems is turning out to be a very strange walk on the wild side. Check one-two.

I'm getting a tour of the Caterpillar plant over in Lafayette lined up for next week. Exciting! I really slacked off hardcore last semester, so I'm making a real effort to get some of those tours done SOON! I have some paperwork yet to do this afternoon, but hopefully everything will go off without a hitch.

My New Year's Resolution to finish off all the alcohol in the house is going awesomely. Monday night I made myself a ghetto Long-Island with:

Gin
Whiskey (cheap)
Tequila
Triple Sec
Rum (cheap)
Dr. Thunder.

and it was amazing. I think I'll do it again tonight.

Also, I had a few minutes to work out the kinks in my matlab code simulating Earth's gravity. Check it out here or below:

Ok that's jank because I don't know how to edit html - but it works. Whatever.

I'm psyched about two TV shows that just premiered this Monday that are competing for the same air-time. New Season of FutureWeapons (scary cool) and I love New York (terrifyingly entertaining. Trashy and low brow as can be. I dig it). Monday nights at 9PM EST are going to be Joey relax time.

I finally have some work to do! Projects and Hw and Labs! Oh My! This weekend will be a welcome break, and I'm going to have earned it by then. P.S. I'm calling B&M tomorrow to accept the job offer. I'm really happy with my choice! Yay!

2007-01-06T14:42:00.000-05:00

Aaaaalll alone. I'm back in the WL just a tad early for the spring semester so I can readjust to my surroundings here. Doin' laundry, running errands, cleaning this and that - you know the drill. I called back to Delta & Kohler earlier this week - I'm really disappointed that I haven't had any response from them yet. As it stands, though - Stacey and I had a long discussion and I'm starting to lean towards the job in KC regardless. Forget for a moment that it's warmer there :), the city has a much lower cost of living, better opportunities for continuing education (Master's Degree, here I come...), and it's a place we could settle into for a long while (instead of WI, where the plan would be to live near the city when we're young and then move out to the country when we're older). So yeah. I haven't completely made up my mind yet - which is why I keep calling these people to hear a response (even a NO would be better than nothing...); but I'm supposed to respond to my standing offer by the 15th of this month. *sigh*

So my New Year's Eve was fun. Kel & Erin were gracious hosts as always. They served a stunning prime rib (served with horseradish sauce), blanched asparagus, and twice baked potatoes. Yum and Yummer. Wish I had a picture, but we were all starving so we ate it up! Anyway - I think everyone had just the right amount of good time if you know what I mean. The evening had a tropical theme; Erin decorated the appt in flowers and posters and such and we drank Mai Tai's. The morning after we nursed our hangovers with cinnamon rolls, mozzi sticks (a tradition!), and playful mocking of the commentary to the tournament of roses parade (have you actually ever LISTENED to what those morons say??). After a quick stop to see Rob and Amy on the north side, Stace & I started our drive south.

Huntsville was very relaxing. Nothing really out of the ordinary happened - we cooked dinner together, watched some movies (The Good Shepard is soooo confusing!), went for a drive, went to the Art Museum, et cetera. Recharge the 'ole batteries. I do feel really rested.

I had kind of a boring day of travel back. I spent most of my time reading this month's Pop Mechanics (wow, a new and exciting way to use nuclear weapons!) and the Sky Mall catalogue. I want to do a subsequent entry on how lame some of the products are... we'll see if time permits. Peace all. No, wait! Check out this sweet Trident II ICBM made by Lockheed Martin in the late 80's !!

2006-12-28T13:03:00.000-05:00

Last post in Houston for now. The nice thing about staying in Houston has been just relaxing without much need for a scary agenda. Couple days ago my Dad & I rode the MT Bike trails up at Double Lake. It was much less strenuous then at Memorial Park, but still fun. I got to use Dad's really nice dual-suspension bike, which made riding much easier - but the tiny seat dug into my ABC like nobody's business. Double Lake is in the Sam Houston National Forrest - which is a piney Forrest. As a result - the trials are covered in this half shadow-like patten which makes is really difficult to read the terrain. I fell flat on my face and vaulted the handlebars when my pedal strap caught on a root and the bike stopped instantaneously. Nice.

That night we went over to one of Spencer's friend's house for a party. Texas Hold'um $5 buy-in... I didn't go out first but I also lost by a big margin. Spencer actually won. Bastard. Day after that we got up (late and hungover) and went home for a while. Then we went to borrow some firearms and headed out to the range in Pasadena. Spencer was in rare form:

So we spent a couple hours blowing off some steam. Between the Savage 30-06, a couple AK's, the 44 carbine, and Dad's 22 - my shoulder got a workout. I did O.K. on shooting groups w/ the Savage (1" groups from 30yrds), but the AK is mostly about trying to sustain a good firing pattern as you rip through the 30 rnd magazine...and those suckers are loud (7.62X39.. big bullets make big booms). The gas-blowback makes it really really easy to keep your eye on the target; it's not hard to figure out why those rifles are so popular. Good times. It's hard to describe why it's so satisfying - it just is.

I look so surprised because I'm trying to focus....

Bur right now I'm pumped about New Year's eve with Stacey (Tropical theme?)! A whole week to goof off with her! Yay! Gotta appreciate this time because soon I'll be buried in school projects again - so playing hard now will help me work hard later.

2006-12-25T18:34:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to all. Just finished doing the dishes from the main feast of the day... so every one's getting ready to spend the rest of the evening doing nothing in particular. The meal was awesome (Roast duck, parsley corn souffle courtesy of yours truly, steamed broccoli, hot rolls.... and lots of wine); everyone was pleased with their presents (I got a year's subscription to Make Magazine and a really cool wine-opener set licensed by Lego...yay!)... holiday success.

I wrote an .m file to occupy some time a few days ago. Basically it compares the vector forces on the earth's surface due to the Earth's gravitation and the Moon's gravitation (and also as a function of the Moon's position). I'm not going to post the code, but I'll post some graphs. Ideally, it makes AVI files but I couldn't get the output function to work on the DACS version of Matlab ... so maybe I'll post those later.

... Look carefully: this is a vector plot!

... finally, the result force (combined Earth & Moon). The vector lengths aren't to scale; the Moon force is actually six orders of magnitude smaller than the Earth force (which makes sense) - so the vectors had to be scaled for dramatic effect on the graph.

Not sure what I'm going to spend my X-Mas check on... yet.

2006-12-20T15:03:00.000-05:00

Got my grades this morning - not as good as I'd hoped for. But hey, we're been over this, right? No big deal. I had a nice morning/early afternoon running errands with Mom. Mostly Christmas shopping and picking up items across town. It's really put me in the spirit of things.... and now a shameless re-printing of a hilarious piece written by Lore Sjöberg from wired magazine:

From: Ebenezer Scrooge (ebenzer@dickensripoff.com)
To: Robert Cratchit (bobc@dickensripoff.com)
Subject: A Web Christmas Carol

Damn it, Bob, it's Dec. 20 and you still haven't finished your project! When I ask for an anime/machinima version of A Christmas Carol set to an OK Go song, I expect to see it well before Christmas! Your vacation request is denied. The maintenance staff is turning off the heat before they leave, so if you don't want to spend Christmas in a down jacket editing video, you'd better get to work!

- - -

From: Jacob Marley (jakethesnake@reallydeadjournal.com)
To: Ebenezer Scrooge (ebenezer@dickensripoff.com)
Subject: i wear the chains i forged in life

hi ebbie just giving u a heads up some ghosts were asking about u and i gave them ur email hope thats okay lol

being dead sucks :-(
meery christmas :-)

- - -

From: The Ghost of Christmas Carol Spoofs Past (goccsp@temporalghosts.net)
To: Ebenezer Scrooge (ebenezer@dickensripoff.com)
Subject: Christmas Carol Spoofs Past

Ebenezer! Ebenezer! Do you have any freaking idea how old Dickens' A Christmas Carol is? It was written LAST CENTURY! Wait, no, the century before the last one. TWO CENTURIES AGO! ALMOST! Think about how corny Ewok jokes are. Ewoks have only been around for 20 years or so! Think of how much lamer they'll be in the 22nd century! Seriously, dude, lay off. It's played out.

- - -

From: Ebenezer Scrooge (ebenezer@dickensripoff.com)
To: The Ghost of Christmas Carol Spoofs Past (goccsp@temporalghosts.net)
Subject: unsubscribe

Please remove me from your mailing list.

- - -

From: The Ghost of Christmas Carol Spoofs Present (goccsp2@temporalghosts.net)
To: Ebenezer Scrooge (ebenezer@dickensripoff.com)
Subject: Hi!

Hi, Ebenezer! Nice to meet you! Could you please do me a little favor? Go to Amazon's DVD section and enter Christmas Carol. I got 80 results! Wow! That's a lot! Did you know there's a Muppet Christmas Carol AND a Sesame Street Christmas Carol? I thought Sesame Street was Muppets already! And there's one with Bugs Bunny and one with Mickey Mouse and one with All Dogs Go to Heaven.... I guess what I'm trying to say is that people who want to see a spoof of A Christmas Carol already have a lot of choices, so when you think about it, you really don't need to throw another on the pile. See?

XOXO,
Prezzie

- - -

From: Ebenezer Scrooge (ebenezer@dickensripoff.com)
To: The Ghost of Christmas Carol Spoofs Present (goccsp2@temporalghosts.net)
Subject: reported

I have reported your spamming to your ISP. Do not bother me again.

- - -

From: The Ghost of Christmas Carol Spoofs Future (thescary1@temporalghosts.net)
To: Ebenezer Scrooge (ebenezer@dickensripoff.com)
Subject: HARROWING VISIONS

EBENEZER! IF YOU DO NOT MEND YOUR WAYS, SEE WHAT WILL BECOME OF A ONCE-BELOVED TALE! THE WEB WILL BECOME CHOKED WITH LAME AMATEUR VERSIONS FEATURING BAD IMITATIONS OF FLAVOR-OF-THE-MONTH CELEBRITIES! THIS WILL TURN PEOPLE OFF OF CHRISTMAS ENTIRELY! BILL O'REILLY WILL GET SO MAD THAT HE'LL SHOOT A FOREIGN DIGNITARY, STARTING A WORLD WAR!

WORST OF ALL, PEOPLE WILL START DOING IRONIC VERSIONS OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL THAT ARE ACTUALLY ABOUT HOW MANY VERSIONS OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL THERE ARE!

- - -

From: Ebenezer Scrooge (ebenezer@dickensripoff.com)
To: The Ghost of Christmas Carol Spoofs Future (thescary1@temporalghosts.net)
Subject: NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

You have made me see the error of my ways, O Ghost With a Broken Caps Lock Key! I swear that I will never create another spoof of A Christmas Carol again, and that I will start pointless flame wars with people who do! Thank you for helping me to see the truth!

- - -

From: Ebenezer Scrooge (ebenzer@dickensripoff.com)
To: Robert Cratchit (bobc@dickensripoff.com)
Subject: Cancel the project

I've changed my mind, Bob. Stop all work on "A Web Christmas Carol" immediately. It was a bad idea all along.

Instead, I want you to get right to work on "A Web Twelve Days of Christmas." I expect to see it done by the 25th, so you might want to buy a new down jacket.

- - -

P.S. Blog - Muppet Christmas Carol is awesome. I cry every time they make you think Tiny Tim dies.

Only 5 more shopping days until Christmas! Hope you're almost done.....

2006-12-18T15:23:00.000-05:00

Home in Houston. It feels very normal to be here... nothing really all that abnormal or different. My parents are both thrilled to have me here; I think very much I get my way with words from them so it's interesting to speak with them at length.

Yesterday was fun - I landed in Houston around 1 Houston time, and just went home. Spencer took me with him to go pick up Matt on the west side.... and it's always fun to take a ride in the pimpmobile. Dad went with the three of us to a Gun Show out in Pasadena... which is a helluva long way away. Spencer's turned into quite the firearms aficionado - I think he's going to take me trapshooting in a couple days.

So far I'm just happy to chill. I might go see Ardy, or maybe go over to Caryn's place. My Mom wants to take a look at the benefits package information for the companies I'm interviewing with... so it's nice she's looking out for me.

We just got home from a brief trip out in the rain to get a Christmas Tree... tonight it's decorating time. So all's well here. Eating snacks...drinking beer.... I can't wait to get my grades.

2006-12-14T11:01:00.000-05:00

More randomosity. Does your computer sit, turned on all day, practically unused? Do you have a permanent internet connection? Do you want to contribute something to the scientific community and feel better about yourself without having to lift a finger? Then have I got something for you...

Some some computer science students at the University of Oxford are interested in random numbers achieved by throwing dice. If all the sides of the die are equal, and if the thing has uniform side lengths, the outcomes will be truly random. But what if those conditions aren't true? They're exploring how changing the side lengths impacts the outcome of the die roll through experiment, mathematical analysis, and "exhaustive computer simulation". But! They're counting on the generosity of people to donate their computer's unused processing time to help calculate. So! Go to the site! Download the program! Run it in the background! My PC cranks out roughly 100,000 simulations per day (which is but a tiny drop in the bucket when compared with the 4.6 billion user-submitted simulation results thus far... I'm only ranked number 105 out of 231 for the number of sims submitted...). So there you go - you, too can help further the knowledge of mankind. They will only be accepting results for another 2 weeks, though - so get on it!

In other news... I've decided to upload John's CFD results for our 315 project to YouTube. They turned out really well. The cool thing is that his code captures both the fluid velocity and the fluid temperature - both of which we were interested in for the project. Check 'em out:

Video One - near the entrance/heater

Video Two - at the exit

What was my contribution to the project? About 500 lines of matlab code to run academic simulations based on "textbook equations". CFD is like a magic genie in a bottle - you just input your system and boundary conditions and it spits out the result. I had to actually write my own simulations...

Anyway my Heat/Mass final was yesterday and that went fine. Not great...but fine. I have my second final on Saturday, so I'll be cramming for the next two days. Hooray. The guys and I are opening presents to each other Friday night... I wonder what I get this year. I'm feeling pretty mellow as of late - I'm ready for vacation, and I'm ready to get my grades.

2006-12-09T21:00:00.000-05:00

Allright. This has been an astonishing day - much to report. Just finished the code for my X-mas cards this year:

% XMAS CARD - JOEY GERONDALE
% 12/9/06

% INITIALIZE
clc
clear all
load rand1
num=randn;
format long
width=520*2; %picture size width in pixels
height=339*2; %picture size height in pixels
hblock=12; %desired number of vertical blocks
wblock=18; %desired number of horiz blocks

% CALCULATE
wdr=ceil(width/wblock); %number of horiz pixels per block
hdr=ceil(height/hblock); %number of vert pixels per block

pic=zeros(height,width,3);

for k=1:hblock
for r=1:wblock
tt=clock;
rand('state',floor(tt(6)*1000-50*rand(1)*k-25*rand(1)*r))
if(num(floor(10000*rand(1))))>127.5 % choose red bias
rd_st=(floor(9999*rand(1)));
gr_st=(floor(9999*rand(1)));
bl_st=(floor(9999*rand(1)));
while num(rd_st)<120>255
rd_st=rd_st+1;
end
while num(gr_st)<0>20
gr_st=gr_st+1;
end
while num(bl_st)<0>60
bl_st=bl_st+1;
end
red=num(rd_st)/256;
green=num(gr_st)/256;
blue=num(bl_st)/256;
pic(((k-1)*hdr+1):(k*hdr),((r-1)*wdr+1):(r*wdr),1)=red; %assign red
pic(((k-1)*hdr+1):(k*hdr),((r-1)*wdr+1):(r*wdr),2)=green; %assign green
pic(((k-1)*hdr+1):(k*hdr),((r-1)*wdr+1):(r*wdr),3)=blue; %assign blue
else %choose green bias
rd_st=(floor(9999*rand(1)));
gr_st=(floor(9999*rand(1)));
bl_st=(floor(9999*rand(1)));
while num(rd_st)<0>80
rd_st=rd_st+1;
end
while num(gr_st)<110>190
gr_st=gr_st+1;
end
while num(bl_st)<0>60
bl_st=bl_st+1;
end
red=num(rd_st)/256;
green=num(gr_st)/256;
blue=num(bl_st)/256;
pic(((k-1)*hdr+1):(k*hdr),((r-1)*wdr+1):(r*wdr),1)=red; %assign red
pic(((k-1)*hdr+1):(k*hdr),((r-1)*wdr+1):(r*wdr),2)=green; %assign green
pic(((k-1)*hdr+1):(k*hdr),((r-1)*wdr+1):(r*wdr),3)=blue; %assign blue
end
end
end

% OUTPUT

imwrite(pic,'xmascrd30.jpeg','jpeg')

So I just finished running the thing 30 times (so you can all get a unique card, of course) and I'm off to Wal-mart to print them off. This isn't extremely interesting or complex (it's a variation on an idea from an earlier post) - but I want to thank Alex for helping me figure out the flaws in my logic. Now it works!

Peace.

2006-12-09T19:05:00.000-05:00

OK. I've already spent all day on the computer so I'll make this fast. The submarine competition was pretty freakin' sweet. The subs had a couple of mission statements:
1) Have ability to drive forward/back/side to side on surface
2) Have ability to dive underwater... and have same control
3) Pick up 3 lb metal cube "payload" from bottom of pool and retrieve it

Here's a brief description of the 4 teams and their performance:
A) Seawolves

You can see the highly segmented design. Extremely complex - they used a pair of counter-rotating propellers to cancel out the roll torque. This team's design has two ballast tanks which can be pressurized with water or depressurized with reserve air. Basically it performs like it looks it will: it had great speed but didn't turn worth a crap. The also employed a really interesting payload recovery mechanism.

B) 20,000 M.E.'s Under the Sea

Performed essentially like a boat on the surface. The ballast tanks are either completely full or completely empty - so it either really floats or REALLY sinks. Overall the best driving performance, but it didn't have any of the cool features the other ones did.

C) Submarine 9

Interesting design: the ballast tank is a concentric cylinder around the sealed inner compartment which contains the important stuff: radios/motors/ballast pumps. Unfortunately - it entered the water only once for about 10 seconds. Long enough to flood the main component tank and short out the radios. Nice. They also didn't employ the trailing antennae method the other teams did - so they couldn't get any signal below about 4 ft. of water depth.

D) Sharkmouth (I don't know the real team name - but it's obvious why I call it that)

I think this team had the coolest design. Essentially symmetric front-to-rear, this model has naturally neutral buoyancy - so what drives it up and down are the twin vertical ducted fans in the nose and tail. It also has the propulsion motors on extended booms, so it really turns on a dime. Their payload retrieval mechanism is just a giant hook. After the payload is grabbed - they can blow reserve ballast in the nose & tail cones to offset the new weight addition and rise to the surface. Initially it had the best performance by far, but it turns out that having the propulsion so far out made it really unstable, so it was difficult to control. Overall, though - this design was best at all the control aspects: going/stopping, turning, and rising/falling in the water.

What about the payload? Well all the teams eventually had technical difficulties so they quit before getting that far - but it was still about an hour and a half of presentations/competition.

My senior design will be way cooler than this stuff..... but in general I'm pretty impressed with their efforts.

2006-12-09T14:22:00.000-05:00

A brief retrospective. All this stuff happened prior to my last blog entry, I just didn't have time to throw it in there. It's a lazy Saturday - I should be studying for Heat/Mass, but instead I'm blowing off steam on the internet....

First off, I spent the better part of a month working on a birthday present for Spencer (but it wasn't posted here... in case he reads....). I got the idea from a makezine project: hovercraft!!! So I decided it would be awesome to improve on the original design by using the parts from the RC car we shredded (and decided not to use) for the ME 444 project. I had a couple DC motors and the RC circuit/controller sitting around. I spent some time in the electronics shop figuring out what input/output voltages the circuit was using (so I could replace the supplied battery pack with a smaller, lighter version) and I got to work. Here's the alpha model:

And the motor did spin up just fine!! But the circuit only delivers about 1.3 V to the motor, so it's a little bit slower. Result: it doesn't lift off the ground :( bummer. But, it has to lift the weight of the circuit and the balsa housing, so I decided to make a lighter beta model:

Which also didn't have enough thrust to lift off....but it was closer. This one also delivers the full 2.3 V from the 2 AA battery pack to the motor (so it spins a LOT faster than the alpha), and it ONLY delivers thrust in the vertical direction (as you can see from the ducting). So that was kind of depressing that a soon-to-graduate ME can't make a damn hovercraft fly, but in hindsight it was because of over-engineering (too much mass from glue, other parts...) that did it. But I did put in cool features like: they use the same battery pack, and they both have on/off switches soldered in, so I'm pleased with the effort. They look cool and he was glad to get them, so it's not all bad.

My job interview in Kohler was pretty sweet. They have a very professional staff there - I met with engineering managers twice my age - basically the people I would be working for. They were all very positive, and open to the way I presented myself. They do some really interesting stuff there. Big opportunities for innovation and exploration there. The whole town is pretty cool - it's very 1920's industrial besides basically being a resort (Mr. Kohler has more money than Donald Trump!!):

Because it's in rural Wisconsin AND on the lake, there's a ton of recreational stuff I could do. If I lived there: I'd buy a sailboat, go hunting every winter, and take up golf (Mr. Kohler has two PGA quality courses in the town that any Kohler employee can play for $24). And also - probably not a big shot at getting continuing education... I'm trying to convince Stace we could live on the north side of Milwaukee so she can go to UWM or Marquette (I want my masters, too!!). Maybe we could live near the city when we're young, then move out to the country later... I dunno. Anyway you cut it - it looks like a cool place to live.

The Whirlpool interview went pretty well, too. First off - the rental car people upgraded me for free...so I was riding in style to St. Jo (about half an hour N.E. from Gary, IN):

Yeah. I know, right? Definitely the most expensive car I've ever driven. The headquarters is pretty serious business, too:

But St. Jo is known for its beaches, and I'd want to live in town there if I got the job. It's very quaint:

Honestly, I don't have the slightest idea what I'd be doing if I worked for Whirlpool. They didn't spend any time talking about the opportunities there - they spent all their time finding out about me. I was mostly interviewed by 20-somethings... there's nothing wrong with that, but I don't really feel like I got to see a complete picture of what they have to offer.

My B&M interview was also really interesting. They are involved in some reeaallly cool stuff. I feel like I could be a really well-respected professional if I work there (they basically require you to get your P.E. within 3 years...so I meant that literally). The work would be really technical and yet always varying. My presentation went well (it's a consulting company - so they want to see if you can handle yourself in front of a crowd), and each of the division managers was extremely polite and direct with me. I also brought my Delta design notebook, so hopefully that gave them a glimpse of the my problem solving style. I wish I had some pictures of the place, it's in a huge industrial complex - sitting on top of an underground parking facility which requires RFID tags to enter. There's security everywhere. They're pretty tip-top. BUT! I was there during a huge ice-storm. It took about an hour and a half just to drive me from the Airport to the hotel - and the guys there still took me out to dinner. I got snowed in the second day - so I missed Friday classes (which was a blessing in disguise due to all the stuff I had due that day). But - all in all I'm very satisfied with the result. I got to hang out with Nate & Mandy for two nights in a row. We all get along pretty well, and I have a feeling we'd be spending a lot of time together if I worked in KC. Mandy & Nate both really like their jobs a lot (which is especially good news coming from Nate since he WORKS for B&M), and they really like the city a lot. There's a shocking amount of diversity there - which is good. It's the "city of fountains" - second only to Rome for the number of fountains in the city. Wow. It's got great schools, nice neighborhoods, and super shopping (c'mon , Stace!!).

I haven't heard from anyone yet!! Including Delta!! I can't believe this. I went to the Cactus on Thursday night with Bryan and Sarah, which was awesome. Sarah wants nobody to offer me a job so I get stuck in Indy with her and B-spice. That wouldn't be all bad. I could get an M.S. at IUPUI in nightschool, hang out with Kel & Erin &amp; Jay & Gretch & Chris & Brooke & obviously Sarah & Bryan.... so there's a lot going on there. I just don't feel like Indy is where I belong for the rest of my life. I dunno. I feel like I want some options.

So as far as things are going around here - I think Christmas is in the air. Stacey sent a care package to the guys and I (which was precious) - like we need more candy and cookies and cake, hah. But it was really sweet. The stockings are hung on the mantle, and I think we're all looking forward to a little vacation. This semester absolutely FLEW BY, but, as I said in an earlier posting I feel like it was a really good time. Craig & I had a really nice chat, and we're both in a really well adjusted, happy place. I'm very optimistic about the next couple of weeks, and also about the spring semester. I'll throw it out there right now - I'm going to try to convince my senior design group to make a steam engine. Think about it - that would be ASTONISHING! And in sort of the school-spirit with the whole boilermaker thing. Anyway, seasons greetings everyone.

Several teams of senior design this semester made a RC submarines. They're having a competition at the Aquatic center in 2 hours.... I really want to go. Seeya.

2006-12-06T16:20:00.000-05:00

My poor blog. I've neglected you, again. I can make excuses all day long...but I 'll just tell you life has been busier than ever. Good news, though - everything is starting to come together.

First, I finally finished my off-campus interviews. I'm really lucky I got a chance to travel to the different locations and see what the companies have to offer. I haven't heard back from anyone yet (including Delta), but hopefully the offers/rejections will be rolling in within a week or two.

In school-related news - my semester long projects have been wrapping up with some pretty nice results. The project on the natural convection chimney produced excellent results - I'm not bragging but I think we had the best project of our lab section. John did some sweet animations with his CFD code - but you can't post those in blogger so you'll just have to take my word for it. Here's our results (including experimental data, CFD results, and THREE different analyses I performed... I'm not going into how much time I spent getting the equations right for that). Just the fact that five different data sets all have more or less the same magnitude result for velocity is AMAZING!

Also - not an hour ago we finished testing of the prototype toy for ME 444. I don't think I ever really explained the idea, but it's supposed to be a toy plane that hangs from the ceiling and has enough power to pull itself in circles around the room. WELL IT REALLY FLIES IN CIRCLES!! Wow. Jubilation. We actually had a group bet on weather the thing would work or not - so someones buying me a couple of drinks on Thursday when we open Jake's immediately after class:

So - It's not perfect, but it does what it's supposed to do and that's great! I have my final Women's Studies paper due Friday morning (which I haven't started yet) - so I need to work on that. After that, it's just finals week. My schedule is actually quite nice. One Wednesday, one Saturday. Plenty of time to study. I'll be really mad at myself if I don't excel on both.

The best way to summarize my end-of-semester attitude is this: I feel like I've put in a LOT of work, and I've really enjoyed the work and gotten a lot out of it. My grades won't be anything amazing, but I've decided that my personal satisfaction should be independent of how well my report card is. I feel like I've worked hard enough for straight A's, but I'm not going to be the least bit disappointed when the results are less than that.

On a more personal note - I'm more than excited about the holiday vacation coming up. This is probably due in part to the majority of my X-mas shopping already being DONE! We're actually staying in Houston this year (instead of driving to the G-parent's house), plus I'm flying home. So, my vacation will include a lot more enjoyment and a lot less sitting in the car. And like last year, I'll be flying back to Indy early so I can spend New Year's with Stacey! But 2 days isn't nearly long enough...and I have another week of vacation after that.... so I'm going to ride down to Huntsville with her and spend another couple of days before I have to be back at school.

So... I just have another week and 3 days here in the WL before it's over for this semester - and on with THE LAST SEMESTER. Wow. It's been five years and I feel like everything is right.

Peace.

2006-11-07T00:23:00.000-05:00

It's getting pretty hairy around here. Seems like I live a very go-go-go-lifestyle now... it's like there's always this HUGE thing due TOMRROW...and as soon as I finish that, there will be some even greater obstacle to beat tomorrow... its getting tiring.

I didn't do so hot on the 315 exam tonight - which is especially frustrating considering I didn't do anything fun this weekend in lieu of studying my ass off. And what was waiting for me tonight, after said exam? Why the 315 lab report due tomorrow, of course. Blah. So I spent 2 hours on that and the damn calculations aren't turning out right - so at this point I think I've had enough for one day. Tomorrow will be better.

On the plus side, I did do one thing sucessfully today: I wrote a matlab script that makes a picture (presumably, a desktop-sized pic) of random square color blocks. Lame, huh? I found a cool website on truly random numbers (any of you who've looked into random number generators - like matlab's rand function - know it's totally useless if you want actual random numbers). Basically, this site takes "atmospheric noise" - white noise on the EM spectrum near a frequency where nobody is broadcasting - and turns it into real-time random numbers. Cool. So here goes:

clc
clear all
load rand1 %rand1 is a .mat file that presumably contains a very long vector
%(3000+ elements) "randn" of random numbers between 0 and 256
num=randn;
width=1600; %picture size width in pixels
height=1200; %picture size height in pixels
hblock=8; %desired number of vertical blocks
wblock=10; %desired number of horiz blocks
% CALCULATE
wdr=floor(width/wblock); %number of horiz pixels per block
hdr=floor(height/hblock); %number of vert pixels per block
pic=zeros(height,width,3);
tf=clock;
t=tf(6);
start=floor((t/60)*length(num));
if (start+500)>length(num)
start=start-(166*floor(t));
end
for k=1:hblock
for r=1:wblock
pic(((k-1)*hdr+1):(k*hdr),((r-1)*wdr+1):(r*wdr),1)=num(start+3*r+k)/255; %assign red
pic(((k-1)*hdr+1):(k*hdr),((r-1)*wdr+1):(r*wdr),2)=num(start+2*r+k)/255; %assign green
pic(((k-1)*hdr+1):(k*hdr),((r-1)*wdr+1):(r*wdr),3)=num(start+1*r+k)/255; %assign blue
end
end
% OUTPUT
imwrite(pic,'desktp1.jpeg','jpeg')

And here's a sample result (it should, ideally, always turn out different):

I guess it's not particularly pretty.or unique.or interesting. I just did it for fun. I think figuring out how to mess with photo editing in Matlab could be fun - maybe more in my spare time later.

The next few weeks are going to fly by - I have three off-campus interviews coming up: Kohler Faucets, Whirlpool, and Burns & Mac. Getting any of those three jobs would be awesome. Also, Thanksgiving is coming up - so not only do I get to see family but I'll meet up with Stace in Indy with her family for a day or two. But, I don't have to wait that long - she's also coming to visit this weekend (woohoo!).

Ok...must finish lab tomorrow, take data for the 315 project, and then study like a madman for the 375 exam thursday...ack! Wish me luck.

2006-10-19T23:00:00.000-04:00

Job Search. Wow. Tons of Interviews on campus. CCO is amazing in terms of putting students in touch with companies interested in exactly what we have to offer. I've been doing a lot of online job-searching, too - but mostly it's really hard to find listings for "entry level engineer" anything - mostly they just email back telling me that I'm underqualified for whatever...which I understand, but it still sucks to think you're qualified for something and then be told you're not....

Right now I'm in that time where I've applied/interviewed with more than one really interesting company, but NOBODY's gotten back to me. Not even the company I co-opped with. Weird. I'm sure that will change soon, and there will be a very brief flash of activity like 2 weeks before I have to make up my mind....but I wish it were a steadier process....

Companies I've interviewed with that would be AMAZING to work for:
*Sikorsky - Design Engineering of mechanisms. Best continuing education program in the country. That fits what I'm looking for to a T.
*Whirlpool WTEP - Basically it's an advanced co-op program. 3 years, 4 six month rotations sandwiched around 1 year of full-time school to get a M.S. degree....with a stipend. Awesome. They seemed really open towards my dorkiness...which is...good..
*Kohler Faucets - I'm totally qualified to work there. They're prestigious, very intelligent, and they like what I have to offer.... nice.
*Kohler Generators - It's not my specialty, but I could really fit in there. Sounds like they give a lot of freedom to their engineers.
*It would also be awesome to land a job with one of the myriad of aerospace companies in Huntsville.... I'm a little behind on that - but that's going to pick up soon, here.

Right now I'm feeling pretty good. I'm finally on-top of everything I need to be on top of. Lola (my car) is feeling healthy after her oil/filter change. My room & house are both clean. I'm on top of my classes (which is awesome because of how many different little things there are going on.... e.g. I'm developing a hands-on kit for my class to build in under 2 weeks.... tomorrow I have a group meeting to build a chute for my natural convection project... et cetera....). UUUm I'm pumped about this weekend (football yay! B-Fast club yay! James' B-Day yay!). I should grill something. What else? I'm ready for Kel & Erin's wedding.... should be a fairly easy time for me, since I'm not IN the wedding I just get to show up and enjoy my date and the experience (plus it's my 6 month w/ Stace....go me and go commitment!!).

I'm trying to think of the best picture I can add to this posting to summarize what's going on right now... I think I've settled on this metaphoric picture of a sunrise from my recent trip to Huntsville:

Peace out.

2006-10-05T17:49:00.000-04:00

Insanity. I am so busy it scares me. Yesterday was one of the longest days ever (9AM to 11PM solid schoolwork)...but wow was I productive. This afternoon I'm trying to work on some stuff due as soon as I get home from October break (when I'll be gone the whole time); 375 HW, 315 Lab, stuff like that. I'm psyched to spend a few days with Stace, and I'm stoked to see my Mom for an hour tomorrow. Kind of bizarre, I know - but hey I'll take what I can get.

But I wanna say a thing or two about my Heat/Mass Transfer Lab Project... because I'm really getting into it. The idea is based around natural convection - which is where because a heater changes the temperature (and thus, density) of a gas locally - that gas rises and creates a bulk motion. We're going to set up a heater (cylindrical in shape) in an insulated vertical chute, and measure the resulting temperature and velocity of the steady state air that's going to blow out of the top. It's called the "chimney Effect". The thing will look like this:

It's a heating/flow phenomenon, so it can be simulated by a numerical solution to the Navier Stokes equations coupled with some known heating/density stuff.

Temperature rises locally around the heater and creates the hot jet that rises in the center.

Because the air's heated - it starts gaining velocity; looks like it's going to get going to fastest in the middle of the buoyant jet:

So that's cool. I didn't write the CFD code, or run the simulations (code written by my 12-year PhD candidate TA, simulations run by my group member). But damn, I must say that is player. I've been responsible for finding as much academic information about the project as possible - and sure enough some guys from the Netherlands did this verbatim in 1994 ("Natural Convection Around a Horizontal Circular Cylinder in Infinate Space and Within Confining Plates" - Numerical Heat Transer Part A Volume 25 pp 441-456) - complete with their own accompanied experimental/numerical results. Awesome. So for the next month or so I'm going to be consumed with building this thing and taking the data.

I think it's fair to say I'm getting into my classes quite a bit. Hopefully I'll post a entry later about my ME444 project - where we're building a toy plane based on a really interesting historical aircraft.... and it's going to look amazing.

Allright - gotta get back to work and finish as much as I can so I can goof off for break and not feel guilty! Huntsville, here I come! 5 day weekend!!!

2006-10-01T10:53:00.000-04:00

Sunday Sunday Sunday. This represents the first weekend of the entire semester I haven't had plans. No football game, no traveling, no guests. Granted, I do miss Stacey a lot but I woke up this morning feeling so refreshed..... I accomplished a lot yesterday afternoon (chore-wise) and I plan on accomplishing more today (homework/schoolwork wise).

I even cleaned out my grill. Scrubbed the plates, wiped down the surfaces, emptied out the "juice tray". Hooray! New propane tank, feels like a new grill.

Ain't she a beaute'? Last week I made this wicked pork tenderloin in a teriyaki marinade. But mostly, I focus on sausage and hot-dogs. I bought drumsticks at Payless yesterday, so I want to make BBQ early this week....maybe part of a Craig Birthday celebration!??! maybe. I'm baking a cake here as soon as I finish this entry.....

I'm sad Stacey's moved away (well, further away). She'll be stationed in Huntsville, AL for the next 9 months. We'll see each other a lot here in the next month (I'm flying there for October break, and she's flying here for the Wedding at the end of October). But after that I don't know. I want to come back up early after X-mas vacation so I can spend New-Year's-Eve with her - but it's a long time between Halloween and the New Year. She's a goofball, and I love it. I can honestly say I smirk everytime I think about her.

Things are going swimmingly right now. Spencer wants me to make a "lifesize portrait complete with cowboy hat and cigarette" of him for Christmas. Well, thanks for the early warning.... I think I'll do it, but not in watercolor. It would turn out really shitty. I think I'm going to learn how to do a monochrome stencil in photoshop, and spray paint it on a white sheet or something. That way, I can have more than one shot at getting a good one....plus it'll go with the theme (what, was he expecting oil paints? puh-leaze.).

Life at the house is great. I'm not playing as many video games as I'd like (no free time) - but the guys are amicable and I enjoy living here. I do most of the cleaning (which doesn't bother me so much....because it's not that much cleaning...once a week) and cooking (which also doesn't bother me because "cooking" is read "grilling").

Big month coming up ...I'm excited.

2006-09-18T13:05:00.000-04:00

Best. Weekend. Ever.

This needs to be a really quick entry because I gotta be teaching a class in 10 minutes.

I left town Friday afternoon around 2:30 which put me in Cinci to see Stacey at 5:30. We grilled out in the hotel courtyard (3+ hour marninated chicken with corn on the cob with SHINER BOCK the best texas beer....). Then it was off to her Mom's house for a little dessert and video on the couch-time.....Aladdin. Amazing. It's been years and years since I've seen that movie and I remembered SO many little gags in it. It was very fun. Those of you who know I'm a muppet fan will recognize that Aladdin is definitely the most zaney Disney movie of all time.

Saturday was jam-packed. We went to the Taft Museum to see some JMW Turner paintings (which are REALLY small and REALLY amazingly detailed), then to Oktoberfest downtown to gorge ourselves on festivities (limberger cheese sandwich, saurkrat and sausage, strudel, and two very large very dark beers), then to the concert at Bogart's.

Oktoberfest was really enjoyable. It's hard to not have a good time when you drink that much beer and eat that much good food. Stacey treated me to a Warsteiner and a Hudy Delight. Wow. Really glad she was driving because those were very very large cups.

Hooray Beer!

The concert was pretty fun. The Bronx were "on" when they played - despite the fact that the roadie brought 5 or 6 cans of Budweiser on stage before they came on, and they finished ALL of them, they played really well. Converge (the middle band) sucked ass. And Mastodon was good as well.... perhaps more dramatic than I was hoping for but in general it was cool to see them play such complicated songs live. We brought ear-plugs this time and that was a really good idea. We were also in the front-front row the whole time and had a great view. I'll try to post some pics on facebook later.

Matt from the Bronx....great stage moves

Sunday was lazy and slow. We went to the batting cages where Stacey hit the crap out of about 80% of the balls and I whiffed on about 60% of the balls....not very coordinated, people.

Last week I had an interview with a Dynamic Systems Engineer from Sikorsky Helicopters. And it went really really well. That would be a cool ass job. Mostly mechanism design of really small high-speed (30000 rpm) components for the military. Awesome.

Ok I'm off to teach my class. Today we're doing 2-stroke Internal Combustion Engines for RC aircraft..... cool. I'm not an expert on engine design but it will still be fun.

2006-08-30T15:15:00.000-04:00

Everything is kind of insane right now. Lots Lots Lots on my mind. I got really spoiled on the idea of goofing off on vacation - cuz getting back into the groove of homework is hard. I'm really thankful I have a bunch of friend's material from classes they've had and I'm taking right now. I'm also thankful that the hardest class I'm taking this semester with my blood-brother, Alex.

Alex bought a new TV. So we're back to "civilized" TV watching - two at once, baby. The only way to fly. The grill continues to work out nicely. I grilled chicked w/ zuchinni in a teriyaki marinade last night - it was delectible. My room is still nice and big - but it seems like I'm just using the extra floorspace to spread my crap evenly around the room (isn't there some kind of analogous biological theory about how a goldfish will grow to the size of the fishbowl?). I still need to make that trip to University Bookstore to get binders & dividers to start my meticulous organization of class materials (which, by extension should get the crap off my floor). The kitchen is also already a pigsty. I'm going to clean the living hell out of my room, the bathroom (which doesn't need it - I just want it to smell lemony-fresh), and the kitchen before this weekend (see below).

But man am I happy it's past Wednesday - the rest of the week should be a breeze. I've already finished my assignments for Thursday, and I only have a couple of small things for Friday. Then this weekend Stace visits & (hopefully) we'll together watch the Boilermakers trample their opponents on the field of battle. So things are on the up and up for the moment. Tonight should certainly afford my opportunities to drink beer and play video games. Isn't that what we all want, anyway?

Also, in a shameless plug to get my Google rating up, here's a link to my tools webpage that's supposed to showcase what a bright young man I am - don't go there, though - it's still under construction.

Also also, Adultswim is playing a show that I'm actually excited about (which hasn't happened since I wanted to shoot myself in the face after watching an entire episode of "Tom Goes to the Mayor" about a year ago) - it's called Metalocalypse; and it's about, you guessed it, an absurd metal band. It's animated. It's overstereotyped. It's Metal. There's an interesting interview with the creators here. I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the original guys who worked on Aqua Teen worked on this show - not only does it have a similar style of random humor, but on several of the "commentaries" for episodes of ATHF, there's a guy just shredding on a guitar for like 10 minutes... so yeah.

Dethklok is muy caliente.

End Transmission.

2006-08-22T14:34:00.000-04:00

Back to School. The transition back to classes has been rather smooth so far. I'm fairly optimistic about all my classes except for Heat/Mass Transfer, where the teacher is apparently a huge douche. That plan about buying a grill and using it has turned out very very well. I had brats for lunch. It was mind-blowing good - and I didn't even warm the buns.

I'm on a gap between classes now.....two hour break before "Mechanical Engineering Ambassadors" - which I think should be easy....and hopefully will look good on a resume.

My computer has really been pissing me off today. I spent about 2 hours trying (as in, I never actually suceeded) to do something that should take about 20 mintues. I just know there are little virus goblins in there messin' things up.... and it bugs me. my new DVD burner came in over the weekend and I hooked it up this morning - hopefully tonight I can start backing up my files (27 Gigs of Naruto....dang). Anyway, I don't know what the solution is (since all I can see is symptoms of what could be caused by any one of a number of serious problems)....but I'm ticked enough to start trying aggressively to fix it.

On the bright side - we played a lot of MarioKart yesterday. I lost quite a bit, but it's still relaxing. Craig is getting a lot more confident in speaking with vulgarity - mostly with reference to video games (e.g.: *very loud* "Fuck. You. Alex." ). I like it.

I remember Kevin Badger actually HAD this phone....man that was weird.

Peace ppl - send me good vibes to start ramping up my productivity. This semester's going to be a lot lot lot of work!

2006-08-12T15:02:00.000-04:00

Wow. Being on vacation is amazing. I'm so spoiled right now I can hardly stand it. I got home from 2 days in Cinci w/ Stace yesterday afternoon - so relaxing. I finally got to meet more of her co-workers, which was nice because she spends all her time with these people now and I need to keep up with everything that happens. We also spent a nice evening with Oma - Stace's grandma. She is, by far, the coolest Grandma I've ever met. I'm back home in the WL now, and I just have one week of vacation left before the fall semester starts. I know it's cliche - but all the work/school I've done really makes me appreciate time when I don't really have to do ANYTHING.

I'm writing this from the new house - which means I sucessfully set up the internet router in the basement *go me*. I'm leaving in 2 hours to pick up James & go to the Indiana State Fair w/ Kellen, Erin, & Jay. So that'll take up the rest of my day. Riding in a ferris wheel, eating deep-fried-snickers bars...oh man I can't wait. The last time I was at the Indiana State fairgrounds was for the gun show, which some people thought was laughable - but I enjoyed anyway. Hell, I saw Wagner there (as in Wagner's Gun & Barber Shop - best haircuts I've got in Indiana - for the record). Too bad I'm not on the market for a quality firearm right now. I dunno what else there is to do & see there - but that's the idea - it'll be a new experience.

There are still a ton of interesting & productive things on my "to do" list before school starts. So far I've adopted the unfortunately-wasteful trend of just watching TV with my spare time - but that can't continue. I know how valuable this time is so it shoudn't be squandered on the 500 channels of joy I'll be able to watch all year - I need to do some of this stuff I'm not going to have time to do for another couple of months. Vacation time is precious!!!!

1) Buy a suit. Honestly, I'm kind of intimidated. This is one really important high-dollar purchase every young man has to make sooner or later (but I have a wedding to go to in 2 weeks, so this needs to happen SOON) - and I want to look really good. I think I know what I want, but there's so many options. I'm kinda scared. My eyes really suggest I should go with a standard blue suit (because damn, when CAN'T you wear a blue suit?) - but I think I'm so goofy that a more serious theme like black or charcoal grey might be a good choice.... I dunno. whatever I end up with I'll post pictures of the wedding.

2) Repair glasses. Because I'm a clumsy fool when I drink, I sat on my $300 ralph-lauren frames one evening when Stace was over. Thank god they're metal and can be bent back into shape. Urgh. My Dad would kill me.

3) Update Resume. Because Industrial Roundtable is an opportunity one can't pass up in my position. Delta may offer me a job, but maybe they won't. I need to explore my options (and with the aforementioned suit, I'll look damn good doing it).

4) Spraypaint a Mural. Because our basement is really barren and I haven't done anything remotely artistic in years. I have spare sheets. I have tons of cheap spraypaint sitting around. If it turns out crappy - oh well, it's just going in the basement...who cares? I'm thinking something school-spirit plus graffiti-culture themed..we'll see. I just feel a need to do something wild like this.

5) Build a Bar/Decorate Basement - see earlier posting on this. I want this room to turn out cool, but with Craig & Alex not showing up till late we might not get much done. I'll try to convince them, though.

6) Buy/Install DVD burner for my computer. I haven't backed up my files in forever and this PC is reaching the end of its expected lifespan. Losing all my music and pictures right now would be a catastrophe. Plus, it's acting all sluggish... I need to backup my critical files and reformat.... a cleansing absolution of my computing sins should restore my formerly-awesome performance. This thing was purchased in 2002 with a pentium 4 and 1 Gig of RAM.... it's pretty fast even by today's standards- so you can understand my frustration when Winamp starts making the music skip when I just open mozilla....LAME! There must be bots hiding somewhere that Symantec doesn't know about (even though I repeatedly scan).

7) Buy a Grill. Craig and I agreed on this one earlier in the summer. Getting a new house with a deck means we NEED a GRILL! Grilling food is super-easy & super-tasty. It represents a rite-of-passage all young men must go though sooner or later - a maturing from boiled-water-hot-dogs to the fire-broiled tastiness of grilled bratwurst. From george-forman frozen burgers to half-inch thick new-york strip. By God, as 22 year-olds this is a natural step we deserve. I can promise you this - we won't be giving Wal-Mart our money on this one.

That's a pretty ambitious list for just 7 more days of freedom. Not to mention that Alex & Craig should be coming back by Tuesday or Wednesay - and they will naturally distract me with video games and the like. I do miss them both a lot, and I can't wait for them to get here - but I know my productivity's going to hell once that PlayStation gets plugged in. Oh well, at least I have high hopes. To tell the truth, I've already accomplished a ton - I just know there's a huge potential to do a lot more. Wish me luck!

2006-08-07T15:04:00.000-04:00

New House. New Year. Vacation.

I finished moving out of my crap-hole appartment on S. Salisbury today. Turned in the keys with a self-addressed stamped envelope for the (much reduced due to massive urine stains) deposit I should be getting back. I'm about 1/4 done with arranging my stuff at the new place...there's just so so so much room to move stuff around. My bedroom is like a small auditorium, and it has a kickass view.

The gas doesn't get turned on until tomorrow afternoon - so it looks like it's going to be a cold shower for me in the morning (and I mean COLD - Stacey can tell you just how cold it is...). Internet/Cable TV gets set up Wednesday, so that should give me a couple of days to get things done before I start rotting my brain.

Sidenote - the new house has a huge bar-room in the basement; except that it still needs to be turned into a bar-room. I think when the guys get back, our group activity will be :
A) building the bar (we're manly men! we use powertools and varnish!)
B) buying/hanging a dartboard........foosball and billiards are also acceptible
C) stealing as many neon/non neon alcohol signs as we can.

See there, alcoholism can be wholesome, too.....

So that's exciting. I'll be gone wednesday afternoon to Friday morning to visit Stace... busy busy!

2006-08-02T14:15:00.000-04:00

My math final's in an hour. I'm prettymuch studied out. I had a Mad Mushroom Chicken grinder for lunch (which Alex knows I affectionately call "the sandwich of life"), and I feel more or less prepared. I've (re)done the homework assignments for the entire summer in the last 3 days. I've memorized three pages of formulas/bizzare mathematical relations. I can't really do much more at this point to channel my chakra into doing well on this exam - in three hours I'll be home playing FFVII again only to start cramming tomorrow for Friday's exam in 352. Maybe Craig will come over for a while. That would be nice.

Oh yeah - the new Bronx album DOES rock. And Mastodon made another single from the new album available for streaming on their myspace page.... so I'm definitely pumped about the concert - I've been getting in my daily dose of rock-out-time.

Pumped about this weekend. New house. New room. Girlfriend time. And No Schoolwork :) Peace
everyone!

2006-07-25T18:28:00.000-04:00

Another quick post on another quick study break.

Madness. I've put off this 352 project for way too long - I'm essentially doing the entire thing in 24 hours. But it was worth it: this past weekend was a BLAST!!! Saturday was the first time I'd been out with my Purdue peoples in a long while - and the first time hangin' out with Kellen & Erin in an even longer while. Good food/beer at Laf Brew Co, SoCo shot at Nate's crew's appt, then home for shots w/ Kellen Erin & James, then off to a party, then back to my place for MORE shots, finally off to Jake's for the entire gang to chill. Definitely one of my last chances to hang out with Mandy now that she's moving to Kansas City so soon. Sunday: OZZFEST - I don't have enough time to talk about how sweet it was, but rest assured I got my rock on in a pleasant variety of intensity all day long. Also, Jonathan & his friend bascially entertained each other all day, so I had Stace to myself (good cuz I won't be able to hang out with her again until after finals...blah). The afternoon sets were mostly hardcore (only went in the pit to see Atreyu - awesome!), and the evening sets were the headliners (A7X sucks ass, but Lacuna Coil & S.O.A.D. were both in really top form). Didn't get home until 1, so I was zonked for Monday. Long story short - I didn't do any schoolwork the whole weekend.

Good news: I've basically got the programming in the bag - it's not done but I've figured out the solution method (hooray). Bad news: the programming is only the first 3rd of the project - there's a surprising amount of work by hand... nuts (which sucks because, unlike work by computer, if you make a mistake you have to start the WHOLE thing over...). The plan right now is to work at home until midnight-ish, and then trek over to the Math Building computer lab for my late-night concentration. I have a hunch I can get most of it done but there's no way it's going to be an impressive effort - but I'm not going to feel guilty at all when I have to turn this thing in at noon.... I'll probably just be exhausted and go home to bed (but I can't sleep too long because I have HW due in BOTH math and 352 thursday.... crackwhore teachers). I scored 15 points better than the average on the 2nd exam - so I think I'm in good shape.

So yeah - just this next 18 hours of hell, and then I only have to worry about my 2 finals (which are thankfully two days apart! AND!! two days after the weekend ends...so I'll be a moron if I don't study hard). I'm starting to get really anxious for this two weeks of vacation between finals and the fall semester starting - I have some high-quality goof-off time coming my way.

Wish me luck!

2006-07-20T22:18:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post on my study break.

In general, everything is going really well. The next two weeks are going to be absolute hell, though. Tonight marks my first (and hopefully only) all-nighter of the semester. Last semester I had to pull one-a-week, so I'm kind of an old pro at this point; I still hate doing it, though. It's my own fault for not starting studying for this math exam sooner - but if I don't churn out some hardcore cramming I'm going to fail for sure. And considering that's exactly what I did last time, I can't afford a repeat F. This math class counts as a tech-elective, so I need the credits to graduate (if I fail, it means adding an extra 3 hrs of HARD material to my fall or spring semester - BAD idea). Looks like my Friday afternoon is going to be spent in bed.... but it'll be worth it if I just don't fail.....

hooray for coffee binges. wish me luck tomorrow.

2006-07-19T21:46:00.000-04:00

I'm so happy right now I want to cry.

Dear, sweet everloving Jesus - I sincerely apologize for all the whining I've been doing lately - for you have given me a gift beyond my wildest dreams.

Just as soon as I'm here talking up new albums from two of my most favorite and diverse bands...they announce a huge North American Tour. Visiting a city I can drive to. Not only that, but a city where I can stay the night for free. Not only that, but it's on a Saturday night - so come hell or high water in schoolwork I AM GOING. Not to mention I received notice early enough that I can purchase tickets online. Hell. I already purchased tickets. I got that shit before AP.net even made the announcement.

Saturday, Sept 16th. Bogart's. Cincinnati. The Bronx opening for Mastodon.

I know this doesn't mean much to you readers - but trust me this is a very very VERY BIG F**KING DEAL!

I have a lot going on right now school-wise, but now I have no reason whatsoever to complain about ANYTHING..... man this is awesome. Back to work.....

Oh yeah! Ozzfest this weekend! Suite. I promise I'll write a blog entry reivew.... I'm sure there will be some noteworthy happenings....

2006-07-12T21:15:00.000-04:00

Current Mood: Optimistic and complacent

**random Radiohead reference - thank you Mandy **

Reason: Although I can't buy them yet, I can now stream both the new Bronx album (one thumb up) and the new Muse album (two thumbs up!!), and one track from the new Mastodon album. Ha HA! God bless the internet - and record labels smart enough to know that this is a good way to help consumers know if they should actually buy the CD or not. Also, my math homework only took 2 hours 15 minutes and 5 pages of writing....which is REALLY short... really.

Also, I'll be in Cinci this weekend: riding rollercoasters and enjoying romance. And I'm done with all my required HW for the week. Beat that.

Trying to decide right now if I should work on the 352 project due soon, or just drink beer and play FFVII... I dunno. I did already spend like 2 hours on the project today... and I do enjoy beer... hrm.

Next week will suck - two exams plus all the regular bullsh*t. And I'm sure as hell not doing any HW this weekend, so it'll pile up. Maybe I should be smart and do Monday's 352 assignment today. I don't know. Perhaps tomorrow night.

Just to add random info-tainment value to this posting, check out this article on how demographic-specific video slot-machines have become. I'm instantly reminded of "fist fulla dollars" - Mandy's intense experience with a Clint Eastwood themed video slot machine.... but geez, doesn't anybody have time to learn craps or roulette anymore? Eh, personally gambling doesn't really do anything for me - it should be a form of entertainment, but it just always feels like a form of losing money for no good reason. If I wanted to be a real man, I'd learn how to play roulette like James Bond (perhaps why Stacey likes playing it so much?). Although pushing that "Ni" button does sound like a kick - it would certainly do the trick to convince me to spend more money on each roll....

Peace.

2006-07-07T11:41:00.000-04:00

"this week's episode makes me want to die in a fire. Watch and you'll agree" - Dattebayo fansub

I do. Maybe it's time for me to pick a new obscure thing to be a fan of since my current (for 2 years) thing sucks now. Especially since it's no longer obscure - Cartoon Network regularly shows these awful dubs, and there's an apparently REALLY SHITTY video game for it now (at least according to the good people at G4, who's opinion I trust with infinite faith).

It's also more than plausible that I'm in a bad mood because I just found out I scored 55/100 on my first math exam....a full 15 points below the class average. And also, I'm going to be stuck in WL this weekend working on the 352 project instead of visiting Cinci. Urgh.

I'm out. maybe a bike ride w/ Craig will soothe my nerves.

2006-07-05T17:12:00.000-04:00

Just to help assure my faithful readers that it's not just one band I care about, I thought I'd take this time to remind myself what an exciting time for new music this is! Yessirree, Bob there's more than one new album coming out soon that I can't wait to get my hands on.

the Mars Volta! Probably much more talented than the Bronx. The term "musical genius" really hits home once you start to appreciate how much thought and effort goes into this band's albums. It's basically frightening how good they are. I'd try to explain it in detail, but I'd probably just melt your brain. Amputechture will be released Aug 22nd. Bitchin'.

Mastodon Said it before, and I'll say it again. Heavy metal just makes sense when you hear it from these guys. There's something so primal, brutal, and cleansing about rocking out to this Atlanta foursome. "Blood Mountain" (their 4th album) has been finished - they have artwork and the single all picked out...but I can't find a release date.... I want it. **side note** they'll be playing Seattle in less than 2 weeks....again, Brian I'm so effin' jealous. **

the Format Wowsa. Another superbly talented group with an amazing & highly anticipated album. Extremely mellow, extremely catchy. Joey predicts they make it big with this album. "Dog Problems" in stores July 11th. AP.net has been pimping this one hardcore..... we all know that means stardom is just around the bend... ** they play Seattle Aug 25th....I don't hate Brian for this one because he'll be stuck in WL here with me :) **

Muse I was skeptical initially, but I withdraw any earlier disrespectful statements about this band. Yeah, they're popular, Yeah you can go eat a d**k while I go out and buy this CD and enjoy the hell out of it. July 11th. Black Holes and Revelations. 'Nough said. ** These last two don't count as much since they're so far away, but they're still on my Radar Screen and worth mentioning as long as I'm on the topic of anticipated new albums..... ****

Vaux - Beyond Virtue, Beyond Vice. These guys basically got screwed by their record label at the exact same time they finished their last album....so they've been selling home-burnt copies in CD jackets hand-spraypainted for the last few months. BUT! Now they've found a record label willing to agree to their terms, so they're officially releasing the album. I've had my "unofficial" official copy for a few months now - but come Aug 1st joe shmo will be able to get his!

The Black Keys - Magic Potion. Two young white guys who sound like two old Black Guys. southern. bluesy. soulful. A simple formula that works. I'm curious what I'll be hearing come sept 12th of this year. So THERE! ... I'm still counting down to the 20th ... at which point I'll run down to Von's only to be dissappointed that they don't have what I want - but THEN I'll find a way to get my hands on the new Bronx album. But even if it sucks and I'm totally dissappointed (which I WONT be) - there's plenty more to look forward to. That makes me happy.

Final Note on this entry: Both the new Moneen album (the Red Tree) and the new Saves the Day album (Sound the Alarm) have been two of the best purchases I've ever made. They both display some incredible songwriting and staying power.

final final note: Kenny's saying "hey - HEY YOU! Yeah YOU! If you don't start singing along I'm coming back there and I'm going to KILL YOU". Hah. Canadians are hilarious.

2006-06-28T21:25:00.000-04:00

I'm pissed.

I have two homework assignments due tomorrow and I can't seem to get anything done on either one of them; and it's not for lack of trying - I've been at it for 4 and a half hours now. I've done two and a half pages of work on an ME problem - enough to figure out that I'm stuck (more unknowns than eqns). And math - well I've just been alternating between staring at the blank paper, reading my notes, and the book to try and figure out how to solve the problems....it would help if the teach actually gave us EXAMPLES LIKE THE HW IN CLASS....but she doesn't. I tried using a quick matlab script I wrote to solve one problem in a novel way...but that just turned out to be a 30-minute dead-end.

Urgh. Frustrated. I don't want to get shitty grades on BOTH of these assignments if I spend this much time on them. I'd settle for really understanding how to do just one and giving up for the night - but I'm starting to think it's going to be fruitless.

Also, the math material I obviously have NO idea how to do is on the exam I have Friday morning. Cheers.

2006-06-27T15:13:00.000-04:00

I guess this has officially become a pathetic one-track blog...but what the hey.

The music video for the single off the new Bronx album is on the FRONT PAGE of the myspace musc page. That's effin A right there. The video is so-so...it's kinda funny, but only when you think about how raw these guys are live to have made such a strange and non-violent video...

The damn release date for major stores has been pushed back a month. July 20th. *sigh*

I WANT IT NOW!

And also, they're playing live in Seattle tonight. Bryan would never in a million years have a good time at that show - so I'm not even going to tell him. I'll just sit here and be jealous that he lives in a major metropolitan area right now and I don't. *double sigh*

Exam tomorrow. I dont want to study. I want to suceed without any effort...

2006-06-21T21:48:00.000-04:00

The Bronx is Awesome.

Eh? Anyone excited? I can't wait to run down to the local store and pick the new album up. I think the Bronx represent all that is good and right with music today; they just effin' play like they mean it. They record analog (that's right, no digital remastering....), and limit to 3 takes. And the stuff is like pure audio cocaine. Effin' A. Also, I know nothing about html programming, but I posted a banner for their new album in the top left of the header....it's horribly missized, but I'm proud of my semi-accomplishment (I didn't write the banner...I just stole it cuz I like it).

Peace. Everyone find some time to rock out. It does a body good.

I case I take it down, it's here. yeah!

2006-06-16T11:51:00.000-04:00

WWB IN THE NEWS

Ok, Just a quick news-rehashing post because this is too weird to let it go.

My Last post was about a rock show, where I saw (among other bands) Whole Wheat Bread play live (I was impressed). According to their Myspace page, their base player was arrested on charges of first degree robbery. That especially sucks balls for them because WWB was about to start a HUGE tour with Real Big Fish & MxPx (other, more popular Punk/Ska bands) - that crowd will be really receptive to their sound so it sucks that they'll have to go on without a base player (which is especially weird since there's only three people in the band...). I wonder what he was busy jacking?

Anyway - this pic is from his personal myspace page. Enjoy.

Well, if he does hard time it looks like he'll be ok. Well, unless you're not allowed to have weed in prison..... whoops.

2006-05-21T13:17:00.000-04:00

H-TOWN WHAT?!

ticket from last night

Oh my poor, neglected blog. You must feel like one of those cute puppies brought home from the store with such an excited owner who then throws you into the basement a week later. I'm sorry, I'll try to make posts more regularly.... I've really been meaning to write down the saga of grand prix weekend but I can't work up the gumption to sit down for the 3 hours it's going to take me. Although, I finally have all the pics & stuff digitized on facebook so it won't be so bad.

So anyway, today's post is about the rock show I went to in town last night:
Venue: Walter's on Washington
Headliner: the Matches
Runner Up: MC Lars
Special Guests: Whole Wheat Bread, Something With Numbers, and O'Doyle Rules

The site for Walter's said doors open at 7; so like a jackass I got there 30 minutes early and forgot that Houston has no music scene and there would, in fact, be no line to wait in. So I chilled in the parking lot with the other 20 some-odd people milling around: mostly high school kids, 3-4 people in their 40's, maybe 5 people looked college-aged. There was a mini-van parked not 50 ft from the door on the street there that had that neon puff paint high-school girls use to write on their cars.... you know to say stuff like "SUPER SEXY SENIOR!" or "CLASS '06 BITCHES RULE!!" anyway they wrote : "This Car is not Punkrock" (an allusion to MC Lars) and "MC LARs" and "The Matches" on the side. Great - I listen to really mature music, people I swear...

Doors did in fact open at 7, and the crowd rushed in to fill.....the front 1/4th of the room...yeah not so many people in the beginning...here's my review in chronological order.

O'Doyle Rules:
Local Houston band that opened up. Bunch of 20-somethings looked pretty clean cut. Their sound was pretty poppy (they threw in a lot of "ooh-wah"s and "yeah yeah"s during the song bridges), but in general I'd say they were talented. They played a sweet cover of the Dead Milkmen's "Punk Rock Girl" after challenging two guys in the audience to dance-off each other...creative guys they were, they instead started a ska-style circle pit. Eventually, the one guy ran sideways cirlces on the floor while the other dude did fake break-dance spins on his back (you know, like the shell spins the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles did in their movie..?). Not the greatest band in the world, but hey I was entertained. Their one mistake was playing another cover right after that Dead Milkmen song (they played a Flaming Lips cover)- I actually wanted to hear more of their stuff....it's a sign of low self-esteem when a band relegates itself to only connecting with the crowd on cover songs (which they were pumped for).

Something With Numbers:
Bigtime WOW on this band. Lead singer's got a shit-ton of energy and stage presence. These Australians sounded a bit funny on the mic, but their crisp musicianship is undoubtable. They worked in some excellent complementary guitar work (two distinctly unique lead guitars and one base) alternating between enchanting melodic sections and catchy chorouses...hell they even threw in some driving song elements that got the whole crowd clapping along to the rythem. I know I was foot-stomping my support to the beat. I really need to go pick up this CD (I'm a moron for not getting it last night, but that's beside the point). Really solid set.

Whole Wheat Bread:
Holy shit, did not see this one coming. Three-piece all black punk/ska/rap group. The drummer really hammered out the whole set! I'm talking about rapid-fire machine-gun drumming, man...hot shit. Two lead singers alternated base & lead-guitar duty (both did admorably well in both job....). Just good clean fast-paced punk/ska music. Gotta say they worked in the rhymes pretty well - it was almost a throwback to murder rap-type screaming at some points. Good times, tho - songs about: fuck the police, smoking weed, and dressin' like white boys but keepin' the street cred. Their tour trailer was tagged up as shit, but then I realized it was promotional graffitti - their logos and shit everywhere. Cool. If I ever fall in with the wrong crowd I wanna learn to tag.

MC LARS:
Well Lars is the reason I went to the show at all last night, so it would be an understatement to say I was excited. He actually set up a full set: drum kit, amps for three guitars, couple of mics... so I didn't know what to expect. In my mind I'd worked him up to be this super-star; he's been all over Absolutepunk.net for the past year or so. The Laptop EP was awesome, but I wasn't at all familiar with any of the material off his just-released LP, the Graduate. First let me explain his deal:

MC Lars, aka Andrew Nielsen, has been around the block. He's graduating this summer from Stanford University - so you know he's all about California. He's really involved in the indie-rock scene (he samples artists like Piebald and Brand New on some of his songs), but at this point his music strives to be attractive satire, not "top of the charts" blockbuster material. His only real instrument is his Ibook, the laptop in "laptop rap" - he mixes the background track there, and then lays down sick rhymes on top. His song topics are varied but include things like: how NOT punk-rock Hot Topic is ("Hot Topic is not Punk Rock"), how the RIAA doesn't get that downloading is inevitable ("Download this Song"), and how the music industry today is about hot trends and making money instead of actually promoting genuine talent ("Download this Song"). All of which I couldn't agree more with.

But what really sets Lars into his element is his sense of fun. A lot of his songs are just whimsical - this kid loves farting around with all that new-fangled music software. The songs are SO effin' catchy its scary - so I have nothing but good things so say about his influence and prescence in the music business. Go buy a CD now - or else beg me to burn you one.

I'm no live-music afficianado, but I do go to a LOT of shows. You can tell pretty fast who the fakers are and who actually knows what they're doing - and this is the great value of live music: genuinely talented bands can showcase their work and gain street-cred, and the fake ones are quickly revealed as the posers they are. Live music is the ONE level playing field where some pop-punk band with a #1 hit on TRL (*cough All American Rejects are LOSERS cough*) can totally be upstaged by some no-name kids from Iowa - it's important. So naturally, when I'm already familiar with a band's music and then I see them live, it's really interesting to hear how different they are between live & on the album; bands that rely too heavily on studio mixing will suck ass on stage, while bands that master their instruments appear godlike (e.g. Moneen does ALL that kickass psychadellic guitar work LIVE, too! awesome!).

Lars' performance last night was lackluster. It turns out that the downside to making "laptop rap" is that live, he plays the song from the album without the vocals (literally from his IBook), and just sings on top. So it's one dude, with his computer and a microphone...and it sounds really, really canned. He had some stage energy, but it turns out he's a big pudgy (not unlike yours truly) and just doesn't do that much....I'll give it to him that he nailed every word of every rhyme (so far as I could tell) in time, but his format or music doesn't lend itself well to an impressive live performance. The one highlight of the set was when he got the Matches to play as "Hearts that Hate" during the song "signing Emo" - basically it's a song about a shitty emo band and the chorous to the song is a screamy chorous from this ficticious group's hit song....it's pretty funny.

The benefit to that was all the gear for the Matches was already set up, so their set-change was really fast.

the Matches:
I'd forgotten about this band. I know I'd heard of them but I couldn't remember where. They have a few songs on some comp. CDs I have: Take Action vol 3, and the Warped Tour '05 comp. So I knew a few hits....but they're a fairly generic pop-punk band. I listened intently to about 4 soungs before decided that crap wasn't worth my time.... they played a really crisp, synchronized set, their music just didn't seem like anything particularly noteworthy. Sorry if you're a Matches' fan.

So I walked over to the merch table: picked up "the Graduate" (unimpressed as I was with the live performace, I knew he would still sound good on the album), and a t-shirt for Stace. Hope she likes it.

So I'm walking out the door, and Lars is in the parking lot chatting it up with these two girls. Wow. So he shakes my hand and I introduce myself and tell him I agree with what he's saying about the music industry etc and ask him what he's listening to (underground hip-hop like: Sage Francis, Sole, and Dosh....but also I guess he's a Coheed fan....) and I asked him how he's allowed to do stuff like sample Brand New's songs (I guess they have the same label/manager so there's a financial arrangement) and also how he got so much promotion on AP.net (again, the manager got the word out there). He was really nice - very polite. He listened to what I said, made eye contact....very personable. I'd say it was the highlight of the evening, although the highschool girls fawning over him did distract him a bit, he was really nice.

All in all a great evening's entertainment. And I have two more shows to make it to before Stacey comes to town!

2006-04-04T16:49:00.000-04:00

Porkchops and Batman

Wow. Great weekend. On another topic, a personal
victory at work last week. The attached pic below
is a crappy screen-shot from the BRIZO website
(our "luxury label"), go ahead and look it over.

Anybody catch what's wrong?? As Americans who use
NORMAL toilets, probably not. I'll give you a
hint...the red arrow is pointing to the problem.
It's advertised for "serious culinary use" - and
this is a BIDET faucet....which is what europeans
use to wash out their asses after dropping a deuce
(note the nifty swiveling head to point the
cleansing stream where you need it) Nice. Very
classy, web designer. Way to make us look like a
real winner of a company. The personal victory?
Sending that screen-shot to the web-design group
and letting them know they need to try harder to
proof-read that stuff...

Now, I understand you may be upset with me for
including 2 bathroom-related posts out of my first
three....so I promise now this won't be a main
theme. Just to prove it, let's move this post in
a new direction right.........NOW!

I've been asking my various friends for the past
year or so about ways I can use my engr education
to serve my community. I was in scouting for
many years; while I don't necessarily aggree
with their religious underpinnings...or the failure
to admit gay scouts or gay leaders - they do have
one admirable goal : service. Community service
is a HUGE part of scouting, basically every campout
or trip we went on as a group, we had SOME type of
service project. Even if it was as simple as a
beach clean-up...or helping with trail maintenance
in a state park, we were always just out DOING
stuff that people needed done.

Since I've been out of scouting (6 years?) I've
basically forgotten about service. Truth be told,
I lead a really selfish lifestyle. I go to work
to pay for my drinking/partyin when I'm at school,
and my education's sole purpose is so that I can
go out and get a reasonably-well paying job. And
a great fraction of the time I spend at school is
spent playing video games and generally dicking
around. I don't volunteer anywhere (well, I'm
going to a habitat-for-humanity build later this
week - but that was only out of guilt when the
event organizers at work said they needed more
volunteers...I didn't SEEK OUT H.F.H.). - and it
bothers me. But back to my question. Is there
a way I can use my education to help someone
(in a non-business way)?? I mean, it's not
like there's a starving village in Uganda
where their well has run dry....

"oh, if only there were a mechanical engineer who
could build us a PUMP...or some other thermodynamic
device...to move this water up to us!!"

yeah right. The only good one I can come up with
is joining ASME.....the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers. But their only purpose is
to FURTHER OUR INDUSTRY'S INTERESTS....basically
they promote good ethics and practices among ME's
and write industry standards of quality... Now
all that is important, but it seems pretty
inconsequential when you compare it to Medcins
Sans Frontiers (Doctors without Borders) where
med students actually get to GO to effin' Uganda
and pull land-mine shrapnel out of a 6-year-old's
legs...Or Lawyers (who people even JOKE about
being heartless and cruel) - they can do work
"Pro Bono" for clients who really need it..
.... I'm not saying I want to go to med
school or law school - I'm just saying my dinky
degree doesn't promote many opportunities for
service.

So, I know I don't have a lot of time for it now
(especially with the end of school - I WON"T have
time for it for a long while)...but eventually I
want to do something... as a Co-Op I know that
when you're SINGLE in a city away from all your
graduate friends, you have a SHIT-TON of free time.
Anyway, so far, the main conclusion
I've come to is that for it to be a meaningful,
hands-on direct impact type thing....it's NOT
going to be technical work at all. Ardy mentioned
a while ago that Tom's doing Big Brothers/Big
Sisters for this kid in Tampa.

Apparently, the boy
lives with more girls than James did growing up,
so he's desperately in need of some male-bonding
time. So - I give mad, MAD props to Tom for doing
that so soon out of school. It sounds like they
go to all kinds of art museums and ball-games for
reduced admission...and hell you all know how much
I like art/science museums..(well..if you didn't
know that, I DO like them a lot...)...plus I can
share all my factoids with the little guy and
turn him into an egghead like me.

Anyway...I'll end this post by saying I welcome
suggestions on service opportunities related to
my $100k degree.....but if I get nothing then
there's plenty of satisfying stuff out there to
get involved with...and I need to keep that in
mind.

2006-03-30T16:22:00.000-05:00

why Spinning is awesome.....

Ok. When I started the co-op term this January, I knew that I needed more
physical activity in my life. DESPERATELY needed more activity. I've
always enjoyed the facilities they have here for employees who try to get
a little more excercise. They have a 3/4 size basketball court/Gym, and a
weightlifting/workout room, in addition to a multipurpose excercise room
people just call the "spinning room" - because that's what it's used for
most.

So, I've known for a while that this is a popular activity here. Normally
I've really just kept to myself when I work out here...and normally my
frequency of working out just kind of dies off after 2 months or so... I'd
get really pumped up about losing 5 pounds...do it....then just gain 10
back. So I think that being a loner about it was my problem. I decided
that the only solution for me was to join a class.

Spinning, for the uninformed, is where a bunch of people sit in a room
and ride excercise bikes together. Read that again. Go ahead, I'll wait.
I know, it sounds absurd. To a degree, it genuinely is. But let me
elaborate.

The "Spinner" is an excercise bike developed by the SCHWINN company
explicitly for this excercise program. It has no electronics whatsoever,
so compared to other modern excercise bikes, it's fairly primitive. Its
main feature is that the front wheel is a 40 pound hunk of steel. And
right behind the fork is a giant knob that controls a frictional brake that
adds resistance to the wheel. So one of the main draws of it is that YOU
are in control of your resistance at all times. But let's get one thing
clear: that fucker can be EXTREMELY difficult to turn if you want it to be.

So how is a spinning class structured? Well I've only done it at work
here, so I don't know about other places...but basically we (about 9
bikes) are arranged in a horseshoe shape facing each other. The room is
outfitted with a kickass stereo that the intructor plugs his laptap into.

So the instructor (who does NOT ride with you), arranges a playlist,
and his basic job is to tell you how hard you should be pedaling. Again,
I'll jump back to reality with you....the first time I did it, I was
awe-struck by how simple and dumb the whole thing is.... but I've
come up with some reasons why its so great.

1) Because you're all stationary, even though everyone in the class is at
a different level of proficiency - you're all in the same place at the
same time. So that jackass who races in the amateur circuit on the
weekend doesn't do a horizon-job on you...you can still stand side-by-side
and offer encouragement to each other.

2) Again, because you're in the same place....AND facing each other...
EVERYBODY can see if you're trying hard or not. Generally, I think peer
pressure is crap....but in this case, you really want to NOT look like
a fat-ass infront of everyone..so you pedal as hard as you can! From a
motivational standpoint...the shame of wussing out on the next set of
sprints works really well to get me on my feet....

3) The music is great. My Friday morning instructor is a disco fanatic.
I hate disco. But, even I can appreciate the absurd comedy of pedaling so
hard I want to pass out and having my last cognizant thought being....
"BOOGIE!! *in falsetto voice 3 octaves higher than mine* "...if you like a
song it really does make you pedal harder....and if you hate it then it
becomes one of those zen moments where you think about if there is a
higher power or not.....

4) The people-watching is priceless. We have a pretty loyal following
here at work.... people who I don't necessarily work with, but I'm very
familiar with as spinning buddies. We have all the stereotypical
characters... we have the fat girl in her 30's who really doesn't try
hard at all (i don't know why she comes...), we have the young gun who's
doing it to get ripped (and he is), we have the tough-old-goat guy who
looks like the type I could beat up in a dark alley....but jeeesus could
he kick my ass in a bike race...especially uphill.....et cetera.

5) This is the first time in my life I've actually been enthusiastic about
any kind of excercise.... when I get off that bike my body is surging with
so many endorphins I feel like I could whip a linebacker. It's taken me
over 2 months, but my body's finally appreciating all the abuse I put it
through to get here.

So yea. You probably stopped reading 4 paragraphs ago, so I'll wrap this
up shortly.

I'm kind of bummed out about the whole thing, though. I have less than 8
weeks of work left. Now, I'm getting a little burned out with my job, and
I am REALLY ready to go home to Houston for a while and then finish up my
degree.....but I know that I won't be doing as much excercise as I am now
for at least a year (I spin 3 times a week...and twice a week I have,
shall we say, "alternative" forms of activity..more on that later..).
When I'm at school, I really focus on doing my work.

I'm probably WAY TOO focused on doing my work....but I'm just really not
as smart as some people think I am and it takes me a while to "get" what
I'm supposed to be learning... so as a result I spend my life at the M.E.
building. Last semester at school I think I went out to the bars less
than 5 times..and I pulled an all-nighter once per week to finish my 363
lab report. This summer should be so-so....I'm only taking 2 classes...
And this Fall shouldn't be super-tough....but I'm sure I'll still find a
way to never have any free time.

So I'm trying to convince myself to bring my bike back with me when I drive
back to IN in the early part of June... cuz I doubt I'd be able to keep
with a schduled class during any of my last 3 semesters.... I know a couple
of guys in my program who are bike fanatics, too....maybe I can sponge
some motivation off them.....suggestions?

2006-03-24T16:39:00.000-05:00

First blog entry. I guess since I have a Facebook account...and I'm
already prettymuch a facebook slut, I should give in and find a more
in-depth way of putting my thoughts down. I really have no idea how
many people are interested in reading this stuff, but I think I'll
enjoy writing it.

I think the format I'm going for is: one part Sienfeldesque obser-
vational ranting ("what's the deal with airline food?"), one part
personal this-is-my-life kind of crap, and one part cheesy humor
(which will be liberally thrown in with the ealier mentioned parts).

So since it comes to mind first, I'll try one from category A. Here
at work, we have really nice bathrooms. I mean NICE. $800 faucets,
european tile floors..et cetera. The nicest set of bathrooms (we
have 6 sets in the building) is on the main floor nearest the lobby.
It has one of those urinals with the infra-red sensor & it flushes
automatically when you walk away. Sometimes violently. Anyway, it
used to have 2 urinals and now there's just the one (it was recently
remodeled); and because guys just need #1 more than they need #2 it
sometimes happens that the urinal is occupied when you want to use
it. Enter the topic of this rant: Peeing in a toilet stall.

Peeing in a toilet stall is just simply a part of life for guys in
this day and age. When you're in a Movie theater and you go to the
bathroom right when the movie gets out - you're in there with all
these other people. Everyone knows that guys don't use urinals that
are side-by-side simultaneously; that is, unless absolutely necess-
ary (but that's not what this is about). Anyway, like I said, that
just means that after half of the urinals are taken up, guys start
walking towards the 2nd half of the bathroom to use the toilet
stalls. The exact same thing happens during halftime at a football
game, and to a lesser extent, the 7th inning stretch in baseball.
Now here is the question: do you close the stall door when you pee?

At work, when I see people go into the stalls to pee, they turn
around and close the door. Then I see their feet turn back around
to face the bowl, and I hear the sounds of the remainder of the act
occuring. When you pee in a toilet stall, you still face the wall.
Nobody can really see anything, anyway. I don't find it any differ-
ent from using a urinal. You're peeing, standing up, facing away
from the public area. Nobody can see your junk....the normal safety
of this position, I believe, is one of the primary reasons that the
urinal has gained such widespread sucess. People are already more
than comfortable with using a urinal in the bathroom....So what does
the fact that some people close the door to pee in a stall mean?

Does it mean that they really actually crave MORE privacy...
that they're uncomfortable with you even seeing their backs as they
take the pause that refreshes? Maybe it has something to do with
perception.

In this case, the societal perception that when someone enters a
toilet stall, it's to do something dirty that should not be watched
by onlookers....and I'm not just talking about #2. Have you ever
seen a music video for a goth/hardcore band, and the video director
chooses to shoot the video in a really trashy locaction? Like some
stink-hole bar in Grafton. The bar's covered in peanuts, some dude
is passed out in the corner, and half the light bulbs are burned out
or shattered....it looks cool, but it's overdone (Deftones: Change
in the House of Flies, Mastodon: Blood & Tunder, Puddle of Mudd:
I hate you, Brand New: Sic Transit Gloria....glory fades, etc).
Anyway, in these types of common videos, they invariably include
a scene where someone is running into a bathroom, or they pan across
the bathroom...and the camera lands on someone in a stall puking, or
two people making out like rabid ferrets, or some guy crying with
his head resting on his fists. Anyway, the point is that in the
video, the bathroom is used as an element to show something that's
not usually seen...it's like a private moment...and the fact that
you get that feeling shows my point about people perceiving the
toilet stall as a somewhat private place. It's ingrained in our
culture that if you're going in a toilet stall...nobody else needs
to see what's about to go down.

So back to peeing in a stall: Why do you close the door?

I guess a more fundamental question is: Do you consciously choose to
close the door, or is it more of a reflex...or a feeling like you
SHOULD close the door?

I know for me, personally, I would just always close the door
without thinking about it....until all this actually occurred to me
and now I consciously DON'T close the door to pee.

I don't have anything to hide. But you're not going to see anything
extra, either. You can watch me if you want. I don't really care.
Obviously, for the people portrayed in the music videos I mentioned
above, they didn't care about closing the door (otherwise the shot
in the video would be a very boring still of the closed stall door).
So is that supposed to say something about the people who don't
close the door? Is it supposed to suggest something about the
desperate nature of the situation? e.g. "Oh shit I have to puke
so desperately that I'm not going to pause to close the door"..or
"I'm so coked out that I don't care if you watch me blow this guy
in the stall for my next hit...that I need desperately"...

What I wonder about is: SHOULD I care? Do YOU care (in either role,
as the pee-er, or the person who can see the pee-er)?

It would be interesting to know. I guess the opinion of a qualified
professional would be best. In this case, someone like that guy who
offers you a mint or some cologne as you walk out the door of those
really REALLY nice bathrooms....but I guess that's not exactly fair,
either. He only sees "proper" bathroom behavior. He'd never really
get a chance to see someone in a broken down moment of desperation.
Hell, I'd probably close the door myself if I were in a bathroom
like that (lord knows we can't have those OPEN stall door people
running around here in the Ritz..) just to fit in. I guess I'll
never know, but it'd be interesting to get an second opinion or two.