Greetings!
I'm one week down and 10 to go in my spring
quarter, and I think I finally understand what most of my classes are about.
My schedule can be found here:
You'll notice that unlike last quarter, I don't get to sleep in until 11am
everyday. But through one week, getting up at 8 hasn't been as bad as I had
feared.
My first class is "Embedded Computer System Design", known as "Car-In-A-Box."
In this class we get to build a remote-controlled-car, more or less. We
purchased all of the electronic components and have to assemble the
motherboard. I started soldering Monday afternoon and finished tonight (about
13 hours total.) Attached is a picture of one of the boards. Over the next 9
weeks we will be adding to our "cars" and writing the software that is going
to make it work. The lectures will provide the information needed to make the
car work. I have the same professor that I had last term, and he is one of my
favorite professors here, although his tests are very difficult.
My next class, in the same room, is "Organizational Psychology." From MSOE,
"This course is designed to show the application of psychological aspects of
managerial processes such as motivation, group processes, communication,
leadership, power, conflict resolution, working conditions, and organizational
structure and their influences on job satisfaction." So it's really not
psychology at all, which is kind of disappointing. However, the professor is
from Grafton, and so far has had quite a few interesting stories, and manages
to keep class interesting.
After a short break, I have "Control Systems" which is probably my hardest
class. According to my professor, MSOE's Control Systems course is by far the
most comprehensive in the entire nation. The equipment at each station in the
laboratory costs over $15,000 (including digital oscilliscopes on which I can
play Space Invaders!) See attached photos of the lab equipment.
Generally speaking, control systems are Electronic or
Computer controls that change an output based on some feedback input. A
classic example of a simple control system is the Cruise Control system in a
car. In order to determine whether or not to supply fuel to the engine, the
car's computer must compare the car's current velocity to the desired speed.
The current velocity is a "feedback signal" or "control input." The output of
this control system is adding (or not adding) fuel to the engine. This is an
extremely simplified example. Control systems are critical in everything,
ranging up to fighter jets, the Space Shuttle, and the Hubble Telescope.
Control Systems can be implemented using analog circuitry (as we learn about
in lecture) or via computer microprocessors (as we do in lab.)
My last class of the day, in the same room, is VLSI
design. This class is designed to give us an understanding of how basic
digital logic components are designed. Last quarter I learned in physics how
they are physically contstructed, and now we are learning about the
architecture of the components themselves (such as "AND/OR" gates which
contain a handful of transistors, ranging up to Memory in your computer that
contains millions and millions of transistors)
It is only day two of week two, and I've done more homework and labs than I
did through the first 5 weeks of last quarter. I did 20 hours of class,
homework, and lab on Monday, and 11 hours today. Hopefully things will ease
up, but I wouldn't bet on it. Even if not, I enjoy my classes for the most
part, especially Car-In-A-Box, and my Control Systems Labs.
Well it's time for me to finish up my homework, so I'ma go.
Remember, you can do anything that you set your mind to when you have
vision, determination, and an endless supply of expendable labor.
Dan Tetzlaff
So this guy walks into a bar,
sits down, and orders 6 shots. The bartender looks at him and asks, "bad
day?" The man replies, "ya. i just found out my son is gay." The bar
tender pats the guy on the shoulder and says "oh, tough brake, man."
So the next day, the same guy
goes into the same bar and orders the same 6 shots. "Another bad day?" the
bar tender inquires. The man looks up and sighs, "Ya, i just found out my
brother is gay." The bar tender shakes his head and responds "tough break,
man."
The third day, the man goes in
and orders 6 shots for a third time! The bar tender places the drinks on
the table and says "Is there ANYONE in your family who isn't attracted to
men?" The man rubs his forehead and looks at the bartender with disgust. "Ya,
my wife."
I think it's a good idea to always carry around two
sacks of stuff, one in each hand. That way, if ever someone stops you and asks
you to give them a hand you can say "sorry, I got these sacks."
An engineer dies and reports to
Hell. Pretty soon the engineer becomes dissatisfied with the level of
comfort in Hell and starts designing and building improvements. After a
while, Hell is equipped with air conditioning, flush toilets, and
escalators.
One day God calls Satan up on
his cell phone and says with a sneer: "So, How’s it going down there in
hell?"
Satan replies, "Hey, things age
going great. We have air conditioning, flush toilets--- and there is no
telling what this engineer is going to come up with next.
God interrupts, "What??? You
have an engineer? That is a mistake, he should have never gone down there.
Send him up here!"
Satan says, "No way, I like
having an engineer on the staff and I'm keeping him."
God says, "Send him back up here
or I will sue"
Satan laughs uproariously and
answers, "Yeah, right ---and just where are you going to get a lawyer?