Haha! I bet you never thought this little RSS Feed would light up again, did you! Well, here I am again to get reacquainted. Try not to get too used to the idea, however, since there's no telling when I'll sit back down and attempt this again.
I've been married now for three months and a couple of days, which means that my wife (Henceforth referred to as "Muffin") now knows everything about me that I tried to keep a secret for the last three years, like the fact that I hack like a dog that swallowed a chicken bone each morning in the shower. Oh well, no sense trying to hide the fact anymore.
Amazingly, she still seems to love me quite a bit, and things are going swimmingly. We've settled in to our perfect little house in the country (an amazing blessing for us) and both of us are enjoying working as engineers. I have continued my employment at Autometrix and am now working to develop a heated cutting tool. I didn't care much for heat transfer in school, but so far I've enjoyed this project quite a bit. It's a challenge to bring it all together, but we'll see what I end up with.
Muffin now works at NVision as a hardware engineer, preparing the world to switch to all digital TV. So don't worry - your TV is in good hands. Trust me, she's a genius.
Las Vegas, for the record, is a very overrated place. I discovered this after spending a few hours there two weeks ago. Unfortunately, my trip lasted for 5 more days and I hadn't gotten a penny richer by the time I returned home to Muffin.
Maybe that has something to do with the fact that I didn't gamble at all, but I don't know. The ads make it sound like these casinos just can't wait to fill your pockets with money. I was there for a trade show (IFAI) however, and I enjoyed the time with my coworkers and the show went very well for us, it seems. During my 5 day stay there, I compiled a list of things to see in Vegas:
1) The Bellagio water show
2) The Venitian
3) The Bellagio water show
4) The Luxor is kind of cool
5) The Bellagio water show.
6) Ghiradelli's Chocolate store
And finally, finish off your visit to Vegas with a stop at
7)The Bellagio water show
My list of things to avoid in Vegas is much longer - if you want details you can ask.
In other news, I got my cello out a few days ago since I am supposed to play a (very simple) part this Sunday at a church I used to attend. We'll see how that goes, but I have enjoyed trying to make my cello make the sounds it used to make... Sooner or later Muffin will get out her clarinet and we'll be a very musical household. I think I'll enjoy that quite a bit.
I'm going to relax now and watch a movie from our Netflix queue (we're such an American family...) but I hope this is enough of an update for now.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Life up to...now
I suppose it's time for a post. I keep having these grand thoughts about how one of these days I'll really start blogging about life for my friends and relatives to read, but it never seems to happen. First it was "after I graduate, I'll have time". Now it's "maybe after I get married I'll have an interesting life like my sisters do and somehow magically be able to write a novel about my life whenever the fancy strikes". But to date, nothing magical has happened, so I'm just trying to form a habit here.
To catch up since the beginning of May:
I graduated from LeTourneau with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Well, I mostly graduated. I have to finalize a presentation for the ISPO international congress that one of my professors is giving, and then he'll release my grades. But for all intents and purposes, I graduated. I'll try to post a picture at some point.
I left two days after graduation for Italy, where I traveled with a number of other engineers for 10 days. We were all in an engineering elective called "Engineering in the Ancient World" and we'd studied Roman engineering for the semester. Fascinating class.
Random fact about my trip to Rome: I'd been to Rome once before, 5 years ago. This trip to Rome, I stayed in the exact same hotel. In the exact same room. Strange, and rather unfortunate, since it's not exactly a hotel I'd recommend. But I'm sure the travel agent who set it up was just trying to get a good deal for us. Whatever.
After leaving Rome, two friends and I headed over to Wales and England. Wales has some of the most beautiful coast line I've ever seen. We stayed in a very tiny town for a few days called "Fishguard Harbour", which is only on the map because people go there to get on a fairy to Ireland where they can "drink for 36 *&$#ing hours straight" (and I quote a young Welsh gentleman I met on the train). We also went to Birmingham, Bristol, Warwick Castle, York, and London. Great trip overall, but I was ready to come home.
Upon returning to the States, I stayed in Texas for a few days and lived with a few friends on some old couches in Automotive Society (I huge garage, basically) surrounded by cars, including my own, as I worked to get it ready to drive to Iowa. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to check my exhaust line, and part way through OK in a heavy rain storm, my exhaust cooled too fast and cracked, so I drove from OK to IA with no muffler. Not fun.
I helped Jenn finish packing up her apartment and then we drove up to see some of her relatives in MN, and then through SD to the Black Hills and Rushmore, and then to NV and CA.
Now I'm back and working and trying to get stuff settled so Jenn and I can live here after our wedding. We found a fantastic deal on a house to rent for a year, and I'm turning into a real adult now, with my own PO box.
Exciting.
My wedding is in about three weeks now, and I think I'll be seeing most of my "loyal readers" there. I'm looking forward to it!
To catch up since the beginning of May:
I graduated from LeTourneau with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Well, I mostly graduated. I have to finalize a presentation for the ISPO international congress that one of my professors is giving, and then he'll release my grades. But for all intents and purposes, I graduated. I'll try to post a picture at some point.
I left two days after graduation for Italy, where I traveled with a number of other engineers for 10 days. We were all in an engineering elective called "Engineering in the Ancient World" and we'd studied Roman engineering for the semester. Fascinating class.
Random fact about my trip to Rome: I'd been to Rome once before, 5 years ago. This trip to Rome, I stayed in the exact same hotel. In the exact same room. Strange, and rather unfortunate, since it's not exactly a hotel I'd recommend. But I'm sure the travel agent who set it up was just trying to get a good deal for us. Whatever.
After leaving Rome, two friends and I headed over to Wales and England. Wales has some of the most beautiful coast line I've ever seen. We stayed in a very tiny town for a few days called "Fishguard Harbour", which is only on the map because people go there to get on a fairy to Ireland where they can "drink for 36 *&$#ing hours straight" (and I quote a young Welsh gentleman I met on the train). We also went to Birmingham, Bristol, Warwick Castle, York, and London. Great trip overall, but I was ready to come home.
Upon returning to the States, I stayed in Texas for a few days and lived with a few friends on some old couches in Automotive Society (I huge garage, basically) surrounded by cars, including my own, as I worked to get it ready to drive to Iowa. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to check my exhaust line, and part way through OK in a heavy rain storm, my exhaust cooled too fast and cracked, so I drove from OK to IA with no muffler. Not fun.
I helped Jenn finish packing up her apartment and then we drove up to see some of her relatives in MN, and then through SD to the Black Hills and Rushmore, and then to NV and CA.
Now I'm back and working and trying to get stuff settled so Jenn and I can live here after our wedding. We found a fantastic deal on a house to rent for a year, and I'm turning into a real adult now, with my own PO box.
Exciting.
My wedding is in about three weeks now, and I think I'll be seeing most of my "loyal readers" there. I'm looking forward to it!
Friday, May 11, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
I know the arts are important, but...
I was at the local Longview Rodeo tonight, and the announcer introduced the girl singing the national anthem as a "Talented 15 year old from Pine Tree Junior High".
I know the arts are important, and she did have a great voice, but don't you think it might be time for her to start focusing on her grades so she can get out of Jr. High before she has her drivers license?
Thursday, April 19, 2007
A realization
I came to a realization today - I've had this blog for just over a year - about a year and a week - and I've posted a grand total of 10 times. That's pitiful.
Maybe I should work on that.
Decisions have been made pertaining to the LEGS team and we are moving ahead with them. We have had to scale back what we had hoped to accomplish this year, but we understand that that's the nature of a research project. Things don't always go as planned. Instead of working to meet travel and implementation goals, the senior members of the team have decided to focus on improving the documentation that exists, and making sure that we don't leave taking any information with us. So I am now faced with a massive stack of research notebooks, a ton of MS Word templates, and lots of scratch paper as four of us begin the process of recording everything we know about LEGS.
In addition, I have to completely document a prosthetic foot testing machine that I designed and wired, but did not have time to program. So some poor guy next year gets to do that, and that means I have to write down a semester's worth of development with some degree of clarity.
I'll be honest and say I enjoy the development and manufacturing part more than the documentation.
It's also slightly frustrating to not be able to just finish the project - I know exactly what needs to happen, but simply don't have time to complete it. Too many end of semester reports and design reviews are due.
2.5 more weeks of LeTourneau, then 20 days in Europe, and then life. I honestly don't think its sunk in yet that I don't come back next year. Just like the last 3 years, I'm so ready to be done that I'm just looking forward to summer, like everyone else here. I think I'll miss this place.
I'm proud of a photoshop job I did. It's the background for the powerpoint for my final presentation on surveying instruments in ancient Rome.
Fun class - a lot of work and a ton of research, but I have enjoyed the learning.
Back to work.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
LEGS
Well, strangely enough, right after I made an attempt to start blogging again, I actually have a request to make of my few loyal readers.
As you know, I'm on the LEGS team (www.letu.edu/legs). I know I may be slightly biased, but it really is a fantastic project. The need for prosthesis in the developing world is huge, and to date no one has worked to meet that need with properly engineered devices. The devices that are commonly available are widely accepted, but you have to realize that they're accepted out of great need. Just because someone doesn't have any other options doesn't give you an excuse to do a sub-standard job when giving them a "solution".
LEGS is working to develop a prosthesis which meets the same standards required in the first world (ISO standards, etc) while keeping the device extremely affordable and culturally appropriate.
It's hard to summarize the entire project in just a few paragraphs, but trust me - it's a great project and we are working hard on it.
Which brings me to my reason for posting. I would like to ask those of you who are willing to please remember LEGS in prayer. First, we are up against a wall called "no money" and simply cannot continue without further funding. We are waiting to hear back on some grants, and the Lyons Club international expressed possible interest in funding us, but are moving extremely slowly (and of course, funding always comes with strings attached....)
Second - we just found out in the last couple days of testing that one major design we were depending on to implement overseas this summer failed... Miserably. We had put our faith in some work done by another university on a foot design, and apparently that was not the wisest choice. It lasts about 5000 cycles of fatigue testing, as opposed to 2,000,000. We understand that this stuff happens with R&D work, but it's frustrating just the same, and we desperately need a solution or there's no reason to travel this summer.
Finally, we have been working closely with a clinic in Kenya for some time now, but the politics of the situation have gotten rough and are not improving. Without giving a ton of details, we are now faced with making the decision of pulling out of Kenya within the next few months. Doing this means that all 17 patients currently happily walking on our limb would have to give their prosthesis back because of the R&D agreement we have with both the clinic and the school.
I hope this isn't terribly confusing, but the essence of this post is - "Please pray". I firmly believe that God can (and has) used the LEGS initiative to change lives. Hopefully all of this is simply a temporary setback that needs to be overcome before further progress!
Thank everyone (i.e. Sarah ;)). In the meantime, I'm going back to work on this stupid foot.
As you know, I'm on the LEGS team (www.letu.edu/legs). I know I may be slightly biased, but it really is a fantastic project. The need for prosthesis in the developing world is huge, and to date no one has worked to meet that need with properly engineered devices. The devices that are commonly available are widely accepted, but you have to realize that they're accepted out of great need. Just because someone doesn't have any other options doesn't give you an excuse to do a sub-standard job when giving them a "solution".
LEGS is working to develop a prosthesis which meets the same standards required in the first world (ISO standards, etc) while keeping the device extremely affordable and culturally appropriate.
It's hard to summarize the entire project in just a few paragraphs, but trust me - it's a great project and we are working hard on it.
Which brings me to my reason for posting. I would like to ask those of you who are willing to please remember LEGS in prayer. First, we are up against a wall called "no money" and simply cannot continue without further funding. We are waiting to hear back on some grants, and the Lyons Club international expressed possible interest in funding us, but are moving extremely slowly (and of course, funding always comes with strings attached....)
Second - we just found out in the last couple days of testing that one major design we were depending on to implement overseas this summer failed... Miserably. We had put our faith in some work done by another university on a foot design, and apparently that was not the wisest choice. It lasts about 5000 cycles of fatigue testing, as opposed to 2,000,000. We understand that this stuff happens with R&D work, but it's frustrating just the same, and we desperately need a solution or there's no reason to travel this summer.
Finally, we have been working closely with a clinic in Kenya for some time now, but the politics of the situation have gotten rough and are not improving. Without giving a ton of details, we are now faced with making the decision of pulling out of Kenya within the next few months. Doing this means that all 17 patients currently happily walking on our limb would have to give their prosthesis back because of the R&D agreement we have with both the clinic and the school.
I hope this isn't terribly confusing, but the essence of this post is - "Please pray". I firmly believe that God can (and has) used the LEGS initiative to change lives. Hopefully all of this is simply a temporary setback that needs to be overcome before further progress!
Thank everyone (i.e. Sarah ;)). In the meantime, I'm going back to work on this stupid foot.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Back by popular demand!
....ok, fine - so one person asked me to get my act together and post again, but for me, that counts as "popular".
I can't remember what I've talked about here in the past, but for those of you who don't know, I am student project manager of the LEGS team (www.letu.edu/legs). It has taken over a large portion of my life. I've effectively moved into the lab now, moving everything but my bed and clothing down here to save time walking back and forth. I'm growing to hate this lab. Kind of strange to walk in to a lab when it's sunny outside and come out when it's dark and realize that 8 hours have passed. I miss windows.
(see how exciting my life is?)
I've also been finishing up writing an interesting research paper on surveying instruments and methods in ancient Greece and Rome. Lots of work, but very interesting and quite impressive how accurate their results were given the limited technology.
On a much lighter note, my fiance is down visiting over Easter weekend - so I'm going to try to relax a bit in the next few days and avoid going insane.
...and now you understand why I haven't posted in forever. My life doesn't make that fantastic of a story...
I can't remember what I've talked about here in the past, but for those of you who don't know, I am student project manager of the LEGS team (www.letu.edu/legs). It has taken over a large portion of my life. I've effectively moved into the lab now, moving everything but my bed and clothing down here to save time walking back and forth. I'm growing to hate this lab. Kind of strange to walk in to a lab when it's sunny outside and come out when it's dark and realize that 8 hours have passed. I miss windows.
(see how exciting my life is?)
I've also been finishing up writing an interesting research paper on surveying instruments and methods in ancient Greece and Rome. Lots of work, but very interesting and quite impressive how accurate their results were given the limited technology.
On a much lighter note, my fiance is down visiting over Easter weekend - so I'm going to try to relax a bit in the next few days and avoid going insane.
...and now you understand why I haven't posted in forever. My life doesn't make that fantastic of a story...
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