ncgaskin

Re post this to your own blog & offer the same thing to your first 5 responders.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2- What I create will be just for you.

3- It'll be done this year- no guarantees on when this year, but sometime in 2009.

4- You have no clue what it's going to be. The possibilities are endless.

5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it! Sounds like fun, right? So, let's play!

Two moves are as good as a fire... so my advisor says (which is obviously disputed).  I think we will always try to fit our belongings in a a 27' Penske truck whenever we move.

In order to accomplish this, you can't get too sentimental and hang onto your tattered baby blanky.  So I am in the process of digitizing 3 large boxes of papers and notes.  These are letters, documents related to my mission, school, and every thing I scribbles since 1987.

I got the scanning thing down, even the OCR, but I am trying to display them in such a way that is intelligent.  Using plone is an option.   I would like a way to chronologically tag them and produce a "tree" top level view of all my docs, pictures, and scanned artifacts.  This would be much like flipping through a notebook or scrapbook.

Evelyn asked me what I do at work. 

You see it is hard enough for me to tell adults what I do.  I normally say Engineer.  If they say what kind I say Electrical Engineer.  If  they ask what I do I say circuit design.  If they ask what kind of circuits, I will mention circuits used in __insert application here__ .  I make it kind of arbitrary since I am not always sure what they will be targeted to.  The few brave people keep asking, and I get specific.

Anyways, Evelyn is much younger than these people.  So I say I make circuits.  And she asked what they do.  I decided to instead teach her that I make things that run on electricity. I soon explain that the computer runs on electricity, the fridge, and microwave, the car, and te stove.  And that all my circuits can go in those.

She was impressed. 

But now I thinking to myself, I never really knew what my dad did.  Perhaps this is the plight of engineering.  Too few ever ask what engineering offers and too few what to take the time to explain it.

____


We had a ward party today.  Either I am too engineer, or just not interested in mingling.  It's probably all my fault, but I ended up just playing with the kids. 

Now that I think about it.  Dating never really stops.  When we get married, we just sort of date other couples, making new friends.  I was never very good at dating, and maybe my dislike of mingling is just further evidence.

There was a beautiful sunset.  Michigan has some great sunsets.

Bike Time to work: 18m22s

I bought a bike.

2009 Trek 7.3 FX

Outfitted with lights, computer and everything.   In fact, all I want to spend my money on now is bike accessories.  I spent like 2 hours agonizing of a luggage rack that was compatible with a toddler carrier.

I have noticed in general Michigan stores are not know for customer service.  Bike shops are no different.   When I was shopping in SLC, there are so many bike shops and everyone was way helpful.  Here, the two, and really the only two, local bike shops in Ann Arbor are really only interested in the $1800 and above bike purchaser.  It irks a bit, but I navigated the stores, got my bike and left.

I live at the very highest part of Ann Arbor, and bike to almost the lowest, so the return is killer.  But I can feel the weakness leaving my body and have already started my 12k Calorie diet.

I will post stats of my progress.  My goal is to cut my 17-20 minute ride down by 5 minutes by the time it gets to icy to ride.

3 long years.   That is the longest we have ever been in a single place after High School.

And we owned the place, how cool was that!

But now it is for sale.  I bought close to the top of the bubble, and am selling maybe during the slow hissing sound of the bubble (I hope).

We have had the house on the market for a few weeks with only 3 people viewing.  I should have guessed.  If Lehman and  AIG had trouble getting financing, how am I to expect first time home buyers to get it.

But today I did list it in print and online in almost every  media outlet in the Valleys in Utah:
Craigslist, SL Tribune, Desert News, Daily Herald, City Weekly, KSL

I really hope it sells because, you see, I am in Michigan.. moved to Ann Arbor.

The house is vacant, but the tomatoes, basil, eggplant, peppers, lettuce, squash, tomatillos, peaches and rhubarb are still growing.  Sigh.

Please let it sell....

3 am in the morning...

When I am all alone, and have no one to talk to, and the cell minutes are free, then I dial 1 800 GOOG - 411.

I ask a question and they give me answers.

And I go back to sleep.

So I have been using rdesktop, a remote desktop client for Linux (and apparently for Mac as well).  I do declare it is awesome.  Despite all the MSFT-haters, Excel and Outlook are solid.  I am learning numpy and scipy, but click and drag graphs aren't dying anytime soon.

Check it out:

I am in Ann Arbor, Michigan (sometimes called the Berkeley of the East, and sometimes A2).  I am interning for a small circuit company doing circuit-y things where people know many more things than me.

Being away from home and family is the pits, really.  No hugs, no love, and no garden.  I know how much i don't miss living in a second story apartment. 

But Michigan as a whole is refreshing.  It rains (in Utah it bakes mostly).   And I am within a days drive of relatives.  I think a midwest life would be compatible with my desires.



Anyway, here is a picture of my next dream purchase, I saw it at the Upper Arlington 4th of July parade in Columbus, OH (Thanks Reads!).

I owned an Iguana named rocky.
He was good to me.

I never picked him up because he was still too small.
So I watched him sit on his heat rock.

Dad put into the cage, a branch from outside.
Rocky then was covered with red mites.

They told me to feed him romaine.
Rocky ate but didn't get enough calcium.

Then it was too late, his bones were like glue.
We buried him under the hazelnut tree, in a box for a shoe.

I think my Mom still has the heat rock.

If you ask more than one researcher what tool they use to graph data, they will all give you different answers.

Computer Scientists will all use different tools or make their own.
Chemists will use fancy schmancy expensive things like Igor
Biometrics people will use another one.

I use Matlab, and Excel (ducks).

Then, when you ask them what citation managers they use you get these answers

Endnote - CS people have never head of this
Bibtex - Non science people have never heard of this

I am trying to use Zotero to manage references with a Word plugin.  Since Word 2007 has a citation manager built in I thought I would give it a go.

IEEE Format XSL Style Sheet  for Word 2007


I suppose all these tool differences are testaments to the independent nature of research.

1.  SO is planning on launching a website to show some of her illustration/paper projects. She is currently working on some chandeleirs a la Tord Boontje . Hers is cleverly named, jennifergaskin.com .

2.  Speaking of websites, I have so many, non-journally thoughts, it is hard to know what to do with them.  Do I stick them on a website for others to scrutinize?  I really want to have or contribute to a Salt Lake City / Utah political website, where I could post things that were applicable to my side of the tracks.  But domain names cost $10 bucks a pop per year.

3.  Anyone know how to simulate switched capacitor integrators?

4. Zotero is a life saver for research.

Why not give this a shot!

For Computer
/ducks Windows Vista 64 bit Ultimate Edition ( I really love the Media Center)

For Camera
Manfrotto Tripod Legs
Bogen Quick Release
Takima 12-24mm Lens
Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 Lens

For Bike
Headlamp for bike
Bike Lock

Miscellany
Rental Unit  :)
Tablesaw
Pants, 2 pair
Floss

We have the privilege of hanging out with quite a few older residents of Salt Lake City, and I get to hear some great stories.  This one was related to me by a man in his 60s about his grandfather who grew up in the 1930s in a small town in Southern Utah.

His grand father, when he was 15 years old, would break wild horses.  How he would do it is the amazing part.  He would take 2 horses, one of which would be good and broken, and another.  He would use one horse to run a group of wild mustangs, and when his first horse would get tired, he would switch to the others.  He would go like that until he singled out a particular wild horse and then JUMP from his horse onto its back.  He would then grab it by the ears, forcing it down, horse still kicking, and halter it. Then he would take it home and "break" it.

I am sure it is more difficult in real life than portrayed above.

First, I am not sure if you could do this sort of thing nowadays without some sort of permit and without igniting  ire from PETA. 
Second, I am not sure if I am man enough to do it!  I just design circuits. 

Circuits don't kick back.

Turns out this same man died from pneumonia in his 60s --  pneumonia induced after pushing his car up over a mountain pass near Scipio, UT.

A special someone in our family got married a week ago.  The reception was awesome, mainly because my wifey planned it, but secondly because they had 3 Polaroids to snap pics with!  So I am totally asking for one for Christmas.  I figure that If I meet anyone famous, I can get a quick picture of them AND get an autograph on the spot.

Specifically, a Polaroid SuperColor 635.

We took a  trip to Boston, MA a week before Halloween.  It was the perfect time considering it was peak autumn color and the Red Sox were in town p0wn-ing the Rockies.

Besides being the coolest extended date we have ever done, we met up with my old college roommate (hooray for the Fillmores! ) It is because of them we saw so many great places, and ate great cheeses.  No trip is complete with out a sampling of available cheeses.

I think I can get used to purchasing $150 round trip fairs on a whim :) Oh wait... I am still a student.


 

What do I do with all my old Baseball / Star Wars / Magic: The Gathering / Sports cards?  I don't want to subscribe to Beckett (the ubiquitous pricing guide), and I don't want to just sell the lot knowing there are things of value.

WARNING: Election Issues!


Becker (he knocked my house!)
Against Vouchers (See friend's video)

Against $192 Million Municipal Police/Fire bond (would be for if the main building wasn't $131 M when comparable structures are much less)

Hard time choosing between Michael Clara and Van Turner for District 2.  Do we want an incumbent who meanders through decisions, or a young fireball to churn up the compost?

For me, Saturdays are normally filled with good intentions but generally go wasted.  Yesterday was a good exception.  We had family portraits taken in Rock Canyon (Provo, UT) .  Right after those I drove north  through Box Elder Canyon to get to Utah State University in Logan, UT.  Do not be deceived by the name of the noxious and vermin-with-antennae "box elder" beetle, the drive through the canyon to Cache County was a sight!  I had an Indian (dot not feather) from school shooting over 300 pictures on my dSLR to capture it.  Unfortunately it was his first time shooting :(

Then I went to West Valley City later that evening.  But that was in the dark, which probably made it prettier than had I went during the day!

I am going to miss these mountains when (if?) I ever leave.

UPDATE:

The real reason we got a minivan was not because we were running out of space in the Corolla with kids/groceries/plants.  Its because we can't help our desire to buy furniture. 

If you too have an affinity to furniture , go to Elemente in downtown Salt Lake City.  If you are really nice, they will give you a cookie.

I am serious about the cookie thing.

A parent has 2 significant responsibilities.  The first to to provide for the child all the temporal, intellectual, physical, and spiritual needs they may have.  The second is the stop the child from ingesting anything found in the bathroom.

I have failed at the second. 

Eli went into the bathroom, which normally means he is trying to climb into the tub or play with the toilet. When I finally saw him he was picking something out from between the seat lid and the tank, looked at me and placed it in his mouth.

He is still alive.