Cool Stuff

When I started my website, google page creator was very limited. In that year, they have been improving the interface. Now you can edit the html code, but also add in things in gui way. One of those things is gadgets! I found this gadget, the idiot test, and I thought that it is pretty funny. I only got to 'average' the first time, since the test is very hard to give a complement, I think that is very a good score. But I'm sure some of my friends can do a lot better.

Check it out, here is the link: http://cameron.musgrove.googlepages.com/idiot_test

Progress

I'm feeling better about the house thing. The bank said they may be able to make the coupon deadline, and I turned in all my paperwork. The movers should be able to move us quicker than I thought. I'm waiting for house insurance quote, and for the seller to accept the bank's opinion letter. I think the seller is being too picky. I already sent them a pre-approval letter, but they said that it was not enough. Well, if you add the down payment, it is plenty so I don't understand the problem. I didn't know that they didn't like the pre-approval letter I sent on Tuesday until this afternoon. I think 48 hours is crazy time to find out. I guess this should teach me to be right on-top of those people with everything I send them. Once the seller gets the bank's opinion, I can set the close date!

I'm looking for a bank in Albuquerque. My bank is a local one, and not in Albuquerque. It is a really good account that pays 5% APY, refunds other bank's atm fees, and free checks. I haven't be able to find anything that comes close. The highest checking interest rate I've seen is .85%. That is a severe drop. I'm gonna try to hold on to my account for as long as I can. I'll get a free account if I need a local bank. Also, I can't find a money market account to beat Discover Bank's money market rate. I did find one bank that is 1% behind. I would like my money to be in all one place that can count my spare change for free. Does anyone know of a place like that?

Long time no blog

It has been a while since I blogged up here. I usually like to do it when the mood hits, but at least once a week. I guess I've been keeping myself busy. After the offer letter came, I had to send it back and get all that paperwork moving and find a place to live. My wife and I want to get a house; and we are neck deep into that process as I type. More details may come.

I graduated !!! I guess I'm supposed to feel all-of-a-sudden different, but I don't. This time life has sucked that feeling out of it. When I was in high school, it felt all-of-a-sudden different. Like something had changed. I was moving to a different state (after moving into a hotel room), and soon after I would start college 600 miles away from my parents. When I graduated with my bachelors, it felt different, but not that drastic. I stayed in town, at the same school to my masters. But I did get married and move to a new apartment. Now that I've graduated not much has changed. I won't see my new job for more than a month; I'm still going through the motions of my old/current job. I'm still living in the same place; it's been two and a half months since I've seen the house we want to buy (and we're too shy to take pictures). What has got me down lately is buying the house and completing the job offer; trying to coordinate all the forms, deadlines, sign forms, get told by the school registrar to piss off (don't get me started!!), and talk to an increasing number of people about a start date.

I suppose I would not be so stressed about it, if it didn't cost so much for me not to work. Starting as soon as I can has put the deadlines on. I believe it should be possible get the house and start in January.

Well, tomorrow I'll get a school form I need for start date. That plus drug test results should allow a date to be confirmed. Once I get a date confirmed (which I really hope can happen before Christmas), the bank will be able to close !

Two

Two posts for today. Things have changed since the last post. I was really tired when I did it, and I was avoiding homework, too.

Since then, a recruiter called, asked if I was still looking... I said, "sure" since that answer only means that hiring managers will see my resume.

Then Albuquerque called!!!! I got a job offer for Albuquerque!!!

Then another company called.... asked if I was still interested... I said no! Since I now have a job offer I'm gonna take!

Tomorrow I'll get the official letter!!!

Famous?

Did you know that whenever people look at OSU ECEN website, they see my work?

http://www.ece.okstate.edu/research_electromagnetics.php


On that page, there is this picture of the reverb chamber me and my team built, that I took with my camera! I think that is sooo cool!!

Also, on the main ECEN page, if you refresh it enough, you'll see a picture of my HKN pledge class!!

And, according to google, if someone wants to "build a reverberation chamber," my senior design report is the number 5 result? (It looks like the most relevant link, too).

So, I would say that I am a little bit famous. (Although, saying my work has been published is a more accurate description.)

It's In!!!!

I turned in my thesis - 45 minutes ago!

I rejected the other OKC offer - 20 minutes ago!

I got an email from the other OKC hiring manager telling me how great a fit I am to the job and the potential growth for his organization - 3 minutes ago! (kinda makes me feel bad; I'm not how or if I should respond)

As of now, I have no job offers. I'm still holding out for Albuquerque...

HAHA, this is funny!

Click here to see a Dilbert Cartoon

I think this cartoon speaks to the fact that engineers and scientists must be good at communicating to everybody. However, I embraced math and science because it was so far from English class. For me, what I didn't like about English class was grammar exercises, (I'll freakin' scream if you try to make me identify the predicate clauses in a sentence). I also was irritated that there was a 'right' answer as the interpretation of the underlying meanings within literature. But now that I'm older, I have realized the importance of communication. And some part of me thinks I may be better at communication, reading, and writing if I had taken the harder English classes in high school.

Ahhhh

Today was a laid-back day. I went out for lunch. Shopping. Then washed the car. After I got home I played Colonization. Then I went back out and cleaned the inside of the car.

I am looking forward to having a house. Cleaning a car in a apartment complex parking lot is not very convenient. And having a job that ends at 5pm. I look forward to having evenings to clean the car and take it easy. After I was done cleaning, I took pictures. That was fun, too! I got out the tripod and everything... I probably looked like a real big dork, but I decided not to care. I enjoyed taking the pictures and cleaning the car.

Defense!

I did it! I successfully defended my thesis! I'm just a final thesis draft, one class final away from GRADUATION!!!

http://business.nmsu.edu/~finance/degree.html

The "Last Supper"

Did you know that you can see the most high-resolution image ever taken of DaVinci's "Last Supper" online? I think that is way cool. go here http://www.haltadefinizione.com/en/cenacolo/look.asp.

Also, there really is a hidden code in the picture, and it is not the one in Dan Brown's novel. Apparently the pieces of bread and hands make up musical notes, and ancient Hebrew words that translate to "with Him consecration and glory"

Read the full story here: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/11/09/last-supper-da-vinci.html

On a side note, what time of the day is supper? Mid-day or evening?

By the way, it's official, I got another interview with someone else in OKC this Friday. I'll keep you updated on how it goes!

Still no news....

Still no news from Albuquerque. I did however get another on-site interview for another place in OKC. We'll see how it goes. It sounds interesting. I think it would be hilarious if this OKC place gets back to me before Albuquerque. Ok, well, maybe I wouldn't think it was funny. I really want to go to Albuquerque. I took this interview thinking I would need something, just in case. But I don't like to think like that. It has been like 4 weeks since I talked to my HR rep... Time is creeping up. If I don't know my living plans by Nov 28, it is going to start costing me money on extending my current lease. I don't have a 'month to month' option, and I have to specify the length of time past my lease ending I want to stay, and that is all I'll get. No more, no less. I'm trying to be patient, but it is hard. I really really want to work in Albuquerque.

Dammit!!

I thought I had this great idea!

A Hydrogen Fuel Cell RC car. I thought it was going to be fun to build. I looked at the motor, 7 amps for 7.2 V, so that's like 50W. So I need a 50W fuel cell...... Simple.....Not so fast. A fuel cell for that power costs ~$2500!! So, nevermind that idea. But someone has already made a hydrogen powered RC car!!

http://www.gizmag.com/go/7122/

Paperwork Glitch

Do you know what sucks? A Paperwork Glitch! It looks like it will be awhile before I officially know if I can live in Albuquerque. I'll have to say goodbye to my other offers; I don't think they'll wait any longer on me. Also, I feel like a dead-beat for not getting back to them on time. I guess all I have to do right now is concentrate on my thesis. If you are not doing anything, come by ATRC 102 Nov 15 at 10:30am and see it. It'll be lots of fun :)

Not much else happening in my life. Waiting for job offer. Doing thesis. Keeping up with class. I'm getting really tired of taking notes and homework. The tests really don't bother me. Taking notes really hurts my hand and arm, and it's boring. When I say boring I mean that it is not very interactive on my part, the speaker is definitely not boring. If he was boring, I would fall asleep so fast.... Oh, the homework is about the worst thing for my self-esteem. I feel so stupid trying and failing to complete it. The worst thing is it is not for a grade. Also, I have the answers. Think that helps? NO, not really. I immediately feel dumb because I know I did it wrong. It is really hard to find the noise variance.... Knowing how to find it is impossible enough, but solving for it is REALLY hard! As long as I can keep my grade above average, (i.e. other people are worse than I am) I might be OK.

hmmmm

Not much exciting going on. More anxious than ever. We just got back from visiting my Grandma, and dinner at the in-laws over the weekend. We had a good time at Grandma's; we got lots of pictures and stuff for our new house! (we don't have a house yet, but we want one, and are planning for it; more details will be available later). I learned something new this weekend: the new DVD/VCR combo units DO NOT have a TV tuner built in. That means you cannot record TV from them. You must connect it with composite. I suppose this is not a problem for Digital TV and DirectTV subscribers, however people like me and my Grandma who get our TV from the black coax line have issues. Luckily, my aunt's old VCR still has a good tuner, so I showed her how to pass the signal to her new VCR/DVD combo to record TV. I never thought that they would stop putting normal/analog TV tuners in VCRs. At this point, I'm really starting to think it is a conspiracy between the TV manufacturers, supported by the government to bolster the economy, to get people to buy more TVs. First (6 years ago) they have these crappy flat TVs, and only now are they starting to make good quality flat TVs with HD capabilities... But, they still have you by not making all the TVs 1080 lines... they sell 'em with less lines to confuse people and make them upgrade at a later time. Already the flat technology inherently will NEVER outpace the old CRT tubes in terms of viewing life, but they are still trying to slowly upgrade tvs with features just to keep people buying. It is like cell phones. And then there is February 2009.... the day analog TV will be executed (stop broadcasting). I still have hope that there may be a last hour reprive, and the switchover will be delayed; but analog tv will eventually go away. I still haven't seen these wonderful HDTV reception boxes for analog tvs...They'll probably want to sell them for more money than they should.

More about Digital TV Transition
http://www.dtv.gov/

Waiting...

Another post, and still no job *official* offer from Albuquerque. I got another offer, it is for OKC!! And I cancelled an interview for Greenville, that I would've had this morning...

I'm getting anxious about moving. I'd like to set my living plans into motion.

My wife's birthday is coming up. This year, I'm better prepared than usual; I already got her some presents, but I don't know what to add to it. Maybe I'll get her a kitchen table, she wants one of those.

I think this picture says it all

It is posted all over engineering south.

Back to School

It's has been nearly a week since I last posted... We just got back from Albuquerque, and we both LOVED it! We started looking for a house, too. We think we found a great one, but I don't officially have an offer letter, yet. I hope to soon.

I've realized that there are a lot of things to do to get a house. The property tax, insurance, closing costs, escrow, etc.... There is like a billion things to do. All this excitement makes it really hard for me to work on my homework. I'm still nervous about having to do more work for my thesis, too. And then I'll have to defend it. So far, I've been trusting my advisor to help me do what I need to, to graduate! And, I'm pretty sure I'll get and offer, but does that mean that I should stop trying to get other jobs? And what do I say to potential employers who do call? Thanks for your interest, but I'm interested in something else, unless it falls through, then I'll be interested in you again? Today, I basically told this guy, that. It is so hard for me to pretend to be interested in any other job, when I really just want this other one. It is very exciting.... somehow I'll have to keep myself together for two more weeks....

Interviews.... (Warning: EXTREMELY long and NO pictures)

On-campus interviews can be silly. There is not really a particular job you are applying for, in most cases. They supposedly are on campus to look for people they like, and then match them up with jobs at some later time. This 'later time' is a month before graduation, which leaves less than month between offer and graduation..... Not much time to find a place to live, (or is it?)

I had an interview today. They asked three questions, and they were all dumb.

1. Describe a situation where you were asked to do another task while you were still in the middle of completing another task.
2. Describe a situation where you went beyond your responsibilities (or expertise).
3. Do you prefer working in academia to industry, or vice versa?

I think number 1 is bogus because it all depends on the project your working on and the project that comes up. My answer could be totally lame if I said I was doing homework and then asked to TA a class in 2 hours; no big deal, blow off homework. But that happens to me, and it does answer the question. If you are designing a future system and the factory needs to fix a problem to continue production; guess which project takes priority. HOWEVER, what if the future system design is going to be field-tested the next day? The hiring of a plane, pilots, support staff, equipment moving, and travel can be very expensive to waste!

Is number 2 asking me if I ever stole someone else's responsibilities? I guess they mean I a situation where I did something I wasn't supposed to do? In hindsight, I think they probably meant the wanted to know about a situation where I went above and beyond the call of duty.... Why didn't they say that?

I'm sure NOW, that I totally blew number 3. He asked me this after noticing that I have done a lot of work as a research assistant. I said that I liked the freedom and flexibility of academia, and at my last job I felt restricted on what I could work on, then as I was explaining how great it is I can move about projects at will in academia, I sensed him stop listening....

I'm not sure what all these questions have to do with my willingness to work at this place. Oh well, in like a week or so they will let me know if I'll be attending their special 'EXPO' (seriously, they used that word) and 'speed interview' like 5 different bosses. ('speed interview' is my special term for when you talk to a hiring manager for one job, then go see another hiring manager for another job, etc. all in one day or morning; I see it as much more confusing and annoying than interviewing with several people for a single position).

I got another interview tomorrow morning. I like the morning interviews... I get it over with!! This will my 4th time to interview with this company, so I know the drill. Luckily, they have been normal interviews with those familiar 'tell me about yourself' type questions. A recruiter form this company sent me an email telling me to apply to get an interview. I felt that there was someone interested in talking to me about a specific job or group; after the info session I'm sure that was bone-head idea.

I feel it is too late to try to make any more applications; by the time they back to me I'll have graduated. But on the other hand, if wait longer to apply, I'll have to wait longer for a response. I really would like Albuquerque to come through and save me this stress. I have been stressing about it; I would like to know if I got it or not, for sure.

Back to Albuquerque

This weekend me and the wife are going to Albuquerque. I got a really good vibe from the interview, and we would like to make sure that we can see ourselves living there. Also, to make the trip more productive we're going to start looking for places to live, too. If anyone knows of some MUST DO things, please let me know by Friday afternoon. That includes mexican restaurants! Or, if anyone knows the best place to live in Albuquerque, I'd like to hear about that, too.

(http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/19/194/194171/mediaitems/1548/GW_ExpressJet_inagural%20232.jpg)

AL-BU-QUER-QUE

(http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/flags/nm_flag.htm)

Yes, I have finally learned how to spell Albuquerque!! I'm back from my Albuquerque interview, and it was AWESOME!! They treated me really good. Everyone said that they get bored working on the same thing and liked to work on different projects; I feel the same way. Also, there seems to be no limits on the work I would be able do there; all within the same company I can work on a huge variety of projects utilizing various specializations within my discipline. I hope this week they send me a job offer! I feel pretty good about getting an offer, so I've already booked another trip back out there to explore the city some more and show the wife around.

Also, I've managed to get two more on-campus interviews this week. They'll go very strange if I get my offer before then; Otherwise, I need to keep going with all my prospects until I get an offer. My Olathe company that extended me an offer has gotten cranky that I wanted to extend the deadline. It is not that I don't want to go Olathe, I could do that job, but I am really excited about Albuquerque.

Whew!

I nearly had an accident a few days ago! I was slowing down to make a right turn, and I happen to glance in the rearview mirror and see a truck coming upon me really fast! I left off the brake and punched it! The truck swerved off the road to right, and I sped away without a scratch!

I do not always check in my rearview mirror for cars that might be crashing into me, but my mom told me a long time ago that it was a good idea to check it when you are stopped. I am glad I did, but I think I was just lucky, too.

IT'S DONE!!!!!

The Reverberation Chamber is complete! I've been working on this for a couple of weeks off and on, and for 4 of the last 5 days! I hurt my back yesterday lifting a 700lb door. The doctor was NOT kind enough to give me muscle relaxers; unfortunately all I got was double-strength Aleve. But, they do seem to be helping and my back feels better today.

What is a Reverberation Chamber? Simply, it is a microwave oven with a LOT less power, that is much much bigger. It is used to find out if an electronic device can survive electromagnetic interference or measure electromagnetic emissions from an electronic device.

Here is a picture of the horizontal tuner. Yes, that is me in the lift; I got pretty good at driving one of those!
Here is a picture of me, on the last day of construction. I lifted that 700 lb door, twice!, to get it into position (I did have help). I was really tired.

Here is a okstate new link about the chamber: http://osu.okstate.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=764&Itemid=90

Albuquerque, Here I Come!

I got an interview with Sandia, YAY! They want me to fly out to Albuquerque to interview with them.

I just got off the phone with Travelocity Business and booked a trip in the FASTEST time I've ever done, it took like 10 minutes! I am nervous about the flight: It is ExpressJet with a little jet plane. But, it is a direct flight, only 2 hours in the air, one way. Though I would feel safer on a Boeing.

Here is a link to the hotel:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=713

Sofa King

I think this is awesome! I want this Tshirt. And I love how the F is a different font, for emphasis. I saw the skit on Saturday Night Live (watching with my in-laws), and it took me nearly the entire skit to understand the joke. They kept talking about the Sofa King financing, the Sofa King sale, the Sofa King low prices, etc.

Here is the SNL video from YouTube


(Image from http://www.tshirtbordello.com/product_info.php?products_id=48)

First Blog

This is my first blog, ever. I had a hard time picking the URL and name of this. I wanted something silly, and after some help from my wife, I picked this name. So, I'll explain the name: I drive a Buick Le Sabre, and I'm not an old man. I think it is generally assumed that old men/women drive Buick Le Sabres. In fact, I got my car from an old lady. I believe the smooth ride, family-size, no-frills, economical car appeals to old people. I like the comfortable seats and the floatiness (especially on long drives); and I got the car at a really good price. But I've found out that lots of domestic cars are cheap when you get them used. It is the hondas that are expensive to buy used, everyone wants one I guess.