I know I promissed an overview of my classes... so here they are:
16-711: Kinematics, Dynamic Systems and Control
On of the first technical Robotics institute classes that I am taking. The basic idea of the course is how to program robots to move. Something that I tried to do with the Herak robot, but as we found out, was a little (a lot) harder than it seemed. The course is going to be taught by two professors, but we have only had one in class so far, he is a rather amusing lecturer. In the two whole lectures we have had, I have learned a lot. This class is going to be really hard, and really fun. First homework assignment, get this simulation going... I programmed it to wave at you! I think next week that arm will be following a trajectory and ballancing (like a human... we will see).
If you really want to see more, here is the class website.
18-649: Distributed Embedded Systems
One of my favorite classes at GU was Embedded System Design with Dr. T. We are going to be looking at how to propperly implement a large scale distributed embedded system, as a case study we are going to be using an elevator to test the process. So an entire elevator system will be simulated, from the lights in the buttons to the doors and the motion of the car. So far it has been an interesting class, I am still getting used to the teaching style. The project so far seems like a experiance in self discovery (that is not entirely true... the professor has given us a lot of information on how to get the ball rolling). I am sure this one is going to get interesting, I'll be sure keep you all updated.
If you want to see more on this one.
Then last, but not least:
16-899E: Ethics and Robotics
This is.... going to get finished later... I have to go to class!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
5 Inches Under
For the past few days it has been snowing fairly hard. To the effect of about 4-6 inches of snow everywhere (including covered portches!). This morning's snow was super light and fulffy, to the point of when I stepped out from the house on to the walk, a 'puff' of snow came up. It was so cool! I don't think I have ever really seen that...
I have greatly enjoyed walking to the bus these past few days. Very peaceful. A little slippery given the hills. But beautiful.
I have not enjoyed the bus situation the past few days. It has been absurd. On Tuesday I almost walked in to downtown (I ended up going about a mile and a half) just to catch a bus. Of the 6 or 7 stops I passed, the minimum number of people waiting was around 30 people! That is crazy! That should not happen! And of course everyone was on edge because of that... and everyone was wearing their snow gear, making the bus super humid and hot. The walls were sweating. Ugg... I need to move closer to school!
In other news, classes are going well, Ill do a full update this weekend about them. I am thinking this sememster is going to be sweet!
I also got a chance to talk to a few old friends, Bill and Alana on Tuesday and James and Jamie on Wednesday. All conversations were great, and just emphisised how much I miss you guys!
Well I need to get ready for class... Ill fill you guys in more later.
I have greatly enjoyed walking to the bus these past few days. Very peaceful. A little slippery given the hills. But beautiful.
I have not enjoyed the bus situation the past few days. It has been absurd. On Tuesday I almost walked in to downtown (I ended up going about a mile and a half) just to catch a bus. Of the 6 or 7 stops I passed, the minimum number of people waiting was around 30 people! That is crazy! That should not happen! And of course everyone was on edge because of that... and everyone was wearing their snow gear, making the bus super humid and hot. The walls were sweating. Ugg... I need to move closer to school!
In other news, classes are going well, Ill do a full update this weekend about them. I am thinking this sememster is going to be sweet!
I also got a chance to talk to a few old friends, Bill and Alana on Tuesday and James and Jamie on Wednesday. All conversations were great, and just emphisised how much I miss you guys!
Well I need to get ready for class... Ill fill you guys in more later.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tie greatness
If anyone needs to get me a gift, or a gift for a guy, or a gift for a trendy girl, I point you in this direction: Ties that Don't Suck
I give you some of my favorites:
(none of these are mine... but I would wear them!)
I give you some of my favorites:
(none of these are mine... but I would wear them!)
Monday, January 10, 2011
New Career Option
Computer Engineer by day... Masked hero by night.
Check out this.
As a sidenote, I pose a question:
If I were to be a masked hero, what would my name be?
Check out this.
As a sidenote, I pose a question:
If I were to be a masked hero, what would my name be?
Back in to it.
Ok. Well this is it. Tomorrow is my first day of second semester. I am a little excited, and a little worried that all of this free time that I have been enjoying is going to disappear. But alas, such is life...
So tomorrow at 10:30, I will be heading in to Robot Ethics, followed by a little Kinematics and Motion Control at 3:00. Then Wednesday I will be attending Distributed Embedded Systems. I am really looking forward to this semester. These courses are the ones I really want to take, they are the ones that I came to CMU for. Don't worry, Ill let you know how they go :)
In other news, it did not take very long to get connected with friends again. Saturday was Tracey's birthday, so something had to happen. And She was busy all night with family, so Sam, Gwyn and I consulted Chelsea on what to do. Among other things, Chelsea suggested hanging candy canes from some trees It was determined that Tracey's house did not have sufficient trees so in order to give her proper attention the next morning at church, we descended upon a tree (and some bushes...) there. The apparent theme for the evening was 'Ninja' complete with a soundtrack of Ninja music provided by Gwyn. Chelsea: great idea, and great price. We bought 192 candy canes for $3.25. Awesome!
So here is the work:
Also there had to be cake... so here is a 'T' cake. (I am getting quite good at these...)
Sunday was filled with church. After spending time with Jessie and dropping in on a CPC youthgroup, I realized that I really missed that whole thing (ill avoid getting sentimental...). Before Christmas, I had talked to Jackie (the high school and junior high youth leader, and avid member of the YadGrad group) about getting involved again. Seeing as Shadyside is in need of leaders, she was more than happy to have the help. So Sunday was my first jump in to the ministry here. It was great and scary at the same time. As many of my colleagues know, I am not a huge fan of Junior High. At Colbert I predominately worked with High School, and for good reason. Shadyside's group has loads of Junior high and a rather scant Sr. High. So, rolled my sleeves up, and got busy. The students are energetic, but they are very distracted, and lack motivation to do anything other than be a distraction. I am very excited to be a part of it, but it is going to be some work.
Today was another day of rest. I met up with Skanda for lunch, chatted about break, about this semester, about New Years in Oman... it was great to catch up. I did some birthday shopping (man... think there is enough of those in January?). Then later in the afternoon got an invite from Luke for a evening movie event. There is a theater that does $5 Mondays! Sweet! A large group, some I knew, and lots I didn't know made it. We watched "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," It was great. I don't really want to say much more that that ;)
Oh! And here are some pictures of my time in Gig Harbor!
So tomorrow at 10:30, I will be heading in to Robot Ethics, followed by a little Kinematics and Motion Control at 3:00. Then Wednesday I will be attending Distributed Embedded Systems. I am really looking forward to this semester. These courses are the ones I really want to take, they are the ones that I came to CMU for. Don't worry, Ill let you know how they go :)
In other news, it did not take very long to get connected with friends again. Saturday was Tracey's birthday, so something had to happen. And She was busy all night with family, so Sam, Gwyn and I consulted Chelsea on what to do. Among other things, Chelsea suggested hanging candy canes from some trees It was determined that Tracey's house did not have sufficient trees so in order to give her proper attention the next morning at church, we descended upon a tree (and some bushes...) there. The apparent theme for the evening was 'Ninja' complete with a soundtrack of Ninja music provided by Gwyn. Chelsea: great idea, and great price. We bought 192 candy canes for $3.25. Awesome!
So here is the work:
 |
| We had to jump a little... |
 |
| Yep. Everyone Saw them... |
 |
| "Act like a Ninja!" |
Sunday was filled with church. After spending time with Jessie and dropping in on a CPC youthgroup, I realized that I really missed that whole thing (ill avoid getting sentimental...). Before Christmas, I had talked to Jackie (the high school and junior high youth leader, and avid member of the YadGrad group) about getting involved again. Seeing as Shadyside is in need of leaders, she was more than happy to have the help. So Sunday was my first jump in to the ministry here. It was great and scary at the same time. As many of my colleagues know, I am not a huge fan of Junior High. At Colbert I predominately worked with High School, and for good reason. Shadyside's group has loads of Junior high and a rather scant Sr. High. So, rolled my sleeves up, and got busy. The students are energetic, but they are very distracted, and lack motivation to do anything other than be a distraction. I am very excited to be a part of it, but it is going to be some work.
Today was another day of rest. I met up with Skanda for lunch, chatted about break, about this semester, about New Years in Oman... it was great to catch up. I did some birthday shopping (man... think there is enough of those in January?). Then later in the afternoon got an invite from Luke for a evening movie event. There is a theater that does $5 Mondays! Sweet! A large group, some I knew, and lots I didn't know made it. We watched "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," It was great. I don't really want to say much more that that ;)
Oh! And here are some pictures of my time in Gig Harbor!
 |
| While walking along the beach, Jessie terrorized the poor little crabs.... |
 |
| Found some huge claws! |
 |
| Yay! This is going up on my wall 'o pics! |
 |
| Then the epic drive home. The Misty Mountains. |
Thursday, January 6, 2011
So far a great year.
I am sitting here in my living room for the last evening. When I say 'my living room,' I mean in Colbert. I have three bags and my 'bag' bag packed and sitting in front of me, all ready to head off to the airport tomorrow. Bitter sweet; yes, very much so.
I am really excited about what is in store for me this next semester. I feel as though I am comfortable enough with my surroundings and the friends that I have made to really start having fun. I am excited about another round of classes, I am excited to be challenged again. I am excited about planning more fun events (Flogging Molly, Frodo fest, and my first Cinematic Adventure night).
However I am sad to leave. It might be apparent that I have been having too much fun as to the number of posts I have made in the past 3 weeks. Almost none.... sorry! I am in vacation mode. Thinking about it, I don't really know if I am motivated to write up the past few weeks in detail. Most of my audience was there... except for Stan (and I talked to you too!! :) ).
So briefly:
I got to hang out with Holly in San Diego.
Met up with the Hogle clan in the OC. Highlights include: Hogle Shirts, Boating, Disneyland in the rain, Christmas, MERRY STARCRAFT!!! , lots of pictures, lots of laughs, lots of fun.
Relaxing in Spokane with my parents
Hot Tubbing and Tostadas (Daren, Drew, Ryan, Kurt and Nick)
Lots of Snow
Holly coming up here for New Years
New Years
Lady Zags game
If you want details about any of the above, let me know... I would be glad to elaborate, I just don't know who would want to know.
So this Tuesday I got to head over to Gig Harbor and visit my dear friend Jessie. It was wonderful. Tuesday afternoon and evening I got to watch the interesting process of youth ministry at Chapel Hill Pres, including a leader meeting, which very much reminded me of Colbert meetings. Afterwards Jessie and I headed over to 'The Tides' for some evening libations and Nachos. In the morning a trip to Kelly's for breakfast, a walk around the harbor, and then a little adventure down to the beach near here house and in to Kopachuck state park. Oh, it should be stated: as normal for time spent with Jessie, there was lots of great conversation and lots of laughing. There may or may not be some sweet pictures too, but my camera is packed away, and I don't really want to get it out.
On my way back home, I found myself centering around an interesting revelation: there is something to be said about time spent with long standing friends as opposed to fairly new friends. This may seem blatantly obvious, and it is, however the difference was greatly pronounced in my little trip. Because of my 'new' situation in PGH, I had sort of forgotten what it was like to be around well established friends. In Pittsburgh, I am still figuring out people, I am finding out how people react to things, I am finding who is good to talk to about different things, and who is comfortable with what. I am trying to build up the understanding of relationships there. I greatly value this, and I do enjoy this; but the contrast was great after being around Jessie. I have known Jessie for quite some time, and consider her a close friend. We have an understanding of each other that makes time in proximity 'easy' (for lack of a better word). This comfort is something that I didn't know I missed, I had not really identified it at all...
This leads to two quick conclusions: 1) I need to spend more time around my friends (not that I have been avoiding you guys... quiet the opposite, more of we all have things going on. Just it would be awesome to hang out! Jamie, Dannica and Bill, I am looking at you) and 2) I cannot wait for relationships in the 'Burgh to get to that level.
Anyway, Thanks Jessie! It was totally awesome! We should do it again sometime.
I think on that note, it is time for my last slumber on the west coast for a while.
I am really excited about what is in store for me this next semester. I feel as though I am comfortable enough with my surroundings and the friends that I have made to really start having fun. I am excited about another round of classes, I am excited to be challenged again. I am excited about planning more fun events (Flogging Molly, Frodo fest, and my first Cinematic Adventure night).
However I am sad to leave. It might be apparent that I have been having too much fun as to the number of posts I have made in the past 3 weeks. Almost none.... sorry! I am in vacation mode. Thinking about it, I don't really know if I am motivated to write up the past few weeks in detail. Most of my audience was there... except for Stan (and I talked to you too!! :) ).
So briefly:
I got to hang out with Holly in San Diego.
Met up with the Hogle clan in the OC. Highlights include: Hogle Shirts, Boating, Disneyland in the rain, Christmas, MERRY STARCRAFT!!! , lots of pictures, lots of laughs, lots of fun.
Relaxing in Spokane with my parents
Hot Tubbing and Tostadas (Daren, Drew, Ryan, Kurt and Nick)
Lots of Snow
Holly coming up here for New Years
New Years
Lady Zags game
If you want details about any of the above, let me know... I would be glad to elaborate, I just don't know who would want to know.
So this Tuesday I got to head over to Gig Harbor and visit my dear friend Jessie. It was wonderful. Tuesday afternoon and evening I got to watch the interesting process of youth ministry at Chapel Hill Pres, including a leader meeting, which very much reminded me of Colbert meetings. Afterwards Jessie and I headed over to 'The Tides' for some evening libations and Nachos. In the morning a trip to Kelly's for breakfast, a walk around the harbor, and then a little adventure down to the beach near here house and in to Kopachuck state park. Oh, it should be stated: as normal for time spent with Jessie, there was lots of great conversation and lots of laughing. There may or may not be some sweet pictures too, but my camera is packed away, and I don't really want to get it out.
On my way back home, I found myself centering around an interesting revelation: there is something to be said about time spent with long standing friends as opposed to fairly new friends. This may seem blatantly obvious, and it is, however the difference was greatly pronounced in my little trip. Because of my 'new' situation in PGH, I had sort of forgotten what it was like to be around well established friends. In Pittsburgh, I am still figuring out people, I am finding out how people react to things, I am finding who is good to talk to about different things, and who is comfortable with what. I am trying to build up the understanding of relationships there. I greatly value this, and I do enjoy this; but the contrast was great after being around Jessie. I have known Jessie for quite some time, and consider her a close friend. We have an understanding of each other that makes time in proximity 'easy' (for lack of a better word). This comfort is something that I didn't know I missed, I had not really identified it at all...
This leads to two quick conclusions: 1) I need to spend more time around my friends (not that I have been avoiding you guys... quiet the opposite, more of we all have things going on. Just it would be awesome to hang out! Jamie, Dannica and Bill, I am looking at you) and 2) I cannot wait for relationships in the 'Burgh to get to that level.
Anyway, Thanks Jessie! It was totally awesome! We should do it again sometime.
I think on that note, it is time for my last slumber on the west coast for a while.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year!
I would just like to welcome everyone to the new year. As per tradition, the Griffith and Laiho families came together to 'bring in the new year.' Like last year, Holly was able to join us. It was great. High light would have to be to 2-0 Guys cranium record. Good work Men!
Well before I go grab me some Strawberry waffles, I leave you with two quotes that I heard last night.
Via Text:
Tracey: Happy New Year from Florida!
Me: Yay! Silly east coast. How is 2011?
Tracey: It is so much better than 2010. Just wait you'll see. We have Flying cars now! ;P
and My father while toasting right after midnight: "Happy Birthday!"
Me: "Dad... that was Christmas, Jesus was born on Christmas day."
Dad: "No... isn't there something about a birthday here?"
Well before I go grab me some Strawberry waffles, I leave you with two quotes that I heard last night.
Via Text:
Tracey: Happy New Year from Florida!
Me: Yay! Silly east coast. How is 2011?
Tracey: It is so much better than 2010. Just wait you'll see. We have Flying cars now! ;P
and My father while toasting right after midnight: "Happy Birthday!"
Me: "Dad... that was Christmas, Jesus was born on Christmas day."
Dad: "No... isn't there something about a birthday here?"
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