My new blog is at:
That is all.
Adam
January 5, 2010
December 29, 2008
Goodbye 2008
Today I got my last of the grades for this last semester and I'm very happy. It was a difficult semester because I took 18 credit hours and I stayed busy with work and being the Elders Quorum President. Out of the 6 classes, I got 4 A's and 2 A-'s, which gives me a 3.9 GPA this semester and a 3.65 cumulative GPA. It makes me want to celebrate.
So, what's next in my news? Christmas was great. I was able to stay in the guest room at my parents house on New Years Eve and woke up with them to open presents. Christmas is a little sad because it isn't how it used to be when I was little with all my brothers and sisters there to open presents. But, I am looking forward to making new traditions for Christmas. I have great parents that make Christmas great.
Last weekend I worked on cleaning out my room. I went through my desk and the four years worth of notes, homework assignments, and exams. It's amazing how much work there was. I know that I can't keep those things around forever, so I threw it away. I still have a bunch of text books though. Some of them I will keep and some I will get rid of. College is expensive. Tuition and books and all the extra costs add up. Maybe sometime I'll have to calculate how much my whole Undergraduate experience cost. I'm glad that I will have something to show for it and I feel that it has been a success.
I also went through some of the letters that I recieved during my mission. I feel so blessed to have so many great friends that I have throughout my life. I keep making more and more new friends, and I cherish the relationships that I have.
So, the New Year is coming fast. Last night, the question we had to answer at Ward Prayer was what our New Years Resolution was going to be. I hadn't made one at the time, but as I thought about the letters that I read, I thought it would be a good goal to write letters to my friends in Italy and to those that I don't see very often. It would probably also be a good idea to keep a journal. There are a lot of good things that I could do. So, with two more days left I'll have to finalize my resolutions and choose something that I can be sure to do.
So, what's next in my news? Christmas was great. I was able to stay in the guest room at my parents house on New Years Eve and woke up with them to open presents. Christmas is a little sad because it isn't how it used to be when I was little with all my brothers and sisters there to open presents. But, I am looking forward to making new traditions for Christmas. I have great parents that make Christmas great.
Last weekend I worked on cleaning out my room. I went through my desk and the four years worth of notes, homework assignments, and exams. It's amazing how much work there was. I know that I can't keep those things around forever, so I threw it away. I still have a bunch of text books though. Some of them I will keep and some I will get rid of. College is expensive. Tuition and books and all the extra costs add up. Maybe sometime I'll have to calculate how much my whole Undergraduate experience cost. I'm glad that I will have something to show for it and I feel that it has been a success.
I also went through some of the letters that I recieved during my mission. I feel so blessed to have so many great friends that I have throughout my life. I keep making more and more new friends, and I cherish the relationships that I have.
So, the New Year is coming fast. Last night, the question we had to answer at Ward Prayer was what our New Years Resolution was going to be. I hadn't made one at the time, but as I thought about the letters that I read, I thought it would be a good goal to write letters to my friends in Italy and to those that I don't see very often. It would probably also be a good idea to keep a journal. There are a lot of good things that I could do. So, with two more days left I'll have to finalize my resolutions and choose something that I can be sure to do.
December 10, 2008
Risks
To laugh is to risk
appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk
appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another
is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk
exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams
before a crowd
is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk
not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken,
because the greatest hazard in life
is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing,
does nothing, has nothing and is nothing,
They may avoid suffering and sorrow
but they cannot
learn, feel, change, grow, love, live,
Chained by their certitudes
they are a slave,
they have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk
appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another
is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk
exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams
before a crowd
is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk
not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken,
because the greatest hazard in life
is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing,
does nothing, has nothing and is nothing,
They may avoid suffering and sorrow
but they cannot
learn, feel, change, grow, love, live,
Chained by their certitudes
they are a slave,
they have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
December 1, 2008
December
Hey everyone,
It's December 1st and I've decided to put off my homework assignment a little while longer to write on my blog. I haven't decided what to write about yet so maybe I'll write about today. It was pretty much like a regular day.
I woke up at 6:18 (snooze went twice this morning - it goes every 9 minutes). I'm trying to get up on the first alarm because I think that would make me get more done and feel more excited for the day, but it just doesn't work that way. I shaved, showered, ate some Corn Pops, then read a chapter in the scriptures. It feels good to get a few things done in the morning before I have to go to school.
I left home at 7:15 and drove up to the University of Utah. My first class is Italian at 8:05. We read a bit about the Renaissance. It has been a pretty good class because it is good to talk in Italian and get more vocabulary. That class got out at 9:30, and usually I have institute right after that, but the class has ended for the semester. Instead, I used that time to prepare a few things for my Senior design meeting that was at 10:30.
In the Senior Design meeting we talked about what we needed to do for next semester. We have the control board pretty much done so we will just need to build some robots to be able to present how it works and then document stuff so that the other students will be able to use it. The control board that we are designing will be used by the students in the Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Class and then the Mechatronics class. It's nice to have a project that will be used to make the school better for those that come after us.
After that, I went and got lunch with one of my friends from my design team. We both have Survey of Jazz class after that at 12:55. On the way to class, our conversation turned a bit to religion. He says that he doesn't really believe in anything. He said that it was easier for him to say, "I don't know", then to oppose something or believe in something. I'll have to talk to him again another time.
My Survey of Jazz class was alright. It has been hard to focus in that class because the lectures are kind of boring. A lot of it is history stuff and trivia facts. The last test really seemed like I was playing Trivial Pursuit. I like some of the Jazz music, but it has been hard to really get into it.
My last class of the day was Robotics. It has been a fun class, but the material has gotten hard. We took a test last Monday and it was a killer. We will probably get the tests back on this Wednesday to see how we did. Most of my friends in the class said that it was hard so hopefully he curves it or is nice while grading it. I like the stuff that we are learning and I think that it will be even better after I know it better.
After that class I drove to work. On Monday and Wednesdays I usually get to work at about 3:20 and work until 5:00.
At 5, I drove home and looked at next semester's school schedule for a little while. I only have to take two more classes to be able to graduate. That would only put me at 5 credit hours though. Those classes should be really easy. They are just the other half of the senior design class and a class called Concurrent Engineering. I want to eventually get an Italian minor so I am taking another Italian class. That would only put me up to 8 credit hours though and I needed 12 to keep all of the financial aid which has been nice. So I signed up for another class on Italian literature and a Weight Lifting class. All the classes will be on Monday and Wednesday so I'll be able to work all day Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and then some of Monday and Wednesday. It should be a pretty good semester without a lot of classes and stress and homework like this semester has been. I'm excited to be done with my Bachelors. Then I'll have the summer off and start on a Masters in Mechanical Engineering next Fall.
At 7:00 we had Family Home Evening at the church. We watched a movie about Tithing and read some quotes. It was a really good lesson. We have a lot of really good people who plan activities and things for the ward. I'm always glad to go.
There was a girl named Stephanie there that I had gone on a date with last Friday. After FHE, we went and got a FH zzookie at Fire House. It is a warm cookie with vanilla ice cream over it. It was really good. We were able to talk some more. I really like her and hopefully we can start dating more. I'm excited for the semester to get over so that I can have more time during the week to do things. We're planning on going on a double date this Saturday.
After that I came home and thought about doing homework, then started this blog instead. My assignment in Robotics is due on Wednesday so I'll start on it after this then I'll have a bit of time tomorrow between classes to work on it. Things seem to be slowing down in school, at least the calm before the storm of finals and tests. Next week, I should have a couple of tests and then the week after is finals week with a bunch of tests and things due. Pretty much now, I'm just trying to get though it all so I can be done.
So, I guess the last thing to talk about is my room. I moved out of my parent's house in the first week of October. It has been good to get out on my own and start having more financial responsibility. I'm glad that I stayed at home for that time though because I was able to pay for most of my school and not get in debt. I wouldn't have been able to do as well if I had so much to worry about the last couple of years.
Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of my room. I liked the lighting in the blurry ones, but there is also a clear one that looks darker. So, you'll get the mix.
My room has a lot of closet space. There are two full size closets with shelves on the top to keep more things. Its nice to have that storage. The room also has plenty of space and its easier to keep clean.
And you can see my backpack glowing wanting to get my homework out and do it.
This is just to the right of those closets. I don't really have much more to say about this part of my room, so...
This is my new desk. I like having a lot more space to work on. It also has some drawers and shelves to keep stuff on. My room is in the basement, but it still has a full size window that you can see straight out of.
I put up my Christmas tree on Saturday. I got this little one from Mom and then upstairs we have a bigger one. We also put more lights upstairs. I got some icicle lights for outside that I'll have to figure out how to put up. It will be nice to be ready for Christmas.
Anyway, I think thats about all I have to write about today. I hope that everyone is doing well.
It's December 1st and I've decided to put off my homework assignment a little while longer to write on my blog. I haven't decided what to write about yet so maybe I'll write about today. It was pretty much like a regular day.
I woke up at 6:18 (snooze went twice this morning - it goes every 9 minutes). I'm trying to get up on the first alarm because I think that would make me get more done and feel more excited for the day, but it just doesn't work that way. I shaved, showered, ate some Corn Pops, then read a chapter in the scriptures. It feels good to get a few things done in the morning before I have to go to school.
I left home at 7:15 and drove up to the University of Utah. My first class is Italian at 8:05. We read a bit about the Renaissance. It has been a pretty good class because it is good to talk in Italian and get more vocabulary. That class got out at 9:30, and usually I have institute right after that, but the class has ended for the semester. Instead, I used that time to prepare a few things for my Senior design meeting that was at 10:30.
In the Senior Design meeting we talked about what we needed to do for next semester. We have the control board pretty much done so we will just need to build some robots to be able to present how it works and then document stuff so that the other students will be able to use it. The control board that we are designing will be used by the students in the Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Class and then the Mechatronics class. It's nice to have a project that will be used to make the school better for those that come after us.
After that, I went and got lunch with one of my friends from my design team. We both have Survey of Jazz class after that at 12:55. On the way to class, our conversation turned a bit to religion. He says that he doesn't really believe in anything. He said that it was easier for him to say, "I don't know", then to oppose something or believe in something. I'll have to talk to him again another time.
My Survey of Jazz class was alright. It has been hard to focus in that class because the lectures are kind of boring. A lot of it is history stuff and trivia facts. The last test really seemed like I was playing Trivial Pursuit. I like some of the Jazz music, but it has been hard to really get into it.
My last class of the day was Robotics. It has been a fun class, but the material has gotten hard. We took a test last Monday and it was a killer. We will probably get the tests back on this Wednesday to see how we did. Most of my friends in the class said that it was hard so hopefully he curves it or is nice while grading it. I like the stuff that we are learning and I think that it will be even better after I know it better.
After that class I drove to work. On Monday and Wednesdays I usually get to work at about 3:20 and work until 5:00.
At 5, I drove home and looked at next semester's school schedule for a little while. I only have to take two more classes to be able to graduate. That would only put me at 5 credit hours though. Those classes should be really easy. They are just the other half of the senior design class and a class called Concurrent Engineering. I want to eventually get an Italian minor so I am taking another Italian class. That would only put me up to 8 credit hours though and I needed 12 to keep all of the financial aid which has been nice. So I signed up for another class on Italian literature and a Weight Lifting class. All the classes will be on Monday and Wednesday so I'll be able to work all day Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and then some of Monday and Wednesday. It should be a pretty good semester without a lot of classes and stress and homework like this semester has been. I'm excited to be done with my Bachelors. Then I'll have the summer off and start on a Masters in Mechanical Engineering next Fall.
At 7:00 we had Family Home Evening at the church. We watched a movie about Tithing and read some quotes. It was a really good lesson. We have a lot of really good people who plan activities and things for the ward. I'm always glad to go.
There was a girl named Stephanie there that I had gone on a date with last Friday. After FHE, we went and got a FH zzookie at Fire House. It is a warm cookie with vanilla ice cream over it. It was really good. We were able to talk some more. I really like her and hopefully we can start dating more. I'm excited for the semester to get over so that I can have more time during the week to do things. We're planning on going on a double date this Saturday.
After that I came home and thought about doing homework, then started this blog instead. My assignment in Robotics is due on Wednesday so I'll start on it after this then I'll have a bit of time tomorrow between classes to work on it. Things seem to be slowing down in school, at least the calm before the storm of finals and tests. Next week, I should have a couple of tests and then the week after is finals week with a bunch of tests and things due. Pretty much now, I'm just trying to get though it all so I can be done.
So, I guess the last thing to talk about is my room. I moved out of my parent's house in the first week of October. It has been good to get out on my own and start having more financial responsibility. I'm glad that I stayed at home for that time though because I was able to pay for most of my school and not get in debt. I wouldn't have been able to do as well if I had so much to worry about the last couple of years.
Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of my room. I liked the lighting in the blurry ones, but there is also a clear one that looks darker. So, you'll get the mix.
My room has a lot of closet space. There are two full size closets with shelves on the top to keep more things. Its nice to have that storage. The room also has plenty of space and its easier to keep clean.And you can see my backpack glowing wanting to get my homework out and do it.
This is just to the right of those closets. I don't really have much more to say about this part of my room, so...
This is my new desk. I like having a lot more space to work on. It also has some drawers and shelves to keep stuff on. My room is in the basement, but it still has a full size window that you can see straight out of.
I put up my Christmas tree on Saturday. I got this little one from Mom and then upstairs we have a bigger one. We also put more lights upstairs. I got some icicle lights for outside that I'll have to figure out how to put up. It will be nice to be ready for Christmas.
Anyway, I think thats about all I have to write about today. I hope that everyone is doing well.
September 18, 2008
School Stuff
So, a few months have passed by since I last wrote. I suppose if I wait long enough, then there is plenty of news to write about. But at the same time, there is so much to write about that I probably won't even touch the surface. Anyway, here it goes.
I passed the FE Exam!!!! So, this was probably one of the biggest tests I have ever taken and I'm glad to have it out of the way. I took the test April 10. The actual test was 8 hours long. I had to wait until July to get the results. The next big test will be the PE exam (Professional Engineers exam), but that won't be for another couple of years.
Hmm, next I can talk about the summer semester of school. Wow! I don't know why I signed up for 5 classes because it turned out to be a lot more busy than I thought it would be. Most of them went just fine and I was able to keep up because there were deadlines all along the way. However, for the fifth class, the professor didn't set any deadlines so it was easier to put off so I could do the work for the other ones. It ended up that I was doing most of the course work for the class the last couple of days of the semester. The last day, I think I did 12 or so quizzes and then a couple of tests. I was about to take the final, but the clock struck midnight and the class disappeared. Horrified that I missed the final, I starred at the screen for a few minutes until I realized that it was over and I couldn't do anything about it. The final was worth 100 of the 520 total points for the class. I had done pretty well on all the quizzes and tests up to that point, but I was still a little worried that I wouldn't have been able to pass the class. A few days later, the grades were posted and I did pass. I was lucky, and now I know if I take any more online classes, I will take less and won't put any off for the last day. It is good to have all the credit for those five classes transferred back up to the U.
Right now we are about three weeks into the Fall Semester up at the University of Utah . I am seeing now that I am registered for too many classes, but I'll have to stick it out. I registered for these classes at the same time that I registered for the ones over the summer. I guess I was having a really good day and felt like I was on top of the world. Anyway, I'm getting through it, but I know there will be more stressful times ahead.
Here are my classes:
- Italian
- Institute (Book of Mormon Isaiah class)
- Senior Design
- Survey of Jazz (Counts for fine arts credit and diversity)
- Robotics
- Advanced Controls
- Electronics
One of the big things that I am doing in school this year is my Engineering Senior project. My team is designing a new control board that will be used in the robot competitions. We have to design and make the control board and then make about four robots to demonstrate its features. The project should be a lot of fun. I wish I knew everything that I needed to know before I started though. It is always difficult to learn as you are doing the project. My extra classes teach the same topics that I will need for this project and also to continue on in robotics.
Robotics is a branch of Mechanical Engineering that also includes a lot of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science stuff. From the classes that I have taken so far, this has been the field that has interested me the most. After this semester, I will have a good idea if this is what I want to do. If everything goes as planned I will be able to get my Bachelors Degree next spring. I will then go on to get a Masters with more focus on robotics. I'm excited to be in classes that are what I choose to do rather than just the basics.
So anyway, that is how school is going. It is great to be learning new things, but its difficult to manage the time it takes to get everything in there.
June 4, 2008
May?
Hey everyone,
Well, I guess I'm supposed to blog again. I guess that this can be May's news even though it is June already. Things have been going pretty well for me. I've been keeping busy with pretty much the same things that kept me busy during the Spring Semester.
A couple of months ago I was looking at what classes I needed to do to get finished with school by next Spring. I started getting excited to graduate, but I knew I had a bunch of classes to take. A lot of the classes are general classes so I thought I would take a couple during the summer. As I started signing up for them, I got the urge to sign up for a couple more. I ended up signing up for 5 classes. They are all online classes and so I can pace myself and do them when I want to. This allows me to work full time and save up some money to pay for all this school.
So far the classes have been going well. One of my professors is really wierd though and he bugs me. He teaches Humanities and it is his calling in life to make everyone doubt what they believe and open their mind to the world. He has us write journal entries on the things we are learning in the class, and when he grades them, he marks us down because we didn't put the things in that he wanted. Usually he would say he wanted something that wasn't even hinted at in the question. Oh well. I'll go for an A by getting all the work done, but if I don't get that, I will know it was the teacher's fault.
Other than school and work, life has been pretty fun. With the nice weather here I've had a chance to get outside a little bit and enjoy it. The Singles Ward has a bunch of activities to go to and the YSA is planning a few activities this summer. I go to a lot of meetings to plan for all these things. For next Wednesday we are putting on an activity for the graduating high school seniors to welcome them into the YSA. We will have a panel of young single adults to answer questions and give advice on what to do after high school. They will talk about dating, marriage, temple, mission, work, and school. It should be a fun time.
Well, I'll have to work on making more news this summer and post it here on my blog.
See you all later,
Adam
Well, I guess I'm supposed to blog again. I guess that this can be May's news even though it is June already. Things have been going pretty well for me. I've been keeping busy with pretty much the same things that kept me busy during the Spring Semester.
A couple of months ago I was looking at what classes I needed to do to get finished with school by next Spring. I started getting excited to graduate, but I knew I had a bunch of classes to take. A lot of the classes are general classes so I thought I would take a couple during the summer. As I started signing up for them, I got the urge to sign up for a couple more. I ended up signing up for 5 classes. They are all online classes and so I can pace myself and do them when I want to. This allows me to work full time and save up some money to pay for all this school.
So far the classes have been going well. One of my professors is really wierd though and he bugs me. He teaches Humanities and it is his calling in life to make everyone doubt what they believe and open their mind to the world. He has us write journal entries on the things we are learning in the class, and when he grades them, he marks us down because we didn't put the things in that he wanted. Usually he would say he wanted something that wasn't even hinted at in the question. Oh well. I'll go for an A by getting all the work done, but if I don't get that, I will know it was the teacher's fault.
Other than school and work, life has been pretty fun. With the nice weather here I've had a chance to get outside a little bit and enjoy it. The Singles Ward has a bunch of activities to go to and the YSA is planning a few activities this summer. I go to a lot of meetings to plan for all these things. For next Wednesday we are putting on an activity for the graduating high school seniors to welcome them into the YSA. We will have a panel of young single adults to answer questions and give advice on what to do after high school. They will talk about dating, marriage, temple, mission, work, and school. It should be a fun time.
Well, I'll have to work on making more news this summer and post it here on my blog.
See you all later,
Adam
April 10, 2008
April News
Hey everyone,
It's been a while since I've posted anything. School has been busy as always. The semester is almost over, so I'm excited about that, but there are still a lot of things to get done before then. This Saturday I am taking the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam. It's an 8 hour test that pretty much covers everything I have learned so far, or I guess the things that I should have learned so far. I've been kind of stressed about it, but haven't been able to study much because I've been having to do other homework and stuff for school. I'll be studying quite a bit tomorrow and then we'll see how I do. If you don't hear back from me about it in a while, don't worry about asking. :)
We've made really good progress on our robot. There are still a few small things that we need to do to make it better, but it is doing everything that it needs to do for the competition next Thursday. Since the last time I put a video of it on here, we have put the sensors in and made a code that makes the robot follow the black line. It runs pretty well. There is also something that makes it start up when they turn a light on on the track. Also, there are sensors in the front that will make it stop when something is directly in front of it. We still need to get some better traction on the feet because what we have on there loses its stickiness about five seconds into the run. Oh well. We're thinking of using either rubber erasers, or those sticky thimble things. The robot has given us lots of stress but it is good to have it working like it should.
Here are the movies:
It's been a while since I've posted anything. School has been busy as always. The semester is almost over, so I'm excited about that, but there are still a lot of things to get done before then. This Saturday I am taking the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam. It's an 8 hour test that pretty much covers everything I have learned so far, or I guess the things that I should have learned so far. I've been kind of stressed about it, but haven't been able to study much because I've been having to do other homework and stuff for school. I'll be studying quite a bit tomorrow and then we'll see how I do. If you don't hear back from me about it in a while, don't worry about asking. :)
We've made really good progress on our robot. There are still a few small things that we need to do to make it better, but it is doing everything that it needs to do for the competition next Thursday. Since the last time I put a video of it on here, we have put the sensors in and made a code that makes the robot follow the black line. It runs pretty well. There is also something that makes it start up when they turn a light on on the track. Also, there are sensors in the front that will make it stop when something is directly in front of it. We still need to get some better traction on the feet because what we have on there loses its stickiness about five seconds into the run. Oh well. We're thinking of using either rubber erasers, or those sticky thimble things. The robot has given us lots of stress but it is good to have it working like it should.
Here are the movies:
Other than school and stuff, life has been pretty good and uneventful. I can't even think about what has gone on. Hopefully this summer I'll be able to find life again and do some fun stuff.
Anyway, I'll have to write more later. I should study for the test this Saturday.
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