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Well well well. Notice anything different? Yup I cut my hair. Erm, I sold out.

Yes, you heard me. I’m sellin out.

“What the hell does that mean?”, you may ask. Well in general it means I am turning to better implementations of what I want to get done in my website. I don’t need to spend all day coding a new gallery system or a new content management system when I can download a very awesome copy of moveable type and put it to work for me.

Similarly I plan on replacing my scheduler with an iCal/PhpiCal solution and possibly even move to some variant of PHPix for my gallery. “Oh God!”, you might say, “Forsaken all that tried and trusty code!”

Oh well, I learned what I wanted to learn and I put that work to use for almost a year, I think that’s really good if you ask me. RIP you old ass clogger you served me well ;) So I’m using MoveableType 2.5 now and I really like it. Its more than just a simple content management system, it also lets me generate static content like my ‘about’ page and ‘resume’ page using all the standard template modules I threw together. How l337 eh?

Plus I get all these extras. The calendar on the left, Monthly aggregation of my posts, the recently posted index over there on the left. The site search feature. And some more ;) But overall I am very pleased with the results.

Now comes the real entry ;)

This Semester So Far

Where to start? I’m doing very well this semester. I’ve finally reached that point in my university career where the technical classes outnumber the “other” ones. This makes me very happy but in some instances such as in my EET classes it poses a bit of a quandry for me.

I do very well in my EET classes. I don’t need a “crib sheet” for the tests and quizzes and I don’t need to study. I have some sort of way to remember this stuff. People find that odd. I don’t want to make it seem like I’m some sort of EET god; I just have a knack for the stuff, period. I finish tests either first (in the case of my microprocessor class), I take my time and get a good grade on the test (in the case of my AC Analysis class), or I get my lab done first (in the case of my Microprocessor lab). That last one is probably due more to the fact that programming in C (;_;) suits me as well and I get my prelab’s and even parts of the actual lab done well in advance.

Well what I’m trying to build up to here is a particular event that occured the other day. During a break in a two-part practical one of my casual acquaintences Manish mentioned to me that he had heard that I was upsetting some people in my EET 209 lab by doing so well and finishing quickly my EET 209 labs. Making them look bad? Aren’t we all supposed to be learning here? I attribute 75% of my success in that lab to preparation, but whatever. I even try to help people out in that lab who have problems.

Anyways I’ve started to notice that the more and more my knowledge of the class becomes more prominent, people’s reactions to me becomes more polarized. Either they want me to help them (which I don’t mind [in moderation ;D] I have homework too ya know!) or they get pissed at me for getting a good grade on the test or finishing my lab quickly. I really don’t understand that. I was never good in Chemistry or my English classes. I didn’t malign the people who wrote excellent essays or got a 98% on their Chemistry midterm.

Perhaps I shouldn’t say I wasn’t “good” in those classes. More like didn’t “excel” in those classes.

Oh well, I don’t dwell too much on the affairs of other people. But I do find the reaction rather…childish? The only thing I don’t look forward to is the progression of the population as the years move on. Do these people stick around, or are they slowly drawn off the bottom?

In Other News

I scheduled for classes the other day and I am going to be registered for teh fun fun fun classes next semester. Check it:

  • CPT 430: Wide Area Networking : Students design and construct router-based Wide Area Networks (WANs) capable of simultaneously transporting packet-switched and circuit-switched voice, multi-protocol data, and video. Enterprise networking and interoperability analysis, design, and management will be stressed. Organization and management of large-scale telecommunications projects are investigated. Clint says: [B+] “Not a core class, but a fun elective that can only help in the future!”
  • EET 231: Electrical Power And Controls : This course introduces magnetic materials and properties followed by analysis of transformers and power conditioning equipment, induction motors, and single-phase and three-phase power systems. Motor control devices, programmable logic controllers, PLC input and output devices, and power systems communications and monitoring are introduced. Clint says: [A+] “This smells like robots to me! :D”
  • EET 257: Power And RF Electronics : This course is a study of the application of circuit analysis techniques to amplifiers used in power and RF electronics, including bipolar junction transistors, field effect transistors, thyristors, RF amplifiers, phase lock loops, switching power supplies, and appropriate applications. Computer-aided analysis of circuits is used. Clint says: [A+] “RF Communications! Do I have to say anything else??”
  • EET 276: Electronic Troubleshooting Laboratory : An application of troubleshooting techniques and instrumentation in problems typically experienced in electronic systems. This material is presented by identifying and repairing faults in a sophisticated electronic system. Clint says: [B-] “Looks like it could interesting, and probably will give me some good skills. But I’ve heard some pretty lop-sided reviews of the class ;)”
  • EET 296: Electronic System Fabrication : This course introduces project planning and basic concepts in electronic design automation (EDA). The student develops the project from an engineering rough sketch to a finished and tested printed circuit board by utilization of EDA. New construction and testing techniques are introduced. The final product is presented in an oral and written report. The written documentation is used along with a resum in a job application simulation. Clint says: [A++] “Wow…I’ve been wanting to take this class for a while. I am pumped!”

Ok well I think thats enough for now :P Time for bed!