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Battlesimpsons Galactica
About to go running with Mike again and checking up on lj - a few "Random LJ" clicks turned up this bit o' fun.
If you haven't watched the new series, it won't mean anything to you, but it's pretty funny if you have. -
Engine Camp
Ran into Jim Weber on the way into work this morning. Jim, like myself, is a UIUC TAM grad, and one of the two principal inventors of Cat's ACERT engine technology (by which we made EPA 2004 emissions regulations, and maintained our position as the market-leading heavy-duty engine manufacturer) - basically, Caterpillar's resident engine deity, ( Read more... ) -
Digital SLR
I bought my first SLR in 1993 in Irvine, a Minolta X370, used from a guy in his sixties whose hands shook too much anymore for a manual focus camera. Was amazed with how much better photos I could get than with a point-and-shoot. Eventually moved to a Nikon N60, a couple of Canon EOS Rebels, but somewhere along the line I gave those away; I think ( Read more... ) -
Read any good books lately?
This afternoon I got to help Brett with his master's thesis - he's trying to identify a noise-optimal refrigerant valve design, based on experiments he's done using air and water, and had fluid mechanical questions re: how to use his air and water data to predict acoustic performance with R134. The answers involve dimensional analysis, and ( Read more... ) -
Lazy and lonely
My friend Mike talked me into running in the Steamboat Classic next month. There's a 4mi and a 15k, and I'm just gonna do the 4mi, since I don't think I've even run that much ever. Mike used to run a lot, back in his glory days before having kids, when he was a manager at Krogers and had hair. I have never run much, although I was in excellent ( Read more... ) -
Traffic court and serendipitous encounters
One day back in April, I was rushing to meet up with M and the boys at Detweiler Park after a long day at work. What better recipe for de-stressing than a spring evening walk with my lovely family, the falling sunlight filtering through the young green of newly opened leaf buds? In my haste, however, I was stopped for speeding by a crusty old ( Read more... ) -
Work work work
I suck less than I did last week. Specifically, I'm starting to get the hang of controller tuning. PIDs are pretty simple when you meet them in a classroom, but real-world PID tuning of 3D gain maps for a $500k twin-turbocharged loadsharing gas genset application is another matter ( Read more... ) -
Fun with toddlers
Sammy and I have found a new fun thing to do. Many of you know how much he enjoys jumping and singing silly songs with me, but we've now found that the perfect coda to one of these sessions is for me to body slam him on the bed over and over, yelling "Smash!" each time. He laughs hysterically, just loving it. -
Catching up
Bleah. Tired. Long hours in a test cell, going rounds with a 16-cylinder gas genset. I'm pretty sure I'm winning now, but the emissions calibration was a pain in the dorsal orifice ( Read more... ) -
Particularity
No little words can hold a candle
To the splendor of the sun
That can explain this world of wonder
And shine the same on everyone
But little words can hold a candle
All your own, when darkness comes
They're just the size for us to handle
God knows your native tongue
- David Wilcox