i tried to ford the river, but my oxen died

Once again I am guilty of not having posted more frequently. The last time I wrote it was for the start of the term. Maybe it’s fitting that I not write again until the end of the term? At any rate, this term is basically over for me. We presented our final project on Wednesday, and all I really have to do is show up and watch the rest of the presentations. So by this Wednesday I will be officially done. Yeah!

For my ECE 101 class, half of our grade was to make a Rube Goldberg machine (think Mousetrap the game), but we had to use at least three electrical components. Sadly, my group was a waste, and I ended up doing most of the work. At any rate, the gist of it is as follows: There is an electromagnet holding up a ball bearing at the top of the ramp. When the door opens, the circuit is broken and the electromagnet fails releasing the ball bearing. The ball rolls down the ramp and at the bottom completes the circuit to a DC motor. The motor lowers a cup on to a photoresistor on the ground. When the photoresistor is covered, it turns on the LED on the table. Voila! Door opens, light goes on.

Ours may not have been as flashy as some of the other groups, but it had more electrical know-how than what was taught in class. Plus if my group had actually contributed any ideas who knows what we could have done. As it stands, I’m pretty happy with the end result.

I’ve uploaded the video to YouTube, so it should be viewable below.

Posted in education, ee, geek, jPhone, video, youtube | 3 Comments »

Well after much ado, I’ve finally become a college student. Again.

First off, how did we graduate five (plus or minus depending on who you are) years ago? When did that happen? And it’s probably going to take me another four to five years to get this degree, despite being a post bac and going full time. Well, starting next term.

Seeing how my illustrious institution did not accept me until a few weeks ago, very few classes were still actually open. The math classes I had planned on taking were full, so in the effort to have something to show for myself I signed up for ECE 101: Intro to Electrical Engineering. It wasn’t on the list of required classes, coupled with being a first year class, I was scared. Scared it would be horrifically boring.

“These are wire cutters. They cut wires!”

But it turns out this is a brand new, never before offered class and the required course list I was looking at was, in fact, outdated. I <b>do</b> need to take this class and it’s not nearly as simple as I had feared. There are no tests (yea!) but a number of projects and presentations. Our term project is to design and construct a Rube Goldberg machine, but with the use of electrical devices. That, I think, will be fun. Except that it’s a group project. And who wants to play nicely with others.

This is the only class I could find worth taking this term that was still open, so I’m really only busy on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:00 – 1:30. Not exactly a strenuous schedule. Though they do suggest taking only one course when starting school after a long absence. You know, to get back into the swing of things. I’ll just have to figure out what to do with the rest of my time. Probably re-remember my high school math.

In other news, I’ve moved. I think many of you knew that. I’m still in Portland, but I’ve moved from close-in Southest, down to Sellwood. Which is also in the Southeast quadrant, but not really close-in. Especially not by bike. I think it’s about five miles from my apartment to school. So nothing hard to do, but nothing to laugh at either since I commute by bike.

If you want my addy and/or any other info, it’s on my Google profile. You’ll have to be logged into Google to see the good stuff. At least I’m pretty sure that’s how it works.

Oh, photos! So my friend Keith and I frequently go on hill walks throughout Portland. We try to go every weekend, but that doesn’t usually work out. It started because neither of us wanted to be as lazy as we were, plus I knew there were a lot of places in my own city that I just haven’t seen yet. So Portland Hill Walks it was. It’s a great book with some very excellent hikes. And some hikes we will never speak of again…. HILLSDALE!! *shakes fist violently* But all in all, a good time.

The last walk we went on was nice, but not that photographically inspiring. The one before that was from Willamette Park to Terwilliger Loop…. which means nothing to 99.9% of the people reading this. Go with it. It was a nice walk. And I’ve linked the photos below.  Nothing spectacular, mind, just a large number of photos of the river.

Enjoy, and don’t forget to tip your server:

Hill Walk

Posted in bridges, education, geek, hiking, moving, photos, walking | 2 Comments »

So I finally got my college acceptance letter in the mail. So now I have 17 days before classes start to get everything in order and register for classes. Assuming I can afford them.

I’m currently without Internet at my new place. We actually have to wait for comcast to show up an install it for us (assinine), and that happens next Thursday. Maybe by then I’ll have some photos of the new place to show you.

Cheers!

Posted in education, moving, unemployed | 3 Comments »

I realise I’ve been neglecting to post because I’ve been waiting for something to happen. Namely, I’ve been waiting until I get accepted to PSU (Portland State) and can officially say I’m going back this fall.  It hasn’t happened yet, though I am still within their parameters for a response.  Because I’m going for a post-bac degree, my application was literally just my contact information and what course I was interested in. So it’s not like they can reject me on merit.

Regardless, I’m waiting. Waiting to get accepted, waiting to find a roommate, waiting to move, waiting until my temp job ends (finally!).  I am excited to start studying again, and I’m excited to see what a degree in engineering will bring. Still scared of the calculus and the physics, but we’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.

Posted in education, lame excuses, work | Comments Off

After being laid off, I have been going back and forth trying to decide what to do with my life. I knew I didn’t just want to go back to what I was doing as it wasn’t challenging, nor interesting. And at the same time, I didn’t have any qualifications for what did interest me.

So last weekend I finally decided that I am going back to school, this time for my degree in Computer Science. My plan is to get a Masters, though unfortunately I don’t have enough background for that. This leaves me with two options. I can either teach myself everything I missed and then prove to them that I know what I’m talking about, or I have to go for a post-bac degree. I’ve chosen the latter.

This of course means another couple of years getting a second bachelor’s before I can go on to my Master’s. This also means a lot more debt. Because of this, and because I’m going to need to pay rent and tuition, I can’t afford to live in my nice one-bedroom by the park. So I am planning on moving yet again and getting a roommate as well.

I’m actually on my way to meet a potential right now, and I’ve already started filling out forms for school. Now I just need a job and a place fairly cheap to live. Well, cheap and not scary.

Posted in education, jPhone, moving, work | Comments Off

Yesterday I received my official “displacement” notice.  I also figured out who stole my job.  My poor bosses… this person really can’t do the job, nor will she do it well.  Which is why I thought it humorous that HR tried to convince me that I was being displaced by a “more senior, more qualified” person.  Just because because she’s older than dirt doesn’t mean she’s more qualified.  I bit my tongue.

I have seven days from yesterday (19/02) to decide which layoff option I’m going to take, and then an additional eight days beyond that (27/02) will be my last day in my current role of “That Guy”.  I technically have six choices.  Eliminating the ones that are not relevant or bad choices, I’m down to two: take the severance and run or try to steal someone else’s job.

If I decide to take the severance I would get 4 weeks pay plus accumulated vacation and one month of COBRA.
Pro: I get money… money is good
Con: I have no job.

If I decide to try and steal someone’s job, it would be a lower position and a pay cut.  Plus there’s no guarantee there is a position.  Additionally, there’s no guarantee I wouldn’t get “displaced” again.
Pro: I would potentially still be employed.
Cons: If I do steal someone’s job, my new co-workers will hate me, just as I’ve made sure my current co-workers hate the Usurper.  Pay cut. If they can’t find a job for me, I get no severance.  They basically wash their hands of me.  I could be displaced again.

I’m leaning toward taking the money and running at the moment.  I really don’t like the idea of stealing someone else’s job and making them unemployed.  And the jobs I would be taking aren’t exactly difficult to fill, which means everyone would be vying for them.  Plus, being easy to fill means I fear for future displacing.  There are a lot of people who have been here a lot longer than I.

Now granted, four weeks of severance is nothing, but I do have a hope.  My current boss and a co-worker and I have been scheming.  My co-worker used to work as a web administrator in DCH (children’s hospital on the hill).  He said it was an awesome job and the person he trained to replace him a year and a half ago, just left.  The position hasn’t been filled yet.  It’s also paid for by a private fund, not OHSU money.  He also has an in with the manager who would most likely hire me on his recommendation.

The only obstacle… THE UNION! (bastards)

But, the minimum requirements aren’t something that just anyone can fill.  They require HTML knowledge, programming, that kind of stuff.  So it narrows the field.  Plus it’s in the HemOnc ward, so we’re trying to angle it as someone needing to be okay around really sick children (heart of stone for the win!).  And if we make the position .5 or .7 FTE instead of full time, I think less people would be interested in it.

The reason I’d be okay with the fact that it’s not full time is that being displaced has helped me get motivated to go back to school.  It’s too late to matriculate, so I’d be taking classes on the side. And if I work at OHSU at least .5 FTE, I still get tuition discounts at any school in the Oregon University System.  It’ll still be expensive, but it’ll be $450 a class cheaper at least.  I’ll just have to see how I can survive on that salary.

So, I need to make a choice.  Any thoughts?  Oh, and happy long weekend if you get one.

Posted in The Great Recession, The Union (bastards), education, holiday, ineptitude, photos, work | Comments Off

So like hipsters, I was previously ambivalent toward unions. Sure, I’m part of a union, but it’s not like I have any choice. My alternative is to leave the union and still pay the dues. Fat lot of good that would do. And unions did bring us 40-hour work weeks and paid holidays and weekends, so they’re not all bad.

But then, like hipsters, someone ruined it for everyone. The former was my neighbour. The latter was their recent decision.

I mentioned in my last post that I had survived the layoffs. I thought I was in the clear because I was loved by my current and former bosses. But then the union struck. Apparently, if you’re inept and get laid off, you can bump someone else out of the way if you’ve been here longer. That someone else is me.

Yes, I am apparently about to be laid off. [EDIT: I was in fact laid off. I still have to decide if I want to steal someone else's job or not just as mine was stolen from me.] Not because my job is unnecessary. Not because I cannot perform my job. But because someone else couldn’t maintain their job. Meanwhile, I am surrounded by any number of inept people who have no risk of losing their jobs because they’ve managed to hide their ineptitude long enough to be virtually untouchable.

A brilliant business move. Maintain the incompetent at the cost of losing the abled. Both my current and former boss, who share me, are trying to think of ways to finagle the system. But the union is a behemoth who can’t be touched. And as a result there’s little recourse.

If I do find I get laid off for the simple reason of being the one with the least seniority in my position, I too have the option of bumping someone else lower than me. Menial work and a pay cut for the win! Huzzah.

What motivation does this provide anyone? “Oh, well I’m not the one with least seniority, so I can’t be touched no matter how bad I mess up.” What a dumb-assed plan.

I can safely say that this is what caused me to become anti-union. If there could be some middle ground between an unchecked plutocracy and the unindustrious union, I might give it another chance. But until then, I’m thumbing my nose at the whole thing.

I’m now more than ever entertaining the idea of going back to school. My problem lies in the fact I don’t know what I want to study or how I could apply that to a job. I don’t want to have a doctorate and be homeless. Sigh… I need direction.

I find out if my job still exists in the next day or so. I’m sure I’ll be back to let you know.

Cheers.

Posted in The Great Recession, The Union (bastards), education, ineptitude, work | 5 Comments »