The grades are in . . .

. . . and somehow, I eked out a 4.0 for the fall semester! I've updated my résumé accordingly, and I also changed "NERC Certified System Operator" to "Former NERC Certificed System Operator." I'm not sure if my certification is still valid or not, so I'm playing it safe.

The state of Texas has their PE exam scores in, and if you're trying to get licensed there, you can check your score. Louisiana is not so technologically advanced, so I have to wait for the board to snail mail my score to me, but maybe it won't be long.

Another funny sign

There's a gas station in Winnsboro that put the decimal point in the wrong spot on their gas price sign. They are now selling regular unleaded for $21.60 per gallon.


I really wish I had gotton a picture of these two signs.

Funny sign

Seen on a gas station's marquee in Bastrop:

Blue Bell
Diesel

I did't know that Blue Bell was getting into the petrochemical business.

Blogger's Word Verification

I was making a comment to Clint's blog, and this is what I have to type in. Is it "WV" or "VW"?


I don't remember what I guessed, but I guessed wrong.

A pet peeve

One thing that really bugs me is parking lots. There's a Wal-Mart not too far from where we live, and of course, it has a huge parking lot. People will often drive through every lane that is remotely close to the main entrance, just to find The Closest Spot. Sometimes, they'll wait in the middle of a lane (holding up traffic behind them) for several minutes so they can get the spot that Joe over there is going to make available once he get's his paper towels and ground beef loaded into his pickup truck. In the meantime, I've parked in a spot very far away, and gotton a tiny bit of much needed excercise by walking up to the door. This is on those rare occasions that I decide to go to Wal-Mart. I much prefer to go to smaller grocery stores, or to Target or something like Office Depot. Those kinds of stores provide for a much more enjoyable shopping experience, and I'm willing to pay the extra money for it.

So anyway, my point is that there are usually plenty of spots available, if you're just willing to walk an extra hundred yards, which you probably ought to do anyway.


I remember something Don Yates said in my assembly language class at Tech: "Everybody says we have a parking problem here at Tech. We don't have a parking problem; we have an attitude problem."

Lily is the Cutest Puppy Ever

Today, I got a video (12 MB file if you're interested in downloading) of Daisy chasing Lily around the island in our kitchen. Right now, Lily is curled up under the desk, where she loves to nap while I study or blog (I took this picture just now).

It has been repeatedly said that Lily is the cutest puppy ever. Since I am an engineer, it is my job to be scientific, accurate, and objective, and I can say with the upmost objectivity that Lily is indeed the cutest puppy ever.


Other people may think that they have a cuter puppy, but they are wrong.

Done for the Fall Semester

I've completely finished with all my classes for the fall.

I know I made an A in Digital Communications. That's the class where I made a 35 on my first test.

In the DSP class, I'm 99.9% sure I made an A.

In Random Processes I, I'm not sure. I wouldn't be surprised with an A or with a B. I did make above average on the first two tests, but the final that I just took was really tough. I don't think I made less than a B though.

So, the probability that I've got either a 4.0 or a 3.67 is close to 1. Therefore, my GPA is a discrete random variable. Pr(GPA=4.0)=p, Pr(GPA=3.67)=a-p, where a is close to 1. It is not actually 1 because it's theoretically possible that I made less than an A in DSP and/or less than a B in Random Processes I. This is a difficult problem to accurately model, because the probability values are just coming from how I "feel". I could say that I feel like I made an A with probabiltiy 1/2. That's all well and good, but I must then say that the probabilities of all the other grades (B,C,D,F) all must add up to 1/2. Of course, I could say that the probability of a B is also 1/2, but it's still theoretically possible that I made less, so I won't say that.


I'll never think about probability the same way again.

Sometimes things get muddled

I took something to the dry cleaners today, and I saw a sign on the window that said:

"We cannot except credit cards at this time. Sorry for the inconvinence."

I think it's funny when things actually say the opposite of what they are intended to say. Of course, everybody who reads the sign knows that the credit card machine is broken, or something like that, and they can't take credit card payments. But, since the word "except" can be a verb meaning "to exclude," what they actually are saying is "We cannot refuse to take credit card payments at this time."

A similar thing occured back in Little Rock at the Phillips 66 on Cantrell and Pleasant Ridge (which also happened to be next to a dry cleaners). The gas pumps had a sign promoting a 0.3 cent per gallon discount in gas if you used a Phillips 66 credit card.


Three tenths of a cent.

Congratulations to Bastrop High School - Class 4A Louisiana Football Champs!

It's their first state championship since 1927!

Chatting with Dell

This is a copy of what I chatted with a Dell customer service person about. Representative's name was changed to "DELL"


10:51:11 AM System: Welcome jigawatt ...
10:51:11 AM System: Connecting to server. Please wait...
10:51:11 AM System: Thank you for using Dell Chat, a representative will be with you soon.

10:51:11 AM System: Initial Question/Comment: Will opening up the case void the warranty?

11:03:16 AM System: jigawatt are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat

11:03:16 AM System: Connected with DELL
11:03:33 AM DELL: Welcome to Dell Sales Chat. My name is DELL. I'll be your sales agent today. Give me a moment to review your concern. Please don't go away.

11:03:35 AM DELL: no
11:03:52 AM jigawatt: it doesn't?
11:04:18 AM DELL: it does not as long as you do not put non dell products internally

11:04:30 AM jigawatt: how do I upgrade the OS to xp pro?
11:04:47 AM jigawatt: it's not an option on the upgrade screen
11:06:13 AM DELL: what computer model are you looking at?
11:06:54 AM jigawatt: dimension B110
11:09:57 AM DELL: that is not provided in the options but you can get a cd for that and load it in the computer

11:11:08 AM jigawatt: you mean, buy it myself?
11:12:02 AM DELL: you may it separately and i can send you the configuration of the xp professional in your email.

11:14:13 AM jigawatt: I know how to install an OS. The problem is, I would be paying for Windows XP Home, supplied by Dell, which I would not use, then I would have to pay about $250 for XP pro. Could I get the computer without any OS on it, and have Dell decrease the price by $250?

11:15:04 AM jigawatt: There is no option on the OS on the B110 at all. Not for an upgrade, nor for getting the computer without any OS.

11:16:04 AM jigawatt: Also, why does Dell say "Dell recommends Windows® XP Professional" at the top of the screen when they won't give it to me as an option?

11:17:03 AM DELL: just one moment
11:17:22 AM jigawatt: take your time
11:19:10 AM DELL: we have open source packages wherein the os is not included

11:19:47 AM jigawatt: will the price be decreased by $250?
11:21:43 AM DELL: we only have the e510 computer which does not have the os and starts at $789

11:22:42 AM jigawatt: Ok, on to the other question, why does Dell say "Dell recommends Windows® XP Professional" at the top of the screen (for the B110) when they won't give it to me as an option?

11:25:39 AM DELL: that is actually recommended across all computer packages we sell jigawatt

11:26:49 AM DELL: are you still there?
11:27:00 AM jigawatt: Only I have to pay for 2 OS's. Pay for XP home with the computer, then pay some somebody else at least $250 for XP pro, and I can't get a refund for XP home, I assume?

11:27:28 AM jigawatt: Sounds kinda like a scam to me
11:28:13 AM DELL: please understand that the packages we offer are pre configured

11:28:20 AM jigawatt: are you still there?
11:28:33 AM jigawatt: alright
11:28:38 AM jigawatt: thanks for your time
11:28:54 AM DELL: yes i am\
11:28:59 AM DELL: you are welcome
11:29:18 AM jigawatt: I had typed that before I received your 11:28:13 message

11:29:28 AM jigawatt: good bye
11:30:21 AM DELL: are you still there?
11:30:57 AM jigawatt: yes
11:31:20 AM jigawatt: I'll exit forthwith.
11:31:25 AM System: The session has ended!

Finals

Three classes; three finals.

Digital Signal Processing - Today (12/6/2005)

Digital Communications - Tomorrow (12/7/2005) (hope I make better than a 35)

Random Processes - Wednesday after next (12/14/2005)


Probably no blog posts for a few days.

Communications

I'm in grad school in electrical engineering. My field of interest within EE is communications (that's communications technology, not like speech class). In my communications classes, we define, describe, analyze and discuss different components of communications systems. One thing that is always an assumption is that there exists a signal called m(t). This is the message signal. It means that someone is trying to communicate something. Sometimes, this will be just raw data like readings from a thermometer somewhere. But, often, the message signal will be an actual message that someone is trying to communicate to someone else. They might have written something, or they might be saying something. It is the duty of the communications engineer to allow their message to get transmitted to their intended receipiant without error. In the past 50 years, communications systems have grown enormously. You're reading an example of it right now.

One thing that troubles me, though, is that more often than not, we don't have anything meaningful to communicate. We assume that someone out there somewhere has a m(t) that they want to tell somebody, but it seems that our m(t)'s are nothing worth telling. Phil Vischer of Big Idea once said this:

For all the promise of new communication technologies, we invaribly end up using them to transmit our depravity louder and farther than our virtue.

Phil makes a good point, but I think that by using the collective "we," he is referring to believers and non-believers alike as those who use communications technologies. The problem is that non-believers have no virtue to transmit.

A good blog entry about things such as this is by Keith Plummer, called IM One Another

I feel a little guilty because I used to IM my roommates too. But, it was more in jest, and we always laughed about it. On the other hand, I knew people who were so obsessed with these role-playing video games that they literaly ran to the bathroom and ran back so they would miss as little of the game as possible.


Perhaps one good thing is that all this great communication techology is that it is helping our depravity to surface, for all to see.

Caution

Saw this outside the Center for Engineering and Business Administration at LSU a few weeks ago. Figured, "Some guys are working on some wiring and they had to leave this work unfinished for a few minutes. It'll certainly be done by the end of the day." Now, no fewer than 15 days later, it is still here.