Random Notes

- The "one-year reflection" blog is taking a lot of time. I think I will still do it, but not as in-depth as I planned.

- Happy Birthday to Caddy

- It is too cold to be June. I remember last year even in March/April/May we would be outside all the time, either on the Quad, or playing tennis, or BBQ-ing at the lake. This year, I still haven't put away my winter coat yet.

- Nothing is more frustrating in baseball than when a manager handles his pitchers like a reject and the team pays for it. It hurts even more in the fantasy world when my team pays for it.

- Running is boring, but I think I am gonna do more of it

- I'm going to tint the windows to my car sometime soon. If anyone has done this recently, and/or has any places to recommend, let me know.

- For some reason I really like the Ashanti song they are playing on the radio. I think it's called "Rock Wit U", but anyways it's the one where she goes "oh baby" after almost every line. I have had it stuck in my head hardcore for the past couple days.

- They have been playing "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" a lot on USA lately. I thought this movie was pretty well done, maybe except for a few things. But the reason I'm writing about it is because of the theme music. I am pretty sure I have heard it from at least one other movie too, if not more. Don't know which movie it is originally from. If anyone has time to download it, listen, and see if you recognize it from any movie you know, please tell me because it has been bothering me.

- It also got me thinking about the best movie songs ever. Of course, I am not qualified to do a complete list because there are so many movies I haven't seen, but there are a few that come to mind. The Dragon theme is good, except for a part around the 3 minute mark when they add a cheesy drum beat. Definitely there would be a ton of John Williams stuff on my list, like the Original Star Wars Theme, the Imperial March from Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones, E.T., Home Alone (seriously, he did that one), Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, on and on. Also, I like "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile, which I noticed was pretty high up on VH1's list of top 100 songs in the past 25 years too. I haven't seen the Godfather movies, but even so, that song gives me chills when I hear it. And of course, who can forget the all time classic, "Part Of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. Certainly not I.

One Year

Believe it or not, as of today, I will have been writing in this blog for exactly one year. I think about everything that happened in my life during this past year, and I'm really glad I started this blog and wrote my thoughts down along the way. While I don't know if future years will be as eventful or thought provoking, I guess I'll keep writing as long as I have the urge to write. And hopefully my blog will be interesting enough for people to keep reading.

One thing I remember from the very early days of starting my blog was a friend telling me "oh yeah, you're in the 'honeymoon stage' of blogging". Basically he was saying that I was writing a lot in the beginning, but eventually I'd get sick of it and stop updating as much, or even updating at all. After all, that's what happened to him and most other people who had been blogging before me.

But my response was, I don't believe in the "honeymoon stage" theory - not for blogs, not for relationships, not for my religious beliefs, not for anything. In fact, I hate the very idea of a "honeymoon stage". My philosophy in life is, why go nuts for a short while in the beginning, and then let yourself burn out after that? If you have a great relationship, it shouldn't only be good in the first few months, it should be good throughout. If you want to be a good Christian, don't count on "revivals" and "retreats" to fire you up for a few weeks and then let your passion die after that. Same goes, albeit to a less serious extent, for blogging.

And as I write here and now, one year later, I think I can be proud to say that I avoided that honeymoon trap, at least up to this point. I'm also really happy to see that so many of my friends who have started their own pages manage to write regularly too.

Anyways, there isn't much more to this entry, other than wishing a Happy 1st Birthday to Dudo509 Blogspot. Last week, I planned to go through my archives and highlight the "noteworthy" entries of this blog, but I just haven't had the time. So hopefully if I get the chance in the next few days, I'll be able to post something like that as a "one-year reflection" in blog-world.

- A summer intern started working in our department this week and I got to meet and talk him this morning. The guy seems so young and little, even though he is probably only a couple years younger than me. Fresh-faced, full of enthusiasm, eager to learn, and a positive attitude. Compare this to the older engineers here, seasoned veterans who have seen and done it all, often cynical about the corporation, but usually happy to teach and pass on their knowledge to the next generation (me). I wonder if 2 years ago, I was like this kid intern, but now it seems like I am in a different world than him. I feel almost like the seasoned veterans.

- Went to the Cubs game yesterday. Congrats to P on snapping his losing streak and Dennis on extending his win streak of Chicago sporting events attended.

I didn't have any winning/losing streak myself, I think I'm about .500 in that area. Plus I don't consider myself a big "Cubs fan". You might even call me a "Sox fan". I definitely don't care about the Devil Gays. So mostly I was there to check out Wrigley. The place was pretty nice, more friendly than Comiskey/US Cellular for sure. Too bad it was freezing last night and now I have a headache from the wind blowing on me for 3 hours. I still want to go to a day game sometime this summer when the weather is nice.

A highlight of the night was getting to pee in the legendary troughs of the men's bathroom. Also, we were treated to yet another one of Piya's quality jokes: "What's the difference between Neil Armstrong and Michael Jackson?" The answer to come at a later time... or you could just ask one of us who was there.

Even though I don't have a win/loss streak, I am now 2 for 2 in "weird things happening" at baseball games I go to this season. The Sox game was when all the guys ran on the field and one of them tried to tackle the ump. Yesterday, it was Sammy Sosa getting busted for a corked bat. What a chump. I've always hated Sammy.

So he claims it was just his batting practice bat, but even if it was, that's still retarded that he corks his bat just to look good in BP for the fans. They took all his other bats off for inspection though, so we'll find out soon enough how big of a cheater he is (in addition to being on steroids).

- Some quality songs that I forgot about but heard again in the past few weeks:

N Sync - It's Gonna Be Me
Bone Thugs N Harmony - Mo Murda
98 Degrees - I Do (Cherish You)
Britney Spears - Sometimes
Radiohead - Paranoid Android
DJ Encore - I See Right Through To You
Jars of Clay - Love Song For A Savior
Dave Matthews Band - Dancing Nancies
Nas - The Message
Smashing Pumpkins - Rocket
Eels - Novacaine For The Soul

*****

Could I have been... a parking lot attendant?
Could I have been... a millionaire in Bel Air?
Could I have been... lost somewhere in Paris?
Could I have been... your little brother?
Could I have been... anyone other than me?

He stands touch his hair shoes untied tongue gaping stare
Could I have been a magnet for money?
Could I have been anyone other than me?

Twenty-three and so tired of life
such a shame to throw it all away
the images grow darker still
Could I have been anyone other than me?

Then I look up in the sky
my mouth is open wide
lick and taste
what's the use in worrying
what's the use in hurrying
turn turn we almost become dizzy

I am who I am
who I am
well who am I?
Requesting some enlightenment
Could I have been anyone other than me?

And then I'll sing and dance
I'll play for you tonight
the thrill of it all
dark clouds may hang on me sometimes
but I'll work it out

And then I'll look up in the sky
my mouth is open wide
lick and taste
what's the use in worrying
what's the use in hurrying
turn turn we almost become dizzy

Falling out of a world of lies
Could I have been a dancing nancy
a dancing nancy
Could I have been anyone other than me?

- This morning I woke up with the feeling that this week was gonna suck. We'll have to see what happens.

- Saturday was "Car Day" held by some people at my church. Basically everyone just brought their cars and did car stuff. "Car stuff" ranging from changing light bulbs in the sidemarkers, to putting in a cold-air intake, and changing out headers. As for me, I just changed my oil and rotated my tires. Man, it's such a pain to rotate tires, even with my hydraulic jack and stands. My hands still hurt from trying to loosen all those lugs with the iron.

But just watching and helping people work on their cars for a day managed to awaken the part of me that has been sleeping for the past couple years. Maybe it was because I was too busy with school, job interviews, girlfriend, etc. Maybe it was because I didn't have as much money to spend. Or maybe it was the last of 3 speeding tickets (39 in a 30 zone on Green St. in Champaign yes I'm bitter) that put my car enthusiasm to rest. But that part of me never died, that's for sure.

You know the stereotype of all guys loving cars? Well, it's true. No point in denying it. Don't matter if you're white, black, or yellow. Find me a white guy who doesn't like a Mustang Cobra, a black guy who doesn't like a Cadillac Escalade, or an Asian guy who doesn't like the Nissan Skyline GT-R. I challenge you. Okay, they have to be straight too. Now I'm not saying girls can't like cars too, cause I know plenty who do. But not every girl appreciates them like every guy does.

So anyways, the wheels are turning quickly in my head about what to do with my baby. I think the first things will be cosmetic, including tint and clear corners. Yes, this goes against my typical philosophy of "brawn before beauty", but I don't think I want to mess with performance upgrades this early in the warranty period.

Eventually, the performance stuff will have to follow. I know the only main difference between the 280 hp coupe and my 260 hp sedan is the exhaust system, so I'll have to see about changing that out. But the big bopper I'm eyeing is the twin-turbo system that's coming out for the 350Z. I think I'll have to set aside a couple bucks out of each paycheck and save for a year or two to get that one. And if I actually get the turbo, that opens up a whole new world of mods. I'm gonna stop writing about this for now because I'm drooling on my desk.

Then again, maybe I should give it a rest. The last thing I want is more speeding tickets. And I'm getting old too... I'm probably better off just letting those rich suburban high school kids pass me on the highway in their M3 convertibles.

- The "M" key of my keyboard at home is sticky. I think it's from spilling a couple drops of Sprite in there. If anyone knows how to clean the inside of a keyboard, please share your wisdom. Also, if you talk to me on IM or get a email from me with many typos involving words with the letter "m" in it, you know why.

- Don't know why I remember this story now, but I thought it would be worth writing about. A few weeks ago before going to Champaign, I was stopped at a light and there were these girls holding a sign for "Car Wash - Glenbrook North Softball" or something. As they looked my way, I almost crapped my pants. Fortunately, the light turned green and I peeled out. In my best Chris Rock voice, I was like, "ya'll ain't gettin me!". I can't imagine too many people stopped that day to get their car washed by those psychos. Maybe if they threw in a free offer like "We'll wash your car, wax it, AND rub animal feces in your face", then it would be more attractive. But I dunno.

Surface Mount

Today I had to attend this 2 hour training seminar on "Surface Mount Testability Guidelines". Reminded me a lot of the times spent on ECE Senior Design, when we were trying to work with those tiny chips with a huge soldering iron ("huge" in relative terms). It was an eye-opening experience to see that in the rich corporate world, there are actually nice tools available to make surface mount soldering easy ("easy" in relative terms). Meanwhile, the U of I ECE department skimped on supplying us lowly undergrads with quality equipment. Now I'm a little bitter, thinking about all those chips we burned and the time we wasted because of that.

Another thought I was pondering is, how does my 4 years of taking ECE courses apply to the larger picture of the "real world". Besides what I do at my job, it doesn't seem like my knowledge or understanding of the Electrical Engineering curriculum really helps out much in the broader sense.

I mean, if you spent 4 years learning about plumbing, that at least gives you one big practical skill under your belt. Not only is it your job, but your expertise in plumbing is gonna help you out a lot when your own toilet clogs. Plus you got the tools and everything already there at your disposal.

Same could be said for almost any profession. If you were a mechanic, you never have to worry about where to take your car when it breaks down. If you were a doctor, you could diagnose your own ailments and write your own prescriptions. If you were a personal trainer, you can bet on having a healthy and good looking body for yourself. If you were an interior decorator, you'd never have to pay someone else to make your house look nice. If you were a stripper, you'd save lots of money because you wouldn't have to buy as many clothes. If you were an accountant, you should have no problem filing your own taxes and handling your finances. For some professions, your skill/job is more useful than for others, but you get the point.

What side benefit do I gain from my knowledge of Electrical Engineering? Hmmm, I can explain why my cell phone makes noise come out of my computer speakers (maybe). I can tell you the significance of the third plug for electrical sockets. Not very useful at all. When am I ever gonna use a Fast Fourier Transform? And is my proficiency in using Digital Oscilloscopes really gonna come in handy one of these days?

The field of EE is so specialized that outside of a desk or lab environment, your knowledge is effectively meaningless. I think I wrote about this before, but a lot of people mistakenly think that Electrical Engineers should all know how to fix TVs and that kind of stuff. To some extent, maybe we know a little more than the average person, but you're better off with an electrician graduating from DeVry. Other people think an EE degree automatically makes you an expert computer programmer or web designer. Wrong again, you're thinking CS.

But the interesting thing is, I also know a lot of EE graduates in society go on to become some of the world's most influential, respected, well-rounded people, and many of them accomplish great things, that are often times well beyond the world of electrical engineering. How is this possible, and why does this happen, when the field of expertise we're talking about is so abstract and distant from the practical world?

The only theory I have is that to graduate from EE, you probably have to be one of the best and brightest people to begin with. There are a few exceptions, but, at the risk of sounding elitist, nobody who is stupid ever becomes an Electrical Engineer. So you end up with this pool of the "best and the brightest", and from this pool, a lot are bound to stand out and lead exceptional lives.

Of course, it's just a theory, and even if there was actually truth to it, it doesn't mean that all EE graduates will become hugely successful. The fact is, they don't. At most, it says that achieving the degree shows you can hang with the upper percentile ranks of the population, and only up to that given point in life. You might be "statistically" more likely to prosper, but that's hardly a guarantee.

I would compare it to college vs. professional sports. You could be dominating in college basketball or football, be named to All-American teams or win the Heisman Trophy, but easily end up as a huge flop in the NBA or NFL. But still, the likelihood of a college star being good in the pros is much higher than that of a random schmoe off the street.

I went off on a huge tangent from what I was originally writing about, but I guess here is my patchwork conclusion about the subject. The important things have little to do with what school you went to, what you studied, and what your GPA was. You could be valedictorian in high school, but if you slack off in college, you will fail. You could get a Ph.D from Harvard, but if you stop learning and improving yourself after graduating, it will largely be a waste in the end. The most important thing is to have a driving force inside you, to constantly strive for the best, for perfection in whatever you do, for making the most of what you have. I think if you have that drive, no matter where you are in life, it would be hard for you not to succeed.