School's Out!!!

At long last, I've finished another semester. It's always such a relief to be finished. Finals weeks had some ups and downs but hopefully it was mostly good. Here is a quick recap:

1. Final exam in Semiconductor Physics. This was one of the two worst tests that I have ever taken. The questions all had tricks in them and each question had four or five parts to it. If you couldn't figure out the trick (in the first part of the problem of course) then you were up a creek for the rest of the problem. It was an awful exam - but everybody that I have talked to has said the same thing.

2. Final exam in Microwave Engineering. I aced this one. It was great. I'm sure I got an A in the class.

3. Presentation for Analog IC Design. This also went well. The presentation was on the EKG heart sensor chip that I designed. If you're interested, you can download my presentation here.

4. Lab report for Semiconductor Physics Lab. I won't know how this went until it gets graded. It felt pretty good... It ended up being 19 pages (with plots). You can read it here. A picture of the chip we made is shown below.


5. Testing and Design Report for Analog IC Design. This report was also for the EKG heart sensor mentioned above. It turned out to be 17 pages. You can read 15 of them here (The other 2 were full page circuit diagrams).

If you find any mistakes in the reports above, don't tell me because I don't want tp know about them!

Finals Week...

Welcome to Finals Week! I can't wait 'till its over. I have 5 things to do before I'm done though. They are:

1. Final Exam in Semiconductor Physics
2. Final Exam in Microwave Engineering
3. Presentation for Analog IC Design
4. Lab Report for Semiconductor Physics Lab (12-15 pages)
5. Testing and Design Report for Analog IC Design (10-12 pages)

It looks like there will be some long days ahead - especially considering that I have not really started anything except for some studying. Well, wish me luck!

2 finals down, 2 to go

Well, I'm halfway done. Today I had my math (Partial Differential Equations) final exam. It was about the same as my other 2 tests in that class. Long and hard but as long as the grader is as lenient as usual then I will have no problems. This may be the first math class that I have gotten an A in. That will be nice for a change. After the test I was able to sell my book back to the bookstore for $53.25. I bought it off a friend for ~$25 or so. I hope that he didn't want it back...

Yesterday I went to the dentist. I actually enjoy going to the dentist for the most part. My dental attendence has waned lately - this was the first time that I have been since Alison and I were married (29+ months ago). Good news: no cavities, bad news: I've got to get a couple of fillings replaced.

Yesterday I also went and did service for Deseret Transportation. They are the shipping arm of the church. They move all of the humanitarian products coast to coast. They are located out by the main distribution center on 17th south. I went there and washed a semi-trailor. They have a big garage that they pull the trailor into and then I used a couple of high pressure washers and brushes to scrub the whole outside of the trailor. It wasn't too bad. Our Elder's Quorum gets to do this 3 or 4 times every 3 months or so. I felt that if I was going to recruit other elders to do this each week in Elder's Quorum then I needed to know what I was talking about.

Well, everything seems to be going well around here. It's probably time for me to get back to my studying. Only 11 days until Christmas (I haven't even started my shopping yet - that comes after finals). ~ciao!

Jazz beat Pistons?!

Today I had my first Final. It was in ECE 3500 Signals and Systems. I'll be honest. It was probably the worst test that I have ever taken. I knew how to do about half of the test and the rest... well it was a dropping curveball and I only hit fastballs. I'm praying that the curve will bend in my favor, but somebody's got to be at the bottom and it may as well be me, right? Interested in this class? Check out the class website http://www.ece.utah.edu/~ee3500/.

We got a letter from Jordan today. It sounds like he is doing well. I think that I might make a blog of his mission for people to view and access. We'll see. I don't have too much time to spare so if I do, it needs to be low maintenance. I think that I can make it so that it will only need a few minutes of attention each week.

I've enjoyed learning how to create and maintain this blog. I see that there is a lot that can be done so I have a lot to learn.

Yesterday (Sunday Dec. 11) I was sustained and set apart as the new Elder's Quorum President. I have 2 wonderful counselors in Adam Jensen and Matt Chandler. I think that we will be able to get the things done that need to be gotten done and hopefully, we can keep things running as smoothly as they have been. I don't know either of the lads too well but I look forward to working more with them.

Tonite I went with Dude (Alison's brother), George (father-in-law) and Hyrum (brother-in-law) to the Jazz game. The Jazz have been horrible at home this year and we expected them to get creamed by the Detroit Pistons (15-2), 10-1 on the road. The Jazz were done by 13 at half and we expected the game to be over, but the Pistons only scored 27 points in the second half and the Jazz won by 14. It was an awesome game. Read about it http://www.nba.com/games/20051212/DETUTA/recap.html (with video highlights as well).

Looks like it's about time to feed the fish.

This is me!

Ahh. December.

Christmas is quickly approaching. This only means a few things. First off, Finals are coming quickly. For me, they actually start on Monday and run through next Friday. Today was my “reading day.” What did I do today? Hmm. Not read much unfortunately.

My first final is on Monday and will actually be the most difficult for me. It’s in ECE 3500 (Signals and Systems). I’ve actually found the class to be very interesting. It’s been tough for me to answer questions the way that they are asked by the teacher on the quizzes and exams. I’ve got to get a pretty good grade on the final if I want a decent grade in the class. On the final exam we are allowed one sheet of notes but no calculator. Now, if only I knew how to integrate….

My next final is on Wednesday. It is for my math class (PDE’s or Partial Differential Equations). This exam could very easily be the hardest one material wise but the teacher has proven to only test moderately difficult. We are allowed to use our notes, books, calculators, etc. That makes it easier to be able to take the exam when time is short. I should have an A out of the class – unless I bomb the final.

On Thursday I have a final in ECE 3110. This class is Engineer Electronics II. It has mainly focused on microelectronics and circuit design. I’ve enjoyed the class but it’s been a lot of work (they all have). Right now I have an A- in the class. If I do well on the final I should be fine, especially after the curve is put in place.

My last final is in ECE 3300 Electromagnetics and Transmission Lines. This class has probably required the most time overall. The final exam will be 4 hours (from 6-10 AM). I should be able to do quite well on it if I study hard. I will sure be glad when this test is over.

I know that what I’ve written so far today isn’t exactly the most interesting stuff, but it’s what consumes my life right now. Some days it seems that all day every day is engineering. That’s not really a bad thing because it’s what I’ll be doing for the rest of my life but, when I’ve got homework, tests or quizzes that I should be studying for or doing on the back of my mind it takes the fun out of relaxing.

Alison has been a little sick the last couple of days. A fever mainly, so not really anything too bad. Still it’s not fun for her and I hate it when she's feeling bad. It’s sure been hard to study the last two days because she has been home sick from work. It’s been tough to force myself to focus. I will sure need to tomorrow because it’s my last day to study for my Monday test (the most important one). At there won’t be any college football on TV to take me away from my studying. That’s always a struggle during the fall.

Tonite we won the 400 court door-decorating contest. I hung a couple of strands outside our apartment. I think it looks great. From what I can tell, we have more lights than anyone in the village. I’m sure when I grow up and have a real house, I’ll be one of those guys that just totally over does it with the Christmas lights. That kind of scares me. J

I’ve obviously got nothing too exciting to report. The Jazz got killed tonite, at home, by the Seattle Supersonics. They’re only 3-8 at home so far this year. Ouch. At least they’re playing a little better on the road.

Tonite we were supposed to go to Temple Square to see the lights with our ward. We didn’t go because Alison wasn’t feeling well. I hope that it was well attended. On that note, I will leave with a photo of Temple Square at Christmas time and I will go to feed my fish.

Good night.