10/4/16: Daily Post

Yesterday was a busy day.  I started out the day by tutoring in Magdalena for several hours.
After tutoring, I returned to NMT to set up a demonstration using LabVIEW and a submersible pump.  This demo varied pump voltage, which varied the flow rate through the pump.  The freshman class is using this data to learn about importing files into Excel and throwing out invalid data points.  I think the lab went successfully.

In the afternoon, I taught my instrumentation lab.  In spite of some facilities issues, I think it went alright.   This lab covered a few computer programming concepts.  The students quickly finished the classwork and really dove into their projects.

In the evening, I worked with a group on their chemical engineering car project.  We are still brainstorming safe combustion reactions.

Thank you for reading my post.

9/27/16: Daily Post

Yesterday was a busy and productive day.  I tutored at Magdalena in the morning, after having slept in a little bit.  I’m not sure what the sleeping in is about, but it needs to go away, as I don’t have time for that nonsense.

After tutoring, I returned to NMT and worked on my lesson for today’s class.  I was able to get their lesson updated, homework and classwork posted, as well as a second project and their grades posted as well.  I also built the electronic kits they’ll need for the next project.

I then taught my class.  I think it went well, and I think these folks now know how to program a Stamp II board.

After class, I attended the Society for Women Engineers meeting.  I don’t think I’ll be going to Philadelphia with them in October, but the meeting went well anyhow.

In the evening, I rebuilt a pumping lab experiment for the freshman class.  I thought it would take longer, but everything was in working order, thankfully.  I also watered my outdoor plants (in buckets outside of one of my labs) and cleaned up some of the lab space.

I had dinner and a movie (Tremors 4) with my brother and his family, ending the night on another deliciously awful movie.

Thank you for reading my post.

3/13/14: Daily Post

I’ve done a lot of work today, and yet, I don’t feel like I got anything accomplished.

I did some minor troubleshooting on my radio equipment, but my suspicions were incorrect. I really had hoped that I mixed up two cables, and that was the source of my problems, but that ended up not being the case.

I turned in a list of accomplishments for 2013, and a list of goals for 2014 for my annual review. I always hate writing those, because I hate feeling like I have to attend certain events just so they’ll be a line item on a document later. I’ve been doing a better job of documenting things this year too, as it is hard to remember everything I did throughout the last year. It’s all a blur.

After that, I did some more LabVIEW updates and installation. I found out that there was a new drivers update produced in February, so I (slowly) downloaded that and am installing it on a pilot computer first. I also had issues checking on port status using telnet to see why we can’t get certain computers licensed.

I ran a few errands at lunch. I’ve been trying to get my business off the ground, and I am at a dead end right now, not really sure where to proceed next. I have not a single customer thus far, so I’m a little discouraged.

After that, I did a few minor repairs on the department truck- new air filter, spray-cleaned the carburetor, and added some fuel additive. However, I noticed that the water pump is leaking coolant and that will have to be dealt with by Motor Pool.

I came back and continued my regiment of computer upgrades and installations, all the while checking InstaEDU hoping for some tutoring opportunities. There were maybe six all day, and I was too slow on the draw for all of them. I guess it’s spring break at a lot of schools, and next week is spring break at the rest of them, so these weeks will be slow. Hopefully, it will pick up around exam time.

I got a 100% on my satellite and radar meteorology midterm, so I was excited about that. I thought I did well, and there was only a question that I was not sure about, so hopefully, I can keep up this trend. I will have to figure out what to do for school next year- I really like the meteorology classes, but they are twice as expensive as taking classes here, and my funds are running low. Combine my meteorology education with my bachelor’s degree in engineering (which included switching from electrical engineering to materials engineering) and my electrical engineering grades keep me out of the running for any scholarships (grades from 1999-2001, if you can believe that).

Well, that is all I have for right now. I promise I will post photos from my east coast trip soon, but tonight, I wanted to get in a post before the end of the day (it’s already 11:10 pm here).

Good night!