In the News Today

April 06, 2006

Pregnant woman beaten at baby shower

Police: Fight escalated over whether woman gave 5-year-old beer

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts (AP) -- An argument at a baby shower escalated into a brawl in which one man was shot and the pregnant guest of honor was beaten with a stick, police said.

Check it out!

I don't get it.  If they wanted newer beer, they could have just bought some.  They didn't have to drink it.  ;)

EDIT:   Joking... and I promise I won't be giving Daniel beer until his bar mitzvah.

EDIT2:  Maybe I'm too cryptic... I was Joking about a bar mitzvah, too.  Oh!  I need a color coding system.  *Scampers off to create scheme*

Vroom - Putt - Putt - Vroom

April 05, 2006[Car] - Things Coming Back Together

Well, I put the car back together last night.  It took a little longer than I expected becuase I wanted to make sure every tube was back in place and secure and the electical stuff I had to disconnect was reconnected properly.  I cleaned off the surfaces where the EGR Valve sits, and replaced the gasket, cleaned out the valve, and attached the new tubes.  Once everything was back together, I cranked her up (after opening the garage door, of course).  It took her a second to adjust it seemed, and then she settled into a very comfortable idle.  I let her go for a couple minutes, and then took a quick trip around the neighborhood to make sure nothing was going to explode.  It actually runs smoother now than the day I got it.  In the past, it was really rough and spastic under about 10mph... I had to be very strategic with the clutch just to keep it alive.  Last night, I was able to putt along at about  1 or 2 mph without so much as a burp.  I kept expecting a surge or for it to die like it usually does, but it didn't do either.  I'm so happy!

And, of course, I picked up new oil filters at Advanced Auto Parts when I was there, so that's the next job.  Probably this weekend, with the lawn, and with the cleaning, and with the laundry, and with the home work, and....

Things Coming Together, Things Coming Apart

April 04, 2006A lot is going really well right now!  I'll give you an update.

[Baby] - Onwards and Upwards

The baby is getting around better and better.  He can also set himself up by standing up on his hands and feet, and pushing backwards til he rolls back on his bottom.  Babies are innovative.  Perhaps I should ask his advice for Thermal Design.




[Job] - TRW

I had my interview this morning.  In fact, it was actually two interviews.  Two different departments are looking to hire co-op students, and they are both interested in me.  I did both interviews, and I had a great time.  I got to share my academic and personal backgrounds, and complain with them about lazy people.  TRW in Lebanon designs and builds commercial steering systems.  What does this mean?  Next time a semi runs you off the road, blame me instead of the driver.

[Car] - Speaking of Autos

So my 'Check Engine' light came on Sunday and my car died on the way home from school Monday.  I got the computer checked, and it said that there was an EGR malfunction.  Basically, there is some problem with the system that takes exhaust air and circulates it back through the engine.  So with my advanced tire and oil changing skills, I decided to fix it myself.  It took about 45 minutes to get enough pieces off my care to even get to the thing.  I made sure to plug holes to avoid contamination, and slowly worked my way down.  I was told that it might be a carbon buildup keeping the valve open.  Well, when I started pulling the thing out, I noticed that one of the vacuum tubes had been melted through and was hanging loose.  You think the tube being melted in two could affect the flow?  Anyway, I'm going to clean it up in case there is some carbon buildup, and I'll have the whole thing reassembled by morning.  I need it tomorrow, so hopefully it will go well.  If you don't hear about it again, assume it was put together and everything is working.  I also need to disconnect the battery and let the computer reset.  That way, the light will go off and only come back on if there is still a problem.

Here's some picks of the darn thing, and the parts I had to buy.

Dum. Dum-Dum. Dum. ... DUMB!!

April 02, 2006[Baby] - Who's in Charge Here?

"Daniel had some trouble eating.  He couldn't seem to drink from his cup."  So said the nursery helper at Algood Assembly of God.  Daniel?  Mr. Independent?  We were shocked.  Not for long, though.  Liz and I aren't world-class detectives, but we can recognize tooth marks on the sippy cup lip when we see 'em.  Geez.  Sometimes, I wonder about the wisdom trusting someone else with my child.  Do I really have to let go?

Oh, and I need to take a shower.  I was carrying Daniel on my shoulders at Sam's.  Apparently he spit up.  My hair feels funny.  :(



In other news, it rained today.  A lot.  Torrential downpour would be more descriptive, I supposed.  It really started coming down as we were driving home from Sam's.  We got home to find our industrial-sized trash can 30 feet across the yard, lid open, trashed spilled out and strewn across the yard.  To compound the misery, I was followed around by two stray dogs including a pit bull.  I like dogs and am relatively rational, but I also know what kind of animals pit bulls are.  I don't like knowing that an animal bred for killing is around my home and family.  Needless to say, I stayed very close to Liz as we unloaded the car, and we let Daniel sleep inside.

[Church] - How Many?

At church this morning, a speaker said that 6 billion people saw the "Jesus Tape" in the last 30 years.  Last I heard, 6 billion was the approximate population of planet earth.  Somehow, I doubt that every person of every age worldwide saw this video.  Anyone else?

[School] - Smooth Sailing

Thermal Design work is progressing well.  I am currently writing some code for the final project.  Unfortunately, it's kinda taxing on the system.  For those of you that can recognize it, I'll post some below. For others, just know that it it looks like it will have to run the program about 700,000 times, and each time will have about 500 calculations-ish, so it will probably take a while to run.  Right now, I only have the part of the program that cycles through possible design variables.  Most of the actual calculations will have to come a little later.

counter = 0;

L_min = 10;     %Minimum Exchanger Length
L_int = 1;      %Interval of Exhchanger Length Steps
L_max = 100;    %Maximum Exchanger Length

D_min = 6/12;   %Minimum Tube Diameter
D_int = 1/12;   %Interval of Tube Diameter Steps
D_max = 22/12;  %Maximum Tube Diameter

Lf_min = 0;     %Minimum Fin Length (Extension)
Lf_int = 1/12;  %Interval of Fin Length Steps
                %Lf_max deteremined by D        
               
t_min = 1/12;   %Minimum Fin Thickness
t_int = 1/12;   %Interval of Fin Thickness Steps
t_max = 4/12;   %Maximum Fin Thickness

N_min = 0;      %Minimum Number of Fins
N_int = 1;      %Interval of Number of Fins
                %N_max determined by circumference and t

mat_min = 1; mat_int = 1; mat_max = 3;
%The 'mat' value will refer to one of the tube and fin material choices
%   mat = 1 will refer to aluminum
%   mat = 2 will refer to rough galvanized steel
%   mat = 3 will refer to smooth galvanized steel

for L = L_min : L_int : L_max                   %Exchanger Length
    for D = D_min : D_int : D_max               %Tube Diameter
        Lf_max = (2 - D) / 2;                   %Maximum Fin Length (Extension)
        for Lf = Lf_min : Lf_int : Lf_max       %Fin Length (Extension)
            for t = t_min : t_int : t_max       %Fin Thickness
                N_max = pi*D/t;                 %Maximum Number of Fins
                for N = N_min : N_int : N_max   %Number of Fins
                   
                    counter = counter + 1;
                   
                    %Index Counters
                    x_L = round( ( L - L_min ) / L_int + 1 );
                    x_D = round( ( D - D_min ) / D_int + 1 );
                    x_Lf = round( ( Lf - Lf_min ) / Lf_int + 1 );
                    x_t = round( ( t - t_min ) / t_int + 1 );
                    x_N = round( ( N - N_min ) / N_int + 1 );
                                       
                    %Geometric Calculations
                    Ac_i = ( pi / 4 ) * D^2;            %Inner Cross-Sectional Area
                    Ac_o = 6 - Ac_i - ( N * Lf * t);    %Outer Cross-Sectional Area
                    P_i = pi * D;                       %Inner Perimeter
                    P_o = 10 + pi * D + 2 * N * Lf;     %Outer Perimeter
                    Dh_i = 4 * Ac_i / P_i;              %Inner Hydraulic Dyameter
                    Dh_o = 4 * Ac_o / P_o;              %Outer Hydraulic Dyameter
                   
                    %Initial Assumptions
                    Th_o_1 = 50; %F
                    Th_o_2 = 0; %F
                    Tc_o_1 = 30; %F
                    Tc_0_2 = 0; %F
                    Q_1 = 1000; %cfm
                    Q_2 = 0; %cfm
                                       
                    while ( Th_o_1 - Th_o_2 ) / Th_o_1 > 0.01
                        Th_o_2 = Th_o_1;
                        Tc_o_2 = Tc_o_1;
                       
                        %Fluid Properties
                        Th_avg = ( 70 - Th_o_2 ) / 2;
                        Tc_avg = ( Tc_o_2 - 10 ) / 2;
                        density_i = %eq
                        density_o = %eq
                        dyn_visc_i = %eq
                        dyn_visc_o = %eq
                       
                        while ( Q_1 - Q_2 ) / Q_1 > 0.01
                            Q_2 = Q_1;
                           
                            Re_i = ( 4 * density_i * Q_2 ) / ( dyn_visc_i * P_i );
                            Re_o = ( 4 * density_o * Q_2 ) / ( dyn_visc_o * P_o );
                           
                            if Re_i < 10^5
                                f_i = .316 / ( Re_i ^ .25 );
                            else
                                f_i = .184 / (Re_i ^ .2 );
                            end
                           
                            if Re_o < 10^5
                                f_o = .316 / ( Re_o ^ .25 );
                            else
                                f_o = .184 / (Re_o ^ .2 );
                            end
                           
                            KL_i = ( f_i * L / Dh_i ) + 1.5;
                            KL_o = ( f_o * L / Dh_o ) + 1.5;
                           
                            HL_i = ( KL_i / ( 2 * 32.174 ) ) * ( Q_2 / Ac_i ) ^ 2;
                            HL_o = ( KL_o / ( 2 * 32.174 ) ) * ( Q_2 / Ac_o ) ^ 2;
                           
                            HL_total = HL_i + HL_o
                           
                            HL(x_L,x_D,x_Lf,x_t,x_N) = HL_total
                            
                        end
                   end
                                                        
                    L_val(x_L)=L;
                    D_val(x_D)=D;
                    Lf_val(x_Lf)=Lf;
                    t_val(x_t)=t;
                    N_val(x_N)=N;
                   
                end
            end
        end
    end
end
counter

display('Calculations Complete')

The Difference in a Word

April 01, 2006If you've already read the post from earlier today, I recommend you reread the part about Daniel and his new toothy talents.  I left out the word "never" at a key part, and it REALLY changed something I said.  So, read it again.  I like baby.  He's cute.  I'm nice to him.