Knick Knack Paddy Wack, I'm an Engineer

These past few months have not been good to me. Well, actually, they have been great, but as to my ability to relate with others, well, that has gone to pot. I play with computers more often, I leave for class before 7am and sometimes don't get home till after 5pm, and I love it. Each day, I realize more and more that I am, unfortunately, an Engineer. Take this past week as an example:

On Monday, I went to the machining projects lab and used a computer controlled mill to make a part for the supermileage car, and it was awesome. On Tuesday, I made CAD drawings of other parts I still need to machine, and they were awesome. On Wednesday, I planned with other engineers how we are going to build carbon fiber composite rockets and launch them in a few months, and it was awesome. On Thursday, I used a computation fluid dynamics software package to analyze the forces that act on a boat as it encounters head waves, and it was awesome (check out the pic). On Friday, I used Excel to calculate the equivalence ratio of an air to fuel mixture in a diesel engine by calculating the percentages of CO2 and CO in the exhaust with the intake pressure varied between 24psi and 30psi, and it was awesome. Saturday, I installed Linux onto my desktop and worked through the command prompt terminal to install a printer driver since HP doesn't officially make one for Linux systems, and it worked, and it was awesome. And on Sunday, I used Linux to hack into my Ipod and pulled off songs and put new ones on, WITHOUT ITUNES, and it was awesome.

It does not get much nerdier and engineery than that. I think I only have one thing goin' for me that keeps me somewhat balanced- I finished the "Art of War" this week and have begun to read another piece of literature that should broaden my perspectives and vocabulary. It is none other than "Shakespeare's Sonnets", in all their glory and loftiness of prose. Funny enough, this comes- coincidentally- after our stake president told us in conference that we should all be studying and writing poetry. So there you go, I am being obedient, expanding my literary knowledge, and saving myself from utter social ineptitude due to my engineering tendencies. I hope from this post, you can all understand my new found awkwardness and geekiness and accept me for who I am, as I am finally doing.

Oh, and in case you still don't understand what is happening to me, just watch this cartoon. I did my best to keep my "knack" under wraps, but it can no longer be restrained. Look out world! I'm an engineer!

P.S. I have given up Facebook for the next little while, in case some of you are wondering what happened. And if you got here from Facebook, I didn't post it there (my sister did). Peace out my faithful followers!

Bieber Fever

To start off, I just want to say, I do not have "Bieber Fever". In fact, I think I could almost call myself a "Bieber Hater". This was not always the case. Just one short week ago, I was quite indifferent to the whole matter. But then two girls who I will call Kelli M and Maralee B - no, that's too obvious, let's call them K Masterson and M Brown- forced me to make a stand, for better or for worse. For them, I feel they would say I have chosen the latter.

So there we were, taking a wonderful drive together listening to my beats (one of my favorite things) to an FHE activity, when Kelli and Maralee- OOPS! I mean K and M - pressed us to listen to the new JB Christmas single. I was indifferent and allowed them to play it. No sooner had the song begun, that a spontaneous dance party ensued in the back seat. Now, I thought this was fun enough and had no objections to it. Apparently, K and M did not think that the boys in the car (Blair and myself) had strong enough feelings about The Bieber. So they took it upon themselves to... indoctrinate us.

Thursday afternoon, I come home from school around 5:30 and find that our door has been ambushed. Have a look for yourself-

They think they have converted us, but no, they  have thought wrong. Now, I was not totally turned off by this nefarious act of vandalism; in fact, I found it slightly entertaining, even fun. Blair and I thought it would be fun to return K's and M's "gift" in kind. We left some innocent, silly little photos of Justin Bieber on their apartment door as well, only they were slightly altered-

For some reason that I cannot comprehend, K and M were not humored. In fact, they seemed perturbed. And, surprise surprise, they wanted revenge (mind you, they made the first strike). Sunday morning comes along, and plastered on every door, displayed on lamp posts and building entrances, and to top it off, TAPED ALL OVER OUR CARS (remember, my car is one of my favorite things), was a picture of Blair, myself, and JB, only Blair and I had had our faces superimposed onto girls' bodies, with the title "JUSTIN BIEBER'S BIGGEST FANS".

I have news for you, K and M: I am not Justin Bieber's biggest fan. I am not any sort of fan. If this is what Justin Bieber drives you to do to others, to those who could be considered friends, I want no part of this boy. I DO NOT LIKE JUSTIN BIEBER.

And the Word of the Day Is...

Recently, as some may have noticed, I have picked up the hobby of reading. I feel like it is something that will broaden my perspectives, improve my vocabulary and social skills, and thus, increase my "social currency" (ask Dustin). And I have downloaded a Kindle App that lets me get many of the books I want for free! Anyway, I am on to my third book since beginning my quest for intellectual enlightenment, The Art of War, by Sun Tzu. Just to show how awesome this new one is, I will explain one of the opening passages.

Sun Tzu, also known as Sun Wu, had just finished writing "The 13 Chapters", now called The Art of War, and the Emperor, Ho Lu, had read it and challenged Tzu on its contents. He asked if Tzu could prove its validity. Tzu replied in the affirmative. Ho Lo asked if it could be proven with women. Tzu again confirmed it to be so, and subsequently asked for 180 women and 2 of the emperor's finest concubines as the leaders. On first attempting to train them in the the courtyard for the emperor to observe, his first command, "Turn Right!" was met with laughter, to which he replied, "If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame." He drilled them again, and then this time said, "Left turn!" Still met with giggles. Tzu then said, "If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame. But if his orders ARE clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers." He immediately ordered the two concubine leaders beheaded, selected two new leaders, gave the orders, and was obeyed. He was made general of the army.

I digress. Anyway, to make sure I AM improving my vocabulary skills, I have been trying out new words that I read in these books. Maybe some of you would like to try them out as well:

Laconic-using few words; expressing much in few words; concise: (Think Mr. Darcy)
Terse- neatly or effectively concise; brief and pithy, as language (similar to laconic)
Prudent- wise or judicious in practical affairs; sagacious; discreet or circumspect; sober (NOT Mrs. Bennet)
Obsequious-characterized by or showing servile complaisance or deference; fawning: (Think Mr. Collins)

Have fun with these new words. By the way, I've wanted to use all four of these words, but really have only had he chance to use Laconic and Prudent. That's all or today!

What Makes My World Go 'Round

As I drove home from school today- yes, I drive to school sometimes despite living a mere 10 minute walk from my first class (its very cold some mornings!)- I was in a state of... GOOD. I just felt really good. There is something about driving around on a sunny day, listening to sweet music that just makes me feel great. As I have been pondering upon this experience the last few hours, I have been thinking of other things that put me in a state of good. Here it is:

-Driving on a warm, sunny day with all the windows down and the sunroof open
-Driving on a cold, sunny day with all the windows down and the sunroof open, and the heater on
-Driving with my favorite jams playing and the bass shaking my seat on a sunny day
-Driving with my favorite jams playing and the bass shaking my seat on a cold day
-Driving with my favorite jams playing and the bass shaking my seat on a rainy day
-Driving fast with my favorite jams playing
-Driving slow in traffic with my favorite jams playing
-Driving up Provo Canyon
-Driving down Provo Canyon
-Driving with my family
-Driving to go pick up my family
-Washing my car on a sunny day and drying her for a spotless finish
-Going to the temple
-Cuddling with a girl


Well, I guess this list could have been shortened. There are 4 THINGS in this world that put me in a state of good- DRIVING, FAMILY, GOSPEL, GIRLS.

Want to know what makes my world go 'round? Want to make me a happy boy? Get me to do anything that involves any of those 4 things and you will never see me in a bad mood.

The Austen Life

Studying for my advanced fluids test has not been my favorite part of the day. So I won't talk about that. What I WILL talk about is my recent explorations into the female psyche. What is it that women really want? What are they hoping for and dreaming about? I decided to consult the ubiquitous source of women's dreams and hopes- Jane Austen. More specifically, Pride and Prejudice. Actually, that's a lie. Not the Jane Austen part. The part about trying to understand girls. Its not true. I really just wanted to read the book. And as sad as it is to admit this, I love it. I play the scenes out in my mind as I read, trying to imagine the expressions on their faces, their dancing feet, and their rooms of conversation. The worst part is, I am struggling with it right now, not because I tire of its intricate details, but because I can not wait for Mr. Darcy to make is first proposition to Miss Bennett and her subsequent rejection. I am just dying to read it and feel the violent emotions of the moment.
Well, I need to go to bed now. 7am isn't coming any later than it did that fateful first day of school. Quick update on that, we are doing well with the super-mileage car. The final fuselage design has been finished. The foam blocks for the model have been cut, and tomorrow we start carving them to their proper form. After that will be a mold made from fiberglass and then the actual car from carbon fiber. Things are moving! Goodnight faithful followers.