NicholasYax.com

First, two corrections on the last post…

While in GR before Kalamazoo, Jenn and I also stopped off at the VW dealership, as Jenn was kind of looking for a new car.  Second, before my banquet, Jenn had spent Tuesday through Friday in Alpena, and came home just a few hours before the banquet.  This included driving through Grayling that was surrounded by forrest fires the day before, and she said was rather interesting.

Moving on, We come to the week of the 28th – 2nd.

Monday we met early to give a last big push on Amerikam, spending most of the day trying to get as much done as possible.  Tuesday was more of the same, concluding with me taking them to Staples for binding.  Wednesday we drove down to Amerikam and presented.  We were randomly chosen to be last, which kind of sucked.  The first 5 groups were grilled on errors in their paperwork and calculations.  By the time we were up, they had covered most of that, so lightened up on us.  We, however, had a very different process that we later would learn was closer to the one Amerkam actually used, so were grilled by the, up till then, quiet engineers that actually knew some about our machines.  Following our presentations, we had lunch, then Amerikam presented their actual process, and took us out to the floor to show us the machines.

As I hinted, our process was quite similar, and had we changed a few speeds and feeds our times and prices would easily have matched theirs.  Unfortunately, because our price was WAY lower than the rest, it stuck out and we lost, as we looked to have made a gross error, though they agreed we probably didn’t.

Wednesday I had an interview with Parker Hannifin, who happens to make brass parts, much like Amerikam.  I brought along a copy of my project and they ate it up, absolutely loved it.  They even gave me a plant tour and I found that our speed were right, and Amerikam was actually running slower than they could be.  They even use our second machine that Amerikam didn’t.  Sadly though, I learned Friday morning that I didn’t quite fit their needs.  I was really excited, and knew they loved me, but in the back of my mind kind of felt that they loved me for manufacturing, and were sadly hiring mechanical/drafting.  Oh well.

Thursday was no class, as the professors did not expect us to be sober enough.

The weekend I tried to recuperate from everything, and played a little more disk golf.

And that begins this week, which is yet another post.

School has been using up alot of my time, particularly our Amerikam project, so the blog wound up suffering.  Sorry.

To catch up, rather than all in one post, I am splitting it into two parts, each covering about a week, then a semi-current post.

So, where did I leave off…

Thursday, the 17th, I went with Dane and Greg to try disc golf.  My brother tried to get me to go for 2 years but it was a semi-far drive to get there.  Here, its about 2 minutes away, so I gave it a try.  It turns out, I like it.

Friday, following class, Jenn and I went to Kalamazoo.  We started off in GR at Cascade Winery to get a bottle of mead, and Jenn picked an apple wine.  We then continued down to kazoo and to our hotel.  We had dinner at Logan’s and stopped by the local bike shop as her parents have been looking at getting new bicycles.  Back at the hotel we tried her apple wine that was pretty good, then my mead that was rather disappointing.  It starts off like honey and water, but finishes very dry.

Overall, Kalamazoo seemed cool, with bike lanes EVERYWHERE and the Kal-Haven trail.  On the other hand, the shopping was spread out sort of weird, and it looked a lot like Saginaw, just sort of run down in a lot of the neighborhoods we saw.

Saturday we headed north toward home, stopping again in GR.  We had lunch downtown at Flannigan’s, then walked to DeVos Center for the Patio and Spa show that was decent, but not worth the money.  Flannigan’s was really good though, and I may agree with their claim of best rueben in GR.  They also have all 3 Guinness products on tap, so I tried a Harp and was very happy with it.

Following that, we went to the Dunhams on Plainfield to buy disks for Jenn and I, as I had borrowed Greg’s earlier, then headed home.

The following week was a lot of working on our project.  I did surprise myself though, by playing disc gold every day that week, Monday through Friday.

Also that Friday was our banquet at the Holiday Inn.  Several scholarships and the senior mock-award were presented, and dinner obviously.  Food was unimpressive sadly, considering the $20 each price (though the school covered half, and we only had to par $10).

I think I will leave it there for now.  The 28th – 2nd in the next post.

Nick

So, whats new…

Here is a commercial for the Stanley Fubar, whick is great.  There was no candy in the pinata though.

Last week was class, thats about it.  Weekend was uneventful.  Jenn went to see her parents, I enjoyed a little alone time.

Really excited to see Iron Man when it comes out next month.  Watched Rambo, I Am Legend, and Juno over last week or so.

Really wish I had an internship.

Am watching Ax Men, pretty good show.

Thinking I am going to pull the Picassa alum from the sidebar.  If you want to see pics, can just click gallery.  Would speed up load times and such.  Possibly pull the poll down for a while too. Not permanent, just until I have at least a second reader/voter.  No decisions now, but under consideration.

Thats all.

nick

Two weeks, that sucks.  Unfortunately, I still don’t have all that much.

School has been uneventful, just school.  Still no internship yet sadly.

Easter was decent.  Jenn and I went to Bob Evans for dinner and did a bit of shopping at Meijer.  Nothing real great.

Last weekend, we tried shopping for disc-golf stuff, because it thought it was nice out for a while.  We kind of got put off by the prices of real stuff though.  Maybe later, maybe try it with just a frisbee.  We also bought Guitar Hero III for the Wii, which has been fun.

And this weekend, we went to GR for some shopping, though we didn’t but much, two books.  We went for a new SIM card for my cellphone, which is supposedly the cause of my sudden sub-par reception, though it hasn’t helped all that much.

That, sadly, is two weeks.

Will try for sometime Thursdayish, after Jenn’s knee surgery.

nick

So, Bay City went well. Stopped at Jay’s on the way but didn’t really need anything so continued on. Once there, we went up to Bay Med and saw my grandma. She seems to be doing well, and definitely in good spirits. Went and saw my mom, then went to Hooters for dinner and did a little shopping at the Bay City Mall. Come 8, I met up with the guys from the library and Todd at Hooligans for some fun. When they kicked us out at 12, we went for a bite at Texan, then to our hotel.

Wednesday we had lunch at the Wanigan then went to my mom’s for a bit, then to see my Dad. My Grandma had just been released so she was finally home. I fixed their computer and got my iBook set up for my Dad. After all that, we did a little more shopping at Macy’s where I bought a pair of jeans and two shirts.

We decided since we were in Saginaw, we would try taking 46 across home. On our way, we got hungry, so we went to The Eat Place, which it turns out is actually called The Country Inn. It turns out they are REALLY good, like, some of the best food I’ve ever had. Finally though, we made it home.

So, that is about it. Scott, whenever you read this, you may commence the jealousy.

Seems like the week just flew by.

Tuesday night we had our bowling party, all but 5 people from the Mfg. Eng. program showed up, about 20 in all. Seemed like we were all having fun.

A lot of the week was working on Project X, the first of two big projects of the semester. I think most of next week will be the same.

I realized Thursday that Ferris doesn’t have my first degree from Delta on my transcript, and hence does not have my MACRAO stamp. That explains why my advisor didn’t notice it I guess. Am trying to get it sorted out before Fall reg. begins in about 3 weeks. I emailed transfer and reg offices, but both forwarded to a nonexistent email address.

Friday I went to El Burrito with the guys. Was somehow very blah. Dane and I were very not up for mexican, but we were pressured by Conrad. Will have to go somewhere different next week.

I applied to Oshkosh Truck yesterday. Hopefully I start hearing back form at least a few of these soon.

The bakery in Reed City, we found out this week, has pasties. Apparently they made them for years, then stopped for a few years, and just brought them back a few weeks ago. They were really good, crust was best I have ever had on one. I can’t say if they are better than Yooperville, definitely different though.

I think that wraps it up. Till eventually…

nick

I finally remembered the secret to updating the look of a site: Don’t try and change your old theme, just throw it out and start over. Well, I made some progress on that last night and the results are obvious. There is more to do, and I will try and keep on it.

Yesterday Dane, Conrad, and I went to Schuberg’s for lunch. It was a nice change form mexican, not that anything is wrong with El Burrito. I learned that sambuca is pretty good.

We rented Rayman Raving Rabbids and Trauma Center: New Blood for the Wii, and both are pretty cool. We rented a few movies too, including Bourne Ultimatum and 300, but haven’t watched them yet.

At our last SME meeting we discussed fundraising, and are looking at doing a pancake breakfast. We also decided to have an elementary school do our sales, since nobody can say no to a kid, and give them a share of the profits.

Jenn got the results of her MRI, and the professional opinion was that her knee is “messed up”. She was referred to an orthopedic surgeon and has an appointment Tuesday.

I applied at Trek Bikes, Cannondale, and IBM for internship positions this week. Cannondale sent me an email thanking me for my interest and noting my qualifications are impressive, but they are not currently seeking interns. I don’t know if that means they already hired them, haven’t hired them yet, or just don’t have interns, but at least I am putting myself out there.

That seems like about it. Not sure what else there could be.

OK, till next time then.

nick

So, what have we got this time…

As cool as Northrop Grumman sounded, their deadline for for intern applications was already passed and they weren’t really looking to mfg. eng. anyway. The job fair went a little better. I talked to a few companies and handed out my resume, will see if I hear anything back. The problem I saw is a lack of employers looking for manufacturing engineering, they come for welding, mechanical, facilities, and electrical, and talk to us because we force them. Over the weekend I sent thank you emails (right after the job fair actually) and applied for a few more positions online.

Friday was El Burrito day with Dane and Conrad, plus Jenn and Conrad’s fiance. Was pretty good. Not sure if I want it again next week, maybe something different.

Saturday was Meijer’s shopping, and laundry later in the evening. Sunday was the start of dishes, and some relaxing.

This morning, Jenn woke me up to let me know that I didn’t have school, due apparently to ice. She went out to her vehicle and left, but I heard her alarm go off as she went to vehicle, must have hot on accident. I checked that I really didn’t have class, then called to say hi to her, and found out her alarm went off because she slipped on ice and hit the button on her way down. She also twisted her knee around pretty bad, and was hurting. She considered going to hospital here, but decided just go to work and see how it goes, and f it gets worse se is at a hospital. Well, about 3 hours later she was home, MRI scheduled for Wednesday and a slip for no work today or tomorrow. hopefully it’s just a sprain and not a tear.

Between waking up at 5:30 and Jenn getting home around 8:30 or 9, I worked on the site a little. The calendar and comment links are AJAX now, which is cool, and obviously the colors are changed. I have more, but I am closer. Maybe over the coming weekend.

I think that’s all. More some other day.

nick

Tomorrow is the Ferris Winter Job Fair, so here’s to hoping for luck at that. I am going to an informational meeting tonight with Northrop Grumman too. You may have heard of them, make a few little things like the B-2 Bomber and most of the Navy’s aircraft carriers.

So last weeks, I woke up Thursday and felt a little itch in my throat, like beginnings of a cold, too bad. We had the day off though thanks to a few inches of snow, so I met with Dane and Conrad at El Burrito Loco for lunch and some margaritas. We had a lot of fun there, then it was home for some Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games.

Friday was class, and I was feeling a little worse. Luckily I was home around 11 and sat around and rested. Saturday and Sunday I felt progressively worse. Monday morning was cold as fuck walking in, actual temperature was -18 at 8:30 AM, thank god no wind. It actually warmed up 30 degrees over the course of Monday.

Yesterday was more class, and a haircut and some shopping at Meijer. Made some sloppy joes and tater-tots, greatest food ever. Was getting slippery on my way home, especially back roads. Jenn was lucky enough to miss the heavy traffic on the way home form work, had she left 2 hours earlier she would have been stuck in the 1 hour traffic jam.

Grand Rapids Rampage arena football starts Monday, March 10th, with a second game that Friday. I really want to go, would be cool to see and arena game I think. Need to find peoples to go with though. Maybe Jenn, maybe my dad and/or brother, though he would probably be working on a weekday so probably not.

No site work, since as I said was sick and mostly laid around. Do want to try and get something done, but probably not this weekend either.

I realized that with Jenn not counting, Scott on tour for a month, and that being everyone, I have no readers right now. My cousin Cindy reads, and my mom, but they seldom comment. Oh well.

Still loving my MacBook. Still haven’t really gotten the iBook ready for my Dad. I did get him a wireless router though, but I probably already mentioned that.

Jenn and I have been watching Dead Like Me, originally on Showtime I believe. There was a marathon on some channel over the summer and I watched several, and with TV sucking I downloaded the entire series. Best part is, no commercials.

Despite the no readers, I am pissed that I go a week without updates. Being sick is almost a valid excuse, but it has happened more than this once. I will try and do better.

I think that is all.

nick

So long as this post is 637 words long, I will reach 150,000 words in the blog on this post. Quite a milestone.

I am going to try and work on the theme for the site this weekend. I have some ideas I want to try and think I can get it more decent looking. I also downloaded a rather good looking theme I might try if I can’t get mine right. I really don’t like using pre-made themes though. I know I can do the coding, I just have issues with the little touches, and having no artistic ability. I can make it look good, I just don’t know what good looks like.

New MacBook is over a week old now. Along with being incredibly faster, it has Leopard, which is like a new computer all by itself. It doesn’t have the big features of some previous versions of OS X, but it did get a lot of little tweaks. Tabbed chats in iChat, better looking icons, key commands to sort icons in a folder, multiple desktops (that I haven’t really used yet), Quickview of documents without opening an application, preview icons of pretty much everything, and 294 more apparently. Plus, the computer is new, so its REALLY fast, and my battery is new and lasts longer.

School has been going fairly well. I was a little lost in stats, but he cleared that up this morning.

So, with all the words above, the post count comes up to 159,654, only halfway there. So, what else…

Superbowl was OK, but not great. I was unsure who to root for, since the Patriots were undefeated, but the Giants were the underdogs and I generally go for them. Unless Green Bay is in it, then they are always my choice. Commercials were so-so, some good ones but not as many as normal.

We rented Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. Pretty good so far, although the trampoline judging is way off. You can suck ass and get 1st, or have the best routine ever and land 7th, is just weird.

I cleaned most of the apartment Sunday afternoon, vacuumed and moved around the furniture in the front room. It needed to be done. Still need to do office and bedroom.

Current count is 149,793, just 207 more.

I didn’t realize it was this far away. I was kind of done with this back at 159,650, and it just seems like it is dragging on and on.

Ferris is having a job fair on the 14th, and supposedly Northrup Gumman will be there, you know, the largest defense contractor in the US, the guys that make battleships, destroyers, aircraft carriers, tanks, aircraft, satellites, and more. Will be fun to talk to them. I don’t know that I would want to move away for the summer, think I really don’t actually, but do want to keep my options open, and they would be interesting.

OK, up to 149,900 right now, so down to like 90 more words by now. So 90 words, just 90 more words to reach 150,000. What 90 words can I write… Hmmm. OK, thats not very productive.

Apparently WordPress 2.3.3 is out, I have a little reminder to update on my screen. I think 2.4 was supposed to be out las month, but was cancelled because of decreased development over Christmas break, so they are skipping over to 2.5 in March. It is supposed to have some cool features from what I have heard and seen.

OK, so the word count is now up to 150,012. Yay, done!

See you next time.

nick