I Am. When? - Personal

Oil and Water

nospam@example.com (Andrew Maxim) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:51:27 -0700

Oil and water do not mix. It is just one of those chemical composition things. You can pour them both into the same container and the water will settle to the bottom with the oil floating on top of it. Shake the container up and after a few minutes they will revert back to layering; oil on top and water on the bottom. Separate entities in the same container.

Both compounds are needed in this world. Water quenches thirst and is needed to survive. Oil, among other things, lubricates the gears and joints for movement. Even once you have both in the same container you can still separate them back out again and they will fulfill these basic tasks just as well because they do not mix.

There are ways you can force the two to combine, to bond as it were, but in doing so you wind up with neither water nor oil. Instead you have something else. Something that neither quenches your thirst nor provides lubrication for movement. A bastardized compound.

Science and religion are the same way. When you pour both into a person they will naturally settle, just as oil and water. Religion, like water, flows deep into a person and quenches their thirst; while science, like oil, will stay above it and lubricate the mind. Separate entities in the same container.

Only, for some strange reason, many people think they should not be poured into the same container at all. This is fine for a lot of people, filling themselves with either the water of religion or the oil of science. And it would be all well and good except you get many misguided individuals who believe there is no place for the other entity. How many scientists throughout the ages have been told time and again that they will burn in hell if they do not accept this deity or that god? How many students of religion have been told that there is no god? Each side attempting to force out one entity or the other. So much for freewill (which mind you both sides believe they possess or there would be no need to express their own views onto others).

For some even stranger reason there are even more people who attempt to mix the two. To rectify science with their god and their god with science. Evolution and creationism are a very good and on going example of this. Evolution is a scientific theory that attempts to show and understand how all creatures came into their current state of being. Creationism is a faith-based belief that all creatures were created by a god. The first lubricates the brain to think and learn. The second quenches the heart and soul with belief in a greater purpose.

And then there is Intelligent Design. The combination of the two. Forcing oil and water to bond until it is a new and different compound. In doing so there is no longer a separation of religion and science, and the new compound neither quenches one's soul nor lubricates one's mind. Combinations such as this serve no purpose within a person, but instead are a bastardization of wasted water and oil.

Within my own self I allow both entities to exist. The waters of religion and the oils of science. There is no need for me to compare or contrast the two. There is no need for me to rectify one with the other. They are separate and do not mix. I am happy to leave it as such. Faith is not science, nor is science about faith; why should I force one out or attempt to combine them? Just as water does not contradict oil, religion and science do not contradict one another because there is no overlap; they each remain distinctly different and separate. The waters of religion quench my heart and soul, while the oils of science lubricate my mind. Oil and water do not mix; and that is why I am a Pastafarian.

Dead Power Supply

nospam@example.com (Andrew Maxim) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:09:25 -0700

Following a loud pop that caused my heart to stop for a moment, my computer power supply decided to head on to greener pastures. Being who I am, I figured I would rip it apart to see the reparability of it all, thinking it was likely a blown capacitor or transformer. Capacitors that make that exploding sound usually show some outward sign of such action, where as transformers are generally more subtle. Worth a shot at the very least, right?

With no signs of capacitor damage and 16 transformers soldered into the circuitry, it was apparently a waste of my time. I suppose I could have started desoldering parts to test them individually, but even were I successful in locating the culprit (and hopefully the root cause); I would have to locate some oddball replacement component. Hardly worth the time for all of that.

Instead of jumping through all the self-repair hoops, I looked online for an aftermarket replacement... with no luck. It would seem this is a proprietary power supply specific to this model of Dell. And that just sucks. The good news is that everyone and their brother seem to carry this power supply as a refurbished unit, including Dell. That meant two things to me: first, this particular type of failure is likely a common problem with this power supply, and second, they are likely replacing the bad component with a better one. That last part is just a guess, but makes sense when you have a common source of failure.

Anyway, the moral of this story is that I am without my main computer until sometime Friday when my replacement power supply arrives. The big problem is that my life is on that computer, including all the pictures and notes for this here blog thingy of mine. I do have backups (and the hard drives are obviously still OK), but with under a weeks wait for repair time it hardly seems worth the effort to build out a computer just to restore a few files for a couple of days use. At least that is my thought.

While we wait for a real blog entry from yours truly, you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music. What? You can't hear that music? Sorry, the voices must be singing again. They really are getting pretty good you know. Just skip that last part about enjoying the music. I'll get something more entertaining up as soon as I can. Until then... Ciao.

Life's Hardest Little Lesson

nospam@example.com (Andrew Maxim) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:58:59 -0700

The world does not change itself to who I am, so I must change who I am in order to change the world.

Tough one to learn, or perhaps just accept...

Congratulations Phaide

nospam@example.com (Andrew Maxim) — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:38:58 -0700

This has been a bit of a hectic week for me. My first set of assignments and tests for Calculus are all due this week, along with the work from Intro. Chemistry. Two classes I can normally balance with my professional and personal life, but I have the addition of my mom visiting with me for the week. All and all it makes for a little more of a hectic week and unfortunately my blog suffers a bit as a result.

Should you be one of my handful of regular readers, I would like to suggest only checking once a week for the next month. I am certain I will find my professional, personal, and academic groove (again) before too long, but do not want to frustrate any of my readers with hopes of consistent updates. I have stopped reading several web comics in the past for that very same reason and do not want anyone to have to feel that level of loss. The image of the same exact comic showing up on my computer screen every day still haunts me at night. It was, and still is, a horrifying experience. Really.

In other news fronts, the reason for my mother's visit (and part of my week's schedule) is that my daughter is graduating from High School, with today being the actual ceremony. It is finally happening, and if her turning 18 did not make me feel old, her graduating from high school pushes me over that limit. I am an old man. I need a Porsche. Actually, a Tesla Roadster. Porsche are so last year’s mid-life crisis. Anyway, everyone repeat after me...

Congratulations Phaide on your graduation from High School!

The Badges

nospam@example.com (Andrew Maxim) — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:00:00 -0700

A quick note to point out that I have updated the About Me page with a link to my O.O.T.S.S.O.E.R.A.A.A.P. Badges. I am quite proud, so go take a look. Go on.

Back to School

nospam@example.com (Andrew Maxim) — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:43:00 -0700

About a month ago I received my notice from the H. John Heinz III College at Carnegie Mellon University that I was not to be accepted into the Master of Science in Information Technology program. With all the reasons I had given for wanting to attend CMU in my article, aptly entitled Carnegie Mellon, you might have guessed I was a little disappointed in being turned down. It had been a long shot though, so I wasn't completely heartbroken when I read the letter, and I would be lying if I said I did not breathe a sigh of relief over not having to figure out where I was going to come up with over $5K per class. I still think the price is worth it and the school is the best choice for this particular program, I just now know it is not the right school for me (or rather I am not the right student for the school).

The second choice on my list for Master Degree programs was, and still is, the Harvard Extension School. It is Harvard; need I really say more on that subject? UC Berkeley would actually be my true number two choice, but they do not have a distance learning program at this time and, despite some people's belief that I have liberal views, I am not enough of a hippy to step foot on the campus of Berkeley. I would probably pass out from the smell of patchouli and sweat. Anyway, as fortune would have it, I missed the last course startup at the Harvard Extension School while waiting for news from CMU and the next registration for courses does not open until August. Enter idle mind syndrome.

I have been aware of my need for an electronics refresher for a while now and I actually have a few books in my library for this purpose, but these books never get as in-depth into electronics as I would like. I thought about completing the MIT OpenCourseWare courses on Electronics, as I am certain these courses would cover all that I was looking to remember. The idle mind in me then figured that if I was to take actual electronics courses, I should get full credit for these courses this time around (little real credit for Nuke School courses). Thus I should enroll in electronics courses at one of the local colleges. Simple enough, except that idle mind of mine figured that if I am getting college credit for something like this, then I should put it to use and go after a second degree in Electrical Engineering.

One thing lead to another and it turns out that just about every EE program out there requires at least three semesters of Calculus, as well as Differential Equations. And you can't take Physics without taking Calculus I, either. So now I am spending the summer in classes at my local college in support of the possibility of enrolling in an Electrical Engineering program at some unknown time in the future; rather than taking a couple simple refresher electronics courses. And people wonder why I immerse myself in all sorts of projects to keep my brain busy. Idle mind... More like insane mind, but that is where I am at.