Thursday, November 04, 2004
Closed Frequencies
I registered for classes for winter quarter this morning. I had to get up at 6:50 when I otherwise would have slept to 8:30 (putting aside Kevin's getting up for his 8:00 class), but it was worth it. I got all the classes I wanted, which means I have Fridays off. Actually, I didn't get all the classes I wanted...they've started this new system where you can only register for 14 units the first time through, and then you can register for more when everyone has had a chance to get the initial 14. So right now I have four out of my five classes, with a two-credit EE lecture I'm hoping will still be open when I'm able to sign up for more classes. I'm guessing I'll end up having to crash the course, but since it's a lecture without a lab I should be able to...I don't know...we'll see. But I've got Fridays off, so who really cares? My Tuesdays and Thursdays aren't looking so hot, though. There's always a compromise somewhere.
We built an AM radio today in my EE lab. Does anyone reading this know what AM stands for? Anyone? Anyone? (Bueller...? Bueller...?) Perhaps I'll let you know on a future post, though you'll probably have to remind me. Anyway, I understand - to some extent, at least - how AM radio works, and it's quite exciting. We also messed with the incoming frequencies to produce interference - I was more interested in the intervals between the pitches that different interference frequencies sounded (1kHz produces a note, 2kHz produces a note an octave above that, 3kHz a perfect fifth above that, 4kHz a perfect fourth, 5kHz a major third, 6 kHz a minor third. Brass players recognize the pattern: C, C, G, C, E, G. They're the partials you can play with one valve combination. It really is creepy when you're learning about the same thing, in one way or another, in all of your classes.). One group stumbled upon a way to make a microphone out of their receiver, so they tried to broadcast their "EE 151 pirate radio" so the rest of us could pick it up at our stations. It failed but was a valiant attempt nonetheless.
It was another rainy day today, alternating between misting a little and raining cats and dogs. Marching band was rained out for the third time this year, so we cut an entire song out of our next halftime show because we won't have time to learn it. Oh well, we're still playing "Soul Man" and "I'm a Man," which were the only two cool ones. We're also marching the drum feature we already know. It should be a good show.
Someone came up with the idea of driving over to Atascadero - about twenty minutes away - to go to In-N-Out for dinner. We went at 9:00, got there by 9:20, ate and got home by 10. The food was good but I still can't stand the smell of the place. Oh, and the prices here are different. Next time someone goes to an In-N-Out please notice how much you pay for your meal and let me know. A #1 set you back $4.96 when I worked there, and an #2 was $4.04. I'm curious to see if this was a franchise-wide price change or if it's just this one for some reason.
Anywho, I have a music theory midterm tomorrow. I'm not too worried about it, but I should review a few things before I go to bed. So that's what I'm going to go do now. Good night.
Cheers,
Josh
mood: still refreshed because of the new room layout
music: zip
location: dorm
We built an AM radio today in my EE lab. Does anyone reading this know what AM stands for? Anyone? Anyone? (Bueller...? Bueller...?) Perhaps I'll let you know on a future post, though you'll probably have to remind me. Anyway, I understand - to some extent, at least - how AM radio works, and it's quite exciting. We also messed with the incoming frequencies to produce interference - I was more interested in the intervals between the pitches that different interference frequencies sounded (1kHz produces a note, 2kHz produces a note an octave above that, 3kHz a perfect fifth above that, 4kHz a perfect fourth, 5kHz a major third, 6 kHz a minor third. Brass players recognize the pattern: C, C, G, C, E, G. They're the partials you can play with one valve combination. It really is creepy when you're learning about the same thing, in one way or another, in all of your classes.). One group stumbled upon a way to make a microphone out of their receiver, so they tried to broadcast their "EE 151 pirate radio" so the rest of us could pick it up at our stations. It failed but was a valiant attempt nonetheless.
It was another rainy day today, alternating between misting a little and raining cats and dogs. Marching band was rained out for the third time this year, so we cut an entire song out of our next halftime show because we won't have time to learn it. Oh well, we're still playing "Soul Man" and "I'm a Man," which were the only two cool ones. We're also marching the drum feature we already know. It should be a good show.
Someone came up with the idea of driving over to Atascadero - about twenty minutes away - to go to In-N-Out for dinner. We went at 9:00, got there by 9:20, ate and got home by 10. The food was good but I still can't stand the smell of the place. Oh, and the prices here are different. Next time someone goes to an In-N-Out please notice how much you pay for your meal and let me know. A #1 set you back $4.96 when I worked there, and an #2 was $4.04. I'm curious to see if this was a franchise-wide price change or if it's just this one for some reason.
Anywho, I have a music theory midterm tomorrow. I'm not too worried about it, but I should review a few things before I go to bed. So that's what I'm going to go do now. Good night.
Cheers,
Josh
mood: still refreshed because of the new room layout
music: zip
location: dorm
