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Lazy River
Just as I thought summer was starting...
Next Monday I start a second part-time job working as a Teacher's Assistant for summer school at Thomas Harrison Middle School (the middle school in Harrisonburg). Then, a week later, I start working for my third part-time job with the National Young Scholars Program, which is being held on campus (not by JMU, but by another organization). All together I'll be working from 7:30 am till midnight, with some breaks in between. It's going to be a busy four weeks.
Then, just as I get really stressed out I find something to relax with...
Yesterday Lauren and our roommates and our friend Jeff went tubing / rafting on the Shenandoah River. We started just below where the McGaheysville Power Dam used to be, and floated down the river to Island Ford, a Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Facility. We had a great time; it was like a lazy river you'd find at any amusement park with some class I and II rapids. I had canoed the river before, but since the Dam was removed last fall, the river has changed a lot with the increased water flow. One of the senior thesis projects last year was to monitor the water quality before and after the dam was removed, so it was nice to get to see in person what I'd heard about during the senior thesis presentation in April.
Next weekend Lauren and I are going to try and go camping with my Aunt and Uncle in a State Park in Maryland.
Posted by Matt on June 13, 2005 01:29 PM | Link | Email Matt
Finally, the Energy Final
I'd imagine that Dr. Altaii thought he'd made it through the summer course, ISAT 212, without appearing once in a picture on this blog but I can't let that happen!
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Here is the infamous Dr. Altaii as he prepares for our ultimate doom when taking his final (Only kidding, he as a great professor and his exams are well written).
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Here is Mr. Henrikson and Dr. Altaii passing out the final. This is the nervous part, where I freeze up and feel like I'm not well prepared. Then I get the exam and fill in the name blank at the top of every page while looking through it, thus building my confidence and allowing me to focus better.
When I walked out of the exam today, I felt like I was well prepared, and I realized that it may have been because I didn't have other classes with homework and material to study.
In review I am excited that the class is over, and am ready for summer break. Except it's not really a huge break , I'm still working and in a few weeks will likely be working three jobs so, I'll keep up the posts to let you know how it goes.
Also, I'll try and get some pictures of the radio station's production studios!
Posted by Matt on June 10, 2005 11:39 AM | Link | Email Matt
Dark Hollow Falls Photos
Here are the pictures I promised! Enjoy!
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Posted by Matt on June 7, 2005 12:02 PM | Link | Email Matt
Dark Hollow Falls
Last week was exciting. I interviewed for and received a position at Easy Radio, Inc. They broadcast three radio stations, 95.5 FM Talk Radio, 105.7 FM The Music of your Life, Stardust. I'm the afternoon board operator, which includes producing commercial spots, completing advertising logs, checking broadcasting equipment power, and recording the news and weather. I think it's going to turn out to be a nice part time job. Hopefully it will work well with my schedule during the semester.
In Energy (ISAT 212) last week, I took the second exam, completed two labs and began to prepare for the final exam. This week is the LAST WEEK of class! Tomorrow we have two labs after class, one of them is working with oscilloscopes (similar to what we did in ISAT 253) so it shouldn't be too bad.
Yesterday the crew (my girlfriend, Lauren, and her roommate) went to surprise a friend of ours for her birthday in Roanoke. We spent the afternoon with the birthday girl. Saturday Lauren and I went back to Shenandoah National Park and visited Dark Hollow Falls. The trail is 1.4 miles round trip, and has a 70' waterfall! I don't have the pictures we took at the falls with me now, but I'll post them soon!
Posted by Matt on June 6, 2005 03:23 PM | Link | Email Matt
Solar Power Plant
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These cells are located in front of the CISAT building, just after you cross the bridge from West Campus.
They are connected into the power grid and provide a small portion of the power requried by CISAT. Thought you'd like to see a real application of the photovoltaic cells I just wrote about.
Posted by Matt on June 1, 2005 04:33 PM | Link | Email Matt
Photovoltaic Cells
Tuesday, we used photovoltaic cells and floodlights to simulate a solar collection system. We then used a variable resistor to change the resistance and measure the output current and voltage. With these values the power and resistance can be calculated. By plotting the current vs. the voltage you can find the maximum power output for the solar cell and the resistance that corresponds to the value. Sorry if it's a bit technical, maybe a picture will explain the basic concept:
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The solar cell is collecting the floodlights radiated energy and converting it into direct current (DC), like you would find in a battery.
Tomorrow is our second exam, and another lab. Next week is our final and two more labs. As I've said, summer is intense. Time to study for the exam!
Posted by Matt on June 1, 2005 04:28 PM | Link | Email Matt
