Friday, September 28, 2012

Interesting Field Experiance


Earlier this week I went on a site visit as part of a design meeting. The the facility has an underground vault filled with mechanical and electrical equipment. A visual inspection of this equipment is necessary so a coworker (an Electrical Engineer) and myself (a Mechanical Engineer) went inside the vault.
Breaker box that hit me
After looking around at some of the equipment I heard an odd noise coming from an electrical panel on the opposite wall about 10 feet away. Quickly looking up, I saw sparks emanating from it followed by a loud boom. At that instant the panel flew open and a breaker flew across the room and hit me in the chest. Unhurt, but very surprised, I noticed the box bounce off me and land several feet away. Turning to my coworker I said, "You need to fix that in your design."
When we left the vault I noticed a black mark on my shirt, but it simply wiped off. I suppose the breaker box was simply dirty, so unfortunately I do not have a singe mark to show off.
Control Panel

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Google - Indefinite Storage

Just posted a question on Google Chat discussion forum:

The question I have doesn't fit into any category. I have looked at multiple questions on this subjects but have received no definitive answers.

Q: For all Google products, how long will your data be stored? 

I am looking for a table of some sort giving different data storage durations for each product Google offers. 
For example I am using (and have stored information on) Google+, Gmail, Analytics, Drive, YouTube, Maps, Play, Web manager Tools, ... (30+ services). So it could look something like this:

Service              Storage Duration
-------------------------------------------------------------
Google+            Until account is deleted
Gmail                 Up to 40 years of inactivity 
Analytics            Up to 10 years of inactivity
...
...
...


In line with this same question, if a storage duration is "until your account is deleted" could it also be said this way: " Until account is deleted, Google no longer exists, or (if the first two don't happen) for all of eternity"
I have never heard of a company keeping peoples information around indefinitely, but all of the posts I have seen on the subject have pretty much said this. If Google does keep your account with its records around forever, they should definitely be advertising this. Think about it, if I stored my sequenced DNA, a full neural mapping of my brain (still in development), and several full body scans, I could be completely recreated in the future (still in development). By Google storing all your information indefinitely they don't just help future generation understand you better, THEY TURN YOU INTO A GOD! You (the information that makes up who you are) could exist forever!

The one hitch in this eternal existence involves storing data that requires software retrieval. But it is a problem that Google has already solved. Google automatically updates the software in such a way that the original data can always be retrieved (at least they do for native Google Drive documents). 

The only indication I have that Google does not do this is with their failed products (Google Buzz). For failed products they give users a warning to get their information off of the discontinued product. However, I have never seen Google do this for successful products before.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Church Leaders



I was thinking about the church and about our leaders last month. As I was thinking I realized how accurate the statement is that “God does not call the qualified, but qualifies the called.” Looking at the life of J. Golden Kimble I realized how much better I could be. God called a person who swore, had difficulty following the Word of Wisdom, and is well known for other interesting behavior as well. At the time Golden was called, there were people like you and me, who didn’t seem to have any of these problems. Yet God still chose Golden as a prophet, sear, and revelator; someone that I should be looking up to. If Golden, with all of his failings, is a person I need to work up to, then I need to do some serious improvements in my life.
With that being said, there are many people who are better leaders than the prophet Thomas S. Monson. This is because the Lord does not choose great men to be His leaders. He chooses those who are humble, who, despite their numerous imperfections, strive to be like Jesus Christ in every way; and then He makes them great. I honor and revere Thomas S. Monson, not only as the prophet of this church, but, more importantly, as one who exemplifies the life of Jesus Christ.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Megan and Dad


I just found this today and had to post it

1-8-09

Starting Monday the 5th I have been with Megan every single day. I have really enjoyed the time with her. She has been very cute and funny. During this time Megan has a cold and I am doing everything I can to take care of her. This mainly involves using a lot of Vick’s vapor rub. I also set up a pup tent for Megan, so that Megan and I can use a humidifier to help clear her lungs.
I have to say some of the funny stuff that Megan has done lately. While in the put tent Megan lifted herself up my eight of my arm hairs. I don’t think those hairs will ever grow back.
On another occasion Megan was playing with my PS2 controlled robot. I was showing her how to move the robot around by pushing a few buttons. She tried to press one button over and over again but no matter how hard she tried she just didn’t have the strength to push the button all the way down. Finally she gave the button a hard look as she pushed it down with all her might. This sudden look of fierce determination upon hitting the button caused me to burst out a laugh. Megan visibly jumped in my lap. She turned toward me as if to say “Wow! I never knew the button could cause you to make noise.”

1-9-09
Megan has developed a great fascination for laser pointers. This is one of the best 99 cent purchases I have ever made. Megan can be captivated for almost an hour at a time following the laser light. Lasers: for dogs, cats, and children

1-12-09
One time while Megan and I were in the tent with perfuse amounts of Vicks vapor rub, Megan decided she could not take the smell any longer. I had put some vapor rub on Megan’s upper lip that way she could take advantage of it reparatory benefits more readily. Megan was not to have it though; she reached over, grabbed my shirt, and with the palm of her hand wiped the Vicks completely off of her lip and onto my shirt.

1-16-09
Yesterday I purchased a new laser because the old one went dead. Megan still has a great fascination for lasers.