IAP=Fun

I’m almost done with formatting my research paper! The other large step is preparing the computer program I wrote for my project. Luckily, one of the GRTs (Graduate Resident Tutor) in Simmons is helping me. I have been attending special lectures, too. The whole point of IAP is to explore, since there are so many classes and lectures of varying length, it is really easy to do this. I went to an hour long class about Athena, our computer system at MIT. I don’t know much about it, and I learned some basic commands at the session, which was good. Gus knows a lot more about this (he is Course 6 afterall), so perhaps he can teach me more about it. I also went to seminar on “Teaching Engineering to Kids,” where we played around with Lego Mindstorms kits (you can build robots and program them to do certain actions), it was extremely fun. We had to build a little car and then figure out how far to let it run so it didn’t run into a group of figurines. There was also “Taming the Borg: Design Principles for Transparent Use,” which was a very long, but interesting, seminar about how to analyze consumer products and make them better. (Like looking at a cell-phone case and finding all it’s annoying qualities and how to improve it). Then I also went to a seminar on teaching kids about science.

For the past week I have been attending 6.091 (Hands-On Introduction to EE Lab Skills--
Introduction to basic EE and components and lab techniques: resistors, capacitors, inductors, integrated circuits, power supplies and more. Hands-on experience constructing simple projects, using multi-meters, oscilloscopes, soldering, and other construction techniques.). Our final project is to build either a motion sensor or a digital lock. I chose the lock, thinking I might be able to find a good use for it somewhere (although after some more thought I realized the sensor would be better, since I can’t see the door from my desk, and sometimes if my music is too loud I can’t hear anyone either). I have learned so much in just a week! It would be better to have the class be longer and get more repetition and more detail on all of the components, but that’s okay. The class has an hour long lecture and then lab afterwards. The professor is very easy-going—all we need to do to pass the class is attend one lecture and attempt one of the labs! I’ve been to all of the lectures and I’ve done the labs too. So from 2:00 to about 6:00 in the evening I’ve been an electrical engineer! Gus helped me out one day, and instead of being impatient at how slow I was at stuff, he asked me questions so I would better understand what was going on. He even tried to trick me (that or he had a temporary lapse), into placing a piece into the electric board incorrectly, but I told him he was wrong :-)! My last class is today.

Next week is sorority recruitment. I would never even think about joining a sorority at another college, but this is MIT. Frat rush was tons of fun, so I hope sorority recruitment is on par.

I’ve been ordering lots of things online lately, so we have new things in our room! For Christmas, I got new speakers. They are Altec Lansing speakers, and sound very nice. The first set I ordered had something wrong with them, so I ordered a replacement, and they work fine. Gus and I were trying to figure out what was wrong with them, since the subwoofer had a very loud buzzing sound coming from it that was not the normal 60 hertz buzz from the electricity. If there wasn’t a warranty on it, we would have opened it up and taken a look inside. Since I was running out of room on my bookshelf, I ordered a cheap one off of Target that is working well. I also got a Sponge-Bob Squarepants shower curtain, which brightens up our bathroom considerably.

It’s been strange for the past week because Annelise is in Italy with the history professors I had last term. She will return on the 28th, just in time for a science fiction movie marathon! The room is sooo quiet, I miss her :-(.

I have really been enjoying IAP. All my friends and I have just been relaxing, watching movies, playing video games, going out to eat, cooking (which is fun with more people), sleeping a lot….you get the picture. Amanda M. introduced us to The OC (Orange County), and we’ve been watching the first season on DVD. We watched so many episodes in one day that Gus and I had the “California” theme song stuck in our head and could not take anymore! It’s a pretty good show, very soap-opera-like, but without the really cheesy acting. This weekend I hope to go out somewhere in Boston, maybe shopping, and then getting together with some Harvard friends. The weather is still very warm for January! It snowed again, but only for a day, and now it’s all melting. You can go out in a light coat and get warm…..very odd winter.