Category Archives: School & Education

Vonada’s Electrical Engineering Maxims

A list of electrical engineering maxims by DEC Engineer Don Vonada: There is no such thing as ground. Digital circuits are made from analog parts. Prototype designs always work. Asserted timing conditions are designed first; unasserted timing conditions are found … Continue reading

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Suboptimal Multimedia Player Software

I’m trying to watch a recorded event for a class. Unfortunately it is provided as a streaming .ram file, which means that RealPlayer is basically my only option for watching it. While I have a high-bandwidth internet connection, RealPlayer was … Continue reading

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Suboptimal Physics Textbook

I just bought a new $148 physics textbook, Fundamentals of Physics, Extended, 8th Edition, by Halliday, Resnick, and Walker.  Upon opening the cover, the very first page one sees is an advertisement for the publisher’s product “Wiley Plus”: The first … Continue reading

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It’s unfortunate that I know some calculus

I’ve now got a small stream of revenue coming in, and if I didn’t know some calculus, I could prove that it is sufficient for all my needs: I received some money yesterday.  It will take me a finite non-zero … Continue reading

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Minimum grade IS grade Inflation, district’s claims notwithstanding

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, students now get a minimum grade of 50% for assignments and tests, even if their actual percentage score is lower.  District spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said If a student gets a … Continue reading

Posted in Blog/website/news comments, School & Education | 1 Comment

Petition to End Women’s Suffrage

I wish I could say that I was surprised at how many female students at Padua Academy were willing to sign a petition to end women’s suffrage. The issue seems to be controversial at UVM. Personally, I’m in favor of … Continue reading

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More physicist action figures needed!

Now that I’ve got an Albert Einstein action figure, it occurs to me that I need some other physicist action figures to keep him company.  Unfortunately there don’t seem to be any action figures of Neils Bohr, Marie Curie, Richard … Continue reading

Posted in Natural Sciences | 1 Comment

Mission College Class of 2008

Out of curiousity, I tabulated some of the data from the commencement program. I didn’t double-check my work, so I may have introduced errors. A total of 518 Associate’s degrees were awarded to 396 students, with 294 students receiving single … Continue reading

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Celebrating graduation

Mike, Diane, Dan and I went to Scott’s Seafood in San Jose for dinner. I had a cup of New England style clam chowder, the seared ahi tuna entrée, and the crème brulee. Everything was delicious, and the service was … Continue reading

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Graduation!

Only 26 years since I first entered college, I can finally say that I’m a college graduate, though I’ve only earned an Associate’s degree (Associate of Arts in Mathematics).  The graduation ceremony was this afternoon.  The speeches were mercifully short.  … Continue reading

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