Back to School... last time for a while?

I've purchased my books, packed my pencils, and updated my Ubuntu software. It's time to head back to school again, for what should be my last fall semester, at least for a while. I should be graduating in May, and I don't plan to go back and earn my Master's degree immediately. For the next few months, I'll be working on computer science senior project, network systems, statistics, and just for fun (and to fulfill natural science requirements), astronomy.

I'm really looking forward to senior project. It's a chance to finally work on a substantial piece of software, not just little toy examples and homework assignments that get tossed away after a week. I've had friends go through senior project before, and a couple of them suggested that doing a thesis instead would be less of a pain. While I value their warning, and believe that it probably would be less annoying to do a thesis on my own, I can't help but think that the project is going to be valuable experience in more than just coding and writing academic papers. For senior project, I'll have to work on a team, and we'll be asked to write corporate documentation and give presentations to our real-world business customers. Not only that, but our team will have to learn how to work together, brainstorm together without bickering, divvy up work efficiently, and integrate the pieces back together, which is no small feat. I think it's going to be an excellent learning experience, even if it turns out to be a pain in the ass.

From Arduino Projects

I do have something to show for my free time this summer; my Arduino Weasley Clock is actually pretty far along. The diagram above shows the whole layout of the finished product. I've written the webapp on Google App Engine (lower-right) which talks to Google Latitude (lower left), gets latitude/longitude information, and translates those into meaningful locations like Home and Work. I've also got the Arduino (top right) talking to that webapp through the XPort serial-to-Ethernet module, so the Arduino can ask where we are and get an answer back! The last step, and the most challenging for me, is to figure out how to hook up a couple of stepper motors into a disassembled clock. It's still pretty exciting how far I've brought this project, though.

Last but not least, the back concrete porch on our house was just re-poured. The old one was probably original and about 30 or 40 years old, and sinking badly on one side. Worse, it was taking a piece of the roof with it. That won't be a problem for much longer, because the old porch was taken out at the beginning of the week, and a new one poured yesterday. It's very exciting, because we had the main level dropped down much closer to the level of the yard, and steps put in near the door, so it won't be so difficult to climb into the house anymore.