Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Weekly Wednesday Update #4

Goal Update

Miles Swam: 0 [0]
Miles Run: 19 [73.84]
Tacos Ate: 15 [80]
Miles Biked: 58.07 [161.11]

February will be pool time! Already 18 miles behind schedule! This week has been a recovery week (every 4 weeks), where I have been attempting to reduce mileage and effort by ~10-25%.


Things I worked on

Time is flying by! Wow. Started cracking open the books and doing practice problems in preparation for the Mechanical Engineering Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam in April! This is the last step needed to obtain my PE License; and to be honest, my book problem solving capabilities is a bit rusty. Well, I have about 3 months to study up and get ready for the 8-hour exam. The good news is it's already coming back. :)
As can be expected, while the amount of aerobic activity and studying increase over the next few weeks, the time in the shop will be a bit limited. Don’t worry though! This weekend I plan to build the rest of my new workbench, my new electronics enclosure and hopefully finish the 1000 → 1800mm upgrade to my X-Carve, effectively transforming it into what I will deem as the Z-Carve. I will try some to capture the mess on camera with stills, time lapse and video so stay tuned!
Line up remains the same, few things moved around:
  • Aluminum Supports for 1800mm axis
  • Work bench with enclosure
  • Electronics case for Z-Carve
  • Dust Shoe version 2 (version 1 post here)

Favorite Podcast of the Week


In this podcast, Dave interviews the host of another one of my favorite podcasts, Jordan Harbinger from the Art of Charm podcast. Throughout this interview you hear how AoC came to be and some of the crazy things Jordan has gone through during his lifetime. It is a very inspirational podcast that helps introduce the Art of Charm podcast and give it some credibility. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Favorite Quote(s) of the Week

"Being realistic is the most common path to mediocrity." - Will Smith

“Don't count on motivation; count on discipline." - Jocko Willink

Random of the Week

This week while working on my electronics case, I have had to dig into lots of [Raspi C#] code and wiring diagrams to begin making sense of the magic behind the electronics that we now take for granted. I forgot how much I enjoy diving into the nitty gritty details of these magic boxes! The attention to detail required is awesome as one mistake can cause a component to 1) not work [as anticipated], 2) break or 3) cause a fire. Don’t worry, I am doing my research and documenting the circuits with a nice free tool called Fritzing to ensure I put the electronics together correctly and don’t start a fire! This project also gives me the opportunity to add some safety features to my controller that I currently do not have such as fuses and motor kill switches. And so I don't feel like I am skipping out on studying for the PE exam, I have used this opportunity to jog my circuit analysis memories (honestly, with simple LED circuits where I basically only use V=IR) in order to size my resistors correctly.


While I understand the basics of circuits analysis and was rather good at it in college, it is honestly one area that takes me out of my comfort zone, which allows me to grow. This reminds me of another quote (gotcha!) “You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.” ― Roy T. Bennett.

This week I challenge you to step outside of your comfort zone, honestly, what’s the worse that could happen?

Time to write post: 34 minutes

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