Posts

Metrology Internship, Summer 2012

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This is quite a late post, but I wanted to finally post my videos that I took over the summer at my Internship. I was working at Alta Devices the entire summer on a project which I called the Wafer Analysis Station (WAS). The company uses GaAs wafers to make their solar cells, and these wafers are used over and over again, as many times as possible. Therefore, the surface must be inspected regularly to make sure it does not need to be resurfaced and is still suitable for the necessary processes.

Python: Finding Duplicate Files

I've begun to learn a little bit of python because I'd like to make a script (that works in Windows or Linux) for finding duplicate files (whether the filenames are the same or not). This will mostly be useful in cleaning up my music library, for I'm suspicious that playing around with different programs has created more duplicates of my music files than I have already found. Yes, I realize that someone out there has probably already written a script for such a task, but where would be the fun in using that? This is how I practice my love for programming.

Solar Cell Characteristics

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So, a certain unnamed project that I am working on requires the use of a solar cell to charge some batteries. I got these solar cells from an "over-supply" store in Santa Clara for $4 a piece. As seen in Figure 1, its one of those typical solar cells from a garden lamp that charges batteries during the day and turns some LEDs on at night.

Arduino & Tri-Colored LEDs

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I'm currently working on an unnamed  project which requires the integration of tri-color LEDs (RGB). These are merely four-pin LEDs with a common anode or cathode and an input pin for red, green, and blue. With varying currents, a multitude of colors can be produced. So I created a C++ (arduino) library for handling such LEDs. Since most of my knowledge of programming is in C, learning about classes in C++ is a significant accomplishment for me.

21st Birthday Wishlist

Indeed. My 21st birthday is coming up. This year, I've decided I am going to ask for birthday presents in a slightly different fashion, though. I'm going to compile a bill of materials on this blog-post that I would need to make my own little robot. I'll split it up into two categories: parts I need (because I don't have an alternative), and parts I want (but for which I already have an alternative if I don't get them).

Foodie 1: Pizza-dillas

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It was a while ago that I made these, but they turned out decently. I wanted pizza, but I didn't want a whole lot of bread, so I decided (I owe credit to my mother for this) to make the pizza on tortillas. I made some pepperoni and margarita pizza-dillas. The fresh ingredients The uncooked, not-yet-finished product I'll admit my original influence for the meal was to make something quick and easy. It would probably have been so if I could have cooked more than one at a time. Also, were I to make this again, I would probably trying making it open-faced, rather than like a quesadilla. Ingredients: pizza sauce shredded mozzarella cheese pepperoni log, thinly sliced 1 tomato, thinly sliced fresh basil leaves tortillas

Foodie 2: Banana Cinnamon Buttermilk Pancakes

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It's little bit of a late post, but I wanted to share one of my cooking ventures. I like experimenting with foods (occasionally), so this won't be the last post about food. However, Monday of finals week (6/4), Lorice and I cooked pancakes for breakfast. They were banana cinnamon buttermilk pancakes, and they were pretty good with a little maple syrup, butter, and coconut shavings on them. I may have gone a little overboard with my first pancake. The T-Pancake, with egg and kiwi Lorice, showing the proper way to eat one's pancakes.