My lab hosted another successful engineering open house exhibit today at the University of Washington. I’ve been working in the Nonlinear Dynamics and Control Lab at UW for two years now and I’m close to completing my masters degree. My thesis is based on a radio transceiver that I specifically designed to enable underwater communication between our three robotic fish. Today, my transceiver was used to demo our work to the UW community and visitors to the university. [Read more…]
Robotic Fish at the UW Engineering Open House
Pope Benedict XVI visits Washington, D.C.
My lucky little sister got some amazing photos of our Holy Father last week when he visited her college, Catholic University of America. When Pope John Paul II visited CUA in 1979, it was those students who first chanted, “John Paul 2, we love you!” which was echoed my millions throughout the world for years to come. My sister says she was trying to convince people to chant “XVI – he’s our guy!” (pronouncing each letter of the Roman numeral for 16, as he is the sixteenth pope to take the name Benedict) but I guess that one never caught on. ;-)
She is a great photographer, and arrived early to get a good vantage point. These photos are better than most I’ve seen in the media, and certainly better than the ones on CUA’s website of the same event.
More here: 3,000 CUA Students Rockthe Pope.
Baby Update and Ultrasound
Today I discovered a new rite of passage in a modern mother’s life – sitting in a waiting room with an extremely full bladder, waiting for the ultrasound. I was supposed to drink 36 ounces of water between 2 and 2:30, and not go to the bathroom until after the 3:30 appointment. Really uncomfortable, but amazingly as soon as baby was on the screen I didn’t notice my bladder anymore.
This wasn’t the 20 week ultrasound where we find out the gender – this was part of a routine screening to check that the spinal column is forming as it should.
It took about 30 minutes to get a clear image of baby’s neck to be sure the spinal column had formed correctly. Our little punkin’ seems to be an acrobat, preferring to stand on its head most of the time. The sonographer needed just the right angle, without the chin being tucked in, but our baby seems to hang out on its neck/head an awful lot. Several times, the sonographer pushed the wand firmly onto my stomach and jiggled it, supposedly to shake up baby to encourage it to get in a new position. The cool thing is that, with all the angles she tried, I got to see my baby for quite a while, and from lots of perspectives. I saw it suck its thumb, move its head back and forth, move its arm up and down, do a little arching its back sort of stretching motion, and I got to count five fingers and five toes. The images on the computer were sharper than the screen shots show. It was such a cool experience!
The sonographer was finally satisfied with the measurements she was able to take, and left the room to show the images to the doctor while I got to use the restroom and wipe the ultrasound goo off my tummy. The doctor said the images are good, and baby looks healthy. I did a few more blood tests to add to the handful of vials they took last week, and in a couple weeks we’ll know with a bit more certainty that I’m growing a healthy baby.
Delicious Dinner
I cooked an incredibly yummy pizza tonight. Simple to make: just a large, thin-crust Boboli. Topped with cream cheese, pesto, tomatoes, mushrooms, black olives, bell pepper slices and avocado slices. Just ten minutes of baking at 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232 degrees Celsius) and add the tomatoes and avocados after it comes out of the oven. I’m going to try making it next with sun dried tomato pesto and maybe multi colored bell peppers.
I’m Going to be a Daddy!
We found out on Valentines Day but we decided to wait a few weeks to tell you. My beautiful redhead is pregnant. Yes, we are going to find out its gender but we have to wait until week 20 for that. Right now its week 11. I’ll attach the week 8 ultrasound to this blog. It was so moving to see the baby on the screen and hear its heartbeat. Even at week 8, the baby is the size of a peanut yet its heartbeat is strong. [Read more…]
Our Trip to the Olympic Peninsula
My wife and I have been exploring the Pacific Northwest since the day we started dating. We’ve seen much of Washington and Oregon and will probably drive to Idaho and Montana this summer. This particular weekend, we spontaneously decided to explore the Olympic Peninsula and venture into the Olympic National Forest in an effort to photograph some of regions immense beauty. My friend Adam suggested we also spend some time in Port Townsend, a little artsy community on the northeastern tip of the peninsula. I spent Friday planning the trip with Google Maps and the Washington State Parks and Olympic National Forest homepages. We also bought a pair of coolers, important gear missing from our camping supplies. I grabbed my old boy scout dome tent, packed the jeep and headed west. [Read more…]
Posted by on 3 April 2008 at 12:09 PM
Filed Under: Camping, Hiking, Photography, Road Trips
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