Wednesday, January 29, 2003

So much has happened these last few days, pretty much since Friday. Okay, here goes:
It all started because my parents left on a cruise to the carribean without me, so I was left home with the family of my mothers good friend. This was bittersweet, because not only is the mom some gourmet chef, the dad is this *really* smart guy who has his own little business. More on this in a minute... So basically, while my parents are gone, I am grounded for a few reasons. One, to not cause any confusion for my fake parents, and also because I was stupid a few weeks ago, but thats another story... So I didn't go anywhere last weekend, which brings me back to the dad's job. Last weekend, he had to test some 800 light emitting diodes (LEDs) in their pre-manufactured stage. So you know how small they are with their case on, but have you ever seen one alone? They are pretty tiny. Like, the biggest one we tested was something like 300 microns wide. A micron is a millionth of an inch. So basically he has this computer hardware and software that places a needle (extremely fine tip) on the diode, sends 50 milliamps through it, and measures the intensity of the light coming from it using a spectrometer. The trick is that you have to place them on the robotic platform in the right place by hand. Thats right, he gets out tweezers and an exacto knife and puts it on the little piece of tape (remember, you breathe too hard, these things are GONE). Then the platform is sent back and using precise stepper motors and an ingenious platform, you place the little thing under the pin. Press a button on the computer, and 3 or so seconds later, you have an intensity reading! I helped him out just a bit with this, but mostly I was intrigued by the back of the warehouse-like bulding. The company he is sort of with had been there for 15 years, and had amassed quite a collection of this and that. For example, they had about 8 or so oscilloscopes just sitting there, along with aisles of electrical components, motors, chips, computer parts, etc..., and since they manufacture their own hardware (solder it by hand), they had quite a workspace. As you could imagine, it was heaven on earth for me. I spent the whole day there (8 to 4), and after that was dinner and a trip to radio shack. It doesn't get any better than that.
Well, the dad is on the east coast till tomorrow on a business trip or something, so I am left alone at home, grounded. Plus, more on the bad side is that whole episode with me and school a few weeks ago. Well, a teacher brought it up for me at a staff meeting (I asked him to) and so now they have decided on a punishment. I wont go in to much detail, but I might be staying home a few days next week. I just don't know how to tell my parents when they get back. Its gonna suck. I sent a warning e-mail today, so we shall just see how it goes. They come back on saturday, so I wonder if I am still grounded on friday, or if I could have a last hoorah before I get grounded for life and never have a chance of getting a car. I wish time passed faster sometimes, just so I could see what happens. Well, I am tired of typing, so I'm gonna push that little "post and publish" button now...