Final AutoCAD Drawings!

These are the final drawings! Unless of course, you see any typos, in which case I would appreciate it if you would point them out ;) Enjoy!

This is the first map. I did it from scratch - there are 50 points with differing elevations, and I created contours connecting points of equal elevation (though that sounds difficult, it takes literally 5 mouse clicks to make the contours - that's the power of computers!)

 This drawing is my subdivision design - you can see the road and 30 ugly lots :P There are also some more, Christmasy, contours!

The final drawing looks way more complicated than it actually is. All of the above was just manipulation of the first two maps. The top drawing on this map took about 5 minutes (about 15 mouse clicks), the bottom left drawing took about 20 seconds (just a couple mouse clicks), and the thing on the right took about 10 minutes (mostly just copying and pasting information from the drawing). All in all, this last one took way less time than the first two. The second one took by far the longest amount of time, simply because I messed up the subdivision design a couple times before I finally got it right.

6 more days of class after today, and 4 days of finals, and I am done for Fall 2013! Hurrah!

Casey

Breaking Concrete

 Last Thursday, we finally load-tested our reinforced concrete beam! With apprehension, our group grabbed our beam, and prepared to put it under the machine that would press down on it until it broke.

Our beam is behind these two beams - we had to wait to grab it out, but it's there!

This is not our beam, but you can see the machine that tests the beams. Basically, it presses down on that little triangle, which presses down on the beam in turn.

Here is that beam after it broke.

This one is not our beam... :P

Aha! Here is our beam! I was pleased with our beam - it looked quite nice!

Testing the beam...

Another picture of the beam during testing.

And here is the broken beam - you can see the cracks just below the rectangle. It held 4,400 pounds of force, though! While we were not in the top three teams, we made a respectable showing of around 5th place out of 15ish teams. Besides, it was a ton of fun!

That's all for now!

Casey

A Topographic Survey, From Start to Finish

One of my Wednesday classes is a 3-hour long surveying lab. Though long, this lab is pretty cool! As of a couple weeks ago, we only learned how to use the equipment (levels, theodolites, total stations); but that's pretty neat right there. A couple weeks ago, though, he told us he was going to have us form groups and do a topographic survey.

A topographic survey, in case you don’t know, is a survey where you locate all the existing features on a portion of land. Usually, topographic surveys cover a large amount of land, but for the purposes of this class, we only surveyed a small portion (about 20’ by 40’). Here’s a picture of the area we surveyed:

The red square is the area we surveyed.

In order to locate the points, we had to set up a total station (an instrument that can measure angles and distances electronically) on a control point, then calculate azimuths (the angle from one point to another), horizontal distances, and vertical distances for each point in the field. So, the total station never moves, but another person moves around with a prism (set on a rod), and sets the prism directly over each point, whether it be the side of a tree, a bush, a sprinkler, an electrical box, or a side of a concrete border. Then, once one point is collected, another point is calculated, and so it continues until all the points are in the book and written down. All told, we calculated over 60 points (61, if I remember correctly)! Here’s what my sheet of points looks like, in digital form:

CRB1 102.691883382503 142.995815655189 10.02

SHR1 103.698409334966 144.125278111203 9.98 Also ICRB1

SHR2 108.325346748989 144.406317135168 9.7 Also ICRB2

SHR3 110.228469841332 146.774702614821 10

SHR4 111.955910512808 151.305346737058 10

SHR5 110.473243755337 154.238074866659 10.02

SHR6 107.619548986577 155.559957462557 10.04 Also CA1

SHR7 103.297639062727 155.442016346919 10.04

CB1 103.539463355811 156.529300359662 10

CB2 104.895894984577 158.816584500462 10.06

BOX1 103.792614195121 153.746353155977 10.06

BOX2 105.171469810285 151.64170698187 10

CA2 106.065398014763 156.797054033836 10.14

CC1 107.711169979565 157.545646729759 10.1

CC2 106.484224060766 159.085264138614 10.1

ICRB3 103.045059763272 161.965225820924 10

OCRB2 101.862886422586 162.952442797532 10.14

SHRA 110.625501476061 160.757889350949 10

SHRB 113.909296203132 157.522203357778 10.04

SHRC 114.543777938458 154.037025485095 10.1

SHRD 114.574863695737 149.936497156395 10.02

SP1 113.782690061931 144.682603490136 10.14

OCRB3 123.692964668298 144.05273913421 9.98

ICRB4 123.704000493175 145.021047973359 9.76

TR1 120.511746826358 150.514340955133 10.12

TR2 118.779897362706 151.970982817782 10.16

TR3 121.568953722249 151.852925041192 10.06

SP2 123.049012244016 154.050722794198 9.98

ICRB5 123.023207559912 163.026517543437 9.7

OCRB4 121.999711752923 164.300655383816 9.8

SP3 112.876610303107 162.364535652099 10.14

TCRB1 128.916913713065 162.758442470405 9.84

TCRB2 129.629165614072 148.951414126804 9.88

SP4 123.531017525889 145.134257656422 9.94

SP5 122.609335507697 162.751158936711 9.96

SP6 103.282508299612 161.933073064906 10.2

CD1 96.7763558407172 162.697181103574 10.2

CD2 94.3965415455412 158.994481549965 10.12

OCRB5 93.6782036427429 159.203433099926 10.06

ICRB6 92.7324544480534 159.054489936417 9.92

BSH1 90.1407732019041 159.488533743434 10.04

SP7 88.8585514210008 161.498927824487 10.42

BLD1 87.8435736152824 161.204422205858 9.88

BSH2 91.3222946390717 155.18185417027 10.24

BSH3 90.2644251432568 150.591787695324 10.22

SP8 89.379011805599 151.557387538299 10.62

BLD2 88.122347767295 150.728013734414 10.02

BLD3 78.2882772902315 150.228273880098 10.42

MC1 80.7812348117533 145.746950331569 10.42

MC2 83.9317739053884 145.485269155766 10.36

MC3 82.4024570970866 147.078594751544 10.38

BLD4 78.6398380084268 141.978011859708 10.1

OCRB6 88.508122312508 142.265550359787 9.84

ICRB7 88.5138942841599 143.468045452775 9.84

SP9 91.6413341011986 143.870813810462 10.2

ICRB8 93.3754742731745 143.599606178206 9.94

OCRB7 94.541074072439 142.692408314798 10.02

SP10 94.4806821742037 147.238657164846 10.28

SP11 94.0733334072462 156.40951181404 10.24

HOL1 104.974881767206 160.114498678791 9.78

HOL2 109.110867393118 144.517251659834 9.72

It may look like a bunch of jibberish, but this list of points tells me the x- and y-coordinates of each point that we surveyed in the field, as well as the elevation at each point.

After the long process of taking the points in the field, and reducing them down to coordinates and elevations (a job that took about 5 hours total), I was ready to input them into AutoCAD and actually create the map. The professor was originally going to make us do it by hand on a gridded sheet of paper, but he said he was fine with AutoCAD drawings, as well. I immediately jumped on that, since AutoCAD drawings are cleaner, more professional looking, and more accurate than hand-drawn ones. Besides, AutoCAD is what most companies use for topographic survey maps anyway!

This drawing was different than my other drawings, because this one I did completely from scratch. The other ones I’ve done I’ve just copied other drawings. As you can imagine, I’m proud of this one J

So, after another few hours of work on AutoCAD, I finally put the following image together (it's oddly squashed, for some reason):

And there you have it! A topographic map, from start to finish!

Casey

A Tour of the Campus

Today I brought my camera to campus to give a virtual tour of my daily college activities. Below are some pictures, straight from the said camera!

Above is the road leading to most of my classes. Yes, I know, not very exciting. That building in the distance on the left is the Science II building, where Corey and I have our geology lab.

This is the building I spend most of my time in: Engineering East. In fact, as I am typing this, I am located on the third floor of this building - you can see it in the picture. I am actually looking out those windows on the third floor right now!

While this looks like a picture of a patchy grass lawn, it looks like the staging grounds for the surveying lab to me!

The sign in front of the Engineering East building.

 Some of the past year's concrete canoes. Each year, Fresno State makes one and enters it into a competition. And yes, they do float (however poorly)!

Quite the dismal-looking hallway, isn't it? This is actually the third floor of the Engineering East building, where all the computer labs are located. The last door on the right is where I am right now. If you go straight and turn left down the hallway at the end, you'll end up in front of my AutoCAD classroom.

Well, I turned left, and ended up right here. This is the classroom where I do all sorts of cool things with AutoCAD!

After visiting the Engineering East building, I exited and took this picture. This building is where I do my intro to Civil Engineering class. And yes, the inside of the building looks just as dreary as the outside of it does.

 And here is the famous Madden Library! This building is the biggest one on campus! You can see that there are three floors, but you can't see that there is also a basement below, for a total of 4 floors full of books!

Here is another picture, where you can see how far back the building goes.

I walked down to the basement to take some pictures of the books, since the basement has the most books of all the other floors (over 1,000,000). The bookshelves, to conserve space, are moveable and are stuck right next to each other. I positioned the bookshelves in such a way that I was able to take the picture below from one end of the basement to the other.

Here you can see the sheer volume of the books in the library - imagine about 20 times this amount in just the basement alone!

The Learning Center (tutoring) is located in the basement, so I went and said hi to Corey, who was tutoring a student at that moment.

Your eyes do not deceive you - they have a Steinway grand right in the middle of the library. I've been tempted to go and play it, but I'm not sure that I'm allowed to :| It's right there and usually uncovered, so it seems like it is, but I don't want to do something I'm not supposed to, so I've let it sit there so far.

Finally - while this looks like an ugly portion of McLane Hall (which it is), I took a picture of it because located on the second floor in that portion of building that is separate from the main portion is the Smittcamp Honors College office. I visit there on occasion to print things off (and take the free food there!)

So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed my little tour.

Casey

What is our nation coming to?

"Safety-conscious bureaucrats have pulled the plug on a new line of Postal Service stamps. The stamp line, part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign, depicted children doing all sorts of activities. According to Linn’s Stamp News, a collectors magazine, the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition asked the USPS to stop the presses after reviewing the stamps. At issue were three stamps in particular: One featuring a child doing a cannonball, one depicting a boy doing a headstand without a helmet, and one portraying a skateboarder without kneepads. All three were deemed unsafe, and, according to Linn’s, the press run for the forever stamps could be delayed indefinitely."

 This is insane! I wonder what kind of childhoods the "safety-conscious bureaucrats" had that they would feel alright in recalling 3 stamps of kids playing normally - as if they think those stamps would convince a kid to play unsafely anyway!

I'm sorry. I should end now, or I'll continue ranting. I just can't believe the things - little issues though they may seem - that our country is doing. But I thought it worth sharing, since I found it so crazy.

Casey

Final AutoCAD Assignment!

Last one for a while! This one was an interesting one to do, but fun, still! At the end of the semester, I'll have a final one to show (which should be a lot more complicated and cool to see!)

Casey

AutoCAD again...and Other Things

Yes, I know - you're probably getting sick of AutoCAD. But, it's just too much fun - and I love the way the drawings look when they're done. AutoCAD makes it really easy to make a drawing - and this one took me a lot less time than the first one:

 I guess I'm starting to get the hang of it - but of course, I still have only scratched the surface of what the program can do. I feel sorry for the guys who made the program - they must have been typing code for years! I can't imagine the amount of work they put into one simple command: the "Line" command. They must have been typing for days just to make that one command work, and then I come along and type one letter - "L" - and I use all those days of their work drawing 1 line. Pretty mind-blowing when you think that there are thousands upon thousands of commands! It makes you start to appreciate the things we take for granted - like gas stations or the like. We come along in our cars, park along these structures that suck in a piece of plastic with a metal strip, and then, like magic, gasoline comes out of a nozzle! But if you think about, imagine the amount of work just designing, let alone constructing, a gas pump. There's so much intricacy in that one piece of machinery - and yet we encounter it almost every day without noticing. Of course, that doesn't even touch on the difficulty of refining the oil to make the gas - that itself is a huge process that takes very intricate machinery. And yet we take it for granted.

Can you think of some other intricate "machines" (if you can call them that) that we take for granted? Look up. Do you see the sky? Have you considered how incredibly complex the sky is? Meteorologists study and study the sky, and yet they still can't figure out when it's going to rain! And what makes up the sky? Little atoms of material? What holds the atoms together? Little protons, electrons, and neutrons? What holds those together? What holds the thing that holds those together together? Not even the smartest quantum physicist could give you an answer. It is a matter of irreducible complexity - you can only break things down so far before you hit something that cannot be broken down any further. And of course, these are supposedly the most "simple" things on the planet! Can you fathom the creativity, the complexity that is manifested in you and me? It is incomprehensibly more sophisticated than anything the AutoCAD developers ever came up with!

Do you know something else we often take for granted? It happened a long time ago when a man named Jesus took up a cross and died. Of course the story didn't end there - He rose again, and even now, he is “at the right hand of God,” and is “interceding for us.” (Romans 8:34) Christ died for our sins so we would not have to pay the penalty for breaking God’s law, and yet we take that for granted! When I look back, I know that I am a grievous sinner – I have broken God’s law time and time and time again. I have broken it today, I broke it yesterday, I broke it the day before that, and the day before that – every day of my life I have broken God’s law. And when I read in James 2:10, that “whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he is guilty of all,” I begin to comprehend the significance of my sin. Sinning just once warrants the same punishment as sinning a thousand times. And when I have sinned many more times than a thousand, I begin to realize just how grievous my offences are. And when I begin to comprehend the significance of my sin, I begin to understand, in small part, the significance of Christ’s sacrifice. “Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows!”  And “thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” God has made us special, intricate and marvelous, and he has given us the much more marvelous gift of salvation through Jesus Christ!

Casey

It's that time of year!

I continue to be amazed that it is already October - the rest of the year went by so quickly! It's really strange to think that we are past Reformation Day and looking forward to Thanksgiving.

Of course, there is one thing that I look forward to that comes before Thanksgiving. It starts with an M, and ends with "essiah". I'll let you try to figure out what it is.

Recently, I've started to hum, sing, and play the Messiah. It is such a masterpiece! The music is fantastic, and the words, of course, are great since they are straight from Scripture. Of course, the selections of the passages is perfect - it gives you a great summary of the Gospel. Here are all 43 passages in order (complete passages, not just the parts that are in the Messiah):

This first section is more the advent section, with passages that foreshadow Christ.

Isaiah 40: 1 - 3

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God!

Every Valley Shall be Exalted

Isaiah 40:4

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill
shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.

And the Glory of the Lord
Isaiah 40: 5

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Thus saith the Lord

Haggai 2: 6,7

For thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Yet once, it is a little while and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts.

Malachi 3: 1

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.

But who may abide the Day of His Coming?

Malachi 3: 2

But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:

And He shall Purify

Malachi 3: 3

And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Behold, a Virgin shall Conceive

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion

Isaiah 40: 9

O thou that bringest good tidings to Zion, get thee up upon the high mountain; O thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem,

lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah,

Behold your God!

Isaiah 60: 1

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth

Isaiah 60: 2,3

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people:

but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to Thy light, and kings to the brightness of Thy rising.

The people that walked in darkness

Isaiah 9: 2

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 

This next section is the Christmas section; detailing Christ's birth.

For unto Us a Child is born

Isaiah 9: 6

For unto Us a Child is born, unto Us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

There were shepherds abiding in the field

Luke 2: 8

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night.

And , lo, the Angel of the Lord came

Luke 2: 9

And, lo. the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the Angel said unto them

Luke 2: 10,11

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And suddenly there was with the Angel

Luke 2: 13

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God

Luke 2: 14

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

After the Christmas section, comes the section on Jesus' life.

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion

Zechariah 9: 9,10

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

Then shall the eyes of the blind

Isaiah 35: 5,6

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd

Isaiah 40: 11

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Matthew 11: 28, 29

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

His yoke is easy

Matthew 11: 30

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Behold the lamb of God

John 1: 29

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Then comes Christ's death and related passages

He was despised

Isaiah 53: 3

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isaiah 50: 6

I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

Surely He hath borne our griefs

Isaiah 53: 4,5

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.


And with His stripes we are healed

Isaiah 53: 5

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray

Isaiah 53: 6

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

All they that see him laugh him to scorn

Psalm 22: 7

All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

He trusted in God

Psalm 22: 8

He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

Thy rebuke has broken His heart

Psalm 69: 20

Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

Behold, and see if there be any sorrow

Lamentations 1: 12

Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.

He was cut off out of the land of the living

Isaiah 53: 8

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell

Psalm 16: 10

For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates

Psalm 24: 7 - 10

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory.

Unto which of the angels said He at any time

Hebrews 1: 5

For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

Let all the angels of God worship Him

Hebrews 1: 6

And again, when He bringeth in the first begotten into the world, He saith, "And let all the angels of God worship Him."

Thou art gone up on high

Psalm 68: 18

Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive: Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.

The Lord gave the word

Psalm 68: 11

The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.

How beautiful are the feet

Romans 10: 15

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Their sound is gone out

Romans 10: 18

But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

Why do the nations so furiously rage together?

Psalm 2: 1,2

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed, (saying,)

Let us break their bonds asunder

Psalm 2: 3

Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

He that dwelleth in heaven

Psalm 2: 4

He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision

Thou shalt break them

Psalm 2: 99.

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel

Hallelujah

Revelation 19: 6

And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

Revelation 11: 15

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 19: 16

And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS.

And finally comes Easter and the Gospel!

I know that my redeemer liveth

Job 19: 25, 26

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.

1Corinthians 15: 20

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

Since by man came death

1Corinthians 15: 21, 22

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Behold I tell you a mystery

1Corinthians 15: 51, 52

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The trumpet shall sound

1Corinthians 15: 52 - 54

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Then shall be brought to pass

1Corinthians 15: 54

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death where is thy sting?

1Corinthians 15: 55 ,56

O death, where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

But Thanks be to God

I Corinthians 15:57

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

If God be for us

Romans 8: 31, 33, 34

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Worthy is the Lamb

Revelation 5: 12, 13

Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Amen

 All powerful passages! I can't wait to start singing the Messiah again. We are incredibly blessed to have talented people like Handel who can so well supplement Scripture with music!

For now,

Casey

 

AutoCAD Again

Here's the finished first homework:

Much better! Corey helped me find the right font, which, silly as it may sound, does a lot to make it look better.

Enjoy!

Casey

AutoCAD

AutoCAD is a really neat program that is very powerful, if used effectively. In my AutoCAD class, we were tasked with basically copying a different AutoCAD drawing - but all from scratch. It's quite the process, but it's also quite fun, which is why AutoCAD is one of my favorite classes this semester. Here's one of my drawings (incomplete, but getting there):

It's almost done - it just needs the dimensions of the road and whatnot to complete it. Of course, I haven't learned that yet, but when I do, I'll show my completed drawing.

Have a great day!

Casey

"A Short Interlude" revisited

Well, apparently the scammer union decided that USPS and UPS weren't working, as I found the following email in my spam folder today:

Never mind the fact that I've never even heard of or used "WhatsApp" before - that is a dead giveaway there. Also, notice that they want you to move the message into the inbox folder - as if they already knew that their email was going to be put into the spam folder. And of course, the big button "Play", that beckons you to press it and download who knows what virus or whatever. I do have to say, though, that this person does a much better job mimicking a real email and it actually looks somewhat genuine ("somewhat" being the key word). Nevertheless, I am not going to fall for it - and I don't think many people who got an email like this would fall for it either.

And the scam saga continues!

Casey

More College Stuff

Right now, I am sitting in a computer lab at Fresno State. It is 5:15, and I am waiting for a class to begin here in this lab at 6:00. I will be learning about AutoCAD - an extremely versatile computer program that is used widely in engineering and other fields. And, as professor Iley Ballinger (or just Iley, as he prefers to be called) says, "You MUST  learn AutoCAD if you want a job in engineering!" I'll be out of here at 9:00, and I will be ready to get back to the apartment and eat - VERY ready.

Monday is tied for my busiest day, and is my longest day. From 10 am-9 pm on Monday, I have classes. Corey has a very similar schedule, and we both get back to the apartment after 8:30.

It's hard to believe this is the 5th week I've been here. Only 13-ish weeks left in this semester! It's really hard to believe that I'm that far into this semester. It makes me feel that the end of it all is not far off - especially after advising earlier, where I reviewed my course plan and reviewed what I'd be doing over the next couple years.


God has certainly been good these first several weeks! We've been blessed through gifts, through safety, through prayer, through easy homework - we've been extremely blessed in everything. Huge thanks go to my family, for all their support in this process.

And as I wrap this very short post up - thank you all, in advance, for your prayers! They are always appreciated.

Casey

A Short Interlude

The other day, I looked at my spam folder in my email, and found the following email:

Three things I noticed: 1) I've never seen a USPS man ever use an @expostarter.com address; 2) I've never seen a manager ever put "manager" into his name - i.e. I've never seen anyone say "Manager Noah Wallace", just "Noah Wallace"; and 3) This person has bad English. Missing apostrophe in "couldn't", "to" and "you" connected ("toyou"), bad spelling/grammar in "to you address" ("to your address" would be correct), and "at 15th August" not "on August 15th".

Obviously fishy. Especially when they want you to open some link that goes to some unknown site. So it went into my spam folder - no harm done.

Well, obviously they think I'm gullible, because they tried it again not long after:

Maybe I like the name Michael Willis better? Hmm...I still don't think I'll click.

But, of course, they wouldn't leave me alone:

What cracked me up the most was the subject: "Unable to delivery". Yep, they don't have good grammar.

But of course, that won't satisfy them:

Maybe they think I'll take more kindly to FedEx scamming? And couriers instead of managers? Of course, the message body is still almost exactly the same, grammar errors and all.

Then, today I looked in my spam folder again, and sure enough:

FedEx and USPS didn't work, so now, it's on to cargo.usa! Never mind that the email address is an address from England...and they still think the package arrived at September 6th and not on September 6th...

If the scammer's goal was to make me laugh, he succeeded in his goal. If that wasn't - well, all I can say is that clicking his links was the last thing on my mind.

I hope you enjoyed that!

Casey

A Day in the Life of a College Student

7:20 – Corey’s alarm goes off. I wake up, look at the time, groan, and then doze for ten more minutes before I fully wake up and get up. After that, I wake up, get ready for the day, eat breakfast, do homework, go to the pool and use the free internet to check email, etc. After enough time has elapsed, I get ready to head off with Corey to the campus – a three mile ride away.

9:30/10:00 – Depending on the day, this is when my first classes start. Let’s use Thursday as an example. After biking to campus (arriving at about 9:20), Corey and I split up, then I head to my first class – good ol’ humanities. Dr. Thornton will be sure to give you at least one rant per class about either: the goodness of GMOs; the fact that Americans have it easy; or, the stupidity of rabid environmentalism and the praising of industry and modern technology and agriculture. Otherwise, you get to hear a lot about Odysseus and his travels, which is actually really interesting. This class lasts until 10:45, at which point I leave for the Honor’s Office, which has free food, free computer labs, and studying space, as well as a quiet environment that makes it the perfect choice for a study area. I stay there doing homework until 1:40, at which point I head out the door to my next class which starts at 2:00. Corey has a similar method of study, but since he doesn’t have access to the Honor’s office, he likes to study in a computer lab in the engineering building in between classes – at least when he isn’t tutoring.

2:00-3:15 – CE85 (Intro to Civil Engineering). This class teaches you everything you need to know about civil engineering (though I dare say it doesn’t teach you everything you need to know about practicing civil engineering). If you want to know what a civil engineer does, then go no further! Dr. Wright will show you the ropes – unless he has a meeting during class period, in which case he’ll rush in, put a DVD about dams or some other type of structure (the movies are incredibly interesting), then rush out immediately after the movie starts. He's a very capable professor, though extremely busy. After the class ends, it’s back to the Honor’s office!

3:15-4:40 – More time at the Honor’s office. More time to do homework/study/eat free food!

5:00 – off to CE20 (Engineering Mechanics – statics) where Dr. Monfaredian will teach you all you need to know about keeping an object static! He’ll vector you and vector you until you dream about calculating resultant vectors. Soon we’ll be getting into the good stuff – so far it’s been mostly review. He obviously knows his material - and knows it well.

6:15 – CE20 ends, and 45 minutes until the Honors meeting (colloquium). But the Honor’s office closes at 5:00! It was quite a dilemma - which I solved today by going to the colloquium classroom 45 minutes early. Better early than late! Also, if you need, you can write statics problems on the whiteboard if you need any practice – at least until people start to arrive.

7:00 – Honor’s colloquium, which on the schedule is supposed to go until 9:00, but thankfully doesn’t. Today, I got out at 7:30, and that, apparently, is typical. Then, it’s back on the bike for the ride back to the apartment!

7:45 – Back at the apartment. Eat dinner, talk to Corey, do homework; if we have time, we’ll play a game, etc. Then, I take a shower, and go to bed somewhere between 10 and 11, preparing for another day on campus.

This basic pattern is typical for all my days – bike to campus, class, Honor’s office, class, Honor’s office, class, bike ride to apartment. Thankfully, I can't say any of my classes are bad...I've got good professors who are all nice.

That is my typical day at college (*virtual bow*). I hope you enjoyed it!

Casey

Another school-related Blog Post...

Yesterday, I had a lull in my studies, so I used the time to read some Answers in Genesis material on their website. It is always good to read about the things that I am learning in my studies through a biblical viewpoint – especially because Answers in Genesis uses the science that is taught in my classroom under the old-earth evolutionistic guise as evidence for a Creator.

One particular thing I thought interesting was the fact that there are comets in our solar system. Now, comets are basically “dirty snowballs” of ice and particulates. Each time they near the sun, a portion of their mass vaporizes. Thus, after each pass by the sun, comets get smaller. Comets can only last so long before they vanish completely or become asteroids. This poses a huge problem for those who believe that the solar system is somewhere near 5 billion years old. If this was the case, there would be no comets! They would have long burnt out.

But, of course, there are still comets. But did that stump the evolutionists? Of course not! You see, when you are the prevailing ideology, you can make up evidence and still get people to believe you. So, they came up with two huge fields of comet material: the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud. The Kuiper belt supposedly lies between Mars and Jupiter, and the Oort cloud supposedly resides somewhere past Pluto.

Why does this help the evolutionists? Well, by having these two bodies of comet stuff, the comets that are burning out can be replenished by new comets (that are pushed out of orbit by planets and start the normal comet orbit). Never mind that there is no evidence for the Kuiper belt and especially the Oort cloud...

What gets me is how many evolutionists claim to follow the scientific method, but then make up ideas and immediately push them to “theory” standing without testing. My engineering professors would have a fit if they heard about this (well, maybe not if it pertains to evolution)! It is certainly bad science. What I find worse, though, is how they turn around and call creationism bad science or non-science (or pseudoscience, as one class I avoided put it) when it is deeply based in evidence and good scientific practices.

The only reason evolution is prevalent is because it is a way to explain the universe without believing in a God who created the world. Sinful man does not want to be accountable to a God who created them and could snuff them out in an instant, if that was His will!

That’s it for now…more to come!

Casey

Concerning classes...

The last week, being the first week of instruction here at Fresno State, has been full of classes - but not homework. It's sort of getting pulled behind a boat on water skis - it takes a bit of time for you to get out of the water after the boat's started pulling. In this case, the homework has not come yet, but I know it will!

Since I have no homework, I try and study some, but after a while, even that comes to a dead end. Thus, in absence of studying and homework, I will write a quick update.

The last week and a half have been full of school for both Corey and I. Mostly engineering/surveying courses for both of us, plus one honors get together for both of us. However, as part of the Smittcamp Honors program, I have to do some honors GE stuff (let out a big, sarcastic, "yippee" with as much solemness as you can muster, and you'll be close to how I feel about those classes), which means on top of the other classes I have humanities. Whee-hoo. At least my humanities professor is more grounded in earth than most college professor and isn't liberal. For example, today he went on and on about how we take a simple thing - bread - for granted and don't appreciate the work and effort that went into that piece of bread (I definitely agree, we need to be grateful for everything that is given to us - "every good and perfect gift comes from above"). He also said that as Americans, we don't truly appreciate hunger (and he added that pretty much everywhere, hunger is a lot less than it used to be) - we are never truly "hungry". I agree again. But then he'll turn around and say that truth can only be found by thought - that truth is relative, basically. I don't agree. Then he'll turn around and say something that is consistent with Scripture, then he'll turn around again and say something inconsistent - needless to say he is quite the mix of truth and un-truth.

My engineering professors, as engineers themselves, are all good teachers, but very technical. I don't mind technical, though (I wouldn't be in engineering if I did mind). They are all very interesting courses, and I find them enjoyable.

Then, of course, Corey and I both have a geology course. In that course, of course (pun intended), there is a lot of secular, evolutionist, old-earth talk. If you get past that, however, the course is very interesting - I've always thought rocks were fascinating. The earth is so incredibly complex! For instance, the earth is in the perfect location in the Solar System - right in the center of the "inhabitable zone" a very thin circle of space that is the only place that sustains life. Then, the sun itself is just right - not too hot or too huge. Then of course, we are in the perfect place in the galaxy that we don't die with the force exerted on us (the galaxy spins, too).

Also, the sun periodically sends intense solar radiation our way - if we had no protection, we would be obliterated. Well, the earth just "happens" to have a magnetic field (only because the earth has an iron core) that wards off that harmful radiation. Then we have the moon in just the right spot, the perfect atmosphere, liquid water, and countless other things that are just right and point not to old-earth evolutionist processes and random chance but to a Creator who knowingly crafted and created a beautiful creation. Clearly we are fearfully and wonderfully made!

I hear these things said in class (even the professor says that things are "just right" for earth) and wonder why creationism is so scoffed at. There is so much proof! But sinful man works to suppress the truth, and without the work of the Holy Spirit, they will not see.

Anyway, that's all for now!

Casey

A Fancy Dinner

Update from Fresno:

Tonight Corey and I had the first opportunity to make a real meal and eat it together. We may be bachelors, but we can cook! On the menu: chicken cooked in olive oil, served on brown rice with salad on the side!

Corey works on some homework before dinner.

Viola! A masterpiece! And yes, that is sparkling apple cider, provided by the apartment (so it was absolutely free)!

And no we didn't spend a fortune on this. Total prices (approximate) for the total meal are as follows:

Chicken - $1.00

Salad - $0.30

Rice - $0.30

Olive Oil - $0.25

Dressing - $0.15

Added up, that comes up to about $2, or $1 each. Not too shabby! And boy was it good...

That's all for now!

Casey

Update From Fresno

Right now, I am sitting on the third floor of the Madden Library at Fresno State, taking advantage of the internet and free computer usage, as well as probably one of the last free times I have with no homework to do or classes to go to, to right this post. Yes, Fresno State...I made it down on Monday and I've been here ever since.

It's a strange feeling, going to college. The classes have been interesting so far, but it is far different than anything I've experienced so far. This library, for instance, is an amazing library - four stories tall, bookshelves full of books every where, and computer sections (like the one I am at now) full of brand-new Macs. Really, the whole campus looks expensive and nice.

But despite the nice things, the well-manicured lawns, the brilliant professors, the campus feels empty. Not devoid of people, of course, but devoid of purpose. Many people have no reason for going to college, but have just gone for the experience without having any reason for coming to a place that will stretch them. For a college is not an unbiased education center. It is an indoctrination center, as well (though not quite to the level of an elementary school). As I notice this, I realize even more that I need to examine myself and make sure that I remain true to my purpose for being here (that is, "to glorify God and enjoy him forever"). I've found that this campus is indeed a dark place, where ideologies collide and faith is attacked. I ask that you would continue to pray for me (and Corey) as I battle in this spiritual battleground.

Please pray for the following things for both me and Corey:

Clarity of mind and ability to retain knowledge of subject material

That I would be able to find employment, as I will not be able to tutor this semester

That we would continue to remain true to our calling as servants of the Most High

That we would be given opportunities to share the Gospel

That all our physical, spiritual and mental needs would be taken care of

Traveling mercies as we bike back and forth between our apartment and campus

There is much more to pray about for us as we continue our studies here at Fresno State. As James 5:16 says, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." Please continue to pray for us!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Casey

Clever Inventions...

Most of you probably know that I love researching things, particularly gadgets of some sort. One of my favorite books as a younger child (and still one of my favorites) was David Macualay's The New Way Things Work. Gadgets and inventions have always fascinated me.

Some of you also probably know that California voted to build a $118 billion high-speed rail, which, since it is all coming out of taxpayer's pockets (and is ridiculously expensive), is not something I like. Though I think high-speed trains and maglev (magnetic levitation) trains are interesting and handy, spending $118 billion on ANY project is a little on the "too much" side.

Now, as much as those two paragraphs seem disconnected, they really aren't. Yesterday, Elon Musk, the billionare CEO of Tesla Motors (electric cars) and SpaceX (private spacecraft - really worth looking up), proposed an alternative to the high-speed rail. His idea is totally new and incredibly cool. While I would prefer the state didn't spend ANY money (we're hopelessly broke as it is), Musk's Hyperloop idea is very fascinating and would theoretically only cost $6 billion (which, though still a lot of money, is $112 billion cheaper than the rail).

I won't tell you too much about the idea - I'm going to link to his plans (all 50 pages of them), but if it worked as he planned, the Hyperloop would take passengers from L.A. to San Francisco in 35 short minutes, going an average of 700 mph. As an additional bonus, the energy costs of the Hyperloop would be very minimal - if you look at Musk's plans, the energy consumed per mile for the Hyperloop is around 10 times less than the energy consumed per mile by a car or train.

I think it would be really neat to have a Hyperloop - but I would like to have it privately built and operated, not state built and poorly operated. What do you think?

Link to plans: http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/hyperloop_alpha-20130812.pdf

Sorry!

I keep saying that I will post - then we get busy again. I will try and post soon...if I have the time. Lots of things have been going on lately! But, on this blog, I don't chronicle events - I save that for the family blog. So, until I post again, if you are really wanting to read something I wrote, you can head on over to dueglory.blogspot.com. Until next time!

Casey

Happy Independence Day

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.