Triskadecaepyon

2011: A Year in Review

2011-12-31T13:29:00.000-08:00

2011 Has marked a critical year in my life. It's been my first year Fully employed, and I'm extremely thankful for that. The choice I had to make a year ago between a job that made big money vs. a job that I loved doing. Most people would have chosen the first one if they looked at it just by the numbers. But I had something else sway me the other way. After trying to make the big corporate standard engineering job work, I found that it just wasn't worth it. Sure you'd make good money but you'd waste it all by the time you had it in hand. Your mental health is worth a lot more than you think as well.

It's also been a year of great change.
Halfway through the year, I chose to move to a nicer area, forgoing cheaper rent, longer commutes, a garage - all of the sake of sanity as well. When you've lived in Texas with a house without A/C, heat, a kitchen, and only one working restroom, things can only go up from there. Again, another choice arises - do you stay cheaper and farther out? Cheaper with roommates and an apartment complex? After having bad experiences with both of them, I decided to go even more upscale than before. A place that is essentially a standalone 1-1, with all the amenities like a kitchen and my own washer and dryer.

This choice in housing changed my lifestyle - I was going out less, spending less eating out, spending less on gas. Personal improvement was the focus, via cooking, working out, and keeping a clean and functional living area. Those skills were never as ironed out as they are now - and I guess it's because those places I lived at before didn't nurture that development. So I'll most likely stay until I get those parts dialed in.

This year has seen me through some interesting relationships as well. Those relationships helped me understand more about myself, and what I want in a partner. But more so, it also showed me what I didn't want as well, and how to detect it quicker. Knowledge is everything, and you learn it fast especially if it hurts. Not always the preferred, but sometimes that's what's needed.

I'm curious to see what next year brings. The year has a had a lot of ups and downs - emotionally, financially, and living situation wise. However, those ups and downs made me even more knowledgeable and mature in my life, and at the end of the day that's exactly what I need.

You sometimes don't have a choice as to what happens to you - but you ALWAYS have the choice on how to react to it. It's those choices that define who you are.

Have a Happy New Year, and let's welcome 2012 with everything we got!

-David

What happened to the old website?

2011-12-31T12:58:00.000-08:00

For those of you who were redirected from DCLTech.com, I've decided to pull my Photography and Contract engineering services off of the market - I have enough return customers for Photography as it is, and I'm quite busy with my full time job as well. However, I will be updating this blog with occasional photo work as well, so stay posted if you enjoyed the photos I took in the past.

Thanks,-David

Harris Hill Gymkhana!

2011-02-02T21:44:00.000-08:00

Watch my compiled video of the Harris Hill Road Gymkhana!

I tried some new camera and processing work to make it more documented to the steering inputs.

A new start for the year

2011-02-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

After almost 5 months of unemployment, some emails I had sent earlier in the year finally came through. I landed a full time job at a great place to work, and I started near the beginning of January. This marks almost 2 Years since I graduated and hit the market. Looking back, I'm not sure what to think of it. Lots of things happened in these past two years that built my character and understanding, and maybe that's what it took to get to where I am today.

Regardless, I stoked at the new job!

Maybe the best defense is a good offense

2010-10-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

This marks the one month mark of unemployment for me, and I think I'm going to try the opposite of the current trend. In this economy's downtime, people are downsizing and holding back. It's the "safest" thing to do. However, maybe that isn't the best thing to do right now. Maybe the best is to expand while others contract. Take advantage of the market's state and invest the time, effort, and capital.

I have been fortunate in that I have to opportunity, the networks, and the resources to even make this venture - and I think I'm going to take it.

Let's see where it goes.

IT band injurty: Update

2010-10-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

After months of work, I have finally removed the majority of the issues and pain surrounding my knee. Several slow bike rides, lots of work at the gym, and LOTS of Trigger Point products to help get me back to the road again. Hopefully I'll be back to 100% in a few months!

It's a weird time in October

2010-10-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

My Internship at the Engineering company has ended - now looking for a new gig!

Entering a whole new way to race: Autocross

2010-07-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

For the months that I've had an injured leg, I've had to rearrange my priorities. One of them was transportation to work. Whereas before I could ride a bike, my injury has taken that option away for right now. The need for a car has moved up the list.

I didn't think I'd be needing to buy a car anytime soon, but with my current situation I couldn't wait any longer to buy one. I decided to buy a used car from a friend who had previously used the car in Autocross.

What I eventually got was a 1996 Mazda Miata with a 5-Speed manual transmission. This was my first car that I've driven that hasn't been an SUV or a truck, and the first that has been a manual transmission. It was quite nerve racking to drive something so small and exposed, adding on top of the unfamiliar nature of the car. I never though getting to work the day after I got the car would be such a challenge!

In an interesting turn of events, one of the supervisors at my work is one of the best Autocrossers in Texas, and my introduction into the motorsport began here.

Autocross is an SCCA sanctioned motorsport which is a mix of a time trial and a rally/drift course, outlined by direction cones. This sport is more focused on car control and precision versus other motorsports, and is safer since it is individual with no real walls or valleys to crash into. It's also cheap - all you need is a car that fits in a class and the entry fee. Each car has it's own time-adjusted class, and higher classes with more mods allowed to the vehicle. Look it up on Google; almost any vehicle is allowed, and most entry fees never reach more than $30. It teaches you the limits of the vehicle and how to work around them.

For one thing, I didn't know how fun the car would be until I got it, and I was even more surprised what it could do on the race course. Things you wondered about in terms of handling, acceleration, and braking are answered very quickly on the course. Because of the time scaling on car class from modifications, everything is competitive as the scaling looks to remove the car and list the skill of the driver. However, I still have a LONG way to go. Some people with the exact same car are getting up to 8 seconds better than me on a 60 second course.

I think autocross so far has been a great influence on me; teaching me what the car can AND can't do. The latter of those lessons is the most important. Understanding how to use only a fraction of your car's true handling on the road is what makes you a better driver.

This week has also been the first week I have returned to the bike, albeit only short distances though. I guess I went from racing on a bike to racing in a car - but hopefully I'll be able to have both going in full force soon.

I'll see you on the road, either on my bike or in my car.

-David

Dealing with an IT Band Injury

2010-04-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

The iliotibial band is a piece of muscle tissue that connects from over the pelvis to the knee. One of the most infrequently taken care of places on athletes because of its difficulty to stretch, and now I have to deal with this injury.

This injury hurts on nearly all points of rotation of the knee on the bike, and it isn't something you can just "push" through. The type of inflammation and piercing pain that it induces is something I've never experienced before, and it will cause you to get off your bike. Of those that have gotten it, no one can go on - not even pro cyclists. The more you aggrivate it the longer you will have to wait until it heals.

Foam Rollers and strengthening exercises are the only things you can do to help allieveiate the issues, as well as rest, ice, compression, and elevation. From my coaches and doctors, they estimate 8-10 weeks before I can get on the bike and start practicing again. Not being able to do what I enjoy in cycling is very difficult for me, especially having come off a severe crash at the beginning of the summer. But I'll keep on waiting and working until I can get back on the bike.

Thoughts on Apple's iPad and its impact on the industry

2010-02-17T12:35:00.000-08:00

        Apple is notorious for releasing new products that really shake the market up, and the iPad is no exception. People asked for a netbook, a tablet, and a macbook equivalent tablet - and Apple gave them none of it. Instead, they were given the iPad. The iPad is an interesting product, in the fact that it has the iPhone's base software with some scaled up hardware; the touchscreen and processor recieved a boost. It is locked into iTunes, and can't multitask. So... what exactly is it supposed to do?
       At first, I didn't know what the iPad was supposed to be. It didn't really fit into any product group, and didn't meet the demands of a lot of the hardcore customers. However, once the list of ebook vendors was released, I immediatly understood what it was for. In my opinion, the iPad is not a true computer tablet; it is a full featured textbook replacement with an iPod touch built in. However, there really isn't a market for this type of product! Did Apple release a product in the wrong market?
       Looking at Apple's history, we see that they have released many products into markets that didn't exist. The iPod, the iPhone, iTunes, and the Apple TV were all products that defied definition in the market. The iPad is a continuation of this trend. What Apple is doing is creating a new market for a product. Before, no one really though of have a phone that did so many things, but now the market is chasing the iPhone with many clones of it. Amazon is competing with the iTunes software. With each new market that Apple creates, it introduces new competitors. But what does Apple gain out of this?
       With each new market that they create, they become the originators of that market that everybody remembers. The revolutionary iPhone is the first of its kind - how well do you remember the new Palm Pre or Samsung clone of it? This gives them returning custormers, and an entrypoint for the other products and accessories that Apple creates. Many iPhone users eventually switch from PC to Mac, and its a growing trend from the looks of it.
       But what I think the most important part of what Apple keeps doing is giving other companies reasons for new and more groundbreaking components. Touchscreens weren't really trendy until the iPhone. Now they are commenplace among smartphones today. Apple is giving the touchscreen manufacturers a reason to create better and/or cheaper touchscreens to fit the new market.  This "proof of concept" method benifits the manufacturer of the touchscreens (in addition to the textbook writers) to show them that they can invest money and time in better versions of what they do now.
       Many people are dissapointed in the iPad, and I can clearly see why they would. However, if Apple really wanted to meet that "tablet Mac" idea, all they need to do is take a Macbook Air apart, put a touchscreen on it and call it a day. However, my guess is that the technology isn't there for what they consider up to par - so they need a proof of concept to instigate the market to make that technology exist as well as making it affordable.
         I guess we'll have to see how the market handles the iPad, but I think that Apple's direction to make this new market is needed before the infamous "tablet mac" comes to fruition.

-Triskadecaepyon

The 2010 Winter NAMM show Wrap-up

2010-02-03T09:30:00.000-08:00

          This year's NAMM show held great significance to the music industry. It was proof of good numbers despite the economy, and how music can survive any economic situation. As an annual show in Anaheim, CA, NAMM typically showcases the newest products and technologies, as well as upcoming artists. More info after the jump..

          Interestingly enough, this year's NAMM show had greater amounts of smaller or startup companies than other years. Some of the larger companies cut back and got smaller booths, and some didn't come at all. When the economy starts changing, company styles start changing too. Larger venture capitalist style companies give way to smaller, independant companies. Startup costs become smaller in a slower economy, allowing for them to get a solid footing where other years would prove to be too expensive.
          Typically, the bottom floor of the convention center houses the smaller companies as well as the international companies. However, this year has seen a dramatic increase in Chinese and Taiwanese companies. Their presence was also engrained by the high quality/ high profit margin products that they had layed out on the show floor. My Mandarin speaking skills were a real benifit this time around; I used it to network with them and talk about what their company outlook was. Their products are rivialing American made quality, and undercut some of the big companies' prices by more than 25%.
           This year there was a larger initiative for "green" products, as well as fair-trade products. This was evident by some of the bigger companies coming out with products that were RoHS, had safer or less volatile paints, or were made by certified workers who's conditions and wages were monitored. With the majority of the companies going green, the bandwagon gets larger every year. Heck even the coffee in the convention center had documents of fair trade.
           Artists came in as strong of numbers as they did last year. Music has the ability to survive even the roughest of times, and all the musicians and artists that came to the show looked to continue that trend. The usual crowd of celebrities showed up; Slipnot, Santana, George Benson, and some B-list artists. This year's All-star Guitar night was a bit smaller, but it still ran despite the harder times.
            The world economy is forcing change in many sectors, and as an American market our goal is a bit more outlined based on this NAMM show. Cutting back on spending doesn't mean we have to cut people from work. And from the other side, we as workers must put everything we got in terms of quality to make your company's product its best. Paying them accordingly and fairly is a global initiative that requires both the employer and employee to do what's right, and that is what I have found that this economy has shown me from this NAMM show.

We'll see what next year's show brings.

-David

Lactic threshold Performance testing at PURE AUSTIN

2010-01-14T14:15:00.000-08:00

Training with power is starting to become mainstream practice in cycling; although the bandwagon may be "trendy", it does have its uses and reasons. Obviously, the first thing is to have a power meter, but what comes after you purchase one? How do you interpret and apply the data?

For most people, they look at it like a cycling computer. However, the data that is put out by the power meter tells you a significantly larger amount of data than just a cycling computer. Wattage tells you what type of energy you are applying to forward motion on the bike, and tells you how your body is responding to it. Speed and cadence are just numbers that describe the bike's current state, but it tells nothing about YOU. You can be going downhill at 30 mph and not really making an effort, or you could be trucking in the flats on a time trial at 30 mph. This is where the power meter is different. What measurable effort are you putting into the bike? The power meter gives you a measurable quantity of work/energy into the bike by giving you numbers to correlate with your efforts.

But where the power meter shines is how to pace yourself for events and what or how to train. If you know your limits, you can work around them to improve them. However, what are your limits? How do you test for this? There are many ways to find power thresholds on the road, but the lab provides more solid numbers - and this is exactly what I did.

I went to get lactic threshold tested with the FacT Canada protocol, which measures your threshold by looking for a lactic balance point as it clears instead of just looking for your max wattage's lactic readings.

-David Liu

Review of iStrobosoft

2010-01-03T08:49:00.001-08:00

Peterson has been well known for making the industry standard tuners for decades. Their technology for strobe tuning has been unmatched, and their continuous improvement and innovation keep them on top. As a guitar tech and as a guitar player, being in tune and set-up correct has been something that I’ve strived for all the time - and their latest product for the iPhone and iPod touch, iStrobosoft, delivers.

iStrobosoft is a mobile version of their Strobosoft 2.0 software - a PC/Mac feature rich strobe tuner package. If you don’t know what a strobe tuner is and why it is more accurate, you may have to go read up on the differences of strobe tuners vs. chromatic tuners. However, what separates iStrobosoft from Strobosoft 2.0 is predominately the price. Strobosoft 2.0 costs $49.99 and iStrobosoft costs $9.99. Even with the feature cuts from the PC/Mac software, iStrobosoft retains the absolute most important feature of the software - the strobe tuning!
   As a user of Peterson products for a few years, I immediately wanted to test the software the minute I heard it was released. How did it stack up to the standalone tuners? to the PC/Mac Strobosoft 2.0 software? I purchased it, and went to set it up. Since the iPhone/iPod has several versions, their processors and hardware differ and will make some of the code run faster and slower. To compensate for this, they have a “Calibration mode” which allows you to set an offset via a sound (i.e. like 440 hz) that will account for the differences in processor speed and let the code run the right speed for tuning. How you do this is you play a set sound that you know the frequency of, and let the software record it. Then it will offset the software speed for you. Once I completed that I immediately went for a test putting up Strobosoft 2.0 vs the iPhone software. The result?
   You guessed it, they were neck and neck in accuracy. The only difference is that the iPhone version tracked a bit slower than the PC/Mac version. This shows a level of quality that is only a portion of what their technology can do. If you upgrade to their dedicated tuning hardware, you will be in for yet another level of reliability and features. Going back to the testing, I tested it with various instruments and setups. Acoustically with no cable? Yep. Connected by cable? Yep. Accuracy vs. their dedicated hardware? Yep.
   As an added benefit, they created specific hardware to make the tuning experience even easier and more accessible. The first is the iPhone/iPod touch Adaptor cable. This cable matches the impedance of the guitar to the iPhone/iPod Touch’s input, and allows you to use it like a regular peterson tuner! The second gives a Mini Mic to the iPod touch and iPhone, but more so to the iPod, which doesn’t have a mic natively. They cost 12.99 and 11.99 respectively. Peterson has gone out of their way to bring the strobe tuner to a broader audience with this hardware and software.

The Looks:
The main display is the same as all their dedicated hardware. You even get the ability to go landscape and upside-down with it! Since it is using Apple hardware, the display is beautiful and visible from many angles and in different lighting conditions.

The Features:
The main feature - Strobe tuning, is alive and strong in this software. Although you don’t get some of the sweetened tunings (which only a select few use anyways), the ability to do drops/capo’s are still there. You also get an input boost and noise filter which works well with noisy environments or small inputs. In addition, this is available in the app store, and has great support. You are still getting a killer amount of features here!

User-Friendliness:
If you never have used a strobe tuner yet, it may throw you off for a few minutes. But once you get the hang of it, you may never go back to a normal tuner again. Their UI design is simple and elegant, and their menus and settings follow in suit. And you get it in the touchscreen UI of the iPhone or iPod touch, which Apple has worked hard on themselves.

The Price:
I don’t think you can really go wrong here. $9.99 - a ridiculous deal for under 10 bucks.

The Verdict:
If you own an iPhone or iPod touch, you should be required to get this software. It works so well and is such a good price, having it on you at all times will be easy - as well as staying in tune. If you don’t have an iPhone or iPod touch, you can ether get one and get this software, or go for Peterson's dedicated tuning hardware. This is my third Peterson product, and I’m very impressed with the quality of all of them. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, go to the app store and get it NOW!

My Cycling Training Update

2009-12-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

For those that are interested, I recently started training with a Powermeter following a cycling accident earlier this summer. This data combines some of my training rides, both the easy and hard ones.

5 Months Update

2009-10-25T08:27:00.001-07:00

So it has been 5 months since I graduated - and it sure has been an interesting time. I've had to move home, and had to explore other options that I didn't anticipate before. As a backup plan, I'm having to take the GRE if things don't pan out. I'd really like to work, but as of right now the market isn't ready. I've had now about 8 interviews since my graduation, and so far I have not had any offers. I know most people search for jobs a little over 6 months after graduating, but in these times I guess I have to be patient. I know my strengths and credentials on my resume are strong, I just have to find the right employer at the right time.

I'm sitting in on graduate classes to further my education and I'm working an unpaid internship as a bike mechanic at Jack and Adams, in addition to participating in Texas 4000. This is definitely an interesting time for me, because I seriously don't know what is going to happen to me from one month to the next.

We'll see where this'll take me.

NAMM at Nashville, TN

2009-07-23T20:43:00.000-07:00

I was always told to keep busy by about every guru that I know, so I have tried to keep to that mentality.

So, I continue to work with one of my friends, Francisco Pena, who owns and runs tonepad.com and abovegroundfx.com

Both him and I decided to enter the guitar effect pedal market for good this past December, with him as the owner and me as a PR director/Contracted technician. Tonepad was started by Francisco in 2002, and Aboveground was started in 2009, so it's been quite a journey. I will continue to provide him help for the foreseeable future, as I have done since 2003 with him.

Here is a video I compiled together of our booth at the show, showing some of my imovie and HD cam work. And as our first time exhibiting, we had a greater reception than we had anticipated.

Photo Galleries up on my Facebook page as well!

NAMM Gallery 09'

Day 1: The Day after Graduating

2009-05-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

Well, a very difficult time has passed in my life. The proving grounds of Electrical Engineering at UT was quite a challenge, and now that time has passed.

For the last 4 years, I've been putting all my efforts into getting through the degree, and today is the first day to realize it. Looking back on it, a lot has changed since I graduated from High School and walked onto the UT Campus. In these 4 years, I went from knowing a little about electronics, to being able to sell my own electronics products. I made good use of that tuition money.

In addition, looking back on things, I would want to do several things differently. Here's what I would do differently:

Live ON Campus. As close as possible without spending too much. Commuting, even 30 minutes, will take some of the energy and time you could have had studying on campus or with a study group. And in Electrical Engineering, you'll need all the lab time you can get. In addition, going home to sleep/shower really can get you ready to work more efficiently. I only moved to campus the last two years, and my grades actually went up.

Pick better professors over a better schedule. By doing this, you get better knowledge in the subject as well as better grades. I had to schedule around work, and I sure payed for it.

Spam Office hours and study groups. You need everything you can get out of school, and remember you are PAYING for this information. So get every cent out. If you are borderline, professors may pass you based on your attendance to this.

Trade summer school for Co-op or internship. Experience is everything in this field, and unless you really need to up your grades or finish early, this is the best option. Having work experience by sophomore year helped me get interviews where others would be passed over.

Those are the biggest things I would do or change. However, that is now behind me, and I gotta start living the real life, which starts for me today.

-Triskadecaepyon

One Acronym: B.S.E.E

2009-05-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

~~Senior in Electrical Engineering~~ B.S. Electrical Engineering from UT Austin

Now official!

More than I bargained for

2009-05-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

Well, as if I didn't have enough things going on right now, another cog has been thrown into the system!

I have made the Texas 4000 2010 team, which is the world's longest annual charity bike ride to raise money in the fight against cancer.

Learn more here:

http://www.texas4000.org/

This also means I'll have to stay in Austin until August 2010 - wow life gets more complicated and interesting fast!