Josh was driving an orange truck, very similar to Sam’s truck, and I was in the passenger seat. We stopped by Ian’s house to pick up a cooler. Ian was outside with an older man and a younger child, he brought the cooler up to the truck and we drove on. We drove a couple blocks to a house that I understood to be Josh’s. Preparing to back into the driveway, Josh passed the driveway and began reversing. He turned the wheel the wrong way and instead of going into the driveway he sent the truck slowly over a ~20ft cliff backwards. The truck made a complete back flip, landing on its wheels. I looked over at Josh and watched his eyes roll back in his head. I guess I lost consciousness as well. I woke up on a nearby embankment. I could see a highway in front of the dirt road we had fallen off of. I knew I was dreaming; so it became time to fly. I saw The Rocky Mountains way off in the distance and prepared to break my dream flying speed record. The acceleration to maybe 30 mph took ~5 seconds. The next 30 miles went by blindingly quickly, I would say another 5 seconds. (Aside: I think flying in my dreams comes in stages: takeoff, initial acceleration, crazy acceleration, and impact / landing.) With my feet forward I landed on a very pleasant hillside, featuring very green grass, a blue sky, sunshine, an amazing view, and a father and son playing catch. I watched for a bit thinking that I should do something other than flying. I walked around a bit, sat for a bit, and looked at the sun through my fingers. Facing the sun, I floated up to ~40ft above the mountain top and, staring into the sun, everything went white.
I came to lying at the bottom of the hill (the peak) that I had lifted off from. It was night and a superhighway was in front of me almost blocking my view of the truck accident. I looked at the stars and considered taking my flying to the next level. I lifted off originally towards the moon, but once I got ready to begin accelerating the moon wasn’t there. I saw a nearly empty circle of stars in the sky with one in the center and ~4 more orbiting it very quickly. Naturally (or not), I began my acceleration towards it. Once I began crazy acceleration I found myself walking into a mansion. The butler walked over to me and said nothing. So I told him I was dreaming and that he could do anything he wanted to. I continued walking in the house, found the chef, and told him the same. I went to the front window and realized this house was on the green hill from earlier.
I awoke thinking that I didn’t want to live in a mansion. This dream was interesting because I visited the same places a few times but the place was different in lighting and contents. This dream was also very beautiful; everything was in full detail, I could see very far in most directions, and the content and color of everything I saw was simply beautiful.
Peace -- Mike
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Graduated
It seems that I haven’t yet posted about my final semester as an undergraduate, so here we go.
Nuclear Reactor Physics, King, A: This class double counted for my undergrad and graduate degrees. Most of the kids in the 5-Year Nuclear Master’s program were in this class and Radiation. The class was graded solely on six (or maybe five) assessments: An exam on Nuclear Reactions and Interactions, a public service announcement on Reactor Core and Operation Basics (I want to get a copy of the movie my group made), a Reactor Kinetics computer model (Micah and I wrote one sick Mathmatica notebook), a take home test on Neutron Diffusion, and an exam on Feedback Effects. Overall, this was a great class. A few too many of the classes were spent in groups trying to solve problems before he had shown us a similar example. The take home test is the only thing I ended up getting an “intermediate” (B) on… it was quite tricky. But overall, I hope the rest of Grad school is similar to this class; lectures and exams.
Radiation Detection and Measurement, Greife, B: The first half of the semester was lecture covering basic principles of radiations detection, error analysis, and other nuclear concepts. In the second half, teams of two made measurements of radioactive sources and analyzed the spectrum given off. From the spectrum the contents, abundances, and relative geometries could be determined and included in a fairly lengthy write-up. Being new to grad school, I wanted to get the lab write-ups done and out of my hair. However, my lap partner Nate decided not to respond to my emails and in-class reminders until the last week of class. So that weekend we wrote all three write-ups… and by ‘we’, I mostly am referring to myself. For one of the labs I spent a few hours in front of Mathcad and by the end I felt that I deserved a metal.
Senior Design, Hecht, B: Continuing from last semester Helen, Caitlin, Jasmin, Paul, and I designed a Locking Ring to lift a rail wheel for Kiewit. We did a good job overall, ending with a 3D printed prototype of a well tested (in SolidWorks Simulation) design. The bolt and shackle were off the shelf components. At the last minute we did have to remove a few of the complex curves from the design to lower the cost of manufacturing. There was also an essay for the class with a pretty-bogus prompt, which I felt I wrote a quality paper for.
Linear Algebra, Bridgman, A: For some reason I’ve always wanted to know linear algebra and I’m really glad I took this class. Just like probability, I really took to the material and aced the exams. Looking back on my undergraduate career, I’m very glad for every math class I took: Calc 2, Calc 3, Diff Eq, Prob Stat, AEM, Probability, and Linear. For extra credit I played some setgame.com. I have a few more free electives to fill in grad school and high-end math looks like a very intimidating option. I might be held back by my lack of programming skill but who knows; perhaps partial differential equations are for me.
Intro to Robotics, Steele, A: Albert and I built and programmed some pretty cool robots. The robots consisted of a Handy Board, sitting atop a Lego creation, programmed in visual C. Most of the labs introduced a new sensor and a new way to solve the physical maze Dr. Steele had setup. Our first robot bumped into the walls blindly, if it hit a wall it would turn right, if it quickly hit another it would turn around (thus making a left turn at the wall) then drive forward. By the end our robot had IR sensors in front and off to one side, it would follow one wall of the maze until it made it to the end then optimize the path it took, such that it would not fall into any dead ends. Overall, I would recommend this class, although the grading was a bit nit-picky at times.
Well… That‘s that. On May 14th 2010 I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Colorado School of Mines. The ceremony went well and I enjoyed spending the weekend with Sam and the fam. Pretty soon after I was on my way to California for an awesome time. Pictures are on Facebook and a few write-ups of what we did early on can be found on Sam’s blog: spiffysam.wordpress.com/
Peace -- Mike
Nuclear Reactor Physics, King, A: This class double counted for my undergrad and graduate degrees. Most of the kids in the 5-Year Nuclear Master’s program were in this class and Radiation. The class was graded solely on six (or maybe five) assessments: An exam on Nuclear Reactions and Interactions, a public service announcement on Reactor Core and Operation Basics (I want to get a copy of the movie my group made), a Reactor Kinetics computer model (Micah and I wrote one sick Mathmatica notebook), a take home test on Neutron Diffusion, and an exam on Feedback Effects. Overall, this was a great class. A few too many of the classes were spent in groups trying to solve problems before he had shown us a similar example. The take home test is the only thing I ended up getting an “intermediate” (B) on… it was quite tricky. But overall, I hope the rest of Grad school is similar to this class; lectures and exams.
Radiation Detection and Measurement, Greife, B: The first half of the semester was lecture covering basic principles of radiations detection, error analysis, and other nuclear concepts. In the second half, teams of two made measurements of radioactive sources and analyzed the spectrum given off. From the spectrum the contents, abundances, and relative geometries could be determined and included in a fairly lengthy write-up. Being new to grad school, I wanted to get the lab write-ups done and out of my hair. However, my lap partner Nate decided not to respond to my emails and in-class reminders until the last week of class. So that weekend we wrote all three write-ups… and by ‘we’, I mostly am referring to myself. For one of the labs I spent a few hours in front of Mathcad and by the end I felt that I deserved a metal.
Senior Design, Hecht, B: Continuing from last semester Helen, Caitlin, Jasmin, Paul, and I designed a Locking Ring to lift a rail wheel for Kiewit. We did a good job overall, ending with a 3D printed prototype of a well tested (in SolidWorks Simulation) design. The bolt and shackle were off the shelf components. At the last minute we did have to remove a few of the complex curves from the design to lower the cost of manufacturing. There was also an essay for the class with a pretty-bogus prompt, which I felt I wrote a quality paper for.
Linear Algebra, Bridgman, A: For some reason I’ve always wanted to know linear algebra and I’m really glad I took this class. Just like probability, I really took to the material and aced the exams. Looking back on my undergraduate career, I’m very glad for every math class I took: Calc 2, Calc 3, Diff Eq, Prob Stat, AEM, Probability, and Linear. For extra credit I played some setgame.com. I have a few more free electives to fill in grad school and high-end math looks like a very intimidating option. I might be held back by my lack of programming skill but who knows; perhaps partial differential equations are for me.
Intro to Robotics, Steele, A: Albert and I built and programmed some pretty cool robots. The robots consisted of a Handy Board, sitting atop a Lego creation, programmed in visual C. Most of the labs introduced a new sensor and a new way to solve the physical maze Dr. Steele had setup. Our first robot bumped into the walls blindly, if it hit a wall it would turn right, if it quickly hit another it would turn around (thus making a left turn at the wall) then drive forward. By the end our robot had IR sensors in front and off to one side, it would follow one wall of the maze until it made it to the end then optimize the path it took, such that it would not fall into any dead ends. Overall, I would recommend this class, although the grading was a bit nit-picky at times.
Well… That‘s that. On May 14th 2010 I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Colorado School of Mines. The ceremony went well and I enjoyed spending the weekend with Sam and the fam. Pretty soon after I was on my way to California for an awesome time. Pictures are on Facebook and a few write-ups of what we did early on can be found on Sam’s blog: spiffysam.wordpress.com/
Peace -- Mike
Monday, July 12, 2010
Flying Dreams
In the past week I've had three lucid dreams. In each of which, I decided to fly. To date, these are the only times I’ve flown. I would estimate that I’ve had maybe a dozen lucid dreams in my life.
In the first of these recent dreams, I was in an apartment talking with Sam. I didn’t recognize the room and it seemed oddly empty of room-things. So I thought that I might be dreaming and that I should float. As soon as I started thinking about floating, I was. I floated out into the hallway then floated to the end, over to the front door. I was moving around walking speed. When I got to the door, someone I don’t know let someone else I didn’t know into the apartment. The living room of this apartment had typical living room things and boxes piled on top of them. Most everything I remember from the dream was very white.
The second dream went on for a long time before I became lucid. It began with a few sword fights with people in armor; I then ran through a dark village place and attacked a few unarmed people. Somehow I wound up in a movie theater lobby. Sam was the only one around; I think we spoke for a bit before I realized I was dreaming. I wanted to fly more ambitiously than last time so I jumped and punched through the four layers of ceiling standing in my way. The view was spectacular as I emerged from the building with my sword. There was a perfectly green park in front of me, a forest off to the left, a giant parade to my right, people and cars lining the streets, mountains off in the distance, and a very blue sky. I kept rising and flew over the park. I did a few circles over the perimeter of the park, but I couldn’t really control my elevation as I flew. I was always rising and flying with my chest pointed in the direction of my travel. I would guess that I was going around 30mph.
The third dream also went on for a long time before I became lucid. I don’t remember much of it, but I was outside in a desert town running from someone. I dodged some bullets by lying in an aqueduct and hid behind a tree for a bit. I’m not sure how I became lucid this time, but I tried jumping to start flying and it didn’t work. I then just thought about it and I was up in the air. I had full control of my elevation this time. I saw some plateaus off in the distance, from takeoff to landing I would guess it took me around 10 seconds to get on top of a plateau on my initial horizon. I then quickly flew to a city park area and landed on a tall building. I looked around, but don’t remember the view. I landed on the ground and a young boy walked up to me and started talking to me. I didn’t really want to talk as my dreams don’t usually last long after I become lucid. He asked me if I knew the meaning of life; I closed my eyes and slowly fell backwards such that I was lying on the ground. A few seconds later I floated back to a standing position and told him I didn’t know. We walked together at the park and he asked me for butter. Conveniently, right in front of us there was a bowl / trash can / art thing with some butter inside of it. I scooped out the butter and handed it to him. He asked if I would be around again and I said I usually arrive by train in the middle of the day. It was night time and I tried to get one more flight in but woke up instead.
It seems the trick for me to have lucid dreams is to sleep in. Each of these was the last dream I had that day and the last two occurred around 9:00a. I’ve also had a few nightmares recently that occurred in the middle of the night. I suppose I should stop accepting scary things as scary and start challenging them in the likely event that I’m dreaming.
Peace
-- Mike
In the first of these recent dreams, I was in an apartment talking with Sam. I didn’t recognize the room and it seemed oddly empty of room-things. So I thought that I might be dreaming and that I should float. As soon as I started thinking about floating, I was. I floated out into the hallway then floated to the end, over to the front door. I was moving around walking speed. When I got to the door, someone I don’t know let someone else I didn’t know into the apartment. The living room of this apartment had typical living room things and boxes piled on top of them. Most everything I remember from the dream was very white.
The second dream went on for a long time before I became lucid. It began with a few sword fights with people in armor; I then ran through a dark village place and attacked a few unarmed people. Somehow I wound up in a movie theater lobby. Sam was the only one around; I think we spoke for a bit before I realized I was dreaming. I wanted to fly more ambitiously than last time so I jumped and punched through the four layers of ceiling standing in my way. The view was spectacular as I emerged from the building with my sword. There was a perfectly green park in front of me, a forest off to the left, a giant parade to my right, people and cars lining the streets, mountains off in the distance, and a very blue sky. I kept rising and flew over the park. I did a few circles over the perimeter of the park, but I couldn’t really control my elevation as I flew. I was always rising and flying with my chest pointed in the direction of my travel. I would guess that I was going around 30mph.
The third dream also went on for a long time before I became lucid. I don’t remember much of it, but I was outside in a desert town running from someone. I dodged some bullets by lying in an aqueduct and hid behind a tree for a bit. I’m not sure how I became lucid this time, but I tried jumping to start flying and it didn’t work. I then just thought about it and I was up in the air. I had full control of my elevation this time. I saw some plateaus off in the distance, from takeoff to landing I would guess it took me around 10 seconds to get on top of a plateau on my initial horizon. I then quickly flew to a city park area and landed on a tall building. I looked around, but don’t remember the view. I landed on the ground and a young boy walked up to me and started talking to me. I didn’t really want to talk as my dreams don’t usually last long after I become lucid. He asked me if I knew the meaning of life; I closed my eyes and slowly fell backwards such that I was lying on the ground. A few seconds later I floated back to a standing position and told him I didn’t know. We walked together at the park and he asked me for butter. Conveniently, right in front of us there was a bowl / trash can / art thing with some butter inside of it. I scooped out the butter and handed it to him. He asked if I would be around again and I said I usually arrive by train in the middle of the day. It was night time and I tried to get one more flight in but woke up instead.
It seems the trick for me to have lucid dreams is to sleep in. Each of these was the last dream I had that day and the last two occurred around 9:00a. I’ve also had a few nightmares recently that occurred in the middle of the night. I suppose I should stop accepting scary things as scary and start challenging them in the likely event that I’m dreaming.
Peace
-- Mike
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