Happenings

Since I haven't updated this site in quite some time I though it necessary to fill in what I've been busy with lately. I'm currently going to school at The University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, Az. Unfortunately combining school with work at The Home Depot has left little time to indulge myself in journaling.

• School Work
• UAT is an outstanding university for those interested in technology. Both staff and students are very supportive of the interests and questions of their peers. I've met some great friends and even better some helpful faculty. The usual liberal arts classes are nothing special, but the major specific classes are very challenging. The color theory class I am currently taking provides me with a lot of incite as to how the industry uses color in general. It's also helped me to take an interest in art. My Modeling with Maya class has done the same thing for me.
• TechForum 2008 just wrapped up this weekend. They call it "2008" because were always 3 years ahead of the curve. UAT brings in some of the top people from different technology related fields to present to and network with students and staff at the university. I had the chance to meet Joe Grand, the President of Grand Idea Studio. He's written numerous books on hardware hacking and even created devices like the Parallax RFID reader. I'm hopping to keep in contact with him about numerous projects and questions that I'll be working on in the future. If you're interested you can watch the videos at www.uat.edu/techforum.

• DC480
• This has been one of the most exciting aspects of joining UAT. DC480 is the Tempe area chapter of Defcon. The club meets on Saturdays to talk about network security and hacking related topics. They also created and host the TCP/IP enabled contest at the Defcon conferences. Last year they built and demonstrated a internet enabled reconnaissance device called I.C.A.R.U.S. This year the club is in the process of designing and building a internet controlled LED display that challenges the participants to learn new electronic design skills. If your interested in joining the contest visit the Contest's Website. The club also works on various projects to show off in the weekly meetings. Our latest project is the Anomoyus Megaphone which will appear here in a few weeks.

• Work
• I joined The Home Depot a few months back because I though I could change the way the company deals with customers at a personal level. I have never been happy with the service I've had at Home Depots in other places. The service I received really depended on the skills and enthusiasm of the employee. I love helping people and I am very adept at learning new skills. So far I'm not happy with the company at all. At the risk of loosing my job... I would like to say the upper store management sucks at store 0489. The one manager I do like is an assistant manager who is very friendly and easy to talk to. Scheduling is a pain. Never present a retail store with the hours that you can't work, present them with the hours that you will work. I have a feeling that the store will be loosing a lot of people very soon. I Quit:).