Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Halberstam died in a traffic accident 5 months before the publication of his landmark book about the US war in Korea. In the days following the author’s death, fell

In my version of christianity and catholicism, it is okay to ask the hard questions. Granted, we might not always know the answers, or be satisfied with these answers, but questioning our faith on a daily basis gives us reasons to urgently seek more and more answers as we grow closer and closer in understanding with the creator.

A few weeks ago, around the third week of March precisely, in my faith-related discussions with other catholics, we agreed that to have better insight to God, it was important to understand why He does the things He does. Might I note here that the heretics that were part of the conversation continued without ceasing to scream and make an impression on everyone on how we must take everything by faith. Faith without work is death. Back to the main discuss, one of the questions that came up was why God allow great calamities to befall His children. Everyone had an interesting answer. Someone alluded to it being the fault of the government of those nations where children suffer and die from starvation, implying that while those children will make it to heaven, the government officials have certainly booked their places in the hottest part of hell. Interesting arguement, and I laughed without respite.

I got my answer. God answered the question for me. This is not the first time I've felt God talking directly to me, but this one filled me the most with goosebumps than any of my other divine experiences. Our Daily Bread (ODB) is one of those daily bible verse/prayer type things I grew up with. I'm definitely not an everyday ODBer, maybe once in a long while I'll pop in there, read from the good book, hear the passages and try to meditate on them. So sometime either in late March or very early April, after been affected by a chain of unfortunate events and questioning my faith again, I went on ODB and the one of the passage headings that immediately caught my eye was "Does God Care?"

This is a repost, all copyrights belong to ODB.

My uncle passed on. He lived with my family in distant northern Nigeria, so I grew up knowing him. Those afternoons when momma's cooking was late in being ready, I'll go over to his "boys quarters" apartment and he'll give me all these different kinds of snacks (nasco buscuits, bush meat, 7-Ups, peanuts) ... it was another Uncle who gave me beer and let me smoke his cigarette once, but that's another story. By the time I was in Primary 6, I was mature enough to seat in the adult section in church, but those sunday school teachers and church ushers kept on pestering me to go sit with the toddlers in sunday school. Humiliating huh. Till Uncle Emeka told me to always tell them I was in Primary 6 and could sit in the adult section. Uncle Emeka was cool like that. I was in awe of those posters of Rambo and Commando in his apartment that were popular in the late 80s to early 90s in Nigeria. In our relatively sheltered upbringing, those evenings when my parents weren't home and he let us watch war movies like Rambo: First Blood, Inglorious Bastards, Commando, a stark deviation from The Thief of Baghdad and the Sound of Music ... the sort of movies we were permitted to see, those evenings were the high-point of my movie-childhood. I know I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with him, until we moved to the middle-belt. I saw him last in 2004 christmas, still sturdy and smiling with his new wife. That was the last time I'll ever see him. Uncle, rest in peace and God bless you.

Since my MS wasn't in the power field, and I have absolutely no plans of spending six more years in grad school, Prof. KBP advised I take some graduate level power courses. I've been looking at a few Universities with good power courses and the non-degree option. Price is a big factor, but then again, I'm never going to be tight-fisted on educational stuff. Sadly enough, I can ask my company to pay for the courses if they're semiconductor related.

I think that 6-9hrs should be sufficient. I will also hope I can get letters of recommendation from the faculty 

1. Georgia Tech - There's a power systems stability techniques already being offered this spring and a power systems planning and reliability course being offered in the summer. Each 3hr course costs $2500
2. Colorado-Boulder - They have a renewable energy course, also a bunch of power electronics courses. About $2100 for each 3hr course
3. Iowa State - 12 hrs, I like how they've spelled it out. $1300/3hrs ... $6200/6hrs :(
4. Arizona State - Quite a couple classes, well-refined online program, and  at $3254/3hrs more expensive than all the others :(

 

I'm in the process of selecting the four schools I'll be applying to for my PhD. For a brief moment over the weekend I was overwhelmed by ETH Zurich because of their awesome MEST program. Even if the program turns out not to be as great as they make it to be, I sure applaud their marketing skills .. for that "brief moment," wherein I had also completed my application and verified I had every other requirement, I was prepared to leave everything in America and board a plane headed for Zurich. And oh, the school fees is dirt cheap ... like $1200/year ... but its the living expenses that get you!!!

So here are my four school choices, I have picked four schools ... two in the state of Texas

1. Texas A&M University ... because I have to fight my demons, and I am in touch with a few of the Professors in that program ... so I know where it is headed.
2. University of Texas : UT because its the only other school in Texas at par with Texas A&M, and they have two Professors working on renewable-energy type stuff and also they have faculty involved in energy economics.
3. University of Illinois: A world-class institution with faculty actively pursuing alternative/renewable energy research
4. Georgia Tech: GT is right there amongst the best of them in terms of engineering  schools, faculty interested in engineering alternative/renewable energy as well as the presence of NEETRAC there will give me an opportunity to put my experience to use in a different way.

This last three or four months, life has been a literal fucking ball.

But I had my epiphany, today, at work ... two hours after talking with one of the analog designers (a PhD) about more school ... and more school. Earlier in the week, I had advised an old friend to always take the high road and that's what I intend doing.

I'll take the advice of Prof. KB and take a few non-degree classes in power. Then I'll apply to four schools for either MS or PhD next fall. If admitted into any of these schools, I'll leave my well paying job in semiconductor (yes, I wasnt affected by the layoffs ... lucky SOB that I am) which I've gradually grown to be bored with and head back to school.

Fun times!!!

 

This is Rude. 

0. Soul-searching between analog electronics and energy management.
1. Absolutely needing to get into a PhD program by Fall 2009, do-or-die.
2. Lack luster execution plans I discuss with my team everyday.
3. Dealing with my perfectionism issues my day job is not smooth.
4. Slow working going on in the Operating System I'm building.
5. Seeing how not having the stupid NYSC is bending and screwing me over.
6. Setting the DSP/electronics bench in my apartment.
7. Getting the stupid H1B visa.
8. Controlling my temper, anger management.
9. Thinking of all the things I've listed above is by itself an issue, I think my hair is greying.

This is purely for posterity.

I first read of Elendu's arrest here. Now he has been released.

"The servant leader has adorned the robes of a wicked Emperor. Ill-fitting as the clothes may be, he appears comfortable in the role."

Rude.

So these are songs/albums I've been listening to since say August ...  

1. Dropout Year - A Coming of Age Story (Acoustic) 
This one is for T-peps, and the by the way the EP has the acoustic version which is far better. See link to Myspace.

2. The Offspring - Nothingtown
A die-hard Offspring fan said I should go get their older stuff, that I'd find they've been in the business of making remarkable music for a long long time. I think I will.

3. Shinedown - Call Me
This shows without doubt that Shinedown can be soft-rock savvy, and they show lyrical genius in this classic.

4. Hollywood Undead - This Love, This Hate
This bad is a breathe of fresh air, nevermind their Shady-esque vocals, someday they'll be the band that did for rap-rock what Pantera/Megadeth/Iron Maiden and their likes did for heavy metal.

5. A Change of Pace – She Believed (Never In Herself) (Acoustic)
This track is a one-hit wonder in the album, it is GOOD!

She's so much like the bad parts of my personality it's funny.

... McCain also said Obama "is ready for any contingency, even the possibility of a sudden and dramatic market rebound. I'm told that at the first sign of a recovery, he will suspend his campaign and fly immediately to Washington to address the crisis," said the Republican, who drew criticism when he suspended his campaign a few weeks ago and flew to Washington during the crisis ...

Full Article from CNN