As the '90s dawned, I was back in Harrison dorm; I got along well with my congenial roommate, Kevin. Approaching the midpoint of my undergrad tenure, my engineering skill-set was growing, as was my expertise in other fields, such as optimal assembly of a Wendy's SuperBar to-go order: baked potato, refried beans, ground beef, taco sauce, nacho cheese, sour cream, chives.
This quarter was rather tech-heavy: Electrical Engineering Instrumentation Lab, Dynamics II, Thermodynamics II, Mechanics of Deformable Bodies, and Bioengineering Measurements.
My prof for Thermo II was the man who designed the torch(es) used in the ceremonial relay associated with the 1996 Summer Olympics:
Here are three sheets of "engineering paper" I put to good use; each is positioned atop the folder pockets of their respective classes. Everybody referred to Mechanics of Deformable Bodies by its very rad nickname of "Def Bods" - we were allowed to bring one page of notes to the final exam; this is mine. In the middle is a homework problem for Dynamics II (I just now checked the answer in the back of the textbook to make sure I got it correct). Finally, a page of notes from Bioengineering Measurements, the first class I took toward earning a certificate in Bioengineering.
My partner for the electrical engineering lab was Manuel, a good-humored, muscular Cuban-American who lived with his wife in the married student apartments across the street from campus - that's where we wrote up our lab reports. Six of the seven reports are seen here, spread out in my garage - I'm not sure what happened to #3 (Oscilloscope Fundamentals); maybe Manuel has it.
Spending time with the young couple was a nice change of pace from dorm life, though the write-ups were a lot of work. Extra effort was required to overcome distractions: his wife's cooking smelled great, and there was usually a movie running on cable TV (I remember being unnerved by Phantasm II). Speaking of movie sequels from 1988, Manuel once pulled out a videotape to show that he was one of the guys out-hooped by old folks in the basketball game scene of Cocoon: The Return.
During my time at Tech, I primarily trod two paths from my various dorm rooms (red dots at lower right) into campus.
From the intersection of 3rd & Techwood (purple star), route 1 took me due west, up a steep hill (not apparent on the map) and past the steam whistle that signaled class changes (it was audible campus-wide). A bunch of my courses met in the Skiles classroom building; its bathrooms had stalls with no doors, so bowels were best moved elsewhere. Beyond that was the Student Center - I played John Elway's Team Quarterback, Pigskin 621 A.D., and Klax in its arcade, which was next to an ice cream stand with a TV monitor that played cool movies like Raising Arizona, Buckaroo Banzai, Enemy Mine, and Big Trouble In Little China.
The other route cut through the parking garage amidst the on-campus Greek houses (the chapter 1 setting of Jon Bois' "20020") toward the computer terminals in the Rich Building, where I spent many hours reading Usenet newsgroups (throughout my time at Tech, I didn't have my own PC). The Electrical Engineering Auditorium doubled as the campus cinema; one of my all-time favorite moviegoing experiences was watching Robocop there with a raucous crowd. Turning up Atlantic Avenue led to the Physics Building; during freshman year I remember many northwest treks there accompanied by a can of Dr. Pepper.
Here's my mugshot on a page of the 1989 Blueprint yearbook; this sample of the student body is representative of Tech's demographics from that era.
