Lab Selloffs and Much Needed Down Time

Well I just got done with quite a busy week in school. In my computer interfacing course, we had our very first lab selloff (third lab of the semester though) and of course, it didn't happen without panic and near complications. My lab partner (Joe) and I finished our lab two days before the selloff (where we demo our lab to a teacher's assistant). All we had to do before the selloff was finish up the report, get the source code ready, and of course double check everything on our breadboard and verify that it worked. The day before our selloff I went through and checked everything. All was well and I was very ready to be done with it.

Thursday morning I also had an Introduction to Archaeology exam in which I didn't have very much time to study for, but fortunately I paid attention in class and was able to make a solid 92 on it. Then I had the selloff at 1:40 in the afternoon. Joe and I met up in the lab and we started to set up our equipment at 1:20. After everything was set up, we ran our first experiment. Everything works fine. Next we ran the fourth experiment, as they'd be testing on the first and fourth only. We hook up everything for the fourth experiment (which takes in four BCD numbers, displays each number in the sequence it was entered, then adds them together and displays the sum; if the sum is greater than or equal to 100, it sounds a tone and gives a blank display) and start to input our first four numbers: 1, 2, 4, 8. The display reads: 51, 52, 54, 58, then the tone sounds with a blank screen. Now my hands are sweaty and I can't breathe that well as I notice the clock says 1:32 and I can see the TA finishing up with the selloff before ours. I frantically reset the program and start over with the same inputs. Again, same results. I look at the breadboard. It was just working yesterday. I'm speechless. Joe isn't saying anything. We think about it for a while. Then he mentions something about the five in the tens digit always showing up. We conclude it must be something wrong with the switches. We then change workstations and set everything back up. Thankfully, by the mercy of a higher being, everything starts working. Just in time for us to do our lab selloff and be done with this lab.

Now, after completing a week with bad quiz grades, long hours, and little sleep, it's time to relax. Unfortunately, the relaxing can't last forever. I have three homework assignments and an exam on Monday. Oh well, it beats having a real job.