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Depending on who you are, you may
be interested
in what I do.
Things I do professionally:
- I teach courses in Electrical Engineering Technology at Mohawk Valley Community College.
These include DC and AC circuit theory, linear semiconductor circuits
(i.e., transistor theory), operational amplifiers, and programming
courses. If you're in one of these courses, there are supplemental pages
where you can get more info.
- I
write instructional and informational material. These include
electrical engineering technology text books, lab manuals and dozens of
articles in the past 25 or so years for publications such as The
C User's Journal, Amazing Computing,
Amiga World, Modern Drummer,
Electronic
Musician, and others. Along with these are the
user's manuals for software products such as Sample Wrench.
I completed the third edition of my Operational Amplifiers
and Linear Integrated Circuits
text in 2016 and have released it as an OER (Open Education Resource)
instead of continuing with the for-profit traditional publisher route.
There is a companion lab manual. Over the past few years I've
been
writing texts and lab manuals so that our
electrical students can have a better lab experience and save a
considerable amount of money on their book expenses at the same
time. These works are freely redistributable and are available
through major open rducational resource sites such as OERCommons.org
and Merlot.org.
The current offerings include Computer Programming with Python, DC
Electrical Circuits, AC Electrical Circuits, Semiconductor Devices, and
Embedded Controllers Using C and Arduino. You can download these on the
Free Books page.
- I write software. This includes all of the software offered
by dissidents.
My main area of research interest is weird DSP (digital signal
processing), primarily interesting and unique mutations of audio.
- At one time I used to design PA systems and loudspeakers,
but I generally don't have time for that these days. If you're
interested in audio, consider signing up for PH106 Science of Sound.
- I've done some hardware design on analog neural networks
with Dr. John Gallagher of the Neural
Dynamics and Control Group at Wright State University in
Ohio.
Things I do for the love it:
- Running, biking, kayaking, hiking, cross-country skiing,
and similar muscle-powered endeavors. Click here
for some recipes I like for training. Here's my Boilermaker Training Plan
for first-timers. Also, check out
the
running section on my other site.
- Reading. Lots of science-oriented material but quite a bit
of history, politics, some philosophy as well, and particularly the
nexus of these topics. I am a firm believer in the ideals of the
Enlightenment and The Age of Reason, and what science can do (and has
done) to further the human condition. More directly, I do not have a
"world view" which invokes the supernatural. It is my opinion that if
someone claims to have a "world view" that is hinged to some manner of
religious dogma then they are not open to all possibilities of
explanation regarding the understanding of the universe. You might call
me a secular humanist or a scientific rationalist/naturalist. That is,
I have seen no evidence that ethics and morality are intrinsically tied
to religiosity, nor that a supreme being(s) exists or is required to
explain the operation of the universe.
- Music. "Music is the best" said Frank Zappa. I play a
few instruments and, to paraphrase Frank, I do not
write music that
is strictly commercial. You would never hear this
sort of stuff on the radio. You can hear some of my music on my
personal site: www.jimfiore.org
- Sometimes I like to draw, like the cartoons seen below.
- Some popular things I don't
do: I am not a fan of "sports ball". I don't follow spectator sports or
watch "reality" or "talent" shows on TV. I find these things
to be terminally boring.
Some Funny Stuff and Some Serious Stuff
Why has the Republican party turned
into the anti-science party?

Britney
Spears'
Guide to Semiconductor Physics
A little story on how
semiconductors
really work
A simple investigation into
astrology
Some thoughts on the metric system
Some food recipes I made
I'm selling some music gear.
An AKG D-112 professional bass mic.
Info here.
Ideal for kick drums, floor toms or bass cabinets. Very little use,
still in original box. $150.

Some quotes I like...
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."
- Isaac Asimov
"We
are at the very beginning of time for the human race. It is not
unreasonable that we grapple with problems. But there are tens of
thousands of years in the future. Our responsibility is to do what we
can, learn what we can, improve the solutions, and pass them on."
- Richard Feynman
"Information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom,
wisdom is not truth."
- Frank Zappa"
Begin with the possible and move gradually towards the
impossible."
- Robert Fripp
"Alone, you can fend for yourself. Together, we can improve the world."
-
Anon
"My hovercraft is full of eels."
- Monty Python
"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one
fewer
god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other
possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."
- Stephen
Roberts
"There are people who believe that dinosaurs and men lived
together. That they roamed the Earth at the same time. There are
museums that children go to, in which they build dioramas to show
them this. And what this is, purely and simply, is a clinical
psychotic reaction. They are crazy. They are stone cold f*** nuts.
I can't be kind about this, because these people are watching
The Flintstones as if it were a documentary."
-
Lewis Black
Some links I like...
A great site for info on media and politics: www.mediamatters.org
Good stuff to know from the Department of Agriculture (Center
for Nutrition Policy & Promotion): www.usda.gov/cnpp
How much fat is in your lunch? The Center for Science in the
Public Interest: www.cspinet.org
This is real investigative journalism: www.ProPublica.org
Free books from Project Gutenberg: www.gutenberg.org
The Freedom From Religion Foundation: www.ffrf.org
The Secular Web, promoting a naturalistic view of the
universe:
www.infidels.org
Information on secular humanism: www.secularhumanism.org
Warning:
Excessive
exposure to techno-tools can drastically increase your Kg
(coefficient of geek-osity). The surgeon general hasn't said doody
about this, but it might be a bad thing. On the other hand, it
could be a good thing. Of course, there's always the possibilty
that it will make no difference whatsoever. We simply don't know.
Either way, you've been warned. Sort of.

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© 2019 Jim Fiore