I finally completed all of my classes for the fall quarter today.  Both Contemporary Energy Applications (ECE 530) and Power Electronics (ECE 531) were really good, informative classes, and I learned quite a bit from both.  After being back on a quarter system, though, I must admit that I prefer semesters.  The short length of each quarter dictates an extremely rapid pace in order to cover enough material, which is not very conducive to learning.  Semesters, in my opinion, allow a much more thorough and in-depth examination of the concepts and details being taught, which, when one is talking about advanced-level electrical engineering, is much preferred.

And now that my first quarter as a graduate student is over (except for grading ENGR 201 finals!), I’m looking forward to the winter break.  Fortunately, it looks like the next few weeks are shaping up to be cold and wet (which, in the mountains = snow), so the skiing forecast is starting to look much more positive after an initially very slow start.  This is the forecast for days 8-14 from the Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service:

Things are looking really good, with above-normal precipitation and below-normal temperatures. Let’s hope that this is actually what happens!

Of course, there is always an element of chance in predicting the weather, but one can only hope that conditions will end up as nice as last year.  The overall weather pattern is trending toward La Niña, which normally bodes well for snow in the mountains.  I’m really looking forward to getting out to a variety of ski areas this year.  Besides skiing at Mt. Hood Meadows, I am also going to be going to Mt. Bachelor as part of a skiing class that I am taking through OSU.  And, of course, I really want to make it back to Crystal this year.  There is nothing like standing at the top of Crystal on a beautiful, crisp morning with only a few people around and fresh powder to be enjoyed:

So…who’s excited for ski season?