First two days at Pulseworks

Since I didn't have time to make a post yesterday, this post outlines my first two days as an intern for Pulseworks, a "world leader in motion simulators, motion simulation technology and interactive, immersive entertainment." During the previous week, I used a program called Visual C# Express 2010 to create my first program at home. Jesse, my current boss, gave me a list of tasks to code in my program. None of the tasks were particularly difficult or advanced-- I had to make a program that would allow a user to type in a name, save the name, view all of the names entered into the program, and enable a cycle mode to scroll through all of the names. Coding the program wasn't particularly easy. I am not familiar with programming, so it took some time for me to understand the logic behind the code. In addition, I had to spend a lot of time researching the proper syntax for the tasks. Still, by the end of the week, I had finished most of the program. Aside from one part of the code not functioning properly, the program was complete. On Monday, I brought the program in. Jesse looked over my program, pointing out a few mistakes and showing me how to simplify some parts of my code. He also explained why one part of my program wasn't functioning properly. Overall, I really enjoy learning how to code with Jesse. He is very good at explaining and showing me how to code. He is also patient, and helps me when I make mistakes. After working on the code for about half an hour, he talked to me about the plan for this week. One of their big simulation machines needed to be shipped out this Wednesday. The machine still needed some work, so he wanted me to help out. Since I don't have enough experience to help out with the mechanical aspects of the machine. Jesse asked me to clean out the front compartments of the machine. These compartments hold the metal handrails and gate for the staircase leading to the machine. I swept and scrubbed the inside of the compartments, and cleaned up the handrails and gate. After, I helped clean up the engine room by scrubbing down the walls and doors, which were covered with dust and dirt. After lunch, Jesse gave me my first independent task. He pulled out a box filled with joystick controllers for the machines. All of those joysticks had been returned to Pulseworks for various issues. He wanted me to test each of the joysticks and find out what the problems were. Then, I would sort them into boxes depending on whether the problem was cosmetic, electrical, or mechanical. During the first day, I sorted through about 20 joysticks. I started by doing a visual check, making sure there weren't any missing components, cracks, or holes in the wires. Then, I plugged each of the joysticks into a controller port and tested each of the buttons. I labeled each of the joysticks, describing all of the problems. 

I continued my task of testing and sorting the problematic joysticks today. I finished sorting them by lunchtime. There were a total of about 60 joysticks, most of which had small cosmetic issues. I was exhausted by lunchtime. Jesse invited me to join him and a few other workers for pizza at a nearby restaurant. I was somewhat intimidated at first, since I didn't really know the other workers. However, lunch turned out to be really fun. The other workers were really nice. I met Billie, Vincent, and another worker I can't quite remember. They were all really funny, and I enjoyed spending time with them. After lunch, Jesse gave me another task. He asked me to go through and remove all of the damaged boots from the sorted joysticks and clean up the bearings. The boot is the rubber part on the joystick that hides all of the mechanics underneath. Most of the boots were torn or deformed. Since the company is planning on replacing the rubber boots with fabric ones, Jesse told me to cut through the old boots. I used a knife and cutters to slice through the rubber. Then, using rubbing alcohol, a rag, and an air gun, I removed the metal shavings and old grease from the bearings, allowing the joysticks to move easier. My past two days have been more shop oriented. While the work can be tedious and difficult at times, it's also very helpful. It gives me the chance to see the equipment they use and learn how to use certain tools. Over the next few days, Jesse told me I'll be working on rewiring some of the broken joysticks to fix any buttons that aren't working. I'm super excited about starting work with wires. However, since the machine needs to get shipped tomorrow, I think I'll be doing more cleaning work. I've really enjoyed my first two days at Pulseworks. It has been a really cool experience for me, and I look forward to doing more over the next few weeks.