Adventuresome week

Well, it has been interesting to say the least. I got my grading done in two marathon days at home sitting amongst piles of notebooks and papers. I have TA's, but I can't ask them to do it all. There's just too much. The grades for my class were all very high. Next semester, I may have to toughen up a little, or take some weight off of participation and notebooks. Most people had "B's" before I added those in, and then the majority went to "A". Not a problem from the students' end, I'm sure!

I've met so many new people this week, I can't count them all. Everyone from local authorities to school district officials; Georgetown is such a nice little town, you can get to know everyone!

Debbie wrote an e-mail today. She said she had gotten a sunburn from sitting by the pool at her hotel in Addis Ababa for too long. I want to go to Addis Ababa. I just went outside, and here in Central Texas, at 9:00 p.m. there is already ice forming on the cars. I think we have been bamboozled! (Hah! I like that word.) Plus, in Addis Ababa, I know this girl...

Tomorrow is our work Secret Santa party. I need to go in tomorrow, but I suspect there will not be a lot of work done at UT in general this week. There are some people at National Instruments who want to come see me to get a quote for their corporate pamphlet though. That should be fun! I'll be published. I'm just waiting to be discovered. Of course, if it's someone reading the NI pamphlet, it's more likely I'll be discovered by someone looking for an engineer who doesn't mind working in a highly radioactive environment...on the moon. Hmm, at this point, I might take a pay cut for that job.

Well, there's news, but not much fit to print, so I guess I'll call it a night. Everyone think of/pray for/send positive vibes to (depending on your particular belief system) Debbie. I wouldn't mind some thrown my way either, and don't forget the kids (especially the kids, one in particular.)

BJ

Cold!

Yesterday it was almost 70 degrees when I woke up and went out to get the paper. It got to around 80 by noon. At three o'clock it was 56, and by the time we got ready to go to bed last night it was snowing. Go figure. Only in Texas. Tonight it will get to the low 20's. It is bright and clear outside though.

I'm tired. It has been a long day. I'm getting ready for my tax season work, and I had training tonight. This year I am going to use the money to buy a plane ticket to Rome. Debbie and I plan to meet there when she can take some leave. Hopefully, I will make enough this year to get the ticket and a nice hotel room, or rent a small house. That would be ideal. It's something to look forward to anyway.

Short entry tonight, because I need to get to bed, but I will be home tomorrow and Friday to finish grading notebooks and papers.

Goodnight all. Debbie, if your internet speed picks up and you ever get back here, I love you and miss you. Sleep well.

BJ

Sorry for the lack of Posts

The end of the semester has got me running. It occurred to me several times this weekend to get on the laptop and put something up, but in the end if found myself either running madly from place to place or sitting down and rocking back and forth while drooling on my shirt. It was an interesting weekend. Debbie left for Ethiopia on Friday afternoon and arrived safely at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday (8:30 p.m. Ethiopia time). She called when she arrived, but I wasn't at home. David, to the surprise of all, remembered to tell me though. I got an e-mail yesterday that said she was safe in her hotel room and had been out to eat (risky, but necessary) and hoped she was not going to get sick. About two minutes later she sent another e-mail that said her wall socket had blown up and she was running on battery power. Considering that she is using an Army issue laptop, that probably went south about 30 seconds later. I just hope the hotel didn't burn down. I received the e-mails on my Blackberry, which I had purposefully carried into church with me in case Deb wrote or called. I quickly responded before she lost battery power. I think the good Lord will forgive me although I'm not so sure about Rev. Mike. I DID have it on 'vibrate'. Anyway, our hopes of video calling from her room are fairly well dashed. If she blew a circuit with an e-mail, I don't see getting the bandwidth for even voice, let alone video. (For all you engineers out there, I realize that current is independent of bandwidth in the PC itself. That was a joke. Other humans laugh at them.)

Caitlin and I went out to eat Saturday night. We went for Sushi. She likes eel and Spider rolls, but not octopus. That's strange...I thought she'd like octopus.

I got up early this morning. I decided to give myself an extra half-hour or so to get ready since I happened to roll over earlier than normal. NOT! Here's a synopsis:

Sometime this weekend our new resident, Pumpkin the cat, disappeared. She was wild when we found her, so I figured she could take care of herself absent getting eaten by a wandering coyote or the fox that lives in the woods behind our house. Still I wondered why she hadn't come back. She hasn't missed a meal since she moved in. The second related thing is, last night our dogs' best friend,Ginger, came to visit. Ginger is an escape artist and dearly loves to come over to our house to play with the girls. This happens often enough that I have come to know her owners and have their phone number. So, at 11:00, I called them and they came to pick Ginger up. Ginger, seeing that she was going to be in trouble, took off and was gone in the woods not to be found that night, so I told her owners to just go home and when she came back I would just put her in the back yard to be picked up in the morning. So, on my way out to get the paper this morning, intending to use my extra time to get it read, I hear a distress MEOW! coming from some indistinct place. Back inside to get a flashlight and a few minutes later I spot the cat, stuck on the roof. She is just a kitten and couldn't figure out how to get down I guess. I retrieved a ladder, rescued the cat, took her inside and fed her. Back out the get the paper, and here comes Ginger. I let Ginger into the back yard with the our dogs, and went back inside to feed, water and medicate the various canines. Back out to get the paper...

By the time I got the paper inside it was time to leave for work, where I am currently avoiding doing the work I put off doing all weekend.

As Kilgore Trout puts it, "So it goes..."

Deb, if you get to read this later, I love you. I hope you (and everyone else) have a great day.

BJ

Newer car!

The parts for the radiator came in today, so I took the car back in. Didn't get as much work done since I hadn't plugged the laptop back in after working in the bedroom last night. I ran out of battery after grading one paper, but at least I got that done. I went Christmas shopping a little...more than I intended to I guess. I have been trying to find a particular present for Mary Caitlin and, as usual, I picked the hot gift for the year. I was shopping for a Nintendo Wii game system since I have heard they are fun and it would get MC (and whoever) up and moving instead of just sitting passively playing. In particular, I wanted the Wii Fit set-up. I thought foolishly that since that system has been out for a year that it wouldn't be a problem: Best Buy, sold out; Walmart, sold out; Target, sold out; Amazon.com, sold out. Finally I found a console at Game Stop and Debbie found the Fit package at Target in Atlanta. This was a multi-state effort! My back hurts. I hate shopping. At least I hate shopping by myself. If Debbie and I go out and make a day of it with Starbucks for breakfast and a nice lunch somewhere it is fun. Otherwise it's just work.

I also decorated the outside of the house and got the Christmas decorations for the inside (and the fake tree) down from the attic. While I was up there I found a box with my old CD carry cases in it. As a result, I am blogging while listening to a bunch of music I haven't heard since about 1995. I know this because that is the lastest date on any of these CD's. Just finishing ripping Jethro Tull. It will soon be in my workout repertoire. Now it's Alanis Morrisette. That girl is angryyy! Debbie really likes Alanis. That worries me sometimes. I've already been through the Talking Heads, Phil Collins, Milla, and Toad The Wet Sprocket. How's that for a blast from the past? (Laura sits staring at the screen wondering who the heck I'm talking about.) ZZ Top, Bjork and Van Halen are waiting in the wings. I know that's really eclectic. I have to think that I was on the tail end of the Van Halen stage when I bought that CD. ZZ Top now, "Sharp Dressed Man"; Debbie and I would dance to that until we were ready to drop. I think it was my black and white checkered Vans flashing in the black light of the dance floor of Rockers that first won her heart...

So, that was my day. I think I'll go watch some of Dexter, season II. Good series if you have a strong stomach.

Love you Deb. Good night.

BJ

New car!

Not really, but it may as well be. I went and got 4 new tires, a two wheel brake job, oil and filter, transmission flush, power steering flush, new air filter, etc. etc, etc. today to the tune of $1380.00. Beats buying a new car though, and the Honda should last us easily another 100K. It still runs and looks like it's new, so I guess it was worth it. Now it's ready to drive to Alabama on the 20th! I'll take advantage of the temporary low gas prices and take the big car. Maybe it won't take me five minutes to get my knees unfolded getting out of the car at the Cracker Barrel this trip.

I talked to Mom and Dad tonight. They sounded well. Dad is excited about his new laptop I think. I will get it set up for him when I get there. It would be great to get to skype in and see him and Mom every once in a while. It was really nice seeing everyone last night, especially Deb. I miss your smile my love.

I am writing tonight from my room. I abandoned the house to David and a couple of friends he brought over. They are playing a new video game in the den. It is a very active game; lots of sound and epilepsy-inducing graphics. I'm glad he brought his friends over tonight though. Half the reason we bought this big house was so David could bring friends over. I hope we can get the pool fixed before the summer so he (and the rest of us) can use it.

Well, I'm going to cut this short and go to sleep. Didn't do much today to talk about anyway.
Got the car fixed. Got a haircut, watched Kung Fu Panda with Caitlin over hot chocolate (that was probably the highlight of the day) and that was about it. Tomorrow I'll pull out the Christmas decorations and put them up. That should be fun. It will be a lot of work, but still...

I love you Babe. Hope you are sleeping well tonight.

BJ

Turkeys and physics

So how is it that turkeys get to defy the laws of Thermodynamics? If you put a frozen turkey in the refrigerator on Sunday, it should be nicely thawed by Thursday. I'm sure...absolutely certain that I read that in a text book at some point, but the laws of physics obviously do not apply to domestic holiday-fare fowl. I wouldn't say my turkey is frozen as hard as a rock per say: Perhaps as hard as a piece of driftwood, but still I can't recover the goodie bag with all the gravy parts yet, so my turkey sits defiantly staring at me with its little beady non-existent eyes while it soaks in a sink full of cold water.

I am not preparing a from scratch Thanksgiving this year. I made up my menu by going to the store last night and selecting what was left in the pre-prepared section of the deli. We are having sweet potato casserole topped with pecans, stuffing, creamed corn, cranberry relish and something else I can't remember but was available, and brown and serve rolls. And, of course, the turkey barring it spontaneously re-freezing in the sink or otherwise continuing its refusal to obey the 'thaw' command.

The housekeeper came yesterday. That was nice. I think she's magic. I didn't know for certain she was coming since I hadn't talked to her, and wasn't sure in any case what really needed to be done to prepare for her, so as a default, I did nothing. When she got here, I looked around and thought she would probably run, but she didn't. I left her with the house and went to the coffee shop to work and get out of her way and when I came back several hours later, the house was sparkling clean. I don't know what she did with everything and I don't care. There may be twenty pairs of socks and thirty towels for sale on E-bay, but all I care about is that they are not in the floor anymore. I wonder if she has a brother that does yards? I would be willing to pay. I don't need to eat EVERY day.

I can't wait for the Black Friday sales to start. Last year I camped out and got a flat screen TV. This year, I'm going for...TIRES! Yes, Sears has a sale on tires on Black Friday. How's that for a depression era Black Friday sale? Merry Christmas one and all...we won't die if it rains next week!

"Daddy...can I have shoes for Christmas?"
"Yes, Mary Caitlin, brake shoes are on sale too. "

Actually, I hope they are. I want to get everything done at one time to get the Honda ready to roll towards Jacksonville on the 20th. Since gas is cheap right now, we can take the big car. Not that there's anything wrong with the Yaris. I still get a little thrill every time I run the mileage on it and see that I'm getting 40mpg commuting back and forth to work. It gets the gas mileage of a motorcycle with A/C, heat and a radio, and I don't have to worry about becoming a projectile nearly as much. People have said, "It doesn't have side airbags, it's not safe!" To which I say, "Pish Tosh." (Not really. That's pretty much the first time I've ever said that but you get the idea.) When I was on the motorcycle I had to be my own air bag, and I think I was pretty good at it.

Well, I poked my turkey and it seems fairly pliant, so I'm going to try to get it in the oven.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm looking forward to our trial video conference later.

I love you Babe...drive carefully on your way to J'ville. Remember, just because the Beemer does 160 doesn't mean you have to prove it.

BJ

PS- Turkey is in. Nicely spiced and stuffed with apples, onions and fresh basil. See, I did do something nice for Thanksgiving after all.

Catching up on the weekend

Sorry for not posting yesterday. I actually got so busy I forgot that I ate lunch. I didn't forget to eat mind you, the act just got lost in the flurry of activity surrounding the end of the semester. Ate with one hand and worked with the other. I had students in and out all day in the midst of grading and trying to figure out what's going on for next semester. I've got to remember to get a box of Kleenex for my office. It's surprising how many tears get shed over grades. I tried telling some of them that there's no crying in Engineering, but they won't listen.

"Boo, hoo! If I get a 'B' I'll never get into Baylor!"
"Then learn to write an English sentence, Dipstick."

I wonder how my evaluations are going to look? Like anyone wants my job.

I went into one of the 24/7 labs (open to the students in that course at all hours) today and got irritated because it was pretty messy. Then I came across a table on which there were several origami tanks set out in a battlefield complete with origami rocks and a paper fortress. There was a sign on the desk that said, "Free tanks...Happy Tanksgiving." I have creative students, and now I have an origami tank!

Speaking people who don't listen, the kids are doing well I think. I took Mary Caitlin to see the latest Disney talking dog movie Saturday. It was actually funny and I enjoyed going. I can't remember the name of it right now though. We got to the theater early and went to the diner to get a snack. At first MC wanted the fried pickle appetizer, but then decided on the brownie sundae instead. When the waiter came and she ordered, he said they were out of the brownies (it was the matinee and they were already out of brownies?). MC sighed and said, "I guess I'll just get the pickles." I don't know if anyone has ever gone from one end of a menu and back again so abruptly. Anyway, the pickles were good.

(What WAS the name of that dog? Hero?, Cujo?...no, wrong dog.)

Went and bought a turkey Sunday, so I guess I'm going to cook for Thanksgiving. I'm cooking as little as possible though. The grocery store has an amazing variety of pre-prepared Thanksgiving food that just needs to be heated up and I'm taking advantage!

"BOLT!" That was the name of the movie (and the dog)! It's good. Go see it.

O.k.- I cheated, I had to look that up.


I think I added a picture to this post. I can't see it yet, but the software tells me I was successful. Guess I'll find out. The picture is of David next to the stone pillar mailbox we jack hammered apart and re-built Saturday to replace the enclosed mailbox. That was a full day, but the jack hammering was satisfyingly noisy and destructive. David did a lot of the re-building. I told him it was one the rare times that he and I had exactly as much experience with a job since neither of us had ever done such. We figured it out together, although I don't think we're threatening the jobs of any professionals out there.

Hope you're having a good day, Deb! I love you and we miss you.

BJ