Geezer Graduate

Let's Go On A Cruise

2012-01-22T22:11:00.000-08:00

Video from the Pacific Sun, as she hits rough weather. It's tempting to say it's a funny video, but one woman really gets walloped at :50. Also, the guy at 1:30 just narrowly avoids getting killed.

I can't get over how much is left unsecured on these ships. I'm guessing that because these ships resemble hotels their operators forget they're on the sea.

Be sure to check out the rest of the blog. This guy has the most extensive analysis of the Concordia crash I've seen.

Rough Weather

A 36" Tree

2011-12-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

In a This is Spinal Tap moment, I accidentally ordered a 36" tree when I wanted a 36' one. Just as well. I have no idea how I would have gotten a 36-foot tree in here anyway.

Ba-dump.

The big snowflakes are new this year. Also, I added a string of white bulbs hanging from the railing. Like the snowflakes they're LED's so they should last a long time.

I looked around, and I seem to be the only one in the complex who has hung icicle lights. I have them hanging at the edges of the balcony, and over my sliding-glass doors.

Anyway it's not too bad of a decorating job, considering I didn't even start until 4 pm today. (I watched the Bucs lose their ninth straight. Aargh!)

As with last year, I figured I'd post "In Hoc Anno Domini," which the Wall Street Journal has published every Christmas Eve since 1949. It's not exactly cheerful, but it gives a good idea (I think) of what Christmas is all about.

In Hoc Anno Domini

So, I have presents to wrap. Also, like I do every year, I'm going to watch the midnight mass from St. Peter's. (No, I'm not Catholic, but they do this stuff up right.)

So, Merry Christmas!

Worst Since '87...

2011-12-20T09:58:00.000-08:00

Cowboys @ Bucs

Well, the Bucs are enduring their worst single-season slide since '87. However, if there's something to be learned from the win that the 1-13 Colts got over the Titans, it's that if you hold out long enough, things will turn around. (In a statement of faith, I went and bought a season ticket for next year.)

Anyway, I toyed with the idea of wearing a bag over my head at the game. I'm glad I didn't, as Bucs fans were outnumbered about 2-1 by Cowboys fans. I didn't want to pile-on, especially as many Cowboys fans seem uniquely obnoxious.

That said, some others are wearing bags.

Return of the Bag

It's kind of funny, but with all the Cowboys fans there, I didn't see any of them wearing an actual cowboy hat. It's as if the thought never occurred to them.

Buccaneers Anonymous

2011-11-07T09:49:00.000-08:00

"I have wept openly when the Bucs have lost. I have wept openly when the Bucs have won. I have wept openly when the Bucs have had a bye week. I do a lot of weeping, for I am a Bucs fan."

I guess this is as good a time as any to admit to buying a season ticket to the Bucs this year. They're blacked-out again this year (same as last) so it's the only way to see them. (Well, it's either that, or drive down to Fort Meyers, the closest market that's not blacked-out. But seeing as the driving distance is the same, why not just go see the damn game in person?)

By a strange coincidence, one of the HR reps where I work is involved with the "Bucs Bus" pictured above. Though I walk by this bus on the way into every game I haven't seen her at any of them yet. I hear she messed up her knee so that might be the problem; she's been out of work for all this month.

They have a website, with more pics. I don't quite see the point of having such a set-up. When I tailgate, I literally sit on the tailgate of my truck. But to each his own.

Me, I'm wondering if they can even watch the game on their t.v.

http://bucnraysbus.webs.com/

Wrote page 200...considering MFA

2011-09-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally wrote page 200 in my novel. I started working on this thing probably five years ago, but had to take a break from it when I was going to school.

Having accomplished this, it has made me seriously think about getting a Master in Fine Arts (MFA) in creative writing. It's not like I'm doing anything else interesting in my life. I've been working the same shitty, waiting-to-get-laid-off factory job for the past twelve years. I know my bachelor's in technical writing is worthless (they promote only young people at work), so I might as well pursue something I'm interested in.

Okay, each course will cost about $1200. Maybe I'll just take one or two courses, see if it's worth the money. But still, at least it's a plan.

There can't be too many 44 year-old machinists looking to get into the MFA program. So maybe I can get in on sheer "diversity" alone. ;-)

LHC Rap

2011-09-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

Yell for Cadel!

2011-07-27T23:46:00.000-07:00

Yell for Cadel

First time I've ever heard the anthem of Australia. I have no idea who the girl is, but she sings it well. She starts in around 2:45.

Yet another surgery

2011-07-03T20:40:00.000-07:00

It wasn't a rash after all....

Back on Thursday, I had to get a carcinoma on my cheek removed through Mohs surgery. It's where they take off your skin in layers until they get to clean skin.

Moh's Surgery

Not sure how confident I feel about a procedure titled "Double PacMan" but there you go. At least the stats say this is pretty effective, around 95% plus.

Anyway, the plastic surgeon who reconstructed my face had to take a skin graft from my clavicle to cover the area. So I have a big bandage on the side of my face now, where the carcinoma was, and a long strip of bandage going from below my neck to above my right shoulder, where he took the skin graft.

From what the plastic surgeon said, there are stitches under both of these bandages. Frankly, I'm not looking forward to looking at myself in a mirror. Even after everything is healed up, the grafted skin won't look quite the same as the original.

I guess I'm lucky, because if the cancer had gone deep enough in my face then it could have caused nerve damage, affecting my ability to smile. (It didn't, so I'm cool that way.) Also, the area is back on the side of my face, just in front of my ear, so it might not be all that noticeable anyway.

Also, not to be facetious about this, but I am a guy. If I were a woman, I'd think this would pose more of a problem.

After all, does anyone really think Guy Boucher is ugly?

Lightning Head Coach

Still though, this whole thing scared me. Hell, I just thought I had a rash.

So, the moral of the story is to look out for yourselves...

STS-134...Not! Also, other stuff.

2011-05-06T08:46:00.001-07:00

Outside...

Inside...

A closer-view of my World War Two era M-1. The Marlin is no slouch either; it's a .44 mag. They're both fun to shoot.

So, you can see I finally bought a gun safe. After reading up as much as I could on the subject I settled on this one, a 10-gun Sentry. At less than $300 it's what some articles on safes call an "entry-level" safe, but I figure it'll do. It was the only safe at any of the local stores that was light enough for me to get up the stairs to my apartment. Also, it's light enough I don't have to worry about it falling through the floor. (The modular, $1200 Zanotti I considered buying weighs over two and a half times as much as this one.)

Though a lot of safes now have digital locks instead of mechanical dials, I don't see the point of those. They seem to be a solution in search of a problem. This one works fine.

In other news, I did not make the trip to see the launch of STS-134. Just as well as it got scrubbed, but also there were supposedly 750,000 people in attendance. When I saw the last launch there were "only" half as many people in the area yet traffic coming back was still horrible. Unless I could possibly get a room over there for a launch I won't be going back for any more; it's just too much of a hassle.

As for why I missed the launch...in addition to having reservations about traffic and whatnot, I ended up getting some minor (outpatient) surgery done. Around five years ago I had either a horrible case of stomach flu, or maybe food poisoning. Regardless of the cause it gave me such bad stomach cramps that I actually gave myself a small muscle tear. For years I didn't notice anything except a small bump near my bellybutton. Well, it got worse so I finally went to a doctor.

I had an "umbilical hernia". Turns out that's a weak spot in the stomach muscles, and it tore. My bowels were trying to go out through the hole. So, they put a piece of mesh in there. It's about 2.5 inches across. (Now that I think about it, you can repair holes in wallboard the same way.) They did it back on April 29th. It's an outpatient thing, so I was home the same day. And after the Percocet started working, I was feeling no pain. (I stopped taking the stuff two days later. By that time the pain had diminished greatly, and I was getting a bit tired of being stoned all the time.)

Anyway,I'm out on disability until the 23rd of May. Other than the fact that I can't lift anything heavy until that time I'm fully functional, yet because my job entails heavy lifting I can't do it. Oh, well.

Until that time I'm trying to stay busy working on my novel. I'm also spending time making some ammo, though I'm limiting myself to tasks that require no lifting, like cutting already-sized cases to length and re-priming them. By the time I'm well, I should have about 200 .45 ACP cases ready to be completed.

100 cases, ready to be primed. I have another 100 that need some work before they get to this point.

Without a primer in the pocket you can see all the way through the case. They call this the "flash hole." This will be how the primer ignites the gunpowder. Fascinating, no?

Anyway, my enemy now is boredom. I'm not used to sitting around on my butt so much. Yesterday, I drove 30 miles just to buy two pounds of coffee. With the launch of STS-134 scheduled for the 16th, maybe I will drive over there after all....

STS-133

2011-02-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

I saw Discovery's launch for maybe twenty seconds, then it disappeared into some clouds. I did, however, get to see it through my 20x spotting scope. It looked pretty good, for the short period of time that I could see it.

For the most part though, the trip wasn't really worth it. Traffic was so bad it took me five-and-a-half hours to get back. (It took only four to get there.) Honestly, if I'd had any sense I would have just gotten a motel room in Cocoa Beach and stayed the night. There are, after all, other things to do there.

All the way back I told myself I'm not going to the next launch, but I probably will. There won't be any shuttle launches after that, so I'd hate to miss the last one. I'll just get a room.

Also, there are other launches, as satellites and whatnot are always being sent up. Many are so unpublicized that you have to search the web to see when they're being launched. (More than once I've turned on NASA TV and been surprised at seeing a rocket going up.)

So anyway, here's the video. I was looking through the scope, which is why the camera is just pointed in the vaguest of directions.

RIP, Glass Shelf

2011-02-23T08:20:00.000-08:00

I came home at 1am to find this. It took me until about 3am to clean it up. I still feel like a dumb-ass for putting too much on that shelf. And I still get a chuckle out of looking at these pics.

Seriously though, that shelf was supposed to be able to handle 25 pounds. I don't think I had anywhere near that on there. (The only heavy unit is the stereo, and that's on the bottom shelf.)

The glass was heavy, tempered stuff. I'm still surprised that it cut loose like this.

RUGBY! (or, Wait...what?)

2011-02-06T21:42:00.002-08:00

Wait...what?

I just watched my first Rugby match. BBC America is carrying it every Saturday over the next month or so. Times start around 11:30am eastern time, 8:30am pacific.

I'm hooked.

BBC America Six Nations Rugby

I didn't quite get all the rules, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. It's a lot like our football, but tackling doesn't seem to do much as the person tackled can still toss the ball to the nearest teammate (though I guess if you hold his legs still, the ball becomes dead at that point.) And though I don't quite get the point of a "scrum" (one commenter said it looks like a cross between a tug-of-war and an orgy) I'm guessing it's something like a face-off in hockey.

A few neat things: they don't stop play for much of anything. Except for maybe the halftime, I don't think there were even any commercial breaks. Even injuries are tended to while play is still in session, with the game sometimes going right over injured players and medical staff on the field.

I actually enjoyed it more than the Super Bowl, which was sort of left me cold. (It's just another football game. Why all the hype? And I'm glad I'm not the only one who was underwhelmed by the Black Eyed Peas. Then again though, don't all halftime shows suck?)

BBC America has some neat hosts. Here they are with some American football player. (I can't remember his name.)

And somehow, he got seated in front of an athletic supporter and a cup! Very nice. He was a good sport about it.

Anyway, Rugby has no pads, no real breaks, no commercials, and unlike soccer, no one fakes injuries because it doesn't do one any good to do so. If you haven't tried watching a game, give it a shot.

Old vs. New, pt. 2

2011-01-01T08:24:00.000-08:00

Home-made fireworks. I make a good-looking round, don't I?

I went shooting the other day. I shot .45 ACP and .38 Special, 100 rounds of each. In terms of caliber, the .45 ACP has been around since 1905, the .38 Special since 1902. There have been no significant changes in their designs in a century, yet they work fine. I was certainly able to hit the target with both.

(I actually shot four guns, two of each caliber. It took three hours to clean them. Ugh. I gotta stop shooting so many guns at once.)

Anyway, I don't totally want to bust on new things. For example, my 1911-type .45 is a classic design, yet has more parts than my .45 Ruger. This is because the 1911 hasn't been changed significantly since the 30's, while the Ruger is a more modern design.

Ruger P-97, stripped. Ain't much to it, is there?

Para 1911-type, stripped. Ain't a whole lot more, but I count two more parts to it than the Ruger has. Also, it's harder to strip as you pretty much need a tool to get it to this point.

So, not all modern things are crap. Still though, the improvement(s) of the Ruger over the 1911 are pretty slight; some people might even prefer the 1911. Also, the Ruger is based on the 1911 (almost all pistols today are).

So, one could say that the Ruger is an old design. Though that's debatable, there's one thing that's not: barring natural disaster, both guns will be working long after both my t.v.'s have crapped out.

Old vs. New, pt. 1

2011-01-01T07:53:00.001-08:00

My 19" RCA still works. I bought it around '92, and until '07 or '08 it was my only t.v. That's at least fifteen years of daily duty, and it's still trucking.

Meanwhile, my 42" Vizio crapped out after about 18 months. So, while I'm waiting for it to get fixed (they apparently take their time on warranty work) I'm back watching my little t.v.

I can't believe this was my only t.v.--for fifteen years. Good God, it seems tiny now.

Anyway, is there something about new technology that causes it to become worthless quickly? Why is it that hardcore bikers can roar around on 50's era Harleys while cars made today won't last even twenty years? Is it due to an overbearing urge to make things work better today, even at the expense of longevity?

I recently had to rent a car for a week. It was a 2011 Nissan something or other, with almost no miles on it. First off, I was blown-away at all the controls the thing had. Its dashboard looked like the Space Shuttle's, and even more functions were on one of two turn-signal type levers that required the dexterity of a brain-surgeon to use correctly. It took me almost the entire week to find out how to open the rear hatchback. (It this wonderful futureland, there will be no mechanical button or latch to open your trunk. Oh no, it's a hidden electronic-type button that only works if you first push the "unlock" button twice on your keyfob.) Opening the gas-cap required serious study (that button is down near the driver's knees), and, well...the entire car was nice but overly-complex.

So, how long before all that crap breaks? Does anyone care? I'm guessing not. After all, isn't the name of the game to sell people even more crap that they don't really need?

In Hoc Anno Domini, by Vermont Royster

2010-12-25T20:08:00.000-08:00

The WSJ has printed this every Christmas since 1949.

In Hoc Anno Domini

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.

Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.

But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression—for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?

There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?

Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.

And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.

So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.

But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.

Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter's star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.

And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A14

The Past Couple of Months

2010-12-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

view of ISS from Soyuz 23, on its return to Earth carrying Shannon Walker, Fyodor Yurchikhin, and Doug Wheelock

The past couple of months have been a mixed bag. After looking at my stress test pictures, my cardiologist thought I had perhaps developed another blockage. After doing a heart catheterization, he found out it was nothing. (Something like 90% of the time it's nothing.) I was glad I got that taken care of, while I'm employed and still have insurance. Now I won't need another stress test for two years.

At work, they have an online program that asks all sorts of nosy questions about your health. After taking the survey, I found out I'm at risk for depression and alcoholism. Tell me something I don't know! (Things at work suck so badly a woman in my department just up and quit. She had worked there for 17 years.)

My '01 Ford Ranger started leaking gas. Drip...Drip...Drip... They have plastic gas tanks now, which means they can't just be welded like in the days of yore. It cost me about a thousand to get that fixed. (I don't want to grip too much though, as it's the first big expenditure I've had to lavish on my truck. Still...what an odd thing to break.)

And now, worst of all, my t.v. has crapped out! My beautiful 42" Vizio I bought just 18 months ago, the t.v. I took the above picture off of, has four HDMI jacks, all of which stopped working. (HDMI jacks are what you plug cable boxes, blue-ray players and the like into.) One by one they went out, and I'd switch to the next one. Well, I ran out of working jacks.

Luckily I got the extended warranty, so I'm still covered on that. Glad I saved that receipt. Whew... They're coming to work on it tomorrow. I'm hoping they just give me a new one, which they might.

Being middle-aged sucks. Everything you own breaks, your body starts to go to pot, and you still have to work for at least twenty more years before you can retire. Bleah...

On a positive note, my novel is coming along. Despite long periods of utter neglect, I have finally reached the 150 page mark. That's about 42,000 words. It was supposed to just be a 7,500 word piece I was going to send to a magazine (Analog), but the damn thing has taken on a mind of its own.

One roadblock I hit was a scene at the Asakusa Kannon temple in Tokyo, a place, in a city, in a country I've never been in. Wikipedia and other sites provided a little help, but only still pictures and a map. (Incredibly, the only map of buildings I could find was from a random tourist's website.)

And then it hit me: youtube. There are a bunch of vids from random tourists visiting there, so after watching them I had enough of a feel for the area that I could write about it. I also took out a couple of books on Tokyo from the library. Though one of them was from the 70's, it gave me an interesting picture of the place.

(Example: according to the book, next to one nondescript high-rise apartment complex in Tokyo, there's a clearing with a rock in it. The rock has a hole bored through it. They used to crucify people there, and sometimes burn them at the stake, using the rock to hold up whatever torture device they were using.)

Incredibly, not much of my research made it into the scene. (If I had included everything, the scene would have read like a travelogue.)

I do feel better knowing the place though. Without having a feel for it, the scene had been pretty sparse and dry. It felt almost unethical, to just leave it as I originally wrote it. Now, though I've added only a few lines, it seems a lot better.

Anyway, that's enough updating for now. See you in two months!

Clean Machine

2010-10-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

After six years, I finally wiped my hard drive and rebooted my computer from the original discs. After re-installing XP, I ended having to download two service packs for it, 28 updates, and 73 security updates. I also had to reload my antivirus software and update that. Also, I used carbonite to bring back all the pics I had on my computer. (However, it doesn't back up video. It was okay, as I really didn't have any video I needed to save anyway, but some sort of warning from them would have been nice.)

It was a day or so of work, but it seems to have done the trick. My computer now boots up in two or three minutes, instead of the fifteen it had been taking before. It also acts a lot less buggy now, with a lot fewer crashes. It basically acts like its new.

One of the many pics on my computer. Ah, that trip to Vegas was something...

Teenage Anarchist

2010-09-25T20:47:00.000-07:00

Neat video. I love the kid's smile at the end. Also, this thing was shot without a single cut. It's tough to do something like this, as one mistake means you have to start over from scratch.

In that way, it's sort of like the nightclub-entering scene from Goodfellas.

Stage 16: Oldest Guy First

2010-08-01T16:47:00.000-07:00

Bagneres-de-Luchon-->Pau, 199.5km, 124 miles

I like how the oldest guy in the race, Christophe Moreau (FRA, Caisse D'Epargne), topped the mountain first. Though he didn't win the stage, he was in the lead group, and because their wheels all overlapped they all got the same time. Lance Armstrong, probably the second oldest guy in the race at the age of 38, was also in the group.

Amazingly enough, Moreau ended up getting overall second in the King of the Mountains category. That's something else, considering the guy is only 4 years younger than I am.

Stage 15: Andy's Chain

2010-07-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

Andy in front...burning through his teammates and leaving himself alone. (He has no one to change bikes with.)

Andy's chain...jumping out at the worst possible moment. I've never seen this happen in a professional bike race.

I disagree...even the commentators are divided. And they're both professional riders. I'm a little conflicted myself.

little tommy...driving like a madman in order to win the stage.

Pamiers-->Bagneres-de-Luchon, 187.5km

Kudos for Thomas Voeckler (FRA, BBOX Bouygues Telecom) for winning this stage. In addition to wringing himself out getting over the Port de Bales first (it's an HC climb, meaning it's beyond categorization) he took serious risks on the descent. I'm always amazed at what guys like him will do just to win a stage. Being over an hour behind Contador, he has no chance of winning the overall. Still, he races like a man possessed. It makes the TdF worth watching.

Keep in mind that it was on this stage in 1995 when a teammate of Lance Armstrong's, Fabio Casartelli, suffered fatal injuries in a crash. It happens. And as there is a monument on the route to Fabio, I'm sure it was in Thomas Voeckler's mind as he raced down the mountain.

As for the debate over Andy's chain, it continues still. Alberto got some boos on the podium after this, but I'm on Alberto's side. No one stopped the race when
Sylvain Chavenal(FRA, Quick-Step), got three flats on the cobblestones in stage three. And like Andy today, he was wearing the yellow jersey. Alberto himself had to finish that stage with a flat tire and a broken spoke, and no one (including Andy) waited. And on stage 8, when Lance Armstrong crashed twice, nobody, including Andy, stopped. (And though Armstrong is getting old, remember that he was on the podium with Andy and Alberto just last year.)

I think Carlos Sastre (ESP, Cervelo TestTeam), overall winner of the TdF in 2008, said it best: "They don't stop in Formula One. They don't stop in [motorcycle racing]. They don't stop in running. Why should we stop in bicycling?"

When Sylvain Chavenal lost his yellow to three flats, he didn't complain. Instead, he went and got it again on stage seven. And when he put it on again he kissed it, as he undoutedly realized how hard it is to get--and how easy it is to lose.

It's something Andy finally learned on this day.

Stage 14: Track Stand

2010-07-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

Andy and Alberto's track-stand. Notice how they just about stop for few moments.

Revel-->Ax-3 Domaines, 184.5km/115 miles

Although it was nice that France got another stage win with Christophe Riblon (FRA, AG2R La Mondiale) coming in first after a brutal HC and Cat 1 climb, it's the story behind Andy and Alberto that is getting interesting. Neither can apparently outclimb the other. Today, Alberto attacked and attacked and attacked again, but Andy just kept catching up. Last year, Alberto would have left him in the dust.

However, as Andy is 31 seconds ahead of Alberto in the overall race, he here is refusing to take the lead, even allowing Samuel Sanchez, (ESP, Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Denis Menchov (RUS, Rabobank) to gain ground on them. Sure, both Andy and Alberto are nearly two minutes ahead of those two in the overall race, but two minutes isn't much...

...and Andy Schleck's 31-second advantage over Contador is even less. And, as we'll see in the next stage, sitting behind Contador and being contented will cost Andy, big-time. (Yeah, I'm writing this all well after the fact. I'm so behind in my posting!

Stage 13: A.V. in Red

2010-07-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

Alexander Vinokourov, in red.

Rodez-->Revel, 196k/122 miles, same distace as San Jose to Modesto

A.V. is wearing red numbers, as he was given the nod for most-agressive rider in stage 12. In this stage he earned them again, winning the stage. He's had a pretty good couple of days, especially as he recently just got out of suspension for being accused of "blood doping". (That's where you swap your blood out in order to boost the platelet count.) It was never proven that he did anything, but he was suspended for a time anyway.

The terrain was mostly flat, and the riders rode through farmland. I'm still wondering why they grow so many sunflowers over there; I don't even know what one can use them for other than chewing their seeds as a snack.

Stage 12: Minus 10

2010-07-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

JR and AC, with AV (or his legs, anyway) following at plus four.

Bourg-de-Peage-->Mende, 210.5k/131 miles, same distance as Des Moines to Cedar Rapids

This stage was important to the overall leader competition, because Alberto Contador finished strong, gaining a full ten seconds on first-place Andy Schleck (LUX, Saxo Bank). And in the end, I saw something interesting about the finish: Contador working with Joaquim Rodriguez (ESP, Team Katusha). Alberto and Joaquim each took turns breaking the wind, with Alberto giving Joaquim the stage win in return for his efforts.

By overlapping wheels at the end, Alberto and Joaquim got the same time, a full ten seconds before Andy could get there. It's not often you see people from different teams working together, at least near the end of a stage. This was a good example.

Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ, Astana) wasn't too happy at coming in at plus four seconds. He had wanted the stage win for himself; however he also knew that his teammate Alberto needed time over Andy, so I don't think he was too pissed about being passed.

Stage 11: Argy-Bargy

2010-07-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

Sisteron-->Bourg-Les-Valence, 184.5km/115 miles

Though Mark Cavendish won this stage, he lost his prized lead-out man, Mark Renshaw (AUS). There was some debate over whether kicking him out was justified. Though the head-butting was actually within the rules, it was the moving over on Tyler Farrar that was not. (These guys were going something like 40 miles per hour. Going into the barriers could get someone seriously injured.)

Stage 10: Good Brakes Make For Good Neighbors

2010-07-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

Hold onto your butts...

Chambery-->Gap, 179k/111 miles, same distance as Eugene to Portland, Oregon.

This was something of a high-planes adventure. Though the route is officially out of the alps, there was a startling difference between the lowest and highest elevations, ranging up to 2,000 feet at times. I shot the above video of the lead riders as they descended the Col du Noyer. When the numerous riders of the peloton followed, you could hear their brakes being applied from quite far away.

The winner of the stage was Sergio Paulinho (POR, Radio Shack). After all those miles, and all those thousands of feet in elevation, his win was a matter of inches.

Sergio, beating out Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus, Caisse D'Epargne) by such a small amount my tv had trouble freeze-framing it. This was Radio Shack's first win of the tour. With this being Lance's last year, I'm wondering what will happen to the team.

There are no substitutions allowed in the race. If you can't keep going, you're out. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukraine) here got injured at one point, and the race doctor simply dressed his wound as he rode along. They do this sort of thing all the time.

Seems an odd place for windmills. I guess it works though.

The smallness of humanity...

Anyway, it was another hot day on the tour. And interestingly enough, they were following the same path Napoleon took when he returned from exile on Elba and retook the crown.

100 Days

Stage 9: It's All About the HC

2010-07-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Alberto and Andy, topping Col de la Madeleine

Morzine-Avorias-->Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, 204.5k/126.8 miles, same distance as Reno, NV-->Sacramento, CA

There were a number of category 1 and category 2 climbs today, which softened up the riders for the Col de la Madeleine, an "HC", or "above category" climb. This stage really split up the riders, creating at one point maybe five or six groups.

Neither Alberto or Andy won the stage; that was won by Sandy Casar (FRA, Francais des Jeux), who seemed to know best his way around the last few turns before the finish. However, it was Andy Schleck, (LUX, Saxo Bank) who now has the overall-leader yellow jersey, with Roberto Contador (ESP, Astana) just 41 seconds behind. As Contador was first last year, and Andy was third, it's pretty much a given those two will be first and second this year. But look how wiped out Andy is after this stage. I wonder if it will affect him tomorrow, or if Alberto is similarly wiped.

Andy, completely wasted after stage.

Look how dirty Levi Leipheimer's face is. He didn't crash, but this seems to be typical of how the riders look after a long stage.

Overall, Levi had a good ride today, and may place well at the end in Paris. And I agreed with him, as he said here, that the fast pace of the leaders completely split up the riders. I actually had a tough time following everything today because of it.

Stage 8: Armstrong's End

2010-07-12T22:45:00.001-07:00

Armstrong's End

Station des Rousses-->Morzine-Avoriaz, 189k/117 miles, the length of Long Island

Not to get too dramatic about it, but this was a bit tough to watch. Still, as the old go out, the young come in. It was nice to see Andy Schleck win the stage.

We're in the alps now, the high stuff. It would be a good time to start watching, if you're not already. The scenery alone is worth it. I got vertigo watching parts of this.

Stage 7: It's Pronounced "sil-vahn"

2010-07-12T21:42:00.001-07:00

Sylvain Chavenal

Tournus-->Station des Rousses, 165.5k/103 miles, about the distance from Cincinnati to Columbus

Quite incredibly, in the last forty minutes or so in this stage, Sylvain Chavanel (FRA, Quick Step) made an appearance. He pushed on, and on, and on, passing everyone...and just kept going. Not only did he win the stage, but he re-won the yellow jersey for overall leader. It's pretty rare for anyone except a sprinter to win more than one stage in a single TdF. And to get the yellow again, well, it pretty much confirms that his stage 2 win wasn't a fluke.

Sylvain Chavenal

A truly exciting stage, made more so by Rafael Valls (ESP, Footon-Servetto), in his first TdF, making a good try to catch Sylvain in the last few km's. Rafael ended up coming in second, with Juan Manuel Garate (ESP, Rabobank) coming in third. (He won last year's very-exciting Mont Ventoux stage.)

Clap-clap-clap...

And it was a very good day for Quick-Step, as their rider Jerome Pineau kept his polka-dot "King of the Mountains" jersey.

You have to be French to get away with wearing dresses like these.

Stage 6: Garmin's to Lose

2010-07-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

Garmin Transitions coming into Gueugnon

Matargis-->Gueugnon, 227.5km/141 miles, same distance as Philadelphia to Washington D.C.

This was another long, flat stage, with just some rolling hills to differentiate it from stage 5's Kansas-type flatness. So, even though it was hot, it was another day for the sprinters.

In the last few km's, Garmin was seemingly the only complete team at the front, meaning they had everyone available to propel their sprinter Tyler Farrar into his first TdF stage victory. But in a case of deja vu, Mark Cavendish was simply too fast for either Tyler or anyone on Garmin.

No one could even stay in Mark's slipstream. I don't mean to fault either Tyler or Garmin too much, as Mark beat everyone. However, they keep interviewing Tyler every single day; I have no idea why.

Mark Cavendish, again, for 11th stage win in the TdF.

Most over-interviewed rider in the TdF. I'm waiting for him to tell Versus to quit bugging him.

The good life.

Stage 5: Cavendish Redeemed

2010-07-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

Manx Missile

Epernay--> Montargis, 185km/114 miles

This was a day for the sprinters, and Mark Cavendish was back in form today. He was actually in tears on the podium. I guess it's been an emotional year for him, as he's had some ups and downs over the past year. Also, the more stage victories he has, the more are expected from him. This was his eleventh stage win over three TdF's. That's a phenomenal number.

Anway, "Manx" refers to his homeland, the Isle of Man. They have a world-famous motorcycle race there, which is coming up on its 104th year. With the Isle of Man being so small, I imagine Mark has met at least a few of the riders in that. I have to wonder if any of them have ever said, "Why don't you ride a real bike?"

Nah, probably not. Still though, it's surprising that someone from a small isle celebrated for motorcycle racing would go into bicycle racing instead. It's like someone from Hawaii getting into hockey.

Stage 4: Cambrai to Reims

2010-07-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

Bombs to windmills...

Cambrai-->Reims, 153.5k/95.2 miles, same distance as NYC to Philadelphia

Though the commentators mentioned that Cambrai was the coronation site of French kings for centuries, the name is associated for me with with a battlefield of the Great War. They're still digging up stuff.

Deborah

Anyway, this being a flat stage with a flat finish at the end, it was a day for the sprinters. (I imagine it was also a day to recover from the cobblestones of yesterday.)

Though the terrain was flat, this was still a fun race to watch. Something that made it more interesting, was that of all the roads available in the flat areas of France, the TdF seems to take mostly backroads. This is something that isn't possible in the alpine stages, as many of the roads they take there are bigger, being the only road to get somewhere. Stages like this make me wonder just how many people live in the area, versus how many people travelled long distances to watch the race, like the ones in the photo below.

Norweigans

These few buildings pretty make up the entire town.

Mark Cavendish (GBR, HTC-Columbia) has won something like ten sprint-type finishes over the previous two TdF's. So, everyone expected him to win this one. Quite shockingly, Alessandro Pettachi (ITA, Lampre-Farnese) got the jump on Mark and pulled the victory out from under the younger guy. According to the commentators, Alessandro,(aka, "Ali Jet"), hasn't hasn't displayed this form or power in over five years. Evidently, the guy is back, as this was his second stage win.

Stage 3: The Cobblestones Taketh...

2010-07-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

Sylvain Chavanel loses the yellow jersey.

Stage 3: Wanze, Belgium --> Arenburg Port Du Hainaut, France, 213k/132 miles, the same distance as Los Angeles to San Diego

This was the first time cobblestones had been added to the TdF. A lot of riders didn't like them, and I can see why: they introduce an element of luck that many would have rather not had to deal with. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA, Quick-Step) had three flats on these. Although many riders had one, I don't know of any who had three--except for him. He ended up losing the three minutes he'd gained on Fabian Cancellera (SUI, Saxo Bank), who ended up reclaiming the yellow "overall leader" jersey. (Though to be fair to Fabian, he won the 2010 Paris-Roubaix race, which is all about cobblestones. So maybe he would have won it back regardless.)

Looking at the cobblestone roads, I was surprised at how out-of-the way they appeared to be. These were main roads to nowhere. I'm guessing they hadn't seen this much excitement since the days of Napoleon.

I'm so lonely...

Hi,everybody!

On a more serious note, Frank Schleck (LUX, Saxo Bank) fell and broke his collarbone. So, he won't be able to support his brother Andy, who came in third overall last year.

Thor Hushovd (NOR, Cervelo TestTeam) ended up winning the stage, though Ryder Hesjedal (CAN, Garmin Transistions) rode well enough that the commentators mentioned it. I guess it's been awhile since a Canadian has ridden this well.

Yep, there are riders in all that. Yet another reason to be in front.

Lance Armstrong, dusty.

Thor Hushovd, winning stage. He's wearing the flag of Norway, as he's their national champion. You'll see the champs of other countries wearing theirs, too. The world champ, unbelievably, wears a rainbow. I'm not sure if I'd want that.

Stage 2: Sylvain Chavanel's Big Day

2010-07-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

Sylvain Chavanel

This guy was in an early breakaway. That's when a half-dozen or so guys jump out from the peloton early, forming their own little group, hoping to stay ahead so they can win the stage. Most of the time these breakaways get caught, as it's impossible for a small group to break the wind as easily as a larger one. (Each rider has to take a turn up front. The more riders, the fewer turns up front for each.)

Anyway, on the rain-slicked roads of the Ardennes, this guy eventually left the rest of his breakaway in the dust, flying ahead on his own to win the stage. What amazes me, is that it was just back in April when he crashed so badly he fractured his skull. Doctors even had to put him in an induced coma for awhile to reduce brains swelling.

Yet here, just three months later, he absolutely flew across the short steep hills of the Ardennes forest. And not being particularly fast at descents, he had to make up for it in the flats and uphills.

It's the riders like these, who surprisingly, even inexplicably, win when no one thought they would, that makes this sport worth watching. Not only that, but because of the number of crashes in this stage the rest of the riders protested the conditions, riding en mass to the finish rather than sprinting at the end.

Hey, if the conditions were adequate for a guy with a recently-fractured skull, they were good enough for you. Quit being pansies.

Pansies

TdF: Stage one: Rotterdam to Brussels

2010-07-06T23:26:00.000-07:00

The dog was fine. Several riders crashed. Keep your dog on a leash, dumbass.

They start 'em young around those parts...

This stage started at the Erasmus Bridge, named after, I'm guessing This guy.

This stage was flat, which means it was set up mainly so the "sprinters" on each team could race for the stage win. The weather was sunny and calm, supposedly rare for this locale at this time of year. (According to the announcers, the wind howls usually off the North Sea, gusting at something like 40 knots.) This made it even more tempting for the sprinters, as the wind allowed the teams to stay together.

Anyway, it seemed to be too tempting: with two major crashes in the last kilometer, both Mark Cavendish and Tyler Farrar were knocked down. Some guy whose name I can't remember pulled down the stage win. IIRC, he's a 36 year old who was just in the right time in the right place. (I'd look him up, but it's three in the morning, and I accidentally deleted the last 30 minutes of this stage from my DVR.)

As for Tyler Farrar, I wish they'd stop interviewing him so much. He hasn't come close to beating Cavendish, and I doubt he ever will. So please, stop trying to set him up as some sort of Cavendish-slayer.

As for sprinters in general...meh. Considering the TdF is a three-week race, I'm not sure why I should care about a guy who can sprint really fast for about one kilometer.

I'm pretty sure this is Jens Voight. He crashed so badly in last year's TdF he was actually knocked unconscious.

Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam. Out of a population of 600k, approximately 500k showed up to watch the prologue time trials

One of the commentators speculated that this was a hindu temple under construction. Odd thing to see around the Netherlands/Belgium border

Addendum: The guy who won this stage is Alessandro Petacchi, ITA, Lampra-Farnese. And I shouldn't have been so flippant about his win in this stage, as I just watched him win stage four: this 36 year-old guy somehow blew away Mark Cavendish.

Tour de France 2010: Prologue

2010-07-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Fabian Cancellera's "13"

I wasn't sure whether I'd blog about the Tour de France this year. After all, I think last year I received one comment after writing something like seven or eight posts regarding the subject. So, this tells me that there isn't much traffic here that's interested in the TdF. (Actually, I probably receive little traffic at all. I'd be upset but...meh.)

However--and this is a big however--I find that when I rewatch a stage and write about it, I remember it better. I even remember parts of last year's race, simply because I wrote about them. (Heinrich Haussler sailing down a mountain riding his top tube comes to mind.) If I hadn't done that, many of those details would have faded from memory rather quickly.

Take Cancellera's upside-down 13. Flipping it supposedly fixes its bad-luck element. That's good to remember. And of course he did finish first in the Prologue time trial, beating out Tony Martin by around ten seconds, so there might be something to it!

Fabian Cancellera

I hadn't really thought much about this guy one way or another until I watched him win the Paris-Roubaix race a few months ago. Racing over BIG cobblestones laid by Napoleon, Fabian blew away everyone to such an extent that some nutjob accused him of having an electric motor secreted in the hub of his bike. Though it turns out there is such a product, I believe Fabian was right when he said the accusation was "idiotic."

Anyway, even though they're scanning all bikes now, no one takes the accusation seriously, and Fabian seems to have taken the accusation as a compliment.

Tony Martin

This guy had the best time for most of the day. In the end, Fabian beat him out by only ten seconds or something. All in all, the times at the end of the prologue were so close together as to be inconsequential (iirc, the race will last something like 60 hours). Even the slowest riders lost something like only a minute over the lead. However, time trials seem to be a good way of looking at each rider individually, without their being helped by teammates. (Astonishingly, Andy Schleck, who came in third overall last year, lost over a minute to the lead. I guess he just had a bad day.)

Last year, Tony came in second in the infamous Mont Ventoux stage. Though I remember it, I'm glad I blogged about it. Amazing, that he and Manuel Garate, neither which had a hope in winning the overall race, combatted just for that stage win.

2009 TdF Mont Ventoux post

Anyway, they're starting stage three tomorrow morning, which means I'm way behind on posting. I'm going to have to keep my next posts short to catch up.

Happiness...

2010-06-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

...is a warm gun.

The .45 on the left, I bought just a few weeks ago. This one was made by Para, a company based in N.C. I'd always wanted a M1911-type 45 auto, but never had a good excuse to buy one until a friend of mine opened a gun store. So I bought it to "help him out," or so my excuse went.

The .45 on the right is a Ruger P-97. I bought it maybe ten years ago. It's a double-action with a decocking lever, meaning it has no actual safety. Rather, the first trigger-pull is long and heavy, just like a revolver's. Subsequent shots are single-action, meaning the hammer gets cocked back by the slide's movement, just like any other automatic. The decocking lever is for when you're done shooting, and you just want to drop the hammer again without the gun firing.

Of the two, the Ruger is a more modern design. Because it has no actual safety, I figure it would be the quicker of the two to get a shot off. However it's based on the century-old design of the M1911, as are most pistols. So, it's not really all that different. Also, the M1911 is a single-action, meaning the hammer starts out already cocked. So, because the trigger doesn't have to do much (just drop the hammer) it has very little play in it. Probably because of that, I thought it was a little easier to be accurate with the M1911 than the Ruger.

Sixteen shots, with the Para M1911. This isn't all that bad, but it was my best group all day. I'm a good shot with revolvers, but I find automatics a real challenge to shoot well. I had to concentrate very hard on properly squeezing the trigger straight back, while keeping the sights on target. It sounds easier than it is: whenever I tried to just shoot instinctively, many of my shots went so far to the low and left they missed the paper entirely. (Helpful hint: if you're shooting and not seeing any holes appearing in the target, bring it really close and shoot a few rounds. Then you'll see what you're doing wrong.)

Anyway, if some dude attacks me, I'll end up blowing off some of the toes on his right foot. That'll show him. :-)

Cleaning time...

Why Smart Executives Fail

2010-05-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

I first watched this video about a year ago. It takes a few minutes for it to get going, but I found it pretty interesting.

Atlantis, from Cocoa Beach

2010-05-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

I made the trek over to watch this. Apparently I wasn't alone: the radio said about 300,000 people made the trip to the area. It was the most-watched shuttle mission ever. I watched it from the Bennett Causeway in Cocoa Beach. I would have very much liked to have gotten a bit closer by going up to Titusville, but the traffic going that route looked to be murder. As it is, I made it to this location just about an hour before the launch. I chose it as I saw hundreds of people already parked along here. I figured that at least some of them knew what they were doing, and they did: you can't tell from the video, but NASA's giant Vehicle Assembly Building is visible in the distance, as are a number of launch pads.

When it launched, I was pointing my camera in the general direction, but looking through my binoculars at what I thought to be the shuttle. That distant weird object wasn't the shuttle, so I had to hurry and drop the binoculars, put my glasses back on and look for the thing. I think you can actually hear my saying "shit" at that point.

I just watched the rest of it through the lensfinder of my camera, which has a wider field of view. Later on, you can hear my announcing the sound of the shuttle arriving. The little mic of my camera didn't really do it justice though: it was a low rumbling, like constant thunder. I think it arrived at least a minute after launch.

There are no bathroooms out there. I had to go swimming just to take a leak. It worked out okay though, as I had been planning to go the world-famous Ron Jon surf shop anyway. I bought a pair of swim trunks there, so I wouldn't have to drive home wearing my wet jean shorts.

All in all it was a good day. There are two more shuttle missions. Next time, I'll try to get a ticket to watch from the visitor's center. If I can't get that, then I'll definitely wear swim-trunks next time, so I can take a sneak-leak in the intercoastal waterway without it being a problem!

Also, I'll take enough food and water to camp out there for a good four hours. Traffic out of there was murder. Even after having lunch at a restaurant, and buying my shorts, traffic was bumper-to-bumper out of Cocoa Beach.

B&W Copenhagen Diesel

2010-04-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

Seventy years old, this thing looks like something out of the movie Metropolis. It powered Copenhagen for forty years.

I love the smoke in the air. It smells like...victory.

Herbert von Karajan

2010-04-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

Probably the most highly-regarded conductor of the modern era. There's something truly inspiring about seeing someone like this in action.

Holst: Mars

2010-04-05T15:26:00.000-07:00

This is the first part of his The Planets.

STS-130 pics

2010-02-27T20:21:00.000-08:00

They did much of their work up there at night. It was pretty convenient for me to watch, as it would be on NASA TV when I'd get home. I saw much of this mission, including the pictured part below, live.

Here, they were readying that cupola when they had a sunrise. Sunrises and sunsets take only a few seconds each; due to the speed of their orbit, they have one or the other something like every 45 minutes.

I watched an ungodly amount of this mission: three hours of one spacewalk, and four hours of another. I also watched when they were using the "Canadarm" (cute word, that)to move the Harmony node, cupola, and pressurized mating adapter to their final homes. (I swear, the last one looks like a duodenum.) It was pretty mesmerizing, as NASA tv has no commercial interruptions.

Canada gets a lot of exposure from those arms. There's one on the ISS itself, and one (or two?) on the shuttle.

Harmony node, attached to the ISS, with cupola and pressurized mating adapter. The PMA is the dark thing on the right. The shuttle can dock with one of those. I don't know if I'd want to go through one though, as its appearance gives me the mental image of being squeezed through the alimentary canal.

One thing I liked about watching this mission, was that it allowed me to watch educated, intelligent people doing interesting work. Not only was this a nice antidote to the "normal" news coverage of dysfunctional people doing stupid things (like flying planes into IRS offices) but it gave me hope that I could someday be involved in something similarly rewarding.

Just watching mission control in Houston was pretty uplifting. Check out how most of the displays are just flat-panel computer monitors. The consoles are quite unlike the purpose built consoles of yesteryear.

Also, if I can say so without sounding too stalkerish, the chick in the middle row is cute as a bug in a rug. I can't quite read the plaque on her console, but from visiting the NASA website, it looks like she's sitting at the ODIN console (Onboard, Data, Interfaces and Networks). I guess that explains the viking helmet!

Endeavour STS 130

2010-02-08T01:53:00.001-08:00

pic from NASA t.v. ...

I stayed up/woke up two nights to watch this. It was pretty exciting, but my video isn't all that great. Still though, it's amazing that you can actually see these things going up from by apartment. I'm on the other side of the state! And though you can't tell from the video, I was clearly able to see the SRB's separating. As this was the last nighttime shuttle launch ever, I'm sorry I didn't make the trip to see it close up.

It's just a small light on the video, but you're welcome to look at it. Anyway, I think it's a shame they're shutting down the shuttle program and replacing it with...nothing.

Ghost and the Machines

2010-01-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

I'm back working the 2-10pm shift. After first shift leaves at 3pm, I'm the only person around. There are people in other departments, but it's not like I have any contact with them.

Around 6pm, most of the lights automatically turn out. Though my area stays lighted, I often end up having to walk through the dark to get where I need to be.

I have survived two layoffs now, one of which was last week. Over the past year, we have lost around one-fourth of our workforce.

Our plating department has been outsourced. The equipment is gone. There used to be a department-wide basin to catch spills--that has been filled in with concrete. It's just a big empty room.

Back in the day, there used to be around 650 people working here. Now, the bosses claim we have around 200. However, word out on the floor is that we have only 170.

Just ten years ago, when I started, there were 56 people on second-shift alone. Now there are six.

It's a big plant at night, and as I move through its acres of idle machinery I feel like a ghost.

Cheers

2009-12-31T21:16:00.000-08:00

I mixed together Guinness and Fosters. I don't know what you'd call it.

Anyway, Happy New Year.

Live Blogging Midnight Mass

2009-12-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

(No, they didn't show him getting knocked down. It wasn't until the end of the mass that they even mentioned it. I myself didn't even know it happened until the end. So, don't expect this post to be about that.)

I'm not Catholic, but I still like to watch the midnight mass from St. Peter's every Christmas. It's really something else. However, I don't think they've started filming it in high-def yet. Oh, well.

I wonder how one gets into the choir for this? It must be a serious audition.

Is the basilica used every week? For that matter, are any of the great cathedrals still used? I did visit Notre Dame de Paris once, and there did seem to be people praying there. However, I would think you'd need a huge congregation to keep something like that open. Although I presume the Catholic Church would supply the money to keep them in good repair, one would feel ridiculous worshiping in a warehouse-sized church unless the congregation was similarly impressive. (I seem to remember that Chartres Cathedral seats 10,000.)

I'm guessing the Pope knows three languages. I know he's German, so he obviously knows that, and he did the mass in Italian (I think). However, the Bible he read from looked to be one of those handwritten ones done by the monks. So, I'm guessing he has to know Latin as well.

Also, the ATM's in the Vatican are in Latin. Yeah, I'm sure they have other languages available, but not knowing Latin would obviously be a handicap for anyone at a high level in the Catholic Church.

Perhaps Latin serves as a universal language for the church? As always, they did have a lot of different countries represented at the mass.

He said some interesting things, about the shepherds vs. the three wise men. First, that the shepherds were sort of on-watch for something like the birth of Jesus--while most people aren't. Also, they arrived much earlier than the three wise men. Though this was due to physical proximity, the pope mentioned that the closeness of the shepherds was more than physical, that their closeness was also a metaphor for their being closer to God.

Interesting...

Mike Royko Veteran's Column

2009-11-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite Veteran's Day column. The columnist Mike Royko wrote it in 1993.
I agree with it wholeheartedly.

I just phoned six friends and asked them what they will be doing on Monday.

They all said the same thing: working.

Me, too.

There is something else we share. We are all military veterans.

And there is a third thing we have in common. We are not employees of the federal government, state government, county government, municipal government, the Postal Service, the courts, banks, or S & Ls, and we dont teach school.

If we did, we would be among the many millions of people who will spend Monday goofing off.

Which is why it is about time Congress revised the ridiculous terms of Veterans Day as a national holiday.

The purpose of Veterans Day is to honor all veterans.

So how does this country honor them?

By letting the veterans, the majority of whom work in the private sector, spend the day at their jobs so they can pay taxes that permit millions of non-veterans to get paid for doing nothing.

As my friend Harry put it:

"First I went through basic training. Then infantry school. Then I got on a crowded, stinking troop ship that took 23 days to get from San Francisco to Japan. We went through a storm that had 90 percent of the guys on the ship throwing up for a week.

"Then I rode a beat-up transport plane from Japan to Korea, and it almost went down in the drink. I think the pilot was drunk.

"When I got to Korea, I was lucky. The war ended seven months after I got there, and I didnt kill anybody and nobody killed me.

"But it was still a miserable experience. Then when my tour was over, I got on another troop ship and it took 21 stinking days to cross the Pacific.
"When I got home on leave, one of the older guys at the neighborhood bar he was a World War II vet told me I was a ----head because we didnt win, we only got a tie.

"So now on Veterans Day I get up in the morning and go down to the office and work.

"You know what my nephew does? He sleeps in. Thats because he works for the state.

"And do you know what he did during the Vietnam War? He ducked the draft by getting a job teaching at an inner-city school.

"Now, is that a raw deal or what?"

Of course thats a raw deal. So I propose that the members of Congress revise Veterans Day to provide the following:

- All veterans and only veterans should have the day off from work. It doesnt matter if they were combat heroes or stateside clerk-typists.
Anybody who went through basic training and was awakened before dawn by a red-neck drill sergeant who bellowed: "Drop your whatsis and grab your socks and fall out on the road," is entitled.

- Those veterans who wish to march in parades, make speeches or listen to speeches can do so. But for those who dont, all local gambling laws should be suspended for the day to permit vets to gather in taverns, pull a couple of tables together and spend the day playing poker, blackjack, craps, drinking and telling lewd lies about lewd experiences with lewd women. All bar prices should be rolled back to enlisted mens club prices, Officers can pay the going rate, the stiffs.

- All anti-smoking laws will be suspended for Veterans Day. The same hold for all misdemeanor laws pertaining to disorderly conduct, non-felonious brawling, leering, gawking and any other gross and disgusting public behavior that does not harm another individual.

- It will be a treasonable offense for any spouse or live-in girlfriend (or boyfriend, if it applies) to utter the dreaded words: "What time will you be home tonight?"

- Anyone caught posing as a veteran will be required to eat a triple portion of chipped beef on toast, with Spam on the side, and spend the day watching a chaplain present a color-slide presentation on the horrors of VD.

- Regardless of how high his office, no politician who had the opportunity to serve in the military, but didnt, will be allowed to make a patriotic speech, appear on TV, or poke his nose out of his office for the entire day.

Any politician who defies this ban will be required to spend 12 hours wearing headphones and listening to tapes of President Clinton explaining his deferments.

Now, deal the cards and pass the tequila.

- Mike Royko
__________________

The Least Interesting Man in the World

2009-10-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

XKCD

Lately, I've started feeling like I'm the above guy. I guess that's what I get for doing nothing more on the weekends than watching football and drinking beer. (Though I am proud that I managed to look up how to do the (img) tag to get the above comic to materialize.)

Regardless, my fear of doing nothing with my weekend motivated me to finish up some reloading I'd been meaning to do.

My reloading bench. Yeah, I got one, even though I live in an apartment. (Being single isn't always a bad thing.)

The thing on the left with the crank is my case-cutter. I put a paper towel under it to catch brass cuttings. (The brass is from a few weeks ago, when I resized and cut-to-length some 30-'06 cases.)

I took this pic when I had just started charging some .38 Special cases. You can see them arrayed in the green "reloading block". I also have some .357 Magnum cases prepped and ready to be charged, but I didn't get to them today.

My press is an RCBS "rock chucker". It's a "D-type" press, meaning it's closed on the front. (The frame looks like a "D".) This is opposed to a "C-type" press, which would be open on the near side to facilitate loading.

It's not particularly difficult to slide in the ammo from the side, so I'm not sure why anyone would get a "C-type" press. D-types like mine are much stronger; mine can handle everything up through .50 BMG. (That's the ammo that goes into one of those 50caliber machine guns that the military uses. You see them on the top of humvees and such.) So, it has no problem reloading my comparatively-dinky 38 Special cases.

This is a close-up of my Lee Auto Disk Powder Measure. It's screwed into the top of my charging-die. The charging-die has a small, moving cylinder inside it. On the upstroke, that cylinder engages and gently bells-out the case mouth, allowing a bullet to be seated on the next operation. On this operation though, the cylinder also accomplishes a second task: moving that black disk from the left over to the right. When that happenes, one of the measuring chambers on that disk will align over the drop-tube on the right, dropping a measured amount of powder.

On the downstroke, the disk moves to the left again, allowing powder from the hopper to refill the chosen chamber. This time, I used the .57cc chamber. This is one step up from the .53cc chamber I usually use. I did this because my .38 Special ammo has always been a little weak.

This is my Lee Safety Powder Scale. The amount of pressure generated by gunpowder is determined by its weight, not by its volume. That's why it's important to check the weight of any powder charge. I usually check just five out of every fifty rounds; as this is a new load I checked fifteen rounds. The heaviest measured 4.7 grains, the lightest, 4.4. This is only a slight increase from my last loading of this round, which had powder weights ranging from 4.5 - 4.0. Also, this loading seems more consistant; I'm thinking a larger cavity just fills better.

(Fun facts: a "grain" is a measurement of weight. It is 1/7,000th of a pound. So, a tenth of a grain is 1/70,000 of a pound. Very tiny weights, indeed.)

As usual, I'm using Hercules Unique gunpowder for this load. I'm just using slightly more of it (approx. .3 grains). According to the load data, 4.9 grains is a good load, so even now I should be a little light. (The max is 5.3 grains.)

Before putting on the bullets, it's a good practice to always check for double-loads....

Next, is putting on the bullets. Here you see my press with the bullet-seating die screwed in. (The dies come in sets, according to caliber.)

The bullet is just sitting on top. Notice the case's slightly belled mouth. This is from the previous operation, and is necessary to allow the bullet to be pressed in.

As I pushed up, the die not only pushed in the bullet, but folded over the case into the bullet's "cannelure" (groove). This is known as "crimping". It's necessary, to keep the bullet from simply falling out again. Here, the round is down, and complete.

I like to check each and every crimp. This gives me one final opportunity to spot a split case.

I used 158 grain cast-lead bullets. Here, you can see how far into the case they go. The blue stuff is lubricant.

These cost about one-fifth as much as jacketed bullets. I always use them for low-velocity rounds, such as .38 Special.

So, that's about it, for now.

Framed!

2009-10-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

My apartment now resembles a doctor's office.

Football, etc.

2009-10-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I was going to post on USF's win over Cincinnati...but they lost. (Oh, well. I don't think they've ever won against the Bearcats. Those guys looked huge.)

I have to say though, when I was watching that overhyped game, I discovered that I'm not totally on-board with all the attention paid to college football. Is it really right that the majority of college athletes are ignored, while all the attention focuses on football (and sometimes basketball)?

What does it do to the athletes, when they are either watched not at all...or watched by over 60,000 fans? And what does it do to a college freshman, when he is on ESPN?

Several times during last night's game, the ESPN announcers talked about the "pressure" facing B.J. Daniels, USF's freshman quarterback. They seemed to not realize it's just a football game.

As a reaction to how his work was regarded, Alfred Hitchock supposedly once said, "It's only a movie." There seems to be no such sense of proportion facing football.

It's only a football game.

USF 17/FSU 7

2009-09-26T12:30:00.001-07:00

Leavitt getting iced-down.

My alma-mater rules....

USF/FSU halftime

2009-09-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

So far, so good. USF is winning 14-0.

I have my fingers crossed.

As for the commercials, ESPNU has ads for wallet organizers, closet organizers, snuggies, and specialize "brownie" pans. Evidently, there's not much money in broadcasting these games.

Still though, I'm hooting, hollering, wearing my USF shirt, and drinking beer.

Still though, I have my fingers crossed. My commuter school playing against the Seminoles? That's insane....

The Kami in Kamikaze

2009-09-06T11:44:00.000-07:00

Amaterasu Omikami

Although my headline might overstate the connectedness between the kami (god) Amaterasu, and the kamikaze, this article in the Japan Times does make something of a connection between them. It also ties together their flag, the Hinomaru, with sun-worship and heliocentricity.

Sixteen-rayed naval variant of the Hinomaru. The original flag dates back to 1274.

I've been reading up on this stuff, as I'm trying to write a science-fiction story with Japanese characters. And yes, one of them is named Amaterasu Omikami.

Regardless, this is an interesting read....

Japan Times article on sun goddess

USF 40, Wofford 7

2009-09-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

Last night, I went to my first USF game as an alumnus. I sat way up in the cheap seats, as they were really cheap. My ticket cost $11, compared to $39 for second tier, or $33 for first tier. (No, I'm not sure why first tier is cheaper than second. Perhaps a little elevation is necessary for best viewing of football?)

Regardless, I noticed that it was the student section where all the action was. It was the only section that was packed. And even though I was far up and on the other side of th stadium from them, I could still hear their fight songs and such.

If you look back far enough in this blog, you can find my videos from when I sat in that section. Going to games was a lot more fun then. Yes, I feel there's a lot more cachet in being a 42 year-old alumnus rather than a 41 year-old undergrad. (If someone doesn't ask when I graduated, I can let them believe it was twenty years ago.) However, I found myself growing nostalgic for last year.

For those who did graduate twenty years ago, from a school that had football back then, it must be really tough to go to a home game. Last night made me wonder how I'm going to feel at games in 2019 or 2029.

Of course if I went for a master's degree, I could probably sit in the student section again. Hmmm....

new link: diesel duck

2009-08-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

I've been visiting this merchant-marine site for a few years now. I figure'd I'd post the link. Make sure to check out his videos: my favorites are the weather-related ones (some of which may make you rethink ever taking a cruise), and the engine-room ones, which have a certain esoteric beauty in them.

Stage 21: Montereau-Fault-Yonne > Paris Champs-Elysees

2009-08-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

An American in Paris

Well, I finally got around to re-watching this stage. It was interesting, in that the first part, in which the riders rode to the outskirts of Paris, was not really a bike race at all. It was more or less a time of easy-riding camaraderie amongst all the participants, with the riders just going along at a pace that was comfortable for them. (Not that many of us could have kept up with them even at that speed.)

Interesting, how many American flags I saw. Though the Return of Lance increased this year's t.v. ratings by fifty to sixty percent, there are other well-known American riders, such as George Hincapie (HTC-Columbia) and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream). One can only wonder who the riders in the jeep were showing their support for. Perhaps they just like America in general?

Though Japanese riders have participated in previous Tour de France's, none have ever managed to finish. Here, Yukiya Arashiro (Bouygues Telecom) and Fumiyuki Beppu (Skil-Shimano) have a quick discussion. Though many riders are multi-lingual, I'm betting they're the only two to know Japanese!

Some teams even drank a little champagne while riding. They didn't have much though, as the competition would really start upon entering the outskirts of Paris.

Team Astana, having a toast.

One human touch to this stage's filming: the camera crews filmed each other waving back and forth. This is the first time I've ever seen them doing this. I'm guessing that like the riders they've all been "in the saddle" for the past three weeks.

Camera dudes

However, the character of the race would change upon entering Paris. With only eight laps around the Champs-Elysees standing between the riders and the end of this 2,100 mile race, a small group decided to get the jump on everyone.

One member of the group was Beppu, one of the two Japanese dudes!

Fumiyuki Beppu(!) Go Beppu! Go!!!

Interesting note: as with many stages, those attempting to win it have no possibility of winning the tour itself. Like Beppu (who was at +2:54:54) the other riders in the leading pack were all hours behind Alberto Contador. You really have to admire someone going all-out just to win a stage.

Hours behind..., but in the lead.

For nearly eight entire laps around the Champs-Elysees, this group was in the lead. At one point they were ahead by thirty-seven seconds, a gap that made the announcers question whether the favorites (HTC-Columbia) would be able to catch up.

Here, it's tough for me to explain all the scenery they raced around, as I don't understand the importance of all the landmarks of Paris. I will say that placing a camera next to the obelisk of Luxor, and another behind Joan de Arc, was an inspired bit of sportscasting cinematography.

Joan de Arc

Obelisk of Luxor. (A guillotine used to stand here.)

Of course, some shots just lend themselves to grandiosity...

Grande Palais (in background,with glass roof.)

Arc de Triomphe.

As much as I was rooting for that ragtag group of leaders, HTC-Columbia just kept hammering away at their lead. It's important to remember that with all the riders going roughly 30 m.p.h., being the out-front rider for any longer than ten or fifteen seconds would really wear one out. That's why being a well-drilled team, like HTC-Columbia, was so important.

Drafting...

Just a half-lap from the end, those obscure leaders would get caught and swallowed-up by the rest of the riders. And HTC-Columbia would propel Mark Cavendish to his sixth stage win this tour, which is pretty much a record for the British.

HTC's lead-out man Mark Renshaw (AUS) pacing and drafting for Cavendish, just a few hundred feet from the finish.

The stage was a pretty good example of how important teamwork and strategy are to winning a bike race. The group that lead early wasn't an entire team, so they weren't used to working together. As a result, they couldn't draft properly, or maintain a pace that was fast enough to keep them in the lead. However, HTC-Columbia knew exactly what they were doing, partly due to George Hincapie's experience. (This was his 14th Tour de France.) They even knew exactly what kind of pace to maintain to pass those leaders at the last moment. (If they had passed them too early, it would have just inspired a new group of leaders to break away, and HTC-Columbia would have had to then chase them down.)

The fact that teams are so important in this sport makes the adoration of the few (Lance, Contador, etc.) seem like the province of the ill-informed. Nobody can win even a stage without help, let alone a tour.

Anyway, Lance will be riding in the Tour de Ireland, which will be on the Versus network August 21-23. And next year, Lance will be riding on the newly-formed Radio Shack team.

So stay tuned!

Stage 20: Ultimate Penultimate

2009-07-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

Garate (ESP, Rabobank) and Martin (GER, HTC-Columbia) nearing the 1km mark.

First off, let me cheer the widespread use of the word "penultimate" in the telecast. The announcers and even some of the riders used it freely, and they knew what it meant.

That said, as exciting at this stage was (and a big thanks to Chrysler, for making the last hour commercial-free), it didn't change the overall standings of the Tour de France. Andy Schleck couldn't shake Contador, and Frank Schleck couldn't gain on Lance. So, the podium in Paris remained the same.

However, Andy made in interesting, blasting ahead at unpredictable intervals...

Andy, trying to drag Frank up to third place.

Also, the two British announcers couldn't help cheering for one of their own, Bradley Wiggins. With regards to Wiggins, I heard them say: "[he's]riding with sheer courage", "Stay there!","Come on, Bradley!"

Come on, Bradley!

I guess it was nice, that he managed to keep his fourth place position. All in all though, kudos really have to go to Tony Martin and Manuel Garate. Even though Martin was 55 minutes behind the lead, and Garate was 97 minutes behind, they still competed against each other for the stage win.

In the end, Garate had the legs. Martin's young though; he has many tours left ahead of him.

Maybe Rabobank will continue their sponsorship now?

Anyway, now I can watch the finish...in Paris!

Stage 19: Bourgoin-Jallieu > Aubenas

2009-07-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Bourgoin-Jallieu

Well, I've done it now. I was all excited to watch Stage 20 today, as it culminates in the climb up the notorious Mont Ventoux. And I even started watching it. However, I kept finding myself wanting to write a post about yesterday's stage, Stage 19.

Apparently, I can't enjoy watching a stage until I've posted about the previous one. If this desire recurs next year, I may have to take my entire vacation during the Tour de France, just to give me time to write!

Though this stage was flat, the flatness helped a little to see all the riders. For the first time, I could see pretty much all of them, including the peloton. (The peloton is the biggest group of riders. Smaller groups behind the lead are called chases, like chase 1 and chase 2.)

Pretty much everybody, including the peloton.

They had a little segment called "rules of the peloton." It's considered bad form to attack while everyone is having a meal break (they eat while riding), or when the leaders are taking a leak (which they don't do while riding).

They normally don't show this. I always wondered how they could ride five hours straight.

Also, this area has a lot of scenery. Though the tour is no longer riding through the Alps, there was still a lot to see.

An abbey, built in 1984. It houses only fourteen monks. It looks a little too big for just fourteen guys; I'm guessing being a monk isn't as popular as it used to be. I wonder how they keep it running.

Barge on the Rhone. The tour has crossed this river many times.

Peloton crossing a dam

Anyway, the average speed at some points of this stage was almost thirty miles an hour. I was glad to see Team Rabobank out front for a good portion of the stage. They haven't achieved much over the tour. According to the announcers, it was largely due to bad luck. Regardless, there was talk of Rabobank dropping their sponsorship next year. Though they didn't win this stage, they were out front for much of it, and were part of what drove the fast pace. Perhaps this will keep their sponsor happy enough to roll the dice next year.

Rabobank's Denis Menchov (who has crashed three times), tempo-making for their sprinter, Oscar Freire. He's followed by the four overall frontrunners: Lance Armstrong(w/black helmet), Contador (in yellow), Andy Scheck, and Bradley Wiggins.

The guy wearing the winged helmet, and carrying the American flag: I swear I saw him at one of the Alpine stages. He must be travelling all over the country to follow this race.

Most of the end of the race, saw Allesandro Ballan, ITA, and Laurent Lefevre, FRA, out in front. However, the peloton was catching up quickly...

Peloton, with Rabobank's Oscar Freire, SPN, taking a shortcut through the grass. Apparently this is okay, as it's so risky: riders typically fall of their bikes when trying this..

However, it would be Mark Cavendish, (GBR, Columbia-HTC) who would pull off the stage win. It was his ninth stage victory, a new record for Great Britain.

Mark Cavendish. The first twelve riders, including Lance Armstrong, all had his time, as when bikes overlap one after another, they all get the same time. Oscar Friere was fifth, while one of only two Japanese riders in the race, Fumiyuki Neppu (Skil-Shimano), was seventh.

Interestingly enough, it was "shrewd" for Lance to be in the front group, as he lost no time to the other top riders. The others lost four seconds to him, as they were in the second group. Things like this make the difference between being on the podium in Paris, or not.

Lance is now third overall. With this finish, he is now 15 seconds ahead of 4th-place Bradley Wiggins.

Now, I can finally watch stage 20!

Stage 18: Time Trial

2009-07-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

Annecy, the Venice of the Alps. They actually raced around a lake, but I found this to be an interesting picture.

At first I didn't find this stage this interesting, as the riders are just racing against the clock rather than each other. (Each rider starts three minutes later than the previous one.) However, it got more interesting as it went on, as the riders higher up in the standings finally went.

Something new I learned: time-trials are something of a specialty. It's why the riders have different bikes, helmets, and clothing in this stage. Riders like Bradley Wiggins (GBR, team Garmin Slipstream) are so good at it that this stage should have moved him up in the overall standings. Meanwhile, the Schleck brothers (LUX, team Saxo Bank), though being good in the Alps, were supposed to lose quite a bit of time.

However, not much really changed. Perhaps at this level, there are no slouches in any event? Andy Schleck in particular lost just a little time to the overall leaders, just 1:45 to Alberto Contador (SPN, team Astrana). Quite incredibly (to me anyway) Contador won this stage. He didn't really have to win it, as the people ahead of him on this day were well-behind him in the overall standings, but evidently it's a manner of pride for the guy wearing the yellow jersey to win this stage. (Lance did it several times.)

I took a vacation day today, pretty much just to watch this. (That, and I just didn't feel like going into work.) I'm kicking myself for not picking up on the event during its earlier stages. The Tour de France happens just once a year, so I'll definitely have to watch is from start-to-finish next year.

Interestingly enough, Lance is racing for Team Astana. It's a group of state-owned companies in Kazakhstan! (Astana is the capital of that country.) The leader, Alberto Contador, is on the same team. I'm guessing that country got tired of all the Borat jokes....

Lance's brakes. They're placed to reduce wind resistance. I'm wondering what the downsides to such a placement are. And if there aren't any, then why don't all bikes have their brakes here?

Christophe Moreau, FRA, Agritubel. Despite being 38 years old, he finished 8th in this stage, just 45 seconds behind Contador.

George Hincapie's bootie. (And if I can mention it without sounding too gay, that dude has some solid legs!) He wrecked a few days ago, and may have broken his collarbone. However, he's not going to the doctor until after the race, because he doesn't want to be disqualified at this point.

Best pic I could get of the strange elliptical gear of Bradley Wiggins. I think he was the only rider with such a gear. It's supposed to provide a rider with more power.

In the future, we'll all wear helmets like Andy's.

Stages 16 and 17

2009-07-22T22:20:00.000-07:00

From 2008. (Andy Sheck, getting white jersey. I think that's for "Best New Rider," or "Best Young Rider." I can't remember.) Just an example showing how classy all the ceremonies are.

Cookin' with Lance, late in Stage 17 (Wednesday the 22nd). He's doing well, for a 37year old. He seems to really come alive on long, hard, uphills. As I'm only five years older than him, I feel like a slob. Heck, there's a 40 year-old in the race, and a couple of 39 and 38 year-olds.

Early leader in Stage 17, Thor Hushovd, of Norway, for Team Cervelo. Interesting, how some riders ride out way in front at certain times, in order to win points and jerseys. (Green jersey has to do with best sprinter, polka dot jersey is for "King of the Mountain", etc.) He got something out of his run in front, but I don't know exactly what it was. I was amazed though, at how the front-runners for the tour zipped by him later. He must have been leading for a good two hours, then the last three hours you didn't even see him he was so far back.

Jens Voigt, GER, crashing on a descent in Stage 16 (Tues the 21st). He didn't even seem to hit anything. He just went BAM! He landed on his face, breaking a cheekbone. He was even knocked unconscious for a few moments. And his bike even kicked up sparks as he slid!

Tour de France

2009-07-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

Heinrich Haussler, riding the top tube of his bike. Not a recommended technique for amateurs!

This is the first time the race has been broadcast in HD. It's also the first time I've watched it. Holy mackerel, it looks good. I've watched only a few stages of it so far, but I'm starting to get hooked on it. One thing I like, is that there's not much to understand. Like track and field, you can pretty much tell who's winning. Also, it seems like a pure sport to me, in that the win comes from a mix of effort, desire, strength, and stamina. This is unlike many other sports, which require the mastery of some arcane skills.

Though I don't quite understand what all the jerseys are for, and there are undoutedly complexities in bicycling I'm not even aware of, I'm far closer to understanding what's going on than when I'm watching tennis.

The only problem is, watching these guys makes me feel fat!

Deadliest Catch Marathon

2009-07-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

I finally discovered this show when I upgraded my cable. I'm catching up on it this weekend.

This show rocks!

Diploma Day

2009-07-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

I rule.

I find it a bit strange though, that it doesn't list my actual major. Oh, well. I'm just glad it finally arrived. (When they say 6-8 weeks, they ain't kidding.)

New link: missiles

2009-06-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

Yorktown's SM...

Burke firing SM...

I'm putting a new link to the right. It's from a missile shoot. Turns out it was filmed on my first alma-mater.

Work... (sigh)

2009-06-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

Single-pole frames.

Week of 15-19: Not much work for my area appearing on the dispatch, so I spent 35 hours working in other areas.

Last Friday (19th): was told that the guy assigning the work screwed up: lots of work piled up. And could I come in on Saturday? I did.

Monday: noted a few jobs now on the dispatch. Worked 8 hours, as no one asked for more. Figured it was enough.

Tuesday: Came in to find a note from boss #1 saying, "Must have four-poles. Hot Job!" Sigh, as I had just been doing four-poles on Fri, then had switched over to one-poles. It takes four hours of teardown and reassembly to switch machines back. I do that, then run four-poles for 90 minutes. Boss #2 comes over and bitches me out for running them. Turns out, boss #1 told me to run the wrong parts; I was supposed to run two-poles. Get treated like it's my fault. I tell him it'll take four hours to change over to those, and I'll need overtime. (By this time, I'd been there seven hours.) He simply walks away, without approving or disapproving it. Boss #3 tells me to stay late that night, then I'm to come in at noon for awhile: they're going to have someone run my area in the morning, and I'll work noon-10:30, to get caught-up. I work 12 hours that day to get the job set-up for the guy in the morning. It turns out we're way behind.

Wednesday: get called at 6:38 am. They couldn't get the guy to run them in the morning, so I had to come in. Arrive by 8am, find someone else running my machines. This guy hadn't run them in 15 years, and was having a hard time, so he was glad I'd been called. I didn't have the heart to tell him he'd run mostly scrap. Run out two-poles, get halfway through set-up for one-poles. Ten hour day.

Thursday: Come in to find out that my two-poles hadn't been sent to the plating company on time. Apparently, there had been a "blow-out" over this. Though no one blames me for it, it's a sign of the chaos surrounding this place. I complete changover to one-poles, and run a bunch of them. Twelve hour day.

Friday: Notice orders on dispatch are running out, despite supposed need for 28,000 frames this week. I can't send parts out without orders. It's been a full week since any new orders have come in, and it's been three days since I pointed out the discrepancy. Still, no new orders. Decide to quit after 8 hours, and get bitched out by boss #3 for not continuing to make parts. White board in department says "Follow Your Dispatch." Boss #3 says, "It doesn't matter what the dispatch says. When they tell you to make 28,000 frames, you make them." Boss #3 goes to check on exactly how many parts are necessary. When he's gone doing that, I leave.

From now on, I'm following only the dispatch. These people are morons. Boss #1 is nice enough, but couldn't be bothered to get clarification on which parts I was to run. Boss #2 is a guy in his twenties, and part of corporates "Leadership Training Program." They send college grads to different factories, where they learn how to treat everyone below them as dispensable pieces of garbage. (Which is how he treated me.) Boss #3 is the boss of 2nd shift, which is why he came in so late to the story on Friday, literally ten minutes before quitting time. I used to be on that shift, so he had been my boss back then. Now that I'm not on that shift, he still thinks he's my boss. (Rumor has it that he is on his way out the door. We used to have 25 people on that shift. Now we have five. No wonder he's still trying to be my boss. Do you really need a supervisor--and a line leader--for five people?)

We recently had 15 people retire. Another 25 were laid-off. Out of those 40 people, not one of them was a supervisor, line-lead, planner, or coordinator. They were all workers, like me.

No wonder they can't get anything done.

Ice Road Truckers 3

2009-06-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

New season. So far, it looks interesting.

New TV, too. Maybe four months ago, the decade-old 36" tube-type I bought from a friend crapped out. After that, I had been stuck watching the 19" tv I bought back in the early 90's. However, I just had to get a new tv for the new season of IRT.

I went pretty much all-out, getting a 42" LCD. I upgraded my cable, too. Good God, the combination is incredible. If I'd had this while going to school, I probably never would have never made it through. All I ever would have wanted to do is to watch tv. It really is hard to turn away from it.

Along with IRT, Tonight with Conan is absolutely gorgeous. And reruns of Seinfeld, on TBS's HD channel, are almost freakishly clear: I could read the cereal boxes in Jerry's kitchen.

I think I've found my goal: to watch TV! At least for the rest of the summer, anyway.

Life After College

2009-06-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a month since I've graduated. And frankly, I feel a bit of a letdown. I suppose it's because nothing's really changed. Does anyone else remember having the same feeling after they graduated?

Also, I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do with my life now. I spent so much time and energy getting through school, that now that it's done I find myself a bit bored and listless. It's as if, due to a lack of a worthwhile challenge, I feel like life just isn't as interesting any longer. All I do is go to a job I don't care about, watch tv, and sometimes go to the gym.

Obviously, I need some sort of goal.

A different job? Until the economy improves, I'm afraid of taking another one. I figure it's safer to just stay where I am for now.

I thought about getting a master's, but the few programs at my local campus don't interest me. I suppose I could look into the ones up in Tampa, but I put 10,000 miles on my truck just going up there for three semesters. Commuting for the entire length of time it would take to get a master's doesn't seem possible.

I guess for now, I'll go back to writing the sci-fi stories I was writing before I decided to go back to school. As a friend reminded me though, I haven't updated those in two years! Sheesh, I'm going to be rusty...

Graduation

2009-05-03T13:55:00.001-07:00

Geezer Graduate

I rule.

As for the video, I didn't want to walk into the auditorium brandishing my camera at everyone. So, I just let it hang from my wrist. It's mostly feet, floor, and a jumbled crowd. However, if you play it with the sound on, you can hear the "perp walk" music.

Interestingly enough, we weren't to shake hands with the president of the college, due to the threat of swine flu. I thought about coughing when I met her, but I couldn't quite muster the nerve to do it.

going in...

Tying a Tie

2009-05-02T15:22:00.001-07:00

In preparation for doing my "perp walk" tomorrow, I had to buy some clothes. Under my robe, they want me to wear dark colored slacks, black shoes, a white shirt, and a tie. I ended up spending about $130 on everything.

Though I already own some ties, the one I found in my closet was suspiciously short, as if it were a child's. So, I bought a new one. It's the first tie I've ever bought.

I ended up having to go onto youtube to learn how to tie it. I'm just going to leave it tied for right now, as I'm not entirely sure I could re-tie it for tomorrow.

I can't imagine having to put one of these on every day.

New York Times Again Ignores G.I. Bill

2009-05-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

Once again, I have to ask: why does the New York Times ignore the military as a source of financial aid? In addition, you can learn things in the military, particularly if you go into a good field. And that training can help you in college.

It wasn't college that taught me about IFF. And knowing about that came in handy for my RFID paper.

And then there's the money. I don't know what the G.I. Bill pays now, but it has to be more than what this kid is pulling in from scholarships. I know it helped a lot back when I started going to community college. Though I couldn't go to school full-time, those benefits did help pay my rent.

NYT Hippy Liberals Avoiding Even Discussing the Military

RFID Paper, and chicks not digging other chicks.

2009-04-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

Now seven beers into an eight-beer celebration, I have started looking through the papers I've turned in.

Though a group project, the above is almost all my work. Only the text on the last two pages is someone else's (Michelle's). Unbelievably, this never got turned in as Michelle, our group leader, had been a little self-satisfied 19 year-old who had refused to allow anyone else's work to see the light of day. Her version of this had two small pics, both about thumb-sized. (Apparently, she hadn't been able to figure out how to right-click on a photo to enlarge it. Also, my version is in Publisher, while hers is just in the rather pedestrian Word.)

Our prof had regrouped us after this project. It had been standard procedure. Though pudge-pot Michelle was gone, the incredibly-hot Catherine had been moved along into my new group. As hot as she was, she had steadfastly refused to do anything Michelle had asked of her. She would just play around on the internet and ignore her. (Our class was in a computer lab.) I honestly hadn't been looking forward to working with her, especially as I was the new group leader.

Quite incredibly, it was like night and day. Catherine had no problem doing what I asked of her. She would leap to whatever assignment I handed her.

Though I was supposed to learn about how to write papers, I learned something about women: some of them refuse to be led by other women. It's just that simple.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the jpeg's of my work. And yeah, I'm apparently a chauvenist when I'm drunk.

Done

2009-04-28T14:27:00.001-07:00

Barring some sort of complication, I earned a college degree today. I finished my last final around 1 p.m.

I'm not sure what to do with my trusty bookbag though. I guess it'll just look forlorn and forgotten, until I can figure out a use for it.

Maybe I can look for a job where I need something like this?

It's Time to Rethink Financial Aid

2009-04-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

Some of my USN shipmates, from years past.

Although I am far from the best and brightest graduating from USF in the Spring of 2009, I’m older than most. As a result, I've seen and done things that other students haven't.

It’s my experiences in life, outside of college, that have lead me to the conclusion that most financial-aid programs for students need to be revamped or outright scrapped. Start with the Pell Grant. In the 2005-2006 school year alone, this program cost taxpayers over $12 billion. And what did the taxpayer get for it? Nothing, as the students did nothing to earn this money. The students don't even have to pay it back, as it's a grant.

The below op-ed makes the argument that Pell Grants pay for themselves, as college graduates pay more in taxes, and thus "pay back" the grant. However, such an argument is facile, as it ignores the fact that it's possible to go to college without these grants. It just takes more work, and fewer classes per semester.

Pell Grants to My Eyes

Also, the author fails to consider the G.I. Bill as a source of funds. She could have served four years in the military, then gone to college, with plenty of money to spend. It was an obvious possibility for her, yet she didn't even mention it in her op-ed.

God forbid she serve her country. She could have made friends who flip her the bird every time she attempts to take a picture of them.

Then there's student loans. Some are taxpayer-subsidized. Again, as with
the Pell Grants, I would suggest scrapping these. There’s simply no reason for the taxpayer to subsidize a college student’s education, even to a limited extent, unless that student provides some kind of service to the taxpayer. No service, no payment. Kinda like life.

Also, the collection tactics of the federal government are almost sinister. It can garnish 15% of your wages, and even take your away your Social Security. I would think it would be wise to avoid dealing with someone who does that.

As for private loans, the limits need to be reduced. Multiple news articles show just how much in debt some of these students have gotten themselves. Many will have to work the rest of their lives just to repay them. Some never will be able to. Though the private lenders don't have the same power that the federal government has, they can still wreck a student's credit.

The pictured gentleman in the below article owes $150,000 in student loans. His payments are $1,500 a month. And like the other graduates in the article, he has no full-time job.

Grim Jobs and Student Loans

A similar article by John Stossel, questioning the utility of college degrees in general.

Stossel, on Debt Laden Grads

Also, one has to consider what college is really worth. At best, going the high-school/college/career route, where one graduates college by the age of 22, prepares one for nothing better than the "bland affluence" featured in this Peggy Noonan column.

Sure, you're wealthy. But you're also boring. You've done nothing in your life but sit in an office.

Bland Affluence

I think it's important for people to have a diversity of memories. And sitting in classrooms until the age of 22, then sitting in an office until you're 65, isn't the way to get that diversity. Rather, it's important for young people to do something different, really different, from what they'll be doing the rest of their lives, so they can one day look back and think, "Wow. I can't believe I used to do that."

For me, that was serving in the USN. I got to shoot fairly sizable guns, such as the one in the picture.

Friends with gun.

I can't imagine not having the memories of those days. I remember how the ship would lose its natural rolling motion when those guns fired, the ship actually shaking a little with each shot. I remember seeing our air-bursts on our gun camera. They looked like puffs of white smoke with thousands of white streaks coming out of them, giant airborne sea-urchins appearing above the target, with thousands of chunks of shrapnel making their spikes.

I remember being on deck, and seeing the USS Iowa, several ship-lengths behind us, shooting her 16" guns. Though probably a good quarter-mile away, the pressure from the guns could be felt. With each shot, the pressure hit me like a big pillow. Not entirely unpleasant, but I was glad we weren't closer.

And I still remember what a fire mission sounds like, when called in from a forward observer. Although ours sounded exactly like Dick Cavett over the radio, he knew his stuff.

"Fire mission, alpha-bravo, one-six, five-two. Direction, one-six-two mills magnetic, spotter's grids 154778223207, add two hundred, danger close, one round HE, fuze quick, fire, over."

And to this day, I would know exactly what to key into our fire-control system to put our round onto its target.

bang.

I suppose one of my best arguments against financial aid, like Pell Grants and student loans, is that they enable young people to avoid doing what I did when I was their age. Though going to college has been mostly pleasurable for me, it's pretty tame compared to what I used to do. And honestly, I don't think we're doing young people any favors by preparing them to live tame, quiet, boring lives--lives of "bland affluence." It would give them a more-rounded existence, if they served for a while in the military.

College will still be there when they get out. And due to the G.I. Bill, it will be much more affordable for them then.

I will be graduating from USF soon. However, I think I will always consider my true alma mater to be my ship. I truly feel sorry for those who didn't get to have the experiences I had.

The Golden Ass

2009-04-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well the semester is coming to an end, which is why I've been too busy to post. Though I still have a lot to do (one project to complete, and two finals to study for) I figure I can make a short post.

I finally finished The Golden Ass, and turned in the required paper on it. For a book that was written around 150 A.D., I liked it quite a bit. It has a lot of sex in it. I wonder if that is due in part to a lack of any Christian morality at the time?

Also, this passage is priceless. Here, instead of being turned into an owl as he wanted, Lucius finds himself transforming into the ass.

"I then flapped my arms up and down, imitating the movements of a bird. But no down and no sign of feathers appeared. Instead, the hair on my body became coarse bristles, and my tender skin was hardening into hide. There were no longer five fingers at the extremity of my hands, for each was compressed into one hoof. From the base of my spine protruded an enormous tail. My face became misshapen, my mouth widened, my nostrils flared open, my lips became pendulous, and my ears huge and bristly. The sole consolation I could see in this wretched transformation was the swelling of my penis...."

Hee, hee. Some things never change.

ENC 4931: Assignment 5, Option 3 Post

2009-03-29T12:20:00.000-07:00

Unbelievably, I may be able to use my little waste-of-time blog for assignment 5 in my editing class (ENC 4931). The option reads "a personal opinion blog and an inaugural 300-word essay for that blog".

As for the post itself, I'd like to write about how the federal government should stop subsidizing college for non-veterans. I've already posted twice about this, but in a roundabout way:

NY Times "Debt Trap" 1/3/9 (with link to NY Times video)

"It's Overrated" 1/21/9 (with link to John Stossel video)

I expect all you regular readers to be on your best behavior!

Fear and Loathing at USF

2009-03-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

You know you're in trouble when you use an illustration from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for a term paper. Kidding aside though, I think the paper turned out okay. And I have to say, if you haven't read the book, you owe it to yourself to do so.

Addendum: I added some interesting factoids from the paper I wrote. Apparently, layoffs really aren't good for a company.

• 74% of employees who kept their job amidst a corporate layoff say their own productivity has declined since the layoff.
• 69% say the quality of their company’s product or service has declined since the layoffs.
• 87% of surviving workers say they are less likely to recommend their organization as a good place to work
• 64% of surviving workers say the productivity of their colleagues has also declined.
• 81% of surviving workers say the service that customers receive has declined.
• 77% of surviving workers say they see more errors and mistakes being made.
• 61% of surviving workers say they believe their company’s future prospects are worse

Happy St. Pat's

2009-03-17T22:10:00.001-07:00

What kind of madman drinks Guinness out of a Foster's glass?

I didn't think until I was taking the picture, that I should have made a "half-and-half" type drink, with Foster's on the bottom. For those who don't know, Guinness is sometimes poured on top of lighter-colored beers. The Guinness will actually float on top of most beers, with a definite separation between the two. (It helps if you pour the Guinness over a spoon.)

After reading the list on wikipedia though, I didn't see a name for a Guinness/Foster's combo. Perhaps I get to make up a name.

A black kangaroo?

Anyway, happy St. Patrick's Day.

Black and Tan

Mixed Bag

2009-03-01T09:03:00.000-08:00

As with the past few months, this week has been a mixed bag. On a positive note, on Monday I attended an orientation for the commencement ceremony for my college. It's where I picked up my cap and gown, shown in the picture. That was kind of cool. But on a negative note, I had to take a mandatory, unpaid week-off from work. It's a corporate thing, an effort to save money. They're also stopping their "matching" contribution to our 401(k)'s, which sucks even worse, as we don't know how long that will continue.

I can pretty much smell a layoff in the air....

Anyway, for my editing course, we had to rewrite the treasury secretary's recent speech, in which he outlined the Financial Stability Plan. For those who don't know, the original speech was widely panned as being uninspiring.

Doing research for the paper, I read something disturbing: to really bail out the banks, to soak up all their toxic mortgages so they can start lending again, would cost about $7 trillion. If I'm doing the math right, that's about $23,000 for every person in the country.

Wow.

To paraphrase Stalin: one dollar is a tragedy. Trillions just statistics.

"The Office," via Netflix

2009-02-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

I've started watching "The Office", via Netflix's web site. I've gone through the first season, and have just started the second. I'm currently on the one where they award "The Dundies" at a Chili's.

I've never watched this show before. It's pretty good. And if you're paying $10 a month to Netflix anyway, I recommend it.

(Okay, my big T.V. crapped out on me, so I'm stuck watching tv online, and having my mind blown by the amount of wax a human ear can produce. Gimme a break.)

Anyway, it really is a good show.

Ear Wax Removal

2009-02-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

Because a picture of ear wax would be too gross.

Maybe ten years ago, one of my ears got stuffed up with wax. After trying one of those over-the-counter things with the bulb and all, I ended up having to go to the doctor to get it done. His nurse squeezed a "Colace" capsule into my ear (it's actually a stool softener) then blew out the wax with a water pick.

On the way out the door, they gave me a printout about ear care, with instructions on how to clean out my ears myself. Unbelievably, I still have that printout, and it came in handy when one of my ears got plugged up again.

Though I ended up having to plunk down $60 on a water pick, and $10 on Colace capsules, it was worth it just to see all the crap coming out of my ear. And for the first time in a month I can hear out of my right ear, which at first freaked me out a bit as I'd grown used to not hearing anything out of that side.

Anyway, I'm glad that's done. And I pumped $70 into the economy, which is saying something.

Economy as Distraction

2009-02-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

Sarasota Campus

Is it just me, or is the economy a bit of a distraction right now? It seems like wherever I go, I'm reminded of it.

Every night when I go to work at my factory job, I have to scrounge for work. My normal area being shut down, I end up having to work in other areas. As others are having to do that as well, it's not going to be too long before they have to start sending people home.

A few weeks ago, I went to get my teeth cleaned. My dental hygenist has had her hours cut. She's working only three days a week now. She pointed out that people put off going to the dentist when they're unemployed.

USF has had its budget cut, something like ten percent. For the first time, I heard about "money being an issue" regarding classes.

It makes it a little tough to pay attention to the materials I'm supposed to be learning in my classes. After all, what does Roman History have to do with making a living?

It reminds me of going through a hurricane. Not so much the wind and all that, but the worrying that goes on for days before. It's very taxing, to be expected to go to work and school while waiting for the hurricane that's projected to hit.
Likewise, it's very tough to carry on like nothing's happening right now.

Surely I'm not the only one who feels like this.

Work Post: Communication Committee

2009-02-06T08:53:00.000-08:00

single-pole switch

Where I work, only maybe ten percent of us have e-mail access. It's a factory, so management wants us at our machines, making parts like the one above, rather than sitting at a computer. I understand this philosophy, but the lack of e-mail has always caused problems with communication. Again and again, information that is assumed to be known by everyone isn't.

So,they were looking for volunteers for the "communication committee" at work. I figured it was admirable that management wanted to improve communication, so I signed up.

Yesterday, they had the first meeting, from 2p.m. to 2:30. I don't start work until 2:30, so it was over by the time I clocked in.

Nobody had told me about the meeting. If that isn't ironic, I don't know what is.

Super Bowl

2009-02-01T14:58:00.000-08:00

I think it's kind of cool, that it's being played here. If you look at some of my earlier posts, I attended a couple of USF games at the stadium.

One nice thing about the Super Bowl, is that it's one of those things you can enjoy even though the economy is in the toilet. Unlike Christmas, and perhaps Valentine's Day (I just saw a jewelry commercial for that day), you're not expected to spend a bunch of money. A bar down the street has a Super Bowl party that costs all of $5 to enter.

I have four Miller "High Life"'s in the fridge, some chips, some dip, and a frozen pizza. If only Christmas was this easy.

"It's overrated."

2009-01-21T06:56:00.000-08:00

"It's overrated."

In the movie Orange County, Jack Black's character attempts to sneak into the admissions building at Stanford, and gets caught by the girl working the front desk. Not to ruin the movie, but they end up getting naked, then burning down the building.

trailer

However, at one point, the girl says something that's stuck with me for a long time. Speaking about Stanford, she says, "It's overrated." I've always wondered: can this be applied to college in general? I'm starting to think so.

I found this John Stossel report over on the ABC news website. I'm not entirely sure how to react when I see stories like this. Unlike the New York Times story on Stefan Heise I posted on recently, I can relate to these graduates somewhat. Also, unlike the NYT story, this one explores whether college is overrated.

Although I guess I'm glad I went to college, stories like this make me think I'll be stuck at my current job for a very long time.

It's overrated

Applying for Graduation

2009-01-10T10:45:00.001-08:00

"All requirements identified below have been met..."

cap and gown...

Maybe five years ago, I visited the office of the academic advisors in order to ask some questions. While in line for an appointment, a girl came in and said, "I'm here to apply for graduation." They gave her the form and she left.

I still remember how much I envied her. Well, yesterday it was my turn to see the academic advisor and say, "I'm here to apply for graduation." It was so cool.

My SASS report (top pic) now has a starred announcement that tells the advisors that I'm on my last semester. As for the cap-and-gown receipt, it's pretty obvious what that is.

I haven't worn a gown since 1985. If all goes well, I'll be wearing one again in May. Though I figure my job and my life probably won't change much after graduation, this is still so very, very, cool.

New Semester

2009-01-10T10:40:00.000-08:00

Meet the new books.

I'm taking Editing, and Roman Empire. They're both electives, as all my required courses are done. And this should be my last semester before graduating!

Belated Christmas Card...

2009-01-10T10:37:00.001-08:00

The inside says: "Better watch out!"

Ice Road Truckers

2009-01-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

Natural-gas drilling rig. You can note the size from the two guys in the lower left of the frame.

Front end of drill rig on a truck.

Lowering the back end onto another truck.

"Two-trucking" the rig. One goes backwards.

One of two bases for the drill rig. It weighs 80,000 pounds. And yes, like everything else, they drive it over the ice.

Woman checking towed radar unit. It's kept in an insulated cooler, to keep it from freezing. They use the radar to check the thickness of the ice, before running big rigs over it.

I've been meaning to do an Ice Road Truckers post ever since I started this blog. I've always liked this show.

Some people actually work for a living. Even North of the Arctic Circle, in temps that regularly get below -40F/-40C (they're the same), people are doing jobs that neither Stefan (see below post), nor anyone on the staff of the NYT would ever touch.

NY Times "Debt Trap"

2009-01-03T08:42:00.001-08:00

Stefan's broke, but can still afford to go out for coffee.

Excuse-maker Tamara.

Being just a factory worker, I've always felt like a bit of a loser. Both my brothers went to college, as did my parents, with all four graduating when in their early or mid-twenties. None of them ever worked blue-collar jobs. Meanwhile, blue-collar jobs are all I've had.

However, I'm starting to develop a changed sense about my status. I suppose it somewhat started when my former landlord threatened to go to the State Attorney's office. I had put a "stop payment" on my last rent check, and the landlord insisted that was a crime. (The place he was renting me had been in foreclosure for a year. Creditors were getting ready to finally seize it. He already had a "last month's" deposit from me. Trust me when I say he had no case.)

Anyway, despite my supposedly-lowly status as a factory worker, I had no problem sending $500 to a pretty good attorney just to threaten him back. I probably could have spent far less, as some local attorneys charge only $25 for an office consult, but I went for a firm that looks pretty professional.

My landlord, in response, attempted to argue the law with my attorney. I've seen the e-mails, and they're somewhat humorous. Apparently he couldn't even afford one of those $25 lawyers.

So, I thought it was pretty funny that I could kick the shit out of my landlord -- a guy who supposedly "owns" twelve properties. (As it turns out, four are in foreclosure.)

It was during that little incident that I discovered that some people who seem to have more status than I, are pretty much broke. A newly-discovered case in point: this 34 year-old guy, Stefan Heise, in this NYT video.

By the time I was 34, I had been working at my current employer for over two years. I had been working at another place for five. I had been enlisted in the USN for six. I had also worked a year or two as an ATM tech/armored-car driver.

But all Stefan has, is $60k in student loans, and $20k on his credit cards. Why didn't he just take a low-status factory job, like I did?

For what it's worth, I would feel sorry for Stefan, except that he's undoubtedly turned down jobs that I've done. (Notice how the article says, "He couldn't get a job in his field." Translated, it means: "He wouldn't take a sh*t job in a factory.")

And check-out Tamara's excuse-making. Like every NYT article, no one mentions the possibility of taking a blue-collar job, or going into the military. I guess everyone in the NYT is too good for that.

However, like my landlord, they're not too good to declare bankruptcy.

(After you click on the link, you'll have to click on "video" on the right.)

Thirty-Four, and $80,000 in debt.

Balcony Lights

2008-12-31T20:22:00.000-08:00

You can never have too many pics of your lights.

Christmas Jackpot

2008-12-31T19:59:00.001-08:00

The pics speak for themselves.

Two B or not Two B...

2008-12-25T22:25:00.001-08:00

I got a B- in Shakespeare, and a B+ in Modern Lit. Rudely enough, my mother said, "A's would have been better." I just rolled my eyes when she said that.

Anyway, I get to move on to what should be my last semester. If I haven't mentioned it yet, I'll be taking Roman Empire, and a course called Editing, both of which are down here in Sarasota. (In fact, the editing course is mostly online, but meets twice, both times down here.)

I'll miss the sheer energy of the big campus. The above pic, the one with the greenery, is the area outside of Cooper Hall, where I had my Shakespeare class. It's sort of a gathering area, with protestors and such. There's nothing really similar on the Sarasota campus, just an "Einstein Begels" shop.

As for the other pic, it's looking East, from the fourth floor of the Collins parking facility, showing the dome where they play basketball and volleyball. IIRC, they call it the Sun Dome. There is also nothing similar to it in Sarasota, as there's no sports down here of any kind.

As I mentioned back in one of the first posts to this blog, I remember seeing "Little Feat" play at that dome. Even though that was probably back in '92 or so, I still remember driving onto the campus and thinking: "I wish I were smart enough to go to college." As much as I really wanted to go to school, I didn't think I'd be able to hack it.

Anyway, here I am, almost done. I rule!

End of Fall Semester

2008-12-12T23:58:00.001-08:00

The Winter’s Tale and Othello both show that though Eros can bring about jealousy and murder, a lover can achieve a beautiful alchemy, using remorse as the catalyst, to change Eros into the less self-centered Agape. In the end both Leontes and Othello manage to do just that.

And with that, I completed my Shakespeare paper, and the semester. That was on Monday. I mailed it to my professor up in Tampa, and that was that.

I think the paper turned out pretty well. I think the semester wound up being okay, too, with even that Modern Lit class not being too bad.

Even though I've been done with the semester since Monday, I'm still burned out. In fact, I feel much more tired now than I did when I was still in school. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's just because I now have the time to realize how tired I am.

I drove 3,700 miles this semester, just to attend those classes. My truck could use a break, too, along with an oil change and perhaps some new tires.

Luckily, I'll be taking next semester down here, at a campus that's maybe ten miles away. And next semester should be my last. After that, I'll have a degree!

Now, anyone want to buy some used books?

Papers, papers, and more papers...

2008-12-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

For my modern lit class, I have to turn in five separate papers this week. The papers are short, roughly only 1.5-2.5 pages long each, but still it's a lot of work. Three of them are for the book Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler. It's a dystopic sci-fi novel. (I enjoyed it because a lot of people get shot in it!)

I also have a 5-7 page doozy of a paper to write for the Shakespeare class. Although it's "due" tomorrow (Thurs., Dec. 4th), the prof. said she'll accept them as late as next Wednesday. Even though that will be after the end of the semester, she'll be in her office then. As I haven't even started that paper yet, I'll definitely be taking her up on that offer. (I'm planning on just sending it Fedex to her, in order to avoid the 130 mile round-trip drive up there.)

So, in short, the semester is coming to a chaotic, nerve-wracking, nail-biting end that will surely keep me up writing something late at night, maybe tonight. It happens every semester.

In other news, back on Sunday I took a header off the sidewalk in front of my apartment. A wasp flew out from a bush directly in front of me, at eye level no less. As it flew over me, I looked straight up, lost my balance, and fell back like a tree, falling between two parked cars. My head smacked into a car so hard I looked for a dent (both in the car and my head). However, the only real damage was a small cut to my elbow, which at first bled so much I thought I'd need stitches for it. It turned out just to be a small cut though, and it healed up on its own.

Pretty scary fall: I figured I'd end up in the hospital because of it.

Anyway, I gotta get back to my schoolwork. Bleah...

Babylon Revisited

2008-11-12T13:36:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much time to post lately, so I figured I'd post a link to F. Scott Fitzgerald's Bablyon Revisited. It takes place in Paris, not long after the Crash of '29. However, perhaps because of the current economic conditions, it reads as if it were written just yesterday. I'd say it's probably the best short story I've read so far in my Modern Lit class.

Babylon Revisted

Still Moving...

2008-11-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

As you can see, the new place has a very nice view. All in all, I think it's a better place to live than the old one -- plus I don't have to worry about someone else's foreclosure suddenly becoming my problem, in the form of an eviction from the bank. I'm still living out of boxes though.

Anyway, I'm taking a break from moving until Friday, when I'm having some movers bring over my heavy stuff. Until then, I'm sleeping on my futon, which I was able to disassemble and bring over myself. (Being "College Geezer," I have a ton of schoolwork to catch up on.)

Anyway, it's nice to own a small pickup.

Moving

2008-11-01T23:20:00.001-07:00

Well, I've had some good times in this apartment, but I'm having to move. I've lived in this unit for probably a good four years now, and been in the complex since '94. Unfortunately the complex went condo at the height of the real-estate bubble, so the units aren't worth even half what people paid for them.

My landlord is letting mine go into foreclosure. When the state sent me notice of it, I put a "stop-payment" on this month's rent check. As a courtesy, I was going to call him about this, but he's changed his number. He also changed his address to a P.O. Box, so I'm guessing I can kiss my deposit goodbye. (He only had one month's rent, so it's no big deal.)

At the rate the courts are operating at in this area, I could probably live here rent-free for awhile. I've heard of people doing it for up to three months. But I'm just leaving instead. I don't want to be here when the Sheriff's Dept. finally does come around to change the locks.

Anyway, there are so many vacancies in this area I was able to locate another apartment in about an hour. It's within walking distance of an Applebees I like to drink at, is just as nice, and is slightly cheaper to boot.

One sign of the times: to start leasing a place, one used to need to pay first-month's rent, last-month's, and a hefty security deposit, often equal to another month of rent. Now it's just first-month's, plus a deposit of $200. Also, it used to take months to line up an empty apartment; now it takes a day.

It seems as if this entire area is packing up and moving away. Some restaurants in prime locations went out of business, and their buildings have now been empty for at least six months.

And this is tourist season, which makes it even more ominous. When Summer comes back, and the daily temps are in the nineties, everything will get even emptier....

Three CRT's

2008-10-19T18:34:00.001-07:00

Bucs, Rays, and the internet: sometimes, picture-in picture just doesn't cut it. (The screen on the left is my computer).

beer count: 8 (!)

Interestingly enough, I drove past the Trop just yesterday...

Football USF vs Syracuse

2008-10-18T18:42:00.001-07:00

This was USF's homecoming, so the Bulls were given a mediocre team to play. The score of 45-13 was a result of that. Still though, all through the first half it was pretty close, with the score only something like 20-13 going into the halftime.

Lessons learned: leave for games early, really early. I did manage to make the kickoff, but only just barely. I would have appreciated having some time to just sit and drink beer. Also, I found it a little stressful trying to get there on time.

Second, wear sunscreen. I figured since it's October, the sun wouldn't be strong enough to give me a burn, but they don't call this the Sunshine State for nothing.

Third, get a white USF t-shirt. They make them, but like most students, mine is the more-traditional green. Those dark shirts get hot!

A few things I noticed during the game: hubba-hubba factor aside, I am pretty impressed by some of the things I've seen the cheerleaders doing. The top pic shows what I mean. Also, I'm impressed by anyone who can do a standing backflip, as I've seen most of the girls pulling off with aplomb.

Something else: I enjoy seeing the many different ways people dress up for these games. I have no idea why the guy is wearing a mask, but I gotta get some horns! Not sure if I could pull off the body-paint thing, though.

One final note: I'm betting that many people never actually go into the game. Quite a few of the tailgating setups are extravagant; the people partying at them are there when I go into the game, and still there when I leave. Perhaps they go in, but they have that comfortable air about them that says, "I like it here, and I'm not moving." I'm not sure why people tailgate to this extant, but they sure seem to enjoy it.

Galapagos, by Kurt Vonnegut

2008-10-12T22:02:00.001-07:00

I read this book twenty years ago, back when I was still a sailor. I even remember the guy I borrowed it from; he was an Aegis tech.

I don't want to go into too much detail, as this is one of those books you might just pick up and read. Though considered intellectual enough to be taught in school, Vonnegut is also readable enough that you can take his books to the beach. I recommend this one.

One interesting tidbit though: when I originally read it, I completely missed the fact that there was a disease in the plotline. I won't go into it in detail, as I don't want to ruin it, but suffice it to say that the novel has so much going on that the disease is a minor, though important point.

When we took the quiz on this book, we answered ten questions about it. Then, the professor asked us for any interesting suggestions for extra-credit questions. I, of course, brought up this disease in an oblique way, asking what it was responsible for.

The entire class groaned. I think I was probably the only one who caught this plot-point. It is, after all, only two or three lines in the novel.

No, I'm not smarter than all those young people. I am, however, probably the only person who had read this before. Also, like spotting a bolide meteor, it was a matter of luck, and having your eyes facing the right way at the right time.

This makes me wonder what else I've missed, the first time around. For example, I had to watch "Raiders of the Lost Ark," two or three times before I realized the importance of the bad-guy's burnt hand (and the fact that they didn't have the reverse side of the gold thing).

One final thought on Vonnegut: I remember the movie "Back to School," where Rodney Dangerfield decides to attend the same college his son is attending. At one point, Rodney is using his staff from his business to do his schoolwork. The son says, "I still don't know who you're going to get to do your Kurt Vonnegut report."

A knock on the door, and Kurt Vonnegut is there, in the flesh. The funniest part is that Dangerfield's English professor flunks him on the report, saying, "I don't know who you got to write this paper, but he doesn't know the first thing about Kurt Vonnegut's work."

Higher praise for Kurt Vonnegut, I cannot imagine.