BRING YER WELLIES 07/25/2006

Confused? Here is the definition of wellies. Now wait ;)

Wendigos in the Blogdom

To prep for my final battle with the wendigo that lurks around Yakima, I have been searching blogspot for any other blogger that has had a similar problem (and how they solved it). I have not found too many wendigo hits that did refer to the televiuson series Supernatural or the movie Wendigo, though.
Here is what I have found:

• A blogger who wants to bump into a wendigo while on a LSD trip. The LSD will prevent you from feeling the pain, but you won't even stand a chance in that state. It's pure suicide that's all.
• A pair of bloggers (1 and 2) who live with a wendigo. They even have trained it to do the dishes?! WOW, I am impressed!
• Wendigo sickness. Kindof like schizo. but the affected believes that they are a wendigo... or are they actually a wendigo? Is believing it all it really takes?
• One blogger even compared George W. Bush's environmental policies to a wendigo. A radical apporach, but sadly not too far from the truth.

Also, I finally managed to watch the movie, Wendigo... Hop on over to ARMR to read my review.

Music I am NOT afraid to admit I own.

More on the title of this blog:
Synergy is not spreading across the blogdom (or blog'verse for Firefly fans) fast enough. I have decided to increase the synergistic cobloggeration on my blog. I started by posting my mission statement below the title of my blog (a couple of weeks ago). Now I am going to begin to cobloggerate with blogs not in the daring. hmmm, maybe I should start a new recruiting effort? We'll see... ;)

I decided on this blog topic after reading a blog entry by a Ms. Kim of Olathe. I found this particular blog from a link buried in the the Chronicles of the Nameless... read them, they definitely contain blog-worthy material.

And on to the the blog entry:
Many country music stations may not be playing the Dixie Chicks latest single, but I wasn't afraid to purchase the new cd. Yeah, I am calling the stations not playing "Not Ready To Make Nice" afraid. They are afraid that they will lose listeners for playing music by a group that has sold 10 million copies of back to back records (Wide Open Spaces and Fly). All because of a comment made three years ago? I could argue why the comment was not so bad, but why bother? It was three years ago. Get over it people!

Some reviews make it out like the album is more pop than country... I would disagree. I have listened to it and it isn't anymore pop than Shania Twain. The country stations never seemed to have a problem playing Shania's music. I admit, I can not think of a particular country albulm/artist to compare with the new Dixie Chicks album though. Musically, it is much darker than most country albums. But I would still consider it country music.

Upcoming Topics:
Calico Jack, Mary Read, and Ann Bonny
Defeat of the Wendigo (even though, I have to defeat him first)
And many others!

Headlines

As I was reading the headlines on google news, I came across this headline: Serious Flaw Hits Symantec Antivirus. It apparently does not affect the Norton line but does affect the Antivirus Corporate Edition 10.1. (Reuters)

All I can say is that I am glad I use Grisoft's AVG Antivirus... nothing like a Czech built antivirus program! I, as do many "internet bums," consider it the best free antivirus available... heck I will even call it the best antivirus software period ;)

What happend at work today... hmmm...

Well, apparently I did not get the pink memo... Thank God (not that I could do anything about it if I did). Noone got fired, a number of the female coworkers coincidently all wore pink today, so they joked about a "pink memo". Not a big deal, but as a blogger I need filler ;)

I am nearly 25 years old... but I do not feel anywhere near that old. I feel more like 20 or 21 at this point in my life. The point is that I am beginning to suspect I may be going through a quarter-life crisis: all of a sudden I grow a goatee, I get a new job, ...what is next? We'll see ;)

Today I found myself again working with Katie (the intern) on developing a set of plan sheets for my paving job. All went well for the day... better than well, she accomplished more today than I expected her to. The point I was coming to concerns the road to be paved by my project.

It is SR129 in south east Washington, near theIdaho border and the Snake River. The portion to be paved by my project winds from the city of Asotin up Asotin Hill and ends shy of the "summit". This hill is quite steep actually. Just look at some of the curves in the roadway:
The tightest curve is close to 105ft in radius! Using a common superelevation table from the WSDOT Design Manual (DM), this gives a design speed of 20mph with a superelevation of 10%! This is a considerable amount of super... the maximum according to the WSDOT DM (AASHTO manuals have higher superelevations).

Thanks to SRWeb and an animated gif program I can show you a couple of the curves on this section of highway.



Stupid blogspot, it refuses to accept these as gifs and makes them png files :( Here are the links to the animated gifs I made:

• Curve 1
• Curve 2
  

My Living Room

Well, after a friend of mine posted a pic of his new living room furniture, I decided I needed to share the sparseness that I call a living room.Two folding tables and an office chair make up the furniture in my living room. Good thing is this makes my move back to SD easy! And, I promise I will have "real" furniture in my new apartment. On the other hand, I do not gurantee any of it matching or being of high quality ;)

From intern to slavedriver in 2 short years...

WOW! I am amazed at where I found myself today and the thought process that went through my mind. I was proud of myself and my commitment to valuable learning experiences. To begin with, here is a copy of the organization chart of my office:

A little background information... TE = Transportation Engineer and TT = Transportation Technician. The number represents the level of the position, as you can see, a TT3 is equivalent to a TE1. Also, TT1 is a position rarely used... mainly for someone without even a vo-tech degree or drafting experience.

This morning I found myself sitting in the conference room with my TE3 and fellow TE2, plus one more person: the intern assigned to our squad. We discussed with her some of the projects we had going on and tried to think of tasks for her to work on over the summer. Sadly, many of our projects are moving slowly right now, so we don't have much for even ourselves (TE2s) to do (let alone the TT3 and TT2s).

I was somewhat disappointed to hear "filing, etc." brought up as a major task for Katie (the intern's name) to do. I am not too far separated from my intern experiences. I understand the intern's point of view.

• An intern is a college student, learning to be an engineer.
• An intern desires to gain valuable knowledge and to learn about how the profession functions in the "real" (non-academia) world.

I volunteered that she could help me calculate the level of service for roadways once we receive the necessary information from the county of a proposed interchange. It sure seems like nearly all the projects are interchanges in my region, but that is not true!

I kindof felt bad that I could not think of anything more valuable to assign until the data is received. As I worked on completing a Project Management Plan (similar to a certain software engineering course ;) ), I began to compile the necessary materials for calculating a level of service (LOS) as well as some examples. I may only be around for a little over a month now, but I am going to minimize the meaningless work. Not to say that filing is unimportant, though. Just not as useful in grooming a future engineer ;)

And don't think I am giving her some great and splendid task in the LOS calculations either. The calculation is rather simple for a basic freeway segment and even for merge and diverge points (where a ramp merges or diverges from the freeway). But can become tedious over a section of freewway with multiple interchanges. LOS needs to be calculated for both directions of travel, the current, planned, and design years. The planned and design years will even contain "build" LOSs (a new interchange is built) and "no build" LOSs (a new interchange is not built). I even plan on having her at first (if not completely) do the calculations by hand rather than with the slick program the department purchased. It is more of a learning experience this way.

Captain Edward Teach

Captain Charles Johnson has delivered a great biography of the notorious pirate, Edward Teach... more commonly known as Blackbeard.

• Edward Teach, like any good sailor, was born un a sea town: Bristol.
• Like many pirates, he began as a privateer. He was part of Captain Benjamin Hornigold's crew.
• Teach began his piratical career in 1717. He took command of a French Guineaman that he captured as a privateer.
• He outfitted the guineaman with 40 guns and named her the Queen Anne's Revenge.
• When he met up with Major Bonnet and learning that Bonnet knew nothing of maritime life, Teach appointed a different pirate as captain of Bonnet's 10 gun sloop. And technically held Bonnet hostage (even though Bonnet was not imprisoned/locked up/tied up/at gun point).
• The governor of the territory of North Carolina was corrupt; he allowed Blackbeard to roam the sea and in return he gained a share of the plunders.
• Teach had many wives, possibly as many 14 where 12 were living at once.
• Due to the ineptitude of the North Carolina governor, merchants, etc. petioned the governor of Virginia to do something about Blackbeard.
• Lt. Robert Maynard of the Pearl was placed in command of two sloops to hunt down Blackbeard with. The sloops had no guns mounted but were well manned and had plenty of small arms and ammunition. Luckily by this time in Blackbeard's career, he no longer sailed the Queen Anne's Revenge but a smaller vessel more suited to the shallows along the Virginia and Carolina coasts, inlets, and rivers.
• A brief "conversation" between Maynard and Blackbeard as Maynard's sloops apporached Blackbeard's:
• Blackbeard: Damn you for villains, who are you? And from whence came you?
• Maynard: You may see by our colors that we are no pirates
• Blackbeard bid him to send his boat on board, that he (Blackbeard) might see who he was.
• Maynard: I cannot spare my boat, but I will come on board of you, as soon as I can, with my sloop.
• Upon this, Blackbeard took a glass of liquor and drank to him (Maynard)
• Blackbeard: Damnation seize my soul if I give you quarters, or take any from you.
• After defeating Blackbeard, Maynard severed his head and hung it from the bowspirit.
• Interesting note, a member of Blackbeard's crew was named Israel Hands! And we all know where this name was made famous... if you don't, then you need to scour your pirate literature. This will be on the next major test you take ;)
• When asked if his wife knew where he buried his treasure, Blackbeard replied that nobody but himself and the Devil knew where it was and the longest liver shoul;d take it all.
• One incredible story from members of Blackbeard's crew was that once upon a cruise, they found out that they had a man on board more than their crew. Such a one was seen several days amongst them, sometimes below, and sometimes upon deck, yet no man in the ship could give an account of who he was or from whence he came. But it seems they verily believed it was he devil.
  

For more information, read Captain Johnson's book, A General History Of Robberies & Murders Of The Most Notorious Pirates.

NAcho CHEeSe River

Anyone who has frequented my blog knows that I like to call the Naches River, the Nachos River. This is not entirely accurate. The river's true name is the Nacho Cheese River, but the locals use the slang Naches (NAcho CHEeSe). Kindof catchy huh? Well, this river flows along US highway 12 here in Yakima. The river has been eroding away at the roadway and to combat this the WSDOT has been armoring the banks.
A more offensive approach to dealing with the erosion is under design now. It's objective is to divert the river away from the roadside towards the hillside (left side of the pic). You can learn more about this project here.

What have I done the last 100 days?

I have done it! Today marks the 100th straight day that I have posted to my blog. Good thing too, because I am going to be out of town for work on the 31st of May. And I am planning on visiting Mt Rainier before the end of June.

Whenever I manage to sneak out of Yakima and venture to Mt Rainier, I do promise you, my loyal readers (I think their are two of you), I will sneak a pic of a sasquatch with my camera. And unlike all those other losers, mine won't be blurry! ;)

Question of the day: How would you warn people 10,000 years in the future of danger? More criteria is given in the following articles.

LA Times

Vanderbilt

I have a Mr. Cutler to thank for providing me with the links to these articles... but not Jay Cutler
of Vanderbilt, but the uncharismatic, dual degree wielding, mastermind himself.

Actually, this is a very interesting dilemna. If you don't put any warnings up, then anyone venturing over top has no idea that it is dangerous to dig. But the warnings could just prompt curiousity. If history does repeat itself, then the area may remain untouched by another civilization. But we can't depend on that, so what then? Interesting...

Dumb Thiefs

People always say that criminals are stupid and I am not one to disagree. But I just read an article from the Yakima Herald-Republic that revealed a truly dimwitted thief.

Grandmother thwarts car theft
By CHRIS BRISTOL
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

Score one for the good guys. Make that good grandmothers.

Yakima police said a would-be car thief picked the wrong Lexus to try to steal Tuesday morning, thwarted by one of the luxury sedan's basic safety features and then throttled by the car's plucky owner, a 67-year-old Selah woman.

According to police, the incident unfolded like this:

At 11:25 a.m., the woman and her 25-year-old granddaughter left the car idling outside the Greyhound depot in downtown Yakima while they stood in the shade awaiting a bus.

A young man saw his chance and hopped behind the wheel of the car, prompting the following exchange between the astonished car owner and the would-be thief:

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" exclaimed the woman, who asked not to be identified.

"I'm going bye-bye," the man replied.

The only problem was, he couldn't get the car in gear. Desperately flailing at the gear shift, the man began screaming "What's wrong with this car?" as the owner — all 5-foot-5 and 140 pounds of her — reached in the window and began choking the man, described by police as 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds.

Police theorized he wasn't putting his foot on the brake pedal, which releases the gear shift and is a basic safety feature of newer-model cars.

At any rate, the woman's granddaughter also got into the act, reaching in and grabbing at the flustered suspect, who finally decided to bail out and make a run for it. Before he could get away, the older woman grabbed the keys from his hands.

Police quickly nabbed him nearby. He was booked on suspicion of first-degree robbery and car theft.

Neither woman reported any serious injuries from the struggle, police said.

* Chris Bristol can be reached at 577-7748 or cbristol@yakimaherald.com.

I say that this would-be car thief is dimwitted but when did auto manufacturers start using break/shift interlocks? Apparently the early 1970s. I will stick to my dimwitted thief opinion.

Annex Mexico

I recently saw a letter to the editor in the Yakima Herald Republic. This particular letter brought up an interesting topic: Annex Mexico.

We can annex Mexico

To the editor — The illegal immigration issue continues! One impractical suggestion was to make the illegal immigrants felons; another to repatriate them! A permanent long-term solution, which would be beneficial to us and the Mexicans, is shown by our Southwest states, once part of Mexico — annexation! Let our government invite Mexico to join us. Once invited, Mexico should take a vote of all its citizens, including the millions of illegal immigrants in the United States, and millions more in Mexico who want to come here. The vote should be on the basis of certain conditions, to be worked out, such as:

* Illegal immigrants in the United States must register and pay a fine, e.g. $2,500, the money to be used to provide instruction in the English language. Once qualified they could vote, ballots in English only.

* In Mexico, citizens would have the choice of voting in Spanish or English, with everyone encouraged to learn English. English as a second language would be required starting in first grade. All American citizens would be encouraged to be proficient in a second language besides English to better advance our international relationships.

3. This new U.S.A. would keep its constitution and legal system. Like Texas, Mexico would have the choice of becoming one or several states.

With the border abolished, Mexico could expect new jobs as American enterprise provided industrial, farm, mining growth, encouraging the people to stay in their home areas. Yes, there would be many adjustments, but look to the future!

ARTHUR HOWIE

Yakima

I don't think that annexing Mexico is the solution. First of all, will the Mexican people actually vote to join the U.S.? Maybe, maybe not. Second, how much of a benefit is it to the U.S. (government and citizens)? I can't imagine that the cost of improving the both the Mexican infrastructure and the U.S. infrastructure is not offset by the gain in taxes from the Mexican citizens. The benefit belongs solely to the Mexicans.

Government Works

The WSDOT intranet had the following article posted to it yesterday. I decided to share it with the blogdom. FYI, Doug MacDonald is the Washington state secretary of transportation.

One of your department staff saved my life today...
Posted 05.16.06

E-mail sent to Doug MacDonald
(sent May 11, 2006)

One of your Department staff saved my life today and I wanted to say thanks.

I was driving south on 1-5 near MP 221 when a car in the northbound lanes bumped another car, lost control, swerved, flipped, and slid down the highway on its roof. It was headed directly for my vehicle when 3 small cables stopped it, and sent it skidding down its own lane. After we were all done getting the driver out, directing traffic, talking to the police, and shaking- I looked at the barrier. A couple of the posts were pulled loose, but they had not pulled out even when hit at high speed by a sliding car.

So who do I thank? The folks who pushed for a budget to install the barrier? The engineer who designed it? The project manager who inspected the work to make sure it was done right? The man or woman who dug the hole to the right depth, and put the pole and cable in the right way to stop the car? I don't know- so I wanted to say thanks to all of you for saving my life today. You make a difference, and I wanted you to know it.

Respectfully,

Scott Seibert,
Portland, Oregon

E-mail response from Doug MacDonald

This is a very special message for us. Of course, the best of it is knowing how important it is that you can send it. We're glad, too, that the cable median barrier did its job and the amazing thing is that you are not alone. It saves lives, and not just yours! (But none more important!)

Cable median barrier is something of an innovation. It's not exactly brand new. But it wasn't in highway department's tool kit just a few short years ago. Because you have special reason to be interested, two of the cc's on this email, Dick Albin and Dave McCormick (the actual people who are in the category of engineers you mention in your email) will send you some more information about how the whole deal works.

You were right, however, to surmise that more than an engineering decision has to be made if highway safety improvements like this are to be installed. Budgets do have to be passed, and cable median barrier made its way through our 2005 legislative session with a special project designation supported by the leadership of our Transportation Committees because of interest in and belief in the program. Here's the link that describes the program on which we are now working across the state. (This link is for Whatcom County, but the message is the same statewide)

httg://www. wsdot. wa.gov/Projects/CableBarrier/

The further detail that will surely catch your fancy is that last summer, when Initiative 912 threatened to cut back funding levels that had been approved in 2005, we faced very difficult choices about what to try to keep moving ahead and what to put on ice awaiting funding clarification. Governor Gregoire personally reviewed the cable median barrier installation project and personally directed that it proceed --because we told her and she agreed that it was about saving lives. So, you can include the archetypal "highest level of government" as personally involved in the decision process. What really ties this story together, if I heard rightly last week when I think your situation occurred, this accident and its thankfully happy outcome for you, happened on a stretch of 1-5 on which the barrier was recently installed precisely because of the Governor's own decision, and of course the supporting work of everyone
else you yourself have mentioned.

So let's score one for "Government Works." Nothing could give us more satisfaction, since this every day is what we try to do, than to have your email to complete the story. I'll forward it to as many people as I can think of who are in your circle of recognition. I know they will appreciate that you have written. And that you could!

Ok, maybe the government works bit only applies to this situation, but it did work in this instance.

The Mysteries of the Universe, Unveiled!

Have you noticed that alot of police dramas and thrillers reveal a pattern in crimes. The crime locations are plotted on a map and a recognizable shape or message is revealed. Or at the very least the next crime location can be predicted.

Well, this got me thinking. Is there a pattern... any rhyme or reason... in the locations that my college friends and I have ended up? Is fate and the universe trying to deliver us a message?

So I used Google Earth to plot the locations on an image of of North America and used Bentley PowerDraft to connect the points, looking for a pattern. I know, I know, I could have just used some paint program, but CAD programs are sooo much more fun. Yeah, I'm a civil ;)

This proved to be a difficult task. I spent hours upon hours trying to find a pattern from this... oh all right, it was more like half an hour. All I could come up with is that it looks vaguely like a handgun.

So, what sort of message is this sending? Something going to happen in the Seattle area? The midwest is going to invade the northwest (that would be sweet!)? I have no idea. Any ideas are welcome, just leave them as comments.

Competition [satire]

As my readership has stagnated and good ideas are beginning to be few and far between, I have decided to expand the scope of my blog. I am opening up a competition into a new area of blogdom: cuteness. I have decided to begin competition with what is currently known as the cutest website ever, Cuteoverload.

The last couple of weeks I have noticed the stray cats that roam behind my apartment building have been awfully loud early in the morning. Well, this weekend I discovered the reason. As I looked out my window, I noticed a number (at least 3) of kittens roaming around with the adult cats.

Here are a few pics I took of them.

What's in a commute?

Nothing! I hate long commutes. I hate waiting at traffic signals and stop signs. But I have solved my daily commute problems. By getting a job with the SDDOT. In a small communtiy like Pierre, SD, slums are rare and unlike the WSDOT, the SDDOT office building is not located in a crummy part of town. Below, the first image represents my commute to work in Yakima. A grand total of 5.6 miles and everything east of 16th Ave is rundown and nearing slum classification. I have actually, on a few occasions, ventured to ride (bike) this route it is not a bad ride but the traffic is heavy so I have not made a habit of it.

The second shows my expected commute from the apartment I have waiting for me. I have already sent a deposit (so that they will hold it for the month of june). A whopping 0.4 miles long! Not even long enough to ride, I will be walking even with multiple feet of snow on the ground!

What I support...

I enjoy reading bumper stickers, window decals, and license plate frames as I drive around town or stroll through a parking lot. Many things can be learned from these "signs". What college someone went to, what political bills/parties they support, their sense of humor, etc.

Well, I decided to give my readers a chance to see the window decals , etc. that my S10 pickup sports. Behold:It is difficult to see but the top decal says "S.D. School of Mines Alumni." The bottom is a bumper sticker that I taped up from the band Gaelic Storm.
The top one here is a decal opposing Initiative 912 (in Washington State). This initiative would have repealed a 9.5 cent gas tax (over many years) that the state legislature passed for DOT projects. You can't see it, but below that is a decal from the SDSMT ALumni Association reading, "M Invent!"
Again, this one is a bit hard to read, but it says "Helluva Engineer!" As you can also see, I am wearing my "Lucky Shirt" ;)
And my license plate frame on the rear bumper.

Milestone

WOW! I am really impressed with my self. When I started this blog, I wasn't sure how long I would be able to keep it up, with fresh ideas, etc. But this post marks my 100th post! What an achievement! The best is yet to come though, because if I continue posting everyday I will reach 100 straight days with a post on Saturday, May 20!

And now back to your regularily scheduled blogging ;)

I have a couple of video clips that I found online that I decided to share. The first shows (on radar) fedex planes entering and leaving Memphis, TN as a storm approached.
http://rhodry.no-ip.org/TSTORM.avi
Source

The second shows some crazy driver who got lucky that a) He or she didn't kill or injure any pedestrians and b) that he or she was not killed or hurt.
http://rhodry.no-ip.org/car.avi
Source

Evolution of Dance

I was just minding my own business, browsing the internet when BAM! I clicked on an intriguing link and I was given a glimpse of the future. All I saw for certain was the future of a friend of mine. Check out this site to see for yourselves!

Alright, it wasn't the future but this guy; he is amazing! Kinda reminds me of the same friend. For example, said friend once rolled down the aisle of a lecture hall in college. And it was in the middle of a class!

I also created a wmv file of the video, here, if anyone is interested.

Fiddle-horn?

I was channel surfing last night and found this strange image.What sort of musical instrument is this? After an initial glance, it seems to be some sort of string AND wind instrument. Is this possible or is this a hoax by some television executive?

Well apparently, it is a REAL instrument. It is either a phono fiddle! Or a globular fiddle horn. According to one site:

The globular fiddle-horn is an instrument I call the "fiddle-dee-doo". It's a globu-tubular horn, with a goatskin resonator. The tubular section of the horn is the neck and fingerboard of the fiddle, and the goatskin membrane on the globular section is the soundboard of the fiddle. It can have one or two gut strings. The blow hole for the horn is on the back of the globular section. While it can be played as a globular horn or as a fiddle, it's most interesting when the two systems interact. For example, when blowing into the globular horn, the strings of the fiddle vibrate sympathetically. The next version of this instrument will be designed so that the fiddle and horn can more easily be played at the same time. Like other globular horns with goatskin resonators, it can also be played as a drum.

Greatest Pickup Line Ever

The episode of HIMYM on last night revealed the age old secret of the greatest pickup line ever. The guy's lines are below with predicted responses. FYI, this line is best used in a bar full of your friends or at least people who like you ;) I am also providing a vid to help illustrate it's use.

Guy: Excuse me, has anyone ever told you... OH MY GOD!
Girl: What?
Guy: (to waitress) Oh, Call an ambulance!
Girl: What's going on?
Guy: Oh, try not to speak. Here, sit down. Just don't talk, don't talk.
Waitress: Is she okay?
Guy: (to waitress) I'm serious, call 911.
Girl: What's wrong, what's the matter?
Guy: Shhh, just don't move, don't move. Just try... Here, have some water.
(to waitress) Water!
Here, drink this. Shhh, Shhh.

(Paramedics arrive)

Guy: Oh, thank god you're here.
Girl: What is going on?
Guy: I think there might be some internal bleeding, probably some fractures. We gotta get her to the hospital.
Girl: What are you talking about?
Guy: You've had a terrible fall.
Girl: No, I haven't.
Guy: Really? Cause, I could swear you fell straight out of heaven, Angel. (blink, smirk)
(underbreath) Give him your number.
Guy: What?
Crowd: Give him your number.
Guy: What?
Crowd: Give him your number.
Guy: What?
Crowd: Give him your number.
Guy: (to crowd) Come on, your're embarrasing me.
Crowd: Give him your number.
Guy: What are you... Come on!
Crowd: Give him your number.
Guy: They're not going to stop... till you give me your number.
Crowd: Give him your number.
Girl: (smile) Alright.

Commercial Talk

I caught probably the best Burger King commercial in a long time last night. It includs a catchy tune, mocks tofu, and uses the term 'man food'. And best of all, The King
was not in it! Check out the commercial here. The lyrics are below (thanks to Steve Brandon).

I am man, hear me roar,
In numbers too big to ignore,
And I'm way too hungry to settle for chick food!

'Cause my stomach's starting to growl,
And I'm going on the prowl,
For a Texas Double Whopper!

"Man that's good!"

Oh, yes, I'm a guy!
I'll admit I've been fed quiche!
Wave tofu bye-bye!
Now it's for Whopper beef I reach.

I will eat this meat
(Eat this meat)
'Till my innie turns into an outie!

I am starved!
I am incorrigible!
And I'm eating scarf (?) a burger beef bacon jalapeno good thing down!

(Yeah!)

I am hungry!
(I am hungry)
I am incorrigible!

I AM MAN!

A settlin' we will go!

Planning on starting life anew on some resource-plentiful island? Planning on forming your own colony of mutliple settlements? You have to be careful, the other colonies may attack you.

I am offering my services as a settlers guide, I will lead you to success! What are my qualifications you ask? Why, I am currently the 635th ranked settler (out of 41,922).


Not too bad huh? Keep me in mind the next time you are starting colony and competing with the neighboring colony. I will lead you to victory... your flag shall fly over the charred remains of their settlements! ;)

Westerns and Horror Flicks... In One!

Westerns are cool. Horror flicks are great. But what about when they are combined? And I am NOT talking about the fourth tremors movie. Firefly merged the western genre with sci-fi. What will credibally merge the western with the horror genre?

Supernatural has taken step at it.
This gun was created for a hunter... a hunter of supernatural things: from demons to wendigos. It is said (in an ep of Supernatural) that it is capable of killing anything. The gun has turned up in the tv series Supernatural, but it doesn't have that western twist. Now a show about the first owner of the gun would be worth seeing. A 'cowboy' riding the plains, battling demons, wendigos, etc. would be a great show.

The historic people of the old west could even be portrayed in the show. Of course, the show wouldn't start with the special gun. The cowboy would have to fight the evil forces the old fashioned way at first (holy water and other weaknesses). Eventually, he could meet up with an old indian or better yet a gunsmith who creates/blesses the special gun 9I believe that it is a colt). Of course the series would have to end with the gun being lost and 'the hunter' disappearing into the folds of history (it has to fit with the supernatural storyline).

This is a pretty good idea... any hollywood readers out there, I want credit if you have success with this idea!

What would you look like in pink?

I have a friend graduating this month and this morning we were discussing my graduation and his upcoming one. He is graduating with a degree in Microbiology (I think) but he started his college career at SDSMT as a Mechanical Engineering student. So we have alot of the same friends from SDSMT. Somehow we got onto the topic of interdisciplinary rivalry between different majors and between engineers and scientists. Apparently, the different colleges at his university have different colored gowns, this spawned our enlightened decision that it would be funny if one discipline was given a pink gown. To commemorate the conversation I found a picture taken after my graduation and gave this friend a pink shirt. How cruel am I? ;)


Actually, he looks good in pink... what do my female readers (if any) think?

Johnson County... is... ROUNDABOUT COUNTRY!

This only caught my attention because I have a friend living in Johnson County (Olathe), KS. But Johnson County, KS may be on track to be the roundabout capitol of the U.S. I found this list of existing, under construction, under design, and planned roundabouts for Johnson County:

Existing Roundabouts

1. Olathe, KS (Johnson Co.), Sheridan Road/Ridgeview Road/Dennis Avenue, Single-Lane
2. Olathe, KS (Johnson Co.), Sheridan & Clairborne, Single-Lane
   
3. Olathe, KS (Johnson Co.), Sheridan/Ridgeview Road & Rogers Road, Multi-Lane
   
4. Lenexa, KS (Johnson Co.), Prairie Star Parkway& Monticello Road, Double-Lane
   
5. Overland Park, KS (Johnson Co.), 110th & Lamar, Double-Lane
6. Overland Park, KS (Johnson Co.) – 141st & Bluejacket, Single Lane
   

Roundabouts Under Construction

1. Olathe, KS (Johnson Co.), Ridgeview & Loula, Single-Lane
2. Overland Park, KS (Johnson Co.),133rd & Lamar, Single Lane

Roundabouts Planned or Under Design

1. Olathe, KS (Johnson Co.), Kansas City Road & Nelson, Single Lane
2. Olathe, KS (Johnson Co.) Kansas City Road & Buchanan, Single Lane
3. Olathe, KS (Johnson Co.) 167th, from Ridgeview to Blackbob (Lackman) (7 roundabouts)
4. Lenexa, KS (Johnson Co.), Prairie Star Parkway & Clare, Double Lane
5. Lenexa, KS (Johnson Co.), Prairie Star Parkway & Gleason, Double Lane
6. Lenexa, KS (Johnson Co.), Prairie Star Parkway & Mize
7. Lenexa, KS (Johnson Co.), Prairie Star Parkway & Canyon Creek
8. Lenexa, KS (Johnson Co.), Prairie Star Parkway & High School West
9. Lenexa, KS (Johnson Co.), Prairie Star Parkway & Fire Station
10. Lenexa, KS (Johnson Co.), Prairie Star Parkway & Hospital
11. Overland Park, KS (Johnson Co.) Santa Fe & Conser, Single Lane
12. Overland Park, KS (Johnson Co.) 123rd & Lamar, Single Lane

Now that is alot of roundabouts! If you are interested, I found the list here. Actually, the list included all roundabouts for the state of Kansas, but I wanted to draw attention to the Johnson County roundabouts.

I also found this video clip of an accident at a signalized intersection... it is a serious accident, you've been warned.

Great News!

The following is an excerpt from the May edition of the tour update email from Gaelic Storm:

News Update

Brand New Album!!

Gaelic Storm is currently hard at work in the studio recording a brand new CD for release summer 2006! Stay tuned for details...

FREE GAS*

Now that I have got your attention, Licensed drivers from Kansas, Illinois, Texas, Colorado, Missouri, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska are eligible to receive a $20 ethanol voucher good in SD. Follow the link in the title for more information. And now back to our regularily scheduled blog:

I decided to take a drive around over my lunch break today. I know, I know, what was I thinking with the current gas prices. But it is my bill, not yours so deal with it. (that and it wasn't much more than a half dozen blocks away from my office.

Into the residential area of Union Gap, I ventured... and what do I discover, but a primitive deck! The owner of this home has leaned a ladder up against the carport and set a chair up on top.But there is something else intriguing about the photo... Look at the size of the antenna/tower in the yard! As he has a direct tv or dishnetwork sattelite dish hooked to his roof (see first picture), I can not come up with a reasonable explanation for the antenna/tower. Even though I can come up with plenty of unreasonable explanations ;)
My only thoughts are either an antenna for a bad-ass ham radio or the owner is broadcasting his own radio signals. Any ideas from THE CENG or EEs in the audience?

*Free gas up to $20 value.

Run DeAngelo , Run!

The NFL draft took place this last weekend and the Carolina Panthers took Memphis running back DeAngelo Williams in the first round.

Many would say Reggie Bush was the best back in the draft, but I would disagree. Reggie Bush never had to shoulder the load himself at USC. He always split carries with LenDale White. True, he went to the Saints, who have Deuce McAllister to share time with him.

But as one commentator noted,

Pat Kirwan, nfl.com: He's a very productive guy. He had a 1,000 carries and left a lot on the field at college, but nobody who played Memphis did anything but defend Williams, so he carried the team on his back for four years.

DeAngelo rushed for 6,021 yards in college and Reggie Bush gained 3,169 yards in college. I believe that both backs will prove to be great players in the league, but I believe that combination of Deshaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams will outrush Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush.

As the Charlotte Observer noted, I hope that DeAngelo will have more in common with Steve Smith than just apperance... Imagine Carolina's offense with two players of Steve Smith's caliber... WOW!