Thursday, May 31, 2007

Tulsarama!


"On June 15, 1957, a new gold and white 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe was buried in a time capsule in downtown Tulsa, OK. The time capsule was part of Golden Jubilee Week: Tulsa's celebration of Oklahoma's semi-centennial. The car is buried under the sidewalk in front of the Tulsa County Courthouse, approximately 100 feet north of the intersection of Sixth Street and Denver Avenue. " -www.buriedcar.com

On June 15th (two weeks from now for those of you who are challenged), this car will be dug up and removed from it's vault after 50 years underground, and all of the contents of the enclosed time capsule will be opened also.

This absolutely facinates me for two reasons:
1) Time capsules are cool ways to show how we live and who we are (we put one in the cornerstone of our church, which included a two pack of Hostess Ho-Ho's)
2) The fact that we over-estimate how far the world will move on in the future, but it actually doesn't that much (they put a can full of gasoline with this car assuming that we wouldn't use gas or cars in the future)

Monday, May 28, 2007

We Have A Yard Now.


After toiling for years now, our front yard actually has turf. Thick enough to lay down in without getting dirt all over your heinie. I have some paver work to do, some gravel to place along the edge of the house, but for the most part the effect is there already.
Last summer we decided to do it right. Since the house was built on a slope, we had to build a retaining wall along the front of the yard. Then we wheelbarrowed up to a foot and a half deep of fill sand in place. Six inches of black dirt got raked out, seeded, then thatched with hay. Finally this spring, the perenial grass has come back, to which we overseeded again. After fertilizing, liming, and watering, it is growing like mad.
Notice the added touches: bird bath, tiki torches, and solar lights. I feel so suburbia.

Friday, May 25, 2007

No Sh&*, this is real.


1,051 pound boar.
9'-4" from snout to rump
Shot by an 11 year old, with a pistol.
in Alabama.
with more balls than I'll ever have.

Monday, May 14, 2007

My Citizenship Test

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 9 out of 10 correct!

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Once again...

Once again, I am done with school, almost. Once again I graduate. This is just another bachelors, I don't know if I could've handled grad school. Classes are done, graduation is Saturday, and my finals are on Monday. DONE. Tuesday begins full time for me again at work. No driving back and forth between Menomonie, Hudson, and home every day. (BTW, it's 126 miles 'round the loop) DONE.
This seemed so far away a year and a half ago. Even last week, it felt like it was a long way off, especially after UW-Stout lost my graduation packet that contained all my forms and signed substitution sheets. I had to fill them all out again, have them all signed, but this time I took them personally to registration and records and waited while the lady keypunched everything in.
I have met a bunch of real wonderful teachers who give a %$#& about their students and they are excited about their job. It rubs off on you and it makes you take interest in what you are learning if the teacher has slightly more than a pulse. My teachers in general do not share my view points on "the truth", but I have made known where I stand, and have been bluntly shown where they stand. I think it facinates some of them to see someone who has been through the college mill and still thinks in terms of creationism. Shame on me.

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Technical Writing. Or not.

So, yesterday I sent a material certification to a customer. Basically, a cert tells them that you did what they wanted to the material. Around 4pm yesterday, the customer called with a group of their stuffed shirts on conference call. They were concerned about a portion of the cert that said:
"etc..."
That's right. They were worried about the letters "etc". They wanted to know what etc stood for or what it's metallurgical meaning was.
I couldn't wait. I interupted "et cetera". The phone call went silent.
It was then that they realized that not everything is all that complicated in life.