Fur-Coated Evil

I read an enthralling little article in Uncle John's GREAT BIG Bathroom Reader today (I'll spare you the circumstances that lead to my reading the book) and it just seemed to leap of the page. The article was about "ferret-legging," a sport so ridiculously idiotic that it could only have originated in Scotland (the nation that also gave us golf). Basically, you tie the bottom of your pants to your ankles, insert two ferrets, and tie your waist tight with some rope. You are allowed to smack the ferrets (described as shark-of-the-land, piranha-with-feet, and fur-coated evil). The man who lasts the longest is the winner. Did I mention that there's no underwear allowed? Not that it would survive the encounter.

Today we tested some stabilized fibers, which are fibers that have been spun and dried, but not heat treated. We got some interesting data. Too bad I can't tell you about it. Also did some thesis work.

Ruby Tuesday makes a pretty good hamburger. Not nearly as good as Huey's. I've also been told to try a Red Robin burger. I know only of their seasoning, which is actually pretty good. The commercials look pretty good too. So we'll see.

There's still a rant coming. I'm cooking something up...you just wait.

I Like To Dream, Right Between The Sound Machine

Ah, Monday. I spent a little while in the spin lab before class today, but I didn't wait until the last minute before class, if you catch my drift. Dr. Yue's class was about like last week's - informative. That's it. Not really a class-like feeling to it at all. Dr. Yue just sits there (literally) and gives presentations. Which is not helping me decide if I want to take the class for a grade or audit. If I audit, no work but no credit. What I'd really like to know is what the tests are going to be like. Unfortunately, no one can give me the straight dope on that. Such is life.

When I finally get around to blogging again, its at time when there's really not too much to report. The irony of the situation isn't lost on me. To make up for the lack of content, I might start opining on various issues. I promise, however, to not fill space with complete drivel. Anyway, look for more editorials to go with the news.

Laundry Day Is A Very Dangerous Day

Not too bad, for a Sunday. There's never anything on TV on Sundays before 6:00 pm. Top Chef reruns aren't terrible. I did manage to get the dishes taken care of; it was down to them or me, and I came out on top. That, and I got some pictures hung on the walls. Also did some laundry, which needed doing. Caught a few episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. That show is definitely underrated. Steaks on the grill at Jeff's while I laundered - excellent.

On the whole, that's a pretty lame day. I'm going to pretend I did something more interesting, like going to Disneyland. I suggest you do the same.

That Sure Is A Big Pile O' Persians!

Not a whole lot went on Friday. UTSI had its annual kick-off picnic that was wisely held indoors this year. Other than having way too many people speaking before the serving lines were allowed to form, it went well. The barbecue was NOT from Piggy's Place; a smart move. It was from the other place in town, whose name escapes me. Its not Central BBQ, so its pretty irrelevant anyway.

A lightning storm parked above Tullahoma last night. It was both neat and scary. But more scary than neat.

Frank Miller's 300 is just as awesome as I'd hoped. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, however. It's got the Frank Miller feel, which not everyone is going to like. As Jeff points out, if you didn't like Sin City, you won't like 300. I will also go out on a limb and agree with Jeff that 300 is the better of the two movies. It was also refreshing to see ancient Greeks portrayed as having accents other than British. This time around, they were Scottish. Not very different, but different nonetheless.

That's pretty much the day, except for some eating here and there, going to the store, and doing a little bit of work. I better do the dishes soon, before they attack.

Sonderkommando ELBE!

Dogfights on the History Channel is an awesome show. First, I saw how Raymond Brooks whooped up on 8 German Fokkers during WWI. Then I find out that the Luftwaffe actually organized the Sonderkommando ELBE, a group whose mission was to ram their planes into US bombers. Crazy. And stupid. Google it. I'm sure Wikipedia has a well-written, if historically creative, article about it.

I renewed my tags today at the Coffee County Clerk's office. Their service is amazing, and it only took 5 minutes. My only complaints are this: (1) They won't accept an "out of town" check. Not an "out of state" check, "out of town." Geez. (2) Those cold-hearted jerks raised the fee by a good 4%. It took $24 to renew my tags. I know that's not a lot, but its the principle of the thing.

My Fiber Science class met today. It was about what I was expecting, I suppose. Dr. Yue has never taught a class before - ever. I'm still up in the air about getting a grade versus auditing. I still have to storm Vakili's office in a huff about my Experimental Methods grade, which would make a much bigger difference than simply taking another class.

Which puts me in an untenable position anyway. I can't get too huffy, because he's my thesis advisor and my boss. I'm also wanting to make him write a letter of recommendation so I can weasel into Tau Beta Pi. As a result, I'm probably just going to make few pathetic whimpers and move on. As Jeff observed, Vakili probably has Joe Londino on speed dial. If you got that reference, good for you.

That's all for tonight. By the way, what's the term for four-in-a-row? A hat trick is three-in-a-row. There's got to be an official word for this.

Mostly Harmless

Not bad for a Wednesday, I suppose. I was mostly babysitting the Diastron (the carbon fiber characterization machine). We got new suction cups for the sucking thingy, which has greatly improved the performance. Also, no wasps, which is much better.

In other news, it seems that I've gotten railroaded into taking a class this semester, MSE 552 - Fiber Science. Its being taught by Dr. Yue, one of Dr. Vakili's cronies. Dr. Vakili "strongly suggested" that I take this course; personally I could go either way. The surreal thing about this is how Dr. Vakili put this to me. I ran into him in the hallway after lunch and he said, "You haven't signed up for Dr. Yue's class yet." His tone was as if this had been previously discussed. He told me that Heather was going to be taking it (when I spoke with her later, this was the first she'd heard of it too). Either Dr. Vakili is losing it, or I have an evil twin doing evil things up at school. Anyway, I can always switch gears and audit the class if I don't feel like doing the work. Such is life.

More interesting developments with the my Monster resume. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

I passed out at 7:00 tonight for a solid half hour. Out of no where. I guess I'm getting old. Or it could have been the benedryl. I rarely do that during Law & Order though.

I'm working on a good rant, but I'm not sure what to rant about. I'll take suggestions, weigh them carefully, and then write about whatever I want to write about.

WASPS! THEY'RE EATING MY FLESH!

So I'm sitting in the spin lab, minding my own business, and I feel something (I don't know what) touch my head. So, being a reasonable person, I try to brush it off with my hand. Turns out that the "thing" was a Big. F-ing. Wasp. Stung me right on the finger. So, after freaking out for a minute due to the pain and worrying about anaphylactic shock, I killed him. Killed him dead. Size of a barn swallow. Seriously.

Part of a lamp also wound up killed, killed dead too. I don't know anything about that though.

The day was pretty anticlimactic from there. Load fibers, test fibers, load fibers, test fibers, find out that Dr. Vakili wanted me to test those fibers, not these fibers. Communication is a weak point up here.

My resume is getting some notice on Monster.com, which is reassuring. More on that as events develop. Right now, its too early to call.

So what have I been up to since April? Excellent question.

Ferrett Chainsaw Massacre

Ferretts attack more people annually than grizzley bears. According to the folks who make Diet Mt. Dew. I saw the commercial the other day during The 4400 and almost choked on my dinner.

Its been a very long time. I started off being busy, got lazy, went back to being busy again, got lazy again, and finally returned to busy. I'm still very, very busy, but I hit a point tonight in which I was too tired & fed up with work to keep producing, yet still lucid enough to articulate - that's how blogs are born.

Anyway, hopefully I'm back in the blogging game for good for now. I'd write a longer update, but this is mostly just an announcement that I'm back. A bit more subtle than a police cruiser through the front door, but it'll do.

Check back tomorrow.