profess_student

Had to do it

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:15:05 GMT

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

This year I've been busy!

Last Sunday I invaded Iraq, broke it, and couldn't glue it back together before Mom got home (-1012 points). In May I pulled saphetiger's hair (-5 points). In November I set iefan_mac's puppy on fire (-66 points). Last Thursday I helped sid249 see the light (8 points). Last week whod81 and I robbed a bank (-50 points).

Overall, I've been naughty (-1125 points). For Christmas I deserve a lump of coal!

Sincerely,
profess_student

auto accident

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 18:45:18 GMT

A number of things happening this last week and continuing this week.
One of them is my car. I had taken a friend ssines home Saturday night/Sunday morning and was on my way home. I'm stopped at the stop-light on Morse Road near Easton and look at my rear view mirror and see a car heading toward me. Well, he decides not to stop. Police arrive, we provide each other insurance info, police give him a ticket, and we both drive away. I call in the accident to his insurance company and they tell me he is excluded from driving the car he was driving, he has no insurance, and in other words this is a case of uninsured driving. My insurance company tells me my uninsured driver insurance will cover the accident, but my deductible will come into play. So, I'm out a car for awhile and I'm out my deductible.

Tennessee/Virginia trip

Thu, 18 May 2006 01:19:22 GMT

This last week I got to see my oldest niece graduate from Virginia Tech with a Civil Engineering Bachelors degree. The Engineering school offered a luncheon to have family and friends of the graduates get together and get to know each other before the actual ceremony. My niece, Emily, has some good friends, and each has their own plan of what they will be doing now that they have graduated. Emily is actually taking a job doing civil engineering type work so I will get to know the Baltimore/Washington, DC area a lot better.

During the trip, I stayed with my sister and family, and spent time with associated relatives that wanted to see Emily graduate. The area they live in is not as fast-paced as where I live, but its still a good area in Tennessee. Its good to spend time with my sister and see how well she is doing, having survived both cancer and the need for a pace-maker. Her family is super; the girls are really pretty, although none have boyfriends (they have, but not now).

One of the activities we did was see a show at the State Theater (I didn't know such a thing existed) called Barters Theater in Abingdon, VA. This show presented actors reenacting the true story of the Stanley brothers with Ralph Stanley earning a Grammy award in 2002. It was a few hours of my hearing a lot of bluegrass music, seeing a little clogging, and mountain people in general. I at least learned what bluegrass music is, although I am still not a real fan.

One of the comments in the show brought me to my own life even in my drink of choice. My drink of choice is Mountain Dew, and I did not realize the name was originally moonshine for mountain folk and because it was a popular name, became the name of a popular drink. I found out other people knew this, but it was new to me.

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 16:08:16 GMT

Well, the last week has gone well. Hope things continue that way.

Thursday, I went out with friends for dinner and to see the movie
Wedding Crashers. It was a funny movie, and not what I expected.
Their daughter, my godchild, is growing fast; its fun to be
with them.

Saturday morning, I took the CCNA exam and can now say I have
a CCNA certification. This was the 2nd time for me and this time
was a lot better. I need to thank frickeyd for his help and
encouragement; I do appreciate it. I'll take a breather, and then
go for another certification, I'm thinking CISSP at this point,
although that's not certain.

The weekend was spent celebrating St. Patrick's Day weekend.
The main event was the Dublin Irish Festival. Good music, and
some really good Irish dancers. Seeing friends, updating what is
happening in everyone's lives. Great fun.

This morning was spent having eve surgery performed. The doctor
told me there would be no patches, so what happens, he gives me
sunglasses. We'll see how things go as the eye heals. The
hardest part of the surgery was getting an IV into me as my veins
kept "collapsing" and the nurse would try again. I went through
3 nurses, as each of the first 2 nurses gave up. The eye surgery
itself went fairly easy compared to that.

St. Paddy's day

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 16:56:35 GMT

Looking forward to the weekend to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!
A group of us have gotten together for years to celebrate
socially and musically the friendship we've had over the
many years. This year is no exception. And if you were
wondering, my upcoming surgery was timed to be *after* the
St. Patrick's weekend.

In keeping with the tradition, I'm getting my share of the
holiday St. Patrick Day cards. It's a good excuse to party
and socialize. And if you don't know, I'm quite a bit
Irish, what with even my grandfather moving here from Ireland.

Happy St. Patrick's Day.
Slante, (a Gaelic toast meaning "to your health")

Holidays

Sun, 25 Dec 2005 22:23:51 GMT

With the holidays here, I've come to Kansas City to be with
my family. Most of the family lives in this area so its
always good to see and catch up with everyone. This is where
I grew up, have good, longtime friends, and in general some
really good memories. I learned my mother is really not as
good as she's been telling me; she doesn't want to worry me
I guess. We think she's broken a bone in her back; she can't
move around very easy. I'm concerned she's going to get worse
when I go home We'll have to followup.

Lima National Guard

Fri, 07 Oct 2005 14:32:25 GMT

Going by the Airport this morning, you could tell the excitement about the Lima National Guard members coming home. The first giveaway were all the cars lined up on the sides of the road or the crowded parking lots that are never crowded. Next were the police motorcyclists, one riding beside my car, and another behind it. That was followed by the parking lot of the 94th Aero Squadron, where roughly 40 police cars were parked along with probably 50 police motorcycles. The cars on the side of the road had flags waving, big signs welcoming various members home, etc. In other words, people were expressing their enjoyment getting family and friends back home. After being away at war, the guardsmen will certainly enjoy it.

property rights

Tue, 04 Oct 2005 00:04:43 GMT

A group of us were having a conversation about property rights last week, the good, the bad, etc. Tonight, one of my back-yard neighbors, who I didn't know because we're separated by woods, came to my door. He told me I would be getting a letter notifying me of his request for a variance on putting a fence on the border of his yard and the woods; I would be receiving the letter because I border the wooded area. I understand his request, he has a 2-year old son and wants to protect him. We do have a number of animals that wander in/out of the woods although he is the first to complain of the animals (that I know of). He noted he filmed a deer wandering through the woods today which he will use to bolster his case at the variance meeting. He wanted me to understand his position, as I have a say whether it happens or not.

I haven't decided what my position should be. One, I will never see the fence as it is on the other side of the woods. But, it is a policy decision that could be used to justify doing the same thing on my side of the woods. Can he not protect his child by not leaving him alone in the back yard until he is older? One of the good things about our neighborhood is that you can look quite far and yet never see anything like a fence; it does have an nice appeal to it. What a simple issue, but one I'm going to need to think about.

Political Test

Tue, 20 Sep 2005 15:49:24 GMT

I will post my results, although I do not like being categorized as ANY political group.

You are a
Social Liberal
(75% permissive)

and an...
Economic Moderate
(50% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Democrat

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

College Reunion

Fri, 17 Jun 2005 17:03:59 GMT

Went to my 30 year College Reunion 2 weeks ago. It was a good time,
and really hard to realize it's been 30 years since graduation.
The good part was seeing friends and spouses that I don't talk to
normally. Its amazing to know my classmates now have grown children
or have children that are graduating from college themselves.
I did get to see 1 of my old professors too although he is now retired.
The disappointing thing for me (a Math major), is that Math is losing
importance at the University; Business is gaining importance. I
did get to meet the President when I was at school, the current
President, and the President that takes over 7/1/05.

Of course, I had to visit some of the old sites, especially our dorm,
which for all intents and purposes are frathouses as social frats are not
recognized or needed on campus. Its funny thinking how easy things
are for students today, compared to what we put up with (air conditioning
is avail today, certainly not when I was there; elevators in dorms,
unthinkable when I started). And of course, having been part of
the music program as a student, a number of us were called to lead
the alumni in song; again good memories.

Our class was spread over 2 dorms. The one I stayed in is a women's
dorm. Get used to no urinals for a weekend. But, yes, students
have it made now, but I'm sure they still complain. Food was good,
much better than what I expect students get, but you need to make
the alumni feel good (so they contribute more).

Even having been going to these reunions for years, the building
boom is changing the landscape substantially. And, in the process,
I found on a tour, that at least 2 movies have the campus in some
way incorporated: 1. In Shrek, one of the character's name comes
from the nickname for the dorm the producer lived in (Farquad),
and 2. In Harry Potter, the dining room is a miniature version of
the main student Dining Hall used (about 1/20th size) without the
flying brooms, etc; again a former student turned director.

The important thing is I had fun. A lot of drinking, although that
too has changed as it was nowhere near what we used to go through.

current activities

Tue, 10 May 2005 18:36:07 GMT

Next month will be fun.

My concern right now though is my sister. In 1991, she
recovered from a cancer, Hodgkin's disease, but it left
her with a decreased immunity system. About 4 years ago,
she needed to have a pacemaker installed to continue
living a normal life. Last week, she started having
fainting spells, and fell down a flight of stairs, ending
up with a number of bruises and a broken nose.
Even after that, she's able to laugh; what a sister.

Next month, I will be attending my 30 year University
(Bachelor's) Reunion. First, it doesn't seem that long
that I was getting my friends in trouble and vice-versa.
(Some our parents still don't know about.) Anyway, it
probably should not be surprising that in that time,
a number of friends have already died. I am glad to
still have the memories and enthusiasm of the times
and the people that I can use even today. And yes,
besides seeing old friends, it will also be a chance
to meet the new University President who takes over
7/1/05.

Next month, I will be attending a security conference.
The topic has interested me since my early Univ. days
when I was learning and doing things some people didn't
know you could do (and a number that some people didn't
want us to do). A past co-worker friend from a number of
years ago is the keynote speaker for the conference.
In those days, I was both a developer and the person
responsible for our location's security system.
He says he will introduce me to the other speakers, etc,
so it will probably be a good time both for learning
and socializing.

math questions

Tue, 08 Mar 2005 02:40:54 GMT

Wow.

I'm still studying my various math courses so I feel good when I
decide to officially go back to grad school. My current specific
interest being set theory, with all the subtopics like compactness,
first and second order languages, and decidability. These are
really not coming as easy as I had expected.

Anyway, just got off the phone with a stranger in New Zealand,
who a coworker had passed on to me. After small talk, what he
really wanted was to ask me math questions. He was just interested
in summations, etc, but it sure gave my ego a boost to be able
to help him. Wow.

Now, if I was just as good as some friends think I am.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Thu, 20 Jan 2005 18:35:09 GMT

One of my former coworkers, changed jobs from my group to another group about 6 months ago. He was in the process of learning his new job, etc when yesterday he was told it would be good to start looking for another job. Today his new boss called and told him today was his last day.

Earlier in the week, we were told more layoffs were coming, many due to moving jobs from US to Poland, etc. So, some people are more prepared for layoffs than others. It becomes difficult also for the person who is doing the work to train that person's replacement; but that becomes your new job. When you have worked with people for some time, its tough for the person to be hurt by this kind of thing. It's also tough for the people left because you truly care for this person's well-being.

I found out another friend was hurt yesterday. You try to figure out how to help the person because you just feel so bad for them. Being an adult does not lessen the hurt for the person involved or that person's friends. It becomes important for adults to help each other, at the very least, offer whatever you can to the person. When I've been hurt, I know just having someone to talk to has been important, and I hope I can do the same.

Dallas, TX

Tue, 02 Nov 2004 22:55:36 GMT

Working in Dallas, TX for a week. So far, haven't gotten much beyond work.
Sixteen hours work yesterday, 6 hours sleep, and back to work today.
With this being election day, being here is a big reminder of what people
believe in. You may already know about President George Bush Freeway, or
Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway. Driving the roads here, with the rib places,
the seemingly Big-everything, the songs being played (more country played here,
although there's also too much religion on the radio), all give a
view of a different upbringing, the "Lone Star" state.

On my plane trip here, I sat next to a Tibetan, who enjoyed discussing
the Buddist philosophy with me (and I with him). He was interesting,
partly because of his experience: his profession is speaking about
things. I tried to focus his job by asking what he did, and he told
me he answered questions best as he could. I told him he was avoiding
my question (we had gotten to know each other by sharing our philosophies,
so he understood my friendly bantering), so he answered when he was in
front of an audience, people asked all kinds of questions, but he tried
to answer them although his focus was always along the lines of the
Buddist philosophy (we decided it was more a philosophy although also
a religion). It was an interesting time, and I even told him I did not
like talking about religion because usually people did not speak of the
essense of beliefs, but only the exterior, traditions, "our group does
it this way", etc and he immediately agreed. I liked him.

Talking with people back home today, people tell me they spent 1.5-2.5 hours
in line waiting to vote. Wow. I really don't want to get into politics or
religion with people I work with. Working at a customer site, I can't
work other customer problems, especially since I'm here to access, test, and
teach this customer's employees only how things work. During the day,
I'm accessing various systems and making improvements, and last night we
tested a new Disaster Recovery (DR) capability and how to recover in
a short amount of time. A number of new employees are my major job now,
but its good to see a number of people I've met through phone calls, etc.
I'm told the new camera phone technology, as well as a number of other
departments here are hiring, so the economy must be getting better.
The customer will be announcing a new product Nov 15, although more
directed at businesses than individuals.

Cirque du Soleil is in town starting this week. I've been wanting to see
them for a couple years now. It is supposed to be a tremendous show, so
popular they have engagements now worldwide. Its coming to Columbus,
although no date has been set yet. When I'm traveling, seeing various
shows is one of the best way to enjoy the trip for me. Lots of local things,
happening too, its just getting time away from work (and a little sleep)
that is not easy when traveling.

The worst part of business traveling for me is the lack of close friends
where you're traveling. I have lots of contacts, acquaintances, etc here.
But I do like to spend time with friends. And when I think about it,
some friends don't even know how important they really are. Being away from
home, makes that closeness all the more special and obvious to me.

School, and other things

Mon, 06 Sep 2004 16:44:33 GMT

Over the weekend, I've tried to do some planning concerning school.
First, a year ago, I thought it would be good to use some time to
learn some new things and officially enter math school. My expectation
was after a year, I would have refreshed my knowledge of math and
been in shape to enter math school. Well, I've been taking math
courses now for a year, but I find I'm still weak in several topics
I should know before officially entering math school. My knowledge
of calculus is fairly good, but as a professor chided me, that is
undergraduate work which is expected of you; for grad school you
need knowledge in fairly wide areas. In taking my math courses,
I find I'm still weak in several areas which I'll hopefully take
care of this coming year. Add to that, the thought that I'll take
forever to get a degree if I only take 1-2 courses a quarter, so
I feel a need to get more focused/serious. At this point, I've taken
enough math courses that I know there is a lot more I don't know.
I look on education as fun, so I'm having fun learning; it's the
idea that getting a graduate degree in math is several years away
that is disconcerting. Plus, since my job comes first, I have to
acknowledge school at this point will not be first.

A friend entered the hospital when he found he could no longer see.
It turned out he had very high sugar in his blood and urine (always
higher than the test equipment for blood, and 1000 in his urine).
You're supposed to be near 100 in your blood, and 0 in your urine.
Well, he can see again, and is on a diet to keep the sugar under
control. Fortunately, he got things corrected before they became
permanent. It also got me thinking I need to be good to my health.
As a result, I've been trying to watch my diet, and joined the
YMCA to get exercise. At the Y, I'm usually at the low end of
weights, speed, etc, but if I can keep it up, I'm sure I'll improve.

Another friend is taking his wife and kids on vacation to Florida.
I get to watch their animals (cats and hamster), plants, and house
in general. They say they'll determine what if anything to change
because of the hurricane, but right now, it's Disney World.

A relative is going through anorexia which is a little hard to
understand for me. She is 95 pounds, at 5'8'', but thinks she's
too fat. In reality, she is so skinny; its just hard to understand.

Various things

Mon, 12 Jul 2004 18:11:01 GMT

A number of things have happened the last few days. Not sure
this will be of interest to anyone. But, here goes.

1. Had a new roof installed on my home Friday. I was really
surprised that my old roof was removed, and a new one installed
in just 1 day. So far, it has held, but we probably have not
had enough rain for a good test if it will leak or not. The
warranty is good for 30 years but who cares if it leaks.

2. A friend in New Zealand called to ask me to visit for
a vacation. He noted our summers are his winters, and vice-versa,
so it would be best to travel in my winter. Prices are considerably
cheaper there, but so are the salaries.

3. My cousin's son, who lived with me a number of years,
age 27, has been given notice he will have another tour of duty(TOD)
in Iraq starting the end of this month. It is hard to go to
school, have a good job, etc, when you keep getting called back
to duty. This is his 3rd TOD. On the positive side, he says
he has a fair chance to meet some beautiful Russian women.

4. I may be going to Las Vegas the end of the month. If things
look like I can do that, I may ask several others if they would
be interested in going.

5. It really is a small world. I read in the paper this weekend
my next door neighbor is involved in the situation with Coach
O'Brien. She apparently had some involvement with papers the
student-athlete submitted not written by him.

What I observe from the above, is that our activities really
are involved both locally and globally. You think this/that
activity will not involve you or your neighbors/friends, but they do.
We depend on them and they depend on us.

Geocaching

Sun, 20 Jun 2004 19:22:33 GMT

I've been learning the fun of geocaching this weekend.
Its a good way to learn how to use my GPS system, as
well as learning tricks others use when hiding specific
items to be retrieved if you can solve the riddles.
A friend and myself found one the first time out with
the hints given, even though some of the items used
as reference points were difficult to see. One search
was one I hope not to regret; the area was covered
with poison ivy and poison oak which we stepped through
for a while before deciding to try other caches.

Tue, 15 Jun 2004 21:43:58 GMT

Just got back from Traffic Violation hearing. I expected the worse so
with the city dismissing the ticket, I was happy. My view was I should
not have had the ticket (Parking ticket on Nationwide Blvd) in the first place.

I did talk to some of the other people at the hearing and it was interesting.
One guy had his car stolen, reported it stolen, and then got parking tickets on the car; city still said he needed to plead his case. Another OSU student said
he parked his car for about a week (apparently didn't know it was illegal),
got 8 tickets on his car, showed up for the hearing and he only needed to
pay 2 of them. Another, renewed his registration but didn't put in on the
car immediately, and while sitting in his car, was ticketed by an officer
for expired plates; he lost and had to pay. One woman paid to have her
car taken out of the impound lot, but found it was totaled and wanted her
money back; don't know what insurance will do in a situation like this.
It was interesting talking to the people, just glad I have the dismissal.
We were all rooting for each other.