Pizza

We went to the Mellow Mushroom last night for dinner. It was yummy. While we were there, two huge groups of Jehovah's Witnesses came in--one with 16 people, another with 13. Apparently there is some sort of crazy Jay-Dub convention in town or something. Ugh. Anyway, we knew they were Jay-Dubs because they had little name tags.

Anyway, when the first group came in, the hostess seemed a little concerned that they would be unable to fit them all (if you've been there, you know it's not a real big restaurant), but she dutifully went back to check and see if they could be accommodated. While they were waiting for her to return, the second group came in and I whispered something to the wife along the lines of "they can only serve 144,000 people here, so they might not be able to fit everybody."

I do, indeed, kill me. We got seated, and we went out for ice cream afterwards. Mmmm...with enough leftovers for dinner tonight, too.

Yep, I got a big new monitor Saturday! It is a 22" widescreen monitor. It's awesome! Now I've got lots of room on my desk--too much, in fact. When I took my old boat anchor off the desktop, all the papers and documents and stuff I'd stuck on it, or around it, or propped up against it, fell down, and I was forced to do something with them. I stuck them out of the way for a reason, of course.

We even watched "Heroes" on it while we ate dinner last night, and it looks fantastic. So I'm pleased. While I was at Big Box Electronics Store looking at it, I heard an old guy asking questions of one of the Sales Drones about a monitor he was looking to purchase. The old guy asked something to the effect of "does this monitor have all the software I need to install it," and the guy assured him that he'd be fine. So the old guy asks, "will this new monitor have all my icons on it, or do I need to transfer them?"

It made me feel a little pity for the Sales Drones of the world. No wonder they hassle everyone about buying their stupid extended warranties (they wanted a hundred bucks for the EW on this monitor!!) and asking for zip codes--they have to answer stupid questions like "will my new monitor have all my icons on it" all day.

No, I didn't buy the extended warranty. Also, no, you can't have my zip code. Not yours.

Computer (Stuff) Buying

Woo hoo! My stupid mouse is going out--it occasionally registers a single click as a double click, so selecting a file sometimes means opening a file instead. Or highlighting a window means maximizing the window. Anyway, we can't have that, so I get to buy a new mouse. It's okay; this one has served a long, happy life of clickery and, uh, cursor movery, so it's deserved its trip to the big recycle bin in the sky. But mice are boring.

That's why I guess I should be glad that my big ol' heavy monitor is also dying! I got this monitor--a bulky 21" CRT--from my old egomaniac boss at the job I had before I got a real one. He was always upgrading the equipment his poor subhuman employees had to work on, and I was around when he tossed these CRTs in favor of some big, shiny new LCDs, so I took this one off his hands for him. Yeah, it was a pretty nice gesture, but still, screw him.

Anyway, that was probably six years ago, so it, too, has lived a long, successful life even after it retired from engineering. It saw me through two engineering degrees and a 2200-mile cross-country move! And I suppose the cat will miss sitting atop its heat-emitting surfaces on cold days, but progress must march on.

But I digress. The monitor is doing this crazy epileptic seizure flicker move pretty regularly now, and it will, at random, turn itself off and, if I'm lucky, back on. All on its own! I suppose it may be a haunted monitor, but until it emits weird blue light, howling wind, and/or creepy moaning, or until it begins levitating, I'm going to go with the "it's wearing out" explanation.

When it started exhibiting this behavior, I was more annoyed than anything--I didn't want to go buy an expensive new monitor. They're hundreds of dollars, if not more, right!? And an LCD monitor this size will certainly break the bank, right? Right?!?

Well...not right. I began looking and was quickly amazed at how prices have come down and big ol' monitors have become very cheap! Now I started looking forward to getting an awesome new monitor. I have found two candidates for my dollars--a Dell 22" widescreen LCD and a Samsung 22" widescreen LCD. Both are pretty much the same price! How awesome?

I'm gonna see if I can find one in stock at one of the big box moron stores around here tomorrow, but if I can't, I'll order one online. Sweet!

And, yes, the thought has occurred to me to just buy a new computer, but I don't want to. I like my computer just fine, thank you.

My Cool New Project

For my State Parks job I get to do historical research on an island. It has been inhabited since the time of Native Americans up until today. It is a fantastic barrier island with lots of wildlife, great newly re-sanded beach, and a 19th century lighthouse. Today I got to go to the island to see the site and see what archive resources they have. I will be working on this project over the summer on the side and then take it up again part time in the fall for my assistantship. This is just one of the research projects I will be doing this year that will eventually lead to new interpretation at the parks and new information plaques (which are called waysides in the industry.)
I took some pictures of the island and I thought I would share.






The Lighthouse














The view of the beach from lighthouse















View of stairway up. 176 steps.














The beach. The line is the erosion line.















The marshlands.














It was so hot even the squirrels were hot.















The resident alligator.

Farewell Mr Wizard

Mr Wizard died today at the ripe age of 90. It seems odd when someone from television dies. Obviously most of us never meet the people, but those we remember from childhood seemed like they would live forever. We forget about them for many years only thinking of them during conversations about stuff you remember from childhood. But even though you forgot about them, you always feel like somehow they will continue to live in some far off land with your imaginary friend from first grade.

Perspective

I am a design engineer. I use a particular software package in my work to create and manage the designs for the products I work on. This package is extremely complex and quite expensive, and there is a worldwide community of users who use this software. I also subscribe to an email-based discussion forum for issues related to this software; mostly I use it for tips on how to do something I'm having trouble with, that sort of thing.

Once in a while the community erupts with furious nerd anger over some Controversial Crisis or another. On Crisis days, I keep getting interrupted with new emails from these people adding their input to the conversation, which becomes increasingly meaningless throughout the day as the original point someone made becomes lost under a deluge of whining and incompetent ranting. Today was one of those days.

Without embroiling you in the lurid details, it seems that the new version of the software will not be compatible with the old version of the data-management software this company also provides, and upgrading will be necessary. This kind of thing, of course, happens all the time, but this one guy was really upset about it. He wrote a passionate, lengthy email to all of us about how unfair this is and how it's really just mean of the software publisher to not think of his feelings, personally, when making this decision. He urged all the members of the community to voice their opinion on this matter, which they did, with much emotion and hyperbole, to the rest of us, all day.

This is a fairly common occurrence, but it caused me to stop and think about what kind of wreck one's life must be in to cause someone to write such a polemic about the unfair, mean practices of a large, faceless software company. I mean, this was a long email, filled with examples of how this would screw this guy over personally. I'm sure his employer would be thrilled to know how much time this dude spent crafting this epic masterwork about how the mean ol' software writers are just trying to ruin his life.

Seriously, though, I can't imagine what kind of banal existence you'd have to live to get that wrapped up in something as ultimately meaningless as this. I'm sure this upgrade business will cause some headaches for this dude, but...so what? That's just job security for you, buddy; just roll with it. (Hint: there's a reason it's called "work.")

So, take that for what it's worth. If you think your life is boring, or if it seems empty at times, at least you're not losing sleep over all the computers onto which you're going to have to install some more software next year sometime when the new version comes out.

He's Back

I hadn't heard my woodpecker banging on the house each morning so I feared he had moved on, despite the fact that woodpeckers don't migrate. I was really sad because I thought he was the most interesting of all the birds that come to my bird garden. Well today I was looking out the window to look at the rain and low and behold, there was my woodpecker. He must have just stopped pecking at our house, which I wouldn't blame him since there are no bugs in it. I kind of wish he would keep pecking at the house though because it was the only way I knew he was going to be at the feeder.

HP7

Okay, in addition to Hagrid, I think the other "major character" to die will be Ginny Weasley. That's Hagrid and Ginny. Place your bets now, ladies and gentlemen.

Motivation

We watched the movie Coach Carter tonight, which is a movie about the coach who required his team to do better than the bare academic standard. He even went so far as to lock his team out of the gym when they were not succeeding academically. It was very good.
The other day we watched Akeelah and the Bee, which was also inspiring. Both movies quoted this poem by Marianne Williamson that I thought was thought provoking:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Four Jobs Now

I went today to fill out the necessary paperwork for my fourth job of the summer, which strangely will be my first job of the summer but second job overall. Confused? I thought so. Let me explain.
I still work for Historic Columbia doing weekend tours. Friday I start at State Parks doing research for them. Monday I start at Richland County doing GIS. The end of June I finish with State Parks and start at the State Historic Preservation Office doing GIS and Section 106 compliance. So starting Friday I will have two part time jobs at a time until the end of summer during the week, and two or three days a month on the weekends at Historic Columbia.
I wonder what all the other students about to enter into the Preservation Program are doing this summer. Probably having fun.

Memorial Day BBQ

We had a bunch of our friends over for a BBQ yesterday. For a couple of years we have wanted to have a big party like this, but we didn't think it was possible to fit 15 or so people in our house . That is until we had that many family members for graduation and it was apparent that we could.
It was great fun. We had everyone bring their own meat and I made salads, dips, brownies, etc. There was tons of food to begin with, and then people brought extra as well. I don't think I have to cook again all week except for more brats and hamburgers cause they are better fresh.
We had four kids here with the parents and we were kind of worried that they were going to be bored cause they were too young to play with the Wii. The parents had brought some toys with them that they enjoyed in the yard until they found the squeaking board in the patio. Then they just played with that for awhile. I filmed them so that all of you could see what I am talking about.

Oh The Laziness

I just read a story about Las Vegas tourists. It says that they are tired of all the walking, and so have turned to renting those scooters old people ride around in to get around in and around the casinos. When Tim and I were in Vegas on vacation (the time we got married) we walked up and down the strip one day. In thirteen hours we had made it from Stratosphere to MGM and back. We had walked in the casinos, seen the attractions, seen the decorations, seen the shops, etc. We took a couple of major breaks, and our feet hurt by the end of the day, but we did it. And it was in the 100s-110s when we were there too! I can't imagine using a scooter for disabled people to get around. I wonder how long it will be before people get into accidents in those after they have been gambling and drinking?

Return of Sanity

When my research project ended at the end of April I was very relieved since I had so much still coming up with finals, presentations, guests, etc looming not to far off. I was not idle any of that time, but after graduation, I had nothing to do. Well let me rephrase that, I did not have anything outside of the house to do. I had plenty of stuff that needed to be done around the house, but there are only so many hours you can take of staring into the same four walls before you go insane. I started looking for a job right before graduation, even had some interviews, but nothing solid. I was getting rather irritated with not having a job, and so was the husband. Like I said before, I kept busy at home, but it wasn't enough. It would be different if I had a kid, because there would be someone else here, plus I would be able to go place with the kid. But that isn't an option for me just yet, so instead I sit here by myself talking to the cat and the birds in the yard slowly going insane. (I would say not really, but I think talking to animals qualifies you as insane.)
Luckily yesterday and today I got two great phone calls offering my part time jobs. One is for the State Historic Preservation Office, doing Section 106 compliance review. (Preservation stuff which simply boils down to: if federal money is being used, they have to make sure the project does not interfere or harm a historic site, structure, or archaeological site.) The other job is for Richland County GIS office. I will be helping create maps for the county, including an awesome project that will allow emergency personnel here to know the best way to get to your house when you call. So both jobs are going to help me in my future career, and I am even getting school credit for one of them which will put me a full semester ahead of schedule! Neither job starts till June, but at least I know I will soon be out of the house on a regular basis. I can continue working on house stuff until then and manage to keep my sanity. And maybe teach the birds to talk back to me.

New Sandwich Shop

We went to a new sandwich shop that opened in the shopping center by our house. The sandwiches were my size and pretty tasty. We also got a milkshake that was pretty decent as well. The best part though was the name of the store. It is called Which Wich. How can you not love a play with a name like that?

Celebrate Freedom Day

Today we went to the Celebrate Freedom Day event at Fort Jackson. Tim's company had a tent there and I made him volunteer to help answer people's questions about the guns. (Yes, they brought a few of the weapons to the event. All carefully checked, disarmed, and tied down to prevent theft.) We got there about an hour before he had to help out, so we walked around and saw a few of the other booths and watched a bit of the air show.
It was a nice free public event. What struck me and Tim was that it wasn't this propaganda machine for the war that we thought it would be since it was a military event and all. They had some of the weaponry from various time periods and some equipment like People Carriers and Aircraft, but there was no show of the force they create or the damage they can do. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan was only mentioned if they were thanking (or tell others to thank) the soldiers who are currently serving our country.
Being in the tent was pretty neat as well. Many of the military personnel came by to check out the weapons and they thanked the FN workers for the job they do, which was funny cause the FN workers were there to thank them. We had a drawing for posters and gun cases, and of course many people asked if they could have the guns instead.
We had a few kids cry because we were giving out globes attached to strings, like a yo-yo, and we ran out pretty quickly. Very sad to see kids cry like that.

Deafly 'Allows

You know what? I think Hagrid's going to be the one to die in the last Harry Potter book. Yep, Hagrid.

Graduation Weekend

The last of our guests left today so I can finally relax and reflect on this weekend. It was awesome to have everyone who could come to our house here. For four years almost, we have only had two sets of guests come. It was kind of strange to suddenly have 14 guests show up all on the same day and leave pretty close together.
On Thursday our guests trickled in as their flights arrived and they checked into their hotels. I cooked a pork tenderloin all day so that people could eat BBQ sandwiches and such as they arrived. We talked with people, and most were tired so they left early to go to bed.
Friday we took everyone in two groups through a factory tour of my husband's work. (The machine gun factory.) The first group took much longer than the second, but the hubby still finished before lunch. I made everyone chicken salad sandwiches and fruit for lunch. Then we went to my husband's graduation which took less than an hour and a half. I must say that USC knows what they are doing. (Which they should since they have been doing this for over 200 years!) To graduate over 1000 people in less than one hour and have the speech and formalities in less than 30 minutes is amazing. Then we went out to Sticky Fingers, which is a BBQ rib place here.
We had bought a Wii before everyone came out, and I am glad we were able to find one because it was a huge hit! People were playing it all day and night when they were here. In one day, despite having graduation, tours, etc, we logged over 6 hours of play. Even my mother-in-law and father played for a good long time.
Saturday, we went to my graduation. There was an amazing speaker, according to everyone else, but the sound was so bad that the graduates on the floor could not hear it. Afterwards, I took pictures with the Anthropology department and the Public History graduate students. It was neat to get congratulations from all the professors I had known through my years here. Then we went to Historic Columbia Foundation, where I work on the weekends, and ate a picnic lunch. I gave a tour of two of the houses I normally give tours on the weekends. Let me tell you that in the year I have worked there, I have never had a harder tour than my own family. Even taking 45 people through at once was easier than they were. It was still fun, but I lost my voice in the end trying to talk above all the sarcastic comments and chatter. I should have known better than to think our family would behave.
We went back to the house and spent the night playing games, chatting and playing more Wii. We made hamburgers, potato salad and cheesecakes. It was good food, but I still have leftovers despite careful planning not to make too much.
The next day some of our family members left for home in the early morning. We went with my brother-in-law and his family to the Sesquicentennial State Park, which is just down the street from our home and walked around the lake. It was a nice walk, despite the fact that my nephew was pretty tired and a tad cranky. (He's 12, go figure.) Then they left to go home.
In the afternoon my in-laws and my friend came over and we ate lunch and played more Wii. In the evening I made chicken fettuccine and a salad for Mother's Day dinner. We had given our mothers their present the day before since my mother had to leave. (I gave them a framed picture of us in our cap and gown.)
The next day we went to the State House and toured the inside and grounds. I have been around the grounds, but never inside, so it was great for me. We went to lunch at one of our favorite places downtown, The Mellow Mushroom. They serve hippie pizzas that are really delicious. We returned home so that my niece could take a nap, and then they left for the airport.
It seems oddly quite in our house now with everyone gone. It also seems strange that I don't have to go to work tomorrow (cause my project is done so other than my weekend job, I am unemployed for the moment) and I don't have to go to school. I plan on cleaning tomorrow and meeting with my professor, but other than that I don't have anything to do. I bet it will be a nice break, but after about a week I think I might go crazy.
Our cat is glad everyone is gone though. She was good for the most part, but she batted and hissed and my niece twice. She also hid in the bedroom most of the time. Now she is back to prancing around like she owns the place.
It was great fun to have everyone here and we miss everyone already. Some days it is hard to be so far away from everyone else.

The Waiting Game

Now that classes are over, I get to wait for grades. I hate this time. I wish they would tell us when grades are due. I also wish they would post them on one day, rather than have them trickle in one by one.
So far I have 2 A's, and I expect that I will have 2 more, but maybe not. I tried to get another 4.0 this semester, and it would be great if I actually accomplished that goal. It isn't the end of the world though if I don't. I just wish I knew now rather than me checking my grades a couple of times a day.

Sweet!!!

Now I can join in the celebration of being done with school. (Well for about three months at least.)

That's MASTER to you

All together now...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH

That's better! That's the sound of me finishing all the work I have to do to receive my Master's degree. Just, oh, five or so minutes ago I finished my test, scanned it in, and emailed it off to my professor. All that's left to do now is show up next week and walk.

Poor wife has to wait until lunchtime tomorrow to be done. But then she'll have her degrees and we will have a fun weekend! And my rabbit Wii game showed up today! So I think I'll go veg on the couch and play that now.