Roozer's World

Eeah! Man talk! (Besides the diet part :-)

2010-06-09T21:23:00.001-07:00

Office Stress

2010-06-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

Robotic Remains and May Day Hints

2010-04-24T15:07:00.001-07:00

This robot was cool... Notice the "was."

Having 26" bike wheels, it could cruise at an easy 13.9mph -- people can run about 10mph. So, for May Day, this would have been a great robot, but for one problem; without a ton of software, it was nearly impossible to control at high speeds. Any slight turn at speeds over 5mph would send the robot whirling -- it would either flip over a few times along the axis of the wheel axles or would end up on its side.

I decided to try out full speed. I took off up the hill in front of our house and it far out-distanced Peter in a matter of seconds. When I came back down the hill, I lost control as the robot headed straight for us. I yelled "JUMP" just in time for the robot to cream the mailbox. SNAP! That cool 1/2" aluminum rod is now in pieces. It was pretty awesome.

Notice the snapped wheel axle and bent spoke:

The 1/2" thick board didn't like the impact:

All this is to say, no robot will be visiting your house this year. I could put my old robot back together but what's the point of delivering cookies with a robot only to have it escorted back to the car by everyone in the neighborhood? :-)

Now for a hint about our house: I'm only telling you this because we caught everyone last year -- I think someone came while we were gone, but I thought Dad caught them.)

The Oggs tried to disable the motion detectors last year, but the motion detectors are "tamper proof" meaning that any tampering sets them off. Yes, this includes cutting wires. (I'd appreciate it if you didn't destroy my stuff, BTW :-)

We won't try to catch you until you ring the doorbell or attempt cheat.

Several people have tried parking in front of our front door to make the running distance as short as possible, but I believe we've caught every single person who's tried that. Go the longer routes -- the way our house is setup, it's much more difficult for us to catch you that way. (And, yes, I'm serious .)

I can guarantee you we won't be soaking anyone, so there's really no danger in being caught. We do plan to have more props in the yard this year since the robot busted, so take some time to look around. (It's a lot of stuff to set up, so hopefully SOMEONE sees it all :-)

Durango Done

2010-04-22T21:26:00.001-07:00

Here's what the hotel looked like: (View from my hotel room porch)

See? It was pretty much right next to the train:
It was a very pleasant trip -- it's fun being able to walk to dinner, walk to Cold Stone Creamery, and walk to a movie -- I saw that new Alice in Wonderland movie... Still not sure what to think of it. :-)

If all my trips were like this, I'd love to travel!

Durango Bird

2010-04-20T21:10:00.001-07:00

We drove up the road to go check out the lake the pumping plant here in Durango is creating... Well, swimming around were jet-black ducks, all sleek and shiny. Above their eyes a brilliant stripe of white seared their black bodies as light rays piercing the atmosphere in a summer sunset. Upon our arrival, these curious creatures suddenly dove. Since when to ducks dive? Since when do they completely disappear beneath the surface? Since when do they hold their breath for countless minutes? I recoiled in horror. Could these peculiar pests be plotting underwater to attack, kill, and eat humans? Could this be the beginnings of an Alfred Hitchcock movie?

(Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what these birds are?)

Durango

2010-04-19T20:43:00.000-07:00

(with the "o" this time :-)

Here's where I'm working this week:
(Those are pumps. 2 are about 1MW, 2 are 2MW, and 4 are 5MW units. A home uses an average of 1KW. The large pumps use 5,000KW.)

Durang

2010-04-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

For the first time (probably) this year, I'm on a field trip... to Durango. The hotel is definitely one of the more interesting places I've stayed. (Sorry about the horrid picture, Q :-)

Thing 2

2010-04-15T13:58:00.001-07:00

May Day Robot Might be Coming

2010-04-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

New axles, fresh off the lathe:

(If you're not impressed, this started as an aluminum rod. Notice the different diameters of the finished product? Also, notice the two different sizes of holes drilled in one end, and particularly, the square hole.)

May Day is Coming!

2010-04-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

Need I say more?

Japanese Innovation

2010-03-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Panoramic Picture:

Care in sickness:

The Japanese Egg:

HEHE!

2010-03-24T12:55:00.001-07:00

Thanks for the picture, Nathan!

This is the kind of stuff we do in my cool class:

2010-03-15T21:53:00.001-07:00

void VGA_text(int x, int y, char * text_ptr)
{
int offset;
volatile char * character_buffer = (char *) 0x09000000;

/* assume that the text string fits on one line */
offset = (y << 7) + x;
while ( *(text_ptr) )
{
*(character_buffer + offset) = *(text_ptr);
++text_ptr;
++offset;
}
}

(We're making a hardware-implemented version of "Paint" using an FPGA. (I.E. "code" that could turn your wireless router into a dedicated piece of hardware that acts like paint.)

Tired of Stupid Questions?

2010-03-08T19:09:00.001-08:00

Do people come to you to ask questions Google can answer much faster? Let this help you out!

Sample:

Q: "What was the link to Roozer's World again?"
A: http://tinyurl.com/yf4o75b

Q: "How many grams are in 13 pounds?"
A: http://tinyurl.com/yeh32uw

Q: "How many calories are in a can of Pepsi?"
A: http://tinyurl.com/ycxgeea

PURPLE?!?

2010-03-04T18:02:00.000-08:00

Some of us are going skiing tomorrow. Like many skiers, I fell in love with shaped skis. Unfortunately, I only own straight 190s, so April kindly picked some up for me from the rental shop... PURPLE?!? Too bad they don't let you choose. :-) I got 'em adjusted and am ready to hit the ice! (I hope there's no ice and I hope I don't hit it :-)

Announcement

2010-02-15T12:14:00.001-08:00

Abitail's playing Hayden with the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra this Friday at the KPOF hall at 7:30pm.

http://www.denverphilharmonic.org/

Does this explain anything?

2010-02-05T15:26:00.000-08:00

Big Bird

2010-02-05T13:50:00.001-08:00

Matilda Who Told Lies, and was Burned to Death

2010-01-31T20:55:00.000-08:00

MATILDA told such Dreadful Lies,
It made one Gasp and Stretch one's Eyes;
Her Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth,
Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth,
Attempted to Believe Matilda:
The effort very nearly killed her,
And would have done so, had not She
Discovered this Infirmity.
For once, towards the Close of Day,
Matilda, growing tired of play,
And finding she was left alone,
Went tiptoe to the Telephone
And summoned the Immediate Aid
Of London's Noble Fire-Brigade.
Within an hour the Gallant Band
Were pouring in on every hand,
From Putney, Hackney Downs, and Bow.
With Courage high and Hearts a-glow,
They galloped, roaring through the Town,
'Matilda's House is Burning Down!'
Inspired by British Cheers and Loud
Proceeding from the Frenzied Crowd,
They ran their ladders through a score
Of windows on the Ball Room Floor;
And took Peculiar Pains to Souse
The Pictures up and down the House,
Until Matilda's Aunt succeeded
In showing them they were not needed;
And even then she had to pay
To get the Men to go away!

It happened that a few Weeks later
Her Aunt was off to the Theatre
To see that Interesting Play
The Second Mrs. Tanqueray.
She had refused to take her Niece
To hear this Entertaining Piece:
A Deprivation Just and Wise
To Punish her for Telling Lies.
That Night a Fire did break out--
You should have heard Matilda Shout!
You should have heard her Scream and Bawl,
And throw the window up and call
To People passing in the Street--
(The rapidly increasing Heat
Encouraging her to obtain
Their confidence) -- but all in vain!
For every time she shouted 'Fire!'
They only answered 'Little Liar!'
And therefore when her Aunt returned,
Matilda, and the House, were Burned.

Rebecca Who Slammed Doors For Fun And Perished Miserably

2010-01-31T13:47:00.000-08:00

A trick that everyone abhors
In little girls is slamming doors.
A wealthy banker's little daughter
Who lived in Palace Green, Bayswater
(By name Rebecca Offendort),
Was given to this furious sport.

She would deliberately go
And slam the door like billy-o!
To make her Uncle Jacob start.
She was not really bad at heart,
But only rather rude and wild;
She was an aggravating child…

It happened that a marble bust
Of Abraham was standing just
Above the door this little lamb
Had carefully prepared to slam,
And down it came! It knocked her flat!
It laid her out! She looked like that.

Her funeral sermon (which was long
And followed by a sacred song)
Mentioned her virtues, it is true,
But dwelt upon her vices too,
And showed the deadful end of one
Who goes and slams the door for fun.

The children who were brought to hear
The awful tale from far and near
Were much impressed, and inly swore
They never more would slam the door,
— As often they had done before.

Thanks, Hilaire Belloc -- Poetry worth reading.

Bitterness only hurts you, nobody else.

2010-01-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

Check it in, check it out
Let me begin
Cut that old box
To me that's a sin.

If only I had a CNC milling machine at work. Dad does, I don't. Then again, I have a PCB machine. Still, I want both.

Funny how "equipment for the group" becomes known as "Ben's toys."

Do you know how many times people get shown around work and I hear, "Check this out! bla, bla, bla. OOOooh! Awwww! That's so totally awesome. Yeah, Ben gets all the cool toys."

Then again, we have the Benz -- three of us who sit in Ben Row.

Man, I've been busy recently. I still want to work retail. HUNGRY! MUST FEED!

See that? I machined that!

2010-01-21T19:46:00.001-08:00

Ok, ok, so it's really simple, but, hey... I learned how to turn something down on a lathe. Oh, that and cut.
(And, yes, they're robot parts.)

Robot Parts

2010-01-18T19:37:00.000-08:00

I'm rather pleased with the front panel Front Panel Express made for me:
Newest May Day robot is on the way!

Elitches 2009 (When we remembered to log)

2010-01-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

Happy!

2009-12-21T22:08:00.000-08:00

Remember that 8hr test I had to take a few months ago? Well, I found out today that I passed -- YAHOO!

Nobel Peace Prize

2009-12-18T15:37:00.000-08:00

Mommy's Little Helper

2009-12-08T20:40:00.000-08:00

Canada Sneezing Rules

2009-12-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Nathan, we have yet another great video!

Becky's Brilliant Breakdown

2009-11-24T21:27:00.000-08:00

I always say it's great to have friends -- at dinner a few nights ago, I whacked the back of Beck's chair at dinner the other night and she said, "Ouch." I put on my falsely-accused whiny voice and complained, "I whacked your chair, not you." She replied by saying, "Kinetic energy."

Man, is that a great way to sum it up or what? With that one phrase, Becky provided more than several paragraphs of explanation, discussing every aspect of the chair rungs striking her back, from impulse to the physical relationships between velocity and pain. Talk about brilliant! (Though, I still say my hand would have been hurt worse than her back :-)

Thanks, Beck -- I was still thinking about that as I was going to sleep last night :-)

Joke

2009-10-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hehe... Nicole and I exchanged "lame" jokes and she gave me one I haven't heard before: (I only seem to get "lame" jokes.)

There was a man from Spain.
He came to America, but didn't know any English. So he turned on the T.V...

The first thing that he heard, was a McDonald commercial, and he learned I'm lovin it. Next he turned on a silverware commercial, and learned Forks and Knives, Forks and Knives. Then he turned on a candy commercial, and learned Goody goody gumdrops, Goody goody gumdrops. Then he turned on another commercial, and learned Plug it in, plug it in.

He went out into the street, feeling very happy, and met a police man. "Hi", said the man, the police man says, " Do you know anything about the murder that has happened here?", the man says, "I'm lovin it." Then the police man said, " What did you kill him with?" The man says, "forks and knives, forks and knives,". The police man said, "You're going to jail buddy". The man says, "Goody goody gumdrops, goody goody gumdrops". The police man said, "Alright, wise man, your going to the electric chair." The man said, "Plug it in plug it in... Goodbye," and walked away.

Cats are so dramatic!

2009-10-13T19:11:00.001-07:00

Somehow, that looks too real to be Photoshoped...

2009-10-13T19:10:00.001-07:00

Peektures

2009-10-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

Store Wars

2009-10-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

(Thanks to Nathan for this one!)

Robot Tour

2009-09-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

I'm about to take apart the May Day robot and build something that's hopefully better, so my brothers made a little demo video since most of you haven't seen it:

Why is Gore Disturbing?

2009-09-08T21:28:00.001-07:00

Dunno. My brain drained about a year ago. Before I begin, though, let me warn you to take what I say with a grain of salt -- I don't have anything figured out.

I've seen a lot of gore -- real and very disturbing gore. (Thanks, safety training!) Consequently, it doesn't bother me anymore. How come?

If you see someone get a fingernail ripped out it's very disturbing, and the first reaction is imagining what it would feel like to have your own fingernail ripped out. For the next few minutes, you'll probably stand their gripping a finger in your fist in an effort to avoid the same calamity. After that, a lot of people tend to feel very badly for that person. Not me. I say, "HAHA! Too bad for you!" (Ok, not really :-)

As another example, think of a disfigured person. Your first natural reaction is to recoil -- all because they don't look like you do. Your reaction is solely based on the fact that they don't look like you; as with the fingernail, you're using yourself as the point of reference.

So, why don't gory pictures disturb me anymore? I think it's because, with practice, I can look at an injury in a somewhat non-self-referential way -- as long as I can keep from associating gore or dismemberment with my own self, it doesn't bother me. This is something people who work in the medical field have to overcome very quickly.

A good illustration is a car accident involving a serious injury. Most people either leave or stand around the victim in shock, not knowing what to do. Others get weak and faint. Those who are able to keep themselves from comparing the blood and gore with their own bodies are the ones who save lives; those who don't use themselves as the point of reference while observing the victim are the ones who have the presence of mind to make a difference.

Now for a little analogy...

Throughout our daily lives, we judge. "Oh, this is good." "This is bad." "I'm cold and that isn't good." "I'll order from this company because I liked their website."

And when it comes to people, we cannot help but judge -- this happens all the time. When you first meet someone, you immediately form an opinion about them. Using your own mind and self as the point of reference, our opinions tend to be formed by how they compare to us. Do they conform to our self-imposed moral standards? Do they dress how we dress? Do they listen to the same music we do? Do they home school? Do they go to movie theaters? Do they have sound doctrine? or, God forbid, do they drink? Too often we use these self-referential judgements to form our opinion of our fellow brothers in Christ.

Isn't this part what Christ warned about in the Sermon on the Mount? Is it so much that He's calling us to avoid the sin of judgementalism, or is the point natural-mindedness, using our own flawed judgement?

I'll steal something from Pastor Culver's notes on the subject and can be downloaded here:
"And yet, multitudes miss the crucial connection between human estrangement and the
practice of judging – a very likely outcome if this passage isn’t interpreted within the overall context. Jesus was addressing earthly-mindedness as the foundational barrier to the kingdom of heaven, and all human judgment reflects and proceeds out of this human condition. It isn’t judging as such that Jesus confronted, but neither is it merely a faultfinding, judgmental spirit. Perhaps most Christians confine Jesus’ concern in this passage to the sin of judgmentalism, and this was certainly His point of departure. But when this passage is viewed through the lens of the wider context, one discovers that Jesus was speaking ultimately to the entire psychology and operation of human judgment, positive as much as negative. He was here treating the problem of judging in the broadest sense – that is, as a natural, spontaneous, and even unconscious function of the fallen, earthly mind, rather than only in the narrow sense of a judgmental spirit. The Lord’s overarching concern was the human condition that destroys people’s capacity to judge rightly, only one expression of which is judgmentalism. ... Again, the problem isn’t human beings making judgments; this is an essential and glorious feature of bearing the divine image and likeness. Man cannot fulfill hiscreated identity without judging, the greatest proof of this being the example ofJesus Christ, the consummate Man. In every circumstance and with regard to every person, Jesus made judgments. But His judgments were distinguished bythe fact that they proceeded out of a mind in perfect harmony with His Father’s; Jesus judged all things, but always and only with “righteous judgment.”

(I was going to go into much more detail and talk for a while, but I doubt anyone will make it to here, so I'll keep it short and throw out a bunch of disconnected sentences. :-)

It is our obligation to live by the law of love. Judging our fellow Christians in natural-mindedness, and in one aspect, using ourselves as the point of reference, divides the body of Christ whereas judging with the mind of Christ builds the body.

Judging our righteousness or "right-ness with God" on our own works is the broad way -- to steal a phrase yet again, the biggest stumbling block to Christians is often their own righteousness. This is the way that leads to destruction. Judging with ourselves as the point of reference -- what a great way to keep our focus on our own works and live estranged from God and ourselves! What a great way to focus on our works -- what we do to be "right with God" and get what we want, whether it be fulfillment through estrangement, temporal wealth, happiness, or an easy life. Satan loves highly moral and religious people who live with the natural mind as he loves the Atheist -- in the end, they both live by the same mind and he's accomplished the same goal.

Natural man is incapable of rightly judging. We, as members of the body, have the mind of Christ -- we can rightly judge. How often do we live with the mind of Christ and rightly judge, though? I know I don't!

To get back to my weak analogy, those who keep from using themselves as the point of reference when seeing an injured person are the ones who save lives; those who don't live by natural mindedness but rather with the mind of Christ bear the fragrance of Christ -- fulfilled creatures living into their true identity as image sons.

It's only in Christ where we can find our true humanness. Seek fulfillment and you won't find it. Seek Christ and you'll find fulfillment. Seek happiness and you won't find it. Seek Christ and you'll find happiness. Seek peace and you won't find it. Seek Christ and you'll find peace. Christ is the answer and the point where we find our true humanness as God's image-bearers.

And if you made it through that jumbled mess and want to read more, not to mention much better writing with a much greater understanding, check this out:
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?sourceonly=true&currSection=sermonssource&keyword=sgccdenver&keywordDesc=&subsetcat=series&subsetitem=Sermon+on+the+Mount+Series

Sport a Strong Stomach?

2009-09-08T19:43:00.001-07:00

Funny Bird

2009-09-06T18:47:00.001-07:00

Post Dinner

2009-09-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

Upon arriving at our hotel after a rather hot day of work, the representative from the "local" area office and I agreed on a time at which to meet for dinner. Meeting in the hotel parking lot, we proceeded to Los Banos for a spot of dinner. (And, yes, Los Banos, in common Spanish, means, "The Bathrooms.")

It's funny how you ask and get asked the same questions when spending time with a stranger...
"So... Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Hehe... nope."
"How on earth did you get through college without getting a girlfriend?"
"I was in the engineering program."
"Oh."
"Yeah, there was only one guy in our class who had a girlfriend -- sweethearts from high school. They got married right after they graduated."
"Boy, I hope their marriage lasts -- statistically, they don't have a very good chance."

Spoken like a true engineer -- objectify, add statistics, and analyze :-)

Since then, he's been pointing out "cute girls" to me.

"Oh, the front-desk lady is kinda cute."
"She's married." (Ok, I didn't actually say that :-) "Hehehe. Um... yeah."
"Maybe there're some cute chicks at the pool."
"Hehe."

The restaurant was pretty good -- not nearly spicy enough for the area office guy. He said his quote used to be, "You can't make hot sauce hot enough" until he found Habanero oil. Costing about $40/oz and being much hotter than Cinnamon oil, the vile substance might possibly kill.

The restaurant was a "white man's Mexican restaurant." The music reminded me of something Eddie Fisher might sing -- Spanish songs written in English. The interior architecture was quite odd -- I've don't believe I've ever seen Edo Japanese architecture with Spanish archades. Large picture windows looked out into elaborate Californian gardens. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

I was parched, so I drank and drank... and drank... after about the 5th refill, I realized I wasn't going to be finishing dinner due to the large volumes of liquid sloshing around in my stomach. Shortly thereafter, I pronounced my dinner "finished" as I sadly stared at $7 of rejected hard earned per-Diem. (money provided for eating on trips) OK, so it wasn't a funeral or anything, I was just starting to feel rather gross, so I was glad to not have to think about the taste of shredded beef Chimichanga anymore. Good thing I didn't add a salad to the meal -- I would have been content with a salad and a few pitchers of Pepsi... OK, water would have been OK, but pop? Yeah, man!

Whelp, I must go perform CPR on my readers, so hang in there! (Man, do you know how much of a workout CPR is? I hate doing it on our practice dummies at work...)

One and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight and nine and ten and eleven and twelve and thirteen and fourteen and fifteen and sixteen and seventeen and eighteen and nineteen OK, CLASS, YOUR MANIKIN JUST THREW UP! *rolls manikin on side and cleans out mouth* twenty and twenty one, twenty two, twenty three, twenty four, twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven, twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty... breath, 2, 3, and another breath into the mouth of the manikin that just threw up. OK, CLASS! THE BREATH DID NOT GO IN! *fishes object out manikin's mouth* Yet another breath into the latex airway. THE BREATH WENT IN! CONTINUE CPR! one and two and three, OK, CLASS, THE CARTILAGE HOLDING THE STERNUM IN PLACE HAS BROKEN FREE AND THE STERNUM IS FLOATING AROUND. WHAT DO YOU DO? Continue CPR. and four and five and six and OK, CLASS, AN AED HAS ARRIVED. PARTNERS, ATTACH THE PADS! "ANALYZING! EVERYONE STAND CLEAR!" "SHOCK ADVISED! EVERYONE STAND CLEAR!" "DELIVERING SHOCK NOW!" The manikin is not responding. Continue CPR for another ten minutes... Yes, it can be rather entertaining as people get sick of practicing and start pleading with their manikins to hang in there and sobbing because it doesn't respond.

People seem to get the idea that CPR is some romantic thing a guy could do to save a girl's life, gaining the everlasting gratitude of said girl, but frankly, CPR is not something you'd wish on your worst enemy. I sure hope I never have to do CPR on a real person.

10 Minute Post

2009-09-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

I'll be going to dinner soon, so I figured I'd babble since there appears to be a sign of life from a viewer.

It was a nice day -- only in the low 100s with no clouds. There were lots and lots and lots of wasps and mosquitoes to complete the serene environment. It's a wonder I didn't get stung. Oh, I got eaten alive by mosquito's, but that was OK. Having overweight beaks you could feel 'em, so you could squash 'em right as they took their first sip of the red tastiness.

The wasps seemed to have found homes in the pumps. It's a little scary turning on a large pump that's 10 feet away from you, knowing full well that a whole flock of angered wasps will come charging after you to carry you away in their beaks... Yeah, I make no sense :-) Actually, they seemed to be rather confused by their home being turned into a wind tunnel, so they weren't about to eat us.

We skipped lunch today. Good thing I went to a convenience store and bought snacks last night :-)

Elitches Turns Lakeside

2009-09-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

Sounds like the headlines on National Enquire, though I'll have to admit it isn't as exciting as "Pit Bull Eats Motor Home."

Elitches is in a sad state. It appears they sold way too many season passes this year -- it's very rare to see someone enter with an actual ticket, and... well... when their rides break, they just kind of sit there... the place is starting to look like Lakeside. One difference -- at least Lakeside has a new coat of paint every once in a while. Eltiches? They didn't even bother to power wash this year. For me, Elitches peaked last year.

Now, on the other hand, I brought my brothers to Lakeside a few weeks ago and WOW! They're really been fixing up the place. Like seriously. We're not just talking about yet another coat of paint. We're talking rides being completely restored, motors being replaced, ALL the neon lights on rides they've restored replaced and working... There was something else I saw that really surprised me -- you know those three pigs on the pole at the Star Ride? There's new high-voltage direct-bury cable installed! (There are three transformers on a telephone pole next to the star ride that have some new, rather expensive power cables going to them.)

Not only that, when I brought my brothers, there were no parking places left in the main lot and people were parking all over the place behind the temporary rides... I got one of the last places in the park!

The only thing I wasn't too keen on was the fact they shimmed the Sattellite tower -- I guess they decided that even though the ride was designed to lurch around, it gave the impression that the ride was ready to break. They also replaced the air hoses -- I bounced at the resonant frequency of one of the arms and the air hose didn't burst, so I guess it's good! (It's kind of an under-damped system.)

And, lastly, the operators at Lakeside are definitely a much higher class than the guys at Elitches. I think it has something to do with actually giving the operators responsibility... Eltiches "safeness" has somewhat backfired. The operators are board out of their heads and oblivious to anything that goes on -- it took a whole two seasons for an operator to finally yell at me for crawling around on the frame of the Thunderbolt while it was in operation -- ok, ok... for using the resonant frequency of the hills to get my car to swing out past horizontal, putting sheer stress on the adjustment mechanism and high energy impulses on the shock absorbers. (BTW, if you want to be completely exhausted and battered in 2 minutes, that's the way to do it -- It's like a power workout times ten.)

Ok, ok... I'm using technical terms to make it sound like I was really putting the rides through their paces... It wasn't nearly as abusive as I make it sound.

I don't know what happened, but Lakeside is shaping up and Elitches seems to be going down the path that landed Lakeside in its pit.

Greetings from the Land of Nuts

2009-09-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

I'm back in the lovely little truck stop of Santa Nella once again -- This time, I'm by myself... It's the first work-related trip I've taken by myself outside of Colorado, so it's quite the experience. I had to rent a car for the first time in my life. Yeah, yeah... Hey, there's always a first time, right? :-) I have a Nissan Altima. It's interesting -- a car without a key... well, a mechanical key, that is. When you get in, you put your foot on the break and press the "Start" button. I'm not sure what to think about it. While it's a "cool feature," it further distances the average Joe from an understanding of mechanical systems. True, the average Joe probably couldn't care less, but still... I assume people kind of get a vague idea on how things work after years and years of using something. Guess this generation will only be stimulated by Dopamine.

Time for a short break!

I flew into Fresno, CA this morning/afternoon. The plane was so small I couldn't stand straight in the middle isle without bashing my noggin to shreds -- probably the smallest plane I've been on. (I haven't flown much, as I'm sure you can tell.) Man, I'm really starting to hibernate on planes. I slept next to a mom and her two squirrels, and it didn't bug me in the least -- I slept right through it. As a side note, I'm really not impressed with the new "correct" methods for disciplining your kids. Somehow, asking your two-year-old to sit in their seat for takeoff and reasoning with them while they're in the throws of a temper tantrum just doesn't seem to work. :-) Thank you, child psychology! (BTW, if you ever get the chance, take a psychology class -- it's very interesting and reveals the logical progression that leads to things like today's child-raising tactics. Yes, it's very logical, but it's based on a set of logical fallacies...)

Anyway, I don't know what I'm going to do till bed. I've been studying, but I'm tired of that. I already ate dinner at Carl's Jr... Maybe I'll... OOOH! I'll start rewriting the bridge contest software. Time to learn SQL Server... Huh, I bet I don't have it installed. Well, anyway... LOL! The outlet on the lamp on the desk for a laptop in the hotel room is labeled, "120V, 60Hz, 11Amps Max, Combined." Who on earth is going to sit here and calculate the current draw of their device before plugging it in? And 60Hz? I'd hope so! It ain't the U.K.!

1948 in present form -- one of the most disturbing videos I've seen

2009-08-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so she did a really good job, but I can't watch more than 15 seconds without feeling like saying, "GET AWAY FROM ME!" I think I almost prefer the version I've heard about 15 times at Elitches -- Love's gunna get you down.

I ran across this video while looking for the disturbing song on Dell's automated phone welcome. Oh, yeah... Not only was I greeted by a disturbing rendition of the Chordettes' classic, I was faced with the rather embarrassing task of using Dell's voice-only automated phone menu. I was starting to hear snickers from the cubes next to mine when I was saying things like "something else" and "none of those" over and over. Man. I hate Dell. No offence if you're a pro-Dell, but in my experience at work, "Dells" are overpriced pieces of junk. Maybe it's just the government contract we have, but they cost way more than they should and drop like flies in our office.

CRAZED ENIGMA!

2009-08-28T21:04:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I'm not doing things like Abb, practicing my Spanish on people in the E.R. I work in, but I am going on my first two work trips by myself...

Next week, I go to Santa Nella, CA! YAHOO! Maybe I can even visit Anderson's Split Pea Soup again... That land-o-bland restaurant makes you keep coming back, begging for more blandness :-)

A week or two after that, I get to go to Glen Canyon dam to do my first solo battery test. I hope that goes well because a battery test has the potential to trip the entire plant offline -- one of your worst nightmares.

A week or two after that, I'm going to Elephant Butte, NM to do some relay testing -- I've never done one of those before, so we'll see what it's like.

Sparkys show signs of insanity

2009-08-28T07:50:00.000-07:00

(Click to enlarge)

Happy Birthday, Lollipop!

2009-08-27T18:47:00.001-07:00

Yeeeeikes! Try calling this toll-free number:

1-800-545-3821

I thought to myself, "Oh, no!" when I called this number at work today... I didn't think I'd dialed the right place :-)

For those of you who are too scared to use the phone (aka me a couple years ago), you can hear the scary maddness here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbw-wyrZ2GE

Huh...

2009-08-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

I got this from some people who "took me in" at the church I attended while staying in Las Vegas:

Let me get this straight ---

Obama's Health Care Plan will be written by a committee whose head says he doesn't understand it, passed by a congress that hasn't read it (and whose members will be exempt from it), signed by a president who smokes, funded by a treasury chief who did not pay his taxes, overseen by a surgeon general who is obese and financed by a country that is broke.

What could possibly go wrong?

Yeah, robot!

2009-08-18T22:15:00.001-07:00

The robot I used for May Day contains most of the parts needed to make one of these:

Fifty Years of Math 1959-2009 (in the USA )

2009-08-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a joke I got in my email:

Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters , but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried.

1. Teaching Math In 1950s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit ?

2. Teaching Math In 1960s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

3. Teaching Math In 1970s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?

4. Teaching Math In 1980s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

5. Teaching Math In 1990s
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it's ok.)

6. Teaching Math In 2009
Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?

YEAH!

2009-08-16T20:12:00.000-07:00

Interesting....

2009-08-07T13:34:00.001-07:00

I made an interesting discovery the other day... Guinea pigs aren't miniature pigs that run around in a cage... They look like ugly rabbits.

Kid Calamity

2009-08-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

(In case you haven't figured it out yet, I've always admired alliteration.)

There was this one time in Sunday school... Poor teacher. 3rd grade all-boy class? Yikes! Us, being boys and all, we goofed around a lot. Whether we were "sitting" upside-down in our chairs, pulling chairs out from under other people, or devising an even more cleaver and imaginative way to be wild, we had a ball. There were no girls present to impress and despise, no inferior beings to which to flaunt an incredible show of superiority while those of the inferior race looked on in disgust. There were no distractions to prevent us from focusing our full and utmost attention on the task at hand -- being wild. There was this one time a guy PERFECTLY pulled a chair out from under me while I was sitting down. SPLAT! It was a perfect riot! Anyway, the teacher arranged the chairs in a semi-circle around him while he taught. When someone stuck out of the mayhem as being excessively bad, our teacher would scoot the bad boy's chair back 5ft or so, and thus the criminal, the committee misdemeanors, was excluded from the circle of wild savages, all the while, being showered with gestures of shame and mortified that he, a perfect angle, was accused of committing a crime, so heinous in magnitude, as to demanded such an act of retribution.

I usually wasn't bad... well, comparatively, that is. This one time, though, I was rather wild and got scooted back. To make it worse, I said, "Thanks for the ride!" When the roar of laughter subsided, the teacher responded with the imperative command that filled every heart with dread, "See me after class." Needless to say by the end of class, I wished I hadn't been bad that week.

Yeah!

2009-08-04T19:12:00.000-07:00

Now... Tell me what it is and who makes the "technology" it uses and I'll be impressed. (I do know the answer, so leave a comment if you figure it out.)

Recollections

2009-08-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

Dontcha just hate those childhood memories that still make you go, "erk"?

Yeah, well, there was this one time at church I went to the bathroom in a less-used, smaller bathroom. When I walked in, I saw that the stall door was closed, and this surprised me. I was sure there couldn't possibly be someone there, but I wasn't sure... so, against my better judgment, I looked under the partition. My gaze was met by a pair eyes staring right back at me... not only that, it was an adult I knew fairly well but was rather scared of. Needless to say, I high-tailed it out of there and was in morbid fear for years to come that the man on the toilet recognized me.

Saturday Madness

2009-08-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

I went to a review class today... It was weird visiting ol' school for the first time in over a year. Quite depressing, actually. It brought back many recollections from my life a year or so ago. Anyway, I went to the first of many "review classes" today as I'm studying to take a dumb test that means absolutely nothing. At least a degree sorta means something. Becoming a "professional engineer" only means you studied for and took a test -- anyone could do that. Of course, the "professional" engineer's board tries to make it sound all heady and wonderful and this and that, but to me it only means the possibility of a higher pay ceiling. Ok, so it's worth something. Anyway, today, we reviewed Math... from 8am to 5:30pm. We started with the equation for a line, covered college algebra, trigonometry, Calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations... for a long, long, long time. I was rather dead by the time I crawled home to scratch outside the door. :-)

Ok, actually, it was pretty good. The teacher did an amazing job. I don't have a clue how you'd keep people actively engaged in math, of all subjects, for an entire work day, but she did it. Quite amazing. With someone like that, I might actually half-way enjoy math. (I despise math... and just because "I'm an engineer" doesn't mean I'm good at math. All it means is I'm a nerd.)

It be Buildin'

2009-07-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

See the picture?I was there when the arch was at the half-way point!
(And for you facebook person, you have to go to roozersworld.blogspot.com to see videos or pictures.)

Reno, NV

2009-07-27T13:44:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it wasn't the gambling capitol of the U.S., but it was definitely a mini-Vegas. Oh, how I've missed the colorful lights, the noisy environment, and half-drunk people! Yes, my week-long stay in the nicest casino in Reno was a much anticipated party. And, yes, I'm being sarcastic. :-)

I wasn't sure what to expect. All I knew was I was going to the O&M conference and giving a short presentation. The Operations and Management conference is held something like every 18 months and is hosted by either the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or the Bureau of Reclamation. People from both sides give presentations, I believe, in an effort to share hydropower knowledge between agencies.

[Mark, my brother, just came in to show me what was in the "rancid tea." I take it he didn't approve of "Apple-Cinnamon" :-)]

I decided to take the 6:20pm non-stop flight to Reno last Monday. That was a mistake. "Travel days" are usually fun because you get paid to fly or drive somewhere, but getting into the office at 6:40am made for a very long day. :-)

I was curious as to how the hotel would work out. The "Silver Legacy," to me, almost sounded like the "Bugs Bunny Hotel" on Colfax. After talking to some people on the plane, though, I figured it must be pretty nice as they all pretty much said the Silver Legacy was the nicest casino in Reno. I arrived around 9pm, Denver time, and checked in. It was really quite a nice place. After lugging my over-sized suit case to the 24th floor, I decided I must find some dinner. I wasn't in the mood for feeling dork-like and eating at a sit-down restaurant all by myself, so I took a tour of the three major casinos. Even though they're on separate city blocks, they're all connected indoors. After being lost for about an hour and finding one of my co-workers almost to the "I WUV YOU MAN" stage, I finally found that the food court was closed and the only place to eat was a Deli/Bakery. Discovering they had pizza, I decided I must partake of the scrumptious circular perfection, so I ordered two slices... One of those "by the slice" places. Inwardly groaning about spending $9.50 for two measly pieces of pizza and a Pepsi, I paid the cashier and went to go get the... hehe... pizza. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the two slices amounted to much more than I could eat... and not only that, it was good stuff! Not the rip-off variety Elitches would give you, charging you $10 for an extraordinarily low-quality "personal pizza," fresh from the freezer.

About that time, I realized I was quite desirous of sleep, so I headed out of the restaurant and had the familiar sound of slot machines meet my ears in an effort to lure me to the comfy seats, colorful displays, and free drinks. With a zombie-like saunter, I resisted the temptation with little hesitation and headed back up to my room and soon found myself waking to the sound of the alarm clock.

I headed over to the "ballroom" where our breakfast resided, and thus began may days of sitting... and sitting... and sitting... and doodling... and writing a requisition on my cool laptop with a solid-state hard drive... and sitting... It was like sitting through a Gothard seminar, only it went for 8hrs/day for three solid days! My presentation to about 150 high-ranking officials eventually got over, so that made me happy :-) er... yeah... whatever...

Now for the night-life!

The conference got over at about 5:15pm every day which left enough time for a great meal and... then... GAMBLING! I went to my room the first night in hopes of some free Internet... Yeah, right. "Wireless Internet" doesn't mean "Free" in a casino. I was pleased to find that you don't have to put quarters in the shower to get hot water, though. I wasn't willing to pay $50/week for the "basic service," so I decided to take a hike around the city. Downtown Reno is kind of shady. Within walking distance, it was all Colfax. Later, I ran into a group from my office who'd just come back from looking for a movie theater to no avail. They commented, "Hey, you know that guy who sits out there begging in the wheelchair out there? Well, he was up walking around." I saw him at the slots later that night :-)

After that, I decided that I'd be hanging around with my co-workers. Why, even the TV... Well... Let's see... There was the channel showing all the features of the casino, there was the Keno channel so you could gamble from your bed, the "How to play Keno" channel, the "How to play Blackjack" channel, the "How to play..." Ok, I think you get the idea.

Did I ever tell you how much I much I want to own a casino? :-)

The next night, there was no way I was going to go to bed early after sitting through hours of presentations, so I decided to watch my co-workers loose money. It's amazing what gambling does to people. People who'd have a hard time putting up $100 for a show in Vegas don't mind putting a couple hundred down for the gambling tables. Oh, and did you know that blowing on dice makes them magically know and conform to your wishes? I was amazed how superstitious some people can get when it comes to putting their money on the line...

If only I'd been there when they were base-jumping off the top of the Silver Legacy...

Here's kind of what it looks like inside:(hard to see and everything, but there's lots of lights and I like lights... but I still didn't enjoy it much.)

I think it was a good experience for me... what little interest I had in gambling is now completely gone. Do you have any clue how long it takes to finally dispose of $5 in a penny slot machine? Do you know how many $20 bills get sent down the slot at the Craps table or how many decks of cards get shuffled to use up $20 at the Blackjack tables?

Of course, most everyone from my office were engineers and approached gambling using the tools of statistics and mathematics to predict the future. And, true, for the most part, they came out ahead, a lot of them doubling their money... but in order to really do that effectively, you need to really understand the game, calculate odds before playing, and be able to make lightning calculations in your head. (By the way, if you want to get really good at addition, become a Blackjack dealer :-)

Oh, by the way, if someone offers you a little glass of ice-water with a lime in it and two little straws, don't drink it unless you mean to... It's not ice-water :-) Do you know how incredibly boring it is sitting around watching semi-loopy people with slurred speech gamble for hour after hour? WAY more exciting than going to bed!I was ready for the end of the week after the first night... Though I did like the 24-hour ice cream parlor... YEAH! ICE CREAM!

The meals? THEY WERE AWESOME! Casinos have great food! Where else can you get a 1/2lb burger for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Where else can you satisfy your ice cream cravings at any time of day? Oh, and, man... I had some GOOD root-beer at one of the restaurants.

A full day for Ben

2009-07-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

It all started when I went Paragliding: (Picture comments tell the story.)

Paragliding

When I got back home and related my tales over and over, I called Steve up to see about a 4-wheeling trip.

He agreed we should go, so he came and picked me up to head into the hills. After grabbing lunch at Good Times (I got a #6), we drove to Idaho Springs to check out the trail off the end of Soda Creek Road. At first, Barbour Forks Trail looked just like any easy off-road trail, but I soon came to realize that I was glad I wasn't driving. We drove for quite some time through all sorts of scenic surroundings. We got fairly close to the top but decided we should probably head back considering the fact we were down to a 1/4 tank of gas. Just as we turned around, an "equipment failure" caused the engine to come to a halt. Ok, ok... turns out the gas gauge now reads 1/4 tank when it's empty :-) Bone dry, man. BONE DRY!

Just to make things more fun, memorable, and exciting, I pulled out my GPS to find we were about 12 miles from the nearest gas station, 10 of which were probably in national forest. About then, my GPS battery died as I'd left it on most of the day without charging it. No gas, not GPS, no cell phone reception, but I can almost guarantee you there was bound to be a Country radio station!

So, we started to walk... At the first high-point we came to, I checked my cell phone and found I had enough signal strength to make a few calls. After explaining our predicament, a friend of Steve's decided to bring us gas after work. It was about 3pm and he didn't get off till 5pm, so we started walking to the bottom.

Upon arriving at the first fork in the road, we exercised our sleuthing skills to determine which way was right to take. After studying tire tracks, bent blades of grass, and dropped wallets, we discovered a spider web stretched across the trail that led us to believe we needed to go the wrong way.

We walked... and walked... and walked... A lot of it was steeper downhill with loose rocks everywhere, so we got our exercise. Fortunately, all the trails merge at the trail head, so we didn't get lost.

As we approached the trail head, we came across a man and his wife who offered us a lift down the mountain. We said, "thanks but we have time to kill." After another ten minutes or so of walking, we began to think we'd taken them up on their generous offer. About that time, they came back and again offered us a ride, stating they hadn't come prepared for such a difficult trail. We piled in the back and headed off to town. The only payment they'd accept is, "do it for someone else sometime."

We walked to Safeway and bought one gallon of water, a two-liter bottle of Tonic water (must try to see if it's as nasty as club soda!), and a two-liter bottle of flavored sparkling water, containing no sugar of any kind.

We went out to pass the time and flopped over on the sidewalk in front of the store. I suspect we were quite the sight, sprawled out all over the sidewalk, drinking water out of gallon and 2-liter bottles. Steve decided his tonic water tasted like chewing on lemon peels, so he didn't like it too much. Me? My "flavored" sparking water without sugar tasted like it. I honestly don't know why people like sugarless drinks. If it's supposed to have flavor, make it taste and taste good! Tea was just an early failure at making pop!

About the time we were getting rehydrated, a bum came ambling over to us and asked, "Can I join you boys?" He settled down with us, offered us a puff on his cigarette, and then talked to us for quite a while. Interesting life story.

A little while later, a bum in training (BIT -- probably an 18-year-old bum) came by on a bicycle and asked if we'd seen Silas. The bum said, "Ah, leave the bike with me. I'll get it back to him." The bright, young bum then settled down next to us. Soon after, the "good time in my pocket" started getting passed around (Vodka), so with hardy "goodbye"s and "stay out of trouble"s, we left.

While walking to McDonald's, Steve's friend and his wife pulled up in their pickup, and we piled in the back. Like usual, I needed a bathroom break having mostly finished a 2-liter bottle of water. So, we stopped at Micky D. Feeling much relieved, I clamored back into the bed of the pickup and we drove to the trail head.

MAN! 4-wheeling just got WAY better. There's NOTHING like sitting in the bed of a pickup going over a rough 4-wheeling trail. I soon discovered that sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed without holding on is INCREDIBLY fun. Besides the occasional branch whacking you in the back of the head, it was most enjoyable. I felt like I was on one of those robotic bull thingys people try not to get bucked off of. I had bought a bag of Chili-cheese Fritos at Safeway, and Steve and I were successful in consuming them and our water while getting tossed around in box that closely resembled a simulator.

For once, I wasn't the one having to go to the bathroom all the time. I think we took four pit-stops, total, and I didn't really have to go at any of them. SWEET! (Then again, I didn't drink the gallon of water :-)

Once we arrived at the truck, we filled 'er up, and drove back home.

A blast was had by one and all and I'd do it again without blinking... er... batting an eye? WHACK! WHATEVER! I'd love to do it again.

Needless to say, I had a hard time remembering the morning by the time I went to bed :-)

I think I need to go to Elitches now for the 15th time this season (Down to almost $3/visit!) to work the lactic acid crystals out of my mussel tissue :-) Man, I wish I had kept track of my trips last year -- I went there a whole lot more last year.

Rain Shower

2009-07-16T19:28:00.001-07:00

This has got to be one of the not dumber things I've seen recently:

Video Variety

2009-07-16T18:16:00.001-07:00

Hey, all!

My brothers decided to make a short video an afternoon before Timberdoodle's "video advertisement contest" deadline... The videos are selected by number of votes, so whoever has the most friends/relatives wins

SO! If you wish, go to http://www.timberdoodlecompany.com/doodleblog/2009/07/15/video-entry-26-travers-family/ and leave a comment. That's all you have to do to vote.

Thanks, guys!

Benzo

P.S. I'm going paragliding tomorrow so this could be my last post.

SIP

2009-07-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

We gather here today to mourn the sleep of http://boringblogobeth.blogspot.com/.
Although we are all shocked at its sudden unconsciousness, we will remember the happy times we had with it before it passed.And even while we wonder how many posts total it had and question why so few posts were added so soon before its abrupt slumber, we will be content knowing that it is now at peace with the pillow.

Sleep in peace, http://boringblogobeth.blogspot.com/. May you awake soon.

p=360.778*T^(-1.003)

2009-07-11T22:10:00.000-07:00

Basically, hot air balloons are impractical because F=g(p2-p1)V.

Just to verify, I almost melted a trash bag with hot air and it wouldn't float. That lazy air wouldn't even hold the silly bag up! That lazy air! BAD air! BAD air!

Yet another dumb may day plan RUINED!

Here's a hint: Next May Day, I probably won't be flying the cookies to your house with a remote-controlled hot air balloon.

Hey, at least I'm finally doing a little math before I build stuff that doesn't work!

Well... I finally did it!

2009-07-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

No, I haven't gone paragliding yet, but I paid for a tandem flight... Looks like it will either be the 17th or the 31st.

Seen before

2009-07-10T17:11:00.001-07:00

Bombastics Boredom

2009-07-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

We have misters installed in our porch to make it more pleasant when we eat out there in the middle of the summer.

The problem is, in order to have an even coverage of mist, you need a lot of misters... which we have... but that means everything gets soaked in no time at all. After eating dinner a few nights ago in puddles of water, I decided we needed an automatic valve that turns the misters on for, say, 15 seconds and then turns them off for 30 seconds.

Since I didn't really have anything to do today, I decided to give it a go.

Here's a standard sprinkler valve that controls the misters:

...And here's the box that controls the valve:(I know, crooked labels... Man, Ben, you'd think you could get something right.)

Originally, I was going to make it smart enough to automatically vary the on/off time based on temperature, air movement, and humidity, but that was going to cost about $100, so I went with some dumb analog electronics. I haven't touched true analog for years, so it was... different. I love microcontrollers so much more. True I don't have a cool wireless remote with an LCD display, but it's functional and... well... it costs like $5 in parts :-)

Q: Why did the transformer hum?

2009-07-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

A: Because it didn't know the words.

Haha... Yeah, I know... Lame.

I went to Flatiron yesterday and today to observe a core test. Basically, here's the deal... You remember how a simple motor works? You have a doughnut-shaped magnet and an electromagnet on a shaft goes in the doughnut hole? Yeah...

Anyway, if you look at the picture above, they pulled the generator apart because they were going to replace the "stator" in the diagram above. (So, the turbine, generator shaft, and rotor are missing in this generator right now.)

Here's a close-up of a stator:

Right now, there "Stator Coils" are removed so all that's left is the "Stator Core." Before they put the new stator coils in, they test the stator core to ensure the iron is "good," and that the stator core was assembled correctly. Here's a picture I found on the Internet from when they did a core test at Parker Dam:
Anyway, to test these things, they wrap some wire around it and run tons of juice through it, creating a HUGE electromagnet. The test we did today was powered by a semi-trailer-mounted generator... (The oil filters were about 1ft tall :-) During the test, we used our $30,000 camera to look at the stator to make sure it was ok.

It's really weird to stand in the middle of a coil like that... You're exposed to almost all the energy from a large diesel generator and yet it doesn't affect you. If you were to be exposed to it electrically, you'd be fried before you could say, "Agh!" Magnetic fields... weird. I heard you can't bring a mechanical watch in because it ruins them.

We ate lunch at the only local restaurant... I'm sick of eating lunch in old, beat-up bars. They're always run down, dirty-looking, dark, and weird, but they usually have good hamburgers... Whatever! I did pass up my chance to eat Rocky Mountain Oysters... The people I was with tried to get me to order them, but fortunately, someone else from our group told me what they were, so I didn't. I probably would have thrown up when I heard what they were :-)

Some of my Relatives

2009-07-05T20:18:00.001-07:00

Music Mayhem

2009-07-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

In case any of you are interested in what's going on right now... uh... I pretty much go to work, come home, and go to church.

Let's see here...
My computer is basically dead and probably will be for another six weeks. So if any of you wrote me email in the last few weeks, don't be offended if I didn't respond because I haven't had my computer much...

Uh, I had to do a safety lecture at work a couple weeks ago. Safety meetings are usually pretty dull, so I tried to add some humor. In one of my examples, I stated that a coffin was not a confined space because it is designed for continuous occupancy. (I know, sick. :-)

I found out that Abb played for the World Forum.

Last week, I decided work wasn't for me so I quit my job and am now living off of government subsidies... or that was how I felt after I was informed early Monday morning that I am flying out Reno to help give a presentation at a multi-agency convention on a topic I know very little about.

It was 68 degrees at our house last night on the 4th of July.

OH! My dreams have gotten very, very interesting in the past month or so. Guess my brain is trying to cope and has come up with some rather colour... oops. The circuit board making software at work is British... colorful dreams. For a few weeks, I was apparently chewing people out in my sleep. After that, I started chewing equipment out... Loud enough that I woke people up. One night, I had stuff messed up all over my room... Things from my desk were scattered on the floor, my sheets were all over the place, and all my lights were on :-) Things have settled down, though, and I'm just dreaming "normal" things like having to write a requisition at work to buy a flamingo because it wouldn't fit on my credit card limit, finding it's very easy to buy penguins, having computer games come alive, etc. I've basically been dreaming things every night, and they're rather amusing. I can't remember what I dreamed last night, but judging from the fact I was in a rather foul mood when I woke up, I'm guessing I was chewing something out :-) This is kinda cool, but I'm starting to get tired of my mood being a toy of my imagination, so I guess I'll go get it fixed... Plus, it would be nice to sleep soundly again :-)

Oh... I sorta cleaned out some of my drawers, but I guess I already said that...

We had a big family get-together yesterday. I'll have to post a picture of us all... MWAAAA, HAAAA, HAAA!

Electronics Humor

2009-07-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

Dimension Engineering AnyVolt 3 Disclamer

What?
It's easy to tell what you're thinking. "I came to this page expecting to find a series of conditions about what the AnyVolt 3 can't or shouldn't do." Well, it's a fair expectation, but we found it to be too negative. You don't need to be told that AnyVolt3 can't stop a speeding train, leap buildings in a single bound or travel in time by quickly running backwards across the globe - you know that already!

So what is this?
Well, this page is dedicated to something the AnyVolt 3 can do, which is fend off the nefarious clam menace.

Clams?
Yes, clams! Everyone worries about zombies or robots or nuclear missiles or what-have-you causing the apocalypse, all the while disregarding the silent, subtle, unassuming menace that is clam society at large. I know, I know; "clams aren't very mobile," "they're not very smart," "they're tasty," etc etc. This is exactly what they want you to think! When the clams rise up and overthrow us, it will be so unexpected that no one will be able to organize a proper defense! Except you.

This is ridiculous. I'm leaving.
Wait! You don't want to hear about how the secret weakness of the rebellious clams is an electric current at a very specific voltage that depends on the type of clam, and that when their uprising happens the best portable defense will be a car battery and an AnyVolt3?

No, not even a little.
Well, you might want to know that during that clamtastrophe, a properly calibrated AnyVolt3 would be good for running your cell phone, your lights or your electric chainsaw from that same battery. As long as you have a way to set the voltage, enough juice in the battery and the reasonable confidence that you aren't exceeding the unit's current ratings, you can survive!

For more information on the applications of AnyVolt3, especially as pertaining to post-apocalyptic wastelands, please visit our product page for it!

Seems weird...

2009-06-30T20:13:00.001-07:00

...but these are the types of games we all used to spend time playing:

Now to play well, you have to take lessons and practice, practice, practice... My friend's friend made a killing teaching people how to play Halo. (If there's any offending language, I apologize... I didn't take the time to watch the whole thing because I figured none of you would... but now that I said that, you all will, right? MEH!)

SEE?

2009-06-30T19:47:00.000-07:00

H2+O and/or O3 is between the LEL and the UEL!

Guess what?

2009-06-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

The LEL of H2 is 4%.
The UEL of H2 is 75%.

May Day is coming.

Funday Munday

2009-06-29T19:39:00.001-07:00

Monday Funday

2009-06-29T16:40:00.001-07:00

After Mom made a comment, "If the King James Version was good enough for the apostle Paul, it's good enough for me!", a picture started floating around:
Accidentally leaving her ‘King Jimmy’ at home as a consequence of a bizarre and unexpected confluence of circumstances, a young Susan Travers finds herself visiting a prototype mega church and succumbs to the money-changing temptations of a Contemporary-English Bible dispensing machine in the lobby.

And, of course this one's been around for a while, but it still cracks me up:

And... well...

How you know you're shopping in Texas

2009-06-25T20:52:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Obama, this is pretty much true anywhere now :-) He's got to be the best gun/ammo salesman ever!

New Approach!

2009-06-24T17:52:00.000-07:00

I've come up with a new method for organizing my socks.

Ok, ok... It's not quite that boring...

I have these three drawers under my desk that contain a myriad of pencils, pens, paper, junk, stuffed animals, etc. (The stuffed animals aren't my fault.)

I finally realized what I need to do is go through them and remove everything but what I actually use... meaning that my top drawer will have two pens, one mechanical pencil, a couple permanent markers, a stapler, scissors, and a paper cutter.

Wow! What a novel idea. Put everything I don't actually need or use in a box... I'll deal with the box later. I figure if I clean one small item out a month, I'll... er... run out of things to do in a few years.

I sound pretty bored? Well... er... I rarley get any email at home, there's very little blog activity, I have to go downstairs to check my email since my computer fried, etc. I never realized how much time I wasted with the ol' computer. Now I can waste time wandering around the house and bugging people instead!

Oh, I brought my brothers 4-wheeling, Monday. The soundtrack was rather funny.

WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP!

2009-06-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

I had to work Friday this week. *gasp*

I learned that hepatitis C is at an all time high because people aren't washing their hands after using public restrooms. Oh, I also learned not to hold a nitroglycerin pill in your hand or you'll get a horrid headache.

You see, I have to get CPR training every year and the training rolled around on Friday. I'm now CPR/AED/First Aid certified by the American Red Cross... for another year :-)

Ho, ho... What's funny is they haven't changed the test. I STILL didn't get 100%. You'd think after three times of missing "Heat related Emergency" because I read it as "Heart related Emergency," I'd remember? Nah!

Anyway, I decided to take Monday off instead. I've gotten kind of burnt out these last two weeks of work, so I'm going to take a break. I've been researching equipment, writing requisitions, writing a report, and making circuit boards, so work has been kind of tedious. I do get to head down to Elephant Butte sometime in the next few weeks, so that ought to be nice besides the fact that I'll be in charge... My first field trip where I'm the guy in charge... means I get to write the travel report :-) Hopefully I don't mess anything up.

Creepy Crawly Things

2009-06-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

Google had a bug, so my pictures are gone... You can view them here, though:

Roozer's World

Trip

2009-06-18T19:56:00.001-07:00

Here's the pictures from the trip I went on today. We visited a comm site on top of a mountain near Green Mountain Reservoir. (Take I-70 to Highway 9 (Dillon area), drive to a dirt country road, drive up that for 45 minutes and arrive at destination at top of mountain.)

They're using a fuel cell for backup power, so we had to go test it to make sure it worked.

Here's the site:
Here's the view:
That white cabinet is the fuel cell enclosure. It contains 6 welding bottles of hydrogen and the fuel cell:
Here's the actual fuel cell unit:

Why do I still have a blog?

2009-06-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

Must be an addiction or an escape. I'm not sure which.

"The sea is green, just like a river," replied Bleck as he selected a card from his hand and flung it carelessly on the smooth surface of Capter's hood. Capter readjusted his boot on the chrome bumper and shifted his weight towards the card. "I might be a-likin' your shiny cards, but they shure don't play raght with the sunlaght," Capter observed as he flung his hand on the hood. "That's two for me and none for you," commented Bleck, collecting the cards from the hood.

Californee

2009-06-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

Bad cell phone picture from my last trip out to Californee!

Pump:

Pumps:

Nothing... nowhere... all alone...

No disturbing images, I'm sorry

2009-06-15T18:52:00.001-07:00

Then again, I guess that's debatable :-)

I finally got around to posting my lovely cell phone picture from the battery testing a couple weeks ago... You know, when I fell in love with whatever that city is called up there in the mountains... close to Grand Junction? (Does that show you the depth of my attachment or what? )

Anyway, battery testing can get pretty boring. Basically what we're trying to do is run a power plant backup battery down to make sure it lasts as long as it's supposed to. So, we do a bunch of preliminary tests on the battery to make sure it's "healthy," hook up or test equipment, and run the battery down for a long... long... time. By the end of a week of testing, I was about ready to go insane.

Midweek, the water bottle got the sack:

Fortunately, I had a backup and jerky to gnaw on:

This is a view I've seen way too often:

Ok, so battery testing isn't as bad as all of that :-) I did get to see a cool power plant! To get to it, you had to go down this tunnel:

And through this door:

All this to enter an underground power plant with Lakeside tile!

It even had rock walls!

Then it was time for Crystal dam. Well, as it turns out, the Hamvas's were on a family vacation and actually visited this dam... er... stood outside the gate at the same time that I was completely bored, staring at the wall of a battery room. Alas, I didn't know they were there or I would have given them a tour! Not only could they have seen inside a fairly interesting dam/power plant, they could have seen the "miracle cleaner" those guys try to sell door-to-door. Turns out it's some kind of cleaner for poultry farms :-) (Well, I don't know if it's really the stuff or not, but it sure looks the same in more ways than one!)

And best of all, the Hamvas family could have seen a green stool made out of plywood! (I take it this was from the days when you had to write a requisition to buy anything!)

The car was clean at the beginning of our trip...

Although the tests were short, I didn't really enjoy visiting the Malinas... Little generators out in metal sheds are noisy. Plus, those birds that build their nests in the eves of roofs were everywhere:

Oh, I guess deer have started grazing in the neighborhood:

Cough Cough

2009-06-12T22:56:00.000-07:00

After the last post, I may not have any readers left. But for you few who are still there, I was looking at some equipment for work. The manufacturer's website had a section on why to buy from this Japanese company:

The main factor is Craftsman spirit, derives from Japanese mind, developed in a long history. Examine Japanese History distributed mainly two periods.
One is Japanese Spirit which has been refined under the one government (Government of Edo) for 260 years from about 400 years ago.This government was long run of unequaled anywhere in the world. In this period, many institutions (Small private schools) were founded by the sophisticates and they educated the children. We say by now, they became the base of the School. These institutions educated Public habit, Moderation, Diligence, Obligation(Justice) & Sentiment (Human feeling) and Pursuit of the beauty for a long time on the straight.It becomes sublimate as steady Japanese Spirit. Seven mini
However, outside of Japan as closed society, Science and Technology in the world advanced explosively through the Industrial Revolution. Japan lagged behind other county for this aspect.
FP-21T Second is the road how to get over this delay. Japan was requested by another country who has leaded Technology to open the closed society.Japan opened a country in 1868. The culture from overseas has entered to Japan at a stretch. Many society usually became a colony of the another country. But Japan has received the own way based by his intelligence developed in the previous generation: Japanese has not answered the culture in the negative, and received it. Japanese has level upped it with the mind to learn thoroughly.It goes without saying, we have the spirit refined in the previous generation on the base. Japanese could do such thing.

Safety Notification

2009-06-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

The next time you're on top of an electric train, don't touch the overhead wires :-)

Redneck Firealarm

2009-06-10T21:57:00.001-07:00

Nachos

2009-06-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

Yeah... I'm enjoying a plate of nachos right now.

I feel like I've been living in a secluded world, cut off from all realms of communication as one who had been caged by Arimus, so I'm going to talk. (Up with drama!)

Yadda, yadda. Yadda, yadda. Yadda, yadda? Oh, ho, ho, ho, YADDA! YADDA! There... I told you a joke in Yiddish :-) (You're supposed to laugh here.)

Anyway, as I was getting my nachos tonight, I remembered what I used to do when I was little... Being little is a time of learning. For me, it mainly consisted of trying to find new ways to get away with things. Sometimes, I'd chew on my pillow in an attempt to get it as wet as possible. When Dad would come tell me goodnight, he'd ask me why my pillow was all wet to which I'd dramatically reply that I was so hungry I tried to eat my pillow. I don't think he ever believed me :-)

Anyway... life! Yeah... I guess I'm alive.
I get up. I go to work. I work, I come home, I eat dinner, I fool around, putting time in until bed, and then I go to bed. BTW, I still don't get to bed on time :-)

So... work is my life right now. Let's see here... I went to an electrical safety class last week. I mainly covered the 2009 OSHA safe work practices for electrical-related work. By the way, these safe work practices are federal law now and you can actually be convicted if something happens and it's proved you willfully ignored providing your employees with a safe work environment.

You don't have to watch an "R" rated movie to see gore. I saw more gore at that safety training than I've seen in my life... the worst part is it was real. The worst "torture" you've heard of ain't nothin compared to what happens to people who've experienced arc flash.

Arc flash is caused by shorting out something in an electrical panel. Copper expands 67,000 times it's own size when vaporized... and all you have to do to vaporize it is cause a short inside an electrical panel... Basically, a standard 208V lighting panel can be equivalent to standing on the surface of the sun for a few milliseconds while three sticks of dynamite blow up in your hand, and if you're lucky, you're not electrocuted... I saw a picture of something really weird... The remains of a vaporized electrician... There was like nothing left... I guess the human body really is 98% water.

Oh, and forget macho. The human body, no matter how macho you are, is very fragile. Did you know that your skin cells start to break down after six hours of exposure to 110 degree temperatures? Yeah... you got me. Go work outside in Arizona and you'll suffer skin damage. Oh, and do you know what else? Big guys die from electricution... from less power than it takes to power an LED flashlight.

Even though it was rather gory, it was quite effective and informative. Plus, we did learn how to make an RPG or roadside bomb, so that's always a plus. :-)

Let's see... This week... Oh, there's a new Ben in the office now... and us three Bens all sit next to each other.

I talked my boss into buying me $25,000 of "toys," so that was fun... except for the fact that I now get to learn how to write requisitions :-) (We call our tools, "toys.") Circuit board making stuff, surface mount soldering station, software, etc.

I went to confined space training this week, too... BTW, if someone ever goes unconscious in a confined space, (tank, pit, vault, etc.) DO NOT attempt to rescue them. 60-75% of confined space fatalities are CAUSED BY someone trying to rescue a fallen coworker. If you attempt a rescue, at the very best, you'll be trying to drag a 100lb sack of Jello out of a pit while holding your breath -- you can't do it, and by attempting, you'll most likely kill both you and your coworker... Even if you make it out alive, you'd effectively kill them by not getting help right away, and would you look foward to knocking on the door of your co-worker's family to inform them that they won't be coming home because you weren't doing your job?

Six minutes, that's about all you've got. After that, it's body retrieval, not a rescue. You don't have time to find you can't rescue them and then decide to go for help.

Personally, I'd probably go for help first and then bring a couple SCBAs down with me. If I were fairly certain I wouldn't add to the problem, I'd probably attempt a rescue. I think I'd have a pretty hard time watching someone die and not do anything about it. Then again, if you go unconscious down there, you'll probably be the first one rescued as you'd be on top of the victim... which means you've just killed your coworker... but you'd probably be ok with an SCBA, even if you don't know how to use it. MEH! I hope that's a decision I'm never faced with! Let's hear it for AIR QUALITY METERS! (or a canary :-)

Anyway, I also got hoisted in "fall protection" in the parking lot. Cool. (I got to be a dummy)

Anyway, I'm done grossing you out. I've just seen a whole lot of scary things recently, but I enjoy learning OSHA rules and safe work practices, so it was fun. Most people, myself included, think OSHA is a really dumb thing and a huge impediment to revenue. Turns out, though, that every OSHA rule is the bear minimum after enough fatalities occur. OSHA has some serious teeth, and I think that's probably a good thing. If someone dies because your company ignored safety, your company, unless it's huge, is gone. Seems a little extreme, but no amount of money is going to buy that person back nor comfort the grieving family... It should be employer's priority to keep their employees safe, but as proven in the thousands of work-related deaths per year, it comes down to money. Businesses used to consider deaths just "part of doing business." Back when a fatality would only cost the company $25,000 it was cheaper to willfully put employees into unsafe conditions. Now that a fatality caused by a company's willful neglect of federal OSHA law puts them out of business, people are starting to listen, and safety is becoming the norm rather than the exception. Who knows if it's the right solution to the problem, but at least it's causing businesses to make ethical decisions.

I'm thinking I might volunteer for the upcoming safety officer position in our group. I'll probably regret it as you have to do all your normal work plus ensure everyone's being safe, but I think it would be kind of fun :-) True, everyone will hate you when you tell them things like they have to be in a Category 3 suit (looks like an astronaut suit) to inspect an electrical panel, but most people don't like me anyway, so it wouldn't matter. Ok, ok... I guess everyone at work likes me ok right now... gotta fix that! SAFETY, HERE I COME! :-)

From the land of fruits and nuts

2009-05-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

I told everyone I was going to San Jose. Well, the plane took me to Santa Nella, so I'm not in San Jose. Actually, the plane took me to Fresno and we drove to Santa Nella. For once, it wasn't quite my fault. The quick glance at my itinerary said, "San Jose." :-)

The flight was actually pretty nice. I somehow go bumped up to first class, so I got free drink refils... which means I got to see the plane's "Laboratory." I Don't know why they call bathrooms, "laboratories," and I don't know why Federal law prohibits tampering with the smoke detector in the laboratory. (Ok, I guess I might :-)

Anyway, it was a really small plane and there wasn't any DirectTV. WAAAaaaAAaAAaaaahhHHhhhh! I guess first class made up for that. The lady sitting next to me took pity on me after I drooled on her while sleeping. (no tv = Ben sleeps. Ok, so Ben sleeps on plane anyway, but without TV and plenty of "soda," I had plenty of drool fuel. I don't think I actually drooled, but it would have been hideously funny as long as I didn't drool on anyone but me.) Anyway, the lady next to me gave me a copy of, Us to look at. Man. I'm glad I'm not famous. You go do anything and boom! There's an article written about it. Yikes. I learned that Destiny Cyrus (Hannah Montana) ate ice cream with some guy. I guess that was pretty much headline news. :-)

When we arrived in Fresno, I stepped off the plane onto the tarmac and Whoo... It's hot and humid down here in the "valley."

We drove to Santa Nella -- basically a city of farmers -- so I could do something "green" in my lifetime... which could end at any minute, honey. LOL -- sorry. The front-desk lady at the hotel was really funny. Anyway, we came down here to figure out why some pumps aren't working... without them, the wetlands in the wildlife refuge would be drylands -- something that would surly make the entire universe collapse into a cloud of dust. Ok, maybe not. Now my old cello teacher can be happy with me again. True, I've done a lot of work at evil dams. (BTW, each of our dams provides enough "renewable energy" that each is equivalent to between 50 - 45,000 of the largest wind generators around.) Now I've amended my ways and have worked to recreate wetlands for... birds? Dumb birds? You've got to be kidding me! Green. Whatever. I guess I didn't squash every bug I saw on the wildlife refuge. :-) I have some pictures, but I don't have a USB cable with me, so I can't post them.

The pumping plant kind of looks like a gas station out in the middle of a flat nowhere. Flat as in the visibility was 10 miles today and you could clearly see all 10 miles. The pumps are on a concrete pad with a roof over it. Bugs galore. House flys. Black Widows. They're all happy to live on the concrete pad. Oh, and there's these little black beetle things that adore hiding under any or all of our shipping cases. It scared me the first time. I moved a backpack and about 50 beetles scurried away from under it... searching for dark. Dark for dark business, I guess. I'm not sure what those little guys have against the sun, but that seems to be their only purpose in life -- to get away from light. It was fun tormenting them. Whoo, hoo, hoo! You thought you were safe, huh? Well... LET ME MOVE THAT BOX! YAHHH, HAAAAAA, HAAAA, HAAA! *Ahem*

We ate lunch at a hole-in-the-wall place. This one really was a hole-in-the-wall. Ok, only the bathroom had a hole in the wall, but the food wasn't very good. Usually, places like that are really good and fairly cheap, but this one... nah.

For dinner, we ate at Land-O-Bland. Ok, so it was actually called something like, "Anderson's Split Pea Soup," but the food was really bland. Cool building, though! It was... er... in the Tudor style? I DON'T HAVE A CLUE, but it sounded good :-) Ok, it actually looked like it was modeled after your typical Dutch hut. (house, but hut sounded cooler.) Kinda like White Fence Farm only cooler. It even had a windmill. The first bite of my chicken fried steak, though? My first impression was, "this is breaded with chicken feed." We'd driven past turkey farms on our way "home" that night, so pardon the thought. I shoulda gotten the burger... but I like eat burgers for every meal on trips because I love 'em so much... IDK! Whatever it was, the "chicken fried steak" had too much "chicken" and not enough "steak." :-)

Uh... old Cally -- the land of hot and humid. After work today, we hopped in the car and it said, "107 degrees." The humidity out here doesn't help either. Ok, so the car didn't speak. It indicated. I have very mixed emotions about California. I don't think I'd like living out here... or maybe I would. I don't know.

Well, tonight, I'm in Fresno. We ate at Applebees and they gave us free dessert because our food took so long to get. I'm lounging in my PJs on my bed, typing away on my laptop, just like they show in the pictures. (For once, I'm using a laptop like you're supposed to! I just hope nothing crawls out of it...) COOL! There's a lot of thunder outside right now! Now I'll probably sleep like a log! (If I snore, than I'll sleep like a log that's being cut up with a chain saw.)

Well, there's probably other things to say, but I have a 7:55am flight tomorrow, so I should probably go to bed.

Oh, this hotel is kinda cool. It's only a Holiday Inn, but there's this big indoor "courtyard" in the middle with a cool pool. It rhymes, you see? There's this tall... palm-tree-with-a-big-bowl-on-top that water comes out of and drops about 15' into the pool. I guess it's an "airport" hotel. I knew I'd want my swimming suit! You never know when you'll have to rescue a fair maiden from the clutches of death! (Kidding, as always.)

Er.. Thanks for reading!

Hallow?

2009-05-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

ER. Um. I could barley keep from laughing today when one of the plant electricians came to warn me about using the bathroom. He was trying not to be crude, but I don't know if there's any way to communicate the following warning without being crude:

The toilets flush into a pneumatic eductor which then pumps the sewage to the septic tank. Well... Sometimes the vent valve doesn't close, so the stuff will go down... and immediately come back up with... er... great force... No a pleasant experience, according to the electrician. In other words, make sure you're not on the toilet when you flush it, and if you hear any air noises, RUN. I had wondered why the bathroom was so clean.

Men, I like traveling with Ben. He actually likes to do things instead of jamming as much work into 24hrs as possible and then talking about it over dinner. (I would have said, "Man, I like...", but every once in a while, more than one person reads my blog :-)

Yesterday, we got done early, so Ben was like, "We should do something." I was like, "Sweet." He was like, "What should we do?" I was like, "Uh... Don't matter to me. We could go see a movie or something." He was like, "Awesome."

We then drove around Montrose looking for theaters with something worth seeing. I like Montrose. It contains two theaters -- total, you could go see one of six movies -- the worst being rated "PG-13." So, we went to this weird place that must have been built back when it was a real theater -- not a movie theater. It was kind of creepy, full of stained glass, old light fixtures, thick red curtains, etc.

I think that theater could hold more than the total population of Montrose, so there wasn't a run of seats. We decided to see "Star Trek" and sat and waited for it to begin. It was kinda cool -- no previews. Just ads for local businesses. I was surprised to see an ad for the tiny pizza place we ate dinner at. One really tacky ad said, "You always said you wouldn't be caught dead in that dress. Tell them before it's too late. Delta Cemetery."

When the movie was ready to begin, the operator came down to the front and welcomed us, told us to turn off our cell phones, and said, "Buckle your seat belts! It gets pretty exciting! Now, before I go up and start the movie, let me warn you that the previews have some scratches in them -- they were used. The actual movie is just fine." It's nice to be in a small town once in a while, and I really enjoyed most of it. (Typical Hollywood -- always something that keeps you from being able to recommend it to friends.)

I actually really like Montrose. Such a nice break from Las Vegas. It's big enough that it has a Home Depot, etc. but small enough that everyone knows each other. Seems like such an innocent town. I wouldn't mind living there, but I don't want to be a plant engineer, so I guess I need to change careers. :-)

LOL! The first night we got there, we ate at Applebees. As we were escorted to our table, we passed two youngins who were obviously on a date. (Us oldfolkys can tell.) I didn't think a thing about it until them youngins came and talked to their parents who were sitting right next to us. Funny! Youngins dating one one side of the restaurant, parents chatting on the other. I thought to myself, "Now that's the way to do it!" It was kinda cool to see mature kids. Nice break from Elitches! :-)

Anyway, I'm in Grand Junction now. Ben and I walked around town looking for a place to eat. After finding that the map of downtown assumes you know which names mean "food" and which mean "shopping," we eventually went to check out an Italian place. True, we didn't spend anything close to per-Diem today, but our FR clothing didn't quite match the formal wear of the clients. So, we ended up at some restaurant/brewery and I had a good pile of Chicken Fried Snake. Quite good. About $20/plate. Ben paid about $24 because he had to try one of the house brews. Yadda, yadda, yadda. I'm SO sick of beer. Beer, beer, beer -- seems to be one of the only words in the English language.

We worked at Crystal dam today -- just upstream of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. It's a cool canyon, so visit it if you're ever in the area. The access road for Crystal Dam was not unlike other access roads in that it was steap and windy, but this was far more extreme than anything I've ever seen before. The road started at the canyon rim and ended at the bottom -- a drop of about 2,000ft. Some of the hairpin curves were so steep and narrow that they've installed mirrors so you can see if anyone is coming. I'm glad I wasn't there to back the trucks down when they built the dam -- at least, I assume that's what they used.

We finished early, so Ben and I walked around Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Since the road to Crystal starts in the park, we got in for free :-) It was quite fun.

Montrose

2009-05-19T14:51:00.001-07:00

I got a funny email: (Continuation of communication from eHarmony.)

Anyway, I guess I'm in Montrose right now, not Grand Junction. I told everyone I was going to Grand Junction. I never care where I'll end up, so I don't usually pay attention. Power plants are power plants, no matter where they are.

I'm going to California next week. I don't have the papers with me, so I don't know where.

Punk Rodents

2009-05-15T23:02:00.001-07:00

More!

2009-05-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

I really need to get a DVR and small camera:

YEAH!

2009-05-15T21:51:00.000-07:00

Beck read that fighter pilots tighten their abbs and leg mussels when they do sudden maneuvers to keep from loosing blood to their head. It helps on the back seat of this coaster, too!

Trunk Monkey

2009-05-15T21:39:00.001-07:00

I'm sure you've all seen these before, but I enjoyed them:

Hey! I know that guy!

2009-05-15T20:43:00.001-07:00

(Peter, that is.)

Hummm....

2009-05-15T20:42:00.001-07:00

Day never look like that!

MEH!

2009-05-15T20:34:00.000-07:00

Someone signed me up for eHarmony:...and no one seems to know a thing about it.

THERE'S A MONSTER IN THE CLOSET!

2009-05-14T21:38:00.001-07:00

I've pretty much been out of things to do these last few days at work which means I get to do things that need to be done but no one has the time to do:(Us Bens were out of work. BenWah cleaned up a laptop to kill time and BenT organized a cabinet. :-)

Jewish Hardhat

2009-05-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

(I'm saying, "Oy Vey!")

Calandar

2009-05-13T20:11:00.001-07:00

My calendar is getting more and more full:

3 Bens

2009-05-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

We're hiring yet another Ben... worst of all, we're all sitting in a row... The main isle is now called, "Ben Row," and there've been a bunch of incredibly lame "Ben" jokes going around. Almost as lame as the "Hi, Ben. How you Ben?" jokes.