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A preview of highlights of the Power Quality Exhibition & Conference
Power quality experts from around the world will gather at the Rosemont Convention Center near Chicago's O'Hare Airport on Oct. 27 to share their knowledge at the 15th International Power Quality Exhibition & Conference.
Instructors, manufacturers, end-user engineers, and consultants will provide insight that's hard to get anywhere else. But powerful topics and quality speakers are just the beginning of what this show offers. Two days of Professional Advancement Courses (PACs) begin on Sunday, Oct. 27, and cover such topics as:
Evaluating the economics of power quality improvement alternatives.
PSCAD transient simulation for power quality analysis.
Benchmarking system power quality and reliability.
Implementing distributed generation.
Managing the lightning environment for increased reliability.
DC plant reliability.
Forensic analysis of lightning damage caused by ground strikes.
Following the keynote address on Tuesday, Oct. 29, UtiliCorp United, an international electric and gas company based in Kansas City, Mo., will make the annual presentation of the John Mungenast Power Quality Award. This award, which is named after a power electronics pioneer, is intended to raise the awareness of power quality as an important engineering discipline, and it honors those who have distinguished themselves in the field.
Perhaps the strongest draw for the attendees will be the quality of the seminars and sessions on Tuesday, Oct. 29, Wednesday, Oct. 30, and Thursday, Oct. 31. Session presenters include many end-users. The case histories and tutorials cover everything from battery monitoring and string charging to combining power quality technologies for total reliability. Here's a quick look at a few presentations you might find useful.
Power Quality for Business and Industry
The Costs of Interruptions, 11 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, Oct. 29
To justify uptime improvement measures, you must accurately quantify the cost of downtime — some of the costs aren't obvious, and most of them vary by industry.
Avoiding Costs from Oversizing Data Center Infrastructure, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 30.
The unused capacity of a data center is an avoidable capital cost, and it also represents avoidable operating and maintenance costs.
Tuesday, Oct. 29
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 30
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 31
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A Review of the IEC601 Standard, 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 31.
IEC601 consists of four collateral standards supporting 45 particular standards, which define safety practices in the manufacturing of medical electrical equipment.
Power Quality Technologies and Solutions
From Electrons to Answers, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 30.
This seminar will examine how you can use various power monitoring equipment features to diagnose and prevent power quality problems.
Power Quality Applications & Solutions to Improve Ride-Through for Industrial Processes, 11 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, Oct. 29.
This one-hour tutorial will highlight how customers and utility service providers can work together to improve productivity and operations of automated industrial processes and minimize the impact of brief power interruption events.
Residential and Industrial Surge and Lightning Protection, 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 31.
This overview of surge protection will answer the fundamental questions you should ask when developing and implementing a surge protection strategy.
PQ Energy and Power Management
VRLA Batteries — A Life & Death Issue, 11 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, Oct. 29.
This seminar will address the serious issues involved in valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries, and provide practical information to the average user who has no desire to be a battery engineer.
Short-Term Storage — The Bridge Between Distributed Generation and Quality & Reliability, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 30.
This discussion will highlight technologies such as low- and high-speed flywheels, lead-acid batteries, ultra capacitors, and magnetic storage — providing an overview of performances of these systems with respect to different energy storage and conversion technologies.
Poster Sessions
Poster sessions will round out the technical program from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Topics covered include:
Sub-Cycle Voltage Sag or Surge Detection. This seminar will address the inherent delay in existing voltage detection systems and propose a delay-free approach suitable for almost any power quality equipment.
Simulation of Power Electronics and Controls for Power Quality Solutions. This discussion will illustrate simulation for two types of power electronic systems used to prevent voltage sags. It will also cover control implementation issues that try to balance speed with misoperation.
An Overview of Power Quality Issues, Symptoms, and Recommendations in an Industrial Facility. This seminar will cover harmonics and mitigation, causes of system sags, non-selective operation of protective devices, grounding, system stiffness and its effect, size of neutrals, transients caused by switching, and misapplication of capacitor banks.
A Novel Single-Phase Shunt Active Power Filter with Adaptive Neutral Network-Based Harmonic Detection. This session will present an advanced single-phase active power filter for the compensation of instantaneous harmonic current components in non-linear current load.
Using Low-Cost, Single-Phase, Power Quality Measuring Instruments with Personal Computers. This seminar will demonstrate the use of two major brands of low-cost, single-phase, solid-state recording power quality measuring instruments based on the strengths of each — without comparing one to the other — to produce power quality reports.
Hospital High-Tech Equipment Susceptibility and Power Quality. This discussion will cover some aspects of the measurement methods and statistical evaluation of power quality indices performed in a survey of 29 sites.
Power Quality is Big Business. This session will examine the following aspects of each power quality market section: electrical system design, system construction, financial aspects, regulatory agencies, instrument manufacturers, consultants, international standards, mitigation equipment manufacturers, and legal and research activities.
If you are serious about uptime, cost-savings, and solving power quality problems permanently, this show is one you shouldn't miss.
To see more details on this conference, register to attend, or see a list of exhibitors, you can visit the Power Quality Exhibition & Conference site at www.powerquality.com.


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On Xtube.com and Pornhub.com, where he shared his voyeuristic clips, he called himself "JERKING_BUD." In real life, Seth Thompson was a collection specialist at one of Florida Atlantic University's libraries. And oh, what a collection he had on his university laptop.
Thompson, 40, has been arrested for a spectacular record of workplace video voyeurism, according to the Broward-Palm Beach New Times:
According to the arrest affidavit, the employee, who worked in the library, filmed guys in the facility's bathroom urinating and masturbating. He then posted the clips to porn sites under the JERKING_BUD handle, catchy little numbers with titles like "A college kid and his dad taking a leak at a public bathroom" and "My buddy jerking off in the stall next to me."
Police were tipped off about the whole thing when a student allegedly caught Thompson paying him too much attention in the bathroom one day. Another student came up to the first a few days later. A 30-second clip had been posted on Pornhub.com of the student peeing, he was told. The crime was reported to police.
It's been a rough year for FAU students. But just how many of them seek out a sweet release in the library bathrooms? Thompson's arrest affidavit cites 13 videos, and only one videotapee has been identified thus far—so, says the New Times, "if you're a dude who's spent some time around the FAU library, you might want to do some awkward Googling, see if you, uh, recognize anything."
[Photo credit: Bigstock Photo]

subset: commoncrawl


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Weaker RET would transfer $10b to big power firms, study finds
Reducing the national Renewable Energy Target (RET) would generate $10 billion in extra profit over the next 15 years for owners of coal and gas-fired power plants while consumers pay more, according to new analysis commissioned by green groups.
EnergyAustralia and Origin Energy, which have led calls to cut the RET from its current mandatory goal of supplying 41,000 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy by 2020 to a precise 20 per cent, would be among the biggest winners.
A move to a 20 per cent goal would deliver $1.9 billion in extra profit to Energy Australia during 2015-2030, in current-dollar terms, while Origin would pocket $1.5 billion, according to modelling by Jacobs Group for The Climate Institute, Australian Conservation Foundation and WWF-Australia.
AGL's gains would swell to $2.7 billion if its bid to buy NSW state-owned Macquarie Generation plants succeeds.
Fossil fuel generators would gain largely from the removal of downward pressure on wholesale prices from additional wind or solar energy sources, which have near-zero marginal costs. A weaker RET would cause wholesale prices to rise an average 15 per cent and retail prices 2.5 per cent by 2030.
A typical NSW household annually using 6.5 megawatt-hours of electricity would pay $35 more a year. The cost would rise to $80 if the RET were abolished.
"Power producers don't want to change the RET so they can charge less for electricity," said Erwin Jackson, deputy chief executive of The Climate Institute. "The reason they oppose it is that they want to make more money."
Fairfax Media sought comment from the three big producers, which had been briefed on the report.
The Abbott government is likely to receive the recommendations of its hand-picked panel reviewing the RET this week. The clean energy industry says cutting or axing the target would halt new investment in large-scale wind, solar and other renewable sources.
The Jacobs modelling found Australia would forgo $8 billion in current dollar terms in new renewables investment by 2040 if the RET were reduced.
Increased fossil fuel use would swell Australia's carbon pollution by 154 million tonnes – or 12 million tonnes a year – by 2030, with emissions rising to 200 million tonnes if the RET were abolished.
The report estimated the global warming impact on society of the additional carbon dioxied to be more than $60 a tonne. Weakening the RET would have social costs of at least $14 billion and stall the inevitable decarbonisation of the energy sector, Mr Jackson said.
"Opponents of the RET say it is a market-distorting subsidy," he said. "But that's only true if you don't believe in climate change."
Meanwhile, almost 90 per cent of submissions received by the Abbott government's hand-picked panel reviewing the Renewable Energy Target back its goals.
Analysis by the Clean Energy Council of the 865 detailed submissions found 754, or more than 87 per cent, in favour of the RET being retained or expanded. Of the rest, 55 were mixed or neutral, and 56 called for it to be abolished.
When the 23,272 community submissions are added, support swells closer to 99 per cent, the council said.
"Five years ago when the [RET] was expanded with bipartisan support, Australians overwhelmingly wanted more clean energy – and that is more apparent now than ever," Kane Thornton, the council's acting chief executive, said.
Meanwhile, a separate Senate inquiry into the government's plan to scrap the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, found 125 of the 127 submissions in favour of retaining the body, the council said. ARENA provides grants to emerging clean energy technologies.
Peter Hannam writes on environment issues for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.


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New York , NY, United States
About Cutie Putti Paperie
Cutie Putti Paperie believes there's something magical that happens when you sit down to create, especially if its with the intentions of decorating and hosting a special event for the ones you love :-)
What better way to add a special touch to your celebration then with Cutie Putti's printable one of a kind party decorations!
Cutie Putti Paperie hopes to inspire you to imagine and create a stylish, elegant, and magical event of your very own!
Happy Cutting!
<3 Danielle


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|2010-03-23, 04:35
|Link #15901
I change anime endings.
Well, somebody seems not like the upset shirley, but my storyboard has a reason for everything, when the comic will have the text, you will understand why the "angel" Shirley is so upset with Kallen.
I take in note your text.
Last edited by Bonzo; 2010-03-23 at 05:08.
|2010-03-23, 09:49
|Link #15902
Disabled By Request
Join Date: Jan 2010
Not all of Kallen's enemies were faceless! REMEMBER... The glaston Knights! Kewell and Marika Sorsei!
Rest in peace David Darlton, Alfred Darlton... *goes on with long list of names.*
@Mazyronh: If you look at it in a certain perspective, Kallen might feel guilty(?) about Narita, since she caused the avalanche that killd her father. The following episode (When Katase was turning tail) showed more detail into this.
@Bonzo: You mean me? I like the comic, it's just... :x hard to believe that has Shirley face. Not only was Shirley peaceful, but she was probably the most non-racist person besides Milly and Andreas Darlton.
>8| I should probably skip this one, I feel my stomach churning when I think Kallen is going to be eviscerated or fried by Evil!Shirley... ><;
Don't forget Rea---I mean, Don't forget The Glaston Knights!
|2010-03-23, 11:49
|Link #15903
I change anime endings.
At the beginning of the comic, Kallen is sure Shirley want avenge her father, but Shirley doesn't want it, because Kallen, with the mother suicide and farewell letter, really understood what she did (no more "discracted" from zero ideals).
Kallen paid already that fault, losing the most care person for her.
Shirley want just speak with her, woman to woman...
|2010-03-23, 14:43
|Link #15905
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: United States--- California
|2010-03-24, 10:12
|Link #15907
Disabled By Request
Join Date: Jan 2010
I should've went in expecting Rolo stuff. But Lelouch looks incredible, by the way. So I guess it's cool
"I am Lelouch vi Britannia, and this is my favorite store in tokyo settlement"
I wonder if anybody ever fathomed Lelouch and Kallen shopping as fanart? Groceries... Kallen is smart enough to know what to get - It's the cooking part that troubles. Clothes... A dress? excuse me for my fantasizing, it's a periodic thing.
@Zetusbou: Good additional picture. Nunnally looks peaceful. Kawaii~
|2010-03-24, 12:01
|Link #15910
Disabled By Request
Join Date: Jan 2010
Not necessary, Kyero-kun. An artist doesn't need to put every character in there. It's all about the artists favorite character(s) or overall plot of the image/picture. Though if it's any consolation I wouldn't mind to see Kallen in it, either. Alas, no. But that is how life goes.
I know, morbid. But I do agree, more Kallen/Kalulu plz. I probably have all the Karai pictures already (<3 to you, Kyero-kun)
I just find it very amusing Nina is almost non-existent in fanart. While Kallen is usually present in some of the most well recieved fanart. I don't see why you should complain, since there are alot of artists that are fans of Kallen - or more importantly, Kalulu.
What makes Kallen a prominent character is her looks and her personality. Both are quite acttractive.
I personally wish I had mad drawing skillz, then i'd spend every waking moment actually being productive in my fandom for Kallen.
x| the invisible barriers, how unfortunate. lol
|2010-03-24, 12:36
|Link #15911
A Drifter...
Then again, we got Euphie/Rai CGs with her in a Seifuku so it's not a total loss.
|2010-03-24, 12:50
|Link #15912
The Dark Empress
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Battleship Hyperion
Age: 29
Spoiler for warning image intensive and some suggesive pics that will burn your eys out:
I've seen an increase of Rolo fanart maybe he is one of those characters that half of the fanbase loves and the other half of the fanbase (which most likely consist of Shirley fans or people who never liked him in the first place) hate him.
|2010-03-24, 13:07
|Link #15913
Disabled By Request
Join Date: Jan 2010
I'm still on live firing range. Stuck there, been stuck there. Help? lol. I'm interested to see if there is any CGI of Jeremiah (Call me whatever you want, but my primary/original drive to do the Britannian route was to see Guilford/Jeremiah blush... Do they?)
@Ashford uniform comment: Do I wish there was CGI of her and Rai. Kallen's preferred hairstyle and everything! Now that would be sweet =)
Spoiler for Code Geass parody:
If you know those two, then you probably also know their VAs.
Spoiler for Further parody:
Tell me if I got any of that wrong =P! lol
Also, Roloko.. your Nina stuff is painful to look at... xD
Last edited by Arbitres; 2010-03-24 at 13:27.
|2010-03-24, 13:38
|Link #15914
A Drifter...
I really don't know that much about the game but I think the only other scenario that allows you to pursue Kallen as your girl is the Blue Moon route which is only on the PS2 version and is unlocked after you finish Ashford route once.
Jeremiah ending can only be pursued in the Purist route which is only unlocked after playing the Cornelia's Guards scenario... which only opens up after playing the Britannian Military route. Have fun with that!
|2010-03-24, 18:38
|Link #15915
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Virginia
Age: 42
New art from Bonzo!!
|2010-03-26, 12:32
|Link #15916
Disabled By Request
Join Date: Jan 2010
D: I never saw Rai in R2.. should've been paying attention more with the background, I guess. Ironic that, since i'm all about backgrounds.
REQUEST The screencap of Rai's short cameo in R2. (I'm pretty certain Cupid day was on episode 12.) +Rep for picture.
|2010-03-26, 13:17
|Link #15917
Goat Herder
Join Date: Jun 2008
Age: 32
|2010-03-26, 13:35
|Link #15918
The Dark Empress
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Battleship Hyperion
Age: 29
|2010-03-26, 13:41
|Link #15919
Disabled By Request
Join Date: Jan 2010
OMG... He has the hammer and the Cupid hat.. XD lol... >_o the hammer is from Ashford route, but it's suppose to be a whistle...
*glomps Rising dragon* Buuuuddd!~
Edit: Hard to say Roloko-chan. Looks like a really flamboyant pencil if it was one... Plus it's pretty flat looking, so maybe a banner? Then again it's out in the back, so maybe they didn't pay enough attention to it?
Atleast they put Rai in there... </3
|images, wallpaper
|Thread Tools


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Since I had my foot surgery in early January, I have only been out of the house a handful of times.
I'm really not supposed to walk any sort of distance - not to mention when I do walk, it's pretty slow and somewhat embarrassing with my velcro shoes on.
But to help me combat cabin fever, Mr. Vittles has taken me on a few quick jaunts with him... like to get some iced coffee, or get windshield wipers for his car (exciting!) or to get some ice cream (that of course I was craving, not him).
I stayed in the car for the coffee and wipers, but was feeling bold the night of ice cream. It was about 8:30 PM on an extremely cold night, so we figured there would not be many people there.
But we were wrong. It was wall to wall people, namely teenagers.
And I was like a deer in headlights.
Being in a packed place when you have two feet with recently broken and shaved bones is scary enough. But being in that condition in a place packed with "clumsy high schoolers" (as Mr. V pointed out) was absolutely terrifying.
I stood in one spot, frozen, and constantly alert for any tomfoolery that might result in someone getting pushed into me and stepping on my toes. I stayed in there long enough to order, then quickly hobbled back out to the car.
Needless to say... no more ice cream jaunts for me, for at least the next couple weeks.
Which just means, I have to bring the ice cream to me.
This summer I experimented with a recipe for Cake Batter Ice Cream, where I used red velvet cake mix from a box. It came out alright, but for some reason I was not happy with using cake mix. (However, I have yet to see a recipe for cake batter ice cream that doesn't use it?)
So with Valentines Day around the corner, I decided to give this another shot - without a recipe, and without cake mix. Which is a little dicey, because it would be awful to waste all the ingredients that go into a good ice cream!
But then again, I have made a lot of ice cream over the past few years (and learned a lot through some painful mistakes) so I felt pretty confident that I could do my own thing.
And I'm happy to report, this one came out great - very creamy, and it captures all the goodness of red velvet!
Red Velvet Ice Cream
- 1 C. coconut milk
- 1 C. half and half
- 3 egg yolks
- 2/3 C. sugar
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 2 t. dutch cocoa powder
- 1 T. red food coloring
- 1 C. heavy cream
In medium saucepan, over medium-low heat, cook coconut milk and half and half just until steaming. (This is important - you are about to add the eggs, and if the mixture on the burner is too hot it will cause the eggs to curdle).
Meanwhile, in medium heatproof bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until combined. Pour half of milk mixture into bowl with egg yolks and sugar, and whisk until smooth. Then pour contents of bowl back into saucepan, and return to burner on medium-low.
Cook custard an additional 3-5 minutes, until you can run your finger across a rubber spatula dipped in the custard and it leaves a trail. Remove saucepan from heat and add cocoa powder - whisk until combined and no lumps remain. Then add vanilla extract and red food coloring and whisk.
Transfer mixture to a large, coverable bowl. Add 1 C. heavy cream, but do not stir. Cover bowl and place in refrigerator to chill 3-4 hours.
Once mixture is thoroughly chilled, transfer to ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.* Then transfer to coverable, freezable container and put in freezer at least 3 hours before serving. Makes about one quart.
*If you don't have an ice cream maker, check out this article on how to make ice cream without one. I've never tried it, but Brown Eyed Baker is an amazing blog so I'm sure the author would not lead us astray!
Original Recipe


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Not enough random bytes available. Please do some other work to give the OS a chance to collect more entropy! (Need 283 more bytes)
When working to create a GPG key to sign some RPM packages I was building I ran into a message I had never seen before. I was building the RPM packages on an older server with not a lot of power which I am assuming contributed to my issue. The error is noted below but basically means you need to generate a lot of random bytes which are used to create a unique key. Within the error it states that the computer needs to collect more entropy so below I explain the error in more detail, what entropy means, why more entropy is needed, and how to generate as much as possible in a short amount of time to finish generating the GPG key.


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and I'm not just talking about the remainder of the week in Florida we spent visting Eric's parents! Hello.... would someone care to actually BLOG over here!!! Jeez.
This final vacation post has taken FOREVER, but these pictures are truly priceless. On the first day we spent with my in-laws, the weather was the warmest (70'ish), the sun was shining and it was time to hit the beach. Even though there was a slight chill to the air and the water was freezing cold, it wasn't enough to deter any one of us from taking the plunge in the crisp, biting waves of the ocean. Fully clothed and the whole bit! Here's something: see the silhouette to the far left? Oh! Hey! That's me! I went on vacation and actually turned up in a photo! Just as we began to sink our toes in the sand, I joked to Eric that maybe he could take a few clicks on the other side of the camera, so as to get some pictures of me with the kids. (which I have very few of because The Hubs doesn't take pictures - and usually it's only the 4 of us) It was then that my very generous Mother-in-Law offered to take my camera for a whirl. And she wasn't stingy with the picture taking either - she got some amazing shots! In fact, she captured some of the most beautiful moments we shared with our kids. As for the days following, we finally caught up on some sleep, we went to the pool, shopped, went to a children's museum (to which I forgot my camera!) and enjoyed the laid back style of what vacation is all about. With the added bonus of a very doting grandma and grandpa to help entertain our kids!Even though our kids were mostly napless throughout our entire stay, not to mention Very late bedtimes, I was so proud (and impressed) to see that they were able to behave for the most part given all of the activity that came along the way. It actually made me think that vacation is getting easier already and more enjoyable with young kids. Last year, in comparison, was work. Good work, but definitely more involved when there was a 1 and 3 year old to look after. All in all, we had a wonderful winter vacation and LOVED spending time and making memories with our family. To my Grandma, Aunt Shirley, my Dad and my In-Laws: thank you for your hospitality, your never ending energy and all of the little things to make our vacation so enjoyable. It never would have been the same without you!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Extended Vacation...
and I'm not just talking about the remainder of the week in Florida we spent visting Eric's parents! Hello.... would someone care to actually BLOG over here!!! Jeez.
Handcrafted by Laura at 10:52 PM 4 Welcome Comments
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Just stopping by to let you know that I haven't forgotten all about posting the second half of our vacation. (Because I know that y'all are on the edge of your seats, right?) It just seems that life and circumstances have gotten in our way. Besides, the pictures I have are too good not to share.
With that, I'm going to bring you up to speed on what exactly is making blogging so difficult at times.
For the past 2 days, Eric has been out of town and true to fashion, one of my kids ends up sick. This time was Elaina's turn. Eric hadn't even been gone for 24 hours when she begins to run a fever, chills, and vomiting. Needless to say, I have been home from work playing the role of Exclusive Caregiver to both kids on very little rest.
This morning as we were cuddled on the couch, Elaina had gotten sick in her "puke bowl" just as Lincoln was crawling over the sofa to investigate. He eyes up the bowl and declares, "Soup!" Not so much Kid. Ewww.
At dinner, Lincoln started on a roll of making noises to see which one Just Might Be the Funniest of All. He began to "Oink" which led Elaina to follow with "Oink, Oink!" <<-- with inflection. Soon I found that I was listening to an entire conversation between my Darlings which only consisted of the word "oink." They were cracking each other up.
While watching TV, I sat down on the floor to cuddle up with Lincoln and soon Elaina joins me on my lap. As I was hugging them together, Elaina noted that "we're a small family without our Daddy." She's right, I think we are all missing him.
Finally, Lincoln is not potty trained. He is not actively potty-training and furthermore, I don't know when he will ever express an interest in being potty trained. As I was changing his stink diaper tonight, we had a conversation all about where poopy goes and how big boys don't wear diapers and yadda-yadda-yadda... same as always. (He knows the answers!) My final question to him was, "Lincoln, when do you think you'll be a big boy and not wear diapers anymore?" His reply, "Good question Mom."
Just one more that is too sweet to not make note: A few days back Lincoln was having a Behavior Issue (read: crying like a banshee for no particular reason except he's 2) and I've learned some multi-step tactics to deal with his fits. This particular moment found me cradling him in my arms without saying any words and just letting him calm down and cry it out. Before long, he takes his thumb from his mouth as he began to wind down and in a tender voice says, "Mom? thanks." IlovehimIlovehimIlovehim.
So this is what parenting is all about isn't it?
Handcrafted by Laura at 10:46 PM 4 Welcome Comments
Monday, March 22, 2010
Florida, 2010
This year's trip was different from any other for a lot of reasons. This was our first trip down since my grandpa's passing, God love him. I haven't blogged about it previously, but my grandpa was an amazing man and a pillar in our family. I'm even more grateful than ever for our Florida vacations in the past in that he was able to meet both of our kids and even though they may be too young to remember him, they'll be able to see his pictures with them and know that they were such an important part of his life.
Another hardship that our family had to face was the untimely passing of my Aunt Sandie who also lived in Florida and my grandma's oldest daughter. Her death happened only a week prior to our already scheduled visit. For this, my dad and my Aunt Shirley remained with my grandma for the duration of our time there as well. In the deepest sadness, we found joy. Being together as a family, supporting one another and sharing laughter and memories brought us all a step closer to healing.
Without dwelling on our sadness, we made the most of our trip, filling our days with fun and togetherness.
Speaking of added bonus: despite the unfortunate circumstances, it was really nice having my dad assuming his Grandpa role while we were there.
It was easily the highlight of our time there for all of us. They had exotic animals for the kids to touch. (yes, that would be an alligator that my son is petting!)
Handcrafted by Laura at 10:06 PM 0 Welcome Comments
Thursday, March 11, 2010
SO much.
Have you ever had those kind of days in which you find yourself already at work, dressed for your work day and 2 hours into sitting at your desk, you decide to look down to make sure that your shoes match? And that your clothes coordinate.
Come on... I can't be the only one! Okay, maybe so.
There has been so much going on here lately that I hardly know where to begin to try an catch up. Maybe you can guess where this is going... YES! Bullet-point recap!! Sweet!
[edited to add: okay, so I can't find actual bullet points on here soooo... looks like hyphens will do!]
- One week ago today, we came home from a week long visit to various family members in Florida. The first half of our trip was spent with my grandmother while the latter was with my in-laws. For 7 straight days, our days were full, our kids were napless wonders and we were all spoiled rotten. A great vacation indeed! I will do my best to follow with pictures and a separate vacation post soon.
- Over vacation, that little Lincoln of mine became an explosion of energy, eagerness and enthusiasm. Maybe it was the favorable climate, maybe it was break from our routine or maybe it's because he's come upon a burst of maturing. Whatever it is, he is ever-complex and I look forward to telling you all about him in a future post.
- The saying is true: sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. This winter has found us safe, happy, mostly healthy and continually blessed. For this I am thankful. One who didn't bear the wintertime and (geriatric) life in general was our dog, Keegan. Keegan was laid to rest the week prior to our vacation. I'm pretty sure that a follow up post about him is necessary as well.
- In other random ramblings: I registered Elaina for Kindergarten. My truck (we bought new) hit the 100,000 mile mark at (almost) 7 years old. I ordered the most expensive vacuum cleaner of my life - a Dyson - which I am so anxious to fall in love with. The kids and I are leaving Eric behind this weekend to spend a night at my brother's house; our fun-line-up will blow my little kiddies minds! I can't wait! With a much needed break from our snow-filled state, our weather has finally hit a breaking point and I've already begun my psychotic- decrapification from my house - A.K.A.: Spring cleaning meets crack. We've gotten new furniture for Lincoln's bedroom and a full sized bed is being made. Within a few short months, I hope to have his bedroom transformed into a big-boy room. The most obvious reminder that my last baby is growing up and won't want to sleep in a crib until he's 7. Where does the time go???
Speaking of time, where do you suppose I am going to find the time to sit down to write all of these follow up stories? Has anyone discovered a way of making time stand still? Oh, and not have to get tired. <-- very important!
Handcrafted by Laura at 10:38 PM 0 Welcome Comments
Monday, February 08, 2010
Puppy Love, or at least I hope...
With Valentine's Day soon approaching, for tonight's topic I'm going to write about Elaina and her "boyfriend." While my intention is to use the term "boyfriend" loosely, Elaina has a very different idea.
I still remember the day; it was summer time and lovely weather. We were outside enjoying the day, talking to neighbors and watching the cars go by. Elaina was about 18 months old and was holding onto my hand as she walked the landscaped brick wall which frames our driveway. With each step, she became more brave, more daring and less likely to look down at her feet as she scurried forward. And just like that, she lost her footing and scraped the side of her ankle against the brick. Being the protective Mother Bear that I am (and a first time mom) I pulled her close to comfort her as she buried her face into my chest. As she laid against me, I could only hear a slight whimper and hardly any tears came from her eyes even though her ankle was scraped red with blood. I saw her look up, resting her eyes on "Sammy" and realized that she didn't want to cry in front of him.
Just then, I began to wonder if Elaina was holding back her feelings to show Sammy that she wasn't a baby. Odd reaction for a child who wasn't even two years old and hadn't ever seen that kind of behavior before.
In the two years that have come to pass, she often talks about wanting to marry Sammy. She has asked that when she and Lincoln outgrow their baby toys, if we can send them to Sammy's house for Their kids to play with. During a recent conversation with Eric and myself on what she wants to be when she grows up, her answer was "a doctor, a teacher, a veterinarian and the lady who puts your tray up on the airplane." My reply was that it seemed as though she would be awfully busy with her careers that I wondered how she would ever have time to see her mom and dad. "Don't worry Momma, I'll still live right here, next door, with Sammy. And you can come over any time you want. And I'll even make you dinner." "I'm going to marry Sammy you know."
Concerning, no?
But it even goes further, she'll often talk about when she grows up, when she and Sammy will be married, what color her dress will be and they'll live next door and even what she will be naming her kids. (RosaBella, Maggie Flowers and Junior are a few that I can recall) She doesn't stop. She reminds us of her future plans at least a couple times a month, sometimes multiple times in the same week. I try not to react, but only to listen when she begins her fairytale life story with Sammy, but HOLY SMOKES KID, you're 4 years old! Where does she come up with this imagination? These ideas? Dora doesn't have a boyfriend. TinkerBell isn't interested in getting married. My child has her children named!
Did I mention that fact that Sammy is our next door neighbor? Who is also our friend. Who is also approximately 3 weeks older than Eric. He is well aware of Elaina's "love" for him and he is VERY much appropriate toward her and brushes her off as if he were a kind uncle reacting to her attention.
Yes Elaina, when you are 25, your Sammy will be Golden Buckeye card carrying member and looking towards retirement. Every young girls' dream right?
The only upside to all of our musings is that any time Sam lets me down for any reason, I remind him that he will not be my favorite son-in-law for long.
Handcrafted by Laura at 9:50 PM 0 Welcome Comments
Friday, January 29, 2010
Remember these little Munchkins?
(Yes, Mom, I know you're so excited to finally see pictures up!)
These are the same two who have been growing like crazy and occupying all of our time. Not like I mind, of course, but GEEZ, slow down!
In the early part of the fall, Elaina learned to ride a 2- wheel bicycle all by herself. After weeks of the training wheels barely touching the ground on her bike, she felt that she was ready to take a spin sans extra wheels. With only a few slight steady, starts from her dad, she was off like a flash and didn't turn back.
As for this little guy, he is pure speed on his scooter. He rides his 2 wheel scooter like it's his job! The first few weeks of the winter season were tough on Lincoln. With each passing day, the weather grew colder and he became more bitter about not being able to go outside to ride his scooter. It was pure torture for us to hurry him inside from the cold weather only to leave his scooter alone, without a rider for days on end. Eric has caved a few times, bundling the kids up and taking them out on clear days and letting them enjoy some time to zip around the driveway for a short while. Even if the weather was in the low 40's. And this girl... oh yeah! This big girl started Pre-K at school! Elaina goes 3 half days during the week and absolutely loves being in school. Her enthusiasm hasn't wavered in the months since school began. In my telephone conference with her teacher last week, she reported that Elaina is one of her brightest students in the class (of 10) and very social and friendly. The teachers have been impressed with her language skills and memory. Pre-K has been an excellent experience for Elaina, but it leaves this 4 year-old beat by the end of the school day. Oh, the hectic life of a preschooler!
Handcrafted by Laura at 10:47 PM 0 Welcome Comments
Because everyone needs a starting point...
Even if it's to restart a project for the 4th or even 5th time.
The good news; I'm energized. I'm refreshed. I want to renew my blog! (and get my Lovely, Well-Meaning Family off my back over Blog Guilt!)
I'm not going to spend a moment longer dwelling on why I have taken such a long hiatus from blogging other than to say that it's a blog worth saving!
My fresh approach: tidbits.
Yep. Tidbits of our lives. As they happen. I'm not the best writer, nor am I the most witty, but my kids and some of our daily occurrences are well worth noting and a blog is just the spot for all of that. Of course it always has been, but I'm considering this my written permission slip for "quantity performance" over "quality." It's a recession People; it's time for cutting back!
Join me in a toast: "Long Live THE BLOG!!"
Handcrafted by Laura at 10:32 PM 1 Welcome Comments
Monday, September 28, 2009
Dropping by...
So it's become pretty clear to me that blogging is most definitely taking a back seat in our lives these days. I don't even feel the need to make excuses any more, let alone, empty promises. Now, if someone were to offer a couple extra hours in my day or help me find a way to never tire, well then, bring it on!
Since it's been a month since my last entry, I'm happy to report that Elaina's "bad spell" ended just as abruptly and swiftly as it started. Our sweet, little darling is back to normal. While I'm on the topic of Elaina, one more thing that has changed is that our baby has started school in a Pre-K program. She has wanted to go to school for the past year and a half so this is like her dream come true. I'm more than pleased that she loves school and along with that, I'm very glad that it's only 3 days a week. We've come to realize that on the days she has school, she is worn out. I mean, BEAT! When I arrive home, I've often been finding her laying on the sofa, zombified in front of the TV, too tired to even acknowledge me. When we make plans for Friday evening (another school day) she does everything in her power to stay awake, alert and pretend to not be tired even though her eyes become all starey when she idles for longer than 2 minutes. The good thing is that she loves school and we've gotten good reports from her teachers.
With all of the talk about Elaina, how about that little brother of hers? My little Lincoln Man! OhMyGoodness! That little guy has begun talking up a storm! I thought it would never happen! He was certainly taking his time in the language arts department. Along about August, he began putting words together and expressing that he was actually getting something out of the words he's been using and hearing. Every single day, he picks up more words, shows more personality and even a sense of humor. Up until this point, he's always been a little reserved to the more-serious side and quick to react when things don't go as planned for his little self. This is still the case, but the reassuring part is that by and by, some of his quick-to-react fits are gradually improving with the help of him learning to communicate. We're all happy about that!
And since I'm spilling all the beans about my kids' behavior, let's talk about Lincoln and hitting. Oh, that child is SO 2! His "thing" has become hitting. Swatting rather, since he just swings his little arm from side to side until he hits what he's been aiming for in his path. This, I cannot stand. It seems that every single day he is hitting someone; even if he's generally happy-ish, he makes it a point to give someone a whack, quite possibly just to see their reaction. I don't know how to explain that. With a variety of tactics in place, we're getting through each day with fewer and fewer instances, but hitting still seems to rank pretty high on cool-things-to-do-to-upset-your-family.
Other than that, life here is pretty good. Our days are busy, our children are loved and we're all very blessed to have happiness each day. With every hurdle I face throughout the day, I continuously remind myself, "Work hard, play hard." And that's exactly what we've been doing!
Handcrafted by Laura at 9:48 PM 1 Welcome Comments


text:
of degrees
& programs
Fall: July 1 [December 15 for international applicants]
Spring: November 1
[August 1 for international applicants]
Applications are processed as they are received throughout the year.
Number Required: 3
From Whom: Letters of
recommendation should be obtained from college/university faculty members familiar with the applicant's academic competence. Applicants employed in an engineering profession should request a letter of reference from their immediate supervisor.
Applicants should have completed coursework or have experience in mechanical engineering technology, mathematics, or the physical sciences to be considered for admission.
A bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, or in a closely related field of study, from an accredited institution is required for admission. Applicants without an engineering degree may require certain prerequisites.
The Statement of Goals should include the applicant's long-term plans for study and research, plans for a long-term professional career, academic achievements, and professional experience, if any. It should be approximately 1-2 pages in length.
The GRE is required. Students with GRE scores below 450 verbal, 650 quantitative, and 4.5 analytical may not be admitted.
Minimum TOEFL score or range of scores needed to be accepted: 575 paper-based, 230 computer-based, or 88 internet-based. Any student admitted with a TOEFL score below 600 on the paper-based, 250 on the computer-based, or 100 on the internet-based examination must pass an English skills course during the first semester of enrollment at Temple University. Those having taken the paper-based or computer-based test have the additional option of testing out of the English course by taking and passing the SPEAK test at Temple.
A resume is required.
Graduate credits taken at an accredited institution may be transferred into the M.S.E. program. In order to transfer, the courses must be equivalent to courses offered at Temple in the student's area of study and research, and the grades must be "B" or better. The admissions committee makes recommendations for the transfer of credit. The maximum number of credits a student may transfer is 6.
Applicants with two or more years of employment in an engineering profession performing research and development may request a waiver of the GRE.
Number of Didactic Credits Required Beyond the Baccalaureate: 24 - 27
Students choose between two options. The thesis option requires 24 s.h. of coursework and 6 s.h. of master's thesis (ME 798: Thesis I and ME 799: Thesis II). The non-thesis option requires 27 s.h. of coursework, plus an independent research project (ME 795: Research Project) or, with permission of the department, another 3 s.h. course.
Required Courses:
Internship: No internship is required.
Language Examination: No language examination is required.
Thesis Option:
Students completing the thesis option need to complete a master's thesis, a document detailing independent research that demonstrates the student's mastery of his/her primary area of interest. The thesis research is conducted under the direct supervision of an academic advisor. The specific topic for research should be of current interest in the professional community. After a research topic is selected, the student performs preliminary research. A thesis proposal is then submitted describing the initial results and a plan for further research toward completion of the proposed research. The thesis proposal is then presented at an open seminar to the Thesis Committee, which evaluates its technical merit and research methodology. The student may continue the research only after the proposal is approved by the committee.
The final draft of the thesis should be submitted at least two weeks before the anticipated date of the thesis defense. The student's academic advisor, in consultation with members of the Thesis Committee, sets a date and time for the thesis defense. The department secretary will arrange for a room for the defense and post flyers announcing the defense. In addition, the student must post the thesis defense flyer on the graduate student listserv for the department.
The Thesis Committee, a group of faculty members and possibly engineers engaged in research in high-tech industries, is responsible for evaluating the thesis and its defense. No thesis should go to defense unless it is ready for public scrutiny. The committee evaluates the primary findings of the research and their implications, technical methodology, and the student's ability to verbally present the research results. The committee votes pass/fail on the thesis and defense at the conclusion of the public presentation. If the student must make revisions, those changes must be completed within one month from the date of public presentation; failure to do so requires a new thesis defense.
Non-Thesis Option:
Students in the non-thesis option may be required to complete an independent research project and submit a report toward the requirements of ME 795: Research Project. The goal of the research project is to evaluate the student's ability to perform independent research in analysis and design for an engineering application. The topic for research is selected after discussion with the student's academic advisor. The scope of research is carefully outlined so as to allow the student to complete the research in one semester. After completing the course, the student submits a final report detailing the findings of the research and presents it at an open seminar. The report is evaluated by two members of the faculty, including the student's academic advisor. With permission of the department, students may also elect another course in place of ME 795.
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering
1947 North 12th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Vallorie Peridier
Program Coordinator:
Vallorie Peridier
Graduate Chairperson:
Mohammed F. Kiani
The Mechanical Engineering curriculum of the Master of Science in Engineering program provides students who already have an undergraduate engineering degree with the credentials and background to pursue a career in industrial research and development. The program provides students from diverse basic-science backgrounds with the fundamental technical-engineering expertise necessary to work in an interdisciplinary field such as bioengineering or material science. The program provides engineers who are currently employed with a means to further their technical capabilities through part-time study.
Time Limit for Degree Completion: 5 years
Students are able to complete the degree program on a part-time basis (8 credit hours or less per semester).
College of Engineering
1947 North 12th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122
The program encourages interdisciplinary research with other branches of engineering as well as with various departments of the College of Science and Technology and the School of Medicine. Faculty are also collaborating with investigators in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering on water turbulence studies; in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering on heat dissipation in microelectronic components; and in the Department of Physics on nanotechnology research.
Not applicable.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers research in biomaterials, composite materials and design, finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics, fluidics and energetics, and target drug delivery and tissue engineering.
Graduates with the M.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering are employed in high-tech industries and government laboratories in design, analysis, and applications. Typical employers include manufacturing companies; pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; companies involved in research and development in fluid flow and heat transfer; computer-aided designers and manufacturers; computer technology firms; and government offices such as the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Students who complete an M.S.E. with a thesis are prepared to enter a doctoral program.
Not applicable.
Non-matriculated students can take up to 9 s.h. of graduate-level courses. If accepted into the M.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering program, the student may apply those courses with a grade of "B" or better toward the M.S.E. degree requirements.
For admission to the program, students must fulfill the general admission criteria for graduate admission. Students who complete 9 s.h. in academic good standing may request a waiver of the GRE, which is usually required for admission to the M.S.E. program.
The principal duties of a Teaching Assistant include assisting faculty in classroom and laboratory instruction, preparing apparatus or material for laboratory demonstration, conducting tutorials and discussion sections, and grading homework. TAs are expected to devote 20 hours per week to these or similar teaching-related activities. Research Assistants are expected to devote 20 hours per week to research obligations. RAs are assigned to a faculty member or principal investigator who is working on a specific research project. The appropriate subjects for research are determined by consultation between the student and the student's research and academic advisors. Both Teaching and Research Assistantships carry a stipend and tuition support for up to 9 credits per semester. All applicants for full-time admission are considered for support based on academic credentials, GRE scores, and professional experience. Applications should include a statement of research and teaching experience, areas of interest and future goals, and a curriculum vitae.
Updated 1.4.06


text:
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text:
Part One: Ballyneal or Bust
During the harsh winters of Chicago, months away from the game will start doing funny things to your brain. Really the only thing that gets Jefe, Jimbo and I through to the other side is e-mail banter about golf, and most importantly, planning the next year's golf trip. By the time January rolls around, however, all sound decision making is officially out the window. Usually this leads to crazy statements like, "I really want to play JIm Engh's True North. It looks great!" or "I've officially peaked as a lefty...I think I'm going to switch around and start playing righty next year."
With that as a backdrop, last winter saw one of our craziest decisions yet. We decided to road trip it out to Nebraska and Colorado in June to play Ballyneal and the 36 holes out to Prairie Club. Given that Prairie Club is 6+ hours from the Denver airport and is sort of on the way back to Chicago from Holyoke (a misnomer...as Valentine, NE is not on the way back to anywhere), driving started to make logical sense. You could at least make a case for it. I romanticized the hours of quality windshield time spent with my two closest golfing brethren talking about golf, fond memories (redundant) and the meaning of life (ditto). I set up a mix on ITunes months in advance, targeting songs fit for a long road trip ("Thunder Road", "One Headlight", etc.) It was going to be a trip of a lifetime.
The original plan was to leave around 3:30 A.M. on Friday morning for a late-afternoon arrival at Ballyneal and time for a quick 18. But as the dark, dreary days of winter wore on, my need for a golf trumped any thoughts of camaraderie. I needed to max out on the golf. When it comes to golf and golf trips, I'm a "Cost per round" guy. I can't help it. Our numerator was essentially fixed. But the CPR could be lowered by raising the denominator (I think I just lost Jefe. Bear with me, big guy). And the solution to our (my) problem was to just leave the Thursday evening and drive through the night. An early morning arrival at Ballyneal meant squeezing an extra 18 or even 27 holes out of the trip.
After picking up Jimbo, I rolled up to Jefe's house in the far, far west suburbs to officially launch our trip. He was waiting at the end of his driveway with his packed bags at his feet. He was holding up a piece of paper with 'Ballyneal or Bust' scribbled on it. Great minds think alike, as I had already taped a makeshift 'Ballynizzle of Bust' sign on the back windshield of my Jeep. A couple of farewell hugs and kisses and we were on our way.
Remember all that talk about bonding and brotherhood? Throw that out the window. It was all about survival. There was a 9.8% chance that we wouldn't make it back to Illinois in one piece (yes, we said a modified version of the official golf-trip prayer: "Lord, if our time is up, please let it happen on the way back. Amen.") All that great conversation that I dreamed about eventually turned into incoherent mumbling. Those deep, meaning-of-life questions plateaued at "Are you awake?" and "Do you think that Dairy Queen is open 24 hours?" "Thunder Road" was officially replaced by "I Drove All Night" by Celine Dion, an oddly-fitting song which I took the liberty of belting out as if I was singing to the soul of Ballyneal herself:
"What in this world keeps us from falling apart
No matter where I go I hear the beating of our one heart
I think about you when the night is cold and dark, uh huh-yeah
No one can move me the way that you do
Nothing erases the feeling between me and you…ohh!
Is that alright?"
I had a driving rotation planned out to help us get through the night alive. Each man would spend four hours driving, four hours playing wing man and four hours sprawled out in the back seat sleeping. But that plann backfired as apparently Jimbo didn't get the memo. He slept like a baby in the navigator's seat as Jefe drove, forcing me to stay awake in the back to keep Jefe awake. Not that Jefe needed me, as he was flying high from a near-lethal combination of Mountain Dew, 5-Hour Energy, No-Doze and energy bars. One can of Jolt would've certainly sent him into cardiac arrest. After his turn behind the wheel, he admitted, "I can't sleep right now. I'm on six different kinds of stimulants."
I took the anchor stretch and we rolled into Holyoke just as the sun was rising over the Chop Hills. After 12 1/2 hours and 850 miles of relatively smooth sailing, I almost flipped the car on the dirt road about 5 minutes from the gate trying to locate my sunglasses. But we made it to the glorious gates of Ballyneal around 6:00 in the morning, just as the maintenance crew and staff were rolling in. We were thrilled to be there, but more relieved than anything. I think we slept a total of about 3 1/2 hours total between the three of us, 3 hours and 20 minutes of that from Jimbo.
|Jefe, happy to be alive
That first round was a blur. Playing golf on 10 minutes of sleep was quite an adventure. I have no idea what I shot but I know it wasn't good. But hey, that Cost Per Round was moved down a notch, so (I guess) it was worth it. After the round, we met up with some of the others in the group that had just arrived. After a quick lunch, we got up from the table as I said, "Excuse us, gentleman. We're going to go take a nap."
So with that, we retired to our room in the Ringneck Lodge, drew the shades and hit the beds like a sack of potatoes. I took solace that my 2-year old son was probably doing that exact same thing at that moment, except he wasn't sharing his bed with his best friend ("either these beds are getting narrower or we are getting wider," I commented to Jefe). As I drifted off, I remembered that I needed to text my buddy Matt (a.k.a. The Package, at least until I can come up with a better nickname so I don't have to keep typing The Package over and over again) to see what time he was rolling in, since we had planned to tee it up together that afternoon. I was expecting him to arrive around 3:00 p.m., which would give us a good two hours of 'quiet time'.
Jim: What's your ETA?
Matt: I'm near the pro shop. Where are u?
Jim: Ringneck 1
A few moments later, I heard a knock at the door. Matt entered the room to find three grown men in a room with two beds taking a mid-afternoon siesta. Best yet, it was the first time he was meeting Jefe. I'm sure it left a great first impression. We set-up a time to meet on the first tee in an hour, giving us 59 precious minutes of glorious, much needed rest. Out of all of crazy trips together, this was a definite first. Although I can guarantee you that if we had all shot in the 70's that afternoon, a mid-afternoon catnap would've made it way into the normal golf-trip M.O.
Part Two: The Climb
Friday afternoon's round saw a remarkably novel concept…Jefe and I as teammates! After years upon years spent trying to beat each others brains in, we paired up in what turned out to be an epic fourball match against The Package and Jimbo.
Actually, the concept isn't quite as foreign as it sounds. We did pair up once before, but it was 13 years ago. And we had success while on the same side, blitzing the field in the (not so) vaunted 1997 Sycamore Cup, a Ryder-Cup style two-day event at (not-at-all) historic Sycamore Country Club about 50 miles west of Chicago. Perhaps all this time the world has missed out on another Ballesteros/Olazabal simply because all Jose Maria wanted to do was beat Seve to a bloody pulp.
[Oddly, one of my other crowning athletic achievements was also at Sycamore Country Club. I placed 6th in the Little Seven Conference golf tournament my senior year in high school, earning all-conference honors and eventually team MVP. Over the summer, Jimbo asked us to list all of our life's crowning athletic achievements. The answers are equal parts interesting and depressing.
- I've got some bling, including a fake gold medal from an 8th grade boys basketball tournament that my squad won. We went 15-5 that year and I led the team in scoring, all while wearing socks up to my knees and the tightest hot pants this side of Wonder Woman.
- I also have a trophy for the highest average during my 6th grade intramural bowling league.
- Various track and field ribbons from 1st - 5th grade track and field days, including a blue ribbon in the 400 yard race.
- My tee ball, minor league, and major league little league baseball teams all won the championship. I received a trophy for the major league title.
- I won a plaque for a basketball shooting contest in fifth grade.
- Believe it or not I won the long jump in the 16 team Wolhutter Invitational in 8th grade with a jump of 17' 6.5" and I have a trophy for that. This is the peak of my athletic accomplishments.
- I received a ribbon for finishing in fourth place as a freshman in the JV Upstate Eight Golf Conference Tournament (39-44 83).
- Coltrain and I won the coveted Sycamore Cup, a two man team event, and we each still have the cup.
- I won the C Flight in the St. Charles Park District match play tourney and have a trophy for that.
- And, of course, I am the proud captain of the winning side of the inaugural Ballyizzle Cup, and I take it with me in a little felt case everywhere I go.
- 1997 Sycamore Cup, with Jefe
- Multiple regular season Wegobomber Rec league trophies, no playoff trophies
- All Little 7 Conference Golf, 1991-92
- Golf Team MVP, 1991-92
- Ballynizzle Cup, runner-up
I always considered myself to be a decent athlete. Until I saw that complete list in print. The point was nailed home when I played with Shane, one of the guys in the crew, the next day. As a starting pitcher, he led Texas Tech to the College World Series with a 15-1 record and was later drafted by my (gulp) beloved Pittsburgh Pirates in the 8th round. Not surprisingly, the Pirates farm system screwed up and tried to make him a middle reliever. Not surprisingly, Shane was a heck of a stick on the golf course as well. "So...you're basically one of those guys who's good at everything?" I asked him as we walked down the first fairway.]
Back to the match...Colton/Jefe versus Jimbo/Matt turned out to be the perfect match-up. Schulte carried the lowest index, but he can be so night-and-day that his golf buddies call him Othello. Jefe maybe has Jimbo's number by a stroke or two. I was the X-factor. Any one of us could birdie one hole and triple bogey the next. And that's exactly how Saturday afternoon's match played out. Very few holes were halved and it bounced back and forth, neither team getting more than one-or two-up on either side. You couldn't have drawn up a more even pairing on paper, unless the match was scored on chest bumps, trash talk and posturing, in which case Jefe and I would've 10&8'd like Tom Doak on any TPC. The pinnacle (or nadir) came on the 16th tee. Coming off a Jefe birdie on the 15th that squared the match, I bombed a drive down the left side of the reachable par 5. As soon as the ball was in the air, I untucked my shirt and stomped around like one of those guys in a Re-Max long-drive contest, much to the dismay of Jimbo. A birdie there put us one-up, a lead we carried to the last hole. Jimbo got the last laugh, however, as I was unable to get up-and-down from the front of the 18th green and the match ended all-square. Although I was probably the last person Jimbo ever wanted to play golf with again, it was decided the match would have to go USGA...only another 18 holes the next day could crown the rightful winner.
To give everyone some much needed breathing room, I played with Shane and his buddies the following morning. It was a great time, but honestly I wish I was never part of their group. You see, Shane and his three college buddies, Steve, Tyler and Mark traveled and golfed together all over the globe much like Jefe, Jimbo and I and so many other tight-knit golf crews out there. They even had a cool name for themselves: The Four Gorsemen. I kicked myself for not thinking of it first, but it would've been moot since we can't seem to keep a fourth for more than a couple rounds.
Shane and the other Gorsemen had the opposite problem. Their rock-solid four was tragically cut down to three, as Gorsemen Mark, like Shane a former professional ballplayer, stud golfer and from what I can gather an all-around great guy, collapsed and died at the age of 32 right after completing a half-marathon back in March. This was the first golf trip other three had been on together since his death. Obviously it was extremely emotional for them. On Friday morning, they left a ball on the first tee for their fallen brother.
As somebody who has tried to capture the bond between guys and their lifelong golf comrades, I felt their pain. I couldn't help but imagine what it'd be like to lose a Jefe or Jimbo and to never be able to experience the thrill of teeing it up on some far-flung, all-world golf course together. I don't know what I'd do with myself.
The tears were shed by the now-Three Gorsemen on Friday morning. The scars were still there on Saturday, but it was back to doing what they did best - busting each others chops and making the most of their precious time together. I felt honored to be along for the ride. "It feels good to have a lefty in the group again," Tyler said in a nod to Mark as we walked off the first tee, exactly the first time anyone has ever said that to me. By the third hole, I felt like an honorary Gorsemen. As the round wore on, it was easy to see the parallels to their group and ours. Gorsemen Steve played the Jimbo role as the token punching bag, making himself an easy target by wearing a NorthFace jacket so impossibly small that the only logical explanation I could come up with was that it had been borrowed from his 11-year old nephew. Like any good golf partners, Shane and Tyler ribbed him about it incessantly. I'm sure Mark would've been proud.
On Saturday afternoon, it was time to continue the fourball match. Jimbo, perhaps motivated by the gamesmanship from the previous afternoon, came out of the gates scorching and staked an early lead for him and Matt. He looked like a shorter-hitting version of Zach Johnson, splitting fairways and getting up and down anytime he had wedge in his hands. When Jimbo's doing that, he's tough to beat. We originally expected another back-and-forth event, but Jimbo and Matt took control of the match and Jefe and I found ourselves an unprecedented 3-down with 5 holes to play. It was now or never for us.
Fortunately, Jefe and I channeled some of that 1997 magic. I finally contributed to the team with a birdie on #14 to get it to 2-down. Jefe stuffed it in tight on the 15th and birdied it again and suddenly we were down only one. After I made par to halve on the 16th (Jefe spent time in the yucca and made 10. Not really important, or even relevant to the story, but I'm going to leave it in here anyways), Jefe bounced back with a remarkable birdie and a half on the brutally-tough 17th (not only have I not even sniffed a birdie there, I've only hit the green in regulation twice in over 75 tries). After 35 holes, we were right back where we started.
Walking up to the 18th tee, Matt was shrewd enough to point out my less-than-stellar match play history on the final hole, not just my mini-choke from the day before but my epic collapse last year with the entire Ballynizzle Cup on the line. But it's a completely different feeling having Jefe actually sending positive voodoo in my direction, and I blasted one down the right side of the fairway. Matt hit his patented high-draw, solid and down the left, really shortening the hole. Jefe and Jimbo found the rough and were effectively out of it. The match now boiled down to Matt and I from less than 170 yards in.
I went first and pured a 7-iron, taking it up the open right side of the green and bringing in towards the back-center of the green (dare I say, a fade?). Matt went next and promptly laid the sod over the ball, advancing it about 75 yards total. Two putts later and the improbable comeback was complete. Easy going Matt took his Calcavecchian-choke job in stride, but I know everytime he was forced to refer to us as "Champs" that weekend, a little piece of him died on the inside.
Winning wasn't even the best thing about the two-day match, although I have to admit, it was pretty darn sweet. The best part was about half-way through the first match, you could almost see the lightbulb go off in our collective heads. We knew we had stumbled onto something special. "Something tells me we're going to playing this same fourball match twenty years from now," I said to the group as we putted out on the 11th green.
And God willing, if we are, I also know what we'll be playing for. Usually pride is more than enough, but a special match such as this one required just a little extra skin in the game. As you probably know, Ballyneal is a walking only course. And Tom Doak did a masterful job with the routing, building an intimate, walking-friendly golf course. The toughest walk on the entire course is the one after the 18th, when you walk about 75-80 yards uphill to get back to the pro shop. It's not a bad walk at all, but it seems about twice as long after your 36th or 54th hole of the day. So in a rare moment of inspiration, I came up with the perfect prize for our match: Losers carry the winners' bags up the hill. So simple. So brilliant. So perfect. Add "Inventor of the Climb at Ballyneal Golf and Hunt Club" to my list of lifetime achievements.
Of course, an epic moment such as this just had to be captured for historical purposes. I hope that "The Climb" catches on at Ballyneal to the point that 95 years from now somebody will wonder how that tradition got started. Then maybe this picture will make its way into a special leather-bound, centennial collectors edition, called "Ballyneal: The First 100 Years".
Just check out the look of pure disdain on Jimbo's face. Priceless.
Part Three: The Prairie Club
If there's one thing my ten devoted blog readers can count on, it's the straight dope on the latest and greatest golf courses around the globe. Sure, you might have to chug through some self-loathing and a lot of Jefe-bashing to get to the dope, but it's there. Trust me.
Understandably, I was thrilled to head out to the Prairie Club in June. Not just to play the two regulation courses and 10-hole "Horse" course over a couple of days, but also to provide my loyal following an exclusive review of this de novo golf excursion just two weeks after its grand opening.
So with that as backdrop, I offer this hard-hitting, soon-to-be award winning synapse of my Prairie Club experience:
I went to Valentine, Nebraska and all I got was this lousy half-zip pullover.
Ok, that's not exactly true. I actually really like the half-zip pullover (I'm a sucker for them). But that is about all I have to show from our time at the Prairie Club. Sorry Jeff, Jim, Keith, Wyatt, Tim, Matt, Tom, Shane, Rich and Vic (what other blog offers such personalized attention?), that's all I got for you.
Sunday morning was a bit of a wash-out at Ballyneal. About half the crew decided to go out, half never set foot out on the golf course. I don't need to tell you which camp I was in. Jefe, Jimbo and I played in a cold, driving rain. Isn't this June in the high desert? After nine holes, even Jimbo had had enough. "I'm just not having fun out here right now," he admitted, definitely the first time those words were ever uttered out in the Chop Hills.
Jefe and I soldiered on to the back nine, trying to make the most of it. It turned out to be a fun round together, and the weather improved as the day wore on. It actually worked out for the best, as Jimbo was stuck getting the car ready for our departure while Jefe and I chased the nugget around. After getting cleaned up, we were on our way.
The Holyoke-to-Valentine leg of the road trip got off to an ominous start. By the time we reached the gas station in Holyoke to fuel up and Coke up (one of my only complaints about Ballyneal…Colorado is Pepsi country), it was pouring. In fact, most of the four-hour trip was like that. The trip to Prairie Club is essentially the same as the drive to Sand Hills, just an hour or so further north. You take the same route to North Platte, Nebraska and head north through the Sand Hills region. You may recall from my Sand Hills report last year that the last leg of the trip is like every golf architecture afficiniado's dream…you drive through these giant sand dunes that are littered with huge, natural blowouts, i.e. potential golf holes just sitting there waiting to be built. Driving down Highway 97 for now the third time, the novelty had worn off but the awe was still there. This is really an incredibly beautiful part of the country, at least as far as we could tell in between wiper blades zipping back and forth.
The area near the Prairie Club is even more impressive. The Snake River weaves it way through the Sand Hills and borders the club's property, the rush of water carving a huge canyon through the sand dunes. I never got a close look, but I'd have to guess the canyon is at least 100-150 feet deep, lined by pine trees on either side. Like I said, impressive. And the courses are located adjacent to the canyon, with the Graham Marsh-designed Pines course weaving around and near the canyon's edge and the Tom Lehman-designed Dunes course going out and back into the open prairie. At least that's what the yardage book says.
We arrived at Prairie Club's luxurious lodge just in time for a late dinner (good thing too…as Jefe's four-day old bag of trail mix was the only Plan B). We also got the chance to talk to one of the guys in the golf staff, who informed us that the course had been closed that day and was more than likely to be closed the next day as well. Of course, this bit of information would have been helpful, say, four-and-a-half hours earlier, especially considering we called the course to change some rooms around* as we were leaving Holyoke. But I guess they wanted their lodging revenue.
[*Note: we were originally supposed to have a fourth for the Prairie Club leg of our trip. Jefe's work colleague and personal caddie, unaffectionately only known to us as Caddie Boy, was all set to drive out by himself from Chicago to meet us in Valentine. The bizarre twist is that Jimbo reached out to Caddie Boy personally to invite him, which garnered a universal, "Caddie Boy? Really?" reaction from both Jefe and I. Nothing against the guy, but it takes a special breed to go on a golf trip with us, and Caddie Boy was like a backup AA-infielder being called up by the Pirates in September…you just knew the results would be disastrous. Fortunately, Caddie Boy got a bad case of the '120's' and ended up bailing on the trip at the last minute. At least he didn't drive all the way from Chicago to find out the course was closed. So I guess it worked out for the best. Especially considering the only way Caddie Boy could play the course (due to a bum leg) was with the use of the cart, and they hadn't let carts on the course at any point since they opened (another little fact they failed to mention to us).]
Sure enough, we woke up the next morning and the weather was more of the same. Granted, it had rained a bunch, but not once did we consider the possibility that a course built out in the Sand Hills region could have drainage issues that would prevent it from being playable. In contrast, a couple of the guys from our weekend group played 54 holes at Sand Hills that same day, and a call down to Dismal River confirmed they were open for play as well. I guess that's the downside risk of trying to play a course right after it opens. Live and learn.
After some hemming and hawing, we determined that our best course of action was to make the long drive back to Holyoke. But when your Plan B is two more days at one of the best golf courses built in the last 70 years, I guess you can't really complain too much. By the time we may it back to Ballyneal, the sun was out and the course was already blazing firm and fast. We'll never get that eight hours we spent in the car back, but at least I have this Under Armour pullover as proof that I was there. And these pics…enjoy!
|Prairie Club's impressive 31-room lodge
|18th Green of the Pines course, just steps from the clubhouse
|One of the holes on the 10-hole Horse course
|The mud pit formerly known as a Horse Course bunker
|Bernie sleeping off a hangover after yet another bender w/ Jimbo
Next Up: The Yucca
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Mayor Bloomberg 's controversial ban on large, sugary sodas fell flat Monday when a judge shredded nearly every legal argument advanced by the mayor's lawyers and tossed the regulation out.
The sweeping ruling, a day before the ban was to take effect, was a stinging setback for Bloomberg, who won national acclaim in pushing the regulation — and condemnation that he was creating a nanny state.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling dismissed the rule as "arbitrary and capricious," with too many loopholes and exemptions, siding with soda companies and business groups that had taken the city to court.
Tracing the Board of Health's powers more than 300 years to the late 1600s under Britain's King James II, the judge said the city agency simply had no authority to issue it. Only the City Council had that power, he said. "One of the fundamental tenets of democratic governance here in New York, as well as throughout the nation, is the separation of powers. . . . No one person, agency, department or branch is above or beyond this," the judge said.
Judge Milton A. Tingling put the kibosh on Mayor Bloomberg's ban one day before it was to go into effect.
The rule "would not only violate the separation of powers doctrine, it would eviscerate it," the judge said.
The rule would have banned sales of sugary sodas larger than 16 ounces by restaurants, movie theaters, pushcarts and sports arenas. (read the whole article here)
Personally, I find it curious that, if Bloomberg wanted to limit the intake of sugary drinks, there was no exemption for sugar-free drinks.
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I and many before me, sacrificed themselves for the many. My father sacrificed, and was at Normandy Landings in 1944 for the many.
All that tells me is that your objectivity is at jeopardy. I'm not saying what you did wasn't worthwhile or that it wasn't heroic by some standards, if you will, but in the end any war is fought for the sake of a few at the top who'd rather send their many expendable pawns to fight and die over land/money/oil/religion than themselves. The "sake of the many" is, more often than not, a pretense.
Actually, ich spreche flüßig Deutsch, mein Lieber.
This "you would be talking german/japanese/russian/etc if not for bla bla bla" is again, nothing more than a platitude.
Your heavy-handed assumption of my heritage and knowledge of languages is just a blatant insult and the Achilles' heel of your argument(, or lack thereof).
I generally have nothing against personal attacks, given as long as they come with actual content too, and not just on their own. You did sadly just that. Without being able to defend your points or debunk mine, you show there's nothing left to discuss then. I already told you I don't think of your father's sacrifice as null, but you're not content with that, what you clearly want, no demand, is worship. A generic army-boy who lacks objectivity, and thinks his daddy was the greatest hero in history.
As a side note for the future, google translate is not a reliable tool to make your point. Nimm's mir nicht Übel ;)
The point was you being able to learn German, in a free society, and that you don't have to speak German, because of the sacrifices of the few.
You had a point? I thought it was one of those generic redneck-reflex answers you throw at other Americans if they don't agree with you, like "if you don't like it why dontcha get out?!"
Again you're making assumptions about me, but let's leave that aside. Americans don't have to speak German. Yes, so? What's your point? That doesn't mean anything. You "have to speak" English because the English settled in America. Had the Russians settled first you'd have to speak Russian now, but it wouldn't bother you, would it? No, because you'd be Russian. If some Chinese had settled, you'd speak Chinese. If people from Sweden did, you'd be speaking Swedish. Had the Germans won you'd speak German, and? You'd most likely BE German, or be raised under their indoctrination, so it wouldn't bother you, just as your current indoctrination doesn't bother you speaking English.
There is nothing that makes your particular culture and your language superior to those of others, and claiming so makes you look like an arrogant racist.
You 're just one of those biased army-kids, who were never introduced to another ideology than whichever one their own household subscribed to and think their particular nation is best and coolest out there (which isn't?).
Buy a plane ticket and see some other cultures for once. The world doesn't just consist of your little microcosm of existence. The bubble is bigger.
Bad For Your Health
I know, it's dumb.
But "Now, for something completely different..."
Until you pay the taxes which go towards health care for these people.
Which could be you. No matter how healthy you seem to be, things can happen. Your insurance can deny your claim or you reach your insurance's limit, or you can't afford the copay you need to cough up before the insurance will start paying.
The public ends up paying for you whether through taxes or higher medical costs when they need help.
True, but as a distinction without much difference. As a group, obese people cost the health care system substantially more than fit people. Statistically and actuarially speaking, even individuals of the former group have a much higher probability of being supported by the latter than vice versa. This can happen either through taxes or insurance payments, but in essence it is the same thing as seen from the payer's perspective.
I do have a problem when public tax money is paying for healthcare, and opinions are, "it's my body my choice".
All the better reason to try very very hard not to get sucked into a situation like that. He who pays the piper calls the tune. Or to come at it from another angle, if you give up responsibility for something you necessarily give up authority/control over it too, even if it's something rather personal. (Any imbalance between the two will be temporary.) I would bet that if the government started down the road of health fascism with this rationale, at least half of the people screaming for single payer today would reverse course. But by then it will be too late; there won't be any choice but to accept health care--with all those strings attached--from the busybodies.
Yeah, right - drugs in every crevice of New York City, so let's ban large soft drinks, maybe we can win that one --
How about exempting people who are maintaining a good body weight and low blood pressure. They could have a license to drink whatever they want in whatever quantity they want. That at least would create an incentive to get in shape and be healthy. Some people can metabolize almost anything and maintain a low body weight.
I just had my first can of Coke in about 4 months. It was good. Much happy I am.
Would that be a Yoda soda?


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Jeremy Lin Admits It's 'Tough' Watching Knicks, Turns to Bible During Injury
Jeremy Lin, New York Knicks starting point guard who rose to fame two months ago and recently announced a possible season-ending surgery, admitted that he was disappointed with his circumstances but leaning on God and the Bible for support.
Lin, a 23-year-old Asian-American Knicks player who was waived by two NBA teams and sent to the D-League before putting up big numbers for the Knicks, said it was hard for him to watch his team play since he couldn't contribute.
"It's disappointing for me. It's hard to watch the games," Lin said in a Madison Square Garden press conference on Saturday. "And I think I want to be out there, obviously, more than anything, to help the team. Hopefully I can come back as soon as possible and still contribute this season."
Still, the Harvard graduate admitted that his recovery from a torn left meniscus would require surgery that would leave him off the court for at least six weeks. Although Lin attempted to get at least three opinions regarding his knee injury that seemed to get worse over time, he spoke about the potential season-ending surgery being a part of a divine plan.
"It's just another bump in the road. Everything happens for a reason and God has a perfect plan," Lin said during the press conference. "I'm just gonna continue to do everything I can to make sure I come back."
Still, Lin spoke about the level of emotions that he faced as a starting player on the Knicks with the rise of his record-breaking career in which he earned a starting position for the first time, to the criticism, large amount of publicity, abrupt change of coaching staff and scheduling of his very first surgery that could threaten his season.
"This season... it's had a lot of downs, a lot of ups. At the end of the day, I'm still thankful to be here," Lin said. "I think as a team we're doing ok and we're going to be just fine. But it's obviously been a very emotional year."
The injured guard who averaged 14.1 points and 6.1 assists during the season and helped his team get over .500 also reaffirmed his faith on Twitter during the trying time in his budding career.
"Thanks for all the love! I'll return from this surgery stronger/better than before and hopefully in time for the playoffs," Lin said.
The California native also tweeted a biblical passage, Ecclesiastes 3:1 and11 (NIV), which states, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens... He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end."


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