Finally, this morning grades were posted on the PSU website.
Apparently my grade of for EC311, which I said earlier was a B+, ended up getting bumped up to an A-, for whatever reason.
I ended up with an A- in PHL310U, Environmental Ethics. I was expecting a B. Seems like grade inflation may also be going on here at PSU, but maybe not to the same extent. It seems like these two classes may have just bumped up my grade because I was so close to an A in them? If so, it might be nice to have a higher GPA, but it doesn't really help in getting a true signal about how I'm doing. Or then again, maybe I'm just too hard on myself. It's hard to say what's really going on. Maybe both. Maybe neither.
My EC437 class, with the old guy I like so much, was probably the only class that I got what I deserved. I guess I didn't do quite as well on the final as I thought. I ended up with a B+ for this class. For once, I'm pretty happy with a B. I learned a lot in this class and found the subject of the economic regulation of utilities to be strangely interesting. And I don't think Mike Katz (the professor) gives out any grade that you didn't actually earn. He made it pretty clear that he "doesn't give a damn" about what students say or think about him.
So, two A- and one B+. I think that averages out to about a 3.6 GPA. Not quite as good as what I finished PCC with (3.89). Getting a lower grade early on really hurts your GPA. The system really doesn't work quite like it should. And from what I've heard, most employers don't really care about your grades. So why are they so important to me?
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
EC311 grades
Grades for my micro theory class were posted today. I did about as well as I thought I would. Overall grades were based on homework (2 worst were dropped), in-class graded work (worst 1 was dropped), both mid-term exams, final paper, and final exam.
The final exam, which I spent about an hour and 40 minutes on (we had 2+ hours), had several long answer questions on it that I was having trouble understanding well before the quiz. I never quite got some of the graphing/math the way it was being explained to me. I thought I got it during once or twice, but it kept falling back out of my brain. And a page on the Coase theorem that, on hindsight, I should have suspected was going to be on the exam and spent more time studying. I partly answered parts of that page and probably got partial credit on particular parts of it. Many of the 50 multiple choice questions were carbon copies of questions on earlier exams and homework. I had a relatively easy time with most of them, but a couple of them gave me problems.
On to the numbers! On the final exam, I scored an 86%. Not great, but nowhere near terrible. I scored somewhere in the top 2 to 7. No one scored 100%, even with 2 easy extra credit points available. The class average was a scary 67.45%. That made me feel better about my score.
So my final overall grade for EC311, Intermediate Microeconomic Theory, came in at 87.71% (B+ or 3.2 GPA). I was somewhere in the top 4 to 11 and the class average was a measly 74.44%. The only classes where we were given grade stats like these were the economics and statistics classes. I like knowing where I stand overall. It gives a little better relative sense of how well I am doing. I did OK. Although I could have easily put in more effort. I'm getting tired of admitting that. Always an underachiever. Old habits and vices are hard to break. It could have been worse. I learned stuff.
The final exam, which I spent about an hour and 40 minutes on (we had 2+ hours), had several long answer questions on it that I was having trouble understanding well before the quiz. I never quite got some of the graphing/math the way it was being explained to me. I thought I got it during once or twice, but it kept falling back out of my brain. And a page on the Coase theorem that, on hindsight, I should have suspected was going to be on the exam and spent more time studying. I partly answered parts of that page and probably got partial credit on particular parts of it. Many of the 50 multiple choice questions were carbon copies of questions on earlier exams and homework. I had a relatively easy time with most of them, but a couple of them gave me problems.
On to the numbers! On the final exam, I scored an 86%. Not great, but nowhere near terrible. I scored somewhere in the top 2 to 7. No one scored 100%, even with 2 easy extra credit points available. The class average was a scary 67.45%. That made me feel better about my score.
So my final overall grade for EC311, Intermediate Microeconomic Theory, came in at 87.71% (B+ or 3.2 GPA). I was somewhere in the top 4 to 11 and the class average was a measly 74.44%. The only classes where we were given grade stats like these were the economics and statistics classes. I like knowing where I stand overall. It gives a little better relative sense of how well I am doing. I did OK. Although I could have easily put in more effort. I'm getting tired of admitting that. Always an underachiever. Old habits and vices are hard to break. It could have been worse. I learned stuff.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Buildings at PSU
This may be another indication that I have no life outside of school.
This quarter was a new experience for me. The PSU campus is large and has a wide range of building ages and styling, some more interesting than others. A campus map is here (opens in a new window). I get off the Max green line train at the PSU Bookstore. I walked about two blocks to get to my first class.
This term I started my mornings on the second floor of Cramer Hall in my regulatory economics class. It's a solid but uninspiring 5-story design (with sky-bridges to other buildings! That part is kind of neat) that was built in three stages between 1955 and 1970. The Economics Department offices are located here. This is one of the core buildings that border the Park Blocks.
I almost always went to the Smith Memorial Student Union to eat my lunch during this quarter. There are several areas with tables and some outlets for laptops (wireless wi-fi covers most of the campus I think). There is a small food court where I sometimes bought a bag of chips. A couple of times, I ate at some of the outside vendors who have small food carts right outside. The quality varied and was a little pricier than you could get a few blocks away, but was not bad overall. I've spent a few afternoons on the second floor studying, reading, or even sleeping a couple of times. The Student Union is located on the south side of Cramer Hall on the Park Blocks and is the hub of the campus. It dates from between 1956 and 1963 and is a little more interesting because of the large windowed areas. It houses a lot of the student services. Apparently there is a bowling alley in the basement.
This quarter was a new experience for me. The PSU campus is large and has a wide range of building ages and styling, some more interesting than others. A campus map is here (opens in a new window). I get off the Max green line train at the PSU Bookstore. I walked about two blocks to get to my first class.
This term I started my mornings on the second floor of Cramer Hall in my regulatory economics class. It's a solid but uninspiring 5-story design (with sky-bridges to other buildings! That part is kind of neat) that was built in three stages between 1955 and 1970. The Economics Department offices are located here. This is one of the core buildings that border the Park Blocks.
Cramer Hall
My second class was the next building over, Lincoln Hall and is basically on the northern border of the campus but still bordering the Park Blocks. This building has its own Wikipedia page. It was built in 1912 as a high school and became a part of PSU in the mid 1950's. Its mostly occupied by the Music department. It is a much grander building is a lot more fun to look at than the typical campus building. This is where I had my Environmental Ethics class on the third floor.
Lincoln Hall
Smith Memorial Student Union
My last class of the day is in the far southeast corner of campus. There isn't a whole lot going on here. I don't care much for the building. My class is on the second floor of the University Technology Services building, across the hall from the military science department. This class was added late because of the demand for a third microeconomics class during registration. I guess they didn't have anywhere else to put it. The classroom was nice and had comfortable chairs and tables, unlike the too-small-for-my-fat-gut individual chair things in the other classes. It was built in 1974 and is OK looking, but dated. There used to be a Unitas Bank here on the ground floor, but they moved out sometime earlier. There are a bunch of food carts a block over, but I didn't eat at any of them this term.
University Technology Services Bldg.
The coming winter term I will start on the third floor of the University Center Building, about 2 blocks south of my Max stop. I don't know much about this building. It was aquired by PSU in 1999 and is mostly used as office space and has the student health services on the first floor. I'm taking my Behavioral Economics class here on Mondays and Wednesdays
University Center Building
My second class (Monday, Wednesday, and the only class I have on Friday) starts 15 minutes after the end of the first one on the third floor of Neuberger Hall, two block away. This building is next to the Student Union and is on the Park Blocks. This building is ugly. One of the worst on campus. It was built in 1960 and 1966. Blah.
Neuberger Hall
For my Tuesday and Thursday class I'll be on the second floor of Shattuck Hall. This is another old and much more interesting looking building, just to the south of Neuberger and is also on the Park Blocks. It started as an elementary school in 1915 and has been a part of PSU since 1969. They did a recent remodel on parts of it. My Energy Economics class will be here. The picture doesn't do justice to the real thing. It's classic early 20th century institutional learning facility.
Shattuck Halls
End of fall term
I took my last final Tuesday night. Now I have 3 1/2 weeks to relax and do whatever. Most likely I'll spend a lot of time being lazy. I am going to try and make another batch of salsa. I've been going through 1 to 2 jars every week. I'm going to try an make it a little hotter this time.
I haven't gotten any final grades yet, but I will go ahead and predict 2 B's and 1 A. My final paper (there were no exams at all in this class - 2 papers, 1 oral presentation, and attendance/participation) for Environmental Ethics could have been a lot stronger and will probably drag my overall grade down to a B. I mostly enjoyed the class and it gave me an expanded view of a lot of environmental issues. I really need to put more effort into not procrastinating so much with papers. This class should have been a relatively easy A. If I end up with an A I will be suitably disappointed because I don't really deserve it.
My favorite class (with my favorite professor of all time!) was highly informative and interesting. I did really well on the mid-term (one of 3 A's for the class) and I'm pretty sure I'll get an A on the final. I knew the material pretty well and took lots of notes. He spent the last two classes letting us know what we needed to know for the final. Studying for an exam with 6 pages of notes is much easier than with 50 pages. I learned a lot about how regulation of industry works, particularly the energy production/transmission industry. I had to give up some of the preconceptions about this subject. This is the kind of stuff I'm really interested in. I'm looking forward to his other class during the winter term.
I just wasn't very happy with the instructor of my Microeconomic Theory class. He was a nice enough guy but I had a lot of issues with his methods and work style. I've complained plenty to my housemates, so enough of that. I expect a B from this class also. One of my midterms was less than stellar (79%) and one was pretty good (90%). I got just under 92% on the homework. I did pretty well on the in-class graded problems, but still don't know the overall grade for those. I think I did pretty well on the short final paper (Price Discrimination: On-Peak and Off-Peak Pricing). I think I only did so-so on the final exam. There were a couple of the multiple part questions that I wasn't very familiar with. And I still don't really get how to figure out a couple of seemingly fairly important things. I blame the teacher. Mostly. Anyway, I think I probably got a score somewhere in the low 80's. At least I hope so. That would give me a solid B. Even a score in the 70's would probably still leave me with a B overall. I wish I had had a lot more time for this class. 10 weeks seemed too short for all of the information that we were expected to learn. Maybe I'm just getting old and it takes longer to learn new things. Maybe I should just try harder. No matter what that seems like a smart thing to do, but hard to pull off sometimes. I was glad to get this class over with. I think the way my schedule was arranged this term was less than ideal.
I registered for classes a couple of weeks ago. I went for the 5-days per week option that allows me to be home by lunch time every day.
My first class is Behavioral Economics (EC410U). I think this class is going to be a challenge. If it can hold my interest it shouldn't be too hard to be motivated. It only meets twice a week for an hour each time. The syllabus indicates a group project with grad students leading each group, a lot on online time, a need for a laptop in class, and two papers. I've heard the instructor is interesting but a bit wacky. I hope that's what my opinion of him is. This is the only class that I'm a bit unsure of, but I think it could be interesting and valuable. I've pretty much decided the same about Econometrics, but I'm not very confident in my math skills.
Next is Energy Economics (strangely, this class is also EC410U). I expect this to be my favorite class of the term. Same professor as my Regulation class. How can it be bad?
The third class is Economics of Green Power (EC444). This should also be a very interesting class. The instructor uses a textbook that he wrote. I don't much like the idea of this, but I have no personal proof that it is a bad thing. I'm excited to learn more about this subject.
So it's ALL economics this coming term. Hooray! I think I only have to buy two textbooks this time and both of them are relatively inexpensive. I should probably buy a new raincoat though. I'm still walking a lot as part of my commute and its only going to getting wetter in the next few months. Classes start on Monday, January 2.
Mon. 9-10 Behavioral Econ
10:15-11:20 Green Power
Tues. 10-11:50 Energy Econ
Wed. 9-10 Behavioral Econ
10:15-11:20 Green Power
Thurs. 10-11:50 Energy Econ
Fri. 10:15-11:20 Green Power
I'm going to have to get used to getting up an hour earlier this term. Can I handle it? It will be a horrible trying experience, I'm sure. Oh the horror!
I haven't gotten any final grades yet, but I will go ahead and predict 2 B's and 1 A. My final paper (there were no exams at all in this class - 2 papers, 1 oral presentation, and attendance/participation) for Environmental Ethics could have been a lot stronger and will probably drag my overall grade down to a B. I mostly enjoyed the class and it gave me an expanded view of a lot of environmental issues. I really need to put more effort into not procrastinating so much with papers. This class should have been a relatively easy A. If I end up with an A I will be suitably disappointed because I don't really deserve it.
My favorite class (with my favorite professor of all time!) was highly informative and interesting. I did really well on the mid-term (one of 3 A's for the class) and I'm pretty sure I'll get an A on the final. I knew the material pretty well and took lots of notes. He spent the last two classes letting us know what we needed to know for the final. Studying for an exam with 6 pages of notes is much easier than with 50 pages. I learned a lot about how regulation of industry works, particularly the energy production/transmission industry. I had to give up some of the preconceptions about this subject. This is the kind of stuff I'm really interested in. I'm looking forward to his other class during the winter term.
I just wasn't very happy with the instructor of my Microeconomic Theory class. He was a nice enough guy but I had a lot of issues with his methods and work style. I've complained plenty to my housemates, so enough of that. I expect a B from this class also. One of my midterms was less than stellar (79%) and one was pretty good (90%). I got just under 92% on the homework. I did pretty well on the in-class graded problems, but still don't know the overall grade for those. I think I did pretty well on the short final paper (Price Discrimination: On-Peak and Off-Peak Pricing). I think I only did so-so on the final exam. There were a couple of the multiple part questions that I wasn't very familiar with. And I still don't really get how to figure out a couple of seemingly fairly important things. I blame the teacher. Mostly. Anyway, I think I probably got a score somewhere in the low 80's. At least I hope so. That would give me a solid B. Even a score in the 70's would probably still leave me with a B overall. I wish I had had a lot more time for this class. 10 weeks seemed too short for all of the information that we were expected to learn. Maybe I'm just getting old and it takes longer to learn new things. Maybe I should just try harder. No matter what that seems like a smart thing to do, but hard to pull off sometimes. I was glad to get this class over with. I think the way my schedule was arranged this term was less than ideal.
I registered for classes a couple of weeks ago. I went for the 5-days per week option that allows me to be home by lunch time every day.
My first class is Behavioral Economics (EC410U). I think this class is going to be a challenge. If it can hold my interest it shouldn't be too hard to be motivated. It only meets twice a week for an hour each time. The syllabus indicates a group project with grad students leading each group, a lot on online time, a need for a laptop in class, and two papers. I've heard the instructor is interesting but a bit wacky. I hope that's what my opinion of him is. This is the only class that I'm a bit unsure of, but I think it could be interesting and valuable. I've pretty much decided the same about Econometrics, but I'm not very confident in my math skills.
Next is Energy Economics (strangely, this class is also EC410U). I expect this to be my favorite class of the term. Same professor as my Regulation class. How can it be bad?
The third class is Economics of Green Power (EC444). This should also be a very interesting class. The instructor uses a textbook that he wrote. I don't much like the idea of this, but I have no personal proof that it is a bad thing. I'm excited to learn more about this subject.
So it's ALL economics this coming term. Hooray! I think I only have to buy two textbooks this time and both of them are relatively inexpensive. I should probably buy a new raincoat though. I'm still walking a lot as part of my commute and its only going to getting wetter in the next few months. Classes start on Monday, January 2.
Mon. 9-10 Behavioral Econ
10:15-11:20 Green Power
Tues. 10-11:50 Energy Econ
Wed. 9-10 Behavioral Econ
10:15-11:20 Green Power
Thurs. 10-11:50 Energy Econ
Fri. 10:15-11:20 Green Power
I'm going to have to get used to getting up an hour earlier this term. Can I handle it? It will be a horrible trying experience, I'm sure. Oh the horror!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
End of the garden
It is supposed to get down to nearly freezing tonight. Then plenty of rain for the next week, maybe even some hail on Thursday. I've been keeping the tomato plants covered when it has been raining and they are still doing well, especially for as late as it is. But I think that may be coming to an end. I will probably pick everything that's there pretty soon and let it sit in the basement until they either ripen or get soft. I have about 6 gallons frozen right now and will probably get another 2 off the plants. That's 12 gallons of Roma tomatoes from two plants. I'm pleased with that, especially for my first time. All that salsa should last me for many months.
I might continue to let the cilantro grow, even though it doesn't have a very strong taste, like my earlier crop. The endive is kind of bland too. I don't enjoy it that much and will probably get rid of it. I'm trying a new, less work, method. I'm basically just composting right in the garden with a thick layer of hay on top of it. By next spring, it should be ready to go. I'll keep adding organic material from the kitchen and the yard and hay as needed. It will keep the bed warmer and will require little to no watering or fertilizing. And no weeding. At least that's the theory (which is proven and has been around for a while from what I understand. You can Google 'Ruth Stout Method'). I like the idea of less work and am going to experiment and see how it works for me.
I might continue to let the cilantro grow, even though it doesn't have a very strong taste, like my earlier crop. The endive is kind of bland too. I don't enjoy it that much and will probably get rid of it. I'm trying a new, less work, method. I'm basically just composting right in the garden with a thick layer of hay on top of it. By next spring, it should be ready to go. I'll keep adding organic material from the kitchen and the yard and hay as needed. It will keep the bed warmer and will require little to no watering or fertilizing. And no weeding. At least that's the theory (which is proven and has been around for a while from what I understand. You can Google 'Ruth Stout Method'). I like the idea of less work and am going to experiment and see how it works for me.
School is hard
I've been having a hard time readjusting to school. I've had some attitude problems lately that my good friend, Erik, pointed out to me. My right shoulder has been giving me a lot of problems lately. The last few days I've been in pain almost constantly. The long days at school (and the commute) are getting a little easier, but it makes my last class kind of a drag and I still find it hard to concentrate on much during the long break (my shoulder doesn't help much with this either). Yeah, I'm cranky.
I procrastinated on writing my midterm paper for environmental ethics and it definitely suffered because of it. I haven't gotten it back yet, but don't expect much. A low "B" maybe if I'm lucky. We split into large groups today and will meet after class on Thursday to further split into pairs. Each pair will give a short presentation on their chosen subject (ours is Land & Water) followed by a Q&A. I can't wait (that's sarcasm). I do find a lot of value in this class, but don't care much for some of the required activities. Can't have it all.
I'm pretty happy with my Public Utilities Econ class. We had our mid-term exam last week and I think I was one of three (maybe more. Not everyone was there) who got an "A" on the test. The instructor apparently grades on a curve, because that "A" was earned with a score of 39 out of 55 possible points. It was a hard test. Normally that would only be 71%. But this guy has been doing this a long time and probably has a reason. This is good news for my final grade because you have the choice of combining exam grade for an average or just taking whatever you get on the final. It's not actually even a choice. He does whatever will help your grade the most. But the final grade consists ONLY of these two test scores, so you need to do pretty well on them. A lot of people are rarely there and I think their grades probably will suffer. And he even told us that the tests are from his lectures only. The info in the text is supplementary and repeats some of the same stuff he lectures on, but definitely not all of it. We have already covered a majority of the the most important information, so the rest of the term may be a little easier. Maybe. We have 4 guest lecturers coming in over the next month. Attendance is mandatory (ha ha slackers!) for the guest lectures and they might take most of the class period each time.
Microeconomics. This class makes me a little sad. I want a lot more time to cover the material. We spend very little time on any one thing and don't even cover everything in the PowerPoint presentations. I haven't done all that well on the homework, in-class exercises, and midterm exam. I'd be lucky if I'm averaging 80% right now. This class is one of the most important ones I've taken yet. I have a lot of complaints about a lot of things with this class. Sure its hard. Sure I could be studying even MORE. And the fact that I haven't had an economic class in almost two years doesn't really help. I'm having to relearn a lot of old stuff along with all the new stuff. I think a lot of other people are struggling with this class too. I don't know if that makes it any better or not.
I have to pick classes for my next term in two weeks. I started stressing about that last night. Jeez. I have a feeling that I will have almost the same schedule that I do now, only about 40 minutes shorter. At least there is that. Right now I'm leaning towards GEOG345U (Resource Management), EC332 (Economics of Environmental Issues), and EC410 (Energy Economics - with the same old-school professor who teaches my Public Utilities class!). Those are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 6pm.
Energy Economics is only taught one term per year. I really want to take it now this coming term. The instructor, Mike Katz, seems healthy enough, but is about 85 years old, so you never know. I really like to listen to his lectures and he has had a LOT of experience. He is quite a character as is very self-aware of who he is and his biases, but presents the issues of public utility regulation in a very neutral way. It's also very obvious that he is still passionate about public electric utilities. I need to make some time to talk to him during his office hours (early morning only. Figures).
An alternate version that I'm not really all that seriously considering is this - EC410 (gotta have Energy Economics), another EC410 (this one is Behavioral Economics and is only an hour long twice a week), and EC444 (Economics of Green Power - another one hour class, but three times a week and another that is only offered during winter term). Class on all five weekdays. Monday and Wednesday from 9am to 11:20, Tuesday and Thursday from 10am to noon, and Friday from 10:15 to 11:20. After typing this out, this doesn't seem all that bad, until you add an hour or more commuting each day. Even then it seems like it might be less stressful to stretch out my classes but have much shorter days and less time (no time actually) wasted on campus. Plus my days will be more structured, I'll be home for lunch everyday, and it might keep me on track better than I'm doing right now. Only two days between classes instead of four so I'm less apt to screw off as much. I think I'm trying to talk myself into this option now. These are all 400 level classes, so they may not be as easy as the short class time might indicate. And I would have to get up an hour earlier twice a week. Oh, the horror!!!
I can take EC312 (Macroeconomic Theory) any term. I'm in no rush on that one. EC401 would be an easy one credit class. I already attend the seminars and could be getting a grade for writing a short paper on each lecture, but it's only one credit and I don't really need the added stress of 4 more papers during the term. I think I'll just keep going to them for free. Plus it won't matter if I miss one. EC314U (Private and Public Investment) would probably be a good idea, but that's another one that I can take any time. If I have the time. There are a lot of other classes I'd rather take. And they started offering it as a web-only class. Do I like that or not? I'm not sure. I'll keep my options open.
I procrastinated on writing my midterm paper for environmental ethics and it definitely suffered because of it. I haven't gotten it back yet, but don't expect much. A low "B" maybe if I'm lucky. We split into large groups today and will meet after class on Thursday to further split into pairs. Each pair will give a short presentation on their chosen subject (ours is Land & Water) followed by a Q&A. I can't wait (that's sarcasm). I do find a lot of value in this class, but don't care much for some of the required activities. Can't have it all.
I'm pretty happy with my Public Utilities Econ class. We had our mid-term exam last week and I think I was one of three (maybe more. Not everyone was there) who got an "A" on the test. The instructor apparently grades on a curve, because that "A" was earned with a score of 39 out of 55 possible points. It was a hard test. Normally that would only be 71%. But this guy has been doing this a long time and probably has a reason. This is good news for my final grade because you have the choice of combining exam grade for an average or just taking whatever you get on the final. It's not actually even a choice. He does whatever will help your grade the most. But the final grade consists ONLY of these two test scores, so you need to do pretty well on them. A lot of people are rarely there and I think their grades probably will suffer. And he even told us that the tests are from his lectures only. The info in the text is supplementary and repeats some of the same stuff he lectures on, but definitely not all of it. We have already covered a majority of the the most important information, so the rest of the term may be a little easier. Maybe. We have 4 guest lecturers coming in over the next month. Attendance is mandatory (ha ha slackers!) for the guest lectures and they might take most of the class period each time.
Microeconomics. This class makes me a little sad. I want a lot more time to cover the material. We spend very little time on any one thing and don't even cover everything in the PowerPoint presentations. I haven't done all that well on the homework, in-class exercises, and midterm exam. I'd be lucky if I'm averaging 80% right now. This class is one of the most important ones I've taken yet. I have a lot of complaints about a lot of things with this class. Sure its hard. Sure I could be studying even MORE. And the fact that I haven't had an economic class in almost two years doesn't really help. I'm having to relearn a lot of old stuff along with all the new stuff. I think a lot of other people are struggling with this class too. I don't know if that makes it any better or not.
I have to pick classes for my next term in two weeks. I started stressing about that last night. Jeez. I have a feeling that I will have almost the same schedule that I do now, only about 40 minutes shorter. At least there is that. Right now I'm leaning towards GEOG345U (Resource Management), EC332 (Economics of Environmental Issues), and EC410 (Energy Economics - with the same old-school professor who teaches my Public Utilities class!). Those are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 6pm.
Energy Economics is only taught one term per year. I really want to take it now this coming term. The instructor, Mike Katz, seems healthy enough, but is about 85 years old, so you never know. I really like to listen to his lectures and he has had a LOT of experience. He is quite a character as is very self-aware of who he is and his biases, but presents the issues of public utility regulation in a very neutral way. It's also very obvious that he is still passionate about public electric utilities. I need to make some time to talk to him during his office hours (early morning only. Figures).
An alternate version that I'm not really all that seriously considering is this - EC410 (gotta have Energy Economics), another EC410 (this one is Behavioral Economics and is only an hour long twice a week), and EC444 (Economics of Green Power - another one hour class, but three times a week and another that is only offered during winter term). Class on all five weekdays. Monday and Wednesday from 9am to 11:20, Tuesday and Thursday from 10am to noon, and Friday from 10:15 to 11:20. After typing this out, this doesn't seem all that bad, until you add an hour or more commuting each day. Even then it seems like it might be less stressful to stretch out my classes but have much shorter days and less time (no time actually) wasted on campus. Plus my days will be more structured, I'll be home for lunch everyday, and it might keep me on track better than I'm doing right now. Only two days between classes instead of four so I'm less apt to screw off as much. I think I'm trying to talk myself into this option now. These are all 400 level classes, so they may not be as easy as the short class time might indicate. And I would have to get up an hour earlier twice a week. Oh, the horror!!!
I can take EC312 (Macroeconomic Theory) any term. I'm in no rush on that one. EC401 would be an easy one credit class. I already attend the seminars and could be getting a grade for writing a short paper on each lecture, but it's only one credit and I don't really need the added stress of 4 more papers during the term. I think I'll just keep going to them for free. Plus it won't matter if I miss one. EC314U (Private and Public Investment) would probably be a good idea, but that's another one that I can take any time. If I have the time. There are a lot of other classes I'd rather take. And they started offering it as a web-only class. Do I like that or not? I'm not sure. I'll keep my options open.
Friday, October 7, 2011
OK fine.
Not one single post in September. Not like I didn't have the time.
My garden is on the down-swing for the year. It worked out pretty well and I learned a few things. I'm really pleased at how my homemade pesto came out. Heavy on the garlic and unbelievably delicious! I've been eating it several times a week. The salsa came out pretty good, but is nowhere near as hot as I had hoped it would be. I should be able to make at least one more batch and will try a little harder finding some decent hot peppers. I'm going to try a few things over the winter that hopefully will make the garden even less work next year. Among others, I think I might try some corn, potatoes, basil, tomatoes, cilantro, spinach, and plenty of onions next year.
I'm getting used to the whole school routine again. The first week was a lot harder than I had anticipated, but this week was much easier. I leave at about 8:55am, drive to the Lloyd Center and park my car in the Sears parking lot, walk to the MAX stop at Holliday Park, and get to PSU about 10 minutes before my first class starts at 10am. One of these days I'll probably be late because they have to raise the steel bridge for the larger ships going up the Willamette River. I'd be safer getting to the MAX stop about 15 minutes earlier. Its just that I already have to sit around for over 2-1/2 hours between my second and third classes and I don't relish hanging around for even longer. Cheap insurance I suppose and if I do get delayed I'm sure I'll wish that I had taken an earlier train. Coming home is pretty much the same in reverse. My last class gets out at 6:30 and I have to walk about 6 or 7 block from my last class to the MAX stop and it always seems like the train is always leaving just as I can see it from about 3 blocks away. But its only about 15 minutes until the next one arrives. I end up getting home about 7:25pm. I usually only eat an energy bar, a sandwich, and some chips during the day and have been losing weight without doing anything else. I hope this trend continues for a little while.
My classes are definitely at least a step or two up in difficulty than the classes at PCC. Luckily there isn't a huge amount of papers - two 6-page essays and two 2 page essays, although one of these is optional. But there is a lot of reading. The philosophy text is probably the easiest to read, then the microeconomics book (the only traditional "text-book" like you might expect), then the public utility regulation book. That one is a killer. Not fun to read at all.
I need to get ready to go back to PSU this afternoon. I'm going to one of the economic seminars that they have several times every term. It's not for any class, although there is a class that attends these and writes papers on the presentations. I just want to go because it will probably be interesting.
My garden is on the down-swing for the year. It worked out pretty well and I learned a few things. I'm really pleased at how my homemade pesto came out. Heavy on the garlic and unbelievably delicious! I've been eating it several times a week. The salsa came out pretty good, but is nowhere near as hot as I had hoped it would be. I should be able to make at least one more batch and will try a little harder finding some decent hot peppers. I'm going to try a few things over the winter that hopefully will make the garden even less work next year. Among others, I think I might try some corn, potatoes, basil, tomatoes, cilantro, spinach, and plenty of onions next year.
I'm getting used to the whole school routine again. The first week was a lot harder than I had anticipated, but this week was much easier. I leave at about 8:55am, drive to the Lloyd Center and park my car in the Sears parking lot, walk to the MAX stop at Holliday Park, and get to PSU about 10 minutes before my first class starts at 10am. One of these days I'll probably be late because they have to raise the steel bridge for the larger ships going up the Willamette River. I'd be safer getting to the MAX stop about 15 minutes earlier. Its just that I already have to sit around for over 2-1/2 hours between my second and third classes and I don't relish hanging around for even longer. Cheap insurance I suppose and if I do get delayed I'm sure I'll wish that I had taken an earlier train. Coming home is pretty much the same in reverse. My last class gets out at 6:30 and I have to walk about 6 or 7 block from my last class to the MAX stop and it always seems like the train is always leaving just as I can see it from about 3 blocks away. But its only about 15 minutes until the next one arrives. I end up getting home about 7:25pm. I usually only eat an energy bar, a sandwich, and some chips during the day and have been losing weight without doing anything else. I hope this trend continues for a little while.
My classes are definitely at least a step or two up in difficulty than the classes at PCC. Luckily there isn't a huge amount of papers - two 6-page essays and two 2 page essays, although one of these is optional. But there is a lot of reading. The philosophy text is probably the easiest to read, then the microeconomics book (the only traditional "text-book" like you might expect), then the public utility regulation book. That one is a killer. Not fun to read at all.
I need to get ready to go back to PSU this afternoon. I'm going to one of the economic seminars that they have several times every term. It's not for any class, although there is a class that attends these and writes papers on the presentations. I just want to go because it will probably be interesting.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Lightning Motorcycles destroys old speed records - goes over 200mph!
Electric motorcycle tech has been moving along at a fairly rapid pace and I was very happy to see the top speed records falling as fast as they have been. Electric motorcycles have been competing with ICE (internal combustion engine) bikes since last year and have been very competitive, even winning some races.
I was thrilled when an electric motorcycle went over 176 mph last year. That record was thoroughly destroyed with a run on August 13 at over 205 mph. Later in the week they went on to push the speed up to over 217 mph. I don't think that 300 mph is going to be that far off.
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/lightning-motorcycles-electric-motorcycle-200-mph-bonneville/
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/lightning-motorcycles-land-speed-record-bonneville-215-mph/
I was thrilled when an electric motorcycle went over 176 mph last year. That record was thoroughly destroyed with a run on August 13 at over 205 mph. Later in the week they went on to push the speed up to over 217 mph. I don't think that 300 mph is going to be that far off.
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/lightning-motorcycles-electric-motorcycle-200-mph-bonneville/
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/lightning-motorcycles-land-speed-record-bonneville-215-mph/
Sunday, August 21, 2011
I liked this video enough to post it here but a clever title is just not going to happen
Hayek has never really been on my radar. This video makes me want to learn more.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Tomato Tomatoe
My two Roma tomato plants are getting pretty heavy with fruit. The larger one keeps overwhelming its tomato cage. A few weeks ago I sat some rocks on the lowest wire of the larger one because the whole cage was starting to tip over. Yesterday I noticed that the wires in the middle of the cage were bending and the whole thing looked like it was getting ready to tip over. I needed to build some kind of trellis or support. This morning I looked in the rafters of the garage at the misc. lumber and found three 2x4's that were plenty long enough. I didn't have a saw, but made them work as two of them were nearly the same length and I just let the top one hang over on both sides. One was twisted pretty bad, but it worked. They all had some nails in them still and I was able to remove them and reuse all but one, which was just enough for the job. I used safety wire to support the cage itself and then used narrow ribbon material to hold up various branches that were now sitting on the ground.
There are a lot of tomatoes for such a small plant (about 3-1/2 to 4 feet tall). I have no idea when they will be ready. They are all still pretty green and lots of different sizes. These are supposed to be determinate, which means they should all ripen at the same time. So I need to be ready and should start looking for salsa and sauce recipes that I can freeze. This should be interesting.
There are a lot of tomatoes for such a small plant (about 3-1/2 to 4 feet tall). I have no idea when they will be ready. They are all still pretty green and lots of different sizes. These are supposed to be determinate, which means they should all ripen at the same time. So I need to be ready and should start looking for salsa and sauce recipes that I can freeze. This should be interesting.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Glasses
I finally bought some reading glasses last week and used them in public for the first time today. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I accept that I'm getting older and my eyes are also, but what do I look like? Do they make me look older? I feel older and I don't like it. Or do I look ridiculous with my $12 glasses? I know I'm worrying about this way more than I need to. Is college going to end up being my "mid-life crisis"? I guess that wouldn't be horrible. And I need a haircut.
Hello, Portland State University!
Today I went to the orientation for transfer students entering PSU. It wasn't too terribly long and I did learn a couple of things. Most importantly, I was able to register for classes for the fall term.
It took me a little longer to get there than I thought it would. I barely had time to get off the MAX, buy some Indian food from a food cart, and then get to Hoffman Hall to sign in and get my pile of stuff. I sat down at a table just inside the main door and wolfed down my lunch (which made me sweat profusely, much to my embarassment) and went into the small auditorium for the intro spiels. We are glad you are hear, blah, blah, blah, and so forth. Then we split into smaller groups and we to the Smith Memorial Student Union (room 238 for me). Then we listened to more stuff about the course list, registration guide, bulletin, etc. that they gave us.
I found out that, yes I do have to take some additional classes, but only 3 since I have over 90 credits already, and one of the choices I have is a class that I wanted to take anyway, so that's not all that bad. It's a little complicated, but basically you are supposed to choose a cluster of classes associated with a broad area of study like community studies; knowledge, rationality and understanding (that one sounded interesting); pop culture; leadership; women's studies, etc. I chose the Environmental Sustainability cluster and have a fixed list of classes that I have to pick from.
After that we split up into even smaller groups depending on our major. There were only 6 economics majors, so that was quick and easy. We asked the adviser questions, figured out what classes we wanted, wrote them on a worksheet from one of the handouts, and then went to the building next door (I think it was Neuberger Hall. This campus is nothing like PCC. It's really big) and registered for classes online.
I want to get the cluster classes taken care of sooner rather than later (and because it was still available - lots of the classes I wanted to take are now full for the fall term) so I registered for PHL 310U, which is Environmental Ethics. I'm also taking EC 311 (Microeconomic Theory) and EC 437 (Public Utility Economics). Each class is 4 credits. I did manage to get them all on the same days with only a 2-1/2 hour gap in the middle. Perfect for lunch, studying, reading, etc.
Tuesday & Thursday
10:00-11:50 EC 437
12:00-1:50 PHL 310U
4:40-6:30 EC311
I would kind of like to go more days per week and spread it around a little more, but I like the idea of only commuting twice a week.
I already found a good source for cheap used textbooks, but I still don't know who the instructor is going to be or what textbook is going to be used for EC 311. I hope they don't suck.
I'm excited and nervous to start going to PSU. Classes start the last week of September and last for 10 weeks.
It took me a little longer to get there than I thought it would. I barely had time to get off the MAX, buy some Indian food from a food cart, and then get to Hoffman Hall to sign in and get my pile of stuff. I sat down at a table just inside the main door and wolfed down my lunch (which made me sweat profusely, much to my embarassment) and went into the small auditorium for the intro spiels. We are glad you are hear, blah, blah, blah, and so forth. Then we split into smaller groups and we to the Smith Memorial Student Union (room 238 for me). Then we listened to more stuff about the course list, registration guide, bulletin, etc. that they gave us.
I found out that, yes I do have to take some additional classes, but only 3 since I have over 90 credits already, and one of the choices I have is a class that I wanted to take anyway, so that's not all that bad. It's a little complicated, but basically you are supposed to choose a cluster of classes associated with a broad area of study like community studies; knowledge, rationality and understanding (that one sounded interesting); pop culture; leadership; women's studies, etc. I chose the Environmental Sustainability cluster and have a fixed list of classes that I have to pick from.
After that we split up into even smaller groups depending on our major. There were only 6 economics majors, so that was quick and easy. We asked the adviser questions, figured out what classes we wanted, wrote them on a worksheet from one of the handouts, and then went to the building next door (I think it was Neuberger Hall. This campus is nothing like PCC. It's really big) and registered for classes online.
I want to get the cluster classes taken care of sooner rather than later (and because it was still available - lots of the classes I wanted to take are now full for the fall term) so I registered for PHL 310U, which is Environmental Ethics. I'm also taking EC 311 (Microeconomic Theory) and EC 437 (Public Utility Economics). Each class is 4 credits. I did manage to get them all on the same days with only a 2-1/2 hour gap in the middle. Perfect for lunch, studying, reading, etc.
Tuesday & Thursday
10:00-11:50 EC 437
12:00-1:50 PHL 310U
4:40-6:30 EC311
I would kind of like to go more days per week and spread it around a little more, but I like the idea of only commuting twice a week.
I already found a good source for cheap used textbooks, but I still don't know who the instructor is going to be or what textbook is going to be used for EC 311. I hope they don't suck.
I'm excited and nervous to start going to PSU. Classes start the last week of September and last for 10 weeks.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
This may take a little longer
I think I made a mistake by taking the classes I did the last few semesters. I was trying to save money and go for the cheapest option for as long as possible. I'll find out next Thursday at a new student orientation at PSU. I think I should have already started taking classes there and completed a sophomore requirement that I was not fully aware of. But even if I screwed up I'm not going to let it bother me too much. I should have been on top of this better, but what's done is done.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
No excuses
I keep feeling like I should be posting here a lot more, but it feels too much like an assignment. I want to be completely lazy this summer. So far I've been doing that really well. I do very little other than read, watch movies, surf the internet, ride my bike, or water the garden.
I've said it before, and the same things apply as they always have, but I will try to start posting more again.
I've said it before, and the same things apply as they always have, but I will try to start posting more again.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Completely unimportant movie update
Because I know how much you all care about what I am watching and have waited patiently for another one of my movie watching lists, here is another unimportant and irrelevant list of most of the movies I have watched since the last time I posted about this inane subject. Why do I keep track of this stuff? Get ready, this is going to be a pretty long post. Here goes - in no particular order other than roughly in the sequence I watched them.
- Ilsa - She Wolf of the SS: I might as well start with the craziest of the bunch. I don't recommend this movie for very many people. Personally I loved this over-the-top 1974 Nazi exploitation film. And it was filmed on the same set as Hogan's Heroes! I will say no more.
- Gone in 60 Seconds: This is the 1974 version, not the pile of crap 2000 Nicholas Cage version. I hate it when they ruin a great film with an insipid remake or sequel. I don't have the time to list all the reasons why this is such an awesome film. But one of the best reasons is a 34 minute car chase (longest in any movie) in which 93 cars are destroyed. The acting is pretty bad until you consider that most of the actors were the filmmaker's family and friends and that there was no actual script. Definitely worth watching more than once.
- Being There: I had this one for a while before I watched it. There were a couple of websites that had this 1979 film in their "top whatever" lists and I was intrigued. But I sat on it for a few months because I just wasn't sure it sounded all that great to me. More sad-sounding that anything else. I finally gave in to the fact that it has Peter Sellers in it. I loved watching his Pink Panther movies when I was little and he has had lots of other pretty memorable roles. So what the heck. I was surprised at how much I liked this one. The story itself (mistaken identity of sorts) is not anything special, but Sellers does a great job of making you believe and care, if just for that short time.Nicely done and recommended.
- Supervixens: Director Russ Meyers' obsession with large breasts is amply (haha!) showcased in this 1975 sexploitation film, whose female characters have names like SuperLorna, SuperCherry, and SuperSoul (of course she's black). While this film isn't nearly as offensive as Ilsa, it's not going to appeal to very many people. Even I found it hard to watch policeman Harry Sledge (Charles Napier) beat and murder SuperAngel. The story is ridiculous and is full of unbelievable characters and situations. I think the beautiful scantily-clad buxom women may have had something to do with it, but that's only part of the equation. Russ Meyers was an under-rated and under-appreciated filmmaker. Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! remains one of my all-time favorites.
- Gas Land: A very informative and somewhat depressing (The truth rarely makes people happy. It really does suck that it's like that) documentary about the practice of "fracking" to extract natural gas from the ground and how it might be contaminating local water supplies. A lot of people don't have the stomach to hear about stuff like this. You should watch films like this with a healthy dose of skepticism, but don't just ignore things because you don't want to be bothered. Or just don't care. At least do it for the sake of knowledge. Anyway, this 2010 (Fresh and new! Like a daisy!) film was basically done by an average guy who was just trying to figure out what the deal was with fracking and it became something much larger - this film. This documentary is well made, informative without being the least bit technical, and is easy to watch. Oil and energy companies will tell you this is just a bunch of liberal enviro-crap. Maybe you should listen to them. They're pretty smart. And honest. Right?
- Double Indemnity: I really enjoy a good film noir drama and this is a great example of that style of film. This 1944 Billy Wilder black and white classic is considered the model for most of that genre of films that came out after it. Personally, I had a hard time getting past Fred MacMurray. I have little kid memories of him in reruns of My Three Sons and his character in this movie is not quite the same. But once I did, wow! Who cares what this movie is about. Just watch it!!!
- Laura: This movie, another 1944 film noir, really creeped me out. It's really good and all, but I don't know if I want to watch it again. The cop's obsession with a dead woman (Laura, from the title) and Vincent Price as the dead girl's fiance were both very unsettling. And the old guy was a weird duck too. A really well done murder mystery. If you like film noir, this one is worth watching.
- Step Into Liquid: I was temporarily infatuated with surf movies. There are some real stinkers (several of which I watched at least some of but didn't feel I had to bring attention to their mediocrity. Therefore, most of the surf movies I talk about are the best of the bunch that I've seen and will get glowing reviews from me. Just so you know.), but many of them are loads of fun to watch. The older ones are also fascinating to me as history. Of course, nature never seems to get old to me. This is probably one of the most viewer-friendly surfing movies made. It was made in 2003 by Dana Brown, the son of filmmaker Bruce Brown who made some of the best motorcycle and surfing movies ever. The kid did a pretty good job for his first try, although I'm sure he had some help from daddy. If you only watch one surf movie, and want it to be fairly recent, this is probably the one you should see.
- Dogtown & Z-Boys: This is a super-interesting 2001 documentary about some of the pioneers of modern skateboarding. Contemporary interviews combined with actual footage from the 1970's. This was directed by skateboarding legend Stacy Peralta, who was one of the subjects of the film. Not to be confused with Lords of Dogtown, which I will mention a little later.
- 5 Summer Stories: This is a really nice 1972 documentary with a great soundtrack. It has a lot of the surfing legends from the 60's and early 70's. Ranks high on my list of surf movies.
- Endless Summer: I'd already seen this film from 1966 several times, but decided to watch it again. One of Bruce Brown's classics (on par with On Any Sunday). This is a fun and casual look at surfing in the 50's and 60's. Probably one of the best surf movies ever. I'll probably watch this one a few more times.
- The Sting: I hadn't seen this movie since I was a little kid. It's a good movie but it didn't live up to what I remembered. I hate that. It seems to happen a lot when I rewatch movies I haven't seen since I was much younger. I think Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is better.
- Cherry, Harry & Raquel: Another Russ Meyer film. This was a really weird 1970 softcore exploitation film that made little sense. Unless you really like Russ Meyer films this is hard to recommend to anyone.
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Bang, bang! Spaghetti westerns! Woot! Exaggerated violence from Sergio Leone. This 1966 film, and it predecessors A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, are probably my favorite westerns. I've seen them all numerous times and they never get old. Clintwood's depiction of The Man With No Name has become iconic. I guess Italy looks a lot like the old west. Watch this film at least once!
- Bustin' Down The Door: This is a fascinating 2008 documentary that looks at the rise of pro surfing in the early 70's. There is plenty of animosity between the Hawaiians and the Austrailians / South Africans. A great story about the clash of huge egos, Hawaiian culture, and tasty waves. This is a great film that looks at a pretty specific time and place in surfing history and does an admirable job telling the story.
- Lords of Dogtown: Jeez. I can't believe I watched all of these surf movies. I'm getting tired writing about them. This one from 2005 is not a documentary, but is not totally fictional. It's kind of the skateboarding version of Pearl Harbor or Titanic, but not crappy like those were. It's pretty fun to watch and I think it was actually way more interesting by watching it after the documentary (Dogtown & Z-Boys) on basically the exact same subject. Dead guy Keith Ledger does a pretty good job playing Skip Engblom, owner of Zephyr Skate Shop.
- Riding Giants: I loved this film! It follows the sub-genre of big wave riding from its earliest days in Hawaii in the 1950's all the way through the 90's, when tow-in surfing (using small boats or jet skis to catch HUGE waves) started, and into its maturity in the early 2000's. I was floored watching the gigantic waves that these guys are catching. Although I doubt that there are any big waves in my future, this film, more that any of the others, makes me want to learn how to surf.
- Endless Summer II: This will probably be the last surf movie that I watch for a while. I didn't think I would like this movie the first time I started watching it. How could this one be at all like the first Endless Summer? Or even not be crap? Well, it's not quite the same as the first one, but pretty close. You can tell that Bruce Brown (who also narrates his own films) has aged a bit and he doesn't quite come across as the same free spirit like he did in 1966 (this one was made in 1994). I had seen this one before, but felt like watching it again. All in all its a good sequel and the trio of the first one, this one, and Step Into Liquid (by Bruce's son - see early comments) are a pretty decent overall representation of the evolution of surfing.
- Last of the Mohicans: The mention of movies and books that depicted Indians came up quite a few times during my Native American history class this term. I decided to watch some of these movies. I may have been wasting time watching so many movies during this term, but at least these had some kind of legitimacy. Many of the instructors comments were about how unrealistic many of the movies and television shows depicting Indians are. He tried to guide us to films that had at least some redeeming qualities. Last of the Mohicans (1992) is kind of a mixed bag and is basically a love story, there is a lot of historical accuracy and faithful representations of Indians during the French and Indian War in the mid 18th century. A pretty good film that is pleasant to look at.
- Little Big Man: This 1970 Dustin Hoffman comedic western satire is actually pretty accurate in it's portrayal of Indians and most of the events that it depicts. A couple of them took a few liberties, but for the most part it's accurate. Worth watching again.
- Black Robe: Apparently this is regarded as "one of the most meticulously researched representations of indigenous life put on film". OK. Whatever. I was really expecting much from the subject matter (its mostly about a Jesuit missionary in 1634 in Quebec who is supposed to convert Indians to Christianity) but was pleasantly surprised. This is really a great movie and just drips with authenticity. I wasn't really surprised to learn it was made by Canadians and Australians rather than Americans. This 1991 film was not widely released in the US. Absolutely worth watching. If you only watch one movie that has a lot of historical accuracy concerning Indians, this is probably the one. And the story is actually quite good.
- 300: I eagerly awaited the release of this Frank Miller adaptation. I loved, loved, loved the cinematography in Sin City, which was also adapted from his work, and had high hopes for this 2006 film. I was not disappointed. They used a technique called super-imposition chroma key to replicate the feel of Miller's comic series. And apparently, the film is about 90% historically accurate with an over the top visualization that makes it feel totally made up. Whatever. It works for me. I had been talking with one of my housemates about the Spartans and thought that it would be fun to watch this one again. I'll probably watch this one several more times just because of the cinematography and overall feel of the movie.
- Battle of Britain: I've always had a fascination with WWI and WWII aircraft and like to watch actual aerial dog-fighting footage. I think a lot of it comes from the fact that we had a small plane and I loved watching movies like The Great Waldo Pepper and reruns of Baa Baa Black Sheep when I was young. I'd never actually seen this 1969 film and was interested in seeing its extensive flying sequences. I wasn't much interested in the story and the lack of subtitles for the German parts helped me in fast forwarding a lot. I read some background about it before watching this movie and it was fun being able to identify things like the remote control models, historical inaccuracies, incorrect planes used to represent actual warbirds, and all the things they did to fit in actual battle footage. I have seen a little of the 7-part Frank Capra series of the same name and would like to see the rest, but I'm not planning on that any time soon. I suppose that this film is pretty good if you are into this kind of thing.
- The Red Baron: I had no idea that this 2008 German-made film was out there. Despite a lot of historical inaccuracies, I liked this movie and thoroughly enjoyed the large number of dog fighting sequences (a movie about the Red Baron with little flying would have been a big turnoff for me). This film was apparently one of the most expensive German films ever made and one of the biggest German film failures. Being made in English seems a little weird (they were hoping for success outside of Germany - mainly the US) and I guess Germans didn't like that and their strangeness after WWII about patriotism probably didn't help either. Definitely worth watching for the WWI aircraft alone.
- Birdemic: I have been looking at more modern movies the past month or so and for whatever reason this is one that caught my eye. I decided to watch it with Erik and Mary Kate, mostly because it was supposed to be a really bad movie and it had birds which Mary Kate is quite knowledgeable about. I kind of felt bad that I made them sit through this forgettable stinker. I knew it was supposed to be the worst movie made in 2010 and had gained fame as one of the worst ever, but I wasn't ready for how bad it really was. It was rarely even that kind of bad where you can laugh at it, but thankfully there were at least a couple of those moment, mostly related to the unbelievably cheesy and low-budget special bird effects. Good lord, what a steaming pile this movie is. There is probably no need for anyone to ever see this movie.
- Jeremiah Johnson: This is another movie that was mentioned in class. More fairly accurate depictions of Indians and the life of a mountain man in the mid 19th century. Visually this 1972 film was pretty good. Robert Redford's wooden acting kind of ruined it for me.
- Secretary: Wikipedia describes 2002 film this as a "dominant/submissive-themed romantic comedy-drama". What a mouthful. I saw this movie once already, really liked it, and decided to give it another go, mainly because Maggie Gyllenhaal is such a hottie. Adult themes and situations abound but there is very little actual nudity. Still, this one isn't for everyone.
- A Crude Awakening: A surprisingly good 2006 documentary about peak oil. Clearly explains our dependence on oil and what could happen in our near future as the oil supplies run out. Worth a look if you are unclear about the subject.
- Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Yet another comic book adaptation. I wasn't really very tempted by this 2010 movie. It sounded asinine and immature. That might be true, but the movie was probably the most fun I've had watching a movie for quite a while. Some friends brought it over one night and we sat down to watch it (on an actual TV!). Completely ridiculous story liberally peppered with video game references that actually worked quite well. This isn't anything like I expected it to be. I thought the best character by far was Knives Chow. I'm probably on the edge of the age where a person would really enjoy this film. If you are much older than 40, you may not like this one as much as I did. The pacing and a lot of the reference will likely be lost to older generations. I didn't even get all of them, but it didn't matter much to me, so maybe it won't to you old fogies. There's no accounting for taste. Or bands named Sex Bob-omb.
- Kick Ass: I kept hearing that this movie from last year was a blast and that I should watch it. It sounded kind of dumb to me and I resisted it for a long time. After watching Scott Pilgrim I finally gave in and am glad that I did. It is yet another comic book adaptation, but nothing like the Frank Miller stuff. I especially liked the 11-year old (actual age of the actor) Hit Girl. Of course she was the most controversial character in the film. Well, that and all of the violence. I thought this movie was loads of fun, but not for the kiddies.
- The Hangover: This 2009 comedy was an alright combination of stupid and funny. Not bad for light entertainment, but I'll probably resist watching parts 2 and 3. Was this really good enough for two sequels, let alone one?
- Whip It: Who can resist cute girls on skates? Not me. Only semi-realistic (I've seen the real thing lots of times) but you still get a pretty good rough idea of what these ladies are like in real life. Cute Canadian girl Ellen Page does a nice job with this comedy-drama coming of age story. Because of this movie, I'll probably watch her in Juno pretty soon.
- The Other Guys: I kind of hate to stop on this one, but it's the last movie that I've seen. Another stupid yet somewhat funny buddy-cop movie. It has enough redeeming qualities that I give it a slight recommendation if you want to laugh a little without thinking too much.
Grade update
Amazingly, I got an "A" in my Native American History class. I hate it when I'm wrong. That brings my total to 2 A's and 1 B. GPA stands at 3.81.
This doesn't help me in my war against procrastination. Not one bit.
This doesn't help me in my war against procrastination. Not one bit.
Feces on the airwaves
I saw nothing in the Republican presidential debate last night that fills me with hope for the future. Is this really the best that the GOP can do? Will the Democrats do any better? Could the moderator ask a few more stupid questions? Bring back Gwen Ifil and Jim Lehrer.
I can't say that I'm looking forward to the next 18 months in politics.
I can't say that I'm looking forward to the next 18 months in politics.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
School's out for summer!
I am really glad to be done with school for a few months. I really need a break from it for a while. And no more commuting to Sylvania!
I was a little worried about my grades this term. I wasn't feeling motivated after the first couple of weeks and started to slack off. There was a ton of reading, which wasn't a problem, but I procrastinated heavily on all of my essays (a total of 10 this term) and wasn't really very into studying statistics as I should have been. Even with all of that, I still feel that I learned a lot. My final grade average for PCC will likely be a little under 3.80. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to be more dedicated and committed to school if I want to keep an average like this in PSU. At least most of it will have to do with economics. And I'm hoping the summer break and a new school will help me to be excited about it again.
Statistics II (MTH244) - This term was more about applications of statistics while the last term was learning the basics. I wish that there had been more time for this class. I could have used another 2 or 3 weeks. It felt kind of like a little too much was getting crammed into this one class, but there wasn't enough for a third term. Or maybe it was just me. My exam (3 of them) and worksheet (3 also) scores generally weren't as good as they were last term. Deciding which significance test to do is still a bit confusing to me. I was worried because I had to get at least 155 points on the final to get a "B" and after taking it I wasn't very confident. I haven't seen my final, but grades got posted and I did get a "B". I'm still not sure I did "B" work. The instructor was retiring after this class and I put a little "Have a great retirement!" thing on the last page (bonus question that I didn't have enough time to answer), so maybe she was feeling generous. I'm hoping that this is pretty much the last math class I have to take.
History of Middle Eastern Civilization (HST104) - Tons of reading. Only one essay, which I could have done a lot better on. Higher than average scores on both exams. 100% scores for all online discussions. I did learn a ton about the Middle East and why things are like they are. It was a confusing mess that I never had the patience to learn about before. It's still a little confusing, but things are a lot clearer now. And I definitely have a better understanding of the Crusades now. I learned way too many incorrect things from TV and movies. The lessons and readings were all pretty neutral and seemed fair and honest (very different than "Fair and Balanced"). I was a little suspicious of one of the students though. She was a Muslim who didn't seem to have much real world experience. She seemed sheltered and ignorant that there was anything besides her particular flavor of religion. I called her out on this once (she was saying disparaging things about Shia Muslims. She was a Sunni) and she feigned knowledge and intent, but it mostly stopped after that. Some of her responses seemed coached or written by someone other than her. I wondered if she was having one of her relatives post some of her stuff. Or the instructor was conducting some kind of social experiment. Whatever the case, I feel that I never went anywhere near inappropriate and tried to stop responding to her most of the time. I did ask her to clarify some of the things she said, but her replies were usually vague and frequently questioned by some of the other Muslims in the class. The instructor was mostly hands-off during the class. I really don't know why we pay more for online classes. You probably get less, the teacher does less, no classrooms are used, etc. Online classes should be cheaper if anything. Kind of a rip-off. Overall, this was a fairly easy "A" for me. The only one this term though, I'm sure.
Native American History (HST218) - Wow! This class was packed with new knowledge goodness! I've been wanting to take this class for a while and I'm glad that I was able to finally fit it in. There was a lot of reading for this class also. We went through the entire textbook (that usually never happens), had two other books to read (one of which had an essay assignment, the other had a lot of important info about the Indian Wars of the 18th century), and read a peer-reviewed article and write a paper on it. Our midterm and final exams were all take-home essays (7 of them for both). I procrastinated too long on most of the essay stuff and could have done a lot better on them. I keep telling myself that I won't do that any more, but it usually happens anyway. I took copious notes for this class. If I could have written faster I would have taken even more. The twice a week lectures were the main source for essays so I wanted to have plenty of material. We were limited to that, dot-edu and dot-gov web sites, JSTOR articles, and the three required books for sources so it was much easier to take good notes than to do tons of research and more reading. For my journal article review I choose one about Prophetstown (on the Wabash River in Indiana) because of the proximity to Fort Wayne and the association with Little Turtle, Anthony Wayne, and all the battles and stuff that I never bothered to learn about when I lived there. Indians meant next to nothing to me when I lived in Ft. Wayne. There were tons important events that happened in this area of the country. I had no idea. I even had numerous Indian friends in Elko but I never bothered to learn anything about their history or culture even then. This class made me realize just how complicated the Indian story is and made me appreciate and care even more about them. We've been bad to them. Really bad. Manifest destiny, racism, Eurocentrism, etc. And we still are not being particularly nice to them. There was so much to learn. We skimmed and skipped tons of stuff. And this is only Indians who were indigenous to the United States. Apparently next year this will be two classes instead of one. There were a lot of people in this class with very few dropouts. From what I understand this class is unusual in that way. My stats class only finished with 12 people, while there were nearly 30 in this one. I haven't got grades back for this one yet. I have no idea how I did on any of the 9 essays. A couple of them were OK, but most of them got done at the last minute and could have been greatly improved. I think I will be lucky to get a "B". Shame on me. I've always liked history and should have done better. If I thought there was a future in it, besides teaching, I would probably major in history instead of economics. I wish I had time to take more history classes.
I was a little worried about my grades this term. I wasn't feeling motivated after the first couple of weeks and started to slack off. There was a ton of reading, which wasn't a problem, but I procrastinated heavily on all of my essays (a total of 10 this term) and wasn't really very into studying statistics as I should have been. Even with all of that, I still feel that I learned a lot. My final grade average for PCC will likely be a little under 3.80. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to be more dedicated and committed to school if I want to keep an average like this in PSU. At least most of it will have to do with economics. And I'm hoping the summer break and a new school will help me to be excited about it again.
Statistics II (MTH244) - This term was more about applications of statistics while the last term was learning the basics. I wish that there had been more time for this class. I could have used another 2 or 3 weeks. It felt kind of like a little too much was getting crammed into this one class, but there wasn't enough for a third term. Or maybe it was just me. My exam (3 of them) and worksheet (3 also) scores generally weren't as good as they were last term. Deciding which significance test to do is still a bit confusing to me. I was worried because I had to get at least 155 points on the final to get a "B" and after taking it I wasn't very confident. I haven't seen my final, but grades got posted and I did get a "B". I'm still not sure I did "B" work. The instructor was retiring after this class and I put a little "Have a great retirement!" thing on the last page (bonus question that I didn't have enough time to answer), so maybe she was feeling generous. I'm hoping that this is pretty much the last math class I have to take.
History of Middle Eastern Civilization (HST104) - Tons of reading. Only one essay, which I could have done a lot better on. Higher than average scores on both exams. 100% scores for all online discussions. I did learn a ton about the Middle East and why things are like they are. It was a confusing mess that I never had the patience to learn about before. It's still a little confusing, but things are a lot clearer now. And I definitely have a better understanding of the Crusades now. I learned way too many incorrect things from TV and movies. The lessons and readings were all pretty neutral and seemed fair and honest (very different than "Fair and Balanced"). I was a little suspicious of one of the students though. She was a Muslim who didn't seem to have much real world experience. She seemed sheltered and ignorant that there was anything besides her particular flavor of religion. I called her out on this once (she was saying disparaging things about Shia Muslims. She was a Sunni) and she feigned knowledge and intent, but it mostly stopped after that. Some of her responses seemed coached or written by someone other than her. I wondered if she was having one of her relatives post some of her stuff. Or the instructor was conducting some kind of social experiment. Whatever the case, I feel that I never went anywhere near inappropriate and tried to stop responding to her most of the time. I did ask her to clarify some of the things she said, but her replies were usually vague and frequently questioned by some of the other Muslims in the class. The instructor was mostly hands-off during the class. I really don't know why we pay more for online classes. You probably get less, the teacher does less, no classrooms are used, etc. Online classes should be cheaper if anything. Kind of a rip-off. Overall, this was a fairly easy "A" for me. The only one this term though, I'm sure.
Native American History (HST218) - Wow! This class was packed with new knowledge goodness! I've been wanting to take this class for a while and I'm glad that I was able to finally fit it in. There was a lot of reading for this class also. We went through the entire textbook (that usually never happens), had two other books to read (one of which had an essay assignment, the other had a lot of important info about the Indian Wars of the 18th century), and read a peer-reviewed article and write a paper on it. Our midterm and final exams were all take-home essays (7 of them for both). I procrastinated too long on most of the essay stuff and could have done a lot better on them. I keep telling myself that I won't do that any more, but it usually happens anyway. I took copious notes for this class. If I could have written faster I would have taken even more. The twice a week lectures were the main source for essays so I wanted to have plenty of material. We were limited to that, dot-edu and dot-gov web sites, JSTOR articles, and the three required books for sources so it was much easier to take good notes than to do tons of research and more reading. For my journal article review I choose one about Prophetstown (on the Wabash River in Indiana) because of the proximity to Fort Wayne and the association with Little Turtle, Anthony Wayne, and all the battles and stuff that I never bothered to learn about when I lived there. Indians meant next to nothing to me when I lived in Ft. Wayne. There were tons important events that happened in this area of the country. I had no idea. I even had numerous Indian friends in Elko but I never bothered to learn anything about their history or culture even then. This class made me realize just how complicated the Indian story is and made me appreciate and care even more about them. We've been bad to them. Really bad. Manifest destiny, racism, Eurocentrism, etc. And we still are not being particularly nice to them. There was so much to learn. We skimmed and skipped tons of stuff. And this is only Indians who were indigenous to the United States. Apparently next year this will be two classes instead of one. There were a lot of people in this class with very few dropouts. From what I understand this class is unusual in that way. My stats class only finished with 12 people, while there were nearly 30 in this one. I haven't got grades back for this one yet. I have no idea how I did on any of the 9 essays. A couple of them were OK, but most of them got done at the last minute and could have been greatly improved. I think I will be lucky to get a "B". Shame on me. I've always liked history and should have done better. If I thought there was a future in it, besides teaching, I would probably major in history instead of economics. I wish I had time to take more history classes.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
My first day of summer vacation
8am: Woke up. Went to the bathroom. Went back to sleep.
10am: Woke up again. Drank coffee. Smoked cigarettes.
10:40am: Took a shower.
11am: Watered sunflowers and planted more seeds. Tried not to think about those stupid moles.
11:50am: Went for a ride on the Sportster to the Skyline area. Rode like it was old times.
2:30pm: Harvested 2nd small crop of radishes.
3:30pm: Cooked Italian turkey spaghetti and had fresh spinach on the side.
4:30pm: Watched an episode of "Ice Road Truckers".
7pm: Went for a ride on my bike.
8pm: Writing this.
9:30pm: Watched "reality" cooking shows. I hate that I love these.
Everything else: Mostly screwing off.
10am: Woke up again. Drank coffee. Smoked cigarettes.
10:40am: Took a shower.
11am: Watered sunflowers and planted more seeds. Tried not to think about those stupid moles.
11:50am: Went for a ride on the Sportster to the Skyline area. Rode like it was old times.
2:30pm: Harvested 2nd small crop of radishes.
3:30pm: Cooked Italian turkey spaghetti and had fresh spinach on the side.
4:30pm: Watched an episode of "Ice Road Truckers".
7pm: Went for a ride on my bike.
8pm: Writing this.
9:30pm: Watched "reality" cooking shows. I hate that I love these.
Everything else: Mostly screwing off.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Garden update
I've been a little disappointed because my digital camera has pretty much stopped taking pictures that are recognizable as anything. I was hoping to document my garden with pictures. Oh, well. It hasn't stopped stuff from growing.
Last night I did my first thinning of spinach and ended up with a small plate of baby spinach leaves. I shared it with my housemates and everyone thought they tasted great. I will probably thin them again in a couple of weeks.
The onions are growing fast. Many of them are nearing a foot tall. I haven't quite decided if I'm going to harvest some of them early as green onions and plant some Evergreen White bunching onions in their place.
I've been thinning the carrots over the past week. They are a little slow growing, but some have started to develop their second set of true leaves.
I've also been thinning the mesclun (mixed greens), but none have really been big enough to eat. I'll continue slowly thinning them over the next few weeks.
The radishes are getting bigger. I'll probably start harvesting those in about two weeks. I planted another half row of them last week, but they haven't started sprouting yet.
The first planting of cilantro is doing alright, but growing a little slow, but noticeable, right now. A couple of them didn't sprout so I have a bare spot there. I planted the last of my seeds last week. It will probably be at least 2 more weeks before they start to sprout.
The chives and leeks seem to have slowed a little. Hopefully when there is more consistently sunny days they will grow faster. I'm going to have to thin the leeks a lot. I'm not sure about the chives yet.
The rosemary is barely doing anything. Seven seeds have sprouted so far, but don't seem to be doing much growing beyond the first set of leaves. More sun will probably also be the ticket for them.
Last week I bought a couple of tomato starts from a nearby nursery. They were only $2 each and had thick, healthy stems. I went for Roma tomatoes because they are better for stuff like tomato sauce and salsa. Next year I will probably look around a little more and go for tomatoes that are proven to do even better in this area. I left them at Erik's, in his greenhouse, for a few days. We put one on its side in an experiment. We had both read that this was supposed to be good for a healthy root system so I decided to do it with one of the plants. It doesn't really make much sense to me, but we'll see what happens. Saturday I went ahead and planted both of them in my garden. I used a couple of tomato cages that were here with some semi-clear plastic sheeting that my housemates had to make cloches. These should help with the cooler night time temperature, although nights are almost at 50 degrees now.
The sunflowers I planted in the front aren't doing very well. It was just an experiment anyway. The seeds were from a bag of sunflower seeds from a grocery store. There are about 11 or 12 of them growing, some better than others. I didn't help that I misunderstood the instructions Mary Kate gave me and I planted the seeds I sprouted in the attic upside down with the tap root pointing up out of the ground. It seemed strange at the time and stupid to me now, but I thought I was doing what she told me. I bought an actual packet of Soraya sunflower seeds last weekend and will probably plant them this weekend if the weather is nice. They should get to about 5-7 feet tall and have multiple flowers on each plant. I'm looking forward to seeing these.
Last night I did my first thinning of spinach and ended up with a small plate of baby spinach leaves. I shared it with my housemates and everyone thought they tasted great. I will probably thin them again in a couple of weeks.
The onions are growing fast. Many of them are nearing a foot tall. I haven't quite decided if I'm going to harvest some of them early as green onions and plant some Evergreen White bunching onions in their place.
I've been thinning the carrots over the past week. They are a little slow growing, but some have started to develop their second set of true leaves.
I've also been thinning the mesclun (mixed greens), but none have really been big enough to eat. I'll continue slowly thinning them over the next few weeks.
The radishes are getting bigger. I'll probably start harvesting those in about two weeks. I planted another half row of them last week, but they haven't started sprouting yet.
The first planting of cilantro is doing alright, but growing a little slow, but noticeable, right now. A couple of them didn't sprout so I have a bare spot there. I planted the last of my seeds last week. It will probably be at least 2 more weeks before they start to sprout.
The chives and leeks seem to have slowed a little. Hopefully when there is more consistently sunny days they will grow faster. I'm going to have to thin the leeks a lot. I'm not sure about the chives yet.
The rosemary is barely doing anything. Seven seeds have sprouted so far, but don't seem to be doing much growing beyond the first set of leaves. More sun will probably also be the ticket for them.
Last week I bought a couple of tomato starts from a nearby nursery. They were only $2 each and had thick, healthy stems. I went for Roma tomatoes because they are better for stuff like tomato sauce and salsa. Next year I will probably look around a little more and go for tomatoes that are proven to do even better in this area. I left them at Erik's, in his greenhouse, for a few days. We put one on its side in an experiment. We had both read that this was supposed to be good for a healthy root system so I decided to do it with one of the plants. It doesn't really make much sense to me, but we'll see what happens. Saturday I went ahead and planted both of them in my garden. I used a couple of tomato cages that were here with some semi-clear plastic sheeting that my housemates had to make cloches. These should help with the cooler night time temperature, although nights are almost at 50 degrees now.
The sunflowers I planted in the front aren't doing very well. It was just an experiment anyway. The seeds were from a bag of sunflower seeds from a grocery store. There are about 11 or 12 of them growing, some better than others. I didn't help that I misunderstood the instructions Mary Kate gave me and I planted the seeds I sprouted in the attic upside down with the tap root pointing up out of the ground. It seemed strange at the time and stupid to me now, but I thought I was doing what she told me. I bought an actual packet of Soraya sunflower seeds last weekend and will probably plant them this weekend if the weather is nice. They should get to about 5-7 feet tall and have multiple flowers on each plant. I'm looking forward to seeing these.
Monday, April 11, 2011
My little garden
I've been watching and learning a little about gardening from Erik and Mary Kate over the past few years. I've been a little discouraged because I wanted to have my own garden and chickens and stuff like that but didn't have the yard to do it in. When we first saw our new house I wasn't really thinking much about that. I was just excited by the house and the garage. I quickly realized that I could scratch the itch I had been feeling. It didn't take long to start digging out a spot that looked like it had had a garden sometime in the past. I tilled the soil about 10"-12" deep and mixed in some soil amendments that Erik gave me.
The area I cleared was roughly 5' x 9' and I took out the first 2-3" of soil/grass
Another view of the same spot
On Tuesday I built the sides. I only had to buy one 10 foot 2" x 10", some screws, and 4 corner reinforcements to build the box. The other three sides and the plywood was already in the garage ready to use. Erik brought over a saw and a screw gun and we made short work of it. We decided to use as much of the existing 2" x 10" as we could and ended up with a 5' x 10' box. I cleared the grass from the extra area and finished tilling the soil to about 10".
On Wednesday, Erik again helped me by hauling 2 loads (1 cu.yd. total) of "4-way" soil mix (topsoil, composted cow manure, composted yard debris, and sand). This filled the bed almost to the top of the sides. I had a little left over for the front of the house and some containers that I will grow some herbs in.
Friday I started planting. So far I've planted 2 rows of onions (white, yellow, and red from bulbs I got from Mary Kate), 2 rows of Imperator carrots (from seed), a row of Olympia spinach (from seed), and a row of mesclun (mix of gourmet greens - from seed). I found a 3 gallon pot and planted chives (from seed) on Sunday. I still plan on planting 1/2 row of radishes, 1/2 row of cilantro, a row of basil (waiting for warmer nights before planting this), and 2 tomato plants (will buy starts in 3 or 4 weeks). I'm probably going to plant a 5 gal. bucket of leeks and one of rosemary also. And maybe potatoes in a 30 gal. plastic garbage can. I'm not sure about that one yet. I think this is plenty for my first garden.
About the only other thing I'm doing is sunflowers in the front of the house. Last Monday I started germinating about 120 seeds that Mary Kate gave me. Saturday I started prepping the soil and trimming back the shrubs. I had to move a lot of fresh bark away from where I wanted to plant. Sunday I finished the prep and put several inches of 4-way soil mix down. I planted about 100 sprouted seeds in front of the house on both sides of the porch. We'll see what happens. Something good I hope.
Planted about 17' on the left of the porch and 10' on the right
Working on bikes already
My Sportster looks horrible. The last 18 months of being kept outside have not been good to it. I did have a pretty nice cover on it, but the months of rain managed to get through. The seat was soaked. Steel parts and hardware are starting to rust. The aluminum parts have a coating of white oxidation. Road grime from driving it in the rain/wet was everywhere. Oil leaks aren't helping things either.
I had to drain the old gas and put in fresh gas. It fired right up. At least the bike is dependable. The day after I brought it over to my new house I started to tear it down so I could clean everything. This may take a while. The oxidation is going to be the worst part. And my aluminum parts will never look all that nice unless I polish them or something.At least I have a place to work and don't have to work out of boxes anymore.
Last week Justin asked me if I would get his bike running and get it from his old place to the new house. It was fairly easy. I pulled the battery and charged it. I also drained the gas and put in a couple of gallons of new gas. That was all it took. I drove it home and rode my bike back over so I could get my car. Justin stopped riding his motorcycle last fall after one of the fork seals starting leaking badly. He usually has very little time off from work and asked me if I would fix his forks and put on a new chain and front sprocket. I pulled the forks that night and took them to a shop on Saturday morning. I would do the seals myself but don't have the necessary seal driver. I probably should have just bought the driver and saved Justin some more money. They should be done tomorrow and I will change the chain and sprocket after I put the forks back on and replace the front wheel bearings and brake pads. I was able to suspend the bike from the joists in the garage with some tie down straps. I love having a garage.
I had to drain the old gas and put in fresh gas. It fired right up. At least the bike is dependable. The day after I brought it over to my new house I started to tear it down so I could clean everything. This may take a while. The oxidation is going to be the worst part. And my aluminum parts will never look all that nice unless I polish them or something.At least I have a place to work and don't have to work out of boxes anymore.
Last week Justin asked me if I would get his bike running and get it from his old place to the new house. It was fairly easy. I pulled the battery and charged it. I also drained the gas and put in a couple of gallons of new gas. That was all it took. I drove it home and rode my bike back over so I could get my car. Justin stopped riding his motorcycle last fall after one of the fork seals starting leaking badly. He usually has very little time off from work and asked me if I would fix his forks and put on a new chain and front sprocket. I pulled the forks that night and took them to a shop on Saturday morning. I would do the seals myself but don't have the necessary seal driver. I probably should have just bought the driver and saved Justin some more money. They should be done tomorrow and I will change the chain and sprocket after I put the forks back on and replace the front wheel bearings and brake pads. I was able to suspend the bike from the joists in the garage with some tie down straps. I love having a garage.
1991 Harley-Davidson XL 883C
2001 Suzuki SV650
New House
As of March 30 I have a new residence. I now live on NE Simpson near 52nd. The house is almost perfect for us. It has a few faults, but its so much better than where I was living before. The same goes for my housemates (who are long-time friends and former housemates).
The house is a 2-bedroom, 2 bath ranchish-type with an unfinished attic (400 sq.ft.) and a partially finished basement (875 sq.ft. - this is where the 2nd bathroom is). It has the original oak floor on the main level (875 sq.ft.) and the original linoleum, cabinets, and counter top (built in 1954). The house is old, a little worn, but solid and dry. It still has an oil furnace which we plan to not use. There is a functional fireplace that we do plan to use. We believe that the basement was a separate residence at some point, but can't be rented as a 3-bedroom because of inadequate exits in the basement. We have tons of storage space here.
The lot is huge for Portland. Just under a 1/4 acre or 10,550 sq.ft. The front yard is pretty small and the house looks unremarkable from the front. The back yard is a pleasant surprise. It is pretty plain, but there is a small grove of huge evergreens at the rear of the lot that we all really like. And there is a small fire pit and a couple of rose bushes. And some grass and weeds. That's about it. Its my job to do yard work and I get a $50/mo break in rent. The owner of the house supplied a lawn mower and a weed whacker.
And there is a good-sized garage. Finally. I haven't had a garage in years. My Harley currently hates me, but I'm trying to make it better. It didn't like being outside for the last year-and-a-half, even if it was under a cover. Corrosion and rust are taking over.
One of the few things I don't like it the fact that I now have a longer commute, by 15-20 minutes. At least this is my last term at the Sylvania campus.
We are still getting settled in, but I think this is going to work out pretty well.
Here are a bunch of pictures. Click on them to make them big (not recommended for DSL or slow connections). My camera was doing weird things so a few of the three pictures have a pinkish tint.
The house is a 2-bedroom, 2 bath ranchish-type with an unfinished attic (400 sq.ft.) and a partially finished basement (875 sq.ft. - this is where the 2nd bathroom is). It has the original oak floor on the main level (875 sq.ft.) and the original linoleum, cabinets, and counter top (built in 1954). The house is old, a little worn, but solid and dry. It still has an oil furnace which we plan to not use. There is a functional fireplace that we do plan to use. We believe that the basement was a separate residence at some point, but can't be rented as a 3-bedroom because of inadequate exits in the basement. We have tons of storage space here.
The lot is huge for Portland. Just under a 1/4 acre or 10,550 sq.ft. The front yard is pretty small and the house looks unremarkable from the front. The back yard is a pleasant surprise. It is pretty plain, but there is a small grove of huge evergreens at the rear of the lot that we all really like. And there is a small fire pit and a couple of rose bushes. And some grass and weeds. That's about it. Its my job to do yard work and I get a $50/mo break in rent. The owner of the house supplied a lawn mower and a weed whacker.
And there is a good-sized garage. Finally. I haven't had a garage in years. My Harley currently hates me, but I'm trying to make it better. It didn't like being outside for the last year-and-a-half, even if it was under a cover. Corrosion and rust are taking over.
One of the few things I don't like it the fact that I now have a longer commute, by 15-20 minutes. At least this is my last term at the Sylvania campus.
We are still getting settled in, but I think this is going to work out pretty well.
Here are a bunch of pictures. Click on them to make them big (not recommended for DSL or slow connections). My camera was doing weird things so a few of the three pictures have a pinkish tint.
Stealth housefront/driveway
50's kitchen - the curtains have to go
The stairs down - not as scary as it looks
Front of the garage
Side view. I think this is also the garage.
Back of the house
Backyard view from the house (you can just see the corner
of what will be a raised bed garden on the lower right).
Backyard view from the edge of the concrete pad.
There is a small hill that slopes down that is not evident.
I couldn't get the full height of the trees in
the shot from the backyard.
Living room as seen from the dining room. I had just taken up
the carpet from these two rooms to expose the hardwood floor.
The living room with some furniture in it.
Stair to the attic. It is a really great space that we
want to finish and turn into work space. Or something.
Dove and Blondie
Again
Erik showing his mastery of two wheels
EXTREME!!!
My crap in the basement
More of my crap in the basement. How exciting!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Lol! I haz interwebs!
After more than a week without it, I just got an internet connection back about an hour ago.
Its been almost a month since my last post. Since then, I've packed my stuff, moved into a new house with new housemates, and started 3 new classes. It had been months since I rode the Harley and I had to drain the old gas and put in fresh fuel. It started right up. It looks horrible. Lots of corrosion on the aluminum and things are starting to rust. I'm glad I have a garage again. Today I'm working on getting J's bike running. I already changed the gas and am charging the battery right now. Hopefully that's all it takes. I've been busy doing a lot of stuff in our new huge yard and built a 10" raised bed (6' x 10') which I hope to grow some food in this year. I trimmed some overgrown trees and took out a bunch of clematis (a horrible invasive vine) and will burn it in the fire pit in the back yard.
I'll try to post more in the next couple of days.
Its been almost a month since my last post. Since then, I've packed my stuff, moved into a new house with new housemates, and started 3 new classes. It had been months since I rode the Harley and I had to drain the old gas and put in fresh fuel. It started right up. It looks horrible. Lots of corrosion on the aluminum and things are starting to rust. I'm glad I have a garage again. Today I'm working on getting J's bike running. I already changed the gas and am charging the battery right now. Hopefully that's all it takes. I've been busy doing a lot of stuff in our new huge yard and built a 10" raised bed (6' x 10') which I hope to grow some food in this year. I trimmed some overgrown trees and took out a bunch of clematis (a horrible invasive vine) and will burn it in the fire pit in the back yard.
I'll try to post more in the next couple of days.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
One more to go
I finished my statistics final about 2 hours ago. I think I did pretty well, but I doubt I will get better that a "B" on my overall grade. It's kind of strange since I feel like I know this stuff way better than I knew the material for calculus, which I got an "A" in. I think my present instructor cares more about making sure her students know the material rather than giving a higher grade for whatever reason. I tried not to worry too much about this final and get stressed out. I think it worked pretty well.
In my philosophy class, I opted to not take a final exam. All of my points were from attendance, homework assignments, two weekly online discussions, and a couple of extra credit assignments. So, I am completely done with this class, although I might make a couple of more online posts, even though I have meet the posting requirements, because the discussions are still going on. The number of posts have been declining in the past few weeks and its getting hard not to ridicule some of the ridiculous stuff that's being posted. Its like some of these people have already forgotten everything we learned in the past 10 weeks.
I only have one final left - political science. This one will likely be pretty hard and I'm going to have to spend a lot of time in the next two days studying for it. I'm not really looking forward to the exam and will be glad when it is over.
Then I have a week off to try to get rid of some more of the stuff I don't need. In the next two weeks I have to do that, find a place to live, get moved, and then start a new school term. It's going to be busy.
In my philosophy class, I opted to not take a final exam. All of my points were from attendance, homework assignments, two weekly online discussions, and a couple of extra credit assignments. So, I am completely done with this class, although I might make a couple of more online posts, even though I have meet the posting requirements, because the discussions are still going on. The number of posts have been declining in the past few weeks and its getting hard not to ridicule some of the ridiculous stuff that's being posted. Its like some of these people have already forgotten everything we learned in the past 10 weeks.
I only have one final left - political science. This one will likely be pretty hard and I'm going to have to spend a lot of time in the next two days studying for it. I'm not really looking forward to the exam and will be glad when it is over.
Then I have a week off to try to get rid of some more of the stuff I don't need. In the next two weeks I have to do that, find a place to live, get moved, and then start a new school term. It's going to be busy.
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