Crazy Lawsuit Game

Yep, back to work.

Edit: Happy Earth Day! Try and think about how you impact the Earth today and whether it's a positive impact or a negative one. And for the love, plant something!

Initial thoughts about my pre-oral. It went well, but it was definitely tough. They pointed out some things I need to work on, mostly my crystal structures (I need to know them like the back of my hand), but they said I had much improved over last time, so bonus.

It was such a relief to finally be done with it, but at the same time now that that hurdle has been cleared there are still 2-3 major ones depending on your views. Writing my dissertation and defending it being the big 2 and I also have to give a final seminar for the department, which is a big deal but not as big a deal as the other two.

And after seeing my labmate slave over his dissertation for 3-4 months, I will be starting it as soon as freakin' possible. I am also gonna try my damndest to get out in May '08. Yeah, that's a solid 7 yrs. of grad school but I've only been in this group for 4, so it balances out a tad, but not enough to make me pretend I haven't been here since Aug. of 2001.

If anyone in ATL felt something a little different in the air yesterday, that was me. I was in Atlanta, the Turner Field parking lot to be specific, for an autocross with the Atlanta region of the SCCA. My fresh new tires that look like this:

are straight from Japan courtesy of Falken Tires and they are their very sticky RT-615. Lots of grip and very predictable at the limit. These will be just autocross tires and I'm hoping to get at least 2 years of autocrossing out of them.

I got the chance to race against a good guy I know from GA Tech. His name's Jeremy and he's very fast in his red 90's Saturn SC2. He won second in our class (STS) and was off the nationally prepped class winning Civic by only a second or two. My (time) goal for the day was mid 53's and I barely eeked into the 53s with a 53.999 on my last run. It felt so good and fast though. It was so good that it made me pissed that I had pussy footed it around the course the first time with a 56.058. I improved a full two seconds and there was still more time out there, but that's what I get for not having autocrossed since December.

But it was a good practice day for the real event, which is the Focaljet.com SouthEastern Focus Autocross Showdown that is coming up this Sunday. The Focus boards I roam around in, a bunch of us in the Southeast, all autocross our Foci (plural of Focus) and wanted an event that was central enough that a large contigent of SE Focaljet people could make it to the race. That race just happens to be 45 minutes from my house. There are already some predictions being tossed around:
Prediction :
1st place: MichaelXi
2nd: Me
3rd: Jim Smola (my co-driver)
4th: Mutant1
5th: Seth (Silonius) Sorry Seth, I've seen Mutant rule on GT4. I see you gots the Falkens! SWEEET!
6th: ZX3autoxstasy
7th: CCC (but could be a sleeper)
No 5th isn't that high, but the other guys have extremely well set-up cars, have lots more experience, and are generally better drivers than I, but that's why we race the race, to see how it all shakes down. I'm gonna give it my all and see if I can't take down some of the big guns.

Now that my evenings have been freed up a bit, I'm planning on going through my archives (archiving, if you will) and coming up with some "Best of Seth" posts and I'll be sure and highlight the ones that I will be taking down before I start my job search, that should at least start around December. So keep an eye out for those posts.

I saw a billboard for Amendment 2 in Georgia that you'll be voting on on Nov. 7. It had something to do with the outdoors. I can't remember the website and googling it wasn't helpful. Any Georgians have any details?

I wonder what we're voting on this year and the next? Hopefully I won't be around to vote in next year's elections though. At least not from this state.

Labels: autocross, Earth Day, pre-oral, voting

Yep, it's done and I passed!

Celebrating today and then back to work!

Labels: pre-oral

First things first: Remember last year that Julio ran away? And then I found him a day later? J and I used to walk the cats on leashes, to guarantee that they come home safe and sound. But then we got lazy and just started letting them out on their own recognizance. They usually came back that night, but sometimes Leon would stay out till the next morning and then come dashing in from the woods.

I woke up around 9 Sat. morning and studied some. If you've never owned cats, they're not very conducive to studying. Constantly walking across the desk, jumping in your lap, generally wanting some attention after a night being locked out of the master bedroom. Leon once even plopped down in the middle of an open 3-ring binder that was in my lap. Yeah, they're hardcore nappers. I went in to talk to Sleepy J who was still asleep and asked her if she wanted me to let the cats out. A sleepy grunt/sigh emitted somewhere beneath the warm folds of the covers and I let the cats out. I told them to come back around lunch time. They both came back but just to check in and then run off for more furry adventures.

That was the last time we saw Julio. He's been out since Sat. morning without food or water (both of which he could probably find easy enough) and it was 48 hours this morning. So I made up a LOST! flier and J and I will canvas the surrounding neighborhoods this evening. I'm fairly certain he's still in the area somewhere but don't know why he won't come home. Maybe he can't. Your mind always goes to the worst case scenarios in these instances and this one is no different. I won't go into it, but please send out some more good thoughts that Julio is safe and sound and will come home in once piece.

I don't want to work; I just want to traipse through the woods looking for my lost cat. JULIO!

Labels: Julio and Leon, pre-oral

Last weekend before the pre-oral. We know what that means right? Exactly. All work and no play will officially get Seth into the PhD program. I'll be here but probably won't be blogging. Big shock, no posts on the weekend.

I was eating breakfast (some leftover polenta with cheese, pasta sauce and I added some shredded chicken) and saw that F1 practice was on. So I know how I'll be starting my Saturday and Sunday. It will go something like this. Wake up. Plop onto couch and Sat. watch qualifying, while watching, eat breakfast and while making breakfast, make lunch, finish qualifying, then go to work for at least 6 hours, maybe more. Come home, eat dinner, study, sleep. Wake up and repeat except replace qualifying with the race. They're in Bahrain this weekend and were in Malayasia last weekend. In addition to the exorbitant amounts of money these cars cost to develop and build, another huge expense is flying your huge crew around the world in short amounts of time.


Should be a good one. It's always a fight between Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikonnen, but we'll have to see if anyone else makes a run for the top spot on the podium.

Found 2 awesome blogs/posts yesterday. One is from Jon, Bill and Nick over at Progressive Boink. They recap Calvin and Hobbes' 25 greatest comic strips. If you've never read Calvin and Hobbes, do yourself a favor and read through at least one of their books. Bill Waterson has such incredible talent and such a wicked sense of humor. I would like to think he helped make me the sarcastic smart ass I am today. Thanks Bill!

I also stumbled across Lobstar's "Tribute to the Cover Song" blog. Some good covers and it's always interesting to hear other people's interpretations of songs. The title of the blog is Copy, Right?

Labels: blogs, F1, pre-oral

- Homer from the "All's Fair in Oven War" episode. Lots of great quotes from that one.

2nd to last weekend before the storm, so I'll be in lab almost constantly this weekend. Zero promises on updates.

J has today off like most people who don't get Spring Break anymore. So she was fast asleep when I left for work at 8ish. For breakfast I had some cheese toast. We're currently eating everything in the house, to cut down on expenses and so we can start over and get ingredients we can use. I'm looking forward to pancakes and/or waffles and maybe I'll even throw in some of those frozen cherries I've been hanging onto or maybe I'll make a fruit compote to go on top. You're right, compote doesn't sound very appetizing. How about a Fruit Extravaganza to go on top!

The climbing wall was fun yesterday. We made fun of some noob climbers and their sorostitute friend who set the route. I'm serious when I say a quadraplegic monkey could climb the route. Super duper beginner, the only thing that would be easier would be a ladder. The wall gets frustrating sometimes because the routes they put up are either freakin' impossibe or waay too easy. No middle ground for slightly advanced climbers such as myself. It's still fun though, but I'm straying away from the point. I was belaying (holding the rope in case the climber falls so they don't hit the ground) for Subaru's wife when my phone rings. Weird. I know J is on her way home from work, hope everything is okay. I try and make it over to the bench holding my phone before she started climbing, but didn't make it and Safety First Seth knew that I should make sure my climber is not going to die before doing anything else. But once she came down (she successfully made it to the top, she's rapidly turning into a good climber), the phone was retrieved and I made the call. (Also noticing that my "new to me" Nokia doesn't display "missed call" when it's in screen saver mode/key lock mode, which I don't like because I have to touch my phone for it to tell me if I missed a call) It's J and she tells me that I should be careful on the way home cuz there is a cop sitting where we turn into our house at the bottom of the hill. Speed limit is 25 and it's exceptionally easy to be going much faster than that once you hit the bottom of the hill.

Ugh, new paragraph. Hmm, thanks for the warning sweetheart but I always slow down there because that is one place I know cops love to sit and wait so they can write some basic speeding/fundraiser tickets. Then she tells me that she got a speeding ticket. crap.
Was the radar detector on?
No, it fell down on my way home from work and I didn't feel like putting it back.
Great, that act of laziness will cost us $76 and 2 points on Speed Demon's license. She has been a little better recently. But just a little.

We were supposed to go to a fancy pants Easter buffet at the Hilton in Greenville this Sunday but as punishment, we are probably going to use that money to pay for the ticket. The buffet was going to be $27.95 a person, plus gas and maybe a tip and that just about equals $76.

I hope she learns her lesson. And I hope I pass my pre-oral.

Labels: cell phone, climbing, easter, Nokia, pre-oral, The Simpsons, ticket

- Dr. Zoidberg, from the "Tales of Interest I" episode of Futurama

Big big news in the world of 2WD rallying! A new non-profit organization, the Rallysports Group of America, RSGA, has created the Max Attack Triple Crown Rally Series! Basically it is a prize fund to encourage competition and promote 2WD rallying. Everyone knows Travis Pastrana and his 4WD Subaru, but not many people know the names of nationally competitive 2 wheel drive cars. The prize schedule is:
1st - $2,000
2nd - $1,600
3rd - $1,400
4th - $1,200
5th - $1,000
6th - $800
So very big money when compared to nothing. The reason the RSGA is doing this is because most people get into rallying via 2WD cars. They're cheaper to buy, cheaper to turn into a rally car and they have the ability to teach you how to go fast through turns without the benefit of all your wheels churning at the dirt. Most rallyers will tell you to start in a low powered 2WD car (like a Ford Focus) and learn the proper techniques and how to hold your momentum through the turn and then when you graduate to 4WD, you'll be that much faster.

The other good part about this is it transcends sanctioning bodies. Currently there are 2 premiere rally series in the States, Rally America (what used to be SCCA) and NASA Rallysport. Their schedules don't overlap but they don't really work together either. So hopefully this will at the very least encourage some discussion between the two bodies so that they can realize that they both want the same thing (for rallying to be uber-popular in the US) and that neither one wants to see the other go out of business.

What does this mean to me? It means that I need to get back to work on my pre-oral and pass it so I'll get my PhD and then a decent paying job, not have any kids for a bit, and then I will finally get my rally car. Oh yeah, that's the dream baby.

Labels: Futurama, NASA, pre-oral, rally

Mondays blow. Pre-oral is rapidly approaching. Picked up a book through interlibrary loan this morning. I'll read through that tonight. Hopefully it will be very enlightening.

Please be kind, rewind.

Labels: pre-oral

I hit a huge No Doubt section on J's shuffle walking from the car this morning.

I'm sick of studying. But I know I can't stop because a 6 year Masters degree just doesn't look good. It isn't the end of the world but it isn't a good start to my post-school career. Everyone thinks I'll do well and pass. Like they're really going to say, "You're screwed. There's no way in hell you're gonna pass." That person would be a jerk and not so much my friend.

Found a couple interesting blogs and websites while trolling the internet yesterday.

First up is the Eat Local Challenge. It's a site devoted to encourage people to be more educated about where the products they purchase are coming from. Did that tilapia come from China or Bob by the lake? Is that a South African orange or a Florida orange? The idea is to reduce the distance that your food has to travel, which saves gas and also supports local farmers and businesses.

These two sites overlap with this post. It's about processed foods, specifically milk. But it includes this link to a presentation that Sally Fallon, who is head of the Weston A. Price Foundation, gave at the annual conference of consumer health in Canada in March, 2002. It's a very good and highly distressing read. I read it while I worked out yesterday. Exercising the body and mind at the same time! (ugh, that was lame) But it just talked about how initially the processing of food made it better and last longer (think medieval and pilgrim times) but now it is essentially killing us because the industrial processing that food goes through now drastically alters its chemical makeup and is harming us. The "natural" and artificial flavors that are now added into almost everything are not good and probably causing many health problems. It's a great article and you should read it, or print it out and read it at your leisure.

The second site, which I mentioned above, is Wise Bread - Living Large on a Small Budget. So far I really like this site. It runs the gamut from crazy cheap to inexpensive and healthy. Confused? How 'bout some examples?
Save the World and Save a Dime: Eat Locally
Buy a drink and get a free Whopper - everyday?
The Ghetto Mac - yours for $1 + small fries - if the written description makes you queasy, don't watch the video. It isn't gross but it showcases lots of McDonalds "food".

There are still people who haven't seen SuperSize Me. Incredible. I might just have to buy it on DVD, install a TV in my car viewable from the rear and have it played on heavy rotation.

After my pre-oral, I plan to dive headfirst into my eating locally. I will talk to the produce managers of my local grocery stores. I will call the two farms that I found on the internet to find out what they sell and its prices. I will talk with my local produce stand and ask her where her products are coming from. I will go by my local food co-op and check it out.

Labels: Eat Locally, food, local, organic, pre-oral, Super Size Me, Wise Bread