Crazy Lawsuit Game

Wow, so far we abso-freakin'-lutely LOVE Denver! What a neat place, and we haven't even seen most of it. J and I found an awesome place that is near the light rail, so I can commute to work downtown easily and it's near a really cool street with coffee shops, restaurants, pet supply store and even a garage/auto repair shop!

I'm still wrestling with corrections and revisions. The current snafu is converting from old Word (no online pdf converting service recognizes Word '07) into a pdf file. The text moves around a bit, which moves figures and captions. Of course the free online converter (courtesy of the National Institute of Health and the National Library of Medicine) is slow and takes about 15 minutes to convert my massive 234 page document into a pdf file. Then I review the pdf, try and predict what changes are needed, predict how to make those changes in Word so they look right in the pdf, convert, wait 15 minutes and do it over again. And of course we're in Mountain time now, so it's early afternoon back in SC and Clemson shuts down at 4:30. Ugh. I don't think they'll take away my degree for this, but I'd rather not tempt fate.

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Driving 1800 miles in a Penske truck full of stuff, towing a '92 Tercel, being followed by a '04 Focus with 1 wife driving and 2 cats periodically sleeping and howling
Getting to know Denver

Labels: big moments, cats, Denver, moving, road trip, South Carolina, writing

Just got done reading this gem of an article from the NYTimes about how the unemployment rate is 9.5%, the worst in 23 years, and the fact that this is the economy in which I'm looking for a job. We're planning on moving to Denver, which I just calculated will cost about $2300, but we'll have all our stuff and enough money saved up to live for 2 to 3 months. CO has a stronger economy right now, especially compared to circling the drain SC with a top 3 unemployment rate in the nation, and it just seems like a really cool place to live. Southwest flies out of there, so I have a cheap way to get to B'ham if a family emergency comes up, or want to see my folks this fall. Plus J and I want to get out of SC and the South and experience a real winter.

So far our plan tentative plan is to load up the U-haul and head towards St. Louis, where PoP has graciously offered a place to stay (I think and I hope the offer still stands!) on Sat. night, then after lunch or so, head to Omaha and see J's sister and newly moved Mom, then probably Monday or Tuesday, head to Denver with 2 chemists, 2 cats and a small houseful of furniture.

Of course all this hinges on my defending my dissertation successfully on July 20th, and getting it formatted, reviewed, and printed at least a week before that and then the same process after, then we'll move. Yikes. Send any positive thoughts you can spare my way. The small upside is that I'm mostly done with my writing, so I actually have a bit of free time so I can physically exert this stress away!

Labels: moving, writing

I'm tired of writing and being tired. This too shall pass.

Labels: writing

J has been recruited to help revise my writing. It's nice to get another opinion on my writing style and help me focus on my results instead of so much background. She's also helping me set mini everyday goals. Off to work on that now.

If I don't post for a while, I will eventually.

Labels: J, writing

My original defense date was yesterday. I am not done writing and revising. J is pissed. I am pissed at me too. The next date should be in May or June. Writing is still happening, and the chapters keep growing. I have all my chapters at least started and need to finish up a few, then finish the intro and summary chapter then the abstract. So that's why I haven't been posting much and certainly nothing of interest.

While riding my bike I have been collecting the reflectors off the street that the snow plow scraped off (I think). I need to ask the city if they can be reused and I plan to pluck out the reflectors from the broken ones and put them on my bike. I also came up with the idea (once I graduate) to write a grant for an educational bicycle from which I can pick up trash and teach people about not littering, recycling and getting outdoors to interact with nature instead of viewing it as their trash can. I would like to have a flat screen on the bike but I just remembered those things are wicked heavy so maybe a scrolling LED marquee or something. This idea came to me while cycling in the rain and wanting some extra light while I stopped to pick up litter and also to remind people to not litter.

I'm on Twitter now, same user name as the my blog URL. I don't "tweet" much but plan to in the future. I think I'm up to 6 followers who are either racing friends, blog friends (ESC, Sloth, Evil Julie) and my Congressman, which is pretty sweet I think.

I voted for Clemson City Council today and hopefully we can get someone on there who recognizes that sprawling student housing is not the answer. I think Christy Medeiros is that person.

Labels: bicycle, business idea, Clemson, environment, litter, writing

My ride yesterday was nice and dirty. I did a bit of trail riding, then realized I didn't want to ride back up that hill and then rode around the banks of Lake Hartwell to get back to the road. Lake Hartwell is wicked low (since we're in an extreme drought) and I was actually riding on what was formerly the bottom of the lake.

Writing has reached a fever pitch as I try and finish this bloody thing.

I've been in a "bloody" phase again recently.

J had to admonish me that I was being too sarcastic and jerky to her and her mom this weekend. It's been a while since I've spoken with loved ones in real life. I didn't mean to be so snarky but it was built up. The cats didn't seem to mind.

The Mexican Drug cartel violence has finally spilled over into the States in a very noticeable way. We might need to think of changing tactics since the past 30 years of stopping the supply hasn't worked, mmmmm, AT ALL! And now the Mexican Drug cartels have loads of money, man power and guns, all financed by Americans looking to escape their daily lives who should be thrown in jail according to the US Drug War policy. What about reducing demand? What about admitting that people loves drugs (in addition to nicotine, alcohol, and pharmaceuticals) and controlling the flow of drugs OURSELVES?

Bah, back to writing about synthesis of alkali lanthanide fluorides.

Labels: bicycle, Big Pharma, J, medicinal marijuana, Mexico, writing

Snow last Monday. 75 degree sunny Saturday. 80 degree Monday. Predicted rainy 45 degree Thursday. That is Southern weather in a nutshell. Don't try and rush any season or you'll freeze to death or roast to death. Just check weather.com and dress accordingly.

I miss J. She's been in Orlando for 2 weeks yesterday. She'll be back one week from cold rainy Thurs.

My dad mentioned buying the land next to my grandma's house and putting up a renewable building material house. He contacted whoever you contact about building codes and they said they didn't really have any for alternative material houses. They also haven't issued a building permit for a new house in 8 MONTHS! So they'll probably be open to the idea.

Back to writing. Happy Tuesday.

Labels: J, Orlando, snow, writing

It's coming down to the wire. Writing for me is nearing the end which means revising can continue and be the primary focus. I have some meetings planned with committee members this week too.

Our lease is up on June 30 and we will be leaving SC for good then, if not earlier. Hopefully I'll have a job that I can jump into, but if not, it will be a big step into the great unknown. We're still thinking Colorado. Probably Denver or Boulder and staying the hell away from Colorado Springs. I've lived in the South for many years and am moving to CO to get AWAY from that stereotypical mentality. It will be nice to be surrounded by Priuses and bicycles instead of trucks and SUVs. At the very least they weigh less so if there's an accident, I have a better chance of being okay.

The weather was unfreakin' believable this weekend. Sunny and highs in the mid 70s. SoCal weather basically with the added fun of snow on the previous Mon. It should last until Wed. evening and then cold rainy weather returns to snap us out of our "spring is here mentality". I love the weather in the South, but you have to roll with the extreme temp changes. Don't be stubborn if you were wearing shorts yesterday, bust out those long johns again cuz the high is 48 sucka.

I went for a bike ride of about 8 miles on Sunday morning. It was very pleasant. I recreated my friend's morning commute from his old house. That would be a very long gradual climb to school every morning. Now I don't feel so bad about my short steep hill on the way home. I need some padded shorts though cuz my taint cain't take much more. Now if I could only eat less, I might lose some serious weight. So far (from my max of 235) I'm down to 222-225ish. So not bad, but obviously still not good.

Okay, back to writing. Thanks for stopping by!

Linguistics might be my true calling that I missed. Maybe if I'm near a school with a good linguistics department I'll take a few classes to see if I actually like it or not. I do enjoy languages and trying to see if my ear can "hear" them.

Labels: bicycle, weekend, writing

As Lenny and Karl would say, why don't they make any more oldies? I of course was raised listening to the golden oldies. It's just such a toe tapping good time and most of it is happy and upbeat. I still remember some tape we bought for around a buck at a gas station for filling up; we listened to that tape like it was going out of style.

I haven't been posting too much because of writing and work mostly. No internet at home really hurts too.

Our heat doesn't work really well; it just spits out lukewarm air and that coupled with our barely insulated house (you can see light coming through our front door, I wish I was kidding) means that we spent $94 on power last month. Since J is in Orlando, I have taken it as a challenge to see if I can get that down. I now see the benefit of a programmable thermostat. I would love for the "heat" to come on around 7 am or so and start to defrost the house but since we have an old school one, I came down stairs (after putting on double layers) to a chilly 47 degrees F. Yikes. Good thing the cats have those warm fur coats. Also the Clemson Snowfall of '09 ripped half our gutter off (which hasn't been cleaned in 1.5 years, at least), and that combined with the termites in the crawl space, the upstairs toilet that needs a minor overhaul, makes me glad I don't own this place and can just walk away without dealing with realtors and buyers. Plus they may or may not be building a new strip mall/Publix across the street from us, so it's a good time to GTFO!

Biking to work was nice this morning. I need to time how long it takes to load up the bike once I get an actual job and have to be there on time. The high is supposed to be 62 today and the weekend should be even warmer. I can't wait. J is driving me crazy telling me how nice the weather is in Florida. Although she did miss the snow and since we live in the South, we actually enjoy and appreciate the snow instead of cursing it with every breath like people in, um, Buffalo.

Get back to work! *whip crack*

Labels: bicycle, Clemson, J, Orlando, snow, The Simpsons, writing

J up and left me. Don't worry; she has a return ticket. She flew home for several weeks for vacation and to help her folks straighten up the house. Yesterday she tackled their back porch which was a tool storage area since the floor remodel 2 years ago. I think the garage is slated for this weekend. She may or may not bring her bike back.

What is the protocol for abandoned bikes? There is one on campus that I park next to that has been there at least a month. The chain is rusted, the lock may or may not have been locked at one point but has now come loose. I think it's abandoned but want to be a bike rescuer and not a bike stealer.

But more importantly than that, J's time away from the house is supposed to give me less distractions so I can write. So far it's worked pretty well although the cats are making up for her distractions by being extra cat-tastic. It's going to be a nice one today in the mid 60s. Yesterday it was in the lower 50s and you could see people trying to force Spring to come early. I saw a guy running in just shorts and people laying out. Bunch of crazies, it isn't even March!

Also the Clemson men's basketball team lost a heartbreaker to the Virginia Tech Hokies last night. We have 3 more games until the ACC tournament and hopefully we'll have a rematch against UNC for the ACC title! Bring it Tar Heels!

Labels: bicycle, cats, Clemson, J, Orlando, writing

I try and try to educate people. I've told you before that monkeys and apes are cute but are wild animals and need to live in a habitat or the outdoors. Yes chimps are my personal favorite but I also realize that one does not belong in my house. I'll spare you the pictures but please read here about the dangers, and this National Geographic article.

Also from CNN.com (like the first link up there) comes this list of 5 places to visit before they don't exist anymore. Global warming, changing weather patterns, over fishing are all blamed. But this sounds like lots of fun besides the fact that they won't exist anymore.

Writing is coming along. Bicycling to work was chilly. I love my wife, J.

Labels: bicycle, educating consumers, injustice, J, writing

Got some bad news from my adviser last night. I'm going to try and fight but it might be August before I'm done. Shitty.

Also Dr. Thomas Corts, the president of Samford University and my undergrad institution, passed away Wed. morning at the age of 67 due to an apparent cardiac infarction. Corts is survived by his wife of 44 years, Marla, two married daughters, a married son and six grandchildren. He was president of Samford from 1983 until 2006. We'll miss you Dr. Corts.

Labels: obituary, Samford, writing

The Clemson Tigers men's basketball team last night put a 27 point shellacking on the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team. Duke was #3 in the nation and we were #10. We improve to 19 wins and 2 losses (Wake Forest and North Carolina) and take over second in the ACC.

The rest of the season should be exciting and hopefully we can do well in the ACC tournament and then in the NCAA tournament in March.

Since we don't have TV anymore, we heard about the score via Facebook and then from my co-workers.

Writing is still coming along. We're entering hardcore time. I'll keep you posted.

J is tasked with finding me a job and also increasing my professional online status. I just googled myself (eeewwww) and cleaned up a link or two. My technorati profile had my full real name along side my screen name. It's like that a few other places but you would have to click on them to figure it out instead of being right there in the search results like the technorati link was. I also need to professional up this place. I'll leave the NORML links because I believe in that cause and honestly think it would help with the current state of our economy, it would also cut down on the war just across the border in Mexico. Check out the NYTimes article if you haven't heard about the bodies piling up on account of our ineffective drug policy.

Labels: Clemson, medicinal marijuana, writing

- Gob Bluth played by the riotous Will Arnett from Arrested Development.

Writing is. It's officially crunch time and I will become a hermit except for this Saturday's party. Home, work, grocery store. That's about it. We did go see a matinee of Slumdog Millionaire on Saturday. Amazing movie and if you've never seen real abject poverty, prepare yourself. It's pretty hardcore. J mentioned that people were offended at how they portrayed India. I don't see how you can get upset at the truth. It's like me being offended that someone portrayed America as a place where education isn't valued, teenagers become parents, and the masses toil for the rich elite. I might be offended but that doesn't mean it isn't the truth.

I lost some weight and gained it back over the weekend. Dammit. Such a vicious cycle.

At least Obama repealed the "Global Gag Rule". Hooray! Sorry fetuses!

Labels: abortion, writing

We're entering crunch time. I've been focusing a bit too much on background and introduction and will now almost solely focus on my results and conclusions. Background and intro is important but not more important than MY results!

J is doing well. She's looking forward to quitting her job. I'm looking forward to finding one. We're both looking forward to moving out of SC and the South. It's time for a change.

I've been much better about my diet. I've lost some weight and want to lose more and keep it off. Fat people don't get job offers, okay they do but not as many.

My newly ($200!) tuned-up bike will help me keep the weight off and take more off.

I wish I had the time and knowledge to fix the bike myself. I'm going to need to ride A LOT to work that $200 off in gas. But now that my bike is almost as good as new, that shouldn't be too hard.

If you see a guy on a red bike with silver baskets on the back and a matte metallic red helmet riding around Clemson, don't hit me! Or any other cyclists for that matter.

Labels: bicycle, writing

Unfortunately I'm not talking about pages in my dissertation. It's still a work in progress. But it's 6 more posts to 1,000! I'll be sure to let you know when that happens. Maybe then I'll actually update my template and spruce up this place. Yes, you're right, that won't happen until I'm done writing and maybe even not until after my defense.

I rode into work today and yesterday. It's been unseasonably warm all week but it is up in the low 70's today. Very strange.

So here are my first few commuting to work on a bicycle tips:
1) Take an extra shirt. You will get sweaty and stinky no matter what the temperature is.
2) If you carry more than a small backpack, get some baskets. I pimped my bike with two metal baskets on the back that screw into the frame so they're beefy and easily swallow up my messenger bag and J's laptop bag. A bungee cord is a great way to strap everything down while jumping off of curbs. Yes, I found that out the hard way.
3) Get some lights and reflectors. Trek makes a really cool 7 LED rear light that I opted for over their 3 LED rear light. More light cannot be a bad thing especially given my penchant for wearing dark clothing while night riding. I haven't picked up a reflective vest yet but I have my eye on something like these. There are lots of options for headlights but since I already owned a headlamp that wasn't seeing lots of use, I put the headlamp on my helmet. It's quickly removable and the light is up higher making me more visible and allowing me to move the light as easily as turning my head. Plus you feel like a spelunker.
4) Get some fenders. I found a set for $25 and it will hopefully be my Christmas present. Riding in the rain is in my future but for now it would be nice to ride in the wet and not get goopy rain water flung into my mouth.
5) Obviously get a serious lock and helmet. Both will come in handy and hopefully you'll never really need to use either.

Currently my plan is to use this bike for the time being and slowly upgrade parts. Hopefully I can upgrade parts that will carry over to a new bike when that time comes. I realized today I have 6 gears on the back whereas most current bikes have 7-9. Working on bikes is much easier than cars and far less expensive. Healthier too. I love not buying gas to get to work and exercising on my way there.

I'll be around early next week but no other co-workers will be here. It will be lonely writing for Seth.

Blogger friends have been found on Facebook and then friended.

I'm planning on buying some stocks with our meager savings and try to use this recession as a buying opportunity like all the rich fat cats do. Yes I'll probably buy some Apple because they are awesome and I am white.

I spoke with my friend who is a new dad and it was lots of fun but I was the first to tell him that Charlton Heston and Michael Crichton are both gone. His daughter is fine though.

Labels: bicycle, Facebook, writing

Not much has been happening with the blog recently. I'm still going to keep it up though. I like it and still enjoy blogging.

Writing is coming along. I'm focusing on one chapter at a time now, so they should start being cranked out now. It's taken long enough. Also the job search will officially start. I'll work on my resume and CV this weekend so I can start sending them out and look for my first real job.

Happy Friday everyone and Merry Weekend!

Yes I'm still riding my bike into work. I haven't resorted to full face coverage yet since it is usually in the 30s-40s for the morning commute.

Labels: bicycle, job search, weekend, writing

Does that title make sense? I originally had "I'll give you something to be thankful for" but in an attempt to not end sentences with a preposition, I changed it to that. Here is what Doc Durden has to say about it.

Writing is coming along but another student just gave his final seminar so it's now a race to see who gets done first. This sucks and I'm gonna have to kick it into overdrive if I want to finish before him and in a reasonable amount of time. Thank goodness it's a holiday and I stay at home and write.

J and I will be going to the Westin in Greenville for their Turkey Day buffet so we don't have to wash dishes or cook. I like to cook but the dishes blow, so we're giving this a shot. Of course I'll have a review and maybe some pictures. No promises on the pictures.

I might have a post tomorrow. I'll be carpooling to work with J and then going to Barnes and Noble or somewhere to write and use their wi-fi.

Safe travels and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Labels: Greenville, J, Thanksgiving, writing

Still writing. It's getting a bit easier but it's still a big project that is taking a massive amount of time.

Happy Monday!

Labels: writing

I did zero exciting things for Halloween.

I rode my bike to school twice this week, drove the other 3.

Writing is still coming along and it will come along much more tomorrow bright and earlyish.

We're hiking somewhere on Sunday.

I wrote at home today and it was very nice. The cats enjoyed it and I did too until the cats got on my nerves with their constant attention cravings.

J and I really enjoyed the university's climbing wall competition on Thursday because they put up all new routes and problems. Of course Fall Break is Monday and Tuesday so we won't be able to climb again for free until next Thursday. Jerks.

I'm going to go upstairs and get some sleep before writing tomorrow and then some college football, the Georgia/Florida game to be specific.

Hopefully I'll have some election coverage and my voting preview on Monday. Mostly local but I'll also highlight some big ballot initiatives around the country.

Labels: bicycle, football, hiking, politics, writing