Sometime soon...

I'll actually post pertinent information. If I get a job offer(like I am hoping/kinda expecting) in the coming weeks, I'll have TONS to talk about.

it's kinda quiet around here

yeh, I know. I've been dormant on this thing for awhile. Mainly because Trevor and I have been devoting much of our time to our sports blog, Sports on the Rox. On the personal side of things, not THAT much has been going on, which explains my lack of posts. I'll get something on here at some point, because there has been some news worth mentioning, mainly my getting a job this summer at Arnold Air Force Base :). But that will be discussed later...

Science Fair Redux

I guess I'm way overdue to give Eric and Jennifer a big CONGRATULATIONS on bringing in the newest edition to the world, Scott Michael Maier. Their kid is adorable, and I know from being around them for almost a year that they will be fantastic parents. Just don't raise that kid to be a Rangers fan, Eric!!

Other than a usually busy week for me(spacecraft attitude homework, lab report, lab, aerospace structural analysis homework, fluids quizzes), I'm in for a treat this Wednesday. As part of my technical writing course, I am required to be a judge at a science fair held at the Hump. The fair covers all ages up to 12th grade, but I was assigned to the K-6 crowd. I'm not necessarily sure which grade I'll eventually end up grading, but I'm looking forward to it no matter where I end up. I remember all too well doing science projects EVERY year. I was quite elated to learn that after moving to Tennessee in 2000 that they weren't required up there. I'm anxious to see if these kids are creative or if their parents did all the work. Should be fun.

Our intramural men's soccer tournament starts this Thursday. Match play treated us well; we ended up 5-2, so we should get a decent seed. As for the co-ed team, I'm not entirely sure where we stand, as I've missed the last 2 games with hockey. I think we're doing halfway decent. The girls on our team are BALLERS. I really do no know why they don't play club.

Call me childish, but I'm loving the potential of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie more and more. The tv spots kick so much ass. Have you seen the Foot Soldiers?! SO badass. And Splinter...well, he's his normal awesome self. I really cannot wait to see that one.

Speaking of awesome movies, I am counting down the days until Frank Miller's 300. I hear the flick is the ultimate "guy movie," so being the guy that I am, I'm almost required to see it. We want to go see it at an IMAX, which would necessitate going to Memphis. It's still up in the air, but it just might happen.

The Dawgs are in the final stretch of their season. We're tied with Ole Miss for the 1st spot in the West. They go to play at Alabama on Wednesday and finish the season hosting Auburn. We pretty much need 'Bama to step up against them, and we need to win our final 2 games. If we do that, we clinch the West, an SEC 1st round bye, and a chance to get to the NCAAs. We win in the first round of the SEC tourney, and we're golden to go to the Dance. Com'on Dawgs!

Wits & Wagers has turned into a fan favorite here in Starkvegas. The whole crew absolutely loves this game. It's become an almost weekly ritual. We had 7 teams the other night, allowing us to fill the entire board. It was NUTS. Mary and Adam are quite the W&W players. Thanks, Will for bringing that home over Christmas!

I will send my "official" application papers to AEDC tomorrow. I'll hear something in a few weeks. No whammies, no whammies...

phone interview tomorrow!!

I submitted my cover-letter, resume, and transcript to the Arnold Engineering and Development Center on Tuesday, and I got an email response the next day. I have a phone interview with AEDC tomorrow at 4:30 pm Central Time.

I'm slightly more nervous about this phone interview than I was for my one before going down to JSC. I had a face-to-face interview before my phone interview back then, so I was already feeling good about my chances. The phone interview was sort of a "second chance." I don't have the luxury of that this time. I either nail the phone interview or it's no-go for AEDC.

I really want this job, so all day I've been reviewing everything I can find on the Center. I'll head to the Career Center(where' I'm doing the interview, as my phone is crapping out) around 4:15, then I'll sit in the conference room during the interview. Hopefully after 5:00 or so I should have a good idea whether I'll be simulating missile defense experiments this summer or not. After my morning class I'll try to round up some questions I have about AEDC, as well as try to figure out what kind of questions they'll ask me.

Wish me luck!

Henry's Eleven

So I was kicking back while watching some tv the other day. Ocean’s Eleven just happen to come on, and it made me think: Who would I need out of my pool of friends to make a successful casino heist? Well, I put some thought in it, and here is MY Eleven. Note that I didn't choose based on similar appearances. Rather, I chose based on abilities, similar characteristics, etc.

Danny Ocean – George Clooney ( the leader )
Played by: Me
I’m creating this list, so I get to be the lead guy. I would like to think I have some leadership skills in me which help keep the group focused and fresh. Besides, Danny gets the girl in the end.

Rusty Ryan – Brad Pitt (the right-hand man)
Played by: Trevor Acy
Trevor seems a nice fit for this role. Danny and Rusty work well together, and they rarely need to do much conversing to relay information. One is always one step ahead of the other, and this helps the planning go smoothly. Although not always the case, Trevor and I work very well together, an important ability for the leaders of the group.

Linus Caldwell – Matt Damon(the rookie)
Played by: Marty Brennan
Marty just started hanging around with our group this semester, so being the rookie is perfect. Besides, I think he could easily pull off the monotonous jobs in the movie as well as posing as a member of the NGC and pick-pocketing Andy Garcia. Of course, knowing Marty now, I bet he’d actually attempt to hit on Tess after watching her for several days rather than hold back. Shut up Marty…you know you would.

Basher Tarr – Don Cheadle(the explosives guy)
Played by: Paul Howell
If only you all knew how well Paul made explosives during our freshman year of college. The marks are still there! This guy WAS Basher reincarnate. I’d also fully trust Paul to steal a “Pinch” from a laboratory, as Paul was…well…pretty good at stealing things. I’m restricted from saying any more on the matter.

Livingston Dell – Eddie Jemison(the surveillance guy)
Played by: Adam Wandler
Sure, I have about four hundred computer wiz friends, but Adam just appeared to fit the role better than the rest. Adam would also be the only guy that could double as a technician and make it through security without causing a blip. Adam might blow his cover with a M.S.I. showing under his outfit, but I’m willing to take that chance.

Frank Catton – Bernie Mac(the con man)
Played by: Anthony Vizzini
Com’on, I know I’m not the only one that looks at Anthony in his black leather jacket, slicked back hair, and ragged jeans and thinks, “con man.” Although of a much lighter complexion than Frank, Anthony would easily pull off the blackjack dealer look with his trademark goatee-stache. I wouldn’t put it past Anthony to steal stuff from a Casino for the sake of stealing over $100 million either. He’s also got a slick way of talking, a trait Frank no doubt had down pat.

Reuben Tishkoff – Elliot Gould(the former Vegas hotel big wig)
Played by: Bill Wilson
I’m sure many of you(well, those NOT from Paris, TN) do not know who Bill is. He is my former employer and a great friend of mine and my family. But if you really get to know the guy, you know he doesn’t necessarily have the longest temper. He also has quite the fowl mouth. But hey, we all love him for these characteristics. And because of these human flaws he would be the perfect Reuben. I can see Bill wanting to exact revenge on someone that put him out of business(in this case, the hotel business), and I can also see him being a smart ass to everyone, just like Reuben in the movie.

Saul Bloom – Carl Reiner(the old pro)
Played by: Josh Collums
Saul was old reliable. Sure, he was out of the game for awhile when Dusty approached him, but he wanted in, even if he didn’t outwardly show it. In the end, he was one of the most important pieces to the heist. Josh is Saul, hands down. He’s reliable as hell, and he’s almost always willing to join in and go all out. I’d love to watch Josh and Terry Benedict go head-to-head like the movie.

Turk Malloy – Scott Caan (the cars & transportation guy)
Played by: Mike Bradley
Ok, so we needed a muscle man, as well as someone that knows about cars. Mike, you know cars, right? Great. Turk liked to argue during the course of the film, and from what time I’ve determined from my brief stints around Mike, he seems like a guy that could argue very well. He has the confidence to do so, and he’d probably win most of the time, like Turk. I also see Mike donning the chauffeur’s outfit in a moment’s notice without protest. Or maybe the personal bodyguard costume. Most importantly, Mike would be the perfect compliment to his younger brother…

Virgil Malloy – Casey Affleck (the cars & transportation guy)
Played by: Chris Moore
Chris has a mustang….so he should have automobile knowledge….right?? We’ll assume yes. He knows how to drive a manual transmission, so that’s good enough. Most importantly, I think it’d be fun as hell to watch Chris and his older brother(Mike) argue. I’ve argued with Chris before, and he and Virgil have many parallels.

Yen – Shaobo Qin(the grease man)
Played by: Jaimee Floyd
Ok, so our grease man is really a “grease woman”. Hmm, that doesn’t sound too nice. How about “acrobatic artist”? In either case, we’d need someone that can fit into tight spaces, contort their body, and be very acrobatic. Jaimee’s on the pom squad, and from basketball halftime performances you can tell she’d fit the bill. As opposed to Yen, we’d actually be able to understand her speech too, which is a plus.

What the hell, a small bonus. Tess was the 13th in the sequel, and Benedict looks like he might be the 14th in the next flick. So why not include them?

Terry Benedict – Andy Garcia
Played by: Andy Garcia
Uhm, is it just me, or is Andy the only person that could play this role?! You can’t really replace him.

Tess Ocean – Julia Roberts
Played by: Mallory Hacker
Tess had the looks, she had the strength, and she could definitely hold her own. She’s headstrong but knows how to have fun and let loose, just like in the sequel. I think Mallory would be the ideal Tess.

first impressions

I've successfully made it through 1.5 weeks of class this semester. This has given me just enough time to get thorough first impressions of my teachers. Yes, I could have had sufficient class time to get impressions last week, but not all my professors were present at that point. Now that I've had 2-3 classes, it's time to give out some "pre-season" rankings. We'll revisit this subject at the end of the semester to see how my feelings about the teacher and/or class have changed, if anything. I'll also detail some aspects of my class just so my faithful audience can get a sense of what I'm learning.

Aerospace Lab, MWF 8:00-8:50, W 2:00-4:50, Thomas Hannigan
Three parts lecture, one part lab, I was kind of unsure of what to expect about this class. After a few classes, though, I think it should be a great learning experience. Each week we'll study a different lab technique or piece of hardware, then use each in an application experiment. The class will require tons of programming, which I am very comfortable with. I cannot say the same for the rest of my class however. In fact, if we use a different programming language than the standard ones(BASIC, FORTRAN, MathCAD, Matlab, Mathematica, and Maple), we get bonus points. Guess that bulk of programming I did in Houston will finally pay off :). Mr. Hannigan is a decent teacher; I had him for my third Intro class during the first semester my sophomore year. He's kinda anal about some things, which tends to get annoying, but he's tolerable.

Aerospace Structural Analysis, MWF 1:00-1:50, Dr. Newman, Jr.
This class could very well be Mechanics of Materials II. Topics we'll cover in detail include shear and stress analysis, torsion, and strain relationships. Since Dr. Lacy's Structures class last semester I've become quite interested in the structures area of study. Dr. Newman is the father of my Vibrations teacher last semester, and I can honestly say I now know where Dr. Newman III gets his personality. I love his father's class; he's pretty much Martin Sheen with a goatee. He's got a great sense of humor too, which never hurts.

Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics, MWF 8:00-9:15, Dr. Ming Xin
Probably the class I have looked forward to the most since I declared my concentration as Astronautics. This course is basically ADCO 101, a compilation and a more detailed breakdown of everything I learned while at NASA. Whereas last semester I learned about the movement of a spacecraft treated as a point mass under influence of another mass, this semester we'll treat spacecraft as rigid bodies and study their movement about their own center of mass. VERY neat stuff. My professor is kind of quiet so far, but Chris, who had him last semester for Controls class, says he's pretty cool. I suspect Ming isn't that lively because this is the first time this class has been taught and this is his first year of teaching. Supposedly this kind of material is his specialty, so maybe he's just warming up.

Technical Writing, MWF 9:30-10:45, John Brocato
According to John(my brother), this will be one of the most applicable classes I'll take my whole time in college. Technical Writing aims to teach how to express technical ideas to others who are not always technically inclined, an ability many MANY people lack(I've witnessed firsthand at the big N). Mr. Brocato kicks so much ass; he has a very smart sense of humor, and he's very dry. Hilarious. Interesting note: first day of class he was running through the role, and he saw my name on the list. Without even saying anything he looked up, found me, and said, "You must be John Horne's brother." HAHA. He said he could tell by my face. Turns out John had Mr. Brocato a few years back. Small world.

Fluid Mechanics, MWF 11:00-12:15, Mary Wolverton
Another class I'm excited about. We're gonna learn all about hydrostatics and hydrodynamics; inviscid,turbulent flow; and compressible/imcompressible flow. VERY applicable stuff to what I'm wanting to possibly do. I had Mrs. Wolverton for Dynamics last spring, so I'm pretty familiar with her. She loved me for some reason in that class, which should make this class a breeze, other than the fact I love this material.

the awesomeness of St. Patrick

Just some highlights of my boy doin' his thing...

Not sure why this montage is rockin' to Enya, but it kinda fits. Hey Rich, you like that save at the 1:00 minute mark of the video? Mwa ha ha ;)

she blogs again!

My sister has returned to the blogging world! *applause*

Check out the link to the right. It's a great site she's got goin'. Pretty f'in hilarious too.

if you're a star wars fan...

well you're just gonna love this. It's the Star Wars version of Wikipedia, except since we're in the Star Wars universe here, it's actually called Wookieepedia. HAHA. I love it.

I'll admit that I'm interested in Star Wars(it WAS one of the 3 movie series I was raised on as a child, after all), but I'm nowhere near the infatuation levels of the Skywalker-crazed fanatics out there. It's more of a casual interest, if you will.

Anyways, if you have a few minutes, check out the site. I usually just go and hit the "random" button and pull up an article about something I had never heard of before. Fascinating stuff.

Oh, and my computer arrived today....and I luuuuv it so far. I'll include pics and descriptions later on. It's VERY slick.

well, I have an 8:00 am class tomorrow morning(and EVERY morning, for that matter. Hey, it's what happens when you get to the upper-level classes...there's only ONE of each!), so I guess it's bedtime for me. SUCKS.

the other two movie series I was raised on a child? Superman and Indiana Jones, of course!

and you people wonder why I like hockey

just follow the link above(it's the title) and watch the video on this page. This game was un-FREAKIN'-believable. Tarik, hockey kicks ass, and you know it. Now go watch some Saved by the Bell and brush up on your trivia.

god I love my team's front office

From Michael Silverman's article in the Boston Herald:

Has anyone else been wondering about the $51.11 million bid the Red Sox made – and now must pay the Seibu Lions — in order to gain exclusive negotiating rights with Daisuke Matsuzaka?We asked principal owner John Henry if there was anything behind that specific amount. We got an answer all right, a fascinating and totally unexpected one. Here’s his emailed response, in full:

“$51,111,111.11 actually.

“We assumed a few teams would try to blow all the other teams ‘out of the water.’ We didn’t know if that would represent 30, 40 or 50 million.

We also knew a couple of teams would have their eyes on luxury taxes as well (as) assuring themselves of six years of service. Therefore we estimated someone could potentially bid as much as $50,000,000 to assure success since they were doing so with no risk. And we thought that just to be sure they might decide to bid $51,000,000.

“We were not going to take any chances of losing Matsuzaka-san and were determined to top even that potential bid. And to ensure that our number could not be leaked, I was given the task of devising the final amount. (I thought (team president and CEO) Larry (Lucchino) was going to pass out when I told him the number as we were delivering it to MLB.)

“When we were attempting to purchase the Red Sox, I did not want my name thrown around in the media for quite some time. Therefore, all of the potential investors and bankers knew me only as “Investor 11.” We had extraordinarily good fortune in bidding for the team. In fact, at one point Mr. (Charles) Dolan had won the bidding before asking to purchase the entire club rather than the half that was originally for sale. We were lucky to win the bidding when the second bids were taken. So although I am decidedly not superstitious, I decided, for good luck, to throw in as many 11s as I could.
“I also felt good about another set of numbers. Matsuzaka-san and I were both born on the 13th of September.

That’s the story,

John”

a change of scenery?

So about midway through last semester I had an interesting experience in my Vibrations class...

That day we didn't even begin the lecture, which was supposed to cover single degree-of-freedom free, undamped vibation, but that's beside the point. Instead, Dr. Newman, for one reason or another, decided to enlighten us with the work he does over at the ERC(Engineering Research Center).

To make a long blog short, Dr. Newman divulged that he does TONS of research with respect to ballistic missles, missle defense, and satellite-based missle defense. Maybe it was the way Dr. Newman relayed this information, or maybe it was the fact that he's a very down-to-earth kind of demeanor, or maybe it was the fact that I was excited that we weren't having a lecture, but I was COMPLETELY captivated by what he had to say. I walked away from that class that day(which lasted an extra half hour, but we didn't care) very very interested in the field of missle defense and its applications.

As a side note, ever since John got a job with....er....uhm....the government in a defense capacity, I've kinda wanted to do the same thing. Before graduating high school, I considered majoring in mathematics, as our government is one of leading employers of mathematicians, especially in the Department of Defense. I then switched to aerospace engineering(astronautics), which turned out to be a great decision, but I realized that I probably wouldn't be able to work where my bro worked. Now, however, I may not work in the same place or have the same job as my brother, but I could be working towards the same goal as his.

After some research, I found a place where I might be able to intern AND get some experience in the missle defense field. The locale: Arnold Engineering Development Center, right outside Tullahoma, TN and adjacent to the University of Tennessee Space Institute. These guys do some COOL stuff, including aerodynamic testing of pretty much every military or civilian spacecraft/aircraft created by the ole' U.S. of A., lots of rocket(solid and liquid) propulsion testing, AND missle defense technology, mainly in the areas of detection and recognition. Add that to the fact this place is the world's largest collection of flight test facilities, and you have an engineer's dream at this place. Even cooler, they tested the upper-stage liquid rocket engine of the Saturn-V(the J-2 engine) back in the Apollo days! With our nation returning to the moon in 2020, Arnold could very well be doing some testing once again for our government, as NASA is using basically the same architecture for the booster vehicle this time around.

So there you go. The application process to Arnold requires my resume, a 500-word essay on some topic, and my transcript. Then they notify me after the February deadline if I've been selected for an interview. After the interview, they let me know a month or two later if I've been accepted into their intern prgoram. As you can imagine, I've been hard at work on updating my resume here at home, and I'll begin the essay soon I'm sure. I'm gonna need references too, so Tarik and Eric, be expecting an email from me soon!

I would LOVE to work there next summer. Not only will it be a change of scenery from Houston, but it'll give me a broader range of experience AND I'll be near Nashville, one of my favorite cities in the country. Of course there are other great benefits, but I'm sure you can figure those out.

I'll try to keep you all updated on the various stages of my application process.

Four Great Reasons to Drink Beer in 2007

My dad, now that he brews his own beer(a resounding applause can be heard), is part of the Brewers Association. He subscribes to their periodic newsletter, and this week's edition had this to say:

A brochure produced by the Breweres of Europe gives the following information about the health benefits of consuming alcohol in moderation for healthy adults...

#1) Drinking Beer is Good for Your Heart

There is compelling evidence that moderate beer drinkers have a substantially reduced risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack, when compared to teetotalers.

Additional evidence shows that moderate drinking may be protective against the most common form of strokes.

It is estimated that an intake of approximately three alcholic drinks a day should
reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 24.7%( 1 drink = 8.5 U.S. liquid oz.)

Beer is as good as wine for protecting your heart. The American Heart Association has said that "there is no clear evidence that wine is more beneficial than other forms of alcoholic drink."

#2) Moderate Consumption of Beer Reduces the Riske of Type 2 Diabetes

Sudies show a reduced incidence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in men and women who are moderate drinkers. Compared to non-drinkers, men who consume one to two beers a day have a 36% less risk of Type 2 Diabetes.

#3) Drinking Beer Reduces The Risk of Osteoporosis

Recent research shows that moderate beer drinking has a protective effect on bones, thus reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

#4) Beer Consumption Reduces the Risk of Kidney Stones

Daily consumption of beer is shown to reduce the risk of kidney stones by 40%

home for the holidays...and then some

Shouldn't come as a surprise, but I'm home now at the Ranch. Just some points to note...

I've begun painting the rest of the railings at the Center. Nothing like a few extra bucks to earn over break. Dad says he's already received numerous compliments on the railings that I did over Thanksgiving. Guess I'm doing ok with them.

My dogs are somehow 32 times cuter than they were last time I was home. Don't really know how that happened. I'm taking pics of them like crazy, and I really want a good pic taken of just me and them. I'll try to share some of those over break.

I should have a new laptop purchased within a few days. My current computer is on its last LCD days.

Due to a near-incident last night at 2:00 am over at the Center, I have decided (and Dad agrees) I should learn to shoot a gun. So over break Dad's gonna take me to a range around here and show me the ins and outs of packing heat with his Glock 9mm. I can't wait :)

I'm now reading(finally) my automotive handbook I bought several months ago. As I do, I'm going along in my jeep, seeing each piece and storing into memory what each thing does. Although not a natural-born auto mechanic, I'm really getting into this material. I do have some questions, and I'm sure John will be able to answer those when he gets here next week.

I'm totally redoing my resume, as I've had quite a few work stints since my last update. I'm revamping it for my potential job in Tennessee next summer. Where is it, you ask? I'll gladly inform you next time(seriously, I promise).

A Most Impressive Pitch

Well it's all but official: The Red Sox top brass(Epstein, Lucchino, Werner), after flying from Boston to L.A. in owner John Henry's private jet to a last minute bargaining session, have pretty much locked up Daisuke Matsuzaka for the next six years for a total of $52 million, with $8 million left for incentives. I've waited to write about Daisuke(pronounced "Dice-K") until it was almost certain that we'd get him, and well, we pretty much got him.

Rather than splurge and write about 28 paragraphs on the guy right now, I'll be writing plenty about him leading up to Spring Training in March. Needless to say, I'm absolutely STOKED about getting Dice-K. We now have an unbelievable starting rotation, one that is anchored by two veterans(Schilling and Wakefield) and filled in the middle by THREE 26-year old hard throwing studs(Papelbon, Matsuzaka, and Beckett). Also, should Wake not have a stellar year due to his rib injury again, Jon Lester will be wating in the wings. Lester disclosed recently that his cancer is in complete regression, and he will be joining the crew at Spring Training. To add even more intrigue, word has it the Sox have given Clemens a "most impressive" pitch in regards to pitching for them in 2007. Whether this was just a precautionary measure had the Sox not signed Matsuzaka, or whether it was the plan all along, remains to be seen. Either way, it's times like this that it's exciting to be a Sox fan.

"Let's Daaaaaaance!!!"

...because I am DONE with Finals this semester. Definitely the hardest set of exams I've had since I've been in college. Now it's a waiting game to see if I kept the 4.0. But first, I'm going to sleep for a very, very, very long time. I'm out.

LCDead

As if the internal clock of my computer told it that the warranty was no longer in effect(ended two months ago), my laptop's LCD screen is on the verge of dying any day now.

The first symptoms appeared over Thanksgiving break when I booted up my comp to load some pictures. I was greeted by my desktop in very retro(and psychedelic) colors. Upon further investigation of online documentation, I realized that my screen was dying, as some of the liquid crystals weren't allowing some light to pass through, thus giving off a very tinted look.

I woke up this morning to prepare a little more for my Aerothermodynamics test, and as you might expect, I opened my computer and the screen had gotten worse. It's even difficult to stare at the screen for extended periods of time now. I've adjusted the colors to where everything is pretty much blue; I had to choose this setting because it's the only one that would allow me to see text. This WOULD happen right before a test that required the use of my computer. Thankfully, it battled through, and I made it through the test just fine.

So now the quest is on to look for a new laptop. Just like they've always done, my brothers have my back. They're doing their best to find me the best deal out there. I'm also looking myself, hoping to spot a steal. I'll probably have to do monthly installments until next summer, at which point I'll just pay the rest of the balance because I will be working.

Yup, working. Except I hope to not be co-oping next summer; rather, I hope to be interning. And it will NOT be at NASA. Where I am aiming to land in summer of 2007? ................Ah, you'll just have to tune in next time to find out :)

A Slight Facelift

Welcome back everyone...err...welcome back myself.

Yeh, I've been gone way too long. Longer than any time before. So if you all but gave up on my blog, I don't blame you. Who should you blame? Mississippi State University. Yup, that's right. They've been working my ass to death the past 2 months, but finally, FINALLY, I have procured some time off from school.

It's the Thanksgiving holidays, so that means I'm at home. As of now, I am the active siblings leader in my family in the category of consecutive Thanksgivings attended(about to be #22), so very few things were going to tear me away from returning to the Ranch for a few days in late November.

You would think I'd have all kinds of free time over break, but that is sadly far frome the truth. Next week I have a Vibrations exam, a Aerothermodynamics exam, a Vibrations project due, an Orbital Mechanics project due, and some Aerothermo homework due. Then the week after that I have FINALS. Add that to the fact that I'll be working right around 8 hours a day here starting tomorrow, and you realize that I'll be working during the day and studying during the night. I'm not really complaining, though. I'm making money while getting a fresh venue in which to enrich my brain with subjects that really do interest me.

It will not be all work, of course. You know me better than that. Dad's good friend from St. Andrews(Class of '64, right Dad?), Tim Mucklow, just arrived this evening, and my brother John will be flying in tomorrow night. Four Hornes and a friend of Horne is usually a recipe for some fun times.

Well that's about it. Just thought I'd let everyone know I'm still alive. Oh yeh, how do you like the new style of my blog? Yay, nay, indifferent? I'd really like to know what ya think. So shoot me a comment if you want.

I really do have so much to talk about, so hopefully I'll be able to post about it this week and the next and the next and so on. Topics to be covered include, but are not limited to:

-a recent list I have growing that lists the reasons I love baseball
-the Red Sox offseason dramas(Matsuzaka, Manny, bullpen help, right field, etc.)
-recent developments regarding my Summer 2007 work plans
-Nintendo's sexy new console, the Wii
-Michael Richards' idiocy
-New Year's plans
-my newest infatuation: bartending and drink making
-movie reviews and previews of films coming soon that have caught my eye

that's about it. Tune in later this week. I might even throw in a pic from the Ranch(which, by the way, looks absolutely beautiful this time of year).

Sox are everywhere

today was very Red Sox oriented.

to start, I wore my Papelbon jersey-shirt today for the mere fact of pronouncing to all the Yankee fans on campus that I'm saying "HAHAHAHAHA" to them. There's this one particular NY fan in all of my engineering classes who is always sporting something Yankee related. He either has his battered NY hat, his Yankeet watch, or some shirt that says "Jeter XXL"(don't really get that one) or has a player-jersey on hit(usually Posada). Anyhow, this guy just looks the part of a typical Yankee fan, and while I have never conversed with him, I'm rather certain he's annoying. The great thing about all of this is that I usually sit RIGHT in front of this guy in my classes(by no choice of mine; I usually get there before he does), so wearing my Sox shirt today was the perfect ploy. I hope he got a good, loooooong look at it.

on my way out of the library today I saw this chick with a #58 Papelbon jersey-shirt on. She has the alternate home jersey, so it's red with blue lettering, while mine is blue with red lettering. It's kinda sad that I'm not the only one with that jersey on campus anymore :(, haha.

and finally, after my Structures test this evening, I was leaving the room when Dr. Lacy(who is quite possibly the nicest man in this universe) pulled me aside to question me about if I had ever seen the Sportscenter commercial with the Red Sox fan in the bathroom. I told him I had, and that I wore my shirt today just for *that* guy up there(I pointed the Yankee out). As if Dr. Lacy couldn't get any cooler, now I learn that this guy watches ESPN. I wonder if he likes baseball...hmmm.

well, back to Thermodynamics and Monday Night Football...

from NASA to groundskeeping

Today was Day #1 of the 89th NHL season. It's pretty exciting. Unfortunately, my Avs couldn't hold their 2-0 lead the whole game, and they allowed 2 unanswered goals in the 3rd, as well as the game-winner in OT off an assist by Turco. Eyugh. I'm just glad hockey is back; every other weekend or so I'll get to watch some games on NBC. Also, if things go as planned, I will be watching Joe Sakic and Company on New Year's Day in Nashville play against the hometown Predators.

Baseball playoffs keep rolling along. The Twins are disappointing, while the Tigers are just a sacrificial lamb for the Yankees. It appears the A's are going to be my best hope to get the Yanks knocked out of October.

Today I was finally able to get things done that needed to be done. I got my Target e-giftcard problems worked out, so now my 2 GB SD card for my camera is on its way :). Thanks again for my birthday present, Mom and Dad!! Oh, and since someone was obviously trying to swindle me on Half.com(where I ordered 2 of my textbooks for cheap), I filed my claims on my two books. It takes 30 days for them to resolve it, so I should get a refund by then. I've already been using books from my friends, and although they aren't the exact same textbooks, they are more than adequate. It'll just be a little more change in the pocket when I get my money back :)

Speaking of pocket money, I'm going home this weekend, and I may very well be going home the next two weekends as well. I offered my services to Dad and the Gray Center, and he informed me that there was plenty work to be done. So the plan is just to work as many hours as possible this weekend and get some extra money in the pocket. I've got alot of events coming up(well into next semester), so more money couldn't hurt. I'm also planning on working over Christmas break at the Center. Basically, my weekend will involve physical labor, eating, and sleeping. That sounds bad, but it will be great to be continually working on something and not have to think about school, baseball, or much else.

Another plus this weekend will be that John and his dog Tyrone are coming home. John is dropping off Tyrone to Mom, so she can take care of him while John is off on some super secret spy mission somewhere on the other side of the planet(he's really just going to New Zealand, but I like to think he's a super-spy). Not only will I get to see my dogs, I'll get an extra treat with Tyrone!! (And I get to see my brother, of course, haha)

Just watch...this weekend be the weekend we upset West Virginia while I'm at home. Twenty bucks says it happens, haha.

Trevor and I went to Chattanooga for Fall Break this past weekend. We had such an awesome time. Thursday night was half-priced wine night at this local cafe, Friday night was guys' night at this bar with around 200 beers, and Saturday night we partied it up at Mal's then headed over to Parkway Billiards(which I absolutely love now). I wanted to eat brunch with Ann at some point, but she was never able to take a break out of her demanding schedule at the Magazine. The entire weekend included great food and great fun with pretty much the entire Spring Break crew. I also got to see Mal kick some ass on the soccer fields in a mini-tournament at UTC. I swear that girl has gotten even faster, if that's even possible. She had several scoring oppurtunities but was just unlucky on the bounces. Once again, I assumed the role of Mr. Photographer during the games, haha. I think I like that job.

Speaking of Mal and soccer, the girls have a soccer game at Vandy the last Saturday in October. I was thinking about heading up there on that Friday, maybe spending the night with Paul in Cookeville(or Lebanon), eating lunch with Andrea in Nashville, then heading to the game. It's almost like my Red Roadies days back in my senior year of high school, haha.