Random Thoughts XII - This Thread Delivers

[CycloneErik]

Traded e-mails with the interdisciplinary studies person on my 'keeping busy' and adding skills plan.
She plainly didn't read my initial e-mail.
Our back and forth today involved a very generic sell for the program that I'm asking to join, my follow-up about whether an application would confuse the system and there might be another form to fill out (because that's the ISU thing, really), and a reply that there is such a form, but they don't see a GRE score anywhere.

Is there really some concern that I can't handle the work? Really?

If she were to press and say "Are you sure you'll finish this one" the answer would be "Not sure, but maybe."

I just don't think the GRE is really something to put the brakes on for.
That said, I did take it in 2012 for PhD programs and aced it.

 

[VeloClone]

Was confused to see a thread wanting to buy A, B, C parking.

Dude, you can just drive up to those ramps from 394 or surface streets and pay as you go.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

He was in one of those detective shows too. Law and Order or something that isn't on anymore.
edit: just got to KC's post...beat me to it again.

 

[CloneLawman]

Oh, so you are one of those left foot brakers, huh? Do you ride the brake pedal all of the time?

It amazes me the number of people out there who drive constantly with the brake lights on. I'll bet they get great gas mileage.

Or who brake at ridiculous times (gee I'm heading down a hill going 25, I'd better brake and make sure I don't start going 30). I see a lot of that downhill braking where speed or safety are not a concern.

 

[SCyclone]

Oh, so you are one of those left foot brakers, huh? Do you ride the brake pedal all of the time?

It amazes me the number of people out there who drive constantly with the brake lights on. I'll bet they get great gas mileage.

Nope, I'm a right foot only guy. But for some reason, if I'm riding with the vixen and I'm hoping she stops/slows down, it's my left foot that presses against the floor. (Maybe it's because that foot is closer to where the brake pedal actually is!)

 

[BCClone]

It has been very interesting to research the history of some of these and how tight the cartels were/are.

Watched a show on Pablo Escobar last night. Cartels are interesting.

So you said you are getting back into your flying mode right?

 

[ImJustKCClone]

Your left leg will be sore when you get home from pressing an imaginary brake pedal against the floor.

You've never driven a manual, have you?

 

[BCClone]

You could always go for the old house number on the curb solution:

This may be a solution. Wife stuck some on the mailbox one year but then the snow plow took it out right away, so I didn't want to jinx it again.

 

[BCClone]

You've never driven a manual, have you?

Only time you need a clutch on a manual is to go into first or go into reverse.

 

[VeloClone]

Ugh! Got the MRI results. My soccer player is out of commission for an estimated 9 months. ACL and meniscus. She has to be heartbroken.

 

[wxman1]

Watched a show on Pablo Escobar last night. Cartels are interesting.

So you said you are getting back into your flying mode right?

A little. An hour or two a month as our budget doesn't allow for much more than that. My dad's birthday is on Sunday so I am flying him and LittleWx to Monticello for the fly-in breakfast that morning. Nice easy 20 minute flight from CR.

 

[oldman]

Today I get to start teaching the youngest how to drive a vehicle. Hello 25 mph on gravel roads. Now I wish it wouldn't have rained last night.

I taught all my girls to drive. My youngest is probably the best. I took her out to Jester Park north of Urbandale, on a nice spring day -- still a little snow on the park road, and it was about 3 miles of winding hilly road. She was getting close to the edge (no shoulder) going around a curve, and I knew if a tire went off, it would be tow truck time, so I reached over and moved the steering wheel to get us back on track. She got all huffy about it, so I made her pull over. I told her if I was going to teach her how to drive, and thought we might be headed for trouble, I would continue to do things like that. And if she didn't like it, her mom could become her teacher. I've never received a faster apology out of her.

 

[BCClone]

Ugh! Got the MRI results. My soccer player is out of commission for an estimated 9 months. ACL and meniscus. She has to be heartbroken.

What grade is she again? From recent experience (unfortunatly) track should be on the table. My son got the go at 6 months for track. He had surgery in september and was good by early march to run track (just not hurdles or jumping things). The physical therapist (this person is 1 of the 2 most important people you will have in the whole process) makes a world of difference. by January the PT said that his knee was completely back, but blood flow doesn't start until about 6 months. At 9 months there is decent flow. It will take 2 years to be "normal" again

Our doctor harvested part of his hamstring (people who will do stuff on their knees -- wrestler here) and then wrapped it around a cadaver one. Its 2x beefer than the original.

One thing that helped us was doing PT sessions before surgery, you need to keep quads strong and firing. When she gets the brace off, beat on how she walks. Don't let her gimp walk, after a couple weeks if she gimp walks it will become natural. There was a girl a year before our son who still limps when she walks from not focusing on this. Most say you can't tell our son had surgery because his Pt was phenominal.

Any thing you might wonder feel free to ask, its a situation that really floored me.

This is 10 months after surgery at a camp

 

[ImJustKCClone]

Only time you need a clutch on a manual is to go into first or go into reverse.

You sound like PapaLew. Yes, I can (or could) do that, but if the clutch pedal is right there, why not use it?

 

[BoxsterCy]

Today I get to start teaching the youngest how to drive a vehicle. Hello 25 mph on gravel roads. Now I wish it wouldn't have rained last night.

Me and dad Boxster 52 years ago with 5-foot tall me trying to see over the hood of a yuge 1958 Buick Century. Was easier to see over the hood of the '49 Chevy truck (seat was higher) but had to scootch forward for the clutch and all.

 

[stormchaser2014]

 

[carvers4math]

I taught all my girls to drive. My youngest is probably the best. I took her out to Jester Park north of Urbandale, on a nice spring day -- still a little snow on the park road, and it was about 3 miles of winding hilly road. She was getting close to the edge (no shoulder) going around a curve, and I knew if a tire went off, it would be tow truck time, so I reached over and moved the steering wheel to get us back on track. She got all huffy about it, so I made her pull over. I told her if I was going to teach her how to drive, and thought we might be headed for trouble, I would continue to do things like that. And if she didn't like it, her mom could become her teacher. I've never received a faster apology out of her.

My location progression for teaching sons to drive:

1. Driveway. They look askance when I make them wear belt until that first lurch and then they understand.
2. Cemetery. Usually only peeps there are dead.
3. Our neighborhood in town. Must learn pothole aversion, always braking when you see a kid on a bike because they will ignore all traffic laws, only light braking and certainly no swerving for squirrels.
4. State Park. Good for curve mastery and deer alert.
5. Busier streets in town. Parallel parking practice by church.
6. Hospital for diagonal parking. Store for straight parking.
7. County highway by airport. By now, trust them at higher speed but no one uses our airport so traffic usually involves safely going around farm vehicles.
8. State and US highways. Drive to bigger small towns, work our way up to Des Moines.
9. Interstate and I-235.

Prayer usually only required for 8-9. Second oldest was first to drive on interstate when they raised limit to 70 in driver’s ed. Other boy in car almost ditched them on exit ramp until instructor took control.

 

[BoxsterCy]

Maybe you need to change your address to "across the street from the church."

Turn left where the old school house used to be and drive till you pass the old Smith farmstead and we are third on the left. White house with Butler storage bins.

Finding my dad's customers was always interesting back when the roads had nicknames and not numbers and the address was Rural Route, Dundee, Iowa. So, somewhere closer to Dundee than Manchester.

 

[RunninMan]

Observations from this weekend:

I have been to 2 baseball games in my life (well, technically only 1) and both of them had rain delays. Maybe I'm just not destined to go to a baseball game.

I've been to Minneapolis twice before this trip; once when I was like 10, maybe younger, to go to the mall and once when I had a layover and didn't leave the airport on my way to Europe. Driving at night, in the rain, in an unfamiliar city was challenging to say the least. It reinforced my desire to live on an acreage somewhere as opposed to the city. That's not a dig at Minneapolis in particular, just cities in general. Driving in Des Moines even stresses me out and that's not really that big of a city in comparison.

I had no idea there was such a large Somali population in Minneapolis. On Saturday we went to a food pantry and packed food bags, then delivered them to a set of apartment buildings that was 98% Somali. We estimated that there were at least 1000 people per building and there were 3 buildings. This was a totally eye-opening experience. None of them spoke a lick of English and, of course, we didn't speak a lick of Somali. However, it was amazing how smoothly the whole operation went. We would carry the food up to their apartments for them because most of them were too frail/handicapped to do it themselves. I have always had an interest in communication, whether it be how people communicate with each other or non-verbal communication, the topic is always fascinating. This situation was a case study in non-verbal communication and it proves that people can have a whole conversation and never communicate. Communication is a mutual understanding of a need that needs to be met, and then working together to accomplish the goal of meeting that need. When I would meet with these Somali refugees, the need was that they needed food, and the goal was that the food needed to get from me to them. Sometimes it required some pointing or hand gestures, but most of the time it was as simple as making eye contact and we both knew what needed to be done and how to do it. It's definitely something I can take back with me and apply in my workplace/school; instead of having empty conversations with no communication, work to have meaningful conversations in which there is a mutual understanding of each other. We also noticed that most of the men we met with were handicapped in some way, and we eventually came to the conclusion that most of their injuries were probably a result of the militia when they were fleeing their country. That was definitely a sobering thought. It really makes you think about their back stories and what they might have had to go through to get from Somalia to Minneapolis. If I can step up on my soapbox for a second, I'd recommend volunteering at a food pantry or something similar, although I'm sure most of you already have. It's a totally humbling and meaningful experience.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

Observations from this weekend:

I have been to 2 baseball games in my life (well, technically only 1) and both of them had rain delays. Maybe I'm just not destined to go to a baseball game.

I've been to Minneapolis twice before this trip; once when I was like 10, maybe younger, to go to the mall and once when I had a layover and didn't leave the airport on my way to Europe. Driving at night, in the rain, in an unfamiliar city was challenging to say the least. It reinforced my desire to live on an acreage somewhere as opposed to the city. That's not a dig at Minneapolis in particular, just cities in general. Driving in Des Moines even stresses me out and that's not really that big of a city in comparison.

I had no idea there was such a large Somali population in Minneapolis. On Saturday we went to a food pantry and packed food bags, then delivered them to a set of apartment buildings that was 98% Somali. We estimated that there were at least 1000 people per building and there were 3 buildings. This was a totally eye-opening experience. None of them spoke a lick of English and, of course, we didn't speak a lick of Somali. However, it was amazing how smoothly the whole operation went. We would carry the food up to their apartments for them because most of them were too frail/handicapped to do it themselves. I have always had an interest in communication, whether it be how people communicate with each other or non-verbal communication, the topic is always fascinating. This situation was a case study in non-verbal communication and it proves that people can have a whole conversation and never communicate. Communication is a mutual understanding of a need that needs to be met, and then working together to accomplish the goal of meeting that need. When I would meet with these Somali refugees, the need was that they needed food, and the goal was that the food needed to get from me to them. Sometimes it required some pointing or hand gestures, but most of the time it was as simple as making eye contact and we both knew what needed to be done and how to do it. It's definitely something I can take back with me and apply in my workplace/school; instead of having empty conversations with no communication, work to have meaningful conversations in which there is a mutual understanding of each other. We also noticed that most of the men we met with were handicapped in some way, and we eventually came to the conclusion that most of their injuries were probably a result of the militia when they were fleeing their country. That was definitely a sobering thought. It really makes you think about their back stories and what they might have had to go through to get from Somalia to Minneapolis. If I can step up on my soapbox for a second, I'd recommend volunteering at a food pantry or something similar, although I'm sure most of you already have. It's a totally humbling and meaningful experience.

Second your opinion in your first paragraph. It's why we bought our place out in rural Story County.
As to the second paragraph: I've worked with groups that provide meals. I remember one woman who had come to our free Thanksgiving dinner for several years in a row. The third year, she proudly handed me a $20 bill as I was circulating through the tables, chatting with the guests. I was reluctant to accept it as I knew it was a lot of money for her, until she told me "I have a job now! I want to help others!" Seeing her so eager to pay it forward, even from her limited funds, was humbling for me.