Engineers aren't Advertisers: Part II

I had a post earlier that highlighted the poor marketing skills possessed by engineers. Well in case you thought it was fluke... its not.



I want to know where I can purchase steel shaped tinker toys.



Anybody remember the Office mafia character who forced Michael Scott to buy his insurance? I get the feeling I'll be murdered for not using Tekla.



Great question, I was going to guess a tiger. But I was wrong.

Back into the thick of it...

No Simpsons quote to introduce this post... I must be losing some of my useless Simpsons trivia.

The team has dived right back into the project and beginning to maybe get somewhere. Its pretty much like walking through a dark cave blindfolded. Here is a snapshot from the early part of the process, creating lines from the points taken from the structural drawings. A tedious but necessary task, well everything is pretty tedious.



One of 11 levels to be inputted.

The one upside to being in Ithaca during the winter is its absolutely gorgeous during a snowfall. Very big flakes and warm temps, but it all melts in the afternoon :(



I imagine, yes that would be hard to travel in the snow. Good advice.



The Clock Tower in the background, Hollister Hall on the right. Spend my daylight hours there (and some of my night hours too.)

Minnesota Shore

Little less than a month of break quickly went by... very quickly. I can't believe I'm back at my desk in Ithaca.

A shortened list of highlights, no order.

• Big Screen TV!!!
• Avatar (Twice, forced Steve to go my second time)
• New Moon (major plot fails)
  
• Sherlock Holmes (Very enjoyable, basically because I can detach myself from the books)
• Saint Paul Conservatory Poinsettias
  
• Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Twice, yelled at during the second time)
• Walker Art Center (Unfortunately they relegated all the good art to one compact gallery)
• Saloon with the brothers and significant others (met up with Kyle to make the night more insane)
• Shredded the Como Park gnar (with sleds)
  
• Mall of America (Twice, purchased the greatest gift ever!)
• Palomino (Twice, hard to get away from the Candy Apple Drops)
• Romeo and Juliet (Twice, once at the Gutherie and Baz Luhrmann's adaptation. Better use of Radiohead in the latter.)
• Craziest Christmas day ever.
  
• Gourmet Home cooked meals (meats, candles, buttered green beans)
  
• Green Acres Skiing (2 minute drive, best skiing in a 20 mile radius)
• Muffuletta's for a goodbye for now dinner (lovely end to the break)

A few snapshots of the break.



O Tannenbaum!



Furiously checking her grades two days after taking them.



Bingley and I became friends again

I forgot which season it was...

12/9/2009

A mild fall coupled with never being so busy before and not playing a sport dependent on the season. Oh, also not having a TV to follow sports and news in general, and being cooped up in an office all day avoiding the sunlight leaves you in a very surreal environment. The snow quickly told me what season it was... and that I was nearly done with the semester. Good riddance.



1:58AM



8:48AM... quickly melted by the afternoon

My Roommate is a Mouse Killer

Don't know where they come from. I would rather not have their filth and pestilence. Luckily Matt is a skilled mouse hunter. 2 down so far, expect another one soon.



10/19/2009



11/30/2009

How to Design for Storm Water Runoff

10/28/2009

Nature has a very beautiful way to dispose of storm water. Giant gorges. I am very proud that Ithaca did not try to alter this already perfect drainage system. Take note civil engineers.



Taken on the way to class, torrential downpour. Thank you Great Lakes.



Walked downtown after class to see a swollen Six Mile Creek. Usually you see the bedrock of the creek floor.

My studies just get in the way of Life.

Its been a long time between posts. Apologies to those who actually glance at this. Its been a hectic month trying to get a handle on our project. We are actually going somewhere, however not as fast as we'd like.

So I pushed those thoughts to the back of my head and decided to visit the Ithaca Farmers Market and a local winery. Russ, you would've had a field day with your camera.







They even a bluegrass band! Felt like something out of a Mark Twain novel.