Well, here I am.
On Friday I walked across the stage, shook hands with my Dean (I honestly didn't recognize him- that says something about my attempts at getting to know the folks in charge), and got an empty diploma holder from the chair of the Micro and Molecular Biology department.
I'm not sure what else to say about it. I feel like I ought to say something about graduating, but there's not much to say. Mom and Dan came to see me, which was fun. Dad couldn't make it, but his office ladies surprised him by throwing me a graduation party in Huntsville. They are so sweet and treat him (and all of us) so well. Since Dad wasn't here, we made a trip to Stan's in his honor. I love Stan's, but I think mostly it's nostalgia. It reminds me of Dad.
After the festivities and a few pictures, we headed up to Salt Lake to spend a couple days with Grandma. One of the first orders of business was to buy Dan a guitar. Yes, you read that right. We bought a guitar for Dan. He bought the one that Mom and I liked the sound of and he liked the way the vibrations felt. When we got home we had a very interesting discussion about music. For those of you who have never tried to explain music theory to a deaf man, let me just say that it is harder than you think. Explaining things like why some intervals sound pleasant and others sound unpleasant is hard.
It was nice to see family at dinner last night. John Nagel tried to be happy for me going to Michigan (despite calling it "That School Up North"), Roger sang for a while and played Dan's guitar (which is always fun) and we ate lots of good food.
All in all, a good graduation.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Let my scripture go!
An engineer walked into his office one day and saw that his trash can was on fire. He called the fire department, explained the situation, and they explained how to use a fire extinguisher. He got the extinguisher and put it out with no problems.
The next day, our engineer walks into a friend's office and sees that his trash can is also on fire. The engineer tells his friend not to panic. He picks up the flaming trash can, runs it down the hall, up the stairs, through the conference room and back to his own office. The engineer puts the trash can down on the floor in the spot where his own trash can belongs, then gets the fire extinguisher and puts it out.
I heard this joke one day from my computer science professor. The point is that engineers don't like to solve new problems. Instead, they turn new problems into old problems that they already know how to solve. The reason I bring this up is that I was thinking about it yesterday in Sunday School. This year we are doing the Old Testament, which I think most people (other than Jews) are a bit afraid of.
Yesterday's lesson about the Exodus and the Passover turned into a lesson about the stories in the Book of Mormon where the Lord frees people from captivity. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the Book of Mormon, and I feel like it's important that we learn about it. I love those stories, and the message about the Lord's power to free us from the bondage of sin is very clear and beautiful in those stories. But I also love the Old Testament, and this is the year we are supposed to be learning about it.
I feel like as a church, we are prone to converting unfamiliar material into the same old lesson over and over again. And that's sad. I mean, a lesson on the first 14 chapters of Exodus that mentions Moses's name fewer times than Alma's? That's just not right.
Am I just being too picky?
The next day, our engineer walks into a friend's office and sees that his trash can is also on fire. The engineer tells his friend not to panic. He picks up the flaming trash can, runs it down the hall, up the stairs, through the conference room and back to his own office. The engineer puts the trash can down on the floor in the spot where his own trash can belongs, then gets the fire extinguisher and puts it out.
I heard this joke one day from my computer science professor. The point is that engineers don't like to solve new problems. Instead, they turn new problems into old problems that they already know how to solve. The reason I bring this up is that I was thinking about it yesterday in Sunday School. This year we are doing the Old Testament, which I think most people (other than Jews) are a bit afraid of.
Yesterday's lesson about the Exodus and the Passover turned into a lesson about the stories in the Book of Mormon where the Lord frees people from captivity. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the Book of Mormon, and I feel like it's important that we learn about it. I love those stories, and the message about the Lord's power to free us from the bondage of sin is very clear and beautiful in those stories. But I also love the Old Testament, and this is the year we are supposed to be learning about it.
I feel like as a church, we are prone to converting unfamiliar material into the same old lesson over and over again. And that's sad. I mean, a lesson on the first 14 chapters of Exodus that mentions Moses's name fewer times than Alma's? That's just not right.
Am I just being too picky?
Friday, April 16, 2010
Birthday fest
Tonight was Jenni's birthday. Actually, I guess all of today was her birthday, but tonight is when we did fun stuff.
Several of us went to the park and had some burgers. Frisbees were thrown, False Advertising Cake was eaten, and presents were opened. A good time was had by all.
Then we came home and watched Stardust. There are just a couple of things I have trouble with in that movie. If I had to sum it up in three words, they would be Gay Zeppelin Pirate. I mean, GayZeppelinPirate. That and the fact that our protagonist goes from a bumbling dork to a swashbuckling stud with long hair in 1 week. Five days on the pirate ship. Seriously. You can't put things like that in a story and expect nerds not to complain. That's just about standards.
Those things aside, it was a fun night. And after dealing with the ... shall we say, special?... kids in my Technical Writing Group, I needed a fun night.
Several of us went to the park and had some burgers. Frisbees were thrown, False Advertising Cake was eaten, and presents were opened. A good time was had by all.
Then we came home and watched Stardust. There are just a couple of things I have trouble with in that movie. If I had to sum it up in three words, they would be Gay Zeppelin Pirate. I mean, GayZeppelinPirate. That and the fact that our protagonist goes from a bumbling dork to a swashbuckling stud with long hair in 1 week. Five days on the pirate ship. Seriously. You can't put things like that in a story and expect nerds not to complain. That's just about standards.
Those things aside, it was a fun night. And after dealing with the ... shall we say, special?... kids in my Technical Writing Group, I needed a fun night.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Homenum Revelio!!
Friends, another important step has been taken toward the invisible motorcycle. I know you've all been following this closely. Now they can do it with visible light. Seriously. Visible spectrum light. Jet packs was yes!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Shabbes!
Last night (before The Iron Man Mystery Hour) I celebrated Sabbath with my Hebrew class. It was fun. There were some tactical mistakes made (serving felafel without plates...oy, what a mess), but all in all it was a really good time.
After blessing various things (bread, wine, children, etc) and eating and singing, we had a recitation competition. I didn't really plan on winning since I didn't put much time into mine (or maybe I got that causality backwards. It's hard to say). I recited a Shel Silverstein poem translated into Hebrew. Here are both versions:
עליסא
היא לגמה מבקבוק שׁקראו לו לגמיני
וגדלה וגדלה כמו הר
היא אכלה מצלחת שׁקראו לה אכליני
וקטנה וקטנה כמו אכבר
והיא כך הישׁתנתה כּשׁהרבה אחרים
מעולם לוא נסו שׁום דבר
Alice
She drank from a bottle called DRINK ME
And up she grew so tall
She ate from a plate called EAT ME
And down she shrank so small
And so she changed, while other folks
Never tried nothin at all
I really like that poem. It's short, it's nice, and it has an interesting message (trying things is good for you).
Anyway, I didn't win, but I was proud to lose to the guy who sang Rubber Ducky in Hebrew. That dude deserves a medal. At least.
After blessing various things (bread, wine, children, etc) and eating and singing, we had a recitation competition. I didn't really plan on winning since I didn't put much time into mine (or maybe I got that causality backwards. It's hard to say). I recited a Shel Silverstein poem translated into Hebrew. Here are both versions:
עליסא
היא לגמה מבקבוק שׁקראו לו לגמיני
וגדלה וגדלה כמו הר
היא אכלה מצלחת שׁקראו לה אכליני
וקטנה וקטנה כמו אכבר
והיא כך הישׁתנתה כּשׁהרבה אחרים
מעולם לוא נסו שׁום דבר
Alice
She drank from a bottle called DRINK ME
And up she grew so tall
She ate from a plate called EAT ME
And down she shrank so small
And so she changed, while other folks
Never tried nothin at all
I really like that poem. It's short, it's nice, and it has an interesting message (trying things is good for you).
Anyway, I didn't win, but I was proud to lose to the guy who sang Rubber Ducky in Hebrew. That dude deserves a medal. At least.
Movie review: Sherlock Holmes
Last night I watched Sherlock Holmes. Or, as I like to call it, Mr. Iron Man Goes To Merry Olde England. Englande.
I won't ruin the plot for you, but I will go through some of the pertinent plot points. First, Sherlock Holmes is a ninja. Or something. Also, he solves crimes.
That's about it. Or at least that's all I can say without giving anything away. All in all, it was a very entertaining movie. Also, it was a surprisingly clean movie. There was some fighting, which wasn't too graphic, there was no sex (some very funny innuendo, but I thought the funnyness overrides the badness) and I don't remember any swearing.
Sherlock's accent was surprisingly good. I mean, who knew that our old friend Tony could sound that English? And Jude Law was a great Dr Watson. A+
I won't ruin the plot for you, but I will go through some of the pertinent plot points. First, Sherlock Holmes is a ninja. Or something. Also, he solves crimes.
That's about it. Or at least that's all I can say without giving anything away. All in all, it was a very entertaining movie. Also, it was a surprisingly clean movie. There was some fighting, which wasn't too graphic, there was no sex (some very funny innuendo, but I thought the funnyness overrides the badness) and I don't remember any swearing.
Sherlock's accent was surprisingly good. I mean, who knew that our old friend Tony could sound that English? And Jude Law was a great Dr Watson. A+
Monday, April 5, 2010
Moving advice
So, friends and family, if there is one thing I know for sure, it's that you are all smart. If there's another, it's that you are all bossy generous when it comes to giving advice.
It so happens that I need some advice. Most of my readers (ie, most of John and Sam) have moved in the recent past. I am moving in the near future. Discuss!
OK, so maybe that's not enough to get you started. I get it. So, what I want to know is this: are there things you did when you moved that you are really proud of? I mean, are there things that just made you feel so darn clever? Are there things that you wish you had done smarter? How do I move cross-country without going nuts? And paying a whole lot?
Discuss!
It so happens that I need some advice. Most of my readers (ie, most of John and Sam) have moved in the recent past. I am moving in the near future. Discuss!
OK, so maybe that's not enough to get you started. I get it. So, what I want to know is this: are there things you did when you moved that you are really proud of? I mean, are there things that just made you feel so darn clever? Are there things that you wish you had done smarter? How do I move cross-country without going nuts? And paying a whole lot?
Discuss!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Food is yummy
Hey, friends.
Some of you probably know that I am in a dinner group here in Provo. That means that I am in a group with 12 people, and we rotate cooking dinner for each other. Four days a week, every three weeks it's your turn. It's a pretty slick deal. This week was my last turn in the rotation, so it's my last chance to post my dinner recipes on here (which is something I meant to do every time so I could find them easier next time).
So, in a desperate attempt to tell winter to go away (it didn't work- it's still snowing), I made a summery meal. Pork burgers adapted from Emeril (Bam!), coleslaw, and a delicious blueberry coffee cake. I also made French fries from the frozen food isle...but that doesn't really need to be posted.
Pork burgers:
Cook 1.2 lbs chorizo (that's the size of the package I bought. Use more for spicier burgers, less for old-person burgers) and remove the membrane if it has one. Put the chorizo in a Cuisinart or find some other way of chopping it really small.
Mix chorizo with ~6 lbs ground pork (not sausage, just ground pork). Mix in 3T garlic powder (or 8 cloves actual garlic), 2T cajun seasoning, and 3T Worcestershire sauce.
Mix it all up pretty well and form into 16 patties (yes, it's a lot. I was cooking for a dozen people). One of these burgers is really enough for most people. Cook for about 10 minutes on a George Foreman (because it's snowing and you can't grill them outside).
Coleslaw:
I got this recipe from John who got it from someone else who got it from a magical summer elf. Or something like that.
Mix:
8C chopped cabbage (both kinds)
1C shredded carrot (I got lazy and actually bought shredded carrot)
1 jalapeno chopped up (without seeds, if you're a sissy)
1/4C finely chopped onion
In a seperate bowl, mix:
1C mayo
2T vinegar
just under 2T sugar
1T salt
Some pepper (I didn't measure it)
Mix dressing with veggies. Then sprinkle celery seed on top. It makes a lot of dressing, so you may want to just put some of it on at a time till it looks right instead of dumping it all in. It was also kind of bland, so I may include more salt next time and maybe even more onion. Not sure yet.
And the coup de grace, coffee cake. I found this recipe in Mom's recipe rolodex, and she has since lost it. So my flash drive was for a while the only copy in existence. And I lost it. Now that it is found, I want to not lose this recipe. So here it is:
Cake part:
Mix:
2C flour
1C sugar
1T baking powder
1t salt
1/3 C butter
1C milk
1 egg
Add half of the mixture to a greased 9x13 pan (other sizes DO NOT WORK as well. Trust me). Add 1C blueberries (NOT more- it sounds like a good idea, but the balance is off and it's less awesome that way). Then add the rest of the batter
Topping:
1/3C brown sugar
1/4C flour
1/2t cinnamon
3T butter
Mix topping and put on the top of everything else. Bake 40 mins at 350.
Top with glaze:
1C powdered sugar
2T milk
1/4 t vanilla
Eat and be happy.
Some of you probably know that I am in a dinner group here in Provo. That means that I am in a group with 12 people, and we rotate cooking dinner for each other. Four days a week, every three weeks it's your turn. It's a pretty slick deal. This week was my last turn in the rotation, so it's my last chance to post my dinner recipes on here (which is something I meant to do every time so I could find them easier next time).
So, in a desperate attempt to tell winter to go away (it didn't work- it's still snowing), I made a summery meal. Pork burgers adapted from Emeril (Bam!), coleslaw, and a delicious blueberry coffee cake. I also made French fries from the frozen food isle...but that doesn't really need to be posted.
Pork burgers:
Cook 1.2 lbs chorizo (that's the size of the package I bought. Use more for spicier burgers, less for old-person burgers) and remove the membrane if it has one. Put the chorizo in a Cuisinart or find some other way of chopping it really small.
Mix chorizo with ~6 lbs ground pork (not sausage, just ground pork). Mix in 3T garlic powder (or 8 cloves actual garlic), 2T cajun seasoning, and 3T Worcestershire sauce.
Mix it all up pretty well and form into 16 patties (yes, it's a lot. I was cooking for a dozen people). One of these burgers is really enough for most people. Cook for about 10 minutes on a George Foreman (because it's snowing and you can't grill them outside).
Coleslaw:
I got this recipe from John who got it from someone else who got it from a magical summer elf. Or something like that.
Mix:
8C chopped cabbage (both kinds)
1C shredded carrot (I got lazy and actually bought shredded carrot)
1 jalapeno chopped up (without seeds, if you're a sissy)
1/4C finely chopped onion
In a seperate bowl, mix:
1C mayo
2T vinegar
just under 2T sugar
1T salt
Some pepper (I didn't measure it)
Mix dressing with veggies. Then sprinkle celery seed on top. It makes a lot of dressing, so you may want to just put some of it on at a time till it looks right instead of dumping it all in. It was also kind of bland, so I may include more salt next time and maybe even more onion. Not sure yet.
And the coup de grace, coffee cake. I found this recipe in Mom's recipe rolodex, and she has since lost it. So my flash drive was for a while the only copy in existence. And I lost it. Now that it is found, I want to not lose this recipe. So here it is:
Cake part:
Mix:
2C flour
1C sugar
1T baking powder
1t salt
1/3 C butter
1C milk
1 egg
Add half of the mixture to a greased 9x13 pan (other sizes DO NOT WORK as well. Trust me). Add 1C blueberries (NOT more- it sounds like a good idea, but the balance is off and it's less awesome that way). Then add the rest of the batter
Topping:
1/3C brown sugar
1/4C flour
1/2t cinnamon
3T butter
Mix topping and put on the top of everything else. Bake 40 mins at 350.
Top with glaze:
1C powdered sugar
2T milk
1/4 t vanilla
Eat and be happy.
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