Exercise

Exercise is an important part of life. It reduces stress and improves health. I try and exercise at least an hour a day. Weightlifting, basketball, biking, and my favorite - walking. Angie and I have a 3 or 4 mile walk we try to do as often as we can. Today's photos were shot on our walk.

Saturday Morning with the Kayak Club

Yesterday, professional photographer and ICC faculty member, David McDonald spent an hour in my Dynamics class teaching my students about photography. This block these students, in their on-going quest to enhance their own creativity, are going to have photography contest. One that is focusing on the "art" of photography. David taught us a lot about basics and then led us down the path of thinking creatively. Below are 15 pictures I took this morning. Most are wildlife or fellow kayakers where I tried to use the basics of positioning we were taught. In an effort to head to the art side, you will see two photos. One is a part of a railroad support column and the other is a shot of ice, snails, and underwater reeds. Over the next month each student will submit five photos for their peers to choose the best. The best shot from each student will be submitted for a competition that will be blindly judged by David, Angie, and Aaron Wenger.

Meet My Boat

I mentioned last week about my desire to downsize my Jeep to a bike. If I pull it off, it will actually be my second downsizing. Last summer I sold my 18' powerboat and bought a 14.5' kayak. Same reasons - gas is too expensive, I hate paying insurance, and I prefer forms of transportation that give me exercise.

My boat is the blue one. Angie and I are planning our first kayak outing of the season for Saturday morning on the Mississippi.

OK So Maybe They Do Homework

This semester I have one of the best group of second year students. They are very hard working and quite motivated. It makes going to school every day quite worthwhile.

My Students Think Only They Do Homework

Bart sent me this joke yesterday - pretty good.

One day, a Mechanical Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Chemical Engineer and Computer Engineer were driving down the street in the same car.The car broke down.

The Mechanical Engineer said, "I think a rod got thrown."
The Chemical Engineer said, "The way it sputtered at the end, I don't think it's getting gas."
The Electrical Engineer said, "I think there was a spark, butsomething is wrong with the electrical system."

All three turned to the computer engineer and said, "What do you think?"

The Computer Engineer said, "I think we should all get out and get back in."

Log Cabin

Ever wish you could just cut down a bunch of trees and turn them into a log cabin? I did. Here it is. I taught myself how to hand-scribe and spent the whole summer of 2006 making this structure. It was a blast. Now if I just had a place to put it.

Easter Egg Hunt

196 eggs, 9 adults hiding eggs, and 7 kids finding eggs. The best part is 45 minutes in when the kids are each a few eggs short and the adults have no idea where they put them. It makes for a great family tradition.

Easter Eggs

I'm 41. I have decorated Easter eggs for every year of my life (at least since my memory starts at age 3). There are certain things in life that are constants. They are traditions that happen with family and friends. Today we decorated eggs with Katie, Colin, Liz, Ron, and Katy. It was as much fun as when they were little. I recommend these types of activities for every person young and old.

Chicken Foot

The kids are all home for Easter break and, as is usually the case, we had a game night. Tonight we learned a new domino game. It is called Chicken Foot and is a lot of fun. If you want to play you need double 12 dominoes. I found the rules at this link: http://www.domino-games.com/domino-rules/chickenfoot-rules.html

Still Undefeated!

ICC Engineering has its very own basketball league. This is year 3. Each year we have had four teams, 1 faculty and 3 student. To this point the faculty team is undefeated. Our official record is 16-0-1. Though, we have won by a landslide in most games, two will always remain a little tainted, the tie from year 1 and last night's victory over the green team. It is not that we cheated, we didn't. But we don't have refs and any time there is a close game, there is lots of chatter about who did or did not foul whom etc. Last night we won by 3 points after having been down 18 midway through the 2nd half. Nice comeback! (The comeback happened after I went down with a sprained ankle (or maybe because I went out) - Gordy got on fire from the 3 pt range and Little Ron went on a rampage driving to the basket.)

Of course, the real reason behind the league is to build community between students and between faculty and students. This does happen a great level and it is a very fun weekly event.

P.S. I did ride my bike this morning. When I left home at 4:30 AM, the temp was 15F with a 4 mph wind. Being on a bike gives a whole new meaning to 'wind CHILL'.

First Bike Commute of the Year

I'm ready to sell my Jeep. I pay $1000/yr to insure it, $2400/yr in gas, and that is not to mention 2 more years of $481/month payments. It is the middle of March and I can already ride my bike to work...yeah! I'm not convinced on the whole global warming thing, but the dependence on foreign oil cannot be denied and I'm ready to reduce my dependence. This morning at 5:30 the temp was 25F. Tomorrow morning I have to leave home at 4:30 and it will be 10F. Let's see if I am still gung ho 10 minutes into that ride!

Reinventing The Bottom Line

Greetings! Hey-It has been a while since I have posted. To be honest, I just kind of got blah about posting. So I have decided to reinvent TBL for a change of pace. Angie has been undertaking a photography project where she takes a "picture of the day". I have decided to copy this idea and post 365 days of photos. So here is day 1! Angie and I went to see "The Boss". He is definitely the greatest rock and roll performer of all time. If you ever get a chance, go see him in concert!

So, stay tuned for a picture a day for a year. When some engineering advice comes to mind, I will also include it....