All at once

I might as well keep posting while I'm in the mood. I put this collage together awhile back - some of my favorite memories of 2009, but then I forgot to post it. Of course there were plenty of other great memories, but I often didn't take a picture or get one...

Busted Computer

So my computer was busted for a few days, and while I've spoken with many on the phone about it, I thought I'd post some pictures and tell about it here.

First of all, my computer is 5 1/2 years old, and I use it about 12 hours a day 6 days a week. It gets opened and closed a lot, and its held up remarkably well. I try to take good care of it, and it still does everything I need. Would it be nice to have a new quad processor or something? Of course, but I'm pretty happy with my machine.

So on the 2nd day of the semester, I come home, open up my computer, and the monitor falls all the way back - busted. Being an Engineer, and the fact that I need it, I take the thing apart - it turns out the socket the hinges plugs into had worn out. So I tried cramping it and super-gluing it. No dice. Then I tried epoxy overnight - again nothing.
The next day I worked from home, with my laptop leaning against the wall, and my buddy Jim suggested I order something off E-bay. I found someone selling my exact monitor for a decent price, ordered it, got it 3 days later, installed it, and now I'm back in business.

During this whole experience, my apartment looked like a lab - here's a pic:
Frankly, it's a little scary how comfortable I've gotten opening and working on my laptop...

A word that always makes me laugh

Eyeball.
I dare you to say eyeball in a normal conversation without having the desire to smile. I contend it cannot be done.

Cholesterol

So way back when I had a real job I went to this health fair, where they drew a little of my blood, did some tests, and sent me back some data. At the time (Feb 2007) my cholesterol was 174.

Well, about a year ago I started giving blood semi-regularly to United Blood services here in Lubbock. Yesterday when they called to bug me about a new appointment they told me that I could look up my cholesterol from previous donations online, so I checked it out. My most recent score? 136.

Maybe it's an anomaly, but wow. The things I've been doing that might be helping are
A) taking fish oil (omega-3) supplements
2) eating less red meat
iii) Crossfit and a little more running

I'm giving blood again this week, so I'll be sure to report if it stays low.

Looking for a calendar

So I don't have a calendar yet for 2010 - I'm still on the hunt. But while wandering the Barnes & Noble and looking through the picked over calendars, I came upon a book I thought could be perfect for future lawyer Ryan's office: History's Worst Inventions. So I start perusing it - the first invention I look at was exactly what I hoped - the flying car. Like, they attach wings and a tail to a car, so you can park it. Apparently, cars that take flight, yet lack a propeller. wasn't a great idea. And people died trying to make it.

Then I get looking a little more at this book (which was on sale by the way). Apparently, gunpowder, pesticides, and atomic weapons are also among the worst inventions ever. For the curious, I disagree, but that's not my point.

My point is that it's always frustrating/sad when you have something that seems great, and it turns out to be crap. Maybe it's a book, maybe a cookie or pie - maybe it's a relationship. Yesterday I had a quesadilla that sounded great, looked great. Turned out to be crap.

On the flip side is when something seems awful and it turns out to be a pretty dang good thing.
Moving to Lubbock has been a dang good thing.