Schizo Weather

Not so long ago, I remember freezing my fingertips off as I scraped the ice off my car in the mornings.

Now it's in the 50s.

High forecasted to be 63 today.

Will be in the 50s through the weekend. We could have a New Year's BBQ!

You Suck, Ed Wilson

Surprise!

I don't mind snow. I just like to know when it's coming. Bleh.

Female Drivers

As long as I'm sharing snippets of my 18th year, and as long as the statute of limitations has run out, check out the picture of the side of our lovely Iowa Capitol Building:

(click to enlarge if you wish)

Notice the walkway, wide enough to accommodate a vehicle? It accommodated my parents' minivan once.

That's What Insurance Is For

See this picture of the storage facility under construction?

(click for larger size if you want)

Well, back in 1993 I was taking pictures of the same spot that building is at. Why?

Because that spot and a lot of space around it was under water.

I personally wouldn't rent a unit there, but maybe I'm just picky that way.

Question

If a university decided to discontinue its education program within a certain field of study...like, say, history purely as an example...would you be concerned with that university's commitment to its history department?

Purely as an example, let's say normally to be employable you would pair history with secondary education in your studies. But the university's College of Education is no longer offering history education. This would presumably lower your enrollment in the History Dept, because the students will go elsewhere.

It's not good, I think. Not good at all.

Wee Bit on the Chilly Side

I'm all for autumn weather, but I think I'm going to have to break down and turn on the heat tonight.

Brrr.

What Did We Do to Deserve This?

You can't go anywhere in this state without tripping over a presidential cadidate.

Seriously, it seems like either Bush, Kerry, Laura, or Teresa is here every week.

But at least my vote feels more important this way.

The Lighter Side of Saturday

First off, I'd just like to say...Iowa State sucks! Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah!

My birthday is coming up, and someone asked me today what I want. I want to just ignore it. Bleh. New decade. Bleh.

BUT...as I've told everyone I know...I did get carded for alcohol recently. Sad that it's so infrequent as to be noteworthy. On the other hand, I don't buy or consume alcohol very often, so it's not gonna happen very often anyway.

Next weekend may include some adult beverage consumption--it's a family wedding! More likely than not I'll be the designated driver, though. Bleh. But I can't wait to see my cousin in her dress. She's a beautiful girl, inside and out. Yay, wedding!

And that's all I've got. Just remember...Iowa State sucks!

Anybody Else Smell That?

The title to the previous post shall now be explained:

When I was driving home late last night, I turned onto I-35 and as soon as I started heading north, I smelled that favorite of Iowa scents--the hog lot.

But I've never smelled that aroma in that location before. To my knowledge, there is NO hog lot in the vicinity. And it lasted all the way to my exit.

I fully expected to read about some horrible pig sh*t-spilling interstate incident this morning. So far, haven't found any. I'll have to break down and read offline news, I guess.

Conspiracy to Impede My Progress

I sometimes forget what an industrialized area I work in. Then I leave for lunch and have 3 trucks blocking the road on one side and a couple gas tankers trying to make it into the lot across the other side.

When I finally got out of the parking lot, there was a train blocking the road. Lucky for me, I (like to imagine I) have some pull in that area, so I called my dad.

Jen: "Dad, one of your trains is keeping me from lunch."

Dad: "It's not ours."

Jen: "It says (insert railroad name here) on the cars!"

Dad: "Did you see the engine?"

Jen: "No."

Dad: "How about the caboose?"

Jen: "Very funny, Dad."

You Make the Call

The Hawkeyes are pissed. They think Southern Mississippi's new athletic logo is too similar to Iowa's.

When I was attending a high school with the initials WVHS, West Virginia tried to make us get rid of our logo. I've hated West Virginia ever since.

(You can see the WVHS logo here. Totally different. Ahem.)

The Wheels on the Bus

People are so stupid.

Melanie Rivers...was accused of allowing children to drive the bus and then offering to let them bring treats on the bus if they didn't tell their parents.

Officials said six of 13 children on the bus were allowed to drive on May 26. The children ranged in ages from 11 to 15.

But the punchline is this:

Rivers had already tried to apply for another bus driver position in another district.

Just Because You Have a Blog Doesn't Mean You Need to Blog About Everything That Happens in Your Life

So we went out for lunch and took a field trip to a garage sale. My lunch hour was really an hour and a half, but the boss was with, so no guilt.

Bought some crafts and cookies at the sale, and am currently enjoying a chocolate chip cookie and you're not.

On the downside, I was bit by a mosquito and have a big red lump on my forehead.

And this concludes our stream-of-consciousness blogging.

I'd Recommend Obeying the Speed Limit, Gerry

Male chauvinism of the stupidest kind is alive and well in Granger, Iowa...

"You don't deserve to be on the police force. You don't need to be on the police force. The force is no place for a woman."

Gerald Moorehead's address and telephone number in Granger are in the phonebook, but it would be wrong to post that information.

Des Moines Holiday Weekend

I opted not to go camping this weekend as the weather was forecasted to be sketchy.

Unfortunately, with the flooding, Saylorville Lake was not boat-friendly. Saw only a handful of boats enjoying the intermittent sunshine yesterday. Most of them were sailboats. Debris + boat props = not good.

The I-Cubs managed to sell out Sunday. I'm sure Mark Prior had nothing to do with that. Going to Sec Taylor stadium is a pleasure: parking is easy...traffic is too.

Today I wandered over to the state capitol...there are various monuments on the grounds. There were quite a few people mulling about. More than I normally see when I stop by, anyway.

Of course, we had the requisite barbecues. Burgers yesterday and steaks tonight. My red meat quota is full for awhile.

Watched the LOTR: Return of the King. I'm glad I saw it in the theater--some of the scenes lost a lot of their impact on the smaller screen. Particularly the lighting of the beacons.

Not a bad weekend, all told. Even if I missed out on the albino alligator.

Mother Nature

She's a bitch. Iowa is having a rocky week of it, what with the tornadoes and torrential rains and flooding and whatnot.

Last night it was monsoon time. From my window I could vaguely make out the house across the street.

So at least we don't get hurricanes.

Let's look at the Fujita scale and the Saffir/Simpson scale.

The strongest SUSTAINED hurricane wind speeds correspond to a strong F3 (Severe Tornado) or possibly a weak F4 (Devastating Tornado) value.

So basically without the water all over the place, hurricanes are pussies. That's what I'm getting out of it anyway.

Tornadoes: They're Everywhere! They're Everywhere!

Not a good weekend to be in Iowa. Worse for some * than others.

I think I was as close to a tornado as I ever have been in my life. Hard to guesstimate distance when you're driving 90 miles an hour in the other direction, though.

On a less dangerous note, saw Shrek 2 and highly recommend it. :-)

* Anyone around here who wants to help with cleanup Sunday at Bradgate, they can use more volunteers. Park on either the east or west side of town and they'll shuttle you in. Free lunch. Anyone else can donate to the Red Cross.

Tastes Like Water!

We got a water-bottle dispenser at work today. Co-Worker won't shut up about it and I was going to spare you the details, but this exchange just made me laugh...

CW: Did you try the new water yet?

Other CW: What new water?

CW: It's in the breakroom.

Other CW: (returning from breakroom) Yep, it tastes like water.

Jen's Big Gay Time

I had a pretty nice weekend. The best part was going to the Garden's 20th anniversary celebration, which included a concert by Margaret Cho to raise funds for the All Iowa AIDS Benefit.

Not to sound shallow, but Margaret has lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw her and is looking fabulous. She also went to the Garden after her show to meet and greet fans. I know a lot of the more right-wing types don't care for her, but I thought her show was great.

The mayor of Des Moines, Frank Cownie, was at the show. He's one of the few men there who wasn't prettier than I am.

Summerstyle

I spent the bulk of the weekend on the boat, and I have the sunburn to prove it. One thing I hate about Iowa is the lack of buffer between winter temps and summer temps. They claim to have four seasons around here, but spring and fall are much too short for my tastes.

I love 60-degree weather. It's my favorite. I also love to sleep with the windows open. I had about a week of good open-window weather, and now it's too hot for that.

Stupid Iowa.

President Bush, I Forgive You

For making traffic a hassle yesterday.

He met the 186th, who just got back from a year in Iraq.

Lunch Hour Traffic Jam

Air Force One just flew over. The President is in town for some rural economic conference that won't be open to the public. It's nice that he comes to visit us, but it makes traffic a pain in the ass.

Sigh of Relief

A friend of mine spent the last year in Iraq, and his unit is now back in the States...soon to return to Camp Dodge here in Iowa.

Welcome home.

Happy Birthday, Iowa

On this day in 1846, Iowa became the 29th state.

I hear Cedar Rapids is dead anyway...

Natalie of Pickle Juice left a comment asking why Cedar Rapids is the city of five seasons...and what the fifth season is supposed to be.

Because CVBs are good at explaining the stupid unique things about their towns, I went here and it appears the fifth season is "the time to enjoy"...so there you have it.

Rest easily, dear friends

Des Moines (pronounced DE moin, by the way) has a somewhat confusing name origin. I have been told various different meanings and histories for the name, but I believe I have finally found a reasonable answer to the question that keeps me up nights:

The name "Des Moines" comes from the river of the same name. Indians called the river Moingona, meaning "river of the mounds." Early French explorers later translated this into La Riviere de Moingona, which, over time became Des Moines.

I've been asked about Des Moines enough that I figured I'd just post this information so y'all can sleep better at night, too.

Random Pictures of Trains

A couple of Munuvians expressed (fake?) interest in the pictures I took over the weekend. These are from the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad visitor's center area. I've actually been on the train, but not this weekend...check the site for some much better pictures.

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

Picture 4

Picture 5

Picture 6

Picture 7

Picture 8

This was the first "test" of a super-cheap digital camera I got a month ago. It seems functional, anyway. :-)

Iowa Tourism

I think Iowa could use a new tourism slogan. Here are my suggestions:

1. We knew John Wayne when he was named Marion.
2. We don't have potatoes, jerk. That's Idaho.
3. No professional sports teams=Low crime rates!
4. Four hours from Minneapolis.
5. Cedar Rapids was prominently featured in the hit movie Titanic!
6. Field of Dreams filmed here. We haven't shut up about it since.
7. The only place Laura Ingalls Wilder lived but was too ashamed to write about.
8. Five hours from Chicago.
9. Birthplace of nylon.
10. Better get here before we burn the whole place down!

Go Hawks!

Iowa 40
Iowa St 21

All is right with the world.