Tornado Funnel Forming???

Yes that is correct on Thursday August 19, 2010 at about 7:30 pm-ish I got to experience what it is like to be about a mile from where a tornado was touching down.  Let me tell you it was not a fun experience and no I was not hanging out the window trying to get pictures (okay I actually tried to get  some right before the storm hit)  because I could not without getting pelted with large hail and getting blown away.  I mean when it sounds like a jet is tearing through the apartment, the giant heavy sliding glass door throws itself open, and the roof sounds like it is being torn off right above you…the last thing you think about is running outside for a picture.  In fact I was huddled in the bathroom (only room I could get into without windows) with blankets over my head hoping that when I looked up I would still see a roof.

On a more humorous note…Sarah heard about the storms early on and decided to go and chase them..while she was out trying to find them…a tornado touched down about a half mile south of her house…that she was not home to see.

Employer must want someone who has masters in physics, bachelors in engineering, and about 15 years worth of teaching experience at all levels including college.  Employer must want someone who is driven to the point of working 70 hour plus work weeks.  Employer must be willing to let employee make models, crunch numbers, and create graphs.  Employer must also want someone who can be quite creative and is very good at giving presentations.   Employer must be willing to pay 50k to start but understand employee will be negotiable upward and downward.

Inquire within.

Samantha is home and is getting stronger.  I finally can show the world my beautiful niece without a million tubes hanging off of her.  Just so you all know she looks a lot like my brother when he was small…but not with so much hair.

Baby Update:

Samantha will be three weeks old tomorrow and she is finally off her ventilator and her medications.  She has only a feeding tube and oxygen in her right now.  The doctors project that if her progress continues she will be able to go home next Monday.  It has been a long few weeks full of lots of ups and downs…lets hope things continue on that up swing.

My niece was born on 7-6-10.  Unfortunately, she was born to the world with complications and had to be rushed to Children’s Hospital late that evening when she started having seizures.  The poor little dear is on a ventilator because her little lungs are rigid and are not able to give her enough oxygen for her body.  Over the last couple days she has made some progress but she still has a lot of progress to make before she can go home.  Please think of my brother, sister-in-law, and lil’ Samantha during this time…they need your hope and well wishes.  I will update as time goes on…and I will show you a picture soon.

In my relentless effort to try and keep my astronomy and physics skills honed I have decided to re-open an old project with some new ideas.  Of course, this means I must relearn how to use a lot of tools that over time I have forgotten.  One thing I haven’t forgotten and has thus been once again re-affirmed is how much astronomers do not understand how to program.  I really really wish there was a nice package for image reduction and analysis that did not latch on to IRAF like a mother suckling its young.  The giant frustration begins!

The trophy husband and our friend have created a new podcast about computer stuff.  Now go find it and listen.

Sarah and I went to Royal Oak yesterday to putz around.  We had a wonderful lunch at Bastone Brewery.  Sarah had an awesome steak sandwich that had no bun or bread but in its place potato pancakes which was quite divine.  I had this awesome pasta with a goat cheese sauce and cranberries…sounds weird no???  It was so freaking good I couldn’t stop eating it.  Then we walked around and did some window shopping.  Finally, we got our yummy pastries at Astoria and then walked down to Bean and Leaf where I saw a most unusual item…Boxed Water?!?!?   You read correctly, boxed water.  So the whole idea is that instead of drinking out of a plastic bottle you get it in what looks like a carton that would be used for milk or juice.  Now here is what I am wondering how weird does it taste? I say this because the inside of that box has to be lined with a wax or something to keep the water from just drenching the box. I know that I never taste any liner material in the juice or milk I drink but I figure that might be because the flavor of milk or juice would mask the liner taste.  Water is suppose to be kinda tasteless so would you pick up the flavor of the liner?? Just wondering…

Go to decafbad.net and share in the story.

What have you been up to?

I am on vacation for a week so it means I must get a cold!  A horrible nasty cold!!!!  Well I go back to work in 2 days so I am sure it will be gone by then…right????