When I was very little, and we lived in the old house in Joliet, there was a mysterious noise that would periodically manifest itself in the north-east section of the house. It sounded very much like someone sawing a piece of lumber with a handsaw very slowly. A deep, growling, grinding noise. And no one knew its source.
Apparently, my parents heard this thing for years when they first moved in. I assume that it continued after I was born, but by then they had stopped paying attention to it. I also assume that I must have heard it when I was little, but thought nothing of it. Then, one evening when I must have been about three, my mom was reading to me when she looks up and says, "sounds like The Grinder is back, John."
The GRINDER?!?!?!?! WHAT THE COOKIEMONSTER IS THE GRINDER?!?!?!?! Is what my now terrified toddler mind is thinking.
She then explains to me that they've noticed that noise before, but don't know what it is. I'm freaking out. I have to sleep in that section of the house! In what I can only imagine is an attempt to assuage my fear, my dad decides to determine the source of The Grinder once and for all. He gets a flashlight and climbs through the hatch into the attic. At this point, I'm confident that I'll never see my father again. He will be eaten by The Grinder for sure!
Of course, it turned out to be the electrical feed rubbing the inside of the conduit where it enters the house. Still, it was freaky. It's awesome when I remember things like that!
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I think it's time to drop out of college. Maybe I can be a missionary in South America or something. Yeah, yeah...that's a noble cause, I can do it, and it's far away from here.
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The first final is over. The Econ 300 test on Friday night went almost as well as expected. I worked diligently to get an "A" in that class, mostly thanks to an amazing source of motivation sitting right in front of me. I sure am going to miss her smile.
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I've thought of the perfect simile to describe my mind this semester. It's almost exactly like when a computer locks up. It's there, it's even working at full power, but it's not doing anything useful and can't break out of the loop. I need a reset...big time. Anyone know life's equivalent to Ctrl + Alt + Delete?
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Google's rating of this blog alternates between 1/10 and 3/10. Not sure why.
I went to my last economics class yesterday. After not going for a few weeks, I'm completely lost. However, I'm sure if I study for a couple hours I can ace the final. Today I finally picked up the second econ test. I did get a perfect score. If only all my classes were as easy as econ 300!
The design project was a success. The prototype works great, keeps a soda can at fridge temperature indefinitely. My only worry is that it wasn't very mechanical, more of an electrical engineering project. Who cares, the thing is awesome. We worked through the night before the presentation to finish everything, so our power point presentation was kinda lack luster since it was the last thing we did.
My car has returned from the body shop smelling strongly of automotive paint, but looking good. It was sad indeed to return the rented Xtera. It reminded me just how much I loved my old truck (may it rest in peace). Adding to the enjoyment of the Nissan was that I only owed Enterprise about $20 for the 13 days I had it. Considering it's usually about $50/day to rent such a vehicle, this was a phenomenal deal! I'll have to get into another wreck soon.
I very much need to ride a roller coaster!
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I went to Michael's to get a custom square floating frame for an art print. Apparently, they don't know how to make a floating frame and balked at my request to "be creative, find a way." I really wanted this thing, so I thought for a minute and then explained exactly how they could make it using materials and tools I know they have. They still refused. I finally settled on telling them to just cut the materials and I'd assemble it myself since they're so scared to think outside their frame...er...box. What a waste of time!
What has happened to the industriously creative spirit of America? Why are folks so afraid to use their minds to solve problems these days instead of just looking for a cookie-cutter solution? Fifty years ago, I could have gotten what I asked for at the at the custom frame shop. Instead of hearing, "we've never done that, we don't know how," I want to hear "we've never done that, but give us a few days and I'm sure we'll find a way to make it work!" Why can't people be like that? They used to be, at least from what I can tell from stories elders have told me. Where are the people with the "we can do anything" attitude? Where is the spirit of Thomas Edison, Wilbur and Orville Wright, Philo Farnsworth, and Howard Hughes? Sure, these men were the exception, not the rule, in terms of persistence and ingenuity even in their day. However, everyone would do better to adopt their approach to solving unique problems. Just because you don't know how to do something, or maybe want to do something that's never been done, doesn't mean you can't do it; chances are, you can. Those who believe this do great things, those who do not believe this just get in the way.
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