Wind And Rain, Respectively

We had powerful winds from yesterday evening until about ten this morning. The afternoon was calm and pleasant, but rain started while a number of us were having dinner at Cosmo's. I rode home from main campus about four hours later, and there was clearly at least ten centimeters of water flooding the roads. It's a good night to stay in and work; I'm glad I came home when I did, and I'm glad I've nowhere to be until noon tomorrow.

Turkey and ham with Netskis and Wellingtons

Thanksgiving was a delightful experience. I enjoyed both my time in the car with Chris and the time at the house with her immediate and extended family. The Netskis were the hosts for the day, but most of the guests had the Wellington last name that Chris's mother once used. I was the only non-relation except one childhood friend of an uncle who was back in town unexpectedly. Chris's cousin James is just a year older than myself, so I quickly came to be called "James H" to avoid confusion; I'm not sure anyone other than Chris herself knew my whole last name. She and I both had the impression that the more distant relations took us for a couple, but we went with the flow since there seemed to be a general feeling of approval and the closer family had the accurate picture anyhow. My cosmo cranberry sauce was a hit with all the aunts, and the fact that the recipe came from a Google search didn't seem to diminish my kitchen cred'. Mrs. Netski was very generous at departure time, and I've been eating delicious leftover ham at every meal today.

Ready for Santa's parade appearance

My Thanksgiving break began last night around 9:00, and it looks like Syracuse got a couple inches of snow since then to create the appropriate ambiance. I enjoyed my first full night of sleep in several weeks, and I'm actually looking forward to donning my new boots for a pre-Thanksgiving trip to the grocery store. Tomorrow I'm joining my classmate Chris for a visit to her parents lake house in the finger lakes. I'll miss being with my family, but I expect that this will be the next best thing.

Which kind of rubber?

I'm doing my homework for Building Systems, and in the process of searching for CSI three-part specs for a Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer waterproof membrane, I came across product information for All Virgin Hot Applied Sealant, which includes in its ingredients "organic reinforcing fillers." Maybe I just need a break, but it seems funny to me.

Rocking On The High Seas

I decided in September that I would allow myself to buy one new album this semester, so I weighed the matter carefully, wanting to make sure I picked a good one. Ultimately I decided to take a chance and add to my collection not just a new band but a new genre - extreme metal. This past summer I made a habit of listening to the 93X-treme Metal Workshop every Friday night, so I became somewhat familiar with the world of heavy metal on the far side of Metallica. I used the show's website as a foothold and scoped out a number or bands and albums on AMG. After a few weeks of consideration, I ordered Leviathan from Overstock.com.

The 2004 album is the most recent release from Mastodon, an Atlanta based quartet, and it is an excellent piece of music. Like many a heavy metal album, Leviathan's lyrics are rather dark, but separating this work from the rest is the obvious thought that went into them. While not a full-fledged concept album, Levithian is undeniably engaged with Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick. From the album title to song titles like "I am Ahab" to the lyrics the disc is poetry reacting to the prose. Musically the group is equally strong; the sound is rich, but not cluttered, leaving no room for mediocre performances. I'm looking forward to hearing more from Mastodon in the future.

Talk About Love

I've seen signs in the shelter at my bus stop for a series of lecture-type events hosted by a couple of SU sororities. I support the Greek organizations attempts to pursue education outside the classroom, but I haven't been entirely convinced of the merit of their events based upon the titles. The most current one was "Do Black Men Love?" Before that came "Are Men Dogs Or Do Women Make Them?" I'm not entirely sure what they were asking with that one, especially since I think it's pretty obvious that women make men (along with more women). I guess that using the language of formal logic we could truthfully say that "men are dogs or women make them," but I'm not sure where that gets us.

Honestly I think the sorority girls would do better to follow PBS's Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, which recently dealt with African-American families. The program also had a rather interesting poll about American family values. The most recent issue of The Week references the poll noting that "71% of Americans believe 'God's plan for marriage is one man, one woman for life,' but only 22% see divorce as a sin." So much for the sanctity of marriage.

Centro Confusion

It's homecoming weekend here at Syracuse University, which means that the campus is packed with hundreds of parents and alumni who don't know where they parked the car or which bus will take them to where they need to go. One woman in particular had no clue what she was doing. She boarded two buses clearly displaying "Not In Service" signs" before finally getting on my bus. She and her husband boarded though the rear door and sat down a seat away from me in the far back of the jam-packed bus before the woman told her husband that it'd be best if he went to the front to ask the driver if they were on the right bus. The general chaos and confusion both in and around the bus slowed my fifteen minute ride to a twenty-five minute ride. At one point I saw the bobbing head of a little boy on his dad's shoulders pass by my window moving faster than we were.

Since 1953

Happy fifty-second, Mom!

Of iron and carbon

Our Building Systems class went on its third and presumably final field trip of the semester. This time we went to the Nucor Steel plant in Auburn, NY, and saw some truly awesome things. Within five minutes of donning our safety gear, we walked on a metal-grate walkway over a production line of red-hot steel bars. The day was cold, but the heat coming off the steel kept the whole place warm. The buildings were so huge that I could not see from one end to the other, an effect no doubt enhanced by the soot in the air. The site is a "mini-mill," practically tiny to the major plants of Pittsburgh and Cleveland, utilizing only scrap steel instead of raw ore. The Auburn facility was cutting edge when it was built in the mid 70s, and today it remains for more efficient than its larger counterparts. The experience was amazing, and I would love to go back for a more thorough tour.

Of silicon and oxygen

The entirety of today was consumed by a studio field trip to the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY. Chris drove, and Paul, Tim, and I rode along. We stopped at a busy little shop in Ithaca near campus of Cornell for sandwiches along the way. Professor Munly had arranged for a tour, so we got to hear about the glass-heavy architecture of the old Corning industrial campus before exploring the museum itself. We had a lunch break, and then a little bit of time for exploration. I saw a glassblowing presentation, and had fun gazing into a rather crazy lens. Unfortunately, I didn't actually get to spend much time looking at the actual museum collection, but perhaps there'll be another day for that. We concluded our visit with a tour of the new library, which utilizes some very interesting architecture to control the temperature, humidity, and light to which the books are exposed. It was very dark by the time we got back.

After we got back I took Chris out to eat at a local Indian restaurant as a small repayment for the ride.

A meat and potatoes day (sans the meat)

I was out the door early this morning for an 8:15 field trip to Steps Plus, Inc., a local operation specializing in architectural precast concrete and cast stone. It was pretty neat to see our last few weeks of lessons take form in front of us. Our tour guide was an co-owner and son of the founder. We saw a number of processes, including the coloration of the cement through both sand type and additional additives and the bending of reinforcing bars. Despite the apparent simplicity of the operation and the rudimentary buildings that housed it, the presence of computers and the latest chemical information was quite apparent. Our tour guide explained that chemical advances have played an important role in improving their product, but that the replacement human workers by computers has been the most significant change. Since the electronic systems do a much better job of creating precise ingredient mixtures the overall strength of the concrete the company produces has doubled.

After tromping around the muddy floors past the big metal equipment I came back briefly to start up my new crock pot. When I returned after drawing class I found a very welcome dinner of potatoes and carrots in an onion broth awaiting me. I think I will get much use out of this device in the coming winter months.

Treating

I came home briefly for dinner, and I just happened to still be in when three trick-or-treaters knocked on my door. All I had to give were the Mounds bars that my parents sent me, but remembering fondly my own Halloween treks through the neighborhood, I decided to share the wealth. Still, I was dismayed to be swarmed by at least half a dozen more kids who saw from a distance the light of my open door. I think there must have been pretty slim pickings here on South Campus. I was rather surprised that the family center, usually willing to send out a mass e-mail for any little thing, did not remind us that we should stock-up.