St. Elmo 2008 Pics Part 2.

Here are some more fun pics of the Cravens and the Stevens' at Mt Princeton Hotsprings and Tincup Pass.

Some St Elmo Pics

I Have Become Dangerous to Talk To

Huh? Let me explain. Since I have had a car and been fairly independent, I have discovered and been recommending products and businesses I like such as Spin Cycle in Adelaide, Nikon Cameras and more recently Apple Computers. I think I have “sold” 9 Nikon cameras and now 3 Apple computers with the latest being both my Mom’s getting new Apple Laptops in the last year. Well, I think I should now include Mini Coopers.

Everywhere we stop, we here the obligatory, “Ooo, Mini Cooper!” followed by a conversation about what milage we get, is it comfortable and how their gas-hog is eating a hole in their pockets. In Beuna Vista (the local town) we are often the center of attention. It’s really quite hilarious. Plus I am finding that the beard is helping break down communucation barriers with the locals. It’s that trust thing again…

Honey, Pack the bags and the Sewing Machine?

Well I am writing this from the car, Dumas, Texas to be specific. There is country music on the radio, fast food in our bellies and we’re road trippin baby! Yeah! Jenee and I love road trips, there is something about being out on the road that we just love. Now we flew to Texas so obviously we don’t have our car so we have to borrow one from Linda and Joe. Now, we have quite and array to choose from including a Range Rover, Toureag, F-250 and the Mini Cooper S. We have done countless miles in the Toureag and F-truck as both are very comfortable and decent on fuel. However with the recent spike in prices we decided that we would consider taking the Mini. I am sure you have all seen the new Mini’s. they aren’t terribly big but they are good on fuel and comfortable for short trips. Well its now 5pm so we have been on the road for 8 hours and I can honestly say that I am quite comfortable still! This mini has low profile tires on 18” rims and it's fully loaded and the road handling and economy is still great. I think we are going to talk to Joe about buying it.

Now when I was a kid, we would go camping all the time during the year. Now Stevens’ don’t really go light when the camp. We have portable showers, bbq’s, and all the small necessities that any good camper needs. The joke was always, we’ve brought everything, INCLUDING the kitchen sink. Well something tells me I am going to have a similar experience during my life like my dad did. Example, I go t the car packed with our two suitcases, a (super huge – Jenee) camera bag, computer bag and some munchies. Proud to be ready on time I got to tell Jenee that the car is ready when she tasks me, “do you think we can take my sewing machine?” I look at her to see if she is serious and she is. “Well, let me go and have a look” is my reply. With out much trouble I found some room and now the sewing machine and accessory bag is sitting behind be. I have to admit, I love that Jenee wants to bring it, partly because she loves the sewing machine that I gave her, partly because she loves sewing and partly cause I love my wife and she’s just so fun.

I should be careful cause If I can get my way in a few yeas, my camera bag will probably far out weigh her machine. The competition is on… The other thing we joke about is who can spend the most on their hobby. Not that we are trying to spend lots of money, quite the opposite. I used to think that I could out spend her with my wish list of lenses and so on but now I am not so sure. Good thing were both happy with what we have!

The One Beard of Trust

If you know me on a personal level you probably know that I am a little OCD about things. I like to live in a tidy way. I like to hag my shirts on hangers all facing the same way, with the shirts facing to the left. I like to throw away or donate things that I don’t use any more and I definitely like to shower twice a day and shave in the morning. Well, I forgot to bring my razor to Texas with me. Then I didn’t want to use Jenee’s only spare blade and then I forgot to buy a new one at the shop. So, five days later I still haven't shaved and I have quite a handsome beard on the way.

Jenee likes it, so much so that I could be guilty of making her stumble if we weren’t married. In fact, I think the beard has some kind of hidden power, kind of like a famous ring I know about. Case in point, we were happily cruising down the highway in north Texas in the middle of no where when a Highway Patrol Officer Pulled me over. I was very polite and followed the correct etiquette (pull over as far as possible, engine off, window down sunglasses off and hands on steering wheel) and the officer asked us about where our front license plate was. He was nice enough to issue a warning. I am putting it down to the beard; it has the warming effect on folks. Again, we had a nice conversation with a lady at a truck stop (I also think I saw C-Bass from Dumb and Dumber). The lady even charged me the price for a small cup of ice instead of a large cup! I’m telling you, this beard has the power. I wonder if it is my hidden super power, like Samson and his hair? Jenee thinks I should grow it long enough to braid it. I’m thinking it will go with my new Tattoo and my Harley. What do you think Mum?

I can wait, maybe I could use it to talk to a wild bear in St. Elmo or ride a Moose? I definitely feel that it will help me blend into my surroundings in both wild and urban environments. Oh my goodness, I could be the next Chuck Norris?!!!?! I am going to buy a Total Gym and get buff like Chuck too! Since becoming a beard wearer, I have become aware of a whole new array of accessories that can tend to my beard. Like the Titanium Beard Groomer we saw at Wal-Mart. The world of beards is awesome, now I know why Dad has had one all these years.

Always Busy in Texas

It doesn’t seem to matter what I might think I will achieve when I come to Texas, I always seem to get distracted. Of course the distractions are always fun and worth it, you only live once. For example my in-Laws have 24 acres of land for their horses and much of this land needs to be regularly manicured. Whenever I come into town I like to spend some time helping out with this particular chore. Normally Joe will do this push mowing while I use the ride-on. It typically takes Joe and I about 2 hours to do all of it including the edging. Well, like all good males, Joe is always inspired by bigger, better and faster ways to mow lawn and true to this, Joe bought a zero turn mower. See below for a picture. Now I have been waiting for two months to have a go and finally my time came.

Now you drive this thing by pushing both levers forward and you steer by pulling one lever back while the other is forward, just like a tank. Now steering is a little counter intuitive for about the first hour but I soon found myself able to very competently maneuver my way around the yard with a satisfactory degree of agility. I think my life has been changed. I mowed the entire area around the house on my own in less time than it takes via the other method. To add sugar on top, I was comfortable and was able to catch some rays while working.

Now, I am fairly sun conscious in my older age and sprayed a healthy dose of sunscreen on. I like a brand called Bullfrog which goes on with no greasy after feel and it really works. So well they for two hours of shirt off mowing action, I have no sunburn, in fact, you can barely tell I even got any sun. I did however get a healthy dose of heat stroke and spent the next 3 days trying to keep cool and drinking fluids. I have to laugh, I mean I come from the hottest, driest continent in the world and I live in “flaming hot” Florida and here I am boasting how its really not that hot in Texas and I get heat stroke. LOL. Serves me right.

What else, well Jenee and I went out to dinner with a few friends to a fun Japanese restaurant where we had our own chef cook our food in front of us. We even tried to catch our food in our mouths as our chef launched it at us. That was a lot of fun. After dinner we visited David’s parents home specifically so I could see his fathers trains. As I walked up the stairs to the train room I didn’t know what to expect. When his dad turned on the lights I know my jaw dropped and I was apparently speechless for a good minute or two. Now I wont write too much about it here, but all I can say is WOW. David’s father has meticulously built an engineers dream set. With two stock yards, 6 main lines, working bridges, over-passes, tunnels and more, this is going to be even more amazing when its done and the most impressive thing is that his dad has been collecting these 0-guage trains since he was 10. So cool, I have been invited to come back and take some photos so hopefully he will let me share some here.

Jenee is T-2 Days and Counting!

Yup its 2 days until I see her and I can hardly wait! Its only been a week but thats long enough. So much has happened since she went back. I have as always been occupied 110% at work and at 5pm Saturday got some fantasticl results in the lab. I was most pleased with my efforts. I have also made a friend who I think is an answer to prayer. I have been praying for a mentor type person who is further along in life than I and has no prior affiliation with Jenee or my self, who I can have and impartial ear to talk to and perhaps as an accountability partner. The gentleman happens to go to our church and encouraged us to attend the marriage conference last month. He's really down to earth and we had breakfast at a yummy place called Panera Bread. I think we really have a lot of similarities and personality charateristics that makes it easy to click. So, thats really exciting.

What else? Well I have been packing for our Colorado trip AND our Australia trip. I was talking to my BFF Chris yesterday (g'day mate :-) and we realised that its about 23 days until we leave for Australia! So very exciting! I do have to admit that I feel guilty for leaving the cats at home so long. They know something is up because they have been acting funny. It happens whenever they see the suitcases come down. Thankfully we have a friend who lis going to look after them for us and had fallen asleep on the couch giving cudles before. Speaking of suitcases, we bought Jenee some new matching ones that are made by some trendy company... uhh... London Fog I think. And guess what, she has my suitcases so guess who gets to travel with the girly ones? yup, me. I am going to look very special in Orlando International.

Wont I look Special

In my spare time (read late at night when I have insomnia) I have been catching a dose of Anime (Japanese Animation). I remember when I was a kid, there was a show called Robotech on Saturday mornings and it was the coolest thing in the world with flying planes that transformed into robots and all sorts of cool stuff. Well in celebration of that, the creators have a new series called Macross Frontier and I have really enjoyed it so far. You can watch episodes here.

Well, thats it for now. I have done all my duties, now, off to play some Mario Kart!

And Jenee's Gone Again...

Its been a long, long day and as I write this, its still not done yet. Jenee is back in TX for a week when I will then join her. We got up at 6 this morning to head out for a dermatologist appointment for me. My Dr. wanted me to have a strange spot on my toe examined. After being warned that it could possible serious, I am relieved to know that I simply have a small fungal infection, not melanoma. I also had a skin cancer check and to my delight the cut something off me. It was a small black mole and it's currently being biopsied. I don't think there is anything to worry about. Jenee sat through the whole thing laughing at me because I looked ridiculous with my gown on. I wanted to give the Dr. a surprise and wear it backwards but decided not to. At least I wore boxers today and wasn't being liberal... O.o

After the dermatologist Jenee and I drove to Orlando where we dropped by the outlet mall before getting to the airport. I have driven in excess of 240 mi / 380 km for the airport round trip today. Crazy.

Once I got home I had to take poor Sable to her least favorite place in the world, the vet. Dr. Green was awesome as always and Sable for the most part is ok, just a little sore in the mouth and very sulky. She hasn't let me out of her sight all night and is currently sitting next to me at the table.

I am up for performance review tomorrow and I have been writing a supplementary document highlighting the things I have done in the last 6 months. Check it out. I think that explains why I feel tired at the end of the day... it's not complete nor comprehensive... phew...

YRF Team Member
SSTP student mentor
Undergraduate Student Mentor
Graduate Mentor/Advisor

Research
Author / Co-PI - Supercritical Processing Project
Author / Co-PI - SBIR project
Author / Co-PI - Passivation of Aluminum and Copper
Co-PI - Detoxification of Mycotoxins

Service Center
Technician as follows;

Training Responsibilities:
-TGA
-Contact Angle Goniometer
-Supercritical Drying
-Freeze Drying
-Powder Flow
-Shear Scan
-Indisizer
-Schulze Cell
-Attrition Mill
-Nanotrac
-Electrostatic Testing

Sample Processing: Work allocated to my typically falls under categories described under my instrument responsibilities.

Instrument repair and maintenance

Lab Maintenance
-coordinating cleaning efforts
-manage hazardous waste
-safety training
-ordering and maintaining lab supplies

Lab Manager
-Furnace Room
-Milling Room
-Test Bed

Education:
-Host visitors
-Teach paint lab (lecture and lab)
-Student mentoring

Publishing/Proposals/Reports
-NSF final report
-Army final report
-6 journal articles (3 submitted with 3 more to come).
-Book Chapter
-Proposals
-(awarded) Supercritical Drying
-(awarded) SBIR
-(pending) Passivation of aluminum

We Have a Confession to Make...

Its not something that Jenee and I are proud of, but we have an addiction. No it's not drugs, alcohol, smoking or anything like that. Some may say that it's worse.

Now we may be behind on the times but we recently discovered NBC's HEROES tv show and we just spent the entire long weekend watching it. Haha. Now I have to admit that its not as bad as some people who watch Desperate Housewives (you know who you are O.o). If they ever show it in Australia, give it a watch, I'll bet you'll get addicted to it as well.

This Week So Far...

Well, Jenee is back for 10 days and I couldn't be happier. I knew I missed her but perhaps I was in denial about how much I really missed her. It was nice to just sit next to her in the car and be able to hold her hand. Also, since she has been gone, I haven't been sleeping too well. I have had the best two nights sleep in the last two days for at least a month. Strange how things change (single->married). While Jenee's been away, I have been building a friendship with a guy at work that I think the Lord has been leading me towards witnessing to. We've been hanging out on Saturday afternoons and share a love of cameras, cars and Super Mario Kart on the Nintendo. Greg invited me out to dinner with his family at Satchels and here are some of my shots...

A rare sight, a Series III RX-7

Junk at Satchels. Awesome Pizza House in Gainesville

Work has been fun. Fun in the sense of I have so much to do that it's 5pm before I know it. One of the projects I am working on is particularly interesting. Now, I am not obliged to tell you what the reaction is, but I can tell you that it involves a lot of heat and extremely fast reaction times. The picture below shows some of precursor reaction we use to trigger the reaction of interest. As you can see things are glowing hot. Well, we had a little incident where we used more material that we were aware off and the second photo shows what happened here. There was nothing much left. No one was hurt, however I think the student and I had to go and change our pants afterward...

Remnants of the reaction...

And finally, here's something interesting. Anyone have a clue whats happening here? I'll tell you in a few days...

Do you know why there is a fire near my head? Leave your guess in the comments...

She's Here Already

Congratulations to the new mom and dad! Click here to link to Brandon and Krista's New Baby Girl