statics and solid mechanics: 97
electrical engineering: 100
multivariable calculus: 99
engineering economy: 99
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Hurricanes.

one beautiful day, you look out waaaay out on the horizon and you see a disturbance headed your way. this mass of cloud, rain, and wind sucks up the hot water it formed on and just keeps getting stronger, moving directly for you. you don’t know what to expect, you have a vague idea, but who knows what’s going to happen and how its going to hit. It might make an erratic turn and miss you entirely. Or it could destroy your home and car and everything you’ve spent your life setting up so neatly.

Some people live in mobile homes. Mobile homes don’t weather storms. They blow up and spew stuff everywhere as if it was their job. Those people are left with nothing. They gave as much as they could, through the bad times and the worse times, to establish a home, a place to lay their head, a place to eat what food they need, a place to have as much happiness as possible. and they ended up with a mobile home that blows apart when the worst thing hits it.

Other people live in fortresses. Their houses seem to be built purposely to bear the brunt of deadly weather. sitting quietly on lush leather couches inside, munching some pringles, watching the storm on TV in between mixing a few margaritas, their electricity and water is being secured by an automatic generator out back. Not only are they not worried about the effects of a bad storm, they can safely say that all this hammering wind and rain is just a temporary interruption in their usual work and play. Nothing will be changed afterwards, except the day of the week.

I thought i lived in a fortress. At least, when i built it, i put every consideration into making it more permanent than me. I purposefully took my time and cautiously approached every angle and support, only putting in the best and strongest materials. Most people just patch a few boards together and build from there, fitting in things wherever they want. And it might look pretty and function fine for a little while, but all that half-ass give-and-take will break down pretty quick in signs of trouble. I didn’t want to rush it. I dedicated so much time and effort. This home is supposed to hold me and my family. This foundation must never break, these walls can never crumble, this roof mustn’t cave in. And for so long, everything worked as planned.

what went wrong? my supplies? my tools? my design? or perhaps… my own handiwork, my beginner’s craftmanship.

I thought this place could handle the weight of the world. I assumed that any repair would be merely surface work, easy and quick. After all, i gave my best efforts to assure that. and i saw all the signs beforehand. I knew about the storm. i didn’t think there was much reason to worry. What does that storm have that could dent a house like this?
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Yep, it’s that time again. you know, for another hurricane.

If you don’t live on the gulf coast, I suggest you check out Dave’s Hurricane song in the music section to get you in the mood.

I know I’m thrilled. Billions of dollars worth of damage and destruction spinning our way.

At heart, I’d like to be optimistic, but I know that even though Baton Rouge probably will only catch the tails of the storm, so many people will loose so much of what’s important to them.

So we are waiting as Ivan approaches:

what a weekend.

lots of music. since the hurricane was coming, me and matt scrapped our beach day-trip. but my friend Derek told me about a concert in Atlanta on saturday night that i would really enjoy. i instantly went online and bought tickets for the Acoustic Planet Tour.
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noise and hurry: stop
just stop, now. a quiet world’s
dusted amber sky
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