The Empirical Manifesto

Friends got a box for the Wichita Thunder game (against the Allen Americans); I hadn't been to a hockey game since the Dallas Blackhawks back in the early 80s. They wouldn't allow my camera equipment so I brought along a point & shoot :)





( game pics! )

In Kansas, when you trade in a vehicle, new or otherwise, you pull the plate off your existing vehicle, and attach it to the new one - this covers you for 30-days before you have to go in and register it, whether or not its your registration month - let me explain, Kansas registers vehicles according to whichever month your last names aligns with. My last name is, "Howton" which means I register my car in July. Awkwardly, you can ONLY register your vehicle during your last name month, or the month before your last name month, or - apparently - any month AFTER your last name month as long as its not prior to the next year's registration (if that makes sense).

So when I went in to tag the Flex, I also tried to register all my other cars, because why not? I'd sure hate to register only some of them, and not others, then find DAYGLO orange stickers on them because I'd been driving them illegally for six month. BUT IT WASN'T MY LAST NAME MONTH so I was turned away.

And I wouldn't have even thought about it except I had to leave the house today, and something my neighbor had told me kept playing through my head as I was walking towards it in the parking lot along the lines of, "...they cannot tow a registered vehicle..." Looking down at my tags (Kansas still puts their little registration stickers on the plates themselves), confirmed this. Thanks neighbor!

My new hobby is taking pics of my lenses...



The first lens I bought to supplement the 18-55mm zoom which accompanied the camera, was the Canon 40mm STM f/2.8 "Pancake" lens. I thought it would make a good portrait lens. It doesn't. Well, it does, but not as well as the similarly priced 50mm STM with its marvelous f/1.8. So what is the "Pancake" lens good for? Bringing a DSLR in a half-triangle frame bag (Thanks Newton Bike Shop) for around-town bicycle trips! Now no matter where I go, or what I see, DSLR is in arm's reach.


Oveja Negra frame bag



While I miss the turning of the foliage in the Northeast, its nice here in the Midwest too, albeit far more subtle. You have to look for it. And I've been anticipating Autumn quite a bit this year, turning over a new leaf myself, so to speak. And it was so extraordinarily gorgeous out this Sunday morning - not too early, not too late, cool enough but with the warmth of the sunshine. If I didn't have Sunday maintenance at work, I surely would have ridden longer.


Newton Aqueduct Bike Path

In the State of Kansas, the window you register to VOTE is the same window you register your BOAT. Yes, this greatly compromised speed and efficiency.

That is all.

Single-digit temperatures & windchill suck

This is when I start. About a half hour in I have to lower the hood and remove the gloves and balaclava. Additionally, I can slip out of my long-sleeved thermal undershirt in 60-seconds at four miles-per-hour without exposing any skin to the elements. Ann Margaret doesn't have anything on me!

I read recently where neither the frequency nor duration of workouts is as beneficial as its intensity. And while that point varies from individual to individual (I remember a duration on shift several years back where getting out of bed was the most intensive part of my day), I've reached a new low.

Biking uphill, against the Kansas wind, on a dirt road.

I thought I was going to die.

Kansas wind is known for its stupidity. The prairie lacks things like, "trees" which traditionally block such asinine levels. So while its true I have "gravel road tires" according to the experts at the local bike shop, its not a mountain bike - its a road bike with thin, albeit gravel road accessible, tires. Facing that incomprehensible Kansas wind, uphill, on a gravel road, it was all I could do to keep upright. It took a terrible amount of concentration and both my lungs and my legs were burning by the time I reached pavement.

Don't go chasing waterfalls
Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to...

I think until I am better equipped to tackle such monstrosities (the second day back on the bike probably wasn't the best plan of action), I'll stick to the roads.

I got a call from the school with a recorded messaged announcing they were implementing the 1:1 Technology pilot wherein each student will get their own iPad at the start of the year and stated their expectations concerning its use and care. Moments later they sent an email with the exact same verbiage announcing they were implementing the 1:1 Technology piolt wherein each student will get their own iPad at the start of the year and it listed their expectations concerning its use and care. There was a link to the school webpage I followed which contained identical information - apparently they are impletmenting the 1:1 Technology pilot wherein each student will get their own iPad at the start of the year and the website outlined the school's expectations concerning its use and care.

Days later there was an important parent meeting "Your attendance is needed at one of the scheduled dates..." concerning the 1:1 Technology pilot. I showed up and picked up a handout which mirrored the phone message, email and the website in hardcopy format, explaining the implentation of the 1:1 Technology pilot explaing that each student will get their own iPad at the start of the year and a list of the school's expecations concerning its use and care.

Then the presentation started. It was a slide deck of the handout, detailing the implementation of the 1:1 Technology pilot explaining each student will get their own iPad at the start of the year and a list of the school's expecations concerning its use and care.

And just to be crystal clear (in case you missed the recorded phone call, the email, the link to the website, the handout at the in-person meeting, or couldn't read the slide deck), the vice principal of the junior high school read the slides straight from the screen vocalizing the implementation of the 1:1 Technology pilot explaining each student will get their own iPad at the start of the year and a list of the school's expecations concerning its use and care.

COMMUNICATION BLITZKREIG!

Two days later I received an automated phone call concerning the date and time of the make-up presentation, immediately followed by an SMS text message in case I missed the phone call or presumably, subsequent voice mail!!

Modified only slightly from my reply on the Lotus forum, I was responding to the statement:

Coming from Canada and living in LA and now San Antonio, all you people without snow driving experience are scary drivers...

This brings up something I've been meaning to blog about for months now, and I might as well use this thread as my rough draft, and it has nothing at all to do with an elementary understanding of physics. I like to call it, "Retention Acknowledgement" and I base this hypothesis on my broad and varied experience driving in many different states and many different countries.

I once took my pet cockatiel (long story) with me on a 22-hour drive from Hampton Roads, VA to Boyd, TX. The bird paced the dash for 22-hours. Left to right, then back again, for 22-hours. Unfortunately for my sanity, it was misting out - the entire drive. A fine mist accumulating on the windshield across the full length of three states and into Texas. Ergo, I had my intermittent wipers on. Every 20 or so seconds the wipers would sweep across the windshield, startling the bird, causing him to lift his shoulders and screech. An understandable enough reaction once. However, every 20-seconds for 22-hours the wipers would sweep, and every 20-seconds for 22-hours the bird would raise his shoulders and screech at the startling blades.

Consider the many studies of physiology and psychology where animals are exposed to duress/reward systems in order to study or manipulate their behavior. At some point, the duress becomes commonplace or the subject ceases to cope.

Unless...

My theory at the time was that the bird's brain was so small, so tiny, so insignificant, that he'd forgotten about the event moments after it happened, causing each subsequent swipe to feel like it was being experienced for the very first time. What else could explain being startled by the 4000th consecutive swipe of the blades as if it were the first time?

SO IT MUST BE WITH DRIVERS.

I moved to Kansas (where it snows) from Texas and am shocked by how bad these drivers are in the snow. AND IT SNOWS EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR.

Pretending just a moment for the sake of argument that each driver in Kansas doesn't have an elementary understanding of physics (which would solve many of the problems I witness), wouldn't any experience gained the previous year(s) undoubtedly apply the next? I'm not talking about retaining highly-technical data, but the stuff your mind automatically remembers to not die; a self-preservation mechanism.

So what does it mean when drivers with snow-driving experience "forget" how to drive in snow every consecutive year it snows, and are they really better than those with no snow-driving experience whatsoever? The jury it would appear, remains out.

St. Fidelis Catholic Church was nicknamed "Cathedral of the Plains" by William Jennings Bryan, an affection which makes Catholic leadership cringe, as it infringes upon protocol - that being, only a church which houses a Bishop can officially be termed cathedral. Now I have visited Canterbury Cathedral in Britain and other churches in the United States, but have never seen stained glass anywhere as breathtaking as found here.

Because of that I almost didn't share these pictures, as the anemic 700-pixel preview images do not do the full-sized ones justice, and because I don't always click the "embiggen" image link, I know there are those out there who also will not. I do save my clicks for those pictures which I think deserve it, and many of these most assuredly do.

Underneath the SR-71

I was unusually fortunate in that two of the eight "Wonders of Kansas" happened to be in the same small town - Hutchinson. Closer than my previous outing to Manhattan, but ultimately more exhausting - two "wonders" in a day was simply too much. And I'm only 40! My great-grandfather-in-law is FIFTY YEARS OLDER THAN ME. I hope I have as much energy when I'm his age. Add to that exhaustion, though I was promised the day off, I ended up working until midnight the night before on an "emergency" (no loss of life, so...) at work and six hours into my day I was recalled. Fortunately we had just completed our tour of the Kansas Cosmosphere! (A Smithsonian Institution Affiliation Program)

Nose-to-nose with the SR-71

While the SR-71 is always an impressive display, this wasn't my first rodeo. But I have to admit to being very impressed by its stance. It was angled downward, and you could go right to the front of it and look up at it eye-level. It was a terrible and awe-inspiring sight to behold! And this display was just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. We spent two hours in that place but easily needed another two.

I am a jellyroll.

The first part of the tour concerned itself with the technological advances of Nazi Germany during their war effort - the events which lead to the space race. And this was Bill's era, having served in WWII for this purpose. Also having myself grown up under the threat of nuclear apocalypse and later serving during the Cold War years, I found myself learning entirely new things concerning its inception - all tied back to Nazi Germany. It was fascinating! I wasn't expecting to learn as much as I did when we set foot in that place. And with Germany having been my first duty station, I was amazed at the museum's attention to detail. Very well done. Even Bill said it 'refreshed' many things.

The Space Race

The majority of the aptly named "Cosmospshere" was dedicated to the Space Race. And having grown up an All-American Boy in urban metropolis, USA I was quite familiar with each step and portion of our endeavors. THE COSMOSPHERE GAVE EQUAL TIME TO THE SOVIET UNION - something I was very nearly entirely ignorant of! It was fascinating to learn brand new stuff! Not only the attention to detail, but the 60-second films and genuine space-worthy artifacts! Again, I was not anticipating learning as much as I did. This was a perspective I never had growing up. I was a schoolboy all over again.

One small step

After the expansive entrance with with SR-71, we went down two flights of stairs through the start of the museum and were just heading into the Sound Barrier room from the WWII room when Bill wanted to head back to the restroom. Two flights of stairs up and across the entryway and he was winded. Did I mention he's older than me more than I am old? Two things - while they didn't have a fleet of electric wheelchairs for loan like they did at the Salt Mine, they did have one for use. And - we had the place to ourselves. I will ALWAYS take him on a weekday. Sure scheduling a day off in the middle of the week is a bitch, but this ease is the fruit of that labor. One giant leap.

ehowton - cosmonaut

"In regard to depth and size, the Cosmosphere's space artifact collection is second only to that of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Similarly, the Cosmosphere's Hall of Space Museum harbors the largest collection of Russian space artifacts outside Moscow."

I have six more "wonders" to see. If we stay on schedule (one per month) we'll be done by the middle of 2012. Wherever shall we go next?

http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders

An Excerpt from my Memoirs - WWII Mission:
Bomb a railroad bridge at Rovereto, Italy

The briefing completed, all mission members stood and hurried outside to waiting airplanes. Soon, the roar of two thousand horse-power engines deafened the senses as 72 airplanes awoke and began moving along the taxiways. Each aircraft arrived at the end of the steel-plank runway in proper sequence to join the circling formation above the field.

( November 16, 1944 )

Much like Lot's wife, or just lots of salt, having a corner lot is lot of extra effort, and that's a lot of lots, which I first discovered two weekends ago.

It just so happened that the next-door neighbor has a lush, dark-green lawn of something akin to crab grass. Understandably he mows it "high" that is to say only evens up the very tips of the sultry waves to create an even, flowing effect.

This is not Texas grass, and my mower was set to "scalp." My first pass cut through the earth like an open wound. After several height adjustments, I was finally able to finish the expansive lawn - at least compared to my postage-stamp lot in Anna. But that was only the beginning, and at 107-degrees, also the easiest part of my day.

I had purchased something which resembled this replacement head at the local hardware store for $20 in hopes it would ease the damage I inflict each week on my aging carcass - especially since my new Poulan Pro has never come close to performing up to my old Echo straight-shaft. That didn't contort my body in Inquisition-era ways and was always an ease to use. Anyway, one of the so-called "testimonials" on the replacement head said, Made trimming a joy! Yes, I scoffed at that one the hardest, and yes, it was the most accurate. I could not believe the difference it made.

Still, it's effing hot out there, and there is a lot of curb to edge. I'm not used to curbs on corner lots. I swapped the string for the blade edger and fought mud for an hour. The house had never been edged, and it was more chore than I was willing to bear. I left it three-quarters complete and called it heat stroke.

[time passes]

I skipped a week, and went out the week after. They day before we were at 50+ days of 100+ and all my neighbors had foolishly mowed the day before. Today is was SIXTY-THREE DEGREES!!! Mowing was an ease, edging fun, and yes, trimming a joy. Two weeks ago, I mowed in vertical paths to the house, and taking a page from THE BOOK OF MR. WITWICKY this time I mowed in horizontal paths. Next week, I'll start on the two verticals before repeating the whole series.

Lot's wife.

What a whore.



More grass & lawn in front!