Catch it up II

Alright alright, This post picks up where we left off...

And once we're through here, We'll be caught up through October and ready for the pending, Waco Thanksgiving Celebration (in our apartment).

Right, So! I think we still need to 'carve' it up with... The Pumpkin.

It's a real contest. You've got to pick a design that will appeal to both the judges and the general audience. But, you've also got to do it in a time frame. Yes, the Quadrangle Pumpkin Carving Contest is a real combination of art and efficiency. The best carved pumpkin gets $75 off its creator's rent for the month of November with other prizes for 2nd and 3rd place. We didn't win, but at least we had a fun time carving some cool pumpkins. This year, I finally carved a Trogdor pumpkin (thanks to Kristin for finding the template!). And I was able to help K with her pumpkin, suggesting she do a Pumpkin π.

We'll post pictures soon!

So we weighed Finnegan and he is starting to turn into... A Monster.

Yeah, he's grown at a pretty good clip. He's at least eight pounds now, which puts him just three pounds under Loki. And, he will probably fill out his already lengthy frame. So he will at least catch up, if not surpass greatly, Loki is the Size department. And of course, he is still very much a Kitten at heart. He does not really respond to discipline, in that he still jumps up places we have greatly discouraged. But he has learned. Learned that he's going to get wet if we are around when he does it (which doesn't seem to deter him...) But the last fun nugget of news about Finn is that he has now taught himself how to get a whole roll of toilet paper off the roll. Yeah, so we're going to leave the TP under the sink for a few weeks before we test it out again.

And Lastly, I've caught up to current evens with... The Conference.

Kristin is a Scientist. And Scientists always need more ideas, or at least to make sure their ideas are valid, good, and worthwhile. So, this past week, Kristin has been talking work with a bunch of fancy-famous people from Labs all round the country to share her ideas and catch up with what's going on round the field. Portland OR is the location of this year's SETAC convention. The Society of Environmental Toxicologists and Chemists draws in researchers from all realms of environmental work. Researchers from both Schools and Government programs (like the EPA and USGS) are the main contributors of the material. Kristin did a poster session (where she compressed her work to fit on a 3' by 4' surface) and she attended many platform presentations of research. She got a lot of good feedback and a lot of positive interest in her paper.

So yeah, that's October through now. We'll patch in some images from this past month soon here, and we are super excited to host the (immediate) Connors family for Thanksgiving!

DJC

PS

You should totally click on the Trogdor link, this is probably one of the Best Strongbad Emails ever created on www.homestarrunner.com

Catch it up

Bangarang!

Dan is writing the Blog again!

We’ve had a few days of activity and I’m going to catch ya’ll up to speed.

But, before we begin, I need to issue a disclaimer. There will be no fun images presented for your enjoyment in this blog entry. Kristin is, at the moment, still in Portland, OR, and she has our digital camera. So, tune in next week for the visual element to enhance your blogging experience.

Right, so, we’re covering four topics today, chronologically ordered. We begin with… The Theater

Presentations of Gypsy was put on by the Baylor Drama Department and they just finished their run for the season. Kristin (pleasantly) surprised me with tickets on opening weekend. Gypsy is one of the most prominent classic Broadway musicals, and I had never seen it before. The best part about college productions is that you get to see a quality show without a heavy ticket price ;)

Next, we’ll transition over to another venue… The Arena

Steve Ott plays hockey for the Dallas Stars. He may not generate the most points, but he has huge presence on the ice. But the best reason to know Steve Ott is the most-excellent Ott-oberfest promotion the Stars put on every year. For a hundred bucks, customers may purchase pairs of tickets on the *premium* level (not quite ice level, but the first tier up). On top of that you get two free (12 oz) drinks, two free (cheap) T-shirts, and (coupons for) twenty wings at Hooters. Seriously though, it’s an excellent deal. Plus, you have the opportunity to hob-knob with the rich folk that hang out on the suite level.

Taking a break from the night life, we caught a mid week homestead with… The Visitor

We are always excited to have guests over, but even more so when said guests are from the North and like to play Board games. So, when Gokey came to visit us for a couple of days after her Dallas excursion, we were positively delighted. She really didn’t have to do this But… She got us a gift that has since become my obsession. Dominion is not actually a board game, but rather a Strategy Card Game. Suffice to say, we played this game a lot. But we also got an opportunity to catch up with an old friend, show off the best weather we’ve had in Waco all year, and to cook up some sweet-awesome spicy peanut balls!

Homecoming is a time honored tradition at Baylor; full of Events, Football, and of course… The Parade

For over one hundred years, Baylor University has put on an annual parade over their homecoming weekend. This is one of the longest running collegiate parades in America. I mean, if you think about it… this parade has been an annual event since before parking lots… because cars weren’t too common 1909. Anyways, there were a lot of good looking floats from the Greek organizations and a few classic cars to see. I saw the new University President, Kenneth Starr for the first time (and it’s sad that I don’t even remember why he was important during the ‘impeach Clinton’ years).

But the most sad thing was that I totally called a potential disaster. We are in Texas, I know, but the Baylor Motor Sports group did not need to have such an elaborate demonstration. Basically it was a couple guys with 4-wheelers zipping around, using the full berth of the street. I think a lot of people were concerned about it, but that still didn’t stop a little girl from getting hit, along with a couple other people. Nothing serious, as far as the injuries, but still, I doubt the Motor Sports club will be invited back next year.

Right, so. More soon. Wish Kristin Good Luck at her Conference!

DJC