Treading in DEEP Water

Well, I figured that I had better squeeze one last March post in here. I have just survived the first week of Spring quarter. I am thinking that I got a little carried away when I registered this time; seventeen hours. I was thinking of something to drop, but everything fits so well and each class is equally important as it is interesting. Besides, every hour after ten is the same cost...free education, so to speak. Three classroom courses, two online courses, a lot of reading, a lot of writing, a lot of dedication. I am also hoping to break my streak of incompletes this quarter. I used a couple of extra weeks both Fall and Winter terms to finish up. It can't be all that bad, I'm still holding my 4.0. However, I need to stay on top of everything each week this time, or I'm going to sink in a hurry. I'm working for a nice break this summer; three hours max and focusing on my first IRB proposal, which doesn't sound like much of a break, but it will be after this quarter. So my postings might be a little more spaced out over the next two months, but for good reason.

Jason

Wow, 28 years, seems like it goes by in a flash. Wasn't it yesterday when we were in a heated battle over who got to use the best Legos? Isn't it my turn to go to Michigan with Grandma and Grandpa? Why does he always get to do that? I never get to do that.
It is really amazing how time changes things, how we drift but are always just a phone call away, especially when I need help with the house, or moving...I know you love that part. As I take a short look back over what seems to be a short time, I couldn't be prouder to be around you. You push me to be who I am. Besides, I don't want to be the slacker of the family. Who really said that education wasn't a race, but a goal? Well, maybe you can finish that Engineering degree now. On the other hand, who wants to be finished with school? I won't know what to do with some free time each day...who needs it? But I digress, I love you Bro, happy birthday.

The Horror of Crashing

So yesterday I had my young doctoral life 'flashed' before my eyes. By 'flash' I mean that my 'flash' drive decided to crash on me. Yes, I learned a hard lesson by NOT working directly from my flash drive and to stop being lazy and save to my hard drive and then save the final work to my flash instead. Well, I wasn't doing this. I had over two quarters of work saved to my flash and a host of research papers that I had either reviewed or was planning to review. NONE of it was backed-up. I felt the rush of panic, the tightening pressure of my chest and my head felt like it was going to explode. I couldn't breathe, and didn't know what to do. I gathered myself, after a short while, and gently turned off my computer.
Today, after consulting with Sarkis at the ODCE Conference, I downloaded a demo version of a recovery software. With much, and I do mean MUCH jubilation, I was able to recover all of my files from my flash drive. I quickly saved everything to my hard drive and formatted my flash. Now, I quickly save anything I plan to work on straight to the desktop previous to doing anything! My flash drive is now a traveling file tool only, as the string that I use to hang it around my neck was nearly going to be used to hang me for real.

What a painful lesson. Best learned at the brink of disaster.

Website Success and Next Step

So I presented my new website (not yet published) in my Arts Media class last night. It was well received although my photo album decided to stop working. I am very happy with how it has turned out, and I own a million thanks to Jim Bruner for taking the time to tutor me through it. I am looking forward to finding someplace to host it and watch it build as my research builds.

So, the next step is to finalize my Photo Album area and add as many photos I can...digital for now, until I can get time to start scanning in old photos from early field work. I also need to figure out how to link these new posts right to my website...RSS perhaps. To the drawing board I go. We'll see how it works out. What a technological learning experience....although I am way behind the times.