happy 200th.

well this is my 200th blog entry. it's been a crazy road. lotta "in's", lotta "out's". not to mention the "ups" and "downs" of course (and "lefts" and "rights"). i think the most interesting part is probably the entries written during my hungarian adventure. i keep meaning to compile them into "book" of sorts and print it off. someday. i've actually been fairly "busy" lately. not at work of course (because i dont do squat), but after work. i have but a few hours to try and get stuff done that i "need" to do.

A) my website is currently under going a facelift
2) the ASCE website is in DIRE need of a HUGE facelift (i really dislike the way it looks. whoever did it knew how to do html and whatnot fairly well, but he knew nothing about style)
D) i cant seem to get the neon lights under my car to work well for an extended period of time. seems like something needs fixing on them every week. the whole thing is like a long algebra problem; once you make a mistake, it's really hard to figure out where you went wrong
5) i STILL havent fixed the fulcrum on the catapult!

and all the while i'm trying to find time to exercise and spend time with jesse.

i am however getting to read a LOT lately, which is a really nice change. i finished 1984 last week and this week i FINALLY finished the last 70pgs of Return of the King that i had left from over a year ago (sheesh). and now i'm working on Chaos (very interesting stuff).

i think working for the state (TDOT) is not what i'd prefer to do. at least not until i'm ready to quit working. this doesnt seem like a place that rewards motivated employees and stuff. and i've come to realize that so much of engineering isn't just problem solving, it's legal stuff. you gotta get permits EVERYwhere for EVERYthing. lotta paperwork. so i'm leaning more and more towards my interests in construction management and some sort of water transport (for people who aint got no agua). we'll see. but first and foremost concern as of recent is that i'm doing what God wants me to do. as long as i'm obeying and pleasing Him, everything else will just fall into place. such an odd concept to me at times. odd in that i dont see how i didnt realize this before, but also odd in that it seems too easy; i just do what God wants and He takes care of the rest. amazing.

jesse and i and jon and ian(sp?) went to see Fahrenheit 9/11 this past weekend. honestly, it wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be. i mean, it was, but those parts were just so ridiculous that i could only laugh at them. although, there were some very interesting points along the way. if i havent said it before, i'll say it now... i do respect michael moor for what he does. he's a very regular american-looking guy who is using his gifts to try and better the world in the way he deems appropriate. now whether or not it IS in fact appropriate, i cant say (sort of). so i commend him on rising above what the average guy does with his life and trying make a difference with his. that being said, i think the majority of 9/11 is propaganda...

noun
2 : the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person
3 : ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause; also : a public action having such an effect

and i think he will lose a lot of his message's effectiveness because it will be viewed in this manner. maybe he's invented a new genre: the docuganda. or perhaps the propumentary. (well, you get the idea.) (either way, he's really good at propaganda.) in the end i tend to think a lot of the "facts" his evidence is based on is most definitely skewed. this is a great informative article about moore and his "facts". and here's a delightful segment from what the guy says about France...

"Wait until France gets a hard shot in the nose. Wait until France reacts with some nasty work. They’ll get a golf-clap from the chattering class over here and a you-go-girl from Red America. France could nuke an Algerian terrorist camp and the rest of the world would tut-tut for a day, then ask if the missiles France used were for sale. And of course the answer would be oui."

nice. this is really a great article. you really should take 10 min and read it if you have any opinion whatsoever regarding michael moore or the current war.

we went downtown and watched the fireworks. i wasnt really looking forward to it simply because the promise of fireworks just isnt enough to motivate me to fight the crowds of people, but i still had fun. i think everyone else did too.

well it's 2:00pm now. that 3:00am (friday) for hong kong sam and 7:00am (also friday) for kiwi corey.

good travels to you all.