Leif’s Rabbit

Leif’s Rabbit has been in the family for over a year now. After its initial purchase the paint was fully stripped all the way down to bare metal. Leif did all the work himself in our garage, working tirelessly during nights and weekends, last year while I was away at college. I returned for the summer to find a fully primered car that looked schweeet as hell. Here’s a picture of the car at last years Dubs Along the Rockies show in Colorado Springs.


This summer Leif has some wild new plans for the car. It’s out with the dull primer black look and in with a fresh coat of Volkswagen’s Black Magic Pearl (BMP). The fenders are to be rolled and flared “way the way out” to accommodate a set of 15 x 6.5 Seebrings with some fat rubber. The new wheels look hot; they’ve been painted so that they’re not your average Seebring and do well at showing off the recent rear disc brake conversion and bright red brake calipers. Along with the upcoming bodywork/re-spray the rear hatch is going to be fully shaved and outfitted with a brand new OEM 20th anniversary GTI badge.

With less than a month left till the show Leif’s done most of the work but I’ve had the chance to help out here and there. By Saturday the car will be fully sanded and we will haul it over to Konstruct Performance where we will work with Diego to weld up the holes in rear hatch and smooth any remaining dents with filler. Diego has also volunteered his shop to set up a make-shift painting booth where both Diego and Leif will work to spray the car in numerous coats of that sweat sweat BMP. Work is probably being done as I type this as a strict deadline to finish the car and show it at this year’s Dubs Along the Rockies show has been set.

Stay tuned for photo updates over the weekend.

Edit: In responce to comment, its deff not my old rabbit - its fast (faster than the Corrado infact) and lowered. Between the four of us Rotsaert's we have 3 rabbits, a 62 bug, a 72 bus, and my corrado for a whopping total of 6 Volkswagens. We also still have the Wagonier and the Falcon.

Driving

Today was my first day back to work in Los Alamos. If you include the drive to work and back today I've driven ~1,370 miles with in the last 5 days. Most of these miles were due to the two trips it took to move all of our crap back and forth from Cruces to Santa Fe.

In other news; I'm single once again - and I'll leave it at that.

Skinny Dip

I picked up a 6-er of a new summer seasonal by the New Belgium Brewing Co. The name of the new seasonal is as synonymous with summer and good weather as sun burn; Skinny Dip. It's a light ale with a hint of hops to make it just a little crisper than what you might expect from a golden ale and there's a hint of lime that balances it out. Overall I was impressed and enjoyed all six the same evening with little moderation.

Setting Cruise Control

I used to make fun of Justin for throwing up during finals week. I didnt understand how he could possibly put him self though so much stress that as he got done with things and was able to relax a little he began involentary vommiting. That said, I've thrown up twice this week - niether time as a result of too much beer. The first time was after I watched Chelsie walk out for the last time after picking up the last of her stuff from my apartment. The second time happened just now... imidiatly after the Comm 265 test in the grass near the health center on my way to my car. I dont like it and I hope this doesnt continue as the week progresses.

On a possitive note I'm in the home streach! I've only got two finals left and they're both a walk in the park. All I have to do is set the cruise control and get through a couple more days of this week, which isnt turning out that great - especially from an emotional stand point.

I'm really ready right now for Saturday, but the thought of graduating is really getting to me and it seems my excitement and happyness can only be expressed by intence throat craps and watery eyes. Can I go get drunk yet?

Indiana: "The Crossroads of America"

Indiana became the 19th state on December 11, 1816. It has a population of just over 6million people making it the 14th most populous state in the USA. Major Industries include: agriculture (corn, soybeans, wheat), manufacturing, mining (coal, limestone), and steel-making.

It's also home to Cummins inc. I'm excited because today I put in my resume with their online job search database for Design Engineer V903. I would be super pumped if I got this job, it sounds sick from the description. Also its the first time I've looked at a job ad and met every single qualification required.

Despite all this talk about grad school and spending all that money on all the application fees across the lower 48, not to mention the cost of the GRE, I think it would be nice to not be in school anymore. And what better way to take a break from school than spend it working as a design engineer on a high horse power monster of a V-8 diesel engine used only for the millitary.

The Great American Finals Week To Do List

It really helps me sometimes when I get busy to make a little list so that I dont miss anything in the wash. In the past I've used note pads, sticky notes and small pieces of paper; a white board mounted on the wall; and less-favorably my arm, wrist, or hand.

This time I thought I'd do something a little differant. This way it'll be with me just so long as I'm at a computer with an internet connection. Also I can cross things out as they get done, here on erg/home/wtf.

Sunday May 7th
(1.) Make a To Do List
(2.) Finish Grading Statics Homework, enter grades, and email spreadsheet
(3.) Study for Math 472
(4.) Complete Grad School Paper Work
(5.) Laundry (i'm out of clean under wear)

Monday May 8th
(1.) Make copies of the high low and average
(2.) Talk to Donaldson about TC Research Report
(3.) Submit Last of Grad School Paper Work and get the faculty recomendations
-Sevostionov
-Donadson
-Conley
(4.) Look into the details of math minnor
-application form
-copy of unoffical transcripts
-copy of evaluation of transfer credits
-submitt it all back to math dept.
(5.) Study for Math 472 (fucking seriously today)

Tuesday May 9th
(1.) 8:00 - 10:00 am, Math 472 FINAL EXAM
(2.) Study for Comm 265
(3.) 6:00 - 7:00 pm, Comm 265 FINAL EXAM
(4.) Get some much needed sleep

Wednesday May 10th
(1.) Start Ling 200 take home test
(2.) Clean apartment and get ready for parents coming
(3.) Turn in ME Lab key (get my 20bucks back)
(4.) Get my sketch on for shorty
(5.) Sell back some books

Thursday May 11th
(1.) finish Ling 200 take home test
(2.) Study for Stat 371
(3.) Really clean up this mess!
(4.) (~6pm) Parents Arrive in Las Cruces
(5.) meet with conley at 9am
(6.) exit interview at 9:30am
(7.) Enter time sheets + time online

Friday May 12th
(2.) 1:00 - 3:00 pm Stat 371 FINAL EXAM
(3.) Turn in Ling 200 take home test and LL
(4.) Sell back more books (i.e. Stat, Ling... )

Saturday May 13th
(1.) GRADUATION CEREMONY
8:00 am @ football stadium wearing cap and gown!
(2.) Get Drunk.

Damn Raven, It only took you 6 years

On Saturday, May 13th I will graduate with a Bachlors of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Minor in Mathematics.

This is BIG! I'll end with 169 credit hours, 34 of witch are "unused."

6.5 tons of robotic mayhem

The good folks at Carnegie Mellon University have unveiled a new addition for the list of badass unmanned off-road vehicles. Code name: "Crusher."

According to News.com:

On April 28, Carnegie Mellon's National Robotics Engineering Center unveiled this new unmanned vehicle to work on almost any terrain. It can carry more than 8,000 pounds of armor and payload and is powered by a lithium ion battery that's recharged by an onboard turbo diesel generator. Top speed: over 25 miles per hour.

View the video here.

Muffler Bearings

This pic pops up in forums every now and again... It's a classic, and shows the proper technique for replacing worn muffler bearings. Replacement bearings can be found here.

Yes Now!

I walked into the very busy mechanical engineering computer lab this afternoon and thought to my self, "god damn, it smells like a fucking gym in here."

I sat down at a computer to check my email.

Dr. Pederson than walked in and said aloud in his very Ed McMahon voice:

"It smells like a gym in here!"

That was ironic, Hi-yo!


EDIT: Dr. Pederson was previously famous for the phrase: "Have you created views?" ... and other great McMannerisms.

Scanning: while I was out...

... of my mind, strung out on coffee and running on 2 hours of sleep. Everyone loves a good random shot of a moose.

Report for Burl

I'm working on a report on the interesting bits of research I was involved in this semester. Its due Monday (tomorrow). Here's a teaser:

No satisfactory method exists to properly quantify the effect of the error produced. It is hypothesized that by producing a method that can accurately and consistently detect inhomogeneities the error in the emf could be accounted for in the calibration of the thermocouple.

Did I write that? I sure did, man that's good stuff. I realize out of context that morsel doesn't make much sense but I can assure you as it sits in the report it's golden.

Testing Torpor

So I bombed the GRE even though I thought I was doing great through out the entire thing. I finished right at the end of the time limit on all the sections and was under the impression that I got most of the quantitative questions correct.

I saw a few questions about mean and standard deviation, which according to Kaplan is a sign that I was getting into the “harder” questions – meaning I was doing well. So I don’t really understand why I didn’t do better.

As far as the verbal section goes I kind of knew I wasn’t doing so hot because all the questions seemed easy and on the computer exam that’s a sign that, well… it meant I was fucked. I must have missed a few of the harder ones in the beginning and as a result the computer dropped the skill level and I was doomed.

I could give a shit about confidentiality concerning my test scores so here goes. If I remember correctly I scored a 410 on the verbal and a 600 on the quantitative. I wont know what I got on the analytical for a while. Lets hope this is good enough for NMSU, I was told my score wouldnt matter much but we'll see I guess.

GRE

Today I take the Graduate Records Exam (GRE) in El Paso at 1:15 PM.

I'm sitting here at my desk this morning after reading Kaplan's GRE Exam, More of What You Need to Score Higher on the GRE Exam, 2006 Edition last night, in its entirety.

Now that I feel perpared with Kaplans methods I’m starting to worry about things like:

What if my computer doesn’t work?
What if the mouse is hard to operate?
What if the keyboard is like mine and the letter ‘H’ doesn’t work sometimes?
When am I supposed to leave Las Cruces so that I get there on time?

And Finally…

I hope El Paso isn’t on a different time zone.

Keeping in Touch

When I was in high school I had a friend tell me: "Out of all of the people I know, you Raven need a cell phone the most. It's like impossible to get a hold of you."

To present I've carried a cell phone for 7 years. I'll probably die a cell phone induced cancerous death at the young age of 30. Either that or I might die in a gasoline station fire when I answer an important call while pumping gas despite the omnificent warning signs that tell me other wise.

Despite my inherent cell-induced demise, I do however appreciate the basic convenience that owning a cell phone has given me. I can talk from in my car during rush hour. I can talk when I'm stranded in the middle of the dessert. I can talk from the living room, toilet, shower, kitchen, and bedroom with out wrapping myself with that accordion-like cord thing. I can answer calls when I'm in class, at a restaurant, and even Starbucks. Pretty much as long as I am not at my parent's house or any other thick-walled adobe house I'm available and standing by to answer your important call!

That said, I'd like to quote a statement I heard someone make at a party a while back: "A cell phone's ultimate purpose exists for the convince of the owner of that phone and the owners alone."

Ok, that seems selfish, I agree. If wifey needs to call just to hear your voice so she can properly make it through the day - I owe her as much to answer. And if a friend calls needing a ride home from the bar and then opts to drive him/her self home after a few too many when I'm not picking up; I'd of preferred to have been available.

Afterwards it seems obvious that someone was trying to get a hold of you like you were the only one left on earth. Signs typically include flashing lights, a large number of text messages - mostly just repeates of the phrase: "answer your phone asshole!", and more missed calls than your cell stores a history of.

So what does everyone think? Due to the advent of cellular telephones after how much time and how many tries should someone start to worry about the person you're trying to reach? And because of caller ID no one leaves real voice messages anymore so here's the break down:

2 weeks, 30 missed calls, 15 "answer your phone" messages?
4 days, 20 missed calls, 20 "answer your phone" messages?
1 day, 10 missed calls, 5 "answer your phone" messages?
2 hours, 5 missed calls, 26 "answer your phone" messages?
5 minutes, 45 missed calls, 76 "answer your phone" messages?

Before cell phones what was a standard turn around for a call back? I'd say a day or two, and you would have probably only called the house once and left a message with your name and call back number.