Paul's Pictures - February 2004
Not much to say this month. As most of you know, I'll just be working this semester, and not going to school. I'll save up and pay some of my bills. Without further ado, here are the pictures for February.
February 19
 |
The weather was warming up, and snow was melting everywhere. In fact,
our snow fort melted completely in just six hours today. All gone. We
never finished it beyond what you saw, but what we had was good while it
lasted. This is a weird phenomenon. Since my car was broken down all winter, it's been in the same spot, and just got covered in snow. Now, as it was melting off, I noticed this weird snow wave/curl thing. I can't exactly explain how this is possible. The snow is curled into a tube of sorts. It must have done this gradually while melting. Click side for a better view. If you're really interested, I have bigger pictures here (no others, though). Just send me an email. |
February 14
 |
This picture has two seperate stories behind it. This is Ted. That's not
his real name, but he answers to it. He recently had his nose broken
playing a game of Trash Mash. Now I'm not sure what Trash Mash is, except
that it's a full-contact sport, similar to football. And they played it
in the snow. That explains the nose brace thingy. The focus of this picture is the "ingenious" straw-lengthening design. It allows a student to sit in his chair and read, while at the same time drinking a glass of his favorite beverage without shifting position. |
February 13
 |
This isn't a picture of me, but it is of a coworker. Doing tech support can be exhausting and stressful, like a customer that repeats everything you say before doing it, or that can't use the mouse. It also has its dull moments, like waiting for the computer to reboot. Or, all of the above. What this tech rep might be experiencing: Cust: It says 'Click OK to reboot your computer.' Tech: Alright, click OK. Cust: You want me to click OK? Tech: Yes. Cust: Are you sure? Tech: Yes! Click OK! Cust: Is that with the left or right mouse button? Tech: (puts cust on mute) Aaaaaargh! (deep breath) (unmute) The left button. (pause) Cust: What's happening? My screen just went black. Tech: That's supposed to happen. The computer is rebooting. (few seconds of silence) (tech clears throat) (more silence) Tech: So... how's the weather where you are? ... |
February 9
 |
Today is was just me and one other guy working on it, so we only got
the next tier done. I'm not sure how we're going to make it domed.
Maybe it will just be an open-top fort? Even at this point, it looks
pretty impressive. Also the weather has been warming up, so our fort might not last as long as we'd hoped. If you stand in snow as it's melting with the sun, and you listen very carefully, you can hear the snow melting and crackling-- sortof like a cereal sound-- accompanied by a faint trickling noise. The closest approximation I can think of without snow would be rain sprinkling on the grass. It's all around you, but very soft. Of course with snow, the sound is cold, like tiny ice cubes cracking. |
February 8
 |
Now this is more like it. The middle of the night, and I'm updating
my picture page, although I still can't guarantee it will be good. With all this snow lying around, why not put it to good use? Some friends and I (I'm not in the picture, as I was taking it) decided to build a snow fort. Not just any snow fort, but one big enough for our tallest friend to stand in without hitting his head. So, about seven feet tall. And we decided to make it eight feet in diameter too. This was also going to be something the neighborhood kids could stumble on and toast their good fortune (with milk, hopefully). Yes, an ambitious project, but there was plenty of snow. As you can see, we used the bucket strategy. Unfortunately, it was taking much longer than anticipated. After breaking for hot cocoa when the second tier was done, it started to get dark. We'll do more tomorrow. |
February 7
 |
I think I'm better at writing these things when I'm tired, but it's
the middle of the day, and I'm not tired. Oh well. All this week, starting Sunday afternoon, we've been getting more and more snow. They even closed school on Monday. I've talked to people here, and no one I've talked to has seen snow like this in Kansas in all the time they've been here. This is more like New England than Kansas, but here they're not prepared for it, and hardly anyone knows how to drive on snow. We must have had a total of a foot and a half or so, but some of it has melted. This will give you an idea as to how much we had. |
February 4
 |
In this apartment, we have a nightly cooking schedule. My night to
cook is Monday, since I don't work that night. On Wednesday, it's
Ben's turn to cook. Here is Ben making chicken-noodle pasta stuff. Since I usually have to got to work before it's done, I heat up the leftovers when I get home, and eat it then. It was really good, even reheated. |
February 1
 |
February rolled around, and it was a Sunday. I didn't find out until
mid-afternoon it was Superbowl Sunday, and our apartment was hosting a
party, and I was expected to help. So for the next few hours, we cleaned and vacuumed and disinfected. We even ran cable to an extra TV in the kitchen, so people wouldn't miss anything when they got up for snacks. I don't watch sports, but the free food was good (everyone was told to bring something), and it was a very close game. I don't remember who won, but you can probably look it up. |