New Nerd Project!!!

UPDATE 10/03/08!!! It rained 0.01" last night!

Okay, so I haven't posted on here in quite a while so I'm going to update everyone on what little has been going on.

First, my research has been a little difficult lately because I haven't been very motivated to work on it. I think I'm burned out with school and it's starting to show by my laziness. I've been doing a little better lately though.

That's about all. Now on to the title of my post.

So on the 3rd of July, I signed up to help volunteer with the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS, http://www.cocorahs.org/). I was pretty excited and shortly thereafter received my rain gauge to put up so I could start taking measurements for this collaborative project. I have always enjoyed weather and studying it but having worked at the weather center (weather.ou.edu) doing my research for several months, I'm glad I didn't go in to meteorology because it seems really hard with all the difficult math and it sure doesn't pay like an engineering degree. Anyway, I digress.

So I signed up, got my rain gauge, then realized I didn't have a place I could set up my rain gauge because anywhere I could put it would be really inconvenient or would be in a place that could easily be vandalized. So, I was kind of sad I couldn't help out for a while, felt bad about getting the free rain gauge and not using it, and then forgot about it.

Then I realized that if I could mount it on the fence by the pool in our apartment, that would be ideal because the pool was closed after Labor Day and if I could get access to the pool area, all would be well.

I got permission from the office manager to put a lock that I could open on the gate and then went to town on mounting the rain gauge. I bought all the materials for just over $5 and then went to work. I drilled holes and got everything ready to mount and then went to mount it only to realize the bracket I got were too short so I had to drill different holes for the correct brackets which was a setback but it turned out well.

Here are some pictures:

The mounting brackets that were the right size ready to be tightened
What it looks like from behind
Me tightening the brackets
The funnel to catch the rain/snow
The tube to measure the rain. This tube will hold 1" before it spills into the outer container which will hold another 10".
This is how it slides on to the board.
This all set up.

So after I got it mounted, I was excited and started taking my measurements like I should...except it hasn't rained at all. That's okay though because I found on days where I know it didn't rain, I can just look outside my window to check. I realized that the way I had it mounted before though, it was on the side of the fence facing the pool which I thought would be better so people couldn't see it from elsewhere. Then I realized that I couldn't see it from inside my house when it didn't rain so I had to go out this morning and flip it around to the other side of the fence. It only took about 10 minutes to do so it was a quick and easy job.

The view outside my window

Now I just need it to rain. Then I can be useful. I still need to level it out if possible but I think it's somewhat level and won't take much work to change it. If you are interested, you can go to the CoCoRaHS site and look at the information. I'm station number OK-CV-57 and the station name is Norman 1.6 SE.

If anyone is interested in helping out with the project, you can always go to http://www.cocorahs.org/ and sign up to be a volunteer. It's about $20 for the rain gauge and then 5 minutes or less a day. You just have to be consistent.

So, that's one of my many nerd projects. As always, there is another nerd hobby which is amazingrcvideos.blogspot.com but I haven't really had a chance to get any more good video from my plane so it hasn't been updated lately. I do have a new camera that I can take up on my AP plane so one of these days, you should be getting a full HD video of the area. If only I could figure out how to mount it securely on a stick...

Remember

I am going to deviate from my usual light-hearted posts and comment on something that has been on all of our minds today.

I usually describe myself as having a "swiss cheese brain": lots of information enters, but most of it escapes through the holes. However, there are some experiences and moments that I will never forget - and September 11, 2001 is one of those moments.

I remember driving home from my early morning seminary class to eat breakfast before I went to school. Right before I got home, I heard about a plane that had crashed into the World Trade Center. I mistakenly thought that it was a small cessna that had had some unfortunate accident. I went inside and my mom was watching Fox News (that is the only TV that she ever watches). In between the time that I had heard the news report in the car and the time that I saw the news at home, another plane had crashed into the towers. They appeared to have been commercial airliners. At that point, I began to doubt that it had been an accident.

I drove to school in a haze, not really processing what was going on. Most everyone was still confused about what was happening. I did not yet realize that it was a deliberate act of terrorism. I got to school and found my brother who had gone early that day for a marching band practice. None of the band members knew about the planes. I told him quickly what had happened and then I rushed off to class.

My first class that day was AP Biology with Ms. Hill. She had a reputation as being kind of a "tough chick" - I always imagined her as Rosie the Riviter - but on this day she was particularly quiet. Nobody could really concentrate on school work, so she found a teacher that had a TV in their classroom and we all went to watch the news. That's when I saw the towers fall. As I saw them fall, I felt as if my whole future was crumbling along with them. I couldn't hold back my tears and Ms. Hill put her arm around me and gave me a hug. She was crying, too. Here I was, a senior in high school and I thought my life was over. As with the rest of America, I felt fear and vulnerability for the very first time.

The rest of the day at school was spent listening to or watching the news. We heard about the other planes and the Pentagon. We slowly learned that it was a planned terrorist attack. We still couldn't understand why it had happened here - America! - the place that was supposed to be the "land of the free and the home of the brave". I remember watching the news at home that night and thinking, "Do I even bother applying for college? Will I even be able to go? What is going to happen to us?". My sister Maren had just left on her mission the month before (as did Kenta - but I didn't know him yet). Would she be okay? I remember talking to my oldest sister on the phone a few days later and she told me about the nightmares that she had been having. She was so worried for her children. What would the world be like when I had children? Would I even get to have that opportunity? I really felt like my future was gone.

With all of the concern and uncertainty that I was feeling, I remember being anxious to hear General Conference. I wanted to hear the Prophet. I wanted to hear reassuring words that would bring peace and comfort to my soul. I remember clearly President Hinckley's remarks:

"Now, brothers and sisters, we must do our duty, whatever that duty might be. Peace may be denied for a season. Some of our liberties may be curtailed. We may be inconvenienced. We may even be called on to suffer in one way or another. But God our Eternal Father will watch over this nation and all of the civilized world who look to Him. He has declared, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Ps. 33:12). Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God.
Let us be prayerful. Let us pray for righteousness. Let us pray for the forces of good. Let us reach out to help men and women of goodwill, whatever their religious persuasion and wherever they live. Let us stand firm against evil, both at home and abroad. Let us live worthy of the blessings of heaven, reforming our lives where necessary and looking to Him, the Father of us all. He has said, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10).
Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us."

How grateful I am to live in this chosen land. I am grateful for all the freedoms and opportunities that we enjoy as citizens of this great nation. I am so thankful for the men and women today and throughout history, who have given their lives to preserve those freedoms. I hope that I will always remember the way I felt on September 11, 2001 because it changed me forever.

Do you remember?

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's been a little while wince I've posted something. But I have been busy. Very, very busy. Last week it was OU-Chattanooga, Mizzou-Illinois, and East Carolina-V. Tech. Then Labor Day it was UCLA-Tennessee. Thursday was Vanderbilt-S. Carolina. And then it started all over again yesterday: Ohio-Ohio St., BYU-Washington, E. Carolina-W. Virginia, and (of course) OU-Cincinatti. I said that after the Olympics were over, I no longer had an obsession. I was wrong. I forgot how obsessed I am with college football, mostly because of moments like this:



I love football. I remember sitting and watching games on Saturdays with my dad when I was little. It was our little Saturday fall routine - wake up super early, get your chores done, and watch football until Mom makes you get up and do something else. And when she is distracted (and you have finished the task, of course) go back and watch football. When we were little (before I was born) my mom got so tired of my dad sitting around watching football that she told him he had to do "something constructive" while he watched the game. So my dad learned how to knit. He was so fast (and watched so much football) that he was knitting more sweater pieces than my mom could put together, so eventually she quit making him be "constructive".

OU-Texas weekend our applesauce making weekend. We set up tables in the garage for our apple coring/cooking/squishing/pouring/canning assembly line (when you have nine kids, you can have an assembly line). Then on a separate table we hooked up our ancient, rabbit-ear (foil-covered, over course), 10" screen TV - the kind where you have to turn a dial to change channels. It was the perfect set-up. And freshly made applesauce on a cool fall day is soooo delicious. Mmmmm....my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

When I was on my mission, I did not carry contraband, such as pictures of my boyfriend (I didn't have one) - instead I posted an OU football schedule on the wall in front of my little desk - next to our daily scripture study schedule. Once, on my first Saturday in the mission field, my little Peruvian companion asked me what I would be doing if I was at home (why you would ever ask that to a new missionary, I do not know). Well, duh. Of course I knew what I would be doing - watching OU football.

As much as I love OU football, I am not your typical Sooner fan. I don't really hate Texas - I just like it when we beat them. Otherwise, I wish them well - after all, the better they are, the better we are when we beat them. There are teams, however, that I always like to see lose:

1) Notre Dame - nobody should get to have all of their games nationally televised when they are terrible. And I don't like their helmets.
2) Miami - I think this is leftover bitterness from the 80s.
3) USC - bleh. I was on my mission when pretty boy Matt Leinart was so rude about beating us. And I got to watch Texas beat him the next year - the very same day I came home from Peru.
4) Oregon - possibly the worst call in college football EVER:






And just to be nice, these are teams that I always root for (except if they are playing OU, of course)

1) Michigan - My dad's alma mater. And they have cool helmets and an awesome fight song.
2) Nebraska - What a great rivalry we always had with them. Again, I like their helmets.
3) Missouri - It's been really exciting to see them do well these past few years. And even more exciting when we beat them.
4) Any team that Steve Spurrier coaches. He gave us Bob Stoops, for which I am forever grateful. Thank you, Steve.

Kenta and I pretty much always end up rooting for (and against) the same teams. The one exception is BYU. He really likes BYU. I don't get it. I feel no moral obligation to root for them, based solely on the fact that 99.9% of the student population is the same religion as me. My dad's from Utah, five or six of my siblings and their spouses have attended BYU. But I couldn't care less if they win or lose.

Another difference between me and your typical OU fan is that I don't really like going to games. I much prefer to watch
them in the comfort of my own home. I have suffered a great deal of emotional distress due to years of cleaning up trash, tobacco, nachos, hot dogs, and peanut shells, and sticky Lemon Chills at Owen Field (or shoudl I say Gaylord Familiy Memorial Stadium?)after people like this:

Most of these people are drunk before breakfast, and their condition only worsens throughout the course of the game. There is a lot of cussing and coaching from the stands, so I just prefer to stay at home. Kenta, on the other hand, really likes the games. Last week his friend came up from Houston and they went to the game together. Here's a little of what they saw:

The Pride of Oklahoma marching band

OU Cheerleaders - if you look closely, they are spelling "BOOOMER"

In a sad twist of fate, Kenta packed his camera away prior to what could have been the most classic shot EVER taken of a cheerleading squad - two cheerleaders, apparently oblivious to the fact that no one else around them was doing the same cheer, simultaneously lifted their cards to spell "OKLAHOMA". Unfortunately for them, the letters they were holding spelled "HO".

So there you have it. I loves me some good Sooner football. Every year since 2000 I've been waiting for another championship. But the last two seasons have left me feeling a little like this:

C'mon, boys. Don't let me down.