Fatis Volentibus

"Great men never die, they only pass."

2007-09-17T13:47:08Z

James Rigney, Jr. aka Robert Jordan, author of the Wheel of Time series, passed away last night after a lengthy battle with amyloidosis.

A moment of silence, please.

AHAHAHAHAHAAA!

2007-03-29T04:07:22Z

The Wyoming Cowgirls basketball team is in the WNIT finals! They played Kansas State (the defending champ) tonight in a game that went to TRIPLE overtime. Wyoming was playing catchup at the end of regulation and the first two overtimes - they scored a last-second three pointer to send it into overtime in the first place - and finally they got things together, started rebounding and making free throws in the third overtime. And Kansas' players were fouling out. Championship game is Saturday, in Laramie, against Wisconsin. I think Mom and I will be going; we just listened to the game on the radio tonight, and that was plenty thrilling.

Hope Dad got to hear it; he really would have gotten into the game, but he's out in Utah as of this morning.

St. Olaf has a fencing club again!

2007-03-16T02:14:45Z

That's all. It's not as exciting as Andrea's news, but that's the way it goes. Now to get some money out of SOC for equipment. Will it help that I know Kelly on a personal basis?

This is how rivalries start.

2007-02-24T15:03:38Z

For those of you who don't know, I'm a fan of the Buffalo Sabres. More precisely, I'm a fan of Chris Drury, who used to play for Colorado before they traded him away. I probably wouldn't be following the Sabres if he didn't play for them. So now that everyone knows my bias, here's a video from Thursday's game. Drury is #23 (blue) on the far right; he gets mowed down by #25 Chris Neil. It might be worth mentioning that Buffalo eliminated Ottawa from the playoffs last year. I imagine that played a part in all of this.

Somebody tell me that wasn't a dirty hit. Somebody tell me that's not a pretty nasty thing to do, nailing a guy in the chin with your shoulder. Drury had to have 20 stitches and is out indefinitely with 'concussion-like' symptoms. The Sabres had already lost six of their regular players to injuries and Drury is currently their leading goal-scorer (and co-captain). Half the team was playing in the minors a week ago.

Buffalo and Ottawa play again tonight. Should be epic.

olewyvern @ 2006-11-15T13:44:00

2006-11-15T19:44:13Z

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

This year I've been busy!

Last Friday I committed genocide... Sorry about that, socair (-5000 points). Last Monday I pushed sonya_hay in the mud (-17 points). In August I ruled Duluth, Minnesota as a kind and benevolent dictator (700 points). Last Sunday I saved a busload of nuns in Angola (326 points). In November I helped gatorfied2004 hide a body (-173 points).

Overall, I've been naughty (-4164 points). For Christmas I deserve a lump of coal!

Sincerely
olewyvern

Plane forced to land on interstate

2006-08-05T15:08:10Z

My mom saw some of this on her way down to Denver to pick up my aunt, who was flying in from California for the weekend.

By Karla Pomeroy
Boomerang Staff Writer
A friendly favor turned into quite a spectacle Friday morning when a pilot had to make an emergency landing on Interstate 80 near the Summit Rest Area east of Laramie.

Nick Robles, 19, of Denair, Calif., who has been flying since January, said he and a friend, Rami Andrawes, 26, of New Zealand, were coming back from the air show in Oshkosh, Wis., when they picked up the small plane at Waukesha, Wis., for a friend, planning to deliver it to Atwater, Calif.

Robles said they left Cheyenne about 7:15 a.m. and “everything looked good.”

“Altitude and power,” Robles said, were the only problems they were having with the plane.

As they continued to climb in altitude, however, Robles said they were losing air speed and unable to gain any more altitude to safely clear the 8,640-foot summit.

Robles said they were already too low to be able to turn around and head back to Cheyenne.

He said they continued flying low following the interstate looking for a place to land.

“I was hoping to God we could at least stay up and get us somewhere,” Robles said.

He said he was uncomfortable with the terrain, so he made the decision to land on the interstate, in the westbound lane, according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation, about three miles east of the Lincoln Monument.

Thankfully, there was not much traffic headed west on I-80, Robles said. He said it didn’t seem that any of the travelers were bothered too much by the plane landing on the highway. Most of the travelers stopped to take pictures.

Once he landed, Robles taxied the plane into the median so he wasn’t impeding traffic. Both Robles and Andrawes were uninjured.

What do you do after you’ve landed a plane on a busy interstate? “The best I could do was call 911,” Robles said.

The landing occurred about 7:45 a.m., Robles said. Lt. Klief Guenther said dispatch for the Wyoming Highway Patrol got the call just before 8 a.m. When the troopers arrived, one of them contacted the Laramie Regional Airport to see if they had a trailer large enough to transport the plane. They didn’t.

“We went to our second plan,” Guenther said. “The plane would run and could taxi so we escorted it down the interstate.”

At least three Wyoming Highway troopers assisted in the escort, along with Wyoming Department of Transportation personnel and Albany County Sheriff’s deputies.

The plane and its escorts pulled off to the side of the interstate several times to let traffic go by, Guenther said.

Interstate 80 was never closed to traffic. The Wyoming Department of Transportation said the aircraft had a 35-foot wingspan that prevented normal traffic from passing while the plane taxied to the airport.

WyDOT said the plane and its escorts traveled about 35 mph down the Interstate, traveling about 12 miles from where it landed to the airport. Traffic in the westbound lane was slowed for about 45 minutes, according to Dave Kingham of WyDOT.

They finally exited onto Snowy Range Road, through West Laramie to the airport.

Guenther said as far as he knows, this is the first time Wyoming Highway troopers have escorted a plane down the interstate.

He said the escort went fine with “no problems whatsoever.”

Guenther said no laws were violated so no tickets were issued. He added, “We’d much rather have him land on the interstate instead of crashing the aircraft.”

At the airport, Robles said he had a lot of paperwork to fill out, adding that he likely would have to be talking to Federal Aviation Administration personnel as well.

According to Kingham, Robles said he had decided to return home via ground transportation and would let the owner decide how to get the plane from Laramie to California.

olewyvern @ 2006-08-03T13:08:00

2006-08-03T19:11:58Z

What Is Your Daemon?

DOG - Your daemon may be a dog if you are loyal and caring, and like to know what is expected of you. You probably are very family oriented, and have a small group of friends that you are very close to, rather than a large group of acquaintances. You dislike confrontation, but you will stand up and fight for the people and issues that you really care about. You may prefer someone else to take the lead in a situation, although you would rather take the lead yourself than have the situation fall apart. You probably enjoy routine and order, but that doesn't mean you don't like to have fun. If anything, your friends probably know you for getting intense, child-like pleasure in the small things in life.
Take this quiz!

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What's summer break without a little bronchitis and pneumonia?

2006-06-27T14:43:34Z

So my brother got back from Africa about a week and a half ago, ostensibly in good shape except for a cough. Well, the cough got worse and added a fever. I was doing a two-hour fencing demo thing on Thursday morning with Ben for this stage-combat class and Rob was going to come with me, but that was when the fever struck. He said he might come later if he was feeling better. He never showed up, and when I got back to the house, everyone was gone. Dad was out exploring Rock Creek, since he was going to take my uncle and cousin fishing up there, so his absence was expected, but Mom's and Rob's weren't. Maybe thirty minutes after I got home, Mom called on her cell phone to tell me that Rob had bronchitis and pneumonia and that he was extremely contagious. Yay. He had about five kinds of pills, cough syrups, and antiobiotics to take and we had to keep him away from Grandma, especially, since she already has respiratory problems. That wasn't too bad when he was sleeping all day, but we also made him eat dinner by himself in the living room.

Anyway, he's doing much better now. He has a follow-up appointment this morning, but he's eating normally again and we don't really think he's contagious anymore. He missed his flight back to Florida, which was supposed to be on Sunday, but I think that's all taken care of, too, though Mom had to spend a couple of frustrating hours on the phone with people from India to make it so. My uncle and cousin cancelled their fishing trip after Mom called and told them Rob was contagious; I think they're planning to come up sometime after the 4th instead.

End of ramble. Back to your regularly scheduled lj.

Firewood Day #1

2006-06-06T23:02:51Z

Got up at 6:00 a.m. to go to the mountains with my dad and cut down some trees for firewood. He wants to get four cords this year, which means seven more trips. Ugh, now is not the time to think about more trips. But then again, who could turn down a chance to use a chainsaw?

We had some technical difficulties to start out with, namely one set of the saw's teeth was a bit off-center and dull besides. Basically, it was sending up a terrific amount of smoke without really cutting anything. Dad finally got that fixed and finished sectioning the first tree - though it took three tanks of gas to do it! It had carpenter ants and some punky areas, so we couldn't take all of it. The other trees were easier, except when the saw refused to start because it doesn't like hot weather. That was bad for a while, because we'd dropped a tree across the road and if the chainsaw didn't get going we wouldn't be able to get back up that road. Anyway, I took a turn cutting while Dad loaded up, and then we found a fallen tree and plundered that as well. The only problem was that it was wet from lying on the ground, which means the 19-inch logs Dad cut were very heavy. VERY HEAVY. We managed to haul those back to the trunk and put them on top of the giant, awkward ones from the punky ant tree. We left at about 1:00; we were planning to be back for lunch (it's an hour drive).

As soon as we got back, Dad left to get more fuel and oil for the chainsaw, I went in to have a late lunch, and then we unloaded a whole truckload of wood and cut up the pieces that we'd left longer to save fuel. I only just now took a shower and had something to drink. Liquid probably should have figured into the schedule a lot earlier, but I just wanted to get everything done. Heavy trees, ornery saws, weird-shaped logs - let's hope the next several trips are not so tough.

But the story has a happy ending. I slaked my life-threatening, post-forest-ravage thirst with a tall glass of Bahamian punch. Here's the (very easy) recipe if anyone cares to try it:

1/2 part grenadine
1 part pineapple juice
2 parts Sunny Delight

With ice, of course. And a cherry, a straw, and a little umbrella.

24 hours from now...

2006-05-21T20:12:04Z

I'll be somewhere around the Iowa/Nebraska border, with another 8 hours of driving ahead of me. Fates willing, of course. Yes, I am eager to be gone, even though I only get one day of break at home before I head out for Montana with my dad to open up my grandma's cabin for her. I'm checking out at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow, taking my last final at 9:00, and dashing across campus to my truck, which will be all loaded and ready to go.

We (Amanda, Laura K., Kirstine, Noreen, Sam, and I) watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith last night. Eh, it's not too bad, if you can take large doses of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. It also spurred a great intellectual debate between Noreen and Sam on ethics and morality in movies. Until it was cut off by bedtime, anway. I was stretched out on my bed, and Kirstine was curled up on the beanbag, so that may have helped hurry things along.

Last day of tutoring! Celia and I wrapped up the De Amicitia and went over a few random details of the Gospel of John. Basically, she's doing that on her own and asking me questions if she has any, which she really hasn't. And I gave her a crash course in reading the apparatus criticus. That's not the kind of thing you usually give a crash course in, but hey, it was our last day.

Finally - you knew it was coming - the Sabres won the first game of the Eastern Conference Final yesterday! It was a nail-biter finish, as Carolina came within a goal and was getting all sorts of good chances, but Buffalo managed to hold out. And you know how? They blocked 29 shots! That's 29 saves the goalie didn't have to make. Overall, my impression was that the Sabres played very good defense, but a little too much of it. Still, any time you win a playoff game on the road, it's a very good thing, especially when you're in the conference final. Keep your fingers crossed for a repeat tomorrow night.

olewyvern @ 2006-05-05T11:27:00

2006-05-05T16:43:30Z

My roommate vacuumed yesterday. :O That makes twice in the past four months. And Laura's mom was here to clean the bathroom again. I still think that's really weird, but I also think it's weird that Amanda should be so enthusiastic to clean it herself. My mom would never do that for us, but if Laura's wants to, I'm not going to complain.

I have managed to get sick in the past two days. Bleah, at least the sore throat is gone. That's the worst part of having a cold, in my opinion. Now I'm just tired and sniffly.

Stanley Cup playoffs are moving into the second round tonight. All of the higher seeded teams in the Western Conference were eliminated, including the Detroit Red Wings. Muahaha, that alone was enough to make my week! Avs play Anaheim now, and Buffalo takes on Ottawa. That's bad; Ottawa's scary. But at least it's not New Jersey.

I have now finished all translating for my classes until the end of the semester, which means I can devote myself to my Greek paper and to counting the days until I go home - 18, currently. And my brother's birthday is in three weeks, so I have to come up with something for him. I'll have to look into that African safari hat. ;)

Hockey post!

2006-04-24T01:31:42Z

Playoffs are underway! Avs won yesterday 5-2 after giving up the first two goals and dominated the whole time. There were some really pretty goals scored in that game, too, on both sides, though I hate to say it about the Stars. The best part was that I got to watch it on my little T.V. instead of listening on the radio.

Sabres played later that night (though not on T.V.). I missed the first period and a half due to fencing, dinner, life, etc. Sabres had the lead when I tuned it, but the Flyers came right back and tied it at 2. Forsberg is scary! I never thought I'd see (hear, whatever) him playing opposite Drury, and both of them on the top lines of Eastern Conference teams. And Drury won 61% of the faceoffs from him. That's just weird! Too much change from the good old days! Anyway, the game ended up going into double-overtime. It sounded like the Sabres were getting chances left and right and just couldn't finish it; the Flyers' goalie had 55 saves, but Buffalo did score eventually, about half way through the second OT.

So, yay for good games! And they play again tomorrow!

On a completely unrelated note, my back has been killing me today. I have no idea what I did to it; I just woke up sometime in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep because every position I tried was painful. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow. I don't like hurting for no apparent reason. At least in the intransitive sense.

Have you noticed a shift in my teeth?

2006-04-20T20:03:57Z

That was my roommate last night, completely out of the blue. Her dental retainer broke a while back, so she hasn't been wearing it and she's worried that her teeth are drifting. And she obviously has a bit of a problem sometimes 'engaging brain before putting mouth into gear', as my dad would say. She will never live this one down. I'll see to it.

So my dad's a little weird sometimes.

2006-04-17T03:33:49Z

This is an e-mail he sent me this weekend. FYI we both have Inspiron 600m computers (mine is A because it came first):

Dear 600mA,

What a day! RJS had me downloading data starting at sunrise. He hurt my coat
taking me through bullrushes (what ever the heck they are) and juniper
thickets. I was soaking up data like a kid left alone with jelly beans and
chocolate bunnies. RJS started his flow test, and my data feast continued.
RJS in his infinite wisdom noted to the Game and Fish thug who was assisting
him that "I wonder if the rocks coming from the well will effect the flow
meter?" The well responded by immediated barfing-up a fist sized rock which
promptly seized-up the flow meter. To his credit RJS didn't panic - he knew
I was on a roll. When he finally got done messsing around, we finished the
test. I thought that it would be a short evening at the motel for a
cleansing data dump - but no! Once again RJS took me back through the
thickets to download yet more data but this time there were snakes!, and
muskrats!, and KINGFISHERS! All in all it was a nice warm day - temperatures
in the seventies - unfortunately so was the wind speed. RJS had me strapped
down with bungee cords. Good thing we 600m's are tough and can take the
dust. I think I should have joined the Marines.

600mA - be appreciative of your kind owner and be thankful that she is not a
geologist.

Electronically yours and Happy Easter,
600mB

Miscellany.

2006-04-16T21:53:31Z

Birds I have seen in the last couple of weeks or so:

American robin (yay for the harbinger of spring!)
tree swallows
cedar waxwings
song sparrows
blue jay
lots of flickers
hairy (or downy - I didn't care enough to check) woodpecker
yellow-rumped warbler
pied-billed grebe
blue-winged teal
Canada goose
mallards
cooper's hawks
bald eagle

And of course, the cardinals, juncos, chickadees, and nuthatches that are always here.

My mom sent me a very nice, very sentimental card for Easter. I'm not sure what that's all about, unless Rob is upsetting her again. I don't think that's the case, though; the outlook in that direction seems more positive than it has in months.

I had to tutor my Latin/Greek student from town today. Usually we go to the library, but of course it was closed, so we camped out in Fireside for about half an hour. Then a bunch of random older ladies with kids showed up and started taking pictures and making noise, so we left. The SORC was open, so we went to the CR office and finished up there. Good thing we have a couple of chairs (and that awful couch), but it was awfully hot! I was practically falling asleep, even reading the exciting conclusion of In Catilinam I.

Looking up spondaic fifth feet on Perseus gets old, and my eyes get tired, really fast. I'm getting loads of data, though, so I'm hoping it's worth it. I'm also hoping I can cruise through the secondary sources relatively quickly so I can get on with the rough draft. Too bad nobody knows how long the paper is supposed to be....

My roommates both are both home for break! Hooray for having the room all to myself! No offense to either of them, but I really haven't missed them at all. I like being able to watch my own movies and listen to my own music and use the bathroom whenever I want.

Dinner at Reece's tonight! His son will be bringing four or five people from Ell, but Ann and I are the only Homerist going. Should be a good time; Rhonda's a great cook, and I won't have to pay for it ;).

And on a similar note, David wants me to go to grad school in Texas so he can make me chili and black bean soup. Good deal, huh? We'll see.

olewyvern @ 2006-03-20T07:10:00

2006-03-20T13:14:45Z

Lady Wobblebottom requests that you discover your own humiliating squirrelname so we can all be true Oles.

Click the linky and have fun.

http://www.cheekysquirrel.net/squirrelname/

Citizens, rejoice!

2006-03-16T00:12:28Z

For today at precisely 6:12 SST (Starkey Standard Time) the Grand Starkifer at last emerged from closed-door counsel with the revered and august Senate to declare in a public statement that our heretofore anonymous nation shall from this day forward bear the name of The New Federation of Starkeunesia! Its inhabitants shall be formally called Starkeunesians, or simply Starkers by those friendly peoples to whom we grant that distinct privilege. The Grand Starkifer has graciously accepted the Senate's invitation to rule our young country with prudence and temperance in perpetuity. As her first official act of the new regime, the Grand Starkifer has declared a full week of feasting, celebration, and sundry merry-making. May the Star and Key fly proudly on high! May orange blossoms and rose petals be strewn through the streets! May all bounds between high and low be crumbled! May all punishments and debts be cancelled! May there be limitless dancing and singing! May children stay up past their bedtimes! And may the Ides of March henceforth be duly commemorated by posterity as the true birthday of this our blessed nation!

The nefarious plottings of Pamelia revealed!

2006-03-14T04:10:24Z

Breaking news:

According to our sources the nation of Pamelia, a declared enemy of this sovereign state, has endeavored to BUY the allegiance of one of our most honored allies with cookies. Fortunately for international peace, this insidious proposal never arrived at its destination, though there are rumors that there will be another attempt. Developing....

New user pic.

2006-03-12T22:35:44Z

Fear the banana!

The Incredible, Edible Olewyvern.

2006-03-09T01:27:20Z

Sloganize yourself!

http://thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan

muf

2006-03-05T03:14:01Z

Just got back from the CR convention up in Minneapolis. Nine of us (half as many as there were supposed to be; go figure) set out in four vehicles yesterday around 5:15. I don't know why we needed four cars for nine people, but we're Republicans, so I guess gas-guzzling suits our character. I got to be one of the drivers, and I had no idea where we were going, so that made things interesting - trying to keep a caravan more or less together through Friday evening rush hour. Anyway, we made it for a dinner of appetizers (but good ones!), trivia, and general mingling. Well, we Oles mingled with each other, at least, and Sara spent most of the time wondering aloud what she was doing there since she hates it so much. It was a good time, though, especially when we all trooped down to the swimming pool, hottub, and sauna. Really, that was the highlight of the trip. We weren't long in the sauna, fortunately; I usually don't like saunas very much because I just don't sweat. And then when I do, it doesn't cool me off; I mean, what could be more frustrating than sweating to no effect?

Right, so after pool time, most people ran off to one party or another. Heavy-drinking night owl that I am, I went to bed. We actually had FIVE hotel rooms to share among us, so no sleeping on the floor or cramming people into beds. Hooray for that!

Today was the big day. About 200 CR's from around the state gathered in a formally arranged convention room (with tight seating - boo for that) to listen to reports with speeches interspersed to make it interesting. It got pretty boring after a while, of course; political speeches all tend to sound about the same. There were some good ones, though - Hoplin and Gutknecht, for instance. Derek lost his race, but Justin has a post on the winning ticket, so we do have representation on the state level.

It was when we tried to check out and leave that things got tricky. First off, Sara, who had the only keycard for the room she was sharing with Josh and me, left early, prompting me to seek out Justin's aide. We went up to the 'headquarters' room, hoping Carrie was there to let us in. She wasn't, so Justin called her via cell phone, only to discover that she was in fact in the next room down. So she let us in, Justin found the back-up keycard and let me into my room, and it looked like we were back on an even keel. Then, after we checked out, when we were walking back to the parking garage, we realized that Kate was missing. After much arm-waving and shouting to bring back Phil and Carrie, who had parked in a different location, we sent them back to find Kate while the rest of us waited at the vehicles.

Once we were all together, we headed to TGI Friday's for a very late lunch (3:00), which for me included proper mashed potatoes and red meat. Always have red meat when you get off campus. Much fun was had contriving risque things to write on Phil's facebook wall, and we finally made it back to campus at 4:30. Bleah. Ask me whether it was worth it in a few days when I'm not worn out anymore and my tests are done.

So, long post. Deal with it.

The Pisces are closing in.

2006-02-23T15:03:39Z

So it's probably been about a month since I last posted anything here. Nothing great has been happening, I guess; deal with it.

But today something great is happening: it's my birthday! I have three cards on my desk and even a present from home! I haven't opened it yet - that has to wait until classes are done today - but my mom stuck on a post-it note that says 'you can thank Steve Reece for the advice'. It feels like a book. I am very suspicious and probably too curious for my own good, but somehow I will summon up the willpower to wait a few hours for the grand opening of cards and present later today. Oh, and my grandma got me a bag of dried apricots and my roommate seems to have bought me a Coke. It's still enclosed in its newspaper wrapping (the sports page, men's hockey; I'm sure she did that on purpose), but I can see the cap. Yes, I peeked. But it's my day, right?

Since I was so viciously nudged...

2006-01-19T14:31:28Z

I'll post about one of the more exciting parts of my Christmas break. Other than rabbit hunting, marathon fencing, and general Christmas cookieing and decorating, that is.

I got a truck. It's a GMC canyon, crew cab; just a little truck, but my dad and I used it for the rabbit hunting and it busts snow drifts quite well. Just imagine the one in the link being fire red (which is brighter) and with a topper. And have fun twirling the truck all around.

http://www.gmc.com/canyon/360.jsp?vehicle=crew

I also got a membership in the NRA, so that bumperstick went right on with my USFA one. And my new rabbit foot fits perfectly into the little slot in the door.

Boast time.

2005-12-17T16:22:06Z

Sabres beat out the Penguins last night (really, what kind of fight could a penguin put up against a buffalo with a sabre?), which gives them the third best record in the Eastern Conference. 4-3 win for the third time this season. Mr. Clutch (a.k.a. Chris Drury) knocked in the game-winner a minute or so into overtime. See, Colorado should never have traded him. They ship him off and now he's a co-captain, in the top five in face-offs, and winning games in overtime. So woe to them.

And a tidbit for people who don't care about hockey (shame on you!). Groton conducted the last Vergilian lottery of the semester in myth class back on Tuesday. For the ignorant, that means one student opens the Aeneid to a random page while another points to a random line, and Groton interprets. This one was supposed to be our fortune for the final exam, and it didn't need interpreting: "This was my final trial, the goal and end." A little creepy, but a good way to close out the semester, I guess.

Now I'm off to lounge around while I wait for my Greek final. And I am outta here on Monday.

Possibly the scariest moment of my life.

2005-12-07T23:58:21Z

I had to give a presentation for Latin yesterday - something vaguely relating Epicureanism, Horace, and war. It was a fifteen minute deal with five minutes afterwards for questions. Everything went well enough until the questions:

Andrea: Were you trying to sound like Groton in the first five minutes?

Me: ...

Needless to say, I had not anticipated that question. The good thing is that Andrea and Emelie, at least, were too amused to ask anything serious.