Hmmmmmmmm

All About Pi

2011-11-06T19:44:00.000-08:00

My schedule this fall is pretty tight. I leave at about 6 AM every morning and usually drop Dad off at work downtown (and Mom on occasion), and then drive up north to work. (I work as a quality assurance intern for a enterprise level data security company.) I work from 7 until 8:45 or 9:15 depending on the day and then I drive back to school for class and then back to work and then back to school. I get home late most nights. Since I'm gone so much of the day, for my birthday the Turners gave me a great insulated lunch box that is BIG. She wanted to get something to label my lunchbox "Brent's box of π." She couldn't find anything so she just wrote it on a piece of paper and stuck it in mesh pocket on the front (it's readible). It's great! I pack a lunch and dinner leftovers and I have two great meals away from home.

I told Mom on the days I eat at work, they have a nice lunchroom with microwaves (4 stacked on top of each other), disposable silverware, hot chocolate packets, napkins, water filtered water, etc. So, I enjoy eating my lunch there. Sometimes, I'll eat my dinner there since it is easy to heat everything up. Mom asked me where I eat when I'm at school. I told her there were lots of microwaves all over campus but often I go to the engineering lounge because there are three microwaves there. However, each microwave has something wrong with it. One microwave has a paperclip attached to it to push in to open the door (that button is broken). Mom laughed and said, "Probably the engineering professors's wives were tired of their broken microwaves that their husbands had tried to fix but not alway successfully. The husbands were probably told to get rid of the microwave and of course, how could they get rid of something that still worked as long as you tinkered with it!"

This last week a fellow worker asked me what I liked to do in my down time. I explained my schedule to him and that I go to school all day every Saturday to do homework and studying. I just don't have much down time. He said, "Brent, you sound like a robot!" "Hmmmm, I said." Then he asked, "Do you like cake?" I answered, "Yes, I like cake." (I should have said I love the Lawrences chocolate cake with peanut butter cream cheese frosting.) He responded, "Well, I guess you're not a robot because if you were, you would say, 'No, I only eat pi!'" I promptly brought over my lunchbox with Tamara's handwritten label, "Brent's box of π." My friend laughed over that one!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

On Easter, I had green eggs and hands!

Orson Scott Card

2011-03-06T21:27:00.001-08:00

Hey - check out this cool article by Orson Scott Card that Dad tipped me off to.

Here are the Stats!

2011-01-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

I started my new semester back at SDSU this week. The other day I was sitting in a classroom in the engineering building, alone, waiting for a class to start. My engineering statistics teacher from last semester walked by the open door and noticed me. He came in and said he was surprised I hadn't picked up my final exam. I said, "Oh, I had forgotten to get it." He then said, "Well, you didn't get a 100% on your final!" (I had gotten 100% on all tests during the semester.) He laughed and said, "You only got a 99.7%, you forgot to carry a coefficient!" Ah, an A is an A!

Mom questioned how a teacher of a large statistics class would remember one student and his exact final grade. Well...I don't mind speaking out in class. I try not to be obnoxious, but I don't hesitate in helping teachers if they have a mistake in their math problems (you know, drop a negative, or something like that). So I guess my teachers know who I am. It is a good thing, however, that I'm a good student.

I AM AN UNCLE!

2011-01-05T23:10:00.000-08:00

How cool is that! I went to Phoenix with Mom and Dad on New Year's day so I could see my new little niece (and help dad drive back the next day!). She seemed very fragile and at first I was a little unsure about holding her. Maybe when her neck and back are a little stronger! But she sure is sweet and so little.

I had a good time Sunday putting the craddle together - the one Chelsea and I slept in when we were infants. Hopefully Carmela will enjoy the soft rocking motions.

Congratulations to the Turner family (Mom, Dad and baby!).

Finally Prepped

2010-12-05T20:27:00.000-08:00

Mom walked by my room tonight and saw me all tucked into bed with my overhead light on and me just staring at my bookshelf. Mom questioned my stare and saw that I was looking at the shelf with all my engineering textbooks. Ah ha! She thought she had discovered the secret to my school success - I just stare at the books and absorb all the information! What does she imagine I do in all the hours I spend each week in the library? Wish finals could be just that easy - just stare at the textbooks and absorb all the information! Wish me luck!

Blowing out the Candles

2010-10-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

Mom thought she'd take a birthday video, so here it is!

Lurker

2010-06-03T09:16:00.001-07:00

A lurker is a person who reads blogs without commenting. They lurk in the anonymity of silence. I am a lurker. I religiously read family blogs. I enjoy knowing what is going on. I laugh at the jokes. I discuss the shared items at the dinner table. However, I do not comment…unless Jocelyn goads me into it.

Jocelyn has some tips for commenting:

- Don’t stress about having the perfect thing to say. Not all comments will win Pulitzer prizes. In fact, I don’t think any will. See this post for ideas about quantity leading to quality: Empowered Learners – Contributors

- Use a Thinking Routine and ask yourself questions like What do I see? What do I think about that? What does it make me wonder? More ideas about critical thinking and visible thinking are found at Infinite Thinking Machine.

- Jump in and join the community. Enjoy the conversations. Ask questions.

What happens when I write code

2010-05-11T00:14:00.000-07:00

(Click on picture to see it larger.)

I have a C++ (computer language) project that I'm working on (I'm making an Uno game). I have found that I think about it non-stop while I am doing anything else.
Then when I get to sit down and code in the features that I've been thinking about, I say to myself "What was it that I was going to do?";

(Note - in C++ the semicolon indicates the end of a line of code. When you write a sentence of text to be printed you have to enclose it in quotes. I have learned that when I write a print statement in C++ that I should do both quotes and the end semicolon then go back and fill in the sentence. It is now apparent that I have been doing too much coding this last week. See last sentence of previous paragraph.)

I came across the second comic, funnily enough, while I was waiting for my IDE (program that makes what I type turn into stuff that the computer runs) to attempt to close after it had crashed.

And I just couldn't go without sharing this third comic. I think that this happens around me much more often than I realize.

Inquisitive Minds Want to Know

2010-03-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

This week I had to give a 4-6 minute speech in my communication class on a personality trait of mine. I was to bring 3 objects which represent this trait in the past, present and future. I brought 3 books: "Discover How Things Work," Java and an Engineering textbook. Here's the rough copy of what mom typed up after I gave her my practice speech. You might see some of Mom's input with idioms. Maybe, I'll sit down sometime and correct the speech to what I actually gave, but this gives those interested an idea of one of my traits.

Curiosity Speech
Have any of you wondered how something works? Well, so do I, because I have a curious and inquisitive personality.
Well, I take things apart to discover how they work on the inside and then read about how they work and how to make things work other ways and how to build altogether new things.
I developed my inquisitive nature very young! When I was 9 months old, I learned how to climb out of my crib and started a life of exploring. When I was less than two years old, I would unscrew the light bulbs in my lamps; peel the layers apart to get to the filament. I wanted to know how that light bulb would glow. So, my concerned parents took out all of my lamps. I also was curious about the plugs that covered all the outlets in my room. I figured out how to pop the plugs out and started putting things into the outlets to see what would happen. When my mother saw me sticking a bobby pin into the outlet, my room was rearranged so all the furniture was placed over each outlet. Wow, my curiosity had put me in the dark!
My dad seeing my inquisitive nature began to read to me when I was 3 from the 26 volume set of the Children’s Encyclopedia. I can remember sitting unusually still and quiet while he read each page and we would then discuss each article. This further fueled my curiosity of life.
My mom bought me this great book, “Discover How Things Work,” hoping to satisfy my curiosity before the house was dismantled. What a great book. In this book I learned how things work that use electricity. I also learned how other things work such as an ________(flip open book). I was always known in school as the boy with lots of questions. I just wanted to know how it worked.
In high school I loved my physics, chemistry, math and Engineering Challenges classes. I would work on building the lightest and strongest balsa wood tower . I designed and built a tower that weighed less than 3 pieces of printer paper, was 7 ½ inches tall and held over 700 pounds. With this competition win I was able to go to the World finals in TN where I actually got to question a theoretical physicist. Wow, was that cool.
Now in college, I decided early on to major in mechanical engineering with a minor in computer science. I have taken many computer classes because I really want to know how computers work, what they can do and how they can do what I want. Currently I am taking a JAVA class and a C++ class where I’m learning these computer languages.
I intend to use my curiosity for life in my career. I am majoring in engineering so I can learn how things work, and how to make things work better. I know that engineering is really just applied curiosity.
Curiosity may have killed the cat and satisfaction brought him back. Fortunately, as a child, curiosity didn’t kill me and satisfaction was achieved in taking things apart, reading, learning and applying my knowledge. I find great satisfaction in applying my curiosity to the world around me. I hope I can develop this curiosity in my career to help make the world a better place.

Review?

2010-02-14T23:12:00.001-08:00

I was observing how many people like to catch up on their blogging on Sunday and posted a tweet to that effect. Mom promptly informed me that I was now required to blog, ergo the following.

So the new semester started recently and I have several classes (ok, all of them) that decided to begin with a review of past material. I do not like to review material from previous classes at the beginning of new semesters or years and I have not liked it since I came home from first grade and told Mom that we wouldn't be learning anything new in first grade since we had already covered the material in kindergarten.

I feel that if material is a prerequisite for a class then all of the students should already be familiar with it, or be willing to review what they need to on their own. I feel that this will allow the class to progress at a more rapid rate and avoid wasting time covering something that all students should already know. For example, in my Digital Systems class (ENGE 240 - not even a freshman level course) we began our semester by learning about powers of 10 and SI prefixes. I believe that this is ridiculous because this is material that students should be learning in their middle school science classes, not their 200 level college courses and taking TWO class periods to cover that material is a waste of time. (I might be persuaded to admit that passing out the reference sheet would be OK.)

Other than the endless review that we are subjected to as students, my classes are going well. I am enjoying learning about logic gates and digital circuitry in my engineering classes, C++ and Java classes in my computer classes, and ways to interact constructively in my communications classes.

Two Peas in a Pod

2010-01-27T07:52:00.000-08:00

I started my new semester this last Monday. I'm taking two engineering classes at City College and 2 communication classes and 2 computer classes and institute at Grossmont. Dad and I are taking Java (online class) and C++ together (it's on Monday nights).

When I got to my communications class yesterday, the teacher recognized me. I was surprised as I didn't know her! She asked if that was my dad I was walking with on campus Monday evening. I said, yes. She then told the class that while she was walking on campus on Monday she saw two students that looked definitely like a father and son walking on campus. She said she spent 5 minutes thinking while she was walking how cool that would be to take a class together with your father. So, that is why she recognized me. She then said that we are clones and asked if I had any of my mother in me! Ha.

Just another day at work

2009-11-22T19:54:00.000-08:00

I need to take two engineering classes at City College. Because I attended a college out of state, I had to prove my California residency. So we all tried to figure out the best day and way to get me downtown. Since we have 4 people going in 4 different directions and only two working cars, transportation arrangements have often been pretty creative. I could drop Mom and Chelsea off at work, take the car to classes and then park the car at the trolley and use Dad's jury trolley pass to go downtown right near the college. Or, I could.... Dad came up with a great solution. Since he works downtown anyway, I could go with him on Friday when I don't have any classes and then walk to the college (just a few blocks from where he parks). And then, he thought after I finish at the college, maybe I'd like to go over to his work for the rest of the day. Yeh, cool! So, he had one of the men he works with, figure out a task that would be good for me to work on. So, it was pretty cool to go to work at Dad's office! And of course, fun to use a few computer skills and see what Dad does everyday. Thanks Dad!

Computer Language???

2009-10-25T18:16:00.001-07:00

Dad and I have been having a great time on Monday nights taking two computer classes over at the college. One class is assembly language and the other is C++. I've really been getting into studying the book and working through problems - even ones not assigned. Dad and I discuss our questions together and enjoy sharing this together. We've even helped TA during class lab time because we both understand the material well.

This morning at breakfast (I was still pretty groggy from just being awakened), I said that I must be getting into the computer stuff pretty heavily. I woke up this morning thinking that a new phrase for a measurement of memory could be, "bit -ty baby." This might only be funny to my sisters who knew how much Chelsea loved her American Girl doll called, "bitty baby."

Another Brentism

2009-09-10T21:03:00.001-07:00

Tonight after roundtable, I came in and found cookie dough in a bowl on the counter and cookies waiting to be baked on a cookie sheet. Hmmmmmmm, wonder what kind of cookie dough that is (I do prefer cookie dough over baked cookies). So of course, (and wouldn't you), I get out a spoon (ok if Mom weren't standing there I would just grab a handful) to taste the dough. Hmmmm, I comment to Mom, "It tastes like some kind of hybrid! Can't tell what kind it is!" "Hmmmm," Mom replies, "It's peanut butter cookie dough with chocolate chips, hybrid, eh??"

What kind of commercial is that?

2009-08-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

Today at lunch while eating PB&J sandwiches, I commented to Mom and Dad that I had seen a new telecommercial. There was no response for a few seconds, then Dad asked (the question mom was wondering), "What is a telecommercial?" That's not what I had said. I said, "I had seen a Nutella commercial." Communication is a process at our house! I had never seen a commercial for nutella before. We got hooked on Nutella from our German exchange friend, Lili, who gave us a gift of a huge Nutella jar from Germany. Yummm, chocolate and hazelnut spread! Maybe I'd better go get some now! (I know Mom has a small jar tucked away in the cupboard.)

I'm Coasting (not really)

2009-08-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I finally purchased a bicycle! One that is big enough for me, has 24 speeds so I can commute to Grossmont College, and rides smoothly! It's a hybrid bike: part racing and part road bike. It has the racing handlebars and thinner tires so it moves more aerodynamically (more smoothly) and has a little heavier frame for durability (road bike). It's a 2008 model reduced to a great price! The shop we went to was very helpful. I even got a helmet that really fits well (for a big head - I mean a person with a large frame and a larger than average head size). I've been out getting back into the swing of biking the last two mornings (short rides because it's been hot, up in the 100's). I haven't ridden a bike I don't think since my 5th grade major bike crash landing me in Children's Hospital with dozens of stitches in my face. So, it's good to get back into riding and hopefully I'll be ready before long to take a practice ride up to the college (about 15 miles from home with a couple of pretty steep hills). My goal is to ride to school two days a week which will relieve car sharing and get me in shape!

A new skill to add to my resume: Public Speaking

2009-08-25T19:18:00.000-07:00

Orange Chocolate Truffle Krispies

2009-08-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

I've been known to stay up late reading, watching movies, or playing computer games and then longing to sleep in. Sometimes, I am awakened before I'm ready to get up as evidenced by my breakfast the other morning. I poured a big bowl of Kellogs Cocoa Krispies. Instead of pouring milk onto my cereal, I sleepily poured part of my glass of OJ into my bowl of Krispies. HMMMMM! Not exactly what I really wanted! After pouring off as much OJ as possible into the sink, I sat down and added milk to my bowl and consumed! Hmmmm - will I do that again? Probably!

The Sharper Image

2009-08-12T19:54:00.001-07:00

Here's my new image. What do you think? I just decided to go short, short again and used the clippers Jack gave me. And I did a great job

vacuuming up the bathroom after my haircut.

I’ve decided

2009-08-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

I want to live somewhere green and cool. Perhaps Washington or Oregon. Certainly not anywhere in Southern California, Arizona, or Nevada.

Time for a break

2009-08-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

My sisters take care of me

2009-08-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

They do such a good job at blogging for me, taking pictures for me, telling me to change my hair style, etc. It makes it so that when I go on vacation, I don’t even need to bring my camera. I know that they’ll take pictures for me.

The Flight of the Navigator

2009-08-06T13:50:00.001-07:00

Are you hungry?

2009-06-30T21:47:00.000-07:00

What do you do on a cruise? Eat, eat, and eat some more. My dad calls it the Thanksgiving Diet: you eat until you don't want to ever eat again. That diet doesn't work for me, apparently.

On the way home from the cruise at 10 am, what do I ask? "Should we stop at In'N'Out Burger to get some hamburgers?"

Everyone groaned and said NO WAY. The Thanksgiving Diet works better for them, or maybe I didn't eat enough on the cruise.

I love my sisters, part II

2009-06-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

Now we have picture documentation that I, in fact, love Jocelyn, too. We just had to go on another vacation to prove it.

I am an animal lover.

2009-06-15T04:04:00.000-07:00

I even send out my animal loving vibe in my sleep.
This is me a couple weeks ago at Tamara and Jack's. Sasha wanted to keep me company while I slept. : )

YUMMY! And no cement mixer needed.

2009-06-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

I just got home from a meeting and Mom told me that I could try one of the warm chocolate melting cakes she had experimented making for dinner. Mom said they were overcooked and not as good as on the cruise. So, I went down to eat mine. I don't know what Mom was talking about. It was delicious. So chocolatey and fudgey! Yummy!

So, after enjoying one, I asked her why she thought it wasn't so good. She looked at me funny and said it wasn't fudgey. I said that mine was, and it was great. That's when she figured out I had eatened an unbaked one sitting in the refrigerator! Oh well, it sure was good.

Last Day at GHHS

2009-06-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Chelsea graduated from Granite Hills High School. The last of us 5 siblings and Dad to graduate from here. We sat in the bleachers and watched her march in. Both Mom and Grandma got a little emotional at that point. The last grandchild and the last Robertson child ending the 16 year era of high school (and seminary). We all have lots of great high school memories! Like our English teacher and her wild stories about, "Dot." And ugh, European History. And choir! Most of us took at least 3-4 years of choir! We all had some great experiences singing, learning music theory and traveling with the choir.

On the way out of the stadium, Mom said, "This is the last time we will be here!" But when we got home, she realized she had lost her glasses during the graduation! She and Dad went back Friday evening and looked all over under the bleachers and along the track without luck. Guess it won't be the last time back at school - now she has to go to the lost and found next week!

New Cubmaster

2009-05-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

I went to my first Cub Scout Roundtable this month and got some pretty good info. First of all, I've got to change my scout shirt from being a scout to being a leader! Hmmmmm. My first pack meeting was last Thursday and the theme (they swapped months) was Jurassic Pack. Mom and I worked a lot on getting it all together. I wore an old hat and took my pick to be a paleontologist. We had a game where the boys put on dinosaur paw covered cereal boxes over their feet and had to carry and egg on a spoon. The parents were cracking up. Besides other things, we had a volcano cake erupt with dry ice and egg whites. It didn't work too well because the beaten eggs whites had sat around too long! But the boys loved it. I showed them things to do with dry ice after the pack meeting was over. The boys loved that (and some parents too!). One cub suggested putting the dry ice and water in a balloon to inflate it - so of course, I did that as soon as we got home!

Giving it a TRY

2009-05-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

I think I can do it! Jocelyn has gotten me excited about doing a beginner's triathlon. She came down Thursday after work and we went to a good running shoe store downtown. Wow, the shoes fit so great - didn't know that was possible. Mom was so excited to see me with great fitting shoes I offered to let her try them on to see how comfortable they are! I'm starting out slowly as I've been rather a couch (computer) potato for some time. So, it was with great delight to go walking in my new running shoes on Friday. I've got my training schedule, so now it's time to get moving! (Oh, I'm wanting to do a triathlon outside of Phoenix in Sept - any one else want to join me?)

A Good Blend

2009-05-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

I was perusing my parents' copy of the BYU Magazine and really enjoyed the article on inventor and engineer, Tom Dickson, a BYU alum. He has a food processing machine, a blender, that he tests by blenderizing cell phones, light sticks, crow bars, skiis, and more. It is a hoot to watch his You Tube adds. Check them out on You Tube, and search for, "Will it Blend?" Remember, Don't do this at home! (Chortle, chortle. I think I'll try out mom's kitchen aid and see if it holds up to this blender. Mom probably wants a powerful new blender anyway....hmmmmmmmmm)Here's another link: http://www.googlesyndicatedsearch.com/u/byumag?q=blend

I WIN AGAIN!!!

2009-05-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

Not to still the thunder from my previous great post I wrote today about my parents, I just had to add another blog. I am so excited to finally have resolution with a certain computer service company. A week ago, the escalation team, decided that it was time to replace my laptop. After almost 5 months of having 8 motherboards replaced, sent out to their work depot twice and returned unfixed, hours of calls with people who are very hard to understand (sometimes I forgot that raising my voice loudly doesn't help them understand English any better)and being sent from one person to another, finally paid off. I am very happy with my new computer and am glad to have won this battle! This computer has VISTA and I am currently finishing up a VISTA class at school - nice to already know how to use it.

In case you were wondering

2009-05-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering where my sisters and I got our great dancing talents, you might enjoy this clip:

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Now that their youngest is getting ready to graduate from high school, they'll have more time to polish their dance moves and make their costumes (complete with flesh colored sleeves).

The Best Summer Ever!!!

2009-05-12T21:20:00.001-07:00

This summer is going to ROCK because Jocelyn is going to live with me and my parents for a couple months! Life will be so much more exciting when she's here. ;) I don't usually like to exercise, but if she's here I might just give it a try. In anticipation of her arrival, Chelsea and I went for a jog last night and we thought about going swimming today. I might need to invest in some running shoes and socks before my next foray with running. Blisters are not fun.

I win again!

2009-05-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

Jocelyn has been running a contest. One lucky reader of her blog will have the opportunity to drive across the country with her. You might not have known about the contest because she kept it under wraps. Well, guess what! Yesterday, I got a call (well actually, I called her) and she informed me that I was the proud winner of an all expense paid trip to Washington, DC!!! Woo hoo. The trip also comes with a complete Private Manual Transmission Driving Course.

Another Brentism

2009-05-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

Mom was telling me about the great Cinco de Mayo celebration they had at the nursing facility where she works. Great decorations and food and a mariachi band. She was telling me about the food (Mexican fruit salad with papaya, mango, melons, jicama and coconut) 7 layer Mexican bean dip, nachos and a Mexican tres leches cake. I asked her if the cake was made with cow's milk, llama's milk and goat's milk! Ha! Ha! Mom looked up the recipe and the three milks are regular milk, sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream.

Yucca! Yucca! Yucca!

2009-05-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

Now, that's a great desert cheer for a cub scout! and for me! I'm our ward's new cubmaster. I'm looking forward to great fun working with our wolf/bear den and our webelos den. I remember P. Huff was my cubmaster and he always did great pack meetings; like the time we rode a bucking bronco, had our picture with a life size famous cowboy: John Wayne, pinewood derbies and .... I have a lot to live up to! Mom's the Primary counselor over Primary so I bet I'll be trained in record time and put right to work! Yucca! Yucca! Yucca! And here's to more dumb/funny cub scout jokes, cheers and activities!

Hmmmm, Thanks Dad!

2009-05-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

This week I got the usual letters in the mail wanting to loan me money. So I ripped open a Capital One envelope to discover a great loan deal. And guess who the letter was sent by - a Michael Robertson! But obviously not my Dad, who has a very distinctive signature (that's what he tells us that squiggle is). After showing Mom for a good laugh, I ripped it up and threw it in the trash. The real Michael Robertson takes good care of me already! Thanks, Dad!

I Won! I Won! I Won!

2009-04-29T06:15:00.000-07:00

I have been watching the reruns of Star Trek spinoffs on TV the past several months and finally decided that I wanted to watch the original Star Trek series. I've ordered the DVDs from our local library and have started to watch the first season. I'm really getting into it and maybe I'm becoming a trekkie! So, when I heard the local radio station was giving away tickets to the premiere showing of the new Star Trek movie coming out next week, I decided I had better give it a try.

The radio competition was to have 3 callers in a row stump the judges with a question they couldn't answer. It could be any question, but I had a great Star Trek one ready to ask. It took me 21 times to call before they answered. The screeners asked me what my question was and then they said, "ok, you're next." I then started with my question (and could hear that weird sound when you are live on the radio), "What was the name of the vulcan who was betrothed to Spock?" They guessed the wrong name (but it was close). I told them the correct answer and they asked me who the person was they had said (and I knew who it was). I was the third caller in a row to stump the judges so we each got 4 tickets to the premiere! And Chelsea sat in her car between seminary and school and heard me on the radio!

Hmmmmmmm, I think I'm pretty excited about this. Oh, I didn't give you the answer did I? How good are you at Star Trek? Let me know your guess (or you can listen to me on the podcast: http://www.star941sandiego.com go to jeff and jer show podcasts for April 28 7AM. (It's not up yet but should be shortly.)

Here's lookin' at you kid

2009-04-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

Chelsea took this great picture at the Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City. It was a little rainy that day, can you tell?

I love my sisters

2009-04-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

Can't you tell:

What a long weekend, Guess it's good I'm an engineer.

2009-04-05T07:56:00.001-07:00

Brent came out with Mom and Dad to help me pack up, load, and unload all my stuff. He was the load manager and did such a great job figuring out how to get the most out of the space in the truck and make sure everything fit.
For our wedding, Brent gave us a nice embroidered flag. WE haven't been able to hang it at the apartment (didn't want to make holes in the stucco), so we were excited to get it up at the new house. Brent took on the task drilling the holes and getting the bracket in place, so that we could fly our flag.
Thanks, Brent, for all your help!
-Tamara

Grandpa's Staghorn

2009-04-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening after I mowed the lawn, Dad and I decided to try and hang up Grandpa's staghorn fern. It was hanging up in the magnolia tree in the front but the wire basket rusted apart and it fell to the ground several months ago. Last week Dad and Mom tried to make a nylon rope macrame hanger for it but it turned out to be a cylinder - wrong shape. Dad and I went out and measured the plant and then using algebra I calculated the lengths between rows of knots for them. Last week the fence guy put in a metal post next to the house for us to hang the staghorn on. Now to hang the plant!

Dad and I used the old garage wood shelving to drag the plant onto and then used other shelving to slide it along the grass to the pole. That was the easy part. We tried various ideas of how to hoist the staghorn up to hang on the pole. That is one huge and heavy plant! Finally, I came up with a kind of pulley system (without pulleys because they haven't been unpacked I guess and who knows where they are) just using a nylon rope. I looped the rope several times over the pole and through the metal chain links that we are using to hang the macrame holder. Dad tied the end of the rope around him and did the pulling. It took a lot of work and time to slowly haul that monster up there - but we did it!

The macrame plant holder worked out really well but some of the leaves are caught between knots. Mom's carefully trying to pull them through but some are breaking. Hopefully it will just fill back in and look round and beautiful once again. Mom's grateful I have Grandpa's engineering brain to figure out how to haul Grandpa's plant up on that pole for everyone to enjoy!

Oh, just a sec. Mom is going to go out and take a picture of the staghorn to put on the blog. She would like it up higher off the ground so we'll probably raise it slowly up on the chain links; another challenge!

Check out what my Dad's been up to...

2009-03-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

Don't know if you noticed that my Dad started a blog a couple of weeks ago. He started out kind of serious, but it looks like he may have lightened up a bit with his latest post.

Robertson Family Irish Dancers

Brentisms

2009-03-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

We found 3 opened large containers of cottage cheese in the refrigerator the other night. Mom got them out and we looked at all the expiration dates. I wondered (out loud!) if you mixed all three of the cartons together, could you average out the expiration date? Hmmmmmm.

Making a Lizst, Checking it Twice

2009-03-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

I don't know what got into me! Mom and I were just talking and I told her how much I liked a piece I heard in my music humanities class. It's Franz Lizst's LaCampanella. So, I looked it up online so I could play it for Mom. Pretty cool. I read more about in on Wikipedia and found a place to print up the original piano piece. La Campanella turns out to be 9 pages out of a 42 page piece. It is a very challenging piece but I have page one almost down pat. I do my usual technique of looking for patterns to memorize instead of reading the music each time. I'm practicing it at home and even at the institute while waiting for class. This is a great hobby. I think I'll even try to learn the whole 42 pages -that's a page a week! And as Mom always says, "Practice makes perfect!" You'll have to check back with me in a month or so and see if I'm still progressing.

Nothing sucks like an Electrolux

2009-02-28T09:38:00.000-08:00

So in my German class we were discussing phrases that don't travel well and false cognates (definition #2) and last night we had Ursula over for a cruse reunion (OK, so it was just Ursula, Grandma, Aunt Eileen, Mom, Dad, and me; and I didn't even go on the cruse.) and I decided to share these phrases that don't travel well and some false cognates. Chevrolet tried to market their car the Chevy Nova in Spanish speaking countries. (No va means doesn't go in Spanish.) Electrolux (a European vacuum company) marketed their vacuums in the US with the slogan "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux." Kentucky Fried Chicken tried to market their chicken globaly and their slogan "Finger lickin' good" often translated to "So good you'll eat your fingers off."

False cognates are also funny, but they are a lot funnier when you consider the confusion that might ensue when a German and an American meet. (The bolded words are in German and the italicized words are the English translations.) kahl means bald while bald means soon. schnell means fast while fast means almost. Stein means rock while Rock means skirt. Geschenk means gift while Gift means poison. Rathaus does not mean rat house, but instead means city hall. One interesting thing is that in German nouns are always capitolized.

Beam Me Up Scotty - Or Not!

2009-02-15T03:13:00.000-08:00

Since I can't just be beamed from here to there, I've been using public transportation to get back and forth to school. I've been exploring different routes and options and have had some great times. I often will ask Mom or Dad to drop me off at one of two bus stops in the am but I get much more adventuresome in the afternoon on my return trip home. I've discovered that I can miss the bus at the transit center either by 2 mins if I take the bus to Amaya and catch the trolley one exit and get off at the transit center or I can miss it by 5 mins. by just taking the bus to the transit center. Oh well. Since I had time to kill before the next bus, I just stayed on the trolley one day and took a trip out to Santee and back.

But, now I've discovered the fastest route. Get to the transit center (by either of the above methods) and then take the bus down Main or Washington (Washington is less walking), walk to Mom's work, call her to get her keys and drive home! And maybe I won't have to go back to get her because Dad will pick her up on his way home.

Maybe I'll take a cell phone picture of my travels and post it (probably about like getting my haircut picture posted)

OK, so who's in charge here?

2009-02-11T17:28:00.001-08:00

I went to make some changes, but realized I'm not the administrator. Who is? Will you add me as an administrator if I ask nicely and smile? Please?

Jeans and the Neatnik

2009-02-02T15:49:00.000-08:00

Before Mom starts commenting on both my hair and my jeans, I thought I'd better write my own blog (LOL). The story is that my jeans used to be a little longer and did cover my socks. But, maybe they've been shrinking (LOL again) and now are too short. So, I tried to get Mom to go with me to the store but she was unavailable and I headed out shopping on my own!! Mom said she had luck getting my size of jeans at JC Penney. I had a hard time finding the store at the mall but after a phone call to mom, there it was! So, in the mens department, I locate the jeans area. They are piled up on tables. I found one pair I liked and then another, in the right size and color and style. I tried them on and thought they were plenty long to cover whatever color of sock I might be wearing, whether standing or sitting. I wanted to find another pair but the piles of jeans were so incredibly unorganized it was a mess! So, you know me, I stood there folding jeans and organizing two tables of piled up jeans! And lo and behold, I found one more pair. It took me some time to buy three pairs of jeans, but mission accomplished. Mom burst out laughing picturing me folding all the pairs of jeans and organizing them. It would have been a quicker trip if Mom had come with me!!! She knows how to pile jeans and dig through them - she's had 5 kids after all. Well, I've just been wearing one pair until they were washed after wearing and I could be sure they were the right fit (that way I could return the others if need be). Ok, Jocelyn, let's go get some socks!

Socks

2009-02-01T22:03:00.000-08:00

I like to wear white socks. Apparently I like people to see my white socks, as I sometimes wear pants that are just a bit too short. However, I don't like Jocelyn to take pictures of my socks or of people who also wear white socks. Maybe, if I'm really good* this week, Jocelyn will go shopping with me and we can find either some pants that are longer or some socks that are darker.

*Good means calling Jocelyn to tell her how much I love her or at least to say hello.

Hairried in Riverside

2009-01-19T11:30:00.000-08:00

Hmmmmmmmm. This afternoon I'm going up to Jocelyn's friend in Riverside who will help me choose a new hairstyle and give me a cut. What will it turn out like? Will I like it? Hmmmmmmm. Sometimes indecision is easier than a decision but it really is time to shape the mop (ok, obviously mom wrote this). Maybe I'll post a before and after picture, maybe...

Merry Christmas to All!

2008-12-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

I've been working on some new dance moves for the holidays. Check 'em out:

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

View Full Album

"I listen to the radio..."

2008-11-09T22:28:00.000-08:00

I've discovered (through reading the 100 hour board) a website I think is pretty cool. It is www.pandora.com and you can enter music that you like and it will find other music that is similar. Then it plays the music like a radio station (without ads). Tonight I set one up for Mom and I (Dad too, but he fell asleep - guess Mom's music is just too soothing) to listen to while Mom was reading blogs and playing online Sudoku and I was reading more archives from the 100 hour board. Do you know what Mom likes to listen to? A Norwegian group call The Secret Garden and Josh Groban.... I like to listen to music while at work (it's ok to do). I don't have a favorite group but I listen to Star 94.1 radio and select out favorite songs to put on my playlist. Maybe someday, I'll look some up and make a list of them on my blog (fat chance, huh, Mom!). PS the title of this blog is from an old Carpenter's song mom liked as a teenager.

How do my glasses look?

2008-11-05T11:49:00.000-08:00

So, this is what happens when my sisters are allowed to write on my blog.... They post silly pictures of me as a child. Although, I must say, I am a cute kid aren't I?

Hmmmm, Nov 4. What happens on Nov 4?

2008-11-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

Today was my first time to vote. Dad and I poured over all the flyers and info we have been receiving in the mail for the past month or so plus the voter guide and Roger Hedgecock's picks. We weighed things out and came up with our best choices. So, this morning, Dad, Mom and I headed over to the polls shortly after they opened at 7AM and completely filled in the bubbles for our selections. Of course, I got the, "I Voted" sticker and put it on my shirt. I volunteered/worked at the polls my senior year of high school so things were familiar.

Last Saturday, Mom, Dad and I volunteered to pass out doorhangers to encourage voters for Prop 8 (marriage is between a man and a woman) to remember to vote. We took a section of Crest since we were somewhat familiar with Crest. Whoops - that turned out not to be true. We had the south end of Crest ( the street just north of grandma's all the way down to the south end of Crest). Some roads had no road signs as well as some houses had no addresses and one address had no house (just a chimney left from the Cedar fire). The car overheated with too much idling so we took a break at Grandma's. When it overheated again, we headed home for lunch and a rest. Then back we went. It took us about 7 hours to finish and we sure hope that this was an effective way to pass Prop 8! One lady was in her front yard when I hopped out with the doorhanger. This house was on the edge of the world where no one would ever accidentally visit! The lady looked at me and said, "I hope you are doing the right thing young man!" Then she saw it was for voting and she said she had already voted. Then she read, "Yes on 8" and called out to me, "Good, you are doing the right thing!" I'm staying home from work today as I am sick (like Mom and Dad). Do you think I'll be watching the election updates?

Feed me!

2008-10-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

I need to eat on a regular basis. My parents can skip meals, but I can't. This can be difficult when I'm out and about especially since I don't have a purse for carrying snacks and fanny packs certainly are NOT in style.

Segway

2008-10-18T04:26:00.000-07:00

The segway tour was great! I really enjoyed it a lot. I checked in before the park was even open, signed the papers and waited for everyone in the tour to arrive (probably about 10 of us). We spent an hour in the Innoventions building for orientation and training. The city segway costs $5,000, and the all terrain is several thousand more. After this training we all rode single file on out to the World Showcase. We stopped a couple of times and the tour guide told us some interesting information about the countries represented there. All the buildings were built by sponsors except for Morocco. The Prince of Morocco wanted it built a certain way and so sent his people over to build the buildings. They believe in making things not quite perfect as God is the only one who can make things perfect. Also, we learned that the buildings were built to reflect how Americans view these countries more than how the country views itself. So, it was a great hour touring around on the segway. It was easy to use! Sure wish we could have used one while visiting Disney World for the 5 days. We have had a great time visiting the different parks and riding new rides and some old rides as well. One of my favorites was Mission Space at Epcot that simulated a launch takeoff (with spinning to create G force) and going into space. Well, back to CA today!

Whish

2008-10-15T04:35:00.000-07:00

Well, this is exciting! I went over to Epcot's Innovations and learned more about the Segway. I found a brochure that told about being able to try out the segway and take a two hour tour! So, while Mom and Dad were slowly finishing up the world showcase at Epcot, I hurried back to Innovations for the time period set up to trial the segway. It was very cool! The guy (employee) giving me the segway summed me up quickly as 6'2" as his son is about the same height. They were telling everyone to place their feet in the center of the segway, but he said, that didn't apply to me as my feet were big enough to take up the whole area for feet! (his son has size 15 shoes as well) It was so great! The segway checks your balance 100 times a second, that's 600 times a minute! So, I decided to sign up for the two hour tour on Thurs morning! We will spend one hour indoors and then the second hour will be riding the segway around the World Showcase at Epcot (that's where they have all these great buildings representing countries from around the world like Germany, Italy, China, Norway, Mexico, Canada...). So I am really looking forward to this tomorrow! (Not that we haven't been having a lot of fun the past two days at Disney World.) Last night I told Mom that I thought it would be good for me to have a harness with a leash. Mom asked if I would give Dad and I each one of the leashes and then I could pull them up to me. No! I meant then they could control how far ahead I am of them. I remind Mom of her dog, Thunder, who would race ahead and then wait til they caught up with him on long hikes.

I'ts my Birthday

2008-09-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

I got home from church yesterday and what did I find? The stairs wishing me a happy birthday on individual balloons!!! Mom made me a delicious dinner, but we all forgot the rice until it was too late to serve it with dinner (oh well). I got lots of great presents and I can't figure out if my favorite was Monty Python and The Holy Grail or the feeding chickens or the great books or the Harry Potter movies or... Anyway, my point is that I am very loved and I was happy to be able to three way Skype with Jack and Tamara, and talk to all of my sisters. Chelsea was taking a video of us as Mom was bringing out the cake(which was amazing) and we were unaware that that was what she was doing. I was going to try and upload the video but am having technical difficulties .

Happy Birthday, Happy Family

2008-09-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday. It started out really great, because I got to talk to my sister, Tamara, on the phone. She was in Nashville wishing she could be in San Diego helping me celebrate in style. She's always filling her plate a little more full than she ought to (yes that doubles as a metaphor and as face value meaning). Luckily, Tamara is still a great sister.
She married a great guy a month or so ago and he's the one that picked out my birthday gift. I still don't know what it is, since it's somewhere between the warehouse and my front step. Tamara said in her card that it's reading. I'm hoping it's not about essay writing or blogging.
She meant to mention, but forgot, that she's sending one book purely for pleasure reading and one that Jack loves on spiritual progress. I'm looking forward to finding out what they are. I do love to read and it seems that Jack and I have a fair amount in common. Anyway, I had a great birthday and I'm glad that I also have a great family.

Happy Birthday!

2008-09-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my little brother. Today is his last birthday as a teenager. With his recent move, I'm enjoying spending more time with him. Brent is a great guy to have around with his witty ability to problem solve and his innate desire for things to be right. Although, having him home has upset the beds to people ratio when I visit for the weekend. Hmmm. I guess his company off sets sleeping on the couch. ;) I hope he has a great year! I love you, Brent!!!

Job Opportunity

2008-09-26T06:19:00.001-07:00

Brent started a new job on September 10 working as an engineering intern down in Mission Valley. He does research, test products, troubleshoot and make things work that aren't working, learn about the hardware and software to make it do the things they want it to do. Brent and Dad are carpooling everyday. Dad drives downtown and then Brent drives on over to Mission Valley (free parking vs Dad paying for parking) and then of course a reverse drive home with Brent doing the driving. (Informative, huh?) On the way home, Brent shares with his Dad about the projects he's been working on so by the time he gets home, he is done sharing!! But he seems to really enjoy this job. It sounds like it's the fun of Destination Imagination without the stress of being in charge or working with a bunch of blobs. He enjoys going out to Mexican food for lunch with the group and picks up all sorts of interesting information (refinancing homes, information about the recent bail-outs...). Maybe this will broaden his interest in reading other than just the comics in the newspaper. Hmmmm.

Playing around

2008-09-26T06:12:00.000-07:00

Brent really has enjoyed reading the 100 hour board from BYU. Anyone can submit a question to the board and a board writer will work hard to respond to your question within 100 hours. So he's been reading the archives and says he's been learning alot. One thing he learned about is a free playlist you can put on your computer called imeem. So, he's been copying the music from a local radio station's playlist and making up his own imeem playlist. Last night, Brent showed me (his mother) how his playlist works and I listened to it for awhile. It was great. But, though I enjoyed the music he chose, I wanted to start my own playlist with music I like. So this morning he helped me set up my own playlist. Can you guess Brent's favorite song on his playlist? Brent just suggested that I include a link for both of these sites. The 100 hour board: www.theboard.com and IMEEM: www.imeem.com. Hope you enjoy two favorite sites of Brent.

Hmmmm, Who's Writing This?

2008-09-26T06:06:00.000-07:00

Brent has been encouraged by many of us to reestablish his blog so we can learn what is going on in his life. Also, a way to encourage his communication skills.... Alas, we've had no success! So this morning, while he was setting up an imeem playlist for me, I suggested once again, that he create a new blog site and tell about imeem. He told me he just didn't want to have to keep up a blog so I suggested that he create one for the rest of us to share Brent updates! He said, "OK," and set up this new blog site. What does Brent usually respond when asked a question? Hmmmmmmmm! so, such is his blog title. So, I hope you enjoy reading what I or you write about Brent! Ha! (I being me, his mother) HMMMM, should I let him approve of what I write before I save or publish - what are your thoughts? (He just read this and ansered, "It's not my blog.")