tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258382202011-12-21T20:52:47.378-05:00An engineer's thoughts on life and politics. Well, at least a few of them.Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.comBlogger261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-9884176809868805842009-03-20T11:17:00.003-04:002009-03-20T11:19:03.890-04:00

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-22089659774488141012009-03-19T19:22:00.000-04:002009-03-19T22:22:37.608-04:00

I was honestly embarrassed by my country today.  Maybe it's not just today, but it's been building up over the past few weeks and finally today it just made it to the stage of embarrassment.  Either way, today I was truly embarrassed by the feigned outrage that took place on Capitol Hill, and in my opinion every American should be as well.  It shouldn't matter what side of the political aisle you

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-96610309812555952008-11-03T20:22:00.000-05:002008-11-03T23:22:08.285-05:00

I suppose it makes sense that people are always looking for an improvement in their circumstances.  My question is why this desire blinds them to any deeper reality.I am reading a book right now called Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe (by Robert Gellately).  I have thoroughly enjoyed this book so far, as it blends two histories that heretofore had been separated in my mind

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-40289629278567629122008-09-26T23:28:00.003-04:002008-09-26T23:36:12.188-04:00

I don't have much to say about tonight's presidential debate, since in reality nothing that went on tonight was going to change my opinion.  One thing that did happen, however, was Sen. Obama confirmed a growing impression I had about his character.Sen. Obama is arrogant and rude.  He demonstrated this tonight.  He is a Jr (very Jr) United States Senator.  He has only very recently entered the

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-77160035728713876522008-08-23T15:21:00.002-04:002008-08-23T15:23:23.136-04:00

...since the election season started! Joe Biden for VP on the Obama ticket?! So much for hope and change. Things started looking up after the forum at Saddleback, and now I'm just so happy I can hardly contain myself!Good job Obama - Biden's the best choice you could have made for this country!

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-90534672411104603452008-03-21T20:36:00.003-04:002008-03-21T21:17:12.171-04:00

Jenn and I attended a community Good Friday service today, and I came to a conclusion -Christians are crazy.Seriously, if I weren't already a Christian, I would have thought Christians were totally nuts, sitting in a service singing songs, praying, and listening to a talk which could all seem quite "cultish". Now don't get me wrong - I believe totally and completely that I am created by a God who

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-38630886114996931722008-02-17T16:07:00.002-05:002008-02-17T16:34:37.417-05:00

So on January 23 I had laser vision correction surgery performed by Dr. H. Douglas Cooper at Pacific Laser Eye Center. What a fantastic experience. So easy, so fast, and I can see better now than I have ever been able to in my life. Within one day I could see 20/20, and at my two week post-op appointment, I had 20/15 in my right eye, 20/20 (or a little better) in my left eye. There was almost

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-22258614882968460832008-02-16T14:09:00.002-05:002008-02-16T14:54:12.766-05:00

Well, I may have burned everyone out on politics with my ridiculously long post back before super duper Tuesday, but here's one more -Obviously the political scene has changed quite a bit since then - now, instead of people talking of a brokered convention on the Republican side, they're discussing a brokered convention between Hillary and Obama (and even that possibility is fading fast as people

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-22651624926785761772008-02-15T01:24:00.002-05:002008-02-15T01:30:08.684-05:00

Valentine's day is a lot more fun if your spouse doesn't expect you to do anything. (See Jenn's blog for an explanation of why she didn't expect anything - she thinks that it's a holiday created by marketing schemes of evil corporations).If your wife knows she's getting flowers and dinner every February the 14th, she's just wondering how many and where... So, for Valentine's day, I sent Jenn

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-50407010737468606762008-01-08T22:39:00.000-05:002008-01-09T01:06:40.793-05:00

Well obviously this blogging thing hasn't really taken off here in my world, but every now and then I'm inspired to share my thoughts with the world on matters both important and unimportant. Let's be honest, most of you knew I'd ultimately use this blog to spout off on my little soap box whenever I felt the need.Well, here you have it - I'm waxing political this evening... Read on if you care!(

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-40356666207358411142007-10-18T22:24:00.000-04:002007-10-18T23:01:23.518-04:00

Haha! I bet you never thought this little RSS Feed would light up again, did you! Well, here I am again to get reacquainted. Try not to get too used to the idea, however, since there's no telling when I'll sit back down and attempt this again.I've been married now for three months and a couple of days, which means that my wife (Henceforth referred to as "Muffin") now knows everything about me

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-69387420170618924352007-06-20T23:05:00.001-04:002007-06-20T23:17:01.820-04:00

I suppose it's time for a post. I keep having these grand thoughts about how one of these days I'll really start blogging about life for my friends and relatives to read, but it never seems to happen. First it was "after I graduate, I'll have time". Now it's "maybe after I get married I'll have an interesting life like my sisters do and somehow magically be able to write a novel about my life

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-74429952990015171332007-05-11T17:40:00.000-04:002007-05-11T17:42:50.797-04:00

Italy is beautiful... I love it here. More later when Im on an american keyboard.

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-89487363579083489192007-04-22T01:15:00.000-04:002007-04-22T01:22:32.406-04:00

I was at the local Longview Rodeo tonight, and the announcer introduced the girl singing the national anthem as a "Talented 15 year old from Pine Tree Junior High". I know the arts are important, and she did have a great voice, but don't you think it might be time for her to start focusing on her grades so she can get out of Jr. High before she has her drivers license?

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-14204769707490532472007-04-19T12:30:00.000-04:002007-04-19T13:31:09.542-04:00

I came to a realization today - I've had this blog for just over a year - about a year and a week - and I've posted a grand total of 10 times. That's pitiful.Maybe I should work on that.Decisions have been made pertaining to the LEGS team and we are moving ahead with them. We have had to scale back what we had hoped to accomplish this year, but we understand that that's the nature of a research

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-19621333467465724632007-04-10T15:45:00.000-04:002007-04-10T16:47:39.799-04:00

Well, strangely enough, right after I made an attempt to start blogging again, I actually have a request to make of my few loyal readers.As you know, I'm on the LEGS team (www.letu.edu/legs). I know I may be slightly biased, but it really is a fantastic project. The need for prosthesis in the developing world is huge, and to date no one has worked to meet that need with properly engineered

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-1175793681324254892007-04-05T13:02:00.000-04:002007-04-05T13:21:21.336-04:00

....ok, fine - so one person asked me to get my act together and post again, but for me, that counts as "popular".I can't remember what I've talked about here in the past, but for those of you who don't know, I am student project manager of the LEGS team (www.letu.edu/legs). It has taken over a large portion of my life. I've effectively moved into the lab now, moving everything but my bed and

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-1152461758694633342006-07-09T12:11:00.001-04:002006-07-09T12:15:58.703-04:00

I don't seem to be catching on to this blog thing. Sorry. Other things seem to always take precedence, and I rarely even think about it until I'm home doing something else. I suppose I'll keep trying, but it's just a constant struggle. Don't give up on me yet, loyal readers. Oh wait... Maybe it's too late.

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-1152461733420520602006-07-09T12:11:00.000-04:002006-07-09T12:15:33.433-04:00

I don't seem to be catching on to this blog thing. Sorry. Other things seem to always take precidence, and I rarely even think about it until I'm home doing something else. I suppose I'll keep trying, but it's just a constant struggle. Don't give up on me yet, loyal readers. Oh wait... Maybe it's too late.

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-1151031666284026052006-06-22T22:47:00.000-04:002006-06-22T23:01:06.296-04:00

Ha! You all thought I had disappeared and given up blogging, didn't you. Sheesh, I must be the worst blogger in the world... Oh well, for better or for worse, I'm back to post again. No guarantees for the future, however.In the past few weeks I've traveled a bit for work - to both Minnesota/South Dakota and San Diego/Mexico. I enjoyed the installation trips quite a bit, though trying to keep

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-1147926095821521612006-05-17T23:55:00.000-04:002006-05-18T00:21:35.830-04:00

I enjoy being an engineer. I spent most of today modifying parts in a machine shop, coming up with ideas for mounting terminal strips, and wiring a machine. Not all of that was directly "engineering", per say, but it was all related and very enjoyable. The best part is, I didn't have to get out my calculator a single time to do any of it! It's nice to use the practical knowledge I have gained to

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-1147472925642101042006-05-12T18:06:00.000-04:002006-05-12T18:28:45.650-04:00

I'm back at home now - very glad to be here among mountains and forests with beautiful weather to boot. Now I get to (mostly) quit thinking about school and instead focus on my car and working.In all honesty, I'm sick of my car. I'm going to try to get it painted next week so at least I can feel kind of good about it when I look at it. It really is close - mechanically it's fine, I just need to

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-1145940412779872672006-04-25T00:24:00.000-04:002006-04-25T00:46:52.803-04:00

Here I am trying to establish the fact that I'm not a complete nerd, and then my school has to come along and confirm the fact that I am, indeed, a nerd, with the entire school. I received this last week:The great part is the phrase "with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto"... No one has made clear to me what those rights and privileges are exactly.In other news, one of the

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-1145247174104234962006-04-16T23:42:00.000-04:002006-04-19T02:19:08.096-04:00

Wait for the video - it's worth it... Not sure what this video should really tell us. I'll let the viewer decide that so I don't

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-1144981223870541012006-04-13T22:04:00.000-04:002006-04-13T22:20:23.880-04:00

Two posts in one day - I'm on the internet highway to blogger fame! Incredible.Here's the problem with posting more than once a month... Or once a year. Contrary to the title of this blog, the life of an engineering student is really not that exciting. Busy, yes, but exciting - probably not to anyone who's not an engineer. For example, I'm writing this right now instead of analyzing a copper tube

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25838220.post-1144720811550426832006-04-10T21:55:00.000-04:002006-04-10T22:28:38.040-04:00

I go to school with a lot of smart people. All through highschool I was always told that I was a "nerd" and was "really super smart". Then I came here, and I realized that nobody back home really understood true "nerddom". There are people here on a whole different level. But we all coexist happily in this boring little college town, and spend most of our time doing homework, and study to be

Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08772808514950713550noreply@blogger.com2