FOR SALE -

Our house is officially going up on the market this week. It’s a nice place. You should tell all your friends about it. We are listing it at 169,900.

Here are some pictures.

Scott

30 to 2 -

Well, I finally decided to go get CPR certified. I've been a scout leader for almost 2 years and I've had this hanging over my head since day 1. I was reluctant because I was busy, or the other leaders were certified, so we were 'by the book' and because administering CPR terrifies me.

Since I have a campout this weekend, and the other leaders who normally go cannot, I had to get a parent to come along with me. I don't know if he is CPR certified, but I decided that is is just the excuse I need to face my fears.

One of the reasons this is scary is because by knowing CPR, and having to administer it seems like a big responsibility. No one knows how they will act in a crisis. I'd like to think I would keep a calm and collected composure, but if someone I love is injured or hurt, I can't say how I'll act.

In High School, when my best friend fainted at work (because of loss of blood) I did not really know what to do, but I kept my composure. When everyone else thought he was joking, I was running to his aid. I probably did not do everything right in that situation, but atleast 'ordered' someone (my boss) to call 911 and to call his parents. Fortunately he kept breathing and no one had to administer CPR. The paramedics arrived shortly thereafter.

So now, am I an expert? No, not even after this 3 hour class. But I now have the card for adults, children and infants, because I have recieved the training. The certification lasts for 2 years which is scary because if I don't think about this I probably could forget everything in 2 weeks. But, like they said in class all you have to remember is the ABC's. Airway, Breathing, Circulation.

I hope this is something I never have to use, but if I do I want to be prepared because if you are prepared you will not fear.

Scott

Heres a nice summary for all you card carrying CPR'ers who need a refresher:


CPR - IT CAN BE AS EASY AS A- B- C:

A - AIRWAY

• Place victim flat on his/her back on a hard surface.
• Shake victim at the shoulders and shout "are you okay?"
• If no response, call emergency medical system -911 then, Head-tilt/chin-lift - open victims' airway by tilting their head back with one hand while lifting up their chin with your other hand.

B - BREATHING

• Position your cheek close to victims' nose and mouth, look toward victims' chest, and
• Look, listen, and feel for breathing (5-10 seconds)
• If not breathing, pinch victim's nose closed and give 2 full breaths into victim's mouth (use microshield).
• If breaths won't go in, reposition head and try again to give breaths. If still blocked, perform abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver)

C - CIRCULATION

• Check for carotid pulse by feeling for 5-10 seconds at side of victims' neck.
• If there is a pulse but victim is not breathing, give Rescue breathing at rate of 1 breath every 5 seconds Or 12 breaths per minute
• If there is no pulse, begin chest compressions as follows:
• Place heel of one hand on lower part of victim's sternum. With your other hand directly on top of first hand, Depress sternum 1.5 to 2 inches.
• Perform 30 compressions to every 2 breaths. Check for return of pulse after every cycle.

CONTINUE UNINTERRUPTED UNTIL ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE.

Oops –

Ok, I was supposed to take the FE Exam (Fundamentals of Engineering) next month but I forgot to sign up. The FE Exam is sort of like a mini Bar Exam. Basically once I pass it I will become an EIT (Engineer In Training) and then I will have to work for several years (I think 4) to take the PE Exam (Professional Engineering) to become a real engineer. The PE Exam is THE Bar Exam for Engineers.

I first had to register with the State of AZ so they could tell me I am eligible and then I had to register with the national administrators of the exam. Well, I did the first step (early, I might add) but completely spaced the second step. That was due on March 1st and I obviously missed it. Grrr.

The only thing this does to me is make me not eligible to take the PE Exam as soon and I won’t get the EIT letters next to my name as soon. This may not be a big deal to some employers, but I am worried that this might affect my chances at a job. Normally seniors take the FE Exam. My not taking it will undoubtedly lead to the question of why? Also, its good to take the FE Exam while still in schools because the material is still fresh in your mind.

I hope this won’t affect my job hunt in Colorado too drastically. I left my resume for approximately 23 different places in and around Fort Collins. Most of them were not actively looking for more employees. I just need to catch the eye of one of them to get a job. A few look somewhat encouraging, but nothing is set in stone yet. I’ll keep you posted on how that is going.

The drawing above is a project I have been working on for the City of Tempe. I drew this using a free Google program called Google Sketchup. The program is pretty easy to use, you should check it out (www.sketchup.com).

Scott

Trip to CO -

Lynette and I decided to come up to Fort Collins so she could meet her professor and so I can check out the job market. It was a quick decision to come, but when we saw that we could get plane tickets for $49 one way we decided to come. We rented a 'cute' little Chevy in Denver and drove up to Fort Collins yesterday (I should have known Lynette was going to choose the only orange car in the lot).

The plane was delayed by over an hour (probably by over an hour and half). They were having some mechanical problems and had to jack the plane up to get to the engine. So, after we boarded they asked us all to get off while they fix the problem. They did say we could leave our carry-on's on board, but Lynette and I didn't.

Then after an hour they decided that they were not going to be able to fix that problem and decided we would board another plane. So everyone had to get back on the plane to get their luggage, then get off and board the other plane. It was a mess. Fortunately, we didn't leave our bags on board.

So we arrived at about 3am and found a nice 'inn' to stay the night. (by the way...what is the difference between an inn, hotel and motel? I know hotel is nicer than motel, but where do inn's come in?)

The next morning we came up here to Fort Collins and we really like it. I hope this is a productive trip.

Scott

Update -

In general, I haven’t been posting as much here on my blog as last semester. I’m increasingly getting more and more busy with school, research and work. Here’s a quick update about us (which should have been written about a week and a half ago).

Lynette got accepted to ASU (which is very unique), California State and Colorado State. She also has had a couple of interviews with Towson University and is waiting to hear back from that school. Some of her other applications got lost in the mail (or rather in the huge organizations called Universities) so she was not considered for those schools (because the application was incomplete). And another school is not accepting any grad students in metals this year (it would have been nice to have known that before submitting the application).

Lynette got quite excited about going to CA. I didn’t get as excited about that. Living in LA seems too stressful. Although I think it would be awesome to design freeways, I hate to drive on them in rush hour, and LA has long rush hours. But I started looking for jobs there.

Then we found out about Colorado State. When I heard that option, it just seemed right. Fort Collins is a smaller town and will be less stressful and Lynette thinks they have a better program. The cost of living will be less, but tuition is higher…go figure. My main concern was housing. If we sell our house here, and don’t buy another (which would be likely in CA) it will be very hard to get into a house after grad school. We could do it, but we’d have to stay disciplined to not spend the money we made by selling our house here (for a future down payment). I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to buy something in Fort Collins.

So now our focus is on Colorado. I’ve contacted about 8 companies about employment in Fort Collins and am praying that one of them works out. If one of them bites, we’ll be moving to Colorado (assuming we have no problem selling our house).

We just keep praying.

Scott

The question is...L.A.:

or Ft. Collins:

Personally, I like Fort Collins.

Driver Carries No Cash -

This weekend Lynette and I went down to Tucson for her dad’s birthday. Once we got up there we had a real relaxing weekend.

We all went out for breakfast, and then went shopping together. Dean picked out a watch for his birthday gift from Debbie. There weren’t a lot of crowds so we had a good time; that’s where we saw a funny bumper sticker that read: ‘Driver Carries No Cash—He’s Married’ Later, Lynette, her brother and I went on some more ‘errands’ (Lynette’s code to us to go birthday shopping). I think Dean cracked our code, next year we’ll have to think of something more clever.

We got him some cooking gadgets. He loves to barbeque and is very good at it too. Hopefully he’ll enjoy these knick-knacks when he cooks.

Later that day I decided to try to build an oven out of a cardboard box. I’d seen a demonstration before and wanted to try it out. My scouts are having an outdoor cooking contest in April and if we can use an oven, we might have an edge on the competition. This was not a solar oven; it got its heat from charcoal briquettes.

My first experimentation started off great, but then lit on fire. So that didn’t work. My next version had a lot more aluminum foil and was able to cook a batch of brownies. Maintaining consistent heat was the hardest part, but Dean and I made it work. The brownies were delicious (I finished them off today).

Somehow we also managed to fit in a trip to Baskin Robbins for ice-cream. They may not have mix-ins like Cold Stone, or Marble Slab but they make up for it in their ice cream. I think they have the best tasting ice cream around.

Sorry, I don’t have any pictures of this trip…But, you can imagine. If we had taken pic's, Lynette and I would be smiling in every one. It was a great trip.

Scott