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Let's Dance
Aug. 29th, 2015 04:28 pmThings happen often at their own pace. Money was held up until the various record-keeping systems at UofL exchanged data, with my loan and grant disbursements happening on the first day of classes (and work).
The job is just cake. I drive a desk, admit visitors to the building, distribute mail, stuff like that. Seven hours a day, and most of that I can spend on homework and other assignments. At least, that's how it is now. Things may change. The school's Technology Director asked if I'd be interested in coming to work for him (currently, he's a one-man department), and one of my professors (and head of his department) offered me a research assistant job. Of the two, the RAship is probably my better option, and I'm going to talk with him and my current supervisor about splitting my time between the two - 15-20 hours a week at each, if that can be arranged.
Classes are going to be very challenging, especially Biostatistics. All late-afternoon and early-evening, as school policy dictates. All of my textbooks are available in electronic format, and while those files are a little pricier than most used copies I've found, it's worth the extra expense to save weight. From garage to SPHIS to class to the garage is about a mile-and-a-half, and if I don't have to lug several pounds of books in addition to the laptop I'll have already, so much the better.
SPHIS operates a farmers market on Thursdays. It has eight to ten vendors, two or three food trucks, and a couple of community or other service organizations. One of the nearby hospitals has a sponsorship agreement with the market, and that draws a lot of its employees over for something besides leftovers for lunch. It's a pretty nifty thing.
I was a bad player at last weekend's X-Wing tournament. No. No, amend that. I was a sneaky player. I flew three kitted-out Y-Wings (testing the new Twin Laser Turrets and Plasma Torpedoes). First match was against a new player - Lambda shuttle, TIE Interceptor, TIE Advanced. Swept him, dogpiling one ship at a time. Next up, a guy I've played before and don't have much good to say about. He flew a netlist (Corran Horn and that goddamn Outrider), and I have some serious hate for netlists in general and this one in particular. I decided to try something different - don't fight to win, fight to not lose. I sicced all three of my Y-Wings on the E-Wing, ignoring the ugly-ass YT-2400. Ionization kept him from using R2-D2 to recharge shields, and massed fire made short work of the fighter. And then, I ran out the clock. 1-speed straightaways, only speeding up to keep away from the 2400. Never made an attack run against it, and only fired when he got aggressive and came after my ships - which, after taking a couple of ion shots and nearly being forced off the battlefield, he backed away from. I lost one fighter, but it was worth far less than the E-Wing, so when the timer sounded, I got the win. Lost my next match against a mixed TIE squadron. Last match of the day was against one of my favorite guys to fly against - Don is creative with his builds, and a challenge to fly well against, and a good fun dude to be across the table from. He had an all-ace S&V squadron, a Z-95, the new Khiraxz, and the flying sandcrawler called a YV-666. The YV can take (and deliver) a lot of damage, but it can only fire forward. Sicced my A4 on it, camping out in the rear arc and pouring ion and blaster fire and stress on it while the S3s dealt with the fighters. Won with the A4 - got behind the YV's deployed fighter and controlled its movements with the same firing cycle I used on the carrier. Went 3-1, made sure the netlist wasn't going to be eligible for the playoffs, and withdrew, since I had to start things early the next morning.
NCAA football starts next weekend. UofL plays Auburn for the first time, either ever or in forever. D and I are getting together to watch, and after the game, I'm heading to the farm for Dad's birthday and Labor Day.
The job is just cake. I drive a desk, admit visitors to the building, distribute mail, stuff like that. Seven hours a day, and most of that I can spend on homework and other assignments. At least, that's how it is now. Things may change. The school's Technology Director asked if I'd be interested in coming to work for him (currently, he's a one-man department), and one of my professors (and head of his department) offered me a research assistant job. Of the two, the RAship is probably my better option, and I'm going to talk with him and my current supervisor about splitting my time between the two - 15-20 hours a week at each, if that can be arranged.
Classes are going to be very challenging, especially Biostatistics. All late-afternoon and early-evening, as school policy dictates. All of my textbooks are available in electronic format, and while those files are a little pricier than most used copies I've found, it's worth the extra expense to save weight. From garage to SPHIS to class to the garage is about a mile-and-a-half, and if I don't have to lug several pounds of books in addition to the laptop I'll have already, so much the better.
SPHIS operates a farmers market on Thursdays. It has eight to ten vendors, two or three food trucks, and a couple of community or other service organizations. One of the nearby hospitals has a sponsorship agreement with the market, and that draws a lot of its employees over for something besides leftovers for lunch. It's a pretty nifty thing.
I was a bad player at last weekend's X-Wing tournament. No. No, amend that. I was a sneaky player. I flew three kitted-out Y-Wings (testing the new Twin Laser Turrets and Plasma Torpedoes). First match was against a new player - Lambda shuttle, TIE Interceptor, TIE Advanced. Swept him, dogpiling one ship at a time. Next up, a guy I've played before and don't have much good to say about. He flew a netlist (Corran Horn and that goddamn Outrider), and I have some serious hate for netlists in general and this one in particular. I decided to try something different - don't fight to win, fight to not lose. I sicced all three of my Y-Wings on the E-Wing, ignoring the ugly-ass YT-2400. Ionization kept him from using R2-D2 to recharge shields, and massed fire made short work of the fighter. And then, I ran out the clock. 1-speed straightaways, only speeding up to keep away from the 2400. Never made an attack run against it, and only fired when he got aggressive and came after my ships - which, after taking a couple of ion shots and nearly being forced off the battlefield, he backed away from. I lost one fighter, but it was worth far less than the E-Wing, so when the timer sounded, I got the win. Lost my next match against a mixed TIE squadron. Last match of the day was against one of my favorite guys to fly against - Don is creative with his builds, and a challenge to fly well against, and a good fun dude to be across the table from. He had an all-ace S&V squadron, a Z-95, the new Khiraxz, and the flying sandcrawler called a YV-666. The YV can take (and deliver) a lot of damage, but it can only fire forward. Sicced my A4 on it, camping out in the rear arc and pouring ion and blaster fire and stress on it while the S3s dealt with the fighters. Won with the A4 - got behind the YV's deployed fighter and controlled its movements with the same firing cycle I used on the carrier. Went 3-1, made sure the netlist wasn't going to be eligible for the playoffs, and withdrew, since I had to start things early the next morning.
NCAA football starts next weekend. UofL plays Auburn for the first time, either ever or in forever. D and I are getting together to watch, and after the game, I'm heading to the farm for Dad's birthday and Labor Day.
