Bogieblog

Fall Riding

Yesterday we went out for a nice long ride, destination: Bath Iron Works in Maine. Why Bath Iron Works? Because the small company that WS works for built the stairs and rails for the building and he wanted to see how their work was being used. Besides, it gave us a destination for a nice long day trip that kept us away from the leaf-peepers heading up north.

The original plan was to take all secondary roads, except a short stint on I95 around Portsmouth. After crawling along on Rt 1 in Kittery for about an hour (apparently all the leaf peepers turned into beach goers), we decided the highway was the only way we would have time to actually make it to Bath, ME! However, we did get to see a huge group of bikes going the other way.

We thought it was maybe the Maine H.O.G. (Harley Owners Group) chapter because there were easily 60-80 bikes (maybe more - didn't think to count). They, of course, were riding on the side with no traffic; while we were literally stopped, the whole group went by (it was in town and they were turning off a side street, so it took a while for them to pass). They even had a chase truck, outfitted with flashing yellow light.

We finally found a way back to I95, and eventually wound up at the Iron Works. Since it is a secure sight (they work on naval ships), we weren't able to get as close as we would have liked, but the building is still open so WS was able to See where the stairs were. He snapped a few pictures, which won't really show anything except a lot of steel girders and beams, but maybe the pic of the huge crane will convey the scale of the site.

By that time it was about 3:30 and we had to scoot our way home (dark at 7). We managed to miss the rain; it followed directly on our heels. I was able to get the dogs in just before it rained. As the first rain in several weeks, the 1/2" of wet stuff was welcome (not nearly enough, but welcome just the same).

Today I buckle down to homework, and more of the same tomorrow. But yesterday was a great way to end the summer!

Garden Quiz

May Dreams Gardens has a post on how to tell if you are a garden geek. I think I qualify.

Yohoho

More Stealing from Jay (of course I stole it, I'm a pirate dontchaknow):

What should you be doing for a living?! created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Pirate Captain Quit your job immediately and take to the seas!! You were made for rum, singing and parots!! And treasure is worth way more than you're making now!! Pirate Captain 83% Cowboy Outlaw 70% Ninja Assassin 65% An Old Prospector 63% Mafia Boss 60% Drug Lord 45% Break-dancing Machine 33% Pretty Princess 10%

My HOme is My Castle

Stolen from Jay:

Your home is a Magic Magnate's Castle Your kitchen is manned by a team of Keebler Drow Elves. There's a Chocolatessen, which is rapidly becoming your favorite room of the house. Having one is also becoming a trend among your wealthy neighbors. Your master bedroom is decorated to look like the treetop village of the Galadhrim. Your study has every fantasy novel ever written, including multiple editions of the Silmarillion and advance copies of Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition. One of your garages holds your collection of ferraris, and is measured in acreage. Your home also includes a roost for griffons. You've never actually seen a griffon, but you keep the roost ready anyway. Your guests enjoy your home theater with hi-def plasma screen TV, and the thrones you watch it from. Outside is the moat that protects your home from goblin invaders and extended family. And, you have a pet -- a unicorn named "Shadowhooves". Below is a snippet of the blueprints:

Find YOUR Dream Home!

Bogie, Artsy-Fartsy?

I'm not normally one for the "cutsy" stuff. But if I had kids, I could probably go for making one of these. Heck, in the Angelwing begonia, it could be a triple-decker!

I'm Back

So, Bod asks the timely question, "where are you bogie?" Dudette called last weekend looking for news, however we were off for the dump run and breakfast so all we got was a message (and you will see in a minute why I didn't call back).

We are alive and well at Casa Bogie. In the month since my presence has not graced this blog, I have been extremely busy.

• First, as Buffy surmised, I have been hitting the books. I have had 3 tests, 42 hours of class and about 80 hours of homework in the last 4 weeks. S
• econd, I have spent extra time at work because we had our second annual ISO surveillance audit last week, and as a principle player in that area, I had to make sure everything and every area were prepared.
• If that wasn't enough, I have had a couple rounds of pet-sitting.
• Fourth, I canned another batch of salsa and two batches of spagghetti sauce. With the spagghetti sauce I had to cheat and put in the freezer because I just didn't have the time to do the water bath part.
• Fifth, I planted the rest of the miniature roses which had been gracing the deck but needed to be put in the ground so they would get a chance to survive the winter.

So, having no time to do anything but shower, grab a bite to eat, and get a couple hours of sleep here and there, I was about ready to throw in the towel on the Circuit Analysis class. This past weekend I didn't even get any of the homework done because I was busy with my math homework and pet-sitting (dates which had been set up months ago).

I figured if I buckled down on Tuesday night, I could get a fair amount into the homework, then Wednesday before class (I get there  about 1 hour ahead of time), I could make a great effort to get most of the rest done. Sure, I wouldn't have worked any on the Lab report, but that isn't due until next Wednesday. Sure, I wouldn't have read any of the upcoming chapters, but that was okay too because I figured I had extra time since there was no lab scheduled for that night (additionally, with a 4 day weekend coming up, I could catch up).

Then, for the second time in 3 weeks, the CA instructor threw a loop in the plans. On Tuesday, he emailed that we had to do a pre-lab for a lab that he added to the schedule. Oh, and by the way, sorry for the short notice.

Uh, no, that wasn't going to happen - not for me anyway. Oh, and the pre-lab writeup is worth 15 points (out of 50). Nope, just can't do it. I went to school on Wednesday and dropped the class.

This weekend, I still have plenty of math homework to keep me busy. Plus, I have another test Monday night. However, I will be able to go on a ride with WS on Saturday and work in the garden a bit. With a 4 day weekend (my Friday off and Monday is Columbus Day - a holiday at work), it will feel like I have massive amounts of time on my hands.

Next semester I will be going at Circuit Analysis again. It won't be any easier the second time around (I struggled with it as I did with Digital Fundamentals). I am hoping for a different instructor next time around, but if I get the same one, at least I should have some time to take on the surprise assignments.

So to Bod, Dudette, Buffy, and everyone else who has wondered, that is the answer to where I have been.