There's been some talk about getting some people together in Iowa City, among other places... I just wanted to see how many of you would be SERIOUSLY interested in getting up (over, down, whatever) there sumetime this summer. I intended to make a visit at somepoint either way, but it would definately be worth coordinating if others are thinking the same thing. I know the Arts fest is June 1-3 and the Jazz Fest is June 29 - July 1 and both of those are a good time waiting to happen... or if there are better dates?
Are there any days you guys still in Iowa City wouldn't be around? And for those of you in Des Moines / Chicago / close enough to drive - would you be willing to transport folks from an airport if rates end up cheaper than through Cedar Rapids? Anyway - I'm pretty flexible, but I think it could be fun. Let me know what you think!
April 25, 2007
April 24, 2007
More Philly pictures? Why not...
On your right is City Hall, on your left that little shack there is the Masonic Temple. Man I wish I could be part of some secret underground society. Anybody want to start a cult? Kirsten? I know you're up for a cult :) We can worship booze...
Not only the other Jeff
The other Jeff should not be the only one taking all the heat for not staying in touch...and yes it's true...Adam is alive and kicking. As you might imagine, things haven't changed much in good ol' IC since graduation, except for fewer trips down to the old watering hole...and Kent wearing fancier threads around town...oh, and Teresa and I are expecting a new addition to the family any day now (well, in the next few weeks).
Glad to hear that everyone has survived the first year out. I up for meeting anyone for a virtual, or real brew at Joe's when you make it to town.
Cheers!
Check out today's news from our other home away from home Jessup Hall. http://dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070424/NEWS/70424019/1001
Glad to hear that everyone has survived the first year out. I up for meeting anyone for a virtual, or real brew at Joe's when you make it to town.
Cheers!
Check out today's news from our other home away from home Jessup Hall. http://dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070424/NEWS/70424019/1001
April 23, 2007
Where is everyone?
I'm starting feel like this is the Kristen/Matt/Michaela/Dave/Jeff W. blog! Where are the rest of you? We haven't heard from the other Jeff at all, have we?
April 22, 2007
Rockstar
SO - I just got back from an audition to be in a band, which I now am!!!! I wasn't going to say anything earlier in case I sucked and they told me something Simon Cowel-ish, but yeah - it was awesome. Anyway - I'm too tired now to get into all the details but my goodness it was fun. Just one step towards the life long dream of becoming a rockstar!!
April 19, 2007
April 14, 2007
Finance Flashbacks!
For everyone who was in any of the finance classes and fondly remembers the long Saturday and Sunday afternoons where we all sat in the lab struggling with our spreadsheets - I thought I'd share that, to my dismay, I've had some recent flashbacks!
We're working on a new Regional Fair Share Housing Plan for Pierce County Washington (Tacoma) and it has meant many hours of myself and my two bosses working on this spreadsheet (well, mostly I work on the spreadsheet. They have the "ideas" and I have to figure out a way to make it work). Problems with linking cells from this sheet to that one and from that document to this one!! How to make this adjustment and why won't this column equal that one? ARGHHH!!! It must end!!
We're working on a new Regional Fair Share Housing Plan for Pierce County Washington (Tacoma) and it has meant many hours of myself and my two bosses working on this spreadsheet (well, mostly I work on the spreadsheet. They have the "ideas" and I have to figure out a way to make it work). Problems with linking cells from this sheet to that one and from that document to this one!! How to make this adjustment and why won't this column equal that one? ARGHHH!!! It must end!!
April 13, 2007
Friday The 13
Ah...... I love this holiday. It's the one day that, regardless of how long work is or how nasty the weather gets, if I can make it to midnight without bodily injury, I can call it a good day.
So this afternoon was pretty crazy, though. Tornados caused a lot of damage about 5 miles from here. And we got some pretty tremendous hail at our place - imagine piles of golf balls! When the Iowa City tornado happened last year, I was so oblivious to it that I didn't even know there had been one until the next day. But this one seriously spooked me. Anyway, we're all okay and I don't think anything was damaged too bad, and I got some awesome photos of the hail.
So this afternoon was pretty crazy, though. Tornados caused a lot of damage about 5 miles from here. And we got some pretty tremendous hail at our place - imagine piles of golf balls! When the Iowa City tornado happened last year, I was so oblivious to it that I didn't even know there had been one until the next day. But this one seriously spooked me. Anyway, we're all okay and I don't think anything was damaged too bad, and I got some awesome photos of the hail.
April 12, 2007
And another one!
I don't know where this was taken - somone help me out! They all represent good times!!!
Another pic
I know this isn't from Joe's, but I think we all have great memories from Derek and Casey's back yard too!!!
April 11, 2007
My new(ish) car
Michaela, here is my car. This is from a rare time when it was clean and there wasn't snow on the ground. It's a Saab 92x and was the first sign of my 1/4 life crisis.
Kristen, I promised to put up a picture of myself since I put up one of you. Does my shadow count?
April 9, 2007
Yikes!
April 8, 2007
Matt's Day
Looks like you lost your bet DD. I read it, and I technically count as "someone"... just barely, but still.
So my weekend largely consisted of unpacking and assembling furniture and electronics at my parents' new house. Their stuff arrived last Thursday and they were feeling a bit overwhelmed. Aside from the fog, ice, and occasional heavy snow the weather was beautiful.
And now for my day at work. This is basically any day in my life:
6:40 Get out of bed
7:35 Leave for work
8:02 Arrive at work
8:02 - 8:25 Write emails to friends/family
8:25-8:50 Finish day's work
8:50 - Noon Wait for something to happen, surf the web, write emails
Noon - 1:05 Lunch
1:05 - 5:00 Kill time and wait for angry phone calls from public
5:00 Go home, unless there is a public meeting... otherwise kill time until 7:00
So my weekend largely consisted of unpacking and assembling furniture and electronics at my parents' new house. Their stuff arrived last Thursday and they were feeling a bit overwhelmed. Aside from the fog, ice, and occasional heavy snow the weather was beautiful.
And now for my day at work. This is basically any day in my life:
6:40 Get out of bed
7:35 Leave for work
8:02 Arrive at work
8:02 - 8:25 Write emails to friends/family
8:25-8:50 Finish day's work
8:50 - Noon Wait for something to happen, surf the web, write emails
Noon - 1:05 Lunch
1:05 - 5:00 Kill time and wait for angry phone calls from public
5:00 Go home, unless there is a public meeting... otherwise kill time until 7:00
April 6, 2007
Meanwhile, over in Texas…
Well I’m still working with the COG. We recently finished our mobility plan – it still has to get approved by the feds, but it has definitely slowed down here some. I have a few smaller projects that I’ve been working on, but nothing too fascinating. We’re still pushing for more options that allow cities to fund rail (most are maxed out on their sales tax – which is the traditional way of paying for things around here). And if that happens I imagine there will be a lot more for me to work on. As it is, I’ve started branching out into roadway studies, which frankly aren’t nearly as fun. The big issue these days are toll roads. Well, toll roads, a general lack of funding, traffic problems, a regional outer loop that’s been on the books for decades, a state plan to build a new super highway out of Mexico, private investment in and ownership of the aforementioned toll roads, immigration, neighborhood decline and a whole mess of other things that have somehow all become the same issue, and in many places, the same piece of highly contentious roadway. SO, I generally avoid telling people what I do for a living these days. :)
Todd and I have been trying to get out to some concerts recently, and I’ve found some places I really like to go. Unfortunately, a few of those places are foreclosing in the next month or so because of rising property values (presumably) associated with a new rail line that’s about to go into construction. D’oh! Todd’s teacher friends say that’s my fault too....
Todd and I have been trying to get out to some concerts recently, and I’ve found some places I really like to go. Unfortunately, a few of those places are foreclosing in the next month or so because of rising property values (presumably) associated with a new rail line that’s about to go into construction. D’oh! Todd’s teacher friends say that’s my fault too....
The Boring Stuff:
The Boring Stuff:
Hey all! I’m excited to see so many posts already – I almost don’t know where to start. (If I was at all meant to be a “planner” I probably would have thought about that a bit before starting to write this. …Meh.) Anyway, I think I’ll do another post here in a bit with some more interesting / personal stuff, but I don’t want it to get all gummed up with the boring technical stuff, so I’ll do that first:
First off – there have been a couple questions about posting, pictures, etc. The main thing for first timers to know is that if you’re just reading on the main page, you won’t be able to do much. To add anything, you’ll actually need to sign in. Then you get this “dashboard” screen and there’s all number of options for things to do from there. I think most of us are gradually figuring stuff out, so if you see someone do something new or different, just ask about how to do it. If you’re the adventurous sort that wants to be the one to pioneer the new and different, you can get ideas from what others have done by hitting the “next blog” button on the main page. I’m sort of evil to tell you this though – because I think there’s like a 1/5 chance of getting something x-rated by doing that, and a 2/5 chance of being visually accosted by something with a “hello kitty” type thing on it.
Second – administrative privileges. There are ways to add pictures, text, links, etc to the header and sidebar, so they don’t get moved every time there’s a new post. I think it also supports some music and video formats, but that’s all still a bit over my head. Anyway, to do all that I think you have to be an administrator – so if that’s the sort of thing that gets you all excited, let me or Matt know and we can add you. (I’m not trying to be a control freak or anything, I just didn’t want to add everyone seeing as it might be more of a pain than it’s worth for those that aren’t interested in all that.) OR if you have ideas for anything to add to the main page, but don’t want to actually do it yourself just ask me or Matt (preferably Matt as I am inherently lazy) and one of us (he) can probably take care of it. :)
Lastly – Authors. Right now, I believe everyone from our graduating class (minus the law school crowd, but adding back in the law school dropout crowd) got invited to read, post, comment to this page. But if you know of anyone else, especially a spouse, friend, etc that understands about “Joe’s” and would like to get in on the discussions without having to read over your shoulder, just send the email address and someone can get them invited. Or if you’re an admin, you can do all that yourself.
Hey all! I’m excited to see so many posts already – I almost don’t know where to start. (If I was at all meant to be a “planner” I probably would have thought about that a bit before starting to write this. …Meh.) Anyway, I think I’ll do another post here in a bit with some more interesting / personal stuff, but I don’t want it to get all gummed up with the boring technical stuff, so I’ll do that first:
First off – there have been a couple questions about posting, pictures, etc. The main thing for first timers to know is that if you’re just reading on the main page, you won’t be able to do much. To add anything, you’ll actually need to sign in. Then you get this “dashboard” screen and there’s all number of options for things to do from there. I think most of us are gradually figuring stuff out, so if you see someone do something new or different, just ask about how to do it. If you’re the adventurous sort that wants to be the one to pioneer the new and different, you can get ideas from what others have done by hitting the “next blog” button on the main page. I’m sort of evil to tell you this though – because I think there’s like a 1/5 chance of getting something x-rated by doing that, and a 2/5 chance of being visually accosted by something with a “hello kitty” type thing on it.
Second – administrative privileges. There are ways to add pictures, text, links, etc to the header and sidebar, so they don’t get moved every time there’s a new post. I think it also supports some music and video formats, but that’s all still a bit over my head. Anyway, to do all that I think you have to be an administrator – so if that’s the sort of thing that gets you all excited, let me or Matt know and we can add you. (I’m not trying to be a control freak or anything, I just didn’t want to add everyone seeing as it might be more of a pain than it’s worth for those that aren’t interested in all that.) OR if you have ideas for anything to add to the main page, but don’t want to actually do it yourself just ask me or Matt (preferably Matt as I am inherently lazy) and one of us (he) can probably take care of it. :)
Lastly – Authors. Right now, I believe everyone from our graduating class (minus the law school crowd, but adding back in the law school dropout crowd) got invited to read, post, comment to this page. But if you know of anyone else, especially a spouse, friend, etc that understands about “Joe’s” and would like to get in on the discussions without having to read over your shoulder, just send the email address and someone can get them invited. Or if you’re an admin, you can do all that yourself.
April 4, 2007
Response to comments
Dave - to post a new blog select "New Post" at the top of the main page
Kristen - Californians are sort of sheltered when it comes to stuff like that. Most of them grew up in places that have been so urbanized for so long that they don't experience "rural" life ever. Most people don't hunt either. If they do, they don't live in the City, but in the foothills. This is an interesting area because there is the Bay Area and "the city" - referring to San Francisco. Then there is Sac, which is still a "city" but more conservative and Very Much "in transition" as I like to say. Then you move toward the Sierra's where there are "historic societies" that are really a collection of good 'ol boy rednecks that drink a lot and hassle minorities. There are even hidden towns that are so protective of "their land" that they will meet a stranger on the road with a shot gun to tell them that "they don't want their kind in these parts".
Anywho...Matt - I'm going by air. Driving takes way too long and I don't have enough PTO or the desire to make that drive again anytime soon. And, you said you, Jeff and Sreyoshi? I missed something - when did Sreyoshi leave NC?
Kristen - Californians are sort of sheltered when it comes to stuff like that. Most of them grew up in places that have been so urbanized for so long that they don't experience "rural" life ever. Most people don't hunt either. If they do, they don't live in the City, but in the foothills. This is an interesting area because there is the Bay Area and "the city" - referring to San Francisco. Then there is Sac, which is still a "city" but more conservative and Very Much "in transition" as I like to say. Then you move toward the Sierra's where there are "historic societies" that are really a collection of good 'ol boy rednecks that drink a lot and hassle minorities. There are even hidden towns that are so protective of "their land" that they will meet a stranger on the road with a shot gun to tell them that "they don't want their kind in these parts".
Anywho...Matt - I'm going by air. Driving takes way too long and I don't have enough PTO or the desire to make that drive again anytime soon. And, you said you, Jeff and Sreyoshi? I missed something - when did Sreyoshi leave NC?
Satire
As promised, see attached. For some reason one councilman (mocked mercilessly within) has taken a real shine for me. Makes life mighty interesting and difficult, all at the same time.
April 3, 2007
Fantastic!
Kudos to Matt and Kristen. It's a great idea, and seems to have already created some bandwidth. I'm slowly coming back to consciousness after the last few days. I turned in my 2 Safe Routes to School application to WYDOT last Wednesday, blew off intro GIS class at the community college on Friday, and drove to Lawrence for an ultimate tournament called Fool's Fest. Speaking of which check out the attached page from Sunday's paper. The fine line between wonderful and horrible satire lies in versimilitude. This page hits the City head on!
-Jeff
...I'll post it tomorrow. Seems you can only post GIFs and JPGs, no PDFs.
-Jeff
...I'll post it tomorrow. Seems you can only post GIFs and JPGs, no PDFs.
April 2, 2007
Sweet
All, I must say that this is a great idea....I must also note that I was at joes sat. night and this is nearly the same as being there, except for the smoke, beer, and smell that I can only surmise comes from the vomit not yet found behind the popcorn machine. Just wasn't the same with out the URP'ers...
April 1, 2007
I miss u all!
Yay for Matt and Kristen! But, I'd like to say that I don't like that pic of me! I much prefer the one I've chosen for my profile!!! ;) Works okay eventhough I never really now how "secure" my position is. I guess I have a job for awhile though. Still working on Housing Elements and stuff. No real exciting news to report. Drew is now a taxidermist - I'm pretty sure most of the URPers know what that is. No one here is Cali does. I'll be making my first trip back to the midwest since moving here in May so that is exciting. However, I won't be anywhere near any of you so that is sad. Anyway, Happy Spring!!!
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