I've worked out the last few bugs in the web site, so everything should be working. If you stumble across anything that doesn't work, feel free to bug me about it. Journal entry comments or e-mails are always welcome. :)

I also added a new poll as you can see. You can still look at and vote on the old one through the opinions link. As far as the new poll goes, you MUST visit Cedar Point's web site if you haven't already done so. They have outdone themselves once again! It should prove to be a fun year at the Point.

So, things are chugging along with me. This is already the fourth week of classes, so it seems like time is flying by. We're already half way to "spring" break. Pretty crazy. I've been finishing up all my Eastern stuff the past week or so, so I'll be submitting my application to their teaching program some time next week. Research is about to get going full steam again as I've just been reading research papers and reviewing the work on my last project since the beginning of the semester.

I can't believe it's already the end of January! Well, here's to a good February everyone. Since I will no doubt forget, happy birthday to Tom and Christina whose birthdays fall in February. Oh, I promise there won't be any Valentine's Day jokes this year...

Yes folks, the major renovations are complete. I went and redid the entire web site with a fresh new look. I hope you like it, although you may find it more difficult to navigate since I decided to make the sections less "obvious". I'll hopefully be adding more journal entries more often. You may notice that there are several here that you may not have read since they were all on hold until the renovations were complete. Also, you'll find a poll to participate in. I'll be adding a new poll once or twice a month and you'll be able to look at all of the past polls as well.

I've added a new section on my various treks around the country and the occasional jaunt overseas. I hope to add more of my past travels in the near future. Also on that page you will find a link to my photo gallery. It is a work in progress, but you can look at some of the pictures I took on various trips. I'm still working on getting it finished, so don't send me nasty comments. :) However, feel free to vote on the pictures that you like and dislike as it will make it easier for me to determine which ones to keep and which ones to remove.

Until later...

You know, I spend more time in Ohio than I would like to admit. It's kind of funny, because I always rag on that state with my fellow Michiganders, but I'm always down there. Case in point. I attended another Tau Beta Pi initiation this past Friday in Dayton. Wright State University (Ohio Mu) had their initiation and I attended as the official regional/national representative. I also managed to con (not really, but it sounds better) my mother into heading down there with me. It worked out well because I ended up not having to drive! Of course, the entire reason she tagged along was so she could visit our family friends (the Eiseles) who now live outside of Dayton. So while I was attending the initiation ceremony and banquet, she was able to spend time with them and catch up.

The interesting part here was who I got to meet at the banquet. They initiated a woman named Annette Clayton into their Chapter as an eminent engineer (someone who wasn't made a member as a student, but has made great contributions as a practicing engineer). So I ended up sitting at the invited guests table which included Ms. Clayton and several other folks. Well, it turns out that Annette is the president of Saturn. Yes, the Saturn that makes cars! She graduated from Wright State a number of years ago and the Chapter found out and initiated her because of her achievements. It was really interesting to hear about her career, her experience with GM, and her thoughts about various engineering matters. My involvement with Tau Beta Pi keeps things interesting!

After dinner, I headed back to the Eiseles and talked for a little while. We set off around 10:15 PM and didn't make it home until 2:30 AM. However, it was well worth the trip!