Holy Shit

Don't watch this if you have a weak heart.

The Olympic investigation said something to the effect that the dude just overcompensated in the turns prior and it was all his fault he lost control and is dead.


Mmm, maybe if you had some fencing along those steal girders he just would have glanced off it rather than imparting all that energy into his spine.

You see the more time it takes for an impact to happen, the less energy that is transferred into the parts of your body you need to live. Hence crumple zones and padding.

Take some responsibility for this guys death. Put up some snow fences or something like they have in downhill skiing, maybe it won't look as nice, but it might save someones life.

Like a Fool I am and I'll Always be.

I almost died yesterday. I was standing on the platform of a D8 track type tractor trying to open up the cab door. The engine enclosure door was sticking out blocking the cab door. I pushed the engine door in with my foot as I yanked on the cab door. The first attempt was unsuccessful, the second the cab door opened suddenly. I started to loose my balance falling backward. I caught myself before I fell backward down eight feet past the forged steel tracks onto the dirty concrete yard. Maybe I wouldn’t have died, but I would have been in some serious pain.

The shit never ends at work. Even when they say they’ve cut to the bone and they’re done. Turns out first and foremost they are liars. Perhaps more deceptive than flat out lying, but when someone says that when they lay you off, either rolling or indefinitely that they are going to subsidize up to half your salary, you think that means you’re going to get half your salary. Not quite. When you run the numbers an average single engineer making $75,000 will be making around 35% of his salary. One with a wife that doesn’t work with kids will be making about 45% of his salary. Whatever, the amount is what it is, but don’t be deliberately misleading.

Then talk of rolling layoffs when it was previously said they wouldn’t happen in R&D because they laid off 10%. Earlier today I was pretty convinced they would make us take them. Found out just recently they won’t be happening.

I really need to find a million idiots to give me a dollar. I can’t handle this shit. My mind is a delicate flower that can’t handle this emotional toll.

My tattoo has healed the best any of my tattoos ever have. After less than two weeks, it has no dry cracking areas, and no scabs. My guys at American Inkwell no longer recommend the wet method of healing a tattoo, but I think it’s way better than just letting it out to the air to heal. With the wet method you keep the tattoo covered in some sort of balm (I use Tat Wax) and saran wrap for the first three days, washing it every 3-4 hours keeping all the scab building stuff off of it.

My ten year high school reunion is coming up like in September. I’m not really sure how I feel about it. I only liked or was acknowledged by like a dozen or so people in high school, so if none of them show up I don’t really know what I’d do. So at that point what is the point? It kind of seems like a dick measuring contest.

Everyone rolls out their degrees (BS Mechanical Engineering University of Wisconsin Madison), and significant others (lovely intelligent caring wife), and awesome jobs (Hydraulic Test Engineer for Fortune 50 Company), and kids (Two highly intelligent superiorly advanced boys), and stuff (a house with two cars in the garage), and oh the places they’ve been (Cuba), and oh how wonderful they look (180 pounds of hockey toned muscle and tattoos).

I’ll have to see if any of my potato gun hommies will be attending. That may sway my decision.

Death Would Have Been Easier

Last night I fought through a terrible bit of influenza or something. When Carter and my wife returned from Vegas, Carter had some diarrhea. Whatever he had, or some form of it, I had last night.

I went to bed about 10:00, and all of a sudden my stomach and lower intestines revolted. I was puking and crapping every few minutes. I spent the rest of the night downstairs on the couch praying for a swift death. I couldn't even drink water without throwing it up. I was having the chills, and my whole body ached from being contorted into a ball. At around four A.M. I was finally able to drink water. I was so dehydrated that my arms and legs were tingling.

Last night ranks right up there with the most horrible nights I've ever experienced.

I feel better today.