I commute to my classes John Carroll University on a bike most of the time, two miles each way.  My bike had a slow leak in its rear tire for the past couple of days, but given the Calculus III test earlier today (Vectors: good, Taylor and Other Series: not so good, Take-Home Segment:  To Be Determined), I wasn't able to find time to dismount the tire and repair the tube.  This mistake became rather obvious this morning when I noticed that the bike was making a funny sound as I approached the intersection of Belvior Blvd. and Fairmount Blvd.  When I stopped to look, I realized that the slow leak had become a fast leak, and I had to limp the next half mile on a flat.  Thankfully, I made it to my General Chemistry lecture (did fine on the quiz) before it started at 8AM and everything was okay.

Fast-forward three and a half hours.  I'm done with the Calc test, I just ate lunch, and I plugged my Science Fiction and Fantasy club a bit.  The rear tire of my bike is still flat.  Then I remember something from a cycling book I read about stuffing a flat with newspaper to protect the wheel (I have reinforced mountain-bike rims with the road tires, which looks rather silly, but it's worked so far).  Having a complete copy of USA Today with me from the campus library, I dismounted the tire and rammed an entire edition of carefully wadded-up newsprint into the tire.  The tire seated okay and stayed on after a compression test, so I decided to pedal home, bike running somewhat roughly.  About a half mile later, things got very rough, and much to my dismay, the bike had all but thrown the tire, severely damaging both the tire carcass and the inner tube.  This, of course, meant the bike was un-rideable, unless I wanted to destroy my probably-expensive reinforced aluminum wheels, and given the thrown tire, the bike wasn't rolling too well.  (Mum was out at the time and I couldn't arrange for emergency pickup.)

There was another solution, since I left some bungie cords in my LC-1 Field Pack, Large (Dad says its too big and clunky, and I say I've got too much of a courseload to use a daypack) a week back.  I ended up hooking the bike to the pack frame with the bungies then using the pack's outer straps to keep the bike from rattling, shifting, and falling loose.  Thus, with a slightly unbalanced load on my back, I lumbered the rest of the way home.

I'm only out about $20 for a new tube and tire, so it's not the end of the world.

Well, I've learned a few lessons thanks to this:

1.  I should stuff flat bike tires with the New York Times instead of USA Today.
2.  MacGyvered solutions are very temporary solutions.
3.  Better yet, I should just get used to carrying a pump and a patch kit to I can make a proper fix (the bike multitool has tire irons on it.)
4.  The LC-1 frame pack is a wonderful piece of military-surplus equipment.
5.  Deferring maintenance generates more trouble in the end.

On a happier note...
Tonight, I am holding the first meeting of the JCU Science Ficition & Fantasy Club in the atrium of the D.J. Lombardo Student Center (outside the campus bookstore) at 7PM.  Refreshments probably won't be served, as this is going to be a short planning and officer election session, maybe with a round or two of Munchkin:  Impossible (a spoof of spy movie tropes) thrown in.

Well, I attended the Ride for Miles 2009 this morning, a roughly 15-mile bike ride that raises money for an environmental symposium.  (Miles Colburn was a biology professor and environmental activist at John Carroll who died due to a bike accident in 2008.)  This cycling course ran from John Carroll University up to the end of Gates Mills Boulevard, where it goes from a divided four-lane road to the two-lane Old Mill Rd.  The weather was temperate and somewhat breezy, which was mildly annoying to ride into due to my lack of drop bars, but it did help remove some of that extra heat so I didn't have to slosh around in my running shoes after the race.

Cyclometer readings:
Distance:  15.915 mi
Maximum Speed:  32.6 mph
Average Speed:  16.1 mph
Time:  00:59:33
Total Odometer Reading:  465.02 mi

The switch from 3" mountain tires to 1.5" road tires dramatically reduced my bicycle's rolling resistance.  If you've heard me whine about my trips up to South Russell to visit Chinook, yup, having those new tires would have helped matters dramatically.

Incidentally, I was Bike #42.

I'm mostly caught up with my courses at John Carroll, so a bit of the load is off my shoulders.  However, I'm also on an odd drawing kick as I'm drawing stuff I usually don't draw (at least not in recent history) for Zapydos on deviantART, stuff such as wind turbines and Inductrack trains and vacuum tube-based portable radios.  That stuff is going to be shown in a very different drawing style, hopefully you folks who follow me on the art sites enjoy it.

Classes have started, and I'm on a relatively intensive schedule this year.  It doesn't seem like too many hours in class (15), but an armload of science courses really takes up a lot of time at home, and Japanese Pop Culture is going to drop a 15-page research paper on my head.  Borusa survived brutal General Chem courses at Ohio State, and I see why he was always complaining about it.  Modern Physics has been un-redeemingly bland.  Multivariable calculus...maybe if I stopped staring off into space during class...

General Chemistry I (8-9AM) MTWF
General Chemistry I Lab (8-11AM)  R
Modern Physics (9-10AM)  MWF
Multivariable Calculus (10-11AM) MTWF
Japanese Pop Culture (5-6:15PM) MW

Maybe I'll feel better once I get my feet in gear and get some meaningful quantity of my assignments done.  I don't have all that much in terms of assignments at this point, but it feels insurmountable.  Not to say that I haven't done anything, it's just...soul-crushing.  I'll get things together and conjure up those stacks of completed work and get those grades.  More sleep might reduce my coffee dependence, so I'm going to be shutting down earlier each night.

Therefore, I'm putting my art projects on hold.  Sorry, Jar Jar, Will, and Zappy, I'm not sure if I can get things together in time.  I'd love to delegate the job, but you know how I am, even though Jar's drawing style is similar to mine (and he already has his own reference), and Cheyenne would be more than willing to draw her boyfriend, and Zappy can probably work out how to draw kaijusaurs...

Given my backlog limitations, I think we're not going to be seeing artwork on Fridays anymore, or Zoids.  I don't have time to work on anything at this point, which is awful.

Job-wise, I think I'm hosed.  Hosed hosed hosed.  No one here wants me as an employee in spite of attempts to turn up the charisma, and I hate having to ask my parents for money.  I'm starting to wonder if I should start selling my stuff...

There's work to be done, so away I go.

School:
Well, I'm halfway through the Summer II period of college classes.  The Major American Authors midterm went fine, although I think I missed a few things because I could only remember the ways in which Hawthorne, Dickinson, and Thoreau broke with Puritan ideology.  Then again, that was only one of the three short essay questions, so I think I'll probably come out okay.

Art:
Hands are sat upon
Nothing started is finished
Spare time is misused ~ Haiku

Misadventures in Parcel Laundering:
Well, to get certain things to Borusa, I have to hold on to them for a few months.  To ship things to me means shipping things to my friend who lives up the road, since certain things (such as inflatables) lead to confiscations, lectures, and a showcasing of the big penalty on Bluff checks that results from taking PDD:NOS/Asperger's at character creation. 

Of course, even when things go right, you suddenly discover that you've received a Jets T. rex instead of the brachiosaurus, and since I wasn't able to inspect it carefully without opening it (box labeling was in black & white and appeared to be the older model) until mum went out this morning and my sister was upstairs with the door closed (I could only sneak it about half-out of the box and thus missed the fact that the clear mouth section was visible on the far end of the box), I thought it was the old-model design, so me and Borusa were getting plans together so a return could be made.

This, obviously, is probably going to result in some adjustment in plans.  Borusa will probably wire over the difference in cash to Jets so we don't have to feel guilty about stiffing Jet Creations, and he'll probably re-order the brachiosaurus sometime in late July.  This will save me from having to figure out some way of running the rex up to the post office without getting caught by my folks...but it will leave Borusa's commissions prepaid for, well...quite a while.

Well, I started my two summer courses, EN 277 (Major American Authors) and PS 101 (Intro to Psychology) last week, and things seem to be proceeding smoothly enough.  Dad's 35th college reunion went pretty well, although I think the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA) is probably going to experience a decline in business due to boring the heck out of a bunch of 57-year-olds (not to mention their spouses and offspring.)

I'm starting to get back on my feet as far as art goes.  While Borusa's going to experience some delays, it can't be helped, my studies come first, and I want to mix up my routine a bit more to prevent fatigue.  Unlike some people out there, I need to draw things other than fat scalies.

I saw "Impact" on ABC.  Did they even bother to hire even a hobbyist astronomer as a technical coordinator?  Brown dwarfs are failed stars, not the leftovers of dead ones (although it did mean a dead, cooled-off white dwarf in the 70's when the term was coined, the current term is "black dwarf") and that's been known since the late 80's.  (For physics majors out there, does degenerate matter remain degenerate in a 1g environment at STP?  I don't think it would, but I also don't have much experience beyond Classical and E&M at this point.)  For that matter, why is military-grade isolated electrical equipment in a presumably Faraday-caged bunker subject to power surges strong enough to make CFLs explode when the grid as a whole has yet to see widespread effects?  On a side note, the scientists should have also been able to notice and point out cliches and some plot devices...we know the ones in the real world often can.  Dad says I should repeat the MST3K mantra, but there's only so far you can bend things.  (There's an Idiot!President and a General Ripper as well.  Sure, Canada might still be ticked off with the US, but these sorts of things are annoyingly cliche.)  For that matter...blowing. up. the. moon.  That takes a yield that's probably going to be measurable in Zettatons!

Yes, I've started posting here again.  I'm not sure how long this burst of activity will last, though.

School:  Phew.  I've got a lot of homework this weekend.  Three assignments in Aero 200, two problem sets in Math 152, and one worksheet in German 104.  I guess I should get cracking on it, then.

Health:  Rebound headaches are gone and my jaws are significantly less tender now, I'm trying to get used to wearing my retainer again.  I'm also somewhat congested.  *sniff*

Art:  On hold.  I just have too much schoolwork to keep up with to get anything drawn.  I warned folks about this...

Fun:  Also somewhat on hold, as MGA is not meeting until October 4th.  And the big Spore SecuROM Rootkit debacle has me wondering if I should purchase the game.  (Remember when you could freely swap floppies of SimCity 2000 with your friends as a kid?  I pine for those days.)

Stuff:  I'll have pictures up at some point, don't worry.

Well, I'm off to the commons for some coffee and waffles.  Yum!

Missing my meds apparently leads to me waking up at 3:15 AM and not going back to sleep.  Oh, fun.  I guess I have to write about Move-In Day while it's fresh in my mind.  It's the main reason for the Ohio Welcome Leader program, and why we don't have to pay $90 to move in early...we do most of the grunt work moving in several thousand other people

Well, I had the 1130-1300 and 1600-1830 (second shift terminated early due to most folks being moved in) shifts as an unloader, helping people take stuff out of their cars.  By the looks of it, I truly am from another planet, since my idea of dorm furniture involves using the milk-crate style containers I packed most of my stuff into as nightstands and end tables.  Everyone else bought furniture in, ranging from nightstands and TV stands to office chairs and futons.  I already have the standard-issue Nomex-covered couch (dorm furniture is special-ordered fire-resistant stuff), and the standard-issue desk chair, so I'm set, my stuff fit into two cartloads.  Today, I unloaded a five-cartload student, and there were reports of a ten-cartloader...my gods, how are they going to get that smegging stuff home next summer.  (Heck, I'm worried about the big rex plushie and the carpets.  Well, there's always the staged move-out, and I had less stuff this year.)

The application for Office Assistant is in, and I'll hear about it in the next few weeks.  Wooo!  I think I might get to do the Gainful Employment Dance.  I also have a blue rug in my main room now and moved the carpet runner from home into the bedroom.  Still no word on roommates, though, maybe I'll try the book group and MGA this week.

My rebound headaches are all but gone now.  Yay!  I can finally think clearly and maybe even get some drawing in before classes and homework start again on Wednesday.

Later...today, I'm going to go check out the activity fair to see if there's anything I've missed, turn in a few things and write that thank-you note to grandma for the check.

If I forgot to mention it earlier, my classes this quarter are:
Aero 200
Calculus 152
German 104

Well, I moved into Houck House on Thursday evening with the Ohio Welcome Leader program.  So far, the experience has been...overstimulating.  Even with my meds, it's still a struggle dealing with large crowds and loud noises.  Team-building exercises just prove how different I am from the other folks here, since I have very few things in common with the rest of the program, along with being the only remotely black guy using the program in the Houck-Barrett-Halloway complex.  (There is a minority freshman with a similar interest in tabletops RPGs, though, but he's not in the program.)  My room and the campus itself are pretty quiet, though.

I did come up with the Saber-toothed Buckeye, based off og the Saber-toothed Lime from Kingdom of Loathing...it was the best I could come up with for "killer nut" for the building's "flag."  I apparently did a pretty solid job on it, too, and got accolades from everyone else.  Whee!

Incidentally, I still have rebound headaches from the amount of Ibuprofen I took post wisdom-tooth removal.  My sockets have closed up fine, I'm just mildly tender now and will be able to put the retainer back once the headaches stop.

Oh, I bet you folks want to see where I'm living, so I'll put in a link to a photobucket album and get a few pictures uploaded.  Much to my dismay, Comic Life isn't registered for this machine, so I can't run up webcomics featuring SD Rodan and the triceratops in a quick, easy manner.  They and subsequent plushies will show up in other pictures anyway.

Gallery - Houck 209

Well, this is probably a little grody, but here are the teeth.  Don't click the link if you're disgusted by crusty, somewhat bloody teeth.  All four came out pretty much intact.  Look at the roots on those things.  The smaller ones are my upper set and the larger ones are my lower set.

Whee...still medicated as well.  Not as much as yesterday, but the ibuprofen isn't quite enough for the job.

All four of mine came out around 11 AM this morning in a haze of nitrous oxide, an IV drip, and the anti-anxiety tranquilizers.  They finished up ahead of schedule since the upper teeth weren't impacted and the lower ones we just slightly crowded up against my twelfth-year molars.  No muss, no fuss, and out they go.  (Oh, and for a certain person with bad teeth, I've only had one filling, and it could have been avoided had I been more careful about soda consumption.)


I saved the teeth, so maybe I'll take a few pictures tomorrow.  All of them came out in what looked like one piece, which is a good sign.  No bony impactions or rooting around deep in my gums.  Yay!  I just need to use the antibiotics and painkillers, and I'll function prett well after tomorrow.

Right now, I'm resting on the recliner in the fourth bedroom, and will probably end up sleeping up here since I'm supposed to sleep upright on my back to deal with the bleeding.  Godzilla will be my cuddle partner tonight, since he needs some hugs before I go off to campus and leave him in a storage bag with everyone but SD Rodan and the trike.  Speaking of plushies:
Giant T-Rex
Giant Triceratops
If I got six or seven commission deals from someone, one of these would be good payment in lieu of the cash.  Goji and Bill the Raptor will get a nice big dino lady to snuggle with....murrr.

I'm still kind of snafued by the painkillers (or if I stay off those, the pain) right now, so art is on hold.  I can link in some of my backlog, since I know you folks out there love my art.  Greatfang and a keety!