...and this is going to be a fun three months!! Here goes...
April 2-6: My #1 city, Chicago!
April 25-26: Stratford, CT. I'll survive two days.
May 15-18: Austin, TX
June 4-8: Dallas, TX
June 18-22: San Diego, CA!!
In other news, due to a bit of a mixup, I'm now staying in downtown SLC instead of by the airport. It's nice here! Of course, 3-6 inches of snow is predicted for tomorrow...at least the TA will be teaching.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
The Rockies from Salt Lake City
"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat."--Psalm 19:1-6
I got here!
Flight itinerary:
US 298 Boston-Las Vegas 8 PM - 11:14 PM
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AWE298/history/20070225/0132Z/KBOS/KLAS
US 459 Vegas- Salt Lake City 11:52 PM - 2:18 AM
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AWE459/history/20070225/0812Z/KLAS/KSLC
Yes, you read that correctly. 2:18 AM was the SCHEDULED arrival time. When you think about it, the fact that there is a Vegas-SLC flight is a bit of an enigma...from Sin City to the Mormon capital of the world!
The flight to Vegas was quite turbulent. As a general rule of thumb, if there are storms on the ground, it's going to be bumpy in the air. In other words, with the midwest snow storm, it was quite a flight! I've learned to be less nervous during turbulence, but it's still hard for me to trust in God's control when I'm up in the air. The investment in Dell Math Problems & Logic Puzzles is priceless during those times...it really helps to distract me.
Flight arrived a couple of minutes early to Vegas. SLC isn't the only late flight out...there were flights to L.A., Phoenix, and Seattle as well, plus a smattering of red-eyes back to the east coast. And how do you know you're in Vegas? When you see something like this at the airport:
Yup...slots in the airport.
Anyway, flight to SLC was a couple of minutes early as well, and also fairly turbulent. At least I got upgraded to first class on both flights. Of course, by the time I got to the hotel, it was 3 AM Mountain time, or 5 AM Boston. Just a bit tired :-). Unfortunately, I didn't get to church this morning.
Now time to explore SLC!
US 298 Boston-Las Vegas 8 PM - 11:14 PM
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AWE298/history/20070225/0132Z/KBOS/KLAS
US 459 Vegas- Salt Lake City 11:52 PM - 2:18 AM
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AWE459/history/20070225/0812Z/KLAS/KSLC
Yes, you read that correctly. 2:18 AM was the SCHEDULED arrival time. When you think about it, the fact that there is a Vegas-SLC flight is a bit of an enigma...from Sin City to the Mormon capital of the world!
The flight to Vegas was quite turbulent. As a general rule of thumb, if there are storms on the ground, it's going to be bumpy in the air. In other words, with the midwest snow storm, it was quite a flight! I've learned to be less nervous during turbulence, but it's still hard for me to trust in God's control when I'm up in the air. The investment in Dell Math Problems & Logic Puzzles is priceless during those times...it really helps to distract me.
Flight arrived a couple of minutes early to Vegas. SLC isn't the only late flight out...there were flights to L.A., Phoenix, and Seattle as well, plus a smattering of red-eyes back to the east coast. And how do you know you're in Vegas? When you see something like this at the airport:
Yup...slots in the airport.
Anyway, flight to SLC was a couple of minutes early as well, and also fairly turbulent. At least I got upgraded to first class on both flights. Of course, by the time I got to the hotel, it was 3 AM Mountain time, or 5 AM Boston. Just a bit tired :-). Unfortunately, I didn't get to church this morning.
Now time to explore SLC!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Upcoming schedule
With the switch to Salt Lake (see post below this one), here's my upcoming schedule. Course names are given at the end of this post.
Feb. 24 - Mar. 2: Teaching ML01-O/SL01/SL02 in Salt Lake City, UT. Replaces Toronto trip.
Mar. 3: Fly directly from SLC to Baltimore, MD
Mar. 5 - 8: Teaching ML01/ML02/ML04 in Aberdeen, MD
Mar. 8: Fly back to Boston
Mar. 19-23: Teaching SG01/SG02/CM01 in Dallas--my chance to laugh at the city that picked up T.O.!
Mar. 24: Friend's wedding in Richmond, IN, about 50 miles east of Indianapolis
Mar. 26: Fly back to Boston
So as you can see, it's going to be a busy couple of weeks, but I like the combo of courses & cities--some big ones, some small ones. Thinking about going to SLC later today has me excited...flight leaves BOS at 8 PM, gets to SLC at 2:18 AM, connecting in Las Vegas (no, I won't play any slots!)
Courses:
ML01-O*: MATLAB for Aerospace Applications. Same as our basic MATLAB course, but the exercises are all from the aerospace industry.
SL01: Basic Simulink
SL02: Advanced Simulink
ML01: Basic MATLAB
ML02: Advanced MATLAB
ML04*: Building GUIs in MATLAB
SG01: Signal Processing in MATLAB
SG02*: Signal Processing in Simulink
CM01*: Communication Systems in Simulink (these last three were the ones I was supposed to teach in Toronto, but I've only taught SG01 up to this point.)
*--This will be my first time teaching this course
Feb. 24 - Mar. 2: Teaching ML01-O/SL01/SL02 in Salt Lake City, UT. Replaces Toronto trip.
Mar. 3: Fly directly from SLC to Baltimore, MD
Mar. 5 - 8: Teaching ML01/ML02/ML04 in Aberdeen, MD
Mar. 8: Fly back to Boston
Mar. 19-23: Teaching SG01/SG02/CM01 in Dallas--my chance to laugh at the city that picked up T.O.!
Mar. 24: Friend's wedding in Richmond, IN, about 50 miles east of Indianapolis
Mar. 26: Fly back to Boston
So as you can see, it's going to be a busy couple of weeks, but I like the combo of courses & cities--some big ones, some small ones. Thinking about going to SLC later today has me excited...flight leaves BOS at 8 PM, gets to SLC at 2:18 AM, connecting in Las Vegas (no, I won't play any slots!)
Courses:
ML01-O*: MATLAB for Aerospace Applications. Same as our basic MATLAB course, but the exercises are all from the aerospace industry.
SL01: Basic Simulink
SL02: Advanced Simulink
ML01: Basic MATLAB
ML02: Advanced MATLAB
ML04*: Building GUIs in MATLAB
SG01: Signal Processing in MATLAB
SG02*: Signal Processing in Simulink
CM01*: Communication Systems in Simulink (these last three were the ones I was supposed to teach in Toronto, but I've only taught SG01 up to this point.)
*--This will be my first time teaching this course
Salt Lake City or Toronto?
A co-worker of mine yesterday asked if we could switch trips. I'm scheduled to Toronto next week, him to Salt Lake City. I've actually decided to switch, as the Toronto training is a highly customized one that probably should be taught by someone who has taught the full suite of signal processing courses before. I've only taught one of the three. I called him this morning to tell him that, and he apparently needs to check some things with his wife, but he'll be calling me back soon...so I may be in SLC for next week, immediately followed by a week in Aberdeen, MD (45 minutes north of Baltimore). I'd fly out later today...nothing like last minute planning :-).
Update: he just called back. I'm off to SLC!
Oh, and another friend of mine just sent me a link to a Greek singer singing "Can't Take My Eyes off of You"...or at least trying to. Let's put it this way: her dancing makes the Stose move look absolutely brilliant :-).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j74oAlA6RK8
Update: he just called back. I'm off to SLC!
Oh, and another friend of mine just sent me a link to a Greek singer singing "Can't Take My Eyes off of You"...or at least trying to. Let's put it this way: her dancing makes the Stose move look absolutely brilliant :-).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j74oAlA6RK8
Friday, February 23, 2007
Theory #DO178B about why I don't like Boston...
...but this time, it comes with the potential of change. Many of you have heard my theories about why I don't like it here--people are snobby, elitist, don't care about each other, yada, yada, yada. While there may be some truth to that, I strongly believe that whenever there's conflict, there's blame on both sides. Most of my feelings toward Boston have been things wrong with Boston but not myself. Of course, as Christ said, "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:5.) I've known this but not really been willing to look at me...
...until a day or two ago, when I was responding to Half Lite Dreamer's comment about my first post on this blog. As I was thinking about "clearly seeing some purposes for me," I started to realize, what am I looking for from God? What kind of purposes do I expect to see? When I've seen "purposes" in the past, they've been about what I sometimes think is my main purpose: to be #1. When I was at Lafayette and was involved in the Christian Fellowship & DiscipleMakers, I got a lot of attention, and frankly, my ego swelled because of it. When I then moved to Illinois, I got involved with a ministry in just its second year of rebuilding, the Navigators, and again received a lot of high praise for involvement--again, feeding my ego. When things with Navs went sour, I still had the church I was going to to fall back upon--I was involved with the teenagers, I was running the laptop being used for song projection, etc. Again, ego fed, I was happy.
Moving to Boston, however, my ego hasn't been fed. The lack of friendships has been well-documented. I've tried getting involved at a couple of different churches, but to get involved, it's always been, "sure you can help--you'll be reporting to this person." But I don't want to report to that person! Trust me as your go to guy! The city sure isn't feeding my ego either--it seems for this city to look positively at someone, it seems they must be attractive, rich (and in either case, willing to flaunt it), or a relative of Ted Kennedy. Even if I were attractive or rich, I have no desire to flaunt that.
So what's the solution? "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you" (Rom 8:9a.) God is revealing this sin to me, and I praise Him for it! I am thankful He's placed me in a place where I would have no choice but to see it, even if it did take 2.5 years, and I shall now begin the process of prayer and looking for specific places that I can serve, even if I'm not the #1 or #2 or #100 guy. And if you who are reading this could pray for me too, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."(Romans 5:8)
"Am I at the point of no improvement?
What of the death I still dwell in?
I try to excel, but I feel no movement.
Can I be free of this unreleasable sin?
"Never underestimate my Jesus.
You're telling me that there's no hope.
I'm telling you you're wrong.
Never underestimate my Jesus.
When the world around you crumbles
He will be strong, He will be strong"--Relient K, "For the Moments I Feel Faint" (from the album The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek, 2001)
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/relientk/forthemomentsifeelfaint.html
...until a day or two ago, when I was responding to Half Lite Dreamer's comment about my first post on this blog. As I was thinking about "clearly seeing some purposes for me," I started to realize, what am I looking for from God? What kind of purposes do I expect to see? When I've seen "purposes" in the past, they've been about what I sometimes think is my main purpose: to be #1. When I was at Lafayette and was involved in the Christian Fellowship & DiscipleMakers, I got a lot of attention, and frankly, my ego swelled because of it. When I then moved to Illinois, I got involved with a ministry in just its second year of rebuilding, the Navigators, and again received a lot of high praise for involvement--again, feeding my ego. When things with Navs went sour, I still had the church I was going to to fall back upon--I was involved with the teenagers, I was running the laptop being used for song projection, etc. Again, ego fed, I was happy.
Moving to Boston, however, my ego hasn't been fed. The lack of friendships has been well-documented. I've tried getting involved at a couple of different churches, but to get involved, it's always been, "sure you can help--you'll be reporting to this person." But I don't want to report to that person! Trust me as your go to guy! The city sure isn't feeding my ego either--it seems for this city to look positively at someone, it seems they must be attractive, rich (and in either case, willing to flaunt it), or a relative of Ted Kennedy. Even if I were attractive or rich, I have no desire to flaunt that.
So what's the solution? "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you" (Rom 8:9a.) God is revealing this sin to me, and I praise Him for it! I am thankful He's placed me in a place where I would have no choice but to see it, even if it did take 2.5 years, and I shall now begin the process of prayer and looking for specific places that I can serve, even if I'm not the #1 or #2 or #100 guy. And if you who are reading this could pray for me too, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."(Romans 5:8)
"Am I at the point of no improvement?
What of the death I still dwell in?
I try to excel, but I feel no movement.
Can I be free of this unreleasable sin?
"Never underestimate my Jesus.
You're telling me that there's no hope.
I'm telling you you're wrong.
Never underestimate my Jesus.
When the world around you crumbles
He will be strong, He will be strong"--Relient K, "For the Moments I Feel Faint" (from the album The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek, 2001)
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/relientk/forthemomentsifeelfaint.html
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Ever see a Panamanian coin?
Rummaging through the change in my pocket, I found this. A Panamanian 5 centesimos piece! It's identical in size & shape to a US nickel. More info here:
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
City rankings
Just for fun, here's my ranking of the 20 North American cities I've been to for work. I'm not including Philadelphia (since I'm from the area) or Boston (since I live here now). I may fill in details later, this is just a ranking. Here goes:
1. Chicago
2. San Francisco
3. Ft. Collins, CO
4. Albuquerque
5. Montreal
6. Austin
7. Pensacola, FL
8. Washington, DC
9. Los Angeles
10. San Jose
11. Buffalo
12. Las Vegas
13. Cleveland
14. Houston
15. Raleigh
16. Palmdale, CA
17. Newport News, VA
18. Dayton, OH
19. Rochester, NY
20. Annandale, NJ (sorry Lauren!)
1. Chicago
2. San Francisco
3. Ft. Collins, CO
4. Albuquerque
5. Montreal
6. Austin
7. Pensacola, FL
8. Washington, DC
9. Los Angeles
10. San Jose
11. Buffalo
12. Las Vegas
13. Cleveland
14. Houston
15. Raleigh
16. Palmdale, CA
17. Newport News, VA
18. Dayton, OH
19. Rochester, NY
20. Annandale, NJ (sorry Lauren!)
Who am I? What's "Ravine Dwelling" mean?
Welcome to my little corner of the web! This is a complete experiment; this may be my only post, it may not. About me:
Name: Brian
Age: 28
Location: Originally from a Philadelphia suburb, presently in Boston
Occupation: Training engineer, which means I travel the country teaching people how to use engineering software
So where does the title come from?
"Have you heard, have you heard?
About this girl who was ripped up by her roots
Have you heard, what she learned?
Like humility - you win when you lose
I have learned, I have learned
The most horrifying nights have an end
I was hurt, I was lost
In the dark I found a way to a friend"
Lately, I've been on a YouTube kick finding songs from the mid-90s that meant a lot to me, and I stumbled upon one that described my situation back then quite well. I was quite lonely throughout high school, but in Oct. 1995, I went to a conference in DC where I had my first ever crush. Through having that crush, I saw the "ravine" I had fallen into, and I saw said crush as the way out. Thus, this song was, in my mind, about her.
Fast forward 11.5 years, and I almost feel like I'm back in the same situation. Here in Boston, I've been stuck in a "ravine" ever since I moved out here...
"I am standing here in my ravine
Once again I see a piece of the sky..."
Every once in a while I feel like I see a piece of the sky, including this past Sunday, when one of my few Bostonian friends graciously agreed to have dinner with me and then play games. It meant a lot. But I know it's not the ultimate way out of this ravine.
"Was a flower, was so frail
And I let the trees grow wild around me
Grew so high, hid the sky
Shaded everything I needed to see"
The ravine I'm in is due to my sin. Traps that my flesh, Satan, and the world have set for me that I've fallen hook, line, and sinker for. Sin that had manifested itself in some ways in prior years, but that God has released the restraint on since I moved here. I'm thankful He's showing me the trees that are growing wild around me.
"Then one night, someone came
Took a knife and ripped me up by my roots
Tossed astray, far away
In the darkest night, I started to pray"
That's what I'm praying God would do to me. Take a knife and rip me up by my roots. Or re-rip me up if you will. It's hard to believe that it's been over 10 years since He first ripped me up, and I don't want to believe He needs to keep ripping me up. I want to believe that at some point, I'll be a good person that He only needs to make minor adjustments to. But as I become deeper involved with Christ, I'm seeing that to be a false hope--instead, the full hope is found in Christ's blood and ONLY in Christ's blood.
"Why do you, why do you ask?
Why I'm not blaming my God?
I'll tell you, I'll tell you what
He was the only one there"
That's the one part of the song that back in 1995 didn't mean anything to me. But now I know, He is the only one consistently there. He is the one showing me my sin, and He is the one who gives me hope. Hope for a future, hope that He will use me in spite of my sin, hope that living in Boston isn't a lost cause.
"I am standing here in my ravine
Once again I see a piece of the sky
And my joy never will be denied
'cause I was meant to be here -The only place on earth
Where you are near, where you are near"--Ace of Base, "Ravine" (from the album The Bridge, 1995)
I know what you're thinking. ACE OF BASE?! Yes, Ace of Base. One of my two favorite bands before I became a Christian, with the other being Garbage. If you want to hear the song--and I think it needs to be heard to be fully appreciated--click on the following:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dXWemmSHKs
It's a live performance from the 1997 World Music Awards in Monaco. Note the person who commented that it's almost enough to make him convert from Buddhism!
Lyrics:
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/ace+of+base/ravine_20003556.html
Thanks for reading!
Name: Brian
Age: 28
Location: Originally from a Philadelphia suburb, presently in Boston
Occupation: Training engineer, which means I travel the country teaching people how to use engineering software
So where does the title come from?
"Have you heard, have you heard?
About this girl who was ripped up by her roots
Have you heard, what she learned?
Like humility - you win when you lose
I have learned, I have learned
The most horrifying nights have an end
I was hurt, I was lost
In the dark I found a way to a friend"
Lately, I've been on a YouTube kick finding songs from the mid-90s that meant a lot to me, and I stumbled upon one that described my situation back then quite well. I was quite lonely throughout high school, but in Oct. 1995, I went to a conference in DC where I had my first ever crush. Through having that crush, I saw the "ravine" I had fallen into, and I saw said crush as the way out. Thus, this song was, in my mind, about her.
Fast forward 11.5 years, and I almost feel like I'm back in the same situation. Here in Boston, I've been stuck in a "ravine" ever since I moved out here...
"I am standing here in my ravine
Once again I see a piece of the sky..."
Every once in a while I feel like I see a piece of the sky, including this past Sunday, when one of my few Bostonian friends graciously agreed to have dinner with me and then play games. It meant a lot. But I know it's not the ultimate way out of this ravine.
"Was a flower, was so frail
And I let the trees grow wild around me
Grew so high, hid the sky
Shaded everything I needed to see"
The ravine I'm in is due to my sin. Traps that my flesh, Satan, and the world have set for me that I've fallen hook, line, and sinker for. Sin that had manifested itself in some ways in prior years, but that God has released the restraint on since I moved here. I'm thankful He's showing me the trees that are growing wild around me.
"Then one night, someone came
Took a knife and ripped me up by my roots
Tossed astray, far away
In the darkest night, I started to pray"
That's what I'm praying God would do to me. Take a knife and rip me up by my roots. Or re-rip me up if you will. It's hard to believe that it's been over 10 years since He first ripped me up, and I don't want to believe He needs to keep ripping me up. I want to believe that at some point, I'll be a good person that He only needs to make minor adjustments to. But as I become deeper involved with Christ, I'm seeing that to be a false hope--instead, the full hope is found in Christ's blood and ONLY in Christ's blood.
"Why do you, why do you ask?
Why I'm not blaming my God?
I'll tell you, I'll tell you what
He was the only one there"
That's the one part of the song that back in 1995 didn't mean anything to me. But now I know, He is the only one consistently there. He is the one showing me my sin, and He is the one who gives me hope. Hope for a future, hope that He will use me in spite of my sin, hope that living in Boston isn't a lost cause.
"I am standing here in my ravine
Once again I see a piece of the sky
And my joy never will be denied
'cause I was meant to be here -The only place on earth
Where you are near, where you are near"--Ace of Base, "Ravine" (from the album The Bridge, 1995)
I know what you're thinking. ACE OF BASE?! Yes, Ace of Base. One of my two favorite bands before I became a Christian, with the other being Garbage. If you want to hear the song--and I think it needs to be heard to be fully appreciated--click on the following:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dXWemmSHKs
It's a live performance from the 1997 World Music Awards in Monaco. Note the person who commented that it's almost enough to make him convert from Buddhism!
Lyrics:
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/ace+of+base/ravine_20003556.html
Thanks for reading!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
