Monthly Archive for July, 2002

Random Google search for “Ben Catlin”

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BigCat
on July 19, 2002
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I found this today as one of the links google provided me when I searched for my name…check it out…very interesting, and I took this without permission so don’t sue me or I’ll counter sue for using my name. ^_^

Two more Explorers were constructed, but both crashed during flight testing. The first came down out of control after tail flutter caused its rudder to fall off in flight. The second crashed and burned while attempting a full-load takeoff test from Muroc Dry Lake, killing Lockheed test pilot Ben Catlin, who staggered from the inferno wreathed in flames.

I got that from http://columbiad.com/aviationhistory/articles/2001/0901_2text.htm

I also found a site Catlin Properties where a Ben Catlin is the president.

Wild stuff.

The Many Faces of ME.

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on July 18, 2002
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Well, I wonder sometimes if anyone even reads my webpage….but I figure those who do are my friends in some respect, or at least aquaitances or some sort. At any rate you’ve met me. And me, is precisely what I want to talk about on my little personal microphone to the rest of the world here. For those of you who know me, I mean really know me, you’ve seen my ups and downs, highs and lows, and lefts and rights. You know that sometimes I’m a stubborn jackass who wouldn’t back down to save my life, and sometimes I’m very open minded, and willing to live and let live….and you know that I hate people who drive like they think they are mario andretti and don’t know how to work a standard transmission. But more specifically I would like to break down the layers of this onion a little further.

For those of you who have seen me around different ‘groups’ of friends you know I tend to behave differently around different people. My x-girlfriend likes to make mention (we still r cool, and we’re talking the other day) that it will be interesting when my present girlfriend meets some of my close friends. I like to think that when I act different around different people I’m not being “fake” like some of you are thinking right now. But if you know how guys act when they are just hanging out being guys, and you couple that with current girlfriend hasn’t really been around guys being guys much (she was homeschooled and has only sisters) I tend to agree that this may be a cause for concern. I know that every guy out there is always a little different, but most people percieve that I deviate even further from that norm. I like to think that is really a big part of who I am. I’m constantly striving to be a person who gets along well with the people around me. I sorta think of it as a personal mission. So when I’m around certain people, I have found that I enjoy the dynamic created, and adjust accordingly to let myself have the most fun, and make my pressence the most entertaining or meaningful that I can. So I feel that like the onion metaphor, when I’m around people your seeing a different layer…not that I’m trying to be fake just to make people happy or something…. But I enjoy the way this system works for me….it isn’t well thought out, it is really involuntary. That is why sometimes when my wits aren’t about me, I’m sorta cold around the friend of a friend kind of person. I’m sorta working out in my head how this person is going to affect the person I’m dealing with, and I don’t want to upset them, or not enjoy the company of my friend and their friend. But this got me into trouble a while back. As some of you know, my roomates girlfriend thought I hated her or something cuz I was being quiet all the time she was around….when in actuallity, I didn’t have time to get to know her very well, and I didn’t know if I would piss her off or not if I just treated her like I treat my roomate (probably not a good idea anyway), so she percieved it as me hating her. But really I think she is great, and having just a little time to get to know her better is something that I enjoyed when she visited my house w/ my roomate over last christmas break, and I’m looking forward to having her come to visit and participate in my grand adventure home.

So, if you ever think i’m generally being stupid, or acting strange ask me why, and if I say….”I don’t know, this is just how I am” understand that I’m really just being different to enjoy myself…but I’m still the same guy, same beliefs, same political viewpoints, same major, same hobbies and fav. sports, and same hooded sweatshirt.

Thank you for your time…and have a great night.

Aproaching the zero hour.

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on July 14, 2002
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Well, I’m here in Fullerton still, and it is 3 weeks to the day that I’m leaving, and I have almost nothing done. The only thing I have finalized is that Ben is comming in about a week, and staying for a week, and then going back. That is cool though, cuz at least Ben is gonna be able to take some of my stuff back with him this way. Aaron may or may not drive the van down, and Michelle (dirks girlfriend for those of you not in the know) has one guy in a class that doesn’t want the final moved up so she might not be able to come as early as expected. That sorta sucks, cuz I would like the extra time for them to do some more stuff around here. Oh well, the cool part is some stuff at least is settled…like what is going down with Ben, and at least I know that some people are going to come, like my bro Aaron, my roomate Dirk and his g/f Michelle. And I know that Aaron is more then likely brining the van down so I’ll have plenty of room for all sorts of stuff. And I got a new computer….which is totally cool, and I should be able to pick it up in about a week.

All in all, i’m starting to stop worrying, cuz I know I’ll get home, and that I’ll have a good time on the way, and I’ll have friends to chill w/, and my girlfriend at home when I get there. So anyway, three weeks…..for those of you back in Illinois, I’ll see u then, and for those in California, I hope we have a bang up last three weeks.

Thank you, and Goodnight everybody.

What Dreams may come (reocurring movie theme in the titles here)

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on July 8, 2002
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Well I figure that it is about time to let all my friends who might actually read this once in a while in on something. I am destined to do something important. I’m am thoroughly sure that this is true. I have a feeling it is something big, that people will take notice to, and maybe actually remember my name. So to accomplish this, I was thinking something simple to start with. Like try to write a column for the DI just to get my name and opinions out there. I thought, yeah, that is a good idea. So I figure I’m gonna try to write columns…..and I start reading columns, to figure out what I need to do to write one. And in my reading…I think I found my true calling. Become the President of ISG, and disband it. I orginally thought….run for ISG…y not, maybe I could make a difference. But then I realized that ISG does not make a difference, they just put their name on things and say “Look at me, I made a difference!” But after stupid things like what happened this year with the gnome winning….they obviously only matter to themselves. So I figure, I matter to myself, and to fix something that is this stinking wrong, you have to wipe it out and start from scratch. So who else is the man to do it…..ME, so vote for me this year, and give me money to run with so I can do absolutely nothing while in office other then restructure ISG….I will have more updates as they come, but keep an eye out for a real platform based around the ISG rebuilding and some real ideas on how to do it effectively.

Thank you, and Goodnight.

Well, I’m just brilliant

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on July 7, 2002
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So after being here for like 6 months I FINALLY make it to Vans skate park in the Block at Orange. (a big outdoor mall, for those of you not from Southern California) I didn’t skate at all, seeing as how I haven’t picked mine up for like 6 months I thought I would ease back into it, and just check out this park before I made an attempt to skate it. So it was like hella cool, and I reallyl enjoyed watching some of the good people. Then when I went home, i thought I would check out if there is some close, free, places to skate closer……and low and behold. There is a skate park like within skating distance of here. So today I headed out to skate down there and just check it out…..let me tell you, I am really out of shape, it was like a 20 minute skate one way and I was huffing and puffing. So I checked it out…didn’t really skate it, just chilled and noticed that there was like one inliner there, and a bunch of bikes for a while, but I left for a bit and came back and they were gone. (Big plus….bikes take a lot of space in a park, and seem to really run into boarders a lot, as well as inline ppl like me) Well I decided not to skate the park cuz I was really beat, and sorta intimdated by all the wood-pushers and lack of friends there to chill w/.

So tomorrow I’m going w/ a friend of Aaron’s (my brother), that I skated with once when I was up visiting him at school in michigan. That should be cool, maybe kick my sucking streak with my skates and jump start some motivation to go by myself and have a good time…..Plus having new bearings would be a plus.

But untill then….TTYL, and have a good night.

My Life, or something else maybe….or something or some goals or like that thing w/ the thing that we did that one time

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on July 6, 2002
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Well, I thought I would put up some goals for the next half of the year, this is primarily for me, but then agian I figure if I throw it out there, then some of the people around me can read it and be all “hey, y r’nt u doing that stuff u said u would” and i’ll be all “Oh $h*%, I forgot about that” and then i’ll remember and try to do it.
But, whatever, so here are a few simple ones.

  • Get Home,…I know it is simple, but hey, start small, and figure that it is a long drive, and a lot of perilious stuff could happen on the way
  • Make good grades…all A’s and B’s….and strive for mostly A’s
  • Not get overly stressed about school….I know I’ll make it, I just have to keep my head up and keep on keepin on
  • Keep the peace in my house…..This is mainly just for my part, but it takes all 8 of us to make it a reality.
  • Curb my tounge…..thats right…those of you who know me….i’m *trying* to stop swearing as much….it is a long process….and I think I can get it down to just when I’m driving ^_^
  • Correctly administer my home network w/ minimum problems…..to bodly go where No MIS major has gone before.
  • Help my girlfriend smoothly transition to college life. Well make it as smooth as possible
  • Do SOMETHING that doesn’t have to do w/ engineering…I was leaning towards reviewing movies for the Buzz, or writing a column….or trying to at least. Something that maybe would help my resume as well as be a learning experience outside of my major.
  • Remember that this is really the first day of the rest of my life.

    • Goodnight everybody.

    My Life, or something like it :) [This is long folks....get out your reading glasses]

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    BigCat
    on July 1, 2002
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    Well, today marks half the year come and gone. So, I thought it would be good to do a little recap and analysis of my year so far, and the remainder of the year to come. I would like to start this with a little bit of the events/highs/lows leading up to this year.

    First off, I had a terrible semester. All in all, I don’t consider it a waste, because a lot of good things happened though. But to start off, I was sorta in a rut anyway at the begining of the semester. Because the preceeding spring had some really high points, along with some dissapointments….those of you who know me, know that I was part of very successful project group, but got a C in a class i really enjoyed because I spent so much time in the other class for this project. So, in comes summer, and I can’t find a job. I spent a good amount of time going to temp agencies trying to find one, and sending out resumes. But nothing…finally, i settled for a data-entry job at the aid department for the state. This was a horrible job. The people were nice, but the job sucked…just typing away, all day, entering stupid stuff, doing mind-numbingly easy stuff. This, marked the begining of my binge-drinking summer. Lots of good times….lots of dumb things done. But the school year started, and it was my goal to forget this crappy job, and the fact that I dated no one all summer, and no one even appeared remotely interested. So, I drank more, I was piss drunk five nights in a row at the begining of the semester. That was a lot of fun, and a lot more stupid things done. Some of you may think, hey, five days, no biggie. But for me, that was quite a bit. But this proved no good what-so-ever, because now, I started behind in all my classes. And while taking four highly technical classes, it isn’t good to start behind. So, the short version of the semester I will break down in a list.

    Good Things

  • Midnight Soccer
  • Great Roomates, closer then ever w/ those guys
  • Great friends, made some new ones, got to know others better….started talking to some old ones agian
  • Passes my last physics class
  • Had a lot of understanding friends during some hard times

    • Bad

  • Failed my ECE229 class
  • Pretty sure I pissed my cousin off, who has been great to me as a mentor and cousin….Sorry Dan
  • Drank a lot at the beginning of the semester
  • Got a D- in that physics class
  • Got a D in math 315…..prick Prof. graded like a jerk
  • Got on academic probation because of bad grades
  • Parents put me on medication for depression in November….
  • Initial Side effects of this were that I hated everyone that wasn’t close to me, and wanted to kill people, and had absolutely no mechanisim for dealing w/ any sort of problems that caused an emotional response
  • Wanted to kill my lab partner
  • Couldn’t sleep right, when I tried to sleep, didn’t get a lot of sleep in general

    • There is actually some other stuff too that happened that was sort of crap-tastic, but not worth mentioning….mostly having to do w/ the opposite sex, but in light of recent events I find it unconsequential.

    This is all why I thought it was necessary to run down this year….sort of a self-therapy sort of thing, along with, I need some goals to get gonig with the rest of the year, so I don’t fall into the same pattern agian. So I’ll start with some great unexpected things about this year.

  • First and foremost, I started going back to church….I found the absolutely best place to go to church for me, and it is in southern Orange county….check it out Saddleback’s Website
  • I started going to a small group (a group sorta like a bible study, but a bit different) and I met a lot of cool people
  • One of these people I started dating, and she is comming to Illinois next semester, and I think she is positively wonderful
  • I made a couple of other great friends
  • I got to know Pete a lot better, and couldn’t have asked for a better friend from back home to start my time out here with.
  • I realized that ‘lonely’ is really no more then a state of mind, or a phone call away from being gone

    • And some other things that were less then unexpected that happened good and bad

  • I started my co-op, and liked it a lot
  • The people I work with are cool
  • I seem to be doing OK, and most the people like me here
  • I finally bought a better computer
  • As most of you know how I talk about systems, it isn’t the one I want to build, but a laptop instead. :P
  • I was told that I most likely won’t be asked back for a second term or a full time position unless my grades improve significantly…this was about when I started the job
  • Some of my friends were not able to come out as originally planned
  • I planned a great trip back with a big Vegas stop and some stops at other friends places throughout the country, complete with some people comming that I didn’t expect to come
  • I planned a great next semster, and I’ve purchased season tickets for the Bears who are playing at my college stadium this semster year….Yeah Buddy
  • Plans for our “Phi Beta Nu” house are going great
  • I hooked back up w/ an old friend who is living in Pheonix now, and we had a good time partying
  • I turned 21, and got very very drunk, but I payed for it, and I think it was important to do that for my birthday
  • And a slew of other stuff that was just all around good

    • So, I’m looking to the year ahead, and since this post is already very long, I will post some goals as I come up with them tomorrow or later today. Thanks for reading about my recent life, and sorry this is soo darned long.