January 10, 2010
Today I flew from Denver to Washington DC. This time I flew into Washington Regan airport rather than Washington Dulles. I slept most of the 3 hour flight but was awake for the awesome descent. I got to see Mount Vernon, Fort Washington, and George Washington Parkway from the air. It was a great sight.
This week TRB (transportation research board meeting) is going on and this is the first year I've been able to come and participate. This meeting happens every year in DC but I am usually out in the truck collecting/working at a park. I'm excited to finally get a chance to talk to vendors and have the TRB experience. http://www.trb.org/AboutTRB/Public/AboutTRB.aspx
January 10, 2010
January 8, 2010
People Actually Pulled Over...
January 8, 2009
Today we were driving around town in the new truck practicing how to collect. While doing this we had our beacons on to make people more aware of us and sometimes we travel at slower speeds. There were two cars that saw us in their rear view mirror and pulled over to the side of the road! Amazing. I am not sure why because our truck is white and doesn't look like an ambulance or anything. I sort of felt bad but hey, I'll take it. The less cars in the video means the more pavement and features we can see.
I was coming home from the temple this evening and saw a bumper sticker that I thought was a good one. It said: When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.
Today we were driving around town in the new truck practicing how to collect. While doing this we had our beacons on to make people more aware of us and sometimes we travel at slower speeds. There were two cars that saw us in their rear view mirror and pulled over to the side of the road! Amazing. I am not sure why because our truck is white and doesn't look like an ambulance or anything. I sort of felt bad but hey, I'll take it. The less cars in the video means the more pavement and features we can see.
I was coming home from the temple this evening and saw a bumper sticker that I thought was a good one. It said: When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.
January 5, 2010
The New Truck Has Arrived
January 5, 2010
With the new year comes a new road analyzer! The time has finally come so I can stop dreaming about what it will be like. The truck arrived yesterday. We spent the day looking at the hardware and the physical set up of the systems. Believe it or not I can see out the back window and the rear view mirror actually has a purpose in this truck! It was an exciting day for us all. Today we took the truck to get weighted and it came out at 7,880 lbs...not bad. We then drove around to practice collecting and get familiar with the software. It is hard to believe that after one day we feel that we could take this truck out and collect and feel confident in our data. There is defiantly a lot of knowledge that still needs to be gained but we are well on our way to a "new life" and it is great so far! Tomorrow it is supposed to snow so we are going to do some final touches inside the truck and then look at setting up a database and shapefiles to load in the new truck prior to collection of a national park! It should be another fun filled day.
With the new year comes a new road analyzer! The time has finally come so I can stop dreaming about what it will be like. The truck arrived yesterday. We spent the day looking at the hardware and the physical set up of the systems. Believe it or not I can see out the back window and the rear view mirror actually has a purpose in this truck! It was an exciting day for us all. Today we took the truck to get weighted and it came out at 7,880 lbs...not bad. We then drove around to practice collecting and get familiar with the software. It is hard to believe that after one day we feel that we could take this truck out and collect and feel confident in our data. There is defiantly a lot of knowledge that still needs to be gained but we are well on our way to a "new life" and it is great so far! Tomorrow it is supposed to snow so we are going to do some final touches inside the truck and then look at setting up a database and shapefiles to load in the new truck prior to collection of a national park! It should be another fun filled day.
January 2, 2010
Tornado Siren
January 2, 2010After discovering that some people have never heard of or seen a tornado siren I decided to post a couple of photos on my blog. This siren is right outside my parents house in MN...I took the photos from their living room window. These sirens are popular in neighborhoods in the Midwest states. Rochester has several all over town. They do have them in Colorado but in the 9 or 10 years that I have lived here I've only heard a siren go off one time. When the siren goes off it is a warning for people to take cover and get to the safest place in their home. Here is a link I found with more info...
January 1, 2010
Back to Denver
January 1, 2010I made it back to Denver today after spending a little over a week in MN with my family. It was good to get a break from work and I got to spend some time with my nieces and nephew who are growing up fast and talking more (and better) every time I see them. It was really, really cold in MN and I must say that I'll take Denver weather any day over the continual MN cold. The first 4 days I was home I was a bit out of it and took an unexpected Christmas Eve trip to the ER. After sleeping the next few days I was back to normal and back on my feet. It was a rough few days and I'm very glad I was around family. Getting a good family photo is pretty hard with everyone...someone is always looking away or has their eyes closed. This photo (posted) is one of the better ones we took. Little Nolan has his eyes closed but I guess since he so little I won't blame him (yet) for not understanding that when you take photos you don't blink :).
Anyway, today the MSP airport was pretty slow but with all of the added security they have been talking about on the news I thought I'd need to get there early but there were NO lines! Uhhh, good thing I brought my computer to pass the time. I got to sit next to a girl who was in her mid 20s (I think) who had never flown before. I am so used to flying that it is hard for me to understand why people have fears about flying but she was pretty nervous and it was interesting to hear her questions. Planes are basically my 2nd home (or maybe my 3rd after my work truck) and weird noises don't really phase me anymore. She was concerned about the force during take off and wanted to know if you really lean back in your seat. She also wanted to know why the plane was turning after we were in the air and not just flying straight. The flight went well and when we landed she said "that was a quick flight" and I think her fears are now put to rest.
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