36 hours out...

This should be exciting!

what month is it?

Look next to "WLFI." Yes, that's the local tv station where we're at. COME ON! It's March 5! 5 inches of snow in March? Seriously.

God sure has a sense of humor--sending us to a place that gets over twice as much snow as they average in our first winter.

indiana likes ethanol, i don't

As you may or may not know, I have begun research into alternative solar cell materials for ultra-high efficiency concentrator cells (a lot of words, I know, just read as "Kyle likey the sun"). With this research, I have begun keeping track more of what's going in the alternative energies arena, and what's making the news regarding our global energy situation both now and in the future.

Well, I just thought I'd post up a link to a blog article that gives a stark look at the realties of ethanol production. The government says it's going to save the world, but as you might have guessed, politicians aren't scientists. Suffice it to say the following:

1) the net power generated from producing ethanol may be 0, or close to it, meaning the power put in to make the stuff is the nearly the same as what you get out
2) ethanol is made from an edible food (the article makes a reference to a full tank of ethanol could have provided enough grain to sustain a person for a year)
3) I like progress in any area of renewable energy, but my definition of progress is moving forward, not backward

Here's the article:
http://i-r-squared.blogspot.com/2008/02/unintended-consequences.html

Enjoy!

PS. don't tell my neighbors I don't like ethanol, they may flog me with corn husks

seriously, this is colder

So my last post got all freaked out about our low of 2 degrees, but this is all new point to freakout about -- not only is it 0 degrees (feels like -15), but it's SUNNY outside. Coming from Texas, I thought the point of the sun was to WARM the earth!! Something is seriously wrong here!

[yes, I do realize that the earth is tilted and that during the winter the northern hemisphere is further away from the sun, but I'm ignoring that point for the sake of freakingout]

seriously, this is cold

Yes, that is 2 degrees F, with a wind chill of -15!! Beat that Houston!

i'm workin here

So one of my goals over Christmas break was to find an easy way to publish some of our pictures for all of you to see, and lo it has been completed! Though I am as weary of Google as the next guy, given that they're lined up for global domination and all, the fact is that they make really great software that is easier than any I've used, and it's all free (which may be the best part). For photos (and even videos) they have a program called Picasa, which allows for easy indexing, searching, editing, cropping, emailing, publishing, buying prints, and a lot more. With a google online account you get 1 GB of free space to put up photo galleries, and that's just what I've done.

To check out what's up you can either go to:
www.picasaweb.google.com/coupleofragamuffins
or
www.acoupleofragamuffins.com/photosvideos.html

With these galleries you're free to download and buy hi-res prints from any online printer you like (I recommend Shutterfly).


Happy Christmas and a merry New Year to all!

i can finally actually dream of a white christmas

This past weekend we got a boatload of snow dumped on us, and by boatload I mean about 11". Once again, we were mesmerized, flabergasted, intrigued, and curious all at once. But nonetheless, it's just about what you might expect -- really cold, flaky, light (but heavy when you're shoveling it), and cumbersome to drive in.

Here's some pictures of our winter wonderland:

yes, that's us, and yes, our boots are covered in snow

if you take a look at the bottom of the window you can see our cats doing their best to play mind tricks on the curious squirrel (click on the picture to see a bigger version)

yes, I had to shovel all that snow from behind our car

that would be Esmeralda's foot in the foot of snow

snow-licious

Esmeralda's first snow angel (I did one too)

it might be a little difficult pedaling these around

a before shot of our entryway

an after shot (yes, I shoveled it myself, thank you)

a skit that says so much

This song may be a little dated (I remember it from high school), but the lyrics, along with this skit are powerful.

Check it out:



"Everything" by Lifehouse

when the weather outside is frightful

Yes, see that Honda CR-V there, the one with the spare tire mounted on back? Yep, that's our car....covered in SNOW!! Sorry to those of you who don't really know Esmeralda and I, but this is a first for us, being from Texas and all.

Luckily, Esmeralda and I both take the bus to get where we have to go, so I wasn't out there at dawn to clear it off (thank you small town).

And, so, I know that we've pretty much NEVER updated this blog, especially after having moved 1000 miles across the country, but what can I say? I guess things have just been a bit busy, what with graduate school and settling in here and all. Really though, we're doing very well, surviving the cold, and nearly done with this semester.

But for now, I leave with a picture of my beautiful wife, trying not to freeze.

what can i say? my nephew is cuter than yours

Well, he does have the family genes!