SAT Scores

The average SAT scores for this past year came out today. I note that the kids in colorado scored, on average, about 50 points above the national average. The kids here in Virginia averaged about 10 points below. Winnie's home state to New Hampshire was about 10 points above average.

Among students in Colorado, my alma mater, Colorado School of Mines, ranked #5 in the number of students that sent their scores to the school. The University of Colorado in Boulder had four times as many students send in their scores, but they are what, ten times larger? Mines ranked #12 among Wyoming students (CU was #6). Mines didn't show up in the top 50 anywhere else in the country, but CU was on the lists all over.

Job Search

Dr. Winnie is starting to make some progress in her job search. Her continuing work with her dissertation adviser is getting her name out there, and some possible jobs are starting to appear. There is one possible post-doctoral position, and a permanent job or two with the federal government. Stay tuned. We may finally be thinking about moving soon.

The price of (heating) oil - Updated 9/1/06

We are far enough out on the edge of exurbia that there is no natural gas service. So, your choices in heating are electric (ouch!), propane, or heating oil. We use oil.

Each year our supplier allows you to lock in your purchases for the winter at a fixed price. The condition, though, is that you have to decide, in advance, how many gallons you want to buy at that price, and then you have to pay them in advance. It's all a crap shoot. So far, each year, I've won.

This year the price was $2.599 per gallon. I bought 750 gallons, the same as last year, figuring the price had to go up to $3 a gallon later on.

Today I bought gas at $2.589, the lowest price I've seen in many months. I'm starting to wonder "did I guess right, or do I lose this year?"

UPDATE (8/29) - Today gas was $2.519 in Yorktown.

UPDATE (9/1) - Bought gas, while driving to work in Hurricane Ernesto, for $2.439.

Thursday Night Walk

It seems like most every Thursday evening we take the dogs over to Yorktown for a walk. It's getting darker by the time we arrive now, so the crowds are less, but it's a bit harder to negotiate. Still, they get a lot of attention wherver they go, and tonight was no exception.

Private Road?

Someone in one of our smaller towns decided the piece of road going across their property wasn't public property.

Late last month, Jean R. Short erected fences on her property at the end of a narrow road in her lakeside neighborhood.

A Virginia Department of Transportation sign noting the "end state maintenance" has stood on Dan Circle for years, but local residents have used the snippet of road across Short's property to make a loop around to another road.

To the dismay of some of the neighbors, the fences ended that practice.

...

Dale Goodman, VDOT residency administrator for Mecklenburg and Brunswick counties, said signs noting that the stretch is not maintained by the state have been there for decades.

"The question I was asked [was], 'Do we want it?' My answer was no," Goodman said. "We never have maintained it."

Well, maybe, but maybe not. I can see a lot of the VDOT data in my GIS job.

We have what are called "Right-of-Way images" available for one thing. These are an out-the-windshield view of the road, one picture snapped each 1/100 mile (52 ft) for every road in the 50,000+ miles we maintain. Yes, that is a lot of pictures - millions in fact (And I loaded every blinkin' one of them off of tape into the server). For this road we clearly show a sign that says "End State Maintenance", but then the images continue as if our crew kept on driving the loop mentioned.

That can't be right! I'm not so sure though. This was a well maintained road, with very professional looking guardrails at an embankment, etc. It didn't look like a private driveway. Our official roadway inventory system also contradicts the sign, and says the whole loop belongs to VDOT.

So, who are they going to believe? It might be private, or it might be VDOT's responsibility, or the sign could mean that the town is supposed to maintain the road. This sounds like one to just keep quiet so they don't use the "Fire His Ass" certificate.

Bomb Squad

I'm glad we didn't pick last night to walk the dogs at the Yorktown Riverwalk. Ths is where we usually park the car when we take them over.

A bomb squad from Naval Weapons Station Yorktown was called to Riverwalk Landing after a suspicious suitcase was found in a parking garage, police said.

The garage was closed after the suitcase was found about 11:40 a.m., said Sgt. Robert Hickey of the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office.

About 2 p.m., the bomb squad safely opened the suitcase, which was empty, Hickey said. There were no injuries.

Pears, pears, pears

It seems we spent all of this past weekend working with pears. We have two trees that over the past couple of years have produced around 200-300 pears per year. We spent quite a bit of time peeling and cutting and cooking pears. Is there anyone but us that still cans their own pears? Other than, maybe, Mormans? Winnie also has made up about three separate batches of pear sauce, and even did a batch of pear chutney.

Next year is liable not to be so good. One of our trees seems to have fire blight, and I'm trimming out the dead parts as best I can. Unfortunately, I'm afraid it may have progressed too far, and we'll lose the whole tree. With no cross-polination for the other tree, we'll get nothing next year. I think I'm going to start looking around the yard for another spot to put a second tree.

We also, finally, got a decent batch of sour cherries this year. Usually we lose them all to the birds. I planted a second tree this year, but we don't expect that to produce anything for a year or two. I got at least enough to make a couple of batches of preserves. Yum!

August 27, 1781 - Crossing New Jersey

Two hundred twenty-five years ago today, the Continental Army was in Chatham, NJ. In Victory in Yorktown, Richard Ketchum states:

"General Washington wrote to Governor Thomas Nelson of Virginia, who had succeded Thomas Jefferson in June, telling him that plans had changed, that the combined armies were heading south to join a formidible fleet and land forces under Admiral de Grasse to 'strike a blow at the Enemy in Virginia.' "

He further asked for the utmost in cooperation from Virigina, including the provision of food, forage, and supplies, and that Virginians "with a gun of any sort" turn out to assist.

The common troops still had no idea, though. Private Joseph Plumb Martin wrote that at this time -

"We went down to Chatham, where were ovens built for the accommodation of the French troops. We then expected we were to attack New York in that quarter, but after staying here a day or two, we again moved off and arrived at Trenton by rapid marches."

August 15, 1781

Two hundred twenty-five years ago today General Washington ordered the Lafeyette "to position his force in such a way as to prevent Cornwallis from returning to North Carolina." The day before he had received a letter indicating that admiral de Grasse was "sailing for the Chesapeake, bringing twenty-nine warships and more than three thousand troops."

A local murder

In the next county over, this creep got off easy. Forty years for murdering a college freshman. For him it was just a photo shoot gone wrong. What I can't vaguely understand is why the judge suspended 10 years of the sentence. "Good behavior" for showing them where the body was?

Mathews -- Ben Fawley pleaded this afternoon in Mathews County Circuit Court in the death of 17-year-old Taylor Behl. Fawley entered an Alford plea, meaning he acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict him in Behl's death without accepting culpability.

Fawley, 38, was sentenced to 40 years in prison with 10 years suspended.

Ban Tasers

Police should go back to using weapons that folks understand and respect, like shotguns. After assault, theft, et al., this character apparently understood what to expect when the police caught him inspecting a marijuana field. Or, not.

Officers saw a man inspect the plants and gave chase. The man, whom police said was Wilson, ran east toward Lafayette.

Harris, responding to a call on the chase in progress, spotted Wilson and pursued him in his patrol car before jumping out when Wilson reached a field.

Wilson went into convulsions after being hit with the Taser. Harris attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Schultz said, but Wilson was pronounced dead at 8 p.m. Friday at Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette.

Apparently, his family doesn't understand that "being shot" is always a bad thing.

"If you're a police officer, you need to have enough discipline and self- control to know that there is a possibility, however slight, that it can kill. So they should only use it being aware that it can kill people."

Why Would Someone Do This?

There's a sailor in the brig here for selling classified information in the mideast. What on Earth will turn out to have been his motivation?

NORFOLK — After refusing to release full details on a pending espionage case involving a petty officer held in the Norfolk brig, the Navy today provided some specifics about the charges .

The Navy’s charges depict Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann as a sailor who stole a Navy laptop computer, deserted his ship for more than eight months and traveled the globe, both attempting to give and actually delivering classified defense information to an undisclosed foreign government.

Fire His Ass

Well, at least not yet. But, when my boss at VDOT left to go to another state agency in June he left behind this certificate for my boss.
Delegation of Authority

"Fire His Ass"
This Certificate is Delegated to:
Scott McCombe
To be applied to Mike Ryan in case he gets too snippy, sarcastic, or refers to coworkers as "you people".
Hereby delegated by Dan Widner.

Ah, feel the love!

Rabies - Part 3

What is it about rabies in this state?

LEESBURG - Officials are recommending that nearly 1,000 Girl Scouts who may have been exposed to the rabies virus at a Northern Virginia camp consider getting protective vaccinations.

Tropical Storm Chris - Update 1

Well, at least it looks like it will miss us. Want to bet it turns north about Tuesday?

Tropical Storm Chris

Some of the people I work with think I'm in the wrong line of work. But being an inland boy, sideswiped once now by a hurricane, I've gotten a lot more interested in watching out for what is going on.

Rabid Foxes - Part 2

A few days ago I noted that there have been a number of presumably rabid foxes spotted in the area. Now, one has bitten a little boy near here.

The Smithfield boy was playing with an older child in a sandbox in the family's yard last week when the fox bit the young boy on both of his forearms, said Isle of Wight Animal Control Chief Ed Sullivan.

The child's mother, who was outside pruning flowers, grabbed both children and brought them inside the house by going through the garage. The fox followed them, but the mother closed the door and trapped the fox in the garage, Sullivan said.