2009: A Look Back

I guess I will continue what I started last year with a look back and a look ahead around New Year's. The look ahead will come later.

In all, 2009 has been one of the better years I've had in a while. The highlights:

1. My two written qualifying exams have been passed. Add to those the A+ from Fluid Mechanics this fall, and all I have left to do to meet my qualifying requirements is to get a B in Turbulent Flow this spring.
2. I was asked to do a research assistantship this spring and continue research this summer. This could lead to me having a master's degree by the end of the summer.
3. The professor I was a teaching assistant for this fall wrote a letter of commendation on my behalf because of how well my students did compared to the rest of the calculus II students.
4. Both sermons I gave this year seemed to go well. I haven't been asked to do another yet, but my pastor seemed to perk up when I mentioned I'm off until January 25th.
5. Linux runs much more nicely on an old laptop than Windows does.
6. I'm starting to accept that at least for the foreseeable future, I am going to be single.

Now for the low-lights:

1. For the foreseeable future, I am probably going to be single.
2. It has been two and a half years since I've been on a date.
3. Bloody snowstorm a week and a half ago.
4. Windows choked on the six and a half year old laptop, and so was purged and replaced with Linux. Fortunately, all important files were saved.

Well, that's my 2009 in a nutshell. I'll give my look ahead to 2010 in a couple of days or so.

A Winter Weather Public Service Announcement

Since the Mid-Atlantic states have been hammered by a record December snowstorm, I feel it is my duty to provide some reminders on appropriate behavior after a snow as a public service.

1. Make sure to clean off your entire car of snow BEFORE driving. Yes, driving down the road will remove the snow for you, but it will end up on the cars following you, possibly creating accidents. Since the General Assembly in Maryland meets in a little over a month, please contact your legislators about imposing stiff fines, prison sentences, and maybe capital punishment for the more egregious offenders, for those who refuse to perform this simple courtesy to their fellow drivers. It is completely boneheaded to drive down the road with over a foot of snow on the roof of your car.
2. When plowing sidewalks, parking lots, etc., make sure the entire area is clear of slush, or treat it with salt or some other melting chemical. Otherwise, you will have sheet ice in the morning (like the parking lot at my place now).
3. There is absolutely no reason, unless you are emergency personnel, to be going over the speed limit on any road after the storm if the roads are not completely cleared. Going eighty miles per hour on I-270 should be grounds for being shot.
   
4. If you travel somewhere before a predicted winter storm, make sure it is to some place where you have reliable Internet access.

Following these tips will make surviving the winter storm somewhat enjoyable.

Frederick County Deserves Better

Frederick County needs a new sheriff.

In today's issue of the Frederick News-Post, readers find out that the Frederick County Sheriff drove a man home from jail after he was arrested for violating a protective order (http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=98920). I feel sorry for the poor neighbor, who has had to file these protective orders. How can she trust the major law enforcement agency of the county to protect her when the sheriff has clearly shown a bias? And how many other people in jail are going to get rides home upon their release from the sheriff in a county-owned vehicle? Especially after Jenkins was quoted as saying, "I would do the same for any of my friends -- or any citizen of Frederick County, for that matter."

Add this to the problems with the fatal accident that killed a Mount St. Mary's student earlier this year (http://aawip.blogspot.com/2009/06/something-fishy-this-way-comes.html), and one gets the sense that the citizens of Frederick County, and the men and women of the Sheriff's Office, deserve better. Unfortunately, Jenkins will continue to be shielded by the good ol' boy network in Frederick. After all, Jenkins's passenger is a highly-placed member of the Republican party in Frederick County.

And for some less cynical news, I have only my duties as a TA to complete this semester. Everything else is finished. And since I got a 95 on the Fluid Mechanics final, I am halfway finished my last qualifier requirement. All I need is a B next semester in my Turbulent Flow class.