More Adventures

Purdue University

Today the the REU teams went and visited the civil and mechanical engineering research facilities at Purdue University. The civil research building was awesome... some high-tech expensive equipment, not to mention the building was huge. To give you an example there was a 3 or 4 story slab concrete structure built inside of it (about the size of a small apartment building) that they were going to do some failure tests with. They had two massive overhead cranes that spanned over 100 feet. The mechanical engineering research facility wasn't that sweet at all. We met with grad students from each program, and i found that the civil engineering projects didn't suck. The ME grad/doctorate student we spoke with was doing numerical analysis (4 years of it...) yah, maybe ME grad school isn't for me.
The campus was very pretty. It was also nice to see real humans. Rose-Hulman has a pretty big concentration of super-nerds (yes more nerdy than me, jerks... These guys make Bill Gates look like a GQ model). So being at Purdue i actually saw girls... and decent looking ones at that. Oh yah, there was a national sorority conference going on, so that didn't hurt the situation. :) We've learned that being on campus guys quickly get "Rose Goggles," a close cousin to the beer goggles. Rose goggles make an average, to less than average girl look REALLY good. During the school year, the ratio is about 8 guys to 1 girl. I'm really glad i dont go here full time. Anyway... You all probably think i'm shallow now...whatever. ;)
This last week my team went to the Vigo county courthouse and went through the security assessment sheet from last year(what we're improving upon). We got the tour, took some measurements and took a bunch of pictures. It was build by a french architect back in 1884. It is a masonry structure, some steel, and covered in huge limestone blocks. In some places the walls are 4 feet thick. (just in case you cared). It was pretty nice to get out of the office... though i really dont feel like i'm there that often anyways. Well that's all the news i have for now. Thank you for all your emails and comments. I enjoy hearing from you all. Take care.

Happy Birthday Mom

The definition of a hero is a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life. Everyday we walk past heroes who have given life and limb for this country. But lets not forget those heroes that change this country, this world, from the inside out. I’m talking about people like my parents. Because today is my mother’s birthday, I am going to write the rest of this with her in mind even though all of what I say can be related to my father as well.

I want to begin by telling you about a woman for which my mom has been a hero. Dawn met my mother 15 years ago when her son was taking piano lessons from my dad. I do not know the details of my mom’s relationship with her, but from what I can tell, they were just average friends, someone you would see and chat with at the grocery store. In the past 15 years Dawn has become almost incapacitated mentally and physically by a disease that will eventually take her life. Her family has removed themselves from her, with exception of an older son who takes advantage of her state by stealing money from her. To make a long story short, my mom agreed to become Dawn’s legal guardian.

In doing so, My mother has sacrificed weeks of her time to helping Dawn do everything: buying clothes, taking her to doctor visits, cleaning and organizing her home, and getting her into an assisted living program. Most of this was done with a lot of resistance from a fearful Dawn and her 27 year old son who continually threatened my mom. To protect her from the son, my dad would join her, or when he was working, other large men accompany her, sometimes even the police. But my mother didn’t stop there, she continued to care for and serve Dawn.

Today Dawn is laughing, smiling, gaining weight, and partially independent. Recently my mother asked Dawn what her dreams and wishes are, and what she wanted to do before she died. My mom has taken it upon herself to help fulfill as many of these dreams as she can. My mom spends hours on the phone trying to find people that Dawn wants to see, books flights, and makes arrangements to get her from place to place. Because of my mom’s sacrifice, courage, and love, this woman has the opportunity to enjoy the rest of her life.

My mom is also known as Mrs. Amber by 100 or so special needs kindergarten kids. Mrs. Amber works fulltime a classroom leader and as a social worker for kids who have drug addicted parents, and other unhealthy living situations. Five days a week she teaches these kids the basics of a functioning human being, something that they don’t always get at home. She loves and cares for these kids, disciplining them, encouraging them, and giving them the chance to become healthy people. Not only does she do this for little kids, she does it for the big kids (their parents) too.

In the 5 years she has been working as a teacher she has influenced and changed the lives of these little people. Many of them won’t know or remember her in 10 years, but she changed their lives. She doesn’t do it for the glory, because there isn’t a lot that comes with her job. She does it because she loves the kids, and cares for people. She is a hero for these families and deserves to be recognized.

That’s where I come in. While she has been selflessly giving herself to these people, she manages to love her husband, raise two boys, be a loving sister, be a caring daughter, be a true friend, be a strong woman of God, and keep the house clean! My brother and I are blessed to be one of the few kids in our group of friends with parents that are still married. Not to toot my own horn, but I think she has done an awesome job at being a mom and raising two young men. I have grown to realize that I have the best mom, the best parents a son could ask for. She is a hero to me, her family, her friends, and to each life she manages to touch.

I love you mom. I pray for you every day. Happy birthday.

Chicago

Had a busy week this week, took off to Chicago for a long day of tours and informational meetings. Sounds fun huh! Hehehe. (picture of the Sears tower above.) It was ok, lots of traffic... and for once I felt like a minority (at least in south Chicago). That was a new experience, but a good one I think. The group met with a guy named Gene Corely, the guy who managed the engineering investigation of the Twin Towers and the Oklahoma city bombing. We also went to another company that does a lot of testing and building rehabilitation stuff - it was all very good, but leaving Terre Haute at 5:30 and getting back at 11:30 made for a long, long, long day. We tried sleeping in the van, but the roads were heinous, but somehow a few of us got to sleep (yah Blake has his shirt off... we think Tom and Blake have a crush on each other... hahaha.)

Saturday some of us went back to Indianapolis for the day. We went to the Zoo, out to lunch, and did some shopping too. Blake was pretty excited because he got to feed a giraffe... he called and told his mom. She then interrupted him and asked if he was sober. :D Good story, guess u had to be there. Anyhow, saw all sorts of animals, reptiles, etc, etc... even watched a dolphin show. (picture after we left the Indy zoo below) Well that's about all I have for now. Love you all... Email me if u want, I'd enjoy hearing from you. Lata!

Indy

Went to the big city today and met with our clients, the Department of Homeland Security. We learned about all the politics involved and money issues of why what we're doing can help them out so much (did i mention that they're not having to pay for our work, the National Science Foundation is sponsoring our project). The importance of a courthouse security assessment tool (sorry big words) was fresh on their minds because a judge in Reno got shot through his office window today. At the moment they don't have any way of telling if the courthouse is safe unless an outside professional is hired, which can be expensive. It all comes down to money (doesn't everything?) but they are wanting a product asap. Anyway, enough about boring stuff... the city was cool (no i didn't take this picture). It was kind of a last minute trip. Thursday we head to Chicago to meet with the head forensic engineer at _____ (cant remember the companies name) who did the analysis of the Twin Towers and the Oklahoma city bombing. We have lunch planned with them then we get to play, go to the Sears tower, throw pennies off the top... u know tourist stuff!

My Uncle

No this isn't a picture of my uncle, this is me, i just needed to post a picture for my profile. Anyhow... back to my uncle.

Does any one have a relative or two that ever since u were a kid you couldn't get enough of? Well my aunt Janet and uncle Joel were those people for me. There are a ton of memories that flood my mind when i think about those two... being spoiled at Christmas, weird kooky gifts from my uncle (fake dog poop, tequila flavored suckers with a worm... etc), being a couch potato with Janet, and the strange duck noise my uncle made when he tickled me, fishing trips and surprise visits at Christmas. Like a lot of people, life didn't deal Janet and Joel the easiest hand. Janet battled cancer for 8 years or more, and Joel stuck by her through the whole thing. I don’t know many people that could have done what he did, i mean the man lived with Janet's four sisters and her mother for a while! That demands respect. That is exactly what i have for my uncle. I wont forget the love that he showed not only my aunt, but my mom (her twin sister), and the rest of my family. He is one of those great men that doesn't get enough recognition for his strength, courage, selflessness, and his heart. I mean who else could get held hostage by a guy (at gun point) and end up talking the guy to turning himself in over pizza and cigars? (yah, its true... we have the news recording off of the TV). Well sorry everyone this really wasn't about Indiana, but i hope that you take the time to tell those people you love what they mean to you.

Uncle Joel, i don’t have a way of emailing you i don’t think... so email me. I would love to hear from you. My email is: cropper777@hotmail.com

My Pictures

I was having some technical difficulties this evening... but i finally got the pictures onto a computer.



























(The view outside my dorm)














(A fountain at night)
The pictures are kinda random, i know... oh well deal with it. Hhehe. So the team has pretty much been adopted by the faculty and their families. This is the second night we have gone to a doctor's home and feasted... literally. I dont know if i'm actually gonna get in shape if i keep getting fed like this... much less any work. Today was actually our first day of real work. I spent several hours in front of the computer doing research, and listening to a few lectures in between. I am constantly learning... either about engineering or people. Well i have to read some of "The Craft of Research", yes it is as boring as it sounds. Talk to you all later!

Terre Haute (sounds like boat with an H)

Hey guys welcome to Rose-Hulman Tech Institute. I figured that using a blog would save me writing emails, and i wouldn't have to clog your inboxes with pictures. So i'm here... its pretty sweet actually. The campus is gorgeous, the parks are nice, the tempurature is perfect, not too humid (right now), the teams are great and the professors are super friendly. Yes i am the but of a lot of potatoe jokes, but atleast i dont call shopping carts "buggies" or water fountains "bubblers"??? Whatever... I want to thank you for all your support and prayers, God is definitely at work here. I never expected to say grace at the first meal we had as a team (led by the faculty). I also been able to pray with my roomate who just broke up with his fiance. Anyhow... i am really excited to see what the next 7 and a half weeks hold. (this is a picture of the dorm i am in)


As far as the project goes i am on a team with two other people researching Lateral load resistance and Progressive Collapse classification of existing structures. Long winded... but it pretty much means were trying to figure out a way for inspectors to rate an older building to figure out if it needs to be improved upon so that strong winds, terrorist attacks, etc, wont destroy the whole building. (progressive collapse is like what happend to the World Trade Center) Yah... i am not completely out of my comfort zone, but i am pretty much learning stuff all the time. (this is the chapel and lake that i can see from my dorm)

The schedule is fairly relaxed, the dorms are big and nice, and we have been fed like kings. Every night this week we have been at a different professor's home for dinner. Tomorrow we're going to our professor's home who is from Ghana, so we are going to be eating some african food tomorrow. Pretty cool. Anyhow i am supposed to have read like 109 pages by tomorrow, which wont happen because we've been playing volleyball with our professors and their families. (did i mention that i get my first of 3 thousand dollar checks tomorrow?) hehe. Life is rough. :D (this is the auditorium... i'll get my own pictures on here in awhile)